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Introduction Numerous studies have found associations between characteristics of urban environments and risk factors for dementia and cognitive decline, such as physical inactivity and obesity. However, the contribution of urban environments to brain and cognitive health has been seldom examined directly. This cohort study investigates the extent to which and how a wide range of characteristics of urban environments influence brain and cognitive health via lifestyle behaviours in mid-aged and older adults in three cities across three continents. Methods and analysis Participants aged 50 79 years and living in preselected areas stratified by walkability, air pollution and socioeconomic status are being recruited in Melbourne (Australia), Barcelona (Spain) and Hong Kong (China) (n=1800 total; 600 per site). Two assessments taken 24 months apart will capture changes in brain and cognitive health. Cognitive function is gauged with a battery of eight standardised tests. Brain health is assessed using MRI scans in a subset of participants. Information on participants' visited locations is collected via an interactive web-based mapping application and smartphone geolocation data. Environmental characteristics of visited locations, including the built and natural environments and their by-products (e.g., air pollution), are assessed using geographical information systems, online environmental audits and self-reports. Data on travel and lifestyle behaviours (e.g., physical and social activities) and participants' characteristics (e.g., sociodemographics) are collected using objective and/or self-report measures. Ethics and dissemination The study has been approved by the Human Research Ethics Committee of the Australian Catholic University, the Institutional Review Board of the University of Hong Kong and the Parc de Salut Mar Clinical Research Ethics Committee of the Government of Catalonia. Results will be communicated through standard scientific channels. Methods will be made freely available via a study-dedicated website. trial registration number ACTRN12619000817145. IntroduCtIon Dementia prevention is a global health priority. Around 40 50million people suffer from dementia worldwide and these figures are expected to almost double by 20301 2 due to population ageing.3 Mild cognitive impairment (MCI) that is not severe enough to meet strengths and limitations of this study ? By recruiting participants from residential areas stratified by walkability, air pollution and socioeconomic status from three cities varying in exposures and lifestyle behaviours, this study will allow a robust estimation of dose response relationships of urban design and the relevant by-products (e.g., pollution) with brain and cognitive health. ? This study will provide a comprehensive assessment of multiple environmental factors and multiple lifestyle behaviours by which environments may affect brain and cognitive health. This will allow improved understanding of which environmental characteristics are related to brain and cognitive outcomes and by which mechanisms. ? The focus on locations visited for daily activities rather than only residential neighbourhoods will enable a more accurate estimation of individual exposure to features of the urban environment. ? The comprehensive assessment of lifestyle behaviours and individual-level moderators (apolipoprotein E genotype, physical health and personality traits) will assist the identification of optimal patterns of lifestyle activities that can be integrated in individually tailored lifestyle interventions, taking into account individual genetic factors and environmental living conditions. ? Current resources can support only two assessments, 24 months apart. This may not be a sufficiently long period to detect changes in certain exposures and/or outcomes. by copyright. BMJ Open: first published as 10.1136/bmjopen-2019-036607 on 18 March 2020. Downloaded from http://bmjopen.bmj.com/ on June 6, 2020 at Elsevier Bibliographic Database

INTRODUCTION: Numerous studies have found associations between characteristics of urban environments and risk factors for dementia and cognitive decline, such as physical inactivity and obesity. However, the contribution of urban environments to brain and cognitive health has been seldom examined directly. This cohort study investigates the extent to which and how a wide range of characteristics of urban environments influence brain and cognitive health via lifestyle behaviours in mid-aged and older adults in three cities across three continents. METHODS AND ANALYSIS: Participants aged 50–79 years and living in preselected areas stratified by walkability, air pollution and socioeconomic status are being recruited in Melbourne (Australia), Barcelona (Spain) and Hong Kong (China) (n=1800 total; 600 per site). Two assessments taken 24 months apart will capture changes in brain and cognitive health. Cognitive function is gauged with a battery of eight standardised tests. Brain health is assessed using MRI scans in a subset of participants. Information on participants' visited locations is collected via an interactive web-based mapping application and smartphone geolocation data. Environmental characteristics of visited locations, including the built and natural environments and their by-products (e.g., air pollution), are assessed using geographical information systems, online environmental audits and self-reports. Data on travel and lifestyle behaviours (e.g., physical and social activities) and participants' characteristics (e.g., sociodemographics) are collected using objective and/or self-report measures. ETHICS AND DISSEMINATION: The study has been approved by the Human Research Ethics Committee of the Australian Catholic University, the Institutional Review Board of the University of Hong Kong and the Parc de Salut Mar Clinical Research Ethics Committee of the Government of Catalonia. Results will be communicated through standard scientific channels. Methods will be made freely available via a study-dedicated ...

The existing evidence of the history of fossil resins occurrence, both throughout the world and on the territory of Ukraine, is studied. The information on the amber formation processes is summarized. The application of various methods of searching for sites of occurrence of minerals is analysed. Some methods for mining amber minerals have been evaluated, starting from the manual method of collecting and using various mechanical means. The impact of various methods of mining on the environment is estimated. According to the analysis of various methods of extracting fossil resins from the bowels of the earth, it is found that it is the use of a hydromechanical method of washing out amber from the soil that reduces the man-made consequences that cause irreparable harm to the environment, namely mixing the soil profile, destroying vegetation and forests. Unfortunately, there are some illegal ways of obtaining amber, which are not only related to environmental problems, but also cause invaluable damage to the economic potential of the country. The main problems associated with the illegal mining of amber in the environmental field are the violation of the integrity of geological rocks, the depletion of amber-bearing strata, the violation of hydrogeological conditions in the adjacent territories, the destruction of grass and the fertile soil layer, cutting down trees and their root system, changing bog biocenoses, provoking activation water and wind erosion. In the economic spherethese are losses in forestry and water management, soil degradation, loss of significant volumes of amber raw materials for the state, substantially exceed legal extraction, lack of collection of customs duties, state and local taxes and fees, causes an increase in the shadow sector of the economy. Annual losses of the state due to the illegal extraction and sale of amber in Polissya are colossal, therefore the legislative regulation of amber mining is very complicated as it requires significant changes in the resource codes, as well as the adoption of appropriate decisions of local governments. It is precisely the application of the latest methods of amber extraction and the adoption of new laws and the improvement of the current legislation by making appropriate changes and additions to environmental legislation, reducing the technogenic impact on forest ecosystems and restoring the damaged landscapes. ; Проаналізовано свідчення з історії виникнення викопних смол, як у цілому світі, так і на території України, узагальнено інформацію процесів бурштинотворення. Обґрунтовано застосування різноманітних методів пошуку місць залягання корисних копалин. Оцінено способи добування бурштинових копалин, починаючи від ручного методу збирання і з використанням різноманітних механічних засобів. Досліджено вплив різних методів видобутку корисних копалин на навколишнє природне середовище. Відповідно до аналізу різних способів видобутку викопних смол з надр землі. Встановлено, що саме використання гідромеханічного способу вимивання бурштину з ґрунту, зменшує техногенні наслідки, які завдають непоправної шкоди навколишньому середовищу, а саме перемішуванню ґрунтового профілю, знищенню рослинного покриву, винищенню лісових масивів. На жаль, поряд зі законним видобутком існують нелегальні (незаконні) методи отримання бурштину, які стосуються не тільки екологічних проблем, але й наносять неоціненний збиток економічному потенціалу країни. Щорічні втрати держави через нелегальний видобуток та реалізацію бурштину в Українському Поліссі колосальні, тому законодавче врегулювання видобутку бурштину є дуже складним, оскільки потребує істотних змін у ресурсних кодексах, а також прийняття відповідних рішень органів місцевого самоврядування.