Unequal Health Risks and Attributable Mortality Burden of Source-Specific PM2.5 in China.

Anthropogenic emissions, originating from human activities, stand as the primary contributors to PM2.5, which is recognized as a global health threat. The disease burden associated with PM2.5 has been extensively documented. However, the prevailing estimations have predominantly relied on PM2.5 exposure-response functions, neglecting the distinct risks posed by PM2.5 from various sources. China has experienced a significant reduction in the PM2.5 concentration due to stringent emission controls. With diverse sources and abundant mortality data, this situation provides a unique opportunity to estimate short-term source-specific attributable mortality. Our approach involves an integrated unequal health risk-oriented modeling in China, incorporating a source-oriented Community Multiscale Air Quality model, an adjustment and downscaling method for exposure measurement, a generalized linear model with random-effects meta-analysis, and premature mortality estimation. Adhering to the unequal health risk concept, we calculated the attributable mortality of multiple PM2.5 sources by determining the source risk-adjusted factor. In this study, we observed varying excess risks associated with multiple PM2.5 sources, with transportation-related PM2.5 exhibiting the most substantial association. An interquartile range increase (7.65 µg/m3) was linked to a 1.98% higher daily nonaccidental mortality. Residential use- and transportation-related PM2.5 emerged as the two principal sources of premature mortality. In 2018, a remarkable 53,381 avoiding deaths were estimated compared to 2013, and over 67% of these were attributed to reductions in coal-dependent sources. Notably, transportation-related PM2.5 emerged as the largest contributor to premature mortality in 2018. This study underscores the significance of a new source-oriented health risk assessment to support actions aimed at reducing air pollution. It strongly advocates for heightened attention to PM2.5 reductions in the transportation sector in China.

Continued Rise in Health Burden from Ambient PM2.5 in India under SSP Scenarios Until 2100 despite Decreasing Concentrations.

Forecasting alterations in ambient air pollution and the consequent health implications is crucial for safeguarding public health, advancing environmental sustainability, informing economic decision making, and promoting appropriate policy and regulatory action. However, predicting such changes poses a substantial challenge, requiring accurate data, sophisticated modeling methodologies, and a meticulous evaluation of multiple drivers. In this study, we calculate premature deaths due to ambient fine particulate matter (PM2.5) exposure in India from the 2020s (2016-2020) to the 2100s (2095-2100) under four different socioeconomic and climate scenarios (SSPs) based on four CMIP6 models. PM2.5 concentrations decreased in all SSP scenarios except for SSP3-7.0, with the lowest concentration observed in SSP1-2.6. The results indicate an upward trend in the five-year average number of deaths across all scenarios, ranging from 1.01 million in the 2020s to 4.12-5.44 million in the 2100s. Further analysis revealed that the benefits of reducing PM2.5 concentrations under all scenarios are largely mitigated by population aging and growth. These findings underscore the importance of proactive measures and an integrated approach in India to improve atmospheric quality and reduce vulnerability to aging under changing climate conditions.

Trimethylamine from Subtropical Forests Rival Total Farmland Emissions in China.

Many types of living plants release gaseous trimethylamine (TMA), making it a potentially important contributor to new particle formation (NPF) in remote areas. However, a panoramic view of the importance of forest biogenic TMA at the regional scale is lacking. Here, we pioneered nationwide mobile measurements of TMA across a transect of contiguous farmland in eastern China and a transect of subtropical forests in southern China. In contrast to the farmland route, TMA concentrations measured during the subtropical forest route correlated significantly with isoprene, suggesting potential TMA emissions from leaves. Our high time-resolved concentrations obtained from a weak photo-oxidizing atmosphere reflected freshly emitted TMA, indicating the highest emission intensity from irrigated dryland (set as the baseline of 10), followed by paddy field (7.1), subtropical evergreen forests (5.9), and subtropical broadleaf and mixed forests (4.3). Extrapolating their proportions roughly to China, subtropical forests alone, which constitute half of the total forest area, account for nearly 70% of the TMA emissions from the nation's total farmland. Our estimates, despite the uncertainties, take the first step toward large-scale assessment of forest biogenic amines, highlighting the need for observational and modeling studies to consider this hitherto overlooked source of TMA.

The mechanism of white flower formation in Brassica rapa is distinct from that in other Brassica species.

KEY MESSAGE: A single nucleotide (G) deletion in the third exon of BraA02.PES2-2 (Bra032957) leads to the conversion of flower color from yellow to white in B. rapa, and knockout mutants of its orthologous genes in B. napus showed white or pale yellow flowers. Brassica rapa (2n = 20, AA) is grown worldwide as an important crop for edible oil and vegetables. The bright yellow flower color and long-lasting flowering period give it aesthetic qualities appealing to countryside tourists. However, the mechanism controlling the accumulation of yellow pigments in B. rapa has not yet been completely revealed. In this study, we characterized the mechanism of white flower formation using a white-flowered natural B. rapa mutant W01. Compared to the petals of yellow-flowered P3246, the petals of W01 have significantly reduced content of yellowish carotenoids. Furthermore, the chromoplasts in white petals of W01 are abnormal with irregularly structured plastoglobules. Genetic analysis indicated that the white flower was controlled by a single recessive gene. By combining BSA-seq with fine mapping, we identified the target gene BraA02.PES2-2 (Bra032957) homologous to AtPES2, which has a single nucleotide (G) deletion in the third exon. Seven homologous PES2 genes including BnaA02.PES2-2 (BnaA02g28340D) and BnaC02.PES2-2 (BnaC02g36410D) were identified in B. napus (2n = 38, AACC), an allotetraploid derived from B. rapa and B. oleracea (2n = 18, CC). Knockout mutants of either one or two of BnaA02.PES2-2 and BnaC02.PES2-2 in the yellow-flowered B. napus cv. Westar by the CRISPR/Cas9 system showed pale-yellow or white flowers. The knock-out mutants of BnaA02.PES2-2 and BnaC02.PES2-2 had fewer esterified carotenoids. These results demonstrated that BraA02.PES2-2 in B. rapa, and BnaA02.PES2-2 and BnaC02.PES2-2 in B. napus play important roles in carotenoids esterification in chromoplasts that contributes to the accumulation of carotenoids in flower petals.

Change of Composition, Source Contribution, and Oxidative Effects of Environmental PM2.5 in the Respiratory Tract.

Fine particulate matter is a leading air pollutant, and its composition profile relates to sources and health effects. The human respiratory tract hosts a warmer and more humid microenvironment in contrast with peripheral environments. However, how the human respiratory tract impacts the transformation of the composition of environmental PM2.5 once they are inhaled and consequently changes of source contribution and health effects are unknown. Here, we show that the respiratory tract can make these properties of PM2.5 reaching the lung different from environmental PM2.5. We found via an in vitro model that the warm and humid conditions drive the desorption of nitrate (about 60%) and ammonium (about 31%) out of PM2.5 during the inhalation process and consequently make source contribution profiles for respiratory tract-deposited PM2.5 different from that for environmental PM2.5 as suggested in 11 Chinese cities and 12 US cities. We also observed that oxidative potential, one of the main health risk causes of PM2.5, increases by 41% after PM2.5 travels through the respiratory tract model. Our results reveal that PM2.5 inhaled in the lung differs from environmental PM2.5. This work provides a starting point for more health-oriented source apportionment, physiology-based health evaluation, and cost-effective control of PM2.5 pollution.

Prenatal exposure to PM2.5 and its constituents with children's BMI Z-score in the first three years: A birth cohort study.

BACKGROUND: Limited studies evaluated the effect of prenatal exposure to fine particulate matter (PM2.5) on childhood growth and no consensus reached yet. No study explored the effect of prenatal exposure to PM2.5 and its constituents on childhood growth in a region with high PM2.5 levels (>50 µg/m3). The present study aimed to examine the association of prenatal exposure to PM2.5 and its constituents with children's BMI Z-score in the first three years. METHODS: The present study was based on a birth cohort in Beijing, China, involving 15,745 mothers with their children who were followed to three years old. We estimated prenatal PM2.5 and its constituents [organic carbon (OC), elemental carbon (EC), sulfate (SO42-), nitrate (NO3-), and ammonium (NH4+)] concentrations based on residential addresses at birth. Height (or length) and weight of children were repeatedly measured, and body mass index (BMI) Z-score was calculated at one, two, and three years old. Generalized linear regression and generalized estimating equation were used to examine the associations between prenatal exposure to PM2.5 and its constituents with BMI Z-score in the first three years. RESULTS: Prenatal exposure to PM2.5 and its constituents was generally associated with higher BMI Z-score of children aged one, two, and three years. One IQR increase of PM2.5, OC, EC, NO3-, NH4+, and SO42- (21.30 µg/m3, 11.52 µg/m3, 2.40 µg/m3, 8.28 µg/m3, 2.42 µg/m3, and 8.80 µg/m3, respectively) was associated with 0.13 (95%CI: 0.10, 0.16), 0.24 (95%CI: 0.19, 0.29), 0.12 (95%CI: 0.09, 0.16), 0.13 (95%CI: 0.09, 0.17), 0.11 (95%CI: 0.08, 0.13), and 0.24 (95%CI: 0.19, 0.30) increase in BMI Z-score from one to three years old, respectively. CONCLUSION: The study suggested that prenatal exposure to PM2.5 and its constituents was associated with higher BMI Z-score of children in the first three years. Public health policy for controlling harmful PM2.5 constituents should be developed to promote child health.

Short-term effects of fine particulate matter constituents on myocardial infarction death.

Existing evidence suggested that short-term exposure to fine particulate matter (PM2.5) may increase the risk of death from myocardial infarction (MI), while PM2.5 constituents responsible for this association has not been determined. We collected 12,927 MI deaths from 32 counties in southern China during 2011-2013. County-level exposures of ambient PM2.5 and its 5 constituents (i.e., elemental carbon (EC), organic carbon (OC), sulfate (SO42-), ammonium (NH4+), and nitrate (NO3-)) were aggregated from gridded datasets predicted by Community Multiscale Air Quality Modeling System. We employed a space-time-stratified case-crossover design and conditional logistic regression models to quantify the association of MI mortality with short-term exposure to PM2.5 and its constituents across various lag days. Over the study period, the daily mean PM2.5 mass concentration was 77.8 (standard deviation (SD) = 72.7) µg/m3. We estimated an odds ratio of 1.038 (95% confidence interval (CI): 1.003-1.074), 1.038 (1.013-1.063) and 1.057 (1.023-1.097) for MI mortality associated with per interquartile range (IQR) increase in the 3-day moving-average exposure to PM2.5 (IQR = 76.3 µg/m3), EC (4.1 µg/m3) and OC (9.1 µg/m3), respectively. We did not identify significant association between MI death and exposure to water-soluble ions (SO42-, NH4+ and NO3-). Likelihood ratio tests supported no evident violations of linear assumptions for constituents-MI associations. Subgroup analyses showed stronger associations between MI death and EC/OC exposure in the elderly, males and cold months. Short-term exposure to PM2.5 constituents, particularly those carbonaceous aerosols, was associated with increased risks of MI mortality.

Observation-based sources evolution of non-methane hydrocarbons (NMHCs) in a megacity of China.

Both concentrations and emissions of many air pollutants have been decreasing due to implement of control measures in China, in contrast to the fact that an increase in emissions of non-methane hydrocarbons (NMHCs) has been reported. This study employed seven years continuous NMHCs measurements and the related activities data of Shanghai, a megacity in China, to explore evolution of emissions and effectiveness of air pollution control measures. The mixing ratio of NMHCs showed no statistical interannual changes, of which their compositions exhibited marked changes. This resulted in a decreasing trend of ozone formation potential by 3.8%/year (p < 0.05, the same below), which should be beneficial to ozone pollution mitigation as its production in Shanghai is in the NMHCs-limited regime. Observed alkanes, aromatics and acetylene changed by +3.7%/year, -5.9%/year and -7.4%/year, respectively, and alkenes showed no apparent trend. NMHCs sources were apportioned by a positive matrix factorization model. Accordingly, vehicular emissions (-5.9%/year) and petrochemical industry emissions (-7.1%/year) decreased significantly, but the decrease slowed down; significant reduction in solvent usage (-9.0%/year) appeared after 2010; however, emissions of natural gas (+12.6%/year) and fuel evaporation (with an increasing fraction) became more important. The inconsistency between observations and inventories was found in interannual trend and speciation as well as source contributions, emphasizing the need for further validation in NMHCs emission inventory. Our study confirms the effectiveness of measures targeting mobile and centralized emissions from industrial sources and reveals a need focusing on fugitive emissions, which provided new insights into future air policies in polluted region.

The Efficacy and Safety of Thrice vs Twice per Week Low-Intensity Pulsed Ultrasound Therapy for Erectile Dysfunction: A Randomized Clinical Trial.

BACKGROUND: A recent sham-controlled clinical study has shown that low-intensity pulsed ultrasound twice per week can safely and effectively treat patients with mild-to-moderate erectile dysfunction (ED). However, large-scale clinical trials are needed to verify its efficacy and safety and determine a reasonable treatment interval. AIM: To study whether low-intensity pulsed ultrasound therapy thrice per week is non-inferior to twice per week in patients with mild-to-moderate ED. METHODS: A randomized, open-label, parallel-group, non-inferiority clinical trial was conducted in 7 hospitals in China. A total of 323 patients with mild-to-moderate ED were randomized (1:1) into thrice per week (3/W) and twice per week (2/W) groups. Low-intensity pulsed ultrasound was applied on each side of the penis for 16 sessions. OUTCOMES: The primary outcome was response rate using the minimal clinically important difference in the International Index of Erectile Function (IIEF-EF) score at week 12. Secondary outcomes included Erection Hardness Score (EHS), Sexual Encounter Profile, Global Assessment Question, and Self Esteem and Relationship Questionnaire. RESULTS: Response rates in 3/W and 2/W groups were 62.0% and 62.5%, respectively. Treatment effect in the 3/W group was noninferior to that of the 2/W group, with rate difference lower bound of -0.01% [95% confidence interval -0.11 to 0.10%] within the acceptable margin (-14.0%). No significant difference was found among secondary outcomes. IIEF-EF score showed a significant increase from baseline in the 3/W group (16.8 to 20.7) and 2/W group (17.8 to 21.7), and the percentage of patients with EHS ≥3 increased in the 3/W (54.9% to 84.0%) and 2/W (59.5% to 83.5%) groups. There was no significant difference in response rate between the 2 groups after controlling for strata factors and homogeneous tests. No treatment-related adverse events were reported. CLINICAL IMPLICATIONS: Low-intensity pulsed ultrasound therapy displays similar efficacy and safety for mild-to-moderate ED when administered thrice or twice per week for 16 sessions. This study provides two options to suit patients' needs. STRENGTHS & LIMITATIONS: This is a large-sample, randomized, controlled, noninferiority trial study. Short-term follow-up and mostly younger patients are the main limitations. CONCLUSION: Low-intensity pulsed ultrasound therapy thrice and twice per week showed equivalent therapeutic effects and safety for mild-to-moderate ED in a young and generally healthy population. This therapy warrants further investigation of its potential value in rehabilitation of ED. Chen, H., Li Z., Li X., et al. The Efficacy and Safety of Thrice vs Twice per Week Low-Intensity Pulsed Ultrasound Therapy for Erectile Dysfunction: A Randomized Clinical Trial. J Sex Med 2022;19:1536-1545.

Fate of Oxygenated Volatile Organic Compounds in the Yangtze River Delta Region: Source Contributions and Impacts on the Atmospheric Oxidation Capacity.

The Community Multiscale Air Quality model (CMAQv5.2) was implemented to investigate the sources and sinks of oxygenated volatile organic compounds (OVOCs) during a high O3 and high PM2.5 season in the Yangtze River Delta (YRD) region, based on constraints from observations. The model tends to overpredict non-oxygenated VOCs and underpredict OVOCs, which has been improved with adjusted emissions of all VOCs. The OVOCs in the YRD are dominated by ketones, aldehydes, and alcohols. Ketones and aldehydes mainly originate from direct emissions and secondary formation in the northern YRD, and primarily originate from secondary formation in the southern part influenced by biogenic emissions. The concentration of secondary organic aerosols (SOA) produced by OVOCs is 0.5-1.5 µg/m3, with 40-80% originated from organic nitrates, 20-70% originated from dicarbonyls, and 0-20% originated from isoprene epoxydiols. The influences of OVOCs on the atmospheric oxidation capacity are dominated by the OH• pathway during the day (∼350%) and by the NO3• pathway at night (∼150%). Consequently, O3 is enhanced by 30-70% in the YRD. Aerosols are also enhanced by 50-140%, 20-80%, and ∼20% for SOA, nitrate, and sulfate, respectively.

Exploring a more reasonable temperature exposure calculation method based on individual exposure survey and city-scale heat exposure impact assessment.

The inability to quantify the difference between ambient temperature (AT) and personal exposure temperature (PET) is a common limitation in environmental health research. The actual exposure variability is underestimated when we used measurements from fixed monitoring stations to estimate PET. The study aims to explore a more reasonable temperature exposure calculation method to relate PET to AT and links heat exposure to adverse health events. We measured hourly PET of 129 participants from July 8th to July 13th, 2021 in Xinyi City, China. The linear mixed-effects model was used to build the relationship between hourly PET and AT in rural and town. Several calculation methods that can capture the intensity, frequency and duration of daily exposure were used to calculate the daily PET and AT and establish the relationship between the two factors. A generalized linear model was used to establish the relationship between city-scale AT indicators and health endpoints from January 1st, 2013 to December 31st, 2015 in Shanghai, China. The result showed that the hourly PET was significantly related to AT, wind speed, air pressure, precipitation, outside time, and air-conditioning use. Among several daily temperature indicators, we found that ATDHAT (Degree Hours Above Threshold (27.4 °C)) was tight with the PETDHAT in different regions (R2 > 0.99). DHAT strengthened the relationship between daily AT and health endpoint in the urban-scale heat-related health impact study, especially in respiratory diseases. The method proposed in this study can improve the accuracy of future epidemiological studies on the effects of heat exposure.

Significant reduction in atmospheric organic and elemental carbon in PM2.5 in 2+26 cities in northern China.

To better understand the change characteristics and reduction in organic carbon (OC) and elemental carbon (EC) in particulate matter (PM) with a diameter of ≤2.5 µm (PM2.5) driven by the most stringent clean air policies and pandemic-related lockdown measures in China, a comprehensive field campaign was performed to measure the carbonaceous components in PM2.5 on an hourly basis via harmonized analytical methods in the Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei and its surrounding region (including 2 + 26 cities) from January 1 to December 31, 2020. The results indicated that the annual average concentrations of OC and EC reached as low as 6.6 ± 5.7 and 1.8 ± 1.9 µg/m3, respectively, lower than those obtained in previous studies, which could be attributed to the effectiveness of the Clean Air Action Plan and the impact of the COVID-19-related lockdown measures implemented in China. Marked seasonal and diurnal variations in OC and EC were observed in the 2 + 26 cities. Significant correlations (p < 0.001) between OC and EC were found. The annual average secondary OC levels level ranged from 1.8-5.4 µg/m3, accounting for 37.7-73.0% of the OC concentration in the 2 + 26 cities estimated with the minimum R squared method. Based on Interagency Monitoring of Protected Visual Environments (IMPROVE) algorithms, the light extinction contribution of carbonaceous PM to the total amount reached 21.1% and 26.0% on average, suggesting that carbonaceous PM played a less important role in visibility impairment than did the other chemical components in PM2.5. This study is expected to provide an important real-time dataset and in-depth analysis of the significant reduction in OC and EC in PM2.5 driven by both the Clean Air Action Plan and COVID-19-related lockdown policies over the past few years, which could represent an insightful comparative case study for other developing countries/regions facing similar carbonaceous PM pollution.

Coordinated health effects attributable to particulate matter and other pollutants exposures in the North China Plain.

Hebei Province, located in the North China Plain (NCP) and encircling Beijing and Tianjin, has been suffering from severe air pollution. The monthly average fine particulate matter (PM2.5) concentration was up to 276 µg/m3 in Hebei Province, which adversely affects human health. However, few studies evaluated the coordinated health impact of exposure to PM (PM2.5 and PM10) and other key air pollutants (SO2, NO2, CO, and surface ozone (O3)). In this study, we systematically analyzed the health risks (both mortality and morbidity) due to multiple air pollutants exposures in Hebei Province. The economic loss associated with these health consequences was estimated using the value of statistical life (VSL) and cost of illness (COI) methods. Our results show the health burden and economic loss attributable to multiple ambient air pollutants exposures in Hebei Province is substantial. In 2017, the total premature mortality from multiple air pollutants exposures in Hebei Province was 69,833 (95% CI: 55,549-83,028), which was 2.9 times higher than that of the Pearl River Delta region (PRD). Most of the potential economic loss (79.65%) was attributable to premature mortality from air pollution. The total economic loss due to the health consequences of multiple air pollutants exposures was 175.16 (95% CI: 134.61-224.61) billion Chinese Yuan (CNY), which was 4.92% of Hebei Province's annual gross domestic product (GDP). Thus, the adverse health effects and economic loss caused by exposure to multiple air pollutants should be seriously taken into consideration. To alleviate these damages, Hebei's government ought to establish more stringent measures and regulations to better control air pollution.

The associations of prenatal exposure to PM2.5 and its constituents with fetal growth: A prospective birth cohort in Beijing, China.

BACKGROUND: Limited studies investigated the association of prenatal exposure to PM2.5 and fetal growth measured by ultrasound with inconsistent results. No study evaluated the effect of PM2.5 constituents on fetal growth in utero. We aimed to investigated whether prenatal exposure to PM2.5 and its constituents was associated with fetal growth measured by ultrasound. METHODS: A total of 4319 eligible pregnant women in Peking University Birth Cohort in Tongzhou (PKUBC-T) were included in the study. Based on mothers' residential addresses, we estimated prenatal PM2.5 concentrations with a satellite-based spatiotemporal model and PM2.5 constituents concentrations with a modified Community Multiscale Air Quality model. Fetal growth parameters of abdominal circumference (AC), head circumference (HC), and femur length (FL) were measured by ultrasound and then estimated fetal weight (EFW) was calculated. We calculated sex and gestational age-specific fetal growth Z-score and then defined the corresponding fetal undergrowth. Generalized estimating equation was used to investigate the association of PM2.5 and its constituents with fetal growth Z-score and fetal undergrowth. RESULTS: Prenatal exposure to PM2.5, OC, EC, SO42-, NH4+, or NO3- was consistently associated with decreased Z-scores of fetal growth parameters (AC, HC, FL, EFW). One IQR increase of PM2.5, OC, EC, SO42-, NH4+, or NO3- was associated with -0.183 [95% confident interval (CI): -0.225, -0.141], -0.144 (95%CI: -0.181, -0.107), -0.123 (95%CI: -0.160, -0.085), -0.035 (95%CI: -0.055, -0.015), -0.095 (95%CI: -0.126, -0.064), and -0.124 (95%CI: -0.159, -0.088) decrease in EFW Z-score, respectively. Prenatal exposure to PM2.5, OC, EC, SO42-, NH4+, or NO3- was also associated with higher risk of fetal AC, HC, FL or EFW undergrowth. CONCLUSION: The study identified that prenatal exposure to PM2.5 or its constituents was associated with impaired fetal growth. The findings provided evidence that control measures for PM2.5 constituents should be implemented for further promoting fetal growth.

Spirocyclohexadienone-Type Neolignans with Neuroprotective and Neurite Outgrowth Enhancing Activities from Magnolia liliiflora.

Three rare spirocyclohexadienone-type neolignans, magnoflorins A-C (1-3), and three known analogs (4-6), were isolated from the leaves of Magnolia liliiflora. Magnoflorin D (4) was obtained from natural resources for the first time. The chemical structures and absolute configurations of 1-4 were elucidated through detailed analysis of HR-ESI-MS, IR, 1 H, 13 C, and 2D NMR, and ECD experiments. The absolute configuration of 5 were characterized by X-ray crystallography in present study. Moreover, compounds 4 and 5 displayed moderate neuroprotective activity against corticosterone-induced PC12 cells injury at 20 µM with cell viability of 71.5±0.99 % and 73.0±1.42 %, respectively, compared to the model group with 60.83±0.93 %. Compound 6 could enhance neurite outgrowth of nerve growth factor (NGF)-induced PC12 cells at 10 µM with the differentiation rate of 11.98 %, compared with 20.49 % of 50 ng/ml NGF.

Atmospheric Age Distribution of Primary and Secondary Inorganic Aerosols in a Polluted Atmosphere.

The community multiscale air quality (CMAQ) model was modified to track the evolution of the atmospheric age (τ) distribution of primary particulate matter (PPM) and secondary inorganic aerosol components (nitrate, sulfate, and ammonium ion, NSA). The modified CMAQ gas and aerosol mechanisms represent the same species emitted at different times as an age-resolved mixture, using multiple age-tagged variables and a dynamic age-bin advancing scheme. The model was applied to study the spatial and temporal evolution of τ for PPM and NSA in January 2013 to understand the formation and regional transport of PM and the precursor gases during severe winter pollution episodes in China. The results showed that increases in PPM and NSA concentrations during high pollution periods in polluted urban areas were typically associated with increases in the mean atmospheric age (τ̅) due to the accumulation of local emissions and regional transport of aged pollutants. Some of the rapid sulfate growth events at the beginning of multiday air pollution episodes were driven by regional transport of aged particles. In heavily polluted cities, while most of the monthly average PPM had τ less than 10 h, more than half of the sulfate had τ greater than 20-30 h. Regional distributions showed that very aged sulfate particles with τ > 96 h accounted for a significant portion of the total sulfate and had a very broad spatial distribution. However, aged ammonium ions had very low concentrations. Aged nitrate also had lower concentrations and more limited spatial distributions than sulfate due to differences in the atmospheric lifetime between SO2 and NOx. The estimated NOx lifetime of approximately ∼24 h in China agrees with a satellite-based estimation of 21 h. Potential applications of the age distribution analysis include evaluating the impacts of meteorology on air quality and developing short-term emission control strategies.

High-Resolution Spatiotemporal Modeling for Ambient PM2.5 Exposure Assessment in China from 2013 to 2019.

Exposure to fine particulate matter (PM2.5) has become a major global health concern. Although modeling exposure to PM2.5 has been examined in China, accurate long-term assessment of PM2.5 exposure with high spatiotemporal resolution at the national scale is still challenging. We aimed to establish a hybrid spatiotemporal modeling framework for PM2.5 in China that incorporated extensive predictor variables (satellite, chemical transport model, geographic, and meteorological data) and advanced machine learning methods to support long-term and short-term health studies. The modeling framework included three stages: (1) filling satellite aerosol optical depth (AOD) missing values; (2) modeling 1 km × 1 km daily PM2.5 concentrations at a national scale using extensive covariates; and (3) downscaling daily PM2.5 predictions to 100-m resolution at a city scale. We achieved good model performances with spatial cross-validation (CV) R2 of 0.92 and temporal CV R2 of 0.85 at the air quality sites across the country. We then estimated daily PM2.5 concentrations in China from 2013 to 2019 at 1 km × 1 km grid cells. The downscaled predictions at 100 m resolution greatly improved the spatial variation of PM2.5 concentrations at the city scale. The framework and data set generated in this study could be useful to PM2.5 exposure assessment and epidemiological studies.

Persistent high PM2.5 pollution driven by unfavorable meteorological conditions during the COVID-19 lockdown period in the Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei region, China.

Lockdown measures to curtail the COVID-19 pandemic in China halted most non-essential activities on January 23, 2020. Despite significant reductions in anthropogenic emissions, the Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei (BTH) region still experienced high air pollution concentrations. Employing two emissions reduction scenarios, the Community Multiscale Air Quality (CMAQ) model was used to investigate the PM2.5 concentrations change in this region. The model using the scenario (C3) with greater traffic reductions performed better compared to the observed PM2.5. Compared with the no reductions base-case (scenario C1), PM2.5 reductions with scenario C3 were 2.70, 2.53, 2.90, 2.98, 3.30, 2.81, 2.82, 2.98, 2.68, and 2.83 µg/m3 in Beijing, Tianjin, Shijiazhuang, Baoding, Cangzhou, Chengde, Handan, Hengshui, Tangshan, and Xingtai, respectively. During high-pollution days in scenario C3, the percentage reductions in PM2.5 concentrations in Beijing, Tianjin, Shijiazhuang, Baoding, Cangzhou, Chengde, Handan, Hengshui, Tangshan, and Xingtai were 3.76, 3.54, 3.28, 3.22, 3.57, 3.56, 3.47, 6.10, 3.61, and 3.67%, respectively. However, significant increases caused by unfavorable meteorological conditions counteracted the emissions reduction effects resulting in high air pollution in BTH region during the lockdown period. This study shows that effective air pollution control strategies incorporating these results are urgently required in BTH to avoid severe pollution.

PM2.5 constituents and mortality from a spectrum of causes in Guangzhou, China.

As the major constituents of PM2.5, carbonaceous constituents and inorganic ions have attracted emerging attentions on their health risks, particularly on cardiorespiratory diseases. However, evidences on the risks of PM2.5 constituents on other diseases (eg. nervous disease, genitourinary disease, neoplasms and endocrine disease) remain scarce. In our study, we firstly calculated residuals of PM2.5 constituents regressed on PM2.5 to remove the confounding effect of PM2.5. Then, generalized additive model (GAM) was used to assess impacts of residuals of PM2.5 constituents on mortality from 36 diseases (10 broad categories and 26 subcategories) during 2011-2015 in Guangzhou, China. Results of constituent-residual models showed that only EC, OC and NO3- were significantly associated with all-cause mortality, with per IQR change in corresponding constituent residuals related to percentage changes of 1.69% (95% CI: 0.42, 2.97), 1.94% (95% CI: 0.37, 3.54) and 2.59% (95% CI: 1.02, 4.18) at lag 03 days. All these pollutants were significantly associated with elevated mortality risk of cardiovascular disease, but only EC was significantly associated with respiratory mortality, and NO3- with endocrine disease and neoplasm. For more specific causes, the highest effect estimates of EC and NO3-were both observed on mortality from other form of heart disease, and OC on intentional self-harm, with estimates of 11.45% (95% CI: 2.74, 20.91), 12.59% (95% CI: 1.41, 25.02) and 18.01% (95% CI: 2.14, 36.36), respectively. Our findings highlighted that stricter emission control measures are still warranted to reduce air pollution level and protect the public health.

Evaluation of regional transport of PM2.5 during severe atmospheric pollution episodes in the western Yangtze River Delta, China.

During winter 2018, the 16 prefecture-level cities in Anhui Province, Western Yangtze River Delta region, China had very high PM2.5 concentrations and prolonged pollution days. The impact of regional transport in the formation, accumulation, as well as dispersion of fine particulate matter (PM2.5) in Anhui Province was very significant. This study quantified and analyzed the vertical transport of PM2.5 in three major cities (Hefei, Fuyang, and Suzhou) of Anhui Province in January and July 2018 using the Weather Research and Forecasting (WRF) model coupled with the Community Multiscale Air Quality (CMAQ) model. The results of the inter-regional transport of PM2.5 revealed the dominant transport pathways for the three cities. The flux mainly flowed into Fuyang from Henan (2.23 and 1.42 kt/day in January and July, respectively) and Bozhou (1.96 and 1.21 kt/day in January and July, respectively), while the main flux from Fuyang flowed into Henan (-2.15 kt/day) and Lu'an (-1.91 kt/day) in January and Henan (-0.34 kt/day) and Bozhou (-0.29 kt/day) in July. In addition, the dominant transport pathways and the heights at which they occurred were identified: the northwest-southeast and northeast-south pathways in both winter and summer at both lower (˂300 m) and higher (≥300 m) levels for Fuyang; the northwest-south and northeast-southwest pathways in winter (at both lower and upper levels) and northwest-east and northeast-southwest pathways in summer at lower and upper levels for Hefei; and the northwest-southeast and northeast-south pathways in both winter (from 50 m up to the top level) and summer (between 100 and 300 m) for Suzhou. Furthermore, the intensities of daily PM2.5 transport fluxes in Fuyang during the atmospheric pollution episode (APE1) were stronger than the monthly average. These results show that joint emission controls across multiple cities along the identified pathways are urgently needed to reduce winter episodes.