Global Roadmap Research Articles

A global roadmap to seize the opportunities of healthy longevity.

The US National Academy of Medicine (NAM)’s first global grand challenge is dedicated to healthy longevity. We summarize the NAM’s Global Roadmap for Healthy Longevity, highlighting evidence that societies can benefit from untapped human, social and economic capital through investments throughout the life course.

A stochastic Fermatean fuzzy-based multi-choice conic goal programming approach for sustainable supply chain management in end-of-life buildings

Due to natural disasters, urban transformations and many other factors, sustainable end-of-life buildings (ELBs) waste management is gaining importance within the last decades, which is vigorous for both economic and conservation matters. Turkey is located on active zones in terms of natural disasters and faced numerous destructive events. Therefore, the government initiated a program to renew the ELBs. Even though several studies analyzed post-disaster debris management, there are not many studies focusing on pre-disaster debris management. Thus, this study proposes a two-stage stochastic model to optimize the supply chain network of ELBs and manage the debris stemmed from the destruction of the ELBs. With this aim, the criteria and the alternatives for evaluating the objectives are defined, experts’ evaluations for objectives are integrated into the model, Fermatean fuzzy-based weighting approach is introduced to transfer the experts’ views on the importance of the objectives, and the stochastic Fermatean fuzzy-based multi-choice conic goal programming (FF-MCCGP) and the revised-MCGP methods are used to provide optimal facility locations, and the amount of debris to transfer within the network. The stochastic FF-MCCGP approach outperforms the revised-MCGP in most cases, where they are compared. Furthermore, a sustainable management strategy is offered to control the economic, pollution, land-use stress and population health factors. This study is one of the pioneer studies that eases the consequences of diseases, urban transformation, wars, and other factors by considering the renewal of ELBs, and method can be upgraded dynamically regarding the potential needs and conditions as it offers a global road map.

Big Data Analysis for Optimising the Decision-Making Process in Sustainable Energy Action Plans: A Multi-Criteria Evaluation Approach Applied to Sicilian Regional Recovery and Resilience Plans

Keeping the global temperature rise below 2 degrees Celsius, as foreseen by the Paris Agreement, requires a new global roadmap for the energy transition. For this reason, the European Commission decided to directly involve local municipalities in reaching these objectives through multilevel, bottom-up actions for sustainable energy. The Covenant of Mayors is a very concrete demonstration of this trend of development and adoption of sustainable energy action plans (SEAP), rethinking the way cities operate and bringing them closer to energy self-sufficiency, with measures favouring local economic development and improving citizens’ quality of life. The numerous RES/RUE actions included in SEAPs at the regional level have led both to the request for huge funding and to increased complexity for regional managers to identify the best projects to be financed. To manage the multitude of data (emissions, energy consumption, cost, etc.) present in the SEAPs at a regional level, a web-based platform called Lex-energetica was developed. In this context, this paper aims to present a participatory supportive framework for the decision-making process involved in financing the SEAPs’ actions, considering the selection of sustainable Renewable Energy Sources (RES) and Rational Use of Energy (RUE) technologies. This study proposes a methodology based on two macro-phases: the first phase consists of a ranking evaluation of categories of areas of intervention based on the analytic hierarchy process, while the second identifies nine criteria, according to the domains corresponding to the three pillars of sustainability, to compare the most appropriate RES/RUE actions.

Chronological Progress of Blockchain in Science, Technology, Engineering and Math (STEM): A Systematic Analysis for Emerging Future Directions

The emergence of Industry 4.0 has awoken the adoption of blockchain as a key factor to enhance the industrial supply chain across the globe, enabling cost-effective and fast-paced delivery of products and services, ownership of products with privacy, and high security as well as traceability. This new digital horizon is underpinning the future direction of humankind, aligning with the Sustainable Development Goal themes of Good Health and Well-being (SDG3) and Sustainable Cities and Communities (SDG 11). Thus, the main objective of this paper is to elucidate the adoption of blockchain technology in Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math (STEM) disciplines by determining of the key academic research players and the evolution of blockchain in different fields. It begins by clarifying the definition of these concepts, followed by a discussion regarding the chronological progress of blockchain over time, an evaluation of the adoption of blockchain technologies in different key research areas, and lastly, providing comments on several directions to guide practitioners in developing a sustainable global blockchain roadmap in education science.

Interpretation of defeating meningitis by 2030: a global road map

Meningitis is a life-threatening disease. In order to reduce its threat to public health, the World Health Assembly indorsed a resolution in 2020 for urgent global action to prevent and control meningitis. Defeating Meningitis by 2030: a Global Roadmap was officially launched by the World Health Organization in 2021. We interpreted some key information of the roadmap from the aspects of coverage, objectives and pillar strategies, providing ideas for further strengthening the prevention and control of bacterial meningitis in China.

A Global NDE 4.0 Roadmap - From the journey to its creation towards a pathway for its sustainability and evolution an updated perspective

Regardless of its local name, fahrplans, hoja de ruta or feuille de route, Roadmaps through time have been instru-mental for guiding and thrusting sociocultural, economic, technological and even political changes around the world. When recently a diverse community of NDE 4.0 stakeholders, dispersed over continents and industries, began to interact and bring together a series of common challenges and collaboration initiatives, two questions materialized from those early interactions: “Does the integration of a global NDE 4.0 roadmap is feasible?” and “Does creating such global roadmap truly matters?”. This presentation, and its associated article, aims to provide an answer to both questions by succinctly portraying: 1) The journey to a create a Global NDE 4.0 Roadmap, understanding it as a milestone initiative, through a process that comprised from the mapping of the NDE 4.0 national ecosystems to the definition of a strategic path to reinforcing a Global NDE 4.0 Ecosystem. 2) The pathway for its sustainability and evolution through the integration of specific reinforcing mechanisms and processes since its early design. By merging strategy and innovation, our purpose is also to contribute with the global NDE community by provid-ing valuable practical insights related with: 1) Using and adapting the global NDE 4.0 roadmap to specific needs in order to create specialized roadmaps by industry or geographic region, that are both feasible and relevant. 2) Presenting a strategic sustainability perspective towards the future that may serve as guidance and inspira-tion to keep those specialized roadmaps relevant and useful 3) Integrating the human perspective into NDE 4.0 through professional and personal development paths and certifications, and finally 4) Outlining an agenda of future research aligned with the purpose of NDE 4.0 of contributing to creating a safer and more sustainable word.

Time for a new global roadmap for supporting evidence into action.

Time for a new global roadmap for supporting evidence into action.

Cell fate roadmap of human primed-to-naive transition reveals preimplantation cell lineage signatures

Human naive pluripotent stem cells offer a unique window into early embryogenesis studies. Recent studies have reported several strategies to obtain cells in the naive state. However, cell fate transitions and the underlying mechanisms remain poorly understood. Here, by a dual fluorescent reporter system, we depict the cell fate dynamics from primed state toward naive pluripotency with ALPG activation followed by the activation of OCT4-distal enhancer. Integration of transcription profiles and the chromatin accessibility landscape reveals the appearance of primitive endoderm and trophectoderm signatures in the transitioning subpopulations, with the capacities for derivation of extra-embryonic endoderm and trophoblast stem cell lines, respectively. Furthermore, despite different fluorescent dynamics, all transitioning intermediates are capable of reaching the naive state with prolonged induction, showing their developmental plasticity and potential. Overall, our study describes a global cell roadmap toward naive pluripotency and provides hints for embryo modeling-related studies.

Vitamin C and its therapeutic potential in the management of COVID19.

COVID19 has emerged as one of the worst pandemics in the history of mankind. Several vaccines have been approved by different government agencies worldwide, but data on their efficacy and safety are limited, and distribution remains a massive challenge. As per WHO, personal immunity is vital for protection against COVID19. Earlier, Vitamin C-mediated pathways have been shown to play critical role in boosting immunity attributed to its antioxidant properties. Recently, the involvement of such pathways in protection against COVID19 has been suggested. The controlled doses of Vitamin C administered through intravenous (IV) injections are being studied for determining its role in the prognosis of COVID19. In this article, we have discussed the potential role of Vitamin C in the management in COVID19 patients and presented recent clinical trials data. Additionally, we have elaborated the possibility of administering Vitamin C through inhalers in order to achieve local high concentration and the challenges of such approach.

Application of the Child Health and Nutrition Research Initiative (CHNRI) methodology to prioritize research to enable the implementation of Ending Cholera: A global roadmap to 2030.

The "Ending Cholera: A Global Roadmap to 2030" (Roadmap) was launched in October 2017. Following its launch, it became clear that additional evidence is needed to assist countries in controlling cholera and that a prioritized list of research questions is required to focus the limited resources to address the issues most relevant to the implementation of the Roadmap. A comprehensive list of research questions was developed based on inputs from the Working Groups of the Global Taskforce for Cholera Control and other experts. The Child Health and Nutrition Research Initiative methodology was adapted to identify the relevant assessment criteria and assign weights to each criterion. The assessment criteria were applied to each research question by cholera experts to derive a score based on which they were prioritized. The consultation process involved 177 experts and stakeholders representing different constituencies and geographies with research priority scores ranging from 88·8 to 65·7% and resulted in the prioritization of the top 20 research questions across all Roadmap pillars, the top five research questions for each Roadmap pillar, and three discovery research questions. This resulted in 32 non-duplicative research questions that considers both immediate and long-term Roadmap goals. The transparent, inclusive, and rigorous process to develop a Research Agenda is aimed to secure broad buy-in and serve as a guide for funding agencies and researchers to focus their efforts to fill the evidence gaps plaguing cholera-endemic countries.

The Nigerian Petroleum Industry Act, Frontier Basins Exploration and the Global Energy Transition

The Nigerian Petroleum Industry Act (PIA) passed into Law in 2021 has the major goal to reform the Nigerian petroleum sector operations into policy, regulations and business (commercial). In the line of this, the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) was transformed to NNPC Ltd to operate entirely commercially with a supervising Board and registration with the Corporate Affairs Commission. Such a commercial mandate will entail the need to explore and produce more oil and gas for export and domestic utilization. Oil is becoming less attractive as an energy source but gas is gaining momentum as a clean energy source in the global energy transition road-map. The global energy transition road-map is drawn around clean, alternative and renewable energies. The Nigerian frontier basins have recently come on board as new business opportunities with huge petroleum gas resources. These frontier basins comprise the Anambra, Benue, Bida, Chad (Nigerian sector), Dahomey, and Sokoto Basins as well as the Deep and Ultra-deep offshore. Maturing these basins through data generation and production of the gas resources therein will promote the nation’s gas utilization and gas expansion programmes meant to promote industrialization and huge employment generation, grow the economy and engender positive social transformation. The clause in the PIA that promotes frontier exploration is well-thought out. Available and required geological data needed to mature the frontier basins to producing basins are presented in this paper. The success made in Kolmani River-2 well discovery is a case study.

Feasibility of gonorrhoea vaccination among men who have sex with men in England

Feasibility of gonorrhoea vaccination among men who have sex with men in England

A Roadmap for Transforming Research to Invent the Batteries of the Future Designed within the European Large Scale Research Initiative BATTERY 2030+

AbstractThis roadmap presents the transformational research ideas proposed by “BATTERY 2030+,” the European large‐scale research initiative for future battery chemistries. A “chemistry‐neutral” roadmap to advance battery research, particularly at low technology readiness levels, is outlined, with a time horizon of more than ten years. The roadmap is centered around six themes: 1) accelerated materials discovery platform, 2) battery interface genome, with the integration of smart functionalities such as 3) sensing and 4) self‐healing processes. Beyond chemistry related aspects also include crosscutting research regarding 5) manufacturability and 6) recyclability. This roadmap should be seen as an enabling complement to the global battery roadmaps which focus on expected ultrahigh battery performance, especially for the future of transport. Batteries are used in many applications and are considered to be one technology necessary to reach the climate goals. Currently the market is dominated by lithium‐ion batteries, which perform well, but despite new generations coming in the near future, they will soon approach their performance limits. Without major breakthroughs, battery performance and production requirements will not be sufficient to enable the building of a climate‐neutral society. Through this “chemistry neutral” approach a generic toolbox transforming the way batteries are developed, designed and manufactured, will be created.

Global Economic Crisis, Energy Use, CO2 Emissions, and Policy Roadmap amid COVID-19

Global Economic Crisis, Energy Use, CO2 Emissions, and Policy Roadmap amid COVID-19

An analysis of COVID-19 and WHO global research roadmap: knowledge mapping and future research agenda

In this study, we review the publications on the COVID-19 pandemic indexed in the Scopus database from 1st January to 15th October 2020, using bibliometric analysis. In essence, we evaluate the publications against the global research roadmap outlined by the World Health Organization (WHO). We find that academic publications are contributed by researchers worldwide, with the USA and China being the top contributors in several parameters. We show that most publications are clustered around the issues related to the outbreak, diagnosis, candidate medicine, and disease treatment by analyzing publication keywords. Besides, considerable importance is given to unravel the connection between the present viral disease with its previous strains and the anxiety and stress-related problems that arise from the COVID-19. We further visualize the knowledge structure of the publication with thematic mapping and illustrate that mental health-related research denotes a specialized research theme besides public health issues being the basic theme. Our findings aid to comprehend how the scholarly publications have developed to address the prioritized research agendas by the WHO. Thus, our study can guide researchers to explore the less studied areas. Consequently, it will assist policymakers and governments in developing integrated and effective policies to fight the pandemic.

Every Country, Every Family: Time to Act for Group B Streptococcal Disease Worldwide.

The global burden of Group B Streptococcus (GBS) was estimated for 2015 prompting inclusion of GBS as a priority in the Global Meningitis Roadmap. New estimates for the year 2020 and a WHO report analysing the full value of GBS maternal vaccines has been launched to advance evidence based decision making for multiple stakeholders. In this first of a 10-article supplement, we discuss the following (1) gaps in evidence and action, (2) new evidence in this supplement, and (3) what actions can be taken now and key research gaps ahead. We call for investment in the research pipeline, notably description, development, and delivery, in order to accelerate progress and address the large burden of GBS for every family in every country.

COVID-19, climate change, and communities

COVID-19, climate change, and communities

Modern History of Cholera Vaccines and the Pivotal Role of icddr,b.

The rapid spread of the seventh cholera pandemic over Asia in the 1960s led to several large field studies that revealed that the traditional injectable cholera vaccines had poor efficacy, which led the World Health Organization (WHO) in the 1970s to stop recommending cholera vaccination. At the same time, it stimulated research that has led to the development of the effective orally administered cholera vaccines (OCVs) that today are a cornerstone in WHO’s strategy for Ending Cholera—A Global Roadmap to 2030. The first effective OCV, Dukoral, containing a mixture of inactivated Vibrio cholerae bacteria and cholera toxin B subunit, was licensed in 1991 and is, together with 2 similar inactivated whole-cell OCVs, Shanchol and Euvichol, currently WHO prequalified and recommended OCVs. This brief review is a personal account of the modern history of the development of these now universally recognized effective tools.

Destination net-zero: what does the international energy agency roadmap mean for tourism?

The tourism sector has recommitted itself to be ‘climate neutral’ by 2050 through its 2021 Glasgow Declaration: A Commitment to a Decade of Tourism Climate Action. The declared ambition is consistent with the Paris Climate Agreement and net-zero emission targets; however, lacks specific actions by which such a transition might be achieved. The highly influential International Energy Agency (IEA) has produced the most detailed global roadmap to a 2050 net-zero future. This paper examines its implications for the tourism sector. Getting to net-zero is imperative to ensure the societal disruption of a + 3 °C or warmer world are avoided, but the IEA net-zero scenario would nonetheless be as transformative for tourism as the internet was. International air travel and tourism growth projections from the tourism sector are not compatible with the IEA net-zero scenario. The geography of transition risk will influence tourism patterns unevenly. The incoherence of tourism and climate policy represents an increasing vulnerability for tourism development. While any business and destination in tourism can act immediately to reduce emissions, the findings compel a critical new research agenda to determine how the assumptions of the IEA, or any net-zero scenario, could be achieved and how this will affect tourism development.

A framework for localizing global climate solutions and their carbon reduction potential

Localized carbon reduction strategies are especially critical in states and regions that lack top-down climate leadership. This paper illustrates the use of coupled systems in assessments of subnational climate solutions with a case study of Georgia, a state located in the southeastern United States that does not have statewide climate goals or plans. The paper illustrates how robust place-specific plans for climate action could be derived from foundational global and national work and by embedding that research into the context of socio-ecological-technological systems. Our replicable methodology advances the traditional additive sectoral wedge analysis of carbon abatement potential by incorporating solution interdependencies and by spanning both carbon sources and sinks. We estimate that a system of 20 solutions could cut Georgia's carbon footprint by 35% in 2030 relative to a business-as-usual forecast and by 50% relative to Georgia's emissions in 2005. We also produce a carbon abatement cost curve that aligns private and social costs as well as benefits with units of avoided CO2-e. The solutions are affiliated with various social co-costs and co-benefits that highlight societal concerns extending beyond climate impacts, including public health, environmental quality, employment, and equity.