Mitigating human-induced emissions in Argentina : role of renewables, income, globalization, and financial development

Author's accepted version (postprint).This is an Accepted Manuscript of an article published by Springer in Environmental Science and Pollution Research on 15/07/2021.Available online: https://link.springer.com/content/pdf/10.1007/s11356-021-14830-5.pdfacceptedVersio

Community Perspectives Associated With the African PsA-TT (MenAfriVac) Vaccine Trials.

BACKGROUND: The Meningitis Vaccine Project (MVP) was established to address epidemic meningitis as a public health problem in sub-Saharan Africa and, to that end, worked to develop a group A meningococcal conjugate vaccine, PsA-TT. METHODS: Experiences in 4 clinical trial sites are described. Culturally sensitive collaborative strategies were adopted to manage acceptable communication methods, peculiarities with the consent process, participant medical issues, community care, and death. RESULTS: The clinical trials were completed successfully through community acceptance and active community collaboration. The trials also strengthened the capacities in the participating communities, and actively worked to resolve community problems. CONCLUSIONS: The understanding and integration of sociocultural realities of communities were major assets in the conduct and acceptance of these trials. MVP succeeded in these sites and provided a sound example for future clinical studies in Africa. CLINICAL TRIALS REGISTRATION: ISRTCN78147026 (PsA-TT 002); ISRCTN87739946 (PsA-TT 003); ISRCTN82484612 (PsA-TT 004); PACTR ATMR2010030001913177 (PsA-TT 006); and PACTR201110000328305 (PsA-TT 007)

Pneumococcal Antibody Concentrations and Carriage of Pneumococci more than 3 Years after Infant Immunization with a Pneumococcal Conjugate Vaccine

BACKGROUND: A 9-valent pneumococcal conjugate vaccine (PCV-9), given in a 3-dose schedule, protected Gambian children against pneumococcal disease and reduced nasopharyngeal carriage of pneumococci of vaccine serotypes. We have studied the effect of a booster or delayed primary dose of 7-valent conjugate vaccine (PCV-7) on antibody and nasopharyngeal carriage of pneumococci 3-4 years after primary vaccination. METHODOLOGY/PRINCIPAL FINDINGS: We recruited a subsample of children who had received 3 doses of either PCV-9 or placebo (controls) into this follow-up study. Pre- and post- PCV-7 pneumococcal antibody concentrations to the 9 serotypes in PCV-9 and nasopharyngeal carriage of pneumococci were determined before and at intervals up to 18 months post-PCV-7. We enrolled 282 children at a median age of 45 months (range, 38-52 months); 138 had received 3 doses of PCV-9 in infancy and 144 were controls. Before receiving PCV-7, a high proportion of children had antibody concentrations >0.35 µg/mL to most of the serotypes in PCV-9 (average of 75% in the PCV-9 and 66% in the control group respectively). The geometric mean antibody concentrations in the vaccinated group were significantly higher compared to controls for serotypes 6B, 14, and 23F. Antibody concentrations were significantly increased to serotypes in the PCV-7 vaccine both 6-8 weeks and 16-18 months after PCV-7. Antibodies to serotypes 6B, 9V and 23F were higher in the PCV-9 group than in the control group 6-8 weeks after PCV-7, but only the 6B difference was sustained at 16-18 months. There was no significant difference in nasopharyngeal carriage between the two groups. CONCLUSIONS/SIGNIFICANCE: Pneumococcal antibody concentrations in Gambian children were high 34-48 months after a 3-dose primary infant vaccination series of PCV-9 for serotypes other than serotypes 1 and 18C, and were significantly higher than in control children for 3 of the 9 serotypes. Antibody concentrations increased after PCV-7 and remained raised for at least 18 months

Antibody Persistence 1-5 Years Following Vaccination With MenAfriVac in African Children Vaccinated at 12-23 Months of Age.

BACKGROUND: Following mass vaccination campaigns in the African meningitis belt with group A meningococcal conjugate vaccine, MenAfriVac (PsA-TT), disease due to group A meningococci has nearly disappeared. Antibody persistence in healthy African toddlers was investigated. METHODS: African children vaccinated at 12-23 months of age with PsA-TT were followed for evaluation of antibody persistence up to 5 years after primary vaccination. Antibody persistence was evaluated by measuring group A serum bactericidal antibody (SBA) with rabbit complement and by a group A-specific IgG enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA). RESULTS: Group A antibodies measured by SBA and ELISA were shown to decline in the year following vaccination and plateaued at levels significantly above baseline for up to 5 years following primary vaccination. CONCLUSIONS: A single dose of PsA-TT induces long-term sustained levels of group A meningococcal antibodies for up to 5 years after vaccination. CLINICAL TRIALS REGISTRATION: ISRTCN78147026

Ethical Challenges and Lessons Learned During the Clinical Development of a Group A Meningococcal Conjugate Vaccine.

BACKGROUND: The group A meningococcal vaccine (PsA-TT) clinical development plan included clinical trials in India and in the West African region between 2005 and 2013. During this period, the Meningitis Vaccine Project (MVP) accumulated substantial experience in the ethical conduct of research to the highest standards. METHODS: Because of the public-private nature of the sponsorship of these trials and the extensive international collaboration with partners from a diverse setting of countries, the ethical review process was complex and required strategic, timely, and attentive communication to ensure the smooth review and approval for the clinical studies. Investigators and their site teams fostered strong community relationships prior to, during, and after the studies to ensure the involvement and the ownership of the research by the participating populations. As the clinical work proceeded, investigators and sponsors responded to specific questions of informed consent, pregnancy testing, healthcare, disease prevention, and posttrial access. RESULTS: Key factors that led to success included (1) constant dialogue between partners to explore and answer all ethical questions; (2) alertness and preparedness for emerging ethical questions during the research and in the context of evolving international ethics standards; and (3) care to assure that approaches were acceptable in the diverse community contexts. CONCLUSIONS: Many of the ethical issues encountered during the PsA-TT clinical development are familiar to groups conducting field trials in different cultural settings. The successful approaches used by the MVP clinical team offer useful examples of how these problems were resolved. CLINICAL TRIALS REGISTRATION: ISRCTN17662153 (PsA-TT-001); ISRTCN78147026 (PsA-TT-002); ISRCTN87739946 (PsA-TT-003); ISRCTN46335400 (PsA-TT-003a); ISRCTN82484612 (PsA-TT-004); CTRI/2009/091/000368 (PsA-TT-005); PACTR ATMR2010030001913177 (PsA-TT-006); PACTR201110000328305 (PsA-TT-007)

Investigating the Causal Linkage Among Economic Growth, Energy Consumption and CO2 Emissions in Thailand: An Application of the Wavelet Coherence Approach

The study aims to explore the causal linkage between CO2 emissions, economic growth and energy consumption in Thailand utilizing the wavelet coherence approach, conventional Granger and the Toda-Yamamoto causality techniques. In this study, In this study, time-series data spanning the period between 1971 and 2018 were used. No prior study has used the wavelet coherence approach to collect information on the association and causal interrelationship among these economic variables at different frequencies and timeframes in Thailand. The study objectives are structured to answer the following question: Does economic growth and energy consumption lead to CO2 emissions in Thailand?. The findings revealed that: (a) Changes in economic growth led to changes in CO2 emissions in Thailand at different frequencies (different scales) between 1971 and 2018. (b) A bidirectional causal relationship between CO2 emissions and energy consumption. (c) A positive correlation between CO2 emissions and energy usage in the short and long-run between 1971 and 2018. (d) A positive correlation between GDP growth and CO2 emissions in the short and long-run between 1971 and 2018. The study suggested that Thailand should initiate stronger policies towards enhancing the efficiency of energy and energy-usage programs to minimize unnecessary energy waste

Coal Consumption and Environmental Sustainability in South Africa: The role of Financial Development and Globalization

This paper aims to investigate coal consumption and environmental sustainability in South Africa by examining the role of financial development and globalization by using a dataset covering the period from 1980 to 2017. The study utilized the Auto-regressive Distributed Lag Model (ARDL) approach in addition to the Bayer and Hank combined co-integration, fully modified Ordinary least squares (FMOLS), and Dynamic ordinary least Squares (DOLS). The study further utilized the frequency domain causality test to capture the causal linkage between the series. The advantage of the frequency domain causality is that it can capture causal linkages between series at different periods. The Bayer and Hanck co-integration and ARDL bounds tests reveal co-integration among the series. The empirical findings based on the ARDL long-run estimation reveal that a 1% increase in coal consumption increases environmental degradation by 1.077%, while a 1% increase in financial development decreases the environmental degradation by 0.973%. Furthermore, a 1% increase in economic growth decreases environmental quality by 1.449%. The outcomes of the FMOLS and DOLS approaches also provide supportive evidence for the ARDL long-run results. Furthermore, the results of the frequency domain causality test reveal that at a significance level of 1%, coal consumption Granger causes CO2 emissions at different frequencies, while financial development Granger causes CO2 emissions in the long run and short run at a significance level of 10%. In terms of policy suggestions, South Africa should embrace policies that encourage energy consumers to shift toward renewable energy. Furthermore, financial reforms should be implemented to curb environmental degradatio

A consort diagram indicating number of study participants per study group and visit.

<p>A consort diagram indicating number of study participants per study group and visit.</p

Proportions of children aged 3–4 years with antibody concentration ≥0.35 µg/mL before and after vaccination with PCV-7.

<p>*P value = 0.0009 before Holm's correction for multiple significance tests.</p><p>**P value = 0.0001 before Holm's correction for multiple significance tests.</p>†<p>P value = 0.037 before Holm's correction for multiple significance tests.</p>‡<p>P value = 0.043 before Holm's correction for multiple significance tests.</p