The Thermal Environment of Housing and Its Implications for the Health of Older People in South Australia: A Mixed-Methods Study

Older people are often over-represented in morbidity and mortality statistics associated with hot and cold weather, despite remaining mostly indoors. The study “Improving thermal environment of housing for older Australians” focused on assessing the relationships between the indoor environment, building characteristics, thermal comfort and perceived health/wellbeing of older South Australians over a study period that included the warmest summer on record. Our findings showed that indoor temperatures in some of the houses reached above 35 °C. With concerns about energy costs, occupants often use adaptive behaviours to achieve thermal comfort instead of using cooling (or heating), although feeling less satisfied with the thermal environment and perceiving health/wellbeing to worsen at above 28 °C (and below 15 °C). Symptoms experienced during hot weather included tiredness, shortness of breath, sleeplessness and dizziness, with coughs and colds, painful joints, shortness of breath and influenza experienced during cold weather. To express the influence of temperature and humidity on perceived health/wellbeing, a Temperature Humidity Health Index (THHI) was developed for this cohort. A health/wellbeing perception of “very good” is achieved between an 18.4 °C and 24.3 °C indoor operative temperature and a 55% relative humidity. The evidence from this research is used to inform guidelines about maintaining home environments to be conducive to the health/wellbeing of older people.

How disease risk awareness modulates transmission: coupling infectious disease models with behavioural dynamics

Epidemiological models often assume that individuals do not change their behaviour or that those aspects are implicitly incorporated in parameters in the models. Typically, these assumptions are included in the contact rate between infectious and susceptible individuals. However, adaptive behaviours are expected to emerge and play an important role in the transmission dynamics across populations. Here, we propose a theoretical framework to couple transmission dynamics with behavioural dynamics due to infection awareness. We modelled the dynamics of social behaviour using a game theory framework, which is then coupled with an epidemiological model that captures the disease dynamics by assuming that individuals are aware of the actual epidemiological state to reduce their contacts. Results from the mechanistic model show that as individuals increase their awareness, the steady-state value of the final fraction of infected individuals in a susceptible-infected-susceptible (SIS) model decreases. We also incorporate theoretical contact networks, having the awareness parameter dependent on global or local contacts. Results show that even when individuals increase their awareness of the disease, the spatial structure itself defines the steady state.

Understanding chronic feelings of emptiness in borderline personality disorder: a qualitative study

Background Chronic feelings of emptiness are significant in the lives of people with Borderline Personality Disorder (BPD). Feelings of emptiness have been linked to impulsivity, self-harm, suicidal behaviour and impaired psychosocial function. This study aimed to understand the experience of chronic emptiness, the cognitions, emotions and behaviours linked to emptiness, and clarify the differences between chronic emptiness and hopelessness, loneliness and depression. Methods This study interviewed people (n = 15) with BPD and used a template analysis qualitative approach to understand their experiences of chronic feelings of emptiness. Results Chronic feelings of emptiness were experienced as a feeling of disconnection from both self and others, and a sense of numbness and nothingness which was frequent and reduced functional capacity. Feelings of purposelessness and unfulfillment were closely associated with emptiness, and most participants experienced emptiness as distressing. Responses to feelings of emptiness varied, with participants largely engaging in either impulsive strategies to tolerate feelings of emptiness or distracting by using adaptive behaviours. Most participants distinguished chronic feelings of emptiness from loneliness, hopelessness, dissociation, and depression. Conclusions Feelings of chronic emptiness are an important and challenging symptom of BPD which require clinical intervention. Strengthening identity, sense of purpose and vocational and relationship functioning may reduce the intensity of emptiness.

HORSES AND GESTALT COACHING: A PROMISING COMBINATION FOR LIFE SKILLS LEARNING

Life skills play an important role in developing adaptive behaviours that are necessary to improve one’s quality of life. An individual with a broad range of life skills is more resilient than one with fewer skills. They can better withstand the challenges of constant change, successfully coping with stress and creating a fulfilling life. The aim of this research is to theoretically substantiate the possible benefits of equine-partnered gestalt coaching in life skills learning. Both Gestalt coaching and horses – specifically in context of different methods incorporated in equine assisted activities – are mentioned as they relate to the improvement of various aspects of quality of life based in life skills learning.

Identification of Neurodevelopmental Transition Patterns From Infancy to Early Childhood and Risk Factors Predicting Descending Transition: A Birth Cohort Study

It is unclear whether neurodevelopmental progress from infancy to early childhood remains stable. Moreover, little is known about the risk factors, if any, affecting neurodevelopmental descending transition patterns and the relationship between these patterns and later childhood adaptive behaviours. We used data of 875 children from the Hamamatsu Birth Cohort Study in Japan. Children’s neurodevelopment at 18 and 32 months and adaptive behaviours at 40 months were evaluated. Perinatal factors and infant overweight status at 18 months were investigated to identify descending-transition-associated risk factors. In the latent transition analysis, ultimately, three classes were identified for each time point, resulting in nine transition patterns; among them, 10.4% of children showed descending class shifts (normal to delayed class). Such decelerated growth was predicted by maternal pre-pregnancy overweight status (odds ratio [OR] = 2.49; 95% confidence interval [CI]: 1.23, 5.02), low maternal educational history (OR = 1.20; 95% CI: 1.04, 1.36), and infant overweight status at 18 months (OR = 5.89; 95% CI: 1.26, 27.45). Children with descending transition showed poor functioning in adaptive behaviours at the age of 40 months. Interventions targeting children with risk factors for descending transition patterns may prevent decelerated growth and subsequent poor adaptive functioning.

Neurophysiology goes wild: from exploring sensory coding in sound proof rooms to natural environments

To perform adaptive behaviours, animals have to establish a representation of the physical “outside” world. How these representations are created by sensory systems is a central issue in sensory physiology. This review addresses the history of experimental approaches toward ideas about sensory coding, using the relatively simple auditory system of acoustic insects. I will discuss the empirical evidence in support of Barlow’s “efficient coding hypothesis”, which argues that the coding properties of neurons undergo specific adaptations that allow insects to detect biologically important acoustic stimuli. This hypothesis opposes the view that the sensory systems of receivers are biased as a result of their phylogeny, which finally determine whether a sound stimulus elicits a behavioural response. Acoustic signals are often transmitted over considerable distances in complex physical environments with high noise levels, resulting in degradation of the temporal pattern of stimuli, unpredictable attenuation, reduced signal-to-noise levels, and degradation of cues used for sound localisation. Thus, a more naturalistic view of sensory coding must be taken, since the signals as broadcast by signallers are rarely equivalent to the effective stimuli encoded by the sensory system of receivers. The consequences of the environmental conditions for sensory coding are discussed.

Prognostic factors and predictors of outcome in children with autism spectrum disorder: the role of the paediatrician

Background Autism spectrum disorder is a complex condition with wide variation in type and severity that involves persistent challenges in social interaction, speech and nonverbal communication, restricted/repetitive behaviours and adaptive behaviours. In recent years, research has deepened the study of the predictive factors of optimal outcome, intended as indicators of positive trajectory in children with a previous diagnosis of autism who, after a therapeutic path, show a significant reduction in the “core” symptoms of autism and a positive evolution in social, adaptive, affective, and relational skills. Methods The study included 40 children aged 21 to 66 months, enrolled between 2015 and 2016 for an autism spectrum disorder clinical suspicious. Children were re-evaluated after at least 2 years of therapy and they were divided into two groups: the ASD-ASD group included children with a confirmed diagnosis of ASD, and the ASD-OO comparison group included children who no longer met the criteria for an autism classification. The aim of this retrospective study was to investigate the presence of cognitive, emotional and relational predictors capable of predicting the presence of optimal outcome in with a diagnosis of autism; the predictors taken into consideration were the intelligence quotient, the play, the emotional contagion and the understanding of other’s intentions. In this way, it is possible to support clinicians in defining a more complete diagnostic framework of autism, using assessment tools that can be administered quickly and therefore suitable for short observation sessions in paediatric patients. Results The findings showed that 15 out of 40 children, after at least for 2 years, no longer fell into the diagnostic ASD category based on the ADOS-2, DSM-5 and clinical criteria. The children in the ASD-OO group initially had a higher IQ than those in the ASD-ASD group, lower severity of autistic symptoms, greater understanding of intentions, more emotional contagion, and better quality of play. The results suggest that the initial coexistence of skills in these areas at the time of the first diagnostic assessment may allow us to predict the possibility of achieving optimal outcome after 2 years of therapy. Conclusions The data of this study highlight the importance of considering, during assessment, intelligence quotient, play, emotional contagion, and understanding of the intentions of others as potential prognostic predictors that can become useful tools for clinicians and paediatricians. This allows us to focus attention, in both the diagnostic and prognostic phases, on emotional-relational variables that can support the clinician in defining a more complete diagnostic framework and in planning a more personalized therapeutic path.

Extreme events, risk perception, communication, and adaptation in the context of climate change: the case of an Andean community in Peru

<p><strong>Abstract:</strong></p><p><em>Introduction and theoretical background: </em>The increase in extreme events as a result of climate change has serious consequences for the world (Bevacqua, Yu, & Zhang, 2018; Clark et al., 1998), with higher impacts on Andean communities, which are more vulnerable to its effects due to the scarce resources they have to cope with its effects. The study on local risk perception, as a strategy that allows people to be more aware of the hazard and therefore be more willing to deal with the eventuality of the hazard (Lopez and Marvan, 2018). Our study analyses experience with extreme events: severe storms, avalanches, droughts and floods. Furthermore, we analyze how experiences with extreme weather can be related to risk perception, communication, and adaptive behaviours.</p><p><em>Methods:</em> After a thorough pilot. We selected two interviewers, from the same community. To comply with COVID-19 health protocols, the questionnaire was implemented online. All questions were presented in a closed format. The total number of participants (N=200) belonged to the Phinaya community located at the bottom of the Quelccaya glacier (5650 mamsl). All gave their consent to participate voluntarily in the study.</p><p><em>Results:</em> 86% indicated having experienced drought or water shortage in the last 5 years between 1 and more than 3 times, 14% did not. Then 59% indicated that they had experienced storms between 1 and more than 3 times in the last 5 years, 41% indicated that they had not experienced any. Regarding floods, 21.5% indicated that they had experienced them, while 78.5% had not. 34.9 % indicated that they had experienced avalanches. 97.5% said they were very concerned about climate change. 82% received information on storms, 90% received information on droughts, 82% received information on floods, 51% received information on avalanches. There is a relationship between people who have had experiences with severe storms and those who have experienced landslides and avalanches. Regarding the perception of risk, we found differences between men and women. No clear relationship was identified between risk perception and extreme events. It is observed that communications about droughts influenced negatively on risk perception, the other extreme events did not show significant relations. Finally, with respect to adaptation behaviours, we found a positive relationship between experiences with storms, and perceptions of risk of climate change, greater perception of risk, greater willingness to develop adaptive behaviours.</p><p><em>Conclusions: </em>Most people have been exposed to more than one type of extreme events such as droughts and storms. This study contributes to a better understanding of the relationships between public perception of climate change in Andean communities and corroborates the important role of communication and adaptive behaviors in the context of risk perceptions.</p>

Adaptive behaviours and risk awareness during catastrophic events: the case of the Vaia storm in North-Eastern Italy

<p>On October 29<sup>th</sup> 2018, the Vaia storm hit the mountainous areas in North-Eastern Italy with high wind speeds, heavy gusts and extreme rainfall, leading to major socio-economic damages (two casualties, entire communities isolated for weeks, damages to buildings and infrastructures, etc.). It caused major damages to forests, losses to ecosystem services, and severe short as well as long term socio-economic consequences. As such, this event provides a concrete example of the scale of the hazard to communities and ecosystems and of the involved risks and impacts, including those on the economy, institutions and local communities.</p><p>Given this background, our study aims at understanding how individuals affected by the storm: i) detected the potentially dangerous circumstances, ii) reacted to the storm, iii) adapted their routine to cope with the consequence of the event, iv) changed their risk awareness and perception after the event.</p><p>To achieve these objectives, we developed a web-based survey addressing 1,500 ca. inhabitants of the Veneto and Trentino Alto Adige regions, two areas that suffered major consequences from the event. The survey quantitatively documented behavioural responses associated with the Vaia event and included questions related to: i) whether respondents changed their normal routine during the storm and if so for what reason; ii) information received before and during the event and how respondents reacted to it; iii) damage suffered during the event; iv) risk awareness and how it changed after the event; v) personal protection measures adopted before and after the event; vi) respondents' attitudinal and psychological traits, with specific reference to Protection Motivation Theory (Rogers, 1975, 1997; McMath and Prentice-Dunn,2005), a well-established theory on risk behaviour.</p><p>Data analysis is expected to reveal what are the key characteristics (maybe better factors?) affecting individual behaviours in a dangerous situation, with particular attention to the reasons that drive citizens to change their activities and daily routines during catastrophic events. Specifically, data will be used at first to develop a multivariate statistical analysis to define the determinants of adaptive behaviours and risk awareness. Secondly, they will be used to estimate probabilistic models (Latent Class models) that allow to segregate respondents (and hence the population of reference) in different groups sharing a similar profile in terms of behaviour and attitudes towards the catastrophic event under study. Probability to belong to different behavioural groups will be explained by individuals’ characteristics, such as socio-demographics and psychological traits related to the Protection Motivation Theory. The results will help to better understand societal responses to natural hazards and to explain why certain groups within broader communities are more risk aware and prepared than others. In turns, this will allow to design effective risk management strategies and inform policies and communication strategies aimed at increasing the citizen adaptive capacity.  </p>