Interrogating green social prescribing in South Wales; A multi-stakeholder qualitative exploration

As an umbrella term, social prescribing offers varied routes into society which promise to support, enhance, and empower individual citizens to take control of their own health and wellbeing. Globally healthcare systems are struggling to cope with the increasing demands of an ageing population and the NHS (UK) is no exception. Social prescribing is heralded as a means to relieve the burden on primary care and provide support for the 20% of patients whose needs are non-medical. As such an increasing array of schemes are available, spanning five sub-sets: creative or nature-based referrals, welfare services, exercise referrals, education programmes or befriending support. Green social prescription offers significant potential to promote wellbeing and improve health outcomes. However limited research has explored this emergent sub-set

A mixed-methods exploration of regular consumers’ experiences of plant-based meat alternatives (PBMA) in Singapore and the United Kingdom

Research on plant-based meat alternatives (PBMA) often focuses on its initial acceptance among new consumers with limited investigation into consumers who regularly incorporate PBMA in their diets. This study used a mixed methods approach to investigate PBMA consumption patterns, including motivations and barriers to sustained consumption, among 404 regular consumers (defined as PBMA consumption of at least once a week) in Singapore and the UK (SG: n=228; UK: n=176; 57.9% women; 69.8% aged 21-40 years old). Quantitative results showed similar PBMA consumption between Singapore and the UK (p=.498) but motives and barriers to sustained consumption and their consumer characteristics (i.e., food choice motives, food neophobia) were significantly different (p<.001). UK consumers showed greater agreement with motivational statements and were more sustainability-driven while Singapore consumers showed greater agreement with barrier statements and valued the impact of food on their body more. Product-related motives (β=.22, p<.001) and accessibility barriers (β=.15, p=.024) predicted overall PBMA consumption in both countries. Qualitative results suggest that whilst UK and Singapore consumers were satisfied with PBMA, they wanted higher nutritional quality, greater accessibility to affordable options and a wider variety. Further improvements in these areas could encourage repeated purchases and support the long-term adoption of PBMA

Environments and the experience of flow: A scoping review

Investigations into the impact of natural and built environments on mental health often place greater emphasis on hedonic experience over other meaningful aspects of human wellbeing such as flow. Psychological flow occurs during episodes of deep immersion in intrinsically motivated activities. Giving rise to feelings of fulfilment and self-transcendence, it can contribute to both hedonic and eudaimonic wellbeing. Although individual differences and social contexts can enable or inhibit flow, it is not entirely clear how natural and built environments are associated with flow experiences. The objective of this review is to map existing primary research concerning how environments (natural and built) relate to flow experiences. A total of 60 included sources, published between 1975 and the end of 2022, illustrate that flow is not only impacted by the environment, but also connected to place-based meaning. Four themes reflect the type of source findings, highlighting the importance of 1. contact with nature, 2. person-environment fit, 3. aesthetics and 4. relationship to place. Review findings explore areas for future research and potential implications for nature-based interventions

Multi-objective Bayesian shape optimization of an industrial hydrodynamic separator using unsteady Eulerian-Lagrangian simulations

The shape of a hydrodynamic particle separator has been optimized using a parallelized and robust formulation of Bayesian optimization, with data from an unsteady Eulerian flow field coupled with Lagrangian particle tracking. The uncertainty due to the mesh, initial conditions, and stochastic dispersion in the Eulerian-Lagrangian simulations was minimized and quantified. This was then translated across to the error term in the Gaussian process model and the minimum probability of improvement infill criterion. An existing parallelization strategy was modified for the infill criterion and customized to prefer exploitation in the decision space. In addition, a new strategy was developed for hidden constraints using Voronoi penalization. In the approximate Pareto Front, an absolute improvement over the base design of 14% in the underflow collection efficiency and 10% in the total collection efficiency was achieved, which resulted in the filing of a patent.* The corresponding designs were attributed to the effective distribution of residence time between the trays via the removal of a vertical plume. The plume also reduced both efficiencies by creating a flow path in a direction that acted against effective settling. The concave down and offset tray shapes demonstrated the value of Bayesian optimization in producing useful and non-intuitive designs

Finerenone in the management of diabetes kidney disease

People with type 2 diabetes are at risk of developing progressive diabetic kidney disease (DKD) and end stage kidney failure. Hypertension is a major, reversible risk factor in people with diabetes for development of albuminuria, impaired kidney function, end-stage kidney disease and cardiovascular disease. Slowing progression of kidney disease and reducing cardiovascular events can be achieved by a number of means including the targeting of blood pressure and the use of specific classes of drugs The use of Renin Angiotensin Aldosterone System (RAAS) blockade is effective in preventing or slowing progression of DKD and reducing cardiovascular events in people with type 2 diabetes, albeit differently according to the stage of DKD. However, emerging therapy such as non-steroidal selective mineralocorticoid antagonists (finerenone) is proven to lower blood pressure and further reduce the risk of progression of DKD and cardiovascular disease in people with type 2 diabetes. This consensus reviews current evidence and make recommendations for the use of finerenone in the management of diabetes kidney disease in the UK

The Effect of Endurance Exercise and its Intensity in Middle- aged Runners; Are they Thrombogenic?

Introduction Despite the well documented benefits of regular exercise, acute exercise induces a transient hypercoagulable state with increasing risk of thrombotic disease with age and intensity. While prior studies have used various conventional coagulation tests in studying the influence of exercise on coagulation, limited attention has been given to clot microstructure and contraction profile in well-trained individuals of middle to older age. Our aim was to identify effects of exercise on these variables using hemorheological biomarkers. Materials and methods Twenty-eight male and female runners aged over 40 years completed a 10 km run at moderate intensity. Of these runners,14 were reinvited to complete a 3 km run to exhaustion. Blood samples were drawn at three time-points, baseline, immediately after exercise and after 1 hour of recovery. Structural biomarker df and measurements of mature clot mechanical properties (Maximum Contractile Force and G’Max) were analysed alongside conventional coagulation markers. Results While df remained stable following long moderate intensity exercise, higher intensity exercise caused an increase in df indicating a hypercoagulable phase. Following an hour of rest, df returned to baseline. These results indicate that the effect of acute exercise on hypercoagulability is intensity dependent and transient. Maximum Contractile Force (CFMax) was reduced by exercise, irrespective of intensity. This effect was lower after an hour of rest, suggesting that some unknown initial compensatory mechanisms are outlasted by a longer period of reduced contractile force. Conclusion df and CFMax detected the hypercoagulable phase that occurred in trained older individuals as a result of exercise. Investigating these effects in more sentient populations could allow risk stratification of exercise rehabilitation programmes and their intensity

Diverse approaches: educator-centric insights into design thinking practices in entrepreneurship education

Purpose: Design Thinking (DT) has emerged in a variety of educational contexts within entrepreneurship and debate continues on the value of integrating DT into Entrepreneurship Education (EE). Although DT is increasingly recommended for EE practice (Baciagalupo et al., 2020) there are scarce insights into how Entrepreneurship Educators apply and/or integrate DT into their practice. This study uses a constructivist paradigm of education to answer questions about the educational practice when integrating DT, with a view to understanding the schema that educators construct when encouraging learners to construct their own knowledge. Design/methodology/approach: This study follows a qualitative, interpretive approach, drawing upon semi-structured interviews from 29 entrepreneurship educators from higher education in the UK and Europe. Thus, this study puts focus on the quality of the DT integration in EE - from an educator’s perspective. Findings: There exists a difference between the scholarly proposed integration of DT and the enacted practice within the classroom. Analysis identified four forms (selective, idea-centric, procedural, holistic) of DT integration in the context of EE, as well as insights into the practical barriers and motivations for utilising DT. In particular, this study has identified an opportunity for appropriate training of the educators to extend their awareness of the principles of DT. Originality: This research has identified four novel and distinct ways in which DT can be integrated with(in) EE. This allows educators to be more reflexive about why and how they utilise DT in their classrooms, addressing an apparent lack of this understanding in contemporary practice

Green Tea with Rhubarb Root Reduces Plasma Lipids While Preserving Gut Microbial Stability in a Healthy Human Cohort

Background/Objectives: Cardiovascular diseases remain a leading cause of mortality and morbidity, and dyslipidaemia is one of the major risk factors. The widespread use of herbs and medicinal plants in traditional medicine has garnered increasing recognition as a valuable resource for increasing wellness and reducing the onset of disease. Several epidemiologic and clinical studies have shown that altering blood lipid profiles and maintaining gut homeostasis may protect against cardiovascular diseases. Methods: A randomised, active-controlled parallel human clinical trial (n = 52) with three herbal tea infusions (green (Camellia sinensis) tea with rhubarb root, green tea with senna, and active control green tea) daily for 21 days in a free-living healthy adult cohort was conducted to assess the potential for health benefits in terms of plasma lipids and gut health. Paired plasma samples were analysed using Afinion lipid panels (total cholesterol, LDL (low-density lipoprotein) cholesterol, HDL (high-density lipoprotein) cholesterol, triglycerides, and non-HDL cholesterol) and paired stool samples were analysed using 16S rRNA amplicon sequencing to determine bacterial diversity within the gut microbiome. Results: Among participants providing fasting blood samples before and after the intervention (n = 47), consumption of herbal rhubarb root tea and green tea significantly lowered total cholesterol, LDL-cholesterol, and non-HDL cholesterol (p &lt; 0.05) in plasma after 21 days of daily consumption when compared with concentrations before the intervention. No significant change was observed in the senna tea group. In participants providing stool samples (n = 48), no significant differences in overall microbial composition were observed between pre- and post-intervention, even at the genus level. While no significant changes in overall microbial composition were observed, specific bacterial genera, such as Dorea spp., showed correlations with LDL cholesterol concentrations, suggesting potential microbiota-mediated effects of tea consumption. Diet and BMI was maintained in each of the three groups before and after the trial. Conclusions: It was found that drinking a cup of rhubarb root herbal or green tea infusion for 21 days produced beneficial effects on lipid profiles and maintained gut eubiosis without observable adverse effects in a healthy human cohort. More studies are needed to fully understand the effects of rhubarb root and green tea in fatty acid metabolism and gut microbial composition