The Impact of Culture-, Health- and Nature-Based Engagement on Mitigating the Adverse Effects of Public Health Restrictions on Wellbeing, Social Connectedness and Loneliness during COVID-19: Quantitative Evidence from a Smaller- and Larger-Scale UK Survey.

Numerous UK surveys conducted during COVID-19 examined the pandemic's detrimental effects on health, and the consequences of lockdown and other public health restrictions on mental health. Some surveys considered specific populations and social inequities exacerbated during COVID-19. Fewer surveys examined the ways in which the adverse effects of public health restrictions, such as lockdown, shielding and social distancing, might be alleviated. Drawing upon self-determination theory, the purpose of the current study was to assess whether culture-, health- and nature-based engagement would mitigate the effects of these restrictions on psychological wellbeing, social connectedness and loneliness. Quantitative data from a smaller-scale survey (n = 312) and a subset of questions embedded in a larger-scale survey (n = 3647) were analyzed using univariate and multivariate methods. Frequency of engagement, whether participation was online or offline and with or without other people, and the extent to which type of participation was associated with psychological wellbeing, social connectedness and loneliness were examined. Sports and fitness, gardening and reading occurred frequently in both surveys. For the smaller-scale survey, increases in connectedness and frequency of participation and decreases in loneliness were significantly associated with improved wellbeing, whereas the type of participation and age range were not significant predictors. Outcomes from the smaller-scale survey approximated the larger-scale survey for measures of loneliness, type and frequency of participation and proportion of respondents in each age range. As the frequency of participation was a significant predictor of wellbeing, but the type of participation was not significant, the findings implied that any type of participation in a sufficient quantity would be likely to boost wellbeing.

Barriers and enablers of integrated care in the UK: a rapid evidence review of review articles and grey literature 2018-2022.

Integrated care refers to person-centered and coordinated, health and social care, and community services. Integrated care systems are partnerships of organizations that deliver health and care services which were placed on a statutory footing in England, April 2022. Due to the need for fast, accessible, and relevant evidence, a rapid review was conducted according to World Health Organization methods to determine barriers and enablers of integrated care across the United Kingdom, 2018-2022. Nine databases were searched for review articles reporting evaluation of integrated care interventions involving medical (clinical and diagnostic) and nonmedical (public health services and community-based or social care/person-centred care) approaches, quality checked with the Critical Appraisal Skills Program qualitative checklist. OpenGrey and hand searches were used to identify grey literature, quality checked with the Authority, Accuracy, Coverage, Objectivity, Date, and Significance checklist. Thirty-four reviews and 21 grey literature reports fitted inclusion criteria of adult physical/mental health outcomes/multiple morbidities. Thematic analysis revealed six themes (collaborative approach; costs; evidence and evaluation; integration of care; professional roles; service user factors) with 20 subthemes including key barriers (cost effectiveness; effectiveness of integrated care; evaluation methods; focus of evidence; future research; impact of integration) and enablers (accessing care; collaboration and partnership; concept of integration; inter-professional relationships; person-centered ethos). Findings indicated a paucity of robust research to evaluate such interventions and lack of standardized methodology to assess cost effectiveness, although there is growing interest in co-production that has engendered information sharing and reduced duplication, and inter-professional collaborations that have bridged task-related gaps and overlaps. The importance of identifying elements of integrated care associated with successful outcomes and determining sustainability of interventions meeting joined-up care and preventive population health objectives was highlighted.

Rapid Evidence Review of Community Engagement and Resources in the UK during the COVID-19 Pandemic: How Can Community Assets Redress Health Inequities?

Community engagement, such as participating in arts, nature or leisurely activities, is positively associated with psychological and physiological wellbeing. Community-based engagement during the COVID-19 pandemic facilitated informal and local mutual aid between individuals. This rapid evidence review assesses the emergence of community-based arts, nature, music, theatre and other types of cultural engagement amongst UK communities in response to the COVID-19 pandemic. Here, we focus on all community engagement with a sub-focus on provisions accessed by and targeted towards vulnerable groups. Two hundred and fifty-six resources were included that had been created between February 2020 and January 2021. Resources were identified through Google Scholar, PubMed, Web of Science, MedRXic, PsycharXiv and searches for grey literature and items in the public domain. The majority reported services that had been adapted to become online, telephone-based or delivered at a distance from doorsteps. Several quality assessment frameworks were used to evaluate the quality of data. Whilst a number of peer-reviewed, grey literature and public domain articles were identified, less than half of the identified literature met quality thresholds. The pace of the response to the pandemic may have meant that robust evaluation procedures were not always in place.

Assessing the impact of artistic and cultural activities on the health and well-being of forcibly displaced people using participatory action research.

OBJECTIVE: Drawing on a growing body of research suggesting that taking part in artistic and cultural activities benefits health and well-being, the objective was to develop a participatory action research (PAR) method for assessing the impact of arts interventions on forcibly displaced people, and identify themes concerning perceived benefits of such programmes. DESIGN: A collaborative study following PAR principles of observation, focus groups and in-depth semistructured interviews. SETTING: London-based charity working with asylum seekers and refugees. PARTICIPANTS: An opportunity sample (n=31; 6 males) participated in focus groups comprising refugees/asylum seekers (n=12; 2 males), volunteers (n=4; 1 males) and charity staff (n=15; 3 males). A subset of these (n=17; 3 males) participated in interviews comprising refugees/asylum seekers (n=7; 1 males), volunteers (n=7; 1 males) and charity staff (n=3; 1 males). RESULTS: Focus group findings showed that participants articulated the impact of creative activities around three main themes: skills, social engagement and personal emotions that were explored during in-depth interviews. Thematic analysis of interviews was conducted in NVivo 11 and findings showed that artistic and cultural activities impacted positively by helping participants find a voice, create support networks and learn practical skills useful in the labour market. CONCLUSIONS: The study expanded on arts and well-being research by exploring effects of cultural and creative activities on the psychosocial well-being of refugees and asylum seekers. By focusing on the relationship between arts, well-being and forced displacement, the study was instrumental in actively trying to change the narrative surrounding refugees and asylum seekers, often depicted in negative terms in the public sphere.

Assessing the current and future biological control potential of Trichogramma ostriniae on its hosts Ostrinia furnacalis and Ostrinia nubilalis.

BACKGROUND: Understanding interactions between biocontrol agents and their pest hosts under climate change should assist implementation of biocontrol strategies, by identifying appropriate biocontrol agents for release or determining the optimal timing of releases. Species distribution models (SDMs) were applied to evaluate the distributions of Trichogramma ostriniae and its native host, Ostrinia furnacalis, in southeastern Asia, and a non-native host, Ostrinia nubilalis, in a novel range, North America, using MAXENT and CLIMEX modelling approaches. RESULTS: The models led to similar predictions about the expected distribution of the two species in Asia, and emphasized likely mismatches between host and natural enemy. Trichogramma ostriniae was predicted to occur in the summer corn region of China, with distribution limits linked to its sensitivity to cold, seasonality of radiation and precipitation. The modelled Ostrinia nubilalis distribution overlapped with the main corn production areas of the northeastern USA and Canada; temporary/seasonal suitable habitat was also predicted across the southeastern USA. Climate change scenarios are predicted to favour T. ostriniae over its hosts in northeastern China and North America. CONCLUSION: The modelling approaches used here proved useful for assessing environmental factors linked to an egg parasitoid and its lepidopteran hosts and identifying areas potentially suitable for inundative releases. © 2017 Society of Chemical Industry.

Effects of a museum-based social prescription intervention on quantitative measures of psychological wellbeing in older adults.

AIMS: To assess psychological wellbeing in a novel social prescription intervention for older adults called Museums on Prescription and to explore the extent of change over time in six self-rated emotions ('absorbed', 'active', 'cheerful', 'encouraged', 'enlightened' and 'inspired'). METHODS: Participants ( n = 115) aged 65-94 years were referred to museum-based programmes comprising 10 weekly sessions, by healthcare and third sector organisations using inclusion criteria (e.g. socially isolated, able to give informed consent, not in employment, not regularly attending social or cultural activities) and exclusion criteria (e.g. unable to travel to the museum, unable to function in a group situation, unlikely to be able to attend all sessions, unable to take part in interviews and complete questionnaires). In a within-participants' design, the Museum Wellbeing Measure for Older Adults (MWM-OA) was administered pre-post session at start-, mid- and end-programme. A total of 12 programmes, facilitated by museum staff and volunteers, were conducted in seven museums in central London and across Kent. In addition to the quantitative measures, participants, carers where present, museum staff and researchers kept weekly diaries following guideline questions and took part in end-programme in-depth interviews. RESULTS: Multivariate analyses of variance showed significant participant improvements in all six MWM-OA emotions, pre-post session at start-, mid- and end-programme. Two emotions, 'absorbed' and 'enlightened', increased pre-post session disproportionately to the others; 'cheerful' attained the highest pre-post session scores whereas 'active' was consistently lowest. CONCLUSION: Museums can be instrumental in offering museum-based programmes for older adults to improve psychological wellbeing over time. Participants in the study experienced a sense of privilege, valued the opportunity to liaise with curators, visit parts of the museum closed to the public and handle objects normally behind glass. Participants appreciated opportunities afforded by creative and co-productive activities to acquire learning and skills, and get to know new people in a different context.

Museum-based programs for socially isolated older adults: Understanding what works.

This paper presents research findings that help to understand how museum programs created opportunities to enhance wellbeing and health, and changed experiences of social isolation in older adults. The research conceptualized how program elements enabled both individual experiences and relational processes to occur. These components operated within a context that was enriched by the museum as a place to support wellbeing and enhance social interaction. To meaningfully support socially isolated older people as part of local public health strategies, museums need to be accessible and engaging places that purposively support social interaction by involving people and objects, participating in multiple sessions over time, that are facilitated by skilled and knowledgeable staff.

Taiwanese Trichogramma of Asian Corn Borer: Morphology, ITS-2 rDNA Characterization, and Natural Wolbachia Infection.

Egg parasitoids of the genus Trichogramma are natural enemies of many lepidopteran borers in agricultural areas around the world. It is important to identify the correct species and ideally focus on endemic Trichogramma for pest control in particular crops. In this study, Trichogramma wasps were collected from parasitized eggs of Asian corn borer in Southwestern Taiwan. Three Trichogramma species, Trichogramma ostriniae Pang and Chen, Trichogramma chilonis Ishii, and T. sp. y, were identified based on morphology and the nucleotide sequence of the internal transcribed spacer 2 (ITS-2) region of rDNA. Although T. ostriniae and T. sp. y appear to be morphologically similar, ITS-2 identity between these two taxa is only 89%. Surprisingly, a commercially released Trichogramma colony thought to be T. chilonis possessed 99% identity (ITS-2) with the field T. sp. y individuals. This suggests past contamination leading to subsitution of the laboratory-reared T. chilonis colony by T. sp. y. Natural populations of all three Trichogramma species were found to be infected by a single Wolbachia strain which was identified using a wsp gene sequence.

Well-Being With Objects: Evaluating a Museum Object-Handling Intervention for Older Adults in Health Care Settings.

The extent to which a museum object-handling intervention enhanced older adult well-being across three health care settings was examined. The program aimed to determine whether therapeutic benefits could be measured objectively using clinical scales. Facilitator-led, 30 to 40 min sessions handling and discussing museum objects were conducted in acute and elderly care (11 one-to-ones), residential (4 one-to-ones and 1 group of five), and psychiatric (4 groups of five) settings. Pre-post measures of psychological well-being (Positive Affect and Negative Affect Schedule) and subjective wellness and happiness (Visual Analogue Scales) were compared. Positive affect and wellness increased significantly in acute and elderly and residential care though not psychiatric care whereas negative affect decreased and happiness increased in all settings. Examination of audio recordings revealed enhanced confidence, social interaction, and learning. The program allowed adults access to a museum activity who by virtue of age and ill health would not otherwise have engaged with museum objects.

Mixed methods evaluation of well-being benefits derived from a heritage-in-health intervention with hospital patients.

BACKGROUND: This study sought to determine the effects of a heritage-in-health intervention on well-being. Benefits of arts-in-health interventions are relatively well-documented yet little robust research has been conducted using heritage-in-health interventions, such as those involving museum objects. METHODS: Hospital patients (n = 57) participated in semi-structured, 30-40 minute facilitated interview sessions, discussing and handling museum objects comprising selections of six artefacts and specimens loaned from archaeology, art, geology and natural history collections. Well-being measures (Positive Affect Negative Affect Scale, Visual Analogue Scales) evaluated the sessions while inductive and deductive thematic analysis investigated psycho-educational features accounting for changes. RESULTS: Comparison of pre- and post-session quantitative measures showed significant increases in well-being and happiness. Qualitative investigation revealed thinking and meaning-making opportunities for participants engaged with objects. CONCLUSIONS: Heritage-in-health sessions enhanced positive mood and social interaction, endorsing the need for provision of well-being-related museum and gallery activities for socially excluded or vulnerable healthcare audiences.

Enhancing cancer patient well-being with a nonpharmacological, heritage-focused intervention.

CONTEXT: Nonpharmacological, arts-focused interventions in health care have demonstrated considerable improvements in cancer patient well-being, although there is a little clinically robust, empirical evidence to demonstrate the value of heritage-focused practices. OBJECTIVES: This study examined the effectiveness of a novel, nonpharmacological, heritage-focused intervention with adult female inpatients receiving cancer treatment in oncology wards of a large, central London hospital. METHODS: In the tactile experimental condition, participants handled and discussed a selection of museum objects with a facilitator, whereas in the visual control condition, participants discussed photographs of the same objects. Sessions were conducted on a one-to-one basis at patients' bedsides and lasted about half an hour. Quantitative measures of psychological well-being with proven reliability and validity were used in a pretest/post-test control group, quasi-experimental design. RESULTS: Levels of positive emotion, well-being, and happiness were significantly enhanced in the experimental condition compared with the control condition for both oncology and nononcology patients. CONCLUSION: Findings indicate a future role for heritage-focused practices in enhancing health care environments.

Identifying signature of chemical applications on indigenous and invasive nontarget arthropod communities in vineyards.

Communities of arthropods providing ecosystem services (e.g., pest control, pollination, and soil nutrient cycling) to agricultural production systems are influenced by pesticide inputs, yet the impact of pesticide applications on nontarget organisms is normally evaluated through standardized sets of laboratory tests involving individual pesticides applied to a few representative species. By combining season-long pesticide applications of various insecticides and fungicides into a metric based on the International Organization for Biological and Integrated Control (IOBC) toxicity ratings, we evaluate season-long pesticide impacts on communities of indigenous and exotic arthropods across 61 vineyards assessed for an entire growing season. The composition of arthropod communities, identified mostly at the family level, but in some cases at the species level, was altered depending on season-long pesticide use. Numbers of mostly indigenous parasitoids, predatory mites, and coccinellids in the canopy, as well as carabid/tenebrionid beetles and some spider families on the ground, were decreased at higher cumulative pesticide metric scores. In contrast, numbers of one invasive millipede species (Ommatoiulus moreletti Lucas, Julida: Julidae) increased under higher cumulative pesticide metric scores. These changing community patterns were detected despite the absence of broad-spectrum insecticide applications in the vineyards. Pesticide effects were mostly due to indoxacarb and sulphur, applied as a fungicide. The reduction of beneficial arthropods and increase in an invasive herbivorous millipede under high cumulative pesticide metric scores highlights the need to manage nontarget season-long pesticide impacts in vineyards. A cumulative pesticide metric, based on IOBC toxicity ratings, provides a way of assessing overall toxicity effects, giving managers a means to estimate and consider potential negative season-long pesticide impacts on ecosystem services provided through arthropod communities.

Slug control in Australian canola: monitoring, molluscicidal baits and economic thresholds.

Exotic slugs have become serious pests of canola, at establishment, in Southern Australian high-rainfall cropping zones. Slugs were monitored using relatively inexpensive 300 mm x 300 mm terracotta tiles acting as refuges. An investigation was made of the effects of the time of application of chelated iron baits on the slug species Deroceras reticulatum Müller and Lehmannia nyctelia Bourguignat. Baits reduced the number of surface-active slug species. A single application at sowing provided greater efficacy than one application before sowing, and efficacy was comparable with that of two applications. Canola seedling densities showed a negative response to D. reticulatum numbers; the presence of even one individual per refuge trap reduced seedling numbers below optimum densities. Thistles and other vegetation were associated with increased numbers of slugs. European guidelines for slug monitoring and damage appear to be at least partly applicable to Australian conditions.

Ecologically sustainable chemical recommendations for agricultural pest control?

Effective pest control remains an essential part of food production, and it is provided both by chemicals and by natural enemies within agricultural ecosystems. These methods of control are often in conflict because of the negative impact of chemicals on natural enemies. There are already well-established approaches such as those provided by the International Organization for Biological and Integrated Control-Pesticides and Beneficial Organisms for testing, collecting, and publishing information on responses of natural enemies to chemicals based on laboratory responses of specific organisms; however, these tests do not assess the cumulative impact of chemical inputs across an entire season or consider impacts on the complex communities of natural enemies that can provide effective pest control on a farm. Here, we explore the potential of different approaches for assessing the impact of chemicals on agricultural ecosystems and we propose a simple metric for sustainable chemical use on farms that minimizes overall impact on beneficial groups. We suggest ways in which the effectiveness of metrics can be extended to include persistence and habitat features. Such metrics can assist farmers in developing targets for sustainable chemical use as demonstrated in the viticultural industry.

Commercial agrochemical applications in vineyards do not influence ant communities.

Ants have been widely used as bioindicators for various terrestrial monitoring and assessment programs but are seldom considered in evaluation of nontarget pesticide effect. Much chemical assessment has been biased toward laboratory and bioassay testing for control of specific pest ant species. Several field studies that did explore the nontarget impacts of pesticides on ants have reported contradictory findings. To address the impact of chemical applications on ants, we tested the response of epigeal ant assemblages and community structure to three pesticide gradients (cumulative International Organization for Biological and Integrated Control toxicity rating, chlorpyrifos use rate, and sulfur use rate) in 19 vineyards. Ordination analyses using nonmetric multidimensional scaling detected community structures at species and genus levels, but the structures were not explained by any pesticide variables. There was no consistent pattern in species and genus percentage complementarities and ant assemblages along pesticide gradients. In contrast, ant community structure was influenced by the presence of shelterbelts near the sampling area. Reasons for the resilience of ants to pesticides are given and assessment at the colony level instead of workers abundance is suggested. The presence of Linepithema humile (Mayr) is emphasized.

Effects of cold storage on field and laboratory performance of Trichogramma carverae (Hymenoptera: Trichogrammatidae) and the response of three Trichogramma spp. (T. carverae, T. nr. brassicae, and T. funiculatum) to cold.

Delaying emergence of Trichogramma spp. is critical for commercial production. Here, diapause induction was considered for three species (Trichogramma nr. brassicae Bezdenko, Trichogramma carverae Oatman & Pinto, and Trichogramma funiculatum Carver), and the effect of storage temperature (4 degrees C, 8 degrees C, and 10 degrees C) and time (1-8 wk) was investigated for T. carverae. For all species, percentage of emergence was lowered after an initial diapause induction period (28 d at 14 degrees C and a photoperiod of 8:16 [L:D] h) and lowered further after 1-mo storage at 3 degrees C and a photoperiod of 0:24 (L:D) h. No wasps emerged after 2 mo of storage, suggesting that true diapause was not induced. The effect of 1-8-wk storage on wasp quality was investigated for T. carverae both in the laboratory and the field. Initial fieldwork suggested that this species could be successfully stored at 10 degrees C under continuous light (after 5-d development at 25 degrees C and a photoperiod of 16:8 [L:D] h) without reducing the ability of wasps to parasitize eggs in the field. In a second experiment, storage temperatures lower than 10 degrees C and storage times 3 wk or longer had a negative impact on emergence and longevity, and effects were not additive. Negative effects may partly reflect size changes, because size decreased in response to storage time, and there was an interaction between time and temperature effects on size. Storage time was the major factor influencing fecundity and field success; both fitness measures were reduced after storage of 3 wk or longer. T. carverae can therefore be successfully stored for up to 2 wk without detrimental effects, and 10 degrees C is the preferred storage temperature. T. carverae seems to survive unfavorable temperature conditions by entering a state of quiescence.

The effects of host age, host nuclear background and temperature on phenotypic effects of the virulent Wolbachia strain popcorn in Drosophila melanogaster.

Because of their obligate endosymbiotic nature, Wolbachia strains by necessity are defined by their phenotypic effects upon their host. Nevertheless, studies on the influence of host background and environmental conditions upon the manifestation of Wolbachia effects are relatively uncommon. Here we examine the behavior of the overreplicating Wolbachia strain popcorn in four different Drosophila melanogaster backgrounds at two temperatures. Unlike other strains of Wolbachia in Drosophila, popcorn has a major fitness impact upon its hosts. The rapid proliferation of popcorn causes cells to rupture, resulting in the premature death of adult hosts. Apart from this effect, we found that popcorn delayed development time, and host background influenced both this trait and the rate of mortality associated with infection. Temperature influenced the impact of popcorn upon host mortality, with no reduction in life span occurring in flies reared at 19 degrees. No effect upon fecundity was found. Contrary to earlier reports, popcorn induced high levels of incompatibility when young males were used in tests, and CI levels declined rapidly with male age. The population dynamics of popcorn-type infections will therefore depend on environmental temperature, host background, and the age structure of the population.

Laboratory fecundity as predictor of field success in Trichogramma carverae (Hymenoptera: Trichogrammatidae).

Laboratory fecundity assessments are routinely used to determine the quality of commercially reared Trichogramma egg parasitoids before release for pest control, but there is little information on the relevance of this trait to the field success of Trichogramma. Herein, we characterize the parasitism success of strains of Trichogramma carverae Oatman & Pinto in the laboratory on a factitious (Sitotroga cerealella Olivier) and a natural (Epiphyas postvittana Walker) host. Differences in fecundity of the strains in the laboratory were consistent with a heritability of approximately 10%, allowing ranking of the strains from highest to lowest fecundity. The strains with particularly high and low fecundities were tested for successful parasitism in the field. Results of the field releases show that strain differences in laboratory fecundity did not influence field performance. The implications of this result for fecundity as a quality indicator for commercial stocks are discussed.