UNASSIGNED: In contemporary society, people spend long periods under high stress, and tourism activities have gradually been internalized as a new means of stress release and self-recovery. Studies have found that the high-quality natural environment of rural tourism destinations has a higher restorative effect than other places, and the rural natural environment can provide psychological recovery to visitors on top of offering visual beauty and other experiences.
UNASSIGNED: This paper starts with the relationship between rural place perception and restorative experience evaluation. Based on theories such as the restorative environments theory, we investigates whether rural natural environmental factors have a restorative effect on recreationists through collecting 300 questionnaires and using SPSS 26.0 structural equation modeling for analysis.
UNASSIGNED: The study found that there is a positive correlation between rural natural perception, place dependence, and restorative experience, forming a positive feedback loop dynamic system. The analysis suggests that enhancing the perception of the rural natural environment and place attachment can improve the restorative experience of recreationists in rural settings.
UNASSIGNED: This research establishes a systematic research framework for the relationship between rural natural perception, place attachment, and restorative experience, to deeply understand the dynamic interaction between them. It reveals the relationship between rural natural perception and restorative experience, suggesting that enriching the perceptual elements in rural natural spaces can meet the diverse needs of recreationists, enhance the sense of dependence and identification with rural spaces, and thus promote the psychological well-being and restorative experience of recreationists. The study also finds that place dependence plays a mediating role between rural natural perception and restorative experience. Place attachment and place identity, as mediating variables, act as bridges and catalysts in the process of rural natural perception affecting restorative experience.

BACKGROUND: Sleep disorders have a significant negative impact on mental and physical health, especially among the elderly. Various factors can affect the sleep quality of elderly people. The aim of this research to investigate the effect of urban and rural environments on the sleep quality of elderly people with emphasis on physical activity.
METHODS: Four hundred and thirty-nine elderly people (226 city residents and 213 village residents) in urban and rural areas of Bushehr (Southern Iran), volunteered to participate in the present study. Information was collected via the General information questionnaire and Petersburg Sleep Questionnaire.
RESULTS: The results showed that active elderly women (p < 0.001), and total active elderly (male + female) (p < 0.001) living in urban areas compared to inactive elderly and also in rural areas active elderly women (p < 0.001), active elderly men (p < 0.001) and total active elderly (male + female) (p < 0.001) had better overall sleep quality in compared to inactive elderly. Also, elderly men (p < 0.001) and the total elderly (male + female) (p < 0.001) living in urban areas had better sleep quality than the elderly in rural areas.
CONCLUSIONS: Based on the findings, it can be concluded that the way of life (being active) as well as the living environment can affect the sleep quality of elderly people, so that active elderly people and also elderly people living in urban environments had better sleep quality.

The three-year Black Carbon (BC) aerosol measurements made during 2020, 2021, and 2022 over a rural location, namely, Panchgaon, surrounded by Aravali hillocks (elevation of about 400-600 m) have been analyzed with an aim to determine their optical and radiative characteristics, seasonal and long-term variations in mass concentration. The affinity between these parameters and associated pollutants and planetary boundary layer height (PBLH), affected by the orography, to delineate their role in mass concentration changes with time have been investigated. The coincident OPAC (Optical Properties of Aerosols and Clouds) Model-derived aerosol optical depth (AOD), and single scattering albedo (SSA) have been compared with the observed BC mass concentration, and also with synchronous satellite measurements. The year-to-year variability analysis of the data reveals that the rate of increase of BC concentration is high. The variability was low due to the reasons explained. It implies that the year-to-year variability in BC concentration at the study site depends on the source strength modulated by the valley-driven meteorology. Added, the percentage departures of BC concentration show positive values (higher concentration) during morning and evening hours, which could be due to more anthropogenic activities while it shows negative values during afternoon hours and lower boundary layer heights. The force exerted by the radiation due to BC aerosols at the bottom of the atmosphere (BOA), and in the atmosphere (ATM) are almost equal in magnitude and negative, while that at the top-of-the-atmosphere (TOA) is smaller and positive, indicating that BC aerosols in the study region cools the atmosphere at the BOA and warms the ATM and TOA, which indirectly reveals the dominant role of long-range transport phenomenon at higher levels as compared to the surface level.

Since COVID-19, people have suffered tremendous impacts in all aspects of their lives and work, with subtle changes in their environment preferences. The rural areas, with their natural green space, low density, and leisurely habitat, have played an important role after the pandemic and are widely favored by people. Research on rural environments after COVID-19 has received much attention. In the wake of the pandemic, people\'s needs for the environment have changed not only in terms of physical space, but also in terms of psychological needs. To address the issue of adaptability and resiliency of the future tourism development of the rural areas, this study takes the real subjective feelings of rural visitors as the evaluation standard, and takes the rural gastronomic tourism environment as the research object. We analyzed a sample of 14,373 images and 324,676 comments in Chinese posted by 3484 visitors on social media to explore whether and how people\'s preferences for rural environments have changed since the pandemic. Findings revealed significant differences in preference for the rural gastronomic tourism environment factors before and after the pandemic. There is variability in environment preferences depending on different gender, environment flexibility and the region. From the perspective of the rural gastronomic tourism environment, the research results provide suggestions for rural planning and rural tourism sustainability, and provide feasible paths for sustainable development and conservation of rural landscapes oriented to human needs, to enhance the resilience and sustainability of rural environments in the future.

BACKGROUND: In France, rural general practitioner (GP) numbers could reduce by 20% between 2006 and 2030 if no measures are taken to address primary care access difficulties. In countries such as Australia, the USA and Canada, intrinsic and extrinsic factors associated with GPs practising in rural areas include rural upbringing and rural training placements. However, the health systems and rural area definition differ between these countries and France making result extrapolation difficult. These factors must be studied in the context of the French heath system, to design strategies to improve rural GP recruitment and retention. This study aims to identify the intrinsic and extrinsic factors associated with GPs practising in rural areas in France.
METHODS: This case-control study was conducted between May and September 2020. Included GPs practised in Brittany, France, and completed a self-administered questionnaire. The cases were rural GPs and controls were urban GPs. National references defined rural and urban areas. Comparisons between rural and urban groups were conducted using univariate and multivariate analyses to identify factors associated with practising in a rural area.
RESULTS: The study included 341 GPs, of which 146 were in the rural group and 195 in the urban group. Working as a rural GP was significantly associated with having a rural upbringing (OR = 2.35; 95% CI [1.07-5.15]; p = 0.032), completing at least one undergraduate general medicine training placement in a rural area (OR = 3.44; 95% CI [1.18-9.98]; p < 0.023), and having worked as a locum in a rural area for at least three months (OR = 3.76; 95% CI [2.28-6.18]; p < 0.001). Choosing to work in a rural area was also associated with the place of residence at the end of postgraduate training (OR = 5.13; 95% CI [1.38-19.06]; p = 0.015) and with the spouse or partner having a rural upbringing (OR = 2.36; 95% CI [1.12-4.96]; p = 0.023) or working in a rural area (OR = 5.29; 95% CI [2,02-13.87]; p < 0.001).
CONCLUSIONS: French rural GPs were more likely to have grown up, trained, or worked as a locum in a rural area. Strategies to improve rural GP retention and recruitment in France could therefore include making rural areas a more attractive place to live and work, encouraging rural locum placements and compulsory rural training, and possibly enrolling more medical students with a rural background.

Psoriasis is one of the most common immune-mediated inflammatory diseases (IMIDs). Living in a rural environment during childhood is associated with a decreased risk of certain IMIDs, like asthma, in adulthood. However, its role in other IMIDs, such as psoriasis is still unclear. To evaluate the relationships between different factors related to the environment during childhood and the risk of psoriasis in adulthood we conducted a study in E3N, a French prospective cohort composed of 98 995 women. During the 1990-2018 follow-up of 72 154 study participants, we identified 1 967 incident cases of psoriasis from self-reports in self-administered structured questionnaires. During the 2004-2018 follow-up of 67 917 study participants, 188 moderate-to-severe cases of psoriasis were identified through self-reports and from data from a drug reimbursement database. We fitted Cox proportional hazards regression models with age as the time scale from which we estimated hazard ratios adjusted for putative confounders (aHRs). We found inverse associations with risk of psoriasis for rural birthplace [aHR: 0.89 (95%CI: 0.79-0.96)] and for having farming parents [aHR: 0.84 (95%CI: 0.72-0.97)]. For moderate-to-severe psoriasis we found a nominally similar inverse association with rural birthplace but not with having farming parents. Our results suggest that an exposure to a rural environment during childhood may be associated with a reduced risk of psoriasis. These findings may help to improve our understanding of the pathogenesis of psoriasis.

Rural revitalization denotes the gathering of large populations in rural areas and the subsequent gradual urbanization. Rural environments have been deteriorated by heavy metals (HMs) over the last few years. Without the existence of large-scale industries, the accumulation of HMs in sediments due to population aggregation in rural environments needs to be scientifically confirmed. Therefore, in this study we first understand the sediment pollution in rural environments in China and across the globe, and subsequently investigate HMs in sediments in rural micro water. The study area, Sichuan Province, China, was divided into two areas, namely, sparsely populated areas (SPA) and densely populated areas (DPA). Eight typical HMs (As, Zn, Ni, Hg, Cd, Cr, Cu, and Pb) were selected to target in riverine sediments, and the content and spatial distribution characteristics were analyzed. The results indicate that As, Hg, Cd, and Pb concentrations in sediments were higher than background values (BVs), with high concentration sample sites located in the DPA. In addition, the geo-accumulation index (Igeo), pollution load index (PLI) and potential ecological risk index (RI) were used to quantitatively evaluate the pollution characteristics of HMs in sediments, revealing that the sediments exhibited high As and Hg pollution in the DPA (PLI = 1.09). In general, mild (RI = 48.76) and moderate (RI = 154.92) HM pollution was observed in the sediments of the SPA and DPA, respectively, based on the high PLI (> 1.0) and RI (> 150) values. Correlation analysis and principal component analysis (PCA) indicate that the Cd in the sediment generally originated from geogenic sources, while the other elements (Zn, As, Cu, Cr, Hg, Ni and Pb) were primarily linked to anthropogenic sources. Finally, the results demonstrate that population aggregation will lead to the enrichment of HMs.

OBJECTIVE: Improved knowledge of hepatitis C virus (HCV) screening, linkage to care, and treatment is needed among nonspecialist medical professionals to combat the HCV epidemic. The authors sought to implement and analyze the impact of an HCV curriculum for primary care professionals (PCPs) across the state of Vermont, USA.
METHODS: This investigation was a retrospective analysis of uptake of a Vermont HCV educational curriculum and its impact on HCV direct-acting antiviral (DAA) prescribing rates within the state before and after the study period. The curriculum was delivered online and in-person over 2 years from 2019 to 2020. The primary outcome was health care professional performance on a pre- and post-curriculum short-term knowledge assessment exam. The secondary outcome was assessing the number of unique healthcare professionals within a single payor database prescribing DAA treatment for HCV in Vermont before and after the study intervention, from January 1, 2017 until December 1, 2021.
RESULTS: There were 31 unique respondents on the pre- and post-intervention examinations, which represented 9% of known participants. Respondents included physicians (n = 15), nurse practitioners (n = 8), and nurses (n = 8). Pre- and post-intervention knowledge scores increased significantly across all provider groups, from 3.2 (SD 0.6) to 4.5 (SD 0.4) 1 to 5 scale (P = .01). The total number of unique HCV DAA therapy prescribers decreased over the study period, from 17 in 2017 to 9 in 2021.
CONCLUSIONS: A Vermont statewide HCV curriculum for PCPs was successful at increasing short-term HCV-related knowledge. However, this did not obviously translate to an increase in new professionals treating HCV.

The practice of rural construction has been exploring and trying to adapt to the needs of rural development in various periods. In recent years, under the attention and promotion of the central policy, various social forces have joined the ranks of rural construction, and art intervention in rural construction has begun as a new method. Entering the public eye, it deeply intervenes in the construction and development of the countryside in a more gentle way, from the key point of interaction between the social and cultural orientation and the material needs of the countryside. However, most of the art interventions in rural construction practice only unilaterally use artistic techniques to beautify local areas or display works, without realizing the hidden artistic and cultural value of the village and ignoring the participation and role of the villagers in the whole process. After the construction is completed, once the foreign construction forces are withdrawn, the development of the village will stagnate. Therefore, mobilizing the main body of rural construction (original villagers) to participate in the joint construction of the village is an important link to solve the current problems of art intervening in the construction of rural settlements.

BACKGROUND: Growing up on a farm is associated with a reduced prevalence of respiratory allergies in childhood. Whether this protective effect remains into adulthood is unknown.
OBJECTIVE: We aimed to prospectively investigate the relationship between farm exposure and prevalence of allergic rhinitis and wheeze from childhood to early adulthood.
METHODS: Participants from phase 2 of the Multidisciplinary Study to Identify the Genetic and Environmental Causes of Asthma in the European Community (GABRIEL) who were living in southern Germany (aged 6-11 years at baseline and 20-25 years at follow-up) were invited to complete a questionnaire on sociodemographic data, farm contact, respiratory symptoms, and potential confounders. Odds ratios (ORs) with 95% CIs were modeled by using generalized estimating equations.
RESULTS: Of the 2276 phase 2 participants, 1501 (66%) answered the follow-up questionnaire, of whom 1333 could be included in the analyses. Living on a farm was associated with reduced prevalence of allergic rhinitis (OR with persistent farm living = 0.4 [95% CI = 0.2-0.6]; OR with farm living at baseline only = 0.4 [95% CI = 0.2-0.8]). The OR for development of symptoms from baseline to follow-up was almost 3 (OR = 2.7 [95% CI = 2.1-3.3]) irrespective of farm living. For symptoms of wheeze, no statistically significant association with farm living was observed.
CONCLUSIONS: The protective effect of farm living on allergic rhinitis persists from childhood to early adulthood. Continuing exposure over puberty does not add to the effect. This confirms that the window of opportunity for a protective effect might be found in childhood.