A qualitative systematic review on the experiences of homelessness among older adults

Adults who experience homelessness for an extended period of time also experience accelerated ageing and other negative impacts on their general health and wellbeing. Homelessness amongst older adults is on the rise, yet there are few systematic reviews investigating their experiences. Thus, this review classifies and synthesises qualitative research findings of studies published between 1990 to 2020 that have examined the needs and challenges of homeless older adults to elucidate their journey of homelessness. Seven papers met the requirements for inclusion. Three main themes were identified in the review: - (1) Pathways to homelessness, (2) Impact of homelessness, and (3) Outcomes and resolutions. This review collates current evidence on what is known about the experience of homelessness among older adults. In this study, homeless older adults identified a wide range of challenges associated with the experience of homelessness

First report of Oidium citri in Bhutan

Powdery mildew is one of the most important diseases of citrus in Bhutan where it infects new flush growth causing leaf and shoot distortion and twig and branch dieback. It also attacks young fruitlets. This causes premature fruit drop. These symptoms, together with DNA sequence data and the production of single conidia and lobed appressoria, suggest that the disease is caused by Oidium citri (JM Yen) U. Braun. This is the first formal report of this pathogen in Bhutan

First report of 'Candidatus Liberibacter asiaticus' in Diaphorina communis

Huanglongbing (HLB) or citrus greening is one of the most destructive diseases of citrus in the world and one of the major factors limiting citrus production in south east Asia including Bhutan. The presence of ‘Candidatus Liberibacter asiaticus’, associated with the Asiatic form of HLB, was confirmed by conventional and real-time PCR in adults of the black psyllid, Diaphorina communis Mathur. This is the first formal detection of ‘Ca. L. asiaticus’ in D. communis, and the first detection of the pathogen in a psyllid other than D. citri Kuwayama in Asia, excluding Arabia. This study is also the first to report the presence of D. communis in Bhutan

New Herpetofaunal Records from the Kingdom of Bhutan Obtained through Citizen Science

Social media has, in the past decade, emerged unexpectedly as a powerful tool in citizen science (Liberatore et al. 2018). Whether unintended or formally integrated, it offers, among other benefits, mass participation in activities such as data collection in inventories, monitoring, or natural history observations (Tulloch 2013). It can be argued that such activities often do not consume taxpayers’ contributions, as formal research projects tend to do, and can provide a cost-effective means of data collection (Goldstien et al. 2014). The vast number of (and rapidly rising) online resources and virtual specialists available to identify samples serve as references and reviewers of such data, increasing the speed over traditional forms of data collection (e.g., scientific publishing) and providing the capacity to absorb multiple opinions. Nonetheless, challenges that remain in citizen science programs are directing the data towards priority scientific objectives and needs, and achieving high standards in data quality (Ambrose-Oji et al. 2014)