scholarly journals What evidence exists on the possible effects of urban forms on terrestrial biodiversity in western cities? A systematic map protocol

2021 ◽  
Vol 10 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Morgane Flégeau ◽  
Hélène Soubelet ◽  
Sophie Carré ◽  
Sébastien Barot ◽  
Xavier Lagurgue ◽  
...  

Abstract Background As urban areas expand, scientists now agree that the city is an important space for biodiversity conservation. Yet, still relatively little is known about how urban forms could have a differential impact on terrestrial species and ecosystems. If some reviews have been conducted to examine the link between biodiversity and urban characteristics at an infra-city scale, none have explored the relationship between urban organization and biodiversity and tried to assess the capacity of various urban forms to maintain and possibly favour flora and fauna in the city. The resulting map will present the state of knowledge regarding possible relationships between urban forms and its features on the establishment and settlement of terrestrial and temperate biodiversity at infra-city scale in western cities. Methods The systematic map will follow the Collaboration for Environmental Evidence (CEE) Guidelines. We will collect the relevant peer-reviewed and grey literature in French and English language. The scientific literature will be retrieved with the use of a search string in two publication databases, one environmental and one social science database (Web Of Science Core Collection, and Cairn.info). We will also perform supplementary searches (search engines, call for literature, search for relevant reviews). All references will be screened for relevance using a three-stage process, according to a predefined set of eligibility criteria. Our study will concentrate on urban areas at the infra-city scale in cities of the temperate biogeographical zone. The subject population will include terrestrial species and ecosystems, except for archaea and bacteria. The exposure will consider all types of urban forms described by any urban descriptors or measures including heterogeneity, fragmentation, housing density, organisation of urban matrix, urban fabric) and all types of urban features (e.g. size, age of the buildings, materials, urban artefacts). All relevant outcomes will be considered (e.g. species richness, abundance, behaviour). We will provide an open-access database of the studies included in the map. Our results will also be presented narratively, together with tables and graphs summarising the key information coded from the retained articles (e.g. study characteristics, types and areas of research that has been undertaken, types of exposure, population concerned, etc.).

2021 ◽  
Vol 10 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Agata Keller ◽  
Somsubhra Chattopadhyay ◽  
Mikołaj Piniewski

Abstract Background Flow variability is considered a fundamental factor affecting riverine biota. Any alterations to flow regime can influence freshwater organisms, and this process is expected to change with the projected climate change. This systematic map, therefore, aims at investigating the impacts of natural (resulting from climatic variability), anthropogenic (resulting from direct human pressure), and climate change-induced flow variability on fish and macroinvertebrates of temperate floodplain rivers in Central and Western Europe. Particular focus will be placed on the effects of extreme low and high discharges. These rare events are known to regulate population size and taxonomic diversity. Methods All studies investigating the effects of flow variability on metrics concerning freshwater fish and macroinvertebrates will be considered in the map, particularly metrics such as: abundance, density, diversity, growth, migration, recruitment, reproduction, survival, or their substitutes, such as biomonitoring indices. Relevant flow variability will reflect (1) anthropogenic causes: dams, reservoirs, hydroelectric facilities, locks, levees, water abstraction, water diversion, land-use changes, road culverts; (2) natural causes: floods, droughts, seasonal changes; or (3) climate change. Geographically, the map will cover the ecoregion of Central and Western Europe, focusing on its major habitat type, namely “temperate floodplain rivers and wetlands”. The review will employ search engines and specialist websites, and cover primary and grey literature. No date, language, or document type restrictions will be applied in the search strategy. We expect the results to be primarily in English, although evidence (meeting all eligibility criteria) from other languages within the study area will also be included. We will also contact relevant stakeholders and announce an open call for additional information. Eligibility screening will be conducted at two levels: title and abstract, and full text. From eligible studies the following information will be extracted: the cause of flow variability, location, type of study, outcomes, etc. A searchable database containing extracted data will be developed and provided as supplementary material to the map report. The final narrative will describe the quantity and key characteristics of the available evidence, and identify knowledge gaps and knowledge clusters, i.e. subtopics sufficiently covered by existing studies allowing full systematic review and meta-analysis.


BMJ Open ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 9 (9) ◽  
pp. e028583 ◽  
Author(s):  
Pamela Leece ◽  
Triti Khorasheh ◽  
Nimitha Paul ◽  
Sue Keller-Olaman ◽  
Susan Massarella ◽  
...  

ObjectivesWe sought to understand the implementation of multifaceted community plans to address opioid-related harms.DesignOur scoping review examined the extent of the literature on community plans to prevent and reduce opioid-related harms, characterise the key components, and identify gaps.Data sourcesWe searched MEDLINE, Embase, PsycINFO, CINHAL, SocINDEX and Academic Search Primer, and three search engines for English language peer-reviewed and grey literature from the past 10 years.Eligibility criteriaEligible records addressed opioid-related harms or overdose, used two or more intervention approaches (eg, prevention, treatment, harm reduction, enforcement and justice), involved two or more partners and occurred in an Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development country.Data extraction and synthesisQualitative thematic and quantitative analysis was conducted on the charted data. Stakeholders were engaged through fourteen interviews, three focus groups and one workshop.ResultsWe identified 108 records that described 100 community plans in Canada and the USA; four had been evaluated. Most plans were provincially or state funded, led by public health and involved an average of seven partners. Commonly, plans used individual training to implement interventions. Actions focused on treatment and harm reduction, largely to increase access to addiction services and naloxone. Among specific groups, people in conflict with the law were addressed most frequently. Community plans typically engaged the public through in-person forums. Stakeholders identified three key implications to our findings: addressing equity and stigma-related barriers towards people with lived experience of substance use; improving data collection to facilitate evaluation; and enhancing community partnerships by involving people with lived experience of substance use.ConclusionCurrent understanding of the implementation and context of community opioid-related plans demonstrates a need for evaluation to advance the evidence base. Partnership with people who have lived experience of substance use is underdeveloped and may strengthen responsive public health decision making.


2015 ◽  
Vol 46 (4) ◽  
pp. 717-730 ◽  
Author(s):  
M. Li ◽  
C. D'Arcy ◽  
X. Meng

BackgroundLiterature supports a strong relationship between childhood maltreatment and mental illness but most studies reviewed are cross-sectional and/or use recall to assess maltreatment and are thus prone to temporality and recall bias. Research on the potential prospective impact of maltreatment reduction on the incidence of psychiatric disorders is scarce.MethodElectronic databases and grey literature from 1990 to 2014 were searched for English-language cohort studies with criteria for depression and/or anxiety and non-recall measurement of childhood maltreatment. Systematic review with meta-analysis synthesized the results. Study quality, heterogeneity, and publication bias were examined. Initial screening of titles and abstracts resulted in 199 papers being reviewed. Eight high-quality articles met eligibility criteria. Population attributable fractions (PAFs) estimated potential preventive impact.ResultsThe pooled odds ratio (OR) between any type of maltreatment and depression was 2.03 [95% confidence interval (CI) 1.37–3.01] and 2.70 (95% CI 2.10–3.47) for anxiety. For specific types of maltreatment and depression or anxiety disorders, the ORs were: physical abuse (OR 2.00, 95% CI 1.25–3.19), sexual abuse (OR 2.66, 95% CI 1.88–3.75), and neglect (OR 1.74, 95% CI 1.35–2.23). PAFs suggest that over one-half of global depression and anxiety cases are potentially attributable to self-reported childhood maltreatment. A 10–25% reduction in maltreatment could potentially prevent 31.4–80.3 million depression and anxiety cases worldwide.ConclusionThis review provides robust evidence of childhood maltreatment increasing the risk for depression and anxiety, and reinforces the need for effective programs and policies to reduce its occurrence.


2017 ◽  
Vol 20 (4) ◽  
pp. 534-548
Author(s):  
Leesa Hooker ◽  
Jacqui Theobald ◽  
Karen Anderson ◽  
Paulina Billet ◽  
Paula Baron

Violence against women is globally prevalent and harmful to women’s health and well-being. Younger women are at higher risk of abuse, especially those from non-urban areas who may face specific barriers to disclosure and support. The aim of this review was to map the breadth and nature of the “violence against women” literature particular to young non-urban Australian women and identify research gaps to inform future research with young people. A comprehensive scoping review methodology, as outlined by Arksey and O’Malley, was adopted. English language, peer-reviewed articles were identified from five databases between January 2000 and July 2015. Grey literature was also examined. Inclusion criteria for the review included young women (15–24 years) from non-urban areas of Australia. Twenty-four full-text articles were included in this review. Themes identified include prevalence and type of abuse, experiences and response to violence, and the consequences of abuse. Recommendations from the review which are relevant to a global audience include the need for improved service access, improved data collection on the prevalence of violence, and a focus on more research with young women in non-urban areas. There is limited research on violence against young women living in non-urban areas of Australia. Evidence to date consists of predominantly quantitative data generated from general population surveys. There is a lack of qualitative research on this topic, and we argue that more is needed to gain a better understanding of the violence that young women experience.


BMJ Open ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 9 (11) ◽  
pp. e032865 ◽  
Author(s):  
Maciej Płaszewski ◽  
Weronika Grantham ◽  
Ejgil Jespersen

IntroductionAdolescent idiopathic scoliosis, the diagnosis and management of this condition, may lead to poorer body image and diminished psychosocial functioning. Furthermore, treatment, especially bracing and surgery as well as screening, remain controversial and debated, with an unclear evidence base. Personal experiences in terms of issues such as person-centred care, shared decision making, and patient and public involvement, are contemporarily recognised as highly valued. Nonetheless, people’s experiences related to adolescent idiopathic scoliosis is an issue underrepresented in current systematic reviews and systematically developed recommendations. There appears a substantial imbalance between a vast amount of biomedical research reports, and sporadic biopsychosocial publications in this field. The objective of this planned scoping review is to explore and map the available evidence from various sources to address a broad question of what is known about experiences of all those touched, directly and indirectly, by the problem of adolescent idiopathic scoliosis.Methods and analysisWe based our protocol on the Joanna Briggs Institute’s scoping review method, including the Population – Concept – Context framework, to formulate the objectives, research questions, eligibility criteria and conduct characteristics of the study. We will consider any primary study designs, research synthesis reports, as well as narrative reviews and opinion pieces. We will not restrict eligible publications to English language. Search and selection processes will include academic and grey literature searches using multiple electronic databases, search engines and websites, hand searches, and contacting the authors. We will use a customised data charting table and present a narrative synthesis of the results.Ethics and disseminationScoping review is a secondary study, aiming at synthesising data from publicly available publications, hence it does not require ethical approval. We will submit the report to a peer-reviewed journal and disseminate it among professionals involved in scoliosis management, guideline and recommendation development, and policymaking.


2021 ◽  
Vol 118 (36) ◽  
pp. e2015552118
Author(s):  
Hao Shi ◽  
Hanqin Tian ◽  
Stefan Lange ◽  
Jia Yang ◽  
Shufen Pan ◽  
...  

Global aridification is projected to intensify. Yet, our knowledge of its potential impacts on species ranges remains limited. Here, we investigate global aridity velocity and its overlap with three sectors (natural protected areas, agricultural areas, and urban areas) and terrestrial biodiversity in historical (1979 through 2016) and future periods (2050 through 2099), with and without considering vegetation physiological response to rising CO2. Both agricultural and urban areas showed a mean drying velocity in history, although the concurrent global aridity velocity was on average +0.05/+0.20 km/yr−1 (no CO2 effects/with CO2 effects; “+” denoting wetting). Moreover, in drylands, the shifts of vegetation greenness isolines were found to be significantly coupled with the tracks of aridity velocity. In the future, the aridity velocity in natural protected areas is projected to change from wetting to drying across RCP (representative concentration pathway) 2.6, RCP6.0, and RCP8.5 scenarios. When accounting for spatial distribution of terrestrial taxa (including plants, mammals, birds, and amphibians), the global aridity velocity would be -0.15/-0.02 km/yr−1 (“-” denoting drying; historical), -0.12/-0.15 km/yr−1 (RCP2.6), -0.36/-0.10 km/yr−1 (RCP6.0), and -0.75/-0.29 km/yr−1 (RCP8.5), with amphibians particularly negatively impacted. Under all scenarios, aridity velocity shows much higher multidirectionality than temperature velocity, which is mainly poleward. These results suggest that aridification risks may significantly influence the distribution of terrestrial species besides warming impacts and further impact the effectiveness of current protected areas in future, especially under RCP8.5, which best matches historical CO2 emissions [C. R. Schwalm et al., Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. U.S.A. 117, 19656–19657 (2020)].


2021 ◽  
Vol 10 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Fanny Tran ◽  
Jonathan E. Holland ◽  
Nora Quesada ◽  
Mark Young ◽  
Damian Bienkowski ◽  
...  

Abstract Background Agriculture is facing an unprecedented challenge in having to reduce its environmental footprint whilst ensuring food security to an ever-growing global population. Towards this end, several strategies have been investigated and implemented to help maintain or improve crop yield under reduced water and/or nutrient provision for key commercial commodities such as tomatoes. Despite the high commercial, nutritional, and food-cultural value, there is no synthesis of evidence regarding yield maintenance of tomato (as a model crop) under resource-deficit. This systematic map therefore provides an overview of the evidence that exists on the effectiveness of techniques and management approaches aimed at improving the productivity of field-grown tomatoes under conditions of water-, nitrogen- (N) and/or phosphorus (P)-deficit. Methods Following the published map protocol, systematic searches of peer reviewed- and grey-literature were conducted using research publication databases, and specialist websites. A total of 14,377 unique articles were identified as potentially relevant to our research question, of which 927 were screened at the full-text level. Of that subset, 291 articles met all the pre-defined eligibility criteria. Basic information and meta-data on the interventions reported were recorded for these articles and a systematic map was compiled with the extracted data. Results The articles included in the systematic map database were used to identify several significant points including: (1) from the year 2000, the number of articles investigating strategies to improve field-grown tomato yield under conditions of water and/or nutrient deficit follows an upward trend; (2) large evidence bases (> 50%) originated from the United States, India, and Italy; (3) most studies addressed water alone as a resource (49%), with only 18% of studies focussing on N and 4% on P alone. Only 4% of records assessed all three resources simultaneously; (4) most evidence (77%) aims to improve resource use-efficiency via either irrigation, fertilisation, or crop and soil management strategies; and (5) different geographical regions appear to focus on different groups of interventions. Conclusions This systematic map identifies a range of interventions that have been successfully implemented in fields to improve the yield of commercial tomatoes under conditions of water, N and/or P deficit. However, only half of the relevant literature reported evidence on more than one intervention, which highlights the need for more integrated approaches to assess multiple interventions to adapt to deficits of key-resources simultaneously. In addition, the use of ‘techno-chemical’, ‘breeding and genetic’ and ‘computational’ interventions are only reported in a small number of records (< 8% of the gathered evidence). Hence, these interventions may also be considered as subjects to prioritise in future funding strategies.


Author(s):  
Ryan E Rhodes ◽  
Amy Cox ◽  
Reza Sayar

Abstract Background Intention is theorized as the proximal determinant of behavior in many leading theories and yet intention–behavior discordance is prevalent. Purpose To theme and appraise the variables that have been evaluated as potential moderators of the intention–physical activity (I-PA) relationship using the capability–opportunity–motivation– behavior model as an organizational frame. Methods Literature searches were concluded in August 2020 using seven common databases. Eligible studies were selected from English language peer-reviewed journals and had to report an empirical test of moderation of I-PA with a third variable. Findings were grouped by the moderator variable for the main analysis, and population sample, study design, type of PA, and study quality were explored in subanalyses. Results The search yielded 1,197 hits, which was reduced to 129 independent studies (138 independent samples) of primarily moderate quality after screening for eligibility criteria. Moderators of the I-PA relationship were present among select variables within sociodemographic (employment status) and personality (conscientiousness) categories. Physical capability, and social and environmental opportunity did not show evidence of interacting with I-PA relations, while psychological capability had inconclusive findings. By contrast, key factors underlying reflective (intention stability, intention commitment, low goal conflict, affective attitude, anticipated regret, perceived behavioral control/self-efficacy) and automatic (identity) motivation were moderators of I-PA relations. Findings were generally invariant to study characteristics. Conclusions Traditional intention theories may need to better account for key I-PA moderators. Action control theories that include these moderators may identify individuals at risk for not realizing their PA intentions. Prospero # CRD42020142629.


2018 ◽  
Vol 14 (1) ◽  
pp. 177-187 ◽  
Author(s):  
Samuel Tromans ◽  
Verity Chester ◽  
Reza Kiani ◽  
Regi Alexander ◽  
Terry Brugha

Background:Whilst the prevalence of autism spectrum disorders in adults within the community setting is well-established, less is known about the prevalence among adults based within a psychiatric inpatient setting.Objective:To conduct a systematic literature review pertaining to the prevalence of autism spectrum disorders among the adult psychiatric inpatient population.Method:Eligibility criteria included: (a) investigation of the prevalence of autism spectrum disorders (b) adult psychiatric inpatient study population (c) published in English language. Electronic databases accessed included PubMed, Medline, CINAHL, PsycINFO and EMBASE. Additionally, the ancestry method was utilised for the references of eligible papers, as well as grey literature searches and consultation with experts in the field.Results:From the search, 4 studies were identified which satisfied the inclusion criteria, conducted in a variety of inpatient psychiatric settings, including secure forensic and intellectual disability units and a state psychiatric hospital. There were significant differences in methodological approaches, including the screening tests, diagnostic instruments and diagnostic criteria utilised. Autism spectrum disorder prevalence estimates varied considerably, from 2.4-9.9%.Conclusion:From the limited research data currently available, it appears that the prevalence of autism spectrum disorders is increased in inpatient psychiatric settings relative to the general population. There is a need for further high quality research in this patient group, to add to this limited evidence base, as well as in developing effective strategies to identify patients with a high likelihood of autism spectrum disorders within this setting.


2020 ◽  
Vol 84 (1) ◽  
pp. 22-41
Author(s):  
Sushmita Mohapatra ◽  
Stefan Tino Kulnik

Introduction Kitchen-related tasks are widely used in occupational therapy for adults with acquired brain injury. This study aimed to investigate the effectiveness of kitchen-related, task-based occupational therapy interventions for improving clinical and functional outcomes in the rehabilitation of adults with acquired brain injury. Method A systematic review of the literature was conducted with narrative synthesis (PROSPERO registration CRD42019141898), by searching relevant electronic databases (BNI, CINAHL Plus, MEDLINE, DORIS, OT Seeker etc.), registries of ongoing studies (ISRCTN, PROSPERO, etc.), and grey literature (OpenGrey, etc.). English-language studies that evaluated kitchen-related tasks in the rehabilitation of adults with acquired brain injury were included and independently appraised for their methodological quality by two reviewers. Results Seventeen primary studies met the eligibility criteria. Studies were heterogeneous in methods, methodological quality, setting, sample size, purpose, and design of kitchen-related tasks. Fifteen studies evaluated kitchen-related, task-based treatments for improving function, and two studies examined kitchen-related task assessments for safety and task performance. This provides very limited evidence for the effectiveness of kitchen-related, task-based interventions compared to interventions not based on kitchen-related tasks. Conclusion While kitchen-related, task-based occupational therapy interventions in acquired brain injury rehabilitation are common practice, there is currently limited research evidence to support this. Further studies are warranted to strengthen the evidence base.


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