Microplastics are now recognized as widespread contaminants in the atmosphere, where, due to their small size and low density, they can be transported with winds around the Earth
. Atmospheric ...aerosols, such as mineral dust and other types of airborne particulate matter, influence Earth's climate by absorbing and scattering radiation (direct radiative effects) and their impacts are commonly quantified with the effective radiative forcing (ERF) metric
. However, the radiative effects of airborne microplastics and associated implications for global climate are unknown. Here we present calculations of the optical properties and direct radiative effects of airborne microplastics (excluding aerosol-cloud interactions). The ERF of airborne microplastics is computed to be 0.044 ± 0.399 milliwatts per square metre in the present-day atmosphere assuming a uniform surface concentration of 1 microplastic particle per cubic metre and a vertical distribution up to 10 kilometres altitude. However, there are large uncertainties in the geographical and vertical distribution of microplastics. Assuming that they are confined to the boundary layer, shortwave effects dominate and the microplastic ERF is approximately -0.746 ± 0.553 milliwatts per square metre. Compared with the total ERF due to aerosol-radiation interactions
(-0.71 to -0.14 watts per square metre), the microplastic ERF is small. However, plastic production has increased rapidly over the past 70 years
; without serious attempts to overhaul plastic production and waste-management practices, the abundance and ERF of airborne microplastics will continue to increase.
Plant-based diets have been recommended to reduce the risk of type 2 diabetes (T2D). However, not all plant foods are necessarily beneficial. We examined the association of an overall plant-based ...diet and hypothesized healthful and unhealthful versions of a plant-based diet with T2D incidence in three prospective cohort studies in the US.
We included 69,949 women from the Nurses' Health Study (1984-2012), 90,239 women from the Nurses' Health Study 2 (1991-2011), and 40,539 men from the Health Professionals Follow-Up Study (1986-2010), free of chronic diseases at baseline. Dietary data were collected every 2-4 y using a semi-quantitative food frequency questionnaire. Using these data, we created an overall plant-based diet index (PDI), where plant foods received positive scores, while animal foods (animal fats, dairy, eggs, fish/seafood, poultry/red meat, miscellaneous animal-based foods) received reverse scores. We also created a healthful plant-based diet index (hPDI), where healthy plant foods (whole grains, fruits, vegetables, nuts, legumes, vegetable oils, tea/coffee) received positive scores, while less healthy plant foods (fruit juices, sweetened beverages, refined grains, potatoes, sweets/desserts) and animal foods received reverse scores. Lastly, we created an unhealthful plant-based diet index (uPDI) by assigning positive scores to less healthy plant foods and reverse scores to healthy plant foods and animal foods. We documented 16,162 incident T2D cases during 4,102,369 person-years of follow-up. In pooled multivariable-adjusted analysis, both PDI and hPDI were inversely associated with T2D (PDI: hazard ratio HR for extreme deciles 0.51, 95% CI 0.47-0.55, p trend < 0.001; hPDI: HR for extreme deciles 0.55, 95% CI 0.51-0.59, p trend < 0.001). The association of T2D with PDI was considerably attenuated when we additionally adjusted for body mass index (BMI) categories (HR 0.80, 95% CI 0.74-0.87, p trend < 0.001), while that with hPDI remained largely unchanged (HR 0.66, 95% CI 0.61-0.72, p trend < 0.001). uPDI was positively associated with T2D even after BMI adjustment (HR for extreme deciles 1.16, 95% CI 1.08-1.25, p trend < 0.001). Limitations of the study include self-reported diet assessment, with the possibility of measurement error, and the potential for residual or unmeasured confounding given the observational nature of the study design.
Our study suggests that plant-based diets, especially when rich in high-quality plant foods, are associated with substantially lower risk of developing T2D. This supports current recommendations to shift to diets rich in healthy plant foods, with lower intake of less healthy plant and animal foods.
AbstractObjectiveTo examine and quantify the potential dose-response relation between intake of total, animal, and plant protein and the risk of mortality from all causes, cardiovascular disease, and ...cancer.DesignSystematic review and meta-analysis of prospective cohort studies.Data sourcesPubMed, Scopus, and ISI Web of Science until December 2019, and references of retrieved relevant articles.Study selectionProspective cohort studies that reported the risk estimates for all cause, cardiovascular, and cancer mortality in adults aged 18 or older.Data synthesisRandom effects models were used to calculate pooled effect sizes and 95% confidence intervals for the highest versus lowest categories of protein intake and to incorporate variation between studies. Linear and non-linear dose-response analyses were done to evaluate the dose-response relations between protein intake and mortality.Results32 prospective cohort studies were included in the systematic review and 31 in the meta-analysis. During the follow-up period of 3.5 to 32 years, 113 039 deaths (16 429 from cardiovascular disease and 22 303 from cancer) occurred among 715 128 participants. Intake of total protein was associated with a lower risk of all cause mortality (pooled effect size 0.94, 95% confidence interval 0.89 to 0.99, I2=58.4%, P<0.001). Intake of plant protein was significantly associated with a lower risk of all cause mortality (pooled effect size 0.92, 95% confidence interval 0.87 to 0.97, I2=57.5%, P=0.003) and cardiovascular disease mortality (pooled hazard ratio 0.88, 95% confidence interval 0.80 to 0.96, I2=63.7%, P=0.001), but not with cancer mortality. Intake of total and animal protein was not significantly associated with risk of cardiovascular disease and cancer mortality. A dose-response analysis showed a significant inverse dose-response association between intake of plant protein and all cause mortality (P=0.05 for non-linearity). An additional 3% energy from plant proteins a day was associated with a 5% lower risk of death from all causes.ConclusionsHigher intake of total protein was associated with a lower risk of all cause mortality, and intake of plant protein was associated with a lower risk of all cause and cardiovascular disease mortality. Replacement of foods high in animal protein with plant protein sources could be associated with longevity.
As the art of neurosurgery evolves in the 21st century, more emphasis is placed on minimally invasive techniques, which require technical precision. Simultaneously, the reduction on training hours ...continues, and teachers of neurosurgery faces “double jeopardy”—with harder skills to teach and less time to teach them. Mixed reality appears as the neurosurgical educators’ natural ally: Virtual reality facilitates the learning of spatial relationships and permits rehearsal of skills, while augmented reality can make procedures safer and more efficient. Little wonder then, that the body of literature on mixed reality in neurosurgery has grown exponentially.
Publications involving virtual and augmented reality in neurosurgery were examined. A total of 414 papers were included, and they were categorized according to study design and analyzed.
Half of the papers were published within the last 3 years alone. Whereas in the earlier half, most of the publications involved experiments in virtual reality simulation and the efficacy of skills acquisition, many of the more recent publication are proof-of-concept studies. This attests to the evolution of mixed reality in neurosurgery. As the technology advances, neurosurgeons are finding more applications, both in training and clinical practice.
With parallel advancement in Internet speed and artificial intelligence, the utilization of mixed reality will permeate neurosurgery. From solving staff problems in global neurosurgery, to mitigating the deleterious effect of duty-hour reductions, to improving individual operations, mixed reality will have a positive effect in many aspects of neurosurgery.
Supplying adequate human nutrition within ecosystem carrying capacities is a key element in the global environmental sustainability challenge. Life cycle assessment (LCA) has been used effectively to ...evaluate the environmental impacts of food production value chains and to identify opportunities for targeted improvement strategies. Dietary choices and resulting consumption patterns are the drivers of production, however, and a consumption-oriented life cycle perspective is useful in understanding the environmental implications of diet choices. This review identifies 32 studies that use an LCA framework to evaluate the environmental impact of diets or meals. It highlights the state of the art, emerging methodological trends and current challenges and limitations to such diet-level LCA studies. A wide range of bases for analysis and comparison (i.e., functional units) have been employed in LCAs of foods and diet; we conceptually map appropriate functional unit choices to research aims and scope and argue for a need to move in the direction of a more sophisticated and comprehensive nutritional basis in order to link nutritional health and environmental objectives. Nutritional quality indices are reviewed as potential approaches, but refinement through ongoing collaborative research between environmental and nutritional sciences is necessary. Additional research needs include development of regionally specific life cycle inventory databases for food and agriculture and expansion of the scope of assessments beyond the current focus on greenhouse gas emissions.
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