Resource demand growth and sustainability due to increased world consumption

DOE PAGES

Balatsky, Alexander V.; Balatsky, Galina I.; Borysov, Stanislav S.

2015-03-20

The paper aims at continuing the discussion on sustainability and attempts to forecast the impossibility of the expanding consumption worldwide due to the planet’s limited resources. As the population of China, India and other developing countries continue to increase, they would also require more natural and financial resources to sustain their growth. We coarsely estimate the volumes of these resources (energy, food, freshwater) and the gross domestic product (GDP) that would need to be achieved to bring the population of India and China to the current levels of consumption in the United States. We also provide estimations for potentially neededmore » immediate growth of the world resource consumption to meet this equality requirement. Given the tight historical correlation between GDP and energy consumption, the needed increase of GDP per capita in the developing world to the levels of the U.S. would deplete explored fossil fuel reserves in less than two decades. These estimates predict that the world economy would need to find a development model where growth would be achieved without heavy dependence on fossil fuels.« less

Human population in the biodiversity hotspots.

PubMed

Cincotta, R P; Wisnewski, J; Engelman, R

2000-04-27

Biologists have identified 25 areas, called biodiversity hotspots, that are especially rich in endemic species and particularly threatened by human activities. The human population dynamics of these areas, however, are not well quantified. Here we report estimates of key demographic variables for each hotspot, and for three extensive tropical forest areas that are less immediately threatened. We estimate that in 1995 more than 1.1 billion people, nearly 20% of world population, were living within the hotspots, an area covering about 12% of Earth's terrestrial surface. We estimate that the population growth rate in the hotspots (1995-2000) is 1.8% yr(-1), substantially higher than the population growth rate of the world as a whole (1.3% yr(-1)) and above that of the developing countries (1.6% yr(-1)). These results suggest that substantial human-induced environmental changes are likely to continue in the hotspots and that demographic change remains an important factor in global biodiversity conservation. The results also underline the potential conservation significance of the continuing worldwide declines in human fertility and of policies and programs that influence human migration.

Understanding the yield gap in wheat production

USDA-ARS?s Scientific Manuscript database

Wheat production around the globe is a staple of human nutrition needs and will continue to provide a major component of global food security. The increases in world population demand that we continue to increase wheat production in a sustainable manner. To achieve this goal requires that we underst...

Food in health security in North East Asia.

PubMed

Moon, Hyun-Kyung

2009-01-01

Food and health security in North East Asia including South Korea, North Korea, China and Japan was compared. Because this region contains countries with many complex problems, it is worthwhile to study the current situation. With about 24% of the world's population, all North East Asian countries supply between 2400 and 3000 Kcal of energy. Regarding health status, two extreme problems exist. One is malnutrition in North Korea and China and the other is chronic degenerative disease in Japan, South Korea and China. Because quality, quantity and safety of the food supply have to be secured for health security, some topics are selected and discussed. 1) World food price can have an effect on food security for countries with a low food self sufficiency rate such as Japan and Korea; specially, for the urban poor. 2) Population aging can increase the number of aged people without food security. An aged population with less income and no support from their off-spring, because of disappearing traditional values, may have food insecurity. 3) Population growth and economic growth in this region may worsen food problems. Since a quarter of the world's population resides in this region, populations will continue to increase. With economic growth, people will consume more animal products. 4) Climate change generates food production problems. As the progress of industry continues, there will be less land for food and more pollutants in the environment. 5) Political instability will cause food insecurity and conflict will cause problems with regard to food aid.

World Development Report 1984.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

World Bank, Washington, DC.

This report, seventh in a series of annual publications, examines the relationship between population change and development, showing why continuing rapid population growth in developing countries is likely to mean a lower quality of life for millions of people. The first part of the report concludes that the economies of developing countries can…

Human Needs and Nature's Balance: Population, Resources, and the Environment. A Population Learning Series.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Crews, Kimberly A.

One of the challenges that face humanity is how to manage resource and environmental endowments in a way that will guarantee continued survival and ensure the well-being of future generations. Those resources most important to human survival are food, water, and energy. When the population of the world reached 5 billion in 1987, approximately 87…

Women of the World: Asia and the Pacific.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Shah, Nasra M.

The fourth in a series of five handbooks designed to present and analyze statistical data on women in various regions of the world, this handbook focuses on women in 14 countries of Asia and the Pacific. Beginning with an overview of population distribution and changes in the region, the analysis continues with a description of women's literacy…

Women of the World: Latin America and the Caribbean.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Chaney, Elsa M.

The first in a series of five handbooks designed to present and analyze statistical data on women in various regions of the world, this handbook focuses on women in 21 countries in Latin America and the Caribbean. Beginning with an overview of population characteristics of the regions, the analysis continues with a description of women's literacy…

3D structural panels : a literature review

Treesearch

John F. Hunt

2004-01-01

The world population has surpassed the 6 billion mark and many of these people live in rapidly developing countries that are and will continue to place increasing pressure on the world's natural fiber resources. The total demand for raw material from the forest for housing, packaging, and for office and home furnishings, to name a few; are increasing. Traditional...

Urban Growth in Cairo 1965-98

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

2002-01-01

The population of the Cairo metropolitan area has increased from less than 6 million in 1965 when the first picture was taken, to more than 10 million in 1998 (United Nations Population Division, World Urbanization Prospects, the 1999 revision). Population densities within the city are some of the highest in the world and the urban area has doubled to more than 400 square km during that period. Extraordinary rates of population growth are expected to continue, with a predicted population of around 14 million by 2015. Images Gem05-1-45778 and STS088-739-91 were provided by the Earth Sciences and Image Analysis Laboratory at Johnson Space Center. Additional images taken by astronauts and cosmonauts can be viewed at the NASA-JSC Gateway to Astronaut Photography of Earth.

Economic and social implications of aging societies.

PubMed

Harper, Sarah

2014-10-31

The challenge of global population aging has been brought into sharper focus by the financial crisis of 2008. In particular, growing national debt has drawn government attention to two apparently conflicting priorities: the need to sustain public spending on pensions and health care versus the need to reduce budget deficits. A number of countries are consequently reconsidering their pension and health care provisions, which account for up to 40% of all government spending in advanced economies. Yet population aging is a global phenomenon that will continue to affect all regions of the world. By 2050 there will be the same number of old as young in the world, with 2 billion people aged 60 or over and another 2 billion under age 15, each group accounting for 21% of the world's population. Copyright © 2014, American Association for the Advancement of Science.

Balancing Act: Population, Consumption and the Global Environment.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Orzech, Michelle; Baird, Jim

The Izaak Walton League is committed to investigation and dialogue that contribute to a sustainable world. An understanding of conservation continues to evolve and mature as new science comes to light and is transformed, through civil discourse, into common sense policy and action. The information presented in this action guide continues a…

Small Town Renewal: Overview and Case Studies.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Kenyon, Peter, Ed.; Black, Alan, Ed.

Many small, inland, and remote Australian rural communities continue to lose population and businesses, a trend that has intensified over the last 2 decades. Mean age continues to rise, while the 15-24 age group contracts dramatically. Such declining demographics are caused by the stress and uncertainty of volatile world commodity markets, as well…

The nitrogen index as a tool to reduce nitrogen loss to the environment

USDA-ARS?s Scientific Manuscript database

Continued population growth creates a need for increased productivity of agricultural systems around the world. Increased agricultural productivity will be needed to support a population that is anticipated to have an additional 2.5 billion people by the year 2050. Nitrogen was part of the 20th cent...

Population growth rate and energy consumption correlations: Implications for the future

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Sheffield, J.

1998-01-01

The fertility rate for women and the related population growth rate, for numerous developing (transitional) countries, show a downward trend with increasing annual per capita energy use. On the assumption that such historic trends will continue, estimates are made for some simple cases of the energy demands required to stabilize the world`s population in the period 2,100 to 2,150. An assessment is then made of how these energy demands might be met, capitalizing as much as possible on the indigenous energy resources for each of the ten major regions of the world: North America, Latin America, Europe OECD, Former Sovietmore » Union and Central and Eastern Europe, China, Pacific OECD, East Asia, South Asia, Africa, and the Middle East. Consideration is also given to the potential need to limit carbon emissions because of global warming concerns. The study highlights the crucial nature of energy efficiency improvements and the need to utilize all energy sources, if the world is to find a sustainable future with an improved standard of living for the developing world.« less

Women of the World: Near East and North Africa.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Chamie, Mary

The third in a series of five handbooks designed to present and analyze statistical data on women in various regions of the world, this handbook focuses on women in 14 countries in the Near East and North Africa. Beginning with an overview of population distribution and changes in the region, the analysis continues with a description of women's…

Exploiting the explosion of information associated with whole genome sequencing to tackle Shiga toxin-producing Escherichia coli (STEC) in global food production systems

USDA-ARS?s Scientific Manuscript database

The rates of foodborne disease caused by gastrointestinal pathogens continue to be a concern in both the developed and developing worlds. The growing world population, the increasing complexity of agri-food networks and the wide range of foods now associated with STEC are potential drivers for incre...

Continuity of Y chromosome haplotypes in the population of Southern Poland before and after the Second World War.

PubMed

Woźniak, Marcin; Grzybowski, Tomasz; Starzyński, Jarosław; Marciniak, Tomasz

2007-06-01

The Polish population is reported to be very homogenous as far as Y chromosome polymorphism is concerned. One of the hypotheses that explains this phenomenon is based on the assumption that massive migrations that took place in Poland after the Second World War might have evoked such an effect. Thus, knowledge of the pre-war frequencies of Y chromosome haplotypes in different parts of the country would be a useful tool in testing such a hypothesis. We have collected 226 DNA samples, together with family history data, from males living in the rural area of Małopolska, Polish Southern border region. Based on donors' family histories we were able to reconstruct an 'ancestral' subpopulation of 108 males whose ancestors had inhabited the area before both World Wars. We have analyzed 12 Y-STR loci: DYS19, DYS385, DYS389I&II, DYS390, DYS391, DYS392, DYS393, DYS437, DYS438 and DYS439 in all the collected samples. Comparisons of our contemporary and 'ancestral' population samples with other Polish and Central European populations showed that the population of Southern Małopolska is very closely related to other Polish and Slavic populations. The above-mentioned observations suggest that the population of Southern Poland could have been highly homogenous even before the Second World War.

The Influence of Cultural Immersion on Transcultural Self-Efficacy for Nursing Students at Private Faith-Based Baccalaureate Nursing Programs

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Schroeder, Pamela A.

2012-01-01

As multicultural populations throughout the world continually increase, complex challenges and health care disparities are being created. Nurses spend more time in patient care management than any other health care professionals. The need for nurses to provide culturally competent care for increasingly diverse patient populations is critical to…

The Cairo crunch.

PubMed

Myers, N

1994-01-01

The emphasis on excessive population growth in developing countries has diverted attention from the equally significant issue of excessive consumption in developed countries. For example, the rich nations, which contain only 22% of the world's population, cause 74-87% of major pollutants and consume 76-92% of global natural resources each year. While the world's wealthiest 1 billion people have doubled their consumption of meat, energy, steel, copper, and timber since 1950, there has been no increase among the poorest 1 billion. The worldwide value of luxury goods is equivalent to two-thirds of the gross national products of all Third World countries. Although the mass media's introduction into the Third World has raised the aspirations of the world's poor, stores of nonrenewable raw materials would be depleted within a decade if the standard of living were to be equalized. Even if per capita consumption worldwide declines to 2% per year from its current level of 3%, the sustainable capacity of the Earth is in jeopardy. The threat to the continued ability of the planet to sustain life and to the dignity of the have-nots could be ameliorated by a combination of measures, including zero population growth in developed countries, increased foreign aid to population programs in the Third World, production of goods that require fewer raw materials and generate less pollution, and reduced consumption in the North.

The Move to Mobile: Where Is a Campus's Place in the Mobile Space?

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Lum, Lydia

2012-01-01

At the end of 2010, for the first time ever, smartphones outsold PCs. Mobile device adoption rates continue to rise rapidly around the world. A recent forecast by Cisco found that global mobile data traffic more than doubled last year, and by the end of 2012, the number of mobile devices in use will outnumber the world's population. In the United…

[Trends and characteristics of urbanization in the Third World, the day before yesterday to the day after tomorrow (1900-2025)].

PubMed

Bairoch, P

1983-01-01

This article reviews the history of Third World urbanization, examines the evolution of the urban population from 1970-80 based on the 1st results of the 1980 round of censuses, and examines the prospects for urbanization through the end of the century and the year 2025. From 1910 to World War II the urban population in all Third World countries grew more rapidly than the total population. Both rates of growth were moderate compared to subsequent rates. Total Third World population grew by about .9%/year while the urban population grew at 2.2%/year. From 1950-80 total population grew at 2.2% and the urban population by 4.6%. The urban growth took place in the absence of economic developments capable of explaining or justifying it. Urban growth accounted in large part for the extraordinary increase in cereal importation to the Third World. In 1980 it was estimated that 26.5% of the population if Africa, 63.1% in Latin America, and 25.4% in Asian countries excluding China were urban. A characteristic of third World urbanization is the strong concentration of population in large cities; 43% of the urban population currently lives in cities with population of over 500,000. In Third World market countries, total population growth from 1970-80 is provisionally estimated at 2.5-2.6%/year, while according to UN estimates urban population growth amounted to 4.2%/year and other estimates place population growth amounted to 4.2%/year and other estimates place it at 4.4%/year. The growth of the urban population in China from 1970-80 was estimated at 3.3%/year by the UN. During the 75 years from 1950-2025, the Third World urban population is expected to multiply by a factor of 16, from less than 200 million to over 3 billion. The urban population in 2025 projected by the UN amounts to 837 million in Africa, 724 million in Latin America, and 1.6 billion in Asian market countries, but there is some suggestion that the projection errs on the low side. Increases in food production on the order of 1.9%/year will be required through 2025 to feed the new urban population at the current level. Around the year 2000, cities of 1 million or more will contain about 46% of the urban population and 21% of the total population. The largest Third World cities will continue to grow despite their poor living conditions and lack of economic justification, and the low incomes of the inhabitants will increase the difficulty of improving living standards. Predictions as far ahead as 2025 are hazardous, but it is likely that the rate of growth of the largest cities will have abated somewhat.

Some socio-economic aspects of population growth in the USSR.

PubMed

Simchera, V

1974-01-01

This summarizes population trends in the U.S.S.R. since the early 19 00's. On August 9, 1973, the population topped 250 million, almost precisely double that of Russia at the time of the 1st general census in 1897. Since 1922 it had increased by more than 84%. Russia has suffered more population loss in wars than any other country in modern times. The First World War, the Civil War, and the Second World War took a toll of more than 30 million, more than 20 million during the Second World War alone. The extent of these loses can be judged from the following: between 1897 and 1913 the population of Russia increased at the rate of 1.55% per annum or 34.6 million; if this had continued the population would have been at least 182.8 million by the end of 1922. As it was, the population was 136.1 million by 1922 and the hypothetical 182.8 million was not reached until 1952. More than 4/5 of today's population have been born since the October Revolution. Only 43 million were born before the revolution and only 7.5 were born in the last century. The economic base has grown much more rapidly than the population. For the period 1940-1972 the population increased 1.27 times, national income 9.51 times, fixed assets, 8.76 times, industrial production, 13.65 times, agricultural output, 2.14 times, and capital investment 14.52 times. The birthrate has been falling since World War 1 but total population growth has increased steadily. Birthrates have declined from 45.5/1000 in 1913 to 17.8/1000 in 1972 and a slight upturn is seen. It is expected that the birthrate will continue to increase slightly, then stabilize. Much of the population increase has come from significantly reduced mortality rates. 1st and 2nd children now account for 71% of all births. Family allowances, child care, free health care, and other social benefits encourage births while high employment levels for women, a shortage of men in the marriageable age ranges, and late marriages tend to depress the birthrate. The shortage of men is directly the result of the losses during World War 2. Employment opportunities have changed dramatically. The country has gone from a primarily agricultural nation to one in which 80% of the people are working class wage or salary earners. The current problem is closing the urban-rural gap and equalizing population density. 3/5 of the people are town-dwellers. To fight declining population in the villages and in the areas of Siberia and the Far East, new towns and new industrial and cultural centers are being established such as Bratsk, Ust-Ilim, Norilsk, and others.

Exploring the persistence of stream-dwelling trout populations under alternative real-world turbidity regimes with an individual-based model

Treesearch

Bret C. Harvey; Steven F. Railsback

2009-01-01

We explored the effects of elevated turbidity on stream-resident populations of coastal cutthroat trout Oncorhynchus clarkii clarkii using a spatially explicit individual-based model. Turbidity regimes were contrasted by means of 15-year simulations in a third-order stream in northwestern California. The alternative regimes were based on multiple-year, continuous...

$17 billion needed for population programme to year 2000: Dr. Nafis Sadik launches State of World Population Report.

PubMed

1995-01-01

Dr. Nafis Sadik, Executive Director of the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA), in her address on July 11 to the Foreign Press Association in London on the occasion of the release of the "1995 State of the World Population Report," stated that governments needed to invest in people, and that the estimated amount needed to reduce population numbers in developing countries was $17 billion for the year 2000. Two-thirds of the cost would be supplied by the developing countries. She said that coordinating population policies globally through such documents as the Programme of Action from the Cairo Conference would aid in slowing population growth. World population, currently 5.7 billion, is projected to reach 7.1-7.83 billion in 2015 and 7.9-11.9 billion in 2050. She also noted that certain conditions faced by women bear upon unsustainable population growth. The cycle of poverty continues in developing countries because very young mothers, who face higher risks in pregnancy and childbirth than those who delay childbearing until after the age of 20, are less likely to continue their education, more likely to have lower-paying jobs, and have a higher rate of separation and divorce. The isolation of women from widespread political participation and the marginalization of women's concerns from mainstream topics has resulted in ineffective family planning programs, including prevention of illness or impairment related to pregnancy or childbirth. Women, in most societies, cannot fully participate in economic and public life, have limited access to positions of influence and power, have narrower occupational choices and lower earnings than men, and must struggle to reconcile activities outside the home with their traditional roles. Sustainable development can only be achieved when social development expands opportunities for individuals (men and women), and their families, empowering them in the attainment of their social, economic, political, and cultural aspirations.

Food systems: perspectives on demographics and affluence, food supply and consumption.

PubMed Central

Molitor, G T

1990-01-01

Global population may double by 2020 but the Malthusian specter of rapid population growth outracing slower increases in production will continue to be a false alarm. A vast array of agricultural technologies have the capacity to increase output 10-fold, perhaps as much as 100-fold. Discovery of a sweetener 54,000 times sweeter than sucrose (cane or beet sugar) indicates the magnitude of prodigious increases portended by new technologies. Productive agriculture, however, has become capital intense, limiting its availability in poorer nations. Increased production is the key to low prices and affordable supplies. In a world continuing to face starvation, there is no place for government policies purposely limiting supplies and artificially propping prices at high levels that place life-sustaining food beyond means of the poor. Affluence provides financial wherewithal to secure an adequate diet. Unfortunately, an estimated 25% of the world's population go hungry and face starvation. The specter of starvation may afflict as many as 600 million, and malnutrition, another 150 million by the year 2020. Improving self-sufficiency in these nations will remain a top humanitarian concern. PMID:2401256

U. S. food and fiber: abundance or austerity

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Not Available

The US exports 40% of its agricultural products, which makes it interdependent with the world's need for food and fiber. World population growth projections indicate that US production will have to more than double to 920 billion metric tons of grain. Developing countries, where most of the world population growth is occurring, must produce a larger share too, but the US has the productive capacity and economic advantage to dominate the feedgrains and oilseed market. Uncertainties about world output of agricultural goods and the effects of an unequal distribution of natural resources and economic wealth are examined in this report,more » which assesses productive capacities and economic policy needs to the year 2020. The report anticipates that the world could be better able to feed 6.1 billion people in 2000 than the 4.3 billion in 1980 if the proper investments are made in agricultural infrastructure, research, and education, and if the economic policies provide appropriate incentives. Underlying this projection are the assumptions that world peace and global weather patterns will continue. 6 figures, 9 tables.« less

Population policy at a crossroads. Will world conference signal new directions for U.S.?

PubMed

Mccarty, L; Sherman, D

1994-06-01

In September 1994 in Cairo, at the third population conference hosted by the United Nations, world leaders will be asked to approve a plan that could stabilize the world population at about 8 billion people by the middle of the next century. Participants will consider interrelated issues: population growth, access to family planning, women's empowerment, sustainable development, poverty, consumption, and the environment. This campaign for a more equitable world is likely to continue after Cairo, with the UN-sponsored social summit in Copenhagen and a women's conference in Beijing slated for next year. The Cairo International Conference on Population and Development will require a new approach to sustainability by balancing environmental protection, economic development, and present and future human needs. The United States has only 5% of the world's population, but it uses 25% of the world's commercial energy, produces more garbage and waste than any other country, and generates 21% of all carbon dioxide emissions, which contribute to global warming. Demands for energy, water and food already cannot be met as natural resources are being exhausted at an alarming rate. The fight over water rights to the Colorado River exemplifies the shrinking natural resource base. In contrast to the Reagan-Bush administration, the Clinton administration restored funding to international family planning agencies and endorsed sustainable development. The US birth rate is back at a 2-decade high, while 60% of pregnancies are unintended. US adolescent pregnancy is the highest among industrialized countries, leading to a cycle of poverty and soaring public costs. Government funding for new contraceptive research has been stagnant because of the pressure of right-wing groups, although finally RU-486 became available for clinical trials. The Cairo conference is likely to recognize the US as the leader in global political issues, however, domestic population and consumption issues have still to be addressed.

Ethnicity and Population Structure in Personal Naming Networks

PubMed Central

Mateos, Pablo; Longley, Paul A.; O'Sullivan, David

2011-01-01

Personal naming practices exist in all human groups and are far from random. Rather, they continue to reflect social norms and ethno-cultural customs that have developed over generations. As a consequence, contemporary name frequency distributions retain distinct geographic, social and ethno-cultural patterning that can be exploited to understand population structure in human biology, public health and social science. Previous attempts to detect and delineate such structure in large populations have entailed extensive empirical analysis of naming conventions in different parts of the world without seeking any general or automated methods of population classification by ethno-cultural origin. Here we show how ‘naming networks’, constructed from forename-surname pairs of a large sample of the contemporary human population in 17 countries, provide a valuable representation of cultural, ethnic and linguistic population structure around the world. This innovative approach enriches and adds value to automated population classification through conventional national data sources such as telephone directories and electoral registers. The method identifies clear social and ethno-cultural clusters in such naming networks that extend far beyond the geographic areas in which particular names originated, and that are preserved even after international migration. Moreover, one of the most striking findings of this approach is that these clusters simply ‘emerge’ from the aggregation of millions of individual decisions on parental naming practices for their children, without any prior knowledge introduced by the researcher. Our probabilistic approach to community assignment, both at city level as well as at a global scale, helps to reveal the degree of isolation, integration or overlap between human populations in our rapidly globalising world. As such, this work has important implications for research in population genetics, public health, and social science adding new understandings of migration, identity, integration and social interaction across the world. PMID:21909399

A suitable country: the relationship between Sweden's interwar population policy and family planning in postindependence India.

PubMed

Berg, Annika

2010-09-01

This article delineates a strong continuity, particularly in terms of personnel, between interwar domestic population policies and Sweden's postwar participation in international and transnational population-control programs. It argues that Swedish engagement in population control and family planning in the emerging Third World, and particularly in South Asia, was motivated by the conviction that poverty and underdevelopment must be attacked on several fronts simultaneously, with population control being one of the most important. In its first bilateral aid programs Sweden would prioritize the promotion of birth control primarily because it was still too controversial to be promoted multilaterally, not least for religious reasons; and because Swedish experts were regarded as especially liberal, rational, and secularized. Sterilization expertise played no decisive part in this continuity. When first establishing themselves in South Asia, Swedish experts would recommend the rhythm method and other contraceptive methods that depended on self-control.

An Investigation of the Relationships Between Reading Speed and Paper Hue Intensity, Age and Gender

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Ekstrom, Ireta

2004-01-01

Due in part to health care improvements and the post World War Two Baby Boom, (Siegel, 1972), the population of older adults is growing and will continue to grow. By 2030 approximately 20 percent of the U.S. population will be over age 65 (Verma, 1989). By attending to readability (the ease of reading a printed page) and legibility (the speed with…

Measuring and monitoring evapotranspiration over vineyards

USDA-ARS?s Scientific Manuscript database

Water is already a scarce resource in many parts of the world. As the global population continues to grow, the competing demands for fresh water by urban, industrial, and agricultural user will also increase. To ensure there is sufficient water to meet these demands, policymakers, resource managers,...

Imperatives and Possibilities

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Beairsto, Bruce; Carrigan, Tony

2004-01-01

Canadians in urban centers cannot help but notice an ever-increasing ethnic and cultural diversity. The country's national goal of annually landing approximately one percent of the population as newcomers from around the world ensures that this trend will continue. However, while the country has no difficulty attracting immigrants and refugees and…

The National Security Strategy of the United Kingdom: Security in an Interdependent World

DTIC Science & Technology

2008-03-01

and gas becomes increasingly concentrated, much of it in regions with potential for political instability. Increasing urbanisation will put much...trend towards urbanisation is set to continue, with the proportion of the global population living in cities rising from under 50% in 2000 to over...growing and increasingly urbanised global population will increase demand for food and water, at the same time as climate change and other trends put

Cultural Awareness and Competency Development in Higher Education

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Leavitt, Lynda, Ed.; Wisdom, Sherrie, Ed.; Leavitt, Kelly, Ed.

2017-01-01

As the world becomes more globalized, student populations in university settings will continue to grow in diversity. To ensure students develop the cultural competence to adapt to new environments, universities and colleges must develop policies and programs to aid in the progression of cultural acceptance and understanding. "Cultural…

Producing biofuel crops: environmental and economic implications and strategies

USDA-ARS?s Scientific Manuscript database

The growing need for sustainable fuel sources must become compatible with the continued need for food by an ever increasing world population and the effects of climate change on ability to produce food and biofuel. Growing more hectares of biofuel crops such as corn increases sediment and nutrient l...

Environmental Literacy of Undergraduate College Students: Development of the Environmental Literacy Instrument (ELI)

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Lloyd-Strovas, Jenny; Moseley, Christine; Arsuffi, Tom

2018-01-01

As the world population continues to increase and natural resources become limited, environmental education (EE) in universities play an essential role in developing environmentally literate. This study measured the environmental literacy (EL) levels (familiar knowledge, factual knowledge, attitude, behavior) of undergraduate college students.…

How Dire Is Overfishing?

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Brown, Susan

2007-01-01

Recently, marine ecologists and economists have made the world aware of some alarming news about the ocean's bounty. According to researchers, populations of edible sea life are falling worldwide, and if the pattern were to continue, we would have no ocean fish left to harvest by midcentury. However, critics believe that this projection relies on…

COPD: epidemiology, prevalence, morbidity and mortality, and disease heterogeneity.

PubMed

Mannino, David M

2002-05-01

COPD continues to cause a heavy health and economic burden both in the United States and around the world. Some of the risk factors for COPD are well-known and include smoking, occupational exposures, air pollution, airway hyperresponsiveness, asthma, and certain genetic variations, although many questions, such as why < 20% of smokers develop significant airway obstruction, remain. Precise definitions of COPD vary and are frequently dependent on an accurate diagnosis of the problem by a physician. These differences in the definition of COPD can have large effects on the estimates of COPD in the population. Furthermore, evidence that COPD represents several different disease processes with potentially different interventions continues to emerge. In most of the world, COPD prevalence and mortality are still increasing and likely will continue to rise in response to increases in smoking, particularly by women and adolescents. Resources aimed at smoking cessation and prevention, COPD education and early detection, and better treatment will be of the most benefit in our continuing efforts against this important cause of morbidity and mortality.

A large scale virtual screen of DprE1.

PubMed

Wilsey, Claire; Gurka, Jessica; Toth, David; Franco, Jimmy

2013-12-01

Tuberculosis continues to plague the world with the World Health Organization estimating that about one third of the world's population is infected. Due to the emergence of MDR and XDR strains of TB, the need for novel therapeutics has become increasing urgent. Herein we report the results of a virtual screen of 4.1 million compounds against a promising drug target, DrpE1. The virtual compounds were obtained from the Zinc docking site and screened using the molecular docking program, AutoDock Vina. The computational hits have led to the identification of several promising lead compounds. Copyright © 2013 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

[Children and bankers in Bangladesh].

PubMed

Hartmann, B

1991-06-01

This critique of the World Bank's role in developing country population programs begins with a description of a 1987 case in which an 80-year- old Bangladeshi man was persuaded to undergo vasectomy and then robbed of his incentive payment by the health agent. For over 20 years, the World Bank has pressured 3rd World governments to implement population control programs. Although there are divergent opinions within the World Bank, the most dominant is the neomalthusian view that the poor through their high fertility help perpetuate their own poverty. This view hides the real source of poverty in the Third World: the unequal distribution of resources within these countries and between the developed and developing countries. The World Bank has always been blind to the inequalities, and has associated with the elites of developing countries who monopolize the resources of their countries and thereby impede authentic development. Furthermore, the emphasis on population control distorts social policy and hinders the implementation of safe and voluntary family planning services. In many countries the World Bank has required governments to give greater priority to population control than to basic health services. It has pressured them to relax contraceptive prescription norms and has promoted the more effective methods without regard to proper use or side effects. In Bangladesh the World Bank has sponsored sterilization programs that rely on coercion and incentives. In that country of enormous inequities, 10% of landowners control over 50% of lands, while nearly half the population is landless and chronically underemployed. Political power is concentrated in the military government, which annually receives over 1.5 billion dollars in external aid. External aid primarily benefits the wealthy. 3/4 of the population are undernourished and less than 1/3 are literate or have access to basic health care. The poor of Bangladesh, as in many other countries, feel that their only source of security is to have many children, a significant proportion of whom will not survive. In rural Bangladesh, where chronic hunger and unemployment are rife, the incentives and the pressures of family planning and health workers were sufficient to persuade many persons to undergo sterilization. Payment of commissions to workers to promote sterilization has discouraged them from supplying adequate information about sterilization for fear of losing clients. Population from other donors and wide publicity about the abuses in the sterilization program and the high rates of regret among women undergoing sterilization only for the incentives have led to some modifications, but the World Bank has continued to exert pressure on the Bangladeshi government to develop fertility-control programs. The damaging effects of World Bank population programs can also be seen in Indonesia, Nepal, and other developing countries.

Current Perspectives on Plague Vector Control in Madagascar: Susceptibility Status of Xenopsylla cheopis to 12 Insecticides.

PubMed

Miarinjara, Adélaïde; Boyer, Sébastien

2016-02-01

Plague is a rodent disease transmissible to humans by infected flea bites, and Madagascar is one of the countries with the highest plague incidence in the world. This study reports the susceptibility of the main plague vector Xenopsylla cheopis to 12 different insecticides belonging to 4 insecticide families (carbamates, organophosphates, pyrethroids and organochlorines). Eight populations from different geographical regions of Madagascar previously resistant to deltamethrin were tested with a World Health Organization standard bioassay. Insecticide susceptibility varied amongst populations, but all of them were resistant to six insecticides belonging to pyrethroid and carbamate insecticides (alphacypermethrin, lambdacyhalothrin, etofenprox, deltamethrin, bendiocarb and propoxur). Only one insecticide (dieldrin) was an efficient pulicide for all flea populations. Cross resistances were suspected. This study proposes at least three alternative insecticides (malathion, fenitrothion and cyfluthrin) to replace deltamethrin during plague epidemic responses, but the most efficient insecticide may be different for each population studied. We highlight the importance of continuous insecticide susceptibility surveillance in the areas of high plague risk in Madagascar.

Infectious Diseases, Urbanization and Climate Change: Challenges in Future China.

PubMed

Tong, Michael Xiaoliang; Hansen, Alana; Hanson-Easey, Scott; Cameron, Scott; Xiang, Jianjun; Liu, Qiyong; Sun, Yehuan; Weinstein, Philip; Han, Gil-Soo; Williams, Craig; Bi, Peng

2015-09-07

China is one of the largest countries in the world with nearly 20% of the world's population. There have been significant improvements in economy, education and technology over the last three decades. Due to substantial investments from all levels of government, the public health system in China has been improved since the 2003 severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS) outbreak. However, infectious diseases still remain a major population health issue and this may be exacerbated by rapid urbanization and unprecedented impacts of climate change. This commentary aims to explore China's current capacity to manage infectious diseases which impair population health. It discusses the existing disease surveillance system and underscores the critical importance of strengthening the system. It also explores how the growing migrant population, dramatic changes in the natural landscape following rapid urbanization, and changing climatic conditions can contribute to the emergence and re-emergence of infectious disease. Continuing research on infectious diseases, urbanization and climate change may inform the country's capacity to deal with emerging and re-emerging infectious diseases in the future.

Pharmacologic development of male hormonal contraceptive agents.

PubMed

Roth, M Y; Amory, J K

2011-01-01

The world population continues to increase dramatically despite the existence of contraceptive technology. The use of male hormonal contraception may help in preventing un intended pregnancies and managing future population growth. Male hormonal contraception relies on the administration of exogenous hormones to suppress spermatogenesis. Clinical trials have tested several regimens using testosterone, alone or in combination with a progestin. These regimens were shown to be >90% effective in preventing conception and were not associated with serious adverse events.

United Nations population estimates and projections with special reference to the Arab world.

PubMed

1980-06-01

The United Nations Population Division has been preparing world population estimates and projections by region since 1951, by country since 1958, and by sex and age for each country since 1968. The latest revision of the projections was prepared in 1978. The 2 basic methods of preparing population projections are mathematical and component, and the component methods are most widely used at present, by both national governments and the United Nations. Before projections are prepared, the base data must be evaluated and adjusted. In the UN projections, the assumptions imply that orderly progress will be made and that there will be no catastrophes such as famines and epidemics during the projection period. The projectins are prepared in 4 variants--"medium", "high," "low," and "constant." A major source of uncertainty in populations arises from the problem of estimating future fertility. Changes in fertility affect the age distribution and the total population size more than changes in mortality. At the UN, mortality assumptions are initially made in terms of life expectancy at birth and then in terms of age-sex patterns of probabilities of survival corresponding to different life expectancy levels at birth. Some of the results of the 1978 revision of the medium variant of the estimates and projections are shown in table form. The world total population of 4,033,000,000 in 1975 is projected to reach 6,199,000,000 by the year 2000. Among the major areas and regions of the world, the most rapid population growth for the future is projected for the Arab countries, Africa and Latin America. Of the 2 Arab regions, North Africa and Southwest Asia, Southwest Asia is expected to have the higher rate of growth because of assumed continued immigration. Within the Arab regions, there has been an increasing diversity in the rate of population growth. This divergence is expected to narrow with assumed decreased migration rates during the 1980s.

International Pre-Service Teachers' Practicum Experiences in the U.S.: Ethnographic Case Studies

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Kang, Jihea

2017-01-01

Many colleges around the world have been undergoing demographic shifts under the influence of globalization. The population of international students continues to grow dramatically. As such increasing number of international students has been enrolling U.S colleges. Teacher education is not an exception. However, international teacher candidates'…

Planning and Designing: The Future in Library Education.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Boaz, Martha

By the year 2,000 numerous changes will make this world very different from today's society. Our economy will be based on education and service related jobs instead of product-production. The population will almost double, and leisure time will increase dramatically due to increased automation. Continuous learning, often outside the formal…

On Precipitation Modification by Major Urban Areas: A New Perspective from TRMM

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Pierce, Harold; Shepherd, J. Marshall; Starr, David OC. (Technical Monitor)

2001-01-01

By year 2025, 80% of the world's population will live in cities, according to a 1999 United Nation's report. As cities continue to grow, urban sprawl creates unique challenges related to land use planning, transportation, agriculture, housing, pollution, and development. Urban expansion also has measurable impact on environmental process.

Construction of Difference and Diversity within Policy and Practice in England

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Lawson, Hazel; Boyask, Ruth; Waite, Sue

2013-01-01

Policy and practice responses to diversity and difference in pupil populations continue to challenge education systems around the world. This paper considers how teachers' understandings of diversity and difference and their pedagogical responses at the local level are influenced by, and can be reconciled with, policy at the general level with its…

Capacity reconsidered: Finding consensus and clarifying differences

Treesearch

Doug Whittaker; Bo Shelby; Robert Manning; David Cole; Glenn Haas

2010-01-01

In a world where populations and resource demands continue to grow, there is a long history of concern about the "capacity" of the environment to support human uses, including timber, rangelands, fish and wildlife, and recreation. Work on visitor capacities has evolved considerably since the late 1960s as a result of environmental planning, court proceedings...

Jobs in the Future. ERIC Digest No. 95.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Imel, Susan

The most significant factors affecting the labor market during the 1980s were the United States' loss of competitiveness in the world marketplace, continued shifts in production from goods to services, changes in the skill requirements of many jobs, and demographic shifts in the population. During the next decade, incompatibility between the type…

Should Nuclear Energy Form Part of the UK's Energy Future?

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Campbell, Peter

2003-01-01

Energy policies are under review everywhere, as the world tries to meet targets for reducing climate change despite continuing population growth. A major change in energy patterns is needed, with the critical period for transition predictably happening when young people currently at school are in their middle years of their lives. This article…

Responsible Environmental Action: Its Role and Status in Environmental Education and Environmental Quality

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Short, Philip C.

2009-01-01

This century will be one of continued global population growth, technological advancement, and subsequent burdens on the natural world from consumer demands. A citizenry capable of understanding the complexity of environmental issues and actively participating in their resolutions is vital. The ultimate goal of environmental educators should be to…

76 FR 63635 - Extension of the Designation of Sudan for Temporary Protected Status and Automatic Extension of...

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2011-10-13

... Front. A number of issues have not been fully addressed, however, including growing poverty, economic... intercommunal violence caused civilian deaths, continued displacement of the population, and general instability... environmental and economic factors, have created one of the worst humanitarian crises in the world. Despite...

Climate Impacts on Agriculture in the United States: The Value of Past Observations

USDA-ARS?s Scientific Manuscript database

Climate impacts on agriculture cause variations in crop yields and lead to lack of stability in grain production. This will become more critical as the world population continues to increase and demands more food. There have been many studies that have shown the impact of climate on agricultural pro...

Socio-Economic Profiles of Selected Ethnic/Visible Minority Groups--1981 Census.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Department of the Secretary of State, Ottawa (Ontario). Multiculturalism Directorate.

In Canada today no single ethnocultural group makes up a majority of the population. Increases in the number of immigrants, especially people from Third World nations, continue to accelerate Canada's ethnocultural heterogeneity. A new descriptive term "visible minority," is now used to describe persons who are non-white, and distinct…

Can human populations be stabilized?

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Warren, Stephen G.

2015-02-01

Historical examples of demographic change, in China, Italy, Nigeria, Utah, Easter Island, and elsewhere, together with simple mathematics and biological principles, show that stabilizing world population before it is limited by food supply will be more difficult than is generally appreciated. United Nations population projections are wrong because they assume, in spite of the absence of necessary feedbacks, that all nations will converge rapidly to replacement-level fertility and thereafter remain at that level. Education of women and provision of contraceptives have caused dramatic reductions in fertility, but many groups, including some that are well-educated, maintain high fertility. Small groups with persistent high fertility can grow to supplant low-fertility groups, resulting in continued growth of the total population. The global average fertility rate could rise even if each country's fertility rate is falling. In some low-fertility European countries where deaths exceed births, the population continues to grow because of immigration. Producing more than two offspring is normal for all animal species with stable populations because their populations are limited by resources or predation rather than birth control. It may therefore be appropriate to view the growth of human population as the result not of excess fertility but rather of excess food.

Life - Past, Present and Future. Environmental Education Curriculum. Revised.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Topeka Public Schools, KS.

This unit attempts to interrelate the traditional biological science studies such as food webs, population changes and ecological succession to form a coherent picture of our world today, the factors that created it and the forces that continue to change it. Designed for use in the secondary schools, it is built around nine films and has seven…

Managing and Leveraging Poverty: Implications for Teaching International Business

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Roy, Abhijit; Roy, Mousumi

2010-01-01

Over half of the world's population lives on less than $2 a day, and yet international business education to date has continued to ignore the not so well-off customers. We propose a holistic pedagogical approach to studying this market by considering the historical background of the growth of inequality and poverty in different regions of the…

The case for watchful waiting with Isle Royale's wolf population

USGS Publications Warehouse

Mech, L. David

2013-01-01

In "Should Isle Royale Wolves be Reintroduced? A Case Study on Wilderness Management in a Changing World," Vucetich et al. concluded with the hope that their analysis “motivates broader discussion that deepens understanding of the specifics on Isle Royale and the underlying principles” (2012: 137). This article represents an attempt to continue that discussion.

Capacity reconsidered: Finding consensus and clarifying differences

Treesearch

Doug Whittaker; Bo Shelby; Robert Manning; David Cole; Glenn Haas

2011-01-01

In a world where populations and resource demands continue to grow, there is a long history of concern about the "capacity" of the environment to support human uses, including timber, rangelands, fish and wildlife, and recreation. In the context of recreation, work on visitor capacities has evolved considerably since the late 1960s as a result of...

The effects of drought and herbivory on plant–herbivore interactions across 16 soybean genotypes in a field experiment

USDA-ARS?s Scientific Manuscript database

As the Earth’s climate continues to change, drought and insect population outbreaks are predicted to increase in many parts of the world. It is therefore important to understand how changes in such abiotic and biotic stressors might impact agroecosystems. 16 soybean genotypes were tested in a field ...

Energy development in the Great Basin

Treesearch

Nora Devoe

2008-01-01

The United States, with less than 5 percent of the world’s population, consumes 40 percent of the oil and 23 percent of natural gas annual global production. Fluctuating and rising energy prices can be expected to continue with political instability in producing countries and intensifying supply competition from expanding Asian economies. The United States seeks to...

The Intersectionality of Educational Inequalities and Child Poverty in Africa: A Deconstruction

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Tshabangu, Icarbord

2018-01-01

The developing world has continually faced tremendous challenges in providing social security and safety nets for its vast populations culminating in wider educational inequalities and extreme poverty. It is not uncommon in Sub-Saharan Africa to find rapacious wealth in the hands of a few co-existing with mass poverty. As a consequence, the…

Planning for Food Systems: Community-University Partnerships for Food-Systems Transformation

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Whittaker, Jennifer; Clark, Jill K.; SanGiovannni, Sarah; Raja, Samina

2017-01-01

The United Nations estimates that by 2050, more than 66% of the world's population will live in urban areas. In the face of continuing urbanization, how will communities meet the fundamental need for good food? What kinds of public policies, structures, and systems will ensure equitable and just access to food? We argue that urban universities…

Singapore.

PubMed

1987-02-01

Singapore's population stands at 2.6 million, with an annual growth rate of 1.1%. The infant mortality rate is 8.9/1000, and life expectancy is 69 years for men and 74 years for women. Chinese account for 77% of the population, while Malays comprise another 15%. The work force of 1.2 million is distributed as follows: agriculture, 1%; industry and commerce, 58%; services, 35%; and government, 6%. The gross domestic product was US$16 billion in 1985, with a per capita income of $6200. Although the rate of population growth has fallen, Singapore is one of the most densely populated countries in the world. Singapore's strategic location has given it an economic importance in Southeast Asia out of proportion to its size. After independence in 1965, Singapore's economy expanded rapidly and its infrastructure was modernized. Singapore continues to upgrade worker skills and search for new products and markets for its export-led economy. A central goal is to make Singapore a complete business center, offering multinationals a manufacturing base, a developed financial infrastructure, and excellent communications to service regional and world markets. The government's development policy since independence has emphasized industrialization.

World Population: Facts in Focus. World Population Data Sheet Workbook. Population Learning Series.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Crews, Kimberly A.

This workbook teaches population analysis using world population statistics. To complete the four student activity sheets, the students refer to the included "1988 World Population Data Sheet" which lists nations' statistical data that includes population totals, projected population, birth and death rates, fertility levels, and the…

World Population: Toward the Next Century. Revised Edition.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Murphy, Elaine M.

This document consists of answers to questions on various aspects of world population. They are: What is the population of the world? How fast is the population of the world growing? When will the population of the world stop growing? Is the term "population explosion" accurate? Why did this sudden growth occur? Did people have more babies than…

The path towards sustainable energy

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Chu, Steven; Cui, Yi; Liu, Nian

2017-01-01

Civilization continues to be transformed by our ability to harness energy beyond human and animal power. A series of industrial and agricultural revolutions have allowed an increasing fraction of the world population to heat and light their homes, fertilize and irrigate their crops, connect to one another and travel around the world. All of this progress is fuelled by our ability to find, extract and use energy with ever increasing dexterity. Research in materials science is contributing to progress towards a sustainable future based on clean energy generation, transmission and distribution, the storage of electrical and chemical energy, energy efficiency, and better energy management systems.

The path towards sustainable energy.

PubMed

Chu, Steven; Cui, Yi; Liu, Nian

2016-12-20

Civilization continues to be transformed by our ability to harness energy beyond human and animal power. A series of industrial and agricultural revolutions have allowed an increasing fraction of the world population to heat and light their homes, fertilize and irrigate their crops, connect to one another and travel around the world. All of this progress is fuelled by our ability to find, extract and use energy with ever increasing dexterity. Research in materials science is contributing to progress towards a sustainable future based on clean energy generation, transmission and distribution, the storage of electrical and chemical energy, energy efficiency, and better energy management systems.

The economics of protecting tiger populations: Linking household behavior to poaching and prey depletion

USGS Publications Warehouse

Damania, R.; Stringer, R.; Karanth, K.U.; Stith, B.

2003-01-01

The tiger (Panthera tigris) is classified as endangered and populations continue to decline. This paper presents a formal economic analysis of the two most imminent threats to the survival of wild tigers: poaching tigers and hunting their prey. A model is developed to examine interactions between tigers and farm households living in and around tiger habitats. The analysis extends the existing literature on tiger demography, incorporating predator-prey interactions and exploring the sensitivity of tiger populations to key economic parameters. The analysis aims to contribute to policy debates on how best to protect one of the world's most endangered wild cats.

Online and Social Media Data As an Imperfect Continuous Panel Survey

PubMed Central

2016-01-01

There is a large body of research on utilizing online activity as a survey of political opinion to predict real world election outcomes. There is considerably less work, however, on using this data to understand topic-specific interest and opinion amongst the general population and specific demographic subgroups, as currently measured by relatively expensive surveys. Here we investigate this possibility by studying a full census of all Twitter activity during the 2012 election cycle along with the comprehensive search history of a large panel of Internet users during the same period, highlighting the challenges in interpreting online and social media activity as the results of a survey. As noted in existing work, the online population is a non-representative sample of the offline world (e.g., the U.S. voting population). We extend this work to show how demographic skew and user participation is non-stationary and difficult to predict over time. In addition, the nature of user contributions varies substantially around important events. Furthermore, we note subtle problems in mapping what people are sharing or consuming online to specific sentiment or opinion measures around a particular topic. We provide a framework, built around considering this data as an imperfect continuous panel survey, for addressing these issues so that meaningful insight about public interest and opinion can be reliably extracted from online and social media data. PMID:26730933

Online and Social Media Data As an Imperfect Continuous Panel Survey.

PubMed

Diaz, Fernando; Gamon, Michael; Hofman, Jake M; Kıcıman, Emre; Rothschild, David

2016-01-01

There is a large body of research on utilizing online activity as a survey of political opinion to predict real world election outcomes. There is considerably less work, however, on using this data to understand topic-specific interest and opinion amongst the general population and specific demographic subgroups, as currently measured by relatively expensive surveys. Here we investigate this possibility by studying a full census of all Twitter activity during the 2012 election cycle along with the comprehensive search history of a large panel of Internet users during the same period, highlighting the challenges in interpreting online and social media activity as the results of a survey. As noted in existing work, the online population is a non-representative sample of the offline world (e.g., the U.S. voting population). We extend this work to show how demographic skew and user participation is non-stationary and difficult to predict over time. In addition, the nature of user contributions varies substantially around important events. Furthermore, we note subtle problems in mapping what people are sharing or consuming online to specific sentiment or opinion measures around a particular topic. We provide a framework, built around considering this data as an imperfect continuous panel survey, for addressing these issues so that meaningful insight about public interest and opinion can be reliably extracted from online and social media data.

Receptive Multilingualism as a Strategy for Sharing Mutual Linguistic Resources in the Workplace in a Swiss Context

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Lüdi, Georges

2013-01-01

The growing mobility of populations in important parts of the world has led, and is continuing to lead, to a lasting change from monolingual to multilingual teams of people working together, and the need for techniques for communication between people of different languages. A frequent stereotype envisages the most convenient solution as the…

The Case for Investing in Secondary Education in Sub-Saharan Africa (SSA): Challenges and Opportunities

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Fredriksen, Birger; Fossberg, Camilla Helgø

2014-01-01

Over the next two decades, sub-Saharan Africa will face substantial pressure to expand its secondary education system. This is driven by the current low development of secondary education compared to other world regions, continued rapid population growth, the increase in the enrollment and completion rates at the primary education level, and the…

How Can Agricultural and Extension Educators Contribute to a Successful New Green Revolution?

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Navarro, Maria

2006-01-01

In the middle of the 20th century, many in the world were predicting catastrophic starvation that was halted by the Green Revolution. To address continued population growth and the unsolved problems of the Green Revolution, many hope for a new and different Green Revolution. Supporters of a biotechnology-based revolution claim that it could…

Pocket School: Exploring Mobile Technology as a Sustainable Literacy Education Option for Underserved Indigenous Children in Latin America

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Kim, Paul; Miranda, Talia; Olaciregui, Claudia

2008-01-01

Literacy is a human right unequally distributed among the world's population. Despite global efforts to fight illiteracy, high illiteracy rates continue to jeopardize access for many to basic schooling, life-long learning, health, and environment safety. Illiteracy also hinders the economic prosperity of the poorest societies in this digital age.…

Are we on the right track: Can our understanding of abscission in model systems promote or derail making improvements in less studied crops

USDA-ARS?s Scientific Manuscript database

As the world population grows and resources and climate conditions change, crop improvement continues to be one of the most important challenges for agriculturalists. The yield and quality of many crops is affected by abscission or shattering, and environmental stresses often hasten or alter the abs...

The Future of Urbanization: Facing the Ecological and Economic Constraints. Worldwatch Paper 77.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Brown, Lester R.; Jacobson, Jodi L.

Aside from the growth of world population itself, urbanization is the dominant demographic trend of the late twentieth century. The number of people living in cities increased from six hundred million in 1950 to over two billion in 1986. If this growth continues unabated, more than half of humanity will reside in urban areas shortly after the turn…

Population and geographic range dynamics: implications for conservation planning

PubMed Central

Mace, Georgina M.; Collen, Ben; Fuller, Richard A.; Boakes, Elizabeth H.

2010-01-01

Continuing downward trends in the population sizes of many species, in the conservation status of threatened species, and in the quality, extent and connectedness of habitats are of increasing concern. Identifying the attributes of declining populations will help predict how biodiversity will be impacted and guide conservation actions. However, the drivers of biodiversity declines have changed over time and average trends in abundance or distributional change hide significant variation among species. While some populations are declining rapidly, the majority remain relatively stable and others are increasing. Here we dissect out some of the changing drivers of population and geographic range change, and identify biological and geographical correlates of winners and losers in two large datasets covering local population sizes of vertebrates since 1970 and the distributions of Galliform birds over the last two centuries. We find weak evidence for ecological and biological traits being predictors of local decline in range or abundance, but stronger evidence for the role of local anthropogenic threats and environmental change. An improved understanding of the dynamics of threat processes and how they may affect different species will help to guide better conservation planning in a continuously changing world. PMID:20980321

Will human populations be limited by food?

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Warren, S. G.

2016-12-01

Historical examples of demographic change, in China, Italy, Nigeria, Utah, the Philippines, and elsewhere, together with simple mathematics and biological principles, show that stabilizing world population before it is limited by food supply will be more difficult than is generally appreciated. United Nations population projections are based on a logical fallacy in that they assume, in spite of the absence of necessary negative feedbacks, that all nations will converge rapidly to replacement-level fertility and thereafter remain at that level. The benign projections that have resulted from this assumption may have hindered efforts to make availability of birth-control a priority in development-aid. Education of women and provision of contraceptives have caused dramatic reductions in fertility, but many groups, including some that are well-educated, maintain high fertility. Small groups with persistent high fertility can grow to supplant low-fertility groups, resulting in continued growth of the total population. The global average fertility rate could rise even if each country's fertility rate is falling. In some low-fertility European countries where deaths exceed births, the population continues to grow because of immigration. Producing more than two offspring is normal for all animal species with stable populations, because their populations are limited by resources or predation rather than birth control. It may therefore be appropriate to view the growth of human population as the result not of excess fertility but rather of excess food. Even if the fertility rate is maintained far in excess of 2, the population cannot grow if food is limiting. Without the agricultural advances of the 20thcentury, world population could not have grown as it did from 1.7 billion in 1900 to 6 billion in 2000. The food supply may be enhanced in the future by genetic engineering and other innovations, but it may be limited by water shortage, climate change, pollution, and energy shortage. The efficiency of agriculture may be diminished by breakdown of social infrastructure. References: S.G. Warren, 2015: Can human populations be stabilized? Earth's Future 3, 82-94, doi:10.1002/2014EF000275 S.G. Warren, 2016: Reply to comment, Earth's Future 4, 18-19, doi:10.1002/2015EF000341

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Brown, L.R.

The global lily pond in which four billion of us live may already be half full. The author believes that UN projections showing world population continuing to grow until it reaches ten to sixteen billion is unrealistic. In this analysis of the four principal biological systems on which humanity depends - fisheries, forests, grasslands, and croplands - the author shows that the demands at current levels of population and per capita consumption often exceed the long-term carrying capacity. The effects of overfishing, deforestation, and overgrazing that are gradually undermining human life-support systems are documented. With energy shortages anticipated inthe earlymore » eighties and the projected downturn in world oil production in the early nineties, the world must quickly shift to renewable energy resources. These accommodations constitute an enormous challenge and suggest changes that will affect virtually every facet of human existence. The coming transformation will surely give rise to new social structures and to an economic system materially different from any we know today. Like other periods of convulsive change, it will put great stress on both individuals and institutions. 106 references, 17 figures, 18 tables.« less

Astrosociology and the Capacity of Major World Religions to Contextualize the Possibility of Life Beyond Earth

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

McAdamis, E. M.

As the scientific view of life as an emergent property in the universe continues to gain traction, it has become increasingly necessary to assess the potential for religious engagement with astrobiological issues. Astrobiology is an endeavor conducted on behalf of all humanity, and the fruits of its continued progress promise to have a far-reaching impact on every belief system and worldview. While the body of literature gauging the religious implications of the possibility of life beyond Earth continues to expand, there has, to date, been a disproportionate emphasis placed on the examination of Christian theology. Given that more than two-thirds of the world's population is non-Christian, astrosociological outreach to the religious community should strive to encompass all of the major religions of the world. This paper seeks to provide an overview assessment of the world religious landscape as it relates to astrosociology through an examination of the nineteen largest religious groups in the world. The analysis contained in the paper relies on surveys of religious leaders and adherents, religious literature that directly and indirectly addresses astrobiological issues, conference and workshop proceedings, and the astrobiological literature addressing society and religion. This paper illustrates the capacity of religion to act as a mutually beneficial partner with science in helping to contextualize astrobiological issues in diverse societies across the world. Most studies on the religious implications of astrobiology have tended to focus on whether Christianity is flexible enough to reconcile life beyond Earth with human-centered doctrines such as a special creation, a unique incarnation, and vicarious redemption. This paper shows that while there is reason to believe that most of Christendom would be amenable to astrobiological evidence, the larger religious landscape of the world seems to be philosophically constituted to not merely survive astrobiological pursuits, but to be explicitly compatible with, or even validated by, evidence of the universe harboring life beyond Earth.

Biology of male fertility control: an overview of various male contraceptive approaches.

PubMed

Tulsiani, D R; Abou-Haila, A

2015-04-01

The population of our planet continues to grow at an alarming rate. If the growth continues at the present rate, the estimated current world population of about seven billion is expected to double in the next forty years. Accumulated data from surveys by the United Nations Population Control Division suggest that a majority of today's young men in many countries are willing to have fewer children than their parents did. However, the contraceptive options available to them have not changed in several decades. In spite of the general agreement that men, like women, must take full responsibility of their fertility, the availability of safe, reversible and affordable contraceptives for men have lagged behind because of the complexity of the science of the male reproductive system. Thus, the contraceptive needs of millions of men/couples go unmet every single day and results in millions of unwanted pregnancies. In this article, we intend to discuss new hormonal and non-hormonal contraceptive approaches that are at various stages of research and development and may someday provide new contraceptives for men. In addition, we intend to discuss many details of three safe, effective, affordable and reversible vas-based approaches that are inching closer to being approved for use by millions of men in multiple countries. Finally, our intention is to discuss the male contraceptive pill that will soon be available to men only in Indonesia. The availability of these male contraceptives will allow both men and women to take full control of their fertility and participate in slowing down the growth of world population.

Science for Humanity: Giving Generously to Our World

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Sparks, R. Stephen J.

2010-09-01

Hardly a week goes by without some reminder that we live in an age of anxiety and a world in environmental crisis. As I write this message, unusual stratospheric wind patterns in the Northern Hemisphere seem to be implicated in tragic floods in Pakistan, landslides in China, and wildfires near Moscow. The oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico reminds us of our dependence on oil, the increasing scarcity of natural resources, and the adverse environmental impact of our appetite for these resources. The Haiti earthquake earlier this year demonstrates the vulnerability of human society to the natural world. So does the small volcanic eruption in Iceland that disrupted the travel plans of millions of people and cost the aviation industry billions of dollars. Our vulnerability seems to be increasing as the world's population continues to grow, as globalization and interdependencies advance at a giddy pace, and as human societies strive for economic growth.

2006 Harben Lecture. World poverty and population health: the need for sustainable change.

PubMed

Aitsi-Selmi, Amina

2008-06-01

Despite important recent initiatives to improve the health of the most disadvantaged in the world (the Millennium Development Goals, debt cancellation campaigns), poverty and preventable diseases still plague many parts of the globe. Sub-Saharan Africa remains one of the most severely affected. It is the only region in the world where life expectancy has not seen much improvement. Some countries have employed strategies of investment in public services, such as education, with positive results (e.g. the 'tiger economies'). Others have tried to follow prescribed strategies from global institutions such as the International Monetary Fund and World Bank with varying degrees of success. Sustainable development will require continuous commitment from donors and recipients to long-term strategies. Oxfam believes investment in public services and education is key to sustainability, in combination with more effective debt cancellation. These concepts are explored in the 2006 Harben Lecture given by Barbara Stocking, Director of Oxfam.

Selected Nutrients and Their Implications for Health and Disease across the Lifespan: A Roadmap

PubMed Central

Péter, Szabolcs; Eggersdorfer, Manfred; van Asselt, Dieneke; Buskens, Erik; Detzel, Patrick; Freijer, Karen; Koletzko, Berthold; Kraemer, Klaus; Kuipers, Folkert; Neufeld, Lynnette; Obeid, Rima; Wieser, Simon; Zittermann, Armin; Weber, Peter

2014-01-01

Worldwide approximately two billion people have a diet insufficient in micronutrients. Even in the developed world, an increasing number of people consume nutrient-poor food on a regular basis. Recent surveys in Western countries consistently indicate inadequate intake of nutrients such as vitamins and minerals, compared to recommendations. The International Osteoporosis Foundation’s (IOF) latest figures show that globally about 88% of the population does not have an optimal vitamin D status. The Lancet’s “Global Burden of Disease Study 2010” demonstrates a continued growth in life expectancy for populations around the world; however, the last decade of life is often disabled by the burden of partly preventable health issues. Compelling evidence suggests that improving nutrition protects health, prevents disability, boosts economic productivity and saves lives. Investments to improve nutrition make a positive contribution to long-term national and global health, economic productivity and stability, and societal resilience. PMID:25533014

Syphilis and human experimentation from World War II to the present: a historical perspective and reflections on ethics.

PubMed

Cuerda-Galindo, E; Sierra-Valenti, X; González-López, E; López-Muñoz, F

2014-11-01

Even after the Nuremberg code was published, research on syphilis often continued to fall far short of ethical standards. We review post-World War II research on this disease, focusing on the work carried out in Guatemala and Tuskegee. Over a thousand adults were deliberately inoculated with infectious material for syphilis, chancroid, and gonorrhea between 1946 and 1948 in Guatemala, and thousands of serologies were performed in individuals belonging to indigenous populations or sheltered in orphanages. The Tuskegee syphilis study, conducted by the US Public Health Service, took place between 1932 and 1972 with the aim of following the natural history of the disease when left untreated. The subjects belonged to a rural black population and the study was not halted when effective treatment for syphilis became available in 1945. Copyright © 2013 Elsevier España, S.L.U. and AEDV. All rights reserved.

Food Waste to Energy: An Overview of Sustainable Approaches for Food Waste Management and Nutrient Recycling

PubMed Central

Paritosh, Kunwar; Kushwaha, Sandeep K.; Yadav, Monika; Pareek, Nidhi; Chawade, Aakash

2017-01-01

Food wastage and its accumulation are becoming a critical problem around the globe due to continuous increase of the world population. The exponential growth in food waste is imposing serious threats to our society like environmental pollution, health risk, and scarcity of dumping land. There is an urgent need to take appropriate measures to reduce food waste burden by adopting standard management practices. Currently, various kinds of approaches are investigated in waste food processing and management for societal benefits and applications. Anaerobic digestion approach has appeared as one of the most ecofriendly and promising solutions for food wastes management, energy, and nutrient production, which can contribute to world's ever-increasing energy requirements. Here, we have briefly described and explored the different aspects of anaerobic biodegrading approaches for food waste, effects of cosubstrates, effect of environmental factors, contribution of microbial population, and available computational resources for food waste management researches. PMID:28293629

Food Waste to Energy: An Overview of Sustainable Approaches for Food Waste Management and Nutrient Recycling.

PubMed

Paritosh, Kunwar; Kushwaha, Sandeep K; Yadav, Monika; Pareek, Nidhi; Chawade, Aakash; Vivekanand, Vivekanand

2017-01-01

Food wastage and its accumulation are becoming a critical problem around the globe due to continuous increase of the world population. The exponential growth in food waste is imposing serious threats to our society like environmental pollution, health risk, and scarcity of dumping land. There is an urgent need to take appropriate measures to reduce food waste burden by adopting standard management practices. Currently, various kinds of approaches are investigated in waste food processing and management for societal benefits and applications. Anaerobic digestion approach has appeared as one of the most ecofriendly and promising solutions for food wastes management, energy, and nutrient production, which can contribute to world's ever-increasing energy requirements. Here, we have briefly described and explored the different aspects of anaerobic biodegrading approaches for food waste, effects of cosubstrates, effect of environmental factors, contribution of microbial population, and available computational resources for food waste management researches.

The genetic prehistory of the New World Arctic.

PubMed

Raghavan, Maanasa; DeGiorgio, Michael; Albrechtsen, Anders; Moltke, Ida; Skoglund, Pontus; Korneliussen, Thorfinn S; Grønnow, Bjarne; Appelt, Martin; Gulløv, Hans Christian; Friesen, T Max; Fitzhugh, William; Malmström, Helena; Rasmussen, Simon; Olsen, Jesper; Melchior, Linea; Fuller, Benjamin T; Fahrni, Simon M; Stafford, Thomas; Grimes, Vaughan; Renouf, M A Priscilla; Cybulski, Jerome; Lynnerup, Niels; Lahr, Marta Mirazon; Britton, Kate; Knecht, Rick; Arneborg, Jette; Metspalu, Mait; Cornejo, Omar E; Malaspinas, Anna-Sapfo; Wang, Yong; Rasmussen, Morten; Raghavan, Vibha; Hansen, Thomas V O; Khusnutdinova, Elza; Pierre, Tracey; Dneprovsky, Kirill; Andreasen, Claus; Lange, Hans; Hayes, M Geoffrey; Coltrain, Joan; Spitsyn, Victor A; Götherström, Anders; Orlando, Ludovic; Kivisild, Toomas; Villems, Richard; Crawford, Michael H; Nielsen, Finn C; Dissing, Jørgen; Heinemeier, Jan; Meldgaard, Morten; Bustamante, Carlos; O'Rourke, Dennis H; Jakobsson, Mattias; Gilbert, M Thomas P; Nielsen, Rasmus; Willerslev, Eske

2014-08-29

The New World Arctic, the last region of the Americas to be populated by humans, has a relatively well-researched archaeology, but an understanding of its genetic history is lacking. We present genome-wide sequence data from ancient and present-day humans from Greenland, Arctic Canada, Alaska, Aleutian Islands, and Siberia. We show that Paleo-Eskimos (~3000 BCE to 1300 CE) represent a migration pulse into the Americas independent of both Native American and Inuit expansions. Furthermore, the genetic continuity characterizing the Paleo-Eskimo period was interrupted by the arrival of a new population, representing the ancestors of present-day Inuit, with evidence of past gene flow between these lineages. Despite periodic abandonment of major Arctic regions, a single Paleo-Eskimo metapopulation likely survived in near-isolation for more than 4000 years, only to vanish around 700 years ago. Copyright © 2014, American Association for the Advancement of Science.

Global climate and infectious disease: The cholera paradigm

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Colwell, R.R.

1996-12-20

Historically, infectious diseases have had a profound effect on human populations, including their evolution and cultural development. Despite significant advances in medical science, infectious diseases continue to impact human populations in many parts of the world. Emerging diseases are considered to be those infections that either are newly appearing in the population or are rapidly increasing in incidence or expanding in geographic range. Emergence of disease is not a simple phenomenon, mainly because infectious diseases are dynamic. Most new infections are not caused by truly new pathogens but are microorganisms (viruses, bacteria, fungi, protozoa, and helminths) that find a newmore » way to enter a susceptible host and are newly recognized because of recently developed, sensitive techniques. Human activities drive emergence of disease and a variety of social, economic, political, climatic, technological, and environmental factors can shape the pattern of a disease and influence its emergence into populations. For example, travel affects emergence of disease, and human migrations have been the main source of epidemics throughout history. Trade caravans, religious pilgrimage, and military campaigns facilitated the spread of plague, smallpox, and cholera. Global travel is a fact of modern life and, equally so, the continued evolution of microorganisms; therefore, new infections will continue to emerge, and known infections will change in distribution, frequency, and severity. 88 refs., 1 fig.« less

Global Equity and Justice Issues for Young People During the First Three Decades of Life.

PubMed

Petersen, Anne; Koller, Silvia H; Motti-Stefanidi, Frosso; Verma, Suman

This chapter takes a global perspective on equity and justice during development from childhood into adulthood. Globally, the population of young people is booming with the most rapid growth among young people in the poorest countries. While already faced with significant issues related to development and thriving, this population boom also exacerbates equity and justice for these children. Given this urgent situation, this chapter builds from the large body of minority world research, as well as the emergent majority world research, to argue that in order to turn the youth bulge into a demographic dividend, researchers must utilize a positive development framing rather than the more dominant problem-focused framing in studying these issues. The structural challenges confronting young people growing up in contexts marked by poverty; weak systems and institutions, especially those serving education, health, and justice; weak political and governance systems; and continual conflict must also be addressed by global and national governmental bodies. This chapter will emphasize the strengths and opportunities of the majority world, highlighting some of the strong, emergent examples of programs that support and develop the strengths of young people. We conclude with a discussion of appropriate support required from the minority and majority worlds that would further strengthen young people globally and enable them to become leaders of a more just, equitable world. © 2016 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Facing the Urban Challenge: Reimagining Land Use in America's Distressed Older Cities--The Federal Policy Role

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Mallach, Alan

2010-01-01

The end of World War II heralded an era of urban disinvestment in the United States. While some cities began to rebound in the 1990s with population and economic growth, others--including large cities like Detroit, Cleveland, and St. Louis as well as many smaller cities and towns--did not, and have continued to decline. As these communities…

Empowering Students to Investigate Their Energy Consumption with a Safe, Easy-to-Use, Low-Cost Electrical Energy Meter

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Darling, Gerald

2012-01-01

Middle school students hear about energy continuously: in the news, in many of their classes, and at home. Most students realize that recent wars have been fought over energy resources, and many will accept that overreliance on fossil fuels is changing the global climate. Students understand that as the world population surges past seven billion,…

Population priorities: the challenge of continued rapid population growth.

PubMed

Turner, Adair

2009-10-27

Rapid population growth continues in the least developed countries. The revisionist case that rapid population could be overcome by technology, that population density was advantageous, that capital shallowing is not a vital concern and that empirical investigations had not proved a correlation between high population growth and low per capita income was both empirically and theoretically flawed. In the modern world, population density does not play the role it did in nineteenth-century Europe and rates of growth in some of today's least developed nations are four times than those in nineteenth-century Europe, and without major accumulation of capital per capita, no major economy has or is likely to make the low- to middle-income transition. Though not sufficient, capital accumulation for growth is absolutely essential to economic growth. While there are good reasons for objecting to the enforced nature of the Chinese one-child policy, we should not underestimate the positive impact which that policy has almost certainly had and will have over the next several decades on Chinese economic performance. And a valid reticence about telling developing countries that they must contain fertility should not lead us to underestimate the severely adverse impact of high fertility rates on the economic performance and prospects of many countries in Africa and the Middle East.

The path towards sustainable energy

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Chu, Steven; Cui, Yi; Liu, Nian

Civilization continues to be transformed by our ability to harness energy beyond human and animal power. A series of industrial and agricultural revolutions have allowed an increasing fraction of the world population to heat and light their homes, fertilize and irrigate their crops, connect to one another and travel around the world. All of this progress is fuelled by our ability to find, extract and use energy with ever increasing dexterity. Lastly, research in materials science is contributing to progress towards a sustainable future based on clean energy generation, transmission and distribution, the storage of electrical and chemical energy, energymore » efficiency, and better energy management systems.« less

The path towards sustainable energy

DOE PAGES

Chu, Steven; Cui, Yi; Liu, Nian

2016-12-20

Civilization continues to be transformed by our ability to harness energy beyond human and animal power. A series of industrial and agricultural revolutions have allowed an increasing fraction of the world population to heat and light their homes, fertilize and irrigate their crops, connect to one another and travel around the world. All of this progress is fuelled by our ability to find, extract and use energy with ever increasing dexterity. Lastly, research in materials science is contributing to progress towards a sustainable future based on clean energy generation, transmission and distribution, the storage of electrical and chemical energy, energymore » efficiency, and better energy management systems.« less

The demographic impact of the Philippine family planning program: a tale of two Metro Manilas.

PubMed

1993-11-01

This pamphlet predicts the rates of contraceptive prevalence, total fertility, and population growth in the Philippines during 1970-2000. Contraceptive prevalence was 14.5% in 1970 and is expected to be 50% in 2000. Total fertility was 5.9 in 1970 and is expected to be 3.2 in 2000. Population was 36 million in 1970, 65 million in 1993, and is expected to be 75 million in 2000. If the family planning program had not continued to expand after 1970, population would have been 75 million in 1993 and would rise to 96.7 million in 2000. With expanded family planning, the difference in population for 2000 is 22 million people, or the equivalent of 2 metropolitan Manilas. A projected population that is smaller by 22 million is important for carrying capacity. A summary is given of the world situation proposed by Worldwatch. The projection is for increased demand for food from the 90 million people a year added to total world population. Food output during 1950-84 increased dramatically. However recent trends indicate that fish harvests from oceans have leveled off at 100 million tons a year and fish prices have risen rapidly. Fresh water shortages are now apparent in the United States, Mexico, China, India, and the Middle East. Grain production has slowed. Per capita output of rice, corn, and wheat has declined by 11% since 1984. World stocks of rice are low. Grain prices have doubled on the Chicago Board of Trade. Fertilizer use has declined 12% since 1989. Much crop production has reached maximum yields. Topsoil is disappearing, and cropland expanded only 2% in the last 10 years. Since 1945, 2 million hectares of land have been degraded by overgrazing, deforestation, and agricultural mismanagement.

Foraging and farming as niche construction: stable and unstable adaptations

PubMed Central

Rowley-Conwy, Peter; Layton, Robert

2011-01-01

All forager (or hunter–gatherer) societies construct niches, many of them actively by the concentration of wild plants into useful stands, small-scale cultivation, burning of natural vegetation to encourage useful species, and various forms of hunting, collectively termed ‘low-level food production’. Many such niches are stable and can continue indefinitely, because forager populations are usually stable. Some are unstable, but these usually transform into other foraging niches, not geographically expansive farming niches. The Epipalaeolithic (final hunter–gatherer) niche in the Near East was complex but stable, with a relatively high population density, until destabilized by an abrupt climatic change. The niche was unintentionally transformed into an agricultural one, due to chance genetic and behavioural attributes of some wild plant and animal species. The agricultural niche could be exported with modifications over much of the Old World. This was driven by massive population increase and had huge impacts on local people, animals and plants wherever the farming niche was carried. Farming niches in some areas may temporarily come close to stability, but the history of the last 11 000 years does not suggest that agriculture is an effective strategy for achieving demographic and political stability in the world's farming populations. PMID:21320899

Aging in the Republic of Bulgaria.

PubMed

Pitheckoff, Natalie

2017-10-01

Bulgaria, a southeastern European nation with 7.1 million inhabitants, is ranked 4th in the world for its rate of population aging. Bulgaria has one of the highest proportions of older adults in the world with approximately 20% aged 65 and older. Three main demographic factors have led to rapid population aging. These include emigration, high death rates, and low birth rates. This "perfect storm" of demographic factors has created numerous political, social, and economic challenges for Bulgaria. For example, informal support of older adults is declining as younger generations move abroad or to urban areas for greater employment opportunities. This has increased the need for formal long-term services and supports, which can be at odds with traditional values. Additionally, economic sustainability is a major concern for the nation as population aging and de-population continues. Few gerontological organizations, scholars, or secondary datasets exist in the country. To address these challenges, more research on aging is needed to encourage economic renewal, healthy aging policies, and long-term services and supports. © The Author 2017. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of The Gerontological Society of America. All rights reserved. For permissions, please e-mail: journals.permissions@oup.com.

Global Prevalence of Myopia and High Myopia and Temporal Trends from 2000 through 2050.

PubMed

Holden, Brien A; Fricke, Timothy R; Wilson, David A; Jong, Monica; Naidoo, Kovin S; Sankaridurg, Padmaja; Wong, Tien Y; Naduvilath, Thomas J; Resnikoff, Serge

2016-05-01

Myopia is a common cause of vision loss, with uncorrected myopia the leading cause of distance vision impairment globally. Individual studies show variations in the prevalence of myopia and high myopia between regions and ethnic groups, and there continues to be uncertainty regarding increasing prevalence of myopia. Systematic review and meta-analysis. We performed a systematic review and meta-analysis of the prevalence of myopia and high myopia and estimated temporal trends from 2000 to 2050 using data published since 1995. The primary data were gathered into 5-year age groups from 0 to ≥100, in urban or rural populations in each country, standardized to definitions of myopia of -0.50 diopter (D) or less and of high myopia of -5.00 D or less, projected to the year 2010, then meta-analyzed within Global Burden of Disease (GBD) regions. Any urban or rural age group that lacked data in a GBD region took data from the most similar region. The prevalence data were combined with urbanization data and population data from United Nations Population Department (UNPD) to estimate the prevalence of myopia and high myopia in each country of the world. These estimates were combined with myopia change estimates over time derived from regression analysis of published evidence to project to each decade from 2000 through 2050. We included data from 145 studies covering 2.1 million participants. We estimated 1406 million people with myopia (22.9% of the world population; 95% confidence interval [CI], 932-1932 million [15.2%-31.5%]) and 163 million people with high myopia (2.7% of the world population; 95% CI, 86-387 million [1.4%-6.3%]) in 2000. We predict by 2050 there will be 4758 million people with myopia (49.8% of the world population; 3620-6056 million [95% CI, 43.4%-55.7%]) and 938 million people with high myopia (9.8% of the world population; 479-2104 million [95% CI, 5.7%-19.4%]). Myopia and high myopia estimates from 2000 to 2050 suggest significant increases in prevalences globally, with implications for planning services, including managing and preventing myopia-related ocular complications and vision loss among almost 1 billion people with high myopia. Copyright © 2016 American Academy of Ophthalmology. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Analysing the World Population: Using Population Pyramids and "If the World Were a Village"

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Caniglia, Joanne; Leapard, Barbara

2010-01-01

The book "If the World Were a Village," by David J. Smith, is the context for analysing and creating graphs of the world's demographic information. Students examine numerical information regarding the more than six billion world inhabitants by imagining the world's population as 100 people.

Framing the Future with Bacteriophages in Agriculture

PubMed Central

Svircev, Antonet; Roach, Dwayne; Castle, Alan

2018-01-01

The ability of agriculture to continually provide food to a growing world population is of crucial importance. Bacterial diseases of plants and animals have continually reduced production since the advent of crop cultivation and animal husbandry practices. Antibiotics have been used extensively to mitigate these losses. The rise of antimicrobial resistant (AMR) bacteria, however, together with consumers’ calls for antibiotic-free products, presents problems that threaten sustainable agriculture. Bacteriophages (phages) are proposed as bacterial population control alternatives to antibiotics. Their unique properties make them highly promising but challenging antimicrobials. The use of phages in agriculture also presents a number of unique challenges. This mini-review summarizes recent development and perspectives of phages used as antimicrobial agents in plant and animal agriculture at the farm level. The main pathogens and their adjoining phage therapies are discussed. PMID:29693561

Some implications of changing patterns of mineral consumption

USGS Publications Warehouse

Menzie, W. David; DeYoung,, John H.; Steblez, Walter G.

2003-01-01

DeYoung and Menzie (1999) examined the relations among population, Gross Domestic Product, and mineral consumption (aluminum, cement, copper, and salt) for Japan, Korea, and the United States between 1965 and 1995. They noted the extremely rapid growth of consumption in Korea between 1975 and 1995. Concomitantly, Korea's population growth rate declined. This paper extends that earlier work by examining patterns of consumption of these same commodities in the twenty most populous countries for the period 1970 through 1995. Developed countries, such as France, Germany, Japan, the United Kingdom, and the United States, show patterns of consumption that are stable (cement, copper, and salt) or grow slowly (aluminum). Some developing countries, including China, Thailand, and Turkey, show more rapid growth of consumption, especially of cement, copper, and aluminum. These changing patterns of mineral consumption in developing countries have important implications -- if they continue, there could be major increases in world mineral consumption and major increases in environmental residuals from mineral production and use. If China reaches the level of consumption of copper of developed countries, world consumption could reach levels more than twice that of 1995 (10.5 million tons).

Assessing the impacts of climate change and socio-economic changes on flow and phosphorus flux in the Ganga river system.

PubMed

Jin, L; Whitehead, P G; Sarkar, S; Sinha, R; Futter, M N; Butterfield, D; Caesar, J; Crossman, J

2015-06-01

Anthropogenic climate change has impacted and will continue to impact the natural environment and people around the world. Increasing temperatures and altered rainfall patterns combined with socio-economic factors such as population changes, land use changes and water transfers will affect flows and nutrient fluxes in river systems. The Ganga river, one of the largest river systems in the world, supports approximately 10% global population and more than 700 cities. Changes in the Ganga river system are likely to have a significant impact on water availability, water quality, aquatic habitats and people. In order to investigate these potential changes on the flow and water quality of the Ganga river, a multi-branch version of INCA Phosphorus (INCA-P) model has been applied to the entire river system. The model is used to quantify the impacts from a changing climate, population growth, additional agricultural land, pollution control and water transfers for 2041-2060 and 2080-2099. The results provide valuable information about potential effects of different management strategies on catchment water quality.

Earth as humans’ habitat: global climate change and the health of populations

PubMed Central

McMichael, Anthony J

2014-01-01

Human-induced climate change, with such rapid and continuing global-scale warming, is historically unprecedented and signifies that human pressures on Earth’s life-supporting natural systems now exceed the planet’s bio-geo-capacity. The risks from climate change to health and survival in populations are diverse, as are the social and political ramifications. Although attributing observed health changes in a population to the recent climatic change is difficult, a coherent pattern of climate- and weather-associated changes is now evident in many regions of the world. The risks impinge unevenly, especially on poorer and vulnerable regions, and are amplified by pre-existing high rates of climate-sensitive diseases and conditions. If, as now appears likely, the world warms by 3-5oC by 2100, the health consequences, directly and via massive social and economic disruption, will be severe. The health sector has an important message to convey, comparing the health risks and benefits of enlightened action to avert climate change and to achieve sustainable ways of living versus the self-interested or complacent inaction. PMID:24596901

Cancer burden with ageing population in urban regions in China: projection on cancer registry data from World Health Organization.

PubMed

Tsoi, Kelvin K F; Hirai, Hoyee W; Chan, Felix C H; Griffiths, Sian; Sung, Joseph J Y

2017-01-01

China is facing the challenges of an expanding ageing population and the impact of rapid urbanization, cancer rates are subsequently increasing. This study focuses on the changes of the ageing population and projects the incidence of common ageing-related cancers in the urban regions in China up to 2030. Cancer incidence data and population statistics in China were extracted from the International Agency for Research on Cancer. Due to improving longevity in China, continuous and remarkable increasing trends for the lung, colorectal and prostate cancers are expected. The rate of expanding ageing population was taken into account when predicting the trend of cancer incidence; the estimations of ageing-related cancers were more factual and significant than using the conventional approach of age standardization. The incidence rates of lung, colorectal and prostate cancers will continue to rise in the future decades due to the rise of ageing population. Lifestyle modification such as cutting tobacco smoking rates and promoting healthier diets as well as cancer screening programs should be a health system priority in order to decrease the growing burden of cancer-related mortality and morbidity. © The Author 2016. Published by Oxford University Press. All rights reserved. For permissions, please e-mail: journals.permissions@oup.com

JPL-20180410-GRACEFOf-0001-Facebook

NASA Image and Video Library

2018-04-10

GRACE-Follow On (GRACE-FO) is a satellite mission scheduled for launch in May 2018. GRACE-FO will continue the work of the GRACE satellite mission tracking Earth's water movement around the globe. These discoveries provide a unique view of Earth's climate and have far-reaching benefits to society and the world's population. For more information about this mission, visit https://www.nasa.gov/missions/grace-fo and https://gracefo.jpl.nasa.gov/

Elders' Knowledge about Risk Factors of Coronary Heart Disease, Their Perceived Risk, and Adopted Preventive Behaviors

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Al Khayyal, Hatem; El Geneidy, Moshera; El Shazly, Somaya Abdel Moneim

2016-01-01

Coronary heart disease is the most frequent single cause of death among persons over 65 years of age and it seems to continue to be a significant threat to the health and wellbeing of the elderly population all over the world, yet the condition is largely preventable. The aims of this study to assess and determine the relations among elder's…

Predicting Virtual World User Population Fluctuations with Deep Learning

PubMed Central

Park, Nuri; Zhang, Qimeng; Kim, Jun Gi; Kang, Shin Jin; Kim, Chang Hun

2016-01-01

This paper proposes a system for predicting increases in virtual world user actions. The virtual world user population is a very important aspect of these worlds; however, methods for predicting fluctuations in these populations have not been well documented. Therefore, we attempt to predict changes in virtual world user populations with deep learning, using easily accessible online data, including formal datasets from Google Trends, Wikipedia, and online communities, as well as informal datasets collected from online forums. We use the proposed system to analyze the user population of EVE Online, one of the largest virtual worlds. PMID:27936009

Predicting Virtual World User Population Fluctuations with Deep Learning.

PubMed

Kim, Young Bin; Park, Nuri; Zhang, Qimeng; Kim, Jun Gi; Kang, Shin Jin; Kim, Chang Hun

2016-01-01

This paper proposes a system for predicting increases in virtual world user actions. The virtual world user population is a very important aspect of these worlds; however, methods for predicting fluctuations in these populations have not been well documented. Therefore, we attempt to predict changes in virtual world user populations with deep learning, using easily accessible online data, including formal datasets from Google Trends, Wikipedia, and online communities, as well as informal datasets collected from online forums. We use the proposed system to analyze the user population of EVE Online, one of the largest virtual worlds.

The Goal of Adequate Nutrition: Can It Be Made Affordable, Sustainable, and Universal?

PubMed

McFarlane, Ian

2016-11-30

Until about 1900, large proportions of the world population endured hunger and poverty. The 20th century saw world population increase from 1.6 to 6.1 billion, accompanied and to some extent made possible by rapid improvements in health standards and food supply, with associated advances in agricultural and nutrition sciences. In this paper, I use the application of linear programming (LP) in preparation of rations for farm animals to illustrate a method of calculating the lowest cost of a human diet selected from locally available food items, constrained to provide recommended levels of food energy and nutrients; then, to find a realistic minimum cost, I apply the further constraint that the main sources of food energy in the costed diet are weighted in proportion to the actual reported consumption of food items in that area. Worldwide variations in dietary preferences raise the issue as to the sustainability of popular dietary regimes, and the paper reviews the factors associated with satisfying requirements for adequate nutrition within those regimes. The ultimate physical constraints on food supply are described, together with the ways in which climate change may affect those constraints. During the 20th century, food supply increased sufficiently in most areas to keep pace with the rapid increase in world population. Many challenges will need to be overcome if food supply is to continue to meet demand, and those challenges are made more severe by rising expectations of quality of life in the developing world, as well as by the impacts of climate change on agriculture and aquaculture.

The shape of things to come.

PubMed

Gallagher, C F

1979-01-01

Basic projections for the future made by various international and national planning organizations form the basis for a report on the demographic, economic, and social implications of population growth for the year 2000, both as to the statistics involved and what they mean. The most signficiant factor is that by the end of the century, global population will be greater than 6 billion. Statistics on population patterns are presented for Asia; India; China; Africa; Latin America; North America; Europe, Oceania, and the USSR, including population growth; birthrate; mortality; population projections; population distribution; age of populations; and urbanization. The realities that stand behind these abstract and impersonal statistics of population change will pose significant problems in several major respects: how these increasing populations will support themselves; where they will live; and how they will be fed. These question are closely related, but the need to create jobs might come 1st since decisions about the kind of employment opportunities to be offered and where will directly affect the rural-urban population equation. It is clear that an enormous number of jobs must be found in developing countries by the end of the century, estimated at 500 million more. The economic implications of increasing urbanization in the developing world are explored, and it is noted that Asia, Latin America, and Africa now face the prospect of having to feed as many as 800 million more urbanites by the year 2000. Also, rural population will also continue to grow, and whether agricultural resources can be increased to what extent and how is a critical question. It is concluded that no matter how agriculture is improved or jobs found in developing countries, many will be poorly nourished, badly housed, and inadequately educated. It is finally suggested that by 2000 the Third World as such will no longer exist; instead the world will consist of older developed countries; rapidly developing countries; middle-income countries; oil-surplus countries; and still poor countries, with a movement toward a constantly more diversified echelon of socioeconomic levels of development, both among and within countries.

Women and kidney disease: reflections on World Kidney Day 2018.

PubMed

Piccoli, Giorgina B; Alrukhaimi, Mona; Liu, Zhi-Hong; Zakharova, Elena; Levin, Adeera

2018-02-01

Chronic kidney disease affects ∼10% of the world's adult population: it is within the top 20 causes of death worldwide, and its impact on patients and their families can be devastating. World Kidney Day and International Women's Day in 2018 coincide, thus offering an opportunity to reflect on the importance of women's health, and specifically their kidney health, to the community and the next generations, as well as to strive to be more curious about the unique aspects of kidney disease in women, so that we may apply those learnings more broadly. Girls and women, who make up ∼50% of the world's population, are important contributors to society as a whole and to their families. Gender differences continue to exist around the world in access to education, medical care and participation in clinical studies. Pregnancy is a unique state for women, offering an opportunity for diagnosis of kidney disease, and also a state where acute and chronic kidney diseases may manifest, and which may impact future generations with respect to kidney health. There are various autoimmune and other conditions that are more likely to impact women with profound consequences for child bearing, and for the fetus. Women have different complications on dialysis than men, and are more likely to be donors than recipients of kidney transplants. In this editorial, we focus on what we do and do not know about women, kidney health and kidney disease, and what we might learn in the future to improve outcomes worldwide.

Women and Kidney Disease: Reflections on World Kidney Day 2018.

PubMed

Piccoli, Giorgina B; Alrukhaimi, Mona; Liu, Zhi-Hong; Zakharova, Elena; Levin, Adeera

2018-03-01

: Chronic kidney disease aff ects approximately 10% of the world's adult population: it is within the top 20 causes of death worldwide, and its impact on patients and their families can be devastating. World Kidney Day and International Women's Day in 2018 coincide, thus off ering an opportunity to refl ect on the importance of women's health and specifically their kidney health, on the community, and the next generations, as well as to strive to be more curious about the unique aspects of kidney disease in women so that we may apply those learnings more broadly. Girls and women, who make up approximately 50% of the world's population, are important contributors to society and their families. Sex diff erences continue to exist around the world in access to education, medical care, and participation in clinical studies. Pregnancy is a unique state for women, off ering an opportunity for diagnosis of kidney disease, but also a state in which acute and chronic kidney diseases may manifest, and which may impact future generations with respect to kidney health. There are various autoimmune and other conditions that are more likely to impact women with profound consequences for child bearing, and on the fetus. Women have diff erent complications on dialysis than men and are more likely to be donors than recipients of kidney transplants.In this editorial, we focus on what we do and do not know about women, kidney health, and kidney disease, and what we might learn in the future to improve outcomes worldwide.

A Health Production Model with Endogenous Retirement

PubMed Central

Galama, Titus; Kapteyn, Arie; Fonseca, Raquel; Michaud, Pierre-Carl

2012-01-01

We formulate a stylized structural model of health, wealth accumulation and retirement decisions building on the human capital framework of health and derive analytic solutions for the time paths of consumption, health, health investment, savings and retirement. We argue that the literature has been unnecessarily restrictive in assuming that health is always at the “optimal” health level. Exploring the properties of corner solutions we find that advances in population health decrease the retirement age, while at the same time individuals retire when their health has deteriorated. This potentially explains why retirees point to deteriorating health as an important reason for early retirement, while retirement ages have continued to fall in the developed world, despite continued improvements in population health and mortality. In our model, workers with higher human capital invest more in health and because they stay healthier retire later than those with lower human capital whose health deteriorates faster. PMID:22888062

Robotics in Orthopedics: A Brave New World.

PubMed

Parsley, Brian S

2018-02-16

Future health-care projection projects a significant growth in population by 2020. Health care has seen an exponential growth in technology to address the growing population with the decreasing number of physicians and health-care workers. Robotics in health care has been introduced to address this growing need. Early adoption of robotics was limited because of the limited application of the technology, the cumbersome nature of the equipment, and technical complications. A continued improvement in efficacy, adaptability, and cost reduction has stimulated increased interest in robotic-assisted surgery. The evolution in orthopedic surgery has allowed for advanced surgical planning, precision robotic machining of bone, improved implant-bone contact, optimization of implant placement, and optimization of the mechanical alignment. The potential benefits of robotic surgery include improved surgical work flow, improvements in efficacy and reduction in surgical time. Robotic-assisted surgery will continue to evolve in the orthopedic field. Copyright © 2018 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Disaster response and grassroots environmental advocacy: the example of the World Trade Center Community Labor Coalition.

PubMed

Newman, David M

2008-01-01

The tragic events of 9/11/01 and thereafter produced the worst environmental disaster in the history of New York City. Exposure to World Trade Center-derived toxic contaminants at Ground Zero and throughout Lower Manhattan has produced clinically diagnosed persistent respiratory and other illnesses in multiple exposure populations, with fatalities beginning to be reported. Government efforts to protect public health and to assess and remediate contaminants have been minimal. In response, a broad and sophisticated grassroots environmental movement has arisen in Lower Manhattan to push for environmental cleanup and for access to health care for impacted populations and communities. This movement unites community, labor, and environmental groups and continues to organize five years after 9/11. This article examines the development of grassroots response efforts, the work of the World Trade Center Community Labor Coalition, and obstacles encountered in coalition-building. Testimony of community and labor activists is provided in the appendix. The context for this article is provided by the companion article that precedes it in this issue of New Solutions. The preceding article examines the scope of the environmental disaster, the statutory requirements that regulate governmental response, and the nature of government response efforts.

Evidence of Urban Precipitation Anomalies from Satellite and Ground-Based Measurements

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Shepherd, J. Marshall; Manyin, M.; Negri, Andrew

2004-01-01

Urbanization is one of the extreme cases of land use change. Most of world's population has moved to urban areas. Although currently only 1.2% of the land is considered urban, the spatial coverage and density of cities are expected to rapidly increase in the near future. It is estimated that by the year 2025, 60% of the world's population will live in cities. Human activity in urban environments also alters weather and climate processes. However, our understanding of urbanization on the total Earth-weather-climate system is incomplete. Recent literature continues to provide evidence that anomalies in precipitation exist over and downwind of major cities. Current and future research efforts are actively seeking to verify these literature findings and understand potential cause-effect relationships. The novelty of this study is that it utilizes rainfall data from multiple satellite data sources (e.g. TRMM precipitation radar, TRMM-geosynchronous-rain gauge merged product, and SSM/I) and ground-based measurements to identify spatial anomalies and temporal trends in precipitation for cities around the world. Early results will be presented and placed within the context of weather prediction, climate assessment, and societal applications.

Evidence of Urban Precipitation Anomalies from Satellite and Ground-Based Measurements

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Shepherd, J. M.; Manyin, M.; Negri, A.

2004-01-01

Urbanization is one of the extreme cases of land use change. Most of world s population has moved to urban areas. Although currently only 1.2% of the land is considered urban, the spatial coverage and density of cities are expected to rapidly increase in the near future. It is estimated that by the year 2025,60% of the world s population will live in cities. Human activity in urban environments also alters weather and climate processes. However, our understanding of urbanization on the total Earth-weather-climate system is incomplete. Recent literature continues to provide evidence that anomalies in precipitation exist over and downwind of major cities. Current and future research efforts are actively seeking to verify these literature findings and understand potential cause- effect relationships. The novelty of this study is that it utilizes rainfall data from multiple satellite data sources (e.g. TRMM precipitation radar, TRMM-geosynchronous-rain gauge merged product, and SSM/I) and ground-based measurements to identify spatial anomalies and temporal trends in precipitation for cities around the world. Early results will be presented and placed within the context of weather prediction, climate assessment, and societal applications.

Aquifers in coastal reclaimed lands - real world assessments

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Saha, A.; Bironne, A.; Vonhögen-Peeters, L.; Lee, W. K.; Babovic, V. M.; Vermeulen, P.; van Baaren, E.; Karaoulis, M.; Blanchais, F.; Nguyen, M.; Pauw, P.; Doornenbal, P.

2017-12-01

Climate change and population growth are significant concerns in coastal regions around the world, where more than 30% of the world's population reside. The numbers continue to rise as coastal areas are increasingly urbanized. Urbanization creates land shortages along the coasts, which has spurred coastal reclamation activities as a viable solution. In this study, we focus on these reclamation areas; reclaimed areas in Singapore, and in the Netherlands, and investigate the potential of these reclaimed bodies as artificial aquifers that could attenuate water shortage problems in addition to their original purpose. We compare how the reclamation methods determine the hydrogeological characteristics of these manmade aquifers. We highlight similarities in freshwater lens development in the artificial shallow aquifers under natural recharge under diverse conditions, i.e. tropical and temperate zones, using numerical models. The characteristics and responses of these aquifers with dynamic freshwater-saltwater interface are contrasted against naturally occurring coastal aquifers where equilibrium was disturbed by anthropogenic activities. Finally, we assess the risks associated with subsidence and saltwater intrusion, combining measurements and numerical models, in case these aquifers are planned for Aquifer Storage and Recovery (ASR) or Managed Aquifer Recharge (MAR) strategies. Relative performances of some ASR schemes are simulated and compared in the reclaimed lands.

How Cities Make Their Own Weather

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Shepherd, J. Marshall

2004-01-01

Urbanization is one of the extreme cases of land use change. Most of world's population has moved to urban areas. Although currently only 1.2% of the land is considered urban, the spatial coverage and density of cities are expected to rapidly increase in d e near future. It is estimated that by the year 2025, 60% of the world's population will live in cities. Human activity in urban environments also alters weather and climate processes. However, our understanding of urbanization on the total Earth-weather-climate system is incomplete. Recent literature continues to provide evidence that anomalies in precipitation exist over and downwind of major cities. Current and future research efforts are actively seeking to verify these literature findings and understand potential cause-effect relationships. The novelty of this study is that it utilizes rainfall data from multiple satellite data sources (e.g. TRMM precipitation radar, TRMM-geosynchronous-rain gauge merged product, and SSM/I) and ground-based measurements to identify spatial anomalies and temporal trends in precipitation for cities around the world. We will also present results from experiments using a regional atmospheric-land surface modeling system. Early results will be presented and placed within the context of weather prediction, climate assessment, and societal applications.

Understanding Microplastic Distribution: A Global Citizen Monitoring Effort

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Barrows, A.

2016-02-01

Understanding distribution and abundance of microplastics in the world's oceans will continue to help inform global law-making. Through recruiting and training over 500 volunteers our study has collected over 1000 samples from remote and populated areas world-wide. Samples include water collected at the sea surface and throughout the water column. Surface to depth sampling has provided insight into vertical plastic distribution. The development of unique field and laboratory methodology has enabled plastics to be quantified down to 50 µm. In 2015, the study expanded to include global freshwater systems. By understanding plastic patterns, distribution and concentration in large and small watersheds we will better understand how freshwater systems are contributing to marine microplastic pollution.

Forecasting of a Thermal Condition of Pneumatic Tires of Dump Trucks

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kvasova, Anna; Gerike, Boris; Murko, Elena; Skudarnov, Dmitriy

2017-11-01

Over the last 10 years the world consumption of coal has grown almost by 50%. Coal is one of the main energy resources capable to satisfy basic energy demands of increasing population and developing world economy. On January 24, 2012 the long-term Coal Industry Development Program for the period till 2030 was approved in Russia. According to this Program coal mining in Kuzbass in 2030 will make 260 million tonns of coal per year. Development of the coal industry is impossible without upgrade of coal production by avoiding inefficient technological, organizational and economic solutions. Off the road (OTR) tires play an important role in ensuring effective, continuous and safe work of mining motor transport.

Global Health Neurology: HIV/AIDS.

PubMed

Patel, Payal B; Spudich, Serena S

2018-04-01

With the advent of combination antiretroviral therapies, the mortality rate from HIV has declined, while the prevalence of long-term HIV-related neurologic complications continues to rise. Thirty-six million individuals are living with HIV around the world, many of whom reside in resource-limited settings. The majority of studies have focused on individuals residing in the developed world, while the impact of HIV disproportionately affects people living in developing countries. This review focuses on recent domestic and international studies regarding neurologic complications related to HIV, including opportunistic infections, peripheral neuropathy, cerebrovascular disease, and HIV-associated neurocognitive disorders, in light of the growing population affected by these conditions. Thieme Medical Publishers 333 Seventh Avenue, New York, NY 10001, USA.

Social consequence of disease in the American South, 1900-World War II.

PubMed

Martin, Mike G; Humphreys, Margaret E

2006-08-01

The early 20th century Southerner lived in a disease environment created by a confluence of poverty, climate and the legacy of slavery. A deadly trio of pellagra, hookworm and malaria enervated the poor Southerner--man, woman and child--creating a dull, weakened people ill equipped to prosper in the modem world. The Northern perceptions of the South as a backward and sickly region were only compounded by the realization that her population was malnourished, infected by worms, and continually plagued by agues and fevers. As historian John Duffy concluded, "As a chronically debilitating disease, it [malaria] shared with the other two the responsibility for the term 'lazy Southerner".

Europe in the energy transition: the case for a smaller population.

PubMed

Grant, L

1988-07-01

Europe has not yet reached a sustainable society, that is, like the rest of the world, its people cannot live comfortably within its resources, but, it has achieved stabilizing population growth, a control on a potentially dangerous dependency on imported food, an adjustment to the transition from the colonial era, and a position conducive to deal with the energy transition. Europe is the most densely population region of the world, except for Japan. Concern about depopulation in western Europe is misplaced because European populations are on a plateau not a decline, and a lower population is a benefit when confronting resource and environmental constraints. World oil production is expected to peak and then to decline depending on demand, prices, and technology. European oil production will decline, and the United Kingdom will become a net importer in the mid-1990s. The environmental transition is described as more complex than finding a substitute for oil, in part because Europe, unlike the US, has limited fossil fuel resources which are also less accessible. Biomass as the alternative to fossil fuels must be produced on lands currently in food or forestry production. Also corn and bagasse production is not suited to for growing the European climate. Nuclear energy, with its safety and disposal problems, is only an interim solution. Hydropower development is expensive, and solar power is unsuitable because of the continual cloud cover. Wind power is possible but expensive at low wind levels, and the whole of western Europe is relatively unsuitable. Capital creates wealth, and unemployment is Europe's present problem. Large populations in the current technological revolution do not create greater wealth or military security. Europe and Japan have arrived at the population/energy/environment problem first, and many questions remain as to how to manage the age structure, how to maintain innovation and creativity, and how to maintain a prosperous steady state economy.

Measuring Oman’s Food Security Outlook for Crisis Aversion

DTIC Science & Technology

2015-05-18

unemployment benefits as well as more powers to the Majlis al-Shura.7 However, Oman could lose political stability in another food price spike, so it remains...population growth, arid climate, and government mismanagement has led to failing agricultural sectors and economic vulnerability.12 Today, most Arab...and two civil wars in Yemen and Syria continue today.19 While international organizations and non- governmental organizations like the World Bank and

Monitoring forest/non-forest land use conversion rates with annual inventory data

Treesearch

Francis A. Roesch; Paul C. Van Deusen

2012-01-01

The transitioning of land from forest to other uses is of increasing interest as urban areas expand and the world’s population continues to grow. Also of interest, but less recognized, is the transitioning of land from other uses into forest. In this paper, we show how rates of conversion from forest to non-forest and non-forest to forest can be estimated in the US...

Should nuclear energy form part of the UK's energy future?

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Campbell, Peter

2003-03-01

Energy policies are under review everywhere, as the world tries to meet targets for reducing climate change despite continuing population growth. A major change in energy patterns is needed, with the critical period for transition predictably happening when young people currently at school are in their middle years of their lives. This article describes one way of bringing the debate surrounding energy demand and supply to life in physics classrooms.

The Imperative of Public Health Education: A Global Perspective

PubMed Central

White, Franklin

2013-01-01

This review positions public health as an endeavour that requires a high order of professionalism in addressing the health of populations; this requires investment in an educational capacity that is designed to meet this need. In the global context, the field has evolved enormously over the past half century, supported by institutions such as the World Bank, the World Health Organization and the Institute of Medicine. Operational structures are formulated by strategic principles, with educational and career pathways guided by competency frameworks, all requiring modulation according to local, national and global realities. Talented and well-motivated individuals are attracted by its multidisciplinary and transdisciplinary environment, and the opportunity to achieve interventions that make real differences to people's lives. The field is globally competitive and open to many professional backgrounds based on merit. Its competencies correspond with assessments of population needs, and the ways in which strategies and services are formulated. Thus, its educational planning is needs-based and evidence-driven. This review explores four public health education levels: graduate, undergraduate, continuing professional education and promotion of health literacy for general populations. The emergence of accreditation schemes is examined, focusing on their relative merits and legitimate international variations. The role of relevant research policies is recognized, along with the need to foster professional and institutional networks in all regions of the world. It is critically important for the health of populations that nations assess their public health human resource needs and develop their ability to deliver this capacity, and not depend on other countries to supply it. PMID:23969636

The Imperative of Public Health Education: A Global Perspective.

PubMed

White, Franklin

2013-01-01

This review positions public health as an endeavour that requires a high order of professionalism in addressing the health of populations; this requires investment in an educational capacity that is designed to meet this need. In the global context, the field has evolved enormously over the past half century, supported by institutions such as the World Bank, the World Health Organization and the Institute of Medicine. Operational structures are formulated by strategic principles, with educational and career pathways guided by competency frameworks, all requiring modulation according to local, national and global realities. Talented and well-motivated individuals are attracted by its multidisciplinary and transdisciplinary environment, and the opportunity to achieve interventions that make real differences to people's lives. The field is globally competitive and open to many professional backgrounds based on merit. Its competencies correspond with assessments of population needs, and the ways in which strategies and services are formulated. Thus, its educational planning is needs-based and evidence-driven. This review explores four public health education levels: graduate, undergraduate, continuing professional education and promotion of health literacy for general populations. The emergence of accreditation schemes is examined, focusing on their relative merits and legitimate international variations. The role of relevant research policies is recognized, along with the need to foster professional and institutional networks in all regions of the world. It is critically important for the health of populations that nations assess their public health human resource needs and develop their ability to deliver this capacity, and not depend on other countries to supply it. © 2013 S. Karger AG, Basel.

75 FR 48691 - Single Source Cooperative Agreement Award for the World Health Organization (WHO) To Continue...

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2010-08-11

... DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES Single Source Cooperative Agreement Award for the World... Agreement Award for the World Health Organization (WHO) To Continue Development of Sustainable Influenza... September 29, 2013. In FY 2010, BARDA plans to provide a Single Source Continuation Award to the World...

Aid for family planning in Egypt.

PubMed

1974-02-01

A $5 million credit has been approved by the International Development Association, an affilate of the World Bank, to help finance a population project in Egypt. The project provides for the construction, equipping and furnishing of 22 general health centers, 12 polyclinics, 3 centers for training nursing teachers and 3 centers for in service training. 100 and 50 multipurpose vehicles will be provided to improve mobility of family planning services. Also included are a study on the maintenance of health facilities, 3 evaluation studies of family planning acceptors, an experimental home visiting program to inform and motivate people on family planning, and assistance in the production of health education material useful for family planning information and motivation. Simple demographic facts illustrate the seriousness of the population problem in Egypt. The current population of 35 million will be double by the year 2000 if the present 2.5% annual increase continues. This will put strains on a country whose population density quadrupled during the last century, and which stands to day at 950 persons per square kilometer of habitable land, a density rivalled by only 2 or 3 other countries in the world. The IDA credit will cover about 1/2 of the project's expense. The Egyptian government will finance the local costs. full text

Acute myeloid leukemia in the real world: why population-based registries are needed

PubMed Central

Lazarevic, Vladimir; Hörstedt, Ann-Sofi; Hagberg, Oskar; Höglund, Martin

2012-01-01

Population-based registries may provide data complementary to that from basic science and clinical intervention studies, all of which are essential for establishing recommendations for the management of patients in the real world. The same quality criteria apply for the evidence-based label, and both high representation and good data quality are crucial in registry studies. Registries with high coverage of the target population reduce the impact of selection on outcome and the subsequent problem with extrapolating data to nonstudied populations. Thus, data useful for clinical decision in situations not well covered by clinical studies can be provided. The potential clinical impact of data from population-based studies is exemplified with analyses from the Swedish Acute Leukemia Registry containing more than 3300 acute myeloid leukemia (AML) patients diagnosed between 1997 and 2006 with a median follow-up of 6.2 years on (1) the role of intensive combination chemotherapy for older patients with AML, (2) the impact of allogeneic stem cell transplantation on survival of younger patients with AML, and (3) the continuing problem with early deaths in acute promyelocytic leukemia. We also present the first Web-based dynamic graph showing the complex interaction between age, performance status, the proportion of patients given intensive treatment, early death rate, complete remission rate, use of allogeneic transplants, and overall survival in AML (non-AML). PMID:22383796

Acute myeloid leukemia in the real world: why population-based registries are needed.

PubMed

Juliusson, Gunnar; Lazarevic, Vladimir; Hörstedt, Ann-Sofi; Hagberg, Oskar; Höglund, Martin

2012-04-26

Population-based registries may provide data complementary to that from basic science and clinical intervention studies, all of which are essential for establishing recommendations for the management of patients in the real world. The same quality criteria apply for the evidence-based label, and both high representation and good data quality are crucial in registry studies. Registries with high coverage of the target population reduce the impact of selection on outcome and the subsequent problem with extrapolating data to nonstudied populations. Thus, data useful for clinical decision in situations not well covered by clinical studies can be provided. The potential clinical impact of data from population-based studies is exemplified with analyses from the Swedish Acute Leukemia Registry containing more than 3300 acute myeloid leukemia (AML) patients diagnosed between 1997 and 2006 with a median follow-up of 6.2 years on (1) the role of intensive combination chemotherapy for older patients with AML, (2) the impact of allogeneic stem cell transplantation on survival of younger patients with AML, and (3) the continuing problem with early deaths in acute promyelocytic leukemia. We also present the first Web-based dynamic graph showing the complex interaction between age, performance status, the proportion of patients given intensive treatment, early death rate, complete remission rate, use of allogeneic transplants, and overall survival in AML (non-AML).

Steps toward a globally available malaria vaccine: harnessing the potential of algae for future low cost vaccines.

PubMed

Jones, Carla S; Mayfield, Stephen P

2013-01-01

Malaria is an infectious disease that threatens half of the world's population. This debilitating disease is caused by infection from parasites of the genus Plasmodium. Insecticides, bed nets and drug therapies have lowered the prevalence and death rate associated with malaria but this disease continues to plague many populations around the world. In recent years, many organizations have suggested developing methods for a complete eradication of malaria. The most straightforward and effective method for this potential eradication will be through the development of a low-cost vaccine. To achieve eradication, it will be necessary to develop new vaccine candidates and novel systems for both the production and delivery of these vaccines. Recently, the green algae Chlamydomonas reinhardtii has been used for the recombinant expression of malaria vaccine candidates including the transmission blocking vaccine candidate Pfs48/45. Here, we discuss the potential of this research on the future development of a low-cost malaria vaccine candidate.

Water Resources and Sustainable Agriculture in 21st Century: Challenges and Opportunities

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Asrar, G.

2008-05-01

Global agriculture faces some unique challenges and opportunities for the rest of this century. The need for food, feed and fiber will continues to grow as the world population continue to increase in the future. Agricultural ecosystems are also expected to be the source of a significant portion of renewable energy and fuels around the world, without further compromising the integrity of the natural resources base. How can agriculture continue to provide these services to meet the growing needs of world population while sustaining the integrity of agricultural ecosystems and natural resources, the very foundation it depends on? In the last century, scientific discoveries and technological innovations in agriculture resulted in significant increase in food, feed and fiber production globally, while the total amount of water, energy, fertilizers and other input used to achieve this growth remained the same or even decreased significantly in some parts of the world. Scientific and technical advances in understanding global and regional water and energy cycles, water resources management, soil and water conservation practices, weather prediction, plant breeding and biotechnology, and information and communication technologies contributed to this tremendous achievement. The projected increase in global population, urbanization, and changing lifestyles will continue the pressure on both agriculture and other managed and natural ecosystems to provide necessary goods and services for the rest of this century. To meet these challenges, we must obtain the requisite scientific and technical advances in the functioning of Earth's water, energy, carbon and biogeochemical cycles. We also need to apply the knowledge we gain and technologies we develop in assessing Earth's ecosystems' conditions, and their management and stewardship. In agricultural ecosystems, management of soil and water quality and quantity together with development of new varieties of plants based on advances in genomic, genetics, breeding and applied biotechnologies are a key to our ability to address these challenges. We must also continue to develop agronomic practices that sustain the integrity of natural resources and conserve energy on one-hand while maximizing agricultural production per unit area of land on the other hand. This will require managing agricultural ecosystems for their multiple functions and services together, instead of looking at each function/service in isolation. In this presentation, we will provide an overview of the scientific and technical knowledge required for sustainable management of agricultural ecosystems and associated natural resources. We will describe the soil, water and energy research needs/priorities in agriculture. We will also provide some examples of recent accomplishments and future directions in developing decision support tools for assessing the impacts of weather and climate variations and change, and their risk to agricultural ecosystems. We will then focus on opportunities and challenges associated with measurement, monitoring and modeling of soil moisture and its use in management and operation of agricultural ecosystems. The overall intent of this presentation is to stimulate some discussion on future directions and priorities for soil, water and energy research in agricultural ecosystems, and how the knowledge we gain from this research can be conveyed to the users for risk assessment, decision making, and multi-service ecosystem management purposes.

Use of GIS Mapping as a Public Health Tool—From Cholera to Cancer

PubMed Central

Musa, George J.; Chiang, Po-Huang; Sylk, Tyler; Bavley, Rachel; Keating, William; Lakew, Bereketab; Tsou, Hui-Chen; Hoven, Christina W.

2013-01-01

The field of medical geographic information systems (Medical GIS) has become extremely useful in understanding the bigger picture of public health. The discipline holds a substantial capacity to understand not only differences, but also similarities in population health all over the world. The main goal of marrying the disciplines of medical geography, public health and informatics is to understand how countless health issues impact populations, and the trends by which these populations are affected. From the 1990s to today, this practical approach has become a valued and progressive system in analyzing medical and epidemiological phenomena ranging from cholera to cancer. The instruments supporting this field include geographic information systems (GIS), disease surveillance, big data, and analytical approaches like the Geographical Analysis Machine (GAM), Dynamic Continuous Area Space Time Analysis (DYCAST), cellular automata, agent-based modeling, spatial statistics and self-organizing maps. The positive effects on disease mapping have proven to be tremendous as these instruments continue to have a great impact on the mission to improve worldwide health care. While traditional uses of GIS in public health are static and lacking real-time components, implementing a space-time animation in these instruments will be monumental as technology and data continue to grow. PMID:25114567

Use of GIS Mapping as a Public Health Tool-From Cholera to Cancer.

PubMed

Musa, George J; Chiang, Po-Huang; Sylk, Tyler; Bavley, Rachel; Keating, William; Lakew, Bereketab; Tsou, Hui-Chen; Hoven, Christina W

2013-01-01

The field of medical geographic information systems (Medical GIS) has become extremely useful in understanding the bigger picture of public health. The discipline holds a substantial capacity to understand not only differences, but also similarities in population health all over the world. The main goal of marrying the disciplines of medical geography, public health and informatics is to understand how countless health issues impact populations, and the trends by which these populations are affected. From the 1990s to today, this practical approach has become a valued and progressive system in analyzing medical and epidemiological phenomena ranging from cholera to cancer. The instruments supporting this field include geographic information systems (GIS), disease surveillance, big data, and analytical approaches like the Geographical Analysis Machine (GAM), Dynamic Continuous Area Space Time Analysis (DYCAST), cellular automata, agent-based modeling, spatial statistics and self-organizing maps. The positive effects on disease mapping have proven to be tremendous as these instruments continue to have a great impact on the mission to improve worldwide health care. While traditional uses of GIS in public health are static and lacking real-time components, implementing a space-time animation in these instruments will be monumental as technology and data continue to grow.

Yemen in a Time of Cholera: Current Situation and Challenges.

PubMed

Al-Mekhlafi, Hesham M

2018-03-19

Since early 2015, Yemen has been in the throes of a grueling civil war, which has devastated the health system and public services, and created one of the world's worst humanitarian disasters. The country is currently facing a cholera epidemic the world's largest on record, surpassing one million (1,061,548) suspected cases, with 2,373 related deaths since October 2016. Cases were first confirmed in Sana'a city and then spread to almost all governorates except Socotra Island. Continued efforts are being made by the World Health Organization and international partners to contain the epidemic through improving water, sanitation and hygiene, setting up diarrhea treatment centers, and improving the population's awareness about the disease. The provision of clean water and adequate sanitation is imperative as an effective long-term solution to prevent the further spread of this epidemic. Cholera vaccination campaigns should also be conducted as a preventive measure.

Human activities and climate variability drive fast-paced change across the world's estuarine-coastal ecosystems

USGS Publications Warehouse

Cloern, James E.; Abreu, Paulo C.; Carstensen, Jacob; Chauvaud, Laurent; Elmgren, Ragnar; Grall, Jacques; Greening, Holly; Johansson, John O.R.; Kahru, Mati; Sherwood, Edward T.; Xu, Jie; Yin, Kedong

2016-01-01

Time series of environmental measurements are essential for detecting, measuring and understanding changes in the Earth system and its biological communities. Observational series have accumulated over the past 2–5 decades from measurements across the world's estuaries, bays, lagoons, inland seas and shelf waters influenced by runoff. We synthesize information contained in these time series to develop a global view of changes occurring in marine systems influenced by connectivity to land. Our review is organized around four themes: (i) human activities as drivers of change; (ii) variability of the climate system as a driver of change; (iii) successes, disappointments and challenges of managing change at the sea-land interface; and (iv) discoveries made from observations over time. Multidecadal time series reveal that many of the world's estuarine–coastal ecosystems are in a continuing state of change, and the pace of change is faster than we could have imagined a decade ago. Some have been transformed into novel ecosystems with habitats, biogeochemistry and biological communities outside the natural range of variability. Change takes many forms including linear and nonlinear trends, abrupt state changes and oscillations. The challenge of managing change is daunting in the coastal zone where diverse human pressures are concentrated and intersect with different responses to climate variability over land and over ocean basins. The pace of change in estuarine–coastal ecosystems will likely accelerate as the human population and economies continue to grow and as global climate change accelerates. Wise stewardship of the resources upon which we depend is critically dependent upon a continuing flow of information from observations to measure, understand and anticipate future changes along the world's coastlines.

Vampire Bat Rabies: Ecology, Epidemiology and Control

PubMed Central

Johnson, Nicholas; Aréchiga-Ceballos, Nidia; Aguilar-Setien, Alvaro

2014-01-01

Extensive surveillance in bat populations in response to recent emerging diseases has revealed that this group of mammals acts as a reservoir for a large range of viruses. However, the oldest known association between a zoonotic virus and a bat is that between rabies virus and the vampire bat. Vampire bats are only found in Latin America and their unique method of obtaining nutrition, blood-feeding or haematophagy, has only evolved in the New World. The adaptations that enable blood-feeding also make the vampire bat highly effective at transmitting rabies virus. Whether the virus was present in pre-Columbian America or was introduced is much disputed, however, the introduction of Old World livestock and associated landscape modification, which continues to the present day, has enabled vampire bat populations to increase. This in turn has provided the conditions for rabies re-emergence to threaten both livestock and human populations as vampire bats target large mammals. This review considers the ecology of the vampire bat that make it such an efficient vector for rabies, the current status of vampire-transmitted rabies and the future prospects for spread by this virus and its control. PMID:24784570

Ten-year cancer incidence in rescue/recovery workers and civilians exposed to the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks on the World Trade Center.

PubMed

Li, Jiehui; Brackbill, Robert M; Liao, Tim S; Qiao, Baozhen; Cone, James E; Farfel, Mark R; Hadler, James L; Kahn, Amy R; Konty, Kevin J; Stayner, Leslie T; Stellman, Steven D

2016-09-01

Cancer incidence in exposed rescue/recovery workers (RRWs) and civilians (non-RRWs) was previously reported through 2008. We studied occurrence of first primary cancer among World Trade Center Health Registry enrollees through 2011 using adjusted standardized incidence ratios (SIRs), and the WTC-exposure-cancer association, using Cox proportional hazards models. All-cancer SIR was 1.11 (95% confidence interval (CI) 1.03-1.20) in RRWs, and 1.08 (95% CI 1.02-1.15) in non-RRWs. Prostate cancer and skin melanoma were significantly elevated in both populations. Thyroid cancer was significantly elevated only in RRWs while breast cancer and non-Hodgkin's lymphoma were significantly elevated only in non-RRWs. There was a significant exposure dose-response for bladder cancer among RRWs, and for skin melanoma among non-RRWs. We observed excesses of total and specific cancers in both populations, although the strength of the evidence for causal relationships to WTC exposures is somewhat limited. Continued monitoring of this population is indicated. Am. J. Ind. Med. 59:709-721, 2016. © 2016 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. © 2016 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

World Population: Fundamentals of Growth. Student Chartbook. Third Edition.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Kent, Mary Mederios

This booklet is designed for K-12 students and educators to learn about world population growth factors. Data are shown through charts and graphs with brief explanations. The booklet contains: (1) "World Population Growth and Regional Distribution through History"; (2) "Population Growth through Natural Increase"; (3) "Effect of Migration on…

Barriers to mental health treatment: results from the WHO World Mental Health surveys.

PubMed

Andrade, L H; Alonso, J; Mneimneh, Z; Wells, J E; Al-Hamzawi, A; Borges, G; Bromet, E; Bruffaerts, R; de Girolamo, G; de Graaf, R; Florescu, S; Gureje, O; Hinkov, H R; Hu, C; Huang, Y; Hwang, I; Jin, R; Karam, E G; Kovess-Masfety, V; Levinson, D; Matschinger, H; O'Neill, S; Posada-Villa, J; Sagar, R; Sampson, N A; Sasu, C; Stein, D J; Takeshima, T; Viana, M C; Xavier, M; Kessler, R C

2014-04-01

To examine barriers to initiation and continuation of mental health treatment among individuals with common mental disorders. Data were from the World Health Organization (WHO) World Mental Health (WMH) surveys. Representative household samples were interviewed face to face in 24 countries. Reasons to initiate and continue treatment were examined in a subsample (n = 63,678) and analyzed at different levels of clinical severity. Among those with a DSM-IV disorder in the past 12 months, low perceived need was the most common reason for not initiating treatment and more common among moderate and mild than severe cases. Women and younger people with disorders were more likely to recognize a need for treatment. A desire to handle the problem on one's own was the most common barrier among respondents with a disorder who perceived a need for treatment (63.8%). Attitudinal barriers were much more important than structural barriers to both initiating and continuing treatment. However, attitudinal barriers dominated for mild-moderate cases and structural barriers for severe cases. Perceived ineffectiveness of treatment was the most commonly reported reason for treatment drop-out (39.3%), followed by negative experiences with treatment providers (26.9% of respondents with severe disorders). Low perceived need and attitudinal barriers are the major barriers to seeking and staying in treatment among individuals with common mental disorders worldwide. Apart from targeting structural barriers, mainly in countries with poor resources, increasing population mental health literacy is an important endeavor worldwide.

Is the risk of Alzheimer's disease and dementia declining?

PubMed

Langa, Kenneth M

2015-01-01

The number of older adults with dementia will increase around the world in the decades ahead as populations age. Current estimates suggest that about 4.2 million adults in the US have dementia and that the attributable economic cost of their care is about $200 billion per year. The worldwide dementia prevalence is estimated at 44.3 million people and the total cost at $604 billion per year. It is expected that the worldwide prevalence will triple to 135.5 million by 2050. However, a number of recent population-based studies from countries around the world suggest that the age-specific risk of dementia may be declining, which could help moderate the expected increase in dementia cases that will accompany the growing number of older adults. At least nine recent population-based studies of dementia incidence or prevalence have shown a declining age-specific risk in the US, England, The Netherlands, Sweden, and Denmark. A number of factors, especially rising levels of education and more aggressive treatment of key cardiovascular risk factors such as hypertension and hypercholesterolemia, may be leading to improving 'brain health' and declining age-specific risk of Alzheimer's disease and dementia in countries around the world. Multiple epidemiological studies from around the world suggest an optimistic trend of declining population dementia risk in high-income countries over the past 25 years. Rising levels of education and more widespread and successful treatment of key cardiovascular risk factors may be the driving factors accounting for this decline in dementia risk. Whether this optimistic trend will continue in the face of rising worldwide levels of obesity and diabetes and whether this trend is also occurring in low- and middle-income countries are key unanswered questions which will have enormous implications for the extent of the future worldwide impact of Alzheimer's disease and dementia on patients, families, and societies in the decades ahead.

An Application of Strategic Culture Concepts in U.S.-African Foreign Policy: Mutual Understanding Can Yield Mutual Interests

DTIC Science & Technology

2009-01-01

missionaries sent to other parts of the world demanded that a choice be made by their converts, depicting Christianity asa de- masculinizing and un-inclusive...for the issues adversely affecting Africans. This perception is influenced by what Africans may think is an American continuance of. European hegemony ...of its manifest global hegemony to civilize the continent.5o Consequently, Westerners committed wide-scale subjugation of African populations without

Philippines mental health country profile.

PubMed

Conde, Bernardo

2004-01-01

The Philippines is one of the world's most heavily populated countries. Even though democracy was restored in 1986 after years of occupation and dictatorship, a high level of poverty still exists and malnutrition and communicable diseases continue to be the main cause of morbidity. For almost 50 years people with mental disorders have been treated in a mental hospital setting. The National Mental Health Program aims to establish psychiatric wards in university and private hospitals and encourage community-based mental health care.

The state of world population and its implications for the US.

PubMed

Fornos, W

1987-07-01

Before the end of the century, annual world population growth is expected to exceed 90 million. Among the consequences of this rapid population growth--most of which will take place in developing countries-- are environmental degradation, urban deterioration, unemployment, hunger, resource depletion, and economic stagnation. Despite this alarming situation, the US Government has reduced appropriations for international population aid from US$290 million in 1985 to $200 million in 1988. In addition, the US has stopped funding the 2 organizations that have been most effective in providing family planning assistance to developing countries: the United Nations Fund for Population Activities and the International Planned Parenthood Federation. The US has adapted a policy that asserts that population is a neutral factor in development and promotes capitalism as a means of lowering fertility. However, experience in developing countries such as Thailand, China, and the Philippines that have undergone dramatic fertility declines attests that family planning efforts can result in economic growth. Over 80% of developing countries have established population control policies yet they will require substantial financial and technical aid from industrialized nations. It is ironic that the US has turned away from a commitment to helping poor countries to voluntarily reduce their high fertility rates at a time when such countries have accepted the necessity of such a goal. It is further ironic that the US expresses concern about the threat of revolution in areas such as Central America, yet fails to comprehend the social unrest and threats to global stability that will emerge as a result of continued population growth. At least a doubling--preferably a tripling--of US population assistance is needed.

What we know and do not know about women and kidney diseases; Questions unanswered and answers unquestioned: Reflection on World Kidney Day and International Woman’s Day

PubMed Central

Piccoli, G.B.; Al Rukhaimi, M.; Liu, Zhi-Hong; Zakharova, E.; Levin, A.

2018-01-01

Chronic kidney disease affects approximately 10% of the world's adult population: it is within the top 20 causes of death worldwide, and its impact on patients and their families can be devastating. World Kidney Day and International Women's Day in 2018 coincide, thus offering an opportunity to reflect on the importance of women's health and specifically women’s kidney health on the community and the next generations, as well as to strive to be more curious about the unique aspects of kidney disease in women so that we may apply those learnings more broadly. Girls and women, who make up approximately 50% of the world's population, are important contributors to society and their families. Gender differences continue to exist around the world in access to education, medical care, and participation in clinical studies. Pregnancy is a unique state for women, offering an opportunity for diagnosis of kidney disease, but also a state in which acute and chronic kidney diseases may manifest, and which may impact future generations with respect to kidney health. Various autoimmune and other conditions are more likely to impact women, with profound consequences for child bearing and the fetus. Women have different complications on dialysis than men, and are more likely to be donors than recipients of kidney transplants. In this editorial, we focus on what we know and do not know about women, kidney health, and kidney disease, and what we might learn in the future to improve outcomes worldwide. PMID:29791583

What we know and do not know about women and kidney diseases; Questions unanswered and answers unquestioned: Reflection on World Kidney Day and International Woman's Day.

PubMed

Piccoli, G B; Al Rukhaimi, M; Liu, Zhi-Hong; Zakharova, E; Levin, A

2018-01-01

Chronic kidney disease affects approximately 10% of the world's adult population: it is within the top 20 causes of death worldwide, and its impact on patients and their families can be devastating. World Kidney Day and International Women's Day in 2018 coincide, thus offering an opportunity to reflect on the importance of women's health and specifically women's kidney health on the community and the next generations, as well as to strive to be more curious about the unique aspects of kidney disease in women so that we may apply those learnings more broadly. Girls and women, who make up approximately 50% of the world's population, are important contributors to society and their families. Gender differences continue to exist around the world in access to education, medical care, and participation in clinical studies. Pregnancy is a unique state for women, offering an opportunity for diagnosis of kidney disease, but also a state in which acute and chronic kidney diseases may manifest, and which may impact future generations with respect to kidney health. Various autoimmune and other conditions are more likely to impact women, with profound consequences for child bearing and the fetus. Women have different complications on dialysis than men, and are more likely to be donors than recipients of kidney transplants. In this editorial, we focus on what we know and do not know about women, kidney health, and kidney disease, and what we might learn in the future to improve outcomes worldwide.

Perspectives on urban conditions and population health.

PubMed

Vlahov, David; Galea, Sandro; Gibble, Emily; Freudenberg, Nicholas

2005-01-01

The majority of the world's population will live in cities in the next few years and the pace of urbanization worldwide will continue to accelerate over the coming decades. While the number of megacities is projected to increase, the largest population growth is expected to be in cities of less than one million people. Such a dramatic demographic shift can be expected to have an impact on population health. Although there has been historic interest in how city living affects health, a cogent framework that enables systematic study of urban health across time and place has yet to emerge. Four alternate but complementary approaches to the study of urban health today are presented (urban health penalty, urban health advantage, urban sprawl, and an integrative urban conditions model) followed by three key questions that may help guide the study and practice of urban health in coming decades.

Population ageing: what should we worry about?

PubMed Central

Turner, Adair

2009-01-01

Approximately half the world's population now has replacement-level fertility or below. The UK experience in accommodating to a changing dependency ratio provides some generalizable insights. A mechanistic approach assuming a fixed retirement age and a need to raise fertility or increase immigration in order to maintain pensions at a fixed proportion of the gross domestic product (GDP) is overstated and wrong. It needs to be replaced by a welfare optimizing model, which takes into account the increasing years of healthy life, a slow rise in the pensionable age, capital inheritance and wider welfare considerations of population density that are not reflected in GDP measures. A combined replacement ratio (CRR) is suggested for developed countries combining the impact of the fertility rate and immigration rate. A CRR above 2 implies continued population growth. The current UK CRR of 2.48 is higher than needed for pension reasons, and it is suggested that it exceeds the welfare maximizing level. PMID:19770152

Population control II: The population establishment today.

PubMed

Hartmann, B

1997-01-01

Although population assistance represents a relatively small share of official development assistance, it influences many other aspects of development planning. The organizations that comprise the population establishment have a common purpose--the reduction of population growth in the Third World--but they are not homogeneous and sometimes have conflicting goals and strategies. National governments, multilateral agencies, nongovernmental organizations, foundations, academic centers, and pressure groups all contribute to creating and sustaining what has become a virtual population control industry. Through scholarships, travel grants, awards, and favorable publicity, Third World elites have been encouraged to join the population establishment. The World Bank, the U.S. Agency for International Development, and the U.N. Fund for Population Activities have pursued explicit strategies for pressuring Third World governments to design and implement population policies, most recently in Africa.

Population growth and sustainable development in China.

PubMed

Gui, S

1998-12-01

This article identifies the adverse impacts of population growth in China and offers suggestions for attaining sustainable development. Although China has below replacement level fertility, population will continue to increase. Chinese demographers project that the total fertility rate will average 2.1 each year until 2010, 2.1 until 2050, or 1.88 until 2010 and 1.6 during 2010-2050 under high, medium, and low variants, respectively. Total population would number 1.69 billion, 1.50 billion, or 1.46 billion under various projections, respectively, by 2050. Continued growth is expected to seriously slow economic development, to hinder improvements in the quality of and full use of human resources, to depress increases in per-capita economic development levels, and to impact on reasonable use of resources and environmental protection. The averting of 5 million births would save 35.5 billion yuan. Population growth has reduced the per-capita share of cultivated land from 0.19 to 0.08 hectares during 1952-95. There are about 150-190 million surplus rural laborers. Registered unemployment in cities was 3.1% in 1997. 11.5 million were laid-off workers. The working-age population will exceed 900 million during 2007-26. China's gross national product (GNP) was the 8th highest in the world in 1990, but its per-capita GNP was in 100th place. China's abundant natural resources are seriously reduced when population is considered. Environmental damage is already evident. Population growth needs to be controlled through family planning, an old-age social security program, and long-term population policies. Society needs healthier births and childbearing and better educated children.

An assisted-living home architecture with integrated healthcare services for elderly people.

PubMed

Marsh, Andy; Biniaris, Christos; Vergados, Dimitrios; Eppler, Arnold; Kavvadias, Christoforos; Bigalke, Olaf; Robert, Eric; Jerabek, Boro; Alevizos, Alevizos; Caragiozidis, Michael

2008-01-01

Since the population of elderly people grows absolutely and in relation to the overall population in the world, the improvement of the quality of life of elderly people at home is of a great importance. This can be achieved through the development of generic technologies for managing their domestic ambient environment consisting of medical sensors, entertainment equipment, home automation systems and white goods, increasing their autonomy and safety. In this context, the provision intelligent interactive healthcare services will improve their daily life and allowing at the same time the continuous monitoring of their health and their effective treatment. This work is supported by the INHOME Project EU IST-045061-STP, http://www.ist-inhome.eu.

Behind Bars II: Substance Abuse and America's Prison Population

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

National Center on Addiction and Substance Abuse at Columbia University, 2010

2010-01-01

People in the United States, though only five percent of the world's population, consume two-thirds of the world's illegal drugs. People in the United States, though only five percent of the world's population, incarcerate 25 percent of the world's prisoners. It is no coincidence that of the 2.3 million inmates in U.S. prisons, 65 percent--1.5…

World Population: U.N. on the Move but Grounds for Optimism Are Scant

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Holden, Constance

1974-01-01

Discusses current trends and problems relating to world population, and focuses on action being taken by the United Nations. This year (1974) has been designated World Population Year, and will be highlighted by a conference in Bucharest in which all 130 member governments will meet to confront the issue of population control. (JR)

The Long-Term Relationship between Population Growth and Vegetation Cover: An Empirical Analysis Based on the Panel Data of 21 Cities in Guangdong Province, China

PubMed Central

Li, Chao; Kuang, Yaoqiu; Huang, Ningsheng; Zhang, Chao

2013-01-01

It is generally believed that there is an inverse relationship between population growth and vegetation cover. However, reports about vegetation protection and reforestation around the World have been continuously increasing in recent decades, which seems to indicate that this relationship may not be true. In this paper, we have taken 21 cities in Guangdong Province, China as the study area to test the long-term relationship between population growth and vegetation cover, using an AVHRR NDVI data set and the panel cointegrated regression method. The results show that there is a long-term inverted N-shaped curve relationship between population growth and vegetation cover in the region where there are frequent human activities and the influence of climate change on vegetation cover changes is relatively small. The two turning points of the inverted N-shaped curve for the case of Guangdong Province correspond to 2,200 persons·km−2 and 3,820 persons·km−2, and they can provide a reference range for similar regions of the World. It also states that the population urbanization may have a negative impact on the vegetation cover at the early stage, but have a positive impact at the later stage. In addition, the Panel Error Correction Model (PECM) is used to investigate the causality direction between population growth and vegetation cover. The results show that not only will the consuming destruction effect and planting construction effect induced by the population growth have a great impact on vegetation cover changes, but vegetation cover changes in turn will also affect the population growth in the long term. PMID:23435589

On the number of New World founders: a population genetic portrait of the peopling of the Americas.

PubMed

Hey, Jody

2005-06-01

The founding of New World populations by Asian peoples is the focus of considerable archaeological and genetic research, and there persist important questions on when and how these events occurred. Genetic data offer great potential for the study of human population history, but there are significant challenges in discerning distinct demographic processes. A new method for the study of diverging populations was applied to questions on the founding and history of Amerind-speaking Native American populations. The model permits estimation of founding population sizes, changes in population size, time of population formation, and gene flow. Analyses of data from nine loci are consistent with the general portrait that has emerged from archaeological and other kinds of evidence. The estimated effective size of the founding population for the New World is fewer than 80 individuals, approximately 1% of the effective size of the estimated ancestral Asian population. By adding a splitting parameter to population divergence models it becomes possible to develop detailed portraits of human demographic history. Analyses of Asian and New World data support a model of a recent founding of the New World by a population of quite small effective size.

Population redistribution in Nigeria.

PubMed

Adebayo, A

1984-07-01

One of the major consequences of the reorganization of Nigeria from 4 states into 12 states in 1967 and then into 19 states in the late 1970s was the redistribution of the Nigerian population. Prior to 1967 Nigeria's rural population migrated primarily to the 4 state capitals of Kaduna, Ibadan, Enugu, Benin City and to the federal capital of Lagos. The creation of additional states, each with their own capital, provided new urban environments where migrants from rural areas were afforded opportunities for employment and social mobility. Between 1960-1980, World Bank estimates indicate that 1) population in Nigerian cityes of over 500,000 population increased from 22-57%; 2) the number of cities with a population of 500,000 or more increased from 2 to 9 and 3) the urban population increased from 13-20%. Given Nigeria's estimated population growth rate of 3.6%/year, it is imperative that the goverment continue its decentralization efforts. Tables show 1) population by region based on the 1963 census; 2) estimated population of the 19 state capitals for 1963 and 1975; and 3) estimated population of the areas included in each of the 19 states for 196o, 1977, 1979, and 19819

Changing population dynamics and uneven temperature emergence combine to exacerbate regional exposure to heat extremes under 1.5 °C and 2 °C of warming

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Harrington, Luke J.; Otto, Friederike E. L.

2018-03-01

Understanding how continuing increases in global mean temperature will exacerbate societal exposure to extreme weather events is a question of profound importance. However, determining population exposure to the impacts of heat extremes at 1.5 °C and 2 °C of global mean warming requires not only (1) a robust understanding of the physical climate system response, but also consideration of (2) projected changes to overall population size, as well as (3) changes to where people will live in the future. This analysis introduces a new framework, adapted from studies of probabilistic event attribution, to disentangle the relative importance of regional climate emergence and changing population dynamics in the exposure to future heat extremes across multiple densely populated regions in Southern Asia and Eastern Africa (SAEA). Our results reveal that, when population is kept at 2015 levels, exposure to heat considered severe in the present decade across SAEA will increase by a factor of 4.1 (2.4-9.6) and 15.8 (5.0-135) under a 1.5°- and 2.0°-warmer world, respectively. Furthermore, projected population changes by the end of the century under an SSP1 and SSP2 scenario can further exacerbate these changes by a factor of 1.2 (1.0-1.3) and 1.5 (1.3-1.7), respectively. However, a large fraction of this additional risk increase is not related to absolute increases in population, but instead attributed to changes in which regions exhibit continued population growth into the future. Further, this added impact of population redistribution will be twice as significant after 2.0 °C of warming, relative to stabilisation at 1.5 °C, due to the non-linearity of increases in heat exposure. Irrespective of the population scenario considered, continued African population expansion will place more people in locations where emergent changes to future heat extremes are exceptionally severe.

Gemstones

USGS Publications Warehouse

Olson, D.W.

2000-01-01

Part of the 1999 Industrial Minerals Review. A review of the state of the gemstone industry worldwide in 1999 is presented. According to the U.S. Geological Survey, the estimated value of natural gemstones produced from U.S. deposits in 1999 was $13.5 million. The estimated value of U.S. apparent consumption of gemstones in 1999 was $6.88 billion, an increase of 9 percent from 1998. World demand for gem diamonds is expected to continue to increase with the increase in populations and personal incomes in industrialized nations.

Potential for use of environmental factors in urban planning

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Teixeira da Silva, Ricardo; van der Ploeg, Martine; van Delden, Hedwig; Fleskens, Luuk

2016-04-01

Projections for population growth estimate, on top of the current 7.4 billion world population, an increase of 2 billion people for the next 40 years. It is also projected that 66 per cent of the world population in 2050 will live in urban areas. To accommodate the urban population growth cities are changing continuously land cover to urban areas. Such changes are a threat for natural resources and food production systems stability and capability to provide food and other functions. However, little has been done concerning a rational soil management for food production in urban and peri-urban areas. This study focuses on the assessment of soil lost due to urban expansion and discusses the potential loss regarding the quality of the soil for food production and environmental functions. It is relevant to increase the knowledge on the role of soils in peri-urban areas and in the interaction of physical, environmental and social factors. The methodology consists of assessing the soil quality in and around urban and peri-urban areas. It focuses particularly on the physical properties and the environmental factors, for two periods of time and account the potential losses due to urban expansion. This project is on-going, therefore current advances will be presented and will look for a discussion on the contribution of soil quality for decision-making and land management in urban and peri-urban areas.

Chromosome surveys of human populations: between epidemiology and anthropology.

PubMed

de Chadarevian, Soraya

2014-09-01

It is commonly held that after 1945 human genetics turned medical and focussed on the individual rather than on the study of human populations that had become discredited. However, a closer look at the research practices at the time quickly reveals that human population studies, using old and new tools, prospered in this period. The essay focuses on the rise of chromosome analysis as a new tool for the study of human populations. It reviews a broad array of population studies ranging from newborn screening programmes to studies of isolated or 'primitive' people. Throughout, it highlights the continuing role of concerns and opportunities raised by the propagation of atomic energy for civilian and military uses, the collection of large data bases and computers, and the role of international organisations like the World Health Organisation and the International Biological Programme in shaping research agendas and carving out a space for human heredity in the postwar era. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

A Real-World Study of Switching From Allopurinol to Febuxostat in a Health Plan Database.

PubMed

Altan, Aylin; Shiozawa, Aki; Bancroft, Tim; Singh, Jasvinder A

2015-12-01

The objective of this study was to assess the real-world comparative effectiveness of continuing on allopurinol versus switching to febuxostat. In a retrospective claims data study of enrollees in health plans affiliated with Optum, we evaluated patients from February 1, 2009, to May 31, 2012, with a gout diagnosis, a pharmacy claim for allopurinol or febuxostat, and at least 1 serum uric acid (SUA) result available during the follow-up period. Univariate and multivariable-adjusted analyses (controlling for patient demographics and clinical factors) assessed the likelihood of SUA lowering and achievement of target SUA of less than 6.0 mg/dL or less than 5.0 mg/dL in allopurinol continuers versus febuxostat switchers. The final study population included 748 subjects who switched to febuxostat from allopurinol and 4795 continuing users of allopurinol. The most common doses of allopurinol were 300 mg/d or less in 95% of allopurinol continuers and 93% of febuxostat switchers (prior to switching); the most common dose of febuxostat was 40 mg/d, in 77% of febuxostat switchers (after switching). Compared with allopurinol continuers, febuxostat switchers had greater (1) mean preindex SUA, 8.0 mg/dL versus 6.6 mg/dL (P < 0.001); (2) likelihood of postindex SUA of less than 6.0 mg/dL, 62.2% versus 58.7% (P = 0.072); (3) likelihood of postindex SUA of less than 5.0 mg/dL, 38.9% versus 29.6% (P < 0.001); and (4) decrease in SUA, 1.8 (SD, 2.2) mg/dL versus 0.4 (SD, 1.7) mg/dL (P < 0.001). In multivariable-adjusted analyses, compared with allopurinol continuers, febuxostat switchers had significantly higher likelihood of achieving SUA of less than 6.0 mg/dL (40% higher) and SUA of less than 5.0 mg/dL (83% higher). In this "real-world" setting, many patients with gout not surprisingly were not treated with maximum permitted doses of allopurinol. Patients switched to febuxostat were more likely to achieve target SUA levels than those who continued on generally stable doses of allopurinol.

The new face of space - exciting the next generation

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Sanchez, M.; The, W.

This paper will describe the education and public outreach activities being conducted in conjunction with the World Space Congress. The World Space Congress brings together international space leaders and decision makers to share their knowledge and experiences, providing a guiding vision for an improved future. The very people who will populate that future and serve as its leaders are the world's brightest and best young students and young space professionals. Who better than the young people to share in the enthusiasm and knowledge, and participate in the shaping of that future? This World Space Congress intends to engage the young people in educational activities, introduce them to their international counterparts and the idea of collaboration, and provide them with an international experience to remember. This paper provides specifics regarding the planned events for young people. A truly "global" event is being planned for over 2500 students, educators and young professionals from more than 30 countries. Activities and events will target the spectrum of ages including K-12 up to young professionals, as well as the educators whose touch continues to develop the minds and influence the lives of the world's students on a daily basis.

Population and economics.

PubMed

Wright, W

1995-06-01

The first world consists of the developed industrial countries, the second consists of rapidly developing countries, and the third of less developed, largely pre-industrial countries. The economies of most developed countries in recent years have been relatively stagnant. Most people in the developed world therefore assume that the bottom of the business cycle has arrived and that an upturn will soon be forthcoming. With the exception of the USA and Chile, which have been moderately prosperous in the last few years, the bottom has persisted for a very long time. Indeed, the developed world is not caught in a conventional business cycle, but in something quite new and different. The first world is struggling to stay at the top of countries worldwide both economically and politically, but the second world is rapidly catching up. Populations in these latter countries are both better educated and willing to work harder per unit of capital compared to people in the first world. Marketplace forces and the communication highway are increasingly bring about a scenario in which the first and second worlds will be economic peers. Faced with increased competition from the second world and a larger number of countries capable of providing foreign aid to the third world, it should be clear that the first world will turn inward and reduce its annual aid contributions to less developed countries. It is, however, in the first world's interest to promote family planning toward the goal of reduced population growth. Developed countries should insist that a substantial fraction of whatever foreign aid is provided goes toward reducing the rate of population growth. The first priority should be to make contraceptives available and promote their use worldwide. Efforts should then be taken to empower women through educational and other programs. This approach will slow population growth and improve the economic productivity of both men and women. The Third World should also seriously address its own population problems, and stop looking to the day when their enormous populations will overwhelm the first world.

Mission Accomplished? We Need a Guide to the 'Post Release' World of Wolbachia for Aedes-borne Disease Control.

PubMed

Ritchie, Scott A; van den Hurk, Andrew F; Smout, Michael J; Staunton, Kyran M; Hoffmann, Ary A

2018-03-01

Historically, sustained control of Aedes aegypti, the vector of dengue, chikungunya, yellow fever, and Zika viruses, has been largely ineffective. Subsequently, two novel 'rear and release' control strategies utilizing mosquitoes infected with Wolbachia are currently being developed and deployed widely. In the incompatible insect technique, male Aedes mosquitoes, infected with Wolbachia, suppress populations through unproductive mating. In the transinfection strategy, both male and female Wolbachia-infected Ae. aegypti mosquitoes rapidly infect the wild population with Wolbachia, blocking virus transmission. It is critical to monitor the long-term stability of Wolbachia in host populations, and also the ability of this bacterium to continually inhibit virus transmission. Ongoing release and monitoring programs must be future-proofed should political support weaken when these vectors are successfully controlled. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Defining fitness in an uncertain world.

PubMed

Crewe, Paul; Gratwick, Richard; Grafen, Alan

2018-04-01

The recently elucidated definition of fitness employed by Fisher in his fundamental theorem of natural selection is combined with reproductive values as appropriately defined in the context of both random environments and continuing fluctuations in the distribution over classes in a class-structured population. We obtain astonishingly simple results, generalisations of the Price Equation and the fundamental theorem, that show natural selection acting only through the arithmetic expectation of fitness over all uncertainties, in contrast to previous studies with fluctuating demography, in which natural selection looks rather complicated. Furthermore, our setting permits each class to have its characteristic ploidy, thus covering haploidy, diploidy and haplodiploidy at the same time; and allows arbitrary classes, including continuous variables such as condition. The simplicity is achieved by focussing just on the effects of natural selection on genotype frequencies: while other causes are present in the model, and the effect of natural selection is assessed in their presence, these causes will have their own further effects on genoytpe frequencies that are not assessed here. Also, Fisher's uses of reproductive value are shown to have two ambivalences, and a new axiomatic foundation for reproductive value is endorsed. The results continue the formal darwinism project, and extend support for the individual-as-maximising-agent analogy to finite populations with random environments and fluctuating class-distributions. The model may also lead to improved ways to measure fitness in real populations.

World Population in Transition.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Merrick, Thomas W.; And Others

1986-01-01

This issue discusses world population trends and their implications for more and less developed countries. There have been two periods of major population expansion since 1750 with the first lasting almost 200 years and the second surge occurring after World War II. Growth rates in industrialized countries are now very low with fertility below…

The use of food imports to overcome local limits to growth

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Porkka, Miina; Guillaume, Joseph H. A.; Siebert, Stefan; Schaphoff, Sibyll; Kummu, Matti

2017-04-01

There is a fundamental tension between population growth and carrying capacity, i.e., the population that could potentially be supported using the resources and technologies available at a given time. When population growth outpaces improvements in food production locally, food imports can avoid local limits and allow growth to continue. This import strategy is central to the debate on food security with continuing rapid growth of the world population. This highlights the importance of a quantitative global understanding of where the strategy is implemented, whether it has been successful, and what drivers are involved. We present an integrated quantitative analysis to answer these questions at sub-national and national scale for 1961-2009, focusing on water as the key limiting resource and accounting for resource and technology impacts on local carrying capacity. According to the sub-national estimates, food imports have nearly universally been used to overcome local limits to growth, affecting 3.0 billion people—81% of the population that is approaching or already exceeded local carrying capacity. This strategy is successful in 88% of the cases, being highly dependent on economic purchasing power. In the unsuccessful cases, increases in imports and local productivity have not kept pace with population growth, leaving 460 million people with insufficient food. Where the strategy has been successful, food security of 1.4 billion people has become dependent on imports. Whether or not this dependence on imports is considered desirable, it has policy implications that need to be taken into account.

Globalization's effects on world agricultural trade, 1960–2050

PubMed Central

Anderson, Kym

2010-01-01

Recent globalization has been characterized by a decline in the costs of cross-border trade in farm and other products. It has been driven primarily by the information and communication technology revolution and—in the case of farm products—by reductions in governmental distortions to agricultural production, consumption and trade. Both have boosted economic growth and reduced poverty globally, especially in Asia. The first but maybe not the second of these drivers will continue in coming decades. World food prices will depend also on whether (and if so by how much) farm productivity growth continues to outpace demand growth and to what extent diets in emerging economies move towards livestock and horticultural products at the expense of staples. Demand in turn will be driven not only by population and income growth, but also by crude oil prices if they remain at current historically high levels, since that will affect biofuel demand. Climate change mitigation policies and adaptation, water market developments and market access standards particularly for transgenic foods will add to future production, price and trade uncertainties. PMID:20713399

Children Deserve Smoke Free World.

PubMed

Remesh Kumar, R; Jayakumar, P R; Krishna Mohan, R

2018-04-01

Tobacco smoke, active or passive exposure was the major cause of preventable morbidity and mortality in the world during twentieth century and will continue to be the same in the twenty-first century also if the current trends continue. Both active and passive smoking are having significance in relation to child health. Exposure starts antenatally from placenta to the fetus and later phases through passive exposure to experimental and regular smoking and ultimately addiction and habitual smoking. Evidences are in favour of causal relationship with intrauterine growth restriction, sudden infant death syndrome, decreased pulmonary function, increased risk for respiratory tract infection, otitis media, wheeze, asthma, neurobehavioral disorders, cleft palate and triggering pathogenesis of fetal and childhood onset of adult diseases, especially pulmonary and cardio vascular diseases. All these facts stress the importance of behavioral changes in the population as well as stringent public health measures and legislation for ensuring smoke free work places, public places and households for children. M POWER- Package by WHO is a novel global initiative taking us closer to the target of achieving tobacco free environment for children in the near future.

Cross-border collaboration for improved tuberculosis prevention and care: policies, tools and experiences.

PubMed

Dara, M; Sulis, G; Centis, R; D'Ambrosio, L; de Vries, G; Douglas, P; Garcia, D; Jansen, N; Zuroweste, E; Migliori, G B

2017-07-01

As tuberculosis (TB) spreads beyond borders with people movements, several interventions ensuring the continuity of care are essential, although difficult to put in place in the absence of well-defined agreements allowing data sharing and easy referral of patients to appropriate health facilities. This article first sets out general principles for cross-border collaboration and continuity of care. It then presents a series of case studies. Policies and practices on cross-border collaboration in selected low-incidence countries (Australia, Italy, Norway, The Netherlands, the United Kingdom and the United States) are described and critically appraised. Details of the World Health Organization's (WHO's) European Respiratory Society TB Consilium for transborder migration and those of the Health Network's TBNet activities are described. With increasing population movement, including migrants and travellers, it is time to build on good practices and existing tools and to remove legal, financial and social barriers to ensure early diagnosis, full treatment and continuity of care across our world. Data sharing between the sending and the receiving countries is of utmost importance and must be conducted in line with privacy protection rules. Successful implementation of these interventions is key to being on track with the WHO's End TB strategy targets for 2030.

The response to September 11: a disaster case study.

PubMed

Crane, Michael A; Levy-Carrick, Nomi C; Crowley, Laura; Barnhart, Stephanie; Dudas, Melissa; Onuoha, Uchechukwu; Globina, Yelena; Haile, Winta; Shukla, Gauri; Ozbay, Fatih

2014-01-01

The response to 9/11 continues into its 14th year. The World Trade Center Health Program (WTCHP), a long-term monitoring and treatment program now funded by the Zadroga Act of 2010, includes >60,000 World Trade Center (WTC) disaster responders and community members ("survivors"). The aim of this review is to identify several elements that have had a critical impact on the evolution of the WTC response and, directly or indirectly, the health of the WTC-exposed population. It further explores post-disaster monitoring efforts, recent scientific findings from the WTCHP, and some implications of this experience for ongoing and future environmental disaster response. Transparency and responsiveness, site safety and worker training, assessment of acute and chronic exposure, and development of clinical expertise are interconnected elements determining efficacy of disaster response. Even in a relatively well-resourced environment, challenges regarding allocation of appropriate attention to vulnerable populations and integration of treatment response to significant medical and mental health comorbidities remain areas of ongoing programmatic development. Copyright © 2014 Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai. All rights reserved.

Rising Waters and a Smaller Island: What Should Physicians Do for Tuvaluans?

PubMed

Emont, Jordan; Anandarajah, Gowri

2017-12-01

Residents of the island nation of Tuvalu will be among the first of the 1.7 million Pacific Islanders to be displaced by the effects of climate change (including rising sea levels, changing distributions of agriculture, and unpredictable weather patterns). Already 3,500 Tuvaluans live in New Zealand (approximately 25 percent of the world's Tuvaluan population), some of whom moved due to climate change. Immigrating to New Zealand presents several challenges for Tuvaluans, including limited job opportunities, health care disparities, and dietary changes. Nevertheless, Tuvaluans in New Zealand continue their culture as they redefine their identity in a new country. Given the growing effects of climate change, physicians around the world will soon care for a new generation of immigrants and will play an important role in advocating for health equity and self-determination among climate-sensitive populations. This article uses personal stories and photographs of Tuvaluans and photographs of Tuvalu and New Zealand to present Tuvaluans' struggles and ethical issues pertaining to health that arise in relocating Tuvaluans. © 2017 American Medical Association. All Rights Reserved.

Emerging landscape degradation trends in the East African Horn

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Pricope, N. G.; Michaelsen, J.; Husak, G. J.; Funk, C. C.; Lopez-Carr, D.

2012-12-01

Increasing climate variability along with declining trends in rainfall represent major risk factors affecting food security in many regions of the world. We identify Africa-wide regions where significant rainfall decreases from 1979-2011 are coupled with significant human population density increases. The rangelands of the East African Horn remain one of the world's most food insecure regions with significantly increasing human populations predominantly dependent on pastoralist and agro-pastoralist livelihoods. Widespread vegetation degradation is occurring, adversely impacting fragile ecosystems and human livelihoods. Using MODIS land cover and normalized difference vegetation index (NDVI) data collected since 2000, we observe significant changes in vegetation patterns and productivity over the last decade across the East African Horn and demonstrate that these two products can be used concurrently at large spatial scales to monitor vegetation dynamics at decadal time scales. Results demonstrate that a near doubling of the population in pastoral regions is linked with hotspots of degradation in vegetation condition. The most significant land cover change and browning trends are observed in areas experiencing drying precipitation trends in addition to increasing population pressures. These findings have serious implications for current and future regional food security monitoring and forecasting and for mitigation and adaptation strategies in a region where population is expected to continue increasing against a backdrop of drying climate trends.Fig.1(a)Change in standardized precipitation index in Africa between 1979-2010 (b)Change in population density at continental scale using the GRUMPv1 1990 and 2000 and AfriPop 2010 population density datasets Fig.2 Land cover change trajectories based on 2001-2009 MOD12Q1 Land Cover product for the East African Horn overlaid over aggregated FEWS Net Livelihoods Zones.

Mitochondrial genome evidence reveals successful Late Paleolithic settlement on the Tibetan Plateau

PubMed Central

Zhao, Mian; Kong, Qing-Peng; Wang, Hua-Wei; Peng, Min-Sheng; Xie, Xiao-Dong; Wang, Wen-Zhi; Jiayang; Duan, Jian-Guo; Cai, Ming-Cui; Zhao, Shi-Neng; Cidanpingcuo; Tu, Yuan-Quan; Wu, Shi-Fang; Yao, Yong-Gang; Bandelt, Hans-Jürgen; Zhang, Ya-Ping

2009-01-01

Due to its numerous environmental extremes, the Tibetan Plateau—the world's highest plateau—is one of the most challenging areas of modern human settlement. Archaeological evidence dates the earliest settlement on the plateau to the Late Paleolithic, while previous genetic studies have traced the colonization event(s) to no earlier than the Neolithic. To explore whether the genetic continuity on the plateau has an exclusively Neolithic time depth, we studied mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) genome variation within 6 regional Tibetan populations sampled from Tibet and neighboring areas. Our results confirm that the vast majority of Tibetan matrilineal components can trace their ancestry to Epipaleolithic and Neolithic immigrants from northern China during the mid-Holocene. Significantly, we also identified an infrequent novel haplogroup, M16, that branched off directly from the Eurasian M founder type. Its nearly exclusive distribution in Tibetan populations and ancient age (>21 kya) suggest that M16 may represent the genetic relics of the Late Paleolithic inhabitants on the plateau. This partial genetic continuity between the Paleolithic inhabitants and the contemporary Tibetan populations bridges the results and inferences from archaeology, history, and genetics. PMID:19955425

A decade of discontinuity.

PubMed

Brown, L R

1993-01-01

Usual trends in the world have changed direction in the 1990s. We do not yet fully know the consequences of these altered trends. As population continues to grow, basic agricultural and industrial production falls (e.g., 1%/year decline in grain production and 0.6%/year decline in oil production). Moreover, world economic growth has fallen .8% annually in the early 1990s. It is feared that these shifts are not short term as were the instabilities generated during the 1973 increase in oil prices. The shifts in the 1990s are not limited to several national political leaders (e.g., OPEC), but are a result of the collision between swelling human numbers and their needs and the limitations of the earth's natural systems on the other. These limitations include the capacity of seas to produce seafood, of grasslands to yield mutton and beef, of the hydrological cycle to generate fresh water, of crops to use fertilizer, of the atmosphere to absorb carbon dioxide and chlorofluorocarbons, and of people to inhale polluted air, and of forests to resist acid rain. These constraints are forcing the realization that each nation must reduce consumption of the earth's natural resources and implement a population policy. The challenge is for social institutions to quickly check and stabilize population growth without infringing in human rights.

The relationship between population ageing and the economic growth in Asia

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Brendan, Lo Rick; Sek, Siok Kun

2017-08-01

Asia has witnessed robust economic growth since the 1960s. Today, emerging markets in Asia have managed to maintain rapid growth even when the world's main economies suffer from debt and banking crises. However, declining total fertility rate, increasing life expectancy, continuous change of birth and death patterns, and increasing share of old age population in the age distribution in Asia exert significant pressure on its economies. This paper analyses the relationship between population ageing and economic growth using 2 different panels of countries; one Asian and another the from the oldest countries worldwide between 1970 and 2014. The analysis is based on the Auto Regression Distributed Lag models. The MG (Mean Group) and PMG (Pooled Mean Group) estimations are applied in this analysis. The Hausman Test is conducted to decide between the MG and PMG estimators. We find that ageing will negatively affect the economy in the long run. The growing number of youths will initially have a negative effect on the economy but would eventually lead to a positive growth in the future. The old age dependency ratio has yet to have affect the Asian economy but is expected eventually to impose a negative effect as seen in the oldest nations of the world.

[Dental loss in a rural population and the goals established for the World Health Organization].

PubMed

Saliba, Nemre Adas; Moimaz, Suzely Adas Saliba; Saliba, Orlando; Tiano, Ana Valéria Pagliari

2010-06-01

This study aimed to report the dental loss in a rural population, evaluating the contribution of socioeconomic and behavioral variables and comparing the results with the goals of the World Health Organization (WHO) for 2000 and 2010. A total of 473 residents had been examined using the methodology, codes and criteria according to WHO guidelines. The results were processed using the Epibuco program and the chi-square test (p<0.05) were used to compare the number of teeth lost with the variables studied. From the total of people examined, 17.8% were total edentulous as well as 8% and 50.9% of the examined of the age groups of 35 to 44 and 65 to 74 years-old, respectively. Initiating precociously in his population, the dental loss advanced considerably with the age, being the situation much distant of the goals established by WHO for 2010. Chi-square test revealed statistically significant differences among the number of teeth lost by the interviewed with 35 years-old or more in relation to education level, housing and self-perception of the speak quality. The development of oral health attention programs becomes necessary, in order to reduce the actual damages and to prevent the continuity of this trend of mutilation.

Future of Pacific salmon in the face of environmental change: Lessons from one of the world's remaining productive salmon regions

USGS Publications Warehouse

Schoen, Erik R.; Wipfli, Mark S.; Trammell, Jamie; Rinella, Daniel J.; Floyd, Angelica L.; Grunblatt, Jess; McCarthy, Molly D.; Meyer, Benjamin E.; Morton, John M.; Powell, James E.; Prakash, Anupma; Reimer, Matthew N.; Stuefer, Svetlana L.; Toniolo, Horacio; Wells, Brett M.; Witmer, Frank D. W.

2017-01-01

Pacific salmon Oncorhynchus spp. face serious challenges from climate and landscape change, particularly in the southern portion of their native range. Conversely, climate warming appears to be allowing salmon to expand northwards into the Arctic. Between these geographic extremes, in the Gulf of Alaska region, salmon are at historically high abundances but face an uncertain future due to rapid environmental change. We examined changes in climate, hydrology, land cover, salmon populations, and fisheries over the past 30–70 years in this region. We focused on the Kenai River, which supports world-famous fisheries but where Chinook Salmon O. tshawytscha populations have declined, raising concerns about their future resilience. The region is warming and experiencing drier summers and wetter autumns. The landscape is also changing, with melting glaciers, wetland loss, wildfires, and human development. This environmental transformation will likely harm some salmon populations while benefiting others. Lowland salmon streams are especially vulnerable, but retreating glaciers may allow production gains in other streams. Some fishing communities harvest a diverse portfolio of fluctuating resources, whereas others have specialized over time, potentially limiting their resilience. Maintaining diverse habitats and salmon runs may allow ecosystems and fisheries to continue to thrive amidst these changes.

Women and kidney disease: reflections on World Kidney Day 2018: Kidney Health and Women's Health: a case for optimizing outcomes for present and future generations.

PubMed

Piccoli, Giorgina B; Alrukhaimi, Mona; Liu, Zhi-Hong; Zakharova, Elena; Levin, Adeera

2018-02-01

Chronic kidney disease (CKD) affects ∼10% of the world's adult population: it is one of the top 20 causes of death worldwide and its impact on patients and their families can be devastating. World Kidney Day and International Women's Day coincide in 2018, thus offering an opportunity to reflect on the importance of women's health, and specifically their kidney health, on the community and the next generations, as well as to strive to be more curious about the unique aspects of kidney disease in women so that we may apply these learnings more broadly. Girls and women, who make up ∼50% of the world's population, are important contributors to society and their families. Gender differences continue to exist around the world in access to education, medical care and participation in clinical studies. Pregnancy is a unique state for women, offering an opportunity for the diagnosis of kidney disease, and also a state where acute and chronic kidney diseases may manifest and that may impact future generations with respect to kidney health. There are various autoimmune and other conditions that are more likely to impact women with profound consequences for childbearing and on the fetus. Women have different complications on dialysis than men and are more likely to be donors than recipients of kidney transplants. In this editorial we focus on what we do and do not know about women, kidney health and kidney disease and what we might learn in the future to improve outcomes worldwide. © The Author(s) 2018. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of ERA-EDTA. All rights reserved.

Women and kidney disease: Reflections on world kidney day 2018.

PubMed

Piccoli, Giorgina B; Alrukhaimi, Mona; Liu, Zhi-Hong; Zakharova, Elena; Levin, Adeera

2018-03-01

Chronic Kidney Disease affects approximately 10% of the world's adult population: it is within the top 20 causes of death worldwide, and its impact on patients and their families can be devastating. World Kidney Day and International Women's Day in 2018 coincide, thus offering an opportunity to reflect on the importance of women's health and specifically their kidney health, on the community, and the next generations, as well as to strive to be more curious about the unique aspects of kidney disease in women so that we may apply those learnings more broadly. Girls and women, who make up approximately 50% of the world's population, are important contributors to society and their families. Gender differences continue to exist around the world in access to education, medical care and participation in clinical studies. Pregnancy is a unique state for women, offering an opportunity for diagnosis of kidney disease, but also a state where acute and chronic kidney diseases may manifest, and which may impact future generations with respect to kidney health. There are various autoimmune and other conditions that are more likely to impact women with profound consequences for child bearing, and on the foetus. Low birth weight children have increased risk of metabolic diseases, CVD and CKD. Women have different complications on dialysis than men, and are more likely to be donors than recipients of kidney transplants. There is little data to guide best practice and limited research in the area. In this editorial, we focus on what we do and do not know about women, kidney health and kidney disease, and what we might learn in the future to improve outcomes worldwide. © 2018 European Dialysis and Transplant Nurses Association/European Renal Care Association.

World Population and Beyond: A Teaching Strategy for Global Studies [And] Interchange. Population Education Newsletter. Vol. 7, No. 2, May 1978 [And] 1977 World Population Data Sheet.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Clark, Leon E.; And Others

The unit contains a teacher's guide, student reading materials, and data sheets about a variety of worldwide demographic and economic variables. Designed for students in junior high through college, its goals are to encourage students to analyze the causes and consequences of world population and economic trends, and to detect interrelationships…

Illustrative Projections of World Populations to the 21st Century. Current Population Reports, Special Studies Series P-23, No. 79.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Moore, Maurice J., Ed.; O'Connell, Martin, Ed.

The document presents high, medium, and low projections of the world's population for the year 2000. The objective of the study is to determine demands on natural resources and the environment which will be brought about by changes in the world's population. The document is presented in three major sections. Section I provides an overview of the…

Demographic Stress and Governance: The Influence of Nigerian Population Growth on the Risk of Civil Conflict

DTIC Science & Technology

2015-06-01

increase the risk of conflict? Can good governance either prevent or mitigate such an increased risk? Although the annual rate of world population...growth is declining, the United Nations projects world population to reach a staggering 9.6 billion by 2050. In that time, Nigeria is expected to...63 Illustrations Figure 1 World Population in Increments of One Billion ......................................................9 2

France. Country profile. [France's economy adjusts to a declining birth rate].

PubMed

Inserra, P

1984-09-01

This discussion of France focuses on regions and cities, age distribution, households and families, housing, labor force, consumption, education, and communications. France counted 54,334,871 citizens as of March 4, 1982. There were 250,000 more people than in 1975, yielding a 7-year growth rate of 3.3%. If present trends continue, there will be 56 million French by the end of the 1980s. Since 1975 when the last census was conducted, cities of more than 200,000 lost an average of 5% of their residents. For the 1st time in more than a century, urban areas of 20,000 or more did not gain population but merely held their own. France continues to experience the effects of the large-scale decimation of its male population during the 2 world wars. The World war i loss showed up March 1982 as a relatively smaller 60-74 group. Conversely the population aged 75 and over is growing, both in absolute numbers and as a percent of the population. There were 3.6 million aged 75 and over (6.6% of the population) in 1982 compared with 3 million (5.6%) in 1975. The 19 and under age group declined between 1975-85, from 31% (16.2 million) to 29% (15.6 million). The 20-59 year old group constitutes the largest segment of the population--about double the group aged 19 and under--and its growing. This group was 50% of the population in 1973 and 53% in 1982. The infant mortality rate has declined steadily in France, from 18.2 deaths/1000 births in 1970 to 13.6 in 1975 and 9.5 at present. The total fertility rate has continued to decline: 1.8 children/woman in the 1982 census a rate less than the number needed to replace the present French population. Between 1975-82 households grew 10.4% to a total of 19.6 million. The growth in the number of households is attributed to the increase in divorce and the tendency for French children to leave the parental home at an earlier age. France has nearly 23 million dwelling places. More than half of householders own their own homes. New housing starts declined markedly since 1975. In 1982 France had 23.5 million economically active people, including 2 million unemployed. Both figures are higher today with at least 10% of the population seeking work. Most French earn less than 8000 francs/month. The average weekly household expenditure in 1981 was 2076 francs, about $460 at 1981 exchange rates. Food took the biggest share at 439 francs. In 1983 France had 13.9 million students enrolled in primary and secondary schools and more than 905,000 in universities. France has an estimated 18.5 million television households and has 104 dailies and 850 weekly and shopper newspapers.

Why Population in 1974?

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

O'Connor, Marion

1974-01-01

Discusses the impact of world population growth leading to the establishment of the United Nations Fund for Population Activities and to the declaration of 1974 as World Population Year. Previews some of the parameters and interconnecting interests to be considered during this year of intensive population study. (JR)

Advances in Male Contraception

PubMed Central

Page, Stephanie T.; Amory, John K.; Bremner, William J.

2008-01-01

Despite significant advances in contraceptive options for women over the last 50 yr, world population continues to grow rapidly. Scientists and activists alike point to the devastating environmental impacts that population pressures have caused, including global warming from the developed world and hunger and disease in less developed areas. Moreover, almost half of all pregnancies are still unwanted or unplanned. Clearly, there is a need for expanded, reversible, contraceptive options. Multicultural surveys demonstrate the willingness of men to participate in contraception and their female partners to trust them to do so. Notwithstanding their paucity of options, male methods including vasectomy and condoms account for almost one third of contraceptive use in the United States and other countries. Recent international clinical research efforts have demonstrated high efficacy rates (90–95%) for hormonally based male contraceptives. Current barriers to expanded use include limited delivery methods and perceived regulatory obstacles, which stymie introduction to the marketplace. However, advances in oral and injectable androgen delivery are cause for optimism that these hurdles may be overcome. Nonhormonal methods, such as compounds that target sperm motility, are attractive in their theoretical promise of specificity for the reproductive tract. Gene and protein array technologies continue to identify potential targets for this approach. Such nonhormonal agents will likely reach clinical trials in the near future. Great strides have been made in understanding male reproductive physiology; the combined efforts of scientists, clinicians, industry and governmental funding agencies could make an effective, reversible, male contraceptive an option for family planning over the next decade. PMID:18436704

Human Population Influence on the Planet

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Pimentel, D.

2004-12-01

The continued expansion of the human population, now at 6.3 billion projected to reach 12 billion by 2050, is using, destroying, and polluting the very Earth's resources that support human life. Currently the World Health Organization reports that more than 3 billion people are malnourished - largest number ever. Contributing to the malnourishment problem is soil erosion that results in the loss of about 75 billion tons of soil from agriculture each year. More than 99% of all food for the world comes from the land - less than 1% from the oceans and other aquatic ecosystems. Yet agricultural cropland is being abandoned because of soil erosion and salinization and the rapid spread of human settlements. Water is essential for all life and agriculture is the major consumer accounting for more than 70% of freshwater used. Already water shortages are critical in the U.S. and worldwide. Thus far, abundant fossil fuels are supporting the expansion of agricultural productivity as well as industry and transport growth. Yet credible evidence suggests that the supplies of oil and natural gas especially are rapidly diminishing. The development of renewable energy is behind schedule and when developed will only supply only about half of current energy used. If we do not work towards a relative balance between human numbers and essential natural resources, humans will suffer. Human health, productivity and well being, now and for future generations, require the continued availability of our basic resources - soil, water, foods, and energy.

Rise of the microbes

PubMed Central

Mahan, Michael J.; Kubicek-Sutherland, Jessica Z.; Heithoff, Douglas M.

2013-01-01

Infectious diseases continue to plague the modern world. In the evolutionary arms race of pathogen emergence, the rules of engagement appear to have suddenly changed. Human activities have collided with nature to hasten the emergence of more potent pathogens from natural microbial populations. This is evident in recent infectious disease outbreaks, the events that led to their origin, and lessons learned: influenza (2009), meningitis (Africa, 2009), cholera (Haiti, 2010), E. coli (Germany, 2011) and Salmonella (USA, 2012). Developing a comprehensive control plan requires an understanding of the genetics, epidemiology and evolution of emergent pathogens for which humans have little or no pre-existing immunity. As we plot our next move, nature’s genetic lottery continues, providing the fuel to transform the most unlikely infectious disease scenarios into reality. PMID:23334178

The Virtual Hospital: an IAIMS integrating continuing education into the work flow.

PubMed

D'Alessandro, M P; Galvin, J R; Erkonen, W E; Curry, D S; Flanagan, J R; D'Alessandro, D M; Lacey, D L; Wagner, J R

1996-01-01

Researchers at the University of Iowa are developing an integrated academic information management system (IAIMS) for use on the World Wide Web. The focus is on integrating continuing medical education (CME) into the clinicians' daily work and incorporating consumer health information into patients' life styles. Phase I of the project consists of loosely integrating patients' data, printed library information, and digital library information. Phase II consists of more tightly integrating the three types of information, and Phase III consists of awarding CME credits for reviewing educational, material at the point of patient care, when it has the most potential for improving outcomes. This IAIMS serves a statewide population. Its design and evolution have been heavily influenced by user-centered evaluation.

Evaluation of World Population-Weighted Effective Dose due to Cosmic Ray Exposure

PubMed Central

Sato, Tatsuhiko

2016-01-01

After the release of the Report of the United Nations Scientific Committee of the Effects of Atomic Radiation in 2000 (UNSCEAR2000), it became commonly accepted that the world population-weighted effective dose due to cosmic-ray exposure is 0.38 mSv, with a range from 0.3 to 2 mSv. However, these values were derived from approximate projections of altitude and geographic dependences of the cosmic-ray dose rates as well as the world population. This study hence re-evaluated the population-weighted annual effective doses and their probability densities for the entire world as well as for 230 individual nations, using a sophisticated cosmic-ray flux calculation model in tandem with detailed grid population and elevation databases. The resulting world population-weighted annual effective dose was determined to be 0.32 mSv, which is smaller than the UNSCEAR’s evaluation by 16%, with a range from 0.23 to 0.70 mSv covering 99% of the world population. These values were noted to vary with the solar modulation condition within a range of approximately 15%. All assessed population-weighted annual effective doses as well as their statistical information for each nation are provided in the supplementary files annexed to this report. These data improve our understanding of cosmic-ray radiation exposures to populations globally. PMID:27650664

The McKeown Thesis: A Historical Controversy and Its Enduring Influence

PubMed Central

Colgrove, James

2002-01-01

The historical analyses of Thomas McKeown attributed the modern rise in the world population from the 1700s to the present to broad economic and social changes rather than to targeted public health or medical interventions. His work generated considerable controversy in the 1970s and 1980s, and it continues to stimulate support, criticism, and commentary to the present day, in spite of his conclusions' having been largely discredited by subsequent research. The ongoing resonance of his work is due primarily to the importance of the question that underlay it: Are public health ends better served by targeted interventions or by broad-based efforts to redistribute the social, political, and economic resources that determine the health of populations? PMID:11988435

The McKeown thesis: a historical controversy and its enduring influence.

PubMed

Colgrove, James

2002-05-01

The historical analyses of Thomas McKeown attributed the modern rise in the world population from the 1700s to the present to broad economic and social changes rather than to targeted public health or medical interventions. His work generated considerable controversy in the 1970s and 1980s, and it continues to stimulate support, criticism, and commentary to the present day, in spite of his conclusions' having been largely discredited by subsequent research. The ongoing resonance of his work is due primarily to the importance of the question that underlay it: Are public health ends better served by targeted interventions or by broad-based efforts to redistribute the social, political, and economic resources that determine the health of populations?

World population plans, statement made at the Regional Consultation on the World Population Plan of Action, Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, May 1974.

PubMed

Salas, R M

1974-05-16

In this speech Salas makes mention of the UNFPA's contribution to the African Census Program in the largest international operation of its kind ever undertaken. 22 countries are involved. Findings of the census combined with other demography work being done in Africa will add inpetus to the growing debate on population in the Africa context. Mr. Salas cites a 2.9% annual growth rate in Africa, which is expected to rise to 3.1%. This will yield a doubling of the African population in less than 30 years. City populations are said to be growing faster: almost 4% annually. There is a need for planning; food supply is particularly important. Nothing can be done about population growth rates in the immediate future but there is no case for ignoring their long term importance. Despite high growth rates and associated problems, population growth does not present the major threat in Africa. Traditional societies have their own approaches to the regulation of family size. Family planning, properly used, can be a powerful force for life, adding strength to individuals, the family unit, and society as a whole. In accordance with the Fund's mandate, great attention will continue to be paid to country programming and the conclusion of long term comprehensive agreements within the framework of national development programs. 14 country agreements are currently in operation. The Work Plan is based on projected resources of US$321 million, of which US$52.8 million earmarked for country and regional projects in Africa. 40%, or the largest share, will go for the collection and analysis of population date. Support for family planning programs accounts for 25%, communication and education, 18%. Work in relation to population dynamics takes 12% and the rest is accounted for by assistance in the formation of population policy and by multi-sector activities.

Enabling technologies to improve area-wide integrated pest management programmes for the control of screwworms.

PubMed

Robinson, A S; Vreysen, M J B; Hendrichs, J; Feldmann, U

2009-06-01

The economic devastation caused in the past by the New World screwworm fly Cochliomyia hominivorax (Coquerel) (Diptera: Calliphoridae) to the livestock industry in the U.S.A., Mexico and the rest of Central America was staggering. The eradication of this major livestock pest from North and Central America using the sterile insect technique (SIT) as part of an area-wide integrated pest management (AW-IPM) programme was a phenomenal technical and managerial accomplishment with enormous economic implications. The area is maintained screwworm-free by the weekly release of 40 million sterile flies in the Darien Gap in Panama, which prevents migration from screwworm-infested areas in Columbia. However, the species is still a major pest in many areas of the Caribbean and South America and there is considerable interest in extending the eradication programme to these countries. Understanding New World screwworm fly populations in the Caribbean and South America, which represent a continuous threat to the screwworm-free areas of Central America and the U.S.A., is a prerequisite to any future eradication campaigns. The Old World screwworm fly Chrysomya bezziana Villeneuve (Diptera: Calliphoridae) has a very wide distribution ranging from Southern Africa to Papua New Guinea and, although its economic importance is assumed to be less than that of its New World counterpart, it is a serious pest in extensive livestock production and a constant threat to pest-free areas such as Australia. In the 1980s repeated introductions and an expansion of Old World screwworm populations were reported in the Middle East; in the 1990s it invaded Iraq and since late 2007 it has been reported in Yemen, where a severe outbreak of myiasis occurred in 2008. Small-scale field trials have shown the potential of integrating the SIT in the control of this pest and various international organizations are considering using the release of sterile insects as part of an AW-IPM approach on a much wider scale. Wohlfahrtia magnifica (Schiner) (Diptera: Sarcophagidae) is a screwworm of temperate regions, which, although of limited agricultural importance, has invaded several new locations in the past few years. This special issue reports on the results of a 6-year project funded by the Joint Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations/International Atomic Energy Agency (FAO/IAEA) Programme of Nuclear Techniques in Food and Agriculture entitled 'Enabling Technologies for the Expansion of the SIT for Old and New World Screwworm'. A major goal of the project was to better understand population genetic variation in screwworms as an aid to the identification of isolated populations. The project also addressed issues related to genetic sexing, cuticular hydrocarbons, population dynamics, genetic transformation and chromosome analysis.

Planet Earth, 1984-2034: A Demographic Vision.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Bouvier, Leon F.

1984-01-01

In recognition of the 1984 World Population Conference, this booklet examines the current state of world population and presents speculations on what it might be 50 years from now. World population, now close to 4.8 billion and growing at 1.8 percent a year, is being shaped by three demographic phenomena: prolonged below-replacement fertility in…

The Overpopulation Myth. Series on Public Issues No. 4.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Saving, Thomas R.

In this booklet, one of a series intended to apply economic principles to major social and political issues of the day, it is argued that although doomsayers claim that world population growth is threatening the ability of the world to feed itself and that drastic measures should be taken to curb population growth, the world population situation…

Recent patterns of crop yield growth and stagnation.

PubMed

Ray, Deepak K; Ramankutty, Navin; Mueller, Nathaniel D; West, Paul C; Foley, Jonathan A

2012-01-01

In the coming decades, continued population growth, rising meat and dairy consumption and expanding biofuel use will dramatically increase the pressure on global agriculture. Even as we face these future burdens, there have been scattered reports of yield stagnation in the world's major cereal crops, including maize, rice and wheat. Here we study data from ∼2.5 million census observations across the globe extending over the period 1961-2008. We examined the trends in crop yields for four key global crops: maize, rice, wheat and soybeans. Although yields continue to increase in many areas, we find that across 24-39% of maize-, rice-, wheat- and soybean-growing areas, yields either never improve, stagnate or collapse. This result underscores the challenge of meeting increasing global agricultural demands. New investments in underperforming regions, as well as strategies to continue increasing yields in the high-performing areas, are required.

We must tackle population problems.

PubMed

Hironaka, W

1992-03-01

Thank you Mr. Chairman, for the opportunity to speak out not only as a Japanese parliamentarian, but also as a member of GLOBE International, Global Legislators Organization for a Balanced Environment, consisting of legislators from the US Congress, EC Parliament, USSR Assembly and Japanese Diet who have joined together to compare, improve and coordinate our respective legislative activities in an effort to effectively address the complex issues surrounding environment and development. Mr. Chairman, world population--which reached 5.4 billion in mid-1991--is growing exponentially. According to 1 UNFPA report 3 people are born every second, a total of 250,000 people every day or 95-100 million people every year. At this rate, world population will reach 6.4 billion by year 2001, and if this rate continues to go unchecked, world population will reach 14-15 billion by the end of the 21st century. GLOBE is highly aware of the relationship between rapidly growing human populations, environmental degradation and sustainable development. We urge UNCED negotiators to address population growth rates and the integrally linked concerns of resource consumption levels, particularly in the industrialized world, in their search for solutions to the conflict between environment and development. Negotiators should also seriously consider ways in which to broaden educational and economic opportunities for women to ease population growth rates, and to alleviate poverty and stresses on the environment that result from population pressures. Social and economic factors must be integrated into population planning. It is saddening to note that almost 40,000 children die every day due to malnutrition, lack of fresh water and access to resources. Over 100 million children do not receive a primary education. Mr. Chairman, worldwide demand for a range of family planning services is increasing faster than supply. Recent studies indicate that if quality family planning information, training and services were made readily available by government and other groups, population rates would drop to manageable levels. Widespread access to family planning services is essential to population stabilization. The health of mothers, children and general quality of life is also improved through the implementation of family planning programs. At the present time many women cannot make use of the limited available services because of cultural constraints, lack of status and self-confidence. Unless complementary efforts are made to expand economic and educational opportunities for women, family planning and other reproductive health services will not reach their full potential for stabilizing population. Although family planning is an individual decision, and implementation of population programs is a sovereign matter in each country, I would urge developed countries to help their neighbors in developing countries who are in need of support for family planning and health services. Investment in family planning programs is 1 of the best ways to contribute to environmental protection and improvement. A greater portion of our foreign aid monies should be allocated for direct population assistance programs that will reach people at the grassroots level. To achieve this, a cooperative working relationship with local nongovernmental organization (NGOs) is essential. The members of GLOBE hope to facilitate cooperation between NGOs and governments so that we might stabilize human population. full text

The World Summit for Social Development.

PubMed

1995-01-01

The three goals of the UN World Summit for Social Development are to attack poverty, build solidarity, and create jobs. Unprecedented population growth has led to recognition of the need for a new, people-centered vision of development to counter the mutually reinforcing threats posed to world stability by poverty, unemployment, and social disintegration. This population growth may result in an inability of humanity to adapt and create unrelenting pressure on the world's natural resources. It has become increasingly recognized that improvements in the status of women will be vital to ensuring the future of humanity. Giving women the ability to decide their family size will eliminate hundreds of thousands of maternal deaths each year and will slow population growth while it increases women's productivity and control over resources. As the industrialized nations engage in unsustainable patterns of production and consumption, the lowest-income countries are caught in a "poverty-population-environment spiral." Although population growth is gradually slowing, the population of the world could double by 2050, with 95% of the growth occurring in developing countries. Concern is also mounting over the increasing urbanization of the world as well as the fact that while the populations of poor countries are becoming larger and younger, the population of industrialized countries are becoming older and smaller. The new vision of sustainable development involves generating economic growth, distributing benefits equitably, and allowing the regeneration of the environment. Without such security, the world can not achieve peace. The symptoms of social discrimination include social exclusion, which affects 90% of the world's population; sex and racial discrimination, which lowers the quality of life and increases life-threatening risks for women, indigenous people, and Blacks; violence and abuse, reflected in fact that the US has the highest incidence of murder in the world, in the 200,000 street children in Brazil, in the 500,000 child prostitutes in Asia, and in violence against women world-wide; crime, which is increasing and is often drug-related; migration, which affects 1/115 people on earth; and conflict, which increasingly occurs within national borders and involves civilian casualties and which leads to military spending of approximately $800 billion a year.

The annual global economic burden of heart failure.

PubMed

Cook, Christopher; Cole, Graham; Asaria, Perviz; Jabbour, Richard; Francis, Darrel P

2014-02-15

Heart failure (HF) imposes both direct costs to healthcare systems and indirect costs to society through morbidity, unpaid care costs, premature mortality and lost productivity. The global economic burden of HF is not known. We estimated the overall cost of heart failure in 2012, in both direct and indirect terms, across the globe. Existing country-specific heart failure costs analyses were expressed as a proportion of gross domestic product and total healthcare spend. Using World Bank data, these proportional values were used to interpolate the economic cost of HF for countries of the world where no published data exists. Countries were categorized according to their level of economic development to investigate global patterns of spending. 197 countries were included in the analysis, covering 98.7% of the world's population. The overall economic cost of HF in 2012 was estimated at $108 billion per annum. Direct costs accounted for ~60% ($65 billion) and indirect costs accounted for ~40% ($43 billion) of the overall spend. Heart failure spending varied widely between high-income and middle and low-income countries. High-income countries spend a greater proportion on direct costs: a pattern reversed for middle and low-income countries. Heart failure imposes a huge economic burden, estimated at $108 billion per annum. With an aging, rapidly expanding and industrializing global population this value will continue to rise. Copyright © 2013 Elsevier Ireland Ltd. All rights reserved.

Hunter-gatherer genomic diversity suggests a southern African origin for modern humans

PubMed Central

Henn, Brenna M.; Gignoux, Christopher R.; Jobin, Matthew; Granka, Julie M.; Macpherson, J. M.; Kidd, Jeffrey M.; Rodríguez-Botigué, Laura; Ramachandran, Sohini; Hon, Lawrence; Brisbin, Abra; Lin, Alice A.; Underhill, Peter A.; Comas, David; Kidd, Kenneth K.; Norman, Paul J.; Parham, Peter; Bustamante, Carlos D.; Mountain, Joanna L.; Feldman, Marcus W.

2011-01-01

Africa is inferred to be the continent of origin for all modern human populations, but the details of human prehistory and evolution in Africa remain largely obscure owing to the complex histories of hundreds of distinct populations. We present data for more than 580,000 SNPs for several hunter-gatherer populations: the Hadza and Sandawe of Tanzania, and the ≠Khomani Bushmen of South Africa, including speakers of the nearly extinct N|u language. We find that African hunter-gatherer populations today remain highly differentiated, encompassing major components of variation that are not found in other African populations. Hunter-gatherer populations also tend to have the lowest levels of genome-wide linkage disequilibrium among 27 African populations. We analyzed geographic patterns of linkage disequilibrium and population differentiation, as measured by FST, in Africa. The observed patterns are consistent with an origin of modern humans in southern Africa rather than eastern Africa, as is generally assumed. Additionally, genetic variation in African hunter-gatherer populations has been significantly affected by interaction with farmers and herders over the past 5,000 y, through both severe population bottlenecks and sex-biased migration. However, African hunter-gatherer populations continue to maintain the highest levels of genetic diversity in the world. PMID:21383195

Pattern of morphological variation and diversity of Cocos nucifera (Arecaceae) in Mexico.

PubMed

Zizumbo-Villarreal, D; Piñero, D

1998-06-01

The pattern of morphological variation of Cocos nucifera in Mexico was statistically and numerically evaluated. Forty-one populations were analyzed, using 17 morphological fruit characters. Principal components and cluster analyses indicated four main groups of coconut populations that showed high similarity with four different genotypes recently imported into Mexico from areas that could be the origin of Mexican coconut populations. These four genotypes were evaluated with regard to the lethal yellowing disease in Jamaica and showed a differential susceptibility. Therefore it is possible to speculate upon a difference in susceptibility of the Mexican genotypes. The analysis of correlation between morphological and geographical distances showed a high positive correlation that supports: (1) historical evidence that indicates early introductions of coconut from different regions of the world, (2) that on both coasts of Mexico two different patterns of dispersal were involved: continuous and in jumps. Collectively these results suggest that the impact of the lethal yellowing disease on coconut populations will vary depending on the specific area and the origin of its coconuts.

Population dynamics among Asmat hunter-gatherers of New Guinea: data, methods, comparisons.

PubMed

Van Arsdale, P W

1978-12-01

Since 1953 the Asmat hunter-gatherers of Irian Jaya have been experiencing rapid cultural change, yet demographically they still can be classified as "living primitives." Methods of nonstandard data analysis are used in an effort to provide specific information on age-sex structure, fertility, birthrates, death rates, population growth, internal migration, and life expectancy and to aid in the development of a 2-part model of population growth encompassing the immediate precontact and contact eras. The population data upon which the discussion is based were obtained in 1973 and 1974 as part of a broader field study that aimed at assessing the impact of externally induced culture change. Special attention is given to the continuing although reduced impact of infanticide. Brief comparisons with other Melanesian and 3rd world societies are presented; the Asmat average annual growth rate of 1.5% since 1st permanent contact in 1953 contrasts with the generally higher rates reported for most of these other groups.

The Climate-Population Nexus in the East African Horn: Emerging Degradation Trends in Rangeland and Pastoral Livelihood Zones

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Pricope, N. G.; Husak, G. J.; Funk, C. C.; Lopez-Carr, D.

2014-12-01

Increasing climate variability and extreme weather conditions along with declining trends in both rainfall and temperature represent major risk factors affecting agricultural production and food security in many regions of the world. We identify regions where significant rainfall decrease from 1979-2011 over the entire continent of Africa couples with significant human population density increase. The rangelands of Ethiopia, Kenya, and Somalia in the East African Horn remain one of the world's most food insecure regions, yet have significantly increasing human populations predominantly dependent on pastoralist and agro-pastoralist livelihoods. Vegetation in this region is characterized by a variable mosaic of land covers, generally dominated by grasslands necessary for agro-pastoralism, interspersed by woody vegetation. Recent assessments indicate that widespread degradation is occurring, adversely impacting fragile ecosystems and human livelihoods. Using two underutilized MODIS products, we observe significant changes in vegetation patterns and productivity over the last decade all across the East African Horn. We observe significant vegetation browning trends in areas experiencing drying precipitation trends in addition to increasing population pressures. We also found that the drying precipitation trends only partially statistically explain the vegetation browning trends, further indicating that other factors such as population pressures and land use changes are responsible for the observed declining vegetation health. Furthermore, we show that the general vegetation browning trends persist even during years with normal rainfall conditions such as 2012, indicating potential long-term degradation of rangelands on which approximately 10 million people depend. These findings have serious implications for current and future regional food security monitoring and forecasting as well as for mitigation and adaptation strategies in a region where population is expected to continue increasing against a backdrop of drying climate trends.

How the world survived the population bomb: lessons from 50 years of extraordinary demographic history.

PubMed

Lam, David

2011-11-01

The world population will reach 7 billion in late 2011, a demographic milestone that is causing renewed attention to the challenges caused by population growth. This article looks at the last 50 years of demographic change, one of the most extraordinary periods in demographic history. During this period, world population grew at rates that have never been seen before and will almost surely never be seen again. There were many concerns about the potential impact of rapid population growth in the 1960s, including mass starvation in countries such as India, depletion of nonrenewable resources, and increased poverty in low-income countries. The actual experience was very different. World food production increased faster than world population in every decade since the 1960s, resource prices fell during most of the period, and poverty declined significantly in much of the developing world. The article considers the economic and demographic explanations for the surprising successes of this important period in demographic history. It also looks at regions that have been less successful, especially Africa, and at the lessons for dealing with the important challenges that still remain.

How the World Survived the Population Bomb: Lessons From 50 Years of Extraordinary Demographic History

PubMed Central

Lam, David

2012-01-01

The world population will reach 7 billion in late 2011, a demographic milestone that is causing renewed attention to the challenges caused by population growth. This article looks at the last 50 years of demographic change, one of the most extraordinary periods in demographic history. During this period, world population grew at rates that have never been seen before and will almost surely never be seen again. There were many concerns about the potential impact of rapid population growth in the 1960s, including mass starvation in countries such as India, depletion of nonrenewable resources, and increased poverty in low-income countries. The actual experience was very different. World food production increased faster than world population in every decade since the 1960s, resource prices fell during most of the period, and poverty declined significantly in much of the developing world. The article considers the economic and demographic explanations for the surprising successes of this important period in demographic history. It also looks at regions that have been less successful, especially Africa, and at the lessons for dealing with the important challenges that still remain. PMID:22005884

Major impact: a global population policy can advance human development in the 21st century.

PubMed

Mcnamara, R S

1992-12-01

In Tokyo, Japan, former president of the World Bank, Robert McNamara, addressed the Global Industrial and Social Progress Research Institute Symposium in April 1992. He reiterated a statement he made during his first presentation as president of the World Bank in September 1968--rapid population growth is the leading obstacle to economic growth and social well-being for people living in developing countries. He called for both developed and developing countries to individually and collectively take immediate action to reduce population growth rates, otherwise coercive action will be needed. Rapid population growth prevents countries from achieving sustainable development and jeopardizes our physical environment. It also exacerbates poverty, does not improve the role and status of women, adversely affects the health of children, and does not allow children a chance at a quality life. Even if developing countries were to quickly adopt replacement level fertility rates, high birth rates in the recent past prevent them from reducing fast population growth for decades. For example, with more than 60% of females in Kenya being at least 19 years old (in Sweden they represent just 23%), the population would continue to grow rapidly for 70 years if immediate reduction to replacement level fertility occurred. Mr. McNamara emphasized than any population program must center on initiating or strengthening extensive family planning programs and increasing the rate of economic and social progress. Successful family planning programs require diverse enough family planning services and methods to meet the needs of various unique populations, stressing of family planning derived health benefits to women and children, participation of both the public and private sectors, and political commitment. McNamara calculated that a global family planning program for the year 2000 would cost about US$8 billion. He added that Japan should increase its share of funds to population growth reduction efforts.

Theory's role in shaping behavioral health research for population health.

PubMed

King, Abby C

2015-11-26

The careful application of theory often is used in the behavioral health field to enhance our understanding of how the world currently works. But theory also can help us visualize what the world can become, particularly through its potential impacts on population-wide health. Applying a multi-level ecological perspective can help in expanding the field's focus upward toward the population at large. While ecological frameworks have become increasingly popular, arguably such perspectives have fallen short of their potential to actively bridge conceptual constructs and, by extension, intervention approaches, across different levels of population impact. Theoretical and conceptual perspectives that explicitly span levels of impact offer arguably the greatest potential for achieving scientific insights that may in turn produce the largest population health effects. Examples of such "bridging" approaches include theories and models that span behavioral + micro-environment, behavioral + social/cultural, and social + physical environment constructs. Several recommendations are presented related to opportunities for leveraging theories to attain the greatest impact in the population health science field. These include applying the evidence obtained from person-level theories to inform methods for positively impacting the behaviors of community gatekeepers and decision-makers for greater population change and reach; leveraging the potential of residents as "citizen scientists"--a resource for enacting behavioral health changes at the individual, environmental, and policy levels; using empirical observations and theory in equal parts to build more robust, relevant, and solution-oriented behavior change programs; exploring moderators and mediators of change at levels of impact that go beyond the individual; and considering the circumstances in which applying conceptual methods that embrace a "complexity" as opposed to "causality" perspective may lead to more flexible and agile scientific approaches that could accelerate both population-relevant discoveries and applications in the field. The commentary closes with suggestions concerning additional areas to be considered to facilitate continued advances in the health behavior field more generally to attain the greatest impacts on population health.

IMF, World Bank programs hinder AIDS prevention.

PubMed

Denoon, D J

1995-07-10

International Monetary Fund (IMF) and World Bank structural adjustment programs (SAPs) imposed on developing nations in the 1980s inadvertently helped set the stage for the AIDS epidemic. These programs continue to hinder efforts to prevent HIV transmission. SAPs resulted in the following phenomena which place populations at risk of HIV infection: increased rural-urban migration of cheap labor sparked by a shift to an export-oriented economy, the development of transportation infrastructures in the 1980s to support the changed economy, increased migration and urbanization, and reduced government spending upon health and social services necessitated by the SAPs. For HIV transmission in developing countries to be substantially reduced, the SAP economic policies which may have promoted disease must be modified. An alternative development strategy must satisfy basic human needs such as food, housing, and transport; shift emphasis from the production of a small number of primary commodities for export to diversified agricultural production; support marginal producers and subsistence farmers; emphasize human resource development; end the top-down approach favored by the IMF and World Bank in favor of a truly cooperative development policy; alter the charters of the IMF and World Bank to permit the cancellation or restructuring of debt; and require AIDS Impact Reports of the IMF and World Bank.

Population and the World Bank.

PubMed

Sankaran, S

1973-12-01

The World Bank Group regards excessive population growth as the single greatest obstacle to economic and social advance in the underdeveloped world. Since 1969 the Bank and the International Development Agency have provided countries with technical assistance through education, fact-finding, and analysis and given 65.7 million dollars for population projects. These projects, in India, Indonesia, Iran, Jamaica, and Malaysia provide training centers, population education, research, and evaluation as well as actual construction of clinics and mobile units. Because population planning touches sensitive areas of religion, caste, race, morality, and politics, the involved nation's political commitment to plan population growth is critical to the success of any program.

Evolutionary stability in continuous nonlinear public goods games.

PubMed

Molina, Chai; Earn, David J D

2017-01-01

We investigate a type of public goods games played in groups of individuals who choose how much to contribute towards the production of a common good, at a cost to themselves. In these games, the common good is produced based on the sum of contributions from all group members, then equally distributed among them. In applications, the dependence of the common good on the total contribution is often nonlinear (e.g., exhibiting synergy or diminishing returns). To date, most theoretical and experimental studies have addressed scenarios in which the set of possible contributions is discrete. However, in many real-world situations, contributions are continuous (e.g., individuals volunteering their time). The "n-player snowdrift games" that we analyze involve continuously varying contributions. We establish under what conditions populations of contributing (or "cooperating") individuals can evolve and persist. Previous work on snowdrift games, using adaptive dynamics, has found that what we term an "equally cooperative" strategy is locally convergently and evolutionarily stable. Using static evolutionary game theory, we find conditions under which this strategy is actually globally evolutionarily stable. All these results refer to stability to invasion by a single mutant. We broaden the scope of existing stability results by showing that the equally cooperative strategy is locally stable to potentially large population perturbations, i.e., allowing for the possibility that mutants make up a non-negligible proportion of the population (due, for example, to genetic drift, environmental variability or dispersal).

Evolution of complex density-dependent dispersal strategies.

PubMed

Parvinen, Kalle; Seppänen, Anne; Nagy, John D

2012-11-01

The question of how dispersal behavior is adaptive and how it responds to changes in selection pressure is more relevant than ever, as anthropogenic habitat alteration and climate change accelerate around the world. In metapopulation models where local populations are large, and thus local population size is measured in densities, density-dependent dispersal is expected to evolve to a single-threshold strategy, in which individuals stay in patches with local population density smaller than a threshold value and move immediately away from patches with local population density larger than the threshold. Fragmentation tends to convert continuous populations into metapopulations and also to decrease local population sizes. Therefore we analyze a metapopulation model, where each patch can support only a relatively small local population and thus experience demographic stochasticity. We investigated the evolution of density-dependent dispersal, emigration and immigration, in two scenarios: adult and natal dispersal. We show that density-dependent emigration can also evolve to a nonmonotone, "triple-threshold" strategy. This interesting phenomenon results from an interplay between the direct and indirect benefits of dispersal and the costs of dispersal. We also found that, compared to juveniles, dispersing adults may benefit more from density-dependent vs. density-independent dispersal strategies.

MS205 Minisatellite Diversity in Basques: Evidence for a Pre-Neolithic Component

PubMed Central

Alonso, Santos; Armour, John A.L.

1998-01-01

A number of studies have suggested that Basques might be a relic of Mesolithic Europeans who escaped much of the homogenization brought about by the Neolithic expansion. In an attempt to add new insights into this hypothesis, MS205 minisatellite diversity has been investigated by Minisatellite Variant Repeat (MVR) analysis in a sample of >100 autochthonous individuals from the Basque Country, along with 24 Castilian (N. Spain) and 23 individuals from the United Kingdom. These populations were examined in the context of the available world database for MS205 alleles. To deduce the similarities among populations, we have applied a phylogenetic approach that takes into account similarity between alleles. The variability of these populations seems to be a subset of the greater and presumably older African diversity, as has been suggested previously for non-Africans. Within non-Africans, Basques seem to cluster with other Northern European populations; however, some apparently Basque-specific alleles can be dated back to post-Aurignacian times, supporting the continuity of some lineages of this population since the Upper Paleolithic period. PMID:9872983

Nutrient resources for crop production in the tropics

PubMed Central

Vlek, P. L. G.; Kühne, R. F.; Denich, M.

1997-01-01

For the foreseeable future a majority of the population, and almost all the mal- and under-nourished, will continue to be found in the tropics and subtropics. Food security in these parts of the world will have to be met largely from local resources. The productivity of the land is to a large extent determined by the fertlity of the soil, which in turn is mostly determined by its organic matter content and stored nutrients. Soil organic matter is readily lost when organic matter inputs are reduced upon cultivation and more so upon intensification. The concomitant loss of topsoil and possible exposure of subsoil acidity may cause further soil degradation.
Plant nutrients to replenish what is yearly taken from the soil to meet the demands for food and fibre amount to 230 million tonnes (Mt). Current fertilizer consumption stands at about 130 Mt of N, P2O5,and K2O, supplemented by an estimated 90 Mt of N from biological nitrogen fixation worldwide. Although 80 per cent of the population lives in the developing world, only half the world's fertilizer is consumed there. Yet, as much as 50% of the increase in agricultural productivity in the developing world is due to the adoption of fertilizers. World population growth will cause a doubling in these nutrients requirements for the developing world by 2020, which, in the likely case of inadequate production, will need to be met from soil reserves. Because expansion of the cultivable land area is reaching its limits, the reliance on nutrient inputs and their efficient use is bound to grow.
With current urban expansion, nutrients in harvested products are increasingly lost from the rural environment as a whole. Estimates of soil nutrient depletion rates for sub-Saharan Africa (SSA) are alarmingly high. The situation may be more favourable in Latin America and Asia where fertilizer inputs are tenfold those of SSA. Closing the nutrient cycle at a community level in rural areas may be tedious; on an inter-regional level it is associated with considerable costs of collection, detoxification and transportation to the farms. Yet, at the rate at which some of the non-renewable resources such as phosphorus and potassium are being exploited, recycling of these nutrients will soon be required.

1974 is World Population Year.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Asian Population Programme News, 1974

1974-01-01

This publication is a special issue of the Asian Population Programme News. This particular publication is concerned with population year 1974. Highlights from the thirtieth session of the Economic Commission for Asia and the Far East (ECAFE) are presented. World, regional, and country population news are included in separate sections. A listing…

Economic Motives Behind the 2011 Egyptian Revolution

DTIC Science & Technology

2014-09-01

23 Figure 3. Poverty Headcount Ratio at $2 a day (PPP) (% of population) (from The World Bank, 2013...2013). .................................................................................................28 Figure 5. Similarity of World Food Price...Rate Annually, 2000‒2012.......................................................30 Figure 7. Egypt’s Population Growth since 2000 (from CIA World

The impact of real-world cardiovascular-related pharmacogenetic testing in an insured population.

PubMed

Billings, Jennifer; Racsa, Patrick N; Bordenave, Kristine; Long, Charron L; Ellis, Jeffrey J

2018-06-01

Pharmacogenomics is intended to help clinicians provide the right drug to the right patient at an appropriate dose. However, limited evidence of clinical utility has slowed uptake of pharmacogenomic testing (PGT). To evaluate the impact of real-world cardiovascular (CV)-related PGT on clinical outcomes, healthcare resource utilisation (HCRU) and cost in a large, heterogeneous population. Individuals with Medicare Advantage Prescription Drug, Medicaid, or commercial coverage between 1/1/2011 and 9/30/2015 and ≥1 atherosclerotic CV-related diagnosis were identified. Those with ≥1 claim for CV-related PGT were included in the test group (index date = 1st PGT claim) and matched 1:2 to controls without PGT. Individuals aged <22 or ≥90 years old on the index date, with <12 months continuous enrollment before and after the index date, or without an ASCVD-related diagnosis in the 12-month pre-index period were excluded. The primary outcome was occurrence of a major CV event during the 12-month post-index period. After adjustment, the PGT group was significantly more likely to experience ischaemic stroke, pulmonary embolism, deep vein thrombosis or a composite event compared with controls. Adjusting for baseline characteristics, HCRU was significantly higher for the test group across all measured outcomes except all-cause and ASCVD-related inpatient admissions. Median all-cause and ASCVD-related healthcare costs were significantly higher for the test group. Real world PGT in a large population did not improve outcomes. Tailoring medication therapy to each patient holds great promise for providing quality care but a deeper understanding of how widespread utilisation of PGT might impact objective health outcomes is needed. © 2018 John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

Smallpox and American Indians revisited.

PubMed

Riley, James C

2010-10-01

Smallpox ravaged the people of Europe and the Americas in the early modern era. Why it was a catastrophic cause of death for American Indians that helped lead to severe depopulation, but a manageable cause among Europeans that allowed continued population growth, has puzzled scholars. Research on variola continued after smallpox eradication in 1977, prompted in part by the fear that aerosolized smallpox might be used in bioterrorism. That research updates factors that may have aggravated smallpox lethality in American Indians, giving new information about infectivity, the proportion of people who may have contracted smallpox, the burden on infants of mothers who had not had smallpox, and the toll for pregnant women. This essay reviews old and new hypotheses about why so many in the New World died from smallpox using recent smallpox research and older sources.

Factors influencing reductions in smoking among Australian adolescents.

PubMed

Dessaix, Anita; Maag, Audrey; McKenzie, Jeanie; Currow, David C

2016-01-28

A continued increase in the proportion of adolescents who never smoke, as well as an understanding of factors that influence reductions in smoking among this susceptible population, is crucial. The World Health Organization Framework Convention on Tobacco Control provides an appropriate structure to briefly examine Australian and New South Wales policies and programs that are influencing reductions in smoking among adolescents in Australia. This paper provides an overview of price and recent tax measures to reduce the demand for tobacco, the evolution of smoke-free environment policies, changes to tobacco labelling and packaging, public education campaigns, and restrictions to curb tobacco advertising. It also discusses supplyreduction measures that limit adolescents' access to tobacco products. Consideration is given to emerging priorities to achieve continued declines in smoking by Australian adolescents.

International profiles of dental hygiene 1987 to 2006: a 21-nation comparative study.

PubMed

Johnson, Patricia M

2009-04-01

This international longitudinal study examines trends and changes in dental hygiene. Information was collected from national dental hygienists' associations through a series of five surveys conducted between 1987 and 2006; sample sizes increased from thirteen to twenty-five countries. As dental hygiene has evolved, it has remained remarkably consistent globally, in particular its scope of clinical practice. Regarding historical development, predominant work setting, and professional organisation, the profession was more similar than dissimilar. Greater variation existed regarding the supply, education, regulation, workforce behaviour and remuneration of dental hygienists. Over the 19-year period, there was a marked increase in supply accompanied by improved dental hygienist-to-population and to-dentist ratios, continuing high workforce participation rates, shift to and increase in the number of baccalaureate-level education programmes, and increase in scope of practice and professional autonomy including, for many countries, a decline in mandatory work supervision and slight increase in independent practice. By 2006, the profiles reflected the vast majority of the world's population of dental hygienists. While the rate of change varied, its nature was consistent overall, resulting in a continuing homogeneity in the profession worldwide. Observed trends and persisting issues have implications for service accessibility and technical efficiency and should continue to be monitored.

Cancer-Incidence, prevalence and mortality in the oldest-old. A comprehensive review.

PubMed

Nolen, Shantell C; Evans, Marcella A; Fischer, Avital; Corrada, Maria M; Kawas, Claudia H; Bota, Daniela A

2017-06-01

Chronic health conditions are commonplace in older populations. The process of aging impacts many of the world's top health concerns. With the average life expectancy continuing to climb, understanding patterns of morbidity in aging populations has become progressively more important. Cancer is an age-related disease, whose risk has been proven to increase with age. Limited information is published about the epidemiology of cancer and the cancer contribution to mortality in the 85+ age group, often referred to as the oldest-old. In this review, we perform a comprehensive assessment of the most recent (2011-2016) literature on cancer prevalence, incidence and mortality in the oldest-old. The data shows cancer prevalence and cancer incidence increases until ages 85-89, after which the rates decrease into 100+ ages. However the number of overall cases has steadily increased over time due to the rise in population. Cancer mortality continues to increase after age 85+. This review presents an overview of plausible associations between comorbidity, genetics and age-related physiological effects in relation to cancer risk and protection. Many of these age-related processes contribute to the lowered risk of cancer in the oldest-old, likewise other certain health conditions may "protect" from cancer in this age group. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

The precautionary principle and other non-tariff barriers to free and fair international food trade.

PubMed

Lupien, John R

2002-07-01

International food trade and world population are growing rapidly. National legislation has been enacted and implemented in many countries to assure good quality and safe foods to meet increased demand. No country is fully self-sufficient in domestic food production to meet population demands, and all require some food imports. Current international food trade agreements call for free and fair food trade between all countries, developed and developing. National food legislation and food production, processing and marketing systems have evolved in most countries to ensure better quality and safer foods. At the international level the work of the FAO/ WHO Codex Alimentarius Commission (Codex) and the World Trade Organization Agreements on Sanitary and Phytosanitary Measures (SPS) and on Technical Barriers to Trade (TBT) and related Uruguay Round agreements have been agreed to by over 140 countries with the aim to promoting the free and fair trade of good quality and safe foods between all countries. The SPS and TBT agreements rely on science-based Codex standards, guidelines, and recommendations as benchmarks for judging international food trade disputes. A number of non-tariff barriers to trade, often related to agricultural subsidies and other food trade payments in developed countries, continue to give rise to complaints to WTO. They also continue to prevent free and fair trade, particularly for developing countries in international food trade. A number of these non-tariff barriers to trade are briefly examined, along with other domestic and international food trade problems, and recommendations for improvements are made.

Reproductive Health: An Introduction to IUCD in India

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Tripathi, Vrijesh; Nandan, Deoki

2006-01-01

The world has a population of 6 billion. India alone has a population of 1 billion. This is despite the fact that India was the first country in the world to have a population policy. It is important to understand the factors that led to this population explosion and the complex links between population growth rates and levels of development.…

Status of renal replacement therapy and peritoneal dialysis in Mexico.

PubMed

Cueto-Manzano, Alfonso M; Rojas-Campos, Enrique

2007-01-01

Mexico is struggling to gain a place among developed countries; however, there are many socioeconomic and health problems still waiting for resolution. While Mexico has the twelfth largest economy in the world, a large portion of its population is impoverished. Treatment for end-stage renal disease (377 patients per million population) is determined by the individual's access to resources such as private medical care (approximately 3%) and public sources (Social Security System: approximately 40%; Health Secretariat: approximately 57%). With only 6% of the gross national product spent on healthcare and most treatment providers being public health institutions that are often under economic restrictions, it is not surprising that many Mexican patients do not receive renal replacement therapy. Mexico is still the country with the largest utilization of peritoneal dialysis (PD) in the world, with 18% on automated PD, 56% on continuous ambulatory PD (CAPD), and 26% on hemodialysis. Results of PD (patient morbi-mortality, peritonitis rate, and technique survival) in Mexico are comparable to other countries. However, malnutrition and diabetes mellitus are highly prevalent in Mexican patients on CAPD programs, and these conditions are among the most important risk factors for a poor outcome in our setting.

Teaching, learning, and assessment in geriatric dentistry: researching models of practice.

PubMed

Shah, Naseem

2010-01-01

Changing demography due to the increasing population of elderly persons the world over has raised new challenges in every sphere of life. The greatest challenge is to provide affordable, accessible, and equitable health care to this population. Oral health is an integral part of general health and affects physical and mental well-being and quality of life of elderly persons. To provide quality oral health care to the elderly, it is important to focus on education in geriatric dentistry, since it is known that education is closely linked to health care provision. It has been found that education in geriatric dentistry has wide variations in different parts of the world. Also, it is being taught at different levels: the predoctoral curriculum, postdoctoral certificate/diploma courses of varying duration by direct or distance mode using computer-assisted learning, degree courses of three years' duration, or continuing education programs. This article attempts to study geriatric dentistry education in global perspective. It is discussed in three sections: 1) varying concepts and methods of teaching, learning, and assessment in dental education; 2) status of geriatric dental education in developed and developing countries with emphasis on the Indian scenario; and 3) challenges and opportunities in developing geriatric dental education.

Carbonized mix kerosene and water with cavitation method as an alternative energy

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Casnan, Irzaman

2017-03-01

The world's population continuously grows at a quarter million people per day. This fast-growing population had raised the world energy consumption up to 474 × 1018 J per year with 80 to 90 percent derived from the combustion of fossil fuels. It is estimated that the fossil energy will be lasted in 42 years. Rice husk is an alternative of non-fossil energy that may be utilized in traditional way of cooking (burning it in a traditional stove). However, burning the husk produces some carbon gasses that may pollute the air. In order to reduce the gas pollution, the gas may be mixed with kerosene and water using sonochemical technique to produce dry steam. This steam is a good fuel for a traditional stove. It is confirmed that 1 liter of water can be boiled in 11 minutes when the temperature of the water is 95°C while the stove is 264°C. the sonochemical technique had successfully increased the efficiency of the energy consumption of the stove up to 17%. The carbonized fuel is also not expensive since its cost is only around 6 C (IDR 570) for boiling 1 liter of water.

Our Population Predicament: A New Look.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

van der Tak, Jean, Ed.; And Others

1979-01-01

This Bulletin updates the story of world population presented in 1971, "Man's Population Predicament." Estimated at half a billion in 1650, world population reached 2 billion in 1930, 4 billion in 1975, and is projected to be about 6 billion in 2000. Most of today's rapid growth is occurring among people living in less developed…

Society of Behavioral Medicine supports implementation of high quality lung cancer screening in high-risk populations.

PubMed

Watson, Karriem S; Blok, Amanda C; Buscemi, Joanna; Molina, Yamile; Fitzgibbon, Marian; Simon, Melissa A; Williams, Lance; Matthews, Kameron; Studts, Jamie L; Lillie, Sarah E; Ostroff, Jamie S; Carter-Harris, Lisa; Winn, Robert A

2016-12-01

The Society of Behavioral Medicine (SBM) supports the United States Preventive Services Task Force (USPSTF) recommendation of low-dose computed tomography (LDCT) screening of the chest for eligible populations to reduce lung cancer mortality. Consistent with efforts to translate research findings into real-world settings, SBM encourages health-care providers and health-care systems to (1) integrate evidence-based tobacco treatment as an essential component of LDCT-based lung cancer screening, (2) examine the structural barriers that may impact screening uptake, and (3) incorporate shared decision-making as a clinical platform to facilitate consultations and engagement with individuals at high risk for lung cancer about the potential benefits and harms associated with participation in a lung cancer screening program. We advise policy makers and legislators to support screening in high-risk populations by continuing to (1) expand access to high quality LDCT-based screening among underserved high-risk populations, (2) enhance cost-effectiveness by integrating evidence-based tobacco treatments into screening in high-risk populations, and (3) increase funding for research that explores implementation science and increased public awareness and access of diverse populations to participate in clinical and translational research.

Family planning and fertility decline: a global overview.

PubMed

Tabah, L

1977-01-01

Family planning and development policy concerns are not incompatible. The emphasis on development policies at the 1974 World Population Conference at Bucharest did not mean that world governments had lost interest in the population and family planning issue. Although worldwide attitudes toward family planning have become more and more favorable, this has not yet meant great impact on world demographic trends. The "inertia factor," i.e., the effects of high birthrates in the previous generation, will camouflage declining birthrates for some time to come. The trend of fertility reduction which was perceptible only among small populations a few years ago is also becoming manifest in larger Third World countries. Mortality rate declines have slowed down but there is no rising mortality due to starvation in any country. At present, food demand exceeds availability for 80% of the Third World population. It is predicted that the food deficit will increase 70% by the year 2000.

Leveraging Real-World Evidence in Disease-Management Decision-Making with a Total Cost of Care Estimator.

PubMed

Nguyen, Thanh-Nghia; Trocio, Jeffrey; Kowal, Stacey; Ferrufino, Cheryl P; Munakata, Julie; South, Dell

2016-12-01

Health management is becoming increasingly complex, given a range of care options and the need to balance costs and quality. The ability to measure and understand drivers of costs is critical for healthcare organizations to effectively manage their patient populations. Healthcare decision makers can leverage real-world evidence to explore the value of disease-management interventions in shifting total cost trends. To develop a real-world, evidence-based estimator that examines the impact of disease-management interventions on the total cost of care (TCoC) for a patient population with nonvalvular atrial fibrillation (NVAF). Data were collected from a patient-level real-world evidence data set that uses the IMS PharMetrics Health Plan Claims Database. Pharmacy and medical claims for patients meeting the inclusion or exclusion criteria were combined in longitudinal cohorts with a 180-day preindex and 360-day follow-up period. Descriptive statistics, such as mean and median patient costs and event rates, were derived from a real-world evidence analysis and were used to populate the base-case estimates within the TCoC estimator, an exploratory economic model that was designed to estimate the potential impact of several disease-management activities on the TCoC for a patient population with NVAF. Using Microsoft Excel, the estimator is designed to compare current direct costs of medical care to projected costs by varying assumptions on the impact of disease-management activities and applying the associated changes in cost trends to the affected populations. Disease-management levers are derived from literature-based concepts affecting costs along the NVAF disease continuum. The use of the estimator supports analyses across 4 US geographic regions, age, cost types, and care settings during 1 year. All patients included in the study were continuously enrolled in their health plan (within the IMS PharMetrics Health Plan Claims Database) between July 1, 2010, and June 30, 2012. Patients were included in the final analytic file and were indexed based on (1) the service date of the first claim within the selection window (December 28, 2010-July 11, 2011) with a diagnosis of NVAF, or (2) the service date of the second claim for an NVAF medication of interest during the same selection window. The model estimates the current trends in national benchmark data for a hypothetical health plan with 1 million covered lives. The annual total direct healthcare costs (allowable and patient out-of-pocket costs) of managing patients with NVAF in this hypothetical plan are estimated at $184,981,245 ($25,754 per patient, for 7183 patients). A potential 25% improvement from the base-case disease burden and disease management could translate into TCoC savings from reducing the excess costs related to hypertension (-5.3%) and supporting the use of an appropriate antithrombotic treatment that prevents ischemic stroke (-0.7%) and reduces bleeding events (-0.1%). The use of the TCoC estimator supports population health management by providing real-world evidence benchmark data on NVAF disease burden and by quantifying the potential value of disease-management activities in shifting cost trends.

Leveraging Real-World Evidence in Disease-Management Decision-Making with a Total Cost of Care Estimator

PubMed Central

Nguyen, Thanh-Nghia; Trocio, Jeffrey; Kowal, Stacey; Ferrufino, Cheryl P.; Munakata, Julie; South, Dell

2016-01-01

Background Health management is becoming increasingly complex, given a range of care options and the need to balance costs and quality. The ability to measure and understand drivers of costs is critical for healthcare organizations to effectively manage their patient populations. Healthcare decision makers can leverage real-world evidence to explore the value of disease-management interventions in shifting total cost trends. Objective To develop a real-world, evidence-based estimator that examines the impact of disease-management interventions on the total cost of care (TCoC) for a patient population with nonvalvular atrial fibrillation (NVAF). Methods Data were collected from a patient-level real-world evidence data set that uses the IMS PharMetrics Health Plan Claims Database. Pharmacy and medical claims for patients meeting the inclusion or exclusion criteria were combined in longitudinal cohorts with a 180-day preindex and 360-day follow-up period. Descriptive statistics, such as mean and median patient costs and event rates, were derived from a real-world evidence analysis and were used to populate the base-case estimates within the TCoC estimator, an exploratory economic model that was designed to estimate the potential impact of several disease-management activities on the TCoC for a patient population with NVAF. Using Microsoft Excel, the estimator is designed to compare current direct costs of medical care to projected costs by varying assumptions on the impact of disease-management activities and applying the associated changes in cost trends to the affected populations. Disease-management levers are derived from literature-based concepts affecting costs along the NVAF disease continuum. The use of the estimator supports analyses across 4 US geographic regions, age, cost types, and care settings during 1 year. Results All patients included in the study were continuously enrolled in their health plan (within the IMS PharMetrics Health Plan Claims Database) between July 1, 2010, and June 30, 2012. Patients were included in the final analytic file and were indexed based on (1) the service date of the first claim within the selection window (December 28, 2010-July 11, 2011) with a diagnosis of NVAF, or (2) the service date of the second claim for an NVAF medication of interest during the same selection window. The model estimates the current trends in national benchmark data for a hypothetical health plan with 1 million covered lives. The annual total direct healthcare costs (allowable and patient out-of-pocket costs) of managing patients with NVAF in this hypothetical plan are estimated at $184,981,245 ($25,754 per patient, for 7183 patients). A potential 25% improvement from the base-case disease burden and disease management could translate into TCoC savings from reducing the excess costs related to hypertension (−5.3%) and supporting the use of an appropriate antithrombotic treatment that prevents ischemic stroke (−0.7%) and reduces bleeding events (−0.1%). Conclusions The use of the TCoC estimator supports population health management by providing real-world evidence benchmark data on NVAF disease burden and by quantifying the potential value of disease-management activities in shifting cost trends. PMID:28465775

Effects of inspections in small world social networks with different contagion rules

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Muñoz, Francisco; Nuño, Juan Carlos; Primicerio, Mario

2015-08-01

We study the way the structure of social links determines the effects of random inspections on a population formed by two types of individuals, e.g. tax-payers and tax-evaders (free riders). It is assumed that inspections occur in a larger scale than the population relaxation time and, therefore, a unique initial inspection is performed on a population that is completely formed by tax-evaders. Besides, the inspected tax-evaders become tax-payers forever. The social network is modeled as a Watts-Strogatz Small World whose topology can be tuned in terms of a parameter p ∈ [ 0 , 1 ] from regular (p = 0) to random (p = 1). Two local contagion rules are considered: (i) a continuous one that takes the proportion of neighbors to determine the next status of an individual (node) and (ii) a discontinuous (threshold rule) that assumes a minimum number of neighbors to modify the current state. In the former case, irrespective of the inspection intensity ν, the equilibrium population is always formed by tax-payers. In the mean field approach, we obtain the characteristic time of convergence as a function of ν and p. For the threshold contagion rule, we show that the response of the population to the intensity of inspections ν is a function of the structure of the social network p and the willingness of the individuals to change their state, r. It is shown that sharp transitions occur at critical values of ν that depends on p and r. We discuss these results within the context of tax evasion and fraud where the strategies of inspection could be of major relevance.

Climate Change and Health under the Shared Socioeconomic Pathway Framework

PubMed Central

Ebi, Kristie L.

2017-01-01

A growing body of literature addresses how climate change is likely to have substantial and generally adverse effects on population health and health systems around the world. These effects are likely to vary within and between countries and, importantly, will vary depending on different socioeconomic development patterns. Transitioning to a more resilient and sustainable world to prepare for and manage the effects of climate change is likely to result in better health outcomes. Sustained fossil fuel development will likely result in continued high burdens of preventable conditions, such as undernutrition, malaria, and diarrheal diseases. Using a new set of socioeconomic development trajectories, the Shared Socioeconomic Pathways (SSPs), along with the World Health Organization’s Operational Framework for Building Climate Resilient Health Systems, we extend existing storylines to illustrate how various aspects of health systems are likely to be affected under each SSP. We also discuss the implications of our findings on how the burden of mortality and the achievement of health-related Sustainable Development Goal targets are likely to vary under different SSPs. PMID:29267204

10th Anniversary Review: a changing climate for coral reefs.

PubMed

Lough, Janice M

2008-01-01

Tropical coral reefs are charismatic ecosystems that house a significant proportion of the world's marine biodiversity. Their valuable goods and services are fundamental to the livelihood of large coastal populations in the tropics. The health of many of the world's coral reefs, and the goods and services they provide, have already been severely compromised, largely due to over-exploitation by a range of human activities. These local-scale impacts, with the appropriate government instruments, support and management actions, can potentially be controlled and even ameliorated. Unfortunately, other human actions (largely in countries outside of the tropics), by changing global climate, have added additional global-scale threats to the continued survival of present-day coral reefs. Moderate warming of the tropical oceans has already resulted in an increase in mass coral bleaching events, affecting nearly all of the world's coral reef regions. The frequency of these events will only increase as global temperatures continue to rise. Weakening of coral reef structures will be a more insidious effect of changing ocean chemistry, as the oceans absorb part of the excess atmospheric carbon dioxide. More intense tropical cyclones, changed atmospheric and ocean circulation patterns will all affect coral reef ecosystems and the many associated plants and animals. Coral reefs will not disappear but their appearance, structure and community make-up will radically change. Drastic greenhouse gas mitigation strategies are necessary to prevent the full consequences of human activities causing such alterations to coral reef ecosystems.

The containment of world population growth.

PubMed

Caldwell, J C

1975-12-01

The world has reached the present position of unprecedentedly rapid population growth not by achieving uniquely high fertility but by bringing about extraordinarily low mortality. The high growth rate and the built-in momentum of the age structure are obstacles to achievement of an acceptable standard of living for most of the world's population. Although government population programs have the potential to curb this growth rate, this potential has not been realized, and such programs are too often perceived both by their administrators and the population concerned as an end in themselves rather than a means toward a better standard of living. It is in this latter perspective, and in the context of the total development process, that population programs should be implemented.

SPACEWAY: Providing affordable and versatile communication solutions

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Fitzpatrick, E. J.

1995-08-01

By the end of this decade, Hughes' SPACEWAY network will provide the first interactive 'bandwidth on demand' communication services for a variety of applications. High quality digital voice, interactive video, global access to multimedia databases, and transborder workgroup computing will make SPACEWAY an essential component of the computer-based workplace of the 21st century. With relatively few satellites to construct, insure, and launch -- plus extensive use of cost-effective, tightly focused spot beams on the world's most populated areas -- the high capacity SPACEWAY system can pass its significant cost savings onto its customers. The SPACEWAY network is different from other proposed global networks in that its geostationary orbit location makes it a truly market driven system: each satellite will make available extensive telecom services to hundreds of millions of people within the continuous view of that satellite, providing immediate capacity within a specific region of the world.

Draught animals and welfare.

PubMed

Ramaswamy, N S

1994-03-01

In fifty developing countries, which contain half of the total human population of the world, there is a heavy dependence on draught animals as an energy source. These animals are used for agriculture operations in 52% of cultivated areas of the world, as well as for hauling 25 million carts. This situation is likely to continue for at least another fifty years. The work performed annually by these draught animals would require 20 million tons of petroleum, valued at US$6 billion, if it were performed by motorized vehicles. The poor working conditions of these animals often adversely affect their productivity. The application of improved technology and better management (i.e. through better feed and health services, and improved design of agricultural implements and carts) could considerably improve the welfare of these animals. Improved systems would generate sufficient benefits for the economy to justify the required investment. High priority should therefore be given to draught animal power in the economic development agenda.

SPACEWAY: Providing affordable and versatile communication solutions

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Fitzpatrick, E. J.

1995-01-01

By the end of this decade, Hughes' SPACEWAY network will provide the first interactive 'bandwidth on demand' communication services for a variety of applications. High quality digital voice, interactive video, global access to multimedia databases, and transborder workgroup computing will make SPACEWAY an essential component of the computer-based workplace of the 21st century. With relatively few satellites to construct, insure, and launch -- plus extensive use of cost-effective, tightly focused spot beams on the world's most populated areas -- the high capacity SPACEWAY system can pass its significant cost savings onto its customers. The SPACEWAY network is different from other proposed global networks in that its geostationary orbit location makes it a truly market driven system: each satellite will make available extensive telecom services to hundreds of millions of people within the continuous view of that satellite, providing immediate capacity within a specific region of the world.

Animal models to detect allergenicity to foods and genetically modified products: workshop summary.

PubMed Central

Tryphonas, Helen; Arvanitakis, George; Vavasour, Elizabeth; Bondy, Genevieve

2003-01-01

Respiratory allergy and allergy to foods continue to be important health issues. There is evidence to indicate that the incidence of food allergy around the world is on the rise. Current estimates indicate that approximately 5% of young children and 1-2% of adults suffer from true food allergy (Kagan 2003). Although a large number of in vivo and in vitro tests exist for the clinical diagnosis of allergy in humans, we lack validated animal models of allergenicity. This deficiency creates serious problems for regulatory agencies and industries that must define the potential allergenicity of foods before marketing. The emergence of several biotechnologically derived foods and industrial proteins, as well as their potential to sensitize genetically predisposed populations to develop allergy, has prompted health officials and regulatory agencies around the world to seek approaches and methodologies to screen novel proteins for allergenicity. PMID:12573909

Real-Time Surveillance in Emergencies Using the Early Warning Alert and Response Network.

PubMed

Cordes, Kristina M; Cookson, Susan T; Boyd, Andrew T; Hardy, Colleen; Malik, Mamunur Rahman; Mala, Peter; El Tahir, Khalid; Everard, Marthe; Jasiem, Mohamad; Husain, Farah

2017-11-01

Humanitarian emergencies often result in population displacement and increase the risk for transmission of communicable diseases. To address the increased risk for outbreaks during humanitarian emergencies, the World Health Organization developed the Early Warning Alert and Response Network (EWARN) for early detection of epidemic-prone diseases. The US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has worked with the World Health Organization, ministries of health, and other partners to support EWARN through the implementation and evaluation of these systems and the development of standardized guidance. Although protocols have been developed for the implementation and evaluation of EWARN, a need persists for standardized training and additional guidance on supporting these systems remotely when access to affected areas is restricted. Continued collaboration between partners and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention for surveillance during emergencies is necessary to strengthen capacity and support global health security.

Real-Time Surveillance in Emergencies Using the Early Warning Alert and Response Network

PubMed Central

Cordes, Kristina M.; Cookson, Susan T.; Boyd, Andrew T.; Hardy, Colleen; Malik, Mamunur Rahman; Mala, Peter; El Tahir, Khalid; Everard, Marthe; Jasiem, Mohamad

2017-01-01

Humanitarian emergencies often result in population displacement and increase the risk for transmission of communicable diseases. To address the increased risk for outbreaks during humanitarian emergencies, the World Health Organization developed the Early Warning Alert and Response Network (EWARN) for early detection of epidemic-prone diseases. The US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has worked with the World Health Organization, ministries of health, and other partners to support EWARN through the implementation and evaluation of these systems and the development of standardized guidance. Although protocols have been developed for the implementation and evaluation of EWARN, a need persists for standardized training and additional guidance on supporting these systems remotely when access to affected areas is restricted. Continued collaboration between partners and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention for surveillance during emergencies is necessary to strengthen capacity and support global health security. PMID:29155660

Population and Development: Perspective on a Teaching Challenge.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Dawson, Leslie

1995-01-01

Through the World Institute's Curriculum, students can look at the world's two largest nations, China and India, to learn about population and gender equity issues. This article describes the use of recent data gathered by international agencies and population education in the classroom. (LZ)

GM crops, the environment and sustainable food production.

PubMed

Raven, Peter H

2014-12-01

Today, over 7.1 billion people rely on the earth's resources for sustenance, and nearly a billion people are malnourished, their minds and bodies unable to develop properly. Globally, population is expected to rise to more than 9 billion by 2050. Given the combined pressures of human population growth, the rapidly growing desire for increased levels of consumption, and the continued use of inappropriate technologies, it is not surprising that humans are driving organisms to extinction at an unprecedented rate. Many aspects of the sustainable functioning of the natural world are breaking down in the face of human-induced pressures including our individual and collective levels of consumption and our widespread and stubborn use of destructive technologies. Clearly, agriculture must undergo a redesign and be better and more effectively managed so as to contribute as well as possible to feeding people, while at the same time we strive to lessen the tragic loss of biodiversity and damage to all of its productive systems that the world is experiencing. For GM crops to be part of the solution, biosafety assessments should not be overly politically-driven or a burdensome impedance to delivering this technology broadly. Biosafety scientists and policy makers need to recognize the undeniable truth that inappropriate actions resulting in indecision also have negative consequences. It is no longer acceptable to delay the use of any strategy that is safe and will help us achieve the ability to feed the world's people.

Global earthquake fatalities and population

USGS Publications Warehouse

Holzer, Thomas L.; Savage, James C.

2013-01-01

Modern global earthquake fatalities can be separated into two components: (1) fatalities from an approximately constant annual background rate that is independent of world population growth and (2) fatalities caused by earthquakes with large human death tolls, the frequency of which is dependent on world population. Earthquakes with death tolls greater than 100,000 (and 50,000) have increased with world population and obey a nonstationary Poisson distribution with rate proportional to population. We predict that the number of earthquakes with death tolls greater than 100,000 (50,000) will increase in the 21st century to 8.7±3.3 (20.5±4.3) from 4 (7) observed in the 20th century if world population reaches 10.1 billion in 2100. Combining fatalities caused by the background rate with fatalities caused by catastrophic earthquakes (>100,000 fatalities) indicates global fatalities in the 21st century will be 2.57±0.64 million if the average post-1900 death toll for catastrophic earthquakes (193,000) is assumed.

Trend of application of World Health Organization control strategy of tuberculosis in Egypt.

PubMed

Saad-Hussein, Amal; Mohammed, Asmaa M

2014-09-01

World Health Organization (WHO) control policy for tuberculosis (TB) includes Bacillus Calmette-Guérin (BCG) vaccine at birth, case detection, and treatment of cases with directly observed therapy short-course (DOTS). This policy has been applied through the Ministry of Health and Population in Egypt for more than 30years. The controversies about the efficacy of the BCG vaccination against TB in adults initiate some suggestions for its discontinuation from compulsory vaccinations in countries with low incidence of TB. The present work aimed to study the trend of applying the WHO control policy for TB in Egypt among the Egyptian population throughout the last 20years (1992-2011). The documented database of the country, bibliographic review on MEDLINE, published studies and reports, WHO and EMRO databases that covered the period from 1992 to 2011 were used in this study. The incidence rate of all forms of TB (pulmonary and extrapulmonary) dropped by 50% from 34 cases to 17 cases per 100,000 population, as well as the prevalence rate declined by 60.6% from 71 cases per 100,000 population throughout the last 20years. Case detection and treatment success rates have increased throughout the studied period while it flat-lined over the past 6years which may need attention. The results of this study introduce an evidence-based recommendation for continuation of the WHO TB control policy in Egypt towards elimination of the disease. Copyright © 2014 Ministry of Health, Saudi Arabia. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

World food and agriculture: outlook for the medium and longer term.

PubMed

Alexandratos, N

1999-05-25

The world has been making progress in improving food security, as measured by the per person availability of food for direct human consumption. However, progress has been very uneven, and many developing countries have failed to participate in such progress. In some countries, the food security situation is today worse than 20 years ago. The persistence of food insecurity does not reflect so much a lack of capacity of the world as a whole to increase food production to whatever level would be required for everyone to have consumption levels assuring satisfactory nutrition. The world already produces sufficient food. The undernourished and the food-insecure persons are in these conditions because they are poor in terms of income with which to purchase food or in terms of access to agricultural resources, education, technology, infrastructure, credit, etc., to produce their own food. Economic development failures account for the persistence of poverty and food insecurity. In the majority of countries with severe food-security problems, the greatest part of the poor and food-insecure population depend greatly on local agriculture for a living. In such cases, development failures are often tantamount to failures of agricultural development. Development of agriculture is seen as the first crucial step toward broader development, reduction of poverty and food insecurity, and eventually freedom from excessive economic dependence on poor agricultural resources. Projections indicate that progress would continue, but at a pace and pattern that would be insufficient for the incidence of undernutrition to be reduced significantly in the medium-term future. As in the past, world agricultural production is likely to keep up with, and perhaps tend to exceed, the growth of the effective demand for food. The problem will continue to be one of persistence of poverty, leading to growth of the effective demand for food on the part of the poor that would fall short of that required for them to attain levels of consumption compatible with freedom from undernutrition.

World food and agriculture: Outlook for the medium and longer term

PubMed Central

Alexandratos, Nikos

1999-01-01

The world has been making progress in improving food security, as measured by the per person availability of food for direct human consumption. However, progress has been very uneven, and many developing countries have failed to participate in such progress. In some countries, the food security situation is today worse than 20 years ago. The persistence of food insecurity does not reflect so much a lack of capacity of the world as a whole to increase food production to whatever level would be required for everyone to have consumption levels assuring satisfactory nutrition. The world already produces sufficient food. The undernourished and the food-insecure persons are in these conditions because they are poor in terms of income with which to purchase food or in terms of access to agricultural resources, education, technology, infrastructure, credit, etc., to produce their own food. Economic development failures account for the persistence of poverty and food insecurity. In the majority of countries with severe food-security problems, the greatest part of the poor and food-insecure population depend greatly on local agriculture for a living. In such cases, development failures are often tantamount to failures of agricultural development. Development of agriculture is seen as the first crucial step toward broader development, reduction of poverty and food insecurity, and eventually freedom from excessive economic dependence on poor agricultural resources. Projections indicate that progress would continue, but at a pace and pattern that would be insufficient for the incidence of undernutrition to be reduced significantly in the medium-term future. As in the past, world agricultural production is likely to keep up with, and perhaps tend to exceed, the growth of the effective demand for food. The problem will continue to be one of persistence of poverty, leading to growth of the effective demand for food on the part of the poor that would fall short of that required for them to attain levels of consumption compatible with freedom from undernutrition. PMID:10339517

[Ten scenarios on the future of world population].

PubMed

Niyibizi, S

1990-04-01

This work presents 10 hypotheses concerning possible catastrophes that might befall the world's population in the future. The perspective is pessimistic, but in most cases the hypotheses represent possibilities only. The 1st hypothesis is that demographic imbalances resulting from the excess of births over deaths will result in a total world population too large to be sustained by the earth's finite resources. A return of the great epidemic diseases of the past or the global warming that is already threatening are 2 other possible fates, along with cooling of the atmosphere and reglaciation. Atomic, bacteriologic, and chemical warfare represents a different sort of possibility. A collision of planets or of the numerous manmade satellites now circling the earth might have disastrous consequences, as might earthquakes or floods. The end of the world is foreseen in the Bible, although details are sparse. Finally, AIDS is viewed by many as divine punishment for the perversions of the human population and by others as a viral disease capable of decimating the world's population and returning once thriving areas to an uninhabited state.

Health care reform and changes: the Malaysian experience.

PubMed

Merican, Mohd Ismail; bin Yon, Rohaizat

2002-01-01

Health care reform is an intentional, sustained and systematic process of structural change to one or more health subsystems to improve efficiency, effectiveness, patient choices and equity. Health care all over the world is continuously reforming with time. Health care reform has become an increasingly important agenda for policy change in both developed and developing countries including Malaysia. This paper provides an overview of the Malaysian health care system, its achievements, and issues and challenges leading to ongoing reform towards a more efficient and equitable health care system that possess a better quality of life for the population.

Uncovering the hidden: complexity and strategies for diagnosing latent tuberculosis.

PubMed

Flores-Valdez, Mario Alberto

2017-10-24

Tuberculosis produces two clinical manifestations: active and latent (non-apparent) disease. The latter is estimated to affect one-third of the world population and constitutes a source of continued transmission should the disease emerge from its hidden state (reactivation). Methods to diagnose latent TB have been evolving and aim to detect the disease in people who are truly infected with M. tuberculosis , versus those where other mycobacteria, or even other pathologies not related to TB, are present. The current use of proteomic and transcriptomic approaches may lead to improved detection methods in the coming years.

Pharmacogenetics in the Brazilian Population

PubMed Central

Suarez-Kurtz, Guilherme

2010-01-01

Brazil is the fifth largest country in the world and its present population, in excess of 190;million, is highly heterogeneous, as a result of centuries of admixture between Amerindians, Europeans, and Sub-Saharan Africans. The estimated individual proportions of biogeographical ancestry vary widely and continuously among Brazilians: most individuals, irrespective of self-identification as White, Brown or Black – the major categories of the Brazilian Census “race/color” system – have significant degrees of European and African ancestry, while a sizeable number display also Amerindian ancestry. These features have important pharmacogenetic (PGx) implications: first, extrapolation of PGx data from relatively well-defined ethnic groups is clearly not applicable to the majority of Brazilians; second, the frequency distribution of polymorphisms in pharmacogenes (e.g., CYP3A5, CYP2C9, GSTM1, ABCB1, GSTM3, VKORC, etc) varies continuously among Brazilians and is not captured by race/color self-identification; third, the intrinsic heterogeneity of the Brazilian population must be acknowledged in the design and interpretation of PGx studies in order to avoid spurious conclusions based on improper matching of study cohorts. The peculiarities of PGx in Brazilians are illustrated with data for different therapeutic groups, such as anticoagulants, HIV protease inhibitors and non-steroidal antinflammatory drugs, and the challenges and advantages created by population admixture for the study and implementation of PGx are discussed. PGx data for Amerindian groups and Brazilian-born, first-generation Japanese are presented to illustrate the rich diversity of the Brazilian population. Finally, I introduce the reader to the Brazilian Pharmacogenetic Network or Refargen1, a nation-wide consortium of research groups, with the mission to provide leadership in PGx research and education in Brazil, with a population health impact. PMID:21833165

Opportunities for Enhanced Strategic Use of Surveys, Medical Records, and Program Data for HIV Surveillance of Key Populations: Scoping Review

PubMed Central

Baral, Stefan D; Edwards, Jessie K; Zadrozny, Sabrina; Hargreaves, James; Zhao, Jinkou; Sabin, Keith

2018-01-01

Background Normative guidelines from the World Health Organization recommend tracking strategic information indicators among key populations. Monitoring progress in the global response to the HIV epidemic uses indicators put forward by the Joint United Nations Programme on HIV/AIDS. These include the 90-90-90 targets that require a realignment of surveillance data, routinely collected program data, and medical record data, which historically have developed separately. Objective The aim of this study was to describe current challenges for monitoring HIV-related strategic information indicators among key populations ((men who have sex with men [MSM], people in prisons and other closed settings, people who inject drugs, sex workers, and transgender people) and identify future opportunities to enhance the use of surveillance data, programmatic data, and medical record data to describe the HIV epidemic among key populations and measure the coverage of HIV prevention, care, and treatment programs. Methods To provide a historical perspective, we completed a scoping review of the expansion of HIV surveillance among key populations over the past three decades. To describe current efforts, we conducted a review of the literature to identify published examples of SI indicator estimates among key populations. To describe anticipated challenges and future opportunities to improve measurement of strategic information indicators, particularly from routine program and health data, we consulted participants of the Third Global HIV Surveillance Meeting in Bangkok, where the 2015 World Health Organization strategic information guidelines were launched. Results There remains suboptimal alignment of surveillance and programmatic data, as well as routinely collected medical records to facilitate the reporting of the 90-90-90 indicators for HIV among key populations. Studies (n=3) with estimates of all three 90-90-90 indicators rely on cross-sectional survey data. Programmatic data and medical record data continue to be insufficiently robust to provide estimates of the 90-90-90 targets for key populations. Conclusions Current reliance on more active data collection processes, including key population-specific surveys, remains warranted until the quality and validity of passively collected routine program and medical record data for key populations is optimized. PMID:29789279

Implementing recommendations of the World Report on Disability for indigenous populations.

PubMed

Westby, Carol

2013-02-01

Typically, the types of services provided for people with communication disorders (PWCD) and the ways the services are provided have been designed for dominant populations in the Minority World. If services are to be truly accessible and equitable, they must be designed to account for cultural variations in beliefs, needs, and desires of PWCD and their families. This article describes the health conditions that put indigenous populations at particular risk for communicative disorders and gives examples of ways in which speech-language pathologists (SLPs) have addressed the recommendations of the World Report on Disability when working with PWCD in indigenous communities in Minority World countries.

Wearable design issues for electronic vision enhancement systems

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Dvorak, Joe

2006-09-01

As the baby boomer generation ages, visual impairment will overtake a significant portion of the US population. At the same time, more and more of our world is becoming digital. These two trends, coupled with the continuing advances in digital electronics, argue for a rethinking in the design of aids for the visually impaired. This paper discusses design issues for electronic vision enhancement systems (EVES) [R.C. Peterson, J.S. Wolffsohn, M. Rubinstein, et al., Am. J. Ophthalmol. 136 1129 (2003)] that will facilitate their wearability and continuous use. We briefly discuss the factors affecting a person's acceptance of wearable devices. We define the concept of operational inertia which plays an important role in our design of wearable devices and systems. We then discuss how design principles based upon operational inertia can be applied to the design of EVES.

Supercritical fluids as alternative, safe, food-processing media: an overview.

PubMed

Da Cruz Francisco, José; Szwajcer Dey, Estera

2003-01-01

The continuous growth of world population and its concentration in the urban areas require food supplies that are continuous, sufficient and of good quality. To resolve this problem techniques have been developed for increasing food quantity and quality. The techniques are applied throughout the food chain from production, conservation and during distribution to the consumers (from "the field to the fork"). During handling of food, chemicals are often deliberately added to achieve improved processing and better quality. This is one of the main reasons food undergoes different kinds of contamination. This overview focuses on the application of supercritical fluids as media for handling food materials during processing with the perspective of reducing chemical contamination of food. Examples of developmental applications of this technique and on research work in process are presented. Emphasis is given to extraction and biotransformation techniques.

State-of-the-Art management of knee osteoarthritis.

PubMed

Fibel, Kenton H; Hillstrom, Howard J; Halpern, Brian C

2015-02-16

Osteoarthritis (OA) is the most common type of arthritis found in the United States' population and is also the most common disease of joints in adults throughout the world with the knee being the most frequently affected of all joints. As the United States' population ages along with the increasing trends in obesity prevalence in other parts of the world, it is expected that the burden of OA on the population, healthcare system, and overall economy will continue to increase in the future without making major improvements in managing knee OA. Numerous therapies aim to reduce symptoms of knee OA and continued research has helped to further understand the complex pathophysiology of its disease mechanism attempting to uncover new potential targets for the treatment of OA. This review article seeks to evaluate the current practices for managing knee OA and discusses emerging therapies on the horizon. These practices include non-pharmacological treatments such as providing patient education and self-management strategies, advising weight loss, strengthening programs, and addressing biomechanical issues with bracing or foot orthoses. Oral analgesics and anti-inflammatories are pharmacologicals that are commonly used and the literature overall supports that some of these medications can be helpful for managing knee OA in the short-term but are less effective for long-term management. Additionally, more prolonged use significantly increases the risk of serious associated side effects that are not too uncommon. Disease-modifying osteoarthritis drugs are being researched as a treatment modality to potentially halt or slow disease progression but data at this time is limited and continued studies are being conducted to further investigate their effectiveness. Intra-articular injectables are also implemented to manage knee OA ranging from corticosteroids to hyaluronans to more recently platelet-rich plasma and even stem cells while several other injection therapies are presently being studied. The goal of developing new treatment strategies for knee OA is to prolong the need for total knee arthroplasty which should be utilized only if other strategies have failed. High tibial osteotomy and unicompartmental knee arthroplasty are potential alternatives if only a single compartment is involved with more data supporting unicompartmental knee arthroplasty as a good treatment option in this scenario. Arthroscopy has been commonly used for many years to treat knee OA to address degenerative articular cartilage and menisci, however, several high-quality studies have shown that it is not a very effective treatment for the majority of cases and should generally not be considered when managing knee OA. Improving the management of knee OA requires a multi-faceted treatment approach along with continuing to broaden our understanding of this complex disease so that therapeutic advancements can continue to be developed with the goal of preventing further disease progression and even potentially reversing the degenerative process.

Infectious Diseases, Urbanization and Climate Change: Challenges in Future China

PubMed Central

Tong, Michael Xiaoliang; Hansen, Alana; Hanson-Easey, Scott; Cameron, Scott; Xiang, Jianjun; Liu, Qiyong; Sun, Yehuan; Weinstein, Philip; Han, Gil-Soo; Williams, Craig; Bi, Peng

2015-01-01

China is one of the largest countries in the world with nearly 20% of the world’s population. There have been significant improvements in economy, education and technology over the last three decades. Due to substantial investments from all levels of government, the public health system in China has been improved since the 2003 severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS) outbreak. However, infectious diseases still remain a major population health issue and this may be exacerbated by rapid urbanization and unprecedented impacts of climate change. This commentary aims to explore China’s current capacity to manage infectious diseases which impair population health. It discusses the existing disease surveillance system and underscores the critical importance of strengthening the system. It also explores how the growing migrant population, dramatic changes in the natural landscape following rapid urbanization, and changing climatic conditions can contribute to the emergence and re-emergence of infectious disease. Continuing research on infectious diseases, urbanization and climate change may inform the country’s capacity to deal with emerging and re-emerging infectious diseases in the future. PMID:26371017

Why Population Matters, 1996.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Population Action International, Washington, DC.

Population growth around the world affects Americans through its impact on economy, environment, safety, and health, and the condition of the world children will inherit. The cumulative evidence is strong that current rates of population growth pose significant and interacting risks to human well-being and are a legitimate concern for Americans.…

A call for action on disarmament and population.

PubMed

Fukuda, T

1994-08-01

Takeo Fukuda, former prime minister of Japan, opened the 12th session of the InterAction Council in Dresden, Germany, with a speech on June 7, 1994. The council has three priority concerns: world peace and disarmament; global problems of population increase, environmental degradation, resource and energy questions; and the question of activating the world economy. The cold war structure has crumbled, but stockpiled nuclear weapons still pose a threat to the world. Under such a situation, the role of multilateral organizations, particularly the UN, has become increasingly important. The world's political management henceforth should encompass North-South-East-West, the entire world, and multilateral institutions should be further strengthened. Special attention should be paid to the neglected North-South relations. The emergence of the mass-consumption society has generated the era of finite resources and environment. The rapidly increasing global population further complicates this issue. Unless the global problems of population, environment, resources, and energy are alleviated, the future for posterity is dubious. The population of the world is increasing by 100 million each year. It was 1.6 billion at the beginning of this century, but it is expected to increase to 6.4 billion at the end of the century, to 8 billion by the year 2020, and to 10 billion by 2050. Resources, energy, environment, and global population are mutually linked; the problem of balancing the rapidly increasing population and the food supply must be addressed. The hope is that the Food and Agriculture Organization will come up with measures to cope with this problem by forecasting the food supply and demand and population. The InterAction Council will hold its 13th session in Tokyo in 1995.

A demographic-economic explanation of political stability: Mauritius as a microcosm.

PubMed

Lempert, D

1987-06-01

"This paper examines current models of economic and political development--social modernization theory, political and economic characteristics of stable regimes, and cross country analysis of political stability--and tests them on the Indian Ocean Island of Mauritius. The analysis continues with a causal explanation for political stability in Mauritius' recent history, derived from an examination of economic policies and demographic patterns. Political change in Mauritius over the past sixty years seems to be explained best by a model for political stability which integrates specific economic and demographic factors. The model, applicable to development in other third world nations, revises Malthus' conclusion that population and economic conditions move in an oscillatory relationship and replaces it with a more comprehensive theory, suggesting that political stability is a function of both economic development and a repeating cyclical relationship between economics and population." excerpt

The evolution of sensory divergence in the context of limited gene flow in the bumblebee bat

PubMed Central

Puechmaille, Sébastien J.; Gouilh, Meriadeg Ar; Piyapan, Piyathip; Yokubol, Medhi; Mie, Khin Mie; Bates, Paul J.; Satasook, Chutamas; Nwe, Tin; Bu, Si Si Hla; Mackie, Iain J.; Petit, Eric J.; Teeling, Emma C.

2011-01-01

The sensory drive theory of speciation predicts that populations of the same species inhabiting different environments can differ in sensory traits, and that this sensory difference can ultimately drive speciation. However, even in the best-known examples of sensory ecology driven speciation, it is uncertain whether the variation in sensory traits is the cause or the consequence of a reduction in levels of gene flow. Here we show strong genetic differentiation, no gene flow and large echolocation differences between the allopatric Myanmar and Thai populations of the world's smallest mammal, Craseonycteris thonglongyai, and suggest that geographic isolation most likely preceded sensory divergence. Within the geographically continuous Thai population, we show that geographic distance has a primary role in limiting gene flow rather than echolocation divergence. In line with sensory-driven speciation models, we suggest that in C. thonglongyai, limited gene flow creates the suitable conditions that favour the evolution of sensory divergence via local adaptation. PMID:22146392

[The demographic aging of the Austrian population: on the long-term changes in the age structure in Austria].

PubMed

Kytir, J

1995-01-01

"The Austrian population is presently in the middle of its age structure transition which started with World War I and will continue until the 40s of the next century. Within this time period the number of people aged 60 years or over will increase from about half a million to 2.8 million (1995: 1.6 million) and the share of the elderly will mount from about 9 percent to more than 35 percent (1995: 20 percent). The present article points out the demographic causes for population aging asking whether high fertility and/or high numbers of migrants can stop the aging process. Different measurements of demographic aging in Austria (share of various age groups, mean age and median age, dependency ratios, several aging indices) are calculated for the time period 1869 to 2050. Special attention is paid to regional differences within Austria and to changes of the sex ratio at older ages over time." (EXCERPT)

A perspective from Bolivia on the implications of the World Report on Disability for people with communication disabilities.

PubMed

Buell, Susan

2013-02-01

Implications of the World Report on Disability for people with communication disabilities (PWCD), as described by Wylie, McAllister, Davidson, and Marshall (2013), include a drive for better demographic information, increased campaigning, and organizational change to improve speech-language pathology services. Qualitative data collected from PWCD and their families in Bolivia provide the baseline for this response. The benefits of collecting population survey information are recognized, but data reinforce the continued need to ensure a positive impact at caseload level. In a country where rhetoric is far removed from lived experience, the starting points for change are very different from those in Minority world countries. A supply and demand model is suggested as an equitable way of balancing efforts to overcome barriers to a better service. Knowledge and information are shown to be key in catalyzing the demand side for the service, while the importance of a solid evidence base for practice would help to improve supply. Although a warning against importing dominant Minority world models of service delivery is outlined by Wylie et al., findings from Bolivia support a more hybrid and nuanced approach that takes into account complex global influences of information flows, past and present.

Traversing the mountaintop: world fossil fuel production to 2050.

PubMed

Nehring, Richard

2009-10-27

During the past century, fossil fuels--petroleum liquids, natural gas and coal--were the dominant source of world energy production. From 1950 to 2005, fossil fuels provided 85-93% of all energy production. All fossil fuels grew substantially during this period, their combined growth exceeding the increase in world population. This growth, however, was irregular, providing for rapidly growing per capita production from 1950 to 1980, stable per capita production from 1980 to 2000 and rising per capita production again after 2000. During the past half century, growth in fossil fuel production was essentially limited by energy demand. During the next half century, fossil fuel production will be limited primarily by the amount and characteristics of remaining fossil fuel resources. Three possible scenarios--low, medium and high--are developed for the production of each of the fossil fuels to 2050. These scenarios differ primarily by the amount of ultimate resources estimated for each fossil fuel. Total fossil fuel production will continue to grow, but only slowly for the next 15-30 years. The subsequent peak plateau will last for 10-15 years. These production peaks are robust; none of the fossil fuels, even with highly optimistic resource estimates, is projected to keep growing beyond 2050. World fossil fuel production per capita will thus begin an irreversible decline between 2020 and 2030.

Disability and Health

MedlinePlus

... Over a billion people, about 15% of the world's population, have some form of disability. Between 110 million ... disability. This corresponds to about 15% of the world's population. Between 110 million (2.2%) and 190 million ( ...

Food and Population: A Global Concern [and] The Paradoxes of World Hunger.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Murphy, Elaine M.

1984-01-01

Student and teacher materials are provided for a secondary unit on world hunger. The student materials are contained in a module entitled "Food and Population: A Global Concern," distributed with the newsletter "Interchange." The teacher materials are contained in the issue of the newsletter itself, subtitled "The Paradoxes of World Hunger." A…

[Insecticide susceptibility evaluation in Aedes aegypti populations of Caldas, Colombia, in 2007 and 2011].

PubMed

Conde, Marcela; Orjuela, Lorena I; Castellanos, César Augusto; Herrera-Varela, Manuela; Licastro, Susana; Quiñones, Martha L

2015-01-01

Continuous use of insecticides for the control of dengue transmission may lead to decreased susceptibility levels in mosquito vector populations. Timely monitoring is necessary to ensure detection of any potential resistance problems. To determine the susceptibility status of Aedes aegypti to insecticides used in public health in Caldas, Colombia, during 2007 and 2011. Susceptibility tests to the organophosphates temephos, malathion, fenitrothion and pirimiphos methyl, as well as to the pyrethroid deltamethrin, were carried out using standard World Health Organization and Centers for Disease Control and Prevention protocols. In 2007, resistance to temephos was detected in Ae. aegypti populations from La Dorada with resistance ratios of 11.5 and 13.3, prompting the Caldas Health Department to suspend the use of this larvicide. A reduction in resistance ratios to temephos was observed in 2011, as well as an apparent resistance to pirimiphos methyl. All Ae. aegypti populations tested were susceptible to deltamethrin, malathion and fenitrothion in both years. Evaluating the resistance ratios during two distinct periods allowed a decrease in resistance to be detected after suspension of the use of temephos. Surveillance of mosquito populations for changes in susceptibility levels to the insecticides used in dengue control programs is therefore recommended.

Sustainable Skyscrapers: Designing the Net Zero Energy Building of the Future

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kothari, S.; Bartsch, A.

2016-12-01

Cities of the future will need to increase population density in order to keep up with the rising populations in the limited available land area. In order to provide sufficient power as the population grows, cities must become more energy efficient. Fossil fuels and grid energy will continue to become more expensive as nonrenewable resources deplete. The obvious solution to increase population density while decreasing the reliance on fossil fuels is to build taller skyscrapers that are energy neutral, i.e. self-sustaining. However, current skyscrapers are not energy efficient, and therefore cannot provide a sustainable solution to the problem of increasing population density in the face of depleting energy resources. The design of a net zero energy building that includes both residential and commercial space is presented. Alternative energy systems such as wind turbines, photovoltaic cells, and a waste-to-fuel conversion plant have been incorporated into the design of a 50 story skyscraper that is not reliant on fossil fuels and has a payback time of about six years. Although the current building was designed to be located in San Francisco, simple modifications to the design would allow this building to fit the needs of any city around the world.

Analysis of human resources for oral health globally: inequitable distribution.

PubMed

Gallagher, Jennifer E; Hutchinson, Lynn

2018-06-01

Oral diseases affect most of the global population. The aim of this paper was to provide a contemporary analysis of 'human resources for oral health' (HROH) by examining the size and distribution of the dental workforce according to World Health Organization (WHO) region and in the most populous countries. Publically available data on HROH and population size were sourced from the WHO, Central Intelligence Agency, United Nations, World Bank and the UK registration body. Population-to-dentist and dental-workforce ratios were calculated according to WHO region and for the 25 most populous countries globally. Workforce trends over time were examined for one high-income country, the UK. The majority of the world's 1.6 million dentists are based in Europe and the Americas, such that 69% of the world's dentists serve 27% of the global population. Africa has only 1% of the global workforce and thus there are marked inequalities in access to dental personnel, as demonstrated by population to dental-workforce ratios. Gaps exist in dental-workforce data, most notably relating to mid-level clinical providers, such as dental hygienists and therapists, and HROH data are not regularly updated. Workforce expansion and migration may result in rapid changes in dentist numbers. Marked inequalities in the distribution of global HROH exist between regions and countries, with inequalities most apparent in areas of high population growth. Detailed contemporary data on all groups of HROH are required to inform global workforce reform in support of addressing population oral health needs. © 2018 FDI World Dental Federation.

Barriers to Mental Health Treatment: Results from the WHO World Mental Health (WMH) Surveys

PubMed Central

Andrade, L. H.; Alonso, J.; Mneimneh, Z.; Wells, J. E.; Al-Hamzawi, A.; Borges, G.; Bromet, E.; Bruffaerts, R.; de Girolamo, G.; de Graaf, R.; Florescu, S.; Gureje, O.; Hinkov, H. R.; Hu, C.; Huang, Y.; Hwang, I.; Jin, R.; Karam, E. G.; Kovess-Masfety, V.; Levinson, D.; Matschinger, H.; O’Neill, S.; Posada-Villa, J.; Sagar, R.; Sampson, N. A.; Sasu, C.; Stein, D.; Takeshima, T.; Viana, M. C.; Xavier, M.; Kessler, R. C.

2014-01-01

Background To examine barriers to initiation and continuation of mental health treatment among individuals with common mental disorders. Methods Data are from the WHO World Mental Health (WMH) Surveys. Representative household samples were interviewed face-to-face in 24 countries. Reasons to initiate and continue treatment were examined in a subsample (n= 63,678) and analyzed at different levels of clinical severity. Results Among those with a DSM-IV disorder in the past twelve months, low perceived need was the most common reason for not initiating treatment and more common among moderate and mild than severe cases. Women and younger people with disorders were more likely to recognize a need for treatment. Desire to handle the problem on one’s own was the most common barrier among respondents with a disorder who perceived a need for treatment (63.8%). Attitudinal barriers were much more important than structural barriers both to initiating and continuing treatment. However, attitudinal barriers dominated for mild-moderate cases and structural barriers for severe cases. Perceived ineffectiveness of treatment was the most commonly reported reason for treatment dropout (39.3%) followed by negative experiences with treatment providers (26.9% of respondents with severe disorders). Conclusions Low perceived need and attitudinal barriers are the major barriers to seeking and staying in treatment among individuals with common mental disorders worldwide. Apart from targeting structural barriers, mainly in countries with poor resources, increasing population mental health literacy is an important endeavor worldwide. PMID:23931656

Decades of urban growth and development on the Asian megadeltas

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Small, Christopher; Sousa, Daniel; Yetman, Gregory; Elvidge, Christopher; MacManus, Kytt

2018-06-01

The current and ongoing expansion of urban areas worldwide represents the largest mass migration in human history. It is well known that the world's coastal zones are associated with large and growing concentrations of population, urban development and economic activity. Among coastal environments, deltas have long been recognized for both benefits and hazards. This is particularly true on the Asian megadeltas, where the majority of the world's deltaic populations reside. Current trends in urban migration, combined with demographic momentum suggest that the already large populations on the Asian megadeltas will continue to grow. In this study, we combine recently released gridded population density (circa 2010) with a newly developed night light change product (1992 to 2012) and a digital elevation model to quantify the spatial distribution of population and development on the nine Asian megadeltas. Bivariate distributions of population as functions of elevation and coastal proximity quantify potential exposure of deltaic populations to flood and coastal hazards. Comparison of these distributions for the Asian megadeltas show very different patterns of habitation with peak population elevations ranging from 2 to 11 m above sea level over a wide range of coastal proximities. Over all nine megadeltas, over 174 million people reside below a peak population elevation of 7 m. Changes in the spatial extent of anthropogenic night light from 1992 to 2012 show widely varying extents and changes of lighted urban development. All of the deltas except the Indus show the greatest increases in night light brightness occurring at elevations <10 m. At global and continental scales, growth of settlements of all sizes takes the form of evolving spatial networks of development. Spatial networks of lighted urban development in Asia show power law scaling properties consistent with other continents, but much higher rates of growth. The three largest networks of development in China all occur on deltas and adjacent lowlands, and are growing faster than the rest of the urban network in China. Since 2000, the Huanghe Delta + North China Plain urban network has surpassed the Japanese urban network in size and may soon connect with the Changjiang Delta + Yangtze River urban network to form the largest conurbation in Asia.

World Population Stabilization Unlikely This Century

PubMed Central

Gerland, Patrick; Raftery, Adrian E.; Ševcíková, Hana; Li, Nan; Gu, Danan; Spoorenberg, Thomas; Alkema, Leontine; Fosdick, Bailey K.; Chunn, Jennifer; Lalic, Nevena; Bay, Guiomar; Buettner, Thomas; Heilig, Gerhard K.; Wilmoth, John

2014-01-01

The United Nations recently released population projections based on data until 2012 and a Bayesian probabilistic methodology. Analysis of these data reveals that, contrary to previous literature, world population is unlikely to stop growing this century. There is an 80% probability that world population, now 7.2 billion, will increase to between 9.6 and 12.3 billion in 2100. This uncertainty is much smaller than the range from the traditional UN high and low variants. Much of the increase is expected to happen in Africa, in part due to higher fertility and a recent slowdown in the pace of fertility decline. Also, the ratio of working age people to older people is likely to decline substantially in all countries, even those that currently have young populations. PMID:25301627

The Victor-Bostrom Fund Report: Food and Population. Report No. 19, Summer-Fall 1974.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Victor-Bostrom Fund Committee, Washington, DC.

Eleven articles comprise this document which presents commentaries on nutrition, population, and environmental education. The articles deal specifically with the crises of a rapidly growing world population, a worsening world food situation, and an energy crisis. A number of specific recommendations, both national and international, are offered to…

The Diverse World of Early Childhood. Global Status Report.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Neugebauer, Roger

2002-01-01

Examines demographic information about the status of young children around the world. Graphs nations with the largest populations of young children and highest percentage of their populations composed of young children in comparison to the aged, the percentage of regional populations under age 5 and over 64, and birth and infant mortality rates.…

World Population Ageing, 1950-2050.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

United Nations, New York, NY. Dept. of Economic and Social Affairs.

Population aging was one of the most distinctive events of the 20th century and will remain important throughout the 21st century. Initially, a phenomenon of more developed countries, the process has recently become apparent in much of the developing world as well. The shift in age structure associated with population aging has a profound impact…

World Food Resources and Population: The Narrowing Margin.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Brown, Lester R.

1981-01-01

This bulletin examines the narrowing margin between global food production and population growth. Between 1950 and 1971, world grain production nearly doubled and per capita production increased 31 percent. During the 1970s, gains in output barely kept pace with population growth, consumption per person declined in sub-Saharan Africa and parts of…

Population Change, Resources, and the Environment. Population Trends and Public Policy No. 4.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Jacobsen, Judith, Ed.

Intended for policymakers, this document focuses on environmental factors limiting the expansion of the world's food supply, the dilemma of fostering third world economic development, and prospects for energy development. The first of five parts gives an overview of a 1983 Population Reference Bureau conference which focused on current thinking…

Global burden of COPD.

PubMed

López-Campos, José Luis; Tan, Wan; Soriano, Joan B

2016-01-01

It is estimated that the world population will reach a record 7.3 billion in 2015, and the high burden of chronic conditions associated with ageing and smoking will increase further. Respiratory diseases in general receive little attention and funding in comparison with other major causes of global morbidity and mortality. In particular, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) has been a major public health problem and will remain a challenge for clinicians within the 21st century. Worldwide, COPD is in the spotlight, since its high prevalence, morbidity and mortality create formidable challenges for health-care systems. This review emphasizes the magnitude of the COPD problem from a clinician's standpoint by drawing extensively from the new findings of the Global Burden of Disease study. Updated, distilled information on the population distribution of COPD is useful for the clinician to help provide an appreciation of the relative impact of COPD in daily practice compared with other chronic conditions, and to allocate minimum resources in anticipation of future needs in care. Despite recent trends in reduction of COPD standardized mortality rates and some recent successes in anti-smoking efforts in a number of Western countries, the overarching demographic impact of ageing in an ever-expanding world population, joined with other factors such as high rates of smoking and air pollution in Asia, will ensure that COPD will continue to pose an ever-increasing problem well into the 21st century. © 2015 Asian Pacific Society of Respirology.

Strategic considerations in planning a counterevacuation

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Chester, C.V.; Cristy, G.A.; Haaland, C.M.

1975-12-01

The Soviet Union has highly developed plans to evacuate their population centers in a nuclear confrontation. Their plans include construction of expedient shelters in the outlying areas and continued operation of their essential industry by commuting workers. If they should successfully implement their plan, a subsequent nuclear exchange with the United States would cost them far fewer casualties than they suffered in World War II. Without a corresponding evacuation, the US could lose from 50 to 70 percent of its population. This asymmetry in vulnerability, if allowed to persist, would seriously weaken the bargaining position of the US President. Tomore » restore the balance, a great reduction in vulnerability can be achieved most economically by planning a US counterevacuation as a response to a Soviet evacuation. Russian historical experience with murderous invaders, most recently in World War II, has made authoritarian defense measures involving civilians and property in peacetime quite acceptable in their culture. In the US, widescale use of private property and civilian participation in defense activity are not feasible until the development of a grave crisis. Hence US evacuation plans must differ in several important respects from the Soviet plans. However, this preliminary study indicates that the US has ample material resources to move and shelter its population at least as effectively as the Soviet Union. Perhaps the most critical disadvantage of the US is in morale, as evidenced by the widespread misconception that effective survival measures are not possible. (auth)« less

Two Different Views on the World Around Us: The World of Uniformity versus Diversity.

PubMed

Kwon, JaeHwan; Nayakankuppam, Dhananjay

2016-01-01

We propose that when individuals believe in fixed traits of personality (entity theorists), they are likely to expect a world of "uniformity." As such, they easily infer a population statistic from a small sample of data with confidence. In contrast, individuals who believe in malleable traits of personality (incremental theorists) are likely to presume a world of "diversity," such that they "hesitate" to infer a population statistic from a similarly sized sample. In four laboratory experiments, we found that compared to incremental theorists, entity theorists estimated a population mean from a sample with a greater level of confidence (Studies 1a and 1b), expected more homogeneity among the entities within a population (Study 2), and perceived an extreme value to be more indicative of an outlier (Study 3). These results suggest that individuals are likely to use their implicit self-theory orientations (entity theory versus incremental theory) to see a population in general as a constitution either of homogeneous or heterogeneous entities.

Defining and targeting health disparities in chronic obstructive pulmonary disease

PubMed Central

Pleasants, Roy A; Riley, Isaretta L; Mannino, David M

2016-01-01

The global burden of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) continues to grow in part due to better outcomes in other major diseases and in part because a substantial portion of the worldwide population continues to be exposed to inhalant toxins. However, a disproportionate burden of COPD occurs in people of low socioeconomic status (SES) due to differences in health behaviors, sociopolitical factors, and social and structural environmental exposures. Tobacco use, occupations with exposure to inhalant toxins, and indoor biomass fuel (BF) exposure are more common in low SES populations. Not only does SES affect the risk of developing COPD and etiologies, it is also associated with worsened COPD health outcomes. Effective interventions in these people are needed to decrease these disparities. Efforts that may help lessen these health inequities in low SES include 1) better surveillance targeting diagnosed and undiagnosed COPD in disadvantaged people, 2) educating the public and those involved in health care provision about the disease, 3) improving access to cost-effective and affordable health care, and 4) markedly increasing the efforts to prevent disease through smoking cessation, minimizing use and exposure to BF, and decreasing occupational exposures. COPD is considered to be one the most preventable major causes of death from a chronic disease in the world; therefore, effective interventions could have a major impact on reducing the global burden of the disease, especially in socioeconomically disadvantaged populations. PMID:27785005

How GNSS Enables Precision Farming

DOT National Transportation Integrated Search

2014-12-01

Precision farming: Feeding a Growing Population Enables Those Who Feed the World. Immediate and Ongoing Needs - population growth (more to feed) - urbanization (decrease in arable land) Double food production by 2050 to meet world demand. To meet thi...

Can captive populations function as sources of genetic variation for reintroductions into the wild? A case study of the Arabian oryx from the Phoenix Zoo and the Shaumari Wildlife Reserve, Jordan

USGS Publications Warehouse

Ochoa, Alexander; Wells, Stuart A.; West, Gary; Al-Smadi, Ma’en; Redondo, Sergio A.; Sexton, Sydnee R.; Culver, Melanie

2016-01-01

The Arabian oryx (Oryx leucoryx) historically ranged across the Arabian Peninsula and neighboring countries until its extirpation in 1972. In 1963–1964 a captive breeding program for this species was started at the Phoenix Zoo (PHX); it ultimately consisted of 11 animals that became known as the ‘World Herd’. In 1978–1979 a wild population was established at the Shaumari Wildlife Reserve (SWR), Jordan, with eight descendants from the World Herd and three individuals from Qatar. We described the mtDNA and nuclear genetic diversity and structure of PHX and SWR. We also determined the long-term demographic and genetic viability of these populations under different reciprocal translocation scenarios. PHX displayed a greater number of mtDNA haplotypes (n = 4) than SWR (n = 2). Additionally, PHX and SWR presented nuclear genetic diversities of N¯AN¯A = 2.88 vs. 2.75, H¯OH¯O = 0.469 vs. 0.387, and H¯EH¯E = 0.501 vs. 0.421, respectively. Although these populations showed no signs of inbreeding (F¯ISF¯IS ≈ 0), they were highly differentiated (G′′STGST′′ = 0.580; P < 0.001). Migration between PHX and SWR (Nm = 1, 4, and 8 individuals/generation) increased their genetic diversity in the short-term and substantially reduced the probability of extinction in PHX during 25 generations. Under such scenarios, maximum genetic diversities were achieved in the first generations before the effects of genetic drift became predominant. Although captive populations can function as sources of genetic variation for reintroduction programs, we recommend promoting mutual and continuous gene flow with wild populations to ensure the long-term survival of this species.

Global access to surgical care: a modelling study.

PubMed

Alkire, Blake C; Raykar, Nakul P; Shrime, Mark G; Weiser, Thomas G; Bickler, Stephen W; Rose, John A; Nutt, Cameron T; Greenberg, Sarah L M; Kotagal, Meera; Riesel, Johanna N; Esquivel, Micaela; Uribe-Leitz, Tarsicio; Molina, George; Roy, Nobhojit; Meara, John G; Farmer, Paul E

2015-06-01

More than 2 billion people are unable to receive surgical care based on operating theatre density alone. The vision of the Lancet Commission on Global Surgery is universal access to safe, affordable surgical and anaesthesia care when needed. We aimed to estimate the number of individuals worldwide without access to surgical services as defined by the Commission's vision. We modelled access to surgical services in 196 countries with respect to four dimensions: timeliness, surgical capacity, safety, and affordability. We built a chance tree for each country to model the probability of surgical access with respect to each dimension, and from this we constructed a statistical model to estimate the proportion of the population in each country that does not have access to surgical services. We accounted for uncertainty with one-way sensitivity analyses, multiple imputation for missing data, and probabilistic sensitivity analysis. At least 4·8 billion people (95% posterior credible interval 4·6-5·0 [67%, 64-70]) of the world's population do not have access to surgery. The proportion of the population without access varied widely when stratified by epidemiological region: greater than 95% of the population in south Asia and central, eastern, and western sub-Saharan Africa do not have access to care, whereas less than 5% of the population in Australasia, high-income North America, and western Europe lack access. Most of the world's population does not have access to surgical care, and access is inequitably distributed. The near absence of access in many low-income and middle-income countries represents a crisis, and as the global health community continues to support the advancement of universal health coverage, increasing access to surgical services will play a central role in ensuring health care for all. None. Copyright © 2015 Alkire et al. Open Access article distributed under the terms of CC BY. Published by Elsevier Ltd.. All rights reserved.

Global epidemiology of HIV infection in men who have sex with men

PubMed Central

Beyrer, Chris; Baral, Stefan D; van Griensven, Frits; Goodreau, Steven M; Chariyalertsak, Suwat; Wirtz, Andrea L; Brookmeyer, Ron

2013-01-01

Epidemics of HIV in men who have sex with men (MSM) continue to expand in most countries. We sought to understand the epidemiological drivers of the global epidemic in MSM and why it continues unabated. We did a comprehensive review of available data for HIV prevalence, incidence, risk factors, and the molecular epidemiology of HIV in MSM from 2007 to 2011, and modelled the dynamics of HIV transmission with an agent-based simulation. Our findings show that the high probability of transmission per act through receptive anal intercourse has a central role in explaining the disproportionate disease burden in MSM. HIV can be transmitted through large MSM networks at great speed. Molecular epidemiological data show substantial clustering of HIV infections in MSM networks, and higher rates of dual-variant and multiple-variant HIV infection in MSM than in heterosexual people in the same populations. Prevention strategies that lower biological transmission and acquisition risks, such as approaches based on antiretrovirals, offer promise for controlling the expanding epidemic in MSM, but their potential effectiveness is limited by structural factors that contribute to low health-seeking behaviours in populations of MSM in many parts of the world. PMID:22819660

World Bank Atlas: Population, Per Capita Product and Growth Rates.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

World Bank, Washington, DC.

The ninth edition of the World Bank Atlas shows estimates of population, gross national product, and per capita production of 189 countries and territories for 1972. The data presented in the atlas are the result of the work of the World Bank Group whose major purpose is to provide both financial and technical assistance and to improve the living…

The Problems of Human Settlements. Draper World Population Fund Report, No. 2, Spring 1976.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Piotrow, Phyllis T., Ed.

This report contains ten papers dealing with population growth that focus attention on the quality of life in human settlements and the values and practical policies to be sought. Some of the papers were prepared for the Habitat Conference convened in Vancouver by world governments in June 1976. The first paper discusses world action plans for…

Trends in Global Gender Inequality (Forthcoming, Social Forces).

PubMed

Dorius, Shawn F; Firebaugh, Glenn

2010-07-01

This study investigates trends in gender inequality for the world as a whole. Using data encompassing a large majority of the world's population, we examine world trends over recent decades for key indicators of gender inequality in education, mortality, political representation, and economic activity. We find that gender inequality is declining in virtually all major domains, that the decline is occurring across diverse religious and cultural traditions, and that population growth is slowing the decline because populations are growing faster in countries where there is the greatest gender inequality.

Potent insect gut binding lectin from Sclerotium rolfsii impart resistance to sucking and chewing type insects in cotton.

PubMed

Vanti, Gulamnabi L; Katageri, Ishwarappa S; Inamdar, Shashikala R; Hiremathada, Vamadevaiah; Swamy, Bale M

2018-04-30

Cotton is an important crop that is continuously cultivated around the world. However, its production has decreased in recent times due to wide ranging insects and also current practices of using synthetic insecticides that are not precise and their residues impairing the biodiversity. Hence, the search for newer classes of efficient entomotoxic proteins continues. Genetically modified cotton crops with cry genes from Bacillus thuringiensis, have been cultivated across the world, which overcome the chewing type insect menace. In the present study, we assess the development of transgenic cotton plants by Agrobacterium, wherein the confirmed kanamycin resistant T 0 plants were advanced to T 1 generation and the gene integration was studied by molecular analysis. Western blot and ELISA assays demonstrated the expression of 0.46% lectin of the total soluble leaf proteins. In planta bioassay showed 69% of aphid, Aphis gossypii population reduction with T 1 generation plants. Whereas 100% insect mortality is occurred in Spodoptera litura larvae by 96 h. Present findings shows the potent insecticidal effect of Sclerotium rolfsii lectin on sucking (homopteran) and chewing (lepidopteron) insects, underlining its significance and strengthening genetic resources in cotton breeding against different order insect pests. Copyright © 2018 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Genetic Affinity of the Bhil, Kol and Gond Mentioned in Epic Ramayana

PubMed Central

Chaubey, Gyaneshwer; Kadian, Anurag; Bala, Saroj; Rao, Vadlamudi Raghavendra

2015-01-01

Kol, Bhil and Gond are some of the ancient tribal populations known from the Ramayana, one of the Great epics of India. Though there have been studies about their affinity based on classical and haploid genetic markers, the molecular insights of their relationship with other tribal and caste populations of extant India is expected to give more clarity about the the question of continuity vs. discontinuity. In this study, we scanned >97,000 of single nucleotide polymorphisms among three major ancient tribes mentioned in Ramayana, namely Bhil, Kol and Gond. The results obtained were then compared at inter and intra population levels with neighboring and other world populations. Using various statistical methods, our analysis suggested that the genetic architecture of these tribes (Kol and Gond) was largely similar to their surrounding tribal and caste populations, while Bhil showed closer affinity with Dravidian and Austroasiatic (Munda) speaking tribes. The haplotype based analysis revealed a massive amount of genome sharing among Bhil, Kol, Gond and with other ethnic groups of South Asian descent. On the basis of genetic component sharing among different populations, we anticipate their primary founding over the indigenous Ancestral South Indian (ASI) component has prevailed in the genepool over the last several thousand years. PMID:26061398

Post-licensure deployment of oral cholera vaccines: a systematic review

PubMed Central

Martin, Stephen; Lopez, Anna Lena; Bellos, Anna; Ali, Mohammad; Alberti, Kathryn; Anh, Dang Duc; Costa, Alejandro; Grais, Rebecca F; Legros, Dominique; Luquero, Francisco J; Ghai, Megan B; Perea, William; Sack, David A

2014-01-01

Abstract Objective To describe and analyse the characteristics of oral cholera vaccination campaigns; including location, target population, logistics, vaccine coverage and delivery costs. Methods We searched PubMed, the World Health Organization (WHO) website and the Cochrane database with no date or language restrictions. We contacted public health personnel, experts in the field and in ministries of health and did targeted web searches. Findings A total of 33 documents were included in the analysis. One country, Viet Nam, incorporates oral cholera vaccination into its public health programme and has administered approximately 10.9 million vaccine doses between 1997 and 2012. In addition, over 3 million doses of the two WHO pre-qualified oral cholera vaccines have been administered in more than 16 campaigns around the world between 1997 and 2014. These campaigns have either been pre-emptive or reactive and have taken place under diverse conditions, such as in refugee camps or natural disasters. Estimated two-dose coverage ranged from 46 to 88% of the target population. Approximate delivery cost per fully immunized person ranged from 0.11–3.99 United States dollars. Conclusion Experience with oral cholera vaccination campaigns continues to increase. Public health officials may draw on this experience and conduct oral cholera vaccination campaigns more frequently. PMID:25552772

The Effects of Chinese Dietary Trends on Global and Local Land Use

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Anthony, J.

2015-12-01

Global land scarcity is a major concern, which, due to climate change, lifestyle changes, and population growth, will only continue to worsen. It is a major driver of global environmental degradation, famine, and sociopolitical conflicts. With some 33% of the world's dwindling supply of arable land dedicated to grossly inefficient animal husbandry or animal feed production, it is easy to see that dietary consumption patterns play an important role. Although population growth in East Asia has stagnated, changing dietary trends mean that China is now the world's largest consumers of meat, consuming 25% of global meat production, despite having less than half of the American per capita equivalent. This paper assesses changing dietary consumption patterns of Taiwan, whose current per capita meat consumption surpasses all other East Asian countries, over the past 30 years and considers the relationship this has had on overall land consumption. We then consider dietary trends of Mainland China, which shares a common cultural heritage and whose current Purchasing Power Parity (PPP) is similar to Taiwanese PPP levels in 1985. Finally we retrospectively project three alternative Taiwanese consumption patterns over the past 30 years, consider the effect of each scenario on per capita land consumption, and finally consider these results in terms of culturally analogues Mainland China.

Moscow, Russia

NASA Image and Video Library

2013-05-21

This image from NASA Terra spacecraft shows Moscow, the capital city of Russia, the northernmost megacity in the world, the most populous in Europe, and with a population of over 11,000,000, the 6th largest city proper in the world.

Six Steps to a Sustainable Society. Worldwatch Paper 48.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Brown, Lester R.; Shaw, Pamela

This paper discusses six steps which must be taken on a global level to put society on a sustainable path. Of the various steps none is more important than bringing population growth to a halt. The official United Nations medium-level population projects, used by planners throughout the world, show world population reaching some 10.5 billion…

Mercy health promoters: a paradigm for implementing third world practices for resource-poor conditions of the developed world.

PubMed

Clark, Peter A; Surry, Luke

2007-03-01

The foreign-born population in the United States, according to the "Current Populations Report" published in 2004, is estimated to exceed 33.5 million, or "11.7 percent of the U.S. population". The increase in foreign-born peoples and their need for health care is a complicated issue facing many cities, health systems and hospitals. Over the course of the past few years Mercy Hospital of Philadelphia has treated increasing numbers of foreign-born African patients. The majority have been presenting in the late stages of disease. The increase of foreign-born documented and undocumented African patients seen by Mercy Hospital seems to reflect a foreign-born population "boom" in Philadelphia over the past decade. To meet the needs of this growing population, the Mercy Hospital Task Force on African Immigration designed a program that centers on the developing world concept of "Health Promoters". This program is intended to serve as one possible solution for hospitals to cost-effectively manage the care of this growing percentage of foreign-born individuals in the population. This notion of a "Health Promoter" program in Philadelphia is unique as one of those rare occasions when a developing world concept is being utilized in a developed world environment. It is also unique in that it can serve as a paradigm for other hospitals in the United States to meet the growing need of health care for the undocumented population.

Population growth and development in the Third World: the neocolonial context.

PubMed

Patterson, J G; Shrestha, N R

1988-01-01

Less developed countries (LDCs) that were colonies of other nations continued operating under the same social and political structures set up by the former ruling nations. The small minority of elites in the LDCs held on to the power acquired during colonial times. In order to preserve their political and financial status after independence, they maintained their close linkages to the capitalist nations and their multinational corporations (MNCs). The elites did not generally have popular support, however. These capitalist nations and their commercial interests continue to dictate most LDCs development process which supports the financial interests of the MNCs and the local elites and not those of the majority, the poor. The poor realize that they are trapped and unable to break away from the economic and political structures, therefore, to assure some form of security, they have many children which exacerbates their poverty. Yet population control policies based on Malthusian theory and those that rely on such undimensional, technical approaches as family planning alone cannot cure the multidimensional social problems of high population growth and poverty. Neither the Malthusian nor Marxist theories totally explain the situation in the LDCs or even provide workable solutions. Research on population and development in LDCs needs to address both the Malthusian concern for the problems posed by high growth rates and the Marxist critique of class struggle in development trends. To eliminate the trap of poverty and dependent economies, each country must design its own remedies based on its history, culture, and geography and alter the prevailing social, economic, and political power structures in favor of the poor. 6 propositions that must be modified to each nation's particular problems and needs are presented to guide LDCs in formulating or reformulating policies to alleviate the problems of population and poverty.

Genetic censusing identifies an unexpectedly sizeable population of an endangered large mammal in a fragmented forest landscape.

PubMed

McCarthy, Maureen S; Lester, Jack D; Howe, Eric J; Arandjelovic, Mimi; Stanford, Craig B; Vigilant, Linda

2015-08-25

As habitat degradation and fragmentation continue to impact wildlife populations around the world, it is critical to understand the behavioral flexibility of species in these environments. In Uganda, the mostly unprotected forest fragment landscape between the Budongo and Bugoma Forests is a potential corridor for chimpanzees, yet little is known about the status of chimpanzee populations in these fragments. From 2011 through 2013, we noninvasively collected 865 chimpanzee fecal samples across 633 km(2) and successfully genotyped 662 (77%) at up to 14 microsatellite loci. These genotypes corresponded to 182 chimpanzees, with a mean of 3.5 captures per individual. We obtained population size estimates of 256 (95% confidence interval 246-321) and 319 (288-357) chimpanzees using capture-with-replacement and spatially explicit capture-recapture models, respectively. The spatial clustering of associated genotypes suggests the presence of at least nine communities containing a minimum of 8-33 individuals each. Putative community distributions defined by the locations of associated genotypes correspond well with the distribution of 14 Y-chromosome haplotypes. These census figures are more than three times greater than a previous estimate based on an extrapolation from small-scale nest count surveys that tend to underestimate population size. The distribution of genotype clusters and Y-chromosome haplotypes together indicate the presence of numerous male philopatric chimpanzee communities throughout the corridor habitat. Our findings demonstrate that, despite extensive habitat loss and fragmentation, chimpanzees remain widely distributed and exhibit distinct community home ranges. Our results further imply that elusive and rare species may adapt to degraded habitats more successfully than previously believed. Their long-term persistence is unlikely, however, if protection is not afforded to them and habitat loss continues unabated.

World coal output continues upward trend

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Not Available

1976-08-01

Recently released figures from the US Bureau of Mines indicate a continuing upward trend in world coal production in 1975. On the African continent, hard coal production was generally higher than in 1974, the major increases in output coming from South Africa (production up 7.5 percent on 1974) and Rhodesia (up 4.3 percent). Gains in production in 1975 were in fact the general rule throughout the world's leading coal producing countries.

A Distribution-based Method for Assessing The Differences between Clinical Trial Target Populations and Patient Populations in Electronic Health Records

PubMed Central

Li, Y.; Ryan, P.; Zhang, Y.; Liu, F.; Gao, J.; Bigger, J.T.; Hripcsak, G.

2014-01-01

Summary Objective To improve the transparency of clinical trial generalizability and to illustrate the method using Type 2 diabetes as an example. Methods Our data included 1,761 diabetes clinical trials and the electronic health records (EHR) of 26,120 patients with Type 2 diabetes who visited Columbia University Medical Center of New-York Presbyterian Hospital. The two populations were compared using the Generalizability Index for Study Traits (GIST) on the earliest diagnosis age and the mean hemoglobin A1c (HbA1c) values. Results Greater than 70% of Type 2 diabetes studies allow patients with HbA1c measures between 7 and 10.5, but less than 40% of studies allow HbA1c<7 and fewer than 45% of studies allow HbA1c>10.5. In the real-world population, only 38% of patients had HbA1c between 7 and 10.5, with 12% having values above the range and 52% having HbA1c<7. The GIST for HbA1c was 0.51. Most studies adopted broad age value ranges, with the most common restrictions excluding patients >80 or <18 years. Most of the real-world population fell within this range, but 2% of patients were <18 at time of first diagnosis and 8% were >80. The GIST for age was 0.75. Conclusions We contribute a scalable method to profile and compare aggregated clinical trial target populations with EHR patient populations. We demonstrate that Type 2 diabetes studies are more generalizable with regard to age than they are with regard to HbA1c. We found that the generalizability of age increased from Phase 1 to Phase 3 while the generalizability of HbA1c decreased during those same phases. This method can generalize to other medical conditions and other continuous or binary variables. We envision the potential use of EHR data for examining the generalizability of clinical trials and for defining population-representative clinical trial eligibility criteria. PMID:25024761

[The press and family planning].

PubMed

Abraham De D'ornellas, R

1987-01-01

The treatment in the press of family planning hinges on two fundamental factors: the taboo of the leftist groups and the taboo of the Catholic Church, whose head is against abortion under any circumstances. Leftist views insinuate that family planning is the genocidal plan of North American imperialists against the Third World and, in particular, against Latin America. This genocidal plan is supposed to subject poor populations to international schemes. In the press family planning is often treated in a sanctimonious fashion, lumping it together with topics like pornography, sex, and violence. In 1983 the daily newspaper Expreso published a supplement running every week for almost three months about the issue of population, which dealt fairly extensively with such topics as population and housing, education, employment, and urban proliferation, as well as responsible parenthood and child survival. In addition, there was a detailed description of contraceptive methods. In October 1986 another surprising thing happened: the President of Peru talked about the topic of family planning, which at the time was an act of courage. Since then much has changed; the whole world is interested in family planning and certain aspects of population. Since October 1986 more has been published in this domain than during the preceding 20 years. In contrast, the Church reacted differently to this issue: after some initial caution, the conference of Peruvian bishops attacked all methods of modern contraceptives and private institutions of family planning. The information boom in family planning will certainly continue. At the moment this flood of articles and editorials about the issue is an expression of the anxiety of families related to uncontrolled reproduction and the fear of overpopulation in large cities devoid of minimal services.

Treatment Patterns and Antipsychotic Medication Adherence Among Commercially Insured Patients With Schizoaffective Disorder in the United States

PubMed Central

Joshi, Kruti; Lin, Jay; Lingohr-Smith, Melissa; Fu, Dong-Jing; Muser, Erik

2016-01-01

Abstract This study assessed real-world treatment patterns and antipsychotic (AP) medication adherence among commercially insured US patients with schizoaffective disorder (SCA). Continuously insured adults aged 18 years or older with a diagnosis of SCA from January 1, 2009, to December 31, 2012, were identified from the Clinformatics Data Mart database. Patients were categorized into 2 cohorts: incident or prevalent SCA. Demographics and clinical characteristics were evaluated during the baseline period. Use of psychiatric medications and adherence to AP medications were evaluated during a 12-month follow-up period after index diagnosis of SCA. Of the overall study population (N = 2713; mean age, 40.2 y; 52.7% female), 1961 patients (72.3%) (mean age, 38.7 y; 51.3% female) had incident SCA, and 752 patients (27.7%) (mean age, 43.9 y; 56.5% female) had prevalent SCA. Antipsychotics were used by 74.8% of patients in the overall study population during the follow-up period. The most commonly prescribed oral AP was risperidone (23.9%), followed by quetiapine (21.4%) and aripiprazole (20.4%). Use of any long-acting injectable APs in the overall study population during the follow-up period was less than 3%. A total of 49.0% and 38.0% of the overall study population had medication possession ratios and proportion of days covered for APs of 80% or greater, respectively. Overall use of long-acting injectable APs for the treatment of SCA is low, and adherence to AP medications, measured by both medication possession ratio and proportion of days covered, is suboptimal among patients with SCA in the real-world setting. PMID:27525965

Fertility choices vital in raising status of women.

PubMed

1992-01-01

A new report by the Population Institute stresses that women's status, particularly in the developing world, will only improve when women are able to make their own reproductive choices. Entitled "Half the Sky?: Women and Development," the report examines the connection between rapid population growth and the status of women. The report emphasizes the disparity between women's work contribution and their health and socioeconomic standing: while women perform 2/3 of the world's work, they earn only 1/10 of its income; in 36 of the least developed countries, 68% of the women are illiterate; and 1 woman dies every minute due to pregnancy and childbirth complications. Even at an early age, girls begin at a disadvantage. Son preference remains common in many developing nations. Boys often receive better nutrition at the expense of girls, as is the case in Bangladesh, where boys under 5 years of age get 16% more food than girls. Malnourishment at an early age increases the women's health risk during pregnancy and childbirth. As girls grow up, they face the prospects of an early marriage, which stunts their educational attainment. Illiteracy, in turn, undermines her use of contraception and the viability of her children. Although illiteracy levels have declined over the past 2 decades, the proportion of illiteracy between males and females in the developing world continues to grow. While 27.9% of men are illiterate, the rate is 48.9% for women. Reproductive choice, the report maintains, enables a woman to pursue education, to advance economically, and to become politically involved.

Women and kidney disease: reflections on World Kidney Day 2018

PubMed Central

Piccoli, Giorgina B; Alrukhaimi, Mona; Liu, Zhi-Hong; Zakharova, Elena

2018-01-01

Abstract Chronic kidney disease affects ∼10% of the world’s adult population: it is within the top 20 causes of death worldwide, and its impact on patients and their families can be devastating. World Kidney Day and International Women’s Day in 2018 coincide, thus offering an opportunity to reflect on the importance of women’s health, and specifically their kidney health, to the community and the next generations, as well as to strive to be more curious about the unique aspects of kidney disease in women, so that we may apply those learnings more broadly. Girls and women, who make up ∼50% of the world’s population, are important contributors to society as a whole and to their families. Gender differences continue to exist around the world in access to education, medical care and participation in clinical studies. Pregnancy is a unique state for women, offering an opportunity for diagnosis of kidney disease, and also a state where acute and chronic kidney diseases may manifest, and which may impact future generations with respect to kidney health. There are various autoimmune and other conditions that are more likely to impact women with profound consequences for child bearing, and for the fetus. Women have different complications on dialysis than men, and are more likely to be donors than recipients of kidney transplants. In this editorial, we focus on what we do and do not know about women, kidney health and kidney disease, and what we might learn in the future to improve outcomes worldwide. PMID:29435267

Research on impacts of population-related factors on carbon emissions in Beijing from 1984 to 2012

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Yang, Yayun; Zhao, Tao; Wang, Yanan, E-mail: wyn3615@126.com

Carbon emissions related to population factors have aroused great attention around the world. A multitude of literature mainly focused on single demographic impacts on environmental issues at the national level, and comprehensive studies concerning population-related factors at a city level are rare. This paper employed STIRPAT (Stochastic Impacts by Regression on Population, Affluence and Technology) model incorporating PLS (Partial least squares) regression method to examine the influence of population-related factors on carbon emissions in Beijing from 1984 to 2012. Empirically results manifest that urbanization is the paramount driver. Changes in population age structure have significantly positive impacts on carbon emissions,more » and shrinking young population, continuous expansion of working age population and aging population will keep on increasing environmental pressures. Meanwhile, shrinking household size and expanding floating population boost the discharge of carbon emissions. Besides, per capita consumption is an important contributor of carbon emissions, while industry energy intensity is the main inhibitory factor. Based upon these findings and the specific circumstances of Beijing, policies such as promoting clean and renewable energy, improving population quality and advocating low carbon lifestyles should be enhanced to achieve targeted emissions reductions. - Highlights: • We employed the STIRPAT model to identify population-related factors of carbon emissions in Beijing. • Urbanization is the paramount driver of carbon emissions. • Changes in population age structure exert significantly positive impacts on carbon emissions. • Shrinking household size, expanding floating population and improving consumption level increase carbon emissions. • Industry energy intensity decreases carbon emissions.« less

World population, world health and security: 20th century trends.

PubMed

Bashford, A

2008-03-01

The connection between infectious disease control and national security is now firmly entrenched. This article takes a historical look at another security issue once prominent in debate on foreign policy and international relations, but now more or less absent: overpopulation. It explores the nature of the debate on population as a security question, and its complicated historical relation to the development of world health.

Population pressures in Latin America. [Updated reprint].

PubMed

Merrick, T W

1991-04-01

This publication examines the main demographic changes in Latin America since World War II, and considers their social and economic impact on the region. The paper looks at the following demographic trends: population growth, fertility, death rate, internal migration, international migration, and age structure. It also examines other factors such as marriage and family structure, and employment and education. Furthermore, the publication provides a discussion of the relationship between population growth and economic development from both a neo-Malthusian and Structuralist view. Finally, the paper considers the region's current population policies and future population prospects. From 1950-65, annual population growth averaged 2.8%, which decreased moderately to 2.4% from 1965-85. The report identified 3 population growth patterns in the region: 1) countries which experienced early and gradual declines in birth and death rates and generally lower population growth rates (the group includes Argentina, Cuba, Uruguay, with Chile and Panama also closely fitting the description); 2) countries which underwent rapid declines in birth rate during the 1950s and which began experiencing declines in the birth rate after 1960 (Brazil, Colombia, Costa Rica, the Dominican Republic, Mexico, Paraguay, and Venezuela, with Ecuador and Peru as borderline cases); and 3) countries which didn't begin to experience declines in mortality rates until relatively late and which lag behind in fertility declines (Bolivia, Haiti, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, and Nicaragua). Although population growth has slowed and will continue to fall, UN projections do not expect the population to stabilize until late in the 21st Century.

When worlds collide: elder caregiving poses new challenges for balancing work and life.

PubMed

Rachor, M M

1998-09-01

Nearly one in four U.S. households (an estimated 22.4 million) are caring for elderly family members or friends; as the nation's population ages, more and more workers will take on elder caregiving responsibilities. As this trend continues, employers will face increasing concerns about lost productivity and many employees will struggle to balance the demands of work and caregiving responsibilities. To help resolve the situation, many employers may look to a comprehensive work/life program, which incorporates an intensive focus on elder-care issues, to help boost morale, improve employee productivity and job performance, and reduce stress and absenteeism associated with caregiving.

Sexual development in fish, practical applications for aquaculture.

PubMed

Cnaani, A; Levavi-Sivan, B

2009-01-01

Aquaculture is one of the fastest rising sectors of world food production. Hundreds of fish species are cultured, providing an affordable, high quality food source. Two aspects of sexual development are critically important for the continued improvement of cultured fish stocks: sexual dimorphism and control of reproduction. In this paper, we review the main methods used to control sex determination in fish and their application in some of the most widely cultured species. Specifically, we review the techniques available for the production of all-male, all-female, and sterile populations. Techniques for endocrinological control of reproduction are also discussed. 2009 S. Karger AG, Basel.

Food security: the challenge of feeding 9 billion people.

PubMed

Godfray, H Charles J; Beddington, John R; Crute, Ian R; Haddad, Lawrence; Lawrence, David; Muir, James F; Pretty, Jules; Robinson, Sherman; Thomas, Sandy M; Toulmin, Camilla

2010-02-12

Continuing population and consumption growth will mean that the global demand for food will increase for at least another 40 years. Growing competition for land, water, and energy, in addition to the overexploitation of fisheries, will affect our ability to produce food, as will the urgent requirement to reduce the impact of the food system on the environment. The effects of climate change are a further threat. But the world can produce more food and can ensure that it is used more efficiently and equitably. A multifaceted and linked global strategy is needed to ensure sustainable and equitable food security, different components of which are explored here.

Ethical Dilemmas in Protecting Individual Rights Versus Public Protection in the Case of Infectious Diseases

PubMed Central

Phua, Kai-Lit

2013-01-01

Infectious diseases—including emerging and re-emerging diseases such as Ebola and tuberculosis—continue to be important causes of morbidity and mortality in the globalizing, contemporary world. This article discusses the ethical issues associated with protecting the rights of individuals versus the protection of the health of populations in the case of infectious diseases. The discussion uses the traditional medical ethics approach together with the public health approach presented by Faden and Shebaya.3 Infectious diseases such as Ebola hemorrhagic fever, Nipah virus and HIV/AIDS (together with tuberculosis) will be used to illustrate particular points in the discussion. PMID:24847171

Peripatetic plague.

PubMed

Mann, J M; Schmid, G P; Stoesz, P A; Skinner, M D; Kaufmann, A F

1982-01-01

Cases of plague continue to occur in various parts of the world, including the western United States, where plague is endemic among the wild rodent population. In 1980, a case of plague acquired in New Mexico and hospitalized in Nebraska illustrated the problem of plague occurring in persons traveling from the state in which they become infected to another state. Nine cases of plague in travelers were identified among the 166 cases of plague reported in the United States from 1950 to 1980. Physicians should be aware of natural plague foci in the western United States and should obtain a travel history from patients with an illness clinically compatible with plague.

Pathogens and parasites: strategies and challenges

PubMed Central

2000-01-01

The threat of emerging infections grows with the swelling tide of the human population and the continued disregard for the health of the environment. One of our most urgent challenges in public health is to understand the evolution and natural history of pathogens and parasites and how a sudden shift in virulence or in targeted host population may occur without warning. Viruses call for especially close watching. They are mostly genes and have mastered the art of manipulating other genes. Some are planktonic in the world's oceans, numbering 10 billion per liter of seawater; some are planktonic in our blood; some lie low inside cells; some take over a cell's replication machinery and explode the cell with new copies of themselves; and some splice their genes seamlessly into our chromosomes. The twin themes of genetic diversity and natural selection are explored in this review, with their relevance to viruses, the vertebrate immune system, virulence, and communicable disease epidemiology. PMID:16389321

Breast cancer-related lymphedema: Symptoms, diagnosis, risk reduction, and management

PubMed Central

Fu, Mei R

2014-01-01

The global burden of breast cancer continues to increase largely because of the aging and growth of the world population. More than 1.38 million women worldwide were estimated to be diagnosed with breast cancer in 2008, accounting for 23% of all diagnosed cancers in women. Given that the 5-year survival rate for breast cancer is now 90%, experiencing breast cancer is ultimately about quality of life. Women treated for breast cancer are facing a life-time risk of developing lymphedema, a chronic condition that occurs in up to 40% of this population and negatively affects breast cancer survivors’ quality of life. This review offers an insightful understanding of the condition by providing clinically relevant and evidence based knowledge regarding lymphedema symptoms, diagnosis, risk reduction, and management with the intent to inform health care professionals so that they might be better equipped to care for patients. PMID:25114841

Regulation of water resources for sustaining global future socioeconomic development

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Chen, J.; SHI, H.; Sivakumar, B.

2016-12-01

With population projections indicating continued growth during this century, socio-economic problems (e.g., water, food, and energy shortages) will be most likely to occur, especially if proper planning, development, and management strategies are not adopted. In the present study, firstly, we explore the vital role of dams in promoting economic growth through analyzing the relationship between dams and Gross Domestic Product (GDP) at both global and national scales. Secondly, we analyze the current situation of global water scarcity based on the data representing water resources availability, dam development, and the level of economic development. Third, with comprehensive consideration of population growth as the major driving force, water resources availability as the basic supporting factor, and topography as the important constraint, this study addresses the question of dam development in the future and predicts the locations of future dams around the world.

Habitat selection by marine larvae in changing chemical environments.

PubMed

Lecchini, D; Dixson, D L; Lecellier, G; Roux, N; Frédérich, B; Besson, M; Tanaka, Y; Banaigs, B; Nakamura, Y

2017-01-15

The replenishment and persistence of marine species is contingent on dispersing larvae locating suitable habitat and surviving to a reproductive stage. Pelagic larvae rely on environmental cues to make behavioural decisions with chemical information being important for habitat selection at settlement. We explored the sensory world of crustaceans and fishes focusing on the impact anthropogenic alterations (ocean acidification, red soil, pesticide) have on conspecific chemical signals used by larvae for habitat selection. Crustacean (Stenopus hispidus) and fish (Chromis viridis) larvae recognized their conspecifics via chemical signals under control conditions. In the presence of acidified water, red soil or pesticide, the ability of larvae to chemically recognize conspecific cues was altered. Our study highlights that recruitment potential on coral reefs may decrease due to anthropogenic stressors. If so, populations of fishes and crustaceans will continue their rapid decline; larval recruitment will not replace and sustain the adult populations on degraded reefs. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Genetically engineering milk.

PubMed

Whitelaw, C Bruce A; Joshi, Akshay; Kumar, Satish; Lillico, Simon G; Proudfoot, Chris

2016-02-01

It has been thirty years since the first genetically engineered animal with altered milk composition was reported. During the intervening years, the world population has increased from 5bn to 7bn people. An increasing demand for protein in the human diet has followed this population expansion, putting huge stress on the food supply chain. Many solutions to the grand challenge of food security for all have been proposed and are currently under investigation and study. Amongst these, genetics still has an important role to play, aiming to continually enable the selection of livestock with enhanced traits. Part of the geneticist's tool box is the technology of genetic engineering. In this Invited Review, we indicate that this technology has come a long way, we focus on the genetic engineering of dairy animals and we argue that the new strategies for precision breeding demand proper evaluation as to how they could contribute to the essential increases in agricultural productivity our society must achieve.

Where are supercentenarians located? A worldwide demographic study.

PubMed

Santos-Lozano, Alejandro; Sanchis-Gomar, Fabian; Pareja-Galeano, Helios; Fiuza-Luces, Carmen; Emanuele, Enzo; Lucia, Alejandro; Garatachea, Nuria

2015-02-01

The world population is continuously aging, and centenarians may be considered to be the most successfully aged individuals. Among people who reach extreme longevity (EL; i.e., >95 years), supercentenarians (SCs; aged ≥110 years) represent a subgroup of great scientific interest. Unfortunately, data on the worldwide distribution of SCs remain scarce. Therefore, this study was designed to investigate this issue. Current available data indicate that Japan is the country with the highest number of currently alive SCs. Interestingly, Puerto Rico would show the highest prevalence of SCs among people who reach EL (approximately one SC per 10,000 inhabitants aged ≥95 years), although data on this country must be intrepreted with caution owing to potential methodological limitations, mainly related to its small population. Our findings highlight the need to investigate in greater detail the genetic and lifestyle background of SCs, with the ultimate goal of unraveling new potential mechanisms underlying human EL.

Ancient water and sanitation systems - applicability for the contemporary urban developing world.

PubMed

Bond, T; Roma, E; Foxon, K M; Templeton, M R; Buckley, C A

2013-01-01

The idea of implementing ancient water and wastewater technologies in the developing world is a persuasive one, since ancient systems had many features which would constitute sustainable and decentralised water and sanitation (WATSAN) provision in contemporary terminology. Latest figures indicate 2.6 billion people do not use improved sanitation and 1.1 billion practise open defecation, thus there is a huge need for sustainable and cost-effective WATSAN facilities, particularly in cities of the developing world. The objective of this study was to discuss and evaluate the applicability of selected ancient WATSAN systems for the contemporary developing world. Selected WATSAN systems in ancient Mesopotamia, the Indus Valley, Egypt, Greece, Rome and the Yucatan peninsula are briefly introduced and then discussed in the context of the developing world. One relevant aspect is that public latrines and baths were not only a part of daily life in ancient Rome but also a focal point for socialising. As such they would appear to represent a model of how to promote use and acceptance of modern community toilets and ablution blocks. Although public or community toilets are not classified as improved sanitation by WHO/UNICEF, this is a debatable premise since examples such as Durban, South Africa, illustrate how community toilets continue to represent a WATSAN solution for urban areas with high population density. Meanwhile, given the need for dry sanitation technologies, toilets based on the production of enriched Terra Preta soil have potential applications in urban and rural agriculture and warrant further investigation.

Malaria survey and malaria control detachments in the South-West Pacific Area in World War 2.

PubMed

Crocker, Denton W

2009-01-01

Malaria among troops in the South-West Pacific Area (SWPA) in World War 2 affected the military effort to the degree that special units were formed to combat it. These malaria survey detachments (MSDs) and malaria control detachments (MCDs) were self-contained and so could move quickly to wherever their services were needed. In SWPA by 25 September 1944 there were 32 MSDs and 65 MCDs. Tables of organization called for 11 enlisted men in MSDs and MCDs, two officers in MSDs and one in MCDs. Detachments served throughout the SWPA. Detailed records of the 31st MSD show that in addition to antimalarial efforts it worked at control of scrub typhus, dengue and venereal disease, at reduction of rat populations and in experimental work involving DDT and schistosomiasis. Specific locations of the 31st MSD were New Guinea (3 sites), Morotai, Leyte, Mindoro, Okinawa and Japan. The detachment served overseas for 21 months. Experience in combating malaria in SWPA in World War 2 points to the need for better and continuous training of both medical and line officers in malaria prevention and control.

On the Organisation of World Ships and Other Gigascale Interstellar Space Exploration Projects

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ceyssens, F.; Driesen, M.; Wouters, K.

The development and deployment of world ships or other feats of interstellar exploration will without doubt require orders of magnitude more resources than needed for current or past megaprojects (Apollo, Iter, LHC,...). Question is how enough resources for such gigaprojects can be found in a scenario assuming limited, moderate economic growth throughout the next centuries, i.e. without human population and productivity continuing to grow exponentially, and without extreme events such as economic collapse or singularity.Three defining features of gigascale space projects are identified, which should be recognized to the fullest: their almost absolute nonprofit character, their massive cost in terms of time and resources and their non-urgency leading to procrastina- tion. It will be argued that the best chance of getting a world ship or another interstellar project started in this generation is to establish an international network of non governmental organizations (NGOs) focused on private and public fundraising for interstellar exploration and supporting a bottom-up societal movement, similar to e.g. the WWF. It will be shown that this path can reduce the massive barriers to entry as well as the level of governmental support needed.

Human suffering.

PubMed

1992-12-01

10 measures of quality of life are used to rank 141 countries in the International Human Suffering Index (HSI). The Index differentiates between extreme, high, moderate, and minimal levels of human suffering. Social welfare is the sum of 10 measures: life expectancy, daily caloric intake, clean drinking water, infant immunization, secondary school enrollment, gross national product per capita, the rate of inflation, communication technology (i.e., telephones), political freedom, and civil rights. Each measure is ranked between 0 and 10. The highest score indicates the greatest country stress, with the worst possible score being 100. About 1 billion people live in desperate poverty. Living conditions are the worst in Mozambique (93), followed by Somalia, Afghanistan, Haiti, and Sudan. Most of these countries also have high population growth. The most comfortable countries are Denmark (1), the Netherlands, Belgium, Switzerland, and Canada, which have low population growth. Total scores of 75 or greater (extreme human suffering) occur in 27 countries (20 in Africa, 16 in Asia, and Haiti) with 8% of the world's population (432 million people). High human suffering scores range between 50 and 74 and include 56 countries (24 in Africa, 16 in Asia, 15 in the Western Hemisphere, and 1 in Oceania) with 3.5 billion people. The number of countries in this grouping increased from 44 countries with 58% of world population in 1987. Moderate suffering scores range from 25-49. Countries with moderate suffering number 34 countries (9 in Europe, 13 in Asia, 8 in the Western Hemisphere, and 2 in Oceania and 2 in Africa) with 11.8% of world population (636 million). Over the preceding 5-year period the number of countries increased from 29 countries with 10% of world population. Minimal human suffering occurs in 24 countries (17 in Europe, Israel and Japan in Asia; Canada, the US, and Barbados in the Western Hemisphere; and Australia and New Zealand in Oceania) with 14.8% of world population (797 million). Five years ago 27 countries with 21% of world population were in the minimal suffering group.

Black-and-white snub-nosed monkey (Rhinopithecus bieti) feeding behavior in a degraded forest fragment: clues to a stressed population.

PubMed

Huang, Zhi-Pang; Scott, Matthew B; Li, Yan-Peng; Ren, Guo-Peng; Xiang, Zuo-Fu; Cui, Liang-Wei; Xiao, Wen

2017-10-01

Rapid global deforestation has forced many of the world's primates to live in fragmented habitats, making the understanding of their behavioral responses to degraded and fragmented habitats a key challenge for their future protection and management. The black-and-white snub-nosed monkey (Rhinopithecus bieti) is an endangered species endemic to southwest China. The forest habitat ranges from near-continuous to fragmented. In this study, we investigated the activity budget and diet of a R. bieti population that live in an isolated and degraded habitat patch at Mt. Lasha in Yunnan Province, near the current southern limit of the species. We used our data along with data from six other sites in more-continuous habitats across its range to model factors that predict stress, including feeding effort and time feeding on lichens against potential predictive parameters. Models showed feeding effort across all sites increased with increasing altitude and latitude, and with decreasing food species diversity. There was also a strong positive relationship between feeding effort and time feeding lichens. The Mt. Lasha R. bieti population exploited a total of 36 food species, spending 80.2% of feeding time feeding on lichens, Bryoria spp. and Usnea longissima. These figures are more comparable to those living in the north than those living in the mid- and southern part of the species' range. Given the models for feeding effort and time feeding on lichens, the unexpectedly high time spend feeding on lichens and feeding effort relative to latitude and elevation are suggestive of a stressed population at Mt. Lasha.

Multi-location wheat stripe rust QTL analysis: genetic background and epistatic interactions.

PubMed

Vazquez, M Dolores; Zemetra, Robert; Peterson, C James; Chen, Xianming M; Heesacker, Adam; Mundt, Christopher C

2015-07-01

Epistasis and genetic background were important influences on expression of stripe rust resistance in two wheat RIL populations, one with resistance conditioned by two major genes and the other conditioned by several minor QTL. Stripe rust is a foliar disease of wheat (Triticum aestivum L.) caused by the air-borne fungus Puccinia striiformis f. sp. tritici and is present in most regions around the world where commercial wheat is grown. Breeding for durable resistance to stripe rust continues to be a priority, but also is a challenge due to the complexity of interactions among resistance genes and to the wide diversity and continuous evolution of the pathogen races. The goal of this study was to detect chromosomal regions for resistance to stripe rust in two winter wheat populations, 'Tubbs'/'NSA-98-0995' (T/N) and 'Einstein'/'Tubbs' (E/T), evaluated across seven environments and mapped with diversity array technology and simple sequence repeat markers covering polymorphic regions of ≈1480 and 1117 cM, respectively. Analysis of variance for phenotypic data revealed significant (P < 0.01) genotypic differentiation for stripe rust among the recombinant inbred lines. Results for quantitative trait loci/locus (QTL) analysis in the E/T population indicated that two major QTL located in chromosomes 2AS and 6AL, with epistatic interaction between them, were responsible for the main phenotypic response. For the T/N population, eight QTL were identified, with those in chromosomes 2AL and 2BL accounting for the largest percentage of the phenotypic variance.

The WFSA Global Anesthesia Workforce Survey.

PubMed

Kempthorne, Peter; Morriss, Wayne W; Mellin-Olsen, Jannicke; Gore-Booth, Julian

2017-09-01

Safe anesthesia and surgical care are not available when needed for 5 billion of the world's 7 billion people. There are major deficiencies in the specialist surgical workforce in many parts of the world, and specific data on the anesthesia workforce are lacking. The World Federation of Societies of Anaesthesiologists conducted a workforce survey during 2015 and 2016. The aim of the survey was to collect detailed information on physician anesthesia provider (PAP) and non-physician anesthesia provider (NPAP) numbers, distribution, and training. Data were categorized according to World Health Organization regional groups and World Bank income groups. We obtained information for 153 of 197 countries, representing 97.5% of the world's population. There were marked differences in the density of PAPs between World Health Organization regions and between World Bank income groups, ranging from 0 to over 20 PAP per 100,000 population. Seventy-seven countries reported a PAP density of <5, with particularly low densities in the African and South-East Asia regions. NPAPs make up a large part of the global anesthesia workforce, especially in countries with limited resources. Even when NPAPs are included, 70 countries had a total anesthesia provider density of <5 per 100,000. Using current population data, over 136,000 additional PAPs would be needed immediately to achieve a minimum density of 5 per 100,000 population in all countries. The World Federation of Societies of Anaesthesiologists Global Anesthesia Workforce Survey is the most comprehensive study of the global anesthesia workforce to date. It is the first step in a process of ongoing data collection and longitudinal follow-up. The authors recommend an interim goal of at least 5 specialist physician anesthesia providers (anesthesiologists) per 100,000 population. A marked increase in training of PAPs and NPAPs will need to occur if we are to have any hope of achieving safe anesthesia for all by 2030.

[The fear of numbers or the challenge of population growth?].

PubMed

Loriaux, M

1991-12-01

Africa, currently one of the least densely populated continents, is growing so rapidly that its population will comprise some 1.5 billion inhabitants around 2020, and Africans will be more numerous than the population of the developed world. Attitudes about Africa's population size vary widely; many educated Africans believe that low density is a greater disadvantage than overpopulation, but most specialists believe the population of the developing world, and of Africa especially, to be too large, the prospects of significant voluntary reduction are dim. The rate of population growth has thus attracted attention as a factor amenable to modification. Africa's demographic transition remains largely in the future. Its case is unique because of the rate of demographic growth and because the phase of rapid growth will apparently continue far longer in Africa than in any other continent. The widening gap between population growth rates and rates of economic development in Africa inspires great pessimism about the future wellbeing of the population. Population officials urge that demographic growth be slowed in order to reduce pressure on economic and ecological resources and to gain time for social and economic development. But despite the consensus of international organizations, such as the UN Fund for Population, on the desirability of slowing population growth to encourage and permit economic growth, there has actually been relatively little progress since the time of Malthus in understanding the relationship between population, development, and the environment. Some recent works suggest that demographic growth has benefits as well as disadvantages, and the net impact on development is uncertain. Demographic pressure is in this view a far more potent force for innovation than is usually recognized. Population is not just an exogenous variable in development, but it is at the heart of the process. There can be no true integration of population into development until the value of human resources everywhere is reaffirmed. The recognition by international organizations that per capita income or other economic indicators alone are not adequate measures of progress is a favorable sign. The failure of structural adjustment programs to attain their stated goals and the new resolve to lessen their effects on the most vulnerable population sectors are also promising. New orientations toward development in which human resources are given greater prominence may be as ideologically inspired as those they replaced, but they have the merit of greater neutrality concerning the content and form of development and they do not accept the process of development in the West as their sole reference.

Revisiting "The evolution of reciprocity in sizable groups": continuous reciprocity in the repeated n-person prisoner's dilemma.

PubMed

Takezawa, Masanori; Price, Michael E

2010-05-21

For many years in evolutionary science, the consensus view has been that while reciprocal altruism can evolve in dyadic interactions, it is unlikely to evolve in sizable groups. This view had been based on studies which have assumed cooperation to be discrete rather than continuous (i.e., individuals can either fully cooperate or else fully defect, but they cannot continuously vary their level of cooperation). In real world cooperation, however, cooperation is often continuous. In this paper, we re-examine the evolution of reciprocity in sizable groups by presenting a model of the n-person prisoner's dilemma that assumes continuous rather than discrete cooperation. This model shows that continuous reciprocity has a dramatically wider basin of attraction than discrete reciprocity, and that this basin's size increases with efficiency of cooperation (marginal per capita return). Further, we find that assortative interaction interacts synergistically with continuous reciprocity to a much greater extent than it does with discrete reciprocity. These results suggest that previous models may have underestimated reciprocity's adaptiveness in groups. However, we also find that the invasion of continuous reciprocators into a population of unconditional defectors becomes realistic only within a narrow parameter space in which the efficiency of cooperation is close to its maximum bound. Therefore our model suggests that continuous reciprocity can evolve in large groups more easily than discrete reciprocity only under unusual circumstances. Copyright (c) 2010 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Population crisis in the Arab world: an alternative view.

PubMed

Bean, L L

1981-01-01

Aspects of population policy that are relevant to the Arab world are examined. The topics considered include the relationship between population growth and socioeconomic development in the region, the diversity in conditions among countries, political factors, and legislation designed to have a demographic impact. The need for each country to develop a policy appropriate to its own perceived needs is stressed.

A dynamic process of health risk assessment for business continuity management during the World Exposition Shanghai, China, 2010.

PubMed

Sun, Xiaodong; Keim, Mark; Dong, Chen; Mahany, Mollie; Guo, Xiang

2014-01-01

Reports of health issues related to mass gatherings around the world have indicated a potential for public health and medical emergencies to occur on a scale that could place a significant impact on business continuity for national and international organisations. This paper describes a risk assessment process for business continuity management that was performed as part of the planning efforts related to the World Expo 2010 Shanghai China (Expo), the world's largest mass gathering to date. Altogether, 73 million visitors attended the Expo, generating over US$2bn of revenue. During 2008 to 2010, the Shanghai Municipal Center for Disease Control and Prevention performed a dynamic series of four disaster risk assessments before and during the Expo. The purpose of this assessment process was to identify, analyse and evaluate risks for public health security during different stages of the Expo. This paper describes an overview of the novel approach for this multiple and dynamic process of assessment of health security risk for ensuring business continuity.

Dark Skies Awareness Programs for the International Year of Astronomy

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Walker, Constance E.; US IYA Dark Skies Working Group

2009-05-01

The arc of the Milky Way seen from a truly dark location is part of our planet's cultural and natural heritage. More than 1/5 of the world population, 2/3 of the United States population and 1/2 of the European Union population have already lost naked-eye visibility of the Milky Way. This loss, caused by light pollution, is a serious and growing issue that impacts astronomical research, the economy, ecology, energy conservation, human health, public safety and our shared ability to see the night sky. For this reason, "Dark Skies” is a cornerstone project of the International Year of Astronomy. Its goal is to raise public awareness of the impact of artificial lighting on local environments by getting people worldwide involved in a variety of programs that: 1) Teach about dark skies using new technology (e.g., an activity-based planetarium show on DVD, podcasting, social networking on Facebook and MySpace, a Second Life presence) 2) Provide thematic events on light pollution at star parties and observatory open houses (Dark Skies Discovery Sites, Nights in the (National) Parks, Sidewalk Astronomy) 3) Organize events in the arts (e.g., a photography contest) 4) Involve citizen-scientists in naked-eye and digital-meter star hunting programs (e.g., GLOBE at Night, "How Many Stars?", the Great World Wide Star Count and the radio frequency interference equivalent: "Quiet Skies") and 5) Raise awareness about the link between light pollution and public health, economic issues, ecological consequences, energy conservation, safety and security, and astronomy (e.g., The Starlight Initiative, World Night in Defense of Starlight, International Dark Sky Week, International Dark-Sky Communities, Earth Hour, The Great Switch Out, a traveling exhibit, downloadable posters and brochures). The poster will provide an update, describe how people can continue to participate, and take a look ahead at the program's sustainability. For more information, visit www.darkskiesawareness.org.

Sustainability and Water

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Sharma, Virender A.

2009-07-01

World's population numbered 6.1 billion in 2000 and is currently increasing at a rate of about 77 million per year. By 2025, the estimated total world population will be of the order of 7.9 billion. Water plays a central role in any systematic appraisal of life sustaining requirements. Water also strongly influences economic activity (both production and consumption) and social roles. Fresh water is distributed unevenly, with nearly 500 million people suffering water stress or serious water scarcity. Two-thirds of the world's population may be subjected to moderate to high water stress in 2025. It is estimated that by 2025, the total water use will increase by to 40%. The resources of water supply and recreation may also come under stress due to changes in climate such as water balance for Lake Balaton (Hungary). Conventional urban water systems such as water supply, wastewater, and storm water management are also currently going through stress and require major rethinking. To maintain urban water systems efficiently in the future, a flexibility approach will allow incorporation of new technologies and adaptation to external changes (for example society or climate change). Because water is an essential resource for sustaining health, both the quantity and quality of available water supplies must be improved. The impact of water quality on human health is severe, with millions of deaths each year from water-borne diseases, while water pollution and aquatic ecosystem destruction continue to rise. Additionally, emerging contaminants such as endocrine disruptor chemicals (EDCs), pharmaceuticals, and toxins in the water body are also of a great concern. An innovative ferrate(VI) technology is highly effective in removing these contaminants in water. This technology is green, which addresses problems associated with chlorination and ozonation for treating pollutants present in water and wastewater. Examples are presented to demonstrate the applications of ferrate(VI) technology to meet the demand of water in this century.

Introducing the World Population Crises to Secondary Social Studies Classes: An Inquiry-Oriented Instructional Strategy

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Anderson, Randall C.

1970-01-01

The author contends that students must be alerted to the dangers of overpopulation of the world and to the methods that exist to control population growth. He suggests topics for student inquiry. (CK)

Analysis of spatial dynamic of epizootic process of bluetongue and its risk factors.

PubMed

Bouchemla, Fayssal; Popova, Olga Mikhailovna; Agoltsov, Valerey Alexandrovich

2017-10-01

The study was undertaken to find out the spatial dynamic occurrence and patterns of the global spread of bluetongue (BT) disease for the period from 1996 to 2016, as well as the assessment of the risk of occurrence and its spread in 2017-2018. Outbreaks (serum samples were collected from clinically healthy as well as suspected animals in infected points) were confirmed and reported officially by veterinary departments which represent different geographical regions in the world to World Organization for Animal Health. These reports explained that ELISA and polymerase chain reaction were used to identify the BT disease, taking in the account number of infected, dead animals, and focus of BT infection in all susceptible animals from 1996 to 2016. Once conventional statistical population was defined (an observational study), we had classified data as well as possible to answer to our aim, using descriptive statistics methods, including the test of the relationship between different epizootiological indicators. The spatial dynamic study of BT's occurrence and its spread in the world over the two past decades was presented by different epizootic indicators. The given analysis includes assessment and measurement of risk factors. It was built too, regression models, and allowed to put different forecasts on the different epizootic indicators in the years 2017-2018 by the extrapolation method. We had also determined that, in 2017, BT continues to spread with the total expectancy of 3.4 focus of infection (number of diseased animals in a single unfavorable point) and mortality of about 26 %; these rates tend to decrease in 2018. At abused points by BT, up to 78.4% of animals are mixed (more than one type) and in 21.6% - uniform. By this way, the relative risk of the incidence of appearance-abused points in mixed households has 3.64, which might be considered higher for the BT dissemination. Moreover, between the enzootic index and other epizootiological indicators had revealed an inverse correlation, i.e., to an increase in the level of enzootic index among the cattle population would be formed population less sensitive to BT. Cluster analysis was done, which had demonstrated the zoning of risk levels in the world and the occurrence of the disease intensity in the period 1996-2016 years. Then, assess connection degree of the dynamic of BT tension with geographical and socioeconomic conditions background 0.66 and 0.68, respectively. It is important to define a variety of BT risk factors and assess their influence on BT occurrence. However, the most important is to define the overlapping coinfluence between them that cause serious losses. To have an out of BT territory needs to make an emphasis of co-influence of risk factors on this zone. Was predicted a continue hits of disease in the next year with weight moderation through one year. Far from statists, to assess the given forecast may have a serious variety, taken in account problems of actual climate change in the world.

Two Different Views on the World Around Us: The World of Uniformity versus Diversity

PubMed Central

Nayakankuppam, Dhananjay

2016-01-01

We propose that when individuals believe in fixed traits of personality (entity theorists), they are likely to expect a world of “uniformity.” As such, they easily infer a population statistic from a small sample of data with confidence. In contrast, individuals who believe in malleable traits of personality (incremental theorists) are likely to presume a world of “diversity,” such that they “hesitate” to infer a population statistic from a similarly sized sample. In four laboratory experiments, we found that compared to incremental theorists, entity theorists estimated a population mean from a sample with a greater level of confidence (Studies 1a and 1b), expected more homogeneity among the entities within a population (Study 2), and perceived an extreme value to be more indicative of an outlier (Study 3). These results suggest that individuals are likely to use their implicit self-theory orientations (entity theory versus incremental theory) to see a population in general as a constitution either of homogeneous or heterogeneous entities. PMID:27977788

Trouble in the aquatic world: How wildlife professionals are battling amphibian declines

USGS Publications Warehouse

Olson, Deanna H.; Chestnut, Tara E.

2014-01-01

A parasitic fungus, similar to the one that caused the extinction of numerous tropical frog and toad species, is killing salamanders in Europe. Scientists first identified the fungus, Batrachochytrium salamandrivorans, in 2013 as the culprit behind the death of fire salamanders (Salamandra salamandra) in the Netherlands (Martel et al. 2013) and are now exploring its potential impact to other species. Although the fungus, which kills the amphibians by infecting their skin, has not yet spread to the United States, researchers believe it’s only a matter of time before it does and, when that happens, the impact on salamander populations could be devastating (Martel et al. 2014).Reports of worldwide declines of amphibians began a quarter of a century ago (Blaustein & Wake 1990). Globally, some amphibian population declines occurred in the late 1950s and early 1960s, and declining trends continued in North America (Houlahan et al. 2000). In the earlier years, population declines were attributed primarily to overharvest due to unregulated supply of species such as the northern leopard frog (Lithobates pipiens) for educational use (Dodd 2013). In later years, however, causes of declines were less evident. In 1989, herpetologists at the First World Congress of Herpetology traded alarming stories of losses across continents and in seemingly protected landscapes, making it clear that amphibian population declines were a “global phenomenon.” In response to these reports, in 1991, the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) established the Declining Amphibian Populations Task Force to better understand the scale and scope of global amphibian declines. Unfortunately, the absence of long-term monitoring data and targeted studies made it difficult for the task force to compile information.Today, according to AmphibiaWeb.org, there are 7,342 amphibian species in the world — double the number since the first alerts of declines — making the situation appear deceptively less dire. In fact, our understanding of genetic diversity significantly raises the stakes, and we are at risk of losing far more species than we believed only a few years ago. According to the IUCN, amphibians now lead the list of vertebrate taxa affected by the larger “biodiversity crisis” and sixth major mass- extinction event on Earth (Keith et al. 2014, Wake and Vredenburg 2008).

Nitrogen Leaching Index

USDA-ARS?s Scientific Manuscript database

World agricultural production will have to increase significantly during the next few decades to keep up with the increasing demands for food brought about by a growing human population. Increases in agricultural production will be required not only to supply grain for a larger world population, but...

How scientists use social media to communicate their research.

PubMed

Van Eperen, Laura; Marincola, Francesco M

2011-11-15

Millions of people all over the world are constantly sharing an extremely wide range of fascinating, quirky, funny, irrelevant and important content all at once. Even scientists are no strangers to this trend. Social media has enabled them to communicate their research quickly and efficiently throughout each corner of the world. But which social media platforms are they using to communicate this research and how are they using them? One thing is clear: the range of social media platforms that scientists are using is relatively vast and dependent on discipline and sentiment. While the future of social media is unknown, a combination of educated speculation and persuasive fact points to the industry's continual growth and influence. Thus, is that not only are scientists utilizing social media to communicate their research, they must. The ability to communicate to the masses via social media is critical to the distribution of scientific information amongst professionals in the field and to the general population.

Agricultural ecosystems - The world is watching

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Madison, M.F.; Licht, L.A.

1990-02-01

Environmental degradation is displacing nuclear war as the overriding concern of the world's people. An accusing finger is rightfully pointed at agricultural practices - for degrading water, air, food, and societal quality. As reported in the popular and technical press, there is a clamor for farming technology that is both productive and ecological. We cannot survive without a productive agriculture. Yet, the eroding soil, the degrading water quality, the decrease in farm profitability, the reductions in wildlife populations, and the closing store fronts in rural America point to a need for new management approaches. The word sustainable continues to bemore » mentioned as an underlying theme for future management techniques. Soil, air, and water form a seamless whole - the thin envelope we call the biosphere. The term sustainable agriculture implies a nourishing stewardship of the biosphere when used by farmers in pursuit of their livelihood. This biosphere simultaneously produces and sustains a multitude of products, including ourselves. It is all we have to create both our present and our future.« less

Design of wearable cardiac telemedicine system.

PubMed

Thulasi Bai, V; Srivatsa, S K

2007-01-01

Cardiovascular disease is the world's leading killer disease, accounting for 16.7 million deaths annually. About 22 million people all over the world run the risk of sudden heart failure. However, deaths from cardiovascular diseases have decreased substantially over the past two decades, largely as a result of advances in acute care and cardiac surgery. These developments have resulted in a growing population of patients who have survived myocardial infarction. These patients need to be continuously monitored so that the initiation of treatment can be taken up within the crucial golden hour. The available conventional methods of monitoring restrict the mobility of these patients within a hospital or room. The primary aim of this paper is to design a Wearable Cardiac Telemedicine System that can help the mobility of patients, so as to regain their independence and return to an active social or work schedule, thereby improving their psychological well-being. The whole system has been implemented and tested. The results obtained are encouraging.

How scientists use social media to communicate their research

PubMed Central

2011-01-01

Millions of people all over the world are constantly sharing an extremely wide range of fascinating, quirky, funny, irrelevant and important content all at once. Even scientists are no strangers to this trend. Social media has enabled them to communicate their research quickly and efficiently throughout each corner of the world. But which social media platforms are they using to communicate this research and how are they using them? One thing is clear: the range of social media platforms that scientists are using is relatively vast and dependent on discipline and sentiment. While the future of social media is unknown, a combination of educated speculation and persuasive fact points to the industry's continual growth and influence. Thus, is that not only are scientists utilizing social media to communicate their research, they must. The ability to communicate to the masses via social media is critical to the distribution of scientific information amongst professionals in the field and to the general population. PMID:22085450

Is Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease Caused by Wood Smoke a Different Phenotype or a Different Entity?

PubMed

Torres-Duque, Carlos A; García-Rodriguez, María Carmen; González-García, Mauricio

2016-08-01

Around 40% of the world's population continue using solid fuel, including wood, for cooking or heating their homes. Chronic exposure to wood smoke is a risk factor for developing chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD). In some regions of the world, this can be a more important cause of COPD than exposure to tobacco smoke from cigarettes. Significant differences between COPD associated with wood smoke (W-COPD) and that caused by smoking (S-COPD) have led some authors to suggest that W-COPD should be considered a new COPD phenotype. We present a review of the differences between W-COPD and S-COPD. On the premise that wood smoke and tobacco smoke are not the same and the physiopathological mechanisms they induce may differ, we have analyzed whether W-COPD can be considered as another COPD phenotype or a distinct nosological entity. Copyright © 2016 SEPAR. Publicado por Elsevier España, S.L.U. All rights reserved.

Challenges to replicating evidence-based research in real-world settings: training African-American peers as patient navigators for colon cancer screening.

PubMed

Sly, Jamilia R; Jandorf, Lina; Dhulkifl, Rayhana; Hall, Diana; Edwards, Tiffany; Goodman, Adam J; Maysonet, Elithea; Azeez, Sulaiman

2012-12-01

Many cancer-prevention interventions have demonstrated effectiveness in diverse populations, but these evidenced-based findings slowly disseminate into practice. The current study describes the process of disseminating and replicating research (i.e., peer patient navigation for colonoscopy screening) in real-world settings. Two large metropolitan hospitals collaborated to replicate a peer patient navigation model within their existing navigation systems. Six African-American peer volunteers were recruited and trained to navigate patients through colonoscopy scheduling and completion. Major challenges included: (1) operating within multiple institutional settings; (2) operating within nonacademic/research infrastructures; (3) integrating into an established navigation system; (4) obtaining support of hospital staff without overburdening; and (5) competing priorities and time commitments. Bridging the gap between evidence-based research and practice is critical to eliminating many cancer health disparities; therefore, it is crucial that researchers and practitioners continue to work to achieve both diffusion and fusion of evidence-based findings. Recommendations for addressing these challenges are discussed.

[United Nations world population prize to Dr. Halfdan Mahler. Acceptance speech].

PubMed

Mahler, H

1995-06-01

The professional achievements of Halfdan Mahler, for which he was awarded the 1995 UN World Population Prize, are summarized, and Dr. Mahler's acceptance speech is presented. Dr. Mahler worked for reproductive health and sustainable development during his six years as secretary general of the IPPF. Under his leadership, the IPPF established world standards for family planning and reproductive health. Dr. Mahler also guided creation and implementation of the long-term IPPF strategic plan, Vision 2000. During his tenure as director general of the World Health Organization from 1973 to 1988, he established the special program of education, development, and training for research in human reproduction. Dr. Mahler's acceptance speech sketched a world of the future in which women control their reproductive lives and enjoy equality with men in work and at home, where adolescents understand and control their sexuality, where all children are desired and cared for, and where hard work brings success even in the poorest population sectors. The challenges of achieving this vision are enormous. The world's population will have doubled to 10 billion, and tensions and inequities will persist. But if the vision is not fulfilled, the present population will triple to 15 billion and competition for every kind of resource will be intolerable. In order to succeed, the rights to free and informed reproductive decision making must be guaranteed for every couple. Harmful practices that violate the right to autonomous reproductive decision making, such as early marriage or female genital mutilation, must be eliminated. Governments must commit themselves to educating and providing resources to women so that they can exercise their rights. Family planning services must be extended to the poor and marginal population sectors that still are denied access, and to adolescents who are at risk of unwanted pregnancy and disease.

High-resolution gridded population datasets for Latin America and the Caribbean in 2010, 2015, and 2020

PubMed Central

Sorichetta, Alessandro; Hornby, Graeme M.; Stevens, Forrest R.; Gaughan, Andrea E.; Linard, Catherine; Tatem, Andrew J.

2015-01-01

The Latin America and the Caribbean region is one of the most urbanized regions in the world, with a total population of around 630 million that is expected to increase by 25% by 2050. In this context, detailed and contemporary datasets accurately describing the distribution of residential population in the region are required for measuring the impacts of population growth, monitoring changes, supporting environmental and health applications, and planning interventions. To support these needs, an open access archive of high-resolution gridded population datasets was created through disaggregation of the most recent official population count data available for 28 countries located in the region. These datasets are described here along with the approach and methods used to create and validate them. For each country, population distribution datasets, having a resolution of 3 arc seconds (approximately 100 m at the equator), were produced for the population count year, as well as for 2010, 2015, and 2020. All these products are available both through the WorldPop Project website and the WorldPop Dataverse Repository. PMID:26347245

High-resolution gridded population datasets for Latin America and the Caribbean in 2010, 2015, and 2020.

PubMed

Sorichetta, Alessandro; Hornby, Graeme M; Stevens, Forrest R; Gaughan, Andrea E; Linard, Catherine; Tatem, Andrew J

2015-01-01

The Latin America and the Caribbean region is one of the most urbanized regions in the world, with a total population of around 630 million that is expected to increase by 25% by 2050. In this context, detailed and contemporary datasets accurately describing the distribution of residential population in the region are required for measuring the impacts of population growth, monitoring changes, supporting environmental and health applications, and planning interventions. To support these needs, an open access archive of high-resolution gridded population datasets was created through disaggregation of the most recent official population count data available for 28 countries located in the region. These datasets are described here along with the approach and methods used to create and validate them. For each country, population distribution datasets, having a resolution of 3 arc seconds (approximately 100 m at the equator), were produced for the population count year, as well as for 2010, 2015, and 2020. All these products are available both through the WorldPop Project website and the WorldPop Dataverse Repository.

Dimensions of global population projections: what do we know about future population trends and structures?

PubMed Central

Lutz, Wolfgang; KC, Samir

2010-01-01

The total size of the world population is likely to increase from its current 7 billion to 8–10 billion by 2050. This uncertainty is because of unknown future fertility and mortality trends in different parts of the world. But the young age structure of the population and the fact that in much of Africa and Western Asia, fertility is still very high makes an increase by at least one more billion almost certain. Virtually, all the increase will happen in the developing world. For the second half of the century, population stabilization and the onset of a decline are likely. In addition to the future size of the population, its distribution by age, sex, level of educational attainment and place of residence are of specific importance for studying future food security. The paper provides a detailed discussion of different relevant dimensions in population projections and an evaluation of the methods and assumptions used in current global population projections and in particular those produced by the United Nations and by IIASA. PMID:20713384

Climate change and temperate zone insects: the tyranny of thermodynamics meets the world of limited resources.

PubMed

Adamo, Shelley A; Baker, Jillian L; Lovett, Maggie M E; Wilson, Graham

2012-12-01

Climate change will result in warmer temperatures and an increase in the frequency and severity of extreme weather events. Given that higher temperatures increase the reproductive rate of temperate zone insects, insect population growth rates are predicted to increase in the temperate zone in response to climate. This consensus, however, rests on the assumption that food is freely available. However, under conditions of limited food, the reproductive output of the Texan cricket Gryllus texensis (Cade and Otte) was highest at its current normal average temperature and declined with increasing temperature. Moreover, low food availability decreased survival during a simulated heat wave. Therefore, the effects of climate change on this species, and possibly on many others, are likely to hinge on food availability. Extrapolation from our data suggests that G. texensis will show larger yearly fluctuations in population size as climate change continues, and this will also have ecological repercussions. Only those temperate zone insects with a ready supply of food (e.g., agricultural pests) are likely to experience the predicted increase in population growth in response to climate change; food-limited species are likely to experience a population decline.

Urban Ecology: Patterns of Population Growth and Ecological Effects

Treesearch

Wayne C. Zipperer; Steward T.A. Pickett

2012-01-01

Currently, over 50% of the world’s population lives in urban areas. By 2050, this estimate is expected to be 70%. This urban growth, however, is not uniformly distributed around the world. The majority of it will occur in developing nations and create megacities whose populations exceed at least 10 million people. Not all urban areas, however, are growing. Some are...

Traversing the mountaintop: world fossil fuel production to 2050

PubMed Central

Nehring, Richard

2009-01-01

During the past century, fossil fuels—petroleum liquids, natural gas and coal—were the dominant source of world energy production. From 1950 to 2005, fossil fuels provided 85–93% of all energy production. All fossil fuels grew substantially during this period, their combined growth exceeding the increase in world population. This growth, however, was irregular, providing for rapidly growing per capita production from 1950 to 1980, stable per capita production from 1980 to 2000 and rising per capita production again after 2000. During the past half century, growth in fossil fuel production was essentially limited by energy demand. During the next half century, fossil fuel production will be limited primarily by the amount and characteristics of remaining fossil fuel resources. Three possible scenarios—low, medium and high—are developed for the production of each of the fossil fuels to 2050. These scenarios differ primarily by the amount of ultimate resources estimated for each fossil fuel. Total fossil fuel production will continue to grow, but only slowly for the next 15–30 years. The subsequent peak plateau will last for 10–15 years. These production peaks are robust; none of the fossil fuels, even with highly optimistic resource estimates, is projected to keep growing beyond 2050. World fossil fuel production per capita will thus begin an irreversible decline between 2020 and 2030. PMID:19770156

Prevalence of depressive disorders in the elderly.

PubMed

Barua, Ankur; Ghosh, Mihir Kumar; Kar, Nilamadhab; Basilio, Mary Anne

2011-01-01

Community-based mental health studies have revealed that the point prevalence of depressive disorders in the elderly population of the world varies between 10% and 20%, depending on cultural situations. A retrospective study based on analysis of various study reports was conducted, to determine the median prevalence rates of depressive disorders in the elderly population of India and various other countries in the world. All the studies that constituted the sample were conducted between 1955 and 2005. Included are only community-based, cross-sectional surveys and some prospective studies that had not excluded depression at baseline. These studies were conducted on a homogenous community of the elderly population in the world, who were selected by a simple random sampling technique. After applying the inclusion and exclusion criteria on published and indexed articles, 74 original research studies that surveyed a total of 487,275 elderly individuals, in the age group of 60 years and above, residing in various parts of the world, were included for the final analysis. The median prevalence rate and its corresponding interquartile range were calculated. The chi-square test and chi-square for linear trend were applied. A P value of <.05 was considered as statistically significant. The median prevalence rate of depressive disorders in the world for the elderly population was determined to be 10.3% (interquartile range [IQR], 4.7%-16.0%). The median prevalence rate of depression among the elderly Indian population was determined to be 21.9% (IQR, 11.6%-31.1%). Although there was a significant decrease in the trend of world prevalence of geriatric depression, it was significantly higher among Indians, in recent years, than the rest of the world.

Cost-effectiveness of rituximab as maintenance treatment for relapsed follicular lymphoma: results of a population-based study.

PubMed

Blommestein, Hedwig M; Issa, Djamila E; Pompen, Marjolein; Ten Hoor, Gerhard; Hogendoorn, Mels; Joosten, Peter; Zweegman, Sonja; Huijgens, Peter C; Uyl-de Groot, Carin A

2014-01-01

On the basis of two population-based registries, our study aims to calculate the real-world cost-effectiveness of rituximab maintenance compared with observation in relapsed or refractory follicular lymphoma patients who responded to second-line chemotherapy. Data were obtained from the EORTC20981 trial, the Netherlands Cancer Registry and two population-based registries. A Markov model was developed to calculate cost per life year gained (LYG) and quality-adjusted life years (QALYs) for three scenarios. Our real-world patients were (62 years) 6 to 7 years older and had higher complete response rates to second-line chemotherapy than the trial population. Differences between the real-world rituximab and observation group were observed for second-line chemotherapy and disease progression. Groups were more balanced after using propensity matching. Relying entirely on updated trial results (scenario1) in combination with local cost data resulted in ratios of €11,259 per LYG and €12,655 per QALY. For scenario2, consisting of trial efficacy and matched real-world costs, ratios of €21,202 per LYG and €23,821 per QALY were calculated. Using real-world matched evidence (scenario3) for both effectiveness and costs showed ratios of €10,591 per LYG and €11,245 per QALY. Although differences in real-world and trial population were found, using real-world data as well as results from long-term trial follow-up showed favourable ICERs for rituximab maintenance. Nevertheless, results showed that caution is required with data synthesis, interpretation and generalisability of results. As different scenarios provide answers to different questions, we recommend healthcare decision-makers to recognise the importance of calculating several cost-effectiveness scenarios. © 2014 John Wiley & Sons A/S. Published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

The demographic transition: an attempt to reformulate a population theory.

PubMed

Hofsten, E

1981-01-01

In this effort to reformulate the demographic transition theory, attention is directed to the following: Malthus and Karl Marx's criticism of his principle of population; the 1st stage of transition, i.e., high mortality, high fertility, and slow population growth; the 2nd stage of declining mortality; the 3rd stage of declining fertility; the 4th stage when mortality and fertility are both low; the growth potential; and the demographic transition in the 3rd world countries. The demographic transition theory has become popular among demographers, economists, historians, and others interested in studying the development of population over time since the end of World War 2. This interest has most likely been created by the anxiety over the population explosion in the 3rd world countries. Transition has made demographers believe that the period of rapid population growth will be automatically succeeded by a period of more or less constant population size. The question that arises is whether it is as simple as that. Demographic transition has to a great extent taken the place of Malthus' principle of population as a general theory of population. Demographic transition appears to describe in a satisfactory way the development of population which all currently industrialized countires have passed through, when going from the preindustrial to the present industrialized stage. The objectives to demographic transition as a general theory are considered. Some of the factors which have accounted for the decline in fertility in Europe may also apply to the 3rd world countries. 1 such factor is the effect of reduced infant and child mortality on the individual level. The fertility decline, caused by reduced infant and child mortality may, however, be of limited size. The great amount of unemployment in the 3rd world may affect fertility in a downward direction. The fertility decline in Europe occurred simultaneously with an industrialization process, which gradually covered the entire population. In most 3rd world countries the "modernization" that is going on implies that a small industrialized sector with its subsistence agriculture is left more or less untouched. There remains a strong incentive for many children in this kind of society. A rapid decline in fertility cannot be expected under these circumstances. To realize a thorough change in the social structure and in the social relations is necessary.

Components and Public Health Impact of Population Growth in the Arab World

PubMed Central

Abdul Salam, Asharaf; Elsegaey, Ibrahim; Khraif, Rshood; AlMutairi, Abdullah; Aldosari, Ali

2015-01-01

The Arab world, which consists of the 22 member states of the Arab League, is undergoing a rapid transition in demographics, including fertility, mortality, and migration. Comprising a distinctive geographic region spread across West Asia and North East Africa and unified by the Arabic language, these states share common values and characteristics despite having diverse economic and political conditions. The demographic lag (high fertility and low mortality) that characterizes the Arab world is unique, but the present trend of declining fertility, combined with the relatively low mortality, brings about significant changes in its population size. This research aimed to: (i) assess the population growth in the Arab world over 3 time periods, (ii) explore its components, and (iii) understand its public health impact. Data from the International Data Base (IDB) of the U.S. Census Bureau for 3 time periods (1992, 2002, and 2012) in 21 countries of the Arab world were analyzed by dividing them into four geographic sectors, namely, the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC), West Asia, Maghreb, and the Nile Valley African Horn. The population of the Arab world has grown considerably due to both natural growth and migration. The immigration is pronounced, especially into resource-intensive GCC nations, not only from East Asian and Central African countries but also from resource-thrifty (limited-resource) Arab nations. The migrations within, as well as outside, the Arab world reveal an interesting demographic phenomenon that requires further research: migration flows and trends. However, the transformations in public health statistics related to mortality—the impact of demographic changes—depict a new era in the Arab world. PMID:25993053

Components and public health impact of population growth in the Arab world.

PubMed

Abdul Salam, Asharaf; Elsegaey, Ibrahim; Khraif, Rshood; AlMutairi, Abdullah; Aldosari, Ali

2015-01-01

The Arab world, which consists of the 22 member states of the Arab League, is undergoing a rapid transition in demographics, including fertility, mortality, and migration. Comprising a distinctive geographic region spread across West Asia and North East Africa and unified by the Arabic language, these states share common values and characteristics despite having diverse economic and political conditions. The demographic lag (high fertility and low mortality) that characterizes the Arab world is unique, but the present trend of declining fertility, combined with the relatively low mortality, brings about significant changes in its population size. This research aimed to: (i) assess the population growth in the Arab world over 3 time periods, (ii) explore its components, and (iii) understand its public health impact. Data from the International Data Base (IDB) of the U.S. Census Bureau for 3 time periods (1992, 2002, and 2012) in 21 countries of the Arab world were analyzed by dividing them into four geographic sectors, namely, the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC), West Asia, Maghreb, and the Nile Valley African Horn. The population of the Arab world has grown considerably due to both natural growth and migration. The immigration is pronounced, especially into resource-intensive GCC nations, not only from East Asian and Central African countries but also from resource-thrifty (limited-resource) Arab nations. The migrations within, as well as outside, the Arab world reveal an interesting demographic phenomenon that requires further research: migration flows and trends. However, the transformations in public health statistics related to mortality-the impact of demographic changes-depict a new era in the Arab world.

The dairy industry: a brief description of production practices, trends, and farm characteristics around the world.

PubMed

Douphrate, David I; Hagevoort, G Robert; Nonnenmann, Matthew W; Lunner Kolstrup, Christina; Reynolds, Stephen J; Jakob, Martina; Kinsel, Mark

2013-01-01

The global dairy industry is composed of a multitude of countries with unique production practices and consumer markets. The global average number of cows per farm is about 1-2 cows; however, as a farm business model transitions from sustenance to market production, the average herd size, and subsequent labor force increases. Dairy production is unique as an agricultural commodity because milk is produced daily, for 365 days per year. With the introduction of new technology such as the milking parlor, the global industry trend is one of increasing farm sizes. The farm sizes are the largest in the United States; however, the European Union produces the most milk compared with other global producers. Dairy production is essential for economic development and sustainable communities in rural areas. However, the required capital investment and availability of local markets and labor are continued challenges. Due to farm expansion, international producers are faced with new challenges related to assuring food safety and a safe working environment for their workforce. These challenges exist in addition to the cultural and language barriers related to an increasing dependence on immigrant labor in many regions of the world. Continued success of the global dairy industry is vital. Therefore, research should continue to address the identification of occupational risk factors associated with injuries and illnesses, as well as develop cost-effective interventions and practices that lead to the minimization or elimination of these injuries and illnesses on a global scale, among our valuable population of dairy producers and workers.

Redefining Entrepreneurial Learning Paradigms in Developing Countries: A Case Study of Ghana

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Owusu-Manu, D.; Afrane, S. K.; Badu, E.; Edwards, D. J.; Brown, M.

2013-01-01

In a rapidly changing world of knowledge exchange, innovation and technological advancements, entrepreneurship continues to fuel economic growth in both developed and developing countries. In the developed world, an increased influx of graduate entrepreneurs sustains economic growth whilst, in contrast, developing countries continue to suffer from…

Networks at Their Limits: Software, Similarity, and Continuity in Vietnam

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Nguyen, Lilly Uyen

2013-01-01

This dissertation explores the social worlds of pirated software discs and free/open source software in Vietnam to describe the practices of copying, evangelizing, and translation. This dissertation also reveals the cultural logics of similarity and continuity that sustain these social worlds. Taken together, this dissertation argues that the…

Changing practice: implications of the World Report on Disability for responding to communication disability in under-served populations.

PubMed

Wylie, Karen; McAllister, Lindy; Davidson, Bronwyn; Marshall, Julie

2013-02-01

The World Report on Disability provides a major challenge to the conceptualization and delivery of services for people with communication disabilities around the world. Many people, in both Majority and Minority World countries, receive limited or no support in relation to their communication disability. In this paper the prevalence of communication disability across the world (and the challenges to obtaining these data) are discussed, particularly in relation to disability more broadly. Populations that are under-served by speech-language pathology services in both Majority and Minority World countries are described. The paper describes organizational change theory and the potential it has, together with a biopsychosocial model of disability, to assist in understanding and influencing development of relevant services for people with communication disabilities (PWCD), particularly those who are under-served. Aspects of, and influences on, service delivery for PWCD are described. The need for novel ways of conceptualizing development of services, including population-based approaches, is highlighted. Finally, the challenges and opportunities for PWCD and for speech-language pathologists which arise from the nine recommendations of the World Report on Disability are considered and readers are encouraged to consider new and novel ways of developing equitable services for people with communication disabilities, in both majority and minority world settings.

Urban climate archipelagos: a new framework for urban impacts on climate

Treesearch

J. Marshall Shepherd; T. Andersen; Chris Strother; A. Horst; L. Bounoua; C. Mitra

2013-01-01

Earth is increasingly an “urbanized” planet. The “World Population Clock” registered a Population of 7,175,309,538 at 8:30 pm (LST) on Oct. 6, 2013. Current and future trends suggest that this population will increasingly reside in cities. Currently, 52 percent of the world population is urban, which means we are a majority “urbanized” society. Figure 1 indicates...

World Association for the Advancement of Veterinary Parasitology (WAAVP): the 50th anniversary in 2013--history, achievements, and future perspectives.

PubMed

Eckert, J

2013-08-01

In 2013 the World Association for the Advancement of Veterinary Parasitology (WAAVP) can celebrate its 50th anniversary. At this occasion in this article selected historical data are updated, and the achievements and future perspectives of the WAAVP are discussed. Although the WAAVP is a small association with only a few hundred members, it has been able to develop remarkable activities. Between 1963 and 2011 the WAAVP has organized 23 international scientific congresses, and the 24th conference will take place in Perth, Western Australia, in 2013. These conferences have achieved a high degree of international recognition as indicated by relatively large numbers of participants (up to ~800). Furthermore, the WAAVP has promoted veterinary parasitology in various ways, such as publishing international guidelines (efficacy evaluation of antiparasitic drugs, parasitological methods, standardized nomenclature of animal parasitic diseases "SNOAPAD"), stimulating international discussions on teaching and continued education ("colleges of veterinary parasitology") and by supporting the high quality journal "Veterinary Parasitology" which is the official organ of the WAAVP. In retrospect, the development of the WAAVP can be classified as very successful. New challenges associated with global changes (growth of the world population, urbanization, climate change, new developments in animal and plant production, etc.) will require new efforts in research in various fields, including veterinary parasitology. Future activities of WAAVP may include inter alia: (a) support of international parasitological networks; (b) stimulation of coordinated research aimed at the solution of defined problems; (c) increasing the exposure of WAAVP to parasitology from hitherto neglected regions of the world; (d) strengthening of official links to international organizations (FAO, WHO, etc.); (e) continuation of guideline preparation; and (d) preparation and international distribution of high quality electronic programs for self-education in veterinary parasitology. Copyright © 2013. Published by Elsevier B.V.

Identifying source populations for the reintroduction of the Eurasian beaver, Castor fiber L. 1758, into Britain: evidence from ancient DNA.

PubMed

Marr, Melissa M; Brace, Selina; Schreve, Danielle C; Barnes, Ian

2018-02-09

Establishing true phylogenetic relationships between populations is a critical consideration when sourcing individuals for translocation. This presents huge difficulties with threatened and endangered species that have become extirpated from large areas of their former range. We utilise ancient DNA (aDNA) to reconstruct the phylogenetic relationships of a keystone species which has become extinct in Britain, the Eurasian beaver Castor fiber. We sequenced seventeen 492 bp partial tRNAPro and control region sequences from Late Pleistocene and Holocene age beavers and included these in network, demographic and genealogy analyses. The mode of postglacial population expansion from refugia was investigated by employing tests of neutrality and a pairwise mismatch distribution analysis. We found evidence of a pre-Late Glacial Maximum ancestor for the Western C. fiber clade which experienced a rapid demographic expansion during the terminal Pleistocene to early Holocene period. Ancient British beavers were found to originate from the Western phylogroup but showed no phylogenetic affinity to any one modern relict population over another. Instead, we find that they formed part of a large, continuous, pan-Western European clade that harbored little internal substructure. Our study highlights the utility of aDNA in reconstructing population histories of extirpated species which has real-world implications for conservation planning.

Evidence-based control of canine rabies: a critical review of population density reduction

PubMed Central

Morters, Michelle K; Restif, Olivier; Hampson, Katie; Cleaveland, Sarah; Wood, James L N; Conlan, Andrew J K

2013-01-01

Control measures for canine rabies include vaccination and reducing population density through culling or sterilization. Despite the evidence that culling fails to control canine rabies, efforts to reduce canine population density continue in many parts of the world. The rationale for reducing population density is that rabies transmission is density-dependent, with disease incidence increasing directly with host density. This may be based, in part, on an incomplete interpretation of historical field data for wildlife, with important implications for disease control in dog populations. Here, we examine historical and more recent field data, in the context of host ecology and epidemic theory, to understand better the role of density in rabies transmission and the reasons why culling fails to control rabies. We conclude that the relationship between host density, disease incidence and other factors is complex and may differ between species. This highlights the difficulties of interpreting field data and the constraints of extrapolations between species, particularly in terms of control policies. We also propose that the complex interactions between dogs and people may render culling of free-roaming dogs ineffective irrespective of the relationship between host density and disease incidence. We conclude that vaccination is the most effective means to control rabies in all species. PMID:23004351

Effects of Clonal Reproduction on Evolutionary Lag and Evolutionary Rescue.

PubMed

Orive, Maria E; Barfield, Michael; Fernandez, Carlos; Holt, Robert D

2017-10-01

Evolutionary lag-the difference between mean and optimal phenotype in the current environment-is of keen interest in light of rapid environmental change. Many ecologically important organisms have life histories that include stage structure and both sexual and clonal reproduction, yet how stage structure and clonality interplay to govern a population's rate of evolution and evolutionary lag is unknown. Effects of clonal reproduction on mean phenotype partition into two portions: one that is phenotype dependent, and another that is genotype dependent. This partitioning is governed by the association between the nonadditive genetic plus random environmental component of phenotype of clonal offspring and their parents. While clonality slows phenotypic evolution toward an optimum, it can dramatically increase population survival after a sudden step change in optimal phenotype. Increased adult survival slows phenotypic evolution but facilitates population survival after a step change; this positive effect can, however, be lost given survival-fecundity trade-offs. Simulations indicate that the benefits of increased clonality under environmental change greatly depend on the nature of that change: increasing population persistence under a step change while decreasing population persistence under a continuous linear change requiring de novo variation. The impact of clonality on the probability of persistence for species in a changing world is thus inexorably linked to the temporal texture of the change they experience.

Surviving polio in a post-polio world.

PubMed

Groce, Nora Ellen; Banks, Lena Morgon; Stein, Michael Ashley

2014-04-01

Excitement mounts as the global health and international development communities anticipate a polio-free world. Despite substantial political and logistical hurdles, only 223 cases of wild poliovirus in three countries were reported in 2012. Down 99% from the estimated 350,000 annual cases in 125 countries in 1988-this decline signals the imminent global eradication of polio. However, elimination of new polio cases should not also signal an end to worldwide engagement with polio. As many as 20 million continue to live with the disabling consequences of the disease. In developed countries where polio immunization became universal after dissemination of the polio vaccine in the 1950s, almost all individuals who have had polio are now above age 50. But in many developing countries where polio vaccination campaigns reached large segments of the population only after 1988, millions disabled by polio are still children or young adults. Demographically, this group is also different. After three decades of immunization efforts, those children unvaccinated in the late 1980s were more likely to be from poorer rural and slum communities and to be girls-groups not only harder to reach than more affluent members of the population but also individuals who, if they contract polio, are less likely to have access to medical and rehabilitation programs or education, job training, employment and social support services. The commitment to eradicate polio should not be considered complete while those living with the disabling sequelae of polio continue to live in poor health, poverty and social isolation. This paper reviews what is currently known about disabled survivors of polio and highlights areas of need in public health research, policy and programming. Based on a literature review, discussion and field observations, we identify continuing challenges posed by polio and argue that the attention, funding and commitment now being directed towards eradication be shifted to provide for the rehabilitative, medical, educational and social needs of those for whom the disabling sequelae of polio will remain a daily challenge for decades to come. Copyright © 2014 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Ltd.. All rights reserved.

Psychological factors in breast feeding versus bottle feeding in the Third World.

PubMed

Berry, N; Mccullough, M

1982-09-01

Some readers may be aware of the sociopolitical and moral issues associated with the theme of Brenda Meldrum's article (Bulletin, June 1982) about breast and bottle feeding in the 3rd world. For over a decade many groups (e.g. War on Want; World Development Movement) have been concerned that unnecessary bottle feeding has almost certainly resulted in considerable infant disease and mortality in the 3rd world. Morever, such groups have been well aware of the high psychological value of formula foods; and have attributed this mainly to the aggressive and fundamentally dishonest way in which food companies promote their breastmilk substitutes. In 1979, in response to the bad publicity resulting from the campaigning of 3rd world agencies, Nestle and others agreed to adopt a voluntary code of practice proposed by World Health Organization and UNICEF. However, commercial interests have prevailed--baby food sales in 3rd world account for 2 1/2% of 1 transnational group's turnover--and the malpractices have continued. In view of this we feel that it is appropriate to amend Brenda Meldrum's conclusion to: While transnational corporations continue to actively promote their baby food products in the 3rd world, there can be no reversal to the old, exclusive breastfeeding of traditional practice, and that infants that would otherwise have lived will continue to die. The boycott campaign is continuing and might we suggest that BPS members who organize conferences give some thought to the possibility of requesting that their caterers do not use products of these companies. A list of companies may be obtained from New Internationalist (February 1982) or from us. full text

Development of continuing nursing education offerings for the World Wide Web.

PubMed

Billings, D M; Rowles, C J

2001-01-01

Nurses are seeking continuing professional development that is easily accessible, convenient, and available at any time and any place. As nurses have increasing access to Internets and Intranets at home and their workplace, courses for continuing nursing education must be available to meet this need. This article discusses the planning, implementation, and evaluation of continuing nursing education (CNE) on the World Wide Web. The article explains how to develop a strategic plan, develop course offerings, select technology tools to support teaching and learning, and market and evaluate the courses.

Tuberculosis mortality trends in cuba, 1998 to 2007.

PubMed

González, Edilberto; Risco, Grisel E; Borroto, Susana; Perna, Abel; Armas, Luisa

2009-01-01

Introduction Tuberculosis (TB) is a major cause of illness and death throughout the world. The World Health Organization's Global Plan to Stop TB 2006-2015 proposes that countries cut TB mortality by half compared to 1990 rates. In Cuba, TB mortality declined steadily throughout the 20th century, particularly after 1960. Objective Describe TB mortality distribution and trends in Cuba from January 1998 to December 2007 by infection site, sex, age and province, and determine progress towards the WHO's 2015 target for TB mortality reduction. Methods A time series ecological study was conducted. Death certificates stating TB as cause of death were obtained from the Ministry of Public Health's National Statistics Division, and population data by age group, sex, and province were obtained from the National Statistics Bureau. Crude and specific death rate trends and variation were analyzed. Results TB mortality declined from 0.4 per 100,000 population in 1998 to 0.2 (under half the 1990 rate) in 2007. Clinical forms of the disease, both pulmonary and extrapulmonary, also declined. The highest mortality rates were found in males and in the group aged ≥ 65 years. Rates were also highest in the capital, Havana, with extreme values of 0.73 and 0.39 per 100,000 population at the beginning and end of the period, respectively. Conclusions Deaths from TB declined steadily compared to total deaths and deaths caused by infectious diseases. The Global Plan to Stop TB target was met well ahead of 2015. If this trend continues, TB is likely to become an exceptional cause of death in Cuba.

Globalization, women's migration, and the long-term-care workforce.

PubMed

Browne, Colette V; Braun, Kathryn L

2008-02-01

With the aging of the world's population comes the rising need for qualified direct long-term-care (DLTC) workers (i.e., those who provide personal care to frail and disabled older adults). Developed nations are increasingly turning to immigrant women to fill these needs. In this article, we examine the impact of three global trends-population aging, globalization, and women's migration-on the supply and demand for DLTC workers in the United States. Following an overview of these trends, we identify three areas with embedded social justice issues that are shaping the DLTC workforce in the United States, with a specific focus on immigrant workers in these settings. These include world poverty and economic inequalities, the feminization and colorization of labor (especially in long-term care), and empowerment and women's rights. We conclude with a discussion of the contradictory effects that both population aging and globalization have on immigrant women, source countries, and the long-term-care workforce in the United States. We raise a number of policy, practice, and research implications and questions. For policy makers and long-term-care administrators in receiver nations such as the United States, the meeting of DLTC worker needs with immigrants may result in greater access to needed employees but also in the continued devaluation of eldercare as a profession. Source (supply) nations must balance the real and potential economic benefits of remittances from women who migrate for labor with the negative consequences of disrupting family care traditions and draining the long-term-care workforce of those countries.

An economic analysis of poliovirus risk management policy options for 2013-2052.

PubMed

Duintjer Tebbens, Radboud J; Pallansch, Mark A; Cochi, Stephen L; Wassilak, Steven G F; Thompson, Kimberly M

2015-09-24

The Global Polio Eradication Initiative plans for coordinated cessation of oral poliovirus vaccine (OPV) after interrupting all wild poliovirus (WPV) transmission, but many questions remain related to long-term poliovirus risk management policies. We used an integrated dynamic poliovirus transmission and stochastic risk model to simulate possible futures and estimate the health and economic outcomes of maintaining the 2013 status quo of continued OPV use in most developing countries compared with OPV cessation policies with various assumptions about global inactivated poliovirus vaccine (IPV) adoption. Continued OPV use after global WPV eradication leads to continued high costs and/or high cases. Global OPV cessation comes with a high probability of at least one outbreak, which aggressive outbreak response can successfully control in most instances. A low but non-zero probability exists of uncontrolled outbreaks following a poliovirus reintroduction long after OPV cessation in a population in which IPV-alone cannot prevent poliovirus transmission. We estimate global incremental net benefits during 2013-2052 of approximately $16 billion (US$2013) for OPV cessation with at least one IPV routine immunization dose in all countries until 2024 compared to continued OPV use, although significant uncertainty remains associated with the frequency of exportations between populations and the implementation of long term risk management policies. Global OPV cessation offers the possibility of large future health and economic benefits compared to continued OPV use. Long-term poliovirus risk management interventions matter (e.g., IPV use duration, outbreak response, containment, continued surveillance, stockpile size and contents, vaccine production site requirements, potential antiviral drugs, and potential safer vaccines) and require careful consideration. Risk management activities can help to ensure a low risk of uncontrolled outbreaks and preserve or further increase the positive net benefits of OPV cessation. Important uncertainties will require more research, including characterizing immunodeficient long-term poliovirus excretor risks, containment risks, and the kinetics of outbreaks and response in an unprecedented world without widespread live poliovirus exposure.

Evaluation of the Immunization Program in the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina - Possible Modalities for Improvement

PubMed Central

Husic, Fuad; Jatic, Zaim; Joguncic, Anes; Sporisevic, Lutvo

2018-01-01

Introduction: Immunization is a lifelong preventive activity that helps prevent/reduce disease, prevent/ reduce mortality and prevent disability from specific infectious diseases. Material and Methods: Authors of this paper researched the WHO extended program of mandatory immunization of children from birth to the age of 18 years and analyzed how it has been implemented in the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina (FB&H), because the guidelines of the specialist physician societies on immunization of adults, elderly people and risk groups of the population are missing. Results: The paper presents the basic characteristics of the immunization program in the FB&H and the world, points to the most frequent problems that the doctor practitioner has in carrying out immunization, and also presents possible modalities of improving immunization. It is pointed out the need to develop the national guidelines and individual immunization booklets, introduction of electronic registration of immunization, and continuous education of health professionals of all profiles, population, educators, teachers and harmonious partnership relations of health workers, population, social entities and the media with the aim of achieving an appropriate lifelong vaccination. PMID:29670482

Putting pharmaceuticals into the wider context of challenges to fish populations in rivers

PubMed Central

Johnson, Andrew C.; Sumpter, John P.

2014-01-01

The natural range of fish species in our rivers is related to flow, elevation, temperature, local habitat and connectivity. For over 2000 years, humans have altered to varying degrees the river habitat. In the past 200 years, we added to the environmental disruption by discharging poorly treated sewage, nutrients and industrial waste into our rivers. For many rivers, the low point arrived during the period of 1950s–1970s, when rapid economic development overrode environmental concerns and dissolved oxygen concentrations dropped to zero. In these more enlightened times, gross river pollution is a thing of the past in the Developed World. However, persistent legacy chemical contaminants can be found in fish long after their discharge ceased. Changes in habitat quality and morphology caused and continue to cause the disappearance of fish species. The range of fish stressors has now increased as temperatures rise, and non-native fish introductions bring new diseases. The threat from pharmaceuticals to fish populations remains hypothetical, and no studies have yet linked change in fish populations to exposure. PMID:25405969

Desigualdad social y tendencias de mortalidad por diabetes.

PubMed

Medina-Gómez, Oswaldo; Medina-Reyes, E Ismael Seth

2017-01-01

To identify the trend of national diabetes mortality by level of marginality at the state and municipal levels. A descriptive study was conducted with records of deaths from diabetes in over 20 years from 1990 to 2013. The national mortality rate was calculated standardized by age according to the 2000 world population and the state level 2013 saw the projected naational population by join point analysis for trend analysis was performed. For the general population, the annual percentage change between 1990 and 1996 was 2.2, from 1996 to 2005 was 4.3, and from 2005 to 2013 was 0.1. The largest increase among women occurred between 1998 and 2005 while among men occurred between 1995 and 2006. At the state level was found higher annual percentage change between the towns with the highest degree of marginalization. The mortality of diabetes in women shows a significant decrease since 2004, among men, the mortality with a continuous upward trend, consistent with the trend that the disease has had in recent years. Copyright: © 2017 SecretarÍa de Salud

Evaluation of the Immunization Program in the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina - Possible Modalities for Improvement.

PubMed

Husic, Fuad; Jatic, Zaim; Joguncic, Anes; Sporisevic, Lutvo

2018-03-01

Immunization is a lifelong preventive activity that helps prevent/reduce disease, prevent/ reduce mortality and prevent disability from specific infectious diseases. Authors of this paper researched the WHO extended program of mandatory immunization of children from birth to the age of 18 years and analyzed how it has been implemented in the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina (FB&H), because the guidelines of the specialist physician societies on immunization of adults, elderly people and risk groups of the population are missing. The paper presents the basic characteristics of the immunization program in the FB&H and the world, points to the most frequent problems that the doctor practitioner has in carrying out immunization, and also presents possible modalities of improving immunization. It is pointed out the need to develop the national guidelines and individual immunization booklets, introduction of electronic registration of immunization, and continuous education of health professionals of all profiles, population, educators, teachers and harmonious partnership relations of health workers, population, social entities and the media with the aim of achieving an appropriate lifelong vaccination.

Development and population growth: the Indian experience.

PubMed

Chandna, R C

1996-01-01

This paper analyzes the prevailing demographic trends and development processes in India. Data were taken from the World Development Report and the Human Development Reports of South Asia and India, Census of India, and Government of India's Economic Survey. A much slower economic progress and human development was observed in South Asia as compared to those in East Asia. At present, the income levels in East Asia are 27 times higher and have a human development index twice that of South Asia. India had a better economic performance as compared to other countries in South Asia. However, the human deprivations within India continue to hinder the country's emergence as a politico-economic power on the international scene. Investigation of the diversity in population growth and development in India was presented in this paper using indicators such as: average annual population growth; couple protection rate; female literacy; mean age at marriage for females; infrastructural facilities; proportion below poverty line; and the per capita income. Finally, specific suggestions on how to accelerate the fertility transition in the country were enumerated.

Understanding global climate change: paleoclimate perspective from the world's highest mountains.

PubMed

Thompson, Lonnie G

2010-06-01

Glaciers are among the world's best recorders of, and first responders to, natural and anthropogenic climate change and provide a time perspective for current climatic and environmental variations. Over the last 50 years such records have been recovered from the polar regions as well as low-latitude, high-elevation ice fields. Analyses of these ice cores and of the glaciers from which they have been drilled have yielded three lines of evidence for past and present abrupt climate change: (1) the temperature and precipitation histories recorded in the glaciers as revealed by the climate records extracted from the ice cores; (2) the accelerating loss of the glaciers themselves; and (3) the uncovering of ancient fauna and flora from the margins of the glaciers as a result of their recent melting, thus illustrating the significance of the current ice loss. The current melting of high-altitude, low-latitude ice fields is consistent with model predictions for a vertical amplification of temperature in the tropics. The ongoing rapid retreat of the world's mountain glaciers, as well as the margins of the Greenland and Antarctic ice sheets, is not only contributing to global sea level rise, but also threatening fresh-water supplies in many of the most populous regions. More recently, strong evidence has appeared for the acceleration of the rate of ice loss in the tropics, which especially presents a clear and present danger to water supplies for at-risk populations in South America and Asia. The human response to this issue, however, is not so clear, for although the evidence from both data and models becomes more compelling, the rate of global CO2 emissions continues to accelerate. Climatologically, we are in unfamiliar territory, and the world's ice cover is responding dramatically. The loss of glaciers, which can be viewed as the world's water towers, threatens water resources that are essential for hydroelectric power, crop irrigation, municipal water supplies, and even tourism. As these glaciers are disappearing, we are also losing very valuable paleoclimate archives.

An approach to vehicle design: In-depth audit to understand the needs of older drivers.

PubMed

Karali, Sukru; Mansfield, Neil J; Gyi, Diane E

2017-01-01

The population of older people continues to increase around the world, and this trend is expected to continue; the population of older drivers is increasing accordingly. January 2012 figures from the DVLA in the UK stated that there were more than 15 million drivers aged over 60; more than 1 million drivers were aged over 80. There is a need for specific research tools to understand and capture how all users interact with features in the vehicle cabin e.g. controls and tasks, including the specific needs of the increasingly older driving population. This paper describes an in-depth audit that was conducted to understand how design of the vehicle cabin impacts on comfort, posture, usability, health and wellbeing in older drivers. The sample involved 47 drivers (38% female, 62% male). The age distribution was: 50-64 (n = 12), 65-79 (n = 20), and those 80 and over (n = 15). The methodology included tools to capture user experience in the vehicle cabin and functional performance tests relevant to specific driving tasks. It is shown that drivers' physical capabilities reduce with age and that there are associated difficulties in setting up an optimal driving position such that some controls cannot be operated as intended, and many adapt their driving cabins. The cabin set-up process consistently began with setting up the seat and finished with operation of the seat belt. Copyright © 2016 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Ltd.. All rights reserved.

The world outlook for conventional agriculture. More emphasis is needed on farm price policy and plant research if future world food needs are to be met.

PubMed

Brown, L R

1967-11-03

1) The worldwide demand for food will continue to be strong in the coming decades. Two forces-rapidly growing population and, in much of the world, rapidly rising incomes-are expected to result in increases in the demand for food even more rapid than those that have occurred during the past. 2) Conventional agriculture has assured an adequate food supply for the economically advanced one-third of the world. The challenge now is to assure an adequate food supply for the remaining two-thirds, where population is now increasing at the rate of 1 million people per week and where malnutrition is already widespread. 3) Economically feasible prospects for significantly expanding the world's area of cultivated land in the 1960's and 1970's are limited and largely confined to sub-Saharan Africa and the Amazon Basin. Even here, agronomic problems will limit the rate of expansion. When the cost of desalting seawater is substantially reduced-probably not before the late 1970's or early 1980's at best-it may become feasible to irrigate large areas of desert. 4) Given the limited possibilities for expanding the area of land under cultivation, most of the increases in world food needs must be met, for the foreseeable future, by raising the productivity of land already under cultivation. Food output per acre, rather static throughout most of history, has begun to increase rapidly in some of the more advanced countries in recent decades. All of the increases in food production over the past quarter century in North America, western Europe, and Japan have come from increasing the productivity of land already under cultivation. The area under cultivation has actually declined. 5) Achieving dramatic gains in land productivity requires a massive investment of capital and the widespread adoption of new technology. A similar effort must now be made in the less-developed nations if these nations are to feed their people. The most important single factor influencing this rate of investment is food prices, more particularly the relationship between the price farmers receive for their food products and the cost of modern inputs such as fertilizer. 6) In some of the more-developed countries where per-acre yields have been rising for a long time, there is now evidence that the rate of yield increase may be slowing. Nonrecurring inputs may have made their maximum contribution to output in the case of some crops, pushing yield levels past the middle of the S-shaped logistic curve. Although this cannot be determined with any certainty, the possibility that the middle of the curve has been passed in some instances should be taken into account in viewing the long-term future. 7) If the rate of increase in yield per acre does in fact begin to slow in some of the agriculturally advanced countries, additional pressure will be put on the less-developed countries-which have much of the world's unrealized food-production potential-to meet the continuing future increases in world food needs. 8) Man has not yet been able to bypass the process of photosynthesis in the production of food. This dependence on photosynthesis plays a significant role in determining the upper levels of the S-shaped yield curve. Additional research is urgently needed to increase the photosynthetic efficiency of crops and to raise the upper levels of economically feasible yields.

Purdah and overpopulation in the Middle East.

PubMed

Misch, A

1990-01-01

The Middle East and North Africa constitute the Islamic world. From Morocco to Afghanistan the population is 340 million and growing at a rate of 3% annually and will double in 23 years. Currently food, water, and land resources are being taxed to their limit and continued growth will only cause larger scale problems for the region. To complicate the issue public policies and private practices and attitudes are leading to continued population growth. The rise of Islamic fundamentalism does not recognize the problem of over population. In fact the revision of family law by fundamentalist politicians has done a great deal of damage to the improvements in the status of women throughout the region. The revival of Purdah, the practice of keeping women out of the public eye and confined to home, is just one example or how the rise of Islamic fundamentalism is turning back the clock in terms of women's rights. The primary disadvantage is that since women are being returned to the home, their only source of values is as child bearers. Women cloistered at home are expected to be prolific child bearers, in fact their value as human beings is judged primarily on this basis. It is their ability to bear sons that is coveted. This of course will only compound the population problems being experienced in the region. Few countries have tried to institute state wide family planning programs, namely: Algeria, Egypt, Morocco, Tunisia and Yemen, but none of these programs has been very successful. In Iraq, Kuwait, Oman and Saudi Arabia, population growth is viewed as a positive event because it will help eliminate the need for foreign workers. Even in this region, educated people have a lower fertility rate. For example in Jordan 60% of illiterate males "did not believe in" contraception while only 15% of men educated past the secondary level felt the same way. If women are forced out of the labor force and into the home to have children, the population problem will only grow.

China marks World Population Day. Address by Zhang Weiqing: (Excerpts).

PubMed

Zhang, W

1998-08-01

This is a summary of remarks by Minister Zhang Weiqing of China's State Family Planning Commission (SFPC) given on World Population Day in China. The world's population size has increased by 1 billion since 1987, and will reach 6 billion by 1999. As the most populous developing country in the world, China has a greater population pressure and bears a large responsibility regarding stabilization of the world's population and realization of sustainable development. China has a less developed economy and a high percentage of rural and illiterate persons, many of whom are below the poverty line. The interests of both present and future generations must be taken into account with regard to development. In addition, the modernization drive must include strategies for sustainable development and basic national policies of FP and environmental protection in order to achieve a balance among population growth, the economy, resources, and the environment. After 30 years of effort, China has succeeded in solving its population problem by integrating governmental guidance with voluntary public participation in FP. In 1997, the birthrate decreased to 16.57/1000, and the total fertility rate was below replacement level. Changes in attitude toward marriage and childbearing have occurred, as has awareness of voluntary participation in FP. However, some problems have emerged in the implementation of population and FP programs. China will carry out its programs strictly and effectively while developing the national economy. Goals include: 1) stressing the IEC program regarding contraception and regular FP management and services; 2) integrating the FP program with economic development; 3) helping the public to become well off; 4) protecting maternal and child health; 5) improving the status of women; 6) delivering reproductive services; and 7) improving social security measures. Efforts will be made to enable the public to have a more active part in implementing the FP program.

The Middle East. Domestic sufficiency of fossil fuel resources

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Swegle, John A.; Kessinger, Samuel E.

In this paper, we’ve compared energy production and consumption across the broader Middle East, paying special attention to three different countries; Saudi Arabia, one of the world’s largest oil producers (second in the CIA World Factbook ranking of crude oil producing countries), with a growing population in the mid-range (47th in the world, according to the CIA World Factbook, and fifth among the nations in this region), a large GDP and GDP per capita (15th in the world, second in this region in GDP, and 21st in GDP per capita in the world, just behind the US at 19th); Qatar,more » the world’s fourth largest producer of natural gas, with a small native population (and a relatively large foreign labor contingent) that is very wealthy (with the world’s highest GDP per capita, more than twice that of the US); and Egypt, the most populous nation in the region (with the world’s 16th largest population), but relatively poor (with a GDP per capita of about a fifth that of the US and a twelfth that of Qatar); Egypt is a significant energy producer – 29th in the world in crude oil production and 17th in natural gas production – but production has stalled or declined in recent years, and domestic consumption has overtaken production.« less

Os incae: variation in frequency in major human population groups

PubMed Central

HANIHARA, TSUNEHIKO; ISHIDA, HAJIME

2001-01-01

The variation in frequency of the Inca bone was examined in major human populations around the world. The New World populations have generally high frequencies of the Inca bone, whereas lower frequencies occur in northeast Asians and Australians. Tibetan/Nepalese and Assam/Sikkim populations in northeast India have more Inca bones than do neighbouring populations. Among modern populations originally derived from eastern Asian population stock, the frequencies are highest in some of the marginal isolated groups. In Central and West Asia as well as in Europe, frequency of the Inca bone is relatively low. The incidence of the complete Inca bone is, moreover, very low in the western hemisphere of the Old World except for Subsaharan Africa. Subsaharan Africans show as a whole a second peak in the occurrence of the Inca bone. Geographical and ethnographical patterns of the frequency variation of the Inca bone found in this study indicate that the possible genetic background for the occurrence of this bone cannot be completely excluded. Relatively high frequencies of the Inca bone in Subsaharan Africans indicate that this trait is not a uniquely eastern Asian regional character. PMID:11273039

World Food Security and Insecurity, 1984-2000.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Farrell, Kenneth R.

Effective economic demand, rather than resource constraints, will continue to be the dominant limiting factor in improving the security of world food supplies between now and the year 2000. The global demand for food will continue to grow but the rate of growth is declining in virtually all regions, easing the pressure on agricultural resources.…

West Asia - a demographic profile.

PubMed

1980-01-01

The average rate of population growth in the Arab region is about 3% per year, and fertility rates are high. The population aged 15 years or under accounts for 48% of the total population in most countries. The rate of economically active population is very low, ranging from 22% to 32% of the total. Infant mortality rates range from 60/1000 to 200/1000. Illiteracy rates average around 47% of the total number of males aged 15 and above, and exceeded 70% among women. Special attention is being given girls' education. The proportion of girls aged 6-24 enrolled at various educational levels rose from about 14.3% in 1960 to about 25% in 1975. Female illiteracy rates in Arab countries are among the highest in the world. Negative attitudes toward working women continue to be the major obstacle and contributes to high fertility. Demographic profiles are given for Kuwait, Qatar, Yemen, and United Arab Emirates. In the United Arab Emirates the most prominent feature of the age-sex structure is the relatively large number of males between the ages of 20 and 40. The total fertility rate and the gross reproduction rate for the entire population in 1975 were estimated to be about 5.9 and 2.9 respectively. Between 1968 and 1975 the population of the United Arab Emirates grew from 180,226 to 557,887, yielding an annual growth of 14.6%.

Genetic structure of populations of whale sharks among ocean basins and evidence for their historic rise and recent decline.

PubMed

Vignaud, Thomas M; Maynard, Jeffrey A; Leblois, Raphael; Meekan, Mark G; Vázquez-Juárez, Ricardo; Ramírez-Macías, Dení; Pierce, Simon J; Rowat, David; Berumen, Michael L; Beeravolu, Champak; Baksay, Sandra; Planes, Serge

2014-05-01

This study presents genetic evidence that whale sharks, Rhincodon typus, are comprised of at least two populations that rarely mix and is the first to document a population expansion. Relatively high genetic structure is found when comparing sharks from the Gulf of Mexico with sharks from the Indo-Pacific. If mixing occurs between the Indian and Atlantic Oceans, it is not sufficient to counter genetic drift. This suggests whale sharks are not all part of a single global metapopulation. The significant population expansion we found was indicated by both microsatellite and mitochondrial DNA. The expansion may have happened during the Holocene, when tropical species could expand their range due to sea-level rise, eliminating dispersal barriers and increasing plankton productivity. However, the historic trend of population increase may have reversed recently. Declines in genetic diversity are found for 6 consecutive years at Ningaloo Reef in Australia. The declines in genetic diversity being seen now in Australia may be due to commercial-scale harvesting of whale sharks and collision with boats in past decades in other countries in the Indo-Pacific. The study findings have implications for models of population connectivity for whale sharks and advocate for continued focus on effective protection of the world's largest fish at multiple spatial scales. © 2014 John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

The World Meteorological Organization Focus on Urban Issues

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Terblanche, D. E.

2015-12-01

Many of the milestones of human development can be traced back to people assembled in urban settings where economies of scale, competition and social interaction stimulated innovation. Considering that more than half the global pollution now lives in cities and towns and that most of the growth in the global pollution in the remainder of this century will continue to take place in the urban environment, the question could be asked whether humankind will continue to capitalize on the traditional benefits of city life to find solutions for growing environmental challenges? In the past cities developed organically. They evolved through trial and error into livable environments. Things have now changed. The global population is larger, urbanization is rapid, pressure on Earth's limited resources is constraining and we are faced with a changing climate. If cities are now allowed to develop in a haphazard manner, the fight for survival in the city will overshadow its entrepreneurial spirit. It is for this reason that the 11th Sustainable Development Goal will focus on: 'Making cities and human settlements inclusive, safe, resilient and sustainable'. There is now a window of opportunity for weather, climate, water and environmental scientists to contribute towards a more sustainable urban future by ensuring that science based services form an integrated part of urban planning, development and management. WMO recognizes that rapid urbanization will require new types of new and enhanced services. Such integrated urban weather, environment and climate services will assist cities to deal better with hazards such as storm surge, flooding, heat waves, and air pollution episodes, especially in a changing climate. From a research perspective the World Climate Research Programme, the World Weather Research Programme and the Global Atmosphere Watch Programme all have a unique contribution to make in this regard.

Genetic diversity of Ovis aries populations near domestication centers and in the new world

USDA-ARS?s Scientific Manuscript database

Domestic sheep in Kazakhstan may provide an interesting source of genetic variability due to their proximately to the center of domestication and the Silk Route. Additionally, those breeds have never been compared to new world sheep populations. This report compares genetic diversity among five Kaza...

The World Social Situation: Development Challenges at the Outset of a New Century

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Estes, Richard J.

2010-01-01

World social development has arrived at a critical turning point. Economically advanced nations have made significant progress toward meeting the basic needs of their populations; however, the majority of developing countries have not. Problems of rapid population growth, failing economies, famine, environmental devastation, majority-minority…

Informativeness of single nucleotide polymorphisms and relationships among onion populations from important world production regions

USDA-ARS?s Scientific Manuscript database

Single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) were genotyped using a high-density array and DNAs from individual plants from important onion populations from major production regions world-wide and the likely progenitor of onion, Allium vavilovii. Genotypes at 1226 SNPs were used to estimate genetic relati...

Using a Population-Ecology Simulation in College Courses.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Hinze, Kenneth E.

1984-01-01

Describes instructional use of a microcomputer version of the WORLD2 global population-ecology simulation. Reactions of students and instructors are discussed and a WORLD2 simulation assignment is appended. The BASIC version used by the author runs on Apple II, DOS 3.3, with 80 column board. (MBR)

Population: The U.S. Problem--The World Crisis.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Kegan, Lawrence R., Ed.

1972-01-01

Population problems in both the United States and throughout the world are summarized and analyzed, pictorially and narratively, in this special newspaper supplement to "The New York Times", April 30, 1972. Part I presents the U. S. problem, with the following contributions: excerpts from President Richard Nixon's message to Congress on…

Phosphorus Management in Crop Production

USDA-ARS?s Scientific Manuscript database

World population is projected to increase to about 9 Billion people by 2050. To feed the increasing world population, it is projected that global food supply should be increased by about 60-70% by 2050. Increase in food production could be achieved by improving yield per unit land area, increase lan...

Why water will be the driving force behind agricultural sustainability

USDA-ARS?s Scientific Manuscript database

In the latter half of the 20th century, world population more than doubled to 6 billion, staple food prices in constant dollars decreased dramatically, and the nutritional status of the world's population improved. The Green Revolution is cited as accounting for this paradox; but often ignored is th...

The Origins of African Plasmodium vivax; Insights from Mitochondrial Genome Sequencing

PubMed Central

Culleton, Richard; Coban, Cevayir; Zeyrek, Fadile Yildiz; Cravo, Pedro; Kaneko, Akira; Randrianarivelojosia, Milijaona; Andrianaranjaka, Voahangy; Kano, Shigeyuki; Farnert, Anna; Arez, Ana Paula; Sharp, Paul M.; Carter, Richard; Tanabe, Kazuyuki

2011-01-01

Plasmodium vivax, the second most prevalent of the human malaria parasites, is estimated to affect 75 million people annually. It is very rare, however, in west and central Africa, due to the high prevalence of the Duffy negative phenotype in the human population. Due to its rarity in Africa, previous studies on the phylogeny of world-wide P. vivax have suffered from insufficient samples of African parasites. Here we compare the mitochondrial sequence diversity of parasites from Africa with those from other areas of the world, in order to investigate the origin of present-day African P. vivax. Mitochondrial genome sequencing revealed relatively little polymorphism within the African population compared to parasites from the rest of the world. This, combined with sequence similarity with parasites from India, suggests that the present day African P. vivax population in humans may have been introduced relatively recently from the Indian subcontinent. Haplotype network analysis also raises the possibility that parasites currently found in Africa and South America may be the closest extant relatives of the ancestors of the current world population. Lines of evidence are adduced that this ancestral population may be from an ancient stock of P. vivax in Africa. PMID:22195007

Association for population/family planning libraries and information centers-international (APLIC).

PubMed

Shipman, P E

1983-04-01

Population centers and their information units or libraries were established as early as the 1920s, but population evolved as a field of study in its own right mainly during the 1950s and 60s. This paper attempts not so much to describe all that has taken place in the population information field to date, as to describe the activities of the Association for Population/Family Planning Libraries and Information Centers-International (APLIC). It is 1 of 2 international associations of population/family planning information specialists; the other is POPIN, in whose establishment APLIC played a key role. Membership can be either individual or institutional. At present there are 129 members from all parts of the globe. APLIC's goal is to make population, demographic, and family planning information available in the most effective way to researchers, policy-makers, clinicians, administrators, and program practitioners throughout the world. Its efforts are focused on 5 major areas: 1) the development of effective documentation and information systems and services; 2) professional contact among population librarians, documentalists, and information and communication specialists; 3) the global exchange of population information through programs and activities; 4) a cooperative network of population documentation centers and libraries; 5) continuing education to encourage professional development. Every year since 1968, APLIC has held a conference at which a diverse number of international and national information topics have been dealt with, and at which there have been working committees and information panels. Other activities include the publication of a newsletter, inter-library loans, reference services, and other matters relating to respective parent organizations.

Rethinking Global Water Governance for the 21st Century

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ajami, N. K.; Cooley, H.

2012-12-01

Growing pressure on the world's water resources is having major impacts on our social and economic well-being. According to the United Nations, today, at least 1.1 billion people do not have access to clean drinking water. Pressures on water resources are likely to continue to worsen in response to decaying and crumbling infrastructure, continued population growth, climate change, degradation of water quality, and other challenges. If these challenges are not addressed, they pose future risks for many countries around the world, making it urgent that efforts are made to understand both the nature of the problems and the possible solutions that can effectively reduce the associated risks. There is growing understanding of the need to rethink governance to meet the 21st century water challenges. More and more water problems extend over traditional national boundaries and to the global community and the types and numbers of organizations addressing water issues are large and growing. Economic globalization and transnational organizations and activities point to the need for improving coordination and integration on addressing water issues, which are increasingly tied to food and energy security, trade, global climate change, and other international policies. We will present some of the key limitations of global water governance institutions and provide recommendations for improving these institutions to address 21st century global water challenges more effectively.

Comparative Microsatellite Typing of New World Leishmania infantum Reveals Low Heterogeneity among Populations and Its Recent Old World Origin

PubMed Central

Kuhls, Katrin; Alam, Mohammad Zahangir; Cupolillo, Elisa; Ferreira, Gabriel Eduardo M.; Mauricio, Isabel L.; Oddone, Rolando; Feliciangeli, M. Dora; Wirth, Thierry; Miles, Michael A.; Schönian, Gabriele

2011-01-01

Leishmania infantum (syn. L. chagasi) is the causative agent of visceral leishmaniasis (VL) in the New World (NW) with endemic regions extending from southern USA to northern Argentina. The two hypotheses about the origin of VL in the NW suggest (1) recent importation of L. infantum from the Old World (OW), or (2) an indigenous origin and a distinct taxonomic rank for the NW parasite. Multilocus microsatellite typing was applied in a survey of 98 L. infantum isolates from different NW foci. The microsatellite profiles obtained were compared to those of 308 L. infantum and 20 L. donovani strains from OW countries previously assigned to well-defined populations. Two main populations were identified for both NW and OW L. infantum. Most of the NW strains belonged to population 1, which corresponded to the OW MON-1 population. However, the NW population was much more homogeneous. A second, more heterogeneous, population comprised most Caribbean strains and corresponded to the OW non-MON-1 population. All Brazilian L. infantum strains belonged to population 1, although they represented 61% of the sample and originated from 9 states. Population analysis including the OW L. infantum populations indicated that the NW strains were more similar to MON-1 and non-MON-1 sub-populations of L. infantum from southwest Europe, than to any other OW sub-population. Moreover, similarity between NW and Southwest European L. infantum was higher than between OW L. infantum from distinct parts of the Mediterranean region, Middle East and Central Asia. No correlation was found between NW L. infantum genotypes and clinical picture or host background. This study represents the first continent-wide analysis of NW L. infantum population structure. It confirmed that the agent of VL in the NW is L. infantum and that the parasite has been recently imported multiple times to the NW from southwest Europe. PMID:21666787

Gambling on growth.

PubMed

Feeney, A

1990-01-01

When the assumption is made that economic growth must be increased by 10% to accommodate population increases and to reduce poverty, the question is raised as to whether or not sustainable development is possible. The human population increased 3 times since 1900, and global economic activity has increased 7 times faster than population. Use of fossil fuels has increased by 30 times, and industrial production has increased by 50 times. The by-products of population growth and economic activity are loss of tropical rainforests; species extinction; desertification in Africa, India, and the US; toxic and radioactive pollution; and greenhouse warming and ozone depletion. The atmosphere's stability and human habitation is threatened. Sustainable development, as defined by the World Commission on Environment and Development (WCED) in "Our Common Future," is meeting present needs but not at the expense of future needs. Economic growth must proceed at different rates in different countries to close the gap between the rich and poor. Economic expansion has been criticized by the president of Negative Population Growth and the Environmental Defense Fund's coordinator of reform for the World Bank's environmental policies and Third World countries. US government response during the Reagan administration has been indifference, while support has come from the World Resources Institute, the Worldwatch Institute, the US National Wildlife Federation, and the Population Reference Bureau. Recent support has come from signers of the "G-7 Summit" and from IBM and the Dow Chemical Company. A few shared tenets are 1) that economic development is not sustainable, 2) environmental reforms are necessary to make development sustainable, 3) a trade-off is needed to increase Third World energy use, and 4) population must be stabilized. Many proposals have been offered including reducing population to 2 billion, or 40% of the current level. Reducing poverty globally is an environmentally sound policy. High tariffs and protectionism, debt payments, and International Monetary Fund structural adjustment programs have made the situation worse for the Third World. Many suggestions have been made to correct the poverty imbalance, including no growth or steady state economics.

Value of screening endoscopy in evaluation of esophageal, gastric and colon cancers

PubMed Central

Ro, Tae H; Mathew, Michelle A; Misra, Subhasis

2015-01-01

Esophageal, gastric, and colorectal cancers are deadly diseases that continue to plague our world today. The value of screening endoscopy in evaluating these types of cancers is a critical area of discussion due to a potential reduction in morbidity and mortality. This article describes how to identify a good screening test and explains what are important criteria in the field of screening endoscopy. Furthermore, the current status and progress of screening endoscopy for esophageal, gastric, and colorectal cancer will be evaluated and discussed. Mass screening programs have not been implemented for esophageal and gastric carcinomas in those with average or low risk populations. However, studies of high-risk populations have found value and a cost-benefit in conducting screening endoscopy. Colorectal cancer, on the other hand, has had mass screening programs in place for many years due to the clear evidence of improved outcomes. As the role of endoscopy as a screening tool has continued to develop, newer technology and techniques have emerged to improve its utility. Many new image enhancement techniques and computer processing programs have shown promise and may have a significant role in the future of endoscopic screening. These developments are paving the way for improving the diagnostic and therapeutic capability of endoscopy in the field of gastroenterology. PMID:26361416

Value of screening endoscopy in evaluation of esophageal, gastric and colon cancers.

PubMed

Ro, Tae H; Mathew, Michelle A; Misra, Subhasis

2015-09-07

Esophageal, gastric, and colorectal cancers are deadly diseases that continue to plague our world today. The value of screening endoscopy in evaluating these types of cancers is a critical area of discussion due to a potential reduction in morbidity and mortality. This article describes how to identify a good screening test and explains what are important criteria in the field of screening endoscopy. Furthermore, the current status and progress of screening endoscopy for esophageal, gastric, and colorectal cancer will be evaluated and discussed. Mass screening programs have not been implemented for esophageal and gastric carcinomas in those with average or low risk populations. However, studies of high-risk populations have found value and a cost-benefit in conducting screening endoscopy. Colorectal cancer, on the other hand, has had mass screening programs in place for many years due to the clear evidence of improved outcomes. As the role of endoscopy as a screening tool has continued to develop, newer technology and techniques have emerged to improve its utility. Many new image enhancement techniques and computer processing programs have shown promise and may have a significant role in the future of endoscopic screening. These developments are paving the way for improving the diagnostic and therapeutic capability of endoscopy in the field of gastroenterology.

A probabilistic and multi-objective analysis of lexicase selection and ε-lexicase selection.

PubMed

Cava, William La; Helmuth, Thomas; Spector, Lee; Moore, Jason H

2018-05-10

Lexicase selection is a parent selection method that considers training cases individually, rather than in aggregate, when performing parent selection. Whereas previous work has demonstrated the ability of lexicase selection to solve difficult problems in program synthesis and symbolic regression, the central goal of this paper is to develop the theoretical underpinnings that explain its performance. To this end, we derive an analytical formula that gives the expected probabilities of selection under lexicase selection, given a population and its behavior. In addition, we expand upon the relation of lexicase selection to many-objective optimization methods to describe the behavior of lexicase selection, which is to select individuals on the boundaries of Pareto fronts in high-dimensional space. We show analytically why lexicase selection performs more poorly for certain sizes of population and training cases, and show why it has been shown to perform more poorly in continuous error spaces. To address this last concern, we propose new variants of ε-lexicase selection, a method that modifies the pass condition in lexicase selection to allow near-elite individuals to pass cases, thereby improving selection performance with continuous errors. We show that ε-lexicase outperforms several diversity-maintenance strategies on a number of real-world and synthetic regression problems.

An international surgical collaboration: humanitarian surgery in Brazil.

PubMed

De Rosa, A; Meyer, A; Seabra, A P; Sorge, A; Hack, J; Soares, L A; Chalub, S; Malcher, F; Kingsnorth, A

2016-08-01

Brazil is the fifth most populous country in the world with widespread regional and social inequalities. Regional disparities in healthcare are unacceptably large, with the remote and poor regions of the north and northeast having reduced life expectancy compared to the south region, where life expectancy approaches that of rich countries. We report our experience of a humanitarian surgery mission to the Amazonas state, in the northwest part of Brazil. In August 2014, a team of seven consultant surgeons, and two trainees with the charity 'International Hernia', visited three hospitals in the Amazonas state to provide hernia surgery and training. Eighty-nine hernias were repaired in 74 patients (female = 22, male = 52) with a median age of 44 years (range 2-83 years). Nine patients underwent more than one type of hernia repair, and there were 9 laparoscopic inguinal and ventral incisional hernia repairs. Local doctors were trained in hernia repair techniques, and an International Hernia Symposium was held at the University of the State of Amazonas, Manaus. The humanitarian mission provided hernia surgery to an underserved population in Brazil and training to local doctors, building local sustainability. Continued cooperation between host and international surgeons for future missions to Brazil will ensure continuing surgical training and technical assistance.

What We Do and Do Not Know About Women and Kidney Diseases; Questions Unanswered and Answers Unquestioned: Reflection on World Kidney Day and International Woman’s Day

PubMed Central

Piccoli, Giorgina B.; Alrukhaimi, Mona; Liu, Zhi-Hong; Zakharova, Elena; Levin, Adeera

2018-01-01

Background: Chronic kidney disease affects approximately 10% of the world’s adult population: It is within the top 20 causes of death worldwide, and its impact on patients and their families can be devastating. World Kidney Day and International Women’s Day in 2018 coincide, thus giving an occasion to reflect on open questions on the importance of kidney health in women for the present and the future generations. Objectives: In this review, we summarize some aspects that are unique to women’s kidney health, offering an opportunity to reflect on the importance of women’s health and specifically their kidney health, on the community, and the next generations, as well as to strive to be more curious about the unique aspects of kidney disease in women so that we may apply those learnings more broadly. Findings: Girls and women, who make up approximately 50% of the world’s population, are important contributors to society and their families. Gender differences continue to exist around the world in access to education, medical care, and participation in clinical studies. Pregnancy is not only a unique state for women, offering an opportunity for diagnosis of kidney disease, but also a state where acute and chronic kidney diseases may manifest, and which may impact future generations with respect to kidney health. There are various autoimmune and other conditions that are more likely to impact women with profound consequences for childbearing, and on the fetus. Women have different complications on dialysis than men, and are more likely to be donors than recipients of kidney transplants. Conclusion: Improving knowledge on women, kidney health, and kidney disease, may be a way to improve outcomes of kidney diseases worldwide. PMID:29552348

Reducing water scarcity possible by 2050: Linking global assessments to policy dimensions

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Wada, Y.; Gleeson, T.; Esnault, L.

2015-12-01

Water scarcity is not a problem just for the developing world. In California, legislators are currently proposing a $7.5 billion emergency water plan to their voters; and U.S. federal officials last year warned residents of Arizona and Nevada that they could face cuts in Colorado River water deliveries in 2016. Irrigation techniques, industrial and residential habits combined with climate change lie at the root of the problem. But despite what appears to be an insurmountable problem, it is possible to turn the situation around and significantly reduce water scarcity in over next 35 years. We identify outline strategies in six key areas that they believe can be combined in different ways in different parts of the world in order to effectively reduce water stress. (Water stress occurs in an area where more than 40% of the available water from rivers is unavailable because it is already being used - a situation that currently affects about a third of the global population, and may affect as many as half the people in the world by the end of the century if the current pattern of water use continues). We separate six key strategy areas for reducing water stress into "hard path" measures, involving building more reservoirs and increasing desalination efforts of sea water, and "soft path" measures that focus on reducing water demand rather than increasing water supply thanks to community-scale efforts and decision-making, combining efficient technology and environmental protection. While there are some economic, cultural and social factors that may make certain of the "soft path" measures such as population control difficult, the "soft path" measures offer the more realistic path forward in terms of reducing water stress by 2050.

Reducing water scarcity possible by 2050: Linking global assessments to policy dimensions

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Watts, A.; Turetsky, M. R.; Benscoter, B.; Page, S. E.; Rein, G.; van der Werf, G.

2014-12-01

Water scarcity is not a problem just for the developing world. In California, legislators are currently proposing a $7.5 billion emergency water plan to their voters; and U.S. federal officials last year warned residents of Arizona and Nevada that they could face cuts in Colorado River water deliveries in 2016. Irrigation techniques, industrial and residential habits combined with climate change lie at the root of the problem. But despite what appears to be an insurmountable problem, it is possible to turn the situation around and significantly reduce water scarcity in over next 35 years. We identify outline strategies in six key areas that they believe can be combined in different ways in different parts of the world in order to effectively reduce water stress. (Water stress occurs in an area where more than 40% of the available water from rivers is unavailable because it is already being used - a situation that currently affects about a third of the global population, and may affect as many as half the people in the world by the end of the century if the current pattern of water use continues). We separate six key strategy areas for reducing water stress into "hard path" measures, involving building more reservoirs and increasing desalination efforts of sea water, and "soft path" measures that focus on reducing water demand rather than increasing water supply thanks to community-scale efforts and decision-making, combining efficient technology and environmental protection. While there are some economic, cultural and social factors that may make certain of the "soft path" measures such as population control difficult, the "soft path" measures offer the more realistic path forward in terms of reducing water stress by 2050.

Liver Transplantation in Hepatitis C-Infected Patients: Experience From a South American Transplant Center.

PubMed

Caicedo, L A; Delgado, A; Garcia, V H; Aristizabal, A M; Gomez, C; Jiménez, D F; Sepulveda, M; García, J A; Rosso, F; Castro, A M; Alcazar, K; Villegas, J I; Serrano, O; Echeverri, G J

2018-03-01

Around 2.4% of the world's population is infected with hepatitis C virus (HCV), and it is the most common cause of liver transplantation (LT) in the world. Latin America (LA), with nearly 9% of the world population, has had a continuous increase in the number of LTs per year. Yet, due to the lack of mandatory data collection and a well-developed health-care system, access to transplantation is limited in most LA countries. We report the first LA experience of HCV-infected LT patients. We performed a retrospective cohort study by reviewing the medical histories of all HCV-infected LT patients between 1996 and 2016 who acquired HCV before their LT, at the Fundación Valle del Lilí, Cali, Colombia. Between January 1996 and December 2015, a total of 770 LTs were performed, of which 75 had a cirrhotic liver due to HCV infection. With a median follow-up time of 24.4 months (interquartile range [IQR] 4.7-61.2 months), patient survival was 44.9% and 66.9% for the time periods 1996-2006 and 2007-2015, respectively. Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) was present in 30.6% of the patients, and overall postoperative complications had an incidence of 80%. This is the first report of LT in HCV-infected patients in Colombia and in LA. Our results are comparable to those of other transplant centers worldwide with regard to postoperative complications and patient survival. Patients with LT in the 1996-2006 time frame had higher morbidity and mortality. Studies including larger numbers of patients are needed to determine the reason for this finding. Copyright © 2018 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

[Population and development].

PubMed

Castanon Romo, R; Sandoval Navarrete, J

1996-01-01

This broad survey of the debate concerning the relationship between population growth and economic development discusses the history and current status of world population growth, summarizes several influential theoretical positions on the topic, and proposes that redefinition of women's social role is indispensable if worldwide control of population growth is to be achieved. The introductory section discusses the acceleration of population growth in the second half of the 20th century and the increasing concentration of growth in the poor and developing countries. The positions of those who see in population control a means of promoting economic development and political stability are contrasted to the positions of those who believe that a large and growing population is the key to achieving economic and political progress. The international community, facing great uncertainty about the size, distribution, and well-being of the future world population, is increasingly concerned about the effect of growing numbers on the environment and natural resources. The second section summarizes the works of Malthus, Julian Simon, and the Club of Rome, and analyzes the propositions of demographic transition theory. The conclusion notes that despite uncertainty about the future of world population, development, and health, most of the poorest countries have become aware of the desirability of slowing population growth. A broad redefinition of the social role of women will inevitably accompany the worldwide demographic transition.

Resource Mobilization for Health Advocacy: Afro-Brazilian Religious Organizations and HIV Prevention and Control

PubMed Central

Garcia, Jonathan; Parker, Richard G

2010-01-01

Brazil’s national response to AIDS has been tied to the ability to mobilize resources from the World Bank, the World Health Organization, and a variety of donor agencies. The combination of favorable political economic opportunities and the bottom-up demands from civil society make Brazil a particularly interesting case. Despite the stabilization of the AIDS epidemic within the general Brazilian population, it continues to grow in pockets of poverty, especially among women and blacks. We use resource mobilization theories to examine the role of Afro-Brazilian religious organizations in reaching these marginalized populations. From December 2006 through November 2008, we conducted ethnographic research, including participant observation and oral histories with religious leaders (N=18), officials from the National AIDS Program (N=12), public health workers from Rio de Janeiro (N=5), and non-governmental organization (NGO) activists who have worked with Afro-Brazilian religions (N=5). The mobilization of resources from international donors, political opportunities (i.e., decentralization of the National AIDS Program), and cultural framings enabled local Afro-Brazilian religious groups to forge a national network. On the micro-level, in Rio de Janeiro, we observed how macro-level structures led to the proliferation of capacity-building and peer educator projects among these religious groups. We found that beyond funding assistance, the interrelation of religious ideologies, leadership, and networks linked to HIV can affect mobilization. PMID:20542364

Virtual Global Magnetic Observatory - Concept and Implementation

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Papitashvili, V.; Clauer, R.; Petrov, V.; Saxena, A.

2002-12-01

The existing World Data Centers (WDC) continue to serve excellently the worldwide scientific community in providing free access to a huge number of global geophysical databases. Various institutions at different geographic locations house these Centers, mainly organized by a scientific discipline. However, population of the Centers requires mandatory or voluntary submission of locally collected data. Recently many digital geomagnetic datasets have been placed on the World Wide Web and some of these sets have not been even submitted to any data center. This has created an urgent need for more sophisticated search engines capable of identifying geomagnetic data on the Web and then retrieving a certain amount of data for the scientific analysis. In this study, we formulate a concept of the virtual global magnetic observatory (VGMO) that currently uses a pre-set list of the Web-based geomagnetic data holders (including WDC) as retrieving a requested case-study interval. Saving the retrieved data locally over the multiple requests, a VGMO user begins to build his/her own data sub-center, which does not need to search the Web if the newly requested interval will be within a span of the earlier retrieved data. At the same time, this self-populated sub-center becomes available to other VGMO users down on the requests chain. Some aspects of the Web``crawling'' helping to identify the newly ``webbed'' digital geomagnetic data are also considered.

Phylogeographic and genome-wide investigations of Vietnam ethnic groups reveal signatures of complex historical demographic movements.

PubMed

Pischedda, S; Barral-Arca, R; Gómez-Carballa, A; Pardo-Seco, J; Catelli, M L; Álvarez-Iglesias, V; Cárdenas, J M; Nguyen, N D; Ha, H H; Le, A T; Martinón-Torres, F; Vullo, C; Salas, A

2017-10-03

The territory of present-day Vietnam was the cradle of one of the world's earliest civilizations, and one of the first world regions to develop agriculture. We analyzed the mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) complete control region of six ethnic groups and the mitogenomes from Vietnamese in The 1000 Genomes Project (1000G). Genome-wide data from 1000G (~55k SNPs) were also investigated to explore different demographic scenarios. All Vietnamese carry South East Asian (SEA) haplotypes, which show a moderate geographic and ethnic stratification, with the Mong constituting the most distinctive group. Two new mtDNA clades (M7b1a1f1 and F1f1) point to historical gene flow between the Vietnamese and other neighboring countries. Bayesian-based inferences indicate a time-deep and continuous population growth of Vietnamese, although with some exceptions. The dramatic population decrease experienced by the Cham 700 years ago (ya) fits well with the Nam tiến ("southern expansion") southwards from their original heartland in the Red River Delta. Autosomal SNPs consistently point to important historical gene flow within mainland SEA, and add support to a main admixture event occurring between Chinese and a southern Asian ancestral composite (mainly represented by the Malay). This admixture event occurred ~800 ya, again coinciding with the Nam tiến.

Dietary Salt Intake and Hypertension

PubMed Central

2014-01-01

Over the past century, salt has been the subject of intense scientific research related to blood pressure elevation and cardiovascular mortalities. Moderate reduction of dietary salt intake is generally an effective measure to reduce blood pressure. However, recently some in the academic society and lay media dispute the benefits of salt restriction, pointing to inconsistent outcomes noted in some observational studies. A reduction in dietary salt from the current intake of 9-12 g/day to the recommended level of less than 5-6 g/day will have major beneficial effects on cardiovascular health along with major healthcare cost savings around the world. The World Health Organization (WHO) strongly recommended to reduce dietary salt intake as one of the top priority actions to tackle the global non-communicable disease crisis and has urged member nations to take action to reduce population wide dietary salt intake to decrease the number of deaths from hypertension, cardiovascular disease and stroke. However, some scientists still advocate the possibility of increased risk of CVD morbidity and mortality at extremes of low salt intake. Future research may inform the optimal sodium reduction strategies and intake targets for general populations. Until then, we have to continue to build consensus around the greatest benefits of salt reduction for CVD prevention, and dietary salt intake reduction strategies must remain at the top of the public health agenda. PMID:25061468

Blood banking in China.

PubMed

Shan, Hua; Wang, Jing-Xing; Ren, Fu-Rong; Zhang, Yuan-Zhi; Zhao, Hai-Yan; Gao, Guo-Jing; Ji, Yang; Ness, Paul M

2002-11-30

While transfusion-transmissible diseases, including AIDS and viral hepatitis, continue to spread especially in developing countries, the issue of safeguarding the world's blood supply is of paramount importance. China houses more than 20% of the earth's population, and thus its blood supply has the potential to affect the global community. In recent years, Chinese blood centres have tried to improve the nation's blood safety. Although substantial progress has already been made, many daunting difficulties remain. Traditional cultural barriers need to be overcome to successfully mobilise volunteer blood donors. Gaps in information and technology still need to be closed. Insufficiency of economic resources also restrict the blood bank industry. Other developing countries face many of the same challenges as China.

Dead of night.

PubMed

Balter, Leon

2010-07-01

Dead of Night, the first psychoanalytic horror film, was produced in England in 1945, immediately after the end of World War II--that is, after the English population had suffered systematic Nazi terror from imminent invasion, incessant aerial bombing, and rocket-bombs. This film continued the prewar format of horror films based on themes of the supernatural and the hubris and excesses of science. However, it introduced psychoanalysis as the science in question. The film is structured on two levels: a genteel English country weekend to which witty and urbane guests have been invited; and five horror stories told by the guests. Psychoanalytic insights into this film structure are used here to explain how the film induces horror in the audience.

Improving the art and science of disaster medicine and public health preparedness.

PubMed

James, James J; Subbarao, Italo; Lanier, William L

2008-05-01

Media reports from around the world contain stories almost daily of natural or man-made disasters and their consequences. Although it is tempting to attribute these reports to both proliferation of the modern media (with 24-hour-a-day, 7-days-a-week coverage) and the public's appetite for bad news, it is also true that natural disasters are increasing in magnitude and frequency and will continue to affect immense numbers of people. The reasons for this increase are multifactorial but are based in large measure on 3 important developments that are related: (1) overpopulation, (2) population migration to cities (urbanization) and to coastal areas, and (3) climate change.

Scale-Free Distribution of Avian Influenza Outbreaks

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Small, Michael; Walker, David M.; Tse, Chi Kong

2007-11-01

Using global case data for the period from 25 November 2003 to 10 March 2007, we construct a network of plausible transmission pathways for the spread of avian influenza among domestic and wild birds. The network structure we obtain is complex and exhibits scale-free (although not necessarily small-world) properties. Communities within this network are connected with a distribution of links with infinite variance. Hence, the disease transmission model does not exhibit a threshold and so the infection will continue to propagate even with very low transmissibility. Consequentially, eradication with methods applicable to locally homogeneous populations is not possible. Any control measure needs to focus explicitly on the hubs within this network structure.

Algae biofuels: versatility for the future of bioenergy.

PubMed

Jones, Carla S; Mayfield, Stephen P

2012-06-01

The world continues to increase its energy use, brought about by an expanding population and a desire for a greater standard of living. This energy use coupled with the realization of the impact of carbon dioxide on the climate, has led us to reanalyze the potential of plant-based biofuels. Of the potential sources of biofuels the most efficient producers of biomass are the photosynthetic microalgae and cyanobacteria. These versatile organisms can be used for the production of bioethanol, biodiesel, biohydrogen, and biogas. In fact, one of the most economic methods for algal biofuels production may be the combined biorefinery approach where multiple biofuels are produced from one biomass source. Copyright © 2011 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Historical Trauma, Substance Use, and Indigenous Peoples: Seven Generations of Harm From a "Big Event".

PubMed

Nutton, Jennifer; Fast, Elizabeth

2015-01-01

Indigenous peoples the world over have and continue to experience the devastating effects of colonialism including loss of life, land, language, culture, and identity. Indigenous peoples suffer disproportionately across many health risk factors including an increased risk of substance use. We use the term "Big Event" to describe the historical trauma attributed to colonial policies as a potential pathway to explain the disparity in rates of substance use among many Indigenous populations. We present "Big Solutions" that have the potential to buffer the negative effects of the Big Event, including: (1) decolonizing strategies, (2) identity development, and (3) culturally adapted interventions. Study limitations are noted and future needed research is suggested.

Large-scale projects in the amazon and human exposure to mercury: The case-study of the Tucuruí Dam.

PubMed

Arrifano, Gabriela P F; Martín-Doimeadios, Rosa C Rodríguez; Jiménez-Moreno, María; Ramírez-Mateos, Vanesa; da Silva, Núbia F S; Souza-Monteiro, José Rogério; Augusto-Oliveira, Marcus; Paraense, Ricardo S O; Macchi, Barbarella M; do Nascimento, José Luiz M; Crespo-Lopez, Maria Elena

2018-01-01

The Tucuruí Dam is one of the largest dams ever built in the Amazon. The area is not highly influenced by gold mining as a source of mercury contamination. Still, we recently noted that one of the most consumed fishes (Cichla sp.) is possibly contaminated with methylmercury. Therefore, this work evaluated the mercury content in the human population living near the Tucuruí Dam. Strict exclusion/inclusion criteria were applied for the selection of participants avoiding those with altered hepatic and/or renal functions. Methylmercury and total mercury contents were analyzed in hair samples. The median level of total mercury in hair was above the safe limit (10µg/g) recommended by the World Health Organization, with values up to 75µg/g (about 90% as methylmercury). A large percentage of the participants (57% and 30%) showed high concentrations of total mercury (≥ 10µg/g and ≥ 20µg/g, respectively), with a median value of 12.0µg/g. These are among the highest concentrations ever detected in populations living near Amazonian dams. Interestingly, the concentrations are relatively higher than those currently shown for human populations highly influenced by gold mining areas. Although additional studies are needed to confirm the possible biomagnification and bioaccumulation of mercury by the dams in the Amazon, our data already support the importance of adequate impact studies and continuous monitoring. More than 400 hydropower dams are operational or under construction in the Amazon, and an additional 334 dams are presently planned/proposed. Continuous monitoring of the populations will assist in the development of prevention strategies and government actions to face the problem of the impacts caused by the dams. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Juvenile myopia progression, risk factors and interventions.

PubMed

Myrowitz, Elliott H

2012-07-01

The development and progression of early onset myopia is actively being investigated. While myopia is often considered a benign condition it should be considered a public health problem for its visual, quality of life, and economic consequences. Nearly half of the visually impaired population in the world has uncorrected refractive errors, with myopia a high percent of that group. Uncorrected visual acuity should be screened for and treated in order to improve academic performance, career opportunities and socio-economic status. Genetic and environmental factors contribute to the onset and progression of myopia. Twin studies have supported genetic factors and research continues to identify myopia genetic loci. While multiple myopia genetic loci have been identified establishing myopia as a common complex disorder, there is not yet a genetic model explaining myopia progression in populations. Environmental factors include near work, education levels, urban compared to rural location, and time spent outdoors. In this field of study where there continues to be etiology controversies, there is recent agreement that children who spend more time outdoors are less likely to become myopic. Worldwide population studies, some completed and some in progress, with a common protocol are gathering both genetic and environmental cohort data of great value. There have been rapid population changes in prevalence rates supporting an environmental influence. Interventions to prevent juvenile myopia progression include pharmacologic agents, glasses and contact lenses. Pharmacological interventions over 1-2 year trials have shown benefits. Peripheral vision defocus has been found to affect the emmetropization process and may be affected by wearing glasses or contacts. Accommodation accuracy also has been implicated in myopia progression. Further research will aim to assess both the role and interaction of environmental influences and genetic factors.

World-System Mobility and Economic Growth, 1980-2000

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Clark, Rob

2010-01-01

World-system scholars have traditionally emphasized the stability of the core/periphery hierarchy. However, prior network studies employing both categorical and continuous measures of world-system position reveal substantial mobility across time, whereby a number of developing states have become more integrated in the world economy over the past…

76 FR 29139 - World Trade Week, 2011

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2011-05-19

... Trade Week, 2011 By the President of the United States of America A Proclamation American businesses... world continues to grow more interdependent. World Trade Week is a time to highlight the vital... May 15 through May 21, 2011, as World Trade Week. I encourage all Americans to observe this week with...

75 FR 37802 - Fifth Meeting of the Advisory Committee for the 2012 World Radiocommunication Conference

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2010-06-30

... Committee for the 2012 World Radiocommunication Conference AGENCY: Federal Communications Commission. ACTION... Communications Commission. The purpose of the meeting is to continue preparations for the 2012 World... proposals and positions for the 2012 World Radiocommunication Conference (WRC-12). In accordance with the...

75 FR 61756 - Sixth Meeting of the Advisory Committee for the 2012 World Radiocommunication Conference

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2010-10-06

... Committee for the 2012 World Radiocommunication Conference AGENCY: Federal Communications Commission. ACTION... Communications Commission. The purpose of the meeting is to continue preparations for the 2012 World... United States proposals and positions for the 2012 World Radiocommunication Conference (WRC-12). In...

75 FR 2141 - Fourth Meeting of the Advisory Committee for the 2012 World Radiocommunication Conference

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2010-01-14

... Committee for the 2012 World Radiocommunication Conference AGENCY: Federal Communications Commission. ACTION... Communications Commission. The purpose of the meeting is to continue preparations for the 2012 World... States proposals and positions for the 2012 World Radiocommunication Conference (WRC-12). In accordance...

76 FR 17417 - Eighth Meeting of the Advisory Committee for the 2012 World Radiocommunication Conference

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2011-03-29

... Committee for the 2012 World Radiocommunication Conference AGENCY: Federal Communications Commission. ACTION... Communications Commission. The purpose of the meeting is to continue preparations for the 2012 World... proposals and positions for the 2012 World Radiocommunication Conference (WRC-12). In accordance with the...

Estimation of effective population size in continuously distributed populations: There goes the neighborhood

Treesearch

M. C. Neel; K. McKelvey; N. Ryman; M. W. Lloyd; R. Short Bull; F. W. Allendorf; M. K. Schwartz; R. S. Waples

2013-01-01

Use of genetic methods to estimate effective population size (Ne) is rapidly increasing, but all approaches make simplifying assumptions unlikely to be met in real populations. In particular, all assume a single, unstructured population, and none has been evaluated for use with continuously distributed species. We simulated continuous populations with local mating...

World Wide Webs: Crossing the Digital Divide through Promotion of Public Access

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Coetzee, Liezl

“As Bill Gates and Steve Case proclaim the global omnipresence of the Internet, the majority of non-Western nations and 97 per cent of the world's population remain unconnected to the net for lack of money, access, or knowledge. This exclusion of so vast a share of the global population from the Internet sharply contradicts the claims of those who posit the World Wide Web as a ‘universal' medium of egalitarian communication.” (Trend 2001:2)

Continuing Education for Physicians. Report of a WHO (World Health Organization) Expert Committee. Technical Report Series No. 534.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

World Health Organization, Geneva (Switzerland).

The state of continuing education for physicians was examined by a World Health Organization Expert Committee. The study touched on five major areas: (1) the motivation and stimulation during basic medical education and during the physicians professional career; (2) the definition of objectives, selection of instructional methods, and evaluation…

45. FINISHING STANDS, 98INCH CONTINUOUS HOT STRIP MILL, WORLD'S LARGEST ...

Library of Congress Historic Buildings Survey, Historic Engineering Record, Historic Landscapes Survey

45. FINISHING STANDS, 98-INCH CONTINUOUS HOT STRIP MILL, WORLD'S LARGEST AT THE TIME OF INSTALLATION IN 1937. THE MILL WAS REPLACED BY A NEW 84-INCH MILL IN 1971 AND IS SEEN HERE PARTIALLY DISMANTLED IN PREPARATION FOR DEMOLITION. - Corrigan, McKinney Steel Company, 3100 East Forty-fifth Street, Cleveland, Cuyahoga County, OH

How to meet the increasing demands of water, food and energy in the future?

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Shi, Haiyun; Chen, Ji; Sivakumar, Bellie; Peart, Mervyn

2017-04-01

Regarded as a driving force in water, food and energy demands, the world's population has been increasing rapidly since the beginning of the 20th century. According to the medium-growth projection scenario of the United Nations, the world's population will reach 9.5 billion by 2050. In response to the continuously growing population during this century, water, food and energy demands have also been increasing rapidly, and social problems (e.g., water, food, and energy shortages) will be most likely to occur, especially if no proper management strategies are adopted. Then, how to meet the increasing demands of water, food and energy in the future? This study focuses on the sustainable developments of population, water, food, energy and dams, and the significances of this study can be concluded as follows: First, we reveal the close association between dams and social development through analysing the related data for the period 1960-2010, and argue that construction of additional large dams will have to be considered as one of the best available options to meet the increasing water, food and energy demands in the future. We conduct the projections of global water, food and energy consumptions and dam development for the period 2010-2050, and the results show that, compared to 2010, the total water, food and energy consumptions in 2050 will increase by 20%, 34% and 37%, respectively. Moreover, it is projected that additional 4,340 dams will be constructed by 2050 all over the world. Second, we analyse the current situation of global water scarcity based on the related data representing water resources availability (per capita available water resources), dam development (the number of dams), and the level of economic development (per capita gross domestic product). At the global scale, water scarcity exists in more than 70% of the countries around the world, including 43 countries suffering from economic water scarcity and 129 countries suffering from physical water scarcity. At the continental scale, most countries of Africa, the south and west Asia, and the central Europe are suffering from water scarcity. Third, with comprehensive consideration of population growth as the major driving force, water resources availability as the basic supporting factor, and topography as the important constraint, we address the question of future dam development and predict the locations of future large dams around the world. The results show that there will be 1,433 large dams built in the future, mainly in the Tibet Plateau and the Yunnan-Guizhou Plateau in Asia, the East African Plateau and the western part of Africa, the Andes Mountains and the Brazilian Plateau region in South America, the Rocky Mountains in North America, the Alps in Europe, and the Murray-Darling Basin in Oceania. Taking into account of the current situation of global water scarcity, these large dams are most likely to be constructed in countries that have abundant total available water resources or per capita available water resources, no matter whether they are experiencing "economic water scarcity" or have sufficient financial support.

Hunger and Population. Facts for Action #7.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Phillips, James

The relationship between world hunger and world population is explored in this document for high school global education classes. Reasons for the high birth rates in developing nations are suggested, e.g., a poor family has many children because children are an inexpensive work force, provide extra income, and care for parents in old age. The…

Population Growth and Family Planning. IN Visitors' Information Special Report. SO 6.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Heisse, Thomas

The rapid and still-accelerating increase in the world's population, especially in developing nations, will have a number of serious economic, social, and ecological consequences for the whole world. Germany is attempting to help solve these problems by providing family planning and poverty alleviation assistance to developing nations. German…

Trends in crop water productivity: Why the new green revolution must be blue-green

USDA-ARS?s Scientific Manuscript database

In the latter half of the 20th century, world population more than doubled to 6 billion; staple food prices in constant dollars decreased dramatically; and the nutritional status of the world's population improved. The Green Revolution is cited as accounting for this paradox; but often ignored is th...

Junior BioBlitz Takes Learning Outside

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Himschoot, Rebecca

2017-01-01

Evidence is mounting that children have decreasing exposure to the natural world, which makes sense as the population of the planet urbanizes and many interests and assignments involve digital technology. According to the United Nations, 54% of the world's population now live in cities (2014), and a 2010 study by the Kaiser Health Foundation found…

Social mosaics and urban forestry in Baltimore, Maryland

Treesearch

Morgan Grove; William R. Burch; S.T.A. Pickett

2005-01-01

Urbanization is a dominant demographic trend and an important component of global land transformation. By 2005, slightly more than half the world's population will reside in cities, and by 2025 this figure is projected to rise to more than 60 percent of the world's population (Gottdiener and Hutchinson 2000). The developed nations have more urbanized...

Incorporating Case Studies into a World Food and Population Course

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Econopouly, Bethany F.; Byrne, Patrick F.; Johnson, Marc A.

2010-01-01

The use of case studies in college courses can increase student engagement with the subject matter and improve analytical, problem-solving, and communication skills. Case studies were introduced in a relatively large (54 students) undergraduate world food and population course at Colorado State University in the spring semester of 2008 and…

Asia and the New Century: Challenges and Opportunities

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Estes, Richard J.

2007-01-01

Asia is the world's largest and most culturally diverse region. Consisting of some 53 independent nations with a combined population of more than 3808 million persons--59% of the world's total population in 2005--patterns of social and economic development in the region have been comparatively slow, especially with respect to rates of economic…

Biogeography of sulfur-oxidizing Acidithiobacillus populations in extremely acidic cave biofilms

PubMed Central

Jones, Daniel S; Schaperdoth, Irene; Macalady, Jennifer L

2016-01-01

Extremely acidic (pH 0–1.5) Acidithiobacillus-dominated biofilms known as snottites are found in sulfide-rich caves around the world. Given the extreme geochemistry and subsurface location of the biofilms, we hypothesized that snottite Acidithiobacillus populations would be genetically isolated. We therefore investigated biogeographic relationships among snottite Acidithiobacillus spp. separated by geographic distances ranging from meters to 1000s of kilometers. We determined genetic relationships among the populations using techniques with three levels of resolution: (i) 16S rRNA gene sequencing, (ii) 16S–23S intergenic transcribed spacer (ITS) region sequencing and (iii) multi-locus sequencing typing (MLST). We also used metagenomics to compare functional gene characteristics of select populations. Based on 16S rRNA genes, snottites in Italy and Mexico are dominated by different sulfur-oxidizing Acidithiobacillus spp. Based on ITS sequences, Acidithiobacillus thiooxidans strains from different cave systems in Italy are genetically distinct. Based on MLST of isolates from Italy, genetic distance is positively correlated with geographic distance both among and within caves. However, metagenomics revealed that At. thiooxidans populations from different cave systems in Italy have different sulfur oxidation pathways and potentially other significant differences in metabolic capabilities. In light of those genomic differences, we argue that the observed correlation between genetic and geographic distance among snottite Acidithiobacillus populations is partially explained by an evolutionary model in which separate cave systems were stochastically colonized by different ancestral surface populations, which then continued to diverge and adapt in situ. PMID:27187796

Morphometric Study of Clavicular Facet of Coracoclavicular Joint in Adult Indian Population

PubMed Central

Mahajan, Anita; Vasudeva, Neelam

2016-01-01

Introduction Anthropologists have used Coracoclavicular Joint (CCJ), a non-metric anatomical variant in population, as a marker for population migration from prehistoric times to present. Aim The aim of this osteological study was to determine the incidence and morphometry of articular facet of CCJ on conoid tubercle of clavicle in Indian population, as Indian studies are scanty and incomplete. Materials and Methods The study was done on 144 adult human clavicles (76 right and 68 left; 93 males and 51 females) collected from osteology museum in Department of Anatomy, Maulana Azad Medical College, New Delhi, India. The presence of articular facet on the conoid tubercle was determined and Maximum Antero-Posterior (MAPD) and maximum transverse diameter (MTD) was measured by digital vernier calliper. The incidence was compared on the basis of sex, side and with other osteological studies in the world. Statistical analysis was done using the Chi-Square test for nominal categorical data and student’s t-test for normally distributed continuous variables in Microsoft Excel 2007 to assess the relationship between the examined variables. Results Articular facet on conoid tubercle was found in 8 cases (5.6%). Seven (9.2%) were present on the right side and one (1.5%) on the left side. Seven cases (7.5%) were present in males and one case (2%) was found in females. The facets were generally oval, with MAPD and MTD of 12.28 and 17.17 mm respectively. A significant side variation was present with right sided facet being more common. The left sided facet was more transversely elongated than right. In males, the facets were more elongated antero-posteriorly than in females. Conclusion The Indian population showed an incidence of 5.6%, which was comparable to other ethnic groups in world population. The morphometric and side differences could be attributed to the occupational factors and range of movements associated with the CCJ. The CCJ should be borne in mind as a differential diagnosis for thoracic outlet syndrome and in general for shoulder pain. PMID:27190785

World Agriculture: Review and Prospects into the 1990s. A Summary.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Winrock International Livestock Research & Training Center. Morrilton, AR.

The four chapters of this analysis of world agriculture deal with production, consumption, and world trade. World food production and consumption continued to grow rapidly in the 1970's, but at a rate somewhat slower than in the 1960's. It is projected that for the 1990's consumption will increase faster than production in most of the world's…

Genetic analysis of ancestry, admixture and selection in Bolivian and Totonac populations of the New World.

PubMed

Watkins, W Scott; Xing, Jinchuan; Huff, Chad; Witherspoon, David J; Zhang, Yuhua; Perego, Ugo A; Woodward, Scott R; Jorde, Lynn B

2012-05-20

Populations of the Americas were founded by early migrants from Asia, and some have experienced recent genetic admixture. To better characterize the native and non-native ancestry components in populations from the Americas, we analyzed 815,377 autosomal SNPs, mitochondrial hypervariable segments I and II, and 36 Y-chromosome STRs from 24 Mesoamerican Totonacs and 23 South American Bolivians. We analyzed common genomic regions from native Bolivian and Totonac populations to identify 324 highly predictive Native American ancestry informative markers (AIMs). As few as 40-50 of these AIMs perform nearly as well as large panels of random genome-wide SNPs for predicting and estimating Native American ancestry and admixture levels. These AIMs have greater New World vs. Old World specificity than previous AIMs sets. We identify highly-divergent New World SNPs that coincide with high-frequency haplotypes found at similar frequencies in all populations examined, including the HGDP Pima, Maya, Colombian, Karitiana, and Surui American populations. Some of these regions are potential candidates for positive selection. European admixture in the Bolivian sample is approximately 12%, though individual estimates range from 0-48%. We estimate that the admixture occurred ~360-384 years ago. Little evidence of European or African admixture was found in Totonac individuals. Bolivians with pre-Columbian mtDNA and Y-chromosome haplogroups had 5-30% autosomal European ancestry, demonstrating the limitations of Y-chromosome and mtDNA haplogroups and the need for autosomal ancestry informative markers for assessing ancestry in admixed populations.

History and current trends in influenza virus infections with special reference to Sri Lanka.

PubMed

Rafeek, R A M; Divarathna, M V M; Noordeen, F

2017-09-01

The World Health Organization (WHO) estimates that approximately one billion people are infected and up to 500,000 people die from influenza each year in the world. Influenza is considered to be the greatest killer of the human populations, due to the 1918 Spanish flu, which killed millions around the world. Despite the effective treatment available against influenza, it still contributes to significant morbidity and mortality. Currently circulating influenza strains in humans include influenza A (H1N1)pdm09, influenza A (H3N2) and influenza B viruses, (B/Victoria and B/Yamagata). Influenza has been prevalent in Sri Lanka from 1969, since then it continued to cause morbidity and mortality in children and adults. The current global influenza surveillance network monitors the global influenza activity through WHO collaborating centres. The Medical Research Institute monitors and diagnoses influenza cases in the country as part of the WHO network laboratories. Vaccinations to high risk groups and antiviral therapy for the successful prevention of influenza have been practiced in Sri Lanka. This review highlights the impact of influenza on public health in Sri Lanka including the historical aspects, current diagnostic practices and prevention approaches in high risk individuals in the country.

The Physical Economy of the United States of America

PubMed Central

Gierlinger, Sylvia; Krausmann, Fridolin

2012-01-01

The United States is not only the world's largest economy, but it is also one of the world's largest consumers of natural resources. The country, which is inhabited by some 5% of the world's population, uses roughly one-fifth of the global primary energy supply and 15% of all extracted materials. This article explores long-term trends and patterns of material use in the United States. Based on a material flow account (MFA) that is fully consistent with current standards of economy-wide MFAs and covers domestic extraction, imports, and exports of materials for a 135-year period, we investigated the evolution of the U.S. industrial metabolism. This process was characterized by an 18-fold increase in material consumption, a multiplication of material use per capita, and a shift from renewable biomass toward mineral and fossil resources. In spite of considerable improvements in material intensity, no dematerialization has happened so far; in contrast to other high-income countries, material use has not stabilized since the 1970s, but has continued to grow. This article compares patterns and trends of material use in the United States with those in Japan and the United Kingdom and discusses the factors underlying the disproportionately high level of U.S. per capita resource consumption. PMID:24436632

Biomedical engineering education--status and perspectives.

PubMed

Magjarevic, Ratko; Zequera Diaz, Martha L

2014-01-01

Biomedical Engineering programs are present at a large number of universities all over the world with an increasing trend. New generations of biomedical engineers have to face the challenges of health care systems round the world which need a large number of professionals not only to support the present technology in the health care system but to develop new devices and services. Health care stakeholders would like to have innovative solutions directed towards solving problems of the world growing incidence of chronic disease and ageing population. These new solutions have to meet the requirements for continuous monitoring, support or care outside clinical settlements. Presence of these needs can be tracked through data from the Labor Organization in the U.S. showing that biomedical engineering jobs have the largest growth at the engineering labor market with expected 72% growth rate in the period from 2008-2018. In European Union the number of patents (i.e. innovation) is the highest in the category of biomedical technology. Biomedical engineering curricula have to adopt to the new needs and for expectations of the future. In this paper we want to give an overview of engineering professions in related to engineering in medicine and biology and the current status of BME education in some regions, as a base for further discussions.

Progress toward polio eradication - worldwide, 2014-2015.

PubMed

Hagan, José E; Wassilak, Steven G F; Craig, Allen S; Tangermann, Rudolf H; Diop, Ousmane M; Burns, Cara C; Quddus, Arshad

2015-05-22

In 1988, the World Health Assembly of the World Health Organization (WHO) resolved to eradicate polio worldwide. Wild poliovirus (WPV) transmission has been interrupted in all but three countries (Afghanistan, Nigeria, and Pakistan). No WPV type 2 cases have been detected worldwide since 1999, and the last WPV type 3 case was detected in Nigeria in November 2012; since 2012, only WPV type 1 has been detected. Circulating vaccine-derived poliovirus (cVDPV), usually type 2, continues to cause cases of paralytic polio in communities with low population immunity. In 2012, the World Health Assembly declared global polio eradication "a programmatic emergency for global public health", and in 2014, WHO declared the international spread of WPV to previously polio-free countries to be "a public health emergency of international concern". This report summarizes global progress toward polio eradication during 2014-2015 and updates previous reports. In 2014, a total of 359 WPV cases were reported in nine countries worldwide. Although reported WPV cases increased in Pakistan and Afghanistan, cases in Nigeria decreased substantially in 2014, and encouraging progress toward global WPV transmission interruption has occurred. Overcoming ongoing challenges to interruption of WPV transmission globally will require sustained programmatic enhancements, including improving the quality of supplementary immunization activities (SIAs) to interrupt transmission in Afghanistan and Pakistan and to prevent WPV exportation to polio-free countries.

Population: fiction and fact.

PubMed

1979-09-01

This article was written to refute some common misunderstandings regarding worldwide population levels and worldwide nutrition levels. The world food supply is able to keep pace with high population growth levels. Worl food production currently meets world need; the problem is a distribution system which allocates food only to those who can pay rather than to those who need it. In many developing countries, the best agricultural lands are reserved for commercial crops rather than for subsistence crops. The U.S. food aid program does not help the most needy nations generally. The rate of world population growth is already slowing down. The desire for large families in developing countries is very often a realistic reaction to the prevailing economic system. Family planning programs will succeed. They will succeed even better in countries where general development planning is undertaken concurrently with family planning. Environmental problems are attributable to the consumption explosion in the rich countries rather than to the population explosion in the poor countries.

Population pressures: threat to democracy.

PubMed

1992-06-01

The desire for political freedom and representative government is spreading throughout the world. The stability of democratic bodies is dependent on wise leaders, foreign aid, and slowing population growth. Rapid population growth strains political institutions and increases pressure on services. A Population Crisis Committee study found that only a few democratic countries with serious demographic pressures remained stable. The most stable countries were ones with lower levels of population pressure. Most of the 31 unstable countries were in Africa and in a band stretching from the Middle East to South Asia, and almost all had serious demographic pressures. Only 5 stable countries had high or very high demographic pressures. Since countries in the world are interdependent, population pressures have adverse consequences everywhere. Population pressures in the developing world are considered enhanced by the rapid growth of cities. Both the developed and the developing world face the problems of clogged highways, loss of wilderness, polluted lakes and streams, and stifling smog and acid rain conditions. The sociopolitical implications of demographic changes vary from country to country, but rapid growth and maldistribution of population strains existing political, social, and economic structures and relations between nations. Urban areas are the arena for clashes of cultures, competition for scarce housing and jobs, the breakdown of traditional family and social structures, and juxtapositions of extreme wealth next to extreme poverty. The growth of independent nation states since the 1940s has not allowed much time for development of effective political institutions. There are many obstacles to national unity and popular political participation. The potential for political instability is correlated with a number of factors: large youth populations in overcrowded cities with too high expectations and limited opportunities, diverse and intense ethnic and religious factors, and oppressive governments which violate human rights. Rapid growth has a harmful impact on the environment.

Human Population: Fundamentals of Growth and Change.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Stauffer, Cheryl Lynn, Ed.

This booklet focuses on eight elements of population dynamics: "Population Growth and Distribution"; "Natural Increase and Future Growth"; "Effect of Migration on Population Growth"; "Three Patterns of Population Change"; "Patterns of World Urbanization"; "The Status of Women";…

Brazil's Exception to the World-Class University Movement

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Alperin, Juan Pablo

2013-01-01

The continued importance of university rankings has only served to fuel the growth of the "world-class" university movement. There is a growing impression that, in a globalised and interconnected world, no country can do without a world-class university. No country, that is, except Brazil. While Brazil has the resources necessary to…

Our World. CEM Topic Folder No. 3.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Undy, Harry

The aim of this pamphlet is to make secondary school students aware of the interdependence of peoples throughout the world and of their own responsibility to the world at large. The pamphlet is written from a Christian and a socioeconomic perspective. The text is arranged into the following broad areas of continuing world problems: the Third…

The Philippines: country statement prepared for the International Conference on Population, Mexico City, August 1984.

PubMed

1985-03-01

This statement, prepared for the 1984 International Conference on Population, summarizes the demographic situation in the Philippines, the Philippine position regarding implementation of the World Population Plan of Action, and current population policies. In 1980, the population of the Philippines stood at 48.1 million. The country's current population growth rate reflects the interplay between decreasing mortality and still high but declining fertility. The 1984-87 Philippine Development Plan aims to achieve sustainable economic growth, equitable distribution of the gains of development, and personal development. A net reproduction rate of unity by the year 2000 is sought, and preschool-age children, youth, premarriage-age groups, and married couples of reproductive age have been targeted for special outreach efforts. The national population program will concentrate on developing a network of public and private community-based organizations, strengthening the capacity of local government and community organizations to plan and manage the population program, developing community capacity to finance family planning services, upgrading the quality of natural family planning practice, continuing the promotion of effective contraceptive methods, developing a population data bank, and upgrading the technical and management capabilities of population program personnel. Increasing attention is being paid to regional development and spatial distribution. The average annual population growth rate is expected to decline from 2.8% in 1970-75 to 2.2% by 1987. The crude birth rate is expected to drop from 34/1000 in 1980 to 31/1000 in 1987. To help achieve this goal, the contraceptive prevalence rate should increase from 34% in 1983 to 41% in 1987 and 50% by 1993. In addition, attempts will be made to reduce the proportion of women marrying below the age of 20 years and to improve women's access to educational and employment opportunities.

The state of ambient air quality in Pakistan--a review.

PubMed

Colbeck, Ian; Nasir, Zaheer Ahmad; Ali, Zulfiqar

2010-01-01

Pakistan, during the last decade, has seen an extensive escalation in population growth, urbanization, and industrialization, together with a great increase in motorization and energy use. As a result, a substantial rise has taken place in the types and number of emission sources of various air pollutants. However, due to the lack of air quality management capabilities, the country is suffering from deterioration of air quality. Evidence from various governmental organizations and international bodies has indicated that air pollution is a significant risk to the environment, quality of life, and health of the population. The Government has taken positive steps toward air quality management in the form of the Pakistan Clean Air Program and has recently established a small number of continuous monitoring stations. However, ambient air quality standards have not yet been established. This paper reviews the data being available on the criteria air pollutants: particulate matter (PM), sulfur dioxide, ozone, carbon monoxide, nitrogen dioxide, and lead. Air pollution studies in Pakistan published in both scientific journals and by the Government have been reviewed and the reported concentrations of PM, SO(2), O(3), CO, NO(2), and Pb collated. A comparison of the levels of these air pollutants with the World Health Organization air quality guidelines was carried out. Particulate matter was the most serious air pollutant in the country. NO(2) has emerged as the second high-risk pollutant. The reported levels of PM, SO(2), CO, NO(2), and Pb were many times higher than the World Health Organization air quality guidelines. Only O(3) concentrations were below the guidelines. The current state of air quality calls for immediate action to tackle the poor air quality. The establishment of ambient air quality standards, an extension of the continuous monitoring sites, and the development of emission control strategies are essential.

Status of Insecticide Resistance in Papua New Guinea: An Update from Nation-Wide Monitoring of Anopheles Mosquitoes.

PubMed

Koimbu, Gussy; Czeher, Cyrille; Katusele, Michelle; Sakur, Muker; Kilepak, Lemen; Tandrapah, Anthony; Hetzel, Manuel W; Pulford, Justin; Robinson, Leanne; Karl, Stephan

2018-01-01

Insecticide resistance (IR) monitoring is an important component of vector-borne disease control. The last assessment of IR in Papua New Guinea (PNG) was conducted in 2010. Since then, vector populations have been exposed to higher levels of pyrethroids with the continued nation-wide distribution of insecticide-treated nets. Here, we provide an update on phenotypic IR in four highly malaria-endemic areas of PNG. IR against deltamethrin, lambda-cyhalothrin, and dichlorodiphenyltrichloroethane was assessed using World Health Organization bioassays. A total of 108 bioassays for each insecticide were conducted screening 2,290 adult female anopheline mosquitoes. No phenotypic resistance was observed. Bioassay parameters agreed well with those observed in other studies that used the same assays and insecticides. These results indicate that the three tested insecticides are still universally effective in PNG. Continued IR monitoring (every 1-2 years) in PNG is recommended to detect reduced susceptibility early and adjust guidelines to prevent widespread resistance.

Current trends in health insurance systems: OECD countries vs. Japan.

PubMed

Sasaki, Toshiyuki; Izawa, Masahiro; Okada, Yoshikazu

2015-01-01

Over the past few decades, the longest extension in life expectancy in the world has been observed in Japan. However, the sophistication of medical care and the expansion of the aging society, leads to continuous increase in health-care costs. Medical expenses as a part of gross domestic product (GDP) in Japan are exceeding the current Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) average, challenging the universally, equally provided low cost health care existing in the past. A universal health insurance system is becoming a common system currently in developed countries, currently a similar system is being introduced in the United States. Medical care in Japan is under a social insurance system, but the injection of public funds for medical costs becomes very expensive for the Japanese society. In spite of some urgently decided measures to cover the high cost of advanced medical treatment, declining birthrate and aging population and the tendency to reduce hospital and outpatients' visits numbers and shorten hospital stays, medical expenses of Japan continue to be increasing.

Singapore Takes Six Steps Forward in 'The Quality of Death Index' Rankings.

PubMed

Lin Goh, Stella Seow

2018-01-01

In the latest 2015 Quality of Death Index, Singapore managed to move SIX steps forward from 18 th to the 12 th position. This advancement has been hard-won, with victories to improve the level of palliative care such as creating awareness of palliative service, improving coordinated care and growing an adequate capacity to meet the demand of care in our fast -growing ageing population. But it hasn't always been easy. Despite being a first world country, Asian societies like Singapore have inherited taboos regarding public dialogue about death and dying. Such dialogue is traditionally avoided. However, through years of continual effort in improving the standard of palliative care delivery, redesigning education module, creating public awareness and improving funding system, Singapore's palliative care providers have improved the lives of those with life-limiting illnesses. Nevertheless, the government will continue to improve and work toward achieving single digits in the next ranking of the Quality of Death Index.

Preeclampsia: Pathogenesis, Prevention, and Long-Term Complications.

PubMed

Jim, Belinda; Karumanchi, S Ananth

2017-07-01

Preeclampsia continues to afflict 5% to 8% of all pregnancies throughout the world and is associated with significant morbidity and mortality to the mother and the fetus. Although the pathogenesis of the disorder has not yet been fully elucidated, current evidence suggests that imbalance in angiogenic factors is responsible for the clinical manifestations of the disorder, and may explain why certain populations are risk. In this review, we begin by demonstrating the roles that angiogenic factors play in pathogenesis of preeclampsia and its complications in the mother and the fetus. We then continue to report on the use of angiogenic markers as biomarkers to predict and risk-stratify disease. Strategies to treat preeclampsia by correcting the angiogenic balance, either by promoting proangiogenic factors or by removing antiangiogenic factors in both animal and human studies, are discussed. We end the review by summarizing status of the current preventive strategies and the long-term cardiovascular outcomes of women afflicted with preeclampsia. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Population structure in the Arab world and its impact on integration and development trends.

PubMed

El-hallak, M N

1986-12-01

The author examines three issues: "population structure in the Arab world; trends making for integration and unity among the Arab countries; and economic and social development trends." Data from the United Nations for 1985 and from recent censuses are used to discuss population size, growth, and spatial distribution; the labor force; age and sex distribution; and fertility, mortality, and natural increase. Figures are presented separately for 22 Arab countries. Attention is then given to the relationships between population structure and economic and social development and between development and Arab unity and integration. excerpt

Human Populations and the World Conservation Strategy. Commission on Ecology Paper Number 11.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Hanks, J.

This document serves as a supplement to the World Conservation Strategy (WCS) and outlines some of the critical aspects of the interaction between human populations, natural resources, and social and economic conditions. Particular emphasis is placed on the importance of planning with people, and on packaging conservation programs so they are more…

Our World of 7 Billion: Population Studies in Today's Social Studies Classroom

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Wasserman, Pamela

2011-01-01

The study of world population integrates so many themes and disciplines in the social studies because it encompasses all of human history--the rise of agriculture and civilizations, scientific progress, territorial conflicts, changing gender roles and more. It is also at the heart of human geography and how people came to dominate and alter the…

World Virtual Observatory Organization

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ignatyev, Mikhail; Pinigin, Gennadij

On the base of experience of our Unoversity and Observatory we investigate the seven blocks model of virtual organization for consolidation of resources. This model consists of the next blocks: 1.Population-scientists students robots and agents. 2.Aspiration of population groups. 3.Territory. 4.Production. 5.Ecology and safety. 6.Finance. 7. External relations - input and output flows of population information resources.The world virtual observatory is the virtual world which consists of three groups of variables - appearances essences and structured uncertainty which defines the number and distribution of arbitrary coefficients in equivalent equations. The consolodation of recources permit to create the large telescopes with distributed structure on our planet and cosmos. Virtual instruments can have the best characteristics by means of collective effects which have investigated in our paper.

Nonmetric tooth crown traits in a Sri Lankan aboriginal Vedda population.

PubMed

Peiris, H R D; Arambawatta, A K S; Hewapathirana, T N; Nanayakkara, C D; Chandrasekara, M; Wickramanayake, E

2011-12-01

This study was conducted to determine the frequencies of non-metric tooth crown traits of Vedda of Sri Lanka and to investigate the affinities of these morphological variations with those of other world populations. Fifty dental plaster casts were observed. The Arizona State University dental anthropology system was adopted for classification of the 16 traits observed. We used 13 traits to compare the Vedda and other world populations. Using the frequencies of 13 traits, Smith Mean Measure of Divergence was calculated to determine inter-population distances. Affinities among the Vedda and other world populations were expressed in two dimensions of the principal coordinate analysis. Cusp number in mandibular second molar and hypocone absence in maxillary second molar had the highest frequency at 95.9% and 93.8%, respectively. Shovelling, double shovelling in the maxillary central incisor and deflecting wrinkle in the mandibular first molar had the lowest frequency at 0%. The principal coordinate analysis showed that Sino American and Western Eurasian populations were separated in negative and positive directions in the first principal coordinate axis. Vedda located with the Western Eurasian population groups. Sahul and Sunda Pacific populations located in the intermediate position between Sino American and Western Eurasian populations. The dental phenotype of Vedda has close affinities with those of early south Asian populations. They are far different from Sino American and Sunda pacific populations. Vedda shows closer affinities to Sahul Pacific and South African (Bantu) populations. Copyright © 2011 Elsevier GmbH. All rights reserved.

Unsolved Puzzles Surrounding HCV Immunity: Heterologous Immunity Adds Another Dimension.

PubMed

Agrawal, Babita; Singh, Shakti; Gupta, Nancy; Li, Wen; Vedi, Satish; Kumar, Rakesh

2017-07-27

Chronic infection with hepatitis C virus (HCV) afflicts 3% of the world's population and can lead to serious and late-stage liver diseases. Developing a vaccine for HCV is challenging because the correlates of protection are uncertain and traditional vaccine approaches do not work. Studies of natural immunity to HCV in humans have resulted in many enigmas. Human beings are not immunologically naïve because they are continually exposed to various environmental microbes and antigens, creating large populations of memory T cells. Heterologous immunity occurs when this pool of memory T cells cross-react against a new pathogen in an individual. Such heterologous immunity could influence the outcome when an individual is infected by a pathogen. We have recently made an unexpected finding that adenoviruses, a common environmental pathogen and an experimental vaccine vector, can induce robust cross-reactive immune responses against multiple antigens of HCV. Our unique finding of previously uncharacterized heterologous immunity against HCV opens new avenues to understand HCV pathogenesis and develop effective vaccines.

Intergenerational Efforts to Develop a Healthy Environment for Everyone: Sustainability as a Human Rights Issue.

PubMed

Kruger, Tina M; Savage, Caroline E; Newsham, Patrick

2014-12-01

As climate change proceeds at an unprecedented rate, concern for the natural environment has increased. The world's population aging also continues to rise at an unprecedented rate, giving greater attention to the implications of an older population. The two trends are linked through the fact that changes to the environment affect older adults, and older adults affect the environment. Sustainability is, therefore, an intergenerational phenomenon, and protecting resources today leaves a positive legacy and enhances quality of life for future generations. Older adults have much to share with younger generations about behaviors that promote sustainable living, yet few sustainability efforts are intergenerational in nature. As large numbers of people currently subsist without secure access to basic needs, ensuring equitable resource consumption for all generations is urgent and aligns with the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. Through exploring linkages between aging and sustainability, we identify intergenerational strategies to protect the environment and promote human rights and quality of life for older adults. © The Author(s) 2015.

Identification of reassortant pandemic H1N1 influenza virus in Korean pigs.

PubMed

Han, Jae Yeon; Park, Sung Jun; Kim, Hye Kwon; Rho, Semi; Nguyen, Giap Van; Song, Daesub; Kang, Bo Kyu; Moon, Hyung Jun; Yeom, Min Joo; Park, Bong Kyun

2012-05-01

Since the 2009 pandemic human H1N1 influenza A virus emerged in April 2009, novel reassortant strains have been identified throughout the world. This paper describes the detection and isolation of reassortant strains associated with human pandemic influenza H1N1 and swine influenza H1N2 (SIV) viruses in swine populations in South Korea. Two influenza H1N2 reassortants were detected, and subtyped by PCR. The strains were isolated using Madin- Darby canine kidney (MDCK) cells, and genetically characterized by phylogenetic analysis for genetic diversity. They consisted of human, avian, and swine virus genes that were originated from the 2009 pandemic H1N1 virus and a neuraminidase (NA) gene from H1N2 SIV previously isolated in North America. This identification of reassortment events in swine farms raises concern that reassortant strains may continuously circulate within swine populations, calling for the further study and surveillance of pandemic H1N1 among swine.

Skin diseases highlighting essential global public health priorities.

PubMed

Morrone, Aldo; Toma, Luigi; Franco, Gennaro

2005-05-01

Which are the essential global public health activities that should be carried out in order to attain the largest impact on poverty reduction and health improvement in the world? Since its foundation in 2001 the Human Mobile Population Committee (HMPC) has continued to devote its efforts to finding answers to this question, with a particular focus on the skin diseases of the Human Mobile Population (HMP) and other groups of disadvantaged people. In this article we present the model of socio-sanitary activity in the field of Migration, Poverty and Health of the Department of Preventive Medicine of Migration, Tourism and Tropical Dermatology (Dept.) at San Gallicano Institute--Research Institute for Hospitalization and Treatment (IRCCS)--in Rome (Italy). The activities of this dermatological centre are in the spirit of the HMPC's aims and we are of the opinion that this model is not only ethically valid, but also practically and economically convenient, and that there is evidence that our experience is worth repeating, in as many situations as possible, in the interest of public health.

Population growth and global security

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Mumford, S.

A new threat to international and domestic security has emerged in the past three decades: uncontrolled world population growth. Current world population growth control efforts are ineffective. Unchecked growth will threaten global security by depleting food, energy, and other resources. Immigration is another complicating factor that is straining the carrying capacity of some overpopulated regions. Barriers to effective action include the desire of decision-makers to avoid the controversy of abortion and the role of the Catholic church in lobbying against birth control. (3 graphs, 12 photos, 2 tables)

Indonesia; World Bank assists Second Population Project.

PubMed

1977-01-01

Indonesia's First Population Project, funded jointly by the International Development Association and UNFPA, was started in 1972 and provided for construction of service and training facilities, equipment, research and evaluation studies, education, and communication activities. The national family planning program has made progress in the last 20 years. Acceptor and family planning personnel statistics are given. The World Bank has recently awarded Indonesia a loan to fund its Second Population Project, to aid in reaching the goal of a 50% reduction in fertility by 2000.

Constructing interethnic conflict and cooperation: why some people harmed Jews and others helped them during the Holocaust in Romania.

PubMed

Dumitru, Diana; Johnson, Carter

2011-01-01

The authors draw on a natural experiment to demonstrate that states can reconstruct conflictual interethnic relationships into cooperative relationships in relatively short periods of time. The article examines differences in how the gentile population in each of two neighboring territories in Romania treated its Jewish population during the Holocaust. These territories had been part of tsarist Russia and subject to state-sponsored anti-Semitism until 1917. During the interwar period one territory became part of Romania, which continued anti-Semitic policies, and the other became part of the Soviet Union, which pursued an inclusive nationality policy, fighting against inherited anti-Semitism and working to integrate its Jews. Both territories were then reunited under Romanian administration during World War II, when Romania began to destroy its Jewish population. The authors demonstrate that, despite a uniform Romanian state presence during the Holocaust that encouraged gentiles to victimize Jews, the civilian population in the area that had been part of the Soviet Union was less likely to harm and more likely to aid Jews as compared with the region that had been part of Romania. Their evidence suggests that the state construction of interethnic relationships can become internalized by civilians and outlive the life of the state itself.

Population-based dietary approaches for the prevention of noncommunicable diseases.

PubMed

Somasundaram, Noel P; Kalupahana, Nishan Sudheera

2016-04-01

As the incidence of noncommunicable diseases such as diabetes continues to rise at an alarming rate in South-East Asia, it is imperative that urgent and population-wide strategies are adopted. The most important contributors to the rise in noncommunicable disease are a rise in mean caloric intake and a decrease in physical activity. The evidence for population-based dietary approaches to counter these factors is reviewed. Several structural and cohesive interdepartmental coordination efforts are required for effective implementation of prevention strategies. Since low- and middle-income countries may lack the frameworks for effective and integrated multi-stakeholder intervention, implementation of population-based dietary and physical-activity approaches may be delayed and may be too late for effective prevention in current at-risk cohorts. Evidence-based strategies to decrease energy intake and increase physical activity are now well established and their urgent adoption by Member States of the World Health Organization South-East Asia Region is essential. In the context of Sri Lanka, for example, it is recommended that the most effective and easy-to-implement interventions would be media campaigns, restrictions on advertisement of unhealthy foods, taxation of unhealthy foods, subsidies for production of healthy foods, and laws on nutrition labelling that introduce colour coding of packaged foods.

Working with Decision Makers to Improve Energy-Water System Resiliency in the Lower Hudson River Basin

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Fellows, J. D.; Schoonen, M. A.; Pullen, J.; González, J. E.; Saleh, F.; Bhatt, V.

2017-12-01

Nearly half of the 180 million people living in the eastern U.S. reside in coastal watershed or shoreline counties. The population density of these areas continues to increase, driving an increase in energy-water (EW) system demand and expansion of critical infrastructure. Along with population, these areas are also being stressed by environmental and technology stresses, including climate change. We have been working with decision makers in the Lower Hudson River Basin (LHRB) to develop the tools and data needed to better understand and improve the resiliency of LHRB EW systems facing these kinds of stresses. The LHRB represents: 1) a coastal environment subject to sea level rise that is among the fastest in the East; 2) one of the steepest gradients in population density in the US, with Manhattan the most densely populated coastal county in the nation; 3) a EWN infrastructure serving the largest metropolitan area in the US and the financial center of the world; 4) a history of environmental impacts, ranging from heatwaves, hurricanes to localized storms, that can be used to hindcast; and 5) a wealth of historic and real-time data, extensive monitoring facilities and existing specific sector models that can be leveraged. This presentation will focus on the lessons learned working with the LHRB decision makers.

CFSC (Community and Family Study Center) study finds birth rates falling everywhere - family planning (family planning) is a factor.

PubMed

1978-08-01

The findings of the Community and Family Study Center study, based on estimated crude birthrates and total fertility rates for 1968 and 1975, indicate that there has been a significant reduction in fertility levels of both developed and developing countries. Despite regional variations, the estimates show an average proportional decline of 8.5% in total fertility rates between 1968 and 1975. Of the 148 nations studied, 113 were in developing regions and 35 in the developed regions. Information on important social and economic development factors, such as life expectancy, literacy, percent of labor force in agriculture, per capita income, and family planning program strength were gathered for each country. Analyses of these data are reported in "The Public Interest" (to be published) "Population Reference Bulletin," October 1978, and a paper presented at the 1978 Population Association of America Meetings in Atlanta, Georgia. The recent change in fertility affected 81% of the world's population, primarily the peoples of Asia, Latin America, and North America. The total fertility rate in the world in 1968 was 4635 and declined to 4068 in 1975. More substantial declines occurred in Asia and Latin America, where the number of fewer births 1000 women would bear under a given fertility schedule declined by 845 births and 617 births, respectively. As more research is conducted to investigate the underlying causes of this decline, it is likely to confirm the important role that family planning programs have had in developing nations. Although major improvements in the socioeconomic well-being of the developing areas continue as an essential goal, the need to maintain the organized provision of family planning services should not be understated.

Impact of MenAfriVac in nine countries of the African meningitis belt, 2010-15: an analysis of surveillance data.

PubMed

Trotter, Caroline L; Lingani, Clément; Fernandez, Katya; Cooper, Laura V; Bita, André; Tevi-Benissan, Carol; Ronveaux, Olivier; Préziosi, Marie-Pierre; Stuart, James M

2017-08-01

In preparation for the introduction of MenAfriVac, a meningococcal group A conjugate vaccine developed for the African meningitis belt, an enhanced meningitis surveillance network was established. We analysed surveillance data on suspected and confirmed cases of meningitis to quantify vaccine impact. We compiled and analysed surveillance data for nine countries in the meningitis belt (Benin, Burkina Faso, Chad, Côte d'Ivoire, Ghana, Mali, Niger, Nigeria, and Togo) collected and curated by the WHO Inter-country Support Team between 2005 and 2015. The incidence rate ratios (IRRs) of suspected and confirmed cases in vaccinated and unvaccinated populations were estimated with negative binomial regression models. The relative risk of districts reaching the epidemic threshold of ten per 100 000 per week was estimated according to district vaccination status. The incidence of suspected meningitis cases declined by 57% (95% CI 55-59) in vaccinated compared with unvaccinated populations, with some heterogeneity observed by country. We observed a similar 59% decline in the risk of a district reaching the epidemic threshold. In fully vaccinated populations, the incidence of confirmed group A disease was reduced by more than 99%. The IRR for non-A serogroups was higher after completion of MenAfriVac campaigns (IRR 2·76, 95% CI 1·21-6·30). MenAfriVac introduction has led to substantial reductions in the incidence of suspected meningitis and epidemic risk, and a substantial effect on confirmed group A meningococcal meningitis. It is important to continue strengthening surveillance to monitor vaccine performance and remain vigilant against threats from other meningococcal serogroups and other pathogens. World Health Organization. Copyright © 2017 World Health Organization. Published by Elsevier Ltd/Inc/BV. All rights reserved. Published by Elsevier Ltd.. All rights reserved.

Epidemiology of food allergy and food-induced anaphylaxis: is there really a Western world epidemic?

PubMed

Koplin, Jennifer J; Mills, E N Clare; Allen, Katrina J

2015-10-01

Food-induced anaphylaxis continues to be an important cause of hospital admissions, particularly in children. This review outlines recent advances in understanding the epidemiology of IgE-mediated food allergy and potential mechanisms for its rise in prevalence. The rise in food allergy prevalence in Western countries has happened more quickly than changes to the genome can occur; thus, environmental changes are likely to be important. Recent studies, however, suggest that genetic risk determines responses to environmental risk factors. Environmental peanut exposure has been associated with increased peanut allergy risk in individuals with filaggrin null mutations, consistently with sensitization occurring through a damaged skin barrier. Reduced microbial and vitamin D exposure is also leading candidates for risk factors for food allergy in the context of genetic susceptibility. In addition, HLA-DR and HLA-DQ gene region variants appear to play a role in peanut allergy, although no studies have yet assessed their susceptibility to environmental cues. Finally, findings from observational cohorts and the first large-scale intervention trials for food allergy prevention support early oral allergen exposure to reduce the prevalence of specific food allergies, which is informing changes in public health guidelines at the population level. Further research will be required to assess the impact of these guideline changes on the population prevalence of food allergy. New studies are providing important insights into the prevalence, causes, and mechanisms of food allergy. Recent findings are informing changes to population health guidelines in developed countries, which have the potential to halt or reverse the increase in food allergy prevalence. By contrast, food allergy in the developing world remains understudied.

Improved Mapping of Human Population and Settlements through Integration of Remote Sensing and Socioeconomic Data

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

de Sherbinin, A. M.; Yetman, G.; MacManus, K.; Vinay, S.

2017-12-01

The diversity of data on human settlements, infrastructure, and population continues to grow rapidly, with recent releases of data products based on a range of different remote sensing data sources as well as census and administrative data. We report here on recent improvements in data from the NASA Socioeconomic Data and Applications Center (SEDAC) and partner organizations, aimed at supporting both interdisciplinary research and real-world applications. The fourth version of SEDAC's Gridded Population of the World (GPWv4) now includes variables for age categories, gender, and urban/rural location, and has also been integrated with the Global Human Settlements (GHS) data developed by the Joint Research Centre of the European Commission to produce a GHS-POP grid for the years 1975, 1990, 2000 and 2015. Through a collaboration between Facebook's Connectivity Lab and the Center for International Earth Science Information Network (CIESIN), High Resolution Settlement Layer (HRSL) data derived from 50-cm DigitalGlobe imagery are now available for selected developing countries at 30-m resolution. SEDAC is also developing interactive mapping and analysis tools to facilitate visualization and access to these often large and complex data products. For example, SEDAC has collaborated with scientists from NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center to release the Global Man-made Impervious Surfaces & Settlement Extents from Landsat data at 30-m resolution through an innovative map interface. We also summarize recent progress in developing an international data collective that is bringing together both data developers and data users from the public and private sectors to collaborate on expanding data access and use, improving data quality and documentation, facilitating data intercomparison and integration, and sharing of resources and capabilities.

African Indigenous Cattle: Unique Genetic Resources in a Rapidly Changing World

PubMed Central

Mwai, Okeyo; Hanotte, Olivier; Kwon, Young-Jun; Cho, Seoae

2015-01-01

At least 150 indigenous African cattle breeds have been named, but the majority of African cattle populations remain largely uncharacterized. As cattle breeds and populations in Africa adapted to various local environmental conditions, they acquired unique features. We know now that the history of African cattle was particularly complex and while several of its episodes remain debated, there is no doubt that African cattle population evolved dramatically over time. Today, we find a mosaic of genetically diverse population from the purest Bos taurus to the nearly pure Bos indicus. African cattle are now found all across the continent, with the exception of the Sahara and the river Congo basin. They are found on the rift valley highlands as well as below sea level in the Afar depression. These unique livestock genetic resources are in danger to disappear rapidly following uncontrolled crossbreeding and breed replacements with exotic breeds. Breeding improvement programs of African indigenous livestock remain too few while paradoxically the demand of livestock products is continually increasing. Many African indigenous breeds are endangered now, and their unique adaptive traits may be lost forever. This paper reviews the unique known characteristics of indigenous African cattle populations while describing the opportunities, the necessity and urgency to understand and utilize these resources to respond to the needs of the people of the continent and to the benefit of African farmers. PMID:26104394