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Water contamination by emerging contaminants is increasing in the context of rising urbanization, industrialization, and agriculture production. Emerging contaminants refers to contaminants for which there is currently no regulation requiring monitoring or public reporting of their presence in our water supply or wastewaters. There are many emerging contaminants such as pesticides, pharmaceuticals, drugs, cosmetics, personal care products, surfactants, cleaning products, industrial formulations and chemicals, food additives, food packaging, metalloids, rare earth elements, nanomaterials, microplastics, and pathogens. The main sources of emerging contaminants are domestic discharges, hospital effluents, industrial wastewaters, runoff from agriculture, livestock and aquaculture, and landfill leachates. In particular, effluents from municipal wastewater treatment plants are major contributors to the presence of emerging contaminants in waters. Although many chemicals have been recently regulated as priority hazardous substances, conventional plants for wastewater and drinking water treatment were not designed to remove most emerging contaminants. Here, we review key examples of contamination in China, Portugal, Mexico, Colombia, and Brazil. Examples include persistent organic pollutants such as polychlorinated biphenyls, dibenzofurans, and polybrominated diphenyl ethers, in lake and ocean ecosystems in China; emerging contaminants such as alkylphenols, natural and synthetic estrogens, antibiotics, and antidepressants in Portuguese rivers; and pharmaceuticals, hormones, cosmetics, personal care products, and pesticides in Mexican, Brazilian, and Colombian waters. All continents are affected by these contaminants. Wastewater treatment plants should therefore be upgraded, e.g., by addition of tertiary treatment systems, to limit environmental pollution.

Do freshwater ecosystems and their charismatic species attract sufficient public attention in global biodiversity conservation efforts? In this study, we analyzed web-based public interest, news reports, and academic research concerning freshwater cetaceans and their respective river basins. We compared these findings with those of other endangered flagship species (six species selected globally and three nationally in China) inhabiting terrestrial and marine ecosystems. Our results indicated that public interest in freshwater cetaceans remained stable over the past two decades, contributing 7% to the awareness of the basins they inhabit. Although the number of news reports and academic research on freshwater cetaceans increased significantly, by 705 and 52 respectively, the growth rate was notably slower compared to that of other endangered flagship species inhabiting terrestrial and marine ecosystems. Regions with higher attention to freshwater cetaceans were typically economically developed areas. Even in China where the freshwater cetacean conservation has recently achieved significant success, insufficient attention and local interest towards freshwater cetaceans were still underscored. Correlation analysis revealed that current news coverage and academic research were not effectively raising public interest in freshwater cetaceans. We strongly recommend launching nature education campaigns to enhance local awareness and interest in freshwater cetacean conservation, drawing insights from successful conservation efforts in other ecosystems. Effective collaboration between media and scientific agencies is essential to bridge the ‘knowing-doing’ gap, ensuring the dissemination of scientific findings to the public and academic institutions.

The finding of Feldstein and Horioka (1980) that domestic saving and domestic investment are highly correlated across countries despite the rapid globalization and liberalization of financial markets in recent decades has been regarded as a Puzzle or Paradox. However, in this paper, we show that countries as a whole may not be able to transfer their capital abroad and that the Feldstein–Horioka Finding of domestic saving and domestic investment being highly correlated across countries may arise even if there are no frictions in financial markets and even if individual investors can freely transfer their capital abroad if there are frictions in goods markets such as transport costs, tariffs, nontariff barriers, the cost of regulatory compliance, etc. In fact, there is evidence that frictions in goods markets are a more serious impediment to countries as a whole being able to transfer their capital abroad than frictions in financial markets, especially in the short run.

Housing affordability is one of the major social problems in many countries, with some advocates urging governments to provide more accessible mortgages to facilitate more homeownership. However, in recent decades more and more evidence has shown that unaffordable housing is the consequence of monetary policy. Most of the previous empirical studies have been based on econometric analyses, which make it hard to eliminate potential endogeneity biases. This cross-country study exploited the two global interest rate shocks as quasi-experiments to test the impacts and causality of monetary policy (taking real interest rates as a proxy) on house prices. Global central banks’ synchronized reduction in interest rates after the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020 and then the global synchronized increase in interest rates after the global inflation crisis in 2022 provided both a treatment and a treatment reversal to test the monetary policy hypothesis. The stylized facts vividly reveal the negative association between interest rate changes and house price changes in many countries. This study further conducted a ten-country panel regression analysis to test the hypothesis. The results confirmed that, after controlling for GDP growth and unemployment factors, the change in real interest rate imposed a negative effect on house price growth rates. The key practical implication of this study pinpoints the mal-prescription of harnessing monetary policy to solve housing affordability issues, as it can distort housing market dynamics.

The COVID-19 pandemic disrupted cancer screening programs and care for individuals with malignancies. We aimed to analyze the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic on the interest of Google users in cancers and their screenings. We collected data from Google Trends (GT) from 1 January 2015 to 31 December 2021 worldwide for nine topics representing cancer screening and the HPV vaccine and for 33 topics representing malignancies. We performed a secular analysis comparing the prepandemic (2015–2019) and pandemic (2020–2021) period. We performed forecasting analysis on the prepandemic timeline to assess interest in the analyzed topics if the pandemic hadnot occurred.The actual interest in most of the analyzed topics was significantly lower than in the forecasted trend. Interest in 6 of the 9 topics representing cancer screening and 3 of the 33 topics representing cancer was higher during the pandemic than in the prepandemic period. The interest of Google users in cancer screenings increased in 2020–2021 compared to 2015–2019, but the growth was less dynamic than expected. The interest in many cancers during the pandemic was significantly lower than in the prepandemic period, especially during March and April 2020. The lower interest in cancers and their screenings may delay the diagnosis and worsen the long-term outcomes.

Background: Role‐playing games (RPGs) have long attracted scholars because of their interactive and immersive attributes. The areas of studies on RPGs are various, from computer science to sociology and psychology. Nevertheless, there is a notable absence of comprehensive systematic literature that traces the trends, changes, and developments in RPG research. Purpose: This paper is aimed at undertaking a systematic review of RPG research by analyzing the Scopus database, covering the period from 1986 to 2023. Method: The analyzed dataset comprises 1152 documents, filtered through the PRISMA (Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta‐Analyses) screening method from an initial pool of 2908 data points. This data was subjected to analysis using descriptive statistics and bibliometric techniques to discern trends in RPG research and identify influential documents shaping studies in this domain. Findings: This research systematically analyzes RPG research, providing insights into growth patterns, global interest, and influential contributors. By synthesizing diverse research strands, the study contributes valuable knowledge for scholars, practitioners, and policymakers as well as guiding future research in RPGs. Contribution: This research provides valuable insights into the evolving RPG landscape, offering guidance for future research.

This study examines the dynamic and nonlinear effects of global interest rate (based on the G7 market) shocks on equity markets in BRICS countries. A World Interest Rate (WIR) index is constructed using principal component analysis of short-term interest rates from developed economies. The analysis applies Distributed Lag Nonlinear Models (DLNMs) to evaluate the temporal response of each market to positive and negative WIR shocks over a six-period horizon. The results reveal notable asymmetries and heterogeneity. Brazil and Russia experience stronger reactions to negative shocks, while India and China show milder or delayed effects. South Africa stands out for its persistent and symmetric sensitivity to both types of shocks, suggesting deeper exposure to global financial cycles. The DLNM framework allows for a nuanced interpretation of exposure-lag relationships, offering new insights into how global monetary conditions affect emerging markets. These findings highlight that financial integration does not imply uniform vulnerability across countries and that global liquidity shocks can trigger diverse equity market responses. This paper contributes to the literature on international financial linkages and provides relevant implications for investors and policymakers managing portfolio exposure or economic risk in emerging markets.

ObjectiveAlthough patients with psoriasis frequently report seasonal changes in their symptoms, the seasonality of psoriasis has rarely been explored. This study aims to investigate the seasonal pattern of and global public interest in psoriasis using Google search data.MethodsInternet search data were collected from Google Trends. Data on the relative search volume (RSV) from January 2004 to December 2018 were retrieved using the term psoriasis. Cosinor analyses were conducted to examine the seasonality of psoriasis using data from two southern hemisphere countries (Australia and New Zealand) and four northern hemisphere countries (USA, Canada, UK and Ireland).ResultsOverall, searches for psoriasis steadily decreased between 2004 and 2010, and then rose from 2011 to 2018. On cosinor analyses, RSV of ‘psoriasis’ displayed a significant seasonal variation worldwide (p<0.025). Further analyses confirmed the seasonality of psoriasis-related RSV in Australia, New Zealand, USA, Canada, UK and Ireland (p<0.025 for all), with peaks in the late winter/early spring months and troughs in the late summer/early autumn months. The top 11 rising topics were calcipotriol/betamethasone dipropionate, ustekinumab, apremilast, shampoo, eczema, guttate psoriasis, seborrhoeic dermatitis, dermatitis, psoriatic arthritis, atopic dermatitis and arthritis.ConclusionThere was a significant seasonal pattern for psoriasis, with peaks in the late winter/early spring and troughs in the late summer/early autumn. Further studies are warranted to confirm the seasonal pattern of psoriasis using clinical data and to explore the underlying mechanisms.

Background: Global health programs at academic health science centers rely heavily on dedicated faculty for relationship building, host site development, mentoring and teaching. Though faculty are instrumental to the success of global health programs, less is known about the specific characteristics, interests and barriers to global health participation that academic faculty face. Objectives: The aim of this study was to assess University of Texas Medical Branch (UTMB) Department of Medicine faculty interest, experience, activities and barriers to participation in global health. Methods: We administered an anonymous survey to all Department of Medicine faculty to determine their interest in global health, previous global health experience, global health related activities and barriers to increasing participation. Data was described descriptively. Pearson x2 and logistic regression analyses was performed. Findings: The majority of faculty were interested in global health (69%) and in the following global health activities: education (74%), research (74%), quality improvement/assessment (66%), and non-faith based medical mission trip (64%). The most commonly cited barriers to participation in global health included funding limitations (49%), lack of protected time (39%) and family obligations (39%) Conclusions: Faculty in the Department of Medicine at UTMB expressed high rates of interest in global health activities signifying considerable human capacity for global health. Given the significant barriers to participation of faculty in global health, we must work together as a global health academic community to develop strategies to mitigate funding limitations, protect faculty time and create favorable global health policies.

This study aims to investigate the global public interest in rheumatoid arthritis by evaluating search term popularity changes of the disease over a decade. Google Trends was applied to retrieve search popularity scores for the term ‘rheumatoid arthritis’ between January 2004 and December 2017, utilizing the category of “health”. Overall, relative searches volume for rheumatoid arthritis steadily decreased from January 2004 to December 2010, and then slowly rose from January 2011 to December 2017. There were significant seasonal variations in relative searches volume for the term ‘rheumatoid arthritis’ (Amplitude = 3.11; Phase: Month = 4.3; Low point: Month = 10.3; p < 0.025). Relative searches volume peaked in April and reached the lowest level in October. The top 11 rising topics were scleroderma, Anna Marchesini, C-reaction protein, osteoarthritis, arthritis, joint pain, autoimmune disease, rheumatoid factor, rheumatology, methotrexate, and systemic lupus erythematosus, ranking from high to low by relative growth of topic regarding rheumatoid arthritis. In conclusion, the evidence from Google Trends analysis demonstrates a significant seasonal variation in rheumatoid arthritis, with a peak in April. In addition, the top rising search queries are beneficial for physicians to search the Internet themselves for websites that provide high-quality information to recommend to their patients.