Conservation in conversation: People's perspectives on a woodland with high conservation value-A qualitative study

Concepts such as ecosystem services and nature's contributions to people are frameworks for articulating the value of nature and biodiversity conservation. Yet it remains difficult to argue for the conservation of species and habitats where they are inconspicuous or 'non-charismatic'. This paper investigates the perceptions of a woodland area in rural western Scotland, designated for its high conservation value and characterised by habitats, rare species and species assemblages with limited appreciation by non-experts and no obvious 'utility' value. Based on interviews with residents and visitors as well as workshops with participants representing different types of local expertise, we show how people experience and perceive the benefits from such woodlands. Overall, our study participants emphasised values and ecosystem services that benefitted humans, strongly drawing on stories of cultural or historical land use to argue for more material opportunities to be created. For those participants without ecological expertise, the designated conservation value, albeit respected and accepted, remained vague and bland. Participants also articulated a strong underlying development logic, pushing in some way for 'more' to be made from the woodlands so that more people could receive benefits from the woodland either directly (e.g. mental restoration; increased use for recreation) or indirectly (e.g. through creating jobs in the local tourism industry). Our findings suggest that managing for conservation alone might cause challenges in acceptability, especially where the species and habitats conserved are of little obvious value to the non-specialist. At the same time, participants recognised that they valued the woodland being unique in some way, and that increasing the material use of the woods might harm the very essence of what made it special

Comorbidities in adults with asthma:population-based cross-sectional analysis of 1.4 million adults in Scotland

Background: Comorbidity in people with asthma can significantly increase asthma morbidity and lower adherence to asthma guidelines. Objective: The objective of this study was to comprehensively measure the prevalence of physical and mental health comorbidities in adults with asthma using a large nationally representative population. Methods: Cross-sectional analysis of routine primary care electronic medical records for 1,424,378 adults in the UK, examining the prevalence of 39 comorbidities in people with and without asthma, before and after adjustment for age, sex, social deprivation and smoking status using logistic regression. Results: Of 39 comorbidities measured, 36 (92%) were significantly more common in adults with asthma. 62.6% of adults with asthma had ≥1 comorbidity vs. 46.2% of those without, and 16.3% had ≥4 comorbidities vs. 8.7% of those without. Comorbidities with the largest absolute increase in prevalence in adults with asthma were: COPD (13.4% vs 3.1%), depression (17.3% vs 9.1%), painful conditions (15.4% vs 8.4%), and dyspepsia (10.9% vs 5.2%). Comorbidities with the largest relative difference in adults with asthma compared to without were: COPD (adjusted odds ratio [aOR] 5.65, 95%CI 5.52-5.79), bronchiectasis (aOR 4.65, 95%CI 4.26-5.08), eczema/psoriasis (aOR 3.30, 95%CI 3.14-3.48), dyspepsia (aOR 2.20, 95%CI 2.15-2.25) and chronic sinusitis (aOR 2.12, 95%CI 1.99-2.26). Depression and anxiety were more common in adults with asthma (aOR 1.60, 95%CI 1.57-1.63, and aOR 1.53, 95%CI 1.48-1.57 respectively). Conclusions and Clinical Relevance: Physical and mental health comorbidity is the norm in adults with asthma. Appropriate recognition and management should form part of routine asthma care

Antibiotic use and the risk of rheumatoid arthritis: a population-based case-control study

Background: Antibiotic-induced disturbances of the human microbiota have been implicated in the development of chronic autoimmune conditions. This study aimed to assess whether antibiotic use is associated with the onset of rheumatoid arthritis (RA). Methods: A nested case-control study was conducted utilising data from the primary care Clinical Practice Research Datalink (CPRD). Patients with an incident diagnosis of RA were identified (1995–2017). Each case was matched on age, gender, and general practice to ≥ 5 controls without RA. Conditional logistic regression was used to examine previous antibiotic prescriptions and RA onset after controlling for confounding factors. Results: We identified 22,677 cases of RA, matched to 90,013 controls, with a median follow-up of 10 years before RA diagnosis. The odds of developing RA were 60% higher in those exposed to antibiotics than in those not exposed (OR 1.60; 95% CI 1.51–1.68). A dose- or frequency-dependent association was observed between the number of previous antibiotic prescriptions and RA. All classes of antibiotics were associated with higher odds of RA, with bactericidal antibiotics carrying higher risk than bacteriostatic (45% vs. 31%). Those with antibiotic-treated upper respiratory tract (URT) infections were more likely to be RA cases. However, this was not observed for URT infections not treated with antibiotics. Antifungal (OR = 1.27; 95% CI 1.20–1.35) and antiviral (OR = 1.19; 95% CI 1.14–1.24) prescriptions were also associated with increased odds of RA. Conclusion: Antibiotic prescriptions are associated with a higher risk of RA. This may be due to microbiota disturbances or underlying infections driving risk. Further research is needed to explore these mechanisms

Exploring the impacts of woodland management on ecosystem services – a deliberative method

ABSTRACTThere is a need for operational decision-making methodologies applicable at local management scales which are inclusive and enable the integration of plural values, knowledges and perspectives of co-produced ecosystem services. Here we describe a deliberative scenario analysis method using ‘management intervention bundles’ as distinct scenarios to assess the perceived impact of changing management on woodland ecosystem services. We used three hypothetical future management scenarios, Biodiversity Conservation, People Engagement and Austerity, alongside scenarios of the Past, Present and an existing Management Plan. We assessed the perceived impacts of these scenarios on 11 ecosystem services using local expert workshops in six sites across Scotland. The experts were chosen to represent a range of different perspectives, from biodiversity to the local economy, community concerns and recreation. Overall, Management Plan, Biodiversity Conservation and People Engagement scenarios performed significantly better than Past, Present and Austerity scenarios. Further quantitative and in-depth qualitative analysis revealed trade-offs and noteworthy patterns. We explore some of these key trade-offs and patterns and argue that our methodology has potential to be an effective tool for local managers to support local decision-making at management scales for co-produced ecosystem services. Our methodology enabled a diverse group of local experts to express and deliberate a range of values, experiences and viewpoints. This knowledge sharing and collective learning allowed the development of shared values and perspectives, which are thought to be critical in more equitable and inclusive decision-making