Assessing the conservation value of cemeteries to urban biota worldwide.

Cemeteries are key urban green spaces with multifaceted societal and ecological importance. Their biodiversity is shaped by unique environmental and cultural factors. They can potentially protect rare and endangered species, yet their conservation value compared with other urban green spaces remains largely unexplored. We sought to fill this gap by systematically reviewing literature to investigate the conservation value of cemeteries relative to other urban green spaces (botanical gardens, institutional premises, natural remnants, and parks) by comparing species richness and proportions of native and unique species. We analyzed data from 70 papers covering 50 cities in 27 countries with linear and binomial mixed-effects models at both site and city level. Cemetery conservation value was similar to urban parks, except for the proportion of unique species, for which parks had significantly higher proportions (21.9% vs. 14.2%, p < 0.001). Cemeteries hosted slightly higher proportions of native species at the city level than botanical gardens (99.7% vs. 99.6%, p < 0.001) and institutional green spaces (96.3% vs. 94.1%, p = 0.034) and proportions comparable to parks and natural remnants (p > 0.05). They also had similar or higher values than institutional premises in species richness and unique species proportions (p > 0.05) and a higher site-level proportion of native species (p < 0.001). In contrast, species richness (slopes = -0.11 and -0.25, respectively) and unique species proportions (4.4% and 6.9%, respectively, p < 0.001 for both) were lower in cemeteries than in remnants of natural areas and in botanical gardens. The conservation value of cemeteries and parks was similar for animals, but parks had a higher value for plants. Overall, cemeteries were generally at least as valuable as some other green spaces for urban biodiversity and mostly native biota. Their religious and cultural significance suggests they will remain intact in the long term; thus, it is essential to prioritize and further promote their biodiversity in conservation and sustainable urban design plans.

Análisis del valor de conservación que tienen los cementerios para la biota urbana a nivel mundial Resumen Los cementerios son espacios urbanos verdes con una importancia social y ecológica multifacética. Su biodiversidad está moldeada por factores ambientales y culturales únicos. Los cementerios tienen el potencial para proteger especies raras y en peligro, pero su valor de conservación sigue sin ser explorado cuando se compara con otros espacios urbanos verdes. Buscamos llenar este vacío con una revisión sistemática de la bibliografía para investigar el valor de conservación de los cementerios en relación a otros espacios urbanos verdes (jardines botánicos, sedes institucionales, remanentes naturales y parques) al comparar la riqueza de especies y la proporción de especies nativas y únicas. Analizamos con modelos lineales y binomiales de efectos mixtos a nivel de sitio y de ciudad los datos de 70 artículos enfocados en 50 ciudades de 27 países. El valor de conservación de los cementerios fue similar al de los parques urbanos, excepto para la proporción de especies únicas, para la cual los parques tuvieron una proporción significativamente más alta (21.9% vs. 14.2%, p<0.001). A nivel de ciudad, los cementerios albergaron una proporción ligeramente mayor de especies nativas en comparación con los jardines botánicos (99.7% vs. 99.6%, p<0.001) y las sedes institucionales (96.3% vs. 94.1%, p = 0.034) y tuvieron una proporción comparable a los parques y los remanentes naturales (p>0.05). Los cementerios también tuvieron un valor similar o mayor a los espacios verdes institucionales en cuanto a riqueza de especies y proporción de especies únicas (p>0.05) y una proporción mayor a nivel de sitio de especies nativas (p<0.001). Al contrario, la riqueza de especies (pendientes = ­0.11 y ­0.25, respectivamente) y la proporción de especies únicas (4.4% y 6.9%, respectivamente, p<0.001 para ambas) fueron menores en los cementerios que en los remanentes de las áreas naturales y en los jardines botánicos. El valor de conservación de los cementerios y los parques fue similar para los animales, pero los parques tuvieron un valor mayor para las plantas. En general, los cementerios fueron al menos tan valiosos como otros espacios verdes para la biodiversidad urbana y casi toda la biota nativa. El significado religioso y cultural que tienen los cementerios sugiere que seguirán intactos a largo plazo; por ello, es esencial priorizar y promover aún más su biodiversidad en la conservación y en los planes de diseño urbano sustentable.

Relationship between grave visitation and apathy among community-dwelling older adults.

BACKGROUND: It has been shown that involvement in religious activities has a positive impact on psychological aspects. In this study, the relationship between grave visitation, a standard religious activity in Japan, and depression and apathy symptoms was investigated among older adults in Japan. METHODS: A total of 638 older adults who participated in a community-based health check survey (Tarumizu Study 2019) were interviewed regarding the presence or absence of grave visitation, frequency, travel time, means of transportation, and flower offerings. Apathy and depressive symptoms were measured using the 15-item Geriatric Depression Scale (GDS-15). The participants were categorised into three grave visitation groups, namely, frequent (more than once per week), occasional (less than once per week), and non-visiting. Outcomes were compared between the frequency groups, and Poisson regression analysis was used to investigate the relationship between grave visitation frequency and apathy and depression. RESULTS: Of the participants, 91.8% reported regular grave visitation. The non-visiting group had a significantly higher prevalence of apathy symptoms (44.2%) than the visiting groups. Furthermore, using the frequent group as the reference, Poisson regression analysis adjusted for potential covariates demonstrated that no grave visitation was significantly related to apathy (prevalence ratio, 1.43; 95% confidence interval, 1.00-2.05, P = 0.049). CONCLUSIONS: Not practising grave visitation was significantly related to apathy among older adults. Helping older adults to visit graves may prevent apathy by facilitating motivation and increasing activity.

Assessment of anthropogenic metals in shipyard sediment in the Amazon delta estuary in northern Brazil.

Shipyard activities have contributed to the release of anthropogenic metals in sediment in the Amazon delta estuary, but no studies of the issue have been carried out in northern Brazil. This study evaluated the sediment that is under the influence of shipyard activities in the Guajará Bay and in the channel of the Maguari River, in Belém, Pará (PA) state, northern Brazil. Sediment samples were collected in the vicinity of the shipyards, while samples of paint and metal fragments were collected from hulls of abandoned vessels. Metals under analysis were Cu, Zn, Pb, Ni, Cr, Ba, V, Li, Fe and Al. Mean Cu concentrations found in the sediment in two shipyards - 28.3 mg kg-1 and 41.0 mg kg-1 - were above the threshold effect level (TEL) for the amphipod Hyalella azteca. The highest concentrations of metals found in paint fragments from abandoned vessels were 29,588 mg kg-1 Ba, 9,350 mg kg-1 Zn, 1,097 mg kg-1 Pb and 548 mg kg-1 Cr. This fact suggests that vessel abandonment is a major source of contamination in shipyard areas. The principal component analysis (PCA) showed that most metals under study are closely related to sediment contamination in the shipyards. Geoaccumulation index and screening concentrations of inorganic contaminants for metals in freshwater ecosystems confirmed that a shipyard was contaminated by copper. Results may support further studies of contamination and application of waste management to shipyards and vessel graveyards around the world.

Portable X-ray fluorescence (pXRF) analysis of heavy metal contamination in church graveyards with contrasting soil types.

Human remains have been interred in burial grounds since historic times. Although the re-use of graveyards differs from one country, region or time period to another, over time, graveyard soil may become contaminated or enriched with heavy metal elements. This paper presents heavy metal element soil analysis from two UK church graveyard study sites with contrasting necrosols, but similar burial densities and known burial ages dating back to the sixteenth century and some possibly older than 1,000 years. Portable X-ray fluorescence element laboratory-based analyses were undertaken on surface and near-surface soil pellets. Results show elevated levels of Fe, Pb, Mn, Cr, Cu, Zn and Ca in both necrosols when compared with background values. Element concentration anomalies remained consistently higher than background samples down to 2 m, but reduced with distance away from church buildings. Element concentration anomalies are higher in the clay-rich necrosol than in sandy necrosol. Study result implications suggest that long-used necrosols are likely to be more contaminated with heavy metal elements than similar soil outside graveyards with implications for burial grounds management, adjacent populations and where burial grounds have been deconsecrated and turned to residential dwellings.

The use of portable XRF as a forensic geoscience non-destructive trace evidence tool for environmental and criminal investigations.

Hand-held, portable X-Ray fluorescence instruments (pXRF) provide a means of rapid, in-situ chemical characterisation that has considerable application as a rapid trace evidence characterisation tool in forensic geoscience. This study presents both a control test study which demonstrates optimisation of the data collection process, alongside a range of individual forensic case studies, including heavy metal contamination, conflict archaeology, forensic soil characterisation, and verification of human remains, which together validate the technique and provide some comparison between field-based and laboratory-based pXRF applications. Results highlight the time-efficiency and cost-effectiveness of in-situ, field-based pXRF analyses for material characterisation when compared with other trace evidence methods. Analytical precision of various analytes during in-situ analysis was sufficient to demonstrate considerable application of field-based pXRF as a tool for rapid identification of specific areas of interest to be further investigated. Laboratory-based pXRF analyses yielded greater accuracy which could provide an efficient compromise between field-based pXRF and traditional laboratory-based analytical techniques (e.g. WD-XRF, ICP-MS). Further studies should collect more advanced datasets in more diverse locations to further validate the techniques capability to rapidly conduct geochemical surveys in a range of environments.

COVID VS. NON-COVID Age-Specific Mortality In Islamabad: A Comparative Cross-Sectional Survey.

BACKGROUND: COVID-19 the ongoing pandemic. Mortality due to other reasons, other than COVID-19 across age groups reduced which was anecdotally reported from Pakistan. This survey was undertaken to assess the number of deaths recorded in Islamabad from 1st March 2019 to 30th May 2019 and from 1st March 2020 to 30th May 2020 and compare the two estimates by age and gender while documenting the cause of deaths. METHODS: The cross-sectional study was conducted in the Islamabad from 11th to 16th June 2020, comprising of secondary data received on age, gender, cause of death and months of death from the both, large private-public hospitals records and graveyards registers. Data was entered in both SPSS and Microsoft Excel and analysed using SPSS 22. RESULTS: The total number of hospitals and graveyards approached in ICT were 14 and 4 respectively. The total number of deaths reported from these during March to June in 2019 and 2020 were 2,389; out of which 1,225 (51.3%) deaths were recorded in 2019 and 1,162 (48.6%) deaths in 2020. In both years, predominant variables with more mortality were both age and gender between 61-70 years of age 511 (21.4%) 1,395 (58.4%) males respectively. CONCLUSIONS: More deaths were reported in males with old age. Cardio vascular diseases and neurological disorders were the leading causes of mortality. Not much of a larger difference in number of deaths between the both years was seen. Scarcity of data and unavailability of evidence make the anecdotal reports mere just a rumour.