Developing a Citizen Social Science approach to understand urban stress and promote wellbeing in urban communities

This paper sets out the future potential and challenges for developing an interdisciplinary, mixed-method Citizen Social Science approach to researching urban emotions. It focuses on urban stress, which is increasingly noted as a global mental health challenge facing both urbanised and rapidly urbanising societies. The paper reviews the existing use of mobile psychophysiological or biosensing within urban environments—as means of ‘capturing’ the urban geographies of emotions. Methodological reflections are included on primary research using biosensing in a study of workplace and commuter stress for university employees in Birmingham (UK) and Salzburg (Austria) for illustrative purposes. In comparing perspectives on the conceptualisation and measurement of urban stress from psychology, neuroscience and urban planning, the difficulties of defining scientific constructs within Citizen Science are discussed to set out the groundwork for fostering interdisciplinary dialogue. The novel methods, geo-located sensor technologies and data-driven approaches to researching urban stress now available to researchers pose a number of ethical, political and conceptual challenges around defining and measuring emotions, stress, human behaviour and urban space. They also raise issues of rigour, participation and social scientific interpretation. Introducing methods informed by more critical Citizen Social Science perspectives can temper overly individualised forms of data collection to establish more effective ways of addressing urban stress and promoting wellbeing in urban communities

The solubility of gypsum in calcareous soils

Three gypsiferous-calcareous soils from the Al-Hassa Oasis in Saudi Arabia were examined to determine the conditions under which dissolution of gypsum could be hindered by the formation of coatings of calcite during leaching. Batch extraction with water of a sandy clay loam, a sandy clay and a sandy loam containing 40, 26 and 5% gypsum and 14, 12 and 13% calcite respectively was followed by chemical analysis of the extracts, SEM examination and XRD and EDX microprobe analysis. Extraction in closed centrifuge tubes for I h or 5 h showed that initially gypsum dissolved to give solutions near to equilibrium but then in the sandy clay loam, between one quarter and one third of the gypsum could not dissolve. In the sandy clay about one fifth of the gypsum could not dissolve with none remaining in the sandy loam. All the extracts were close to equilibrium with calcite. SEM and EDX examination showed that coatings of calcite had formed on the gypsum particles. The sandy clay loam was also extracted using an open system in which either air or air +1% CO2 was bubbled through the suspensions for 1 h with stirring. The gypsum dissolved more rapidly and all of the gypsum dissolved. Thus, where the rate of dissolution of gypsum was rapid, calcite did not manage to cover the gypsum surfaces probably because the surface was being continuously removed. Slower leaching conditions in the field are likely to be conducive to the formation of coatings and less dissolution of gypsum. (c) 2006 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved

Climate change and cardiovascular disease: implications for global health.

Climate change is the greatest existential challenge to planetary and human health and is dictated by a shift in the Earth's weather and air conditions owing to anthropogenic activity. Climate change has resulted not only in extreme temperatures, but also in an increase in the frequency of droughts, wildfires, dust storms, coastal flooding, storm surges and hurricanes, as well as multiple compound and cascading events. The interactions between climate change and health outcomes are diverse and complex and include several exposure pathways that might promote the development of non-communicable diseases such as cardiovascular disease. A collaborative approach is needed to solve this climate crisis, whereby medical professionals, scientific researchers, public health officials and policymakers should work together to mitigate and limit the consequences of global warming. In this Review, we aim to provide an overview of the consequences of climate change on cardiovascular health, which result from direct exposure pathways, such as shifts in ambient temperature, air pollution, forest fires, desert (dust and sand) storms and extreme weather events. We also describe the populations that are most susceptible to the health effects caused by climate change and propose potential mitigation strategies, with an emphasis on collaboration at the scientific, governmental and policy levels

Characteristics of Japanese Patients with Complex Sleep Apnea Syndrome: A Retrospective Comparison with Obstructive Sleep Apnea Syndrome

Objective The prevalence of complex sleep apnea syndrome (CompSAS) among Asian patients with obstructive sleep apnea syndrome (OSAS) has not yet been reported. Distinguishing CompSAS from pure OSAS is difficult using only diagnostic polysomnography (PSG). We examined the prevalence of CompSAS in Japanese patients with OSAS and the possibility to distinguish CompSAS from pure OSAS by analyzing the severity of respiratory events based on either sleep body position or sleep stage using a diagnostic PSG. Patients and Methods A retrospective chart review of 297 consecutive Japanese patients who were 15 years of age or older with a primary diagnosis of OSAS who were referred for CPAP titration (AHI. 20 events/hr). Results Seventeen patients (5.7%) out of the 297 patients who had an obstructive apnea hypopnea index (AHI) of 20 or higher showed adverse increases in central apnea index (CAI) by the treatment with CPAP whereas obstructive apnea index (OAI) and mixed apnea index (MAI) were significantly decreased. In the results, the AHI on the PSG for CPAP titration reached only approximately half of the values on the diagnostic PSG. In these CompSAS patients, both the total CAI and the CAI in the supine position during NREM sleep on the diagnostic PSG were significantly higher than those in the OSAS group. The sleep body position did not so strongly affect the AHI, OAI and MAI in the CompSAS group. Multiple, stepwise, and logistic regression analyses revealed that the CAI in the supine position during NREM (p=0.026) was a significant variable to distinguish CompSAS from OSAS statistically although the variables were within the normal range. Conclusion The prevalence of CompSAS in Japanese OSAS patients may be lower when compared with Caucasian patients. The increase of CAI in the supine position during NREM sleep on diagnostic PSG may be a characteristic feature in CompSAS.ArticleINTERNAL MEDICINE. 48(6):427-432 (2009)journal articl