Greenspace & Us: Exploring co-design approaches to increase engagement with nature by girls and young women

Nature connection through engagement with greenspaces plays an important role in promoting well-being. In England, certain groups, such as girls and young women from disadvantaged backgrounds, have limited access to high-quality greenspaces and face other barriers to engaging with nature. In Oxfordshire, the County Council has committed to improving access to greenspace and nature for all. In 2022, a group consisting of twenty girls and young women (aged 10–16) from East Oxford not-for- profit organisations, academic institutions and public bodies came together to start an initiative called ‘Greenspace & Us’. The girls and young women participated in six three- hour workshops in February to March 2022. Using the COM-B (Capability, Opportunity, Motivation, Behaviour) approach, we explored the enablers and barriers to girls and young women in Oxford engaging more with nature, which included: increasing equity of access; introducing meaningful co-production; taking safety concerns seriously; making nature normal; promoting the right to play; and increasing the ability to connect with greenspaces.The outputs of this process were synthesised into the ‘Greenspace & Us Manifesto’, which was crafted collectively. Furthermore, these insights were used to design inclusive park furniture, which was later installed in a local park in East Oxford. In this practice-based article, we outline the methods, outcomes as well as the strengths and weaknesses of the engagement, co-design and co-production approaches we used in Greenspace & Us. We hope the insights from our project will support more inclusive and equitable design of greenspaces for all

Assessing the accuracy of free automated plant identification applications

1. Widely available and inexpensive mobile phone applications offer users, whether professional ecologists or interested amateurs, the potential for simple and rapid automated identification of species, without the need to use field guides and identification keys. The increasing accuracy of machine learning is well established, but it is currently unclear if, and under what circumstances, free-to-use mobile phone applications are accurate for identifying plants to species level in real-world field conditions. 2. We test five popular and free identification applications for plants using 857 professionally identified images of 277 species from 204 genera. Across all applications, 85% of images were identified correctly in the top five suggestions, and 69% were correct with the first suggestion. Plant type (woody, forbs, grasses, rushes/sedges, ferns/horsetails) was a significant determinant of identification performance for each application. For some applications, image saliency was also important; exposure and focus were not significant. 3. Applications performed well, with at least one of the three best-performing applications identifying 96% of images correctly as their first suggestion. We conclude that, subject to some caveats, free phone-based plant identification applications are valid and useful tools for those wanting rapid identification and for anyone wanting to engage with the natural world

Greenspace & us : a community insights project to understand barriers and enablers around access to greenspace for teenage girls in East Oxford

Access to greenspace and connection with nature are key determinants of physical and mental wellbeing. Yet, some groups face significant barriers to access, including young women. Nature connection, engagement with the outdoors, physical activity and mental health significantly drop as girls approach their teenage years. The Greenspace & Us project is a community insights partnership project which aimed to build knowledge and understanding through participatory approaches to inform future initiatives and improve equitable access to greenspace and recreation opportunities for girls and young women. The project methods included a survey of young people (ages 11-16 years old), six three-hour participatory workshops with 20 young women (ages 10-16 years old), and creative outputs including a manifesto and a piece of physical artwork. This report presents the outcomes and evaluation of the project and provides key insights into the behaviour and relationship young women have with greenspace, including age and gender appropriate equipment, safety concerns and a lack of ownership over public spaces. The report provides recommendations for future delivery to better support equity of access to greenspace and contribute to understanding of ways in which best to engage with young people in matters relating to the built and green environment

Greenspace & us : exploring co-design approaches to increase engagement with nature by girls and young women

Nature connection through engagement with greenspaces plays an important role in promoting well-being. In England, certain groups, such as girls and young women from disadvantaged backgrounds, have limited access to high-quality greenspaces and face other barriers to engaging with nature. In Oxfordshire, the County Council has committed to improving access to greenspace and nature for all. In 2022, a group consisting of twenty girls and young women (aged 10–16) from East Oxford not-for- profit organisations, academic institutions and public bodies came together to start an initiative called ‘Greenspace & Us’. The girls and young women participated in six three- hour workshops in February to March 2022. Using the COM-B (Capability, Opportunity, Motivation, Behaviour) approach, we explored the enablers and barriers to girls and young women in Oxford engaging more with nature, which included: increasing equity of access; introducing meaningful co-production; taking safety concerns seriously; making nature normal; promoting the right to play; and increasing the ability to connect with greenspaces. The outputs of this process were synthesised into the ‘Greenspace & Us Manifesto’, which was crafted collectively. Furthermore, these insights were used to design inclusive park furniture, which was later installed in a local park in East Oxford. In this practice-based article, we outline the methods, outcomes as well as the strengths and weaknesses of the engagement, co-design and co-production approaches we used in Greenspace & Us. We hope the insights from our project will support more inclusive and equitable design of greenspaces for all

ATP Release from Vascular Endothelia Occurs Across Cx43 Hemichannels and Is Attenuated during Hypoxia

Background: Extracellular ATP is an important signaling molecule for vascular adaptation to limited oxygen availability (hypoxia). Here, we pursued the contribution of vascular endothelia to extracellular ATP release under hypoxic conditions. Methodology, Principal Findings: We gained first insight from studying ATP release from endothelia (HMEC-1) pre-exposed to hypoxia. Surprisingly, we found that ATP release was significantly attenuated following hypoxia exposure (2 % oxygen, 2263 % after 48 h). In contrast, intracellular ATP was unchanged. Similarly, lactate-dehydrogenase release into the supernatants was similar between normoxic or hypoxic endothelia, suggesting that differences in lytic ATP release between normoxia or hypoxia are minimal. Next, we used pharmacological strategies to study potential mechanisms for endothelialdependent ATP release (eg, verapamil, dipyridamole, 18-alpha-glycyrrhetinic acid, anandamide, connexin-mimetic peptides). These studies revealed that endothelial ATP release occurs – at least in part- through connexin 43 (Cx43) hemichannels. A real-time RT-PCR screen of endothelial connexin expression showed selective repression of Cx43 transcript and additional studies confirmed time-dependent Cx43 mRNA, total and surface protein repression during hypoxia. In addition, hypoxia resulted in Cx43-serine368 phosphorylation, which is known to switch Cx43 hemi-channels from an open to a closed state. Conclusions/Significance: Taken together, these studies implicate endothelial Cx43 in hypoxia-associated repression o

Partial Netrin-1 Deficiency Aggravates Acute Kidney Injury

The netrin family of secreted proteins provides migrational cues in the developing central nervous system. Recently, netrins have also been shown to regulate diverse processes beyond their functions in the brain, incluing the ochrestration of inflammatory events. Particularly netrin-1 has been implicated in dampening hypoxia-induced inflammation. Here, we hypothesized an anti-inflammatory role of endogenous netrin-1 in acute kidney injury (AKI). As homozygous deletion of netrin-1 is lethal, we studied mice with partial netrin-1 deletion (Ntn-1+/− mice) as a genetic model. In fact, Ntn-1+/− mice showed attenuated Ntn-1 levels at baseline and following ischemic AKI. Functional studies of AKI induced by 30 min of renal ischemia and reperfusion revealed enhanced kidney dysfunction in Ntn-1+/− mice as assessed by measurements of glomerular filtration, urine flow rate, urine electrolytes, serum creatinine and creatinine clearance. Consistent with these findings, histological studies indicated a more severe degree kidney injury. Similarly, elevations of renal and systemic inflammatory markers were enhanced in mice with partial netrin-1 deficiency. Finally, treatment of Ntn-1+/− mice with exogenous netrin-1 restored a normal phenotype during AKI. Taking together, these studies implicate endogenous netrin-1 in attenuating renal inflammation during AKI

Effects of Anacetrapib in Patients with Atherosclerotic Vascular Disease

BACKGROUND: Patients with atherosclerotic vascular disease remain at high risk for cardiovascular events despite effective statin-based treatment of low-density lipoprotein (LDL) cholesterol levels. The inhibition of cholesteryl ester transfer protein (CETP) by anacetrapib reduces LDL cholesterol levels and increases high-density lipoprotein (HDL) cholesterol levels. However, trials of other CETP inhibitors have shown neutral or adverse effects on cardiovascular outcomes. METHODS: We conducted a randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled trial involving 30,449 adults with atherosclerotic vascular disease who were receiving intensive atorvastatin therapy and who had a mean LDL cholesterol level of 61 mg per deciliter (1.58 mmol per liter), a mean non-HDL cholesterol level of 92 mg per deciliter (2.38 mmol per liter), and a mean HDL cholesterol level of 40 mg per deciliter (1.03 mmol per liter). The patients were assigned to receive either 100 mg of anacetrapib once daily (15,225 patients) or matching placebo (15,224 patients). The primary outcome was the first major coronary event, a composite of coronary death, myocardial infarction, or coronary revascularization. RESULTS: During the median follow-up period of 4.1 years, the primary outcome occurred in significantly fewer patients in the anacetrapib group than in the placebo group (1640 of 15,225 patients [10.8%] vs. 1803 of 15,224 patients [11.8%]; rate ratio, 0.91; 95% confidence interval, 0.85 to 0.97; P=0.004). The relative difference in risk was similar across multiple prespecified subgroups. At the trial midpoint, the mean level of HDL cholesterol was higher by 43 mg per deciliter (1.12 mmol per liter) in the anacetrapib group than in the placebo group (a relative difference of 104%), and the mean level of non-HDL cholesterol was lower by 17 mg per deciliter (0.44 mmol per liter), a relative difference of -18%. There were no significant between-group differences in the risk of death, cancer, or other serious adverse events. CONCLUSIONS: Among patients with atherosclerotic vascular disease who were receiving intensive statin therapy, the use of anacetrapib resulted in a lower incidence of major coronary events than the use of placebo. (Funded by Merck and others; Current Controlled Trials number, ISRCTN48678192 ; ClinicalTrials.gov number, NCT01252953 ; and EudraCT number, 2010-023467-18 .)