Neighborhood resources associated with frailty trajectories over time among community-dwelling older adults in China

Background and objectivesRecent research has identified neighborhoods as an important contributor to later-life frailty. However, little is known about how neighborhood resources are associated with frailty trajectories over time, especially in developing countries. This study examines the impact of neighborhood physical and social resources on the trajectories of frailty over time among older people in China.Research design and methodsUsing the four waves of the China Health and Retirement Longitudinal Study (2011–2018), 5673 respondents aged 60 and above at baseline were included for analyses. Multilevel growth modeling was fitted to estimate the effects of neighborhood resources on frailty trajectories over a 7-year period, controlling for individual-level characteristics.ResultsOlder Chinese people who lived in neighborhoods with better basic infrastructures and a greater number of voluntary organizations were less frail at baseline. Accessible exercise facilities were associated with a lower initial level of frailty only among rural older adults, while higher community-level socioeconomic status (SES) was associated with a lower initial level of frailty only among urban older adults. Over the 7-year follow-up period, better basic infrastructures and accessible exercise facilities were associated with a slower increase rate of frailty scores among rural residents.Discussion and implicationsNeighborhood resources are important contributors to the level of frailty among older Chinese people. Our findings of significant urban-rural differences have important implications for designing and implementing infrastructure development and community building programs in rural and urban China.     

Physical Similarity and Twin Resemblance for Eating Attitudes and Behaviors: A Test of the Equal Environments Assumption

The Equal Environments Assumption (EEA) in twin studies of eating pathology was investigated by examining the hypothesis that twin resemblance for eating attitudes and behaviors is affected by their degree of physical similarity. Eating attitudes and behaviors were assessed in 338 female adolescent twin pairs with a revised version of the Eating Disorder Inventory (EDI). General physical similarity as well as body size/shape similarity were assessed using ratings of color photographs, ratings of body shape, and body mass index. All physical similarity assessments were conducted blind to twin zygosity. Significant associations between physical similarity and twin similarity for eating attitudes and behaviors were not found. Mean EDI within-twin pair absolute difference scores did not differ significantly among more versus less physically-similar groups. Additionally, correlation and regression analyses failed to find a significant association between EDI absolute difference scores and physical similarity indices. The current findings provide support for the EEA in twin studies of eating attitudes and behaviors.     

Local thermal unpleasantness and discomfort prediction in the vicinity of thermoneutrality

This work emphasizes a better understanding of the origin of human thermal discomfort under heterogeneous but steady environments, in subjects in the vicinity of physiological and sensory thermoneutrality. The knowledge of skin temperatures allows a psychophysiological study aiming at linking the body thermal state (local and global) to thermal sensation (perceptive and affective judgements). By using two driving simulators, 345 subjects were exposed to different thermal environments, modulated by factors such as the air distribution in the automotive cockpit or the clothing insulation (winter or summer). This work shows that consideration of the local thermal state is essential for the evaluation of thermal comfort in the case of non-uniform environments. Our experimental conditions point out that the overall sensation of discomfort is quantitative, with local unpleasantness needing to be felt for a certain number of body surfaces. A local origin is suggested for cold discomfort, in opposition to the global characteristics of warm discomfort.     

Green mobility and obesity risk: A longitudinal analysis in California

Previous work reports an inverse association between neighborhood greenness and obesity. Limitations of this work, which relies largely on cross-sectional data, include that studies often lack control for unmeasured genetic and sociodemographic factors that may confound associations, and cannot disentangle temporal order between neighborhood greenness and obesity. We move beyond a cross-sectional approach and leverage a longitudinal sibling-linked dataset with health, residential, and demographic information on women with two births in California between 2007 and 2015 (N = 552,929). We used a sibling comparison design to control for unmeasured stable characteristics of women and tested whether a positive change in neighborhood greenness (i.e., “upward green mobility”) precedes a reduction in obesity risk. Models also adjusted for baseline obesity risk and time-varying individual- and neighborhood-level socioeconomic factors. As hypothesized, we find that upward green mobility varies inversely with the odds of obesity. Results indicate that small decreases in neighborhood greenness may also show protective associations with obesity risk. Our findings, if replicated, suggest that changing levels (particularly increases) of greenness in the residential environment may combat the rise of obesity.     

Consuming identities: Alcohol marketing and the commodification of youth experience

Marketing has successfully used the postmodern turn in conceptualisations of the human subject and incorporated contemporary theorising of identities and self into its understanding of the key drivers of consumption. Such developments clearly converge in alcohol marketing practices that target young people, where commercialised youth identities available for consumption and engagement are a significant element. This article reports data from young people that reflect the uptake of such identities and considers the challenges that these developments represent for public health and the well-being of young people.     

中学生学业拖延与班级环境的关系

目的 从个体和班级两个层面考察班级环境对中学生学业拖延的影响.方法 选取1972名中学生进行问卷调查,使用HLM进行分析,同时对学生进行个别访谈.结果 问题型、中间型、良好型班级在复习、作业和自我任务上的拖延得分存在显著差异(F=16.927,5.832,5.504;P＜0.01);从个体层面来看,师生关系、同学关系能显著地负向预测复习拖延(t=-3.206,-3.765；P＜0.01)和作业拖延(t=-3.822,-3.797;P＜0.001),竞争能显著负向预测作业拖延(t=-2.323,P＜0.05)；从班级层面来看,竞争能量著地负向预测复习和自我任务拖延(t=-2.542,-3.074;P＜0.05).结论 班级环境是影响学业拖延的重要因素.     

The effectiveness of simulation activities on the cognitive abilities of undergraduate third‐year nursing students: a randomised control trial

Aims and objectives. To provide evidence on the effectiveness of simulation activities on the clinical decision‐making abilities of undergraduate nursing students. Based on previous research, it was hypothesised that the higher the cognitive score, the greater the ability a nursing student would have to make informed valid decisions in their clinical practice. Background. Globally, simulation is being espoused as an education method that increases the competence of health professionals. At present, there is very little evidence to support current investment in time and resources. Methods. Following ethical approval, fifty‐eight third‐year undergraduate nursing students were randomised in a pretest–post‐test group‐parallel controlled trial. The learning environment preferences (LEP) inventory was used to test cognitive abilities in order to refute the null hypothesis that activities in computer‐based simulated learning environments have a negative effect on cognitive abilities when compared with activities in skills laboratory simulated learning environments. Results. There was no significant difference in cognitive development following two cycles of simulation activities. Therefore, it is reasonable to assume that two simulation tasks, either computer‐based or laboratory‐based, have no effect on an undergraduate student’s ability to make clinical decisions in practice. However, there was a significant finding for non‐English first‐language students, which requires further investigation. Conclusions. More longitudinal studies that quantify the education effects of simulation on the cognitive, affective and psychomotor attributes of health science students and professionals from both English‐speaking and non‐English‐speaking backgrounds are urgently required. It is also recommended that to achieve increased participant numbers and prevent non‐participation owing to absenteeism, further studies need to be imbedded directly into curricula. Relevance to clinical practice. This investigation confirms the effect of simulation activities on real‐life clinical practice, and the comparative learning benefits with traditional clinical practice and university education remain unknown.