Long-term exposure to low-level nitrogen dioxide and risks of neurodegenerative diseases among middle-aged and older adults in the UK.

Divergent views remain regarding the health assessment of ambient nitrogen dioxide (NO) exposure at low-level concentrations. To fill in some gaps, this study was designed to comprehensively estimate the effects of low-level NO exposure on the brain system. This study included 183 351 participants with ambient NO ≤ 20 μg m at baseline from the UK Biobank and analyzed associations of NO exposure with neurodegenerative diseases and brain imaging traits through modeling.

Body roundness index and mental health in middle-aged and elderly adults: a prospective cohort study.

The global rise in mental disorders presents a significant public health challenge, highlighting the need for a deeper understanding of their underlying risk factors. Existing studies on obesity and brain health primarily rely on metrics such as body mass index and waist-to-hip ratio, which inadequately capture central obesity, a fat distribution strongly associated with increased health risks. This underscores the need for more precise metrics, with the body roundness index (BRI) emerging as a promising option.

Urban heat island impacts on mental health in middle-aged and older adults.

Background: Urban heat island (UHI), attributed to rapid urbanization, might be a latent modifiable risk factor for human health, yet little is known about whether UHI puts a strain on public mental health. This study aimed to assess the effect of the summer UHI on mental health.

Methods: Leveraging 338,363 urban residents from the UK Biobank, this study estimated the associations of summer UHI effect with incidence risks of mental disorders, substance use disorder, depressive disorder, and anxiety disorder using both time-independent and time-dependent Cox regression models with full adjustment for possible confounders.

Ambient low-level benzene, genetic factors, and heart failure incidence among urban adults.

Ambient benzene, a representative volatile organic compound (VOC) primarily resulting from rapid industrialization and urbanization, is also of great concern as an urban air toxic. The global benzene market is experiencing steady growth, driven by its use in industrial manufacturing. Currently, population epidemiological evidence about the effects of ambient benzene on heart failure (HF) incidence is still inadequate, especially at low levels of long-term exposure.

Integrated surveillance and early warning system of emerging infectious diseases in China at community level: current status, gaps and perspectives.

Emerging infectious diseases (EIDs) pose a significant threat to public health. Effective surveillance and early warning systems that monitor EIDs in a timely manner are crucial for their control. Given that more than half of EIDs are zoonotic, traditional integrated surveillance systems remain inadequate.

Risk assessment of emerging infectious diseases in China under the One Health framework.

Background: Emerging infectious diseases (EIDs) pose significant public health challenges due to increasing interactions between humans, animals, and the environment. The One Health framework, an interdisciplinary and collaborative approach, plays a critical role in the risk assessment of EIDs. The study aims to systematically review the risk assessment of EIDs in China under the One Health framework, covering policy support, monitoring and assessment systems, and implementation methods.

Strategy and mechanism of One Health governance: case study of China.

Background: Strategy and mechanism are crucial components of One Health governance in China, designed to address the interconnected health issues between humans, animals, and the environment. This study aims to evaluate China's current One Health governance framework, identify key strengths and gaps, and provide recommendations for establishing a more integrated and effective system.

Methods: A qualitative approach was employed, including in-depth interviews, policy analysis, and a review of existing literature, to evaluate the strengths and gaps in China's One Health framework.

Kidney failure-related excess mortality during the first three years of the COVID-19 pandemic in the United States: a nation-wide, population-based analysis.

Background: The onset of the COVID-19 pandemic has had a detrimental impact on the healthcare system. Patients with kidney failure and related kidney disease are notably vulnerable to the COVID-19 pandemic. However, it remains unclear how mortality trends associated with kidney failure have evolved over the past three years.

Water quality and neurodegenerative disease risk in the middle-aged and elderly population.

Ensuring sustainable management of water is an indispensable part of sustainable development, however, the limelight on long-term health risk of water hardness is essential but remains inadequate. This study estimated effects of water hardness on the brain system to refine its systemic risk assessment. We assembled a cohort of 397,265 participants from the UK Biobank to investigate the associations of water hardness with neurodegenerative diseases and brain imaging phenotypes through modeling.

Long-term exposure to low-concentration sulfur dioxide and mental disorders in middle-aged and older urban adults.

The World Health Organization loosened the air quality guideline for daily sulfur dioxide (SO) concentrations from 20 μg/m to 40 μg/m. However, the guideline for SO concentrations in 2021 raised public concerns since there was no sufficient evidence that low-concentration SO exposure is harmless to the population's health, including mental health. We analyzed the associations between low-concentration SO exposure and incidence risks of total and cause-specific mental disorders, including depressive disorder, anxiety disorder, bipolar disorder, and schizophrenia spectrum disorder.

Global burden associated with rare infectious diseases of poverty in 2021: findings from the Global Burden of Disease Study 2021.

Background: Rare infectious diseases of poverty (rIDPs) involve more than hundreds of tropical diseases, which dominantly affect people living in impoverished and marginalized regions and fail to be prioritized in the global health agenda. The neglect of rIDPs could impede the progress toward sustainable development. This study aimed to estimate the disease burden of rIDPs in 2021, which would be pivotal for setting intervention priorities and mobilizing resources globally.

Global burden of enteric infections related foodborne diseases, 1990-2021: findings from the Global Burden of Disease Study 2021.

Background: Understanding the global burden of enteric infections is crucial for prioritizing control strategies for foodborne and waterborne diseases. This study aimed to assess the global burden of enteric infections in 2021 and identify risk factors from One Health aspects.

Methods: Leveraging the Global Burden of Disease (GBD) 2021 database, the incidence, disability-adjusted life years (DALYs), and deaths of enteric infections and the subtypes were estimated, including diarrheal diseases, typhoid and paratyphoid fever, invasive non-typhoidal (iNTS) infections, and other intestinal infectious diseases.

Chronic Low-Grade Inflammation and Brain Structure in the Middle-Aged and Elderly Adults.

Low-grade inflammation (LGI) mainly acted as the mediator of the association of obesity and inflammatory diet with numerous chronic diseases, including neuropsychiatric diseases. However, the evidence about the effect of LGI on brain structure is limited but important, especially in the context of accelerating aging. This study was then designed to close the gap, and we leveraged a total of 37,699 participants from the UK Biobank and utilized inflammation score (INFLA-score) to measure LGI.

Associations of long-term exposure to low-level PM and brain disorders in 260,922 middle-aged and older adults.

Long-term exposure to high-level ambient PM was associated with increased risks of brain disorders, while the associations remain uncertain when the exposure is lower than current air quality standards in numerous countries. This study aimed to assess the effects of PM exposure on the brain system in the population with annual mean concentrations ≤15 μg/m. We analyzed data from 260,922 participants without preexisting brain diseases at baseline in the UK Biobank.

Towards an actionable One Health approach.

Background: Despite the increasing focus on strengthening One Health capacity building on global level, challenges remain in devising and implementing real-world interventions particularly in the Asia-Pacific region. Recognizing these gaps, the One Health Action Commission (OHAC) was established as an academic community for One Health action with an emphasis on research agenda setting to identify actions for highest impact.

Main Text: This viewpoint describes the agenda of, and motivation for, the recently formed OHAC.

Hypoxia and Singlet Oxygen Dual-Responsive Micelles for Photodynamic and Chemotherapy Therapy Featured with Enhanced Cellular Uptake and Triggered Cargo Delivery.

Introduction: Combination therapy provides better outcomes than a single therapy and becomes an efficient strategy for cancer treatment. In this study, we designed a hypoxia- and singlet oxygen-responsive polymeric micelles which contain azo and nitroimidazole groups for enhanced cellular uptake, repaid cargo release, and codelivery of photosensitizer Ce6 and hypoxia-activated prodrug tirapazamine TPZ (DHM-Ce6@TPZ), which could be used for combining Ce6-mediated photodynamic therapy (PDT) and PDT-activated chemotherapy to enhance the therapy effect of cancer.

Methods: The hypoxia- and singlet oxygen-responsive polymeric micelles DHM-Ce6@TPZ were prepared by film hydration method.

Relationship between temperature variability and daily hospitalisations in Hong Kong over two decades.

Background: Studies have highlighted the impacts of temperature variability (TV) on mortality from respiratory diseases and cardiovascular diseases, with inconsistent results specifically in subtropical urban areas than temperate ones. We aimed to fully determine TV-associated health risks over a spectrum of diseases and various subgroups in a subtropical setting.

Methods: Using inpatient data from all public hospitals in Hong Kong from 1999 to 2019, we examined the TV-hospitalisation associations by causes, ages, and seasons by fitting a quasi-Poisson regression.

Assessing food security performance from the One Health concept: an evaluation tool based on the Global One Health Index.

Background: Food systems instantiate the complex interdependencies across humans, physical environments, and other organisms. Applying One Health approaches for agri-food system transformation, which adopts integrated and unifying approaches to optimize the overall health of humans, animals, plants, and environments, is crucial to enhance the sustainability of food systems. This study develops a potential assessment tool, named the global One Health index-Food Security (GOHI-FS), aiming to evaluate food security performance across countries/territories from One Health perspective and identify relevant gaps that need to be improved for sustainable food systems.

Excess Deaths of Gastrointestinal, Liver, and Pancreatic Diseases During the COVID-19 Pandemic in the United States.

To evaluate excess deaths of gastrointestinal, liver, and pancreatic diseases in the United States during the COVID-19 pandemic. We retrieved weekly death counts from National Vital Statistics System and fitted them with a quasi-Poisson regression model. Cause-specific excess deaths were calculated by the difference between observed and expected deaths with adjustment for temporal trend and seasonality.

Metal-Organic Framework for Hypoxia/ROS/pH Triple-Responsive Cargo Release.

Nanoparticulate antitumor photodynamic therapy (PDT) is suffering from a very short lifetime, limited diffusion distance of reactive oxygen species (ROS). Herein, a hypoxia/ROS/pH triple-responsive metal-organic framework (MOF) is designed to facilitate the on-demand release of photosensitizers and hence enhanced PDT efficacy. Tailored azo-containing imidazole ligand is coordinated with zinc to form MOF where photosensitizer (Chlorin e6/Ce6) is encapsulated.