The impact of gardening on well-being, mental health, and quality of life: an umbrella review and meta-analysis

BACKGROUND

Gardening and horticultural therapy (HT) has been widely recognised as a multicomponent approach that has affected a broad range of health and well-being outcomes. The aim of this umbrella review and meta-analysis was to compare the findings of previous reviews on the impact of multiple gardening interventions and gardening attributes on different well-being constructs.

METHODS

Electronic databases including PubMed, Web of Science, Science Direct, the Cochrane Library, and Google Scholar were searched from inception to December 2022. Interventional and observational reviews were eligible for inclusion in this umbrella review. Outcome measures included mental well-being, health status and quality of life. The key exposure variables were gardening and horticultural therapy. Narrative synthesis was used to evaluate the overall impact of gardening and HT on study outcomes. For a subsample of studies with available quantitative data, a random effect meta-analysis was conducted.

RESULTS

This umbrella review included 40 studies (10 interventional studies, 2 observational studies, and 28 mixed interventional and observational studies). The reviewed studies reported an overall positive impact of gardening activities on several measures of mental well-being, quality of life, and health status. Meta-analysis showed a significant and positive effect of gardening and HT activities on well-being (effect size (ES) 0.55, 95% confidence interval (CI) 0.23, 0.87, p < 0.001).

CONCLUSIONS

Evidence from observational and interventional studies supports a positive role for gardening and HT activities on well-being and general health. Interventional studies with horticultural-based therapies were effective in improving well-being and quality of life both in the general population and vulnerable subgroups. The high degree of heterogeneity in the included studies cautions against any direct clinical implications of the study findings.

Generating youth dialogue through the literary arts: A citywide youth health collaboration in the U.S

A process and outcomes evaluation was conducted of a citywide literary-arts initiative designed to reduce stigma, amplify underrepresented narratives, and generate dialogue about violence. Over 4 months, students in 85 middle schools read a novel addressing mental health and violence-related themes. As a collaboration between a public school district and public library system, the program's classroom activities emphasized dialogue, while coordinated library events supported community engagement. Students completed pre/postsurveys (total n = 1487); school program leaders (n = 39) and public librarians (n = 14) completed postsurveys. Half of student respondents reported personal encounters with violence. Most said the novel influenced their thinking; students with personal experiences of violence reported greater influence than those without. Highest rates of dialogue were seen among students who read the novel in full, and over half of postsurvey respondents wanted more dialogue opportunities. Leaders and librarians indicated that the program was smoothly integrated with existing curricula, but also offered recommendations for improved processes. Findings suggest that this intervention was effective at stimulating dialogue while providing assets-based opportunities for youth to share experiences and concerns. Current program processes indicate promise for further engagement and impact, with some modifications. To this end, authors draw upon evaluation findings and youth development literature to offer recommendations for program development and replication in other regions.

Investigating BB0405 as a novel Borrelia afzelii vaccination candidate in Lyme borreliosis

BB0405 is a surface exposed Borrelia burgdorferi protein and its vaccination protected mice against B. burgdorferi infection. As BB0405 is highly conserved across different B. burgdorferi sensu lato species, we investigated whether vaccination with recombinant BB0405 or through intradermal bb0405 DNA tattoo vaccination could provide protection against different Borrelia species, specifically against Borrelia afzelii, the predominant B. burgdorferi sensu lato genospecies causing Lyme borreliosis across Eurasia. We immunized C3H/HeN mice with recombinant BB0405 or with a codon-optimized bb0405 DNA vaccine using the pVAC plasmid and immunized corresponding control groups mice with only adjuvant or empty vectors. We subsequently subjected these immunized mice to a tick challenge with B. afzelii CB43-infected Ixodes ricinus nymphs. Upon vaccination, recombinant BB0405 induced a high total IgG response, but bb0405 DNA vaccination did not elicit antibody responses. Both vaccine formulations did not provide protection against Borrelia afzelii strain CB43 after tick challenge. In an attempt to understand the lack of protection of the recombinant vaccine, we determined expression of BB0405 and showed that B. afzelii CB43 spirochetes significantly and drastically downregulate the expression of BB0405 protein at 37 °C compared to 33 °C, where as in B. burgdorferi B31 spirochetes expression levels remain unaltered. Vaccination with recombinant BB0405 was previously shown to protect against B. burgdorferi sensu stricto. Here we show that vaccination with either recombinant BB0405 (or non-immunogenic bb0405 DNA), despite being highly conserved among B. burgdorferi sl genospecies, does not provide cross-protection against B. afzelii, mostly likely due to downregulation of this protein in B. afzelii in the mammalian host.

Optogenetically transduced human ES cell-derived neural progenitors and their neuronal progenies: Phenotypic characterization and responses to optical stimulation

Optogenetically engineered human neural progenitors (hNPs) are viewed as promising tools in regenerative neuroscience because they allow the testing of the ability of hNPs to integrate within nervous system of an appropriate host not only structurally, but also functionally based on the responses of their differentiated progenies to light. Here, we transduced H9 embryonic stem cell-derived hNPs with a lentivirus harboring human channelrhodopsin (hChR2) and differentiated them into a forebrain lineage. We extensively characterized the fate and optogenetic functionality of hChR2-hNPs in vitro with electrophysiology and immunocytochemistry. We also explored whether the in vivo phenotype of ChR2-hNPs conforms to in vitro observations by grafting them into the frontal neocortex of rodents and analyzing their survival and neuronal differentiation. Human ChR2-hNPs acquired neuronal phenotypes (TUJ1, MAP2, SMI-312, and synapsin 1 immunoreactivity) in vitro after an average of 70 days of coculturing with CD1 astrocytes and progressively displayed both inhibitory and excitatory neurotransmitter signatures by immunocytochemistry and whole-cell patch clamp recording. Three months after transplantation into motor cortex of naïve or injured mice, 60–70% of hChR2-hNPs at the transplantation site expressed TUJ1 and had neuronal cytologies, whereas 60% of cells also expressed ChR2. Transplant-derived neurons extended axons through major commissural and descending tracts and issued synaptophysin⁺ terminals in the claustrum, endopiriform area, and corresponding insular and piriform cortices. There was no apparent difference in engraftment, differentiation, or connectivity patterns between injured and sham subjects. Same trends were observed in a second rodent host, i.e. rat, where we employed longer survival times and found that the majority of grafted hChR2-hNPs differentiated into GABAergic neurons that established dense terminal fields and innervated mostly dendritic profiles in host cortical neurons. In physiological experiments, human ChR2⁺ neurons in culture generated spontaneous action potentials (APs) 100–170 days into differentiation and their firing activity was consistently driven by optical stimulation. Stimulation generated glutamatergic and GABAergic postsynaptic activity in neighboring ChR2^- cells, evidence that hChR2-hNP-derived neurons had established functional synaptic connections with other neurons in culture. Light stimulation of hChR2-hNP transplants in vivo generated complicated results, in part because of the variable response of the transplants themselves. Our findings show that we can successfully derive hNPs with optogenetic properties that are fully transferrable to their differentiated neuronal progenies. We also show that these progenies have substantial neurotransmitter plasticity in vitro, whereas in vivo they mostly differentiate into inhibitory GABAergic neurons. Furthermore, neurons derived from hNPs have the capacity of establishing functional synapses with postsynaptic neurons in vitro, but this outcome is technically challenging to explore in vivo. We propose that optogenetically endowed hNPs hold great promise as tools to explore de novo circuit formation in the brain and, in the future, perhaps launch a new generation of neuromodulatory therapies.

Laparoscopic myomectomy

Uterine leiomyoma is the most common benign tumour occurring in women in the reproductive age. It is typically found during the middle and later reproductive years. The prevalence quoted in literature ranges from 20-50% based on post mortem studies. The symptoms usually reported by women with fibroids are the following: abnormal gynaecologic haemorrhage, chronic pelvic pain, dyspareunia, as well as urinary and bowel symptoms, urinary frequency or retention and, in some cases, infertility. During pregnancy, premature labor might be caused, interfering with the position of the fetus or abortion could be induced. However, only 30% of the women develop symptoms, most of them being asymptomatic. It was proved that the factors that can cause fibroids are the following: genetic, hormonal, and growth factors, especially transforming the growth factor beta (TGFb)-related cellular changes. As diagnosis tools, studies are revealing that ultrasound has been shown to be an insufficient method of myoma mapping, and magnetic resonance imaging should be preferred for surgical therapy planning. The contour of the endometrial cavity is delineated by using trans vaginal ultrasound and saline infusion hysterosonography, but hysteroscopy is the gold standard to evaluate the uterine cavity.

[Intraneural perineurioma: clinical and morphological characteristics and a molecular genetic study of the neurofibromatosis type 2 gene]

The authors describe 4 cases of clinically, morphologically, and immunohistochemically typical intraneural perineuriomas that occurred in women aged 17 to 24 years. The tumors involved median, radial, ulnar, and palmar nerves and were 3, 2.5, 1.5, and 1.2 cm in the largest diameter. None patients had signs ofneurofibromatosis type 2 (NF2). One case was studied for mutation of the NF2 gene and heterozygous splice-site mutation at the acceptor splice site between exons 12 and 13 (agGG --> aaGG) was revealed. Two patients were followed up: they were disease-free for 10 and 15 years.

Communication between the higher education and industry

The paper presents the starting premise and the general frame of the Tempus Project CME-02555-96, entitled "Know How Transfer form University to Industry". It is intended to be a study for establishing a frame and methods for communication between academic, scientific and research bodies and industry. This project continues the efforts made in the RENEHEMA Tempus project aiming to support the improvement of communication between higher education and industry. Following the conclusions of the RENEHEMA conference the strategy adopted by the management board focused on the Internet technology and free market mechanisms to fulfill the project objectives.

Medical informatics educational tasks seen from practical perspective. Tempus-Phare Project CME-02555-96

This paper tries to synthesize the discussion of a seminar on medical informatics educational tasks held in May 1998 in Sinaia, Romania, within the frame of the Tempus-Phare Project CME-02555-96 entitled "Know How Transfer from University to Industry" and coordinated by the University of Medicine and Pharmacy Timisoara, Romania. Special emphasis was paid to particular features of medical education requirements in East European countries, with particular reference to Romania.