Women’s experiences of personalised support for asthma care during pregnancy: A systematic review of the literature

Abstract Background Asthma and pregnancy are both sources of anxiety for women. Although there has been a focus on physiological management of asthma and pregnancy, there has been little research on the impact that personalised support can have on asthma care during pregnancy. This systematic review and narrative synthesis of the literature set out to answer the question ‘What are women’s experiences of asthma care, its management and education, during pregnancy?’ Methods This systematic review was carried out using accepted methodology from the York Centre for Reviews and Dissemination. Electronic database searches were conducted using PsycInfo, CINAHL, MedLine, Google Scholar and the Cochrane Library, using the combination search terms: ‘Asthma’ AND ‘Pregnancy’ AND ‘Care’ AND (‘Education OR Information OR Experience’). Hand searching of journals and searches for grey literature were also undertaken. Independent quality appraisal by the three authors took place using the criteria detailed by Kmet et al. (Standard Quality Assessment Criteria for Evaluating Primary Research Papers from a Variety of Fields, 2004). Results All papers scoring in excess of 60% were deemed to be of adequate quality for inclusion, of which there were five: two qualitative designs and three quantitative designs. The designs were too methodologically heterogeneous to permit statistical meta-analysis so narrative review and synthesis was undertaken. Despite an embryonic evidence bases, it is reasonable to conclude that personalised care has beneficial outcomes for pregnant asthmatic women. Conclusions Larger randomised controlled trials investigating personalised care are required to build an evidence base which can establish the efficacy of such interventions

Can Beach Cleans Do More Than Clean-Up Litter? Comparing Beach Cleans to Other Coastal Activities

Coastal visits not only provide psychological benefits but can also contribute to the accumulation of rubbish. Volunteer beach cleans help address this issue, but may only have limited, local impact. Consequently, it is important to study any broader benefits associated with beach cleans. This article examines the well-being and educational value of beach cleans, as well as their impacts on individuals’ behavioral intentions. We conducted an experimental study that allocated students (n = 90) to a beach cleaning, rock pooling, or walking activity. All three coastal activities were associated with positive mood and pro-environmental intentions. Beach cleaning and rock pooling were associated with higher marine awareness. The unique impacts of beach cleaning were that they were rated as most meaningful but linked to lower restorativeness ratings of the environment compared with the other activities. This research highlights the interplay between environment and activities, raising questions for future research on the complexities of person-environment interaction

Mitigating the impact of climate change on UK buildings through zero energy strategies

It is currently established that one of the paramount concerns in the built environment is the energy efficiency of new and existing UK dwellings, respective to the unfavourable impacts posed to climate change. The Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy in the United Kingdom have reported that the UK's highest recording temperatures have transpired in the years since 2002. With over 90% of England homes currently in use of high carbon systems for space heating and domestic hot water. Contributing to increased atmospheric carbon emissions in the dependency on fossil fuel burning; alluding to human-produced atmospheric temperature increase. To help tackle these issues in the residential sector, the capacity of zero-energy technologies has been introduced. Zero-energy implementation has potential to revolutionise the power system, with on-site power generation at the forefront of this. This paper will explore the influence of zero-energy implementation on two UK residential dwellings of disparate locations, using Integrated Environmental Solutions Virtual Environment (IESVE) by focusing on renewable on-site micro-generation systems. The ASHRAE climate zones of Edinburgh and London Gatwick has been selected to examine the performance of the building over varied regional climates of disparate locations. The selected design variables were finally implemented in combination for building simulation in IESVE and compared with a basic model dwelling. The processed simulation results showed a reduction in the buildings energy consumption of 43.4538MWh (71%) for Edinburgh and 33.9929MWh (64%) for London respective to the baseline model. The greatest savings in mitigation of UK climate change can be evaluated in relation to reduction of carbon emissions, which were 7880kgCO2 (46%) and 5423kgCO2 (36%) respectively

#Springwatch #WildMorningswithChris: Engaging With Nature via Social Media and Wellbeing During the COVID-19 Lockdown

It is widely understood that nature engagement benefits human wellbeing. Such benefits have been found for real as well as virtual engagements. However, little is known about the role of nature-based videos in social media on wellbeing. With COVID-19 restrictions limiting people’s direct engagement with natural environments, this study critically examined people’s reactions to nature videos posted on Facebook during the first UK COVID-19 lockdown in 2020. Data consisted of comments on videos containing highlights from the British Broadcasting Corporation’s (BBC) Springwatch 2020 television series, and from a UK television presenter and naturalist’s (Chris Packham) livestream videos, posted on Facebook from March to July, 2020. Looking at the quantitative profile of a range of videos (i.e. views, likes and shares) and a detailed analysis of the 143,265 comments using thematic analysis, three major themes were generated as: (1) engaging with nature via social media is emotionally complicated, (2) cognitive and reflective reactions are generated from social media nature engagement and (3) engagement with nature-based social media as a mechanism for coping with stress during COVID-19. These findings inform understanding of how nature-related social media content and associated commentary have supported wellbeing throughout the ongoing pandemic and their importance as a means of continued support for wellbeing.‘We feel that the injection of wildlife into people’s homes, particularly at this point, would be really valuable and uplifting’.— Chris Packham, 2020</jats:p

Essential oils: a potential addition to integrated pest management strategies against adult varied carpet beetle, Anthrenus verbasci, in natural science collections

The varied carpet beetle, Anthrenus verbasci (L.), is a major pest in museums containing artifacts or specimens of animal origin, e.g., natural science collections. Integrated pest management techniques are deployed to prevent A. verbasci access and controlling the pest should they be found on valuable artifacts. Several synthetic chemicals have been used in the past in the fight against A. verbasci and other insect pest species but the use of these chemicals (such as naphthalene and dichlorvos) is now banned following health concerns. Attention is turning towards natural compounds in the search for natural, safe alternatives. As well as having active ingredients against adult A. verbasci, it is also essential that any useful products found fall within museum budgets. Here we examine the repellent properties of four ‘off-the-shelf’ essential oils: clove, lemon, lavender, and eucalyptus. All four essential oils exhibited some repellent property, but A. verbasci found lavender and eucalyptus oils the most repellent, offering the possibility that some easy to obtain and inexpensive natural products might have a role to play in museum IPM

The development and acceptability of an educational and training intervention for recruiters to neonatal trials : the TRAIN project

Peer reviewedPublisher PD

Reduced Iron in Diabetic Wounds: An Oxidative Stress-Dependent Role for STEAP3 in Extracellular Matrix Deposition and Remodeling

Iron is crucial for maintaining normal bodily function with well-documented roles in erythropoiesis, hemostasis, and inflammation. Despite this, little is known about the temporal regulation of iron during wound healing, or how iron contributes to wound biology and pathology. In this study, we profiled tissue iron levels across a healing time-course, identifying iron accumulation during late-stage repair. Diabetic murine wounds displayed significantly reduced iron levels, delayed extracellular matrix deposition, and dysregulation of iron gene expression. In vitro studies revealed important cellular roles for iron, promoting both the deposition and remodeling of extracellular proteins. Functional studies identified oxidative stress-dependent upregulation of the iron-converting metalloreductase, STEAP3, as a key mediator of extracellular matrix production. Taken together, these data reveal a mechanistic role for iron in facilitating the remodeling stage of wound healing. Indeed, targeting tissue iron could be a promising future strategy to tackle the development and progression of chronic wounds

Are Some Natural Environments More Psychologically Beneficial Than Others? The Importance of Type and Quality on Connectedness to Nature and Psychological Restoration

Exposure to nature can strengthen an individual’s sense of connectedness (i.e., emotional/cognitive bonds to the natural world) and enhance psychological restoration (e.g., feeling relaxed/refreshed). To date, there have been few large studies looking at the role that type and quality of natural environments may have on these outcomes. The present study used data from a large survey in England (sample analyzed = 4,515), which asked participants to recall a recent visit to nature. After controlling for covariates, respondents recalled greater connectedness to nature and restoration following visits to rural and coastal locations compared with urban green space, and to sites of higher environmental quality (operationalized by protected/designated area status, for example, nature reserves). A series of structural equation analyses provided evidence for a bidirectional association between connectedness and restoration. Consideration of the psychological benefits associated with different types and quality of environment has implications for human health, environmental management, and conservation

Developing a National Implementation Strategy to accelerate Uptake of Evidence-Based Family Caregiver Support in Us Cancer Centers

OBJECTIVE: Characterize key factors and training needs of U.S. cancer centers in implementing family caregiver support services. METHODS: Sequential explanatory mixed methods design consisting of: (1) a national survey of clinicians and administrators from Commission-on-Cancer-accredited cancer centers (N = 238) on factors and training needed for establishing new caregiver programs and (2) qualitative interviews with a subsample of survey respondents (N = 30) to elicit feedback on survey findings and the outline of an implementation strategy to facilitate implementation of evidence-based family caregiver support (the Caregiver Support Accelerator). Survey data was tabulated using descriptive statistics and transcribed interviews were analyzed using thematic analysis. RESULTS: top factors for developing new caregiver programs were that the program be: consistent with the cancer center\u27s mission and strategic plan (87%), supported by clinic leadership (86.5%) and providers and staff (85.7%), and low cost or cost effective (84.9%). top training needs were how to: train staff to implement programs (72.3%), obtain program materials (63.0%), and evaluate program outcomes (62.6%). Only 3.8% reported that no training was needed. Qualitative interviews yielded four main themes: (1) gaining leadership, clinician, and staff buy-in and support is essential; (2) cost and clinician burden are major factors to program implementation; (3) training should help with adapting and marketing programs to local context and culture; and (4) the Accelerator strategy is comprehensive and would benefit from key organizational partnerships and policy standards. CONCLUSION: Findings will be used to inform and refine the Accelerator implementation strategy to facilitate the adoption and growth of evidence-based cancer caregiver support in U.S. cancer centers