Estimation of economic losses due to leptospirosis in dairy cattle.

There are few studies that effectively quantify the economic losses resulting from problems caused by leptospirosis in naturally infected dairy cattle. Given this gap, the objective of this study was to propose and apply a method to quantify the economic losses resulting from productive and reproductive problems in a commercial dairy herd naturally infected by Leptospira spp. For this study, the zootechnical and economic indicators at a property with Jersey cattle were analyzed during the period from 2014 to 2017. The leptospirosis outbreak occurred in 2014, and the therapeutic approach was carried out between 2015 and 2017, with the latter considered the year of control of the outbreak. The adopted integrated control strategy consisted of dividing the herd according to the serological results obtained through the microscopic agglutination test, the treatment of reagents with streptomycin, and vaccination against leptospirosis of non-reagent heifers and cows. The method used to evaluate the economic indicators of the property was the calculation of the gross margin by taking into account the implicit and explicit cost parameters associated with the manifestation of leptospirosis. The prevalence rate of leptospirosis decreased from 49.4 % in 2015 to 21.6 % in 2017. There was a reduction in the abortion rate (from 40.00 % in 2014 to 9.00 % in 2017), in the stillborn rate (from 2.63 % in 2014 to 1.69 % in 2017) and an increase in the calving rate (from 65.00 % in 2014 to 86.00 % in 2017). In addition, there were increases in the number of lactating cows (from 38 in 2014-57 in 2017) and the mean times of lactation duration, which increased from 275 days in 2014-295 days in 2017. As a result, the average annual production of milk increased from 164,655 liters in 2014-248,521 liters in 2017. In 2014, when treatment hadn't yet started, the gross margin per liter of milk sold, considering implicit and explicit costs, was US$0.00. In 2015 and 2016, US$0.27 and US$0.30 were obtained, respectively, for this variable. In 2017, with the disease under control on the property, the gross margin per liter of milk reached US$0.36. The gross margin per liter of milk sold was higher in the period when the disease was controlled, showing losses of up to 84 % of the gross margin during the outbreak. Immediate treatment of positive cows and preventive measures had a significant impact on improving the productive and economic efficiency of the property.

Mapping the research and development (R&D) landscape using a data series: A 20-year reflection on measuring R&D capacity in South Africa.

Science, technology, and innovation (STI) play a vital role in driving economic growth and social development. STI measurement, including the measurement of Research and Development (R&D) investment, is crucial in providing evidence for policy and decision-making to support STI in a country. In South Africa, the Human Sciences Research Council's Centre for Science, Technology and Innovation Indicators (CeSTII), has, on behalf of the Department of Science and Innovation (DSI), conducted the annual national R&D Survey over the past two decades. As part of this, CeSTII has maintained an extensive database of historic unit-level survey responses. To date, the centre has a rich repository of curated R&D survey data series. These datasets are key tools for enhancing the system of STI indicators for evidence-based policy-making within the National System of Innovation (NSI). In this survey, CeSTII annually collects and reports on the country's R&D expenditure and personnel data across five sectors: business, not-for-profit organisations, government, science councils, and higher education institutions. Recently, these individual datasets have been merged to establish a coherent time series dataset to mitigate the challenge of repeatedly seeking historical data, which may be cumbersome and time-intensive process. The R&D indicators statistics are used by the government to inform STI policy on R&D for national priorities and required R&D funding levels and for monitoring and benchmarking purposes.

Spatiotemporal empirical analysis of particulate matter PM2.5 pollution and air quality index (AQI) trends in Africa using MERRA-2 reanalysis datasets (1980-2021).

In this study, the spatial-temporal trends of PM2.5 pollution were analyzed for subregions in Africa and the entire continent from 1980 to 2021. The distributions and trends of PM2.5 were derived from the monthly concentrations of the aerosol species from MERRA-2 reanalysis datasets comprising of sulphates (SO4), organic carbon (OC), black carbon (BC), Dust2.5 and Sea Salt (SS2.5). The resulting PM2.5 trends were compared with the climate factors, socio-economic indicators, and terrain characteristics. Using the Mann-Kendall (M-K) test, the continent and its subregions showed positive trends in PM2.5 concentrations, except for western and central Africa which exhibited marginal negative trends. The M-K trends also determined Dust2.5 as the dominant contributing aerosol factor responsible for the high PM2.5 concentrations in the northern, western and central regions of Africa, while SO4 and OC were respectively the most significant contributors to PM2.5 in the eastern and southern Africa regions. For the climate factors, the PM2.5 trends were determined to be positively correlated with the wind speed trends, while precipitation and temperature trends exhibited low and sometimes negative correlations with PM2.5. Socio-economically, highly populated, and bare/sparse vegetated areas showed higher PM2.5 concentrations, while vegetated areas tended to have lower PM2.5 concentrations. Topographically, low laying regions were observed to retain the deposited PM2.5 especially in the northern and western regions of Africa. The Air Quality Index (AQI) results showed that 94 % of the continent had an average PM2.5 of 12-35 µg/m3 hence classified as "Moderate" AQI, and the rest of the continent's PM2.5 levels was between 35 and 55 µg/m3 implying AQI classification of "Unhealthy for Sensitive People". Northern and western Africa regions had the highest AQI, while southern Africa had the lowest AQI. The approach and findings in this study can be used to complement the evaluation and management of air quality in Africa.

The role of insurance policies in the drug pricing landscape.

INTRODUCTION: This overview paper aims at summarizing and analyzing the available literature on healthcare system organization and pricing policies of 11 European countries, comparing them to the Bulgarian pharmaceutical system. The countries were selected based on the reference basket for the pricing of pharmaceuticals in Bulgaria - Belgium, Greece, Spain, Italy, Latvia, Lithuania, Romania, Slovakia, Slovenia, and France. AREAS COVERED: In the first part, we explore the health system models in the above-mentioned countries. In the second part we explore the pricing and reimbursement policies, and in the third part we analyze healthcare and pharmaceutical economic indicators, as well as life expectancy. The major focus of the review is the outpatient care. EXPERT OPINION: In this work, we attempted to outline differences and similarities between the countries of interest. Despite the differences in their healthcare system organization, health and pharmaceutical expenditures constantly increased during the observed 2 decades. This increase in expenditures, however, has not had a significant impact on life-expectancy. Minor increases were observed - from 2 to 4 years total. No country had an expectancy above 85 years of age. It might be said that other factors are influencing the life expectancy to a greater extent.

Influência dos indicadores socioeconômicos na distribuição dos casos suspeitos de dengue no município de São Carlos-SP / Influence of socioeconomic indicators on the distribution of suspected dengue

Resumo O estabelecimento definitivo do Aedes aegypti nas Américas está associado às mudanças ambientais, urbanização desorganizada, ausência de água e saneamento básico e deslocamentos populacionais, definindo, assim, a trajetória da doença. O objetivo deste estudo foi analisar a distribuição espacial dos casos suspeitos de dengue e a relação com indicadores socioeconômicos no município de São Carlos-SP. Trata-se de estudo ecológico, realizado nesse município, em que foram utilizados dados secundários do Sistema de Informação sobre Agravos de Notificação no período de 2016 a 2017 e do Instituto Brasileiro de Geografia e Estatística do Censo Demográfico de 2010. Os dados foram analisados por meio da Análise de Componentes Principais pelo software Statistica 12.0 e os mapas temáticos foram gerados pelo software Arcgis versão 10.5. Os resultados mostraram elevadas taxas de casos suspeitos de dengue em áreas de ponderação com condições sociais adequadas e taxas reduzidas em áreas de ponderação com iniquidades sociais. Concluiu-se que o perfil de casos suspeitos por dengue na população de São Carlos não está relacionado a baixos indicadores socioeconômicos, uma vez que a dinâmica e a mobilidade populacional relacionadas ao elevado fluxo de universitários podem influenciar no padrão de distribuição espacial da doença.

Abstract The definitive establishment of Aedes aegypti in the Americas is associated with environmental changes, disorganized urbanization, lack of water and basic sanitation and population displacement, thus defining the trajectory of the disease. The aim of this study was to analyze the spatial distribution of the dengue suspected cases and understand its correlation with the socioeconomic indicators in the city of São Carlos (SP). This is an ecological study, carried out at the São Carlos (SP). Secondary data from the Information System on Notifiable Diseases in the period from 2016 to 2017 and from the Brazilian Institute of Geography and Statistics of the 2010 Demographic Census were used. The data were analyzed using Principal Component Analysis (ACP) by the software Statistica 12.0 and the thematic maps were generated by the software Arcgis version 10.5. The results showed high rates of suspected dengue cases in areas with adequate social conditions and reduced rates in areas with worst social condition. It was concluded that the outline of suspected dengue cases in the population of São Carlos (SP) is not related to low socioeconomic indicators, once the population dynamics and mobility related to the high flow of university students can influence the pattern of spatial distribution of the disease.

Sustainable transportation: Definitions, dimensions, and indicators - Case study of importance-performance analysis for the city of Tehran.

Despite the advantages of transportation development, its negative consequences, including greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, air pollution, increasing energy consumption, traffic, and accidents in transportation, have caused serious concern in the world community. Following the global efforts to introduce the framework for sustainable development (SD), the sustainability concept entered the transportation of literature known as sustainable transportation (ST). We didn't find a universally agreed definition and indicators for (ST). To overcome this limitation, we extracted special terms in different definitions of (ST) and widely used indicators in selected articles. Using 60 widely used indicators and the importance-performance analysis (IPA) method, we evaluated the transportation of Tehran. Like some metropolises, Tehran city has high air and noise pollution, congestion, traffic, and accidents. The main advantage of our research is the possibility to simultaneously assess the importance, performance, and prioritize performance of indicators for improvement, with optimal cost and time. Our evaluation showed that 41 indicators (68.34%) have high importance, but their performance is low and should be improved. 80% of these indicators were related to social and environmental dimensions. We prioritized Tehran's transportation indicators and provided recommendations to improve their performance. Prioritizing indicators showed that improving the performance of Tehran's transportation, reducing natural resource consumption, attention to human health, and reducing energy consumption have high priority. Finally, we have provided a comprehensive definition (ST) of widely used terms.

Long-term performance of grid-integrated solar photovoltaic system on institutional buildings in tropical wet and dry climates of India - a practical study.

This study presents a long-term performance analysis of a one-mega-watt power grid-connected PV plant installed on the rooftop of GITAM University, Visakhapatnam, Andhra Pradesh, India for 3 years. The 1000 kWp PV plant design, performance analysis, economic feasibility, and greenhouse gas reduction are provided. For 3 consecutive years (2018-2019, 2019-2020 and 2020-2021), the energy yields, performance ratio (PR), capacity utilisation factor (CUF) and efficiency are evaluated. The plant was established in 2018 with a peak power of 1000 kWp. The system feeds the state grid with all of the electricity it produces. The system is continuously monitored and analysed using yield, efficiency and performance parameters for 36 months (September 2018 to August 2021). Solar irradiation data has been collected from the National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) database for these years. The system comprises 3078 PV modules, 23 inverters rating 20 kW/50 kW, a data logger and a Net-metering unit. The annual energy generation of the PV plant recorded during the study period is 1376.29 MWh, 1265.541 MWh and 1115.73 MWh. The annual average performance ratio for the first three consecutive years is observed as 0.68, 0.62 and 0.58, whereas the yearly average capacity factors are 15.5%, 14.11% and 12.72%, respectively. The overall system efficiency of the PV system during the study period is 11.39%. Compared to the country's current conventional thermal power plants, we predict that rooftop PV systems may reduce CO2 emissions by 2145.406 tCO2eq for the base year, based on the electricity produced by this PV plant. The grid-integrated photovoltaic plant in this study is compared to other systems in the literature for performance assessment.

Trading wood for water and carbon in peatland forests? Rewetting is worth more than wood production.

While traditional forest management systems aim at maximizing timber production, sustainable forest management focuses on the multiple benefits of entire forest landscapes. The latter is now at the top of policy agendas. This calls for learning through evaluation to support the implementation of policies aiming towards multi-functional forest landscapes. The aim of this study is to quantify the economic trade-offs among natural, current, and re-wetted peatland forests using seven indicators, viz. drainage maintenance, rewetting, water retention, wood production, and three types of carbon sequestration as economic indicators. We discuss ways to adapt to and mitigate effect of forest draining on climate change toward securing multi-functional forest landscapes. The cost benefit analysis showed that in a potential natural state, Lithuania's peatland forests would deliver an economic benefit of ∼€176.1 million annually. In contrast, compared to natural peatland forests, the drainage of peatland forests for wood production has caused a loss of ∼€309 million annually. In comparison, peatland forest rewetting is estimated to increase the economic value by ∼€170 million annually. This study shows that satisfying different ecosystem services is a balancing act, and that a focus on wood production has resulted in net losses when foregone values of water storage and carbon sequestration are considered. Valuation of different sets of ecosystems service benefits and disservices must be assessed, and can be used as a tool towards creating, implementing and monitoring consequences of policies on both sustainability and biodiversity.

Investigating the Association Between Economic Conditions and Sports Performance in Asia: A Panel Data Approach / Investigación de la asociación entre las condiciones económicas y el rendimiento deportivo en Asia: un enfoque de datos de panel

Knowing the factors that influence a nation's sporting performance can aid in formulating appropriate policies and plans. This study examines the relationship between gross domestic product, population, total debt, inflation, and trade as a proportion of GDP for eleven Asian nations from 1998 to 2018. Panel unit root tests, cointegration tests, and finally, Fully Modified Ordinary Least Square (FMLOS) were used to examine the relationships between the variables. The panel results revealed that GDP and TRD favorably and significantly impact national sports performance, whereas POP and TD have a negative impact. INF was discovered to have a negligible effect on national athletic performance. Hence, we suggest that Asian nations take appropriate measures to boost national sporting achievements.(AU)

A combined assessment of the energy, economic and environmental performance of a photovoltaic system in the Italian context.

Policymakers are increasingly moving towards greater investments in research in the renewable energy sector, in order to reduce costs, making private investment affordable, so as to accelerate the achievement of grid parity. This evidence boosts for investigating the way the convenience of investing in a solar photovoltaic (PV) system, in Italy, is unrelated to any form of public incentive. Under this perspective, this paper is focused upon designing a residential 3 kW PV system and providing a full set of indicators for the assessment of its multi-dimension performance in an holistic, integrated approach. Particularly, energy and environmental indicators, likewise the Energy Payback Time (EPBT), Energy Return on Investment (EROI) and Environmental Impact Mitigation potential (EIMP) allowed the authors to measure some of the relevant sustainability-related issues of a residential PV system. Those were found to be equal to 1.35 years, 7.05 and 23,215 kg CO2 eq, respectively. Whereas, the authors used the Levelized Cost of Energy (0.15064 €/kWh), the Net Present Value (€ 2881), and the Payback Period (8.26 years), to evaluate the economic and financial feasibility of the PV system modelized. The variations of EPBT and EROIEL with respect to solar radiation and the efficiency of the PV system and LCOE to discount rate and initial investment cost have been investigated through a sensitivity analysis.

Energy Challenges, Green Growth, Blue Indicators, and Sustainable Economic Growth: A Study of Saudi Arabia.

In recent years, the international community is struggling to achieve sustainable economic and environmental goals. Despite of the large literature, the impact of blue economy on sustainable growth and environment is missing, for the case of Saudi Arabia. The current study incorporates the energy, green, and blue indicators to examine the impact on sustainable goals of Saudi Arabia. For econometric estimations, we use the nonlinear ARDL approach to estimate the full sample and post-Vision 2030 sample. The findings confirm that blue economic activities are not mature enough to participate its role to achieve sustainable targets of Saudi Vision 2030. The outcomes of current study depict that blue indicators are neglected to attain sustainable economic and environmental goals. In view of econometric outcomes, we propose that Saudi Arabia have to emphasize on sea trade and ocean tourism. Moreover, the findings are useful to estimate the sustainable targets of Saudi Vision 2030.

The Correlates of Government Expenditure on Mental Health Services: An Analysis of Data From 78 Countries and Regions.

Background Governmental investment in mental health is of vital importance for the implementation and maintenance of educational, preventive, and therapeutic services related to mental illness, particularly in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs). However, mental health expenditures represent only a small portion of total health spending in many countries. Little is known about the economic, social, or health-related factors that may influence variations in governmental spending in this sector. Methods Data on government expenditure on mental health as a percentage of total healthcare expenditure, collected by the WHO from 78 countries and regions in the period 2013-2014, was available for study. These data were analyzed in relation to key economic, social, and health-related indicators. The selection of these indicators was based on prior national and regional research and expert opinion as reported in the existing literature. Results Government spending on mental health was below 1% of health expenditure in 24.4% of the countries studied. A number of economic, social, and health-related indicators were significantly associated with variations in spending on mental health. Based on the partial correlation, sub-group, and multivariate linear regression analyses, the variables most significantly associated with low government spending on mental health were the burden of communicable diseases (ß = -.47, p = .001) and cultural collectivism (ß = -.37, p = .008). Conclusions These results suggest that low government investment in mental health may be associated not only with economic or political factors but also with variations in disease burden and in cultural attitudes across countries. Though no direct assumption regarding causation can be made, such findings may be of value when advocating for greater public investment in mental health, particularly in non-Western cultures with a high competing burden of infectious diseases.

Research on Schistosomiasis in the Era of the COVID-19 Pandemic: A Bibliometric Analysis.

The objectives of this work are to check whether the COVID-19 pandemic affected the research on schistosomiasis, to provide an insight into the most productive countries and journals and the most cited publications, and to analyse any association between the total publications of countries and a set of socio-economic and demographic factors. Based on PRISMA methodology, we used the Scopus database to search for articles published between 1 January 2020 and 26 March 2022. VOSviewer was used to generate the co-authorship and the co-occurrence networks, and Spearman's rank correlation was applied to study associations. A total of 1988 articles were included in the study. Although we found that the year-wise distribution of publications suggests no impact on schistosomiasis research, many resources have been devoted to research on COVID-19, and the Global Schistosomiasis Alliance revealed the main activities for eradication of schistosomiasis had been affected. The most productive country was the United States of America. The articles were mainly published in PLoS Neglected Tropical Diseases. The most prolific funding institution was the National Natural Science Foundation of China. The total publications per country were significantly correlated with population, GERD, and researchers per million inhabitants, but not with GDP per capita and MPM.

Sustainability Dimensions of the Mediterranean Diet: A Systematic Review of the Indicators Used and Its Results.

The concern about sustainability is growing and the Mediterranean diet has been extensively identified as a promising model, with benefits for human and environmental health. This systematic review aims to identify and describe the indicators that have been used to evaluate the sustainability of the Mediterranean diet and the results from their application. A methodology using PRISMA guidelines was followed, and searches were performed in Web of Science, PubMed, Scopus, and GreenFile. A total of 32 studies assessing the sustainability of the Mediterranean diet were identified. Twenty-five of these studies quantified the environmental impact, 7 studies evaluated the nutritional quality, and 12 studies assessed the daily cost of this dietary pattern. A total of 33 distinct indicators were identified, of which 10 were used to assess the environmental dimension (mainly, carbon, water, and ecological footprint), 8 were used to assess the nutritional dimension (mainly Health score and Nutrient Rich Food Index), 1 was used to assess the economic dimension (dietary cost), and 8 used combined indicators. The remaining 6 indicators for the assessment of sociocultural dimension were only identified in 1 study but were not measured. The Mediterranean diet had a lower environmental impact than Western diets and showed a carbon footprint between 0.9 and 6.88 kg CO2/d per capita, a water footprint between 600 and 5280 m3/d per capita, and an ecological footprint between 2.8 and 53.42 m2/d per capita. With regard to the nutritional dimension, the Mediterranean diet had a high nutritional quality and obtained 122 points on the Health score and ranged between 12.95 and 90.6 points on the Nutrient Rich Food Index. The cost of the Mediterranean diet is similar to other diets and varied between 3.33 and 14.42€/d per capita. These findings show that no uniformity in assessing the MDiet's sustainability exists.

The impact of socio-economic indicators on COVID-19: an empirical multivariate analysis of sub-Saharan African countries.

The COVID-19 pandemic has triggered an unprecedented social and economic crisis. This study aims at investigating the impact of socio-economic indicators on the levels of COVID-19 (confirmed and death cases) in sub-Saharan Africa. The investigation makes use of the readily accessible public data: we obtain COVID-19 data from Johns Hopkins and socio-economic indicators from the World Bank. The socio-economic indicators (independent variables) used in the multilinear regression were GDP per capita, gross national income per capita, life expectancy, population density (people per sq. km of land area), the population aged 65 and above, current health expenditure per capita and total population. The dependent variables used were the COVID-19 confirmed and death cases. Amongst the seven socio-economic indicators, only 4 showed a statistically significant impact on COVID-19 cases: population density, gross national income per capita, population aged 65 and above and total population. The obtained R 2 of 69% and 63% indicated that the socio-economic indicators captured and explained the variation of COVID-19 confirmed cases and COVID-19 death cases, respectively. The startling results obtained in this study were the negative but statistically significant relationship between COVID-19 deaths and population density and the positive and statistically significant relationship between gross national income per capita and COVID-19 cases (both confirmed and deaths). Both these results are at odds with literature investigating these indicators in Europe, China, India and the UK.

COVID-19 response in Colombia: Hits and misses.

Introduction: Colombia has been hit particularly hard by the COVID-19 pandemic, being ranked 22nd among 187 countries in deaths per 100,000 people by February 2022. The country has also experienced the worst economic recession in its history, with real GDP contracting 7% in 2020. This paper describes Colombia's pre-pandemic context and the overall effect of the pandemic on health and economic indicators and examines the government's response to COVID-19. Methods: Descriptive chronologic policy analysis on the COVID-19 pandemic in Colombia and the measures and interventions implemented, using publicly available secondary data from Colombia's official agencies and international sources published from March 2020 to February 2022. Results: The Colombian healthcare system increased its capacity in terms of infrastructure and human resources (from 8.6 ICU beds per 100,000 pre-pandemic to 21.9 in 2020, from 1.7 to 1.3 per 1000 doctors and nurses, respectively in 2019 to 1.8 and 1.5 per 1000 in 2020). The government commenced the National Vaccination Strategy on February 17, 2021, despite a slow start it managed to fully vaccinate 65.1% of its population, including Venezuelan immigrants, by February 2022. Conclusions: Colombia's response to the pandemic combines hits and misses. The country organized an early and robust response; increased its healthcare system capacity; designed a risk-based, equitable, and inclusive national vaccination strategy; and introduced a flexible and responsive vaccine rollout. However, the government chose the wrong timing for reform, implemented a long and unpredictable lockdown, was late to procure COVID-19 vaccines and has not appropriately tackled vaccine hesitancy. Public interest summary: Colombia has been hit particularly hard by the COVID-19 pandemic, with over 138,000 COVID-19 deaths and over 6 million cases by the end of February 2022. According to number of deaths per 100,000 people, Colombia ranks 22nd in the world, among 187 countries. The country has also experienced the worst economic recession in its history. The Colombian healthcare system has been able to cope with a high number of COVID-19 cases without collapsing, but some public health indicators deteriorated. Colombia's response to the pandemic combines hits and misses. The country organized an early and robust response; increased its healthcare system capacity; designed a risk-based, equitable, and inclusive national vaccination strategy; and introduced a flexible and responsive vaccine rollout. As of February 2022, Colombia has fully vaccinated 65.1% of its population. However, the government chose the wrong timing for a tax reform, implemented a long and unpredictable lockdown, was late to procure COVID-19 vaccines and has not appropriately tackled vaccine hesitancy, which certainly contributed to its undesirable position in the mortality world raking.

Prevalence and perception of substance abuse and associated economic indicators and mental health disorders in a large cohort of Kenyan students: towards integrated public health approach and clinical management.

BACKGROUND: The earlier younger people begin to use drugs, the more vulnerable they become to both their short term and long-term harmful effects. The overall aim of this study is to determine the prevalence of alcohol and drug abuse, the socio-demographic characteristic, perception of abuse and associated economic indicators and mental disorders and how they inform potential intervention in a cohort of Kenyan students. METHODS: This was a cross-sectional study on a total of 9742 high school, college and university students. We used tools to document socio-demographic characteristics, economic indicators, drug and alcohol use and related perceptions and Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, Fourth Edition (DSM-IV) related psychiatric disorders. Basic descriptive statistics (means and standard deviations for numerical variables and frequencies for nominal and ordinal variables) were done. Logistic regression models were used to assess the association and odds ratios between the use of a given substance and the use of the other substances, as well as associations with the various available socio-demographic factors and economic indicators. Chi-squared tests were used in socio-economic characteristics disaggregated by current alcohol use. RESULTS: The mean age was 21.4 ± 2.4; median = 21.3 (range 15-43) years. We found a wide range of different drugs of abuse. Alcohol abuse was the commonest and inhalants were the least, with different perceptions.Both alcohol and drug abuse were associated with various economic indicators and various mental disorders. CONCLUSION: This study has established for the first time in Kenya the multifaceted associations and predictors of alcohol and drug abuse in a cross-sectional student population ranging from high school to college and university levels. In the process, the study contributes to global data on the subject. These associations call for an integrated and multifaceted approach in addressing alcohol and substance abuse. This approach should take into account various associations and predictors as part of holistic approach in both public awareness and clinical interventions.

Analysis of Healthcare Expenditures in Bulgaria.

The growth of public expenditure worldwide has set the priority on assessment of trends and establishment of factors which generate the most significant public costs. The goal of the current study is to review the tendencies in public healthcare expenditures in Bulgaria and to analyze the influence of the demographic, economic, and healthcare system capacity indicators on expenditures dynamics. A retrospective, top-down, financial analysis of the healthcare system expenditures was performed. Datasets of the National Statistical Institute (NSI), National Health Insurance Fund (NHIF), and National Center of Public Health and Analysis (NCPHA) were retrospectively reviewed from2014-2019 to collect the information in absolute units of healthcare expenditures, healthcare system performance, demographics, and economic indicators. The research showed that increasing GDP led to higher healthcare costs, and it was the main factor affecting the cost growth in Bulgaria. The number of hospitalized patients and citizens in retirement age remained constant, confirming that their impact on healthcare costs was negligible. In conclusion, the population aging, average life expectancy, patient morbidity, and hospitalization rate altogether impacted healthcare costs mainly due to the multimorbidity of older people and the rising need for outpatient hospital services and medications.

[Characteristics and Risk Assessment of Heavy Metals in Urban Soils of Major Cities in China].

The rapid urbanization in China may lead to heavy metal pollution in urban soil, threatening the health of residents. By collecting literature data published in the last 15 years, the characteristics and risks of heavy metals in the urban soils of 52 cities in China were analyzed. The results showed that the average ω(Pb), ω(Cd), ω(Cu) and ω(Zn) in the urban soils of China were 58.5, 0.49, 42.1, and 156.3 mg·kg-1, respectively, and the average Igeo values were ordered as follows Cd(1.10) > Zn(0.36) > Pb(0.28) > Cu(0.13). The high concentrations of heavy metals in the urban soils were mainly found in cities located in coastal economically developed provinces (such as Jiangsu, Zhejiang, etc.) and resource-based provinces (such as Hunan, Henan, Inner Mongolia, etc.). The cities of Kaifeng, Yangzhou, Hohhot, Taiyuan, and Xiangtan had relatively high Igeo values for heavy metals in the soils. The concentrations of heavy metals in soils from industrial areas and roadsides were significantly higher than those from residential areas and parks, suggesting that heavy traffic and developed heavy industry were the main causes of heavy metal accumulation in the urban soils. No significant correlations between the average concentrations of heavy metals in urban soil and urban economic and environmental indicators[such as permanent population, GDP, ρ (PM10), ρ(PM2.5), and SO2 emissions] were found. The concentrations of heavy metals in urban soils showed large spatial heterogeneity, and hence the average concentrations may not reflect the overall accumulation level in a city. The non-carcinogenic risks for children posed by heavy metals in urban soils were generally low, and the main risk contributor was Pb. However, the exposure to heavy metals in soils in cities with developed smelting industries is worthy of attention.

Evaluating an economic application of renewable generated hydrogen: A way forward for green economic performance and policy measures.

Energy security and environmental measurements are incomplete without renewable energy; therefore, there is a dire need to explore new energy sources. Hence, this study aimed to measure the wind power potential to generate renewable hydrogen (H2), including its production and supply cost. This study used first-order engineering model and net present value to measure the levelized cost of wind-generated renewable hydrogen by using the data source of the Pakistan Meteorological Department and State Bank of Pakistan. Results showed that the use of surplus wind and renewable hydrogen energy for green economic production is suggested as an innovative project option for large-scale hydrogen use. The key annual running expenses for hydrogen are electricity and storage costs, which have a significant impact on the costs of renewable hydrogen. The results also indicated that the project can potentially cut carbon dioxide (CO2) pollution by 139 million metric tons and raise revenue for wind power plants by US$2998.52 million. The renewable electrolyzer plants avoided CO2 at a rate of US$24.9-36.9/ton under baseload service, relative to US$44.3/ton for the benchmark. However, in the more practical mid-load situation, these plants have significant benefits. Further, the wind-generated renewable hydrogen delivers 6-11% larger annual rate of return than the standard CO2 catch plant due to their capacity to remain running and supply hydrogen to the consumer through periods of plentiful wind and heat. Also, the measured levelized output cost of hydrogen (LCOH) was US$6.22/kgH2, and for the PEC system, it was US$8.43/kgH2. Finally, it is a mutually agreed consensus among environmental scientists that the integration of renewable energy is the way forward to increase energy security and environmental performance by ensuring uninterrupted clean and green energy. This application has the potential to address Pakistan's urgent issues of large-scale surplus wind- and solar-generated energy, as well as rising energy demand.