Public Health Confronts Modernity in the Shadow of the Pandemic

Empirical science in the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries transformed public health. Improvement in nutrition and living conditions were the driving forces, linked to basic sanitation. The principles of public health also proved highly effective in prevention of chronic disease, such as cardiovascular disease and cancer. However, the dominant force in biomedicine has become genomics and “precision medicine,” both of which ignore the role of environmental exposures, and focus on individual, not collective risk. Genetic determinism and technological solutions have narrowed the scope of research aimed at improving population health, and reduced the benefits that biomedical science and public health could provide. The COVID-19 pandemic is the same story in bold print.

Lean Concept Implementation Practices in Small and Medium Scale Pharmaceutical Industry- A Case Study

This paper describes an exploratory study of lean techniques and an extant of its implementation in a pharmaceutical industries. The main purpose of this paper is, at how much extant adoption of lean techniques and elimination of wastage and non-value added activities in a pharmaceutical industries. A questionnaire survey is prepared to know the extent of lean techniques implementation. Questionnaire survey send to the respondents of various department (production and planning, human resources, quality and control, transportation, inventory control etc.) of an organization and asked to rate the each of these areas. This study also inspect the drivers and barriers that affect the adoption of lean techniques. The mean value for each area is obtain after calculations on SPSS and statistical analyses were performed for each area. Further, this study also examined different subjects related with lean techniques adoption for example its comprehension among the respondent organization, its advantages and impediments, the techniques and tools used, etc. The outcomes from this study also revealed the hindrance that forestall or postpone the lean execution. The main obstacles in adoption of lean technology are the absence of understanding lean ideas and shop floor representative’s attitude. Keywords: lean manufacturing, lean barriers, SPSS, mean score, driving forces

Data-Driven Recommendations for Establishing Threshold Values for the NIS Trend Indicator in the Mediterranean Sea

In the present work, we analysed time series data on the introduction of new non-indigenous species (NIS) in the Mediterranean between 1970 and 2017, aiming to arrive at recommendations concerning the reference period and provisional threshold values for the NIS trend indicator. We employed regression analysis and breakpoint structural analysis. Our results confirm earlier findings that the reference conditions differ for the four Mediterranean subregions, and support a shortening of the reporting cycle from six to three years, with a two-year time lag for the ensuing assessment. Excluding Lessepsian fishes and parasites, the reference period, defined as the most recent time segment with stable mean new NIS values, was estimated as 1997–2017 for the eastern Mediterranean, 2012–2017 for the central Mediterranean, 2000–2017 for the Adriatic and 1970–2017 for the western Mediterranean. These findings are interpreted primarily on the basis of a basin scale temperature regime shift in the late 1990s, shifts in driving forces such as shellfish culture, and as a result of intensified research efforts and citizen scientist initiatives targeting NIS in the last decade. The threshold values, i.e., the three-year average new NIS values during the reference period, are indicative and will ultimately depend on the choice of species and pathways to be used in the calculations. This is discussed through the prism of target setting in alignment with specific management objectives.

Dynamic Landscape Fragmentation and the Driving Forces on Haitan Island, China

Island ecosystems have distinct and unique vulnerabilities that place them at risk from threats to their ecology and socioeconomics. Spatially exhibiting the fragmentation process of island landscapes and identifying their driving factors are the fundamental prerequisites for the maintenance of island ecosystems and the rational utilization of islands. Haitan Island was chosen as a case study for understanding landscape fragmentation on urbanizing Islands. Based on remote sensing technology, three Landsat images from 2000 to 2020, landscape pattern index, transect gradient analysis, and moving window method were used in this study. The results showed that from 2000 to 2020, impervious land increased by 462.57%. In 2000, the predominant landscape was cropland (46.34%), which shifted to impervious land (35.20%) and forest (32.90%) in 2020. Combining the moving window method and Semivariogram, 1050 m was considered to be the best scale to reflect the landscape fragmentation of Haitan Island. Under this scale, it was found that the landscape fragmentation of Haitan Island generally increased with time and had obvious spatial heterogeneity. We set up sampling bands along the coastline and found that the degree of landscape fragmentation, advancing from the coast inland, was decreasing. Transects analysis showed the fragmentation intensity of the coastal zone: the north-western and southern wooded zones decreased, while the concentration of urban farmland in the north-central and southern areas increased. The implementation of a comprehensive experimental area plan on Haitan Island has disturbed the landscape considerably. In 2000, landscape fragmentation was mainly influenced by topography and agricultural production. The critical infrastructure construction, reclamation and development of landscape resources have greatly contributed to the urbanisation and tourism of Haitan Island, and landscape fragmentation in 2013 was at its highest. Due to China’s “Grain for Green Project” and the Comprehensive Territorial Spatial Planning policy (especially the protection of ecological control lines), the fragmentation of Haitan Island was slowing. This study investigated the optimal spatial scale for analyzing spatiotemporal changes in landscape fragmentation on Haitan Island from 2000 to 2020, and the essential influencing factors in urban islands from the perspective of natural environment and social development, which could provide a basis for land use management and ecological planning on the island.

The Stabilizing Effects of Publishing Strategic Central Bank Projections

Expectations are among the main driving forces for economic dynamics. Therefore, managing expectations has become a primary objective for monetary policy seeking to stabilize the business cycle. In this paper, we study whether central banks can manage private-sector expectations by means of publishing one-period ahead inflation projections in a New Keynesian learning-to-forecast experiment. Subjects in the experiment observe these projections along with the historic development of the economy and subsequently submit their own one-period ahead inflation forecasts. In this context, we find that the central bank can significantly manage private-sector expectations and that this management strongly supports monetary policy in stabilizing the economy. Moreover, published central bank inflation projections drastically reduce the probability of a deflationary spiral after strong negative shocks to the economy.

Responses of Phosphate-Solubilizing Microorganisms Mediated Phosphorus Cycling to Drought-Flood Abrupt Alternation in Summer Maize Field Soil

Soil microbial communities are essential to phosphorus (P) cycling, especially in the process of insoluble phosphorus solubilization for plant P uptake. Phosphate-solubilizing microorganisms (PSM) are the dominant driving forces. The PSM mediated soil P cycling is easily affected by water condition changes due to extreme hydrological events. Previous studies basically focused on the effects of droughts, floods, or drying-rewetting on P cycling, while few focused on drought-flood abrupt alternation (DFAA), especially through microbial activities. This study explored the DFAA effects on P cycling mediated by PSM and P metabolism-related genes in summer maize field soil. Field control experiments were conducted to simulate two levels of DFAA (light drought-moderate flood, moderate drought-moderate flood) during two summer maize growing periods (seeding-jointing stage, tasseling-grain filling stage). Results showed that the relative abundance of phosphate-solubilizing bacteria (PSB) and phosphate-solubilizing fungi (PSF) increased after DFAA compared to the control system (CS), and PSF has lower resistance but higher resilience to DFAA than PSB. Significant differences can be found on the genera Pseudomonas, Arthrobacter, and Penicillium, and the P metabolism-related gene K21195 under DFAA. The DFAA also led to unstable and dispersed structure of the farmland ecosystem network related to P cycling, with persistent influences until the mature stage of summer maize. This study provides references for understanding the micro process on P cycling under DFAA in topsoil, which could further guide the DFAA regulations.