Conceived in 2003 and born in 2005 with the launch of its first report and country profiles, the Countdown to 2015 for Maternal, Newborn, and Child Survival has reached its originally proposed lifespan. Major reductions in the deaths of mothers and children have occurred since Countdown's inception, even though most of the 75 priority countries failed to achieve Millennium Development Goals 4 and 5. The coverage of life-saving interventions tracked in Countdown increased steadily over time, but wide inequalities persist between and within countries.
Global and regional health effects of future food production under climate change: A modelling study
Background One of the most important consequences of climate change could be its effects on agriculture. Although much research has focused on questions of food security, less has been devoted to assessing the wider health impacts of future changes in agricultural production. In this modelling study, we estimate excess mortality attributable to agriculturally mediated changes in dietary and weight-related risk factors by cause of death for 155 world regions in the year 2050.
Background Physical inactivity is a global pandemic responsible for over 5 million deaths annually through its effects on multiple non-communicable diseases. We aimed to document how objectively measured attributes of the urban environment are related to objectively measured physical activity, in an international sample of adults. Methods We based our analyses on the International Physical activity and Environment Network (IPEN) adult study, which was a coordinated, international, cross-sectional study.
The internal combustion engine (ICE) does not efficiently convert chemical energy into mechanical energy. A majority of this energy is dissipated as heat in the exhaust and coolant. Rather than directly improving the efficiency of the engine, efforts are being made to improve the efficiency of the engine indirectly by using a waste heat recovery system. Two promising technologies that were found to be useful for this purpose were thermoelectric generators (TEGs) and heat pipes. Both TEGs and heat pipes are solid state, passive, silent, scalable and durable.
Healthy-food procurement: Using the public plate to reduce food insecurity and diet-related diseases
This book chapter advances SDGs 14 and 3 by discussing the history of aquatic contamination, highlighting major cases where aquatic contamination has become an issue and cases where efficient solutions to environmental problems have been reached.
Elsevier,
Qing Chang,
Chapter 11 - Emulsion, Foam, and Gel,
Editor(s): Qing Chang,
Colloid and Interface Chemistry for Water Quality Control,
Academic Press,
2016,
Pages 227-245,
ISBN 9780128093153
Supports SDG 6 by discussing the application of colloid and surface chemistry in water and wastewater treatment- the only book of its kind to do this.
Achieving SDG 11 will require new technologies and innovations to be deployed in the real-estate sector. Already blockchain and artificial intelligence form the foundations of smart buildings, using data on residents' personal preferences to be able to improve efficiency and comfort. This article explores the different technologies and innovations that provide significant untapped potential in the real estate sector.
FINDINGS: We used data from 751 studies including 4,372,000 adults from 146 of the 200 countries we make estimates for. Global age-standardised diabetes prevalence increased from 4.3% (95% credible interval 2.4-7.0) in 1980 to 9.0% (7.2-11.1) in 2014 in men, and from 5.0% (2.9-7.9) to 7.9% (6.4-9.7) in women. The number of adults with diabetes in the world increased from 108 million in 1980 to 422 million in 2014 (28.5% due to the rise in prevalence, 39.7% due to population growth and ageing, and 31.8% due to interaction of these two factors).
Background Underweight and severe and morbid obesity are associated with highly elevated risks of adverse health outcomes. We estimated trends in mean body-mass index (BMI), which characterises its population distribution, and in the prevalences of a complete set of BMI categories for adults in all countries. Methods We analysed, with use of a consistent protocol, population-based studies that had measured height and weight in adults aged 18 years and older.
