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Poor air quality (PAQ) is a global concern, especially in urban areas, and is often seen as an important element of social sustainability given its negative impact on health and quality of life. However, little research has been undertaken in cities of the developing world to explore how residents perceive poor air quality, its main causes, what control measures should be used to address PAQ and where the main responsibility rests for implementing control measures. The research described in this paper sought to address these points, using a questionnaire-based survey (n = 262) in Nigeria’s federal capital city of Abuja (n = 137) and the state-capital city of Enugu (n = 125). The survey took place during the COVID-19 pandemic (October 2020 to March 2021), and was stratified to ensure representation across a number of demographic groups such as gender, age, education and income. The results were analysed using the Kruskal–Wallis non-parametric test and Hochberg’s post hoc test available in SPSS version 28. The study found that the ranking of perceptual indicators and the main causes of PAQ had much agreement between respondents from both cities and between demographic groups. Smoke, odour and dust particles were perceived to be the most important indicators of PAQ, while the main sources of PAQ were waste and bush burning, vehicle use and power generators. The two most preferred control measures were proper waste management and the avoidance of bush burning. However, there was a significant difference between the two cities in terms of the main organisations responsible for addressing PAQ, with respondents from Abuja citing the federal government, while those from Enugu cited the state government. Interestingly, younger people in Enugu noted that the government should take more responsibility in controlling PAQ than did the older demographic in that city, but this difference was not seen in Abuja. Overall, this study reveals that residents in these two Nigerian cities clearly recognise their exposure to PAQ and it suggests that these perceptual indicators, and views on sources and interventions should be central to designing policies to control this important issue.

EntREsilience, a five-country longitudinal qualitative study, was launched in 2020 in China, Malaysia, the Philippines, Thailand and the UK to understand how entrepreneurs manifested resilience in response to the COVID-19 pandemic crisis events from March 2020 to February 2022. EntREsilience proposed a resilience-manifestation process model describing how entrepreneurs responded to the COVID-19 disruption, aided by external and internal enablers, adjusting their businesses to stabilise and even hunting for opportunities to grow their businesses. The present research adds to the findings of EntREsilience by analysing the strategies applied by entrepreneurs in their response to the crisis. This exploratory study focused on the entrepreneurs’ community interactions and studied the effects of these interactions on the response measures adopted by the entrepreneurs. The results describe how the awareness of their stakeholder challenges shaped the entrepreneurial response. Realising the importance of stakeholder well-being to the sustainability of their enterprise motivated the entrepreneurs to develop sustainability competencies towards their stakeholder challenges, innovating solutions for their mutual well-being. By extending the resilience-manifestation process model, this paper proposes a transformation model depicting the process of entrepreneurs transforming into sustainable leaders triggered by stakeholder challenge awareness and moderated by contextual factors.

Presently, computational thinking (CT) is considered necessary for adapting to the future. Concurrently, the COVID-19 pandemic has accentuated the demand for strengthening Environmental Education as a means to improve sustainability and stimulate environmental protection and public health. Having in mind that CT does not concern only technocrats but also applies in solving everyday problems, we introduce the novel idea of the synergistic learning of CT and Environmental Study. Thus, our research aim is to explore the correlation between algorithmic thinking (AT), as a fundamental CT competency, and educational achievements in the Environmental Study course during the early primary school years. Towards this end, we implemented a quantitative research study, employing an innovative assessment framework we propose. The adoption of cluster sampling eventuated in a sample of 435 students. The exploitation of ordinal logistic regression analysis and machine learning method validated the correlation of the two fields and pointed out that AT levels constitute a predictive factor for performance in the Environmental Study course and vice versa. These results support the novel idea of concurrently cultivating environmental consciousness and CT and build a robust base for future studies that will focus on providing an ecological reflection on CT activities.

AbstractPreviously, a native homoethanol pathway was engineered in Escherichia coli B by deletions of competing pathway genes and anaerobic expression of pyruvate dehydrogenase (PDH encoded by aceEF-lpd). The resulting ethanol pathway involves glycolysis, PDH, and alcohol dehydrogenase (AdhE). The E. coli B-derived ethanologenic strain SZ420 was then further improved for ethanol tolerance (up to 40 g l−1 ethanol) through adaptive evolution. However, the resulting ethanol tolerant mutant, SZ470, was still unable to complete fermentation of 75 g l−1 xylose, even though the theoretical maximum ethanol titer would have been less than 40 g l−1 should the fermentation have reached completion. In this study, the cra (encoding for a catabolite repressor activator) and the HSR2 region of rng (encoding for RNase G) were deleted from SZ470 in order to improve xylose fermentation. Deletion of the HSR2 domain resulted in significantly increased mRNA levels (47-fold to 409-fold) of multiple glycolytic genes (pgi, tpiA, gapA, eno), as well as the engineered ethanol pathway genes (aceEF-lpd, adhE) and the transcriptional regulator Fnr (fnr). The higher adhE mRNA level resulted in increased AdhE activity (>twofold). Although not measured, the increase of other mRNAs might also enhance expressions of their encoding proteins. The increased enzymes would then enable the resulting strain, RM10, to achieve increased cell growth and complete fermentation of 75 g l−1 xylose with an 84% improved ethanol titer (35 g l−1), compared to that (19 g l−1) obtained by the parent, SZ470. However, deletion of cra resulted in a negative impact on cell growth and xylose fermentation, suggesting that Cra is important for long-term fermentative cell growth.

ABSTRACTBackgroundDuring a COVID-19 outbreak in the congregate shelter system in Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada, a multidisciplinary health care team provided an emergency “safe supply” of pharmaceutical-grade medications and beverage-grade alcohol to facilitate isolation in COVID-19 hotel shelters for residents who are dependent on these substances. We aimed to evaluate (a) substances and dosages provided, and (b) effectiveness and safety of the program.MethodsWe retrospectively reviewed medical records of all COVID-19 isolation hotel shelter residents during May 2021. We extracted data on medication and alcohol dosages provided each day. The primary outcome was residents prematurely leaving isolation against public health orders. Adverse events included (a) overdose; (b) intoxication; and (c) diversion, selling, or sharing of medications or alcohol.ResultsOver 25 days, 77 isolation hotel residents were assessed (mean age 42 ± 14 years; 24% women). Sixty-two (81%) residents were provided medications, alcohol, or cigarettes. Seventeen residents (22%) received opioid agonist treatment medications (methadone, buprenorphine, or slow-release oral morphine) and 27 (35%) received hydromorphone tablets. Thirty-one (40%) residents received stimulant tablets with methylphenidate (27; 35%), dextroamphetamine (8; 10%), or lisdexamfetamine (2; 3%). Six residents (8%) received benzodiazepines. Forty-two (55%) residents received alcohol, including 41 (53%) with strong beer, three (3%) with wine, and one (1%) with hard liquor. Over 14 days in isolation, mean daily dosages increased of hydromorphone (45 ± 32 to 57 ± 42mg), methylphenidate (51 ± 28 to 77 ± 37mg), dextroamphetamine (33 ± 16 to 46 ± 13mg), and alcohol (12.3 ± 7.6 to 13.0 ± 6.9 standard drinks). Six residents (8%) left isolation prematurely, but four of those residents returned. Over 1,059 person-days in isolation, there were zero overdoses. Documented concerns regarding intoxication occurred six times (0.005 events/person-day) and medication diversion or sharing three times (0.003 events/person-day).ConclusionsAn emergency safe supply and managed alcohol program, paired with housing, was associated with low rates of adverse events and high rates of successful completion of the 14-day isolation period in COVID-19 isolation hotel shelters. This supports the effectiveness and safety of emergency safe supply prescribing and managed alcohol in this setting.

Abstract The fungal kingdom represents an extraordinary diversity of organisms with profound impacts across animal, plant, and ecosystem health. Fungi simultaneously support life, by forming beneficial symbioses with plants and producing life-saving medicines, and bring death, by causing devastating diseases in humans, plants, and animals. With climate change, increased antimicrobial resistance, global trade, environmental degradation, and novel viruses altering the impact of fungi on health and disease, developing new approaches is now more crucial than ever to combat the threats posed by fungi and to harness their extraordinary potential for applications in human health, food supply, and environmental remediation. To address this aim, the Canadian Institute for Advanced Research (CIFAR) and the Burroughs Wellcome Fund convened a workshop to unite leading experts on fungal biology from academia and industry to strategize innovative solutions to global challenges and fungal threats. This report provides recommendations to accelerate fungal research and highlights the major research advances and ideas discussed at the meeting pertaining to 5 major topics: (1) Connections between fungi and climate change and ways to avert climate catastrophe; (2) Fungal threats to humans and ways to mitigate them; (3) Fungal threats to agriculture and food security and approaches to ensure a robust global food supply; (4) Fungal threats to animals and approaches to avoid species collapse and extinction; and (5) Opportunities presented by the fungal kingdom, including novel medicines and enzymes.

Abstract Background Harmful substances in solid fuel and tobacco smoke are believed to enter the bloodstream via inhalation and to be metabolized in the liver, leading to chronic liver damage. However, little is known about the independent and joint effects of solid fuel use and smoking on risks of chronic liver disease (CLD) mortality. Methods During 2004–08, ∼0.5 million adults aged 30–79 years were recruited from 10 areas across China. During a 10-year median follow-up, 2461 CLD deaths were recorded. Multivariable Cox regression yielded adjusted hazard ratios (HRs) and 95% confidence intervals (CIs) for the individual associations of self-reported long-term cooking fuel and tobacco use with major CLD death. Results Overall, 49% reported solid fuel use and 26% smoked regularly. Long-term solid fuel use for cooking and current smoking were associated with higher risks of CLD deaths, with adjusted HRs of 1.26 (95% CI, 1.02–1.56) and 1.28 (1.13–1.44), respectively. Compared with never-smoking clean fuel users, the HRs were 1.41 (1.10–1.82) in never-smoking solid fuel users, 1.55 (1.17–2.06) in regular-smoking clean fuel users and 1.71 (1.32–2.20) in regular-smoking solid fuels users. Individuals who had switched from solid to clean fuels (1.07, 0.90–1.29; for median 14 years) and ex-regular smokers who stopped for non-medical reasons (1.16, 0.95–1.43; for median 10 years) had no evidence of excess risk of CLD deaths compared with clean fuel users and never-regular smokers, respectively. Conclusions Among Chinese adults, long-term solid fuel use for cooking and smoking were each independently associated with higher risks of CLD deaths. Individuals who had stopped using solid fuels or smoking had lower risks.