A Comparative Analysis of Climate-Risk and Extreme Event-Related Impacts on Well-Being and Health: Policy Implications
adaptation strategies, adaptive capacity, climate change adaptation, environmental risk, extreme events, health, socioeconomic issues, vulnerability
There are various climate risks that are caused or influenced by climate change. They are known to have a wide range of physical, economic, environmental and social impacts. Apart from damages to the physical environment, many climate risks (climate variability, extreme events and climate-related hazards) are associated with a variety of impacts on human well-being, health, and life-supporting systems. These vary from boosting the proliferation of vectors of diseases (e.g., mosquitos), to mental problems triggered by damage to properties and infrastructure. There is a great variety of literature about the strong links between climate change and health, while there is relatively less literature that specifically examines the health impacts of climate risks and extreme events. This paper is an attempt to address this knowledge gap, by compiling eight examples from a set of industrialised and developing countries, where such interactions are described. The policy implications of these phenomena and the lessons learned from the examples provided are summarised. Some suggestions as to how to avert the potential and real health impacts of climate risks are made, hence assisting efforts to adapt to a problem whose impacts affect millions of people around the world. All the examples studied show some degree of vulnerability to climate risks regardless of their socioeconomic status and need to increase resilience against extreme events.
Walter Leal Filho, Abul Quasem Al-Amin, Gustavo J. Nagy, Ulisses M. Azeiteiro, Laura Wiesböck, Desalegn Y. Ayal, Edward A. Morgan, Paschal Mugabe, Marilyn Aparicio-Effen, Hubert Fudjumdjum, Charbel Jose Chiappetta Jabbour
International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health
A Comparative Analysis of Viral Richness and Viral Sharing in Cave-Roosting Bats
zoonosis, Viruses, Chiroptera, caves, ecological traits, roosting behavior, virus-host associations
Caves provide critical roosting habitats for bats globally, but are increasingly disturbed or destroyed by human activities such as tourism and extractive industries. In addition to degrading the habitats of cave-roosting bats, such activities often promote contact between humans and bats, which may have potential impacts on human health. Cave-roosting bats are hosts to diverse viruses, some of which emerged in humans with severe consequences (e.g., severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus and Marburg virus). Characterizing patterns of viral richness and sharing among bat species are therefore important first steps for understanding bat-virus dynamics and mitigating future bat-human spillover. Here we compile a database of bat-virus associations and bat species ecological traits, and investigate the importance of roosting behavior as a determinant of viral richness and viral sharing among bat species. We show that cave-roosting species do not host greater viral richness, when accounting for publication bias, diet, body mass, and geographic range size. Our global analyses, however, show that cave-roosting bats do exhibit a greater likelihood of viral sharing, especially those documented in the literature as co-roosting in the same cave. We highlight the importance of caves as critical foci for bat conservation, as well as ideal sites for longitudinal surveillance of bat-virus dynamics.
Kevin J Olival, Anna R. Willoughby, Kendra L. Phelps, PREDICT Consortium
A Comparative Analysis on SARS, MERS and COVID-19
MERS-CoV, SARS-CoV, coronavirus, koronavirus, vaccine, covid-19, Remdesivir, social distancing, ASI, sosyal uzaklaşma
The Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome 2 (SARS-CoV-2/ COVID-19) is on its way to become the pandemic of the century, if not already. As a coronavirus, it is known to cause severe respiratory illness, especially for those with compromised immune systems. The Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS-CoV) and The Middle East Respiratory Syndrome (MERS-CoV) are the most notable of past coronaviruses infecting thousands in numerous countries. All three viruses are from a zoonotic origin predominantly from bats, one of the coronavirus’s natural reservoir hosts. Therefore, the purpose of this article is to compare and contrast the attributes and features of all three coronaviruses. While SARS-CoV, MERS-CoV, and COVID-19 share many viral similarities due to their similar classification, they are not as closely related genetically. COVID-19 shares about 79% of its genome with SARS-COV and only about 50% with MERS-CoV. One of the most notable genetic similarities between SARS-CoV and SARS-CoV-2 is their shared receptor protein, ACE2. Although all three viruses share the same dominant mode of human-to-human transmission, respiratory droplets, SARS-CoV-2 seems to have drastically higher infection rates than the other two. Aerosol and asymptotic transmission could be a leading factor for COVID-19’s explosive infectivity. Currently, social distancing seems to be the only effective preventive strategy to tackle COVID-19.
A comparative epidemiologic analysis of SARS in Hong Kong, Beijing and Taiwan
Abstract Background The 2002-2003 Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS) outbreak infected 8,422 individuals leading to 916 deaths around the world. However, there have been few epidemiological studies of SARS comparing epidemiologic features across regions. The aim of this study is to identify similarities and differences in SARS epidemiology in three populations with similar host and viral genotype. Methods We present a comparative epidemiologic analysis of SARS, based on an integrated dataset with 3,336 SARS patients from Hong Kong, Beijing and Taiwan, epidemiological and clinical characteristics such as incubation, onset-to-admission, onset-to-discharge and onset-to-death periods, case fatality ratios (CFRs) and presenting symptoms are described and compared between regions. We further explored the influence of demographic and clinical variables on the apparently large differences in CFRs between the three regions. Results All three regions showed similar incubation periods and progressive shortening of the onset-to-admission interval through the epidemic. Adjusted for sex, health care worker status and nosocomial setting, older age was associated with a higher fatality, with adjusted odds ratio (AOR): 2.10 (95% confidence interval: 1.45, 3.04) for those aged 51-60; AOR: 4.57 (95% confidence interval: 3.32, 7.30) for those aged above 60 compared to those aged 41-50 years. Presence of pre-existing comorbid conditions was also associated with greater mortality (AOR: 1.74; 95% confidence interval: 1.36, 2.21). Conclusion The large discrepancy in crude fatality ratios across the three regions can only be partly explained by epidemiological and clinical heterogeneities. Our findings underline the importance of a common data collection platform, especially in an emerging epidemic, in order to identify and explain consistencies and differences in the eventual clinical and public health outcomes of infectious disease outbreaks, which is becoming increasingly important in our highly interconnected world.
Chang Chiu-Wen, Donnelly Christl A, Tsang Thomas, Ho Lai-Ming, Chen Chang-Hsun, Cowling Benjamin J, Hsiung C Agnes, Lau Eric HY, Leung Gabriel M
A comparative study of floristic composition, structure and pole diversity in two ecosystems at the 50k CPO-09 oil field in the Orinoco region of Colombia
Colombia, Especies amenazadas, Fragmentación, biodiversidad, bosques, conservación, ecología
A structure and composition study of poles in two wooded areas of Colombian Orinoquia totalling 10 465 hectares is presented. A 1: 10 000 scale map was made for mapping gallery forest and high dense forest from tierra firma, in order to implement a field stratified sampling, in which each sample unit is selected randomly. Data from 16 sampling units of 0.1 ha each from both ecosystems (for each of them) were collected, and included information about individuals with diameter at breast height(DBH) more than 10 cm and taking data of species, circumference at breast height (CBH), total height and height to crown base . Higher species richness was found in gallery forest with 81 species whereas tierra firma had 76. The latter however, had greater heterogeneity and a better vertical structure. Both ecosystems included the presence of 12 endangered species in different categories according to the Colombia red data book, Resolution 0192 of 2014 of Colombia, IUCN and CITES.
Universidad Distrital Francisco José de Caldas
http://revistas.udistrital.edu.co/ojs/index.php/colfor/article/view/5391
A Comparison of Infection Venues of COVID-19 Case Clusters in Northeast China
Case Report, Northeast China, cluster, COVID-19, infection location
The world has been suffering from the COVID-19 pandemic since late 2019. In this study, we compared various types of infection locations in which COVID-19 cases clustered, based on the data from three adjacent provinces in Northeast China. The collected data include all officially reported cases in this area until 8 March 2020. We explored the associations between the cases and the frequency of infection locations. The COVID-19 epidemic situation was worse in Heilongjiang Province than in Liaoning and Jilin Provinces. Most clustered cases occurred in individual families and/or between relatives. The transmission in public venues served as a hub for transmitting the disease to other families and results in new clusters. The public transport spread the infection over long distances by transporting infected individuals, and most infections did not seem to occur within vehicles. This field study shows the effect of indoor environments on SARS-CoV-2 transmission and our data may be useful in developing guidance for future disease prevention and control.
A Comparison of Whole Genome Sequencing of SARS-CoV-2 Using Amplicon-Based Sequencing, Random Hexamers, and Bait Capture
SARS-CoV-2, genome sequencing, amplicon sequencing, bait capture
Genome sequencing of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) is increasingly important to monitor the transmission and adaptive evolution of the virus. The accessibility of high-throughput methods and polymerase chain reaction (PCR) has facilitated a growing ecosystem of protocols. Two differing protocols are tiling multiplex PCR and bait capture enrichment. Each method has advantages and disadvantages but a direct comparison with different viral RNA concentrations has not been performed to assess the performance of these approaches. Here we compare Liverpool amplification, ARTIC amplification, and bait capture using clinical diagnostics samples. All libraries were sequenced using an Illumina MiniSeq with data analyzed using a standardized bioinformatics workflow (SARS-CoV-2 Illumina GeNome Assembly Line; SIGNAL). One sample showed poor SARS-CoV-2 genome coverage and consensus, reflective of low viral RNA concentration. In contrast, the second sample had a higher viral RNA concentration, which yielded good genome coverage and consensus. ARTIC amplification showed the highest depth of coverage results for both samples, suggesting this protocol is effective for low concentrations. Liverpool amplification provided a more even read coverage of the SARS-CoV-2 genome, but at a lower depth of coverage. Bait capture enrichment of SARS-CoV-2 cDNA provided results on par with amplification. While only two clinical samples were examined in this comparative analysis, both the Liverpool and ARTIC amplification methods showed differing efficacy for high and low concentration samples. In addition, amplification-free bait capture enriched sequencing of cDNA is a viable method for generating a SARS-CoV-2 genome sequence and for identification of amplification artifacts.
Robert A. Kozak, Jalees A. Nasir, Patryk Aftanas, Amogelang R. Raphenya, Kendrick M. Smith, Finlay Maguire, Hassaan Maan, Muhannad Alruwaili, Arinjay Banerjee, Hamza Mbareche, Brian P. Alcock, Natalie C. Knox, Karen Mossman, Bo Wang, Julian A. Hiscox, Andrew G. McArthur, Samira Mubareka
A compartment modeling approach to reconstruct and analyze gender and age-grouped CoViD-19 Italian data for decision-making strategies.
Epidemic, covid-19, SIRD-model, decision making, Compartment modeling, Stratified analysis
Available national public data are often too incomplete and noisy to be used directly to interpret the evolution of epidemics over time, which is essential for making timely and appropriate decisions. The use of compartment models can be a worthwhile and attractive approach to address this problem. The present study proposes a model compartmentalized by sex and age groups that allows for more complete information on the evolution of the CoViD-19 pandemic in Italy. Italian public data on CoViD-19 were pre-treated with a 7-day moving average filter to reduce noise. A time-varying susceptible-infected-recovered-deceased (SIRD) model distributed by age and sex groups was then proposed. Recovered and infected individuals distributed by groups were reconstructed through the SIRD model, which was also used to simulate and identify optimal scenarios of pandemic containment by vaccination. The simulation started from realistic initial conditions based on the SIRD model parameters, estimated from filtered and reconstructed Italian data, at different pandemic times and phases. The following three objective functions, accounting for total infections, total deaths, and total quality-adjusted life years (QALYs) lost, were minimized by optimizing the percentages of vaccinated individuals in five different age groups. The developed SIRD model clearly highlighted those pandemic phases in which younger people, who had more contacts and lower mortality, infected older people, characterized by a significantly higher mortality, especially in males. Optimizing vaccination strategies yielded different results depending on the cost function used. As expected, to reduce total deaths, the suggested strategy was to vaccinate the older age groups, whatever the baseline scenario. In contrast, for QALYs lost and total infections, the optimal vaccine solutions strongly depended on the initial pandemic conditions: during phases of high virus diffusion, the model suggested to vaccinate mainly younger groups with a higher contact rate. Because of the poor quality and insufficient availability of stratified public pandemic data, ad hoc information filtering and reconstruction procedures proved essential. The time-varying SIRD model, stratified by age and sex groups, provided insights and additional information on the dynamics of CoViD-19 infection in Italy, also supporting decision making for containment strategies such as vaccination.
Alessandra Cartocci, Gabriele Cevenini, Paolo Barbini
A Competitividade da Cadeia Produtiva de Orgânicos para Agricultura Familiar
Os anos 70 foram marcados pelo processo de modernização da agricultura, da transformação do complexo rural no chamado Complexo agroindustrial. Atividades como a agricultura orgânica apresentam-se como crescente tendência em alguns países, inclusive no Brasil, sendo a agricultura familiar responsável por grande parte da produção. No entanto, a competitividade da cadeia produtiva de produtos orgânicos fundamenta-se em estratégias de diferenciação de produtos e o grande desafio consiste na capacidade de criação, principalmente, de um ambiente institucional que possibilite melhor coordenação entre os agentes e, conseqüente ganho de competitividade para a cadeia. O presente trabalho visa analisar este ambiente e outros fatores que de forma direta ou indireta afetam a competitividade da cadeia produtiva de orgânicos, por meio do paradigma clássico proposto pela economia industrial. Em primeiro instante este aborda breve contexto sobre cadeia de produção e conceitos sobre competitividade, seguido por discussão acerca da cadeia produtiva a fim de analisar a competitividade da mesma no setor em questão.
Caroline Sales Arruda, Tiago Ricardo Ribeiro, Diana Marques dos Anjos
http://periodicoscientificos.ufmt.br/ojs/index.php/res/article/view/225
A competitividade da produção de leite da agricultura familiar: os limites da exclusão
O resumo deste artigo não está diponível.
Antônio Márcio Buainain, Raquel Pereira de Souza
Universidade Federal Rural do Rio de Janeiro
https://revistaesa.com/ojs/index.php/esa/article/view/370
Agriculture (General), Agricultural industries, Land use