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The aim of the research problem of the article was to try to popularize the upcycling trend in the production of sustainable cosmetics and to confirm their effectiveness. The development of recycled raw materials is a new discovery in the chemical industry. Manufacturers emphasize the production of more environmentally friendly raw materials. Conscious consumers choose cosmetics whose production is based on sustainable development. Instead of throwing away waste from various industries, let us use it to produce active substances used in hair cosmetics. The production of the collagen series was created in accordance with the principles of upcycling, which involves obtaining collagen water, which is waste generated during the production of supplements. The main goal of the work was to learn cosmetic recipes for styling, washing and conditioning hair based on collagen waste, as well as to compare the results of people using the product in question. The aim of the study was also to demonstrate the effectiveness of the treatment in preventing split ends and hair breakage, usually caused by mechanical stress (brushing), as well as to confirm the effectiveness of other tests. The article presents procedures and parameters confirming the effectiveness of treatment with the tested hair products. The following tests were carried out: hair thickness and density, colour uniformity, shine factor and scalp hydration. All parameters numerically confirmed the beneficial effects of products containing collagen water used in hair care.

L'objectif Synthèse: de l'article était de vulgariser la tendance de l'upcycling dans la production de cosmétiques durables et de confirmer leur efficacité. Le développement de matières premières recyclées est une nouvelle découverte dans l'industrie chimique. Les fabricants mettent l'accent sur la production de matières premières plus respectueuses de l'environnement. Les consommateurs responsables vont choisir des cosmétiques dont la production s'appuie sur des principes de développement durable. Les déchets provenant de diverses industries peuvent servir à la fabrication de substances actives utilisées dans les produits de soins des cheveux. La fabrication de produits à base de collagène reposait sur le principe de l'upcycling, qui consistait à obtenir de l'eau de collagène issue des déchets générés lors de la production de compléments alimentaires. Le but principal était d'apprendre des recettes de cosmétiques pour le coiffage, le lavage et le soin des cheveux à partir de déchets de collagène, et de comparer les résultats avec des personnes utilisant le produit en question. L'objectif de l'étude était de démontrer l'efficacité des soins dans la prévention des fourches et de la casse, généralement causés par un stress mécanique tel que le brossage, et de confirmer l'efficacité d'autres tests. L'article présente les procédures et paramètres confirmant l'efficacité du traitement avec les soins capillaires testés. Les tests suivant ont été menés : épaisseur et densité des cheveux, uniformité de la couleur, brillance et hydratation du cuir chevelu. Les chiffres ont parlé et tous les paramètres ont confirmé les effets bénéfiques des produits contenant de l'eau de collagène dans les soins capillaires.

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Floating treatment wetlands (FTWs) are natural solutions for purifying polluted water, providing a green surface area and improving city landscape. This study investigated if the efficiency of FTWs can be improved by aeration for treating contaminated canal water. The three used plant species were Canna generalis, Phragmites australis, and Cyperus alternifolius. The experiment was carried out in three FTWs with aeration and three without aeration to compare the removal for COD, NH4+-N, E. coli, PO43--P, and Fe. In the aerated FTWs, air blowers were installed to run at two different air flow rates of 2.5 L min-1 (Batch 1) and 1.0 L min-1 (Batch 2). Aeration increased the dissolved oxygen concentrations in each tank, which came over 6.5 mg L-1 in both batches. This study sheds light on the positive impact of aeration has on COD and NH4+-N removal: these are nearly three-fold higher compared to non-aeration conditions and reached approximately 99% (1.7-log reduction) for E. coli removal. Additionally, the plant growth rate in the aerated FTWs was higher than in the non-aerated ones. The average shoot growth rate of Phragmites australis was 0.76 cm d-1 for the aerated FTW which was two-fold higher compared to the non-aerated one.

This article investigates the treatment performance of Floating Treatment Wetlands (FTWs) coupled with aeration to reduce the diffuse pollution in canal water. The results showed that the aeration enhanced the treatment of organics and nutrients, and the plant growth of the aerated FTWs was two-fold higher than that of non-aerated FTWs, which has a phytoremediation potential for treating canal water in Ho Chi Minh city.

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BACKGROUND: Simulation-based training courses have been developed and widely accepted.The use of simulators can prevent bitter consequences that may sometimes put human lives in danger. Increasing the skill of nursing students in dealing with trauma patients is of great importance. The aim of this study is to evaluate the effectiveness of the simulation-based trauma training program for the management of trauma patients in nursing students. METHOD: It is an observational approach that focuses on improving the learning of trauma care skills. For this study, 6th and 8th semester nursing students were selected by appropriate sampling method. Previously, these students completed the trauma training course without simulation. Training of trauma skills was done using multi-purpose trauma mollage And we subsequently analyzed the effectiveness of the trauma simulation training program using the OSCE test. In the inferential statistics section, after examining the data distribution (Kolmogrove-Smirnov and Shapiro-Wilk tests), the Wilcoxon test was used to measure significance. SPSS 22 software was used. RESULTS: The results indicated that the lowest mean score obtained based on a scale of zero to one hundred was for the movement limitation of the injured long bone and the highest was in the skill of oral-nasal intubation and ventilation. The results of the paired t-test showed that clinical skills for dealing with trauma-affected individuals in undergraduate nursingafter simulation training was significantly higher . CONCLUSION: The implementation of the simulation is accompanied by an increase in the skills of the participants, which leads to the application of the acquired knowledge in real-life scenarios and positive changes. In the learning of the participants, the evaluation of conventional trauma training in Iran, like other countries, shows the need for specialized training through simulation. To ensure the continued effectiveness of simulation-based trauma training courses, it is recommended that administrators and policymakers encourage regular faculty participation in the program. Long term effects of trauma simulators training in nursing student requires further study.

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The effectiveness of strategic psychology-based marketing techniques for increasing public support for conservation is poorly understood. We assessed how such techniques affect support for tropical rainforest restoration with a controlled online experiment with 1166 nationally representative residents of the United Kingdom. We tested whether support increased when adding ecosystem service (ES) framings to typical nongovernmental organizations' (NGOs) biodiversity-focused messages that emphasize benefits to UK residents or people living near the tropical restoration site and a dynamic social norm nudge that emphasized increasing popularity of environmental restoration. We considered how respondents' psychological traits (nature connection, self-efficacy, psychological benefits of supporting charities, awareness of environmental degradation in the Global South, and climate change skepticism) influenced responses. Outcomes included respondents' reported advertisement sufficiency, sympathetic attitudes, behavioral support, and financial support. The study population typically found advertisements sufficient and exhibited sympathetic attitudes and financial, but not behavioral, support. Younger people exhibited greater conservation support than older respondents. Messages framed solely on biodiversity conservation were as effective as those highlighting additional ES benefits received by UK residents and people near the tropical restoration site. This suggests that framing around ESs, rather than nature's intrinsic value, may not strengthen public support for conservation. The dynamic social norm nudge had perverse effects. It reduced perceived social norms and most outcome variables. Alternative dynamic norm nudges warrant testing, but our results support research suggesting dynamic norm nudges can be ineffective when associated with activism, challenging their use by conservation NGOs. Psychological benefits of supporting charities and perceived self-efficacy increased support for advertisements, highlighting the benefits of including impact statements relating respondents' support to specific outcomes. Climate change skepticism decreased support, whereas nature connection and perceived static social norms increased it, highlighting the need to increase nature connection and pro-environmental social norms to elevate public support for conservation.

Impactos del encuadre de los mensajes sobre servicios ambientales y las normas sociales dinámicas sobre el apoyo público hacia la restauración de bosques tropicales Resumen Sabemos poco sobre la eficiencia de las técnicas de mercadotecnia basadas en la psicología estratégica para aumentar el apoyo público a la conservación. Evaluamos cómo afectan dichas técnicas al apoyo a la restauración de la selva tropical mediante un experimento controlado en línea con 1,166 residentes del Reino Unido representativos a nivel nacional. Comprobamos si el apoyo aumentaba al añadir marcos de servicios ambientales a los mensajes típicos de las organizaciones no gubernamentales (ONG) centrados en la biodiversidad, que hacen hincapié en los beneficios para los residentes del Reino Unido o las personas que viven cerca del lugar de restauración tropical y un empuje dinámico de normas sociales que hacía hincapié en la creciente popularidad de la restauración ecológica. Analizamos la influencia de los rasgos psicológicos de los encuestados (conexión con la naturaleza, autoeficacia, beneficios psicológicos de apoyar a organizaciones benéficas, experiencia de degradación ambiental en el Sur Global y escepticismo ante el cambio climático) sobre las respuestas. Los resultados fueron la suficiencia de los anuncios, las actitudes de simpatía, el apoyo conductual y el apoyo económico. En general, la población del estudio consideró que los anuncios eran suficientes y mostró actitudes de simpatía y apoyo económico, pero no conductuales. La población más joven mostró un mayor apoyo a la conservación que los encuestados de más edad. Los mensajes centrados únicamente en la conservación de la biodiversidad fueron tan eficaces como los que destacaban los beneficios adicionales de los servicios ambientales recibidos por los residentes del Reino Unido y las personas cercanas al lugar de restauración tropical. Esto sugiere que el encuadre en torno a los servicios ambientales, en lugar del valor intrínseco de la naturaleza, puede no reforzar el apoyo público a la conservación. El empuje dinámico de la norma social tuvo efectos perversos ya que redujo las normas sociales percibidas y la mayoría de las variables de resultado. Es necesario probar otros incentivos dinámicos, pero nuestros resultados corroboran las investigaciones que sugieren que los incentivos dinámicos pueden ser ineficaces cuando se asocian con el activismo, lo que cuestiona su uso por parte de las ONG de la conservación. Los beneficios psicológicos por apoyar a organizaciones benéficas y la autoeficacia percibida aumentaron el apoyo a los anuncios, lo que resalta las ventajas de incluir declaraciones de impacto que relacionen el apoyo de los encuestados con resultados específicos. El escepticismo ante el cambio climático redujo el apoyo, mientras que la conexión con la naturaleza y las normas sociales estáticas percibidas lo aumentaron, lo que destaca la necesidad de aumentar la conexión con la naturaleza y las normas sociales proambientales para elevar el apoyo público a la conservación.

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This study investigated a disease outbreak characterized by caligid copepod infestations and subsequent secondary bacterial infections in European seabass (Dicentrarchus labrax) and flathead grey mullet (Mugil cephalus) cultivated at a private facility in the Deeba Triangle region of Egypt. Moribund fish displayed brown spots on the skin, tongue, and gills, along with lethargy and excess mucus. The fish suffered severe infections, exhibiting external hemorrhages, ulcers, and ascites. The fish had pale, enlarged livers with hemorrhaging. Comprehensive parasitological, bacteriological, molecular, immunity and histopathological analyses were conducted to identify the etiological agents and pathological changes. Caligid copepod infestation was observed in wet mounts from the buccal and branchial cavities of all examined fish, and the caligids were identified as Caligus clemensi through COI gene sequencing and phylogenetic analysis. Vibrio alginolyticus was confirmed as a secondary bacterial infection through biochemical tests, recA gene sequencing, and phylogenetic analyses. Antibiotic susceptibility testing revealed resistance to ß-lactams, aminoglycosides, and trimethoprim-sulfamethoxazole in V. alginolyticus isolates. Upregulation of the inflammatory marker IL-1ß in gill and skin tissues indicated a robust cell-mediated immune response against the pathogens. Histopathological examination revealed severe tissue damage, hyperplasia, hemorrhage, and congestion in the gills, along with hepatocellular degeneration and steatosis in the liver, providing initial insights into this outbreak. A comprehensive therapeutic regimen was implemented, comprising prolonged hydrogen peroxide immersion baths, followed by the application of the nature-identical plant-based compound Lice-less and probiotic Sanolife Pro-W supplementation. This integrated approach effectively eliminated C. clemensi infestations, controlled secondary bacterial infections, and restored fish health, reducing morbidity and mortality rates to minimal levels.

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High-latitude ecosystems have been overlooked in carbon budgets, which traditionally focus on mangroves, salt marshes, and seagrasses. The benthic assemblages and their Nature Contributions to People in Namuncurá - Burdwood Bank I and II, two offshore sub-Antarctic Marine Protected Areas (MPAs), are the conservation values. Here we show that the carbon reservoirs of these MPAs can be greater than those of their Antarctic counterparts, which, together with their extension, emphasize the need to maintain their protected status. Considering their total area, these MPAs stored in biomass 52,085.78 Mg C, corresponding 34,964.16 Mg to organic carbon (OC) and 17,121.62 Mg to inorganic carbon (IC). Surficial sediments stored 933,258,336 Mg C with 188,089,629 Mg of OC and 745,168,707 Mg of IC. However, when accounting for CO2 production through CaCO3 precipitation, the IC fractions decrease to 3,150.37 Mg C and 137,111,042 Mg C for biomass and sediments, respectively. We assume low sediment deposition due to the oceanic location, as direct sedimentation rates for these areas are unavailable. Most blue carbon assessments have focused solely on OC, despite the formation of CaCO3 releases CO2, decreasing net carbon storage. We compared various approaches for incorporating carbonates into carbon estimations. These results underscore the importance of including IC into carbon assessments and highlights the importance of sub-Antarctic benthic ecosystems as nature-based solutions to climate change.

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The current study investigated the effects of ego-depletion in junior high school students on displaced aggressive behavior and the counteraction of the nature. Study 1 investigated the effects of ego-depletion on displaced aggressive behavior in junior high school students using a within-subject design, comparing the differences in displaced aggressive behavior between the induced ego-depletion condition and the non-induced ego-depletion condition. Results showed that junior high school students exhibited significantly higher levels of displaced aggressive behavior under the induced ego-depletion condition compared to the non-induced ego-depletion condition. Study 2 examined the role of the nature in the process of ego-depletion influencing displaced aggressive behavior. A 2 (ego-depletion: induced ego-depletion vs. non-induced ego-depletion) × 2 (picture type: blank picture vs. natural picture) mixed design was used. A picture-viewing task was inserted between the ego-depletion task and the displaced aggressive behavior task to compare the differences in displaced aggressive behavior between the group that viewed blank pictures and the group that viewed natural pictures. The results showed that under the induced ego-depletion condition, there was no significant difference in displaced aggressive behavior between viewing natural pictures and viewing blank pictures. However, after viewing blank pictures, displaced aggressive behavior under induced ego-depletion condition was significantly higher than under non-induced ego-depletion condition; after viewing natural pictures, there was no significant difference in displaced aggressive behavior between induced ego-depletion condition and non-induced ego-depletion condition. These results suggest that ego-depletion can increase displaced aggressive behavior in junior high school students, but this phenomenon is not observed after exposure to nature. The current study provides empirical evidence for investigating the effects of ego-depletion on displaced aggressive behavior.

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Nature-based solutions (NBS) have been promoted as a holistic way to solve a variety of societal issues while benefiting biodiversity at the same time. To date, applications of NBS approaches that help ensure food security have yet been systematically reviewed. In this paper, we critically review the specific NBS for food security, highlighting their limitations, to provide recommendations that promote their applications for improving global food security. We accessed and evaluated publications on four different scholastic databases, and our systematic review of relevant materials indicated that many NBS approaches can be applied to enhance food security dimensions individually or together. However, there is a strong bias towards food availability, and not enough research has been done to link NBS with improvements in food access and utilization. Over 80 % of the reviewed papers were of short-term studies or without specific timeframes, and 25 % offered no information on the economic effectiveness of NBS. Environmental benefits of NBS were explicitly described in about 60 % of these papers, and biodiversity enhancement was measured in only about 10 %. We, therefore, recommend future applications of NBS to safeguard food security be shifted to food access and utilization with careful consultation with local communities to address their specific context, using indicators that are easily measured and managed. Systematic monitoring regimes and robust and diversified financial support systems are also equally important in efforts to successfully implement NBS. Moreover, environmental and societal benefits, especially water productivity and biodiversity, must be incorporated into the planning and design of NBS.

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Palm swamp forests are wetland ecosystems typical of the Brazilian Cerrado, which in recent decades have undergone intense changes due to land use alterations and climate change. As a result of these disturbances, many palm swamps have been experiencing significant drying, which can also affect adjacent vegetation. In the present study, we evaluated whether the drying of palm swamps affects the structure of plant-herbivore networks located in adjacent savanna areas in Brazil. Our results show that savanna areas adjacent to dry zones of palm swamps have fewer interactions, fewer interacting species, and a less specialized topology, which corroborates our expectations. Our findings indicate that the drying of palm swamps also has propagated impacts on adjacent savanna vegetation, impairing more specialized interactions in these environments. On the other hand, contrary to expectations, plant-herbivore networks in dry zones displayed higher modularity, lower nestedness and lower robustness than those in wet zones, suggesting that in dry environments, species tend to compartmentalize their interactions, even with lower interaction specialization. This is the first study to investigate the impacts of environmental drying on the structure of plant-herbivore networks in tropical ecosystems, highlighting the complexity of these effects and their differential impact on specialized and generalized interactions. Understanding these dynamics is crucial for developing effective conservation and management strategies in the face of ongoing environmental changes.

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The prevailing narrative in the history of science maintains that the ancient Greeks did not have a concept of a 'law of nature'. This paper overturns that narrative and shows that some ancient Greek philosophers did have an idea of laws of nature and, moreover, they referred to them as 'laws of nature'. This paper analyzes specific examples of laws of nature in texts by Plato, Aristotle, Philo of Alexandria, Nicomachus of Gerasa, and Galen. These examples emerged out of the closely intertwined Platonic and Pythagorean traditions, and these philosophers' texts make reference to laws of nature when describing arithmetical methods, arithmological doctrines, or medical theories. Nicomachus' laws of nature are especially noteworthy, because they have features that historians look for in the search for the origin of the modern concept of laws of nature. Nicomachus' laws of nature are mathematical, universal, and necessary. This paper raises the possibility that the ancient Platonic and Pythagorean traditions influenced the subsequent development of the idea of laws of nature in medieval and early modern Europe, including the conception of laws of nature deployed by Johannes Kepler and Isaac Newton.

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In climate change and planetary health, the datafication of natural processes and their effects on human health is gaining importance, not least due to data's role in international funding mechanisms. In Bangladesh, water salinity has become the focus of much research and could emerge as an asset to access climate funding. Taking Bangladesh's water salinity monitoring infrastructure as a case study, this paper problematizes the "neutrality" of water salinity data. Adopting the methodological approach of an "infrastructural inversion", we foreground the relational nature of data production. The study draws on ethnographic fieldwork in Bangladesh along the data production chain. We highlight how the involvement of a large variety of actors gave rise to vastly different data infrastructures and explicate the influence of actors' "problematization". We further illustrate the importance of pre-existing materiality for the implementation of data collection systems on the ground and their power to influence whose reality is represented and whose is left out. Discussing these findings in the context of the international development sector reveals the complex interplay between the dual function of data as a mediator of knowledge and proof of legitimacy. Attention is paid to the tendencies of perpetuating patterns of exclusion and inclusion through data in a setting of project-based funding. We thereby provide global health researchers, policy makers and development practitioners with a detailed case study whilst stimulating reflection on the hegemony of datafication.

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In recent years, nature-induced urban disasters in high-density modern cities in China have raised great concerns. The delayed and imprecise understanding of the real-time post-disaster situation made it difficult for the decision-makers to find a suitable emergency rescue plan. To this end, this study aims to facilitate the real-time performance and accuracy of on-site victim risk identification. In this article, we propose a victim identification model based on the You Only Look Once v7-W6 (YOLOv7-W6) algorithm. This model defines the "fall-down" pose as a key feature in identifying urgent victims from the perspective of disaster medicine rescue. The results demonstrate that this model performs superior accuracy (mAP@0.5, 0.960) and inference speed (5.1 ms) on the established disaster victim database compared to other state-of-the-art object detection algorithms. Finally, a case study is illustrated to show the practical utilization of this model in a real disaster rescue scenario. This study proposes an intelligent on-site victim risk identification approach, contributing significantly to government emergency decision-making and response.

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Treatment Wetlands (TWs) are widely used for the treatment of domestic wastewater, with an increasing emphasis on provision of multiple co-benefits. However, concerns remain regarding achieving stringent phosphorus (P) discharge limits, system robustness and resilience, and associated guidance on system design and operation. Typically, where P removal is intended with a passive TW, surface flow (SF) systems are the chosen design type. This study analysed long-term monitoring datasets (2-30 years) from 85 full-scale SF TWs (25 m2 to 487 ha) treating domestic sewage with the influent load ranging from 2.17 to 54,779 m3/d, including secondary treatment, tertiary treatment, and combined sewer overflows treatment. The results showed median percentage removals of total P (TP) and orthophosphate (Ortho P) of 28% and 31%, respectively. Additionally, median areal mass removal rates were 5.13 and 2.87 gP/m2/yr, respectively. For tertiary SF TWs without targeted upstream P removal, 80% of the 44 systems achieved ≤3 mg/L annual average effluent total P. Tertiary SF TWs with targeted upstream P removal demonstrated high robustness, delivering stable effluent TP < 0.35 mg/L. Seasonality in removal achieved was absent from 85% of sites, with 95% of all systems demonstrating stable annual average effluent TP concentrations for up to a 30-year period. Only two out of 32 systems showed a significant increase in effluent TP concentration after the initial year and remained stable thereafter. The impact of different liner types on water infiltration, cost, and carbon footprint were analysed to quantify the impact of these commonly cited barriers to implementation of SF TW for P removal. The use of PVC enclosed between geotextile gave the lowest additional cost and carbon footprint associated with lining SF TWs. Whilst the P-k-C* model is considered the best practice for sizing SF TWs to achieve design pollutant reductions, it should be used with caution with further studies needed to more comprehensively understand the key design parameters and relationships that determine P removal performance in order to reliably predict effluent quality.

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In this paper, we explore the concept of outdoor adventure in the context of mental health, proposing an ecological perspective to redefine adventure beyond its traditional associations with risk and physical challenge. We critically examine current frameworks and definitions of adventure, which often emphasise specific activities and natural environments yet overlook the individual's experience and potential mental health benefits. From an ecological perspective, we emphasise the dynamic interplay between the individual, the activity, and the environment. This approach, grounded in ecological psychology, considers the multi-dimensional nature of adventure, including social, psychological, physical, and spiritual aspects. The paper challenges the traditional risk-focused view of adventure, advocating for a broader definition that includes diverse experiences and interactions, as well as the transformative potential of adventure in various environments, including urban settings. We highlight the changing demographics and motivations of adventure participants, moving away from the stereotypical young male risk-seeker, to more diverse and inclusive participant profiles. We argue that adventure facilitates the realisation of fundamental human affordances, often untapped in daily life, thereby enhancing mental health and wellbeing. This ecological perspective opens new avenues for understanding the role of adventure in mental health and wellbeing, offering a more comprehensive and inclusive approach to adventure activities as therapeutic interventions. This redefined understanding of adventure emphasises its potential as a powerful tool for enhancing human wellbeing, harmonising the relationship between people, tasks, and the environment, and offering profound implications for mental health contexts.

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This systematic review explored how nature-based care settings influence engagement in mental health therapy. We relied on Joanna Briggs Institute's guidelines for systematic reviews to synthesise data from nine articles selected from an initial pool of 649 records retrieved from PubMed, CINAHL, ScienceDirect, SocINDEX, and JBI EPB. Synthesis revealed six analytical themes: nature as a therapeutic tool, therapeutic relationships, nature's impact on power balance, nature as a safe space, risk of nature and patient-centered care. The findings shed light on the benefits while highlighting some challenges that influence participation in mental health interventions. The findings suggest that integrating nature into mental health care could be an alternative or complementary approach to enhancing patient engagement. However, the specific types of mental health care of this impact vary. Robust clinical trials that examine the effectiveness of the reported benefits are recommended. Such studies must target specific patient groups, such as the young and the elderly. Longitudinal studies that examine the long-term effects and moderating factors are needed to strengthen the evidence base and enhance patient-centered care.

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BACKGROUND: Nature prescribing - a written recommendation by health or social professional for a person to spend more time in nature - is being heralded by some as a potential solution to loneliness, a felt deprivation of meaningful connection, companionship, and camaraderie. However, such recommendations currently lack evidence on how much time in nature is needed to tackle loneliness and over what timescale. METHODS: General, emotional, and social loneliness were measured using De Jong Gierveld's 6-item scale in a nationally representative sample of 3043 Australian participants at baseline (October 2020), with 2421 and 2123 completing follow-ups at 4 months (February 2021) and 16 months (February 2022), respectively. Multilevel logistic regressions examined the odds of change in loneliness status between baseline and follow-up in relation to hours spent in nature in the 7 days prior to the baseline survey, adjusting for confounding factors that influence time spent in nature and the risk of feeling lonely. FINDINGS: Relief from general loneliness in those experiencing it at baseline was 22.4% at month 4 and 29.4% at month 16. The equivalent findings for relief from social loneliness and emotional loneliness were 21.2% and 24.6%, and 34.2% and 41.2% at months 4 and 16, respectively. Incidence of loneliness at 4 months was 21.8% (general), 26.1% (social), and 11.8% (emotional), and at 16 months was 22.7% (general), 25.6% (social), and 12% (emotional). At each time point, the prevalence of loneliness was lower among participants with more time in nature. Just 1-2 hours per week in nature (versus <1) was associated with relief from social loneliness at 4 months (Odds Ratio [OR] 1.69, 95%CI 1.10, 2.65) and at 16 months (OR 2.10, 95%CI 1.34, 3.30). Higher odds of relief from emotional loneliness were observed at 3-4 hours spent in nature at 4 months (OR 1.84, 95%CI 1.11, 3.06) and at 16 months (OR 1.82, 95%CI 1.09, 3.07). Incidence of loneliness was not associated with nature contact. INTERPRETATION: Increasing time in nature may an effective non-medical prescription for people who are lonely to find durable relief within a relatively short space of time. Findings from this longitudinal study can inform further investigation through randomised trials of co-designed nature prescriptions targeting relief from loneliness in vulnerable populations.

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The conventional approach to environmental governance, based on institutions, regulations, and interventions, has failed to stop the current ecological catastrophe. I suggest a radical alternative: Ritual as the core mode of 'nature-based governance' (NBG) that enacts deep and comprehensive reciprocity between people and nature. NBG grounds governance mechanisms in embodied more-than-human practices with normative force. I build on theories of embodiment to suggest a general concept of ritual that is inspired by but generalizes over Indigenous thought and is informed by East Asian ideas about ritual as the pivot of social order. Further, the embodiment framework recognises ritual as a kind of action humans and non-humans share as living beings. Therefore, rituals can be harnessed in workable governance mechanisms to create and sustain communities of multi-species cohabitation. I distinguish between two basic types of reciprocity corresponding to two types of governance: Disembodied reciprocity enacted by conventional human-only governance schemes and embodied reciprocity enacted by NBG. Embodied reciprocity creates relationality of people and nature. Equipped with these theoretical insights, I suggest practical applications in the context of NBG of Nature-based solutions, discussing three stylized models. These are the formation of urban multi-species communities in urban gardening and urban forests, the commoning of ecosystem services of animal populations in wildfire protection, and reconceptualizing eco-compensation as a reciprocal ritual of gift-giving.

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Traditionally, science courses focus on knowledge and practices within specific disciplines. There has long been a call, however, to increase the focus on the nature and process of science as a way to improve scientific literacy and increase the transfer of knowledge. Despite this, there are few systematic studies that seek to understand the impact of this approach. Revising a STEM course in a liberal arts curriculum to primarily focus on the nature and process of science rather than on the content of a specific discipline increased student scores on the Test of Scientific Literacy Skills and improved perceptions of STEM. In the revised course, students self-reported higher levels of confidence in their ability to learn scientific information and their ability to contribute to scientific progress compared to traditional methods. These data and other literature suggest that the traditional knowledge-focused approach to science education is insufficient to facilitate scientific literacy and address equity gaps in STEM. Proposed is a model where scientific literacy and feelings of inclusion in STEM are the product of direct engagement in the process of science and careful evaluation of the nature of science. Long-term, a holistic approach that includes an authentic discussion of the enterprise of sciences is needed to prepare students to engage in future problems that are best solved by cross-disciplinary collaboration.

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Koji mold (Aspergillus oryzae) is a key microorganism in brewing and fermentation in Japan. We isolated koji molds from the environment in Niigata Prefecture. Eighty-one environmental samples were placed on isolation medium made from steamed rice with wood ash and 36 Aspergillus section Flavi-like strains were obtained. Of those, 26 strains did not produce aflatoxin. We studied their morphology, sequence of ITS region, calmodulin gene, aflatoxin biosynthetic homologous gene cluster and α-amylase gene and fermentation-related enzyme activities. Furthermore, DNA-seq analysis of 14 strains from 26 non-aflatoxin producing strains were conducted and compared the three mycotoxin biosynthetic gene clusters (aflatoxin, cyclopiazonic acid, and aflatrem) and fermentation-related genes against those of reference strain A. oryzae RIB40. In some strains, gene sequences confirmed the absence of mycotoxin production, but differences in fermentation-related enzyme activities could not be explained well by amino acid substitutions. We classified the 26 isolates into 6 morphology types based on the appearance of colonies and mating types, and it was found that strains of the same morphology type had similar enzymatic profiles and gene sequences. Our results show that koji molds with various properties occur in the environment, and it will expand the possibilities of koji mold in industrial use.

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Constructed Wetlands (CW) have gained popularity over the last decades due to their cost-effectiveness, easy and simple operation and environmental compatibility in wastewater treatment. This ecological engineering technology appears particularly ideal for low-income regions. In this study, three widely used CW types (horizontal flow, vertical flow, and hybrid CW) were constructed and evaluated for their effectiveness in removing various pollution parameters (BOD5, COD, TSS, NH4-N, NO3-N, and TP) from an industrial effluent. Different configurations were tested such as CW type, hydraulic residence time, plants presence, and artificial aeration. Results showed that the hybrid CW configuration (i.e., vertical flow CW followed by horizontal subsurface flow CW) achieved the highest removal rates of all pollutants, i.e., more than 90% of BOD5, COD, TSS, and NH4-N. The single horizontal flow and vertical flow CW designs showed variations in the removal of NO3-N and TP (less than 30%), which were significantly improved (50% and 70%, respectively) by using the hybrid CW system. Artificial aeration significantly improves the performance of the CW system, especially for ammonia nitrogen and organic matter removal, while plants presence is also beneficial in the treatment performance. An 8-days HRT seems to be adequate for high removal rates in passive CW designs, though in aerated wetlands a lower HRT of 4 days seems sufficient. These findings suggest that the hybrid CW system could be a promising option for efficient wastewater treatment in developing regions.