Global Growth Research Articles

Monkeypox: a systematic review of epidemiology, pathogenesis, manifestations, and outcomes

Introduction. Since May 2022, an unusually large number of new monkeypox infections-a previously rare viral zoonotic disease, mainly reported from central and western Africa has been reported globally, and the World Health Organization (WHO) declared a global health emergency in July 2022. We aimed to systematically review the monkeypox virus epidemiology, pathogenesis, transmission, presentations, and outcomes.
 Materials and methods. Our aim is to systematically review the epidemiology, pathogenesis, manifestations, and outcomes of Monkeypox disease. We searched the keywords in the online databases of PubMed, Embase, Scopus, and Web of Science and investigated all English articles until December 2022. In order to ascertain the findings, this study adheres to the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA) checklist. In order to optimize the quality, this review study benefits from the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA) checklist. To minimize any probable bias risk, we utilized the Newcastle-Ottawa Scale (NOS) risk assessment tool.
 Results. The most prevalent symptoms were rash and fever. The infection was accompanied by different complications such as, but not limited to, encephalitis (mainly in children), septicemia, bacterial cellulitis, retropharyngeal and parapharyngeal abscesses, etc. A wide range of hospitalization from 3.7% to 100% has been reported. The mortality rate ranged from 0% to 23%, which mainly occurred in infants and children. High mortality of the monkeypox rate was reported among pregnant women. The mortality rate of monkeypox is lower among women and those who received the smallpox vaccine compared to men and those who did not receive the vaccine. A wide range of the overall second-rate attack was reported, which is more pronounced in unvaccinated patients.
 Conclusion. In our systematic review of 35 studies on monkeypox, we cast light on the existing evidence on its epidemiology, pathogenesis, manifestation, and outcomes. Further studies are needed to elucidate the natural history of the disease in various patients’ population, as well as detailing the monkeypox attack rate.

Green finance and green growth nexus: evaluating the role of globalization and human capital

ABSTRACT Green finance is one of the emerging research areas, particularly in academia and industries. However, its contribution to green growth remains relatively unexplored. Unlike previous studies, the current research contributes to the existing literature by using green finance as a policy tool for achieving green growth. The method of moment quantile regression is used to investigate the link between green finance and other control variables on green growth in the 19 selected OECD economies from 1990 and 2021. The main findings of the study support the idea that green finance accelerates green growth in the selected countries. Similarly, the results for human capital show a significantly positive relationship with green growth. Additionally, increase in globalization and GDP decrease green growth. To promote green growth and achieve the sustainable environmental goals set by OECD economies, policymakers and regulators must prioritize green finance.

Earthquake Disaster Fatality Data: Temporally Stable Power Law Behavior and Effects of Underreporting

Abstract We investigate changes in the global reported fatalities from earthquake disasters in the global Emergency Events Database (EM-DAT). Drawing parallels with the Gutenberg–Richter frequency–magnitude analysis, in terms of disaster frequency versus the number of casualties, we see a significant overlap of the curves and improving levels of completeness over six 20-year periods. This implies a decrease in underreporting with time. We find that the apparent strong upward trend in the number of (reported) earthquake disasters in EM-DAT is caused by a gradually improved reporting primarily of events killing fewer than 10 people. Our findings imply that the true (reported and unreported) number of earthquake disasters, according to the EM-DAT definition, has been surprisingly constant over, at least, the last 100 yr. We also show that the average annual number of people killed in earthquake disasters is relatively unaffected by spurious trends in reporting and has remained remarkably constant despite population increase. This implies an impressive reduced mortality risk roughly proportional to population increase since 1900. However, there is no indication in the data that the risk of future mega-disasters is negligible, and further major reductions in vulnerability should be actively pursued.

Impact of Climate Change, Environmental Toxins and Pollution on the AOFOG region: What can OBGYNs do?

Climate change is occurring rapidly, and this crisis should now be recognized as a "global emergency". It is one of the major global health threats brought about by global warming, resulting from human activity due in large part to increasing levels of greenhouse gases. The ongoing climate crisis poses significant risks to women, pregnant mothers, unborn fetuses and offspring, who were exposed in-utero to climate stressors, especially those in marginalized communities where effects are magnified. A focus on education, research, and advocacy in responding to changing health consequences and global awareness are key to educating our professional healthcare providers, patients, the lay public, key personnel in the government and other leaders, and by making the changes necessary to address this crisis. Building on the pillars that FIGO has identified (advocacy, research interpretation, capacity building, and education), and following the footsteps of the FIGO Committee on "Climate Change and Toxic Environmental Exposures", the baby steps yet focussed efforts taken by AOFOG through its recently formed "Climate Change & Pollution Working Group" will be highlighted in this review article. After all, investing in the health of women is investing in the health of current and future generations, and we, as healthcare providers along with health professional organizations should be in the forefront of environmental health advocacy to save the present generation and future generations through engagement as public opinion leaders.

International Training and Development

It is widely accepted that effective management of human resources will bring about increased organizational and employee performance. Based on this, the area of international human resource management (IHRM) has gained increased interest, especially with the continued growth of multinational corporations and globalization. Many IHRM practices and theories have been developed since the emergence of international business. The boundaries of IHRM are established within the concepts of MNC management across diverse cultural work practices as well as comparative international HRM among organisations. In this paper, I will reflect on these concepts as applicable in the practices of international training and development and performance management and compensation. My reflective essay will explore these topics with a key interest in expatriates who are affected greatly

Health-Related Quality of Life Among Type 2 Diabetes Mellitus Patients Using the 36-Item Short Form Health Survey (SF-36) in Central Ethiopia: A Multicenter Study.

Diabetes, one of the major global health emergencies of the 21st century, can affect a patient's quality of life. A compromised quality of life has adverse effects on self-care practices, resulting in inadequate glycemic control and an increased susceptibility to complications. In Ethiopia, there is a paucity of information regarding the quality of life of patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus. Therefore, this study aimed to assess health-related quality of life in type 2 diabetes mellitus patients. A cross-sectional study was conducted among type 2 diabetes mellitus patients attending diabetes follow-up clinics in selected public hospitals in Addis Ababa using short form- 36 (SF-36) health survey measures. Descriptive statistics were used to summarize the characteristics of the study participants. Simple and multiple linear regressions were done to identify significantly associated factors with health-related quality of life. A total of 309 patients participated in this study. The mean scores of the physical and mental component summaries were 40.15 (SD = 7.27) and 48.11 (SD = 8.87), respectively. Being old, being overweight or obese, living with type 2 diabetes mellitus for more than fifteen years, taking combined medication, having diabetes-related complications, and having comorbidities were factors that reduced the mean score of the physical component summary (p-value<0.05). Being obese and diabetes related complication were factors that negatively affect mental component summary (p-value <0.05). On the other hand, being married was factors that positively affect mental component summary (p-value <0.05). Older age, being married, obesity, overweight, longer duration of diabetes, using combined medications, diabetic-related complications, and co-morbidities were factors associated with health-related quality of life. Healthcare providers should strengthen counseling patients on lifestyle modifications such as diet modifications, and weight reduction.

Time to treat the climate and nature crisis as one indivisible global health emergency

Time to treat the climate and nature crisis as one indivisible global health emergency

Hydraulically Fractured Horizontal Wells: A Technology Poised To Deliver Another Energy-Related Breakthrough of Enormous Scale

_ The development of efficient technologies for drilling and hydraulically fracturing horizontal wells has enabled the US to more than double hydrocarbon production since 2005 (Fig. 1), thereby providing unprecedented levels of energy security for America. America’s doubling of hydrocarbon output has also held down the price of energy worldwide, and by doing so, accelerated global economic growth. And it has helped reduce the greenhouse gas (GHG) intensity of energy production by backing out “dirtier” forms of energy, such as coal. Energy security—economic growth—reduced GHGs vented to the atmosphere: That’s a winning combination. One that America and many other countries have benefitted from immensely. Given the enormous positive contributions, it is worth noting that 20 years ago, few if any in our industry foresaw the immense potential of this technology, seeing it as being only applicable for extracting gas from ultratight reservoirs like the Barnett Shale, if they were aware of the technology at all. This oversight caused many companies to wait too long before deciding to pursue unconventional reservoirs and caused several of the “shale gas” pioneers to be late in recognizing that hydraulically fractured horizontal wells (HFHWs) could also be successfully applied in liquid-rich plays such as the Eagle Ford and Permian Basin. These are plays that today deliver far more value than that derived from the gas-prone reservoirs that comprised the initial suite of targets. And while events have proven beyond a doubt that HFHWs are a powerful tool for economically extracting hydrocarbons from both gas-prone and liquids-rich unconventional reservoirs, it seems likely that many in our industry are overlooking a third significant application of this technology: The use of HFHWs to extract heat from the Earth’s crust that can be utilized to generate electricity. Old Story, New Horizon What makes this third application particularly compelling as an investment opportunity is that the primary physical challenge that needs to be overcome to achieve attractive rates of return is strikingly similar to that which the oil and gas industry had to surmount to make both gas and liquids-rich unconventional reservoirs economic. The key to success in all of these cases boils down to an ability to create via hydraulic stimulation a sufficiently large amount of conductive, connected, fracture surface area. With this, one can reliably expect per-well production rates to be economic given the extremely slow rate at which hydrocarbons—and heat—move through unconventional reservoirs and the hot, dry, basement rocks that contain the bulk of the world’s geothermal resources. That converting from vertical to horizontal well geometries was critical for unlocking the potential of unconventional hydrocarbon reservoirs is now obvious, with this switch having allowed petroleum engineers to increase per-well fracture surface areas by several orders of magnitude. This move increased per-well flow rates by similar amounts (i.e., from subeconomic flow rates from hydraulically fractured vertical wells (HFVWs) to flow rates of thousands of BOE/D from HFHWs.

Waste cotton-derived fiber-based thermoelectric aerogel for wearable and self-powered temperature-compression strain dual-parameter sensing

The rapid development of the global economy and population growth are accompanied by the production of numerous waste textiles. This leads to a waste of limited resources and serious environmental pollution problems caused by improper disposal. The rational recycling of wasted textiles and their transformation into high-value-added emerging products, such as smart wearable devices, is fascinating. Here, we propose a novel roadmap for turning waste cotton fabrics into three-dimensional elastic fiber-based thermoelectric aerogels by a one-step lyophilization process with decoupled self-powered temperature-compression strain dual-parameter sensing properties. The thermoelectric aerogel exhibits a fast compression response time of 0.2 s, a relatively high Seebeck coefficient of 43 μV·K−1, and an ultralow thermal conductivity of less than 0.04 W·m−1·K−1. The cross-linking of trimethoxy(methyl)silane (MTMS) and cellulose endowed the aerogel with excellent elasticity, allowing it to be used as a compressive strain sensor for guessing games and facial expression recognition. In addition, based on the thermoelectric effect, the aerogel can perform temperature detection and differentiation in self-powered mode with the output thermal voltage as the stimulus signal. Furthermore, the wearable system, prepared by connecting the aerogel-prepared array device with a wireless transmission module, allows for temperature alerts in a mobile phone application without signal interference due to the compressive strains generated during gripping. Hence, our strategy is significant for reducing global environmental pollution and provides a revelatory path for transforming waste textiles into high-value-added smart wearable devices.

Nanochemicals global industry market trends, growth, opportunity and forecasts 2023–2028

Nanochemicals global industry market trends, growth, opportunity and forecasts 2023–2028

Global Vegetation‐Temperature Sensitivity and Its Driving Forces in the 21st Century

AbstractIt has been projected that climatic warming will contribute to vegetation productivity variability at the global scale. With a continued warming, to what extent and where the vegetation productivity is most affected by warming has still not been adequately quantified. Herein, based on 11 earth system model outputs, we predict the characteristics of vegetation‐temperature sensitivity (Svpt, defined as higher/lower temperature produce more/less vegetation) changes under different CO2 emission scenarios and various vegetation types, further assessing the relationship of the Svpt to socio‐ecosystems. At the end of the 21st century, the area proportion with the global temperature increases &gt;2°C under the SSP1‐2.6, SSP2‐4.5, SSP3‐7.0, and SSP5‐8.5 scenarios are 3%, 40%, 97%, and 99%, respectively. The largest contribution to the global terrestrial gross primary productivity growth is at low latitudes. 33%–63% of global terrestrial ecosystems show a significantly negative trend in the Svpt, indicating the weakened promotion effect of warming on vegetation growth. In particular, in 2060, there will be a clear reversal of the trend from carbon sink to carbon source under the SSP3‐7.0 scenario, spatially distributed mainly in the Amazon rainforest, tropical Africa, and southern North America. Precipitation is also an important factor affecting the Svpt change, and there is an inverted U‐shaped relationship between them. Precipitation thresholds are higher under the high emission scenario when Svpt reaches its highest value. Moreover, socio‐demographic pressures in places like Central Africa and East Africa will offset the promotion of vegetation growth by warming; in the future, these countries should develop appropriate population and land management strategies to achieve socio‐ecosystems sustainable development.

Analysis of the top global emergency and disaster databases

Relevance. Despite advancements in industrial production technologies, no decrease is observed in global statistics for disasters and emergencies, as well as their identified precursors. Reliable and comprehensive inventory of global and regional disaster databases reinforces the development of effective national emergency prevention policies, improving the resilience of industrial facilities against adverse and thus generating extensive evidence for research. The objective is to study top global disaster information management databases and their inventory.Methods. The Internet, state reports, research papers available in the Russian Science Citation Index, Scopus and Web of Science bibliography databases were the major sources of data regarding top global disaster and emergency databases.Results and discussion. EM-DAT: OFDA/CRED (Emergency Events Database), NatCatSERVICE, SIGMA, GLIDE (Global IDEntifier Number), CatNat Global (The natural disasters database (NATDIS)), DesInventar (Disaster Inventory System) are among the top global databases, having quantitative assessment for disaster risk indexes and consequences. Comparative studies of emergency data entries across databases was performed to allow countries and regions to develop common global assessment tools for emergency consequences.Conclusion. Consistent terminology and uniformity of data submission procedures across top global international databases allows Russian and international experts to develop the most effective tools to predict and prevent various emergencies and build common consequence assessment strategies for countries and regions of the world.

Role of eco-innovation and financial globalization on ecological quality in China: A wavelet analysis

Today, pressing environmental concerns such as addressing climate change and countering global warming have taken center stage among policymakers and diverse organizations. The 2016 Paris Agreement underscores the urgency of decarbonization and the criticality of reducing CO2 emissions for fostering sustainable development. Given that environmental policies can yield diverse impacts across short-, medium-, and long-term periods, it becomes pivotal for policymakers to grasp the underlying causes of ecological footprint by scrutinizing their effects across these different timeframes and periods. Consequently, our investigation delved into the correlation and lead/lag interrelationship between ecological footprint, financial globalization, urbanization, eco-innovation, and economic growth in China spanning from 1985q1 to 2022q4. Leveraging on series of wavelet tools, our study aimed at formulating precise policies. The economic perspective derived from the wavelet analysis indicated a negative correlation between urbanization and eco-innovation with the ecological footprint, whereas economic growth and financial globalization exhibited a positive correlation with the ecological footprint. Consequently, we advocate for the implementation of appropriate policy measures to ensure that the Chinese economy charts a course toward sustainability.

The influence of feeding practices on under-five nutrition status in Mbinga District, Tanzania

Background: Undernutrition is a universal public health problem for both children and adults globally. It is not only a public health concern but also an impediment to global poverty reduction, productivity, and economic growth. Under-five children are among the most vulnerable groups, although it affects both women, the elderly, and youth. This study assessed the influence of feeding practices on under-five nutrition status in Mbinga District, Tanzania. This paper unveils the contribution of feeding practices to underfive nutrition status in Tanzania. Methods: A cross-sectional study involved 150 heads of households whose children aged 0–59 months were assessed to determine their anthropometric measurements. Weigh for age Z-scores, height for age Z-scores, and weight for height Z-scores. A structured questionnaire was administered to collect data from the heads of households. Data were coded and analyzed by ENA for the SMART, Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS), and STATA programs. Results: It is revealed that 90.7% of under-five children in the surveyed households initiated breastfeeding within one hour of life, 72% of the children were given complementary foods before six months, maize porridge was a major complementary food, and 80% of the children consumed three to four meals per day. Their diets were not diverse as starchy staple foods were dominant. It was further found that 42% of the children were stunted, 33% were wasted, and 25% were underweight. Moreover, the results of the ordered probit regression model showed that exclusive breastfeeding, meal frequency, and food dietary diversity were positively influencing nutrition status, while household size was negatively influencing the nutrition status of the under-five. Conclusion: The study concludes that inappropriate complementary feeding, children did not receive the minimum dietary diversity, and poor child feeding practices have a positive influence on the anthropometric status of the under-five. It was recommended that education be provided to community members on appropriate child feeding practices and family planning.

Rethinking the World Health Organization's leadership of global health governance and the global health surveillance systems.

Global health governance is a strategic priority for the World Health Organization (WHO), and the public health surveillance system (PHSS) is a fundamental element of the global health governance structure to timely identify emerging diseases and guide global public health decisions and actions. This analysis explores the overall landscape of global health governance, with a specific focus on the PHSS to understand whether the existing governance landscape facilitates or undermines the WHO's ability to formulate and implement global health policies and initiatives. To achieve this, the existing evidence was reviewed, and synthesized with the experts' perspectives. It is reported that fragmentation is the main drawback of the global health governance landscape, necessitating reorganization and restructuring. The disintegration of PHSS at the global, regional and local levels is associated with a lack of leadership, misalignment with global health priorities, imbalance in coverage of surveillance systems, inadequate innovative technology and digitalization, and fragmented data and information systems. The fragmentation and disintegration of global health governance undermine the effectiveness of the WHO's global health strategic directions and programmes and hinder its ability to govern and guide the global, regional and national public health emergency response. Strategic rethinking of the WHO's governance is essential because strong governance and leadership lead to a robust, aligned and effective PHSS.

The influence of trade war on the international economic system and its adjustment measures

This paper discusses the influence of trade war on the international economic system and the corresponding adjustment measures. First of all, the trade war has had a negative impact on global economic growth, investment flows, international trade patterns and financial market fluctuations. Secondly, the trade war has caused international investment problems, which has led to the adjustment of the supply chain of multinational companies and the increase of investment uncertainty. Then, the financial market fluctuated and the currency, stock and bond markets were disturbed. Finally, by strengthening international cooperation, promoting trade multilateralism, lowering trade barriers and paying attention to sustainable development, we can meet the challenges brought by trade wars and look forward to establishing a more stable and sustainable international economic system in the future.

Innovative Catalytic Materials for Environmental Remediation and Energy Applications

The need for low-cost and environmentally friendly energy is greater than ever nowadays due to the global population growth as well as the modern lifestyle [...]

A Scoping Review of Older LGBTI People's Experiences of Homecare

Amidst the global growth of the ageing demographic in the world, an inclusive assessment of the care needs of the older lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and intersex (LGBTI) population is receiving increasing attention, especially in view of reported health inequalities for these minority groups and the position of their sexual orientations and gender identities within a predominantly heteronormative health and social system. This literature review aims to identify and analyse previous research on older LGBTI people’s views, experiences, and perceptions of homecare provision. We searched the CINAHL, Medline, and PsychINFO databases and found a total of 337 records. After an eligibility assessment, 12 studies were selected, comprising 11 qualitative studies, and one mixed methods study. Under an overarching theme of fears of discrimination and of receiving suboptimal care, we further categorised our findings in the following three interlinked subthemes: (a) disclosure of gender identity and sexual orientation; (b) emerging meanings of LGBTI‐competent care; and (c) recommendations for improved quality of LGBTI‐friendly services. The overall surfacing outcome of our analysis of the participants’ experiences described in the studies examined is an aspiration for homecare services ensuring quality of holistic, person‐centred care that recognises this population’s distinct set of requirements, including knowledge and consideration of their histories of inequalities and oppression. Wider awareness about the need to re‐imagine more inclusive care for the LGBTI community has the potential to improve services and practices, reduce access barriers, and prevent inequalities.

Identification of a druggable site on GRP78 at the GRP78-SARS-CoV-2 interface and virtual screening of compounds to disrupt that interface.

SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes COVID-19, led to a global health emergency that claimed the lives of millions. Despite the widespread availability of vaccines, the virus continues to exist in the population in an endemic state which allows for the continued emergence of new variants. Most of the current vaccines target the spike glycoprotein interface of SARS-CoV-2, creating a selection pressure favoring viral immune evasion. Antivirals targeting other molecular interactions of SARS-CoV-2 can help slow viral evolution by providing orthogonal selection pressures on the virus. GRP78 is a host auxiliary factor that mediates binding of the SARS-CoV-2 spike protein to human cellular ACE2, the primary pathway of cell infection. As GRP78 forms a ternary complex with SARS-CoV-2 spike protein and ACE2, disrupting the formation of this complex is expected to hinder viral entry into host cells. Here, we developed a model of the GRP78-Spike RBD-ACE2 complex. We then used that model together with hot spot mapping of the GRP78 structure to identify the putative binding site for spike protein on GRP78. Next, we performed structure-based virtual screening of known drug/candidate drug libraries to identify binders to GRP78 that are expected to disrupt spike protein binding to the GRP78, and thereby preventing viral entry to the host cell. A subset of these compounds has previously been shown to have some activity against SARS-CoV-2. The identified hits are starting points for the further development of novel SARS-CoV-2 therapeutics, potentially serving as proof-of-concept for GRP78 as a potential drug target for other viruses.

Using the Degree-Day Method to Analyze Central Heating Energy Consumption in Cities of Northern China

In the context of global population growth and energy scarcity, building energy consumption has become a critical issue with implications for the sustainable development of human society. Winter heating consumption constitutes a large portion of total energy used in buildings, especially in regions with cold climates. This paper employs the degree-day method to analyze the energy consumption of central heating in northern Chinese cities. The study sample consists of 60 target cities, including 30 located in severe cold regions and the remaining 30 in cold regions. By utilizing heating energy consumption and climate data from 2019, the relationships between heating intensity (kWh/m2) and heating degree days (HDDs) are established for the selected cities. Additionally, statistical analysis and model comparisons are conducted. The results show strong positive correlations between heating intensity and HDDs in both severe cold regions and cold regions, with the actual heating base temperatures for the two regions being 21 °C and 22.3 °C, respectively. Moreover, the deviation index of heating intensity is introduced to analyze the energy consumption characteristics of central heating in northern cities from three perspectives: city size, level of heating development, and geographical regions. The analysis suggests that cities with large population, strong economies, and high levels of development exhibit better energy-saving performance. Lastly, several improvement suggestions are proposed to address the potential problems related to energy conservation of central heating systems in cities of northern China.