Physical Environmental Variables Research Articles

Psychological, social, and environmental factors to meeting physical activity recommendations among Japanese adults

BackgroundAlthough the benefits of the recommended level of physical activity on reducing chronic diseases are well-established, most of the Japanese population is not sufficiently active. Thus, examining correlates is an important prerequisite for designing relevant polices and effective programs. The present study investigated psychological, social, and environmental factors associated with meeting physical activity recommendations among Japanese adults.MethodsData were analyzed for 1,932 men and women (43.6 ± 13.0 years), who responded to an Internet-based cross-sectional survey. Self-reported measure of physical activity, psychological (self-efficacy, pros, and cons), social (social support, health professional advice), environmental (home fitness equipment, access to facilities, neighborhood safety, enjoyable scenery, frequently observing others exercising, residential area), and demographic (gender, age, marital status, educational level, household income level, employment status) variables were obtained. Based on the current national guidelines for exercise in Japan (23 METs·hour per week), respondents were divided into two categories–recommended and not recommended (insufficient and inactive)–according to their estimated weekly physical activity level. An adjusted logistic regression model was utilized.ResultsWhen adjusting for all other variables, self-efficacy (men: OR = 2.13; 95% CI: 1.55–2.94, women: OR = 2.72; 95% CI: 1.82–4.08) and possessing home fitness equipment (men: OR = 1.55; 95% CI: 1.14–2.10, women: OR = 1.41; 95% CI: 1.01–1.99) for both genders, social support (OR = 1.44; 95% CI: 1.06–1.97) for men, and enjoyable scenery (OR = 1.60; 95% CI: 1.09–2.36) for women were positively associated with attaining the recommended level of physical activity. In women, cons (OR = 0.47; 95% CI: 0.33–0.67) and living in rural areas (OR = 0.50; 95% CI: 0.25–0.97) were negatively associated with meeting the physical activity recommendations.ConclusionIn the psychological, social, and environmental domains, significant correlates of attaining the recommended level of physical activity were observed. Men and women had different patterns of psychological, social, and environmental correlates. These findings suggest that an intervention design that accounts for those correlates may more effectively promote physical activity among Japanese adults.

Temporal changes of phytoplankton community at different depths of a shallow hypertrophic reservoir in relation to environmental variables

We characterized phytoplankton community succession at different depths of a shallow hypertrophic reservoir in relation to physical and chemical environmental variables. The phytoplankton community was sampled biweekly at three different water depths (surface, middle and bottom) in the reservoir from November 2002 to February 2004. A range of 18 environmental variables including temperature, electrical conductivity (EC), total phosphorus (TP) and total nitrogen (TN) were measured to assess their influence on phytoplankton community succession. As well, combined multivariate analyses with a cluster analysis and a nonmetric multidimensional scale (NMDS) were conducted. Microcystis aeruginosa was the dominant species in all seasons except spring. Thus, Cyanophyceae was a dominant taxonomic group. In spring, Bacillariophyceae dominated, followed by Cryptophyceae and Chlorophyceae. The succession was relatively delayed at the middle and bottom layers compared with at the surface layer. Abundance and species richness of phytoplankton were also higher in the surface layer than in the bottom layer. Cluster analysis classified the phytoplankton community into four clusters at each depth, and the changes were also well reflected in the NMDS ordination. Each cluster showed seasonal patterns characterized by indicator species, as well as environmental variables such as temperature, conductivity, and nutrients including N and P. Seasonal dynamics of the phytoplankton community was the strongest at the surface layer and weakest at the bottom layer. These depth-variable environmental variables are likely to be the key factors driving changes in the phytoplankton community composition.

Maternal Stimulation Level and Intervention

Home environment provided by the parents, parental behavior, their interaction with the child and other related factors such as socio personal and economic factors tend to influence the development of children though the degree of influence may vary. The social and physical home environment variables are uniquely related to the development of young children. Age trends showed that the highest correlations between environment and development tended to be found during the preschool years. To assess the stimulation provided to children by mothers, Mohite’s Home Environment Inventory was used on 120 mothers from four villages of Hisar district of Haryana state. Control-Experimental group and Pre-Post test design was used to find out the impact of intervention programme used for enhancing maternal stimulation level. As observed, the mean scores of both the groups were almost similar for all the five aspects and the overall maternal stimulation also at the initial stage. The differences also came out to be non significant statistically showing that children in both the study groups had almost similar stimulation environment at Pre-testing stage. The results of post test after introduction of experimental group mothers with the intervention programme revealed that the mean scores of experimental group were higher than those of control group. These differences in mean scores of control and experimental group were found significantly higher in favor of experimental group. The mean score of control group mothers was 8.20 whereas, in experimental group it was as high as 16.73 at Post-testing stage showing the efficacy of the intervention programme.

Wards features associated with high rates of medication refusal by patients: a large multi-centred survey

Objective This article aimed to explore the relationship of medication-related conflict [refusal of regular medication, refusal of pro re nata (prn) medication, demanding prn medication] to other conflict behaviours, the use of containment methods, service environment, physical environment, patient routines, staff demographics and staff group variables. Method The Patient-staff Conflict Checklist (PCC-SR), an end-of-shift report completed by nurses on the frequency of conflict and containment events, was collected for a 6-month period on 136 acute mental health wards in 67 hospitals within 26 NHS Trusts in England, in 2004–2005. Multilevel modelling was used to assess associations with medication-related conflict rates. Results The mean daily rate (at ward level, standardised to 20 beds) of incidents of regular medication refusal was 0.89 (S.D. 0.52), prn medication refusal 0.30 (S.D. 0.19) and demanding prn medication 1.09 (S.D. 0.63). The frequency of these events was found to be associated with passive resistant patient behaviours, higher levels of containment (specifically locking the main ward door, the use of special observation, and time out) and unstable staffing profiles. Conclusion It may be possible to achieve greater medication concordance amongst patients in acute mental health wards through a more consensual approach to care. Paradoxically, fewer restrictions may promote better treatment acceptance and safer outcomes. Consistent nurse staffing and therefore better staff–patient relationships are also likely to improve cooperation and outcomes.

Environmental Correlates of Physical Activity in Mexican American Children at Home

Understanding home environments might shed light on factors contributing to reduced physical activity (PA) in children, particularly minorities. Few studies have used microlevel observations to simultaneously assess children's PA and associated conditions in homes. Trained observers assessed PA and associated physical and social environmental variables in the homes of 139 Mexican American children (69 boys, 70 girls; mean age = 6 years) after school. Children spent most time indoors (77%) and being sedentary (74%). Reduced PA was associated with viewing media, being indoors, and parents being present. Increased PA was associated with prompts for PA and other children being present. PA prompts differed by child gender and location and prompter age status. Children are frequently sedentary at home. Microlevel observations showed PA is associated with potentially modifiable social and physical factors, including spending time outdoors. Studies to determine whether interventions on these correlates can improve children's PA are needed.

Communicative Behavior in the Natural Environment

Many individuals with developmental disabilities show delays in the development of sophisticated communication skills. Listeners often misunderstand their unconventional means of communication, and breakdowns occur. A communication repair is a second attempt to communicate a message when a breakdown is encountered. Qualitative methods were employed to assess and describe the communication repairs used by two young children with autism spectrum disorders who had limited expressive language. During natural observations, only one of the two participating children was observed to repair his initial requests. The results suggest that in contrast to the emphasis in the literature that development is the primary determinant of repair behavior, variables in the children's social and physical environment influenced their communication repair behavior. Implications for practice and research are described.

Seabirds as environmental indicators: the advantages of combining data sets

MEPS Marine Ecology Progress Series Contact the journal Facebook Twitter RSS Mailing List Subscribe to our mailing list via Mailchimp HomeLatest VolumeAbout the JournalEditorsTheme Sections MEPS 352:205-211 (2007) - DOI: https://doi.org/10.3354/meps07071 Seabirds as environmental indicators: the advantages of combining data sets Morten Frederiksen1,3,*, Roderick A. Mavor2, Sarah Wanless1 1Centre for Ecology and Hydrology, Hill of Brathens, Banchory AB31 4BW, UK 2Joint Nature Conservation Committee, Dunnet House, 7 Thistle Place, Aberdeen AB10 1UZ, UK 3Present address: National Environmental Research Institute, Dept. of Arctic Environment, University of Aarhus, Frederiksborgvej 399, 4000 Roskilde, Denmark *Email: mfr@dmu.dk ABSTRACT: Breeding performance of seabirds reflects conditions in the marine environment, and seabirds are often considered suitable indicators because they are sensitive to variations in food supply and relatively easy to observe. However, any individual parameter (e.g. breeding success of a particular species at one site) may also be affected by drivers other than food supply, and selecting a suitable univariate indicator can be difficult, particularly if independent estimates of food availability on the appropriate scale are unavailable. We propose combining several data sets to overcome this limitation: if a given temporal pattern occurs for several parameters measured at one site, or for the same parameter measured at several sites, it is likely to reflect important spatiotemporal environmental variation, probably linked to food supply. Multivariate statistical techniques, such as principal component analysis (PCA), can be used to extract common signals from a number of intercorrelated time series. Examples from seabirds in the North Sea demonstrate that such common signals are correlated with physical and biological environmental variables. We propose a preliminary ‘North Sea seabird index’ and discuss how this index could be used in ecosystem-based management. KEY WORDS: Ecological indicators · Seabirds · Food availability · Multivariate statistics · Principal component analysis Full text in pdf format PreviousNextCite this article as: Frederiksen M, Mavor RA, Wanless S (2007) Seabirds as environmental indicators: the advantages of combining data sets. Mar Ecol Prog Ser 352:205-211. https://doi.org/10.3354/meps07071 Export citation RSS - Facebook - Tweet - linkedIn Cited by Published in MEPS Vol. 352. Online publication date: December 20, 2007 Print ISSN: 0171-8630; Online ISSN: 1616-1599 Copyright © 2007 Inter-Research.

Perceived environmental predictors of physical activity over 6 months in adults: Activity Counseling Trial.

In the present study, the authors extend previous cross-sectional findings by using a prospective design to determine whether physical and social environmental characteristics predict physical activity over 6 months. Inactive adults were recruited to the Activity Counseling Trial, a multicenter, randomized, controlled trial of physical activity intervention in primary care. Participants were 387 women and 474 men aged 35-75 years in 3 regions; 1/3 were minorities; 56% had some college education. Baseline perceived environmental variables were used to predict physical activity at 6 months, adjusting for experimental condition and other potential moderators. The validated 7-day physical activity recall interview was used to estimate minutes of moderate to vigorous physical activity. A standardized survey was used to measure social and physical environmental variables around the home and neighborhood. Women reporting no unattended dogs and low crime in their neighborhoods and men reporting frequently seeing people being active in their neighborhoods did 50-75 more minutes of physical activity per week than did those with different environmental characteristics. Interactions of environmental variables with age group suggested that older adults may be more affected by environmental variables than are younger adults. Self-reported social and physical environmental variables were significantly related to moderate to vigorous physical activity among a diverse sample of adults living in 3 regions of the United States. These prospective findings strengthen the conclusion from previous cross-sectional studies that environmental variables are important correlates of physical activity.

Temporal distribution of suspended sediment transport in a humid Mediterranean badland area: The Araguás catchment, Central Pyrenees

This paper analyses the temporal patterns of suspended sediment yield in the Araguás catchment, Central Spanish Pyrenees, a small experimental catchment with extensive badlands. The catchment has been monitored since 2004 to study weathering, erosion, and hydrological and sediment responses to understand the superficial dynamics of a badland area in a relatively humid environment. The development of badlands in the Central Spanish Pyrenees is favoured by the presence of marls and a markedly seasonal climate. The continuous observation of selected physical parameters and environmental variables enables us to establish seasonal patterns of weathering processes and identify those factors that control regolith development. Freeze–thaw cycles in winter and wetting–drying in spring–summer are the main processes involved in regolith weathering, thereby controlling slope development in combination with rainfall-related erosion processes. The 64 floods recorded during the study period (December 2005 to January 2007) were used for a hydrosedimentological analysis. The main observed features indicate that the Araguás catchment reacts to all rainfall events, resulting in steep rising and recession limbs on the hydrograph and a very short time lag. Floods show high suspended sediment concentrations and a heterogeneous temporal distribution related to seasonal variations in surface runoff production. These differences increase the degree of complexity involved in studying sediment response. Suspended sediment concentration and transport mainly depend on rainfall volume, maximum rainfall intensity, peak flow, and runoff occurrence. Finally, the similarities among the obtained hydrographs, sedigraphs, and hyetographs, in combination with the rapid response of most of the floods, suggest a large contribution of overland flow, derived mainly from infiltration excess runoff upon badland areas. Accordingly, the significant correlations obtained between rainfall intensity and sediment concentration (mainly during the dry season), which suggest a single source area for both runoff and sediment, also support the hypothesis of Hortonian hydrological response within badland areas.

Fruit and Vegetable Intake and Obesity in Preadolescent Children

Background: The prevalence of obesity among children continues to rise. Individual-focused health education efforts have been minimally successful in producing the necessary changes to curb this epidemic. Purpose: The purpose of this study was to examine the relationships between neighborhood characteristics, grocery store availability and accessibility, and parent-reported fruit and vegetable intake and/or weight status. Methods: Data was collected from 797 preadolescent children (ages 6-11) participating in an obesity prevention study. Individual-level variables were daily fruit and vegetable intake and body mass index. Social and physical environment variables included percent of poverty within neighborhoods (census tracts) and mapped grocery store locations. Bivariate analyses were performed to explore relationships. Results: Most (78%) children (mean age=8.1) failed to meet fruit and vegetable recommendations, and 37% were overweight. Nearly 50% of high poverty neighborhoods had no grocery stores within their boundaries. Children in high poverty neighborhoods consumed fewer servings of fruits and vegetables (t=4.03, p<0.001) than children in low poverty neighborhoods. Discussion: This study demonstrates some associations between neighborhood characteristics, grocery store availability, and child fruit and vegetable intake. Translation to Health Education Practice: Health educators should consider how the social and physical environment may hinder positive health behaviors

Leisure Time Physical Activity, Screen Time, Social Background, and Environmental Variables in Adolescents

This study analyzes the relationships between leisure time physical activity (LTPA), sedentary behaviors, socioeconomic status, and perceived environmental variables. The sample comprised 815 girls and 746 boys. In girls, non-LTPA participants reported significantly more screen time. Girls with safety concerns were more likely to be in the non-LTPA group (OR = 0.60) and those who agreed with the importance of aesthetics were more likely to be in the active-LTPA group (OR = 1.59). In girls, an increase of 1 hr of TV watching was a significant predictor of non-LTPA (OR = 0.38). LTPA for girls, but not for boys, seems to be influenced by certain modifiable factors of the built environment, as well as by time watching TV.

The Physical Environment and Physical Activity: A Critical Appraisal of Review Articles

Over the last few years an increasing number of studies investigating the association between the physical environment and physical activity have been published. Many reviews have also summarized this emerging body of research, and such review papers are frequently used by public health policymakers and researchers themselves to inform decision making. This paper systematically appraises methodologic aspects of literature reviews examining the relationship between physical activity and the physical environment published in peer-reviewed journals between 2000 and 2005. Eleven reviews and their antecedent source papers were examined. The majority of these reviews omitted between one third and two thirds of the studies that could have been eligible for inclusion at the time they conducted the review. Methodologic information on how the review was conducted was not always provided. Furthermore, in some cases results of a study were reported incorrectly, or physical environmental aspects were conflated with social environmental or cognitive factors. Moreover, when results were reported incorrectly, physical environmental variables were almost always reported as significantly associated with physical activity, when these associations were nonsignificant, or were not assessed as part of the primary study. Users of reviews in this field should be aware that there are significant methodologic variations among them, and that some reviews may include only a sample of the relevant primary studies. However, this is difficult to determine given the frequent incompleteness of review method reporting. Greater standardization in the reporting of review methods may assist with future efforts to summarize studies of the relationship between physical environments and physical activity.

Effects of light availability and soil flooding on growth and photosynthetic characteristics of Genipa americana L. seedlings

Genipa americana L. (Rubiaceae) is a late successional neotropical fruit tree used in riparian forest restoration programs. We analyze the effects of light availability and soil flooding on the growth and photosynthetic characteristics of G. americana seedlings under nursery and natural light conditions. Two light levels (full sunlight and shade), and two levels of soil water (flooded and control) were used in the experiment. Flooding induced significant changes in the total seedling biomass (P < 0.01). The differences among water treatments were 70 and 10% at full sunlight and shade, respectively. These changes were explained by alterations in the maximum quantum efficiency of the photosystem 2 (Fv/Fm), light-saturated net photosynthetic rates (Asat) and intrinsic water use efficiency (WUE). G. americana has high physiological plasticity in relation to the light availability and flooding, although significant interactive effects between high light exposure and soil flooding were observed in several photosynthetic and growth variables. The results highlight the importance of the synergistic effects between physical environmental variables on the establishment and growth of G. americana seedlings. In the practical point of view we can indicate that, in degraded riparian forests subjected to soil flooding, seedlings of this species should be planted under partially shaded environments.

Physical environmental factors as determinants of learning abilities of the disabled children

This study focused on peculiarities of physical environments as determinants of learning abilities of the disabled children in schools. Physical environment of the school incorporates the school environment, all buildings and other structures therein. The disabled pupils have their limitations in learning as determined by certain environmental factors. This study investigated such physical environmental variables that impede effective learning by the disabled. This study adopted a descriptive survey method where sixty (60) teachers of the disabled pupils were randomly sampled from five (5) Special Schools and one Home/School for the disabled in three (3) different cities. A 5-point rating scale was adopted for the study to score the responses of the subjects. Chi- square statistics was used for analysing the data. Results of the findings were fully discussed and conclusion was drawn.The Nigerian Journal of Guidance and Counselling Vol. 8 (1) 2002: pp. 207-220

Seabirds as indicators of marine ecosystems

Breeding performance of seabirds reflects conditions in the marine environment, and seabirds are often considered suitable indicators because they are sensitive to variations in food supply and relatively easy to observe. However, any individual parameter (e.g. breeding success of a particular species at one site) may also be affected by drivers other than food supply, and selecting a suitable univariate indicator can be difficult, particularly if independent estimates of food availability on the appropriate scale are unavailable. We propose combining several data sets to overcome this limitation: if a given temporal pattern occurs for several parameters measured at one site, or for the same parameter measured at several sites, it is likely to reflect important spatiotemporal environmental variation, probably linked to food supply. Multivariate statistical techniques, such as principal component analysis (PCA), can be used to extract common signals from a number of intercorrelated time series. Examples from seabirds in the North Sea demonstrate that such common signals are correlated with physical and biological environmental variables. We propose a preliminary ‘North Sea seabird index’ and discuss how this index could be used in ecosystem-based management.

Ecology of Syllidae (Annelida: Polychaeta) from shallow rocky environments in the Cantabrian Sea (South Bay of Biscay)

The syllids inhabiting 12 hard bottom macrobenthic habitats were studied. A total of 38 species belonging to 19 genera were identified. Differences in density, species richness, and diversity among habitats were analysed, as well as the relationships between these ecological parameters and depth range, slope and in-bay/out-bay gradient. The effect of environmental variables on syllid distribution was studied using canonical ordination. A high faunistic homogeneity has been found, since all biotopes were dominated by a low number of eurytopic species (Syllis armillaris, S. gracilis and S. variegata). Habitat complexity, determined by physical disturbance, is the main structuring factor in syllid populations. Biotopes with the highest structural complexity displayed a high number of companion species increasing ecological indices and denoting a well-structured habitat. On the other hand, communities such as in upper intertidal habitats, mainly controlled by physical environmental variables, showed a poorer syllid fauna, dominated by ubiquitious species and a few stenotopic species well-adapted to those environments. However, this is not the case in some other intertidal biotopes, such as in Corallina, whose tangled structure prevents drying and provides shelter from predation, allowing a richer and more diverse syllid fauna.

Implications of Rural Environmental Variables Associated with the Participation of Children in Farming Activities: A Lesson from Rural Southwestern Nigeria

This study aimed at investigating the relationship between the participation of rural children in farming activities and selected social, school, and physical environment related variables. Data were collected from four hundred and fifty eight children selected through stage-wise random sampling procedure from the four agricultural zones in Oyo state of Southwestern Nigeria. Results of the analyses showed that rural children's participation in farming could be rated as moderate whereas the existing social and school environmental variables were ranked as highly supportive to the participation of rural children in farming. Result of Chi square (χ2) analysis used to investigate the existence of association between the variables shows that a significant association existed between the participation of rural children in farming activities and school system support values (χ2 = 60.796); community social values (χ2 = 22.25); vegetation (χ2 = 76.133); closeness to river (χ2 = 39.64); topography of farmland (χ2 = 66.102), and status of roads leading to farm (χ2 = 73.086) at p ≤ 0.01 level of significance. It was concluded that children did participate in farming while empirical evidence revealed that physical and social environmental variables influence their participation. The implication was that rural environmental variables should be given due consideration whenever the participation of children in farming is being considered either as a socialization process or otherwise.

Environmental factors structuring polychaete communities in shallow rocky habitats: role of physical stress versus habitat complexity

Polychaetes inhabiting 12 different hard bottom habitats were studied. A total of 157 species belonging to 32 families were identified. Differences among habitats in polychaete density, species richness, and diversity were analysed, as well as the relationships between these ecological indices and depth range, slope and in-bay/out-bay gradient. A high faunal homogeneity was found: all biotopes were dominated by a low number of eurytopic species. Intertidal habitats and subtidal ones with scarce algal cover were typified by vagile polychaetes (syllids, nereids), while sessile polychaetes (serpulids, sabellids) appeared typically among subtidal large macrophytes, habitats with a calcareous substrate and shaded habitats. Multivariate analyses showed that habitat complexity, determined by physical disturbance, is the main structuring factor for polychaete populations. Biotopes with the highest structural complexity displayed a high number of companion species increasing ecological indices and denoting a well-structured habitat. On the other hand, communities such as those in the upper intertidal, mainly controlled by physical environmental variables, showed a poorer polychaete fauna, dominated by ubiquitous species and a few well-adapted specialists.

Power laws governing hydrology and carbon dynamics in northern peatlands

Environmental and biological variables fluctuate over different time scales. On the basis of power spectral analysis of 14 time series at four sites from northern peatlands (fens and raised bogs), the temporal variability of physical environment (temperatures, water tables) and biological variables (CO 2 flux) shows power-law behaviour, with a scaling exponent ranging from about 0.5 to 1.5. The scaling exponents of air temperatures change from 1.5 at high frequency to 0.5 at low frequency, with a break point at diurnal period. Comparison with similar analysis of temperature data from climate stations suggests that the atmosphere above peatlands has more active heat exchange with waterlogged peatlands than with upland terrestrial ecosystems. Water tables from different peatlands show almost identical power spectra, with a scaling exponent of 1.0 over all time scales. CO 2 exchange has more complex spectral structure, with two break points at daily and monthly periods. This spectral structure suggests scale-dependent influence of climatic and hydrological fluctuations on CO 2 fluxes. CO 2 flux responds to air temperature with a distinct diurnal spectral peak. These results indicate that time scales are important in discussing hydrology and carbon dynamics in peatlands, and that scaling up of short-term experimental results may be inadvisable. Further statistical analysis on drained and harvested peatlands would provide insights into understanding shift in peatland dynamics due to human disturbance.

Perceptions of Physical and Social Environment Variables and Self-Efficacy as Correlates of Self-Reported Physical Activity Among Adolescent Girls

This cross-sectional study examined the direct and indirect effects of perceived equipment accessibility, neighborhood safety, and social support on self-reported physical activity among older adolescent girls. Adolescent girls (n = 1,655) who were in the 12th grade completed a battery of questionnaires that included self-report measures of the perceived physical environment, social support, barriers self-efficacy, and physical activity. Perceived neighborhood safety did not exhibit direct or indirect effects on self-reported physical activity. Perceived equipment accessibility exhibited an indirect effect on self-reported physical activity that was accounted for by barriers self-efficacy. Perceived social support exhibited direct and indirect effects on self-reported physical activity; the indirect effect was accounted for by barriers self-efficacy. The relationships were independent of parental education and body mass index (BMI). Perceived physical environmental factors indirectly influenced self-reported physical activity, and perceived social environmental factors both directly and indirectly influenced self-reported physical activity in this sample of older adolescent girls.