How older people as pedestrians perceive the outdoor environment - methodological issues derived from studies in two European countries

This paper has reanalysed and compared data between three studies conducted in the UK and in Sweden. (The OPUS 'Older People's Use of Unfamiliar Space' study in the UK and the Swedish studies 'Let's go for a walk' and 'Walking in old age') to provide a comprehensive account of the issues facing older people in the outdoor environment. All three studies draw on the 'fit' between the person and their environment as a guiding conceptual base – capturing the dynamics of the relationship between older people's personal needs and their wider environmental context. This common conceptual base allowed us to test theory against practice, and to explore the utility of this concept across different geographical contexts. Participatory research was also applied, highlighting the importance of the voice of older people and involving older people in research. The studies also used a mixed-method approach involving both quantitative and qualitative methods. The paper highlights that although not generalisable you can compare cross-locales and cross-nationally using different methodology; it investigates the challenges of cross-national comparative analysis and draws on findings from the three studies to illustrate the different challenges and solutions and finally looks at lessons that are transferable

How older people as pedestrians perceive the outdoor environment – methodological issues derived from studies in two European countries

This paper has reanalysed and compared data between three studies conducted in the UK and in Sweden. (The OPUS 'Older People's Use of Unfamiliar Space' study in the UK and the Swedish studies 'Let's go for a walk' and 'Walking in old age') to provide a comprehensive account of the issues facing older people in the outdoor environment. All three studies draw on the 'fit' between the person and their environment as a guiding conceptual base – capturing the dynamics of the relationship between older people's personal needs and their wider environmental context. This common conceptual base allowed us to test theory against practice, and to explore the utility of this concept across different geographical contexts. Participatory research was also applied, highlighting the importance of the voice of older people and involving older people in research. The studies also used a mixed-method approach involving both quantitative and qualitative methods. The paper highlights that although not generalisable you can compare cross-locales and cross-nationally using different methodology; it investigates the challenges of cross-national comparative analysis and draws on findings from the three studies to illustrate the different challenges and solutions and finally looks at lessons that are transferable.REF Compliant by Deposit in Stirling's Repositor

Benefits and risks of using native parasitoids for augmentative biological control of the invasive pest Halyomorpha halys in Europe

The brown marmorated stink bug, Halyomorpha halys, is an Asian agricultural pest that has invaded both the American continent and Europe. In its native range, H. halys populations are well regulated by natural enemies, with Trissolcus japonicus being the most abundant species. In Europe, the egg parasitoid Anastatus bifasciatus is the most common species parasitizing H. halys eggs. In this PhD thesis I evaluated its potential for augmentative biological control against H. halys in Europe. Investigations on the life history of A. bifasciatus are described in chapter 2. In chapter 3, the host range of A. bifasciatus was examined. Interspecific interactions with another potential European biological control agent of H. halys, Ooencyrtus telenomicida, were evaluated in chapter 4. Experimental releases of A. bifasciatus were conducted over three years in Swiss and Italian fruit orchards, described in chapter 5. The development and testing of a PCR-based screening tool for Anastatus species is addressed in chapter 6. In 2017 and 2018, the first adventive populations of T. japonicus in Europe could be recorded in chapter 7

First discovery of adventive populations of Trissolcus japonicus in Europe

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Modeling and Predicting Literary Reception. A Data-Rich Approach to Literary Historical Reception

This contribution exemplifies a workflow for the quantitative operationalization and analysis of historical literary reception. We will show how to encode literary historical information in a dataset that is suitable for quantitative analysis and present a nuanced and theory-based perspective on automated sentiment detection in historical literary reviews. Applying our method to corpora of English and German novels and narratives published from 1688 to 1914 and corresponding reviews and circulating library catalogs, we investigate if a text’s popularity with lay audiences, the attention from contemporary experts or the sentiment in experts’ reviews can be predicted from textual features, with the aim of contributing to the understanding of how literary reception as a social process can be linked to textual qualities

The Impact of Sarcopenia in the Long-Term Survival of Patients following Complex Endovascular Aortic Surgery for Thoracoabdominal Aortic Aneurysms

Objectives: Image-based sarcopenia has been the subject of recent studies, hypothesized as a prognostic factor for patients with thoracoabdominal aortic aneurysms. Methods and Materials: We conducted a single-center retrospective analysis of patients who underwent complex endovascular repair for thoracoabdominal aortic aneurysms between 2008 and 2016. CT image assessment was performed and patients were classified as sarcopenic and non-sarcopenic using two stratification methods: skeletal mass index (SMI) and total psoas muscle index (TPMI). According to sex, each patient was defined as sarcopenic if their SMI or TPMI was in the lowest third of the study group. The primary endpoint was impact of sarcopenia on perioperative mortality and long-term survival. Secondary endpoints were perioperative complications. Results: From a total of 155 patients, 135 were eligible for study. Overall, in-hospital mortality was 5.9% (8/135). The 30-day, 1-year, 3-year and 5-year mortality was 10.4% (14/135), 20% (27/135), 28.1% (38/135) and 31.1% (42/135), respectively. There was no difference in the long-term mortality rates between sarcopenic and non-sarcopenic patients regardless of the stratification method used (p = 0.4 for SMI and p = 0.2 for TPMI). According to SMI, 30-day mortality of sarcopenic patients was significantly lower in comparison to non-sarcopenic patients (1/45, 2.2% vs. 13/90, 14.4%, p = 0.028). Based on the total psoas muscle index, sarcopenic patients were at higher risk for development of pulmonary complications in comparison to non-sarcopenic patients postoperatively (p = 0.03). Conclusion: Using SMI and TPMI, sarcopenia was not associated with reduced long-term survival in patients undergoing complex endovascular repair for thoracoabdominal aortic aneurysms

Can Anastatus bifasciatus Be Used for Augmentative Biological Control of the Brown Marmorated Stink Bug in Fruit Orchards?

The generalist egg parasitoid Anastatus bifasciatus (Geoffroy) (Hymenoptera: Eupelmidae) is the most prevalent egg parasitoid of the invasive Halyomorpha halys (St\ue5l) (Hemiptera: Pentatomidae) in Europe. To assess its efficacy against the pest H. halys and to validate the potential risks for non-target species in a realistic field setting, inundative releases were conducted over three consecutive years in four fruit orchards in Switzerland and Italy. In total, more than 4300 A. bifasciatus females were released, which was equivalent to 11,000 to 26,000 females per hectare, depending on distances between trees in each orchard. Parasitism of freeze-killed sentinel H. halys eggs achieved with the current release strategy was on average 6% (range: 2%\u201316%) and considered not high enough to effectively suppress the pest. However, the overall impact of A. bifasciatus on the mortality of H. halys eggs was likely underestimated. If pre-imaginal parasitoid mortality (3.3%) and host feeding (6%) are added to the observed parasitism (6%), the actual induced mortality of H. halys eggs may reach more than 15%. Parasitism of lepidopteran non-target species reached an average of 8% and thus, some degree of non-target parasitism after mass releases may be expected. To quantify the impact of the parasitoids in the orchards more precisely, naturally laid egg masses should be used in future trials to include host-finding cues of the host and host plants, and larger scale releases with potentially higher densities of parasitoids should be considered

Genome-wide association study identifies 30 loci associated with bipolar disorder.

Bipolar disorder is a highly heritable psychiatric disorder. We performed a genome-wide association study (GWAS) including 20,352 cases and 31,358 controls of European descent, with follow-up analysis of 822 variants with P < 1 × 10-4 in an additional 9,412 cases and 137,760 controls. Eight of the 19 variants that were genome-wide significant (P < 5 × 10-8) in the discovery GWAS were not genome-wide significant in the combined analysis, consistent with small effect sizes and limited power but also with genetic heterogeneity. In the combined analysis, 30 loci were genome-wide significant, including 20 newly identified loci. The significant loci contain genes encoding ion channels, neurotransmitter transporters and synaptic components. Pathway analysis revealed nine significantly enriched gene sets, including regulation of insulin secretion and endocannabinoid signaling. Bipolar I disorder is strongly genetically correlated with schizophrenia, driven by psychosis, whereas bipolar II disorder is more strongly correlated with major depressive disorder. These findings address key clinical questions and provide potential biological mechanisms for bipolar disorder