Perceived usefulness of digital self-tracking among people with multiple sclerosis.

Background And Aim: Self-care technologies may support patients with multiple sclerosis (MS) in their everyday disease management by enabling self-monitoring of various health indicators, such as symptom levels and physical activity levels. The aim of this study was to assess the usefulness of tracking self-selected MS- and health-related measures via a digital self-tracking tool for people with MS (PwMS) over a period of six weeks.

Methods: An initial development phase was followed by a six-week testing phase with 58 test participants.

Shaping understandings through reflexive practice: Learnings from participatory research on aging with multiple sclerosis.

Background: Participatory research has gained traction as an approach to unlock perspectives when creating scientific knowledge and to facilitate societal changes. By conducting research with people, participatory research strives to engage individuals' perspectives in designing, conducting, and disseminating the research. Nevertheless, few studies have unpacked how understandings of the studied phenomenon are shaped among diverse research partners and, concurrently, how different perspectives are combined.

Where does the carbon go? Long-term effects of forest management on the carbon budget of a temperate-forest water-supply watershed.

While forest management commonly seeks to increase carbon (C) capture and sequestration, in some settings, a high density of C storage may be detrimental to other land uses and ecosystem services. We study a forested, drinking-water-supply watershed to determine the effects of forest management on C storage with the implicit understanding that greater storage of C will lead to increased quantity of carbon exported hydrologically into a source-water reservoir. Using a custom implementation of CBM-CFS3, a Canadian model to simulate C transformations and movement in forested systems, and a custom forest disturbance and management model, we simulate various management scenarios and their C outcomes.

Characterizing Non-governmental Organizations And Local Government Collaborations In Urban Forest Management Across Canada.

Urban forests are being threatened by rapid urbanization, biodiversity crises, and climate variability. In response, governments are increasingly collaborating with the public for solutions to these mounting challenges. Non-governmental organizations (NGOs) are dominant players in these collaborations because of their ability to supplement governments' expertize and resources and bring social and ecological issues to the forefront of civic agendas.

Climate-driven shifts in leaf senescence are greater for boreal species than temperate species in the Acadian Forest region in contrast to leaf emergence shifts.

The Acadian Forest Region is a temperate-boreal transitional zone in eastern North America which provides a unique opportunity for understanding the potential effects of climate change on both forest types. Leaf phenology, the timing of leaf life cycle changes, is an important indicator of the biological effects of climate change, which can be observed with stationary timelapse cameras known as phenocams. Using four growing seasons of observations for the species (red maple), (paper/white birch) and (balsam fir) from the Acadian Phenocam Network as well as multiple growing season observations from the North American PhenoCam Network we parameterized eight leaf emergence and six leaf senescence models for each species which span a range in process and driver representation.

A national assessment of urban forest carbon storage and sequestration in Canada.

During a time of rapid urban growth and development, it is becoming ever more important to monitor the carbon fluxes of our cities. Unlike Canada's commercially managed forests that have a long history of inventory and modelling tools, there is both a lack of coordinated data and considerable uncertainty on assessment procedures for urban forest carbon. Nonetheless, independent studies have been carried out across Canada.

Reasons for Engaging in Complementary and Alternative Medicine Among Highly Educated Women With Multiple Sclerosis.

Background: Previous research has shown that users of complementary and alternative medicine (CAM) among persons with multiple sclerosis are more likely to be women and to have a higher level of education compared with nonusers. This qualitative study was performed to explore the motivations linked to CAM use among highly educated women with multiple sclerosis.

Methods: The study was based on a phenomenological approach, and 8 semistructured, in-depth qualitative interviews were performed.

What people with diabetes in Denmark worry about during the COVID-19 pandemic: A longitudinal study of the first 3 months of the COVID-19 pandemic.

To investigate and characterise general and diabetes-specific worries related to COVID-19 among people with diabetes in Denmark during the first 3 months of the pandemic. In a longitudinal study from March to June 2020, six online questionnaires (Q1-Q6) were distributed to 2430 adult members of two diabetes panels. Worries related to COVID-19 were measured with closed- and open-ended items.

Systematic review of the effects of fascia iliaca compartment block on hip fracture patients before operation.

Background: Fascia iliaca compartment block is used for hip fractures in order to reduce pain, the need for systemic analgesia, and prevent delirium, on this basis. This systematic review was conducted to investigate the analgesic and adverse effects of fascia iliaca block on hip fracture in adults when applied before operation.

Methods: Nine databases were searched from inception until July 2016 yielding 11 randomised and quasi-randomised controlled trials, all using loss of resistance fascia iliaca compartment block, with a total population of 1062 patients.

De-icing salt contamination reduces urban tree performance in structural soil cells.

Salts used for de-icing roads and sidewalks in northern climates can have a significant impact on water quality and vegetation. Sub-surface engineering systems, such as structural soil cells, can regulate water runoff and pollutants, and provide the necessary soil volume and irrigation to grow trees. However, the ability of such systems to manage de-icing salt contamination, and the impact of this contamination on the trees growing in them, have not been evaluated.

Hypersensitivity of BRCA2 deficient cells to rosemary extract explained by weak PARP inhibitory activity.

Rosemary extract is used in food additives and traditional medicine and has been observed to contain anti-tumor activity. In this study, rosemary extract is hypothesized to induce synthetic lethality in BRCA2 deficient cells by PARP inhibition. Chinese hamster lung V79 cells and its mutant cell lines, V-C8 (BRCA2 deficient) and V-C8 with BRCA2 gene correction were used.

Forecasting Urban Forest Ecosystem Structure, Function, and Vulnerability.

The benefits derived from urban forest ecosystems are garnering increasing attention in ecological research and municipal planning. However, because of their location in heterogeneous and highly-altered urban landscapes, urban forests are vulnerable and commonly suffer disproportionate and varying levels of stress and disturbance. The objective of this study is to assess and analyze the spatial and temporal changes, and potential vulnerability, of the urban forest resource in Toronto, Canada.

Neighbourhood-scale urban forest ecosystem classification.

Urban forests are now recognized as essential components of sustainable cities, but there remains uncertainty concerning how to stratify and classify urban landscapes into units of ecological significance at spatial scales appropriate for management. Ecosystem classification is an approach that entails quantifying the social and ecological processes that shape ecosystem conditions into logical and relatively homogeneous management units, making the potential for ecosystem-based decision support available to urban planners. The purpose of this study is to develop and propose a framework for urban forest ecosystem classification (UFEC).