Heat Waves: Health Effects, Observed Trends and Climate Change

According to climate change scenarios, the average annual temperature will increase by around 4°C if current trends continue. Maximum temperatures, however, have already registered higher values in different regions of the world, increasing the number, duration and intensity of heat waves. With the increase of maximum temperatures and the increase of significance of heat wave events, reports of mortality episodes due to heat effects have been increasing. According to the information from the Centre for Research on Epidemiology of Disasters (CRED), 5 of the 20 deadliest disasters between 1996 and 2015 were heat wave events. This chapter analyzes heat wave events, the criteria for determining dangerous temperature thresholds, as well as trends already observed, and those expected due to climate change. Heat wave events are correlated with observed increases on mortality rates, and recommendations are suggested to prevent their effects on human health

Laboratory simulations of fluid-induced seismicity, hydraulic fracture, and fluid flow

Fluid-induced seismicity has been observed and recorded for decades. Seismic energy necessarily requires a source, which is frequently related to rock fracture either in compression or tension. In both cases, such fracture may be promoted by crustal fluids. In this paper, we review some of the advances in the field of fluid-induced seismicity, with a particular focus on the use and application of new and innovative laboratory methods to better understand the complex, coupled, processes in shallow sub-surface energy extraction applications. We discuss the current state-of-the-art with specific reference to Thermal-Hydraulic-Coupling in volcanotectonic environments, which has a long history of fluid-driven seismic events linked to deep fluid movement. This ranges from local earthquakes to fluid-driven resonance, known as volcanic tremor. More recently so-called non-volcanic tremor has been identified in a range of scenarios where motion at an interface is primarily driven by fluids rather than significant stress release. Finally, we review rock fracture in the tensile regime which occurs naturally and in the engineered environment for developing fractures for the purpose of resource extraction, such as hydraulic fracturing in unconventional hydrocarbon industry or developing Hot-Dry-Rock geothermal reservoirs

EUNOIA

EUNOIA started in February 2020 with strategic plans in starting up a business. It aimed to create a product that is affordable, innovative, eco-friendly, and unique. It belonged to the accessory/bag industry. Eunoia offers tote bags for only 518 Pesos; when accessories are added, it is 618 Pesos (Power-bank included) or 678 Pesos (Alcohol Mist included). The accessories can be sold separately at 100 Pesos and 150 Pesos, respectively.EUNOIA’s product diversification, Calla Lily, is being sold for only 99 Pesos, using the vast digital platform and aims to support environmental and mental health awareness. It operated using sole proprietorship to let everyone work latest: John Benedict Young II as the Owner, John Eliquiel Jose Austria as the Operations Head, Emjel Mercado as the Marketing Head with Catherine Calixtro as the Marketing Officer and Quality Control Head, Katriel Santos as the Finance Head, and John Matthew Hilbero as the Human Resource Head. The market is vast as it is in Digital Marketing. The main competitors of EUNOIA are the 20 groups in the ABM Department. All of the total investment came from EUNOIA\u27s parents and, as of now, is at ₱ 36,000.00. EUNOIA’s expenses amounted to ₱ 71,776.50 as of March 15, 2021

Spontaneous mutation rate in the smallest photosynthetic eukaryotes

Mutation is the ultimate source of genetic variation, and knowledge of mutation rates is fundamental for our understanding of all evolutionary processes. High throughput sequencing of mutation accumulation lines has provided genome wide spontaneous mutation rates in a dozen model species, but estimates from nonmodel organisms from much of the diversity of life are very limited. Here, we report mutation rates in four haploid marine bacterial-sized photosynthetic eukaryotic algae; Bathycoccus prasinos, Ostreococcus tauri, Ostreococcus mediterraneus, and Micromonas pusilla. The spontaneous mutation rate between species varies from μ = 4.4 × 10−10 to 9.8 × 10−10 mutations per nucleotide per generation. Within genomes, there is a two-fold increase of the mutation rate in intergenic regions, consistent with an optimization of mismatch and transcription-coupled DNA repair in coding sequences. Additionally, we show that deviation from the equilibrium GC content increases the mutation rate by ∼2% to ∼12% because of a GC bias in coding sequences. More generally, the difference between the observed and equilibrium GC content of genomes explains some of the inter-specific variation in mutation rates

Falling through the social safety net? Analysing non‐take‐up of minimum income benefit and monetary social assistance in Austria

Non‐take‐up of means tested benefits is a widespread phenomenon in European welfare states. The paper assesses whether the reform that replaced the monetary social assistance benefit by the minimum income benefit in Austria in 2010/11 has succeeded in increasing take up rates. We use EU‐SILC register data together with the tax‐benefit microsimulation model EUROMOD/SORESI. The results show that the reform led to a significant decrease of non‐take‐up from 53 to 30% in terms of the number of households and from 51 to 30% in terms of expenditure. Following the three‐t's (threshold, trigger, and trade‐off) introduced by Van Oorschot, estimates of a two‐stage Heckman selection model as well as expert interviews indicate that the taken measures include both threshold and trade‐off characteristics. Elements such as the higher degree of anonymity within the claiming process, the provision of health insurance, binding minimum standards, the limitation of the maintenance obligations, new regulations related to the liquidation of wealth, as well as the general coverage of the benefit reform in the media and in public discussions led to an improved access to the benefit

Supplementation with Mixed Fruit and Vegetable Juice Concentrates Increased Serum Antioxidants and Folate in Healthy Adults

Objective: Epidemiological studies have shown that low plasma levels of antioxidant micronutrients, which are commonly found in fruit and vegetables, are associated with increased risk for diseases such as heart disease, cancer, metabolic disorders and the like. The aim of this study was to monitor the dietary habits of a group of healthy, middle-aged, men and women and to assess the effect of supplementation with a natural phytonutrient preparation from fruits and vegetables, on plasma levels of various antioxidant micronutrients and oxidative stress assessed by measuring 8-oxodGuo (8-oxo-7,8-dihydro-2Ј-deoxyguanosine) in urine. Methods: The study followed a double-blind randomized cross-over design involving 59 healthy men and women (40 -60 years of age). The supplement or a placebo was given to two groups for a total period of 14 weeks (crossover week 7). Blood levels of ␤-carotene, vitamin C, vitamin E, selenium and folate were measured at 0, 7 and 14 weeks. Fruit and vegetable consumption was monitored by means of a retrospective food frequency questionnaire at week 0, 7 and 14. Urinary 8-oxodGuo was also determined at these time points. Results: Significant increases in blood nutrient levels after active supplementation were observed for ␤-carotene, vitamin C, vitamin E, selenium and folate. Ranges measured, after supplementation, often fell into those associated with a reduced risk for disease. Our data suggests that, although generally health conscious, participants still fell short of the recommended five portions of fruit and vegetables per day. No significant group changes were noted for 8-oxodGuo concentration in urine. Conclusion: Supplementation with mixed fruit and vegetable juice concentrates effectively increased plasma levels of important antioxidant nutrients and folate

Incidence of maternal Toxoplasma infections in pregnancy in Upper Austria, 2000-2007

Sagel U, Krämer A, Mikolajczyk RT. Incidence of maternal Toxoplasma infections in pregnancy in Upper Austria, 2000-2007. BMC Infectious Diseases. 2011;11(1): 348.UNLABELLED: ABSTRACT: BACKGROUND: Despite three decades of prenatal screening program for toxoplasmosis in Austria, population-based estimates for the incidence of maternal infections with Toxoplasma gondii during pregnancy are lacking. We studied the incidence of primary maternal infections during pregnancy in the Federal State of Upper Austria. METHODS: Screening tests for 63,416 women and over 90,000 pregnancies (more than 84.5% of pregnancies in the studied region) in the time period between 01.01.2000 and 31.12.2007 were analysed. The incidence of toxoplasmosis was estimated indirectly by binomial and directly by interval censored regression. RESULTS: During the studied period, 66 acute infections (risk of 0.07% per pregnancy) were detected, but only 29.8% of seronegative women were tested at least three times during their pregnancies. The seroprevalence of Toxoplasma antibodies among all tested women was 31%. Indirectly estimated incidence (from differences in prevalence by age) was 0.5% per pregnancy, while directly estimated incidence (interval censored regression) was 0.17% per pregnancy (95% confidence interval: 0.13-0.21%). CONCLUSIONS: Calculating incidence from observed infections results in severe underreporting due to many missed tests and potential diagnostic problems. Using statistical modelling, we estimated primary toxoplasmosis to occur in 0.17% (0.13-0.21%) of all pregnancies in Upper Austria

Efectos de los estrógenos como contaminantes emergentes en la salud y el ambiente

Los contaminantes emergentes son sustancias que tienen el potencial de dañar al ser humano, flora y fauna, y no están regulados por la legislación. Los estrógenos son parte de esta definición, es decir, contaminantes emergentes, que cuando incrementan su concentración en el ser humano o el ambiente causan daño. Los seres humanos están expuestos a concentraciones altas de estrógenos debido a su uso como parte de terapias de reemplazo hormonal o métodos anticonceptivos. Flora y fauna están expuestas a los estrógenos cuando se incorporan al ambiente por descargas de agua residual municipal, efluentes de plantas de tratamiento o por escurrimientos con desechos de la ganadería y otras actividades pecuarias. En este trabajo se presenta una revisión del estado del conocimiento sobre los efectos de los estrógenos en los seres humanos y la vida silvestre. Asimismo, se identifican el origen antropogénico, presencia y características de los estrógenos en el ambiente. Por último, se señalan algunos procesos de tratamiento para reducir o eliminar los estrógenos del agua

smokeSALUD: exploring the effect of demographic change on the smoking prevalence at municipality level in Austria

Background: Reducing the smoking population is still high on the policy agenda, as smoking leads to many preventable diseases, such as lung cancer, heart disease, diabetes, and more. In Austria, data on smoking prevalence only exists at the federal state level. This provides an interesting overview about the current health situation, but for regional planning authorities these data are often insufficient as they can hide pockets of high and low smoking prevalence in certain municipalities. Methods: This paper presents a spatial-temporal change of estimated smokers for municipalities from 2001 and 2011. A synthetic dataset of smokers is built by combining individual large-scale survey data and small area census data using a deterministic spatial microsimulation approach. Statistical analysis, including chi-square test and binary logistic regression, are applied to find the best variables 24 for the simulation model and to validate its results. Results: As no easy-to-use spatial microsimulation software for non-programmers is available yet, a flexible web-based spatial microsimulation application for health decision support (called simSALUD) has been developed and used for these analyses. The results of the simulation show in general a decrease of smoking prevalence within municipalities between 2001 and 2011 and 29 differences within areas are identified. These results are especially valuable to policy decision makers for future planning strategies. Conclusions: This case study shows the application of smokeSALUD to model the spatial-temporal changes in the smoking population in Austria between 2001 and 2011. This is important as no data on smoking exists at this geographical scale (municipality). However, spatial microsimulation models are useful tools to estimate small area health data and to overcome these problems. The simulations and analysis should support health decision makers to identify hot spots of smokers and this should 36 help to show where to spend health resources best in order to reduce health inequalities