城市绿地对居民身心福祉的影响

城市绿地是人工与自然耦合的城市景观之一,是改善居民居住环境重要组成部分,更是提高居民身心健康的有效途径。以杭州主城区为研究对象,通过GIS技术对城市绿地遥感图像进行解译得到杭州主城区绿地空间布局图,同时,以人口密度为阻力要素,基于交通路网的500m网络距离可达范围内绿地数量和面积作为分类标准。通过对45个高、中、低不同档次的居民区进行问卷调查得到665份居民感知数据并进行统计整理。利用结构方程模型进行以绿地数量及游玩时间为标准的组间分析,区别不同组别的差异及其原因,分析城市绿地数量、面积,居民认知、动机,绿地吸引力等与居民身心健康福祉及满意度之间的关系。结果显示:城市绿地数量、居民游玩绿地次数时间等与居民福祉有显著的正向关系;居民对绿地作用的认知、去往绿地的动机进一步影响居民身心健康福祉;城市绿地的自身引力会激发居民去往绿地的积极性,从而增加去往绿地频次。另外,不同社会属性的个体对绿地需求不同,所产生的福祉效应及满意度也会有所差异。从增加居民区周围的街头绿地及邻里公园数量、提升绿地吸引力、提升居民对城市绿地作用的认知3个方面对城市绿地今后的发展规划提出建议。     

基于生态系统服务和生态系统健康的生态风险评价——以长株潭城市群为例

基于生态系统服务和生态系统健康的生态风险评估框架为城市群生态风险管理和国土生态修复提供新的视角。以生态风险评估框架为基础,综合运用生态系统服务、生态系统健康评估模型以及相关分析法对长株潭城市群展开生态风险评价,并对风险程度进行分类。结果表明:(1)城市群的城市化水平提升,区域生态风险也随之增加。生态系统服务价值、生态系统组织、生态系统活力、生态系统弹性等生态指数呈现下降趋势。(2)人工表面比率和生态指数之间的Pearson相关系数表明,人工表面比率与生态指数之间存在负相关关系,人工表面比率是生态风险提升的关键因素。(3)城市群人工表面比率要控制在36%以下,以进行生态风险管理和国土生态修复。总的来说,评价框架可以作为区域生态风险的评价终点。     

Acid lactic lactobacilli as a biotechnological toll to improve food quality and human health

The genus Lactobacillus has been widely used in food industry as starter or adjunct culture due to its probiotic features. Its biotechnological features improve the spectrum of uses of lactobacilli, which can affect its applicability directly. In this sense, this literature review gathers information and discusses the biotechnological potential of technological/probiotic lactobacilli aiming to improve food quality and human health. The primary and secondary metabolism generates specific substances, such as organic acids, carbon dioxide, hydrogen peroxide, diacetyl, fatty acids, and bacteriocins, which are determinant due to their probiotic potential, antimicrobial activity, and the development of new food flavors. In order to become industrially and commercially attractive, it is necessary develop a large-scale process with lower production costs.     

Focus: Preventive Medicine: Pre-Participation Screening of Athletes: Primary Health Care Physicians’ Knowledge,Experience, and Approach in Turkey

Pre-participation screening (PPS) is crucial for assessing the competitive athletes since their risk of sudden death is higher than non-athletes. In Turkey, PPS is performed at the primary health care setting by primary care physicians (PCPs) who are family medicine specialists (FMSs) or general practitioners (GPs). Although there are national guidelines, there is no legal regulation for this process. This study aims to evaluate PCPs’ knowledge, experience, and approach about PPS. We prepared an online survey for PCPs and used non-probabilistic sampling. PPS attitudes and practices were analyzed and compared according to factors such as experience, education, and being GP or FMS. Of the 214 PCPs included in the study, 39.3% were female. The mean age was 44.9 years (SD:8.88). The average work experience was 7.9 years. Most participants were aware of their authorization to perform PPS (89.7%) and had previously prepared it (90.2%). However, 6.5% of them felt confident in performing PPS. Only 13.1% were aware of the guidelines. Almost 25% of the participants stated being informed about the subject at some part of their career, but this did not affect the confidence or referral decisions. In addition to medical history and physical examination, further testing was considered necessary by 96.3% of the participants. Significantly more tests were ordered by GPs than FMSs (p=0.026 and p=0.011, respectively). The accurate referral decision ratio was 59.3%, without difference between FMSs and GPs (p=0.216). We found that awareness of the guidelines was low among PCPs who lack confidence in PPS. These factors collectively increased the tendency for unnecessary further testing and referral. Therefore, the PPS implementation into medical school and residency curriculums and national legal regulation for the process is a necessity in Turkey.     

Focus: Preventive Medicine: Leveraging Organizational Health Literacy to Enhance Health Promotion and Risk Prevention: A Narrative and Interpretive Literature Review

Organizational health literacy involves the health care organizations’ ability to establish an empowering and co-creating relationship with patients, engaging them in the design and delivery of health services in collaboration with health professionals. Although scholars agree that organizational health literacy contributes to health promotion and risk prevention via patient empowerment, literature is not consistent in depicting the interplay between organizational health literacy and preventive medicine. The article intends to shed light into this issue, summarizing current knowledge about this topic and advancing avenues for further development. A narrative literature review was performed through a systematic search on PubMed^®, Scopus^®, and Web of Science^™. The review focused on 50 relevant contributions. Organizational health literacy triggers the transition towards a patient-centered approach to care. It complements individual health literacy, enabling patients to actively participate in health promotion and risk prevention as co-producers of health services and co-creators of value. However, many obstacles – including lack of time and limited resources available – prevent the transition towards health literate health care organizations. Two initiatives are required to overcome extant barriers. On the one hand, a health literate workforce should be prepared to increase the institutional ability of health care organizations to empower and engage patients in health co-creation. On the other hand, increased efforts should be made to assess organizational health literacy and to make its contribution to preventive medicine explicit.     

A five‐step risk management process for geriatric dental practice during SARS‐CoV‐2 pandemic

Severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS‐CoV‐2) is an RNA virus that causes coronavirus infection (COVID‐19). COVID‐19 is a highly contagious disease transmitted through respiratory droplets, saliva and other contact routes. Within 10 months of its outbreak, SARS‐CoV‐2 has infected more than 23 million people around the world. Evidence suggests that older adults are the most vulnerable to infection and have an increased risk of mortality. Reduced immunity and underlying medical conditions make them risk‐prone and vulnerable to critical care. Older adults affected with the SARS‐CoV‐2 virus present with distinct clinical manifestations necessitating specific treatment needs and management protocols. While it is crucial to prevent the spread of novel coronavirus (2019‐nCoV), the role of oral healthcare workers in addressing the specific needs of ageing adult patients by adopting specific guidelines and appropriate infection control protocols is timely. This paper aims to develop specific guidelines and protocols for the dental management of geriatric patients during the COVID‐19 pandemic.     

Dysregulation of metallothionein and zinc aggravates periodontal diseases

BackgroundPeriodontitis (PD) is a multifaceted inflammatory disease connected to bacterial infection that results in the destruction of tooth supporting structures and eventually tooth loss. Given their involvement in infection and inflammation, both metallothionein (MT) and zinc (Zn) might play vital roles in the development and progression of PD. More specifically, both MT and Zn are heavily involved in regulating immune functions, controlling bacterial infection, balancing inflammatory responses, and reducing oxidative stress, all of which are associated with the pathogenesis of PD.ObjectiveThis review paper will explore the physiological functions of MT and Zn and hypothesise how dysregulation could negatively affect periodontal health, leading to PD.FindingsBacterial lipopolysaccharide (LPS) derived from periodontal pathogens, namely P. gingivalis initiates the acute phase response, thus upregulating the expression of MT which leads to the subsequent deficiency of Zn, a hallmark of periodontal disease. This deficiency leads to ineffective NETosis, increases the permeability of the gingival epithelium, and disrupts the humoral immune response, collectively contributing to PD. In addition, the presence of LPS in Zn deficient conditions favours M1 macrophage polarisation and maturation of dendritic cells, and also inhibits the anti-inflammatory activity of regulatory T cells. Collectively, these observations could theoretically give rise to the chronic inflammation seen in PD.ConclusionA disrupted MT and Zn homeostasis is expected to exert an adverse impact on periodontal health and contribute to the development and progression of PD.