scholarly journals The impact of smog on the design of sports facilities

2021 ◽  
Vol Special Edition (Special Edition) ◽  
pp. 129-130
Author(s):  
Wojciech Zabłocki

The smog phenomenon and its health consequences seem to be nowadays a real problem for many societies, including Poland. In addition, the question arises as to what impact it may have on urban planning and architectural design. Scientists believe that there are only three methods to avoid the dangerous smog pollution: trying to stay indoors during smog alerts, avoiding outdoor exercise and using special masks. However, using masks during exercising is unhealthy due to the reduction of the body's oxygenation. Special attention should be paid to the location of open sports areas for young citizens. Air-conditioned sports halls would be the best option for those who want to be physically active during smog alerts.

2017 ◽  
Vol 131 (11) ◽  
pp. 1055-1058 ◽  
Author(s):  
Joel D. Trinity

Understanding the negative health consequences of a physical inactivity has been the topic of much investigation as an alarming number of adults have adopted a sedentary lifestyle. With the rise in sedentarism the field of inactivity physiology has emerged. The goal of inactivity physiology is to identify the impact in inactivity on health and develop strategies that effectively minimize the risk of a sedentary lifestyle. Arising from this field is the finding that excessive sitting is linked to increased cardiovascular and metabolic disease and all-cause mortality. Most importantly, these relationships exist even in individuals that are physically active. Clearly, excessive sitting is an occupational hazard with significant health consequences. Through a series of investigations, including research published this issue of Clinical Science, Padilla and colleagues have identified that prolonged sitting evokes vascular dysfunction and that this dysfunction is caused by reduced shear stress. This commentary highlights this series of investigations and culminates with an overview of how prior exercise and standing are effective strategies to circumvent vascular dysfunction that is caused by excessive sitting.


Author(s):  
Lenin Pazmino ◽  
Wilmer Esparza ◽  
Arian Ramón Aladro-Gonzalvo ◽  
Edgar León

More minutes of physical activity (PA) accumulated during a day are associated with a lower risk of diabetes mellitus type 2. However, it is less known if distinct dimensions of PA can produce a different protective effect in the prevention of prediabetes. The aim of this study was to analyze the impact of work and recreational PA on prediabetes among U.S. adults during the period 2015–2016 using the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES) database. Individuals (n = 4481) with hemoglobin A1c (HbA1c) test values of 5.7% to 6.4% were included. A logistic regression multivariate-adjusted analysis was conducted to estimate the association between the odds ratios (ORs) and 95% confidence intervals (CIs) of prediabetes, with work and recreational PA. The prevalence of prediabetes among U.S. adults was lower in physically active individuals both at work (~24%) and recreational (~21%) physical activities compared to individuals who were not physically active (27 to 30%). Individuals lacking practice of recreational PA had a high risk of prediabetes (OR = 1.26, 95% CI: 1.080 to 1.466). PA may be a protective factor for prediabetes conditions depending on gender, age, ethnic group, waist circumference, and thyroid disease.


2021 ◽  
pp. 147715352098742
Author(s):  
FŞ Yilmaz

Office buildings are building typologies where efficient and optimal use of lighting energy is crucial while providing comfortable visual environments. The purpose of this study is to explore the impact of diverse architectural design alternatives on lighting energy requirements and lighting energy saving possibilities through a case study. In this study, a total of 3888 design alternatives are investigated in a comparative way in terms of daylighting system design alternatives, artificial lighting system design scenarios, artificial lighting system control types and shading system control options. Introducing the adaptation process of the EN 15193-1:2017 standard for Turkey’s specific climatic and geographical conditions and considering diverse lighting design scenarios, results of this parametric study aim to underline the significance of architectural design strategies in office buildings for the reduction of lighting energy requirements.


Author(s):  
Nirit Putievsky Pilosof ◽  
Yasha Jacob Grobman

Objective The study examines the integration of the Evidence-based Design (EBD) approach in healthcare architecture education in the context of an academic design studio. Background Previous research addressed the gap between scientific research and architectural practice and the lack of research on the use of the EBD approach in architectural education. Methods The research examines an undergraduate architectural studio to design a Maggie’s Centre for cancer care in Israel and evaluates the impact of the EBD approach on the design process and design outcomes. The research investigates the impact of the integration of three predesign tasks: (1) literature review of healing architecture research, (2) analysis and comparison of existing Maggie’s Centres, and (3) analysis of the context of the design project. Results The literature review of scientific research supported the conceptual design and development of the projects. The analysis of existing Maggie’s centers, which demonstrated the interpretation of the evidence by different architects, developed the students’ ability to evaluate EBD in practice critically, and the study of the projects’ local context led the students to define the relevance of the evidence to support their vision for the project. Conclusions The research demonstrates the advantages of practicing EBD at an early stage in healthcare architectural education to enhance awareness of the impact of architectural design on the users’ health and well-being and the potential to support creativity and innovative design. More studies in design studios are needed to assess the full impact of integrating EBD in architectural education.


Author(s):  
Emanuele Monda ◽  
◽  
Adelaide Fusco ◽  
Alessandro Della Corte ◽  
Martina Caiazza ◽  
...  

AbstractPatients with bicuspid aortic valve (BAV) have an increased risk of aortic dilation and aortic dissection or rupture. The impact of physical training on the natural course of aortopathy in BAV patients remains unclear. The aim of this study was to evaluate the impact of regular physical activity on aortic diameters in a consecutive cohort of paediatric patients with BAV. Consecutive paediatric BAV patients were evaluated and categorized into two groups: physically active and sedentary subjects. Only the subjects with a complete 2-year follow-up were included in the study. To evaluate the potential impact of physical activity on aortic size, aortic diameters were measured at the sinus of Valsalva and mid-ascending aorta using echocardiography. We defined aortic diameter progression the increase of aortic diameter ≥ 10% from baseline. Among 90 BAV patients (11.5 ± 3.4 years of age, 77% males), 53 (59%) were physically active subjects. Compared to sedentary, physically active subjects were not significantly more likely to have > 10% increase in sinus of Valsalva (13% vs. 8%, p-value = 0.45) or mid-ascending aorta diameter (9% vs. 13%, p-value = 0.55) at 2 years follow-up, both in subjects with sinus of Valsalva diameter progression (3.7 ± 1.0 mm vs. 3.5 ± 0.8 mm, p-value = 0.67) and in those with ascending aorta diameter progression (3.0 ± 0.8 mm vs. 3.2 ± 1.3 mm, p-value = 0.83). In our paediatric cohort of BAV patients, the prevalence and the degree of aortic diameter progression was not significantly different between physically active and sedentary subjects, suggesting that aortic dilation is unrelated to regular physical activity over a 2-year period.


Author(s):  
Qijiao Xie ◽  
Qi Sun

Aerosols significantly affect environmental conditions, air quality, and public health locally, regionally, and globally. Examining the impact of land use/land cover (LULC) on aerosol optical depth (AOD) helps to understand how human activities influence air quality and develop suitable solutions. The Landsat 8 image and Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) aerosol products in summer in 2018 were used in LULC classification and AOD retrieval in this study. Spatial statistics and correlation analysis about the relationship between LULC and AOD were performed to examine the impact of LULC on AOD in summer in Wuhan, China. Results indicate that the AOD distribution expressed an obvious “basin effect” in urban development areas: higher AOD values concentrated in water bodies with lower terrain, which were surrounded by the high buildings or mountains with lower AOD values. The AOD values were negatively correlated with the vegetated areas while positively correlated to water bodies and construction lands. The impact of LULC on AOD varied with different contexts in all cases, showing a “context effect”. The regression correlations among the normalized difference vegetation index (NDVI), normalized difference built-up index (NDBI), normalized difference water index (NDWI), and AOD in given landscape contexts were much stronger than those throughout the whole study area. These findings provide sound evidence for urban planning, land use management and air quality improvement.


2015 ◽  
Vol 19 ◽  
pp. e10 ◽  
Author(s):  
N. Gilson ◽  
N. Ng ◽  
T. Pavey ◽  
G. Ryde ◽  
L. Straker ◽  
...  

2017 ◽  
Vol 41 (S1) ◽  
pp. S62-S62
Author(s):  
B. Penninx

Stress-related psychiatric disorders, such as depressive and anxiety disorders, have been associated with increased risk of overall mortality as well as with the onset of various aging-related somatic diseases. In addition to unhealthy lifestyles and poorer (self) care, various stress-related physiological processes likely contribute to these detrimental health consequences of psychiatric disorders. Considering the fact that the impact of stress-related disorders is visible on many different somatic health outcomes, it is unlikely that contributing biological systems are very specific. In fact, it is likely that multiple dysregulations of stress systems, including the immune, HPA-axis and autonomic nervous systems, but also various general proteomic or metabolomic pathways are involved. The concept of Allostatic Load (AL) emphasizes the presence of a multi-system physiological dysregulation.In this talk I will summarize what the evidence is for somatic health consequences of psychiatric conditions, with depression as an important example. Subsequently, I will provide an overview of the various stress systems that are dysregulated in depressed patients. In addition, I will provide empirical data from the Netherlands Study of Depression and Anxiety (n = 2981) that illustrate that there is evidence that depressed patients are especially at risk for a dysregulation in multiple physiological stress systems. I will also illustrate how such a state of AL can impact on basis cellular aging indicators like telomere length and epigenetic age.In sum, this talk will highlight the current state-of-evidence for an association between depressions with the onset of many adverse somatic health outcomes, and will provide insight into the contributing role of a multisystem physiological dysregulation.Disclosure of interestThe author has not supplied his declaration of competing interest.


2021 ◽  
pp. 104973232110018
Author(s):  
Sarah O’Neill ◽  
Christina Pallitto

The health consequences of female genital mutilation (FGM) have been described previously; however, evidence of the social consequences is more intangible. To date, few systematic reviews have addressed the impact of the practice on psycho-social well-being, and there is limited understanding of what these consequences might consist. To complement knowledge on the known health consequences, this article systematically reviewed qualitative evidence of the psycho-social impact of FGM in countries where it is originally practiced (Africa, the Middle East, and Asia) and in countries of the diaspora. Twenty-three qualitative studies describing the psycho-social impact of FGM on women’s lives were selected after screening. This review provides a framework for understanding the less visible ways in which women and girls with FGM experience adverse effects that may affect their sense of identity, their self-esteem, and well-being as well as their participation in society.


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