Smoking paradox in coronary function and structure of acute ST-segment elevation myocardial infarction patients treated with primary percutaneous coronary intervention.

BACKGROUND: The Smoking paradox has generated inconsistent findings concerning the clinical prognosis of acute ST-segment elevation myocardial infarction (STEMI) patients, while providing limited insights into coronary anatomy and function which are crucial prognostic factors. Therefore, this study aimed to further investigate the existence of smoking paradox in coronary anatomy and function. METHODS: This study divided STEMI patients into smokers and non-smokers. Quantitative coronary angiography, angiography­derived microcirculatory resistance (AMR) and quantitative flow ratio (QFR) were utilized to analyze coronary anatomy and function. These parameters were compared using multivariable analysis and propensity score matching. The clinical outcomes were evaluated using Kaplan-Meier curve and Cox regression. RESULTS: The study included 1258 patients, with 730 in non-smoker group and 528 in smoker group. Smokers were significantly younger, predominantly male, and had fewer comorbidities. Without adjusting for confounders, smokers exhibited larger lumen diameter [2.03(1.45-2.57) vs. 1.90(1.37-2.49), P = 0.033] and lower AMR [244(212-288) vs. 260(218-301), P = 0.006]. After matching and multivariate adjustment, smokers exhibited inversely smaller lumen diameter [1.97(1.38-2.50) vs. 2.15(1.63-2.60), P = 0.002] and higher incidence of coronary microvascular dysfunction [233(53.9%) vs. 190(43.6%), P = 0.002], but showed similar AMR and clinical outcomes compared to non-smokers. There was no difference in QFR between two groups. CONCLUSION: Smoking among STEMI patients undergoing pPCI was associated with smaller lumen diameter and higher occurrence of coronary microvascular dysfunction, although it had no further impact on clinical prognosis. The smoking paradox observed in coronary anatomy or function may be explained by younger age, gender, and lower prevalence of comorbidities.

High water resistance starch based intelligent label for the freshness monitoring of beverages.

The traditional starch-based intelligent freshness labels struggle to maintain long-term structural stability when exposed to moisture. To solve this problem, we prepared composite crosslinked labels using phytic acid for double crosslinking of corn starch and soybean isolate proteins, with anthocyanin serving as the chromogenic dye. The mechanical properties, hydrophobic characteristics, and pH responsivity of these crosslinked labels were assessed in this study. The prepared double-crosslinked labels showed reduced moisture content (15.96%), diminished swelling (147.21%), decreased solubility (28.55%), and minimized water permeability, which suggested that they have enhanced hydrophobicity and densification. The crosslinked labels demonstrated the ability to maintain morphological stability when immersed in water for 12 h. Additionally, the mechanical properties of the crosslinked labels were enhanced without compromising their pH-sensing capabilities, demonstrated a color response visible to the naked eye for milk and coconut water freshness monitoring, suggesting great potential for application in beverages freshness monitoring.

A treeless absolutely random forest with closed-form estimators of expected proximities.

We introduce a simple variant of a Purely Random Forest, an Absolute Random Forest (ARF) for clustering. At every node splits of units are determined by a randomly chosen feature and a random threshold drawn from a uniform distribution whose support, the range of the selected feature in the root node, does not change. This enables closed-form estimators of parameters, such as pairwise proximities, to be obtained without having to grow a forest. The probabilistic structure corresponding to an ARF is called a Treeless Absolute Random Forest (TARF). With high probability, the algorithm will split units whose feature vectors are far apart and keep together units whose feature vectors are similar. Thus, the underlying structure of the data drives the growth of the tree. The expected value of pairwise proximities is obtained for three pathway functions. One, a completely common pathway function, is an indicator of whether a pair of units follow the same path from the root to the leaf node. The properties of TARF-based proximity estimators for clustering and classification are compared to other methods in eight real-world data sets and in simulations. Results show substantial performance and computing efficiencies of particular value for large data sets.

The associations of chronic pain and 24-h movement behaviors with incident mental disorders: evidence from a large-scale cohort study.

BACKGROUND: Chronic pain was associated with a higher risk of mental disorders (e.g., depression and anxiety). However, the role of 24-h movement behaviors in the association remains unclear. METHODS: A total of 72,800 participants with accelerometer data and free of mental disorders from the UK Biobank were analyzed. The compositional mediation model and isotemporal substitution model were used to explore the associations between chronic pain, 24-h movement behaviors, and the incidence of overall mental disorders, depression, and anxiety. RESULTS: With a median follow-up of 13.36 years, participants with chronic pain had a higher rate of incident overall mental disorders (hazard ratio (HR): 1.281, 95% confidence interval (CI): 1.219 to 1.344), anxiety (HR: 1.391, 95% CI: 1.280 to 1.536), and depression (HR: 1.703, 95% CI: 1.551 to 1.871). Increased sedentary behavior (SB) and reduced moderate-to-vigorous physical activity (MVPA) caused by chronic pain both increased the risk of mental disorders. Twenty-four-hour movement behaviors explained the relationship between chronic pain and overall mental disorders, depression, and anxiety by 10.77%, 5.70%, and 6.86%, respectively. Interaction effects were found between MVPA and chronic pain when predicting the incidence of depression and between MVPA, sleep (SLP), and chronic pain when predicting the incidence of mental disorders. People with chronic pain would recommend at least 0.5 h per day of MVPA and 7 h per day of SLP and restricting SB below 11.5 h per day. CONCLUSIONS: Twenty-four-hour movement behaviors played a significant mediating role in the association between chronic pain and mental disorders. Individuals with chronic pain should engage in more MVPA, less sedentary behavior, and have 7-h sleep per day.

Risk of stroke admission after long-term exposure to PM1: Evidence from a large cohort in South China.

BACKGROUND: Limited attention has been paid to the health effects of long-term PM1 exposure on stroke admission. Current investigations exploring the long-term PM exposure effect are largely based on observational studies, and PM generally is not allocated randomly to participants. Using traditional regression models might confuse messaging and hinder policy recommendations for pollution control and disease prevention policies. METHODS: We conducted a cohort study among 36,271 adults from one of the largest cities in China in 2015 and followed up through 2020. Hazard ratios of stroke admissions following long-term PM1 exposure were estimated via a causal inference approach, marginal structural time-varying Cox proportional hazard model, accounting for multiple confounders. Additionally, several sensitivity analyses and impact modification analyses were carried out. RESULTS AND DISCUSSION: Associations with 1 µg/m3 increase in long-term PM1 were identified for total (HR, 1.079; 95 %CI, 1.012-1.151) and ischemic stroke admissions (HR, 1.092; 95 %CI, 1.018-1.171). The harmful associations varied with exposure duration, initially increasing and then decreasing. The 2-3 years cumulative exposure was associated with a 3.3-5.4 % raised risk for total stroke. For every 1 µg/m³ increase in long-term PM1 exposure, females exhibited a higher risk of both total and ischemic stroke (13 % and 16 %) than men (4 % and 5 %). Low-exposure individuals (whose annual PM1 concentrations were under the third quartile among the annual concentrations for all the participants) exhibited greater sensitivity to PM1 effects (total stroke: 1.079 vs. 1.107; ischemic stroke: 1.092 vs. 1.116). The results underline the importance of safeguarding low-exposed people in highly polluted areas and suggest that long-term PM1 exposure may increase stroke admission risk, warranting attention to vulnerable groups.

The joint impact of PM2.5 constituents on the risk of cerebrovascular diseases hospitalization: A large community-based cohort study.

Air pollution poses significant health risks to urban areas, with limited focus on the chronic association of PM2.5 and its constituents on cerebrovascular diseases (CERs), especially regarding the joint associations. This study explores the individual and joint associations between PM2.5 constituents and CER hospitalization risks through a cohort analysis of 36,271 adults in the Pearl River Delta, South China, from 2015 to 2020. Cox proportional hazards regression and quantile-based g-computation models were used to quantify the individual and joint associations of annual mean concentrations of PM2.5 constituents with hospitalization for CERs. 1151 participants were hospitalized due to CERs during the five-year follow-up period. Joint associations analyses identified that one quartile increase in co-exposure may result in hazard ratios of 1.530 (1.441-1.623), 1.840 (1.710-1.980), and 1.609 (1.491-1.737) for CERs, total, and ischemic stroke hospitalization, respectively. The adverse effect was primarily driven by organic matter and chlorine. Men, those with a history of tobacco or alcohol use or with low residential greenness, were more susceptible to CERs hospitalization following PM2.5 constituents co-exposure. Upcoming strategies should focus on monitoring and regulating PM2.5 constituents, encouraging healthy lifestyles, and enhancing urban greenery.

The effect of residential greenness on cardiovascular mortality from a large cohort in South China: An in-depth analysis of effect modification by multiple demographic and lifestyle characteristics.

BACKGROUND: The potential for residential greenness to improve cardiovascular health through both physical and psychological mechanisms is well recognized. However, evidence from rapidly urbanizing developing countries and cohort-based causal inference approaches, remains limited. We aim to examine the effect of residential greenness and time to cardiovascular mortality in South China. METHODS: We utilized data from a community-based population survey involving 748,209 participants at baseline from 2009 to 2015, followed up until 2020. Residential greenness exposure was assessed by the annual Normalized Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI) in the 500 m radius of each participant's residence. We used time-varying proportional hazard Cox models coupled with inverse probability weighting to fit marginal structural models and obtain hazard ratios (HRs) for cardiovascular disease (CVD) mortality after adjusting for confounders. Multiple effect modifiers on both additive and multiplicative scales were further explored. RESULTS: A total of 15,139 CVD-related deaths were identified during a median of 7.9 years of follow-up. A protective effect was found between higher greenness exposure and reduced CVD mortality, with a 9.3 % lower rate of total CVD mortality (HR 0.907, 95 % CI 0.859-0.957) based on a 0.1 increase in annual average NDVI. Demographic (age, marital status) and lifestyle factors (smoking, drinking status) were found to modify the association between residential greenness and CVD mortality (all P interaction values < 0.05 or 95 %CI for RERI excluded the value 0). Notably, this effect was more pronounced among older adults, married, and individuals having healthier lifestyles, indicating a greater benefit from greenness for these subgroups. CONCLUSIONS: Our findings support a causal link between increased residential greenness exposure and a reduced risk of CVD mortality in South China with marked heterogenous effects, which has public health implications for cultivating greener urban environments to mitigate the impact of CVD within the context of rapid urbanization.

Potential causal links of long-term exposure to PM2.5 and its chemical components with the risk of nasopharyngeal carcinoma recurrence: A 10-year cohort study in South China.

There is a lack of evidence from cohort studies on the causal association of long-term exposure to ambient fine particulate matter (PM2.5) and its chemical components with the risk of nasopharyngeal carcinoma (NPC) recurrence. Based on a 10-year prospective cohort of 1184 newly diagnosed NPC patients, we comprehensively evaluated the potential causal links of ambient PM2.5 and its chemical components including black carbon (BC), organic matter (OM), sulfate (SO4 2-), nitrate (NO3 -), and ammonium (NH4 +) with the recurrence risk of NPC using a marginal structural Cox model adjusted with inverse probability weighting. We observed 291 NPC patients experiencing recurrence during the 10-year follow-up and estimated a 33% increased risk of NPC recurrence (hazard ratio [HR]: 1.33, 95% confidence interval [CI]: 1.02-1.74) following each interquartile range (IQR) increase in PM2.5 exposure. Each IQR increment in BC, NH4 +, OM, NO3 -, and SO4 2- was associated with HRs of 1.36 (95%CI: 1.13-1.65), 1.35 (95%CI: 1.07-1.70), 1.33 (95%CI: 1.11-1.59), 1.32 (95%CI: 1.06-1.64), 1.31 (95%CI: 1.08-1.57). The elderly, patients with no family history of cancer, no smoking history, no drinking history, and those with severe conditions may exhibit a greater likelihood of NPC recurrence following exposure to PM2.5 and its chemical components. Additionally, the effect estimates of the five components are greater among patients who were exposed to high concentration than in the full cohort of patients. Our study provides solid evidence for a potential relationship between long-term exposure to PM2.5 and its components and the risk of NPC recurrence.

Review of formation mechanisms and quality regulation of chewiness in staple foods: Rice, noodles, potatoes and bread.

Staple foods serve as vital nutrient sources for the human body, and chewiness is an essential aspect of food texture. Age, specific preferences, and diminished eating functions have broadened the chewiness requirements for staple foods. Therefore, comprehending the formation mechanism of chewiness in staple foods and exploring approaches to modulate it becomes imperative. This article reviewed the formation mechanisms and quality control methods for chewiness in several of the most common staple foods (rice, noodles, potatoes and bread). It initially summarized the chewiness formation mechanisms under three distinct thermal processing methods: water medium, oil medium, and air medium processing. Subsequently, proposed some effective approaches for regulating chewiness based on mechanistic changes. Optimizing raw material composition, controlling processing conditions, and adopting innovative processing techniques can be utilized. Nonetheless, the precise adjustment of staple foods' chewiness remains a challenge due to their diversity and technical study limitations. Hence, further in-depth exploration of chewiness across different staple foods is warranted.

Recent advances in enzymatic modification techniques to improve the quality of flour-based fried foods.

Flour-based fried foods are among the most commonly consumed foods worldwide. However, the sensory attributes and nutritional value of fried foods are inconsistent and unstable. Therefore, the creation of fried foods with desirable sensory attributes and good nutritional value remains a major challenge for the development of the fried food industry. The quality of flour-based fried foods can sometimes be improved by physical methods and the addition of chemical modifiers. However, enzyme modification is widely accepted by consumers due to its unique advantages of specificity, mild processing conditions and high safety. Therefore, it is important to elucidate the effects of enzyme treatments on the sensory attributes (color, flavor and texture), oil absorption and digestibility of flour-based fried foods. This paper reviews recent research progress in utilizing enzyme modification to improve the quality of flour-based fried foods. This paper begins with the effects of common enzymes on the physicochemical properties (rheological property, retrogradation property and specific volume) of dough. Based on the analysis of the mechanism of formation of sensory attributes and nutritional properties, it focuses on the application of amylase, protease, transglutaminase, and lipase in the regulation of sensory attributes and nutritional properties of flour-based fried foods.

Residential greenness and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease in a large cohort in southern China: Potential causal links, risk trajectories, and mediation pathways.

INTRODUCTION: Residential greenness may influence COPD mortality, but the causal links, risk trajectories, and mediation pathways between them remain poorly understood. OBJECTIVES: We aim to comprehensively identify the potential causal links, characterize the dynamic progression of hospitalization or posthospital risk, and quantify mediation effects between greenness and COPD. METHODS: This study was conducted using a community-based cohort enrolling individuals aged ≥ 18 years in southern China from January 1, 2009 to December 31, 2015. Greenness was characterized by normalized difference vegetation index (NDVI) around participants' residential addresses. We applied doubly robust Cox proportional hazards model, multi-state model, and multiple mediation method, to investigate the potential causal links, risk trajectories among baseline, COPD hospitalization, first readmission due to COPD or COPD-related complications, and all-cause death, as well as the multiple mediation pathways (particulate matter [PM], temperature, body mass index [BMI] and physical activity) connecting greenness exposure to COPD mortality. RESULTS: Our final analysis included 581,785 participants (52.52% female; average age: 48.36 [Standard Deviation (SD): 17.56]). Each interquartile range (IQR: 0.06) increase in NDVI was associated with a reduced COPD mortality risk, yielding a hazard ratio (HR) of 0.88 (95 % CI: 0.81, 0.96). Furthermore, we observed per IQR (0.04) increase in NDVI was inversely associated with the risk of multiple transitions (baseline - COPD hospitalization, baseline - death, and readmission - death risks), especially a declined risk of all-cause death after readmission (HR = 0.66 [95 %CI: 0.44, 0.99]). Within the observed association between greenness and COPD mortality, three mediators were identified, namely PM, temperature, and BMI (HR for the total indirect effect: 0.773 [95 % CI: 0.703, 0.851]), with PM showing the highest mediating effect. CONCLUSIONS: Our findings revealed greenness may be a beneficial factor for COPD morbidity, prognosis, and mortality. This protective effect is primarily attributed to the reduction in PM concentration.

Progress in using cross-linking technologies to increase the thermal stability of colloidal delivery systems.

In recent years, crosslinking technology has been found and widely used in food, textile, pharmaceutical, bioengineering and other fields. Crosslinking is a reaction in which two or more molecules bond to each other to form a stable three-dimensional network structure to improve the strength, heat resistance and other properties of substances. The researchers found that the cross-linking technology has a significant effect on improving the thermal stability of the colloidal delivery system. In this paper, crosslinking techniques that can be used to improve the thermal stability of colloidal delivery systems are reviewed, including enzyme-, ion-, chemical-, and combined cross-linking. Initially, the underlying mechanisms of these crosslinking technologies is reviewed. Then, the impacts of crosslinking on the heat-stability of colloidal delivery systems are discussed. Finally, the application of crosslinked delivery systems in improving the thermal stability of probiotics, polyphenols, pigments, and nutrients in foods and food packaging materials is introduced. The ability of proteins and polysaccharides to form heat-stable colloidal delivery systems can be improved by crosslinking. Nevertheless, more research is required to establish the impact of different crosslinking on the thermal stability of a broader range of different delivery systems, as well as to ensure their safety and efficacy.

An effective preserving strategy for strawberries by constructing pectin/starch coatings reinforced with functionalized eggshell fillers.

Food waste occurs frequently worldwide, though hunger and malnutrition issues have received global attention. Short-term spoilage of perishable foods causes a significant proportion of food waste. Developing simple, green, and low-cost strategies to preserve the freshness of perishable foods is important to address this issue and improving food safety. By using strawberries as the model perishable fruit, this study reported a pectin/carboxy methyl starch sodium (PC) based coating using epigallocatechin gallate-loaded eggshell powder (ES@EGCG) as the functional fillers. In comparison to PC coating, the PC-ES@EGCG coating displayed much-enhanced performance, such as enhanced mechanical (2 folds) and barrier (water vapor & oxygen) properties. This composite coating reduced the weight loss of strawberries from over 60% to around 30% after 7-day storage. Coated strawberries exhibit better freshness retention, which achieves the purpose of preserving strawberries during storage. This study provided a cost-effective and eco-friendly coating strategy for reducing food waste.

Joint effects of heat-humidity compound events on drowning mortality in Southern China.

BACKGROUND: Several previous studies have examined the association of ambient temperature with drowning. However, no study has investigated the effects of heat-humidity compound events on drowning mortality. METHODS: The drowning mortality data and meteorological data during the five hottest months (May to September) were collected from 46 cities in Southern China (2013-2018 in Guangdong, Hunan and Zhejiang provinces). Distributed lag non-linear model was first conducted to examine the association between heat-humidity compound events and drowning mortality at city level. Then, meta-analysis was employed to pool the city-specific exposure-response associations. Finally, we analysed the additive interaction of heat and humidity on drowning mortality. RESULTS: Compared with wet-non-hot days, dry-hot days had greater effects (excess rate (ER)=32.34%, 95% CI: 24.64 to 40.50) on drowning mortality than wet-hot days (ER=14.38%, 95%CI: 6.80 to 22.50). During dry-hot days, males (ER=42.40%, 95% CI: 31.92 to 53.72), adolescents aged 0-14 years (ER=45.00%, 95% CI: 21.98 to 72.35) and urban city (ER=36.91%, 95% CI: 23.87 to 51.32) showed higher drowning mortality risk than their counterparts. For wet-hot days, males, adolescents and urban city had higher ERs than their counterparts. Attributable fraction (AF) of drowning attributed to dry-hot days was 23.83% (95% CI: 21.67 to 26.99) which was significantly higher than that for wet-hot days (11.32%, 95% CI: 9.64 to 13.48%). We also observed that high temperature and low humidity had an additive interaction on drowning mortality. CONCLUSION: We found that dry-hot days had greater drowning mortality risk and burden than wet-hot days, and high temperature and low humidity might have synergy on drowning mortality.

Unveiling causal connections: Long-term particulate matter exposure and type 2 diabetes mellitus mortality in Southern China.

Evidence of the potential causal links between long-term exposure to particulate matters (PM, i.e., PM1, PM2.5, and PM1-2.5) and T2DM mortality based on large cohorts is limited. In contrast, the existing evidence usually suffers from inherent bias with the traditional association assessment. A prospective cohort of 580,757 participants in the southern region of China were recruited during 2009 and 2015 and followed up through December 2020. PM exposure at each residential address was estimated by linking to the well-established high-resolution simulation dataset. Hazard ratios (HRs) were calculated using time-varying marginal structural Cox models, an established causal inference approach, after adjusting for potential confounders. During follow-up, a total of 717 subjects died from T2DM. For every 1 µg/m3 increase in PM2.5, the adjusted HRs and 95% confidence interval (CI) for T2DM mortality was 1.036 (1.019-1.053). Similarly, for every 1 µg/m3 increase in PM1 and PM1-2.5, the adjusted HRs and 95% CIs were 1.032 (1.003-1.062) and 1.085 (1.054-1.116), respectively. Additionally, we observed a generally more pronounced impact among individuals with lower levels of education or lower residential greenness which as measured by the Normalized Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI). We identified substantial interactions between NDVI and PM1 (P-interaction = 0.003), NDVI and PM2.5 (P-interaction = 0.019), as well as education levels and PM1 (P-interaction = 0.049). The study emphasizes the need to consider environmental and socio-economic factors in strategies to reduce T2DM mortality. We found that PM1, PM2.5, and PM1-2.5 heighten the peril of T2DM mortality, with education and green space exposure roles in modifying it.

The joint effects of mixture exposure to multiple meteorological factors on step count: A panel study in China.

The public health burden of increasing extreme weather events has been well documented. However, the influence of meteorological factors on physical activity remains limited. Existing mixture effect methods cannot handle cumulative lag effects. Therefore, we developed quantile g-computation Distributed lag non-linear model (QG-DLNM) by embedding a DLNM into quantile g-computation to allow for the concurrent consideration of both cumulated lag effects and mixture effects. We gathered repeated measurement data from Henan Province in China to investigate both the individual impact of meteorological factor on step counts using a DLNM, and the joint effect using the QG-DLNM. We projected future step counts linked to changes in temperature and relative humidity driven by climate change under three scenarios from the sixth phase of the Coupled Model Intercomparison Project. Our findings indicate there are inversed U-shaped associations for temperature, wind speed, and mixture exposure with step counts, peaking at 11.6 °C in temperature, 2.7 m/s in wind speed, and 30th percentile in mixture exposure. However, there are negative associations between relative humidity and rainfall with step counts. Additionally, relative humidity possesses the highest weights in the joint effect (49% contribution). Compared to 2022s, future step counts are projected to decrease due to temperature changes, while increase due to relative humidity changes. However, when considering both future temperature and humidity changes driven by climate change, the projections indicate a decrease in step counts. Our findings may suggest Chinese physical activity will be negatively influenced by global warming.

Trajectories network analysis of chronic diseases among middle-aged and older adults: evidence from the China Health and Retirement Longitudinal Study (CHARLS).

BACKGROUND: Given the increased risk of chronic diseases and comorbidity among middle-aged and older adults in China, it is pivotal to identify the disease trajectory of developing chronic multimorbidity and address the temporal correlation among chronic diseases. METHOD: The data of 15895 participants from the China Health and Retirement Longitudinal Study (CHARLS 2011 - 2018) were analyzed in the current study. Binomial tests and the conditional logistic regression model were conducted to estimate the associations among 14 chronic diseases, and the disease trajectory network analysis was adopted to visualize the relationships. RESULTS: The analysis showed that hypertension is the most prevalent disease among the 14 chronic conditions, with the highest cumulative incidence among all chronic diseases. In the disease trajectory network, arthritis was found to be the starting point, and digestive diseases, hypertension, heart diseases, and dyslipidemia were at the center, while memory-related disease (MRD), stroke, and diabetes were at the periphery of the network. CONCLUSIONS: With the chronic disease trajectory network analysis, we found that arthritis was prone to the occurrence and development of various other diseases. In addition, patients of heart diseases/hypertension/digestive disease/dyslipidemia were under higher risk of developing other chronic conditions. For patients with multimorbidity, early prevention can preclude them from developing into poorer conditions, such as stroke, MRD, and diabetes. By identifying the trajectory network of chronic disease, the results provided critical insights for developing early prevention and individualized support services to reduce disease burden and improve patients' quality of life.

Effects of long-term exposure to ambient fine particulate matter and its specific components on blood pressure and hypertension incidence.

BACKGROUND: Epidemiological evidence on the association of PM2.5 (particulate matter with aerodynamic diameter ≤ 2.5 µm) and its specific components with hypertension and blood pressure is limited. METHODS: We applied information of participants from the World Health Organization's (WHO) Study on Global Ageing and Adult Health (SAGE) to estimate the associations of long-term PM2.5 mass and its chemical components exposure with blood pressure (BP) and hypertension incidence in Chinese adults ≥ 50 years during 2007-2018. Generalized linear mixed model and Cox proportional hazard model were applied to investigate the effects of PM2.5 mass and its chemical components on the incidence of hypertension and BP, respectively. RESULTS: Each interquartile range (IQR = 16.80 µg/m3) increase in the one-year average of PM2.5 mass concentration was associated with a 17 % increase in the risk of hypertension (HR = 1.17, 95 % CI: 1.10, 1.24), and the population attributable fraction (PAF) was 23.44 % (95 % CI: 14.69 %, 31.55 %). Each IQR µg/m3 increase in PM2.5 exposure was also related to increases of systolic blood pressure (SBP) by 2.54 mmHg (95 % CI:1.99, 3.10), and of diastolic blood pressure (DBP) by 1.36 mmHg (95 % CI: 1.04, 1.68). Additionally, the chemical components of SO42-, NO3-, NH4+, OM, and BC were also positively associated with an increased risk of hypertension incidence and elevated blood pressure. CONCLUSIONS: These results indicate that long-term exposure to PM2.5 mass and its specific components may be major drivers of escalation in hypertension diseases.

Potential causal links and mediation pathway between urban greenness and lung cancer mortality: Result from a large cohort (2009 to 2020).

Urban greenness, as a vital component of the urban environment, plays a critical role in mitigating the adverse effects of rapid urbanization and supporting urban sustainability. However, the causal links between urban greenness and lung cancer mortality and its potential causal pathway remain poorly understood. Based on a prospective community-based cohort with 581,785 adult participants in southern China, we applied a doubly robust Cox proportional hazard model to estimate the causal associations between urban greenness exposure and lung cancer mortality. A general multiple mediation analysis method was utilized to further assess the potential mediating roles of various factors including particulate matter (PM1, PM2.5-1, and PM10-2.5), temperature, physical activity, and body mass index (BMI). We observed that each interquartile range (IQR: 0.06) increment in greenness exposure was inversely associated with lung cancer mortality, with a hazard ratio (HR) of 0.89 (95 % CI: 0.83, 0.96). The relationship between greenness and lung cancer mortality might be partially mediated by particulate matter, temperature, and physical activity, yielding a total indirect effect of 0.826 (95 % CI: 0.769, 0.887) for each IQR increase in greenness exposure. Notably, the protective effect of greenness against lung cancer mortality could be achieved primarily by reducing the particulate matter concentration.

New-Type Urbanization on pollution and carbon reduction impact mechanism and co-benefits analysis.

How to simultaneously reduce environmental pollution and CO2 emissions is a challenging issue for various countries, particularly in China. Unlike traditional urbanization process that inevitably deteriorates environment, China initiated a New-Type Urbanization (NTU) strategy in 2014 following four principles: people-centeredness, optimal layout, ecological civilization, and cultural inheritance. Previous studies conduct research on NTU's influencing pollution and carbon reduction (PCR), respectively, while ignoring synergistic governance. The research objectives of this study are to investigate the potential mechanisms of NTU's influencing PCR and co-benefits for PCR. By leveraging 30 provincial-level data from China spanning 2005 to 2019, we comprehensively construct an index and assess NTU from six domains: population, economic, environmental, spatial, equitable, and social urbanizations and combine a coupling coordination model with a 2-way fixed effects model for empirical analysis. Our findings demonstrate that (1) NTU tends to significantly suppress pollution and carbon emissions, and this finding is reliable after several robustness tests and solving endogeneity with relief degree of land surface as an instrumental variable (IV). (2) The reducing effects seem to be achieved by promoting talent agglomeration, facilitating economic agglomeration and strengthening environmental regulations. (3) NTU tends to have both current and time-lag effects on pollution and carbon reduction, and their co-benefits are mainly influenced by the time-lag effect. Accordingly, policy recommendations are recommended: governments need to plan urbanization rationally, including strengthening public infrastructure and social welfare, pursuing the strategy of introducing talents, planning land and resource use rationally and efficiently, and strengthening environmental regulations. In addition, a mechanism should be developed to reduce pollution and carbon in an integrated manner for the long term. Our study broadens the horizons for international scholars engaged in sustainable urbanization research, enriching the array of research methodologies.