Search

Abstract “Picky eating” is a common behaviour seen in childhood in both clinical and nonclinical populations. Sensory processing difficulties have been repeatedly associated with food refusal and picky eating behaviours. The aim of this study was to explore the lived experiences of parents/caregivers who have a child displaying both sensory processing differences and picky eating behaviours utilising Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis (IPA). Participants were recruited from social media support groups for parents of picky eating children. Pre‐selection criteria utilised an adapted short sensory profile questionnaire to ensure the children displayed probable/definite taste‐smell, audio‐visual and tactile sensory sensitivities. Twelve participants fulfilling the required criteria were interviewed face to face utilising a semi‐structured interview schedule. Interviews were transcribed and analysed following IPA guidelines and three common themes are presented here: Battling for control of the sensory environment, Living with stigma and, disapproval, and Staying positive and moving forward. The findings show the very considerable day‐to‐day challenges of parenting a child with sensory issues with food, including a lack of support and criticism from others. It was apparent that the parents in our study gradually adopted a positive and accepting attitude to their child's eating. This acceptance allowed them to have positive interactions around food with their child such as cooking and playing with food, suggesting that experiential activities serve an important purpose in this population. Further research should examine whether parental interventions based on acceptance of child eating behaviour, and commitment to gradual positive food interactions would be the best strategy to support parents and children.

The use of animals and plants as traditional remedies for medical and magico-religious purposes has a long history of socio-cultural and economic importance in South Africa. Herein, we aim to characterize the social and economic value of wild animal species used in traditional, belief-based medicine within South Africa from traditional healers’ perspective and to explore healers’ knowledge of plant-based alternatives to wildlife-based derivatives for this type of trade. Through structured surveys with five traditional healers, we sought to gain insight into the range of wild animal species used, as well as the purpose, the perceived commercial value and the perceived availability of commonly used species. Particular focus was placed on exploring the socio-economic value of lions due to their prominence within the traditional medicine market, both in South Africa and internationally. Three of the respondents interviewed had been generating an income from traditional healing for between 30 and 50 years, and the overall monetary gain across all respondents was between ZAR 30,000 (1,800 USD) and 120,000 (7,200 USD) per annum. Our study confirms that a wide range of wild animal species are used in traditional healing practices in South Africa, for both medicinal and magico-religious purposes. The traditional healers we interviewed cited 20 common wild animals from a range of vertebrate classes including birds, reptiles, mammals, and one invertebrate. These included a number of species listed as threatened on the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. Traditional healers cited 32 different uses for wild animal parts, as well as 19 alternative plant-based preparations. For lions specifically, four out of five practitioners listed lions among their top three profitable derivatives and three practitioners reported that lion had become the most rare or unavailable species in the last 5 years. Although our study is based on a limited number of interview participants, we believe that our findings provide valuable initial insights into the socio-economic drivers of traditional healing practices in South Africa, and that further research quantifying medicinal and belief-based use of wild animal ingredients and their plant-based alternatives could help to inform approaches to managing related pressures exerted on wild populations in South Africa in the future.

Abstract Urbanization is a key driver of social and environmental change world‐wide. However, our understanding of its impacts on the multidimensional well‐being benefits that people obtain from ecosystems remains limited. We explored how the well‐being contributions from land‐ and seascapes varied with urbanization level in the Solomon Islands, a fast‐urbanizing Small Island Developing State. Drawing on the social well‐being framework, we compared perceived well‐being benefits derived from ecosystem services in paired urban and rural sites. Our analysis of 200 semi‐structured interviews revealed complex associations between provisioning, regulating and cultural services and well‐being benefits, with all ecosystem services contributing to material, relational and subjective well‐being dimensions. Although patterns of associations between ecosystem services and well‐being benefits were similar between urban and rural dwellers, urban dwellers reported significantly fewer material, relational and subjective well‐being benefits. The most important differences between urban and rural dwellers were in terms of meeting basic material needs (e.g. income and material comfort), feeling connected to nature and feeling happy and satisfied. With urbanization, livelihood activities transition from being subsistence‐based to income‐generating, which is also associated with increased wealth in urban areas. Similar to the relationship between ecosystem service well‐being benefits and urbanization, material wealth was negatively associated with perceptions of well‐being benefits. People with less material wealth appeared more reliant on nature for their multidimensional well‐being. Our findings demonstrate that the altered human–nature relationships in urban areas are associated with decreases in multidimensional well‐being that people derive from nature. Improving access to particular ecosystem services, which make clear contributions to multidimensional well‐being, could be a focus for urban planners and environmental management where enhanced human–nature relationships and poverty alleviation are central goals. A free Plain Language Summary can be found within the Supporting Information of this article.

Summary: Sleep disturbances are prevalent in Alzheimer's disease (AD), affecting individuals during its early stages. We investigated associations between subjective sleep measures and cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) biomarkers of AD in adults with mild cognitive symptoms from the European Prevention of Alzheimer's Dementia Longitudinal Cohort Study, considering the influence of memory performance. A total of 442 participants aged >50 years with a Clinical Dementia Rating (CDR) score of 0.5 completed the Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index questionnaire and underwent neuropsychological assessment, magnetic resonance imaging acquisition, and CSF sampling. We analysed the relationship of sleep quality with CSF AD biomarkers and cognitive performance in separated multivariate linear regression models, adjusting for covariates. Poorer cross‐sectional sleep quality was associated with lower CSF levels of phosphorylated tau and total tau alongside better immediate and delayed memory performance. After adjustment for delayed memory scores, associations between CSF biomarkers and sleep quality became non‐significant, and further analysis revealed that memory performance mediated this relationship. In post hoc analyses, poorer subjective sleep quality was associated with lesser hippocampal atrophy, with memory performance also mediating this association. In conclusion, worse subjective sleep quality is associated with less altered AD biomarkers in adults with mild cognitive symptoms (CDR score 0.5). These results could be explained by a systematic recall bias affecting subjective sleep assessment in individuals with incipient memory impairment. Caution should therefore be exercised when interpreting subjective sleep quality measures in memory‐impaired populations, emphasising the importance of complementing subjective measures with objective assessments. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: Self-disgust appears to be a prominent feature in anorexia nervosa (AN), which might help explain why AN is often such a persistent disorder. Little is known about how this emotion can impact on recovering from this disorder. This study aims to develop our understanding of how people experience the emotion of self-disgust after physical recovery from AN. Design/methodology/approach: Twelve female participants who reported previously having had a clinical diagnosis of AN but had physically recovered according to their EDE-Q scores took part in a semi-structured interview to explore their experiences of recovery and the role self-disgust played within this. Interpretative phenomenological analysis was used to explore the data. Findings: Three themes were identified within the data to explain the experiences of self-disgust in those with AN: continued self-disgust following physical "Recovery", multiple manifestations of self-disgust in recovery and increasing self-disgust in recovery as a driver for relapse. Practical implications: Self-disgust was something each participant appeared to experience often, despite being physically recovered from AN. Disgust-based reactions to the self are enduring and highly resistant to change even whilst other aspects of the disorder become less potent. Self-disgust is multi-faceted and may trigger relapse as the signs of improvement and behaviours inherent in recovering were generally viewed as disgusting to the individuals. Originality/value: Self-disgust is an emotion that continues to affect people with AN despite physical recovery. The recovery process itself is not linear and self-disgust is enduring and may cause those affected to relapse. Considering this emotion within therapeutic intervention may encourage those with AN to accept their recovered self. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Declines in pollinating insects have been linked to changes in land cover, affecting the availability of nesting sites and floral resources. Our study is the first analysis of changes in pollen load composition of 2 mining bees, Andrena barbilabris (Kirby) and Andrena flavipes (Panzer) (Hymenoptera: Andrenidae), at the same sites in central England, over 75 years. This provides a unique opportunity to remove spatial variation and review temporal changes in pollen diet within the context of landscape change. We analyzed modern-day pollen load composition for these species and compared it with historical data from the same sites. We then examined potential links between land-use change and the bees' diets. Both bees showed dietary flexibility and lower diet breadth for A. barbilabris , and the bees' foraging strategies appear to have changed. Andrena flavipes collected more pollen taxa in a single load, while A. barbilabris appeared to source pollen from greater distances. Landscape changes at the studied sites have affected the nutritional environment for these bees. Our findings are supported by an existing assessment of floral resources, which found floral diversity has decreased overall in both the habitats used by these bees. However, more research is needed on the nutritional content of pollens used by these bees, both now and historically, to estimate how pollen diversity has changed. The bee's-eye view underlines the importance of understanding how species respond to local changes so that effective conservation strategies can be developed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Due to the incorrect speciation of iron during thermometry modelling, Coulthard et al. (2024) produced an incorrect olivine‐liquid equilibrium diagram, which failed to identify multiple potential equilibrium olivine‐melt pairs. With the new pairs identified here, the temperatures inferred from olivine‐groundmass pairs move closer in temperature space to those inferred from olivine‐glass pairs. Additionally, it is recognised that the most significant difference between these thermometry data is due to differences in inferred melt water mass fraction. If a mean value of water is used for all thermometry, the mean temperatures calculated for olivine‐glass and olivine‐groundmass pairs converge to within 10 °C of one another. This indicates that groundmass compositions inferred via the defocused beam analysis of a polyphase groundmass may reproduce enough information to confidently perform olivine‐melt thermometry despite the glass and groundmass data representing significantly different compositions in multivariate space. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Polyphase groundmasses (micro‐scale minerals with or without glass) are generated from silicate liquids during the cooling of natural lavas often alongside larger minerals formed long before eruption. Many researchers have posited that compositions gleaned from the analysis of groundmasses closely approximate the compositions of the melts they were derived from, and these have been used frequently to model pre‐eruptive magma conditions. However, it is difficult to confidently identify and sample these groundmasses once they are formed. Using a sample of lava that exhibits a wide degree of textural variation (ranging from holocrystalline to hypohyaline) we show that compositions of groundmasses sampled using defocused electron beams are significantly different from glass compositions in terms of mean composition and covariance. Despite this, several groundmass compositions qualify as 'in equilibrium' with matrix/rim olivine. When processed using available thermometers, however, modelled equilibrium temperatures are significantly higher than those produced using glass data, on average. Because of this, we prescribe caution in using polyphase groundmass data generated using defocused beam analysis even as a rudimentary approach. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Soft robotics is used in real-world clinical situations, including surgery, rehabilitation, and diagnosis. However, several challenges remain to make soft robots more viable, especially for clinical interventions such as improving sleep quality, which impacts physiological and mental health. This paper presents an autoethnographic account of the experience of sleeping with a companion robot (Somnox), which mimics breathing to promote better sleep. The study is motivated by the key author's experience with insomnia and a desire to better understand how Somnox is used in different social contexts. Data were collected through diary entries for 16 weeks (8 weeks without, 8 weeks with) and analysed thematically. The findings indicate improved sleep and observations about the relationship developed with the companion robot, including emotional connection and empathy for the technology. Furthermore, Somnox is a multidimensional family companion robot that can ease stomach discomfort and stress, reduce anxiety, and provide holistic care. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract Background Type 2 diabetes is a risk factor for Alzheimer’s disease (AD), and AD brain shows impaired insulin signalling. The role of peripheral insulin resistance on AD aetiopathogenesis in non-diabetic patients is still debated. Here we evaluated the influence of insulin resistance on brain glucose metabolism, grey matter volume and white matter lesions (WMLs) in non-diabetic AD subjects. Methods In total, 130 non-diabetic AD subjects underwent MRI and [18F]FDG PET scans with arterial cannula insertion for radioactivity measurement. T1 Volumetric and FLAIR sequences were acquired on a 3-T MRI scanner. These subjects also had measurement of glucose and insulin levels after a 4-h fast on the same day of the scan. Insulin resistance was calculated by the updated homeostatic model assessment (HOMA2). For [18F]FDG analysis, cerebral glucose metabolic rate (rCMRGlc) parametric images were generated using spectral analysis with arterial plasma input function. Results In this non-diabetic AD population, HOMA2 was negatively associated with hippocampal rCMRGlc, along with total grey matter volumes. No significant correlation was observed between HOMA2, hippocampal volume and WMLs. Conclusions In non-diabetic AD, peripheral insulin resistance is independently associated with reduced hippocampal glucose metabolism and with lower grey matter volume, suggesting that peripheral insulin resistance might influence AD pathology by its action on cerebral glucose metabolism and on neurodegeneration.

Abstract The period 2021–2030 has been designated the UN decade of ecosystem restoration. A landscape‐scale peatland restoration project is being undertaken on Chat Moss, Greater Manchester, UK, with conservation translocations an important component of this work. The Manchester Argus Coenonympha tullia ssp. davus, a specialist butterfly of lowland raised bogs in the northwest of England, UK is under threat due to severe habitat loss and degradation. A species reintroduction was planned for spring 2020. This study aimed to quantify the resource thresholds for C. tullia, in order to assess potential risks for the project. Thirteen peatland habitat patches with either recent historic or current C. tullia populations were surveyed for biotic and abiotic factors based on previous qualitative research on the species’ requirements. Percentage cover of two habitat resources was found to be the strongest predictor in models of C. tullia presence: cross‐leaved heath Erica tetralix and hair's‐tail cotton‐sedge Eriophorum vaginatum. Critical inflection points on logistic regression curves were used to make quantitative estimates of the minimum requirement of each resource for population survival and the near‐optimum abundance of each resource. The results of this study improve our understanding of C. tullia’s ecology and the restoration of peatlands for its reintroduction. Additionally, the method has wider utility for the quantitative assessment of habitat readiness before attempting species reintroductions.