Landscape woody features, local management and vegetation composition shape moth communities in extensively managed grasslands

1. Agricultural intensification has led to a dramatic impoverishment of biodiversity. Moths are not an exception: rapid declines of common and widespread species have been reported and it is still not clear which conservation measures should be applied to restore their populations. 2. We investigated how much of the variation in moth assemblages inhabiting extensively managed meadows in a region of high-intensity agriculture is explained by surrounding woody landscape features, meadow management and vegetation composition, and which specific variables are the most influential. 3. Results show that the percentage of forest and the length of hedgerows within a 250 m radius were especially important for forest macromoths, explaining 42% of variation in abundance and 23% of species richness, whereas meadow management played a relatively marginal role. The abundance of grassland macromoths was also positively influenced by the length of hedgerows in the landscape (combined with elevation it explained 10% of the variance), while it responded negatively to uncut refuge and to delayed mowing (7%). Regarding grassland macromoth species richness, the annual harvesting frequency was the main predictor (4%). In contrast, micromoth abundance was more influenced by meadow management, notably the date of the first cut (4%) and vegetation composition (8%, though not conclusive due to a single outlier), whereas landscape features explained nothing. 4. Altogether, these results demonstrate the importance of both woody features within farmed landscapes and biodiversity-friendly meadow management for the maintenance of integral moth communities

Mitochondrial Transfer by Human Mesenchymal Stromal Cells Ameliorates Hepatocyte Lipid Load in a Mouse Model of NASH

Mesenchymal stromal cell (MSC) transplantation ameliorated hepatic lipid load; tissue inflammation; and fibrosis in rodent animal models of non-alcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH) by as yet largely unknown mechanism(s). In a mouse model of NASH; we transplanted bone marrow-derived MSCs into the livers; which were analyzed one week thereafter. Combined metabolomic and proteomic data were applied to weighted gene correlation network analysis (WGCNA) and subsequent identification of key drivers. Livers were analyzed histologically and biochemically. The mechanisms of MSC action on hepatocyte lipid accumulation were studied in co-cultures of hepatocytes and MSCs by quantitative image analysis and immunocytochemistry. WGCNA and key driver analysis revealed that NASH caused the impairment of central carbon; amino acid; and lipid metabolism associated with mitochondrial and peroxisomal dysfunction; which was reversed by MSC treatment. MSC improved hepatic lipid metabolism and tissue homeostasis. In co-cultures of hepatocytes and MSCs; the decrease of lipid load was associated with the transfer of mitochondria from the MSCs to the hepatocytes via tunneling nanotubes (TNTs). Hence; MSCs may ameliorate lipid load and tissue perturbance by the donation of mitochondria to the hepatocytes. Thereby; they may provide oxidative capacity for lipid breakdown and thus promote recovery from NASH-induced metabolic impairment and tissue injury

Recruitment and Baseline Characteristics of Participants in the AgeWell.de Study: A Pragmatic Cluster-Randomized Controlled Lifestyle Trial against Cognitive Decline

Targeting dementia prevention, first trials addressing multiple modifiable risk factors showed promising results in at-risk populations. In Germany, AgeWell.de is the first large-scale initiative investigating the effectiveness of a multi-component lifestyle intervention against cognitive decline. We aimed to investigate the recruitment process and baseline characteristics of the AgeWell.de participants to gain an understanding of the at-risk population and who engages in the intervention. General practitioners across five study sites recruited participants (aged 60-77 years, Cardiovascular Risk Factors, Aging, and Incidence of Dementia/CAIDE dementia risk score ≥ 9). Structured face-to-face interviews were conducted with eligible participants, including neuropsychological assessments. We analyzed group differences between (1) eligible vs. non-eligible participants, (2) participants vs. non-participants, and (3) between intervention groups. Of 1176 eligible participants, 146 (12.5%) dropped out before baseline; the study population was thus 1030 individuals. Non-participants did not differ from participants in key sociodemographic factors and dementia risk. Study participants were M = 69.0 (SD = 4.9) years old, and 52.1% were women. The average Montreal Cognitive Assessment/MoCA score was 24.5 (SD = 3.1), indicating a rather mildly cognitively impaired study population; however, 39.4% scored ≥ 26, thus being cognitively unimpaired. The bandwidth of cognitive states bears the interesting potential for differential trial outcome analyses. However, trial conduction is impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic, requiring adjustments to the study protocol with yet unclear methodological consequences

Long-term risk of adverse outcomes according to atrial fibrillation type

Sustained forms of atrial fibrillation (AF) may be associated with a higher risk of adverse outcomes, but few if any long-term studies took into account changes of AF type and co-morbidities over time. We prospectively followed 3843 AF patients and collected information on AF type and co-morbidities during yearly follow-ups. The primary outcome was a composite of stroke or systemic embolism (SE). Secondary outcomes included myocardial infarction, hospitalization for congestive heart failure (CHF), bleeding and all-cause mortality. Multivariable adjusted Cox proportional hazards models with time-varying covariates were used to compare hazard ratios (HR) according to AF type. At baseline 1895 (49%), 1046 (27%) and 902 (24%) patients had paroxysmal, persistent and permanent AF and 3234 (84%) were anticoagulated. After a median (IQR) follow-up of 3.0 (1.9; 4.2) years, the incidence of stroke/SE was 1.0 per 100 patient-years. The incidence of myocardial infarction, CHF, bleeding and all-cause mortality was 0.7, 3.0, 2.9 and 2.7 per 100 patient-years, respectively. The multivariable adjusted (a) HRs (95% confidence interval) for stroke/SE were 1.13 (0.69; 1.85) and 1.27 (0.83; 1.95) for time-updated persistent and permanent AF, respectively. The corresponding aHRs were 1.23 (0.89, 1.69) and 1.45 (1.12; 1.87) for all-cause mortality, 1.34 (1.00; 1.80) and 1.30 (1.01; 1.67) for CHF, 0.91 (0.48; 1.72) and 0.95 (0.56; 1.59) for myocardial infarction, and 0.89 (0.70; 1.14) and 1.00 (0.81; 1.24) for bleeding. In this large prospective cohort of AF patients, time-updated AF type was not associated with incident stroke/SE

Mesurer des écarts de participation dans les occupations avec l’Occupational Gap Questionnaire (OGQ-CH-Fr)

La participation sociale est considérée depuis 2001 comme un des résultats attendu et souhaité des interventions dans le domaine de la santé (Eriksson, Tham, & Kottorp, 2013; Law, 2002).Die Westschweizer Version des «Occupational Gap Questionnaire» (OGQ-CH-Fr) zur Messung von Handlungslücken von Betätigung. Seit 2001 wird die soziale Partizipation/Teilhabe als einer der wichtigsten zu erwartenden und erwünschenswerten Erfolge der Interventionen im Gesundheitsbereich betrachtet (Eriksson, Tham, & Kottorp, 2013; Law, 2002)

L'engagement occupationnel à l'extérieur du domicile des personnes âgées vivant avec une démence

La participation sociale est importante pour les personnes âgées vivant avec une démence. Elles s’efforcent de maintenir et adapter leur engagement occupationnel à l’extérieur de leur domicile, malgré les difficultés cognitives progressives rencontrées. Une perspective transactionnelle de l’occupation permet de concevoir l’engagement occupationnel comme un lieu et une activité indissociables dans la création de sens pour la personne expérimentant la situation. Ainsi, accéder aux lieux extérieurs et aux activités y réalisées apporte des bénéfices (telle qu’une participation dans la vie quotidienne) mais aussi des défis (comme de se perdre à l’extérieur). Le but de cet article est de présenter la revue de la littérature soutenant la compréhension de l’engagement occupationnel des personnes vivant avec une démence et de présenter le questionnaire développé à cette fin.Social participation is an important aspect of the life of people living with a dementia. They strive to maintain and adapt their occupational engagement outside home, despite progressive cognitive difficulties. A transactional perpective helps to conceptualise the occupational engagement as an activity situated and embedded in a place, as meaning emerges for the person being engaged. Thus, accessing places outside home where activities are performed provides both benefits, such as participation in daily activities, and challenges, such as finding one’s way. The aim of the present article is to present the literature review used to conceptualise the occupational engagement of older adults living with a dementia and to present the questionnaire that was developed for data collection

Leaving an uncut grass refuge promotes butterfly abundance in extensively managed lowland hay meadows in Switzerland

The main goal of this study was to experimentally test whether maintaining a fraction of a meadow uncut would create a refuge that can efficiently conserve butterflies in extensively managed meadows registered as biodiversity promoting areas, the most common type of agri-environment scheme in Switzerland. Leaving part of the meadow uncut was expected to benefit butterflies by providing shelter and food resources once the rest of the meadow has been mown. The measure was experimentally applied since 2010 in 12 sites of the Swiss lowlands (Plateau). There were two experimental meadows per site, with one mowing regime applied at random within the pair. One meadow was managed according to the standard regulations for meadows in biodiversity promoting areas, meaning that the meadow was entirely mown at least once a year, but not before 15 June (control meadows). The second meadow was only partially mown, and a grass refuge of 10-20% of its area was left uncut during mowing operations (refuge meadows). In 2013 we conducted Pollard walk surveys to assess the efficiency of the refuge scheme. Results indicate that after mowing the uncut refuges were occupied by butterflies, with much higher abundances than in control meadows. Keeping an unmown grass refuge within hay meadows would be a simple and easy measure to promote butterfly populations within current agri-environment schemes

Comment intégrer les sciences de l'occupation dans la pratique professionnelle en ergothérapie ?

Au cours des dernières années, deux enquêtes ont exploré auprès des ergothérapeutes francophones quatre concepts théoriques issus des approches occupationnelles [Tétreault et al., 2017, 2018]. Il s'agit de l'occupation humaine, l'équilibre occupationnel, l'engagement occupationnel et la performance occupationnelle. Or, il faut se questionner sur les différentes façons de les intégrer dans la pratique en ergothérapie. Afin d'amorcer la réflexion sur ce sujet, un sondage a été mené auprès de 70 ergothérapeutes et étudiant-e-s provenant de Belgique, de France et de Suisse. Ce texte aborde diverses avenues pour comprendre ces concepts et les utiliser au quotidien.Over the past few years, two surveys have explored four theoretical concepts from occupational approaches among Francophone occupational therapists [Tétreault et al., 2017, 2018]. These are human occupation, occupational balance, occupational engagement, and occupational performance. However, we must question the different ways to integrate them into the practice of occupational therapy. To begin thinking about this topic, a survey was conducted among 70 occupational therapists and students from Belgium France and Switzerland. This paper offers various avenues to understand these concepts and use them on a daily basis

Réseau OHS ::vers des collaborations francophones sur les occupations humaines et la santé

Les sciences de l’occupation se développent de manière continue depuis plusieurs dizaines d’années dans les pays anglo-saxons. Leur diffusion dans les pays francophones reste malheureusement plutôt faible et très inégale. Par ailleurs, elles influencent surtout les pratiques d’enseignement et dans une moindre mesure seulement les pratiques cliniques et la recherche. La Haute École spécialisée de Suisse occidentale (HES-SO) à Lausanne a récemment créé un réseau dédié à l’occupation humaine et la santé. Il vise à soutenir le développement des connaissances sur les liens entre la santé, les occupations humaines et la participation sociale, en Suisse et dans d’autres régions francophones. Il contribue également au développement d’activités de recherches appliquées, d’échanges et de formations dans ce domaine fondamental pour les ergothérapeutes. Mais au-delà de ses activités, il veut établir des ponts ainsi que formaliser les collaborations entre ergothérapeutes francophones d’Europe, d’Amérique du Nord, d’Afrique du Nord et demain, qui sait, des autres continents.In many English-speaking countries and since several decades Occupational science is in continuous development. The situation is very different in French-speaking countries where the diffusion of Occupational science varies widely. Thus, Occupational science influences mainly academic practice and only to a lesser degree clini- cal practice. The University of Applied Sciences and Arts of Western Switzerland recently launched a network dedicated to human occupa- tion and health (OHS). It is intended to support the development of knowledge on occupation, health and social participation in the French- speaking part of Switzerland, and in other French speaking areas. It will develop applied research activities and contribute to knowledge exchange in this domain. In addition to these activities, OHS will also contribute to build bridges between French speaking professionals in Europe, in North America, in North Africa and, maybe, also other continents

Development of a questionnaire to evaluate out-of-home participation for people with dementia

Objective. We describe the development of a questionnaire, Participation in Activities and Places Outside Home (ACT–OUT), for older adults with cognitive impairment and align it to people with mild- to moderate-stage dementia. Method. ACT–OUT was developed in a cross-cultural collaboration in combination with three rounds of cognitive interviews in Switzerland with 26 older adults without cognitive impairment and five older adults with dementia. Qualitative data from the interviews were analyzed using a constant comparison approach. Results. The final ACT–OUT Version 1.0 consists of three parts: (1) questions targeting places older adults visit; (2) questions on aspects influencing participation, such as transportation, familiarity, and risk perception; and (3) questions on perception of self. Conclusion. The development of an instrument such as ACT–OUT is more a cyclical than a linear process. This study is a first step toward a more systematic evaluation of out-of-home participation among older adults with and without dementia