Integrated analysis of remote sensing with meteorological and health data for allergic rhinitis forecasting in Tianjin.

Long time series of vegetation monitoring can be carried out by remote sensing data, the level of urban greening is objectively described, and the spatial characteristics of plant pollen are indirectly understood. Pollen is the main allergen in patients with seasonal allergic rhinitis. Meteorological factors affect the release and diffusion of pollen. Therefore, studying of the complex relationship between meteorological factors and allergic rhinitis is essential for effective prevention and treatment of the disease. In this study, we leverage remote sensing data for a comprehensive decade-long analysis of urban greening in Tianjin, which exhibits an annual increase in vegetative cover of 0.51 per annum, focusing on its impact on allergic rhinitis through changes in pollen distribution. Utilizing high-resolution imagery, we quantify changes in urban Fractional Vegetation Coverage (FVC) and its correlation with pollen types and allergic rhinitis cases. Our analysis reveals a significant correlation between FVC trends and pollen concentrations, with a surprising value of 0.71, highlighting the influence of urban greenery on allergenic pollen levels. We establish a robust connection between the seasonal patterns of pollen outbreaks and allergic rhinitis consultations, with a noticeable increase in consultations during high pollen seasons. our findings indicate a higher allergenic potential of herbaceous compared to woody vegetation. This nuanced understanding underscores the importance of pollen sensitivity, alongside concentration, in driving allergic rhinitis incidents. Utilizing a Generalized Linear Model, significant features influencing the number of visits for allergic rhinitis (P < 0.05) were identified. Both GLM and LSTM models were employed to forecast the visitation volumes for rhinitis during the spring and summer-autumn of 2022. Upon validation, it was found that the R² values between the simulated and actual values for both GLM and LSTM models surpassed the 95% confidence threshold. Moreover, the R² values for the summer-autumn seasons (GLM: 0.56, LSTM: 0.72) were higher than those for spring (GLM: 0.22, LSTM: 0.47). Comparing the errors between the simulated and actual values of GLM and LSTM models, LSTM exhibited higher simulation precision in both spring and summer-autumn seasons, demonstrating superior simulation performance. Overall, our study pioneers the integration of remote sensing with meteorological and health data for allergic rhinitis forecasting. This integrative approach provides valuable insights for public health planning, particularly in urban settings, and lays the groundwork for advanced, location-specific allergenic pollen forecasting and mitigation strategies.

[Source and Cause Analysis of High Concentration of Inorganic Aerosol During Two Typical Pollution Processes in Winter over Tianjin].

Inorganic aerosol is the main component of haze days in winter over Tianjin. In this study, two typical high concentrations of secondary inorganic aerosol (SIA) processes, defined as CASE1 and CASE2, were selected during polluted days in January 2020 over Tianjin, and the effects of meteorological factors, regional transport, and chemical processes were comprehensively investigated combined with observations and numerical models (WRF-NAQPMS). The average SIA concentrations in CASE1 and CASE2 were 76.8 µg·m-3 and 66.0 µg·m-3, respectively, and the nitrate concentration was higher than that of sulfate and ammonium, which were typical nitrate-dominated pollution processes. Meteorological conditions played a role in inorganic aerosol formation. The temperature of approximately -6-0℃ and 2-4℃ and the relative humidity of 50%-60% and 80%-100% would be suitable conditions for the high SIA concentration (>80 µg·m-3) in CASE1, whereas the temperature of approximately 2-4℃ and the relative humidity of 60%-70% would be suitable in CASE2. The average contribution rates of external sources to SIA in the CASE1 and CASE2 processes were 62.3% and 22.1%, which were regional transport-dominant processes and local emission-dominant processes, respectively. The contribution of the local emission of CASE1 to nitrate and sulfate was 16.2 µg·m-3 and 8.2 µg·m-3, respectively, higher than that of external sources (31.7 µg·m-3 and 8.8 µg·m-3). the local contribution of CASE2 to nitrate and sulfate was 29.3 µg·m-3 and 25.1 µg·m-3, respectively, whereas the contribution from external sources was 8.1 µg·m-3 and 9.4 µg·m-3, respectively. The quantitative result indicated that local formation and regional transport resulted in higher nitrate concentration than sulfate in CASE1, in contrast to only local sources in CASE2. The gas phase reaction was the main source of inorganic aerosol formation, contributing 48.9% and 57.8% in CASE1 and CASE2, respectively, whereas the heterogeneous reactions were also important processes, with contribution rates of 48.1% and 42.2% to SIA. The effect of aqueous phase reaction was negligible.

[Spatio-temporal Distribution Characteristics of Secondary Aerosol in Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei Urban Agglomeration in Winter].

The secondary component is an important factor causing PM2.5 pollution in the Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei urban agglomeration in winter. In this study, the CO tracer method was used to estimate the secondary PM2.5 concentration of the Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei urban agglomeration in the winter of 2017-2021. The temporal and spatial distribution characteristics were analyzed, and the influencing factors of regional secondary PM2.5 were discussed. The results showed that the decreasing trend of PM2.5 concentration in the Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei Region in the winter of 2017-2021 was obvious, and the cities with the largest decline were located in the central and southern part of Hebei Province, mainly contributed by primary PM2.5. There was a good correlation between secondary PM2.5 and PM2.5 in all cities of the Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei urban agglomeration, and the proportion of secondary PM2.5 in Beijing and Tianjin was significantly higher than that in other cities. With the aggravation of pollution degree, the mass concentration of primary PM2.5 and secondary PM2.5 increased in varying degrees, and the proportion of secondary PM2.5 increased significantly. Compared with the direct measurement results, the estimated value obtained by this method was lower as a whole. The selection of appropriate primary aerosol reference value was the key to improving this method and estimating the secondary PM2.5 concentration.

[Exploring Formation of Ozone in Typical Cities in Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei Region Using Process Analysis].

As the problem of O3 pollution in the Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei region becomes increasingly prominent, it is of great significance to explore and analyze the ozone variation characteristics and causes of the pollution process in the Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei region for regional air pollution prevention and control. The observations in this study showed that high O3 concentration in spring and summer of the Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei region was higher in the south and lower in the north. The high O3 concentration in Beijing, Tianjin, and Shijiazhuang was often accompanied by the influence of southern wind. Based on WRF-Chem model simulation and process analysis technology, the variation characteristics and causes of O3 in The Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei region in 2019 were deeply analyzed. The diurnal variations in chemical processes, vertical mixing, and transportation in typical cities showed distinct seasonal variations. In summer afternoons, chemical processes were the main source of O3 concentration increase in each city. Vertical mixing resulted in an increase in O3 concentration in Tianjin and Shijiazhuang but a decrease in Beijing. Tianjin and Shijiazhuang had a net output, whereas Beijing had a net inflow. In the polluted O3 process, the chemical process dominated the afternoon O3 concentration increasing in Beijing and Shijiazhuang, whereas vertical mixing dominated in Tianjin. In addition, there was a net input of O3 in Beijing and Shijiazhuang and a net output of O3 in Tianjin. In the clean O3 process, vertical mixing dominated the increase in O3 concentration in Beijing and Shijiazhuang in the afternoon, whereas in Tianjin it was chemical processes. At the same time, the net output of O3 existed in all three cities.

[Analysis of Change and Driving Factors of PM2.5 Mass Concentration in Tianjin from 2000 to 2020].

Based on real-time tracking data, PM2.5 mass concentration, and meteorological observations of the Tianjin Meteorological Bureau and the Ecological Environment Bureau, combined with the fine particle meteorological condition diffusion index constructed using the environmental model, the change and driving factors of the PM2.5 mass concentration in Tianjin from 2000 to 2020 were studied to analyze the impact of meteorology on the atmospheric environment. The study showed that change in PM2.5 mass concentration in Tianjin took place in three stages from 2000 to 2020; the first stage showed a continuous increase from 2000 to 2007. The rapid increase in emissions in this stage was the dominant factor, and its effect was four times that of the annual fluctuation in meteorological conditions. The second stage was from 2007 to 2013, in which the PM2.5 mass concentration fluctuated, with two peak years (2007 and 2013). The emissions were stable in this stage. The annual fluctuation of meteorological conditions had an important influence on the annual fluctuation in PM2.5 mass concentration. The third stage was from 2013 to 2020; the PM2.5 mass concentration decreased rapidly, and the decline in emissions was decisive, which reduced the PM2.5 mass concentration by 40% to 50%. The improvement in the meteorological diffusion conditions also provided a positive contribution, which reduced the PM2.5 mass concentration by approximately 10%. Based on the analysis of the data over the past 20 years, the annual variation in atmospheric diffusion conditions caused by the annual variation in meteorological conditions was periodic, with trough values from 2003 to 2004 and 2013 to 2015 and peaks from 2008 to 2010 and 2018 to 2020; the distance between peaks and valleys was approximately 11 years. It was estimated that the next atmospheric diffusion condition valley stage will occur circa 2025. The average intensity of the annual fluctuation in atmospheric diffusion conditions caused by the annual variation in meteorological conditions was 4%, which can explain 25%-50% of the annual variation in PM2.5 mass concentration over the past 20 years, with a difference between peaks and valleys of 16%. The periodic fluctuations in meteorological diffusion conditions have an important impact on the future PM2.5 target setting and corresponding measures design.

Maspin inhibits MCF-7 cell invasion and proliferation by downregulating miR-21 and increasing the expression of its target genes.

Maspin has been identified as a tumor suppressor gene in breast cancer, but the underlying regulatory mechanisms remain unclear. In the present study, maspin pcDNA was transfected into MCF-7 cells. microRNA (miR) microarray and reverse transcription-quantitative polymerase chain reaction was used for analysis; the results demonstrated that maspin may inhibit miR-10b, miR-21 and miR-451 expression in MCF-7 cells. In addition, maspin increased the expression of certain miR-21 target genes (phosphatase and tensin homolog, programmed cell death 4 and B-cell lymphoma-2), miR-10b target gene (Homeobox D10; HOXD10) and miR-451 target gene (multidrug resistance protein 1). Furthermore, the results of the present study revealed that decreased expression of miR-21 suppressed the invasion and proliferation of MCF-7 cells. Therefore, in the present study, it was hypothesized that as a tumor-suppressor gene, the potential molecular mechanism of maspin include down-regulating the expression of miR-21 and increasing the expression of specific miR-21 target genes.

Comprehensive assessments of long-term sleep habits in epidemiological study: Validity and reliability of sleep factors questionnaire (SFQ) among Chinese women.

OBJECTIVE: Epidemiological studies suggested that poor sleep is a potentially novel risk factor for several health outcomes currently; however, there are no validated questionnaires that can systematically measure sleep parameters within these studies. We evaluated the reliability and validity of 17-item sleep factors questionnaire (SFQ), which was developed to comprehensively assess long-term sleep habits for the Jiujiang Breast Cancer Study (JBCS), Jiujiang, China. METHODS: The participants included 100 women aged 18-74years, who were randomly selected from the JBCS project, and completed a SFQ at baseline and again 1year later, and 4 quarterly 30 consecutive days (a total of 120days) sleep diaries over this same year. Reliability was tested by comparing the 2 SFQs; validity by comparing the average measures between the SFQ and the 4 sleep diaries. RESULTS: Validity analysis showed moderate correlation (γ=0.41) for sleep duration with the adjusted concordance correlation coefficient (CCCadj) of 0.54; the weighted κ statistics indicated an excellent agreement for night/shift work and sleep medication use; fair-to-moderate for sleep quality, light at night (LAN), nighttime sleeping with light on, sleep noise and nap time; slight-to-fair for sleep quality and nighttime wakings frequency. Reliability analysis showed excellent correlation for night/shift work and sleep medication use; fair-to-moderate for LAN, nighttime wakings frequency, insomnia frequency, sleep noise and nap time; but slight-to-fair for insomnia frequency and nighttime sleeping with light on; the CCCadj for sleep duration was 0.61. CONCLUSIONS: The SFQ showed reasonable reliability and validity for sleep assessments in most domains.

An evidence-based assessment for the association between long-term exposure to outdoor air pollution and the risk of lung cancer.

Although outdoor air pollution has been identified as carcinogenic to humans, the magnitude of the relative risk (RR) and the 95% confidence interval (CI) for lung cancer in relation to outdoor air pollution remain uncertain. On a global scale, we quantified the risk of lung cancer associated with long-term exposure to outdoor air pollution using a meta-analytic approach. Relevant cohort studies from two databases (PubMed and Web of Science) through 31 May 2014 were searched, and a total of 21 cohort studies were identified in the analysis. The risk of lung cancer mortality or morbidity increased 7.23 (95% CI: 1.48-13.31)%/10 µg/m increase in fine particles (PM2.5), 13.17 (95% CI: 5.57-21.30)%/10 parts per billion (ppb) increase in nitrogen dioxide (NO2), 0.81 (95% CI: 0.14-1.49)%/10 ppb increase in nitrogen oxides (NOx), and 14.76 (95% CI: 1.04-30.34)%/10 ppb increase in sulfur dioxide (SO2). These positive associations remained when analysis was restricted to never-smokers or studies with high methodological quality, and showed no difference by sex. In addition, the association of fine particles with lung cancer was suggestively stronger among never-smokers (RR per each 10 µg/m=1.18, 95% CI: 1.06-1.32). There was a null association for carbon monoxide and ozone. Our study indicated that long-term exposure to PM2.5, NO2, NOx, and SO2 may be associated with an increased risk of lung cancer. Although the magnitude of the RR is relatively small, our finding, if validated, may be of public health importance because a large proportion of the population is exposed to air pollution globally.

[Analysis of epidemic situation and control strategy of schistosomiasis in Jiu- jiang City from 2008 to 2014].

OBJECTIVE: To understand the epidemic situation of schistosomiasis in Jiujiang City, so as to provide the evidence for formulating further control strategy. METHODS: The data of schistosomiasis control were collected in Jiujiang City from 2008 to 2014. and the indicators including the annual schistosome infections of human and cattle, acute schistosome infection, outbreak of schistosomiasis endemic, schistosome infected Oncomelania hupensis snails were analyzed statistically. RESULTS: Compared with 2008, in 2014, the infection rates of schistosomiasis declined by 98.40% and 92.54% in human and cattle respectively. The area of schistosome infected snails decreased from 103.24 hm² to zero. The occurrence rate of frames with snails and density of living snails declined from 14.86% and 0.334 5/0.1 m² to 6.89% and 0.126 5/0.1 m², respectively. The acute schistosomiasis infection cases occurred except 2011 and 2014. CONCLUSION: The control strategy emphasizing on infection sources control is effective in Jiujiang City, but the risk of schistosomiasis still exists, and the risk control and schistosomiasis control strategy should be strengthened.

An evidence-based appraisal of global association between air pollution and risk of stroke.

BACKGROUND: The aim of this study was to evaluate the transient effects of air pollutants on stroke morbidity and mortality using the meta-analytic approach. METHODS: Three databases were searched for case-crossover and time series studies assessing associations between daily increases in particles with diameter<2.5 µm (PM2.5) and diameter<10 µm (PM10), sulfur dioxide (SO2), carbon monoxide (CO), nitrogen dioxide (NO2), ozone, and risks of stroke hospitalizations and mortality. Risk estimates were combined using random-effects model. RESULTS: A total of 34 studies were included in the meta-analysis. Stroke hospitalizations or mortality increased 1.20% (95%CI: 0.22-2.18) per 10 µg/m3 increase in PM2.5, 0.58% (95%CI: 0.31-0.86) per 10 µg/m3 increase in PM10, 1.53% (95%CI: 0.66-2.41) per 10 parts per billion (ppb) increase in SO2, 2.96% (95%CI: 0.70-5.27) per 1 ppm increase in CO, and 2.24% (95%CI: 1.16-3.33) per 10ppb increase in NO2. These positive associations were the strongest on the same day of exposure, and appeared to be more apparent for ischemic stroke (for all 4 gaseous pollutants) and among Asian countries (for all 6 pollutants). In addition, an elevated risk (2.45% per 10 ppb; 95%CI: 0.35-4.60) of ischemic stroke associated with ozone was found, but not for hemorrhagic stroke. CONCLUSION: Our study indicates that air pollution may transiently increase the risk of stroke hospitalizations and stroke mortality. Although with a weak association, these findings if validated may be of both clinical and public health importance given the great global burden of stroke and air pollution.

Light exposure at night, sleep duration, melatonin, and breast cancer: a dose-response analysis of observational studies.

Evidence from observational studies on light at night (LAN) exposure, sleep duration, endogenous melatonin levels, and risk for breast cancer in women is conflicting. This led us to conduct a dose-response analysis of published observational data. Pertinent studies were identified by searching Medline, Web of Science, and EMBASE through April 2013. The dose-response relationship between sleep duration, urinary 6-sulphatoxymelatonin levels, and breast cancer was assessed using the restricted cubic spline model and by multivariate random-effects metaregression. A separate meta-analysis was also carried out to calculate the relative risks (RRs) with 95% confidence intervals (CIs) for breast cancer for the comparable categories or highest levels of exposure versus the lowest levels. Twelve case-control and four cohort studies were included in the analysis. High artificial LAN exposure is associated with an increased risk for breast cancer (RR=1.17, 95% CI: 1.11-1.23), but not ambient LAN exposure (RR=0.91, 95% CI: 0.78-1.07). The summary RR for breast cancer is 1.00 (95% CI: 0.995-1.01) for an increment of 1 h of sleep per night. No significant dose-response relationship between sleep duration and breast cancer was found either for the linearity test (Ptrend=0.725) or for the nonlinearity (Ptrend=0.091) test. An increasein of 15 ng/mg creatinine in urinary 6-sulphatoxymelatonin is associated with a 14% reduced risk for breast cancer (RR=0.86, 95% CI: 0.78-0.95), with a linear dose-response trend (Ptrend=0.003). There was no evidence of substantial heterogeneity or publication bias in the analysis. Our study adds to the evidence of LAN breast cancer theory. Further research in this area is warranted.

Tea consumption and risk of type 2 diabetes: a dose-response meta-analysis of cohort studies.

Tea consumption has inconsistently been shown to be associated with the risk of type 2 diabetes (T2D). The aim of the present study was to conduct a dose-response meta-analysis of cohort studies assessing the association between consumption of tea and risk of developing T2D. Pertinent studies were identified by searching PubMed, Web of Science and EMBASE through 31 March 2013. A total of sixteen cohorts from fifteen articles that reported 37,445 cases of diabetes among 545,517 participants were included. A significant linearly inverse association between tea consumption and T2D risk was found (P for linear trend = 0.02). An increase of 2 cups/d in tea consumption was found to be associated with a 4.6 (95% CI 0.9, 8.1) % reduced risk of T2D. On the basis of the dose-response meta-analysis, the predicted relative risks of diabetes for 0, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5 and 6 cups of tea consumed per d were 1.00 (referent), 0.97 (95% CI 0.94, 1.01), 0.95(95% CI 0.92, 0.98), 0.93 (95% CI 0.88, 0.98), 0.90 (95% CI 0.85, 0.96), 0.88 (95 % CI 0.83, 0.93) and 0.85 (95% CI 0.80, 0.91), respectively. There was a statistically significant heterogeneity within the selected studies (Q= 45.32, P< 0.001, I 2= 60.3 %). No evidence of substantial small-study bias was found (P= 0·46). Our findings suggest that tea consumption could be linearly inversely associated with T2D risk. Future well-designed observational studies that account for different characteristics of tea such as tea types, preparation methods and tea strength are needed to fully characterise such an association.

[Determination of trace metals in atmospheric dry deposition with a heavy matrix of PUF by inductively coupled plasma mass spectroscopy after microwave digestion].

Interest in atmospheric dry deposition results mostly from concerns about the effects of the deposited trace elements entering waterbody, soil and vegetation as well as their subsequent health effects. A microwave assisted digestion method followed by inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometric (MAD-ICP/MS) analysis was developed to determine the concentrations of a large number of trace metals in atmospheric dry deposition samples with a heavy matrix of polyurethane foam (PUF). A combination of HNO3-H2O2-HF was used for digestion. The experimental protocol for the microwave assisted digestion was established using two different SRMs (GBW 07401, Soil and GBW 08401, Coal fly ash). Subsequently, blanks and limits of detection for total trace metal concentrations were determined for PUF filter which was used for dry deposition sampling. Finally, the optimized digestion method was applied to real world atmospheric dry deposition samples collected at 10 sites in Jingjinji area in winter from Dec. 2007 to Feb. 2008. The results showed that the area-averaged total mass fluxes ranged between 85 and 912 mg x (m2 x d)(-1), and fluxes of most elements were highest at Baoding and lowest at Xinglong. In addition, the elemental fluxes in urban areas of Beijing, Tianjin and Tangshan were measured to be higher than that in suburb and rural sites. The average fluxes of crust elements (A1, Fe, Mn, K, Na, Ca and Mg) were one to three orders of magnitude higher than anthropogenic elements (Cu, Pb, Cr, Ni, V, Zn and Ba), varying from 151 to 16034 microg x (m2 x d)(-1) versus 14 to 243 microg x (m2 x d)(-1). Zinc was the most abundant heavy metal and calcium the highest of the crust elements while the elements Mo, Co, Cd, As and Be deposited less or even could not be detected. The anthropogenic and crustal contributions were estimated by employing enrichment factors (EF) calculated relative to the average crustal composition. The EF values of all elements except Pb and Zn were below 10, suggesting that local soil and/or dust generally dominate in the dry deposition flux.