The Ethnology of Polynesia.

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Food systems, nutrition, health and the environment

Nutritionists are classically concerned with the associations between nutrients and diets and nutrition and health outcomes. Understanding these associations is important. Insufficient and poor quality food, especially during pregnancy and in early childhood is a major contributor to the high burden of undernutrition: globally, 159 million children younger than 5 years are stunted (too short for their age), 50 million children globally are wasted (dangerously thin), and more than 3 million children die every year from causes associated with undernutrition. Simultaneously, nutrition-related chronic diseases such as obesity, diabetes, cardiovascular disease, and some forms of cancer are major contributors to the global burden of disease. Ambitious goals have been set by the international community to eliminate malnutrition in all its forms, and 2016 saw the start of a UN Decade of Action on Nutrition designed to reinvigorate national and international efforts for nutrition

Development of Low Cost Braze Alloys for Aerospace Applications

Non-precious metal braze alloys can help lower the cost of brazing, which is a commonly-used joining process in the aerospace industry. A-286, a stainless steel superalloy, and Inconel© 718, a nickel-based superalloy, are both commonly used alloys at Aerojet Rocketdyne. Both alloys were brazed into butt joints using nickel-based braze alloys: AMS 4776, 4777, and 4778. The brazed samples were machined into a modified version of the ASTM E8 subsize specimen samples and tensile tested to compare the strength and calculated elongation of the brazed samples to the base metals’ properties. All of the brazed samples fractured at the joint, and a higher amount of braze alloy on the surface corresponded with a higher strength of the joint. The 718 samples brazed with AMS 4776 and 4778 were not strong enough to be made into tensile samples and the 718 brazed with AMS 4777 reached strengths below 1 ksi due to poor wetting of the braze alloy on the base metal. The average tensile strengths for A-286 brazed with AMS 4776 (A286-76), A286-77, and A286-78 were 30.83 ksi, 93.95 ksi, and 94.91 ksi, respectively. For reference, the base metal had a tensile strength of 145.93 ksi. The average calculated elongations for A286-76, A286-77, and A286-78 were 8.86%, 12.30%, and 15.14%, respectively, and the base metal had a calculated elongation of 58.43%. Metallography along with energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopy revealed interdiffusion regions, grain pinning, voids, and brittle compounds at the center of the joint. Scanning electron microscopy revealed the brazed samples broke in a brittle manner at the joint

Accountability for carbon emissions and health equity.

A new database of anthropogenic greenhouse gas emissions can improve the accountability of climate change mitigation actions, while promoting human health and equity, supporting a just transition to a net zero emission future and reducing the risks of climate change. Climate TRACE uses data from 300 satellites and more than 11,100 air-, land- and sea-based sensors, together with other commercial and public sources to map sources of greenhouse gas emissions

NUTRItion and CLIMate (NUTRICLIM): investigating the relationship between climate variables and childhood malnutrition through agriculture, an exploratory study in Burkina Faso

Malnutrition remains a leading cause of death in children in low- and middle-income countries; this will be aggravated by climate change. Annually, 6.9 million deaths of children under 5 were attributable directly or indirectly to malnutrition. Although these figures have recently decreased, evidence shows that a world with a medium climate (local warming up to 3–4 °C) will create an additional 25.2 million malnourished children. This proof of concept study explores the relationships between childhood malnutrition (more specifically stunting), regional agricultural yields, and climate variable through the use of remote sensing (RS) satellite imaging along with algorithms to predict the effect of climate variability on agricultural yields and on malnutrition of children under 5. The success of this proof of purpose study, NUTRItion and CLIMate (NUTRICLIM), should encourage researchers to apply both concept and tools to study of the link between weather variability, crop yield, and malnutrition on a larger scale. It would also allow for linking such micro-level data to climate models and address the challenge of projecting the additional impact of childhood malnutrition from climate change to various policy relevant time horizons

Bridging the evidence gap to achieve a healthy, net zero future.

The urgent challenge of achieving net zero carbon emissions by 2050 at the latest presents an opportunity to drive transformative changes in all sectors of society. Well designed actions to cut greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions could bring major benefits for health, by both reducing the health risks of climate change and delivering multiple benefits to human health and development (co-benefits). Modelling studies estimate that many millions of premature deaths could be prevented and GHG emissions greatly reduced by phasing out fossil fuels, thereby reducing air pollution, and by encouraging active travel, increasing use of public transport, and shifting to sustainable and healthy diets. Further benefits could accrue from efficient, well ventilated housing and from efforts to develop net zero health-care systems. There is also great potential to achieve health and climate benefits from nature-based solutions, including green space in cities, reforestation, and reduced deforestation and agroforestry. However, these potential benefits will only be realised by addressing key barriers and challenges

Sea Level Rise and City-Level Climate Action.

BACKGROUND: Climate change is the greatest threat to global health in the 21st century. Rising sea levels are one particularly concerning manifestation of this and many of the world’s largest cities are vulnerable to sea level rise (SLR). Thus, urban climate adaptation and mitigation policies are increasingly important to protect population health. OBJECTIVES: This study aimed to determine whether being at risk of SLR was associated with city-level climate action. It also aimed to assess the wider drivers of climate action in cities, in order to guide ongoing efforts to motivate climate action, assess public health preparedness and identify research gaps. METHODS: This is an ecological cross-sectional study using secondary data from CDP, the Urban Climate Change Research Network (UCCRN), World Bank, United Nations Cities and EM-DAT (Emergency Events Database). The study population consisted of 517 cities who participated in CDP’s 2019 Cities Survey. Multivariable logistic regression was utilized to assess the relationship between risk of SLR and city-level climate action, and secondly, to assess the wider determinants of city-level climate action. RESULTS: There was evidence of crude associations between risk of SLR and three outcome variables representing city-level climate action. However, after adjusting for confounding variables, these crude associations disappeared. World region, national income status and urban population were shown to be stronger predictors of city-level climate action. CONCLUSION: It is concerning for population health that there is no association demonstrated between risk of SLR and climate action. This could indicate a lack of awareness of the risks posed by SLR within urban governance. To fulfil their health protection responsibilities, it is essential that public health professionals take a leading role in advocating for climate action