Invited discussant comments during the UCL-Penn Global COVID Study webinar 'How Do We Trust (Again): Paranoia and Mental Health': part 2 of 2.

Loneliness has been reported by the UCL-Penn Global COVID Study participants throughout the pandemic year, not surprisingly, although this has been an issue that has been manifesting itself even before the pandemic. In identifying loneliness in communities, the built environment industry and professionals have been looking at how good and targeted design in the public realm and master planning can help to firstly design interventions and secondly orchestrate or manage these spaces in a way that helps create opportunities to address loneliness. Furthermore, how these spaces create opportunities for people to both interact with each other but also interact with the space can help connect people together and with nature/biodiversity. In doing so this also helps to create better health outcomes for mental health and wellbeing, as well as physical health and wellbeing. Coronavirus (Covid-19) and the associated lockdown periods have caused people to reconnect with local green spaces and has focused the attention to what these spaces provide in terms of opportunities and benefits for people. As a result, the value placed on these and the expectation of how they will provide value to communities is increasing and will continue to increase in the post-Covid-19 world. Better connected, activated and well-structured public realm and green spaces will be central to the development of projects and schemes for housing, and mixed used schemes in the forthcoming years.

Invited discussant comments during the UCL-Penn Global COVID Study webinar 'How Do We Trust (Again): Paranoia and Mental Health': part 1 of 2.

The article provides commentary on Wong et al.'s investigation of the relationship between schizotypal traits, social mistrust and aggression, mental and physical health outcomes across three waves of data collection commencing in April 2020. The researchers aimed to consider the nature of the relationship between these variables and the stability of these relationships as coronavirus (Covid-19) restrictions fluctuated over time. Their results suggested that loneliness reflects a hub which links the trait variables of schizotypal and social mistrust to aggression and mental and physical health symptoms. Their network did not vary by demographic factors nor wave of data collection, suggesting that stable individual differences were driving results. Their results propose that interventions which increase social connection could provide positive health benefits as well as decreasing aggression (via reductions in social mistrust). Their data contributes to understanding about how schizotypal traits link to outcomes under conditions of social stress.

The Architecture of Multifunctional Prefabricated Hospitals

The paper discusses the principles of planning infectious diseases hospitals of a new type, the need for which arose in connection with the global epidemiological situation and the announcement by the WHO (World Health Organization) of the SARS-CoV-2 pandemic. Using the examples of the projects built in the Russian Federation, the prerequisites are analyzed for the decision-making as to functional zoning, architecture, space-planning and design solutions, as well as within the framework of the SDP (Site Development Plan). Options for the subsequent use of the developed solutions in new projects are proposed. © 2023, The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature Switzerland AG.

The benefits of Nature Based Systems in a changing and uncertain world

Multi-functional nature-based solutions (NBS) can help urban areas become more climate proof, adaptable, and provide a range of societal goals. Alongside chronic impacts from climate change, the Covid-19 pandemic has illustrated the disruption that unexpected and acute shocks can bring to society. Measures like NBS can help reduce the vulnerability of urban areas and increase resilience. Traditional infrastructure planning relies on strong business cases to demonstrate the economic value of a scheme. Numerous approaches assign economic value to the benefits from using NBS. However, this value is more than can be accounted by traditional finance methods as there are many different perspectives on 'value'. Decision making processes for selection of NBS measures require stronger integration of these value perspectives. This paper considers these perspectives in the business models that are being used in the decision processes regarding use and selection of NBS. Examples are drawn from case studies in the EU BEGIN project and also from the Living With Water (LWW) partnership in the UK illustrate how value perspectives can be included in business cases for NBS, also signposting the need to account for potential future changes using scenario planning. © 2022 ICE Publishing: All rights reserved.

The Architecture of Multifunctional Prefabricated Hospitals

The paper discusses the principles of planning infectious diseases hospitals of a new type, the need for which arose in connection with the global epidemiological situation and the announcement by the WHO (World Health Organization) of the SARS-CoV-2 pandemic. Using the examples of the projects built in the Russian Federation, the prerequisites are analyzed for the decision-making as to functional zoning, architecture, space-planning and design solutions, as well as within the framework of the SDP (Site Development Plan). Options for the subsequent use of the developed solutions in new projects are proposed. © 2023, The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature Switzerland AG.

Aminoacyl-tRNA Synthetase: A Non-Negligible Molecule in RNA Viral Infection.

Infectious diseases such as the ongoing coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) continue to have a huge impact on global health, and the host-virus interaction remains incompletely understood. To address the global threat, in-depth investigations in pathogenesis are essential for interventions in infectious diseases and vaccine development. Interestingly, aminoacyl-transfer RNA (tRNA) synthetases (aaRSs), an ancient enzyme family that was once considered to play housekeeping roles in protein synthesis, are involved in multiple viral infectious diseases. Many aaRSs in eukaryotes present as the components of a cytoplasmic depot system named the multi-synthetase complex (MSC). Upon viral infections, several components of the MSC are released and exert nonenzymatic activities. Host aaRSs can also be utilized to facilitate viral entry and replication. In addition to their intracellular roles, some aaRSs and aaRS-interacting multi-functional proteins (AIMPs) are secreted as active cytokines or function as "molecule communicators" on the cell surface. The interactions between aaRSs and viruses ultimately affect host innate immune responses or facilitate virus invasion. In this review, we summarized the latest advances of the interactions between aaRSs and RNA viruses, with a particular emphasis on the therapeutic potentials of aaRSs in viral infectious diseases.

A Knowledge Review on Integrated Landscape Approaches

Holistic and multi-transdisciplinary approaches, where multiple goals are achieved in order to improve resilience in societies and ecosystems in the short, medium, and long term, are ideal, even utopian. Hence, science has come together with practical experiences that highlight the importance of working at a ‘landscape’ level. Landscapes, as socio-ecological systems, are key for sustainability and sustainable development, and they represent a realistic unit to interconnect local, national, and ultimately global scales. International efforts regarding holistic natural resources management approaches are not new;however, they are currently pointing to an Integrated Landscape Approach (ILA). Based on a documentation review and analysis, the present article review aims to promote the disambiguation of the ILA concept and provide an updated synthesis knowledge on the ILA. Especially for the forest sector, the ILA has been identified as particularly beneficial, strongly highlighted by the scientific literature, and with an infrastructure of organizations that are encouraging it. The paper presents the rationale of the science behind the concept, as well as the main principles, we identified a variety of definitions with some significant points of overlap, we highlight the inclusion of ILAs in the current international arena and the relationship of ILA’s and Jurisdictional Approaches, and we make a review of the ILA in a challenging world of rapid change. Our review recognizes ILAs socio-ecological management strategy to reconcile conservation, development, climate change, and human well-being goals. ILAs naturally have a social and idealistic construction behind it, which might be just as necessary andsignificant as the journey toward sustainability itself.

S-Light: Smart LED Lamppost using PWM-based Adaptive Light Controller

Conventional streetlight’s constant need for high power and the ill effects it has spawned on the environmental ecosystem has led researchers to adopt the idea of smart lights in order to minimize energy consumption and maximize power efficiency. This paper proposes S-LIGHT, which is a PWM-based LED adaptive light controlling system that can be deployed at public parks and other outdoor recreational venues, which applies intelligent illumination control of an LED lights. The design is based on Pulse Width Modulation technique which optimizes the overall power consumption and simultaneously supporting a multi-functional and user-friendly post. Smart street lighting aims to make cities feel safer at night, make lights more efficient, and substantially reduce costs of maintenance and energy by integrating sensors and alternative technologies to automate the light. S-LIGHT uses an Arduino UNO board along with a Passive Infrared (PIR) sensor to swiftly increase the brightness of the high-power LED light during the night in the presence of human motion, and a Light Dependent Resistor (LDR) sensor to turn on/off the light by adapting itself to the time of night/day. S-LIGHT also provides a multi-functional post that supports an emergency button feature that easily initiates an Emergency call to the police, a surveillance camera that streams live footage of the area, and an LCD screen that displays to the public awareness messages about the COVID-19 pandemic. © 2021 IEEE.

Mathematics and statistics distance learning: More than just online teaching

At the Open University, where students learn online and at a distance, the School of Mathematics and Statistics has for many years provided innovative ways of supporting students outside the 'classroom' environment so was well prepared to support students during the COVID-19 pandemic. These forms of support include online forums to help students with module choice and taster resources including diagnostic quizzes for students to self-assess their readiness to study individual modules and receive targeted support. Since 2017, these resources, and more, have been incorporated into a multi-functional student-facing website. The website enables all units, both academic and non-academic, to provide consistent academic, pastoral and social support to students studying mathematics and statistics modules online. By focusing on the different stages of a student's journey, the website provides a one-stop shop for students to self-serve and obtain appropriate support at each point in their own student lifecycle. Data gathered on the frequency of use of the website, together with the results from staff and student questionnaires, have provided insight into how students and staff use the website. The evaluation highlights the need for clear signposting to such resources. In addition, the wide range of resources which enable students to make informed module choices is shown to be particularly important for staff who provide pastoral and academic support to students. © 2021 The Author(s) 2021. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of The Institute of Mathematics and its Applications. All rights reserved