Assessment of causal relationships between omega-3 and omega-6 polyunsaturated fatty acids in autoimmune rheumatic diseases: a brief research report from a Mendelian randomization study.

Background: Currently, the association between the consumption of polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFAs) and the susceptibility to autoimmune rheumatic diseases (ARDs) remains conflict and lacks substantial evidence in various clinical studies. To address this issue, we employed Mendelian randomization (MR) to establish causal links between six types of PUFAs and their connection to the risk of ARDs. Methods: We retrieved summary-level data on six types of PUFAs, and five different types of ARDs from publicly accessible GWAS statistics. Causal relationships were determined using a two-sample MR analysis, with the IVW approach serving as the primary analysis method. To ensure the reliability of our research findings, we used four complementary approaches and conducted multivariable MR analysis (MVMR). Additionally, we investigated reverse causality through a reverse MR analysis. Results: Our results indicate that a heightened genetic predisposition for elevated levels of EPA (ORIVW: 0.924, 95% CI: 0.666-1.283, P IVW = 0.025) was linked to a decreased susceptibility to psoriatic arthritis (PsA). Importantly, the genetically predicted higher levels of EPA remain significantly associated with an reduced risk of PsA, even after adjusting for multiple testing using the FDR method (P IVW-FDR-corrected = 0.033) and multivariable MR analysis (P MV-IVW < 0.05), indicating that EPA may be considered as the risk-protecting PUFAs for PsA. Additionally, high levels of LA showed a positive causal relationship with a higher risk of PsA (ORIVW: 1.248, 95% CI: 1.013-1.538, P IVW = 0.037). It is interesting to note, however, that the effects of these associations were weakened in our MVMR analyses, which incorporated adjustment for lipid profiles (P MV-IVW > 0.05) and multiple testing using the FDR method (P IVW-FDR-corrected = 0.062). Moreover, effects of total omega-3 PUFAs, DHA, EPA, and LA on PsA, were massively driven by SNP effects in the FADS gene region. Furthermore, no causal association was identified between the concentrations of other circulating PUFAs and the risk of other ARDs. Further analysis revealed no significant horizontal pleiotropy and heterogeneity or reverse causality. Conclusion: Our comprehensive MR analysis indicated that EPA is a key omega-3 PUFA that may protect against PsA but not other ARDs. The FADS2 gene appears to play a central role in mediating the effects of omega-3 PUFAs on PsA risk. These findings suggest that EPA supplementation may be a promising strategy for preventing PsA onset. Further well-powered epidemiological studies and clinical trials are warranted to explore the potential mechanisms underlying the protective effects of EPA in PsA.

[Health Risk Assessment of Heavy Metals in Soils of a City in Guangdong Province Based on Source Oriented and Monte Carlo Models].

Taking a city in Guangdong Province as the research area, the concentration and spatial distribution characteristics of heavy metals in the surface soil were studied to clarify the situation of soil heavy metal pollution and priority control factors, providing basic data for the prevention and control of soil heavy metal pollution in the city. The content characteristics of heavy metals in 221 soil samples in the city were analyzed, and the potential health risk assessment and source analysis were carried out through the Monte Carlo model, the potential health risk assessment (HRA) model, and the PMF receptor model. It was found that heavy metals ω(As), ω(Hg), ω(Cd), ω(Pb), ω(Cr), ω(Cu), ω(Ni), and ω(Zn) in the soil of the city were 18.16, 0.43, 1.46, 68.57, 98.34, 64.19, 26.53, and 257.32 mg·kg-1, respectively, with a moderate to high degree of variation. Except for Ni concentration, the soil concentrations of other heavy metal elements exceeded the background values of soil in Guangdong Province to a certain extent, and the concentrations of Cd and Zn exceeded the national secondary standards, resulting in severe heavy metal pollution; the main sources of heavy metals were industrial sources, and natural parent materials, lead battery manufacturing, transportation, artificial cultivation, and pesticide and fertilizer inputs also had an undeniable impact on the accumulation of heavy metals in the soil. Heavy metals in the soil had a certain degree of tolerable carcinogenic health risk for both children and adults, whereas non-carcinogenic risks could be ignored. The potential health risk of children was greater than that of adults, and the main exposure route was through oral intake. The input sources of pesticides and fertilizers and As should be the main controlling factors for the health risks of heavy metals in the city's soil, followed by mixed sources and Cr. There were differences in the spatial distribution characteristics and relative pollution levels of heavy metals, and it is necessary to deepen zoning monitoring and control, strengthen soil pollution prevention and control, and reduce human input of heavy metals in soil.

[Pollution Characteristics and Risk Assessment of Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbons in Soils of Guangzhou].

In order to comprehensively study the pollution characteristics of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons （PAHs） in soils of Guangzhou， 222 topsoil samples were collected and analyzed. The ecological risk of soil PAHs pollution was evaluated using the effect interval low/median method （ERL/ERM） and the （BaP） toxicity equivalent method， and the health risk of soil PAHs pollution was evaluated using the lifelong cancer risk increment model. The source of PAHs was analyzed using the characteristic compound ratio method and PMF model. The results indicated that： the content of surface soil （∑16PAHs） in Guangzhou was 38-11 115 µg·kg-1， with an average of 526 µg·kg-1， and 16 types of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon monomers showed strong variation. There was a certain degree of ecological risk of PAHs in Guangzhou， and there was already a significant ecological risk of PAHs pollution in individual sampling points， which were generally in a state of mild pollution. Based on the results of the health risk assessment， the contribution rates of total cancer risk in both adults and children were presented as follows： skin contact > ingestion of soil > respiratory intake. The health risk of children was greater than that of adults， and the overall health risk was within an acceptable range. Source analysis showed that the main sources of soil PAHs in Guangzhou were coal （37.1%）； diesel （32%）； coking （17.3%）； and mixed sources of traffic emissions， biomass combustion， and petrochemical product volatilization （13.6%）. The overall source of soil PAHs belonged to mixed sources. The research results have enriched our understanding of the pollution status of PAHs in the surface soil of Guangzhou and are helpful in promoting soil pollution prevention and control actions.

Life cycle assessment of an efficient biomass power plant supported by semi-closed supercritical CO2 cycle and chemical looping air separation.

Biomass power plant with carbon capture facility has great carbon emission reduction potential due to biomass's carbon neutrality characteristic, but it has been long-time suffered from undesirable system efficiency. This paper explored the life cycle carbon emission of a high-efficient biomass power generation system, which was comprised by the semi-closed supercritical CO2 cycle and chemical looping air separation sub-units. This system was proved to be environmentally superior with the life cycle warming impact value at 97.69 kg CO2 eq./MWh, the life cycle carbon emission reduction rate was 49.61 % and 45.46 % compared with traditional biomass gasification combined cycle system and biomass chemical looping gasification combined cycle system, respectively. The fuel and materials preparation stage should receive improvement attention due to its largest emission share of 76 %. In addition, the effects of key parameters, such as CO2 to biomass ratio (CO2/C), biomass gasification temperature, oxygen carrier and biomass types on environmental performance were investigated to further reveal this system's carbon emission reduction potential. The biomass/coal co-fired system showed net zero carbon emission was achieved when biomass share exceeded only around 10 %.

Dynamic Traffic Data in Machine-Learning Air Quality Mapping Improves Environmental Justice Assessment.

Air pollution poses a critical public health threat around many megacities but in an uneven manner. Conventional models are limited to depict the highly spatial- and time-varying patterns of ambient pollutant exposures at the community scale for megacities. Here, we developed a machine-learning approach that leverages the dynamic traffic profiles to continuously estimate community-level year-long air pollutant concentrations in Los Angeles, U.S. We found the introduction of real-world dynamic traffic data significantly improved the spatial fidelity of nitrogen dioxide (NO2), maximum daily 8-h average ozone (MDA8 O3), and fine particulate matter (PM2.5) simulations by 47%, 4%, and 15%, respectively. We successfully captured PM2.5 levels exceeding limits due to heavy traffic activities and providing an "out-of-limit map" tool to identify exposure disparities within highly polluted communities. In contrast, the model without real-world dynamic traffic data lacks the ability to capture the traffic-induced exposure disparities and significantly underestimate residents' exposure to PM2.5. The underestimations are more severe for disadvantaged communities such as black and low-income groups, showing the significance of incorporating real-time traffic data in exposure disparity assessment.

[Exposure Level and Risk Impact Assessment of Pesticides and Veterinary Drugs in Aquaculture Environment].

To explore the exposure level of pesticides and veterinary drugs in an aquaculture environment and its impact on the ecological environment, this study took the aquaculture environment in Shanghai as an example, and samples of water, sediment, and inputs from 40 major aquaculture farms were collected from July to September 2022. The types and contents of pesticides and veterinary drugs were screened using high-performance liquid chromatography-electrostatic field orbital ion trap mass spectrometry, and the risk quotient (RQ) method was used to assess the ecological risk of pesticide contamination in water and sediment. The results showed that 13 drugs were screened out from 204 samples (72 samples of water, 72 samples of mud, and 60 samples of input), namely, chlorpromazine, carbendazim, thiophanate, diazepam, florfenicol, simazine, amantidine, diazepam, trimethoprim, ciprofloxacin, ofloxacin, mebendazole, and enrofloxacin. Among them, 12 species were found in water samples with concentrations ranging from 0.016 µg·L-1 to 2.084 µg·L-1. The concentrations of seven species in the mud samples ranged from 0.018 µg·kg-1 to 23.101 µg·kg-1. The results showed that there were four types of inputs, ranging from 1.979 µg·kg-1 to 101.940 µg·kg-1. Seven drugs were found in both water and sediment. The risk quotient (RQ) results showed that there were some high and middle risks in both water and sediment samples of aquaculture farms, and the ecological risks of carbendazim were the highest in both water and sediment samples of aquaculture farms; the RQ values were 3.848 and 1.580, respectively, indicating high risk. It is suggested to strengthen the control and management of exogenous pesticides and veterinary drugs in aquaculture environments to protect the ecosystem health of the aquaculture environment.

A Spatial-Temporal Video Quality Assessment Method via Comprehensive HVS Simulation.

The quality of videos is the primary concern of video service providers. Built upon deep neural networks, video quality assessment (VQA) has rapidly progressed. Although existing works have introduced the knowledge of the human visual system (HVS) into VQA, there are still some limitations that hinder the full exploitation of HVS, including incomplete modeling with few HVS characteristics and insufficient connection among these characteristics. In this article, we present a novel spatial-temporal VQA method termed HVS-5M, wherein we design five modules to simulate five characteristics of HVS and create a bioinspired connection among these modules in a cooperative manner. Specifically, on the side of the spatial domain, the visual saliency module first extracts a saliency map. Then, the content-dependency and the edge masking modules extract the content and edge features, respectively, which are both weighted by the saliency map to highlight those regions that human beings may be interested in. On the other side of the temporal domain, the motion perception module extracts the dynamic temporal features. Besides, the temporal hysteresis module simulates the memory mechanism of human beings and comprehensively evaluates the video quality according to the fusion features from the spatial and temporal domains. Extensive experiments show that our HVS-5M outperforms the state-of-the-art VQA methods. Ablation studies are further conducted to verify the effectiveness of each module toward the proposed method. The source code is available at https://github.com/GZHU-DVL/HVS-5M.

Sarcopenia Transitions and Influencing Factors Among Chinese Older Adults With Multistate Markov Model.

Background and Objectives: Little is known about the sarcopenia transition process across different stages among Chinese community-dwelling older adults. We aimed to explore dynamic transitions of sarcopenia and its influencing factors in Chinese older adults. Research Design and Methods: Data were derived from the China Health and Retirement Longitudinal Study. A total of 2856 older adults with complete data in the 2011, 2013, and 2015 waves were included in our study. Participants were categorized into 3 states: no sarcopenia, possible sarcopenia, and sarcopenia according to the Asian Working Group for Sarcopenia 2019 (AWGS 2019) criteria. Continuous-time multistate Markov model was performed to estimate the 1-year transition probabilities and the associated factors of sarcopenia transitions. The association strength was expressed as hazard ratio and 95% confidence interval. Results: The progression and reversion rates between no sarcopenia and sarcopenia state were 6.01 and 9.20 per 100 person-years, respectively. The 1-year progression probability to possible sarcopenia was higher compared with the likelihood of moving to the sarcopenia state (0.127 vs 0.034). The reversion probability to no sarcopenia was also higher among those with possible sarcopenia (0.281 vs 0.157). Older age, rural living, worse cognition status, higher chronic disease numbers, and lower nutrition status measured by body mass index accelerated the sarcopenia progression. Cognition status and body mass index level were related to higher chances of reverting. Discussion and Implications: Possible sarcopenia might be a critical time window to promote sarcopenia reversion. Timely interventions aimed at delaying the progression and facilitating sarcopenia recovery should focus on improving cognitive function and nutrition levels.

Phylogeny and species delimitations in the economically, medically, and ecologically important genus Samsoniella (Cordycipitaceae, Hypocreales).

Samsoniella is a ubiquitous genus of cosmopolitan arthropod-pathogenic fungi in the family Cordycipitaceae. The fungi have economic, medicinal, and ecological importance. Prior taxonomic studies of these fungi relied predominantly on phylogenetic inferences from five loci, namely, the nuclear ribosomal small and large subunits (nr SSU and nr LSU), the 3' portion of translation elongation factor 1 alpha (3P_TEF), and RNA polymerase II subunits 1 and 2 (RPB1 and RPB2). Despite many new species being described, not all of the recognized species inside this group formed well-supported clades. Thus, the search for new markers appropriate for molecular phylogenetic analysis of Samsoniella remains a challenging problem. In our study, we selected the internal transcribed spacer regions of the rDNA (ITS rDNA) and seven gene regions, namely, 3P_TEF, the 5' portion of translation elongation factor 1 alpha (5P_TEF), RPB1, RPB2, γ-actin (ACT), ß-tubulin (TUB), and a gene encoding a minichromosome maintenance protein (MCM7), as candidate markers for species identification. Genetic divergence comparisons showed that the ITS, RPB2, ACT, and TUB sequences provided little valuable information with which to separate Samsoniella spp. In contrast, sequence data for 3P_TEF, 5P_TEF, RPB1, and MCM7 provided good resolution of Samsoniella species. The phylogenetic tree inferred from combined data (5P_TEF + 3P_TEF + RPB1 + MCM7) showed well-supported clades for Samsoniella and allowed for the delimitation of 26 species in this genus. The other two species (S.formicae and S.lepidopterorum) were not evaluated, as they had abundant missing data.

Supervised machine learning improves general applicability of eDNA metabarcoding for reservoir health monitoring.

Effective and standardized monitoring methodologies are vital for successful reservoir restoration and management. Environmental DNA (eDNA) metabarcoding sequencing offers a promising alternative for biomonitoring and can overcome many limitations of traditional morphological bioassessment. Recent attempts have even shown that supervised machine learning (SML) can directly infer biotic indices (BI) from eDNA metabarcoding data, bypassing the cumbersome calculation process of BI regardless of the taxonomic assignment of eDNA sequences. However, questions surrounding the general applicability of this taxonomy-free approach to monitoring reservoir health remain unclear, including model stability, feature selection, algorithm choice, and multi-season biomonitoring. Here, we firstly developed a novel biological integrity index (Me-IBI) that integrates multitrophic interactions and environmental information, based on taxonomy-assigned eDNA metabarcoding data. The Me-IBI can better distinguish the actual health status of the Three Gorges Reservoir (TGR) than physicochemical assessments and have a clear response to human activity. Then, taking this reliable Me-IBI as a supervised label, we compared the impact of selecting different numbers of features and SML algorithms on the stability and predictive performance of the model for predicting ecological conditions in multiple seasons using taxonomy-free eDNA metabarcoding data. We discovered that even with a small number of features, different SML algorithms can establish a stable model and obtain excellent predictive performance. Finally, we proposed a four-step strategy for standardized routine biomonitoring using SML tools. Our study firstly explores the general applicability problem of the taxonomy-free eDNA-SML approach and establishes a solid foundation for the large-scale and standardized biomonitoring application.

A study on the path of governance in health insurance fraud considering moral hazard.

Combating health insurance fraud is of utmost importance to physicians, patients, and health insurers. To delve into the mechanisms of health insurance fraud between doctors and patients, this study employed evolutionary game theory to construct a model that comprehensively considers moral hazard, fraud cost, reward, punishment, bribes from patients, and other factors. Through theoretical analysis and numerical simulation of the model, the study discovered that the evolution of governance behavior in health insurance fraud is closely linked to its initial construction of the payment matrix and the initial selection of parameters for the payment matrix. Additionally, increasing penalties for fraudulent behavior, increasing the cost of fraud for both doctors and patients, and reducing moral hazard for both can effectively drive the final strategy of the system toward a non-fraudulent state. The study aims to provide valuable insights and recommendations to doctors, patients, and medical insurance institutions in establishing a sound governance environment for managing fraud behavior in health insurance.

Assessment of the detection accuracy of SARS-CoV-2 rapid antigen test in children and adolescents: An updated meta-analysis.

BACKGROUND: Real-time and appropriate antigen tests play a pivotal role in preventing severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus-2 (SARS-CoV-2) infection. However, a previous meta-analysis reported that the antigen test had lower sensitivity for the detection of SARS-CoV-2 in children. To provide a comprehensive evaluation of diagnostic efficiency, we performed an updated meta-analysis to assess the detection accuracy of SARS-CoV-2 antigen tests stratified by days after symptom onset and specimen type in children and adolescents. METHODS: We comprehensively searched for appropriate studies in the PubMed, Embase, and Cochrane Library databases. Studies on the diagnostic accuracy of antigen tests for SARS-CoV-2 in children and adolescents were included. The relevant data of the included studies were extracted to construct a 2 × 2 table on a per-patient basis. The overall sensitivity and specificity of the SARS-CoV-2 antigen tests were estimated using a bivariate random-effects model. RESULTS: Seventeen studies enrolling 10 912 patients were included in the present meta-analysis. For the detection accuracy of SARS-CoV-2 antigen tests, the meta-analysis generated a pooled sensitivity of 77.9% (95% confidence interval [CI]: 67.3%-85.8%) and a pooled specificity of 99.6% (95% CI: 98.9%-99.8%). The subgroup analysis of studies that examined antigen tests in symptomatic participants ≦7 days after symptom onset generated a pooled sensitivity of 79.4% (95% CI: 47.6%-94.2%) and a pooled specificity of 99.4% (95% CI: 98.2%-99.8%). Another subgroup analysis of studies that evaluated nasal swab specimens demonstrated a pooled sensitivity of 80.1% (95% CI: 65.0%-89.7%) and a pooled specificity of 98.5% (95% CI: 97.3%-9.2%). CONCLUSION: Our findings demonstrated that the antigen test performed using nasal swab specimens exhibited high sensitivity for the detection of SARS-CoV-2 within 7 days after symptom onset. Therefore, antigen testing using nasal swabs may be effective in blocking SARS-CoV-2 transmission in children.

Comparative assessment of Chinese mitten crab aquaculture in China: Spatiotemporal changes and trade-offs.

The increasing human demand for high-quality animal protein has provided impetus for the development of aquaculture. Chinese mitten crab (Eriocheir sinensis) is a catadromous species rapidly being cultured in China but scientific literature documenting its life cycle environmental and economic consequences remains scarce. This study aims to address this gap by examining the spatio-temporal evolution of crab aquaculture in China since the 2000s and evaluating the environmental and economic characteristics along its life-cycle stages: megalopa, juvenile crab, and adult crab cultivation. The geostatistical analysis shows a more dispersed pattern of crab aquaculture nationally as crab grows, with coastal provinces that have brackish water for megalopa cultivation but wider spatial coverage for juvenile and adult crab cultivation. Our findings reveal that the production of 1 ton of live-weight crab results in 7.65 ton of CO2 equivalent of greenhouse gas emissions, surpassing previous estimates for finfish fish production by approximately 50%. Most environmental pressures occur during the adult crab cultivation stage, with significant contributions from upstream processes such as electricity and feed production. By comparing between different production systems, our study shows that crab aquaculture in lake systems performs better than pond systems in terms of most global environmental impact categories and economic considerations. This work contributes to the existing literature by elucidating the spatio-temporal changes of crab aquaculture boom in China and constructing a representative life cycle data pool that broadens the benchmark knowledge on its environmental and economic characteristics. We highlight the trade-offs between environmental and economic performance as well as the balance between global and local environmental impacts to promote sustainable growth in the aquaculture industry.

Techno-economic assessment of implementing photovoltaic water villas in Maldives.

Solar energy is considered to be an effective measure to alleviate the shortage of power supply in the Maldives. In this paper, a roof photovoltaic (PV) system integrated into water villas in the Maldives was investigated. Three islands-Ayada Maldives, Angaga Island Resort, and JA Manafaru, located in the southern, central, and northern parts of Maldives-were selected for a case study. The potential of PV installations in Ayada Maldives, Angaga Island Resort, and JA Manafaru reaches 1,410, 445, and 742 kW, with corresponding annual power generation of 2.04, 0.64, and 1.12 GWh, respectively. The profits over the life cycle of 25 years of the above three studied islands are 4.86, 1.52, and 2.90 million USD, respectively, with payback periods in the range of 6-7 years.

Can China achieve its 2030 and 2060 CO2 commitments? Scenario analysis based on the integration of LEAP model with LMDI decomposition.

China's ambitious targets of peaking its Carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions on or before 2030 and achieving carbon neutrality by 2060 have been a topic of discussion in the international community. This study innovatively combines the logarithmic mean Divisia index (LMDI) decomposition method and the long-range energy alternatives planning (LEAP) model to quantitatively evaluate the CO2 emissions from energy consumption in China from 2000 to 2060. Using the Shared Socioeconomic Pathways (SSPs) framework, the study designs five scenarios to explore the impact of different development pathways on energy consumption and related carbon emissions. The LEAP model scenarios are based on the result of LMDI decomposition, which identifies the key influencing factors on CO2 emissions. The empirical findings of this study demonstrate that the energy intensity effect is the primary factor of the 14.7 % reduction in CO2 emissions observed in China from 2000 to 2020. Conversely, the economic development level effect has been the driving factor behind the increase of 50.4 % in CO2 emissions. Additionally, the urbanization effect has contributed 24.7 % to the overall change in CO2 emissions during the same period. Furthermore, the study investigates potential future trajectories of CO2 emissions in China up to 2060, based on various scenarios. The results suggest that, under the SSP1 scenarios. China's CO2 emissions would peak in 2023 and achieve carbon neutrality by 2060. However, under the SSP4 scenarios, emissions are expected to peak in 2028, and China would need to eliminate approximately 2000 Mt of additional CO2 emissions to reach carbon neutrality. In other scenarios, China is projected to be unable to meet the carbon peak and carbon neutrality goals. The conclusions drawn from this study offer valuable insights for potential policy adjustments to ensure that China could fulfill its commitment to peak carbon emissions by 2030 and achieve carbon neutrality by 2060.

The clinical and neurocognitive functional changes with awake brain mapping for gliomas invading eloquent areas: Institutional experience and the utility of The Montreal Cognitive Assessment.

Objective: Awake craniotomy with intraoperative brain functional mapping effectively reduces the potential risk of neurological deficits in patients with glioma invading the eloquent areas. However, glioma patients frequently present with impaired neurocognitive function. The present study aimed to investigate the neurocognitive and functional outcomes of glioma patients after awake brain mapping and assess the experience of a tertiary neurosurgical center in China over eight years. Methods: This retrospective study included 80 patients who underwent awake brain mapping for gliomas invading the eloquent cortex between January 2013 and December 2021. Clinical and surgical factors, such as the extent of resection (EOR), perioperative Karnofsky Performance Score (KPS), progression-free survival (PFS), and overall survival (OS), were evaluated. We also used the Montreal Cognitive Assessment (MoCA) to assess the neurocognitive status changes. Results: The most frequently observed location of glioma was the frontal lobe (33/80, 41.25%), whereas the tumor primarily invaded the language-related cortex (36/80, 45%). Most patients had supratotal resection (11/80, 13.75%) and total resection (45/80, 56.25%). The median PFS was 43.2 months, and the median OS was 48.9 months in our cohort. The transient (less than seven days) neurological deficit rate was 17.5%, whereas the rate of persistent deficit (lasting for three months) was 15%. At three months of follow-up, most patients (72/80, 90%) had KPS scores > 80. Meanwhile, compared to the preoperative baseline tests, the changes in MoCA scores presented significant improvements at discharge and three months follow-up tests. Conclusion: Awake brain mapping is a feasible and safe method for treating glioma invading the eloquent cortex, with the benefit of minimizing neurological deficits, increasing EOR, and extending survival time. The results of MoCA test indicated that brain mapping plays a critical role in preserving neurocognitive function during tumor resection.

Olfactory impairment in COVID-19: Two methods for the assessment of olfactory function.

Background: Olfactory impairment is a major symptom of COVID-19. Is it necessary for COVID-19 patients to perform the detection of olfactory function, even how to select the olfactory psychophysical assessment tool. Methods: Patients infected with SARS-CoV-2 Delta variant were firstly taken into three categories (mild, moderate, and severe) according to the clinical classification. The Odor Stick Identification Test for the Japanese (OSIT-J) and the Simple Olfactory Test were used to assess olfactory function. Moreover, these patients were divided into three groups based on the results of the olfactory degree (euosmia, hyposmia, and dysosmia), too. The statistical analysis of the correlations between olfaction and clinical characteristics of patients were performed. Results: Our study demonstrated that the elderly men of Han were more susceptible to infected SARS-CoV-2, the clinical symptoms of the COVID-19 patients showed a clear correspondence with the disease type and the degree of olfactory disturbance. Whether or not to vaccinate and whether to complete the whole course of vaccination was closely related to the patient's condition. OSIT-J Test and Simple Test were consistent in our work, indicating that olfactory grading would worsen with the aggravation of symptoms. Furthermore, the OSIT-J method maybe better than Simple Olfactory Test. Conclusion: The vaccination has an important protective effect on the general population, and vaccination should be vigorously promoted. Moreover, it is necessary for COVID-19 patients to perform the detection of olfactory function, and the easier, faster and less expensive method for determination of olfactory function should be utilized to COVID-19 patients as the vital physical examination.

[Pollution Characteristics and Health Risk Assessment of Per- and Polyfluoroalkyl Substances and Emerging Alternatives in Road Dust, Shijiazhuang].

Per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFASs, n=22), including emerging alternatives, in dust samples were analyzed using high-performance liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry (HPLC-MS/MS) to study their pollution characteristics. These samples were collected from main and minor roads in Shijiazhuang. Some of the roads were located near sewage treatment plants and fire stations. The results showed that PFASs were ubiquitous in the road dust of Shijiazhuang; in particular, hexafluoropropylene oxide dimer acid (HFPO-DA), an alternative, was measured for the first time in China. The total concentrations of PFASs ranged from 2.62 to 137.65 ng·g-1. Perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA) was the dominant PFAS, followed by perfluorobutanoic acid (PFBA), HFPO-DA, and perfluorooctane sulfonic acid (PFOS). The highest and lowest levels of PFASs were observed in the northwest and southeast regions of Shijiazhuang, respectively. The compositions of PFASs were obviously different in road dust near sewage treatment plants and fire stations, especially for the types of emerging alternatives. Health risk assessment indicated that road dust intake had a low risk of human exposure to PFASs and emerging alternatives. Among the three routes (ingestion intake, inhalation intake, and dermal contact), ingestion intake was the main route for PFASs and emerging alternatives in road dust to enter the human body. Under the same exposure route, the exposure dose of children was higher than that of adults.