Abnormal blood concentration changes in a 71-year-old female who survived a 10,000mg overdose of clozapine: a case report.

BACKGROUND: Clozapine is a highly effective second-generation antipsychotic with few extrapyramidal reactions, making it a preferred choice among clinicians. However, instances of acute clozapine poisoning resulting from suicide attempts and misuse have been reported. Through our review of existing literature, we identified that we believe to be the highest recorded overdose of clozapine in elderly patients, resulting in a nonfatal outcome. CASE PRESENTATION: The case report involves a 71-year-old female with a history of depression who ingested a dose of 10,000 mg of clozapine. Approximately 6 h after the overdose, the clozapine level was 5,200 µg/L, significantly surpassing the recommended therapeutic concentration range of 350-600 µg/L. After gastric lavage and hemoperfusion, the blood level dropped to 1847.11 µg/L. Notably, during therapeutic drugs monitoring (TDM), we found a perplexing spike in the patient's blood level to 5554.15 µg/L after the second hemoperfusion. CONCLUSION: In this case we mainly focused on the abnormal fluctuations in the concentration of clozapine. We conducted a comprehensive analysis of potential factors contributing to this abnormal phenomenon in terms of the patient's age, clinical symptoms, various laboratory test indexes, and the pharmacokinetics of clozapine. Our findings underscore the importance of timely TDM and the precision of results in managing elderly patients experiencing high-dose clozapine poisoning.

Volatile chemical product emissions enhance ozone and modulate urban chemistry.

Decades of air quality improvements have substantially reduced the motor vehicle emissions of volatile organic compounds (VOCs). Today, volatile chemical products (VCPs) are responsible for half of the petrochemical VOCs emitted in major urban areas. We show that VCP emissions are ubiquitous in US and European cities and scale with population density. We report significant VCP emissions for New York City (NYC), including a monoterpene flux of 14.7 to 24.4 kg ⋅ d-1 ⋅ km-2 from fragranced VCPs and other anthropogenic sources, which is comparable to that of a summertime forest. Photochemical modeling of an extreme heat event, with ozone well in excess of US standards, illustrates the significant impact of VCPs on air quality. In the most populated regions of NYC, ozone was sensitive to anthropogenic VOCs (AVOCs), even in the presence of biogenic sources. Within this VOC-sensitive regime, AVOCs contributed upwards of ∼20 ppb to maximum 8-h average ozone. VCPs accounted for more than 50% of this total AVOC contribution. Emissions from fragranced VCPs, including personal care and cleaning products, account for at least 50% of the ozone attributed to VCPs. We show that model simulations of ozone depend foremost on the magnitude of VCP emissions and that the addition of oxygenated VCP chemistry impacts simulations of key atmospheric oxidation products. NYC is a case study for developed megacities, and the impacts of VCPs on local ozone are likely similar for other major urban regions across North America or Europe.

CasSABER for Programmable In Situ Visualization of Low and Nonrepetitive Gene Loci.

Site-specific imaging of target genes using CRISPR probes is essential for understanding the molecular mechanisms of gene function and engineering tools to modulate its downstream pathways. Herein, we develop CRISPR/Cas9-mediated signal amplification by exchange reaction (CasSABER) for programmable in situ imaging of low and nonrepetitive regions of the target gene in the cell nucleus. The presynthesized primer-exchange reaction (PER) probe is able to hybridize multiple fluorophore-bearing imager strands to specifically light up dCas9/sgRNA target-bound gene loci, enabling in situ imaging of fixed cellular gene loci with high specificity and signal-to-noise ratio. In combination with a multiround branching strategy, we successfully detected nonrepetitive gene regions using a single sgRNA. As an intensity-codable and orthogonal probe system, CasSABER enables the adjustable amplification of local signals in fixed cells, resulting in the simultaneous visualization of multicopy and single-copy gene loci with similar fluorescence intensity. Owing to avoiding the complexity of controlling in situ mutistep enzymatic reactions, CasSABER shows good reliability, sensitivity, and ease of implementation, providing a rapid and cost-effective molecular toolkit for studying multigene interaction in fundamental research and gene diagnosis.

Biological variation estimates obtained from Chinese subjects for 32 biochemical measurands in serum.

OBJECTIVES: The European Federation of Clinical Chemistry and Laboratory Medicine (EFLM) have established a program of work to make available, and to enable delivery of well characterized data describing the biological variation (BV) of clinically important measurands. Guided by the EFLM work the study presented here delivers BV estimates obtained from Chinese subjects for 32 measurands in serum. METHODS: Samples were drawn from 48 healthy volunteers (26 males, 22 females; age range, 21-45 years) for 5 consecutive weeks at Chinese laboratory. Sera were stored at -80 °C before triplicate analysis of all samples on a Cobas 8000 modular analyzer series. Outlier and homogeneity analyses were performed, followed by CV-ANOVA, to determine BV estimates with confidence intervals. RESULTS: The within-subject biological variation (CVI) estimates for 30 of the 32 measurands studied, were lower than listed on the EFLM database; the exceptions were alanine aminotransferase (ALT), lipoprotein (a) (LP(a)). Most of the between-subject biological variation (CVG) estimates were lower than the EFLM database entries. CONCLUSIONS: This study delivers BV data for a Chinese population to supplement the EFLM BV database. Population differences may have an impact on applications of BV Data.

Identification of close relationship between atmospheric oxidation and ozone formation regimes in a photochemically active region.

Understanding ozone (O3) formation regime is a prerequisite in formulating an effective O3 pollution control strategy. Photochemical indicator is a simple and direct method in identifying O3 formation regimes. Most used indicators are derived from observations, whereas the role of atmospheric oxidation is not in consideration, which is the core driver of O3 formation. Thus, it may impact accuracy in signaling O3 formation regimes. In this study, an advanced three-dimensional numerical modeling system was used to investigate the relationship between atmospheric oxidation and O3 formation regimes during a long-lasting O3 exceedance event in September 2017 over the Pearl River Delta (PRD) of China. We discovered a clear relationship between atmospheric oxidative capacity and O3 formation regime. Over eastern PRD, O3 formation was mainly in a NOx-limited regime when HO2/OH ratio was higher than 11, while in a VOC-limited regime when the ratio was lower than 9.5. Over central and western PRD, an HO2/OH ratio higher than 5 and lower than 2 was indicative of NOx-limited and VOC-limited regime, respectively. Physical contribution, including horizontal transport and vertical transport, may pose uncertainties on the indication of O3 formation regime by HO2/OH ratio. In comparison with other commonly used photochemical indicators, HO2/OH ratio had the best performance in differentiating O3 formation regimes. This study highlighted the necessities in using an atmospheric oxidative capacity-based indicator to infer O3 formation regime, and underscored the importance of characterizing behaviors of radicals to gain insight in atmospheric processes leading to O3 pollution over a photochemically active region.

Elevated cerebrospinal fluid homocysteine is associated with blood-brain barrier disruption in amyotrophic lateral sclerosis patients.

OBJECTIVES: Homocysteine (Hcy) has been shown to be relevant in the pathogenesis of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS). Although the CSF Hcy changes were explored in patients with ALS previously, the outcomes were inconsistent, and the permeability of the blood-brain barrier (BBB) may involve in the process. The aim of this study was to investigate the relationship between concentration of Hcy and BBB integrity indicated by CSF/serum albumin ratio (Qalb). METHODS: CSF and plasma/serum levels of Hcy, folate, and vitamin B12 and other biochemical biomarkers such as albumin, ß2-microglobulin, high sensitive-C reactive protein (hs-CRP), microalbumin, immunoglobulin G (IgG), IgM, IgA, and complement 3 and 4 were analyzed in all 31 ALS patients and 34 controls. Routine CSF analysis including cells/leukocytes count, total protein, glucose, and chlorides were also performed. RESULTS: CSF Hcy levels (0.50 ± 0.46 vs 0.25 ± 0.27 µmol/L) and Qalb (8.09 ± 3.03 vs 6.39 ± 2.21) were significantly higher in the ALS group than that in controls (P < 0.05). The generalized linear mixed model analysis showed that the CSF Hcy was positively correlated with Qalb in ALS patients (P < 0.05). CONCLUSIONS: BBB permeability is increased in ALS patients. CSF Hcy level is associated with BBB integrity. Qalb is a significantly independent predisposing factor for CSF Hcy.

Widespread nocturnality of living birds stemming from their common ancestor.

BACKGROUND: Many living birds exhibit some nocturnal activity, but the genetic basis and evolutionary origins of their nocturnality remain unknown. RESULTS: Here, we used a molecular phyloecological approach to analyze the adaptive evolution of 33 phototransduction genes in diverse bird lineages. Our results suggest that functional enhancement of two night-vision genes, namely, GRK1 and SLC24A1, underlies the nocturnal adaption of living birds. Further analyses showed that the diel activity patterns of birds have remained relatively unchanged since their common ancestor, suggesting that the widespread nocturnal activity of many living birds may largely stem from their common ancestor rather than independent evolution. Despite this evolutionary conservation of diel activity patterns in birds, photoresponse recovery genes were found to be frequently subjected to positive selection in diverse bird lineages, suggesting that birds generally have evolved an increased capacity for motion detection. Moreover, we detected positive selection on both dim-light vision genes and bright-light vision genes in the class Aves, suggesting divergent evolution of the vision of birds from that of reptiles and that different bird lineages have evolved certain visual adaptions to their specific light conditions. CONCLUSIONS: This study suggests that the widespread nocturnality of extant birds has a deep evolutionary origin tracing back to their common ancestor.

Convergent evolution of bird-mammal shared characteristics for adapting to nocturnality.

The diapsid lineage (birds) and synapsid lineage (mammals), share a suite of functionally similar characteristics (e.g. endothermy) that are considered to be a result of their convergent evolution, but the candidate selections leading to this convergent evolution are still under debate. Here, we used a newly developed molecular phyloecological approach to reconstruct the diel activity pattern of the common ancestors of living birds. Our results strongly suggest that they had adaptations to nocturnality during their early evolution, which is remarkably similar to that of ancestral mammals. Given their similar adaptation to nocturnality, we propose that the shared traits in birds and mammals may have partly evolved as a result of the convergent evolution of their early ancestors adapting to ecological factors (e.g. low ambient temperature) associated with nocturnality. Finally, a conceptually unifying ecological model on the evolution of endothermy in diverse organisms with an emphasis on low ambient temperature is proposed. We reason that endothermy may evolve as an adaptive strategy to enable organisms to effectively implement various life-cycle activities under relatively low-temperature environments. In particular, a habitat shift from high-temperature to relatively low-temperature environments is identified as a common factor underlying the evolution of endothermy.

Nutrition, Physical Exercise, and the Prevalence of Sarcopenia in Elderly Residents in Nursing Homes in China.

BACKGROUND This study aimed to investigate the factors associated with sarcopenia in elderly residents in three nursing homes in Suzhou City, East China including the association with nutrition and physical exercise. MATERIAL AND METHODS Elderly residents (n=316) from three nursing homes included 112 men and 204 women. The appendicular skeletal muscle index (ASMI), grip strength, and movements were measured to diagnose sarcopenia. The correlation between sarcopenia with age, sex, body mass index (BMI), ASMI, upper arm circumference, calf circumference, muscle content, grip strength, dietary intake, degree and duration of movement were also assessed. RESULTS The prevalence of sarcopenia was 28.8% (30.4% for men and 27.9% for women). Patients with sarcopenia were older compared with controls. Height, BMI, upper arm circumference, calf circumference and arm muscle mass, lower limb muscle mass, limb skeletal muscle index and ASMI, grip strength, and pace of movement were lower than controls. The prevalence of sarcopenia correlated with the intake of meat, fish, eggs, and milk, and duration of weekly aerobic and resistance exercise. Logistic regression analysis showed a positive correlation between the prevalence of sarcopenia and age, and a negative correlation between BMI and consumption of meat, eggs, and milk. CONCLUSIONS The prevalence of sarcopenia in elderly residents in three nursing homes in Suzhou City was 28.8%. Increasing age was a risk factor for sarcopenia. Increased BMI and a diet containing meat, eggs, and milk were protective factors. The findings from this study provide support that adequate dietary protein can prevent sarcopenia in the elderly.

Ground-based synchronous optical instrument for measuring atmospheric visibility and turbulence intensity: theories, design and experiments.

Atmospheric visibility and turbulence are important meteorological factors in light propagation and optical communication, air quality prediction, and climate environment model. They are often measured separately by the conventional instruments, but the interaction between aerosol (closely relate to visibility) and turbulence may potentially influence their measurement accuracy. In this paper, a novel instrument, the atmospheric visibility and turbulence optical meter (AVTOM), is developed to synchronously measure atmospheric visibility and turbulence intensity through a transmission method. The atmospheric visibility is measured by the extinction principle whereas the turbulence intensity is measured by the light intensity flicker principle. We validated the measurement results by comparing them to other two conventional instruments in July 2017, at Nanjing, in southeast China. They agree well with the relative differences of 4.7% for the visibility and 3.5% for the turbulence intensity, respectively. We further demonstrated their dynamic changes under the different weather or aerosol loadings through the synchronous measurements, which may be associated with the aerosol-turbulence-interaction. Finally, we proposed a calibration method and discussed the measurement errors.

Genes involved in Beauveria bassiana infection to Galleria mellonella.

The ascomycete fungus Beauveria bassiana is a natural pathogen of hundreds of insect species and is commercially produced as an environmentally friendly mycoinsecticide. Many genes involved in fungal insecticide infection have been identified but few have been further explored. In this study, we constructed three transcriptomes of B. bassiana at 24, 48 and 72 h post infection of insect pests (BbI) or control (BbC). There were 3148, 3613 and 4922 genes differentially expressed at 24, 48 and 72 h post BbI/BbC infection, respectively. A large number of genes and pathways involved in infection were identified. To further analyze those genes, expression patterns across different infection stages (0, 12, 24, 36, 48, 60, 72 and 84 h) were studied using quantitative RT-PCR. This analysis showed that the infection-related genes could be divided into four patterns: highly expressed throughout the whole infection process (thioredoxin 1); highly expressed during early stages of infection but lowly expressed after the insect death (adhesin protein Mad1); lowly expressed during early infection but highly expressed after insect death (cation transporter, OpS13); or lowly expressed across the entire infection process (catalase protein). The data provide novel insights into the insect-pathogen interaction and help to uncover the molecular mechanisms involved in fungal infection of insect pests.

Evaluation of the Sysmex UF-1000i system as an alternative for the screening of genital tract inflammation in male infertility patients.

The number of white blood cell (WBC) in semen is an important indicator of genital tract inflammation in male infertility. The peroxidase assay is the recommended reference method for seminal WBC counting. However, it is time-consuming and may cause relatively heavy workload in daily routine. Meanwhile, the main component in the reagent of peroxidase test is harmful to human and the environment. In this study, we evaluated the analytical performance of the Sysmex UF-1000i that is a urine flow cytometer as a screening tool for genital tract infection in male infertility patients through the counting of seminal WBC. We examined 143 semen samples and compared the results of UF-1000i and manual microscopy. The intra-assay variability, stability and linearity studies were performed. The intravariability (CV %) of seminal WBC count by Sysmex UF-1000i was 2.34%-9.65%. The method of UF-1000i displayed a good agreement with the reference assay of manual microscopy, and the r value for correlation of seminal WBC count between UF-1000i and manual microscopy was over 0.999 (p < 0.001). The Sysmex UF-1000i is capable of producing reliable seminal WBC count consistent with that obtained by manual microscopy. It is a suitable alternative to the manual microscopy, thus reduces the workload.

Evaluation of hemoglobin A1c measurement from filter paper using high-performance liquid chromatography and immunoturbidimetric assay.

Glycated hemoglobin (HbA1c) measurement from whole blood (WB) samples is inconvenient for epidemic surveillance and self-monitoring of glycemic level. We evaluated HbA1c measurement from WB blotted on filter paper (FP), which can be easily transported to central laboratories, with high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) and immunoturbidimetric assay (ITA). WB was applied to Whatman filter paper. By using HPLC and WB samples as reference methods, these FP samples were evaluated on HPLC and ITA. Inter- and intra-assay variation, WB vs. FP agreement and sample stability at 20-25 °C and -70 °C were assessed by statistical analysis. Results showed that the coefficient of variation (CV, %) of FP samples for HPLC and ITA were 0.44-1.02% and 1.47-2.72%, respectively (intra-assay); 2.13-3.56% and 3.21-4.82%, respectively (inter-assay). The correlation of WB HPLC with FP analyzed using HPLC and ITA are both significant (p < 0.001). Sample stability showed that FP method up to 5 days at 20-25 °C and 5 weeks at -70 °C is accurate and reproducible. In conclusion, FP samples analyzed by HPLC and ITA can both provide an alternative to WB for HbA1c measurement, supporting the use of FP method in epidemic surveillance and healthcare units.

Gene expression and adaptive evolution of ZBED1 in the hibernating greater horseshoe bat (Rhinolophus ferrumequinum).

Mammalian hibernators experience physiological extremes, e.g. ischemia, muscle disuse and hypothermia, which are lethal to non-hibernators, implying the existence of underlying mechanisms that allow hibernators to withstand these physiological extremes. Increased cell proliferation is suggested to be such a strategy, but its molecular basis remains unknown. In this study, we characterized the expression pattern of ZBED1 (zinc finger, BED-type containing 1), a transcription factor that plays a crucial role in regulating cell proliferation, in five tissues of the greater horseshoe bat (Rhinolophus ferrumequinum) during pre-hibernation, deep hibernation and post-hibernation. Moreover, we investigated the ZBED1 genetic divergence from individuals with variable hibernation phenotypes that cover all three known mtDNA lineages of the species. Expression analyses showed that ZBED1 is overexpressed only in brain and skeletal muscle, not in the other three tissues, suggesting an increased cell proliferation in these two tissues during deep hibernation. Evolutionary analyses showed that ZBED1 sequences were clustered into two well-supported clades with each one dominated by hibernating and non-hibernating individuals, respectively. Positive selection analyses further showed some positively selected sites and a divergent selection pressure among hibernating and non-hibernating groups of R. ferrumequinum. Our results suggest that ZBED1 as a potential candidate gene that regulates cell proliferation for hibernators to face physiological extremes during hibernation.

Low Serum Total Bilirubin Concentration was Associated with Increased High Sensitive C Reactive Protein Level in Patients with Impaired Glucose Tolerance and Type 2 Diabetes Mellitus Subjects.

BACKGROUND: Serum total bilirubin (TB) has been recognized as a potent endogenous antioxidant under physiological conditions, and serum high sensitive C reactive protein (hs-CRP) is the most commonly used marker which reflects activation of systemic inflammation in the body. The study investigated the association between these two indicators and further evaluated the anti-inflammatory effects of bilirubin and its clinical significance in impaired glucose tolerance (IGT) and type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) individuals. METHODS: A group of 94 patients with T2DM, 68 persons with IGT, and 62 age and gender matched healthy control subjects were recruited. The serum TB, hs-CRP concentrations, carotid artery intima-media thickness (C-IMT), and other biochemical indicators were measured. The association between serum TB, hs-CRP concentrations, and C-IMT were investigated using Spearman's correlation test. The influence of analyzed parameters including the age, gender, serum TB, and hs-CRP, etc. in IGT and T2DM was assessed by binary logistic regression analyses. RESULTS: The serum TB level decreased significantly in patients of IGT and T2DM (p < 0.01) and serum hs-CRP concentrations were significantly increased in IGT and T2DM (p < 0.01) compared with healthy controls. Meanwhile, the serum TB levels was negatively correlated with serum hs-CRP (P < 0.05) and C-IMT (P < 0.05) in IGT and T2DM. Logistic regression analysis showed that the serum TB was a protective factor (OR = 0.852, P = 0.045) and serum hs-CRP was a risk factor (OR = 2.010, P = 0.006) for IGT and T2DM. CONCLUSIONS: Lower serum TB is associated with enhancement of the inflammatory response in IGT and T2DM. The serum TB may play a crucial role in inflammatory by contributing to inhibit the inflammation effect.

Enhancing the Mechanical Properties and Water Permeability of Pervious Planting Concrete: A Study on Additives and Plant Growth.

Pervious planting concrete (PPC) is in line with the concept of ecological environmental protection. However, due to its own porous structure, it is difficult to obtain excellent mechanical properties and water permeability at the same time, which hinders its promotion and application. In this paper, natural gravel (NG), ordinary Portland cement (OPC), polyvinyl alcohol latex powder (PVAP) and polycarboxylate superplasticizer (PS) were used to prepare the PPC, and its mechanical properties and water permeability were studied. Three kinds of plants were planted in the PPC and their planting properties were studied. At the same time, the effect of Bacillus on the planting properties was studied. The results show that when the water-binder ratio (W/B) was 0.28 and the PVAP content was 0.8%, both the mechanical properties and water permeability of the PPC were optimal. The compressive strength and permeability coefficient were 14.2 MPa and 14.48 mm/s, respectively. The mechanical properties and water permeability of PPC prepared with 10~20 mm NG were better than those prepared with 5~10 mm NG. Among the three plants, the germination rate and growth of Elymus dahuricus Turcz (EDT) were the best. The incorporation of Bacillus can optimize its planting properties and promote the effective combination between plants and the PPC substrate.

Lower serum AMH concentration is correlated with serum IgG1 decreased in the infertile woman: A real-world retrospective study.

OBJECTIVES: In this real-world approach, we examined the serum Anti-Mullerian Hormone (AMH) level and the relationship with serum IgG subclass in the infertile women. METHODS: A total of 574 female participants were recruited for this study. The serum AMH, IgG subclass(IgG1, IgG2, IgG3, IgG4) and immunoglobulin (Ig) G、IgM、IgA、IgE as well as complement C3, C4 were analyzed. The difference in serum AMH level was assessed according categorized as above or below the median of the ratio of serum IgG subclass(IgG1, IgG2, IgG3, IgG4) to total IgG (RIgG subclass/IgG). RESULTS: The serum AMH level of the low RIgG1/IgG group is significantly decreased than that high RIgG1/IgG group (p < 0.05). The Spearman correlation analysis showed that the serum AMH level was significantly negatively correlated with age and significantly positively correlated with serum IgG1 levels respectively (p < 0.05). GLMMs multivariate model showed that after adjusting the covariate and possible mixed factors including age, serum immunoglobulin, complement C3 and C4, the serum AMH level was significantly positively correlated with IgG1 level (p < 0.01). CONCLUSIONS: Decreased serum IgG1 may significantly affect the ovarian reserve function of women. Confirmation of this association and elucidation of its underlying mechanisms are needed to place these results in a clinical perspective.

Effect of Sodium Gluconate on Properties and Microstructure of Ultra-High-Performance Concrete (UHPC).

The properties of concrete can be significantly affected by sodium gluconate (SG) at very small dosages. In this paper, the effects of SG on the fluidity, setting time, heat of hydration, and strength of ultra-high-performance concrete (UHPC) were studied. The results show that (1) in the plastic stage, SG inhibited the formation of early ettringite (AFt) and delayed the hydration of tricalcium silicate (C3S) and dicalcium silicate (C2S). SG increased the initial fluidity of UHPC without decreasing within 1 h. When the SG dosage was ≥0.06%, the slumps at 30 min and 60 min increased slightly. (2) In the setting hardening stage, the addition of SG inhibited the formation of calcium hydroxide (CH), which significantly extended the setting time of UHPC. When the dosage of SG was 0.15%, the initial and final setting times were 5.0 times and 4.5 times that of the blank group, respectively. SG had no obvious effect on the hydration rate of cement in the accelerated period, but the peak hydration temperature of UHPC was increased when the SG dosage was 0.03~0.12%. (3) In the strength development stage, the 1 d and 3 d strength of UHPC decreased significantly with the increase in the SG dosage. However, SG could promote the formation of AFt at the pores and aggregate interface in the later stage, reduce the porosity of cementite, and improve the compressive strength of UHPC in 28 d, 60 d, and 90 d. When the SG dosage was 0.12%, the 90d strength increased by 13%.

Differences in particulate matter retention and leaf microstructures of 10 plants in different urban environments in Lanzhou City.

Particulate matter (PM) is a major primary environmental air pollutant and poses a threat to human health. Differences in the environment and leaf microstructures of plants will result in varying abilities to retain PM, but the effects of changes in these factors on PM retention are not yet well understood. This study selected 10 plant species in four urban areas (sports field, park, residential green space, and greenway) as the study objects. The amount of retained PM by the different species was measured, and the leaf microstructures were observed. It was found that the environment significantly affected both PM retention and leaf microstructure. The ranking of PM retention in the 10 species in four areas was greenway > residential green space > park > sports field. The ranking of average stomatal width and length was park > sports field > residential green space > greenway, while that of average stomatal density was greenway > residential green space > park > sports field. Different environments affected the length and density of trichomes in the leaves. These changes represented the adaptation of plant species to the growth environment. The stomata and grooves of the leaf surface significantly affected the ability of plants to retain PM. The amount of PM retained by different species varied. In all four urban areas, Prunus × cistena N. E. Hansen ex Koehne (purple leaf sand cherry), Prunus cerasifera Ehrhart f. atropurpurea (Jacq.) Rehd. (cherry plum), Buxus sinica var. parvifolia M. Cheng (common boxwood), and Ligustrum × vicaryi Rehder (golden privet) showed strong PM retention. The results of this study will provide information for planners and urban managers for the selection of plant species.