Cambio climático y salud

Effect of a nutritional intervention based on an energy-reduced Mediterranean diet on environmental impact

OBJECTIVE

To estimate the environmental impact of a dietary intervention based on an energy-reduced Mediterranean diet (MedDiet) after one year of follow-up.

METHODS

Baseline and 1-year follow-up data were used for 5800 participants aged 55-75 years with metabolic syndrome in the PREDIMED-Plus study. Food intake was estimated through a validated semiquantitative food consumption frequency questionnaire, and adherence to the MedDiet was estimated through the Diet Score. Using the EAT-Lancet Commission tables we assessed the influence of dietary intake on environmental impact (through five indicators: greenhouse gas emissions (GHG), land use, energy used, acidification and potential eutrophication). Using multivariable linear regression models, the association between the intervention and changes in each of the environmental factors was assessed. Mediation analyses were carried out to estimate to what extent changes in each of 2 components of the intervention, namely adherence to the MedDiet and caloric reduction, were responsible for the observed reductions in environmental impact.

RESULTS

We observed a significant reduction in the intervention group compared to the control group in acidification levels (-13.3 vs. -9.9 g SO2-eq), eutrophication (-5.4 vs. -4.0 g PO4-eq) and land use (-2.7 vs. -1.8 m2). Adherence to the MedDiet partially mediated the association between intervention and reduction of acidification by 15 %, eutrophication by 10 % and land use by 10 %. Caloric reduction partially mediated the association with the same factors by 55 %, 51 % and 38 % respectively. In addition, adherence to the MedDiet fully mediated the association between intervention and reduction in GHG emissions by 56 % and energy use by 53 %.

CONCLUSIONS

A nutritional intervention based on consumption of an energy-reduced MedDiet for one year was associated with an improvement in different environmental quality parameters.

Associations between meteorological variation and rupture of intracranial aneurysm in Fujian, China: A 5-year multicenter study

OBJECTIVE

By exploring the exposure-response relationships between meteorological factors and rupture of intracranial aneurysm (IA) to reveal the influence of meteorological variation on IA rupture under the specific climate in Fujian, China.

METHOD

7515 cases of IA rupture from several municipal medical institutions in Fujian Province as well as local meteorological data during the same period were collected from 2013 to 2017. Poisson regression and Spearman correlation analysis were applied to explore the distribution characteristics of IA rupture and how it is associated with meteorological parameters. Poisson generalized additive model was established to further analyze the exposure-response relationships between meteorological factors and IA rupture, and its hysteresis effects.

RESULT

The IA rupture exhibited a negative correlation with temperature (r_s = -0.323, 95% CI: -0.539 ~ -0.068) and a positive correlation with atmospheric pressure (r_s = 0.397, 95% CI: 0.152-0.597) or pressure difference (r_s = 0.296, 95% CI: 0.038-0.517), 21.05 ℃ and 1000.14 hPa were the risk thresholds for the onset ascribed to variation in temperature and atmospheric pressure, respectively. Temperature and atmospheric pressure also exerted hysteresis effects on IA rupture. Cold will increase the rupture risk in the subsequent 1-3 days, and high pressure will raise the morbidity in the next 1-2 days. Besides, drastic variations in temperature and atmospheric pressure were also associated with the higher risk of IA rupture in the next 2 days and 1 day, respectively.

CONCLUSION

Temperature and atmospheric pressure have a negative and positive correlation with IA rupture in Fujian, China, respectively. Variation in temperature and atmospheric pressure exert different degrees of hysteresis effects on IA rupture.

CO2 capture enhancement in MOFs via the confinement of molecules

This review focuses on exploring a new approach to improve the CO₂ adsorption properties of MOFs by confining small amounts of molecules with different nature, such as: water, alcohols, amines, and even aromatic molecules.

Construction of cell-plastics as neo-plastics consisted of cell-layer provided green alga Chlamydomonas reinhardtii covered by two-dimensional polymer

Green alga Chlamydomonas reinhardtii has gained interest as a sustainable resource because it can be easily grown using CO₂ as a carbon source owing to its high CO₂ assimilating activity. Although the robustness of the cell wall of C. reinhardtii makes it difficult to extract its intracellular products, such property is beneficial when using the cell as an ingredient to fabricate “cell-plastic” in this study. The cell layer, which is a component of the cell-plastic, was prepared with an intercellular filler to connect each cell because C. reinhardtii is a single-cell strain. The cell layers were then repeatedly piled to increase the strength of the cell-plastic. To avoid slippage between the cell layers, they were covered with a small amount of a two-dimensional polymer to maintain the flat surface structure of the cell-plastic. Based on the evaluation, the cell-plastic has the potential to be a novel, sustainable plastic using ubiquitous green algal cells in nature.