Special Issue "Global Environmental Health and Safety"

A special issue of Sustainability (ISSN 2071-1050). This special issue belongs to the section "Health and Sustainability".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: 31 December 2021.

Special Issue Editor

Dr. Dohyeong Kim
E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Associate professor, University of Texas at Dallas, US
Interests: global health; environmental risk and sustainability; emergency management and safety; methodological and technological innovations; COVID-19

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

This Special Issue will comprise papers covering a variety of health, environmental, and safety concerns both in the US and internationally, such as infectious disease pandemics, environmental health risks, vaccination development and delivery, crisis and emergency management, air pollution and allergic diseases, food safety and nutrition, environmental justice, crime and injury prevention, traffic accident and safety, and so on. A special emphasis is given to innovative methodological and technological contributions to estimating disease burden from environmental risk factors, measuring the relationships among medicine, science, the natural and human-made environment, geography, culture, socioeconomic factors, policies and health, and developing strategies for addressing outstanding global health, safety and sustainability issues. Papers selected for this issue may also discuss how national and regional public health and environmental authorities around the world have coped with uncertainty during the rapid spread of the ongoing COVID-19 epidemic.

 

Dr. Dohyeong Kim
Guest Editor

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All papers will be peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Sustainability is an international peer-reviewed open access semimonthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 1900 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

Keywords

  • global health
  • environmental risk and sustainability
  • emergency management and safety
  • methodological and technological innovations
  • COVID-19

Published Papers (5 papers)

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Research

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Article
Sustainable Ambient Environment to Prevent Future Outbreaks: How Ambient Environment Relates to COVID-19 Local Transmission in Lima, Peru
Sustainability 2020, 12(21), 9277; https://doi.org/10.3390/su12219277 - 08 Nov 2020
Cited by 1 | Viewed by 941
Abstract
Severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), universally recognized as COVID-19, is currently is a global issue. Our study uses multivariate regression for determining the relationship between the ambient environment and COVID-19 cases in Lima. We also forecast the pattern trajectory of COVID-19 [...] Read more.
Severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), universally recognized as COVID-19, is currently is a global issue. Our study uses multivariate regression for determining the relationship between the ambient environment and COVID-19 cases in Lima. We also forecast the pattern trajectory of COVID-19 cases with variables using an Auto-Regressive Integrated Moving Average Model (ARIMA). There is a significant association between ambient temperature and PM10 and COVID-19 cases, while no significant correlation has been seen for PM2.5. All variables in the multivariate regression model have R2 = 0.788, which describes a significant exposure to COVID-19 cases in Lima. ARIMA (1,1,1), during observation time of PM2.5, PM10, and average temperature, is found to be suitable for forecasting COVID-19 cases in Lima. This result indicates that the expected high particle concentration and low ambient temperature in the coming season will further facilitate the transmission of the coronavirus if there is no other policy intervention. A suggested sustainable policy related to ambient environment and the lessons learned from different countries to prevent future outbreaks are also discussed in this study. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Global Environmental Health and Safety)
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Article
Concentration and Variability of Urinary Phthalate Metabolites, Bisphenol A, Triclosan, and Parabens in Korean Mother–Infant Pairs
Sustainability 2020, 12(20), 8516; https://doi.org/10.3390/su12208516 - 15 Oct 2020
Cited by 2 | Viewed by 455
Abstract
Concentrations of toxic chemicals in mothers highly correlate with those in their children; moreover, the levels are higher in children than in mothers. Non-persistent chemicals with a short half-life including phthalate metabolites, bisphenol A (BPA), triclosan (TCS), and parabens are metabolized and excreted [...] Read more.
Concentrations of toxic chemicals in mothers highly correlate with those in their children; moreover, the levels are higher in children than in mothers. Non-persistent chemicals with a short half-life including phthalate metabolites, bisphenol A (BPA), triclosan (TCS), and parabens are metabolized and excreted through urine. Therefore, we assessed the urine concentrations of phthalate metabolites, BPA, TCS, and parabens; correlated the concentrations with exposure levels; and assessed the within-individual variability of these chemicals in mothers and their infants. We collected 225 and 71 samples from 45 mothers and 36 infants, respectively. For the variability analysis, 189 and 42 samples were collected from nine mothers and their infants, respectively. The median concentrations of phthalate metabolites in the mothers and infants were 0.53–26.2 and 0.81–61.8 μg/L, respectively, and those of BPA, TCS, and parabens were 0.24–76.3 and 2.06–12.5 μg/L, respectively. The concentrations of monoethyl phthalate (MEP), mono-N-butyl phthalate (MnBP), mono-isobutyl phthalate (MiBP), and BPA in the mothers were positively correlated with those in infants (0.45, 0.62, and 0.89, respectively; p < 0.05), whereas toxic chemical concentrations in infants were higher than those in the mothers. With respect to the within-individual intraclass correlation coefficient (ICC), the first morning void (FMV) of the mothers had high ICCs for all chemicals (range: 0.72–0.99), except for BPA, monobenzyl phthalate (MBzP), and monocarboxyoctyl phthalate (MCOP). The ICC values of most chemicals were moderate to high (range: 0.34–0.99) in the first morning void. However, there were different patterns of ICCs in the infants. These findings indicate the importance of mother–infant pair studies and the necessity of research in infants, as they have different exposure sources and pathways from adults. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Global Environmental Health and Safety)
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Article
The COVID-19 Pandemic Lockdowns and Changes in Body Weight among Polish Women. A Cross-Sectional Online Survey PLifeCOVID-19 Study
Sustainability 2020, 12(18), 7768; https://doi.org/10.3390/su12187768 - 20 Sep 2020
Cited by 8 | Viewed by 1952
Abstract
There is limited information on the relationships between restrictions linked to COVID-19 and changes in body weight. The aim of the study was to identify the body weight changes and their determinants in the nutritional and socio-demographic context during the COVID-19 pandemic in [...] Read more.
There is limited information on the relationships between restrictions linked to COVID-19 and changes in body weight. The aim of the study was to identify the body weight changes and their determinants in the nutritional and socio-demographic context during the COVID-19 pandemic in Polish women. During lockdown in Poland, 34% of women gained weight, while 18% of women reduced weight. As many as 44% of women with obesity before the pandemic increased their body weight, and 74% of women that were underweight reduced their body weight. In a group with weight gain, women increased their body weight by 2.8 kg on average and around 65% of them increased their total food intake. Unhealthy dietary changes and the negative lifestyle changes that comprised of an increase in screen time and a decrease in physical activity were found as key factors associated with weight gain. A higher risk of weight gain was associated with being obese before the pandemic or living in a macroeconomic region >50% of EU-28 GDP, while those younger in age and carrying out remote work had a higher chance of weight loss. Concluding, the specific conditions during lockdown worsened the nutritional status, which may increase the risk of complicatedness and mortality from COVID-19. It seems advisable to create dietary and lifestyle recommendations tailored to the individual needs of women who are underweight or have excessive body weight. More attention should be paid also to environmental impacts. Both, the reduction of excessive body weight and the maintenance of a normal weight should be based on the principle to eat and live sustainably and healthily. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Global Environmental Health and Safety)
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Review

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Review
The Urban Water Cycle as a Planning Tool to Monitor SARS-CoV-2: A Review of the Literature
Sustainability 2021, 13(16), 9010; https://doi.org/10.3390/su13169010 - 12 Aug 2021
Viewed by 346
Abstract
COVID-19 is a terrible virus that has impacted human health and the economy on a global scale. The detection and control of the pandemic have become necessities that require appropriate monitoring strategies. One of these strategies involves measuring and quantifying the virus in [...] Read more.
COVID-19 is a terrible virus that has impacted human health and the economy on a global scale. The detection and control of the pandemic have become necessities that require appropriate monitoring strategies. One of these strategies involves measuring and quantifying the virus in water at different stages of the Urban Water Cycle (UWC). This article presents a comprehensive literature review of the analyses and quantifications of SARS-CoV-2 in multiple UWC components from 2020 to June 2021. More than 140 studies worldwide with a focus on industrialized nations were identified, mainly in the USA, Australia, and Asia and the European Union. Wastewater treatment plants were the focus of most of these studies, followed by city sewerage systems and hospital effluents. The fewest studies examined the presence of this virus in bodies of water. Most of the studies were conducted for epidemiological purposes. However, a few focused on viral load and its removal using various treatment strategies or modelling and developing strategies to control the disease. Others compared methodologies for determining if SARS-CoV-2 was present or included risk assessments. This is the first study to emphasize the importance of the various individual components of the UWC and their potential impacts on viral transmission from the source to the public. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Global Environmental Health and Safety)
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Review
Cyber Risk in Health Facilities: A Systematic Literature Review
Sustainability 2020, 12(17), 7002; https://doi.org/10.3390/su12177002 - 27 Aug 2020
Cited by 5 | Viewed by 1597
Abstract
The current world challenges include issues such as infectious disease pandemics, environmental health risks, food safety, and crime prevention. Through this article, a special emphasis is given to one of the main challenges in the healthcare sector during the COVID-19 pandemic, the cyber [...] Read more.
The current world challenges include issues such as infectious disease pandemics, environmental health risks, food safety, and crime prevention. Through this article, a special emphasis is given to one of the main challenges in the healthcare sector during the COVID-19 pandemic, the cyber risk. Since the beginning of the Covid-19 pandemic, the World Health Organization has detected a dramatic increase in the number of cyber-attacks. For instance, in Italy the COVID-19 emergency has heavily affected cybersecurity; from January to April 2020, the total of attacks, accidents, and violations of privacy to the detriment of companies and individuals has doubled. Using a systematic and rigorous approach, this paper aims to analyze the literature on the cyber risk in the healthcare sector to understand the real knowledge on this topic. The findings highlight the poor attention of the scientific community on this topic, except in the United States. The literature lacks research contributions to support cyber risk management in subject areas such as Business, Management and Accounting; Social Science; and Mathematics. This research outlines the need to empirically investigate the cyber risk, giving a practical solution to health facilities. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Global Environmental Health and Safety)
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