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Nearly three billion people in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs) rely on polluting fuels, resulting in millions of avoidable deaths annually. Polluting fuels also emit short-lived climate forcers and greenhouse gases (GHGs). Liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) and grid-based electricity are scalable alternatives to polluting fuels but have raised climate and health concerns. Here, we compare emissions and climate impacts of a business-as-usual household cooking fuel trajectory to four large-scale transitions to gas and/or grid electricity in 77 LMICs. We account for upstream and end-use emissions from gas and electric cooking, assuming electrical grids evolve according to the 2022 World Energy Outlook’s “Stated Policies” Scenario. We input the emissions into a reduced-complexity climate model to estimate radiative forcing and temperature changes associated with each scenario. We find full transitions to LPG and/or electricity decrease emissions from both well-mixed GHG and short-lived climate forcers, resulting in a roughly 5 millikelvin global temperature reduction by 2040. Transitions to LPG and/or electricity also reduce annual emissions of PM2.5 by over 6 Mt (99%) by 2040, which would substantially lower health risks from Household Air Pollution. Primary input data was collected from the following sources: Baseline household fuel choices - WHO household energy database (https://www.nature.com/articles/s41467-021-26036-x) End-use emissions - US EPA lifecycle assessment of household fuels (https://cfpub.epa.gov/si/si_public_record_report.cfm?dirEntryId=339679&Lab=NRMRL&simplesearch=0&showcriteria=2&sortby=pubDate&timstype=Published+Report&datebeginpublishedpresented) Upstream emissions - Argonne National Labs GREET Model (https://greet.es.anl.gov/index.php) Current and future population estimates - UNECA (http://data.un.org/Explorer.aspx?d=EDATA) Input data was processed by defining household fuel choice scenarios, estimating national household fuel consumption based on these scenarios, and applying fuel-specific emission factors to create country-specific emission pathways. These emission pathways were input into the FaIR model (https://zenodo.org/record/5513022#.Yt_jfHbMLb0) which generated additional data for each scenario including time series of pollution concentrations, radiative forcing, and temperature changes. All data is provided in CSV format. Nothing proprietary is required. 

The report “Effects of Air Temperature Modified by Vulnerability Factors” was prepared as a milestone by researchers in the EU Project EXHAUSTION*. This report summarises the evidence on the interactive effects of high air temperature and various vulnerability factors, including the environmental, socio-economic, and individual behavioral factors on heart- and lung-related deaths and diseases (cardiopulmonary mortality and morbidity) across Europe. The study was conducted at the city, small-area (e.g., municipalities), and individual level. The findings show a greater vulnerability to heat for people living in urban areas with dense population, high air pollution levels, low coverage of green spaces, as well as areas with low Gross Domestic Product. Moreover, people with chronic pre-existing diseases and the elderly were found to be at greater risk. The findings highlight the urgent need to improve the urban environment as well as the health status and living conditions in European cities to contrast the impacts of heat and future climate change. This report alerts stakeholders and policymakers that targeted climate change adaptation measures need to be considered to protect vulnerable population and thereby increase European resilience to climate change.

The ocean provides resources key to human health and well-being, including food, oxygen, livelihoods, blue spaces, and medicines. The global threat to these resources posed by accelerating ocean acidification is becoming increasingly evident as the world’s oceans absorb carbon dioxide emissions. While ocean acidification was initially perceived as a threat only to the marine realm, here we argue that it is also an emerging human health issue. Specifically, we explore how ocean acidification affects the quantity and quality of resources key to human health and well-being in the context of: (1) malnutrition and poisoning, (2) respiratory issues, (3) mental health impacts, and (4) development of medical resources. We explore mitigation and adaptation management strategies that can be implemented to strengthen the capacity of acidifying oceans to continue providing human health benefits. Importantly, we emphasize that the cost of such actions will be dependent upon the socioeconomic context; specifically, costs will likely be greater for socioeconomically disadvantaged populations, exacerbating the current inequitable distribution of environmental and human health challenges. Given the scale of ocean acidification impacts on human health and well-being, recognizing and researching these complexities may allow the adaptation of management such that not only are the harms to human health reduced but the benefits enhanced.

La récente série thématique sur les prestataires proches de la communauté publiée dans cette revue rassemble 14 articles provenant de contextes variés et qui utilisent une gamme de méthodes de recherche. La série illustre clairement l'accent renouvelé et l'enthousiasme suscité par le potentiel des prestataires proches de la communauté (CTC) dans la réalisation de la couverture sanitaire universelle et le soutien aux objectifs de développement durable. Cet éditorial aborde les thèmes clés qui ont émergé de cet ensemble de documents riches et variés et réfléchit aux implications pour la programmation fondée sur des données probantes. Nous sommes à une étape critique dans l'élaboration des programmes et des politiques de la CCT, ce qui nécessite la création et la communication de nouvelles connaissances pour assurer la sécurité, la durabilité, la qualité et l'accessibilité des services, ainsi que leurs liens avec le système de santé au sens large et les communautés desservies par les CCT. La reciente serie temática sobre proveedores cercanos a la comunidad publicada en esta revista reúne 14 artículos de diversos contextos y que utilizan una variedad de métodos de investigación. La serie ilustra claramente el renovado énfasis y entusiasmo sobre el potencial de los proveedores cercanos a la comunidad (CTC) para lograr la cobertura universal de salud y apoyar los objetivos de desarrollo sostenible. Este editorial analiza los temas clave que han surgido de este rico y variado conjunto de documentos y reflexiona sobre las implicaciones para la programación basada en la evidencia. Estamos en una etapa crítica en el desarrollo de la programación y la política de CTC, que requiere la creación y comunicación de nuevos conocimientos para garantizar la seguridad, la sostenibilidad, la calidad y la accesibilidad de los servicios, y sus vínculos tanto con el sistema de salud en general como con las comunidades a las que sirven los CTC. The recent thematic series on close-to-community providers published in this journal brings together 14 papers from a variety of contexts and that use a range of research methods. The series clearly illustrates the renewed emphasis and excitement about the potential of close-to-community (CTC) providers in realising universal health coverage and supporting the sustainable development goals. This editorial discusses key themes that have emerged from this rich and varied set of papers and reflect on the implications for evidence-based programming. We are at a critical stage in the development of CTC programming and policy which requires the creation and communication of new knowledge to ensure the safety, sustainability, quality and accessibility of services, and their links with both the broader health system and the communities that CTCs serve. تجمع السلسلة المواضيعية الأخيرة حول مقدمي الخدمات المقربين من المجتمع المنشورة في هذه المجلة 14 ورقة بحثية من مجموعة متنوعة من السياقات والتي تستخدم مجموعة من أساليب البحث. توضح السلسلة بوضوح التركيز والإثارة المتجددين حول إمكانات مقدمي الخدمات المقربين من المجتمع (CTC) في تحقيق التغطية الصحية الشاملة ودعم أهداف التنمية المستدامة. تناقش هذه الافتتاحية الموضوعات الرئيسية التي انبثقت عن هذه المجموعة الغنية والمتنوعة من الأوراق وتعكس الآثار المترتبة على البرمجة القائمة على الأدلة. نحن في مرحلة حرجة من تطوير برامج وسياسة مكافحة الإرهاب التي تتطلب إنشاء ونقل معارف جديدة لضمان سلامة الخدمات واستدامتها وجودتها وإمكانية الوصول إليها، وروابطها مع كل من النظام الصحي الأوسع والمجتمعات التي تخدمها مراكز مكافحة الإرهاب.

AbstractEbola virus disease outbreaks in animals (including humans and great apes) start with sporadic host switches from unknown reservoir species. The factors leading to such spillover events are little explored. Filoviridae viruses have a wide range of natural hosts and are unstable once outside hosts. Spillover events, which involve the physical transfer of viral particles across species, could therefore be directly promoted by conditions of host ecology and environment. In this report we outline a proof of concept that temporal fluctuations of a set of ecological and environmental variables describing the dynamics of the host ecosystem are able to predict such events of Ebola virus spillover to humans and animals. We compiled a dataset of climate and plant phenology variables and Ebola virus disease spillovers in humans and animals. We identified critical biotic and abiotic conditions for spillovers via multiple regression and neural networks based time series regression. Phenology variables proved to be overall better predictors than climate variables. African phenology variables are not yet available as a comprehensive online resource. Given the likely importance of phenology for forecasting the likelihood of future Ebola spillover events, our results highlight the need for cost-effective transect surveys to supply phenology data for predictive modelling efforts.

The present study aims to test the capability of our newly developed density-based solver, ExplosionFoam, for flame acceleration (FA) and deflagration-to-detonation transition (DDT) in mixtures with concentration gradients which is of important safety concern. The solver is based on the open source computational fluid dynamics (CFD) platform OpenFOAM® and uses the hydrogen-air single-step chemistry and the corresponding transport coefficients developed by the authors. Numerical simulations have been conducted for the experimental set up of Ettner et al. [7], which involves flame acceleration and DDT in both homogeneous hydrogen-air mixture as well as an inhomogeneous mixture with concentration gradients in an obstucted channel. The predictions demonstrate good quantitative agreement with the experimental measurements in flame tip position, speed and pressure profiles. Qualitatively, the numerical simulations have reproduced well the flame acceleration and DDT phenomena observed in the experiment. The results have revealed that in the computed cases, DDT is induced by the interaction of the precursor inert shock wave with the wall close to high hydrogen concentration rather than with the obstacle. Some vortex pairs appear ahead of the flame due to the interaction between the obstacles and the gas flow caused by combustion-induced expansion, but they soon disappear after the flame passes through them. Hydrogen cannot be completely consumed especially in the fuel rich region. This is of additional safety concern as the unburned hydrogen can be potentially re-ignited once more fresh air is available in an accidental scenario, resulting in subsequent explosions The authors gratefully acknowledge the financial support from the National Natural Science Foundation of China (Grant No. 51376174) and Key Laboratory of Building Fire Protection Engineering and Technology of MPS. The research is also partially supported by the return phase funding from the European Commission for the Marie Curie International Fellowships Grant "DETONATION— Advanced numerical study of flame acceleration and detonation in vapour cloud explosions (Grant No. 254658)".