The HTAP_v3 emission mosaic: merging regional and global monthly emissions (2000–2018) to support air quality modelling and policies

This study, performed under the umbrella of the Task Force on Hemispheric Transport of Air Pollution (TF-HTAP), responds to the global and regional atmospheric modelling community's need of a mosaic emission inventory of air pollutants that conforms to specific requirements: global coverage, long time series, spatially distributed emissions with high time resolution, and a high sectoral resolution. The mosaic approach of integrating official regional emission inventories based on locally reported data, with a global inventory based on a globally consistent methodology, allows modellers to perform simulations of high scientific quality while also ensuring that the results remain relevant to policymakers. HTAP-v3, an ad hoc global mosaic of anthropogenic inventories, has been developed by integrating official inventories over specific areas (North America, Europe, Asia including Japan and South Korea) with the independent Emissions Database for Global Atmospheric Research (EDGAR) inventory for the remaining world regions. The results are spatially and temporally distributed emissions of SO2, NOx, CO, non-methane volatile organic compounds (NMVOCs), NH3, PM10, PM2.5, black carbon (BC), and organic carbon (OC), with a spatial resolution of 0.1° × 0.1° and time intervals of months and years, covering the period 2000-2018 (10.5281/zenodo.7516361, Crippa, 2023, https://edgar.jrc.ec.europa.eu/dataset-htap-v3, last access: June 2023). The emissions are further disaggregated into 16 anthropogenic emitting sectors. This paper describes the methodology applied to develop such an emission mosaic, reports on source allocation, differences among existing inventories, and best practices for the mosaic compilation. One of the key strengths of the HTAP-v3 emission mosaic is its temporal coverage, enabling the analysis of emission trends over the past 2 decades. The development of a global emission mosaic over such long time series represents a unique product for global air quality modelling and for better-informed policymaking, reflecting the community effort expended by the TF-HTAP to disentangle the complexity of transboundary transport of air pollution

Efficacy Of The Quadrivalent HPV Vaccine In Cervical Cancer Prevention Strategy In The Gambia

Background and Objective: Persistent infection with high risk Human Papillomavirus (HR HPV) genotype causes 80% of cervical cancers. HR HPV 16 and 18 are responsible for 70% of cervical cancer cases, worldwide. Three prophylactic HPV vaccines have been developed to prevent HPV infections. In the Gambia, cervical cancer is the most frequent diagnosed cancer representing approximately 30% of all female cancers. The quadrivalent HPV vaccine, which targets genotypes 16,18, 6 and 11 was recently piloted in the West Coast Region where majority of cervical cancer cases were reported. In order to evaluate the potential efficacy of the quadrivalent vaccine, this study assessed regional genotype distribution to ensure the HPV vaccine prevention strategy would be effective in this population. Methods: 232 endocervical samples were collected from women age 20-49 years old residing in Banjul and West Coast Region. DNA was isolated using the QIAamp DNA Mini Kit (Qiagen). HPV detection was carried out by PCR amplification using primer sets PGMY09/11, which targets the (L1) Major capsid gene of the virus. Genotyping was performed by Sanger sequencing technique. Results: nine different HR- HPV genotypes were identified. HPV 52 (31%) was the most prevalent HR genotype, followed by 51, 58 and 66(each12.5%). HPV 16 accounts for 6% of the HR-HPV and was the eighth of all HPV genotype identified. HR- HPV 18 was not detected in any of the samples. HR-HPV distribution was higher in the 26-30 age group.HPV 61 was the most common low risk genotype isolated. Sequence analysis showed all HR genotypes detected were not homologous to African isolates but isolates that originated from America, Europe and Asia. Conclusion: The success of a cervical cancer vaccine prevention strategy should consider the dominant circulating HR HPV type. In the Gambia, the vaccine currently available may be of limited value if the other HR-HPV types are responsible for cytological abnormalities in these women

A Preliminary Report: Cervical Human Papilloma Virus Genotype Distribution in Reproductive Aged Women Attending Primary Health Care in Urban Gambia

Persistent infection with high risk genotypes of Human Papilloma Virus (HPV) plays a vital role in the development of most cervical cancers and Cervical Intraepithelial Neoplasia (CIN) among sexually active women worldwide. In the Gambia, cervical cancer is the most frequently diagnosed cancer amongst Gambian women representing about 30% of all registered female cancers. The bivalent HPV vaccine, which targets HPV genotypes 16 and 18, was introduced in urban Gambia in 2014. The aim of this study was to determine HPV genotype distribution and the risk factors associated with HPV infections in the urban population and to determine the efficacy of the bivalent vaccine in this population. Sexually active reproductive women (N= 178; 20 - 49 years old) attending a polyclinic were enrolled in the study. A designed questionnaire was administered to capture socio-demographic and behavioural risk factors of study participants. Endocervical and high vaginal swabs were collected to determine HPV genotype distribution and co-infection with other genital STI pathogens. HPV and sample adequacy was determined using the consensus primers PGMY09/11 targeting the late protein (L1) gene and the Histocompatibility leucocyte antigen (HLA) housekeeping gene. HPV genotyping was performed by DNA sequencing on positive HPV samples. Genital STI pathogens were identified by Microbiological analysis and Molecular detection. HPV infection rate was 12.4% and was most prevalence in women between the ages of 31 -39 years old. Overall, 22 HPV genotypes were detected and the most prevalent high risk genotype was HPV 52. About 60% of participants infected with HPV were co-infected with Ureaplasma urealyticum. Bivariate analysis shows that infection with Ureaplasma urealyticum, early sexual debut, Low level of education, female circumcision and having >3 life time sexual partners were all risk factors for HPV infection but not associated significantly with HPV (p > 0.05). This study is the first study carried out in urban Gambia and has demonstrated that the bivalent vaccine might not be adequate to protect this population from HPV infection as most high risk genotypes identified in this study are not targeted by the bivalent vaccine

Energy Use in the EU Food Sector: State of Play and Opportunities for Improvement

The food sector is a major consumer of energy: the amount of energy necessary to cultivate, process, pack and bring the food to European citizens’ tables accounts for 17 % of the EU’s gross energy consumption in 2013, equivalent to about 26 % of the EU’s final energy consumption in the same year. Agriculture, including crop cultivation and animal rearing, is the most energy intense phase of the food system—accounting for nearly one third of the total energy consumed in the food production chain. The second most important phase of the food life cycle is industrial processing, which accounts for 28% of total energy use. Together with logistics and packaging, these three phases of the food life cycle "beyond the farm gate" are responsible for nearly half of the total energy use in the food system. While the "end of life" phase including final disposal of food waste represents only slightly more than 5% of total energy use in the EU food system, food waste actually occurs at every step of the food chain. Given the large amounts of energy involved in food production, reducing food waste is an important vector for improving the overall energy efficiency of the food system. Different food products need very different amounts of energy per unit of mass depending on their nature, their origin and the kind of processing they have been subjected to. Refined products and products of animal origin generally need an amount of energy several times larger than vegetables, fruits and cereal products. While the EU has made important progress in incorporating renewable energy across the economy, the share of renewables in the food system remains relatively small. Renewables accounted for just 7% of the energy used in food production and consumption in 2013 compared to 15% in the overall energy mix. Renewables more limited penetration is largely a reflection of the high reliance of the food sector of fossil fuels. Overall, fossil fuels account for almost 79% of the energy consumed by the food sector compared to 72% of overall energy consumption. The relatively low share of renewables in the food sector is also linked to the fact that about one fifth of food consumed in the EU is imported from regions outside the EU where the renewable share is generally lower than 15%. Building on these results, the report discusses the way ahead and highlights the main challenges to be faced in decreasing the energy use and in increasing the renewable energy share in the food sector. Sectoral literature reviews present solutions offered by science and technology and industrial case studies and EU-funded research projects show their practical application. Although energy efficiency in agriculture production is steadily improving with direct energy consumption per hectare declining by about 1% every year in the last two decades, addressing the challenge of decoupling agriculture productivity from energy consumption and GHG emissions will require an array of responses across the food system. Energy, especially in the form of indirect energy used for fertilisers and pesticides or irrigation, remains a crucial input for cultivation success but huge improvements are possible. More efficient fertiliser production technology and avoiding unnecessary fertiliser applications through properly designed cultivation practices are expected to complement each other and play a major role in decreasing indirect energy inputs to agriculture. In this sense, considerable experience and data exist for organic farming, no-tillage and integrated farming especially designed to minimise energy and material inputs. European farmers are already leading the way in this transition, for example, through efforts to increase the use of renewable energy in agricultural production. Thanks to investments in farm-based renewable technologies like biogas, farmers have the potential to not only become energy self-sufficient, but also to make a major contribution to EU energy production while reducing GHG emissions. The EU food industry is also making important contributions to make their activities more sustainable, through both increased investment in renewable energy and energy efficiency improvements. The food industry's energy consumption from 2005-13 has declined, both in absolute terms as well as in terms of energy intensity, producing more while using less energy. Several food processing industries are also exploring the possibility of recovering the energy contained in food residues on site, through biogas production or in dedicated combined heat and power plants. Energy efficiency in food transport is pursued through two possible pathways: improving the energy performance of the transportation systems and decreasing or optimising the amount of transportation itself. Trade-offs are also to be considered: while it is generally true that food travelling long distances embeds more energy than locally originated food, several studies reveal that the issue needs to be carefully assessed on a case-by-case approach, for example in case of vegetables. Consumers also have an important role to play as everyday decisions about food consumption can effect of the amount of energy required by food by as much as a factor of four. Potential actions consumers can take to reduce their energy "food print" include: reducing meat consumption, buying locally and seasonally, as well as reducing food waste and substituting organic food when possible. Policy design reflects the complexity of the challenge: in the EU, a large portfolio of policies and political initiatives have already been deployed and other are going to be adopted, resulting in an important combined effect for the overall energy profile of food production. EU policies such as the Renewable Energy Directive and the Energy Efficiency Directive have helped set the stage for a transition to a more sustainable food system, but do not directly target the food production process. The EU's Common Agriculture Policy also plays an important role, in particular through incentivising investments in more sustainable farming methods, as well as the rural development programme which aims to "facilitate the supply and use of renewable sources of energy.