Feeling Blue - Get Green

Human bodies and minds evolved together—simultaneously and interdependently. Therefore, if nature provides for our physical health and well-being, it follows that nature also provides for our mental health and well-being. Psychologists have begun to recognize the impact that exposure to nature has on many aspects of our mental health and well-being; and a substantial body of supporting research and empirical data has accumulated. Nature’s beneficial effects on individuals’ mental health have been shown to extend beyond a mere restoration to baseline after negative periods of stress, anxiety, or depression. Nature’s beneficial effects extend to positively increasing true mental health and well-being, to elevating individuals beyond a neutral “just getting by” level and into an additive state of thriving and flourishing. This paper discusses highlights from the ever-increasing body of research findings and empirical data evidencing the positive and additive effects that nature has on our mental health and well-being. Included in this discussion are findings from a recent series of studies conducted at Grant MacEwan University that this author was involved in. The research summarized in this paper demonstrates that our relationship with nature is vital to our mental health and well-being

Blood type gene locus has no influence on ACE association with Alzheimer's disease

The ABO blood group locus was recently found to contribute independently as well as via interactions with ACE gene variation to plasma levels of angiotensin converting enzyme (ACE). Variation in ACE has also previously been implicated as conferring susceptibility for Alzheimer’s disease (AD), but has also been proposed to confer risk via interactions with other as yet unknown genes. More recently, larger studies have not supported ACE as a risk factor for AD, while the role of ACE pathway in AD has come under increased levels of scrutiny with respect to various aspects of AD pathology and possible therapies. We explored the potential combined involvement of ABO and ACE variation in the genetic susceptibility of 2067 AD cases compared to 1376 non-demented elderly. Including the effects of ABO haplotype did not provide any evidence for the genetic association of ACE with AD

The relationship between stereotyped movements and self-injurious behavior in children with developmental or sensory disabilities

Stereotyped movements (SM), including stereotyped self-injurious behaviour (SIB), are common among children with developmental and sensory disorders, but it is not known if SIB is a more severe form of SM or whether SIB and SM differ in kind. We developed the Stereotyped and Self-Injurious Movement Interview (SSIMI) to assess injurious and non-injurious SM. The SSIMI was administered to children with autism (n=56), intellectual disability (n=29), vision impairment (n=50), hearing impairment (n=51), and typical children (n=30). Results indicate that the reliability of measurement increases when SIB and other SM items are included in a single scale, that SIB is rarely evident in the absence of other SM (but not vice versa), that between group differences in the prevalence of SIB are paralleled by differences in the prevalence of other SM, and that correlations between SIB and other SM are moderately strong in autism, vision impaired, and intellectual disability groups but not in typical and hearing impaired groups. We conclude that the SSIMI is a useful measure of SIB and other SM. Among children with autism, vision impairment, or intellectual disability, SIB appear to represent a more severe form of SM. Both SIB and other SM may result from impairments in intellectual and sensory processing

Functional performance, depression, anxiety and stress in people with spinal cord injuries in Thailand: A Transition from hospital to home

The numbers of people with spinal cord injuries (SCI) in Thailand are on the increase. Thai traditional rehabilitation focuses its treatment in acute care with little attention to the lives of clients after their discharge from institutions. In addition to functional disability, emotional states of depression, anxiety, and stress are often involved in SCI. The purpose of this study is to identify and compare the outcomes of functional performance, depression, anxiety and stress of people with SCI, both at discharge and at post-discharge from hospital. It also identifies factors influencing these issues, for this group. The study participants were 121 people with SCI, recruited from ten major hospitals in Thailand. Data was collected at 48 hours pre-discharge and again at three months post-discharge, using the Functional Independence Measure (FIM) and the Depression, Anxiety, and Stress Scale (DASS). The results demonstrated that functional performance at discharge was significantly higher, than at three months post-discharge. Depression and anxiety at discharge were significantly lower than depression and anxiety at three months post-discharge. However, stress had not significantly changed from discharge to post-discharge. Factors influencing functional performance were marital status, number of architectural barriers, fulfilment of occupational therapy (OT) needs, and the number of service needs remaining unmet. Factors influencing depression, anxiety and stress were marital and economic status, education level, fulfilment of OT needs, and numbers of service needs remaining unmet. Rehabilitation professionals can eliminate these problems by bridging the gap of transition from hospital to home, for people with SCI

Targeting Health Disparity in Breast Cancer: Insights into Women's Knowledge of their Cancer Profile in Malaysia

Malaysian women in this cohort study demonstrated very low levels of knowledge of their cancer profile. Clinical implications for countering treatment-decision difficulties include the need for a shift in the way information and services are delivered to allow women to take a more active role in their own care. Multi-modal efforts including basic information dissemination to increase women's knowledge can contribute to narrowing of the gap in health disparity

Investigating splicing variants uncovered by next-generation sequencing the Alzheimer’s disease candidate genes, CLU, PICALM, CR1, ABCA7, BIN1, the MS4A locus, CD2AP, EPHA1 and CD33

Late onset Alzheimer’s disease (LOAD), the most common cause of late onset dementia, has a strong genetic component. To date, 21 disease-risk loci have been identified through genome wide association studies (GWAS). However, the causative functional variant(s) within these loci are yet to be discovered. This study aimed to identify potential functional splicing mutations in the nine original GWAS-risk genes: CLU, PICALM, CR1, ABCA7, BIN1, the MS4A locus, CD2AP, EPHA1 and CD33. Target enriched next generation sequencing (NGS) was used to resequence the entire genetic region for each of these GWAS-risk loci in 96 LOAD patients and in silico databases were used to annotate the variants for functionality. Predicted splicing variants were further functionally characterised using splicing prediction software and minigene splicing assays. Following in silico annotation, 21 variants were predicted to influence splicing and, upon further annotation, four of these were examined utilising the in vitro minigene assay. Two variants, rs881768 A>G in ABCA7 and a novel variant 11: 60179827 T>G in MS4A6A were shown, in these cell assays, to affect the splicing of these genes. The method employed in the paper successfully identified potential splicing variants in GWAS-risk genes. Further investigation will be needed to understand the full effect of these variants on LOAD risk. However, these results suggest a possible pipeline in order to identify putative functional variants as a result of NGS in disease-associated loci although improvements are needed within the current prediction programme in order to reduce the number of false positives

The case for using the repeatability coefficient when calculating test-retest reliability

The use of standardised tools is an essential component of evidence-based practice. Reliance on standardised tools places demands on clinicians to understand their properties, strengths, and weaknesses, in order to interpret results and make clinical decisions. This paper makes a case for clinicians to consider measurement error (ME) indices Coefficient of Repeatability (CR) or the Smallest Real Difference (SRD) over relative reliability coefficients like the Pearson’s (r) and the Intraclass Correlation Coefficient (ICC), while selecting tools to measure change and inferring change as true. The authors present statistical methods that are part of the current approach to evaluate test–retest reliability of assessment tools and outcome measurements. Selected examples from a previous test–retest study are used to elucidate the added advantages of knowledge of the ME of an assessment tool in clinical decision making. The CR is computed in the same units as the assessment tool and sets the boundary of the minimal detectable true change that can be measured by the tool

Elicited Awe Decreases Aggression

Awe is a feeling of wonder and amazement in response to experiencing something so vast that it transcends one's current frames of reference. Across three experiments ( N = 557), we tested the inhibition effect of awe on aggression. We used a narrative recall task paradigm (Studies 1 and 2) and a video (Study 3) to induce the emotion of awe. After inducing awe, we first examined participants’ emotion and their sense of ‘small self’, and then the manifestation of aggressiveness in a Shooting Game (Study 1), Tangram Help/Hurt Task (Studies 2 and 3) and Aggression-IAT (Study 3), respectively. Results indicated that awe reduced aggression and increased prosociality and a sense of small self relative to neutral affect and positive emotions of happiness and amusement. Mediation analyses evidenced mixed support for a sense of small self mediating the effect of awe on aggression and prosociality. </jats:p

Flourishing in nature: A review of the benefits of connecting with nature and its application as a wellbeing intervention

From the increasing number of people living in urban areas to the continued degradation of the natural environment, many of us appear to be physically and psychologically disconnected from nature. We consider the theoretical explanations and present evidence for why this state of affairs might result in suboptimal levels of hedonic and eudaimonic wellbeing by reviewing the large body of research on the mental health benefits of connecting with nature. The advantages of contact with nature as a potential wellbeing intervention are discussed, and examples of how this research is being applied to reconnect individuals to nature and improve wellbeing are given. We conclude by considering the limitations of, and proposing future directions for, research in this area. Overall, evidence suggests that connecting with nature is one path to flourishing in life

Enhancing personal and planetary wellbeing: A comparative study of the "3 Good Things" and "3 Good Things in Nature" interventions

In this preregistered study, we compared the efficacy of the standard “Three Good Things” (3GT) intervention to a nature-based adaptation, “Three Good Things in Nature” (3GTiN), in enhancing well-being and nature-related outcomes. For one week, participants (N = 330) were randomly assigned to either note three good things that happened each day (3GT condition) or note three good things they noticed in everyday nature each day (3GTiN condition). Results revealed that 3GTiN was statistically equivalent to 3GT in boosting affect balance and life satisfaction, while also offering additional well-being benefits, namely greater transcendent connectedness (feeling connected to other humans, to nature, and to life in general) and elevation (a composite emotion which includes feeling deeply appreciative, profoundly touched, morally uplifted). Further, engagement in the 3GTiN intervention increased nature connectedness, which emerged as a strong predictor of intention to engage in pro-environmental behaviour. Levels of eco-anxiety did not significantly differ between the two conditions. Qualitative analyses of over 10,000 responses provided several additional insights, including nature being a prominent good thing mentioned in the standard 3GT intervention. The present research provides additional evidence of 3GTiN’s potential for helping to promote aspects of both personal and planetary well-being