scholarly journals Analysing the Severity of Coronavirus Infection in Air Pollution: Evidence-Based Study From Saudi Arabia

Author(s):  
Abdulnoor Ali Jazem Ghanim

Abstract COVID-19 has been considered as one of the major global pandemic which has caused different health problems by affecting the majority of the population throughout the world. Several studies have evolved the concerns of air pollution being considered as a major risk factor causing respiratory infection that are carried out by microorganisms which further affects the immunity system of the body. The present study involves the relationship between the air pollutants and COVID-19 total infection along with estimation of death rates in the several regions of Saudi Arabia. The major goal of this study comprises the analysis of the relationship between air pollutants concentration such as (PM10, NO2, CO, SO2 and O3) and COVID-19 wide outbreak, concerning the transmission, number of patients, critical cases and death rates . The results show that the estimation of COVID-19 cases were highest in number recorded in the most polluted regions, the mortality rate and critical cases were also more distinct in these regions more than other regions in Saudi Arabia. The finding of this study shows a positive correlation between mean PM 10, NO2, CO and SO2 pollutants. The results represent the significant relationship between air pollution resulting from high concentration of NO2 and COVID-19 infection and deaths. Null hypothesis of the relation between other pollutants and COVID-19 infection couldn’t be rejected. The study also indicates significant correlation between mean NO2 and CO and total number of critical cases, and negative correlations were obtained between Mean O3 and total number of cases, total deaths and critical case per cumulative days.

2021 ◽  
Vol 22 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Rui Zhang ◽  
Yujie Meng ◽  
Hejia Song ◽  
Ran Niu ◽  
Yu Wang ◽  
...  

Abstract Background Although exposure to air pollution has been linked to many health issues, few studies have quantified the modification effect of temperature on the relationship between air pollutants and daily incidence of influenza in Ningbo, China. Methods The data of daily incidence of influenza and the relevant meteorological data and air pollution data in Ningbo from 2014 to 2017 were retrieved. Low, medium and high temperature layers were stratified by the daily mean temperature with 25th and 75th percentiles. The potential modification effect of temperature on the relationship between air pollutants and daily incidence of influenza in Ningbo was investigated through analyzing the effects of air pollutants stratified by temperature stratum using distributed lag non-linear model (DLNM). Stratified analysis by sex and age were also conducted. Results Overall, a 10 μg/m3 increment of O3, PM2.5, PM10 and NO2 could increase the incidence risk of influenza with the cumulative relative risk of 1.028 (95% CI 1.007, 1.050), 1.061 (95% CI 1.004, 1.122), 1.043 (95% CI 1.003, 1.085), and 1.118 (95% CI 1.028, 1.216), respectively. Male and aged 7–17 years were more sensitive to air pollutants. Through the temperature stratification analysis, we found that temperature could modify the impacts of air pollution on daily incidence of influenza with high temperature exacerbating the impact of air pollutants. At high temperature layer, male and the groups aged 0–6 years and 18–64 years were more sensitive to air pollution. Conclusion Temperature modified the relationship between air pollution and daily incidence of influenza and high temperature would exacerbate the effects of air pollutants in Ningbo.


2014 ◽  
Vol 30 (1) ◽  
pp. 119-125 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mateus Habermann ◽  
Míriam Souza ◽  
Rogério Prado ◽  
Nelson Gouveia

Air pollution is a leading public health concern. In addition, poor populations have been reported as showing increased exposure to such pollution. The current study thus aimed to evaluate the socioeconomic status of the population exposed to vehicle-related air pollution in the city of São Paulo, Brazil. The study used data from the 2010 Census on head-of-household’s mean monthly income and the percentage of households connected to the sewage system. Exposure to air pollutants was estimated according to traffic density in the census tract plus a 200m surrounding buffer. The relationship between exposure and socioeconomic variables was analyzed by the Kruskal-Wallis test. Exposure increased with increasing socioeconomic status (p < 0.001). The population with the highest socioeconomic status lives in the most polluted areas of the city. However, place of residence alone is not capable of measuring exposure. The study suggests that future epidemiological studies include other indicators of vulnerability.


2010 ◽  
Vol 8 (4) ◽  
pp. 867-876 ◽  
Author(s):  
Akemi Shibuya ◽  
Jansen Zuanon ◽  
Maria Lúcia G. de Araújo ◽  
Sho Tanaka

The relationship between the distribution of the lateral line canals and their functionality has not been well examined in elasmobranchs, especially among Neotropical freshwater stingrays of the family Potamotrygonidae. The spatial distribution of the canals and their tubules and the quantification of the neuromasts were analyzed in preserved specimens of Potamotrygon motoro, P. orbignyi, Potamotrygon sp. "cururu", and Paratrygon aiereba from the middle Negro River, Amazonas, Brazil. The hyomandibular, infraorbital, posterior lateral line, mandibular, nasal and supraorbital canals were characterized and their pores and neuromasts quantified. The ventral canals are known to facilitate the accurate localization of prey items under the body, and our results indicate that the dorsal canals may be employed in identifying the presence of predators or potential prey positioned above the stingray's body. The presence of non-pored canals in the ventral region may be compensated by the high concentration of neuromasts found in the same area, which possibly allow the accurate detection of mechanical stimuli. The concentration of non-pored canals near the mouth indicates their importance in locating and capturing prey buried in the bottom substrate, possibly aided by the presence of vesicles of Savi.


UNICIÊNCIAS ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 24 (2) ◽  
pp. 195-200
Author(s):  
Dayane Dos Santos Souza Magalhães ◽  
Leticia Rosa Espírito Santo de Freitas ◽  
Maria Amélia Dos Santos Peres Santos Souza ◽  
Vander Fernandes ◽  
Walkiria Shimoya-Bittencourt ◽  
...  

A artrite reumatoide é uma doença inflamatória, crônica, autoimune, sistêmica e progressiva com etiologia ainda desconhecida, que causa danos progressivos ao sistema musculoesquelético. Esta doença atinge aproximadamente 0,5% a 1% da população mundial, predomina no sexo feminino e acomete todas as faixas etárias com maior prevalência entre 40-60 anos. A atividade da doença é avaliada pelo Índice de Atividade da Doença (DAS28) analisando 28 articulações. Estudos demonstram que a poluição atmosférica está associada aos agravos à saúde humana e à perda de qualidade de vida. Este estudo teve como objetivo relatar o papel da poluição atmosférica na artrite reumatoide, através de uma revisão narrativa de literatura, a partir das bases de dados PubMed e Scielo. Incluíram-se artigos nos idiomas inglês e português publicados em periódicos, nacionais e internacionais, acerca da temática da pesquisa. A relação entre o desenvolvimento da AR e diferentes poluentes atmosféricos foi analisada em diversos estudos, que demostraram associação entre diferentes poluentes atmosféricos e o desenvolvimento da doença, no entanto, nenhum estudo publicado até a data atual, avaliou a relação com a exacerbação da atividade da doença.   Palavras-chave: Artrite Reumatoide. Poluição do Ar. Doenças Autoimunes.   Abstract Rheumatoid arthritis is an inflammatory, chronic, autoimmune, systemic and progressive disease with a still unknown etiology that causes progressive damage to the musculoskeletal system. This disease affects approximately 0.5% to 1% of the world population, predominates in females and affects all age groups with a higher prevalence between 40-60 years. The disease activity is assessed by the Disease Activity Index (DAS28) analyzing 28 joints. Studies show that air pollution is associated with damage to human health and loss of quality of life. This study aimed to report the role of air pollution in rheumatoid arthritis, through a literature narrative review, using the PubMed and Scielo databases. Articles in English and Portuguese published in national and international journals about the research theme were included. The relationship between the RA development and different air pollutants has been analyzed in several studies, which showed an association between different air pollutants and the development of the disease, however, no study published to date has evaluated the relationship with the disease activity exacerbation.   Keywords: Rheumatoid Arthritis. Air Pollution. Autoimmune Diseases.    


2017 ◽  
Vol 86 (1) ◽  
pp. 22-23
Author(s):  
Josiah Marquis ◽  
Meriem Benlamri ◽  
Elizabeth Dent ◽  
Tharmitha Suyeshkumar

Almost half of the Canadian landscape is made up of forests, but the amount of forest surface area burned every year has been growing steadily since 1960.1 This can be problematic due to the effects that forest fires have not only on the local environment but also on the globe as a whole. A forest fire or vegetation fire is defined as any open fire of vegetation such as savannah, forest, agriculture, or peat that is initiated by humans or nature.2 Vegetation fires contribute heavily to air pollution and climate change and are in turn exacerbated by them as well. Air pollution increases due to emissions from these fires, which contain 90-95% carbon dioxide and carbon monoxide as well as methane and other volatile compounds.2 Emissions from forest fires also contribute to global greenhouse gases and aerosol particles (biomass burning organic aerosols),2 leading to indirect and direct consequences to human health. In contrast to biomass burning for household heating and cooking, catastrophic events of forest fires and sweeping grassland fires result in unique exposures and health consequences. In this case report, the relationship between environmental hazardous air pollutants and the potential physiological and psychological health effects associated with the forest fire that affected Fort McMurray, AB in May 2016 are considered.


Author(s):  
Marcello Vultaggio ◽  
Daniela Varrica ◽  
Maria Grazia Alaimo

At the end of 2019, the first cases of coronavirus disease (COVID-19) were reported in Wuhan, China. Thereafter, the number of infected people increased rapidly, and the outbreak turned into a national crisis, with infected individuals all over the country. The COVID-19 global pandemic produced extreme changes in human behavior that affected air quality. Human mobility and production activities decreased significantly, and many regions recorded significant reductions in air pollution. The goal of our investigation was to evaluate the impact of the COVID-19 lockdown on the concentrations of the main air pollutants in the urban area of Palermo (Italy). In this study, the trends in the average concentrations of CO, NO2, O3, and PM10 in the air from 1 January 2020 to 31 July 2020 were compared with the corresponding average values detected at the same monitoring stations in Palermo during the previous five years (2015–2019). During the lockdown period (10 March–30 April), we observed a decrease in the concentrations of CO, NO2, and particulate matter (PM)10, calculated to be about 51%, 50%, and 45%, respectively. This confirms that air pollution in an urban area is predominantly linked to vehicular traffic.


2020 ◽  
Vol 35 (Supplement_3) ◽  
Author(s):  
Laura Rosales Merlo ◽  
Fansan Zhu ◽  
Peter Kotanko

Abstract Background and Aims Bioimpedance spectroscopy (BIS) has been widely applied to measure fluid volume in dialysis patients. A fundamentally important, yet unanswered question is how changes in fluid conductivity affects the accuracy of BIS measurements. The aim of this study was to investigate whether the change in intraperitoneal volume (IPV) is – as hypothesized - linearly correlated with the change in dialysate conductivity during a peritoneal equilibrium test (PET). Method Four PD patients (age 58±13 years, three males, weight 87.8±28 kg) were studied during a standard PET. Segmental BIS was continuously measured with eight electrodes placed between rib and buttock on both sides of the body using a Hydra 4200 (Xitron Technologies Inc ). IPV was calculated based on BIS recordings as recently published (Zhu, Kidney Blood Press Res 2019;44:1465–1475). Dialysate samples were collected hourly from baseline to the end of dwell. Dialysate conductivity was measured with a portable conductivity meter (CDH-280-KIT, Omega Engineering Inc, CT, USA). Results In all patients dialysate conductivity increased significantly (p&lt;0.0001) from baseline (11.14±0.15 mS/cm) to the end of dwell (12.5±0.58 mS/cm) (Fig a). In 2 patients (Fig b and c) IPV and conductivity were linearly correlated; in one patient (Fig d) the relationship was nonlinear and absent in another one (Fig e). Conclusion Although the number of patients in this study was small, the results clearly indicated that dialysate conductivity increased linearly over time during PET. The correlation between dialysate conductivity and IPV is not linear and may be driven by other factors, such as dialysate electrolyte levels. In future studies measurements of dialysate electrolytes are necessary to better understand the drivers of the IPV / conductivity relationship.


1956 ◽  
Vol 48 (2) ◽  
pp. 194-209 ◽  
Author(s):  
K. L. Blaxter ◽  
J. A. F. Rook

1. Methods of estimating water retention in the body of cattle are discussed, and it is shown that methods based on determinations of the initial and final body-water content are of low accuracy and are not suitable for the indirect estimation of fat balance over a period of 24 days.2. Analyses of tissues from young and adult cattle showed that with the exception of serum, brain, skin and bone, water content of the tissues may be predicted from the following equation:Water(g./100g.) = 0·292 Na(mg./100g.) + 0·147 K(mg./100g.).This equation shows that 1 m.equiv. of the Na of tissues is associated with more water than is 1 m.equiv. of the K.3. No differences between cattle aged from less than 1 week to more than 5 years were observed in the relationship between water and Na and K content.4. The equation applied also to the contents of the digestive tract, other than those of the abomasum which gave low results, ascribed to the presence of a high concentration of H+ ions.5. Analyses of whole foetuses for Na, K and H2O showed that their water content could be predicted accurately. The same was true of amniotic fluid, but the water content of allantoic fluid was underestimated by 50%.6. It was shown that despite the anomalous behaviour of brain, serum, skin and bone, accurate predictions of the water content of the animal could be made from simultaneous determinations of Na and K retentions, providing a correction was made for the storage of bound Na in bone.7. Data are presented which indicate that the equations apply equally well to the tissues of the sheep.


PLoS Medicine ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 18 (8) ◽  
pp. e1003767
Author(s):  
Xiang Li ◽  
Mengying Wang ◽  
Yongze Song ◽  
Hao Ma ◽  
Tao Zhou ◽  
...  

Background Air pollution has been related to incidence of type 2 diabetes (T2D). We assessed the joint association of various air pollutants with the risk of T2D and examined potential modification by obesity status and genetic susceptibility on the relationship. Methods and findings A total of 449,006 participants from UK Biobank free of T2D at baseline were included. Of all the study population, 90.9% were white and 45.7% were male. The participants had a mean age of 56.6 (SD 8.1) years old and a mean body mass index (BMI) of 27.4 (SD 4.8) kg/m2. Ambient air pollutants, including particulate matter (PM) with diameters ≤2.5 μm (PM2.5), between 2.5 μm and 10 μm (PM2.5–10), nitrogen oxide (NO2), and nitric oxide (NO) were measured. An air pollution score was created to assess the joint exposure to the 4 air pollutants. During a median of 11 years follow-up, we documented 18,239 incident T2D cases. The air pollution score was significantly associated with a higher risk of T2D. Compared to the lowest quintile of air pollution score, the hazard ratio (HR) (95% confidence interval [CI]) for T2D was 1.05 (0.99 to 1.10, p = 0.11), 1.06 (1.00 to 1.11, p = 0.051), 1.09 (1.03 to 1.15, p = 0.002), and 1.12 (1.06 to 1.19, p < 0.001) for the second to fifth quintile, respectively, after adjustment for sociodemographic characteristics, lifestyle factors, genetic factors, and other covariates. In addition, we found a significant interaction between the air pollution score and obesity status on the risk of T2D (p-interaction < 0.001). The observed association was more pronounced among overweight and obese participants than in the normal-weight people. Genetic risk score (GRS) for T2D or obesity did not modify the relationship between air pollution and risk of T2D. Key study limitations include unavailable data on other potential T2D-related air pollutants and single-time measurement on air pollutants. Conclusions We found that various air pollutants PM2.5, PM2.5–10, NO2, and NO, individually or jointly, were associated with an increased risk of T2D in the population. The stratified analyses indicate that such associations were more strongly associated with T2D risk among those with higher adiposity.


2020 ◽  
Vol 20 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Lu Jia ◽  
Qing Liu ◽  
Huiqing Hou ◽  
Guangli Guo ◽  
Ting Zhang ◽  
...  

Abstract Background Ambient air pollution is becoming a serious environmental problem in China. The results were inconsistent on that air pollution was a risk factor of preeclampsia in pregnancy. Methods Total 116,042 pregnant women were enrolled from 22 hospitals in 10 cities of Hebei Province, China from January 1, 2015 to December 31, 2017. The parturients were divided into preeclampsia group (PE group) and non-preeclampsia group (non-PE group). The data of air pollutants, namely, particulate matter (PM)2.5, PM10, NO2, SO2, CO, O3 were collected from China Environmental Inspection Station. Results Among the 116,042 pregnant women, 2988 (2.57%) pregnant women were diagnosed with preeclampsia. The concentrations of exposed PM2.5, PM10, NO2 and O3 in the PE group were significantly higher than those in the non-PE group, and they were risk factors of the PE group in the first and second trimester of pregnancy respectively. The concentrations of exposed SO2 and CO in PE patients and non-PE women were not different, but high concentration of these air pollutants were risk factors to PE in the second trimester. Conclusion The exposure to PM2.5, PM10, NO2, O3 were risk factors for preeclampsia in the first and second trimester of pregnancy, while only at high level, SO2 and CO were risk factors for preeclampsia in the second trimester of pregnancy.


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