Ancillary human health benefits of improved air quality resulting from climate change mitigation

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Greenhouse gas (GHG) mitigation policies can provide ancillary benefits in terms of short-term improvements in air quality and associated health benefits. Several studies have analyzed the ancillary impacts of GHG policies for a variety of locations, pollutants, and policies. In this paper we review the existing evidence on ancillary health benefits relating to air pollution from various GHG strategies and provide a framework for such analysis.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>We evaluate techniques used in different stages of such research for estimation of: (1) changes in air pollutant concentrations; (2) avoided adverse health endpoints; and (3) economic valuation of health consequences. The limitations and merits of various methods are examined. Finally, we conclude with recommendations for ancillary benefits analysis and related research gaps in the relevant disciplines.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>We found that to date most assessments have focused their analysis more heavily on one aspect of the framework (e.g., economic analysis). While a wide range of methods was applied to various policies and regions, results from multiple studies provide strong evidence that the short-term public health and economic benefits of ancillary benefits related to GHG mitigation strategies are substantial. Further, results of these analyses are likely to be underestimates because there are a number of important unquantified health and economic endpoints.</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>Remaining challenges include integrating the understanding of the relative toxicity of particulate matter by components or sources, developing better estimates of public health and environmental impacts on selected sub-populations, and devising new methods for evaluating heretofore unquantified and non-monetized benefits.</p

Disability and migration in urban Australia: The case of Liverpool

This article presents and analyses population data on the Liverpool area of Greater Western Sydney, identifying trends with significant policy implications. Liverpool city is home to one of the highest concentrations of Australia’s recent arrivals, many of whom have refugee backgrounds. From those who arrived under Australia’s post-Second World War resettlement programme to new arrivals, it is also home to a rich diversity of sociocultural and linguistic communities at different stages of settlement. Demographic data show significant relationships between age, country of origin, year of arrival and need for assistance variables, many of which are either qualitatively distinct or quantitatively different from other regions in Sydney, New South Wales and Australia. Building on this analysis, the article further identifies significant policy issues in relation to disability, care and support. While Western Sydney has figured prominently in national and state public-policy directives, particularly in relation to economic growth, public infrastructure and transport mobility corridors, the analysis presented here illustrates that national policy directives for socioeconomic imperatives, such as the appropriate uptake of the National Disability Insurance Scheme, are critical to facilitate social sustainability, cohesion and equity within the region

The cognitive effects of modulating the glycine site of the NMDA receptor with high-dose glycine in healthy controls

N-methyl-D-aspartate (NMDA) receptors play an important role in learning and memory. Targeting the glycine modulatory site of the NMDA receptor has been suggested as a therapeutic strategy to improve cognition, although findings have not been convincing. We used the Cognitive Drug Research computerised assessment system to examine the effects of high-dose glycine on a number of cognitive processes in healthy young subjects. The study was a randomised placebo controlled repeated measures design in which each subject received acute placebo or glycine (0.8 g/kg) orally, with treatment conditions separated by a 5-day washout period. No significant effects of glycine were found on measures of working memory, declarative memory, attention or perceptual processing. These findings, together with those of previous studies, cast doubt over the ability of acute high-dose glycine to improve cognitive function in healthy subjects and suggest that the optimum dose of glycine for improving cognition may vary between different populations, possibly due to differences in endogenous glycine levels and the functional status of NMDA receptors