Global burden of 288 causes of death and life expectancy decomposition in 204 countries and territories and 811 subnational locations, 1990–2021: a systematic analysis for the Global Burden of Disease Study 2021

Background: Regular, detailed reporting on population health by underlying cause of death is fundamental for public health decision making. Cause-specific estimates of mortality and the subsequent effects on life expectancy worldwide are valuable metrics to gauge progress in reducing mortality rates. These estimates are particularly important following large-scale mortality spikes, such as the COVID-19 pandemic. When systematically analysed, mortality rates and life expectancy allow comparisons of the consequences of causes of death globally and over time, providing a nuanced understanding of the effect of these causes on global populations. Methods: The Global Burden of Diseases, Injuries, and Risk Factors Study (GBD) 2021 cause-of-death analysis estimated mortality and years of life lost (YLLs) from 288 causes of death by age-sex-location-year in 204 countries and territories and 811 subnational locations for each year from 1990 until 2021. The analysis used 56 604 data sources, including data from vital registration and verbal autopsy as well as surveys, censuses, surveillance systems, and cancer registries, among others. As with previous GBD rounds, cause-specific death rates for most causes were estimated using the Cause of Death Ensemble model—a modelling tool developed for GBD to assess the out-of-sample predictive validity of different statistical models and covariate permutations and combine those results to produce cause-specific mortality estimates—with alternative strategies adapted to model causes with insufficient data, substantial changes in reporting over the study period, or unusual epidemiology. YLLs were computed as the product of the number of deaths for each cause-age-sex-location-year and the standard life expectancy at each age. As part of the modelling process, uncertainty intervals (UIs) were generated using the 2·5th and 97·5th percentiles from a 1000-draw distribution for each metric. We decomposed life expectancy by cause of death, location, and year to show cause-specific effects on life expectancy from 1990 to 2021. We also used the coefficient of variation and the fraction of population affected by 90% of deaths to highlight concentrations of mortality. Findings are reported in counts and age-standardised rates. Methodological improvements for cause-of-death estimates in GBD 2021 include the expansion of under-5-years age group to include four new age groups, enhanced methods to account for stochastic variation of sparse data, and the inclusion of COVID-19 and other pandemic-related mortality—which includes excess mortality associated with the pandemic, excluding COVID-19, lower respiratory infections, measles, malaria, and pertussis. For this analysis, 199 new country-years of vital registration cause-of-death data, 5 country-years of surveillance data, 21 country-years of verbal autopsy data, and 94 country-years of other data types were added to those used in previous GBD rounds. Findings: The leading causes of age-standardised deaths globally were the same in 2019 as they were in 1990; in descending order, these were, ischaemic heart disease, stroke, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, and lower respiratory infections. In 2021, however, COVID-19 replaced stroke as the second-leading age-standardised cause of death, with 94·0 deaths (95% UI 89·2–100·0) per 100 000 population. The COVID-19 pandemic shifted the rankings of the leading five causes, lowering stroke to the third-leading and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease to the fourth-leading position. In 2021, the highest age-standardised death rates from COVID-19 occurred in sub-Saharan Africa (271·0 deaths [250·1–290·7] per 100 000 population) and Latin America and the Caribbean (195·4 deaths [182·1–211·4] per 100 000 population). The lowest age-standardised death rates from COVID-19 were in the high-income super-region (48·1 deaths [47·4–48·8] per 100 000 population) and southeast Asia, east Asia, and Oceania (23·2 deaths [16·3–37·2] per 100 000 population). Globally, life expectancy steadily improved between 1990 and 2019 for 18 of the 22 investigated causes. Decomposition of global and regional life expectancy showed the positive effect that reductions in deaths from enteric infections, lower respiratory infections, stroke, and neonatal deaths, among others have contributed to improved survival over the study period. However, a net reduction of 1·6 years occurred in global life expectancy between 2019 and 2021, primarily due to increased death rates from COVID-19 and other pandemic-related mortality. Life expectancy was highly variable between super-regions over the study period, with southeast Asia, east Asia, and Oceania gaining 8·3 years (6·7–9·9) overall, while having the smallest reduction in life expectancy due to COVID-19 (0·4 years). The largest reduction in life expectancy due to COVID-19 occurred in Latin America and the Caribbean (3·6 years). Additionally, 53 of the 288 causes of death were highly concentrated in locations with less than 50% of the global population as of 2021, and these causes of death became progressively more concentrated since 1990, when only 44 causes showed this pattern. The concentration phenomenon is discussed heuristically with respect to enteric and lower respiratory infections, malaria, HIV/AIDS, neonatal disorders, tuberculosis, and measles. Interpretation: Long-standing gains in life expectancy and reductions in many of the leading causes of death have been disrupted by the COVID-19 pandemic, the adverse effects of which were spread unevenly among populations. Despite the pandemic, there has been continued progress in combatting several notable causes of death, leading to improved global life expectancy over the study period. Each of the seven GBD super-regions showed an overall improvement from 1990 and 2021, obscuring the negative effect in the years of the pandemic. Additionally, our findings regarding regional variation in causes of death driving increases in life expectancy hold clear policy utility. Analyses of shifting mortality trends reveal that several causes, once widespread globally, are now increasingly concentrated geographically. These changes in mortality concentration, alongside further investigation of changing risks, interventions, and relevant policy, present an important opportunity to deepen our understanding of mortality-reduction strategies. Examining patterns in mortality concentration might reveal areas where successful public health interventions have been implemented. Translating these successes to locations where certain causes of death remain entrenched can inform policies that work to improve life expectancy for people everywhere. Funding: Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation

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Not AvailableFood and Agriculture Organization and World Health Organization (FAO/WHO) defined the probiotics as live microorganisms. This, when admixture or add in adequate amounts to the host confer a symbiosis type life and health benefits. An ideal probiotic should be non-toxic, non-pathogenic and ability to do beneficial effect on the host animals. It should be present as viable cells and ability to survive and metabolizing in the host gut environment. It should be viable for periods under storage conditions and remain stable also. Probiotics have been ability to promote growth, improve efficiency of feed utilization, protect host organism from intestinal invader bacteria and stimulate immune response in mammalian species. In ruminants livestocks, probiotics rich feed improved growth rate, increased weight gain and higher efficiency of feed utilization and conversion into body weight. This is happened because probiotic microorganisms promoted the metabolic processes of digestion and nutrient utilization.Not Availabl

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Not AvailableSeven isolates of Macrophomina phaseolina incitant of charcoal rot of maize, obtained from different agro-ecological zones of India, varied in their cultural characteristics and pathogenic behaviour. On the basis of colony colour, isolates were divided in to four groups i.e. grayish white, blackish gray, dark black in centre periphery cremish and cottony white colour. Hyderabad isolate produced highest number of sclerotia (180.3 sclerotia/9 mm disc and 52.0/ microscopic 10X field) of bigger size (95.7μm), whereas Coimbatore isolate produced minimum number of slcerotia (169 sclerotia) that too with smaller size (66.9 μm). On the basis of sclerotial morphology, two groups of isolates could be formed, the one with oblong shape having irregular edges and the other being round with regular edges. On the basis of disease expression the Hyderabad isolate was observed to be most virulent by giving maximum disease (8.8) while Coimbatore isolate was found to be least virulent as it exhibited a highest rating of 5.2 in the susceptible inbred CM 120 on a scale of 1-9. The noteworthy observation of the study was that sclerotial size and number had positive correlation with virulence.Not Availabl

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Not AvailableWool is a biodegradable fiber, rich in nutrients and can be recycled in soil as a fertilizer for maximum benefits. The present study was planned with the hypothesis that waste wool could be used as a nutrient source or manure to forage crops and aim of this study was to identify practicable recycling options of sheep based wastes in agriculture. In our study, we have compared the effect of different sheep based organic wastes on soil health, crop productivity and water use. Application of waste wool in soil significantly improved the fertility status of soil, and considerable improvement was also observed in organic carbon and nitrogen, i.e. around 30.8 and 32.6% higher over control. The activities of soil enzymes were 10–30% and 3–20% higher in waste wool treatment as compared to control and sheep based manures, respectively. Application of waste wool not only improved soil health but produced 50% higher grain and dry fodder yield of barley over control. The improvement in physical properties of soil with waste wool resulted in higher water use efficiency of the system. Our study will help in distinguishing choices for safe use of organic wastes along with up gradation of soil health and crop water utilization, particularly in nutrient poor soils of arid and semi-arid region of India.Not Availabl

Leased farming degrading the farmlands? Analysis of farmers' perceptions in Andaman and Nicobar Islands, India

Not AvailableThis study was undertaken in Andaman and Nicobar Islands by conducting primary survey of leased-in and non-leased land cultivators. Total agriculture land of the islands decreased due to massive tsunami followed by earthquake during 2004. Due to various biotic and abiotic factors, land degradation in these islands is high, and land leasing practice aggravates it. The leased rent varies from ` 17,500 ha-1 annum-1 to-1 -1 ` 26,500 ha annum , and both cash and crop sharing mechanisms are practiced. Our analysis indicated that soils of leased land are degraded, and were categorized from moderate to severe level of degradation. The main reasons observed were that leasedin farmers mostly cultivate vegetables wherein more cultural working is required, which leads to loosening of soil and permits soil erosion at higher rate. Since, these islands receive more than 2800 mm rainfall annually with high intensity, it leads to faster erosion of soils. As the conservation measures need high investment, leased-in farmers are hesitant to invest due to short time lease of agreement (1 to 2 years). Thus, the study highlights that there should be clear cut policy for leased land to protect the limited and fragile agri-ecosystem of Andaman and Nicobar Islands. The findings will provide information for future research and policy decisions on leased land practices.Not Availabl

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Not AvailableSeven isolates of M. phaseolina incitant of maize charcoal rot were established from major maize growing agro-ecological zones of India. These isolates were analysed through RAPD marker for genetic diversity. The UPGMA cluster analysis for 706 loci score permitted identification of three main clusters. Similarity matrix and Jaccard’s similarity co-efficient between the isolates indicated that the maximum genetic variation was among isolates of Arabhavi and Coimbatore with 70.8% followed by Ludhiana and Coimbatore with 69.5%. The most closely related isolates were Hyderabad and Delhi with an affinity percentage of 65.5 followed by Udaipur and Bangalore isolate with a percentage of 62.9% similarity. Amplification of the ITS region with AD primers the entire ITS1, rDNA and ITS2 region was amplified successfully for all the isolates studied. A single band of 750 bp was uniformally amplified in all the isolates and no polymorphism was visualized. Our results demonstrated genetic diversity among Indian isolates of M. phaseolina in maize.Not Availabl

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Not AvailableThe amendment effect of Leucaena biochar was investigated in incubation study in acidic soil (pH (water (H2O)) = 4.5) of northwest India. The biochar (BC) was mixed at 2%, 4%, and 6% with soil and change in soil pH, electrical conductivity (EC), ammonium (NHþ 4 ) and nitrate nitrogen (NO 3 N), exchangeable bases (calcium + magnesium, potassium, sodium) (Ca + Mg, K, Na), aluminum (Al), and Bray’s phosphorus (P) were measured periodically. The mean increase in soil pH was 0.65, 1.35, and 2.0 unit at 2%, 4%, and 6% (w/w) of biochar incorporation, respectively. Application of biochar significantly (P < 0.01) reduced ammonium (NHþ 4 N) content of soil, whereas NO3-N concentration increased by threefold and fivefold by application of 2% and 4% (w/w) of biochar, respectively. Exchangeable soil potassium (K) and Ca + Mg concentrations increased with the application of biochar. Application of biochar above 2% (w/w) reduced exchangeable Al concentration to nondetectable limit. The study suggests Leucaena biochar may serve as an amendment for N transformation in highly acidic soil.Not Availabl

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Not AvailableThis gives achievements of All India Coordinated Research Project on Pearl Millet during 2016-17.Not Availabl

Ion irradiation-induced interface mixing and the charge trap profiles investigated by in situ electrical measurements in Pt/Al₂O₃/β-Ga₂O₃MOSCAPs

In situ I - V and C-V measurements were performed during the 120 MeV Au9+ ion irradiation on the Pt/Al2O3/β-Ga2O3, metal-oxide-semiconductor capacitors (MOSCAPs), to comprehend the swift heavy ion (SHI)-induced effects at the interface and in the device performance. At a maximum fluence of 2× 1012 ions/cm2, the I-V data showed a rise in the reverse leakage current by four orders of magnitude compared to the pristine device. The trap level (below the conduction band of Al2O3) from Poole-Frenkel emission exhibits a variation from ∼ 1.1 to 0.91 eV. The conduction band offset (φB) of Al2O3/β-Ga2O3 changes from 1.48 to 1.25 eV as estimated under the Fowler-Nordheim tunneling mechanism. In situ C-V measurements show a significant shift in the flat band voltages and increased oxide in the border and interface due to charge trapping. The X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) measurements of Al 2p and O 1s core levels revealed the pre-existing oxygen defects in Al2O3, which increase with fluence. The deconvoluted peaks of Al 2p at 74.6 eV designated to Al-sub oxide and the O 1s peak variation in the FWHM signifies the increase in the O defects. Cross-sectional transmission electron microscopy (XTEM) measurements on the irradiated device (at 2× 1012 ions/cm2) revealed a modulated interface of Al2O3/β-Ga2O3 and the formation of an interlayer of ~4 nm AlxGayOz. The scanning transmission electron microscope (STEM)-based high-angle annular dark-field imaging (HAADF) energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (EDS) mapping revelation and the depth profiles of XPS data confirm the formation of an AlxGayOz interlayer.The work of N. Manikanthababu was supported by the Department of Science and Technology (DST), India, from the Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa (BRICS) Project. The work of S. Lodha was supported by MeitY and DST, Government of India, through the Nanoelectronics Network for Research and Application (NNetRA) Project. The work of R. Singh was supported in part by the DST, India, under the Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa (BRICS) Cooperation Scheme DST/IMRCD/BRICS/Pilot Call 3/GaO-Nitrides/2019 under Grant RP04000G