Development of the face-to-face component and recruitment strategy of a primary care digital social intervention for patients with asthma: Qualitative focus groups and interviews with stakeholders.

Background: 5.4 million people in the UK have asthma, with one third experiencing suboptimal control, leading to co-morbidities and increased healthcare use. A quarter of people with long-term conditions informally access peer support through online health communities (OHCs).

A Systematic Review of the Effectiveness of Interventions to Promote Referral; Adherence; and Uptake of Pulmonary Rehabilitation for Patients with Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease.

Background: Pulmonary rehabilitation (PR) is an effective treatment for patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD). However, referral, uptake, and adherence remain low.

Objective: To determine effectiveness of interventions to increase patient referral, uptake, and adherence to PR programs for patients with COPD.

Investigating primary healthcare practitioners' barriers and enablers to referral of patients with COPD to pulmonary rehabilitation: a mixed-methods study using the Theoretical Domains Framework.

Objectives: Pulmonary rehabilitation (PR) is a highly effective, recommended intervention for patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD). Using behavioural theory within mixed-methods research to understand why referral remains low enables the development of targeted interventions in order to improve future PR referral.

Design: A multiphase sequential mixed-methods study.

Physical disturbance by recovering sea otter populations increases eelgrass genetic diversity.

Most knowledge regarding the role of predators is ecological in nature. Here, we report how disturbance generated by sea otters () digging for infaunal prey in eelgrass () meadows increases genetic diversity by promoting conditions for sexual reproduction of plants. Eelgrass allelic richness and genotypic diversity were, respectively, 30 and 6% higher in areas where recovering sea otter populations had been established for 20 to 30 years than in areas where they had been present <10 years or absent >100 years.

Cascading social-ecological costs and benefits triggered by a recovering keystone predator.

Predator recovery often leads to ecosystem change that can trigger conflicts with more recently established human activities. In the eastern North Pacific, recovering sea otters are transforming coastal systems by reducing populations of benthic invertebrates and releasing kelp forests from grazing pressure. These changes threaten established shellfish fisheries and modify a variety of other ecosystem services.

Referral of patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease to pulmonary rehabilitation: a qualitative study of barriers and enablers for primary healthcare practitioners.

Background: Pulmonary rehabilitation (PR) is a cost-effective, internationally recommended intervention for patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD). Referral is predominately led by primary healthcare practitioners (PHCPs), but referral and patient uptake is poor.

Aim: To understand barriers and enablers for PHCPs when considering patient referral to PR, to explore the influence of patient characteristics, and to understand how referral rates may be increased.

Sex and occupation time influence niche space of a recovering keystone predator.

Predators exert strong effects on ecological communities, particularly when they re-occupy areas after decades of extirpation. Within species, such effects can vary over time and by sex and cascade across trophic levels. We used a space-for-time substitution to make foraging observations of sea otters () across a gradient of reoccupation time (1-30 years), and nonmetric multidimensional scaling (nMDS) analysis to ask whether (a) sea otter niche space varies as a function of occupation time and (b) whether niche space varies by sex.

The importance of obtaining a sputum sample and how it can aid diagnosis and treatment.

Respiratory disease has a major impact on the NHS and continues to be a growing problem as each year passes. However, through improving diagnosis and management of respiratory disease the problem could be lessened. Taking a sputum sample is common practice within respiratory medicine especially for patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) and helps to diagnose, confirm infection and offer correct treatment.

Non-pharmacological management of chronic breathlessness in stable chronic obstructive pulmonary disease.

This paper will review and address the pathological processes in chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), including the prevalence of comorbidities and the implications of these factors for a common disabling COPD symptom, breathlessness. It will further consider non-pharmacological strategies that community nurses can use to support breathlessness relief in the context of holistic patient care.

Size, growth, and density data for shallow-water sea urchins from Mexico to the Aleutian Islands, Alaska, 1956-2016.

Size, growth, and density have been studied for North American Pacific coast sea urchins Strongylocentrotus purpuratus, S. droebachiensis, S. polyacanthus, Mesocentrotus (Strongylocentrotus) franciscanus, Lytechinus pictus, Centrostephanus coronatus, and Arbacia stellata by various workers at diverse sites and for varying lengths of time from 1956 to present.

Ecosystem features determine seagrass community response to sea otter foraging.

Comparing sea otter recovery in California (CA) and British Columbia (BC) reveals key ecosystem properties that shape top-down effects in seagrass communities. We review potential ecosystem drivers of sea otter foraging in CA and BC seagrass beds, including the role of coastline complexity and environmental stress on sea otter effects. In BC, we find greater species richness across seagrass trophic assemblages.

Referrals to dietitians/nutritionists: A cross-sectional analysis of Australian GP registrars' clinical practice.

Aim: The present study aimed to describe referral patterns of general practitioner (GP) registrars to dietitians/nutritionists. There is a paucity of research regarding GP referral patterns to dietitians/nutritionists. Limited data show increasing referrals from established GPs to dietitians/nutritionists.

Trends in Food and Beverage Portion Sizes in Australian Children; a Time-Series Analysis Comparing 2007 and 2011-2012 National Data.

In 2011-2012 approximately 26% of Australian children aged between 5-17 years were reported to be overweight or obese. Furthermore, the increase in prevalence of overweight and obesity among US children parallels reported increases in energy intake and portion sizes of common foods, leading to the recognition that availability of larger portion sizes contributes to the rise in overweight and obesity prevalence. Thus, the aim of this time-series analysis was to investigate whether selected food portion sizes in Australian children aged 2-16 years changed between 2007 and 2011-2012.

Global patterns of kelp forest change over the past half-century.

Kelp forests (Order Laminariales) form key biogenic habitats in coastal regions of temperate and Arctic seas worldwide, providing ecosystem services valued in the range of billions of dollars annually. Although local evidence suggests that kelp forests are increasingly threatened by a variety of stressors, no comprehensive global analysis of change in kelp abundances currently exists. Here, we build and analyze a global database of kelp time series spanning the past half-century to assess regional and global trends in kelp abundances.

How big is a food portion? A pilot study in Australian families.

Issues Addressed: It is not known whether individuals can accurately estimate the portion size of foods usually consumed relative to standard serving sizes in national food selection guides. The aim of the present cross-sectional pilot study was to quantify what adults and children deem a typical portion for a variety of foods and compare these with the serving sizes specified in the Australian Guide to Healthy Eating (AGHE).

Methods: Adults and children were independently asked to serve out their typical portion of 10 common foods (rice, pasta, breakfast cereal, chocolate, confectionary, ice cream, meat, vegetables, soft drink and milk).

The comparative validity and reproducibility of a diet quality index for adults: the Australian Recommended Food Score.

Adult diet quality indices are shown to predict nutritional adequacy of dietary intake as well as all-cause morbidity and mortality. This study describes the reproducibility and validity of a food-based diet quality index, the Australian Recommended Food Score (ARFS). ARFS was developed to reflect alignment with the Australian Dietary Guidelines and is modelled on the US Recommended Food Score.

Validity of the Australian Recommended Food Score as a diet quality index for Pre-schoolers.

Background: Diet quality tools provide researchers with brief methods to assess the nutrient adequacy of usual dietary intake. This study describes the development and validation of a pediatric diet quality index, the Australian Recommended Food Scores for Pre-schoolers (ARFS-P), for use with children aged two to five years.

Methods: The ARFS-P was derived from a 120-item food frequency questionnaire, with eight sub-scales, and was scored from zero to 73.

Testing problem solving in turkey vultures (Cathartes aura) using the string-pulling test.

To examine problem solving in turkey vultures (Cathartes aura), six captive vultures were presented with a string-pulling task, which involved drawing a string up to access food. This test has been used to assess cognition in many bird species. A small piece of meat suspended by a string was attached to a perch.

Food and beverage portion sizes in Australian children: a secondary analysis of 1995 and 2007 national data.

Background: Portion size of foods is reported to contribute to the rise in obesity prevalence. However, evidence of changes in portion size for commonly consumed foods in Australia is lacking. The aim was to evaluate whether Australian child and adolescent portion sizes of selected foods changed from 1995 to 2007.

Reproducibility and comparative validity of a food frequency questionnaire for Australian adults.

Background: Food frequency questionnaires (FFQ) are used in epidemiological studies to investigate the relationship between diet and disease. There is a need for a valid and reliable adult FFQ with a contemporary food list in Australia.

Aims: To evaluate the reproducibility and comparative validity of the Australian Eating Survey (AES) FFQ in adults compared to weighed food records (WFRs).

The development and evaluation of the Australian child and adolescent recommended food score: a cross-sectional study.

Background: Diet quality tools have been developed to assess the adequacy of dietary patterns for predicting future morbidity and mortality. This study describes the development and evaluation of a brief food-based diet quality index for use with children at the individual or population level. The Australian Child and Adolescent Recommended Food Score (ACARFS) was developed to reflect adherence to the Dietary Guidelines for Children and Adolescents in Australia and modelled on the approach of the US Recommended Food Score.

Enhanced recovery in major colorectal surgery: safety and efficacy in an unselected surgical population at a UK district general hospital.

Background: Enhanced Recovery Programmes (ERPs) have been shown to benefit recovery following major surgery in selected centres and patient groups, but their wider applicability requires continued evaluation. The aims of this study were to assess the outcomes of the first 400 consecutive, non-selected patients, undergoing major elective colorectal surgery within an Enhanced Recovery programme at a UK District General hospital and to examine the effects of patient risk factors and operative approach on outcomes.

Methods: Since September 2005 all patients undergoing major elective colon and rectal surgery at our hospital have been treated within an ERP and their data recorded prospectively on a database.

Assessing dietary intake in children and adolescents: Considerations and recommendations for obesity research.

Abstract Dietary intake and food habits are important contributors to the obesity epidemic. They are highly modifiable components of energy balance and are usually targeted in both obesity prevention and treatment programs. However, measurement of total diet creates challenges and can convey a large burden in terms of cost, technical expertise, impact on respondents and time.