Self-healing plastic becomes biodegradable

Konstanz chemists develop mineral plastics with numerous positive properties from sustainable basic building blocks and, together with biologists, demonstrate the material's excellent microbiological degradability.

Peer-Reviewed Publication

UNIVERSITY OF KONSTANZ

Imagine a plastic like this: harder than common plastics, non-flammable, and even with self-healing properties. But that is not all! It can be produced at room temperature in water, which is very energy-efficient and does not require toxic solvents. Before hardening, you can shape the plastic in any way you want – like chewing gum. By adding water, it can also be converted back to its "chewing gum" form at any time, reshaped and thus recycled as often as desired.

Is that impossible? No, it is not! In 2016, the research team around Konstanz chemist Helmut Cölfen presented just such a material – a mineral plastic. However, even though the plastic, with its novel manufacturing process and outstanding material properties, has since attracted great interest from industry, it still had a crucial shortcoming from the Konstanz chemists' point of view: due to its chemical composition, it was difficult to biodegrade.

A new ingredient for greater environmental compatibility
"Previously, we used polyacrylic acid to produce our mineral plastic. Chemically, this acid has the same backbone as polyethylene, which is known to cause major problems in the environment because it is hardly biodegradable", explains Cölfen. The research team led by Cölfen and Ilesha Avasthi, a postdoc in Cölfen's lab, therefore set to work looking for an alternative basic building block to develop an environmentally compatible mineral plastic that retains the intriguing properties of the original material. And they found what they were looking for.

In their current publication in the journal Small Methods, the Konstanz chemists present the next generation of their mineral plastic. Instead of petroleum-based ingredients such as polyacrylic acid, they now use polyglutamic acid. This natural biopolymer is readily available in large quantities and can even be obtained sustainably, for example from biotechnological production using microorganisms. A variety of microorganisms that already exist in the environment can degrade polyglutamic acid.

"Our new mineral plastic has the same positive properties as the previous one, but has the decisive advantage that its basic building block – polyglutamic acid – can be produced with the help of microorganisms and is completely biodegradable", says Helmut Cölfen.

Support from biologists
In order to prove that this biodegradability also applies to the new mineral plastic itself and not just to its individual components, the chemists enlisted the support of David Schleheck and postdoc Harry Lerner from the Department of Biology at the University of Konstanz. "Helmut Cölfen has created a new type of mineral plastic in his laboratory, and our task now was to make it disappear again with the help of microorganisms", says Schleheck with a smile.

In degradation experiments, the biologists were able to show that microorganisms found in forest soils, for example, began metabolizing the mineral plastic after just a few days. After only 32 days, the microorganisms had completely degraded the plastic. So the researchers have actually succeeded in making the mineral plastic with all its positive material properties now also sustainable and biodegradable.

Key facts:

• Original publication: I. Avasthi, H. Lerner, J. Grings, C. Gräber, D. Schleheck & H. Cölfen (2023) Biodegradable Mineral Plastics. Small Methods; doi: 10.1002/smtd.202300575
• Konstanz study presents sustainable and biodegradable mineral plastic
• Mineral plastic is harder than common plastics, non-flammable and self-healing
• Collaboration project of the Departments of Chemistry and Biology at the University of Konstanz
• Funding: Carl Zeiss Foundation (INPEW project)

Note to editors:
You can download images here:

Link: https://www.uni-konstanz.de/fileadmin/pi/fileserver/2023/selbstheilender_kunststoff_sem1.jpg
Caption: Scanning electron microscope image of the new mineral plastic.
Image: © Avasthi et al.; https://doi.org/10.1002/smtd.202300575; licence: CC BY 4.0

Link: https://www.uni-konstanz.de/fileadmin/pi/fileserver/2023/selbstheilender_kunststoff_Interactions.jpg
Caption: Schematic image of the interactions in mineral plastic. The curved black line corresponds to the polyglutamic acid backbone of the mineral plastic.
Image: © Avasthi et al.; https://doi.org/10.1002/smtd.202300575; licence: CC BY 4.0

 

Contact:
University of Konstanz
Communications and Marketing
Phone: + 49 7531 88-3603
Email: kum@uni-konstanz.de

- uni.kn/en

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JOURNAL

Small Methods

DOI

10.1002/smtd.202300575 

ARTICLE TITLE

Biodegradable Mineral Plastics

ARTICLE PUBLICATION DATE

 28-JUL-2023

Polystyrene upcycling

Recovering valuable chemical building blocks from polystyrene waste

Peer-Reviewed Publication

WILEY

Polystyrene, the main material in plastic tableware and insulating materials, is a widely used polymer but is currently difficult to recycle. Reporting in the journal Angewandte Chemie, a team of US researchers have now developed a thermochemical approach, making it possible to recover valuable chemicals from polystyrene waste in a simple two-step process. This new approach could enable the recycling of insulating and packaging materials for a truly circular plastics economy.

The newly developed “Degradation Upcycling” (Deg-Up for short) makes it possible to produce a wide array of highly valuable aromatic chemicals to be produced from polystyrene waste, as explained by Guoliang Liu and co-authors from Virginia Tech in Blacksburg, USA, explain. The process involves a two-step cascade: in a first step, polystyrene is broken down to give benzene as main degradation product, and in a second step this benzene product is chemically modified in the same reactor. The process gives rise to benzene derivatives, covering many important substances for the cosmetics and pharmaceuticals industries.

Methods for breaking down polystyrene into benzene usually require expensive catalysts, are energy-intensive, or produce a complex mixture of products. Liu and colleagues’ new thermochemical method uses inexpensive aluminum chloride catalysts and can be performed in reactors at a moderate 80 °C (ca. 180 °F). Another advantage of their method is the clever use of the solvent, benzene. “Only the amount of benzene recovered from the polymer is converted into the desired chemical. Unused solvent can be recycled to process more polymer feed,” Liu says.

As a proof of concept, the team dissolved various types of polystyrene waste, such as packing peanuts and plastic utensils, in benzene, and heated the mixture in a reactor under air-free conditions with aluminum chloride as the only reagent. The liquid product, consisting primarily of benzene, could be used directly to obtain the desired value-added chemicals in high yield and with high selectivity.

For example, by adding the reagent acetyl chloride, the team obtained acetophenone, an important chemical in the cosmetics and pharmaceuticals industries. By adding the related reagent oxalyl chloride, the team obtained benzophenone, a common ingredient in sunscreen products and plastic additives. In addition, sulfur-containing aromatics, some of which are used as high-performance solvents in the polymer industry, were produced with a high degree of selectivity from polystyrene waste.

The goal of this new chemical upcycling method is to recycle large volumes of polystyrene waste into value-added chemicals for other industrial processes. Having a low density, polystyrene insulating materials are not well-suited to mechanical recycling, i.e., the process of sorting, shredding, and transportation of materials for the profitable manufacture of new products. The Deg-Up process described here, on the other hand, is robust, tolerant of contamination, and suitable as a platform for chemical upcycling of large-volume polystyrene waste.

(3185 characters)

About the Author

Guolinang (Greg) Liu is an Associate Professor at the Department of Chemistry, Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University (Virginia Tech), Blacksburg, VA, USA. His research group envisions that smartly designed organic polymers and inorganic nanomaterials can be integrated to create novel materials with unique collective emergent properties, with huge implications for sustainable energy and environmental science and technology.

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JOURNAL

Angewandte Chemie International Edition

DOI

10.1002/anie.202307042 

METHOD OF RESEARCH

Experimental study

SUBJECT OF RESEARCH

Not applicable

ARTICLE TITLE

A Generic Platform for Upcycling Polystyrene to Aryl Ketones and Organosulfur Compounds

COI STATEMENT

The authors have filed a patent based upon this work.

DESANTISLAND HOT TUB

101.1 degrees? Water temperatures off Florida Keys among hottest in the world

Dinah Voyles Pulver, 

USA TODAY

Wed, July 26, 2023

No hot tub needed in South Florida this week. Water temperatures in the bays between the mainland and the Florida Keys were so warm that meteorologists say they were among the hottest ocean temperatures ever recorded on Earth.

Water temperature at a buoy in Manatee Bay south of Miami reached an incredible 101.1 degrees Monday evening.

That's higher than an unofficial 99.7 degrees once reported in Kuwait, but meteorologists say the Florida gauge's location in shallower, darker water near land means the two measurements can't be fairly compared.

Heat has been building in South Florida for weeks as the region and much of the western United States sweltered in temperatures much warmer than normal.

The heat index – what the temperature feels like – in Miami has topped 100 degrees for 43 consecutive days, 11 days longer than the previous record, Brian McNoldy, a senior research associate at the Rosenstiel School of Marine, Atmospheric and Earth Science at the University of Miami, tweeted on Monday.

“Calling this heat wave unprecedented is an understatement,” McNoldy said.

Concern over coral reefs: '100% coral mortality' found at Florida Keys reef because of rising temperatures, restoration group says

Sea surface temperatures off the southern tip of Florida and the Florida Keys are running more than 2 degrees above normal.

What to know about that hot sea surface temperature

Was Monday’s 101.1 degree temperature in Manatee Bay a valid record measurement?

That depends on the surrounding circumstances, said Jeff Masters, a meteorologist for Yale Climate Connections. The reading would need to be verified, and no one keeps official sea surface temperature records, Masters said.

The unofficial record sea surface temperature is 99.7 degrees in the middle of Kuwait Bay in the northwestern Persian Gulf, Masters said. That's according to a 2020 study by research scientist Yousef Alosairi and others at the Environmental and Life Science Research Center at the Kuwait Institute for Scientific Research.

The station in Kuwait Bay is 4 miles offshore, at a depth of 25 to 38 feet, Alosairi told USA TODAY on Wednesday. Offshore stations are more representative of true ocean temperatures, he said.

The Manatee Bay gauge is very close to land, south of Biscayne Bay, and measures the water temperature at a depth of 5 feet.

It is possible for sunlit, shallow water surrounded by dark land and light winds to be warmer than the air temperature, Masters said. Air temperature at Marathon in the Florida Keys reached 99 degrees Monday, tying the all-time record.

The water temperature at the Manatee Bay buoy could have been heated by floating plants and other debris, he said.

Given the gauge's location near land and the Kuwait measurement in open water, Masters said, the two really shouldn't be compared.

He noted, however, that 11 stations near the Manatee Key reported sea surface temperatures of more than 96 degrees Monday. That includes buoys that reached 99.3 degrees and 98.4 degrees.

Federal officials say more than 40% of the world's oceans are experiencing marine heat waves, a figure that could reach 50% by September.
What’s causing the heat?

Though it might be tempting for some to chalk up the heat to a typically hot summer or the building El Niño in the Pacific Ocean, neither of those things can explain the heat in South Florida or in the western U.S., scientists said this week.

"I haven't seen any strong evidence that warmer temperatures so far over the U.S. have been driven by El Niño,” said Michelle L’heureux, a climate scientist at the National Oceanographic and Atmospheric Administration.

El Niño has only recently formed a weak but complex link with the atmosphere that allows it to begin having a significant influence on the world’s weather.

Though an international group of scientists studying heat waves in three locations this summer say it’s possible El Niño contributed some heat, it wasn’t a major factor, they said.

“Weather is naturally extreme, and some of the extremes we’re seeing are due to natural variability,” he said. But on top of that, there’s long-term climate change, he said.

South Florida has been suffering under a lingering high-pressure system that’s weaker with reduced trade winds, Masters said. That helps raise water and air temperatures.

A blocked pattern seen in the jet stream over North America this summer and blamed for the heat waves has been linked to climate change by climate scientist Michael Mann and others.

Western heat waves no longer 'rare'

The unprecedented heat wave over 18 days in the western U.S. and northern Mexico this summer would have been “virtually impossible” if humans had not warmed the planet by burning fossil fuels, said the team of scientists with the World Weather Attribution, an international group studying the connection of climate change to extreme weather events.

The team, including scientists from the Netherlands and United Kingdom, found:

Such heat waves are occurring more frequently because of human activities and shouldn’t be considered rare anymore. Instead, a heat wave such as the one in the West could be expected at least once every 15 years.

A heat wave in the western U.S. with the same likelihood would have been “significantly cooler” in a world without human-induced climate change.

The heat wave in the West was more than 2 degrees Celsius warmer than it would have been without climate change.

Similar trends were seen in southern Europe and the lowlands of China, and the heat wave in China was about 50 times more likely than it would have been without fossil fuel burning, deforestation and other activities.

Unless the world rapidly stops burning fossil fuels, these events will become even more common, and the world will experience even hotter and longer-lasting heat waves that could occur every two to five years if the world reaches 2 degrees Celsius warmer than the pre-industrial average.

“Heat is among the deadliest types of disaster,” said Julie Arrighi, a director at the Red Cross Red Crescent Climate Centre. “We need a cultural shift in the way we think about extreme heat. Extreme heat is deadly and rapidly on the rise.”

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Florida water temperatures climb to stunning new highs

Unprecedented Heatwave Hits South Florida’s Waters, Raising Concerns


Brunno Braga
Wed, July 26, 2023 

aerial view of Miami at sunrise

A record-breaking heatwave struck South Florida’s offshore waters, sending temperatures soaring to unimaginable levels. On Monday, a buoy located in Manatee Bay, approximately 40 miles south of Miami, recorded a scorching 101.1 degrees Fahrenheit at 6 o’clock, following a morning low of 91 degrees. The extreme temperatures persisted from 5 p.m. until late at night, raising alarms about the state of the ocean in the region, according to the Washington Post.

Although there are no official records for ocean temperatures, the Manatee Bay reading could be unprecedented globally. Comparatively, the ideal hot tub temperature is between 100 and 102 degrees Fahrenheit, according to jacuzzi.com, highlighting the severity of the ocean’s heat.

A study from 2020 revealed that Kuwait Bay had a sea surface temperature of 99.7 degrees Fahrenheit, offering a troubling point of reference for the situation in Manatee Bay.

However, questions have been raised about the accuracy of the measurement due to the shallow depth of the recording – just five feet below the surface. Potential contamination from land effects and organic matter in the water might have influenced the temperature, as suggested by meteorologist Jeff Master.

The extreme oceanic temperatures were not confined to Manatee Bay alone. A buoy near Johnson Key in the southwest recorded a high of 98.4 degrees Fahrenheit, with temperatures lingering at or above 98 degrees for hours. Many buoys in the region reported daytime temperatures of 95 degrees Fahrenheit or higher.

Heatwave Surprises Experts

The fact that water temperatures surpassed air temperatures surprised experts. While shallow waters in direct sunlight can have higher sea surface temperatures than the air, this occurrence is noteworthy.

South Florida’s heatwave coincides with breaking heat records in the region. July has been the warmest month on record for cities like Miami, Key West, Naples, and Tampa. The Southeast Regional Climate Center data indicates that most of South Florida is experiencing its warmest year thus far.

Miami has seen 64 days with temperatures exceeding 90 degrees, setting new annual records, along with Fort Myers and Key West experiencing 97 and 46 such days, respectively. The heat index in Miami reached above 100 degrees for a record-breaking 44 consecutive days.

The persistently warm nights, with lows between 80 to 83 degrees, have contributed to the ocean’s elevated temperatures.

The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s Coral Reef Watch program has observed a broader marine heatwave affecting various areas in the Northern Hemisphere. The Mediterranean Sea experienced a temperature of 83.1 degrees Fahrenheit, breaking previous records. Other affected regions include waters west of Peru and the North Atlantic Ocean, where temperatures remain unusually high.

New research highlights risks of selective adaptation in extreme coral habitats

Understanding ‘super corals’

Peer-Reviewed Publication

UNIVERSITY OF TECHNOLOGY SYDNEY

 

IMAGE: UTS RESEARCHERS HAVE PREVIOUSLY DISCOVERED THE CORAL SPECIES 'PORITES LUTEA' THRIVES IN BOTH MANGROVE AND REEF SITES. PHOTO: EMMA CAMP. view more 

CREDIT: EMMA CAMP.

Resilient corals, often referred to as ‘super corals’, have recently been seen as potential saviours in the face of climate change and its detrimental effects on coral reefs.

Now, a team of scientists from the University of Technology Sydney (UTS) and the University of Haifa, Israel is working to better understand these corals in order to develop strategies to protect fragile ecosystems such as the Great Barrier Reef.

UTS scientist Dr Emma Camp, co-lead researcher on the study recently published in the journal Nature Communications, says the findings have significant implications for the future survival and suitability of these resilient corals in restoration projects.

“Understanding the mechanisms by which corals adapt and survive in extreme habitats is crucial for developing effective conservation strategies,” says Dr Camp.

The study primarily focuses on the reef-building coral species Porites lutea which UTS researchers have previously discovered thrives in both mangrove and reef sites.

Mangrove lagoons are characterised by hostile conditions similar to future climate predictions for coral reefs: the water is warmer, more acidic and has lower oxygen levels.

“While the discovery of 'super corals' in mangrove lagoons initially appeared promising, our research highlights potential risks associated with selective adaptation, including reduced genetic diversity and compromised skeletal properties.”

The corals residing in mangrove lagoons, which experience significant variations in multiple environmental conditions, display stress-tolerance traits.

However, these adaptations come at a cost: one notable discovery was the reduction in genetic diversity and gene expression variability among mangrove corals.

Professor Tali Mass, co-lead researcher on the study from the University of Haifa said, “While this allows them to survive in the current harsh conditions, it may limit their ability to cope with future environmental stressors”.

The study also discovered alterations in the skeletal structure of Porites lutea found in mangrove lagoons.

These corals exhibited increased porosity and reduced density, potentially compromising their long-term survival if relocated to high wave sites.

Dr Camp says the findings challenge existing notions surrounding the resilience of corals.

“While there is little doubt that ‘super corals’ have a role to play in coral restoration programs, maintaining genetic diversity and carefully consideration of the suitability of corals adapted to extreme environments is vital when planning restoration efforts,” she said.

Researchers from UTS are now studying how best to integrate ‘super corals’ in activities of the Coral Nurture Program to maintain genetic diversity and minimise risk.

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JOURNAL

Nature Communications

DOI

10.1038/s41467-023-39651-7 

METHOD OF RESEARCH

Observational study

SUBJECT OF RESEARCH

Not applicable

ARTICLE TITLE

The role and risks of selective adaptation in extreme coral habitats

ARTICLE PUBLICATION DATE

28-Jul-2023

As communities hit by wildfire ‘pick through the rubble,’ Jagmeet Singh calls on feds to do more on climate change

Story by The Canadian Press • Yesterday 

On his tour of K’atl’odeeche First Nation, NDP Leader Jagmeet Singh was struck by one image: a ceramic white-and-blue teapot sitting in the ashes of what was once a home. The melted-metal foundations of the house stood like the dead trees that now surround the community, posing a danger to residents without their root structures intact.

“Families are still picking through the rubble to see if they can recover anything,” he told Canada's National Observer, adding cleanup and clearing is still needed for the damaged infrastructure and burnt-black trees.

To drive home the seriousness of the climate crisis, Singh travelled to the Northwest Territories on Tuesday to visit two communities on the front lines. The Dene community of K’atl’odeeche First Nation and the town of Hay River have been battered by climate-related emergencies for two years running. In 2022, the twin communities fled from historic floods that caused $174 million in damages to homes, businesses and infrastructure.

Then, in 2023, they were hammered by the other side of the climate seesaw with record-high temperatures, drought and a wildfire that devastated K’atl’odeeche First Nation.

On Tuesday, while fielding questions about an imminent Liberal cabinet shuffle, the NDP leader stood on the riverbed of the Hay River. He pointed to the climate crisis as the leading cause of extreme weather.

“The [Hay River] is at a record low level,” Singh said at the media availability. “This is serious: This is exactly what happens when extreme weather becomes a norm.”

Greenhouse gases trap heat around the planet like a warm blanket. The more greenhouse gases we release into the atmosphere, the thicker that blanket gets, the hotter the planet grows and the more the climate changes. Burning fossil fuels is one of the main ways humans add greenhouse gases to the atmosphere and drive climate change, which leads to hotter temperatures and creates conditions that help spark wildfires. Climate change also makes weather patterns more unpredictable, leading to an increase in extreme weather events.

On May 14, after a wildfire forced the K’atl’odeeche First Nation to evacuate to Hay River, the two communities were brought together by the unfolding emergency. By 11 o’clock that night, the fire jumped the river and an evacuation order was called for the entire township of Hay River, including for the K’atl’odeeche, who had to evacuate twice in one day.

K’atl’odeeche community members returned to find their band office burned to the ground and their community damaged. The community was already dealing with a housing crisis, which has now been exacerbated because of the wildfire, Singh said. 

Related video: Why is the Canadian wildfire smoke migrating across the US? (Scripps News)
Our national correspondent Axel Teresios is live in New York    

Duration 3:06  View on Watch

Singh is calling on the government to increase funds for housing and strategies to adapt to and minimize the effects of climate change, requests he heard directly from K’atl’odeeche leadership. For example, he wants the federal government to fund additional training and better equipment to fight climate emergencies, including an emergency stockpile of wildfire fighting equipment, according to an NDP press release.

He also called for more initial attack crews to extinguish fires before they spread and an increase to the firefighter tax credit to give volunteer firefighters financial help.

Singh slammed both Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s Liberal government for moving too slowly on climate action and Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievere for complete inaction.

“Justin Trudeau likes to make climate announcements for show — but his government’s record just doesn’t stand up,” Singh said in a press release.

“And Pierre Poilievre would let Big Oil do whatever they wanted and call it climate action — stacking the deck even further for rich oil CEOs and failing to prevent climate disasters while ignoring the devastating costs to Canadians.”

Singh also referred to elements of his party’s supply-and-confidence agreement, which advocated for giving labour organizations a seat at the table in developing the federal government’s sustainable jobs plan as well as ending public financing for fossil fuel companies.

On Monday, the federal government unveiled new guidelines to restrict fossil fuel subsidies, albeit with numerous exceptions. Singh slammed the Liberals for “moving very slowly” to fulfil a long-standing promise to end public fossil fuel financing and introducing a framework that included exceptions rather than “just cancelling the subsidies” outright.

—With files from Tori Fitzpatrick

Matteo Cimellaro, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter, Canada's National Observer

Canadian wildfires produce catastrophic carbon emissions this year

Reports and Proceedings

CHINESE ACADEMY OF SCIENCES HEADQUARTERS

 

IMAGE: INTERACTIVE MAP ON THE CIFFC WEBSITE view more 

CREDIT: CANADIAN INTERAGENCY FOREST FIRE CENTRE WEBSITE

Canada is currently experiencing its worst fire season on record. According to the Canadian Interagency Forest Fire Centre (CIFFC), as of July 26 local time, a total of 4,774 fires had occurred across the country so far this year, with a cumulative burned area of over 121,000 square kilometers. This figure has surpassed the land area of South Korea (about 103,000 square kilometers) and is 7.5 times the cumulative area affected by forest fires in China from 2000 to 2021.

On July 27, Beijing time, scientists from the Institute of Applied Ecology (IAE) of the Chinese Academy of Sciences estimated that the carbon dioxide emissions from forest fires in Canada this year had reached 1 billion tons. According to Dr. LIU Zhihua, a forest fire expert from IAE, "The greenhouse gases emitted from these fires, such as carbon dioxide, methane, and nitrous oxide, have an undeniable impact on global climate warming, which has become a global environmental event."

Remote sensing technology is an effective method for estimating carbon emissions from large-scale wildfires. Based on the carbon emission intensity and the burned area observed by remote sensing, a rapid assessment of carbon emissions from forest fires can be accomplished. The scientists from IAE estimated that as of July 26 local time (Canada), the greenhouse effect of methane and nitrous oxide emitted by the wildfires in Canada this year is equivalent to about 110 million tons of carbon dioxide.  

Combined with the direct emission of 1 billion tons of carbon dioxide, the greenhouse gas emissions from these fires are equivalent to about 1.11 billion tons of carbon dioxide equivalent. Additionally, about 1/8 of these wildfires occurred in permafrost areas, promoting the release of methane stored in the permafrost. 

Apart from contributing to climate change through the emission of greenhouse gases, wildfires also release air pollutants such as PM2.5, PM10, organic aerosols, and black carbon, which have adverse effects on the environment and pose risks to human health. To date, wildfires in Canada have caused four notable instances of transboundary transport, which occurred during the periods of May 17-26, June 6-19, June 23-30, and July 15-20.  

These episodes significantly degraded air quality in the United States, with particulate matter levels exceeding 50 μg/m3, resulting in flight cancellations, school closures, and severe disruptions to production and daily life. For example, the second instance of transboundary transport led to the worst air pollution in New York City since 1960, while the third led to Chicago's air quality index exceeding the standard by 5.6 times on June 27.  

These air pollutants are also transported over long distances worldwide via westerly circulation, affecting areas in Europe, North Africa, and Asia. During the atmospheric transport process from June 27-30, PM2.5 contributed more than 5 μg/m3 to the European region. This transport also affected North Africa and Asia, contributing about 1-2 μg/m3 to PM2.5 concentrations in the western region of China. 

Wildfires also affect forest ecosystems. The rapid burning of wildfires results in extensive vegetation destruction and loss of biodiversity, depriving animals of habitat and food sources. In addition, wildfires can reduce vegetation cover and expose soil surfaces, increasing the occurrence of secondary disasters, such as soil erosion, sediment runoff, and landslides. 

Such large-scale forest fires have exceeded the range of natural variation and become a destructive disaster. Frequent and severe forest fires not only rapidly deplete carbon reserves in vegetation and soil but also alter natural forest succession, resulting in ecosystem degradation towards shrubland or grassland. Consequently, the carbon sequestration capacity of the ecosystem is reduced. As a result, large-scale wildfires disrupt ecosystem equilibrium and are no longer viewed solely as traditional ecological disturbance processes. 

In recent years, the intensification of climate change and human activity has repeatedly led to extreme wildfires. For example, fires in the Amazon Rainforest in 2019 burned over 90,000 square kilometers in 10 months, and the 2019-2020 bushfires in Australia burned over 243,000 square kilometers in one year. The wildfire season in Canada usually lasts until October, and the ongoing wildfires may continue to spread, raising concerns that the scale of the disaster could grow even larger, surpassing the country's historical records. 

According to the "2022 China National Land Greening Report," China's forest area is about 2.31 million square kilometers, which is about two-thirds of Canada's forest area. Forests cover about 24.02% of China's land area. Such an extensive distribution of forested land poses considerable challenges to forest fire prevention. Over the years, the Chinese government has adhered to the policy of "Combining prevention and control, with prevention as the primary focus." 

Through cooperative efforts involving all segments of society, China has gained valuable expertise in forest fire prevention and control. This concerted approach has successfully reduced the occurrence of forest fires and minimized disaster losses, resulting in a significant improvement in the nation's overall fire prevention and control capability.  

It is estimated that carbon dioxide emissions from forest fires in China between 2000 and 2021 were about 15 million tons per year, approximately 0.2% of the carbon dioxide emissions from global wildfires.  

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METHOD OF RESEARCH

Commentary/editorial

SUBJECT OF RESEARCH

Not applicable

DECRIMINALIZE DRUGS

Illicit drug use is involved in nearly one in three sudden cardiac deaths in young adults

A new study and editorial in Heart Rhythm examine the links between substance abuse and fatal cardiac arrest

Peer-Reviewed Publication

ELSEVIER

 

IMAGE: APPROXIMATELY ONE-THIRD OF YOUNG ADULTS IN VICTORIA, AUSTRALIA, WHO EXPERIENCED SUDDEN CARDIAC DEATHS (SCDS) OUTSIDE OF A HOSPITAL SETTING FROM APRIL 2019 TO APRIL 2021 USED ILLEGAL DRUGS PRIOR TO THEIR FATAL EVENTS. view more 

CREDIT: HEART RHYTHM

Philadelphia, July 27, 2023 – Approximately one-third of young adults in Victoria, Australia, who experienced sudden cardiac deaths (SCDs) outside of a hospital setting from April 2019 to April 2021 used illegal drugs prior to their fatal events, reports a new study in Heart Rhythm, the official journal of the Heart Rhythm Society, the Cardiac Electrophysiology Society, and the Pediatric & Congenital Electrophysiology Society, published by Elsevier. The analysis of data on substance abuse, revealed through positive toxicology reports and patient histories and recorded in one of the world’s largest and most comprehensive SCD registries, shows higher levels of illicit drugs than is typical for that population, as well as a greater prevalence of multiple substance use.

The investigators analyzed data from a statewide registry on patients aged 18–50 years who experienced out-of-hospital SCD between April 2019 and April 2021 in Victoria, Australia (population 6.5 million). Toxicology assessment results were available for nearly all patients, 32.5% of which were positive for drug use. Previous estimates of drug use in Australia had ranged from approximately 16% overall to 19% for those aged 14-49.

Lead investigator Elizabeth D. Paratz, MBBS, PhD, FRACP, Baker Heart and Diabetes Institute, noted, “As clinicians in Melbourne, we frequently see complications of illicit drug use in young people. We noticed a consistent trend of illicit drugs involved in our registry’s young SCD cohort and were very keen to tease this out further. We found the prevalence of illicit drug use in young SCD patients was astonishingly high at almost one in three cases and exceeds reported rates in the young population.

The study focused on patients for whom a cardiovascular cause of death was identified and does not include those who died suddenly of illicit drug overdoses, i.e., the illicit drugs were thought to be incidental. These patients were more likely to be male, smokers, and excessive alcohol drinkers, and had a psychiatric diagnosis, lower body mass index, and lower rates of hypertension. Their deaths commonly occurred while they were sedentary or sleeping. While cannabis was the most common illicit drug identified, others included cocaine, amphetamines, heroin, and novel/psychoactive substances; more than one substance was frequently involved.

Dr. Paratz commented, “We were surprised by the very high rates of illicit drugs prevalent in the toxicological results of this group as compared to the overall population. Our findings raise the question: Is substance abuse underestimated or does it lead to a higher rate of cardiovascular pathology that results in SCD? We know that some young people may have a genetic predisposition for sudden death or developing coronary disease, but drug use may interact with this tendency to accelerate poor outcomes.”

An editorial accompanying the study by Kristina H. Haugaa, MD, PhD, and Anna I. Castrini, MD, ProCardio Center for Innovation, Department of Cardiology, Oslo University Hospital, Rikshospitalet, and University of Oslo, contextualizes the findings in terms of the need to better understand how drug use contributes to cardiac disease in adults under 50 -- which is critical since it is potentially a reversible risk factor.

Dr. Haugaa and Dr. Castrini explained, “Illicit drugs have well known acute and chronic effects on the cardiovascular system and can act as arrhythmic triggers. Amphetamine and cocaine activate the sympathetic system and induce tachycardia and vasoconstriction, resulting in ischemia and potentially myocardial infarct. These drugs can trigger SCD in younger patients with predisposing diseases including congenital or inherited cardiac diseases, premature coronary disease, and myocarditis. However, still up to 30% of deaths remain unexplained after autopsy. Even when the predisposing disease has been identified, we are often left with a major question about which transient event triggered the cardiac death.”

SCDs represent 50% of all cardiovascular deaths and occur unexpectedly in people without prior history of cardiac disease or a known predisposition for it.

Dr. Haugaa added, “We believe that the paper from Trytell et al. will enlighten further research on the topic. The study underlines the importance of requiring autopsy and toxicology analysis, especially in young individuals, and may help to explain some of the unexplained.”

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JOURNAL

Heart Rhythm

DOI

10.1016/j.hrthm.2023.06.004 

METHOD OF RESEARCH

Data/statistical analysis

SUBJECT OF RESEARCH

People

ARTICLE TITLE

Prevalence of illicit drug use in young patients with sudden cardiac death

LEGALLY TOXIC

Canada ‘falling behind’ in efforts to lessen teen vaping, UBCO researcher says

Marketing, peer pressure, school environments contribute to Canada sustaining some of world’s highest youth vaping rates

Peer-Reviewed Publication

UNIVERSITY OF BRITISH COLUMBIA OKANAGAN CAMPUS

 

IMAGE: DR. LAURA STRUIK view more 

CREDIT: UBC OKANAGAN

A UBC Okanagan researcher says Canada is falling behind in developing intervention programs to stop young people from beginning to vape.

Dr. Laura Struik, an Assistant Professor with UBCO’s School of Nursing and a Canadian Cancer Society Emerging Scholar, researches nicotine dependence, cancer prevention and behaviour change using digital technologies.

Dr. Struik is disheartened by the results from the recent Health Canada’s Canadian Student Tobacco, Alcohol and Drugs Survey, which states that 29 per cent of Canadian students from Grades 7 to 12 have tried an e-cigarette, and 17 per cent have vaped in the past month, revealing that the number of Canadian teens using e-cigarettes are among highest in the world.

Dr. Struik says, “Youth and young adults are disproportionately at risk for the harmful effects of vaping because exposure at this age alters natural brain development and impacts lung health early on. As a result, there has been a long-standing urgency to intervene over the last few years, and we wanted to know what has been done across our nation.”

She led a recent study published last month in the American Journal of Preventive Medicine that examined campaigns directed at young people to prevent vaping uptake. For this study, a team of young trainees in Dr. Struik’s lab examined government-funded vaping prevention campaigns in Canada and the United States.

A key aspect of public health measures is to develop prevention campaigns to motivate people to make lifestyle choices that benefit themselves or society. The researchers analyzed 46 different campaigns to determine what kind of messaging was being used to influence the behavioural decisions of young people.

They found that many spoke about the potentially harmful effects of vaping on the lungs. Struik says there is room to incorporate more meaningful and comprehensive approaches in prevention efforts.

“We know from previous research that vaping uptake is influenced by various intersecting factors, including, but not limited to, mental health, self-efficacy, social norms, environmental factors, knowledge and so forth,” she says. “So, relying almost solely on telling teens about the potential physical health harms of vaping as a reason to not vape is likely going to fall flat, and recent youth-driven evidence confirms this.”

In her latest study, published this month in Addictive Behaviors Reports, Dr. Struik found that Canadian youth who vaped reported a variety of factors that supported their decision to take up vaping, including the belief that vaping was cool, and helped them cope with stress, the normalization of vaping among their peers, the lack of school policies to address vaping, and the fact that there is vague information on the harms of vaping (e.g., “could be harmful”).

She also notes that Canada lacks intervention campaigns compared to the United States. Of the 46 unique vaping prevention campaigns in her study, only two were identified in Canada—one at the federal level and one at the provincial level.

“In the end, the evidence reveals that Canada needs to step it up when it comes to vaping prevention programs aimed at our youth,” Dr. Struik adds. “And these prevention programs must be informed and driven by Canadian youth themselves to truly tackle this issue.”

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JOURNAL

American Journal of Preventive Medicine

DOI

10.1016/j.focus.2023.100126 

METHOD OF RESEARCH

Content analysis

SUBJECT OF RESEARCH

People

ARTICLE TITLE

A Content Analysis of Behavior Change Techniques (BCTs) Employed in North American Vaping Prevention Interventions