In 2021, the first-ever Ukrainian business and human rights strategy and action plan were approved. Although a positive political shift, the Government-led endevour failed dismally. This piece explores the drafting process and content of the policy in question, its many shortcomings and the possible way forward as business and human rights becomes even more pressing matter in times of war and in post-conflict context.

The status of the forest elephant Loxodonta cyclotis in Guinea-Bissau has been in doubt since the last assessment in 2006. In 2020–2022 we carried out field surveys to update the species' status. We found elephant signs within an area of c. 1,000 km2. Microsatellite genotyping of faeces identified four males. Females could not be individually identified but their presence was confirmed by molecular sex determination. Camera trapping (2,075 camera-trap days) recorded 824 photos in 24 independent sequences, involving three males and two presumed females. The continued presence of elephants in Guinea-Bissau raises hope for the species in the region, but urgent efforts are needed to refine population range and size estimates, increase protected area coverage, and reduce ongoing and impending habitat loss. An emergency conservation action plan is a priority.

Children bearing the same characteristics because of a particular syndrome can be more or less similar, but their individual profiles determine program of intervention. A single, clearly defined treatment model for a reduction of symptoms that children exhibit does not exist.

The most effective intervention method is based on designing individual action plan for each child, and therefore, it is necessary to promptly establish a correct assessment. Instead of lumping all children with a “same diagnosis” into one category, a multidimensional view is needed of child's individual characteristics.

Attention should also be paid to aspects of child's emotional behavior, social functioning and family relationships.

Diagnostic techniques used should help determine individual specificities of strong and weak traits in each child. To achieve this goal, studying child's profile, processing of sensory information, and analyzing motorics, verbal and cognitive skills, as well as observing social interaction is needed. Information gathered helps us understand a child's functional abilities and design a therapeutical program for each one.

An adequate treatment program should be based on a child's abilities and should also be able to detect spots where the abilities are insufficient in order to develop a compensatory strategy for overcoming difficulties. The goal of these treatments is utilizing a child's potential to the fullest.

Successful conservation actions require strategies that combine research, policy formulation and enforcement, practical interventions and education. Here we review the Armadillo Conservation Programme, which was initiated in 2012 as a pioneering multidisciplinary programme for the conservation and management of five armadillo species in the Orinoco Llanos of Colombia. It is led by a multi-institutional alliance that ensures active participation of stakeholders during all stages of the programme. Six main threats affecting armadillo populations in the Llanos were identified, and these were addressed in the first joint action plan of two Colombian environmental authorities. Scientific research facilitated an increase in the knowledge available about the armadillos of the Llanos, and the recategorization of the northern long-nosed armadillo Dasypus sabanicola on the IUCN Red List. Threat evaluation and mitigation included the assessment of illegal bushmeat trade and consumption in local restaurants and the establishment of a certification label for restaurants that do not sell wild meat. Multiple strategies were used to raise awareness about armadillos and position them as flagship species for the Llanos, including education programmes in schools, travelling exhibitions, talks at universities, and the publication of several books. The local communities were actively involved through a network of private reserves committed to the conservation of armadillos, in which armadillos are protected from poaching and monitored by farmers. Breeding and rehabilitation facilities were established that can host confiscated armadillos and raise awareness among the local communities. This case study shows that conservation programmes targeted at inconspicuous and poorly known species can be successful.

Background: Adherence to self-management in asthma is poor. Aim: To investigate the effect of disease-unspecific motivational training on self-management adherence in addition to asthma-specific patient education. Methods: We randomized patients with partly controlled asthma to asthma education, with or without the Zurich Resource Model (ZRM) training. Main elements of the ZRM training are development of action-oriented personal goals and activation of resources to achieve and practice them in daily life. The primary outcome was adherence to self-monitoring and to a written personal action plan during three months. Secondary outcomes included patient-reported self-efficacy. Results: As control patients (n=30) were younger, mostly male and had better asthma control compared with the intervention group (n=30), we adjusted the analyses for these imbalances. Both groups showed excellent adherence to self-monitoring over three months [27 patients (90.0%) in intervention and 25 patients (83.3%) in control group, adjusted odds ratio: 1.28 (0.24–6.78), P=0.78)]. Patients in the ZRM group tended to adjust their medication more often [median 36% days with action (IQR 11–62%)] than control patients [9% (0–43), P=0.18]. In both groups, actions were rarely in accordance with the action plan [median 20% of actions appropriate (IQR 0–37) in intervention and 11% (IQR 0–56) in control group, P=0.92]. After three months, self-efficacy was significantly better with ZRM (adjusted difference on self-efficacy scale 2.31, 95% CI 0.31–4.31, P=0.02). Conclusion: Unspecific self-management training had no short-term effect on self-management adherence in asthma patients. Self-efficacy improved, but it is uncertain whether this translates into better long-term outcomes.

This paper reviews Australian Government actions related to environmental education, particularly in the past decade, and examines the actions forthcoming from two national action plans (Environment Australia, 2000 and DEWHA, 2009), the implementation strategy for the Decade of ESD (DEWHA, 2006) and developments related to the Australian Curriculum. This analysis is inspired by the Australian-ness of the metaphor of the curriculum as a jigsaw puzzle suggested by Robottom (1987), the seemingly constant battle for survival in the formal curriculum that environmental education has faced since the 1970s (Fensham, 1990; Gough, 1997), and the ongoing tensions between science education and environmental education in Australia's formal school curriculum.

Thermotolerant Campylobacter spp. have been the most common bacterial cause of human gastrointestinal disease in Denmark since 1999. In 2003, the Danish voluntary strategy to control Campylobacter was intensified. The focus was on biosecurity, allocation of meat from Campylobacter-negative broilers to the production of chilled products, and consumer information campaigns. From 2002 to 2007, the percentage of Campylobacter-positive broiler flocks at slaughter decreased from 43% to 27%. After processing, Campylobacter-positive samples of chilled broiler meat fell from 18% in 2004 to 8% in 2007. Furthermore, the number of registered human Campylobacter cases decreased by 12%; from 4379 cases in 2002 to 3865 cases in 2007. We believe that the observed decrease in the occurrence of Campylobacter in broilers and broiler meat and the coincidental fall in the number of registered human cases is, in part, a result of the implemented control strategy.

Summary

Asthma is a common respiratory disease in the UK with over 5 million sufferers. It a reversible airways disease characterised by bronchoconstriction, inflammation, oedema and mucus production. There is a wide spectrum of severity and asthma can be controlled effectively by pharmacotherapy. The British Guideline on the Management of Asthma provides the framework for treatment. Primary care nurses have been involved in the management of asthma for many years and a large number have undertaken asthma training courses. The asthma guidelines recognise the benefit of trained asthma nurses in the provision of care.

The revised General Medical Services contract rewards practices who provide asthma care under the Quality Indicators framework. Supplementary nurse prescribing allows nurses with appropriate training to prescribe asthma medication, providing the diagnosis of asthma is confirmed by a medical practitioner and a clinical management plan is used. Community pharmacists have an important role in the care of patients with asthma as well and some pharmacists have become supplementary prescribers. Their role will become more evident in the future.

The main asthma medications are bronchodilators and inhaled steroids, which should be used at the lowest dose to control symptoms. Caution should be exercised in young children where many asthma medications are used ‘off-label’. Their use can be justified when it is the most appropriate medication and is supported by evidence such as asthma guidelines.

All patients on asthma medicines should be monitored closely, not only to ensure control of symptoms but to monitor for adverse side effects. Sufficient knowledge of appropriate pharmacology is required by those involved in asthma management. Regular asthma review should be structured and include issues of adherence to medication, appropriate use, inhaler technique, current symptoms and effects on lifestyle. All patients should have an asthma action plan so they know how to manage their asthma. This action plan is agreed with the patient and the health professional. Appropriate asthma management and supplementary prescribing will enhance patient care.

There are 1,001 species of bats, almost a quarter of which are globally threatened. The Chiroptera Specialist Group of IUCN's Species Survival Commission has produced two Action Plans examining conservation issues for all species and detailing recommendations for action to conserve the most threatened species and habitats. These Plans are aimed principally at key decision makers as well as organisations and individuals who are promoting bat conservation issues. The underlying threat to bats is pressure on resources from increasing human populations that leads to the loss or modification of foraging habitats and roosts. Bats frequently have a negative public image that influences the response to the problems of rabies and vampire bats in Latin America and conflicts between bats and commercial fruit growers in other areas of the world. In some areas bats are persecuted because people are ignorant of the life history of bats and their role in ecosystems, while in other areas bats are overexploited for food. There is also a general lack of information about the distribution, status, biology and ecology of many species. This review examines some of the more general issues relating to bat conservation. It provides information on bat faunas of all countries worldwide, and on the most threatened species. It highlights the priority areas where action is needed immediately at a global, regional or national level. It highlights in particular the global importance of islands and caves for bats.