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•Current cold chain systems unable to ensure availability of safe and potent vaccines.•Key performance gaps identified based on CHAI country experience.•Insufficient and suboptimal cold chain capacity hampers availability of safe vaccines.•Vaccines at risk due to inadequate temperature monitoring and maintenance systems.•Recommended interventions focus on addressing the root causes of performance gaps. While a number of new vaccines have been rolled out across the developing world (with more vaccines in the pipeline), cold chain systems are struggling to efficiently support national immunization programs in ensuring the availability of safe and potent vaccines. This article reflects on the Clinton Health Access Initiative, Inc. (CHAI) experience working since 2010 with national immunization programs and partners to improve vaccines cold chains in 10 countries—Ethiopia, Nigeria, Kenya, Malawi, Tanzania, Uganda, Cameroon, Mozambique, Lesotho and India – to identify the root causes and solutions for three common issues limiting cold chain performance. Key recommendations include: (1)To address cold chain capacity:•developing an accurate picture of cold chain capacity gaps based on current and future needs;•resource mobilization, and;•effective monitoring during implementation.(2)To encourage upgrade of cold chain with latest technology suitable in country:•in-country piloting of new equipment;•utilization of tools to better understand equipment trade-offs, and;•guide equipment selection and regular engagement with suppliers.(3)To control temperature excursions and equipment breakdowns•introduction of temperature monitoring and control (TMC) devices and practices;•improve competence and availability of existing and future technicians, and;•ensure availability of spare parts. Collectively, the solutions detailed in this article chart a path to substantially improving the performance of the cold chain. Combined with an enabling global and in-country environment, it is possible to eliminate cold chain issues as a substantial barrier to effective and full immunization coverage over the next few years.

International efforts to eradicate smallpox in the 1960s and 1970s provided the foundation for efforts to expand immunization programmes, including work to develop immunization supply chains. The need to create a reliable system to keep vaccines cold during the lengthy journey from the manufacturer to the point of use, even in remote areas, was a crucial concern during the early days of the Expanded Programme on Immunization. The vaccine cold chain was deliberately separated from other medical distribution systems to assure timely access to and control of vaccines and injection materials. The story of the early development of the vaccine cold chain shows how a number of challenges were overcome with technological and human resource solutions. For example, the lack of methods to monitor exposure of vaccines to heat during transport and storage led to many innovations, including temperature-sensitive vaccine vial monitors and better methods to record and communicate temperatures in vaccine stores. The need for appropriate equipment to store and transport vaccines in tropical developing countries led to innovations in refrigeration equipment as well as the introduction and widespread adoption of novel high performance vaccine cold-boxes and carriers. New technologies also helped to make injection safer. Underlying this work on technologies and equipment was a major effort to develop the human resources required to manage and implement the immunization supply chain. This included creating foundational policies and a management infrastructure; providing training for managers, health workers, technicians, and others. The vaccine cold chain has contributed to one of the world’s public health success stories and provides three priority lessons for future: the vaccine supply chain needs to be integrated with other public health supplies, re-designed for efficiency and effectiveness and work is needed in the longer term to eliminate the need for refrigeration in the supply chain.

At the heart of the smartLAB, says project leader Sascha Beutel, who is at the Institute of Technical Chemistry of Leibniz University in Hanover, is a laboratory information system to which all lab components will be connected and controlled, from 'intelligent', self-cleaning lab benches to smart safety goggles that can project chemical safety information and augmente d-re ality displays. Sensors can monitor temperature, humidity, and carbon dioxide and oxygen levels, as well as vibration, light intensity and mass air flow.

Application of hydrostatic pressure under adiabatic conditions causes a change in temperature in any substance. This effect is known as the barocaloric effect and the vast majority of materials heat up when adiabatically squeezed, and they cool down when pressure is released (conventional barocaloric effect). There are, however, materials exhibiting an inverse barocaloric effect: they cool when pressure is applied, and they warm when it is released. Materials exhibiting the inverse barocaloric effect are rather uncommon. Here we report an inverse barocaloric effect in the intermetallic compound La-Fe-Co-Si, which is one of the most promising candidates for magnetic refrigeration through its giant magnetocaloric effect. We have found that application of a pressure of only 1 kbar causes a temperature change of about 1.5 K. This value is larger than the magnetocaloric effect in this compound for magnetic fields that are available with permanent magnets. When materials change temperature as a result of the application of pressure or a change in the magnetization, they are said to display a barocaloric or magnetocaloric effect, respectively. This study reports a substantial barocaloric effect in the giant magnetocaloric material LaFe 11.33 Co 0.47 Si 1.2 .

The effective circulation of fresh agricultural products is conducive to increasing farmers' income and improving the living standards of urban residents. Cold chain storage facilities in agricultural producing areas play an important role in ensuring the quality of agricultural products, extending the freshness period of goods, and improving logistics efficiency. Different types of fresh produce have different requirements for refrigeration and often require transshipment due to quantity constraints. In addition, there are economies of scale in the construction and operation of cold chain storage facilities. Based on the above considerations, with the aim of minimizing the total daily cost, an optimization model for the layout of multi-level cold chain storage facilities is established to determine the number, location, type and capacity of cold chain storage facilities at the same time. Genetic algorithm is chosen to solve the model according to the characteristics of the model. Taking J County of China as an example, the model is proved to have strong operability and applicability. It is of guiding significance and reference value to optimize the layout of cold chain storage facilities in rural areas.

Hyperbaric storage at room temperature (HS/RT: 75 MPa/25 °C) of vacuum-packaged fresh Atlantic salmon ( Salmo salar ) loins was studied for 30 days and compared to atmospheric pressure at refrigerated temperatures (AP/5 °C, 30 days) and RT (AP/25 °C, 5 days). Most of the fatty acids were not affected by storage conditions, with only a slight decrease of docosahexaenoic acid (DHA) content (n-3 polyunsaturated fatty acid) for AP samples, reflected in the lower polyene index values obtained and higher oxidation extent. For HS, a lower lipid oxidation extension and a slower increase of myofibrillar fragmentation index values were observed, when compared to AP samples. The volatile profile was similar for the HS and fresh samples, with the HS samples retaining fresh-like alcohols and aldehydes components, which disappeared in AP samples, mainly in AP/25 °C samples. The volatile profile for AP samples (5 and 25 °C) revealed mostly spoilage-like compounds due to microbial activity. Drip loss increased progressively during the 30 days of storage under HS, while a slight decrease of water holding capacity after 5 days was observed, increasing further after 30 days. Regarding textural properties, only resilience was affected by HS, decreasing after 30 days. So, HS/RT could represent an interesting extended preservation methodology of fresh salmon loins, since allows retaining important physicochemical properties for at least 15 days, while refrigeration after 5 days showed already volatile spoilage-like compounds due to microbial activity. Furthermore, this methodology allows additional considerable energy savings when compared to refrigeration.

The increasing public demand for fresh products has catalyzed the requirement for cold chain logistics distribution systems. However, challenges such as temperature control and delivery delays have led a significant product loss and increased costs. To improve the current situation, a novel approach to optimize cold chain logistics distribution for fresh products will be presented in the paper, utilizing a hybrid Tabu-Grey wolf optimizer (TGWO) algorithm. The proposed hybrid approach combines Tabu search (TS) and Grey wolf optimizer (GWO), employing TS for exploration and GWO for exploitation, aiming to minimize distribution costs in total and establish efficient vehicle scheduling schemes considering various constraints. The effectiveness of the TGWO algorithm is demonstrated through experiments and case studies compared to other heuristic algorithms. Comparative analysis against traditional optimization methods, including Particle swarm optimization (PSO), Whale optimization algorithm (WOA), and original GWO, highlights its superior efficiency and solution quality. This study contributes theories by demonstrating the efficacy of hybrid optimization techniques in complex supply chain networks and dynamic market environments. The practical implication lies in the implementation of TGWO to bolster distribution efficiency, cost reduction, and product quality maintenance throughout the logistics process, offering valuable insights for operational and strategic improvements by decision-makers. However, the study has limitations in generalizability and assumptions, suggesting future research areas including exploring new search operators, applying additional parameters, and using the algorithm in diverse real-life scenarios to improve its effectiveness and applicability.

Salmonella Typhimurium is a human pathogen associated with eggs and egg-derived products. In Australia, it is recommended that eggs should be refrigerated to prevent condensation that can enhance bacterial penetration across the eggshell. Except for the United States, the guidelines on egg refrigeration are not prescriptive. In the current study, in-vitro and in-vivo experiments were conducted to understand the role of egg storage temperatures (refrigerated vs ambient) on bacterial load and the virulence genes expression of Salmonella Typhimurium. The in-vitro egg study showed that the load of Salmonella Typhimurium significantly increased in yolk and albumen stored at 25 °C. The gene expression study showed that ompR , misL , pefA , spvA , shdA , bapA , and csgB were significantly up-regulated in the egg yolk stored at 5 °C and 25 °C for 96 h; however, an in-vivo study revealed that mice infected with egg yolk stored at 25 °C, developed salmonellosis from day 3 post-infection (p.i.). Mice fed with inoculated egg yolk, albumen, or eggshell wash stored at refrigerated temperature did not show signs of salmonellosis during the period of the experiment. Data obtained in this study highlighted the importance of egg refrigeration in terms of improving product safety.

ObjectiveTo determine the efficacy of refrigerated gel packs in achieving and maintaining target temperature in neonates receiving therapeutic hypothermia (TH) for hypoxic ischaemic encephalopathy during neonatal retrieval.DesignRetrospective cohort study.SettingPaediatric Infant Perinatal Emergency Retrieval, Victoria, Australia.Patients200 neonates treated with TH during retrieval between 1 January 2015 and 31 December 2020.InterventionsActive cooling with refrigerated gel packs or passive cooling.Main outcome measuresThe primary outcomes were the proportion of neonates who achieved therapeutic cooling rectal temperature (33–34°C) within 6 hours of birth and maintained target temperature range once TH was achieved. Secondary outcomes included need for respiratory support, inotropes, anticonvulsant therapy, sedation and survival at 7 days of life.Results200 neonates received TH. Median gestational age was 39 weeks and median birth weight 3300 g. 120 (60%) were actively cooled with refrigerated gel packs and the remainder passively cooled. 121 neonates (61%) reached target temperature within 6 hours and 14 (7%) after 6 hours of birth. Of those who achieved target temperature, 38% were maintained in therapeutic cooling range for the remainder of the retrieval.ConclusionsAchieving and maintaining TH during neonatal retrieval with gel packs is challenging. Target temperature was not maintained in most neonates in this study. These findings support existing evidence favouring the use of servo-controlled cooling devices to optimise TH in the retrieval setting.

Unlike other types of blood components, refrigeration of platelets leads to their rapid clearance from the circulation after transfusion. Platelets must therefore be stored at room temperature, a serious limitation to their use for transfusions. Viktoria Rumjantseva et al . now dissect two platelet clearance pathways by which exposed carbohydrate residues on platelets are recognized by receptors on liver macrophages and hepatocytes, which differentially control the clearance of short-term– and long-term–refrigerated platelets. Rapid chilling causes glycoprotein-Ib (GPIb) receptors to cluster on blood platelets. Hepatic macrophage β 2 integrin binding to β- N -acetylglucosamine (β-GlcNAc) residues in the clusters leads to rapid clearance of acutely chilled platelets after transfusion. Although capping the β-GlcNAc moieties by galactosylation prevents clearance of short-term–cooled platelets, this strategy is ineffective after prolonged refrigeration. We report here that prolonged refrigeration increased the density and concentration of exposed galactose residues on platelets such that hepatocytes, through Ashwell-Morell receptor binding, become increasingly involved in platelet removal. Macrophages rapidly removed a large fraction of transfused platelets independent of their storage conditions. With prolonged platelet chilling, hepatocyte-dependent clearance further diminishes platelet recovery and survival after transfusion. Inhibition of chilled platelet clearance by both β 2 integrin and Ashwell-Morell receptors may afford a potentially simple method for storing platelets in the cold.