Science as a common language for contribution to sustainability and peace.

There are many reasons and background factors for conflict including differences in political and social beliefs and values. Wars have also been a threat to the environment and sustainability. Inequality and disparity are more apparent in the world due to COVID-19. Now, we also need to consider environmental changes caused by human activities as climate extremes might cause new conflicts. More studies are needed for a comprehensive understanding of holistic views on challenges at the interfaces of peace and sustainability that inherently involve inter- and trans-disciplinary collaboration among cohorts of communities of practice. Collaborative scientific research on these interfaces is being conducted under the Future Earth Programme, and many others. In this commentary, I posit that science offers an effective pathway and a common platform for engagement and interactions aimed at the nexus of sustainability and peace under global changes.

Are we ignoring a black elephant in the Anthropocene? Climate change and global pandemic as the crisis in health and equality.

Climate change and coronavirus pandemic are the twin crises in the Anthropocene, the era in which unsustainable growth of human activities has led to a significant change in the global environment. The two crises have also exposed a chronic social illness of our time-a deep, widespread inequality in society. Whilst the circumstances are unfortunate, the pandemic can provide an opportunity for sustainability scientists to focus more on human society and its inequalities, rather than a sole focus on the natural environment. It opens the way for a new normative commitment of science in a time of crises. We suggest three agendas for future climate and sustainability research after the pandemic: (1) focus on health and well-being, (2) moral engagement through empathy, and (3) science of loss for managing grief.

Current Measures on Radioactive Contamination in Japan: A Policy Situation Analysis.

BACKGROUND: The Great East Japan Earthquake on 11th March 2011 and the subsequent Fukushima Dai-ichi nuclear power plant disaster caused radioactive contamination in the surrounding environment. In the immediate aftermath of the accident the Government of Japan placed strict measures on radio-contamination of food, and enhanced radio-contamination monitoring activities. Japan is a pilot country in the WHO Foodborne Disease Burden Epidemiology Reference Group (FERG), and through this initiative has an opportunity to report on policy affecting chemicals and toxins in the food distribution network. Nuclear accidents are extremely rare, and a policy situation analysis of the Japanese government's response to the Fukushima Dai-ichi nuclear accident is a responsibility of Japanese scientists. This study aims to assess Japan government policies to reduce radio-contamination risk and to identify strategies to strengthen food policies to ensure the best possible response to possible future radiation accidents. METHODS AND FINDINGS: We conducted a hand search of all publicly available policy documents issued by the Cabinet Office, the Food Safety Commission, the Ministry of Health, Labor and Welfare (MHLW), the Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fishery (MAFF) and prefectural governments concerning food safety standards and changes to radiation and contamination standards since March 11th, 2011. We extracted information on food shipment and sales restrictions, allowable radio-contamination limits, monitoring activities and monitoring results. The standard for allowable radioactive cesium (Cs-134 and Cs-137) of 100 Bq/Kg in general food, 50 Bq/Kg in infant formula and all milk products, and 10 Bq/Kg in drinking water was enforced from April 2012 under the Food Sanitation Law, although a provisional standard on radio-contamination had been applied since the nuclear accident. Restrictions on the commercial sale and distribution of specific meat, vegetable and fish products were released for areas at risk of radioactive contamination. Monitoring of radioactive materials in food products in the prefectures has been mainly conducted before shipment to restrict the distribution of radio-contaminated foods. Between March 2011 and March 2012, 133,832 tests of non-commercial and commercial products were conducted, and 1,204 tests (0.9%) were found to violate the provisional standards. Since April 2012, 278,275 tests were conducted, and 2,372 tests (0.9%) were found to violate the revised standards. MHLW assessment of representative market baskets of foodstuffs at 15 locations throughout Japan between February and March 2014 found very low estimated dietary intake of radioactive cesium (0.0007-0.019 mSv/year), as did assessments of the contents of an average day's food. Monitoring of fisheries products in coastal areas affected by the nuclear accident found very limited and declining radio-contamination of live fish outside of Fukushima prefecture. Fisheries monitoring is of limited geographical scope and covers only certain fishes. CONCLUSIONS: Area-specific bans on production and distribution have been effective in preventing radioactive contamination in the Japanese food market. Currently there is no major concern about radioactive cesium concentrations in retail foodstuffs in Japan, and very low levels of contamination at the production and wholesale stage. However, because the residue limits and food safety policies were revised on an ad hoc, emergency basis after the nuclear accident, the monitoring procedure needs to be reviewed based on objective and scientifically rational criteria. A transparent and objective scientific framework is needed for prioritizing foodstuffs for inspection and revising Prefecture-specific restrictions. Monitoring of fishes and other seafood products in the wild should be regularized and the information made more publicly accessible, and monitoring activities expanded to identify foodstuffs that are no longer a food safety risk. Consultation with producers and consumers should be more formalized to ensure their concerns are incorporated into regular policy reviews in an appropriate and transparent manner. However, despite the limited available knowledge on best practice in food control and enforcement of provisional radio-contamination limits after the accident, current Japanese policy is sufficient to protect the Japanese public from major risk of radio-contamination from the commercial food market.

Future Earth Health Knowledge-Action Network.

Future Earth is an international research platform providing the knowledge and support to accelerate our transformations to a sustainable world. Future Earth 2025 Vision identified eight key focal challenges, and challenge #6 is to "Improve human health by elucidating, and finding responses to, the complex interactions amongst environmental change, pollution, pathogens, disease vectors, ecosystem services, and people's livelihoods, nutrition and well-being." Several studies, including the Rockefeller Foundation/Lancet Planetary Health Commission Report of 2015, the World Health Organization/Convention on Biological Diversity report and those by oneHEALTH (former ecoHEALTH), have been conducted over the last 30 years. Knowledge-Action Networks (KANs) are the frameworks to apply Future Earth principles of research to related activities that respond to societal challenges. Future Earth Health Knowledge-Action Network will connect health researchers with other natural and social scientists, health and environmental policy professionals and leaders in government, the private sector and civil society to provide research-based solutions based on better, integrated understanding of the complex interactions between a changing global environment and human health. It will build regional capacity to enhance resilience, protect the environment and avert serious threats to health and will also contribute to achieving Sustainable Development Goals. In addition to the initial partners, Future Earth Health Knowledge-Action Network will further nourish collaboration with other on-going, leading research programmes outside Future Earth, by encouraging them in active participation.

Evaluation of switching low-dose inhaled corticosteroid to pranlukast for step-down therapy in well-controlled patients with mild persistent asthma.

OBJECTIVE: Treatment guidelines for asthma recommend step-down therapy for well-controlled asthma patients. However, the precise strategy for step-down therapy has not been well defined. We investigated whether well-controlled patients with mild persistent asthma can tolerate a step-down therapy of either a reduced dose of inhaled corticosteroid (ICS) or a switch to a leukotriene receptor antagonist (LTRA), pranlukast hydrate. METHODS: We recruited 40 adult patients with mild persistent asthma who were well-controlled for at least 3 months with a low-dose ICS therapy. The patients were randomly assigned to either an ICS dose reduction or a switch to pranlukast for 6 months. RESULTS: FeNO levels in the pranlukast group were significantly increased over that in the ICS group. There were no significant differences between the two groups for lung function, FOT, at the endpoint. The percentage of patients with controlled asthma was 72.2% in the pranlukast group and 90% in the ICS group. No statistically significant difference between the two groups in the percentages of patients with treatment failure was observed. CONCLUSIONS: Patients with mild persistent asthma that is well-controlled by a low dose of ICS can be switched to pranlukast safely for at least 6 months. However, 27.8% of the pranlukast group failed to maintain well-control, and FeNO levels increased with the switch to pranlukast at 6 months. This study was been limited by the small sample size and should therefore be considered preliminary. Further studies are needed to investigate the therapeutic efficacy of LTRA monotherapy as a step-down therapy.

World Health Organization Estimates of the Global and Regional Disease Burden of 11 Foodborne Parasitic Diseases, 2010: A Data Synthesis.

BACKGROUND: Foodborne diseases are globally important, resulting in considerable morbidity and mortality. Parasitic diseases often result in high burdens of disease in low and middle income countries and are frequently transmitted to humans via contaminated food. This study presents the first estimates of the global and regional human disease burden of 10 helminth diseases and toxoplasmosis that may be attributed to contaminated food. METHODS AND FINDINGS: Data were abstracted from 16 systematic reviews or similar studies published between 2010 and 2015; from 5 disease data bases accessed in 2015; and from 79 reports, 73 of which have been published since 2000, 4 published between 1995 and 2000 and 2 published in 1986 and 1981. These included reports from national surveillance systems, journal articles, and national estimates of foodborne diseases. These data were used to estimate the number of infections, sequelae, deaths, and Disability Adjusted Life Years (DALYs), by age and region for 2010. These parasitic diseases, resulted in 48.4 million cases (95% Uncertainty intervals [UI] of 43.4-79.0 million) and 59,724 (95% UI 48,017-83,616) deaths annually resulting in 8.78 million (95% UI 7.62-12.51 million) DALYs. We estimated that 48% (95% UI 38%-56%) of cases of these parasitic diseases were foodborne, resulting in 76% (95% UI 65%-81%) of the DALYs attributable to these diseases. Overall, foodborne parasitic disease, excluding enteric protozoa, caused an estimated 23.2 million (95% UI 18.2-38.1 million) cases and 45,927 (95% UI 34,763-59,933) deaths annually resulting in an estimated 6.64 million (95% UI 5.61-8.41 million) DALYs. Foodborne Ascaris infection (12.3 million cases, 95% UI 8.29-22.0 million) and foodborne toxoplasmosis (10.3 million cases, 95% UI 7.40-14.9 million) were the most common foodborne parasitic diseases. Human cysticercosis with 2.78 million DALYs (95% UI 2.14-3.61 million), foodborne trematodosis with 2.02 million DALYs (95% UI 1.65-2.48 million) and foodborne toxoplasmosis with 825,000 DALYs (95% UI 561,000-1.26 million) resulted in the highest burdens in terms of DALYs, mainly due to years lived with disability. Foodborne enteric protozoa, reported elsewhere, resulted in an additional 67.2 million illnesses or 492,000 DALYs. Major limitations of our study include often substantial data gaps that had to be filled by imputation and suffer from the uncertainties that surround such models. Due to resource limitations it was also not possible to consider all potentially foodborne parasites (for example Trypanosoma cruzi). CONCLUSIONS: Parasites are frequently transmitted to humans through contaminated food. These estimates represent an important step forward in understanding the impact of foodborne diseases globally and regionally. The disease burden due to most foodborne parasites is highly focal and results in significant morbidity and mortality among vulnerable populations.

Estimating the burden of foodborne diseases in Japan.

OBJECTIVE: To assess the burden posed by foodborne diseases in Japan using methods developed by the World Health Organization's Foodborne Disease Burden Epidemiology Reference Group (FERG). METHODS: Expert consultation and statistics on food poisoning during 2011 were used to identify three common causes of foodborne disease in Japan: Campylobacter and Salmonella species and enterohaemorrhagic Escherichia coli (EHEC). We conducted systematic reviews of English and Japanese literature on the complications caused by these pathogens, by searching Embase, the Japan medical society abstract database and Medline. We estimated the annual incidence of acute gastroenteritis from reported surveillance data, based on estimated probabilities that an affected person would visit a physician and have gastroenteritis confirmed. We then calculated disability-adjusted life-years (DALYs) lost in 2011, using the incidence estimates along with disability weights derived from published studies. FINDINGS: In 2011, foodborne disease caused by Campylobacter species, Salmonella species and EHEC led to an estimated loss of 6099, 3145 and 463 DALYs in Japan, respectively. These estimated burdens are based on the pyramid reconstruction method; are largely due to morbidity rather than mortality; and are much higher than those indicated by routine surveillance data. CONCLUSION: Routine surveillance data may indicate foodborne disease burdens that are much lower than the true values. Most of the burden posed by foodborne disease in Japan comes from secondary complications. The tools developed by FERG appear useful in estimating disease burdens and setting priorities in the field of food safety.

[Trends of plant toxin food poisonings during the past 50 years in Japan].

In the present study, we reviewed food poisoning data published by the Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare of Japan from 1961 to 2010 in Japan to analyze the trends of plant toxin food poisonings (PTFPs). The annual number of incidents of PTFPs has gradually increased since 1995. PTFPs were predominantly caused by Datura spp., Veratrum spp. and Aconitum spp. Although PTFPs frequently occurred in April and May, poisonings caused by some plants occurred in all seasons, e.g. Datura spp. The major location of PTFPs was "at home", and most of the patients had accidentally harvested poisonous plants. During the past decade, the numbers of incidents of PTFPs caused by Veratrum spp., Narcissus spp., Solanum tuberosum and Alocasia odora were especially increased. Consumer advice to prevent PTFPs associated with certain plants that are cultivated in gardens and contain toxic substances is needed, because PTFPs caused by such plants are increasing. In addition, education of elementary school teachers and children about the potential risks of natural toxins in plants, particularly Solanum tuberosum, is desirable.

The global burden of foodborne parasitic diseases: an update.

Foodborne diseases (FBDs) are a major cause of morbidity and mortality in the human population. Accurate information on the burden of FBDs is needed to inform policy makers and allocate appropriate resources for food safety control and intervention. Consequently, in 2006 the WHO launched an initiative to estimate the global burden of FBDs in terms of Disability Adjusted Life Years (DALYs). This review gives an update of the progress on evaluating the burden of foodborne parasitic diseases that has been generated by this study. Results to date indicate that parasitic diseases that can be transmitted through food make a substantial contribution to the global burden of disease.

Providencia alcalifaciens causes barrier dysfunction and apoptosis in tissue cell culture: potent role of lipopolysaccharides on diarrheagenicity.

Providencia alcalifaciens is a member of the Enterobacteriaceae family that occasionally causes diarrheagenic illness in humans via the intake of contaminated foods. Despite the epidemiological importance of P. alcalifaciens, little is known about its pathobiology. Here we report that P. alcalifaciens causes barrier dysfunction in Caco-2 cell monolayers and induces apoptosis in calf pulmonary artery endothelial cells. P. alcalifaciens infection caused a 30% reduction in transepithelial resistance in Caco-2 cell monolayers, which was greater than that for cells infected with Shigella flexneri or non-pathogenic Escherichia coli. As with viable bacteria, bacterial lysates treated with heat, benzonase or proteinase, but not with polymixin B, were also involved in the cellular response. TLR4 antibody neutralisation significantly restored the P. alcalifaciens-induced transepithelial resistance reduction in Caco-2 cells, suggesting that lipopolysaccharides (LPSs) might play a central role in this cellular response. Western blotting further indicated that P. alcalifaciens LPSs reduced occludin levels, whereas LPSs from Shigella or E. coli did not. Although the viability of Caco-2 cells was not altered significantly, the calf pulmonary artery endothelial cell line was highly sensitive to P. alcalifaciens infection. This sensitivity was indeed dependent on LPS, which induced rapid apoptosis. Together, these data show that P. alcalifaciens LPSs participate in epithelial barrier dysfunction and endothelial apoptosis. The findings give insight into the LPS-dependent cell signal events affecting diarrheagenicity during infection with P. alcalifaciens.

Intrahost passage alters SigB-dependent acid resistance and host cell-associated kinetics of Listeria monocytogenes.

Listeria monocytogenes is a foodborne pathogen that causes gastroenteritis, maternofetal infections and meningoencephalitis in humans. Here we report that an intrahost genome mutation alters bacterial acid resistance and the abilities for replication/invasion in tissue cell culture. Among the L. monocytogenes isolates from the recent outbreak in Japan, we found that one food strain, 668, exhibited the greatest acid resistance, whereas one human clinical strain, 690, sharing identical pulsed-field gel electrophoresis (PFGE) and ribotyping patterns, exhibited an acid-sensitive phenotype. Passage of the 668 food strain through the mouse intestine increased its acid sensitivity without altering the macrogenotypes, indicating intrahost alteration of the bacterial acid-resistant phenotype. Genetic and proteomic analyses revealed a link between acid resistance and SigB (RNA polymerase SigmaB subunit) activity. Compared with the strain 668, the clinical and 4 of 5 mice-passaged strains showed a mutation in the rsbW locus, whose product controls the regulation of SigB activity. Corresponding to the SigB activity, the host-passaged strains had reduced abilities to survive inside macrophages and to invade Caco-2 cells, compared with the food strain 668. Overall, we have demonstrated the first example of a host environment promoting the alteration of SigB-dependent acid resistance and host cell-associated actions of L. monocytogenes. Our study provides new insight into the potential role of intrahost environment in the process of bacterial evolution.

Estimating the burden of acute gastroenteritis and foodborne illness caused by Campylobacter, Salmonella, and Vibrio parahaemolyticus by using population-based telephone survey data, Miyagi Prefecture, Japan, 2005 to 2006.

Most cases of acute gastroenteritis and foodborne disease are not ascertained by public health surveillance because the ill person does not always seek medical care and submit a stool sample for testing, and the laboratory does not always test for or identify the causative organism. We estimated the total burden of acute gastroenteritis in Miyagi Prefecture, Japan, using data from two 2-week cross-sectional, population-based telephone surveys conducted in 2006 and 2007. To estimate the number of acute gastroenteritis illnesses caused by Campylobacter, Salmonella, and Vibrio parahaemolyticus in Miyagi Prefecture, we determined the number of cases for each pathogen from active laboratory-based surveillance during 2005 to 2006 and adjusted for seeking of medical care and submission of stool specimens by using data from the population-based telephone surveys. Monte Carlo simulation was used to incorporate uncertainty. The prevalence of acute gastroenteritis in the preceding 4 weeks was 3.3% (70 of 2,126) and 3.5% (74 of 2,121) in the winter and summer months, yielding an estimated 44,200 episodes of acute gastroenteritis each year in this region. Among people with acute gastroenteritis, the physician consultation rate was 32.0%, and 10.9% of persons who sought care submitted a stool sample. The estimated numbers of Campylobacter-, Salmonella-, and V. parahaemolyticus -associated episodes of acute gastroenteritis were 1,512, 209, and 100 per 100,000 population per year, respectively, in this region. These estimates are significantly higher than the number of reported cases in surveillance in this region. Cases ascertained from active surveillance were also underrepresented in the present passive surveillance, suggesting that complementary surveillance systems, such as laboratory-based active surveillance in sentinel sites, are needed to monitor food safety in Japan.

Dose-response modeling of Salmonella using outbreak data.

Salmonella is a key human pathogen worldwide, most often associated with food poisoning incidences. There is a small number of predominant serotypes found in human cases. The role of exposure in the epidemiology of Salmonella can be explained using dose-response assessment both for infection and acute enteric illness. Dose-response studies are traditionally based on human challenge experiments but an alternative is to use outbreak data. Such data were collected from the published literature which included estimates of the dose ingested and the attack rate. Separate dose-response models for infection and illness given infection were fitted using a multi-level statistical framework. These models incorporated serotype and susceptibility as categorical covariates, and adjusted for heterogeneity in exposure. The results indicate that both the risk of infection and the risk of illness given infection increase with dose. The dose-response model incorporating data from all outbreaks had an infection ID50 of 7 CFU's and illness ID50 of 36 CFUs. This is indicative of much higher infectivity and pathogenicity compared with feeding studies of healthy human volunteers with laboratory adapted strains. No differences were found in the outbreak models between serotypes and susceptibility categories. However, for serotypes other than S. Enteritidis or S. Typhimurium, results indicate that a minor proportion of individuals exposed will not fall ill even at high doses. The dose-response relations indicate that outbreaks are associated with higher doses making it more likely to have a higher attack rate. Applications of the dose-response model in outbreak situations where either dose or attack rate is missing were successfully used to clarify the epidemiology. Finally, the dose-response models described here can be readily used in quantitative microbiological risk assessment to predict human infection and illness rates. A simple Excel spreadsheet implementing the model has been prepared and is available from the authors.

Quantitative risk assessment of Vibrio parahaemolyticus in finfish: a model of raw horse mackerel consumption in Japan.

The aim of this study was to evaluate the effects of implemented control measures to reduce illness induced by Vibrio parahaemolyticus (V. parahaemolyticus) in horse mackerel (Trachurus japonicus), seafood that is commonly consumed raw in Japan. On the basis of currently available experimental and survey data, we constructed a quantitative risk model of V. parahaemolyticus in horse mackerel from harvest to consumption. In particular, the following factors were evaluated: bacterial growth at all stages, effects of washing the fish body and storage water, and bacterial transfer from the fish surface, gills, and intestine to fillets during preparation. New parameters of the beta-Poisson dose-response model were determined from all human feeding trials, some of which have been used for risk assessment by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (USFDA). The probability of illness caused by V. parahaemolyticus was estimated using both the USFDA dose-response parameters and our parameters for each selected pathway of scenario alternatives: washing whole fish at landing, storage in contaminated water, high temperature during transportation, and washing fish during preparation. The last scenario (washing fish during preparation) was the most effective for reducing the risk of illness by about a factor of 10 compared to no washing at this stage. Risk of illness increased by 50% by exposure to increased temperature during transportation, according to our assumptions of duration and temperature. The other two scenarios did not significantly affect risk. The choice of dose-response parameters was not critical for evaluation of control measures.

The human health burden of foodborne infections caused by Campylobacter, Salmonella, and Vibrio parahaemolyticus in Miyagi Prefecture, Japan.

To estimate the human health burden of foodborne infections caused by Campylobacter, Salmonella, and Vibrio parahaemolyticus in Japan, an epidemiological study was conducted in Miyagi Prefecture. Laboratory-confirmed infections among patients with diarrhea caused by the three pathogens were ascertained from two clinical laboratories in the prefecture from April 2005 to March 2006. To estimate the number of ill persons who were not laboratory-confirmed, we estimated physician-consultation rates for patients with acute diarrhea by analyzing foodborne outbreak investigation data for each pathogen and the frequency at which stool specimens were submitted from a physician survey. Each factor was added to a Monte-Carlo simulation model as a probability distribution, and the number of laboratory-confirmed cases was extrapolated to estimate the total number of ill persons. The estimated incidence of foodborne infections per 100,000 per year in this region estimated by this model was 237 cases for Campylobacter, 32 cases for Salmonella, and 15 cases for V. parahaemolyticus. Simulated results indicate a significant difference between our estimated incidence and the reported cases of food poisoning in this region. An enhanced surveillance system is needed to complement the present passive surveillance on foodborne illnesses in Japan to identify food safety issues more precisely, and to monitor the effectiveness of risk management options.

Quantitative modeling for risk assessment of Vibrio parahaemolyticus in bloody clams in southern Thailand.

A risk assessment of Vibrio parahaemolyticus in bloody clams (Anadara granosa) consumed in southern Thailand was conducted. This study estimated the prevalence and concentration of pathogenic V. parahaemolyticus in bloody clams at harvest and retail stages; and during this process, methods to detect the total and pathogenic V. parahaemolyticus were investigated. Consumption of bloody clams and cooking efficiency were studied using interviews and on-site observation of consumers. A beta-Poisson dose-response model was used to estimate probability of illness applying estimation methods for the most likely parameter values presented by USFDA. Microbial and behavioral data were analyzed by developing a stochastic model and the simulation gave a mean number of times a person would get ill with V. parahaemolyticus by consuming bloody clams at 5.6 x 10(-4)/person/year. Sensitivity analysis demonstrated the fraction of people who did not boil the clams properly was the primary factor in increasing risk. This study serves as an example of how a microbiological risk assessment with limited data collection and international cooperation leads to valuable local insight.

Simulating the BSE epidemic and multiplication factor in dairy herds in Japan.

With the objective of evaluating the effectiveness of an administrative guidance on the use of ruminant meat-and-bone meal in ruminant feed, effective from April 1996 to September 2001, we developed a model to simulate the evolution of the BSE epidemic and to estimate the BSE multiplication factor (K) in the Japanese dairy population. The output that provided the best fit to the number of BSE cases both observed and predicted to date suggest that the probability that bovine MBM was fed back to cattle was 14.2-75.2% and 0.129-0.570% during the periods from 1992 to April 1996 and from April 1996 to October 2001, respectively. Given these estimates, the value of K would have peaked in 1995 at 40-48 and then declined to 0.32-0.67 between 1997 and 2001. These results suggest that the administrative guidance was effective in reducing the amount of MBM fed to cattle by a factor of 104-141 and was perhaps enough to drive the epidemic towards extinction.