1. |
- Lind, Lars, et al.
(author)
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Heterogeneous contributions of change in population distribution of body mass index to change in obesity and underweight NCD Risk Factor Collaboration (NCD-RisC)
- 2021
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In: eLife. - : eLife Sciences Publications Ltd. - 2050-084X. ; 10
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- From 1985 to 2016, the prevalence of underweight decreased, and that of obesity and severe obesity increased, in most regions, with significant variation in the magnitude of these changes across regions. We investigated how much change in mean body mass index (BMI) explains changes in the prevalence of underweight, obesity, and severe obesity in different regions using data from 2896 population-based studies with 187 million participants. Changes in the prevalence of underweight and total obesity, and to a lesser extent severe obesity, are largely driven by shifts in the distribution of BMI, with smaller contributions from changes in the shape of the distribution. In East and Southeast Asia and sub-Saharan Africa, the underweight tail of the BMI distribution was left behind as the distribution shifted. There is a need for policies that address all forms of malnutrition by making healthy foods accessible and affordable, while restricting unhealthy foods through fiscal and regulatory restrictions.
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3. |
- Mishra, A, et al.
(author)
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Diminishing benefits of urban living for children and adolescents' growth and development
- 2023
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In: Nature. - : Springer Science and Business Media LLC. - 1476-4687 .- 0028-0836. ; 615:7954, s. 874-883
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Optimal growth and development in childhood and adolescence is crucial for lifelong health and well-being1–6. Here we used data from 2,325 population-based studies, with measurements of height and weight from 71 million participants, to report the height and body-mass index (BMI) of children and adolescents aged 5–19 years on the basis of rural and urban place of residence in 200 countries and territories from 1990 to 2020. In 1990, children and adolescents residing in cities were taller than their rural counterparts in all but a few high-income countries. By 2020, the urban height advantage became smaller in most countries, and in many high-income western countries it reversed into a small urban-based disadvantage. The exception was for boys in most countries in sub-Saharan Africa and in some countries in Oceania, south Asia and the region of central Asia, Middle East and north Africa. In these countries, successive cohorts of boys from rural places either did not gain height or possibly became shorter, and hence fell further behind their urban peers. The difference between the age-standardized mean BMI of children in urban and rural areas was <1.1 kg m–2 in the vast majority of countries. Within this small range, BMI increased slightly more in cities than in rural areas, except in south Asia, sub-Saharan Africa and some countries in central and eastern Europe. Our results show that in much of the world, the growth and developmental advantages of living in cities have diminished in the twenty-first century, whereas in much of sub-Saharan Africa they have amplified.
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7. |
- Taddei, C, et al.
(author)
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Repositioning of the global epicentre of non-optimal cholesterol
- 2020
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In: Nature. - : Springer Science and Business Media LLC. - 1476-4687 .- 0028-0836. ; 582:7810, s. 73-
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- High blood cholesterol is typically considered a feature of wealthy western countries1,2. However, dietary and behavioural determinants of blood cholesterol are changing rapidly throughout the world3 and countries are using lipid-lowering medications at varying rates. These changes can have distinct effects on the levels of high-density lipoprotein (HDL) cholesterol and non-HDL cholesterol, which have different effects on human health4,5. However, the trends of HDL and non-HDL cholesterol levels over time have not been previously reported in a global analysis. Here we pooled 1,127 population-based studies that measured blood lipids in 102.6 million individuals aged 18 years and older to estimate trends from 1980 to 2018 in mean total, non-HDL and HDL cholesterol levels for 200 countries. Globally, there was little change in total or non-HDL cholesterol from 1980 to 2018. This was a net effect of increases in low- and middle-income countries, especially in east and southeast Asia, and decreases in high-income western countries, especially those in northwestern Europe, and in central and eastern Europe. As a result, countries with the highest level of non-HDL cholesterol—which is a marker of cardiovascular risk—changed from those in western Europe such as Belgium, Finland, Greenland, Iceland, Norway, Sweden, Switzerland and Malta in 1980 to those in Asia and the Pacific, such as Tokelau, Malaysia, The Philippines and Thailand. In 2017, high non-HDL cholesterol was responsible for an estimated 3.9 million (95% credible interval 3.7 million–4.2 million) worldwide deaths, half of which occurred in east, southeast and south Asia. The global repositioning of lipid-related risk, with non-optimal cholesterol shifting from a distinct feature of high-income countries in northwestern Europe, north America and Australasia to one that affects countries in east and southeast Asia and Oceania should motivate the use of population-based policies and personal interventions to improve nutrition and enhance access to treatment throughout the world.
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8. |
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- 2019
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)
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12. |
- Bagheri, Z., et al.
(author)
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Cross-cultural measurement invariance of the Quality of Life Enjoyment and Satisfaction Questionnaire-Short form across ten countries: the application of Bayesian approximate measurement invariance
- 2022
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In: Bmc Psychology. - : Springer Science and Business Media LLC. - 2050-7283. ; 10:1
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Background: The Quality of Life Enjoyment and Satisfaction Questionnaire-Short Form (Q-LES-Q-SF) is the most frequently used generic quality of life (QOL) measure in many countries and cultures worldwide. However, no single study has been carried out to investigate whether this questionnaire performs similarly across diverse cultures/countries. Accordingly, this study aimed to assess the cross-cultural measurement invariance of the Q-LES-Q-SF across ten different countries. Methods: The Q-LES-Q-SF was administrated to a sample of 2822 university students from ten countries: Bangladesh, Brazil, Croatia, India, Nepal, Poland, Serbia, Turkey, the United Arab Emirates, and Vietnam. The Bayesian approximate measurement invariance approach was used to assess the measurement invariance of the Q-LES-Q-SF. Results: Approximate measurement invariance did not hold across the countries for the Q-LES-Q-SF, with only two out of 14 items being non-invariant; namely items related to doing household and leisure time activities. Conclusions: Our findings did not support the cross-cultural measurement invariance of the Q-LES-Q-SF; thus, considerable caution is warranted when comparing QOL scores across different countries with this measure. Item rewording and adaptation along with calibrating non-invariant items may narrow these differences and help researchers to create an invariant questionnaire for reliable and valid QOL comparisons across different countries.
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13. |
- Cortese, S., et al.
(author)
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The future of child and adolescent clinical psychopharmacology: A systematic review of phase 2, 3, or 4 randomized controlled trials of pharmacologic agents without regulatory approval or for unapproved indications
- 2023
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In: Neuroscience and Biobehavioral Reviews. - : Elsevier BV. - 0149-7634. ; 149
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- We aimed to identify promising novel medications for child and adolescent mental health problems. We systematically searched https://clinicaltrials.gov/ and https://www.clinicaltrialsregister.eu/ (from 01/01/ 2010-08/23/2022) for phase 2 or 3 randomized controlled trials (RCTs) of medications without regulatory approval in the US, Europe or Asia, including also RCTs of dietary interventions/probiotics. Additionally, we searched phase 4 RCTs of agents targeting unlicensed indications for children/adolescents with mental health disorders. We retrieved 234 ongoing or completed RCTs, including 26 (11%) with positive findings on & GE; 1 primary outcome, 43 (18%) with negative/unavailable results on every primary outcome, and 165 (70%) without publicly available statistical results. The only two compounds with evidence of significant effects that
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14. |
- Stanaway, Jeffrey D., et al.
(author)
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Global, regional, and national comparative risk assessment of 84 behavioural, environmental and occupational, and metabolic risks or clusters of risks for 195 countries and territories, 1990-2017: A systematic analysis for the Global Burden of Disease Study 2017
- 2018
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In: The Lancet. - 1474-547X .- 0140-6736. ; 392:10159, s. 1923-1994
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Background The Global Burden of Diseases, Injuries, and Risk Factors Study (GBD) 2017 comparative risk assessment (CRA) is a comprehensive approach to risk factor quantification that offers a useful tool for synthesising evidence on risks and risk-outcome associations. With each annual GBD study, we update the GBD CRA to incorporate improved methods, new risks and risk-outcome pairs, and new data on risk exposure levels and risk- outcome associations. Methods We used the CRA framework developed for previous iterations of GBD to estimate levels and trends in exposure, attributable deaths, and attributable disability-adjusted life-years (DALYs), by age group, sex, year, and location for 84 behavioural, environmental and occupational, and metabolic risks or groups of risks from 1990 to 2017. This study included 476 risk-outcome pairs that met the GBD study criteria for convincing or probable evidence of causation. We extracted relative risk and exposure estimates from 46 749 randomised controlled trials, cohort studies, household surveys, census data, satellite data, and other sources. We used statistical models to pool data, adjust for bias, and incorporate covariates. Using the counterfactual scenario of theoretical minimum risk exposure level (TMREL), we estimated the portion of deaths and DALYs that could be attributed to a given risk. We explored the relationship between development and risk exposure by modelling the relationship between the Socio-demographic Index (SDI) and risk-weighted exposure prevalence and estimated expected levels of exposure and risk-attributable burden by SDI. Finally, we explored temporal changes in risk-attributable DALYs by decomposing those changes into six main component drivers of change as follows: (1) population growth; (2) changes in population age structures; (3) changes in exposure to environmental and occupational risks; (4) changes in exposure to behavioural risks; (5) changes in exposure to metabolic risks; and (6) changes due to all other factors, approximated as the risk-deleted death and DALY rates, where the risk-deleted rate is the rate that would be observed had we reduced the exposure levels to the TMREL for all risk factors included in GBD 2017.
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15. |
- Stevanovic, D., et al.
(author)
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Assessing the symptoms of Internet Gaming Disorder among college/university students: An international validation study of a self-report
- 2020
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In: Psihologija. - : National Library of Serbia. - 0048-5705 .- 1451-9283. ; 53:1, s. 43-63
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- The present study evaluated the psychometric properties of a self-report scale for assessing Internet Gaming Disorder (IGD) symptoms according to the DSM-5 and ICD-11 among 3270 college/university students (2095 [64.1%] females; age mean 21.6 [3.1] years) from different countries worldwide. Croatian, English, Polish, Portuguese, Serbian, Turkish, and Vietnamese versions of the scale were tested. The study showed that symptoms of IGD could be measured as a single underlying factor among college/university students. A nine item-symptom scale following DSM-5, and a short four-item scale representing the main ICD-11 symptoms, had sound internal consistency and construct validity. Three symptom-items were found non-invariant across the language samples (i.e., preoccupation with on-line gaming, loss of interests in previous hobbies and entertainment, and the use of gaming to relieve negative moods). This study provides initial evidence for assessing IGD symptoms among college/university students and will hopefully foster further research into gaming addiction in this population worldwide especially with taking into account language/cultural differences.
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16. |
- Wong, B. H. C., et al.
(author)
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Self-Harm in Children and Adolescents Who Presented at Emergency Units During the COVID-19 Pandemic: An International Retrospective Cohort Study
- 2023
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In: Journal of the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry. - : Elsevier BV. - 0890-8567. ; 62:9, s. 998-1009
-
Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Objective: To compare psychiatric emergencies and self-harm at emergency departments (EDs) 1 year into the pandemic, to early pandemic and pre pandemic, and to examine the changes in the characteristics of self-harm presentations.Method: This retrospective cohort study expanded on the Pandemic-Related Emergency Psychiatric Presentations (PREP-kids) study. Routine record data in March to April of 2019, 2020, and 2021 from 62 EDs in 25 countries were included. ED presentations made by children and adolescents for any mental health reasons were analyzed.Results: Altogether, 8,174 psychiatric presentations were recorded (63.5% female; mean [SD] age, 14.3 [2.6] years), 3,742 of which were self-harm presentations. Rate of psychiatric ED presentations in March to April 2021 was twice as high as in March to April 2020 (incidence rate ratio [IRR], 1.93; 95% CI, 1.60-2.33), and 50% higher than in March to April 2019 (IRR, 1.51; 95% CI, 1.25-1.81). Rate of self-harm presentations doubled between March to April 2020 and March to April 2021 (IRR, 1.98; 95% CI, 1.68-2.34), and was overall 1.7 times higher than in March to April 2019 (IRR, 1.70; 95% CI, 1.44-2.00). Comparing self-harm characteristics in March to April 2021 with March to April 2019, self-harm contributed to a higher proportion of all psychiatric presentations (odds ratio [OR], 1.30; 95% CI, 1.05-1.62), whereas female representation in self-harm presentations doubled (OR, 1.98; 95% CI, 1.45-2.72) and follow-up appointments were offered 4 times as often (OR, 4.46; 95% CI, 2.32-8.58).Conclusion: Increased pediatric ED visits for both self-harm and psychiatric reasons were observed, suggesting potential deterioration in child mental health. Self-harm in girls possibly increased and needs to be prioritized. Clinical services should continue using follow-up appointments to support discharge from EDs.Diversity & Inclusion Statement: One or more of the authors of this paper self-identifies as a member of one or more historically underrepresented racial and/or ethnic groups in science. We actively worked to promote inclusion of historically underrepresented racial and/or ethnic groups in science in our author group. While citing references scientifically relevant for this work, we also actively worked to promote inclusion of historically underrepresented racial and/or ethnic groups in science in our reference list. The author list of this paper includes contributors from the location and/or community where the research was conducted who participated in the data collection, design, analysis, and/or interpretation of the work.
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17. |
- Doric, A., et al.
(author)
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UCLA PTSD reaction index for DSM-5 (PTSD-RI-5): a psychometric study of adolescents sampled from communities in eleven countries
- 2019
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In: European Journal of Psychotraumatology. - : Informa UK Limited. - 2000-8198 .- 2000-8066. ; 10:1
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Background: Children and adolescents are often exposed to traumatic events, which may lead to the development of posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD). It is therefore important for clinicians to screen for potential symptoms that can be signs of PTSD onset. PTSD in youth is a worldwide problem, thus congruent screening tools in various languages are needed. Objective: The aim of this study was to test the general psychometric properties of the Traumatic Stress Disorder Reaction Index for children and adolescents (UCLA PTSD) Reaction Index for DSM-5 (PTSD-RI-5) in adolescents, a self-report instrument intended to screen for trauma exposure and assess PTSD symptoms. Method: Data was collected from 4201 adolescents in communities within eleven countries worldwide (i.e. Brazil, Bulgaria, Croatia, Indonesia, Montenegro, Nigeria, Palestine-Gaza, Philippines, Portugal, Romania, and Serbia). Internal consistency, discriminant validity, and a confirmatory factor analysis of a four-factor model representing the main DSM-5 symptoms of the PTSD-RI-5 were evaluated. Results: The PTSD-RI-5 total score for the entire sample shows very good reliability (alpha = .92) as well as across all countries included (alpha ranged from .90 to .94). The correlations between anxiety/depressive symptoms and the PTSD-RI-5 scores were below .70 indicating on good discriminant validity. The four-factor structure of the scale was confirmed for the total sample and data from six countries. The standardized regression weights for all items varied markedly across the countries. The lack of a common acceptable model across all countries prevented us from direct testing of cross-cultural measurement invariance. Conclusions: The four-factor structure of the PTSD-RI-5 likely represents the core PTSD symptoms as proposed by the DSM-5 criteria, but there could be items interpreted in a conceptually different manner by adolescents from different cultural/regional backgrounds and future cross-cultural evaluations need to consider this finding.
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18. |
- Stupar, D., et al.
(author)
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Posttraumatic stress disorder symptoms among trauma-exposed adolescents from low- and middle-income countries
- 2021
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In: Child and Adolescent Psychiatry and Mental Health. - : Springer Science and Business Media LLC. - 1753-2000. ; 15:1
-
Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Background Exposure to traumatic events in childhood is associated with the development and maintenance of various psychiatric disorders, but most frequently with posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD). The aim of this study was to evaluate the types of traumatic events experienced and the presence and predictors of PTSD symptoms among adolescents from the general population from ten low- and middle-income countries (LMICs). Methods Data were simultaneously collected from 3370 trauma-exposed adolescents (mean age = 15.41 [SD = 1.65] years, range 12-18; 1465 (43.5%) males and 1905 (56.5%) females) in Brazil, Bulgaria, Croatia, Indonesia, Montenegro, Nigeria, the Palestinian Territories, the Philippines, Romania, and Serbia, with Portugal, a high-income country, as a reference point. The UCLA PTSD Reaction Index for the DSM-5 (PTSD-RI-5) was used for the assessment of traumatic events and PTSD symptoms. Results The most frequently reported traumatic events were death of a close person (69.7%), witnessing violence other than domestic (40.5%), being in a natural disaster (34.4%) and witnessing violent death or serious injury of a close person (33.9%). In total, 28.5% adolescents endorsed two to three DSM-5 PTSD criteria symptoms. The rates of adolescents with symptoms from all four DSM-5 criteria for PTSD were 6.2-8.1% in Indonesia, Serbia, Bulgaria, and Montenegro, and 9.2-10.5% in Philippines, Croatia and Brazil. From Portugal, 10.7% adolescents fall into this category, while 13.2% and 15.3% for the Palestinian Territories and Nigeria, respectively. A logistic regression model showed that younger age, experiencing war, being forced to have sex, and greater severity of symptoms (persistent avoidance, negative alterations in cognitions and mood, and alterations in arousal and reactivity) were significant predictors of fulfilling full PTSD criteria. Conclusions Nearly every third adolescent living in LMICs might have some PTSD symptoms after experiencing a traumatic event, while nearly one in ten might have sufficient symptoms for full DSM-5 PTSD diagnosis. The findings can inform the generation of PTSD burden estimates, allocation of health resources, and designing and implementing psychosocial interventions for PTSD in LMICs.
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24. |
- Zuberbier, T., et al.
(author)
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Proposal of 0.5 mg of protein/100 g of processed food as threshold for voluntary declaration of food allergen traces in processed food-A first step in an initiative to better inform patients and avoid fatal allergic reactions: A GA(2)LEN position paper
- 2022
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In: Allergy. - : Wiley. - 0105-4538 .- 1398-9995. ; 77:6, s. 1736-1750
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Background Food anaphylaxis is commonly elicited by unintentional ingestion of foods containing the allergen above the tolerance threshold level of the individual. While labeling the 14 main allergens used as ingredients in food products is mandatory in the EU, there is no legal definition of declaring potential contaminants. Precautionary allergen labeling such as "may contain traces of" is often used. However, this is unsatisfactory for consumers as they get no information if the contamination is below their personal threshold. In discussions with the food industry and technologists, it was suggested to use a voluntary declaration indicating that all declared contaminants are below a threshold of 0.5 mg protein per 100 g of food. This concentration is known to be below the threshold of most patients, and it can be technically guaranteed in most food production. However, it was also important to assess that in case of accidental ingestion of contaminants below this threshold by highly allergic patients, no fatal anaphylactic reaction could occur. Therefore, we performed a systematic review to assess whether a fatal reaction to 5mg of protein or less has been reported, assuming that a maximum portion size of 1kg of a processed food exceeds any meal and thus gives a sufficient safety margin. Methods MEDLINE and EMBASE were searched until 24 January 2021 for provocation studies and case reports in which one of the 14 major food allergens was reported to elicit fatal or life-threatening anaphylactic reactions and assessed if these occurred below the ingestion of 5mg of protein. A Delphi process was performed to obtain an expert consensus on the results. Results In the 210 studies included, in our search, no reports of fatal anaphylactic reactions reported below 5 mg protein ingested were identified. However, in provocation studies and case reports, severe reactions below 5 mg were reported for the following allergens: eggs, fish, lupin, milk, nuts, peanuts, soy, and sesame seeds. Conclusion Based on the literature studied for this review, it can be stated that cross-contamination of the 14 major food allergens below 0.5 mg/100 g is likely not to endanger most food allergic patients when a standard portion of food is consumed. We propose to use the statement "this product contains the named allergens in the list of ingredients, it may contain traces of other contaminations (to be named, e.g. nut) at concentrations less than 0.5 mg per 100 g of this product" for a voluntary declaration on processed food packages. This level of avoidance of cross-contaminations can be achieved technically for most processed foods, and the statement would be a clear and helpful message to the consumers. However, it is clearly acknowledged that a voluntary declaration is only a first step to a legally binding solution. For this, further research on threshold levels is encouraged.
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25. |
- Dengler, Juergen, et al.
(author)
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GrassPlot - a database of multi-scale plant diversity in Palaearctic grasslands
- 2018
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In: Phytocoenologia. - : Schweizerbart. - 0340-269X. ; 48:3, s. 331-347
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- GrassPlot is a collaborative vegetation-plot database organised by the Eurasian Dry Grassland Group (EDGG) and listed in the Global Index of Vegetation-Plot Databases (GIVD ID EU-00-003). GrassPlot collects plot records (releves) from grasslands and other open habitats of the Palaearctic biogeographic realm. It focuses on precisely delimited plots of eight standard grain sizes (0.0001; 0.001;... 1,000 m(2)) and on nested-plot series with at least four different grain sizes. The usage of GrassPlot is regulated through Bylaws that intend to balance the interests of data contributors and data users. The current version (v. 1.00) contains data for approximately 170,000 plots of different sizes and 2,800 nested-plot series. The key components are richness data and metadata. However, most included datasets also encompass compositional data. About 14,000 plots have near-complete records of terricolous bryophytes and lichens in addition to vascular plants. At present, GrassPlot contains data from 36 countries throughout the Palaearctic, spread across elevational gradients and major grassland types. GrassPlot with its multi-scale and multi-taxon focus complements the larger international vegetationplot databases, such as the European Vegetation Archive (EVA) and the global database " sPlot". Its main aim is to facilitate studies on the scale-and taxon-dependency of biodiversity patterns and drivers along macroecological gradients. GrassPlot is a dynamic database and will expand through new data collection coordinated by the elected Governing Board. We invite researchers with suitable data to join GrassPlot. Researchers with project ideas addressable with GrassPlot data are welcome to submit proposals to the Governing Board.
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28. |
- Frieler, K, et al.
(author)
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Assessing the impacts of 1.5° C global warming - simulation protocol of the Inter-Sectoral Impact Model Intercomparison Project (ISIMIP2b)
- 2017
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In: Geoscientific Model Development. - : Copernicus GmbH. - 1991-959X .- 1991-9603. ; 10, s. 4321-4345
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- In Paris, France, December 2015, the Conference of the Parties (COP) to the United Nations Framework Con- vention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) invited the Inter- governmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) to provide a âspecial report in 2018 on the impacts of global warming of 1.5 âŠC above pre-industrial levels and related global green- house gas emission pathwaysâ. In Nairobi, Kenya, April 2016, the IPCC panel accepted the invitation. Here we de- scribe the response devised within the Inter-Sectoral Impact Model Intercomparison Project (ISIMIP) to provide tailored, cross-sectorally consistent impact projections to broaden the scientific basis for the report. The simulation protocol is de- signed to allow for (1) separation of the impacts of histori- cal warming starting from pre-industrial conditions from im- pacts of other drivers such as historical land-use changes (based on pre-industrial and historical impact model simula- tions); (2) quantification of the impacts of additional warm- ing up to 1.5 âŠC, including a potential overshoot and long- term impacts up to 2299, and comparison to higher lev- els of global mean temperature change (based on the low- emissions Representative Concentration Pathway RCP2.6 and a no-mitigation pathway RCP6.0) with socio-economic conditions fixed at 2005 levels; and (3) assessment of the cli- mate effects based on the same climate scenarios while ac- counting for simultaneous changes in socio-economic con- ditions following the middle-of-the-road Shared Socioeco- nomic Pathway (SSP2, Fricko et al., 2016) and in particu- lar differential bioenergy requirements associated with the transformation of the energy system to comply with RCP2.6 compared to RCP6.0.With the aim of providing the scientific basis for an aggregation of impacts across sectors and anal- ysis of cross-sectoral interactions that may dampen or am- plify sectoral impacts, the protocol is designed to facilitate consistent impact projections from a range of impact mod- els across different sectors (global and regional hydrology, lakes, global crops, global vegetation, regional forests, global and regional marine ecosystems and fisheries, global and regional coastal infrastructure, energy supply and demand, temperature-related mortality, and global terrestrial biodiver- sity).
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29. |
- Graco-Roza, Caio, et al.
(author)
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Distance decay 2.0 – A global synthesis of taxonomic and functional turnover in ecological communities
- 2022
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In: Global Ecology and Biogeography. - : Wiley. - 1466-822X .- 1466-8238. ; 31:7, s. 1399-1421
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Aim: Understanding the variation in community composition and species abundances (i.e., beta-diversity) is at the heart of community ecology. A common approach to examine beta-diversity is to evaluate directional variation in community composition by measuring the decay in the similarity among pairs of communities along spatial or environmental distance. We provide the first global synthesis of taxonomic and functional distance decay along spatial and environmental distance by analysing 148 datasets comprising different types of organisms and environments.Location: Global.Time period: 1990 to present.Major taxa studied: From diatoms to mammals.Method: We measured the strength of the decay using ranked Mantel tests (Mantel r) and the rate of distance decay as the slope of an exponential fit using generalized linear models. We used null models to test whether functional similarity decays faster or slower than expected given the taxonomic decay along the spatial and environmental distance. We also unveiled the factors driving the rate of decay across the datasets, including latitude, spatial extent, realm and organismal features.Results: Taxonomic distance decay was stronger than functional distance decay along both spatial and environmental distance. Functional distance decay was random given the taxonomic distance decay. The rate of taxonomic and functional spatial distance decay was fastest in the datasets from mid-latitudes. Overall, datasets covering larger spatial extents showed a lower rate of decay along spatial distance but a higher rate of decay along environmental distance. Marine ecosystems had the slowest rate of decay along environmental distances.Main conclusions: In general, taxonomic distance decay is a useful tool for biogeographical research because it reflects dispersal-related factors in addition to species responses to climatic and environmental variables. Moreover, functional distance decay might be a cost-effective option for investigating community changes in heterogeneous environments.
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33. |
- Nilsson, Susanne, 1966-, et al.
(author)
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Challenges and Opportunities for Enabling Mutual Learning and Collaboration in Design and Innovation for Sustainable Development in Africa and Beyond
- 2022
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In: Proceedings of the Design Society. - : Cambridge University Press. ; , s. 1071-1080
-
Conference paper (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Global collaboration and mutual learning in design are put forth as means to address the UN SDGs. This paper draws upon experiences in the Design Society's AFRICA-DESIGN initiative to build a network of design academics and practitioners based in Africa with a focus on design for sustainable development. We identify education and social sustainability as particular opportunities and challenges, highlighting the critical element of mutual learning in the collaboration process.
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34. |
- Pal Singh Balhara, Y., et al.
(author)
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Correlates of Problematic Internet Use among college and university students in eight countries: An international cross-sectional study
- 2019
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In: Asian Journal of Psychiatry. - : Elsevier BV. - 1876-2018. ; 45, s. 113-120
-
Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Background and aims: Internet use has increased worldwide exponentially over the past two decades, with no up-to-date cross-country comparison of Problematic Internet Use (PIU) and its correlates available. The present study aimed to explore the pattern and correlates of PIU across different countries in the European and the Asian continent. Further, the stability of factors associated with PIU across different countries were assessed. Materials and methods: An international, cross-sectional study with a total of 2749 participants recruited from universities/colleges of eight countries: Bangladesh, Croatia, India, Nepal, Turkey, Serbia, Vietnam, and United Arab Emirates (UAE). Participants completed the Generalized Problematic Internet Use Scale -2 (GPIUS2) assessing PIU, and the Patient Health Questionnaire Anxiety-Depression Scale (PHQ-ADS) assessing the depressive and anxiety symptoms. Results: A total of 2643 participants (mean age 21.3 ± 2.6; 63% females) were included in the final analysis. The overall prevalence of PIU for the entire sample was 8.4% (range 1.6% to 12.6%). The mean GPIUS2 standardized scores were significantly higher among participants from the five Asian countries when compared to the three European countries. Depressive and anxiety symptoms were the most stable and strongest factors associated with PIU across different countries and cultures. Discussion and conclusions: The PIU is an important emerging mental health condition among college/university going young adults, with psychological distress being the strongest and most stable correlate of PIU across different countries and cultures in this study. The present study highlighted the importance of screening university and college students for PIU. © 2019 Elsevier B.V.
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35. |
- Shao, WG, et al.
(author)
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The SysteMHC Atlas project
- 2018
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In: Nucleic acids research. - : Oxford University Press (OUP). - 1362-4962 .- 0305-1048. ; 46:D1, s. D1237-D1247
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)
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36. |
- Stevanovic, D., et al.
(author)
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ESSENCE-Q: Slavic language versions for developmental screening in young children
- 2018
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In: Neuropsychiatric Disease and Treatment. - : Informa UK Limited. - 1178-2021. ; 14, s. 2141-2148
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Purpose: The Early Symptomatic Syndromes Eliciting Neurodevelopmental Clinical Examinations- Questionnaire (ESSENCE-Q) was developed as a brief screener to identify children with developmental concerns who might have neurodevelopmental disorders (NDDs). This study aimed to translate the ESSENCE -Q into south Slavic languages, namely, Bosnian, Bulgarian, Croatian, Macedonian, Montenegrin, Serbian, and Slovenian, and to evaluate its psychometric properties for screening purposes in clinical settings. Patients and methods: In the study, the ESSENCE-Q was completed for 251 "typically developing" children and 200 children with 1 or more diagnosed NDDs, all aged 1-6 years. Internal consistency and construct validity were tested first, followed by generating receiver operating characteristic curves and the area under the curve. Optimal cutoff values were then explored. Results: The Cronbach's alpha coefficients were 0.91, 0.88, and 0.86 for ESSENCE-Q parent-completed form, and the telephone and direct interview forms administered by trained nurse or specialist, respectively. The 3 versions produced area under the curve values (95% confidence interval): 0.96 (0.93-0.99), 0.91 (0.86-0.95), and 0.91 (0.86.-0.97), respectively. An optimal cutoff for ESSENCE-Q parent-completed form was found to be >= 3 points, while for the telephone and direct interviews, it was >= 5 points. Conclusion: We found adequate measurement properties of the south Slavic languages versions of the ESSENCE-Q as a screener for NDDs in clinical settings. This study provided additional data supporting sound psychometric properties of the ESSENCE-Q.
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37. |
- Stevanovic, D., et al.
(author)
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Measurement invariance of the Childhood Autism Rating Scale (CARS) across six countries
- 2021
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In: Autism Research. - : Wiley. - 1939-3792 .- 1939-3806. ; 14:12, s. 2544-2554
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- The Childhood Autism Rating Scale (CARS) is a simple and inexpensive tool for Autism spectrum disorder (ASD) assessments, with evidenced psychometric data from different countries. However, it is still unclear whether ASD symptoms are measured the same way across different societies and world regions with this tool, since data on its cross-cultural validity are lacking. This study evaluated the cross-cultural measurement invariance of the CARS among children with ASD from six countries, for whom data were aggregated from previous studies in India (n = 101), Jamaica (n = 139), Mexico (n = 72), Spain (n = 99), Turkey (n = 150), and the United States of America (n = 186). We analyzed the approximate measurement invariance based on Bayesian structural equation modeling. The model did not fit the data and its measurement invariance did not hold, with all items found non-invariant across the countries. Items related to social communication and interaction (i.e., relating to people, imitation, emotional response, and verbal and nonverbal communication) displayed lower levels of cross-country non-invariance compared to items about stereotyped behaviors/sensory sensitivity (i.e., body and object use, adaptation to change, or taste, smell, and touch response). This study found that the CARS may not provide cross-culturally valid ASD assessments. Thus, cross-cultural comparisons with the CARS should consider first which items operate differently across samples of interest, since its cross-cultural measurement non-invariance could be a source of cross-cultural variability in ASD presentations. Additional studies are needed before drawing valid recommendations in relation to the cultural sensitivity of particular items.
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