Article
Environmental Sciences
Zhebin Yu, Xinli Mao, Mengling Tang, Yi Chen, Mengyin Wu, Mingjuan Jin, Jianbing Wang, Lei Xu, Guoliang Ye, Jin Ding, Bin Ye, Dongya Chen, Yu Chen, Xia Chen, Xiancang Sheng, Hongzhang Li, Qiang Chen, Xiaosheng Teng, Qiulong Ding, Haideng Yang, Zhe Shen, Kun Chen, Chaohui Yu
Summary: Exposure to PM2.5 is positively associated with peptic ulcer diseases (PUDs), with a stronger effect observed for duodenal ulcers than gastric ulcers. This association remains significant even after adjusting for other air pollutants.
Article
Environmental Sciences
Li Chen, Shuang Liang, Xiaoli Li, Jian Mao, Shuang Gao, Hui Zhang, Yanling Sun, Sverre Vedal, Zhipeng Bai, Zhenxing Ma, Haiyu, Merched Azzi
Summary: By integrating land use regression with Bayesian maximum entropy and incorporating national area variability LUR model and incomplete O-3 monitoring data, a hybrid LUR/BME model was developed for accurate predictions of O3 concentrations in mainland China with high spatio-temporal resolution.
SCIENCE OF THE TOTAL ENVIRONMENT
(2021)
Article
Environmental Sciences
Emeline Lequy, Caroline Meyer, Danielle Vienneau, Claudine Berr, Marcel Goldberg, Marie Zins, Sebastien Leblond, Kees de Hoogh, Benedicte Jacquemin
Summary: Despite the potential health risks, the exposure of the general population to airborne metals has been poorly estimated. This study adapted passive moss biomonitoring to urban areas to develop fine concentration maps for several metals. The results showed that moss biomonitoring in cemeteries proves efficient for obtaining airborne metal exposures in urban areas for the most common metals.
ENVIRONMENTAL POLLUTION
(2022)
Article
Environmental Sciences
Xichi Zhang, Anke Huels, Robert Makuch, Aifen Zhou, Tao Zheng, Wei Xia, Audrey Gaskins, Jad Makuch, Zhou Zhu, Cairong Zhu, Zhengmin Qian, Shunqing Xu, Yuanyuan Li
Summary: This study found that higher ambient PM2.5 exposure during the first trimester of pregnancy was significantly associated with decreased maternal serum FT4 concentrations and FT4/FT3 ratio, while there was no significant association between PM10 exposure and maternal thyroid function. Further studies in populations with different exposure levels are needed to validate these findings.
ENVIRONMENTAL RESEARCH
(2022)
Article
Engineering, Environmental
Conghong Huang, Jianlin Hu, Tao Xue, Hao Xu, Meng Wang
Summary: The study established a hybrid spatiotemporal modeling framework for PM2.5 in China, incorporating various predictor variables and advanced machine learning methods, to accurately assess long-term and short-term PM2.5 concentrations nationally and at city scales. The model performed well with high spatial and temporal cross-validation R-squared values, and the downscaled predictions significantly improved the spatial variation of PM2.5 concentrations at the city scale. The framework and dataset generated in this study could be valuable for PM2.5 exposure assessment and epidemiological studies.
ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY
(2021)
Article
Environmental Sciences
Alexander Harper, Philip N. Baker, Yinyin Xia, Tao Kuang, Hua Zhang, Yingxin Chen, Ting-Li Han, John Gulliver
Summary: Limited research has been conducted in Asia on the association of maternal exposure to ambient air pollution and adverse pregnancy outcomes such as low birth weight and preterm birth. This study aimed to develop spatiotemporal land use regression models for PM2.5 and NO2 in Chongqing, China, and use these models to estimate exposure in a randomized trial. The PM2.5 model showed good predictive ability, recommended for predicting absolute exposure, while the NO2 model is suitable for relative ranking of exposures.
ATMOSPHERIC POLLUTION RESEARCH
(2021)
Article
Environmental Sciences
Rahul Kumar, Sangeet Adhikari, Erin M. Driver, Ted Smith, Aruni Bhatnagar, Pawel K. Lorkiewicz, Zhengzhi Xie, J. David Hoetker, Rolf U. Halden
Summary: This study investigates the feasibility of detecting urinary biomarkers of volatile organic compounds (VOCs) exposure in community wastewater. The results show the presence of various metabolites related to chemical exposure, with community 1 having higher detections and VOC loadings, which are associated with manufacturing activities and vehicle emissions.
SCIENCE OF THE TOTAL ENVIRONMENT
(2022)
Review
Environmental Sciences
Vikram Singh, Kapil Kumar Meena, Amit Agarwal
Summary: Air pollution exposure is highest during travel, especially in open transport modes. Pedestrians and cyclists are most affected due to their higher respiration rates and proximity to streets. Exposure to air pollution can lead to both short-term and long-term changes in travel behavior, with many developing nations lacking sufficient research in this area.
Article
Environmental Studies
Yuxin Wang, Yizheng Wu, Zhenyu Li, Kai Liao, Chao Li, Guohua Song
Summary: This study investigates the potential negative health burden of active travel due to air pollution exposure in China. It proposes a low-exposure route planning method based on pollutant concentration, trip purpose, and travelers' demographic characteristics. The study finds that exposure varies throughout the day and seasons in certain areas due to traffic, coal usage, and meteorology. Results show that exercising travelers may avoid a significant portion of exposure by choosing low-exposure routes with long detours. However, middle-aged and elderly travelers may still experience higher exposure compared to younger travelers even when taking low-exposure routes. These findings highlight the importance of considering health equity in transportation investment and policies.
TRANSPORTATION RESEARCH PART D-TRANSPORT AND ENVIRONMENT
(2022)
Article
Environmental Sciences
Nan Jiang, Ling Qi, Beibei Wang, Suzhen Cao, Limin Wang, Bin Zou, Kai Zhang, Ning Qin, Xiaoli Duan
Summary: This study was the first national large-scale research on traffic activity patterns in China, providing basic data for traffic exposure and health risk research, and serving as the basis for the formulation of transportation-related policies by the state.
JOURNAL OF EXPOSURE SCIENCE AND ENVIRONMENTAL EPIDEMIOLOGY
(2023)
Article
Multidisciplinary Sciences
Valerie J. Karplus, Mengying Wu
Summary: This study evaluates the impact of rotating inspections conducted by the Chinese central government from 2016 to 2017 in response to the country's air pollution crisis on the environmental performance of targeted cities and coal power plants. The findings show that during inspections, sulfur dioxide (SO2) concentrations at coal power plants in targeted cities were significantly lower compared to cities that were not yet inspected, but these levels reverted once the inspections ended. Additionally, SO2 pollution increased more quickly at state-owned plants accountable to the central government after the inspections, compared to state-owned plants accountable to the local government.
PROCEEDINGS OF THE NATIONAL ACADEMY OF SCIENCES OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA
(2023)
Article
Computer Science, Interdisciplinary Applications
Meng Lu, Oliver Schmitz, Kees de Hoogh, Gerard Hoek, Qirui Li, Derek Karssenberg
Summary: A model combining statistical and agent-based modeling is proposed to assess long-term and large-population exposure to air pollution by treating mobility-related variables as random variables. Probability distributions for these variables are estimated or derived from mobility datasets. An exposure model is implemented on top of the activity model, using hourly air pollution maps for exposure assessment.
ENVIRONMENTAL MODELLING & SOFTWARE
(2022)
Article
Environmental Sciences
Hyung Joo Lee, Yang Liu, Robert B. Chat
Summary: This study used TROPOMI data and land use information to estimate long-term average ambient NO2 concentrations in California for the years 2018-2019 at a spatial resolution of 500 m. The satellite-land use regression model achieved high predictive power with a cross-validation R2 of 0.76 and low errors in comparison with measured NO2 concentrations. The study also found that the representativeness of ground NO2 monitors varied across counties in California and identified specific property types associated with high NO2 concentrations.
SCIENCE OF THE TOTAL ENVIRONMENT
(2023)
Article
Environmental Studies
Hui Zhong, Rui Xu, Hongliang Lu, Yonghong Liu, Meixin Zhu
Summary: This study presents a method for obtaining high-resolution spatiotemporal distributions of population and their exposure to traffic-related PM2.5 in Guangzhou, China. The results indicate population density hotspots and reveal that low-income individuals and rural-urban migrants have higher exposure to PM2.5 compared to commuters in enclosed cabins. These findings emphasize the urgent need to mitigate the negative impacts of traffic-related PM2.5 on public health.
TRANSPORTATION RESEARCH PART D-TRANSPORT AND ENVIRONMENT
(2023)
Article
Multidisciplinary Sciences
Siqi Ma, Daniel Q. Tong
Summary: This study presents a groundbreaking effort to map anthropogenic emissions of air pollutants in the contiguous United States at a spatial resolution of 1 km. The dataset, known as Neighborhood Emission Mapping Operation (NEMO), provides hourly emissions based on the United States Environmental Protection Agency National Emission Inventories 2017. This dataset allows for fine-scale air quality modeling, air pollution exposure assessment, and environmental justice studies.
Article
Virology
Zhanwei Du, Huaping Hong, Shuqi Wang, Lijia Ma, Caifen Liu, Yuan Bai, Dillon C. Adam, Linwei Tian, Lin Wang, Eric H. Y. Lau, Benjamin J. Cowling
Summary: This study conducted a systematic review and estimated the reproduction number of the Omicron variant, finding that it has a higher effective reproduction number compared to the Delta variant.
Article
Immunology
Zhanwei Du, Linwei Tian, Dong-Yan Jin
Summary: This study examines the impact of mass rapid antigen tests (RAT) and the StayHomeSafe scheme in Hong Kong's response to the Omicron variant outbreak, and emphasizes the necessity of these measures. Results suggest that the implementation of RAT has played a role in reducing transmission and case fatality ratio, providing valuable insights for other regions and countries combating COVID-19.
EMERGING MICROBES & INFECTIONS
(2022)
Article
Environmental Sciences
Siqin Wang, Wenhui Cai, Yaguang Tao, Qian Chayn Sun, Paulina Pui Yun Wong, Witchuda Thongking, Xiao Huang
Summary: Our study extends the Social Ecological Theory by constructing a tri-environmental conceptual framework, and contributes to the first nationwide study of the relationship between heat-vulnerable chronic diseases and heatwaves in Australia. We utilize the random forest regression model to explore the importance of heatwaves and tri-environmental variables that contribute to the prevalence of six types of diseases. The overall effect of heatwaves on diseases varies across disease types and geographical contexts, while tri-environmental variables have a relatively larger impact.
JOURNAL OF ENVIRONMENTAL MANAGEMENT
(2023)
Review
Public, Environmental & Occupational Health
Emily Gemmell, Rachel Ramsden, Mariana Brussoni, Michael Brauer
Summary: Urban environments have a significant impact on young children's outdoor free play, influencing their physical, cognitive, social, and emotional development. This study examined the influence of urban or suburban built environments on outdoor free play in 0-6-year-olds, considering gender, culture, and geography. The findings showed that features of play spaces, routes, and social factors intersect to affect the availability, accessibility, and acceptability of neighborhoods for young children's outdoor free play across diverse cultural and geographic contexts. The study highlighted the importance of proximity to play spaces, protection from traffic, pedestrian-friendly environments, green and natural spaces, and opportunities for social interaction in supporting outdoor free play.
JOURNAL OF URBAN HEALTH-BULLETIN OF THE NEW YORK ACADEMY OF MEDICINE
(2023)
Review
Environmental Sciences
Shi Yin, Chao Ren, Yuan Shi, Junyi Hua, Hsiang-Yu Yuan, Lin-Wei Tian
Summary: This review summarizes the state-of-the-art modeling methods and influential factors in mapping dengue fever risk in urban settings. The findings suggest that big data sources and data-mining techniques are used to detect hot spots of dengue burden in urban areas, Bayesian approaches and machine learning algorithms are popular spatial modeling tools, climatic and built environmental factors are commonly used for prediction, and socio-economic data may better represent the spatial heterogeneity of risk or vulnerability in urban areas.
INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF ENVIRONMENTAL RESEARCH AND PUBLIC HEALTH
(2022)
Article
Environmental Sciences
So-Lun Lee, Yu-Lung Lau, Wilfred Hing-Sang Wong, Lin-Wei Tian
Summary: The study found an increase in the prevalence of wheezing, allergic rhinitis, and eczema among school-aged children across the surveys. The most important associated risk factor identified was the increased prevalence of a parental history of atopy.
INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF ENVIRONMENTAL RESEARCH AND PUBLIC HEALTH
(2022)
Article
Public, Environmental & Occupational Health
Carmen S. Ng, Minnie Au, Linwei Tian, Jianchao Quan
Summary: The alcohol tax reductions in Hong Kong were associated with increases in violence-related hospitalisations and reports of sexual assault in certain age groups, but not in others.
JOURNAL OF EPIDEMIOLOGY AND COMMUNITY HEALTH
(2023)
Article
Environmental Sciences
Siqin Wang, Wenhui Cai, Yaguang Tao, Qian Chayn Sun, Paulina Pui Yun Wong, Xiao Huang, Yan Liu
Summary: This study examines the combined effects of heat and air pollution on physical and mental health by employing a tri-environmental conceptual framework. The findings show that social and built environmental factors are more important than heat and air pollution in influencing health outcomes. The relationship between temperature and air quality follows a V-shaped pattern, reflecting different adaptation and tolerance levels. The study also identifies specific areas where heat and air pollution have significant impacts on health, providing policy implications for healthcare access and service distribution.
SCIENCE OF THE TOTAL ENVIRONMENT
(2023)
Article
Engineering, Environmental
Deepangsu Chatterjee, Erin E. McDuffie, Steven J. Smith, Liam Bindle, Aaron Van Donkelaar, Melanie S. Hammer, Chandra Venkataraman, Michael Brauer, Randall V. Martin
Summary: This study evaluates the contribution of emission sectors and fuels to fine particulate matter (PM2.5) in South Asia, finding that residential combustion, industry, and power generation are the primary contributors to PM2.5-related mortality. Solid biofuel is the leading combustible fuel contributing to PM2.5-attributable mortality, followed by coal and oil and gas. State-level analyses reveal higher contributions from residential combustion in states with high ambient PM2.5 levels. Reducing emissions from traditional energy sources across multiple sectors in South Asia can improve population health.
ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY
(2023)
Article
Multidisciplinary Sciences
Junling Gao, Xiaxia Yu, Guanghui Cao, Xiaoming He, Pingde Zhang, Joseph Walline, Yuanxi Wang, Xingjuan Yu, Jun Xu, Thuan-Quoc Thach, Yong Liu
Summary: There is a significant gap in the knowledge and practices of emergency physicians in China regarding tetanus immunization. The promotion of the 2018 Chinese tetanus guidelines is urgently needed to improve physicians' knowledge and competence in tetanus prophylaxis.
Article
Education & Educational Research
Paulina Pui Yun Wong, Gary Wai Chung Wong, Umawathy Techanamurthy, Wan Syukriah Binti Mohamad, Aderina Febriana, James Chit Ming Chong
Summary: This study analyzes the use of a mobile application for social learning in higher education. Students shared content and interacted with peers and instructors, leading to increased idea generation, creativity, and attention.
KNOWLEDGE MANAGEMENT & E-LEARNING-AN INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL
(2022)
Article
Environmental Studies
Anneleen Kenis, Benjamin Barratt
Summary: This paper examines the media frames surrounding air pollution in London from 1997 to 2017, highlighting how events framed in agonistic terms have increased media engagement with the issue. Through analysis of newspaper articles, it identifies five critical discourse periods and shows how certain moments of discourse, due to their agonising dimension, have sparked media attention.
ENVIRONMENT AND PLANNING C-POLITICS AND SPACE
(2022)
