Multi-scenario PM2.5 distribution and dynamic exposure assessment of university community residents: Development and application of intelligent health risk management system integrated low-cost sensors.

Exposure scenario and receptor behavior significantly affect PM2.5 exposure quantity of persons and resident groups, which in turn influenced indoor or outdoor air quality & health management. An Internet of Things (IoT) system, EnvironMax+, was developed to accurately and conveniently assess residential dynamic PM2.5 exposure state. A university community "QC", as the application area, was divided into four exposure scenarios and five groups of residents. Low-cost mobile sensors and indoor/outdoor pollution migration (IOP) models jointly estimated multi-scenario real-time PM2.5 concentrations. Questionnaire was used to investigate residents' indoor activity characteristics. Mobile application (app) "Air health management (AHM)" could automatic collect residents' activity trajectory. At last, multi-scenario daily exposure concentrations of each residents-group were obtained. The results showed that residential exposure scenario was the most important one, where residents spend about 60 % of their daily time. Closing window was the most significant behavior affecting indoor contamination. The annual average PM2.5 concentration in the studied scenarios: residential scenario (RS) < public scenario (PS) < outdoor scenario (OS) < catering scenario (CS). Except for CS, the outdoor PM2.5 in other scenarios was higher than indoor by 5-10 µg/m3. The multi-scenario population weighted annual average exposure concentration was 37.1 µg/m3, which was 78 % of the annual average outdoor concentration. The exposure concentration of 5 groups: cooks > outdoor workers > indoor workers > students > the elderly, related to their daily activity time proportion in different exposure scenario.

Estimation of Relative Risk of Mortality and Economic Burden Attributable to High Temperature in Wuhan, China.

In the context of climate change, most of the global regions are facing the threat of high temperature. Influenced by tropical cyclones in the western North Pacific Ocean, high temperatures are more likely to occur in central China, and the economic losses caused by heat are in urgent need of quantification to form the basis for health decisions. In order to study the economic burden of high temperature on the health of Wuhan residents between 2013 and 2019, we employed meta-analysis and the value of statistical life (VSL) approach to calculate the relative risk of high temperature health endpoints, the number of premature deaths, and the corresponding economic losses in Wuhan City, China. The results suggested that the pooled estimates of relative risk of death from high temperature health endpoints was 1.26 [95% confidence interval (CI): 1.15, 1.39]. The average number of premature deaths caused by high temperature was estimated to be 77,369 (95% CI: 48,906-105,198) during 2013-2019, and the induced economic losses were 156.1 billion RMB (95% CI: 92.28-211.40 billion RMB), accounting for 1.81% (95% CI: 1.14-2.45%) of Wuhan's annual GDP in the seven-year period. It can be seen that high temperature drives an increase in the premature deaths, and the influence of high temperature on human health results in an economic burden on the health system and population in Wuhan City. It is necessary for the decision-makers to take measures to reduce the risk of premature death and the proportion of economic loss of residents under the impacts of climate change.

Obstacles and opportunities in Chinese pharmaceutical innovation.

BACKGROUND: Global healthcare innovation networks nowadays have expanded beyond developed countries with many developing countries joining the force and becoming important players. China, in particular, has seen a significant increase in the number of innovative firms and research organizations stepping up to the global network in recent years. Nevertheless, the intense Research and Development input has not brought about the expectable output. While China is ascending at a great speed to a leading position worldwide in terms of Research and Development investment, scientific publications and patents, the innovation capabilities in the pharmaceutical sector remain weak. DISCUSSION: This study discusses the challenges and opportunities for pharmaceutical innovation in China. One hand, academic, industrial, institutional and financial constraints were found to be the major and inevitable barriers hindering the development of drug innovation. On the other hand, unique advantages had been observed which included growing pharmaceutical market, Research and Development funding, distinctive source, and international cooperation. The most important thing for China's pharmaceutical sector to leap forward is to break though innovation barriers and integrate own advantages into global value-chain of healthcare product development.