High Electricity Demand in the Northeast U.S.: PJM Reliability Network and Peaking Unit Impacts on Air Quality.

On high electricity demand days, when air quality is often poor, regional transmission organizations (RTOs), such as PJM Interconnection, ensure reliability of the grid by employing peak-use electric generating units (EGUs). These "peaking units" are exempt from some federal and state air quality rules. We identify RTO assignment and peaking unit classification for EGUs in the Eastern U.S. and estimate air quality for four emission scenarios with the Community Multiscale Air Quality (CMAQ) model during the July 2006 heat wave. Further, we population-weight ambient values as a surrogate for potential population exposure. Emissions from electricity reliability networks negatively impact air quality in their own region and in neighboring geographic areas. Monitored and controlled PJM peaking units are generally located in economically depressed areas and can contribute up to 87% of hourly maximum PM2.5 mass locally. Potential population exposure to peaking unit PM2.5 mass is highest in the model domain's most populated cities. Average daily temperature and national gross domestic product steer peaking unit heat input. Air quality planning that capitalizes on a priori knowledge of local electricity demand and economics may provide a more holistic approach to protect human health within the context of growing energy needs in a changing world.

Reassessing Melanonychia Striata in Phototypes IV, V, and VI Patients.

BACKGROUND: Racial melanonychia striata is a nail plate dyschromia described as a gray coloration of the background in dermatoscopy and hypermelanosis in histology. However, many cases with brown or black coloration of the background in the dermatoscopic examination have been followed. OBJECTIVE: Evaluate racial melanonychia striata dermatoscopical patterns and histological diagnosis in Fitzpatrick skin Types IV, V, or VI population. MATERIALS AND METHODS: 482 Fitzpatrick skin Types IV, V, or VI patients, between 19 and 72 years of age, were clinically evaluated and underwent nail plate dermatoscopic examination. Fifty-eight patients presenting melanonychia striata and dermatoscopic patterns with brown or black coloration of the background were submitted to a nail matrix biopsy. When occurring in more than 1 digit, biopsy was performed in the lesion with the darkest coloration presented in dermatoscopy. RESULTS: All skin Types IV, V, or VI patients who had melanonychia striata, with brown or black coloration of the background in the dermatoscopic examination, revealed histopathological analysis compatible with hypermelanosis. CONCLUSION: Racial melanonychia in skin Types IV, V, or VI patients, resulting from hypermelanosis, may present brown or black coloration of the background in the dermatoscopic examination.

Temporalization of peak electric generation particulate matter emissions during high energy demand days.

Underprediction of peak ambient pollution by air quality models hinders development of effective strategies to protect health and welfare. The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's community multiscale air quality (CMAQ) model routinely underpredicts peak ozone and fine particulate matter (PM2.5) concentrations. Temporal misallocation of electricity sector emissions contributes to this modeling deficiency. Hourly emissions are created for CMAQ by use of temporal profiles applied to annual emission totals unless a source is matched to a continuous emissions monitor (CEM) in the National Emissions Inventory (NEI). More than 53% of CEMs in the Pennsylvania-New Jersey-Maryland (PJM) electricity market and 45% nationally are unmatched in the 2008 NEI. For July 2006, a United States heat wave with high electricity demand, peak electric sector emissions, and elevated ambient PM2.5 mass, we match hourly emissions for 267 CEM/NEI pairs in PJM (approximately 49% and 12% of unmatched CEMs in PJM and nationwide) using state permits, electricity dispatch modeling and CEMs. Hourly emissions for individual facilities can differ up to 154% during the simulation when measurement data is used rather than default temporalization values. Maximum CMAQ PM2.5 mass, sulfate, and elemental carbon predictions increase up to 83%, 103%, and 310%, at the surface and 51%, 75%, and 38% aloft (800 mb), respectively.

2002-2017 anthropogenic emissions data for air quality modeling over the United States.

The United States Environmental Protection Agency (US EPA) has developed a set of annual North American emissions data for multiple air pollutants across 18 broad source categories for 2002 through 2017. The sixteen new annual emissions inventories were developed using consistent input data and methods across all years. When a consistent method or tool was not available for a source category, emissions were estimated by scaling data from the EPA's 2017 National Emissions Inventory with scaling factors based on activity data and/or emissions control information. The emissions datasets are designed to support regional air quality modeling for a wide variety of human health and ecological applications. The data were developed to support simulations of the EPA's Community Multiscale Air Quality model but can also be used by other regional scale air quality models. The emissions data are one component of EPA's Air Quality Time Series Project which also includes air quality modeling inputs (meteorology, initial conditions, boundary conditions) and outputs (e.g., ozone, PM2.5 and constituent species, wet and dry deposition) for the Conterminous US at a 12 km horizontal grid spacing.

Distribuição de queloide e cicatriz hipertrófica segundo fototipos de pele de Fitzpatrick / Keloid and hypertrophic scar distribution according to Fitzpatrick skin phototypes", "_e": "n

INTRODUÇÃO: Queloide e cicatriz hipertrófica são cicatrizes patológicas com natureza fisiopatogênica comum, denominadas, em conjunto, cicatrizes fibroproliferativas. São mais frequentes em indivíduos de pele mais escura. Contudo, a atual miscigenação dificulta o enquadramento dos pacientes com variadas tonalidades de pele em classificações morfológicas e estáticas (branco ou caucasoide, mulato, pardo, hispânico ou latino, amarelo ou oriental ou mongoloide e negro ou negroide), e diferentes quanto à exposição solar. Sabe-se que pessoas oriundas de países de clima temperado ou frio quando residem em países tropicais aumentam a incidência dessas cicatrizes, principalmente nas áreas de maior exposição solar. Uma relação entre as cicatrizes fibroproliferativas e os fototipos de Fitzpatrick, classificação dinâmica baseada no relato do paciente quanto a sua resposta cutânea após a exposição solar, poderia contribuir para a compreensão da fisiopatologia dessas cicatrizes. Este estudo teve como objetivo investigar a distribuição das cicatrizes fibroproliferativas segundo os fototipos de Fitzpatrick. MÉTODO: Foram avaliados 146 pacientes provenientes do Ambulatório da Disciplina de Cirurgia Plástica da Universidade Federal de São Paulo (Unifesp, São Paulo, SP, Brasil), portadores de qualquer tipo de cicatriz fibroproliferativa, em um ou mais locais do corpo. As cicatrizes fibroproliferativas dos pacientes foram classificadas de acordo com os critérios de Muir em cicatriz tipo queloide (Long-term Evolution, LTE), cicatriz tipo hipertrófica (Short-term Evolution, STE) e cicatriz tipo mista (Intermediate Group, IG), e os tipos de pele foram classificados segundo os fototipos de Fitzpatrick. RESULTADOS: O fototipo Fitzpatrick III e a cicatriz mista foram mais frequentes entre os pacientes avaliados (P = 0,001). Houve associação (P = 0,025) entre as cicatrizes fibroproliferativas e os fototipos de Fitzpatrick, ou seja, quanto maior o fototipo maior a tendência de desenvolvimento de cicatrizes dos tipos queloide e mista. CONCLUSÕES: Os fototipos de pele segundo Fitzpatrick mostraram-se válidos como critério a ser utilizado em estudos de queloide e cicatriz hipertrófica.

BACKGROUND: Keloid and hypertrophic scars have a common physiopathogenic origin and are defined as fibroproliferative scars. Fibroproliferative scars are frequent in individuals with darker skin. However, mixing of "races" renders it difficult to group patients with different skin tones according to morphological and static classifications (white for Caucasians; brown for individuals of Spanish descent (Hispanic/Latino); yellow for individuals of East Asian descent; and black for individuals of African descent) according to their response to sun exposure. It is known that when individuals whose ethnic origin is in colder countries move to tropical countries, they show a higher incidence of these types of scars, which mainly affect parts of the body that are more exposed to the sun. A correlation between fibroproliferative scars and Fitzpatrick phototype, a dynamic classification based on the skin's response to sun exposure, would contribute to an understanding of the pathophysiology of these scars. The aim of this study is to investigate the distribution of fibroproliferative scars according to Fitzpatrick phototypes. METHODS: We classified patients' fibroproliferative scars according to the Muir classification as Long-Term Evolution (keloid scars), Short-Term Evolution (hypertrophic scars), and Intermediate Group (mixed scars), while their skin types were grouped according to the Fitzpatrick classification. RESULTS: Fitzpatrick phototype III and mixed scars were predominant among the patients analyzed (p = 0.001). A correlation (p = 0.025) was observed between fibroproliferative scars and Fitzpatrick phototypes; the higher the phototype, the higher the tendency to develop keloid and mixed scar tissue. CONCLUSIONS: Fitzpatrick skin phototypes proved to be an efficient method to study keloid and hypertrophic scars.