Global Health Benefits Research Articles

Mitigation of asphalt volatile organic compounds emissions and health hazards using a TiO2-doped biochar composite: Microscopic and physiological insights

This study developed a novel TiO2-biochar composite as a modifier for functional asphalt coatings, achieving dual objectives of reducing VOCs emissions and mitigating cytotoxicity. The composite enhanced the softening point of the asphalt by approximately 6℃, reduced penetration and increased viscosity, thereby improving thermal stability and deformation resistance. Headspace-gas chromatography/mass spectrometry analysis confirmed an over 80 % reduction in VOC emissions, significantly reducing the release of harmful compounds like alkanes, cycloalkanes, and aromatic hydrocarbons, with the TiO2-biochar modified and UV-exposed (TUBC) demonstrating the most pronounced effect. In vitro assays with human bronchial epithelial (BEAS-2B) cells showed the composite's cytotoxicity mitigation, with TUBC maintaining higher cell viability. The composite reduced ROS levels and the expression of cytotoxicity-associated biomarkers, suggesting a decrease in oxidative stress and inflammation. The high adsorption capacity of the composite and its photocatalytic degradation under UV light were identified as the key mechanisms for VOCs reduction. These findings collectively establish the TiO2-biochar composite as a promising solution for asphalt for greener and safer asphalt applications, with potential for global environmental and health benefits. Future work will focus on further optimization and field validation to facilitate the adoption of this technology in infrastructure development worldwide.

The economic case for scaling up health research and development: Lessons from the COVID-19 pandemic

In response to the COVID-19 pandemic, governments directly funded vaccine research and development (R&D), quickly leading to multiple effective vaccines and resulting in enormous health and economic benefits to society. We develop a simple economic model showing this feat could potentially be repeated for other health challenges. Based on inputs from the economic and medical literatures, the model yields estimates of optimal R&D spending on treatments and vaccines for known diseases. Taking a global and societal perspective, we estimate the social benefits of such spending and a corresponding rate of return. Applications to Streptococcus A vaccines and Alzheimer's disease treatments demonstrate the potential of enhanced research and development funding to unlock massive global health and health-related benefits. We estimate that these benefits range from 2 to 60 trillion (2020 US$) and that the corresponding rates of return on R&D spending range from 12% to 23% per year for 30 y. We discuss the current shortfall in R&D spending and public policies that can move current funding closer to the optimal level.

Technical-scientific production and knowledge networks about medicinal plants and herbal medicines in the Amazon.

This paper explores the role of Brazilian research institutions in the global and national context of study of medicinal plants. Most of these plants have ethnopharmacological use and herbal medicines related to the Amazon. It highlights Brazil's position in scientific production and the importance of Amazonian resources in developing phytomedicines. The study aims to provide an overview of the technical-scientific production of medicinal plants and herbal medicines related to the Amazon, focusing on scientific impact, collaboration, Technology Readiness Level (TRL) of scientific production, and innovation system maturity. The study employs a comprehensive methodological approach, including data collection from Scopus covering the period from 2002 to 2022. The data was cleaned and analyzed using bibliometric and network analysis techniques. Advanced natural language processing techniques, such as Latent Dirichlet Allocation and Jaccard distance measure, were used for TRL classification. The findings reveal a predominant contribution from Brazilian institutions and authors, with 1,850 publications analyzed. Key areas identified include Pharmacology, Toxicology, Pharmaceuticals, Medicine, and Biochemistry. The study also uncovers various collaborative networks and technological maturity levels, with a significant focus on early-stage development phases. The research concludes that Brazilian institutions, particularly those in the Amazon region, play a significant role in the scientific exploration and development of medicinal plants and herbal medicines. Despite this, countries like the USA were proportionally more productive in clinical trial research. The study underscores the potential of Brazil's rich biodiversity and traditional knowledge in the pharmaceutical industry, particularly for neglected diseases. It suggests the need for stronger research systems and international collaboration to leverage these resources for global health benefits.

Global health benefits of shipping emission reduction in early 2020

The impact of COVID-19 lockdown on the absolute concentration of air pollutant has been widely investigated, whereas the impact of lockdown on global shipping-related air pollutants still remained poorly understood because the contribution of individual source cannot be observed directly. In our study, we employed an efficient chemical transport model (GEOS-Chem) to quantify the shipping-related PM2.5, NO2, and O3 levels in early 2019 and 2020, and assessed the impact of COVID-19 lockdown on global shipping-related air pollutants and health effects. The result suggested that shipping-related global PM2.5, NO2, and O3 levels reduced by 14%, 85%, and 1%, respectively. Furthermore, the decreasing ratios of air pollutants in difference regions often suffered from large spatial discrepancy. PM2.5 and NO2 levels in China, India, Europe, and the United States decreased by 6.5% (NO2: 9%), 7.4% (8%), 11% (8.6%), and 15% (10%), which could be caused by dense shipping activities during the non-lockdown period. For O3 concentrations, the shipping-related concentrations in China, India, Europe, and the United States showed 0.7%, −12.9%, 16.6%, and −4.8% during lockdown period, respectively. The relatively slight O3 reduction might be linked with more significant decrease of NOx emission than VOCs. The changes of air pollutant concentrations inevitably led to the variations of health benefits. Globally, the all-cause mortalities caused by shipping-related PM2.5 exposures reached 40,464 (95% CI: 26,546, 54,382) and 39,035 (95% CI: 25,135, 52,935) cases in early 2019 and 2020, respectively. The combined health benefits of PM2.5, NO2, and O3 linked with shipping emission reduction in China, India, Europe, and the United States reached 476 (95% CI: 131, 822), 3341 (95% CI: 3,177, 3505), 2194 (95% CI: −970, 5358), and 311 (95% CI: 242, 379), respectively. Our study confirms the potentially considerable effects of shipping emission on multiple air pollutants and health impacts, which could provide valuable information for air quality management.

Unified Language for Knowledge Dissemination: The Vascular Ageing Glossary, an Initiative by VascAgeNet

ObjectivesIn general, a terminology shared and agreed by different stakeholders is important to facilitate communication and cooperation. This holds true in the field of vascular ageing for the benefit of global cardiovascular health. The need to promote a common language and understanding across this area was recognised by VascAgeNet, a collaborative network with relevant and diverse expertise in the vascular ageing field, supported by the European Cooperation in Science and Technology. To contribute to the spread of unified terms in the vascular ageing field, a glossary was created by VascAgeNet and this paper describes the systematic process used for its development.MethodsAn initial list of terms and preliminary definitions were collated from the network. A dedicated team was created to design the glossary development process, to facilitate its implementation and to maximise outreach and dissemination. The key steps of the process were to determine: (1) the target audience; (2) a list of priority terms; (3) a template structure for definitions; (4) methods for collecting feedback and (5) the dissemination plan.ResultsAn implementation strategy was provided for each key step and shared within the network; main decisions were agreed by all members of the glossary team. Small groups of definitions were released on a regular basis within a pilot phase including 19 terms (status: 05.09.2023) that were published openly at https://vascagenet.eu/official-glossary.ConclusionsThe strategy for creating the first Vascular Ageing Glossary has been successfully designed and developed within VascAgeNet. A pilot phase covering the first publicly available terms was completed. The glossary is a living document, available to the scientific community, which aims to unify the vascular ageing language.

Effective vaccines for non-communicable diseases - A pipe dream?

Effective vaccines for non-communicable diseases - A pipe dream? Markus Mandler, Founder and CEO of Tridem Bioscience, explains how the company’s cutting-edge vaccine platform is revolutionising treatment approaches and vaccines for non-communicable diseases (NCDs). 2023Vaccines are one of the best health investments money can buy. One has only to look at how transformative vaccines were during the COVID-19 pandemic to appreciate how world- changing they can be. Currently, vaccines’ full benefits are only truly realised when targeting pathogens, which are innately immunogenic due to their foreign nature. Non-communicable diseases (NCDs), otherwise known as chronic diseases, usually lack immunogenic targets. Treating NCDs with vaccines relies instead on targeting self-antigens, which are generally well tolerated by the immune system. The potential global health benefits would be staggering if efficacious vaccines could be developed for NCDs, which cause a whopping 76% of deaths globally and over 60% of all disability- adjusted life-years (DALYs).

CURRENT STATUS OF ETHONOPHARMACOLOGY OF MEDICINAL PLANTS IN INDIA: A COMPREHENSIVE ANALYSIS

This in-depth study examines the current situation and ethnopharmacology of Indias medicinal plants, shedding light on the countrys rich biodiversity, traditional knowledge, and cutting-edge scientific research into these invaluable assets. Indias many ecologists have endowed the country with a remarkable array of plant species used in traditional medicine. Researchers in the field of ethnopharmacology have uncovered a wealth of indigenous wisdom that demonstrates the mutually beneficial relationship that exists between human communities and their natural environments. Modern scientific research has proved the potential pharmacological characteristics of these plants, bridging the gap between traditional and modern medicine. The richness of this species is threatened by factors such as over exploitation, habitat degradation, and climate change, making conservation efforts imperative. Regulatory frameworks have been established to ensure the quality and safety of herbal products, and continual harmonization between traditional and modern medical practices is necessary to achieve this goal. The significance of Indias medicinal plant resources necessitates collaborative research and commercial endeavours for the benefit of global health. The findings of this study stress the need of a comprehensive approach that integrates traditional wisdom, cutting-edge scientific understanding, conservation efforts, and vigilant regulation. Sustainable use and conservation of these invaluable resources require collaboration between different parties, and protecting Indias medicinal plant heritage is not only a matter of national pride but also has important implications for the future of biodiversity and healthcare around the world.

Overlooked Long‐Term Atmospheric Chemical Feedbacks Alter the Impact of Solar Geoengineering: Implications for Tropospheric Oxidative Capacity

AbstractStudies of the impacts of solar geoengineering have mostly ignored tropospheric chemistry. By decreasing the sunlight reaching Earth's surface, geoengineering may help mitigate anthropogenic climate change, but changing sunlight also alters the rates of chemical reactions throughout the troposphere. Using the GEOS‐Chem atmospheric chemistry model, we show that stratospheric aerosol injection (SAI) with sulfate, a frequently studied solar geoengineering method, can perturb tropospheric composition over a span of 10 years, increasing tropospheric oxidative capacity by 9% and reducing methane lifetime. SAI decreases the overall flux of shortwave radiation into the troposphere, but increases flux at certain UV wavelengths due to stratospheric ozone depletion. These radiative changes, in turn, perturb tropospheric photochemistry, driving chemical feedbacks that can substantially influence the seasonal and spatial patterns of radiative forcing beyond what is caused by enhanced stratospheric aerosol concentrations alone. For example, chemical feedbacks decrease the radiative effectiveness of geoengineering in northern high latitude summer by 20%. Atmospheric chemical feedbacks also imply the potential for net global public health benefits associated with stratospheric ozone depletion, as the decreases in mortality resulting from SAI‐induced improvements in air quality outweigh the increases in mortality due to increased UV radiation exposure. Such chemical feedbacks also lead to improved plant growth. Our results show the importance of including fuller representations of atmospheric chemistry in studies of solar geoengineering and underscore the risk of surprises from this technology that could carry unexpected consequences for Earth's climate, the biosphere, and human health.

Sustainability in anaesthesia and intensive care - an obligation to turn danger into opportunity.

Sustainability in anaesthesia and intensive care - an obligation to turn danger into opportunity.

Extracellular protein homeostasis: The dawning of a new age for human disease therapies?

Extracellular protein homeostasis: The dawning of a new age for human disease therapies?

Delving into Agri-Food Waste Composition for Antibacterial Phytochemicals

The overuse of antibiotics in the healthcare, veterinary, and agricultural industries has led to the development of antimicrobial resistance (AMR), resulting in significant economic losses worldwide and a growing healthcare problem that urgently needs to be solved. Plants produce a variety of secondary metabolites, making them an area of interest in the search for new phytochemicals to cope with AMR. A great part of agri-food waste is of plant origin, constituting a promising source of valuable compounds with different bioactivities, including those against antimicrobial resistance. Many types of phytochemicals, such as carotenoids, tocopherols, glucosinolates, and phenolic compounds, are widely present in plant by-products, such as citrus peels, tomato waste, and wine pomace. Unveiling these and other bioactive compounds is therefore very relevant and could be an important and sustainable form of agri-food waste valorisation, adding profit for local economies and mitigating the negative impact of these wastes' decomposition on the environment. This review will focus on the potential of agri-food waste from a plant origin as a source of phytochemicals with antibacterial activity for global health benefits against AMR.

Using novel diagnostic antibodies to identify lymphocyte markers of rheumatic fever and heart disease.

Abstract Acute rheumatic fever (ARF) is an autoimmune disease that occurs in a subset of patients as a delayed complication of an improperly treated throat infection with a rheumatogenic strain of Streptococcus pyogenes. ARF / Rheumatic heart disease is a leading cause of preventable cardiovascular morbidity and mortality in children worldwide, affecting >33 million people. A method of detecting children susceptible to ARF (3–5% of the total population) would have major global health and economic benefits. One potential ARF diagnostic is the IgM antibody, D8/17, which binds B cells from ARF patients of diverse ethnic groups and geographical locations at a higher % versus matched controls. While this antibody has had mixed results in the past, no group has identified the antigen that D8/17 binds. To aid in this endeavor, we used recombinant antibody engineering to produce new IgM and IgG1 versions of D8/17 that give more consistent results in our in vitrodiagnostic tests. These new derivatives were then utilized in a multi-omics approach to characterize the differences between immortalized B cell lines of ARF patients and controls. Western blot and MS/MS proteomic analyses of lymphocyte lysates identified cytoskeletal proteins from ARF B cells that cross-react more readily with our recombinant D8/17. RNA sequencing and microarray analysis of B cells from ARF patients versus controls confirmed our proteomic results. Further, we discovered differences in the gene expression of other cell surface proteins, kinases and signaling pathways in ARF B cells that bind these antibodies. We hope our analyses will help identify markers or genetic factors related to ARF development and pathogenesis, or aid in designing diagnostic assays for ARF susceptibility. Supported by a grant from the NIH /NIAD (SC2 1SC2AI134947-01)

Outcomes of periodontal therapy: Strengthening the relevance of research to patients. A co-created review.

Periodontitis is a long-term condition affecting up to half of the population globally and causing significant impacts on life quality. Successful management depends on taking life-long ownership of the condition by those affected. There is a wealth of research to inform on management options. However, most of the research has been designed by professional experts with outcomes to gauge benefits and harms based on parameters that inform on the disease process but which might not be informative to support decision-making in people with lived experience (PWLE) of periodontal ill-health (including both patients and carers). The importance of relevant outcomes is highlighted in the concept of the "expert patient" which aims to strengthen the capacity of PWLE to make health-care choices that are important for them, elements of which are likely to be already familiar to many clinicians delivering periodontal health care. Therefore, the voice and collaboration of PWLE in research are recognised as crucial to developing high quality, relevant evidence especially for long-term conditions. In this paper, we review what is known about the relevance of treatment outcomes to PWLE. We also examine the degree to which PWLE have been involved in identifying outcomes that are important to them as well as the diversity and therefore representativeness of PWLE recruited for studies. We consider why having more relevant outcomes could enhance the expertise of PWLE in managing their periodontitis. We then conclude with key learnings from our review which we hope will encourage more rapid development of these initiatives in periodontology for the benefit of global health and wellbeing.

The Global Health Benefits of Going Net Zero

Climate change mitigation plans would also reduce air pollution. That could save hundreds of thousands of lives in the coming decades.

US Embassy air-quality tweets led to global health benefits

The World Health Organization estimates that over 90% of the world's population is exposed to hazardous levels of local air pollution. Air pollution is markedly worse in low- and middle-income countries, yet air-quality monitoring is typically sparse. In 2008, the US Embassy in Beijing began tweeting hourly air-quality information from a newly installed pollution monitor, dramatically improving the information on air quality available to Beijing residents. Since then, the United States has installed over 50 monitors around the world, tweeting real-time reports on air quality in those locations. Using spatially granular measurements of local air pollution from satellite data that span the globe, we employ variation in whether and when US embassies installed monitors to evaluate the impact of air-quality information on pollution. We estimate that embassy monitors led to reductions in fine particulate concentration levels in host countries of 2 to 4 µg/m3. Our central estimate of the annual monetized benefit of the decrease in premature mortality due to this reduction in pollution is $127 million for the median city in 2019. Our findings point to the substantial benefits of improving the availability and salience of air-quality information in low- and middle-income countries.

How low can you go? Air pollution affects mortality at very low levels.

The World Health Organization (WHO) recently released new guidelines for outdoor fine particulate air pollution (PM2.5) recommending an annual average concentration of 5 μg/m3. Yet, our understanding of the concentration-response relationship between outdoor PM2.5 and mortality in this range of near-background concentrations remains incomplete. To address this uncertainty, we conducted a population-based cohort study of 7.1 million adults in one of the world’s lowest exposure environments. Our findings reveal a supralinear concentration-response relationship between outdoor PM2.5 and mortality at very low (<5 μg/m3) concentrations. Our updated global concentration-response function incorporating this new information suggests an additional 1.5 million deaths globally attributable to outdoor PM2.5 annually compared to previous estimates. The global health benefits of meeting the new WHO guideline for outdoor PM2.5 are greater than previously assumed and indicate a need for continued reductions in outdoor air pollution around the world.

Historical transboundary ozone health impact linked to affluence

Ozone pollution is a major transboundary threat to global health. Systematic improvement of mitigation strategy for transboundary ozone requires a socioeconomic understanding of historical lessons in countries at different affluence levels. Here, we explore the changes in transboundary ozone related premature deaths over 1951–2019 driven by anthropogenic emissions of four country groups categorized by income level. By integrating global emission datasets, a chemical transport model (GEOS-Chem), in situ ozone measurements worldwide and an ozone exposure-response model, we find that mortality caused by transboundary anthropogenic ozone increases by 27 times from 1951 to 2019, and on average contributes about 27% of global anthropogenic ozone related deaths. All groups exert and suffer from substantial transboundary ozone related mortality. The high-income and upper middle groups have each experienced an inverted U-shaped relationship between its affluence and per-million-people contribution to mortality caused by transboundary ozone, with the turning point around 23 000 USD and 6300 USD, respectively. The lower middle group has gradually matched the growth pathway of the upper middle group with a turning point less clear. Concerted efforts to ensure early turning points in less affluent countries will have considerable global health benefits.

P378 Insecticidal potential of isolated fungal species in targeting Drosophila melanogaster and Zaprionus indianus

Poster session 3, September 23, 2022, 12:30 PM - 1:30 PM ObjectivesFruit flies are polyphagous insects that attack a variety of commercially significant plants, which resulted in the build-up of insecticide resistance making the research focus shift toward alternative pest management tools in order to reduce risks to humans, environment, and non-target organisms.MethodsFungal species were isolated and molecularly characterized from Drosophila culture medium. Virulence assay was conducted against third instar larvae and adults of Drosophila melanogaster and Zaprionus indianus. Percent adult emergence and larval mortality were calculated.ResultsThree species: Meyerozyma caribbica, Pichia kudriavzevii, and Aspergillus flavus were identified by ITS region sequencing. A. flavus was the most virulent against larvae and adults of D. melanogaster and Z. indianus followed by P. kudriavzevii and M. caribbica (44%-100% mortality). Lethal time to 90% mortality (LT90) ranged from 4.5 to 7 days (P. kudriavzevii) and 3.2 to 4.5 days (A. flavus).ConclusionThese preliminary findings suggest that the isolated fungal species can be deployed in targeting the developmental life stages of Drosophila species and hence, controlling invasive insect pests in an eco-friendly way. The use of these biological control agents could further minimize the use of harmful insecticides which has substantial global health benefits.

Biological invasions facilitate zoonotic disease emergences

Outbreaks of zoonotic diseases are accelerating at an unprecedented rate in the current era of globalization, with substantial impacts on the global economy, public health, and sustainability. Alien species invasions have been hypothesized to be important to zoonotic diseases by introducing both existing and novel pathogens to invaded ranges. However, few studies have evaluated the generality of alien species facilitating zoonoses across multiple host and parasite taxa worldwide. Here, we simultaneously quantify the role of 795 established alien hosts on the 10,473 zoonosis events across the globe since the 14th century. We observe an average of ~5.9 zoonoses per alien zoonotic host. After accounting for species-, disease-, and geographic-level sampling biases, spatial autocorrelation, and the lack of independence of zoonosis events, we find that the number of zoonosis events increase with the richness of alien zoonotic hosts, both across space and through time. We also detect positive associations between the number of zoonosis events per unit space and climate change, land-use change, biodiversity loss, human population density, and PubMed citations. These findings suggest that alien host introductions have likely contributed to zoonosis emergences throughout recent history and that minimizing future zoonotic host species introductions could have global health benefits.

The Importance of Vitamin D in Long-Term Care Residents

The Importance of Vitamin D in Long-Term Care Residents