The Layers of Life

2021 ◽  
pp. 110-126
Author(s):  
Manish Arora ◽  
Paul Curtin ◽  
Austen Curtin ◽  
Christine Austin ◽  
Alessandro Giuliani
Keyword(s):  
Environmental Factors ◽  
Environmental Medicine ◽  
Health Indicators ◽  
Epidemiological Methods ◽  
Full Potential ◽  
Theoretical Frameworks ◽  
Human Environment ◽  
Environment And Health ◽  
General Systems ◽  
Environmental Interfaces

Chapter 6 summarizes the work described in the book. It places Environmental Biodynamics in context of the broader field of general systems theory. It argues that to realize the full potential of Environmental Biodynamics, environmental medicine must refocus the examination of the interaction of environment and health from an emphasis on measuring physiological “moments” (i.e., static measures of environmental factors, infrequent anthropometry, momentary health indicators) to studying dynamic human–environment interfaces, physiological states, and the processes that constrain to those states. To this end, Chapter 6 provides a set of endeavors that must be undertaken to capitalize on and formally test the biodynamic interface paradigm. First, focus scientific inquiry on interfaces that connect biological and environmental systems; second, develop theoretical frameworks that focus on the identification and interpretation of constraints in biological–environmental interfaces; and third, develop laboratory, clinical, and epidemiological methods to relate the complexity characterized at the level of biodynamic interfaces to human health.

scholarly journals Environment and health with respect to a poverty-related disease: the epidemiology of trachoma in Spain, 1925-1941

2013 ◽  
Vol 20 (4) ◽  
pp. 1605-1619
Author(s):  
Josep Bernabeu-Mestre ◽  
María Eugenia Galiana-Sánchez ◽  
Angela Cremades Monerris
Keyword(s):  
Health Care ◽  
Developing Countries ◽  
Environmental Factors ◽  
Related Disease ◽  
Environment And Health ◽  
Determining Factors ◽  
Health Factors ◽  
Contemporary Spain ◽  
Control And Eradication

Trachoma currently represents one of the three main causes of ‘avoidable' blindness and reaches intolerable dimensions in many developing countries. It was endemic in many regions of eastern Spain until well into the twentieth century. The aim of this paper is to analyze the epidemiological development of this disease in contemporary Spain; to examine its determining factors, particularly environmental and sanitary/health factors, and, finally, to study the health care, environmental and socio-economic measures that led to its control and eradication. We believe that the historical approach not only highlights the role of environmental factors in the development of trachoma, but may also aid in understanding the current epidemiology of trachoma.

Individual's perspective of local community environment and health indicators in older adults

2012 ◽  
Vol 13 (1) ◽  
pp. 130-138 ◽  
Author(s):  
Carolina Giraldez-Garcia ◽  
Maria João Forjaz ◽  
Maria-Eugenia Prieto-Flores ◽  
Fermina Rojo-Perez ◽  
Gloria Fernandez-Mayoralas ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Older Adults ◽  
Local Community ◽  
Health Indicators ◽  
Community Environment ◽  
Environment And Health

scholarly journals 1.O. Workshop: Building bridges between environmental and Public Mental health

2019 ◽  
Vol 29 (Supplement_4) ◽  
Author(s):  
Keyword(s):  
Mental Health ◽  
Mental Disorders ◽  
Environmental Factors ◽  
Public Mental Health ◽  
Environmental Epidemiology ◽  
Joint Research ◽  
Health Changes ◽  
Environment And Health ◽  
Physical Chemical

Abstract Scope and extent as well as duration of mental health and mental disorders are influenced by various factors, such as environmental factors. Environmental factors relate to physical, chemical and built environment. We aim to build knowledge by providing 1) a case study on perception of climate change and possibilities and limitations of adaptation, 2) a review on mental and neuropsychiatric disorders in the light of the SDGs framework and 3) give an overview of research methods both, in environmental epidemiology and in neuropsychiatric epidemiology. By bringing together the two fields of expertise and the members of the section of Environment and Health and of Public Mental health we will not only build bridges between individuals but between disciplines which might lead to a joint research agenda. Key messages The scope of mental health changes with changes in the environment. Knowledge provides a strong bridge to link the environment with mental disorders.

scholarly journals A Review of the Epidemiological Methods Used to Investigate the Health Impacts of Air Pollution around Major Industrial Areas

2013 ◽  
Vol 2013 ◽  
pp. 1-17 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mathilde Pascal ◽  
Laurence Pascal ◽  
Marie-Laure Bidondo ◽  
Amandine Cochet ◽  
Hélène Sarter ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Air Pollution ◽  
Birth Outcome ◽  
Respiratory Health ◽  
Health Indicators ◽  
Epidemiological Studies ◽  
Epidemiological Methods ◽  
Multicenter Studies ◽  
Cross Sectional ◽  
Industrial Areas ◽  
Statistical Designs

We performed a literature review to investigate how epidemiological studies have been used to assess the health consequences of living in the vicinity of industries. 77 papers on the chronic effects of air pollution around major industrial areas were reviewed. Major health themes were cancers (27 studies), morbidity (25 studies), mortality (7 studies), and birth outcome (7 studies). Only 3 studies investigated mental health. While studies were available from many different countries, a majority of papers came from the United Kingdom, Italy, and Spain. Several studies were motivated by concerns from the population or by previous observations of an overincidence of cases. Geographical ecological designs were largely used for studying cancer and mortality, including statistical designs to quantify a relationship between health indicators and exposure. Morbidity was frequently investigated through cross-sectional surveys on the respiratory health of children. Few multicenter studies were performed. In a majority of papers, exposed areas were defined based on the distance to the industry and were located from <2 km to >20 km from the plants. Improving the exposure assessment would be an asset to future studies. Criteria to include industries in multicenter studies should be defined.

scholarly journals Environment and Health in Contaminated Sites: The Case of Taranto, Italy

2013 ◽  
Vol 2013 ◽  
pp. 1-20 ◽  
Author(s):  
Roberta Pirastu ◽  
Pietro Comba ◽  
Ivano Iavarone ◽  
Amerigo Zona ◽  
Susanna Conti ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Environmental Remediation ◽  
Respiratory Diseases ◽  
Health Indicators ◽  
Industrial Area ◽  
Contaminated Sites ◽  
Cardiovascular Risk Reduction ◽  
Potential Health ◽  
Environment And Health ◽  
National Priority ◽  
Study Results

The National Environmental Remediation programme in Italy includes sites with documented contamination and associated potential health impacts (National Priority Contaminated Sites—NPCSs). SENTIERI Project, an extensive investigation of mortality in 44 NPCSs, considered the area of Taranto, a NPCS where a number of polluting sources are present. Health indicators available at municipality level were analyzed, that is, mortality (2003–2009), mortality time trend (1980–2008), and cancer incidence (2006-2007). In addition, the cohort of individuals living in the area was followed up to evaluate mortality (1998–2008) and morbidity (1998–2010) by district of residence. The results of the study consistently showed excess risks for a number of causes of death in both genders, among them: all causes, all cancers, lung cancer, and cardiovascular and respiratory diseases, both acute and chronic. An increased infant mortality was also observed from the time trends analysis. Mortality/morbidity excesses were detected in residents living in districts near the industrial area, for several disorders including cancer, cardiovascular, and respiratory diseases. These coherent findings from different epidemiological approaches corroborate the need to promptly proceed with environmental cleanup interventions. Most diseases showing an increase in Taranto NPCS have a multifactorial etiology, and preventive measures of proven efficacy (e.g., smoking cessation and cardiovascular risk reduction programs, breast cancer screening) should be planned. The study results and public health actions are to be communicated objectively and transparently so that a climate of confidence and trust between citizens and public institutions is maintained.

scholarly journals Integrated assessment of environment and health: America's children and the environment

2006 ◽  
Vol 11 (2) ◽  
pp. 439-451 ◽  
Author(s):  
Amy D. Kyle ◽  
Tracey J. Woodruff ◽  
Daniel A. Axelrad
Keyword(s):  
Public Health ◽  
Environmental Factors ◽  
Health Outcomes ◽  
Integrated Assessment ◽  
Surrogate Data ◽  
Data Sources ◽  
Environment And Health ◽  
Data Gaps ◽  
Children’S Environmental Health ◽  
Definition Of

There is a need for systematic approaches to assessment of environmental factors most relevant to health, health outcomes most influenced by the environment, and relationships between them, as well as for approaches to representing results of such assessments in policy deliberations. As a step in the development of such methods, we used findings and data from environmental protection and public health sectors to develop a set of measures representing topics relevant to children's environmental health. We used a definition of the environment that emphasized contaminants and a process that involved both analytic and deliberative elements. The steps in this process were to: a) develop a conceptual framework to depict relationships between environment and health with relevant types of data and information, b) select topic areas of significance for children, c) identify best available data sources and devise measures, d) assess possible surrogate data sources and measures when needed, e) design and implement metrics for computation of measures; f) select graphical representations of measures, g) identify related measures, and h) identify data gaps. Representatives of policy and stakeholder audiences participated in this process.

scholarly journals Issues of creating an information system for analysis of environmental factors in the Russian Arctic

2021 ◽  
Vol 100 (8) ◽  
pp. 858-862
Author(s):  
Sergei A. Gorbanev ◽  
Yuliya A. Novikova ◽  
Vladimir N. Fedorov ◽  
Aleksandr A. Kovshov ◽  
Nadezhda A. Tikhonova ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Environmental Factors ◽  
Russian Federation ◽  
Health Indicators ◽  
Well Being ◽  
Russian Arctic ◽  
Software Products ◽  
Rights Protection ◽  
Common Structure ◽  
Software Product ◽  
The Russian Federation

Intriduction. To solve the problems of collecting data on sanitary and epidemiological well-being it is necessary to automate and digitalize processes. Analysis of foreign experience shows the feasibility of developing domestic specialized software products that could be more consistent with the tasks of social and hygienic monitoring (SGM) with a comprehensive analysis of health indicators or environmental factors of the population in the context of macroregions over a long period of time. The purpose of the study was to develop a software product for automating the process of combining large amounts of data on environmental factors with the formation of a combined database. Materials and methods. The results of studies of environmental factors carried out by the Russian Federal Service for Surveillance on Consumer Rights Protection and Human Wellbeing (Rospotrebnadzor) within the framework of the SGM for the period from 2007 to 2019 in the context of individual municipalities of the constituent entities of the Russian Federation that are part of the Russian Arctic have been studied. Results. To solve the problem of forming a combined database from separate files in the MS Office Excel format, a software product (SP) in Python 3.6 has been developed that automates the processes of creating a database from a large number of separate files, which are characterized by a common structure. The SP was tested on the example of the analysis of the results of the SGM in the context of municipalities of the subjects of the Russian Arctic for 2019. The approbation showed the correct performance of the program, which was confirmed by the results obtained manually. The average time it took to create a merged database from 60 source files was 7 minutes. Conclusion. The created SP allows you to automatically combine a large number of separate Excel files containing in a standardized form data on the factors of the population’s habitat, collected as part of the SGM maintenance, with the formation of a combined database. The software can be used by the institutions of Rospotrebnadzor in the formation of combined databases in the context of any territories of the constituent entities of the Russian Federation for practical and scientific problems.

scholarly journals Technical Efficiency and Technological Gaps of Rice Production in Anambra State, Nigeria

Agriculture ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (12) ◽  
pp. 1240
Author(s):  
Chukwujekwu A. Obianefo ◽  
John N. Ng’ombe ◽  
Agness Mzyece ◽  
Blessing Masasi ◽  
Ngozi J. Obiekwe ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Environmental Factors ◽  
Technical Efficiency ◽  
Upland Rice ◽  
Traditional Approach ◽  
Productive Efficiency ◽  
Rice Production ◽  
Working Environment ◽  
Full Potential ◽  
Anambra State ◽  
Rice Farmers

The traditional approach to modeling productive efficiency assumes that technology is constant across the sample. However, farms in different regions may face different production opportunities, and the technologies they employ may differ due to environmental factors. Therefore, rather than using a traditional stochastic frontier model in such cases, a stochastic meta-frontier (SMF) analysis is recommended to account for environmental factors between regions. It follows that differences in environmental factors between the upland and lowland regions in Anambra State, Nigeria, may result in farmers producing rice under different production and environmental conditions. Using the SMF model, this study, for the first time, determines technical efficiency (TE) and technological gap ratios (TGRs) of rice production from the upland and lowland regions in the Awka North Local Government Area of Anambra State, Nigeria. Our data are from a cross-section sample of randomly selected rice farmers. Results reveal that lowland regional rice producers are on average, significantly more technically efficient (91.7%) than their upland counterparts (84.2%). Additionally, mean TGRs associated with lowland rice farmers are higher (92.1%) than their corresponding upland producers (84.7%). While the upland rice producers are less technically efficient and further away from their full potential, results indicate that both sets of farmers do not use advanced technologies to match the industry’s potential. We suggest that agricultural policy should focus on providing regionally specific technologies, such as improved rice varieties that fit the working environment of the lagging area, to help rice farmers improve their resource efficiency and minimize technological gaps.

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