Daily alcohol use covaries with daily concentration problems across the lifespan: Findings from the MIDUS Refresher

Alcohol use is typically associated with impaired cognitive functioning on tasks related to attention and concentration. However, it remains unclear whether these impairments persist across days in ways that are noticeable to the individual. We examined this using the daily diary project of the Midlife in the United States Refresher cohort. Participants (n=710; Mage=50.5; range 25-75) completed 8 nights of telephone-based diaries (Mdiaries=6.87) that included questions about daily alcohol use (“how many drinks did you have today?”) and five items assessing concentration (e.g., “today, did you have difficulty concentrating?”) rated on a scale (1=none of the time to 5=all of the time). Using autoregressive multilevel models, we examined how same and previous day alcohol use related to perceived difficulties with concentration. Greater total alcohol use over the diary period was related to reports of concentration problems (b=.31, SE=.10, p=.002) though current day (b=-.03, SE=.04, p=.49) and previous day alcohol use (b=.05, SE=.04, p=.23) were not. The association between previous day use and concentration problems was qualified by an interaction with total alcohol use (b=-.07, SE=.03, p=.002). Individuals who drank less alcohol in general, experienced greater perceived concentration problems following the days on which they did drink (b=.14, SE=.07, p=.03) relative to those who drank more alcohol across the diary period (b=-.04, SE=.04, p=.36). This relationship did not vary based on age, sex, or education. These results suggest that daily alcohol use could impair concentration across days, particularly for those adults who tend to consume less alcohol.

Impact of Exposure to Ambient Fine Particulate Matter Pollution on Adults with Knee Osteoarthritis

The impact of exposure to fine particulate matter (PM2.5) on the incidence of knee osteoarthritis is unclear, especially in Beijing which is a highly polluted city. We conducted a time-series study to examine the correlation between PM2.5 exposure and outpatient visits for knee osteoarthritis in Beijing. Changes (in percentage) in the number of outpatient visits corresponding to every 10-μg/m3 increase in the PM2.5 concentration were determined using a generalized additive quasi-Poisson model. There were records of 9,797,446 outpatient visits for knee osteoarthritis in the study period from 1 January 2010 to 31 December 2017. The daily concentration of PM2.5 was 86.8 (74.3) μg/m3 over this period. A 10-μg/m3 increase in PM2.5 concentrations on lag days 0–3 was associated with a 1.41% (95% confidence interval: 1.40–1.41%) increase in outpatient visits for knee osteoarthritis. Females and patients aged above 65 years were more sensitive to the adverse effects of PM2.5 exposure. The present findings demonstrate that short-term exposure to PM2.5 resulted in an increase in the number of outpatient visits for knee osteoarthritis in Beijing. The findings shed light on the effects of air pollution on knee osteoarthritis and could guide risk-mitigating strategies in cities such as Beijing.

Analysis of Corylus pollen season in Poland in 2021

Corylus produces allergenic pollen grains that appear in the air in early spring and cause pollen allergy in sensitive people. The aim of this study was to compare the Corylus pollen seasons in 2021 in the following 11 cities in Poland: Bialystok, Bydgoszcz, Cracow, Sosnowiec, Lublin, Olsztyn, Piotrkow Trybunalski, Szczecin, Warsaw, Wroclaw, and Zielona Gora. This research was conducted using the volumetric method and Burkard or Lanzoni pollen samplers. Pollen season duration was determined by the 95% method. The hazel pollen season in 2021 began relatively late, between February 20 and March 1. The season start was recorded earliest in Zielona Gora, while latest in Olsztyn. The highest values of maximum Corylus pollen concentration were recorded in Sosnowiec (230 P/m3) and Zielona Gora (213 P/m3), whereas the lowest ones in Bialystok (27 P/m3) and Bydgoszcz (54 P/m3). In most of these cities, the maximum daily concentration of Corylus pollen grains was recorded in the third 10 days of February or at the beginning of March and only in Lublin and Bialystok the peak value occurred later, on March 16 and March 26, respectively. The highest risk of allergy in people sensitive to the pollen of this taxon was found in Lublin, Olsztyn, and Zielona Gora. The highest values of the annual pollen integral were determined in Lublin, similarly to the previous years.

Testing the possibility of using desiccators to study the aerosol effect of liquid deicing material

Introduction. In many countries, there is an additional group of pollutants - deicing materials (DIM) in winter. Salt-containing DIM is one of the factors for increasing the content of PM2.5 and PM10 in the air. The purpose was to determine the possibility of using desiccators to study the aerosol effect of liquid deicing material, identify the chemical composition in the air at spreading liquid DIM in various ways, and establish the calculated doses for conducting a toxicological experiment to study the DIM aerosol effect on the organism of warm-blooded animals. Materials and methods. A model experiment was conducted in airtight containers (desiccators) using a liquid DIM that includes NaCl and CaCl2. All chemical compounds were captured in air pumping from the desiccator into a bubbler tank with bidistilled water and then analyzed using ion chromatography. Results. When comparing the obtained results of main DIM components contained in the air inside desiccators with the maximum permissible concentrations, the excess of Cl- was detected both for the highest single concentration of 0.1 mg/m3 and for the average daily concentration of 0.03 mg/m3. When applying DIM at a dose exceeding ten times the recommended norms for liquid the DIM, an excess level of the maximum permissible concentration for chlorine (but not for sodium and calcium) is observed. Conclusion. The method of DIM studying in desiccators is indicative in terms of the choice of concentrations and studying mechanisms of reagent intake for subsequent DIM research conduction using laboratory animals.

Association Between Preeclampsia Risk and Fine Air Pollutants and Acidic Gases: A Cohort Analysis in Taiwan

Background: Fine air pollutant particles have been reported to be associated with risk of preeclampsia. The association between air pollutant exposure and preeclampsia risk in heavily air polluted Taiwan warrants investigation.Methods: We combined data from Taiwan National Health Insurance (NHI) Research Database (NHIRD) and Taiwan Air Quality Monitoring Database. Women aged 16–55 years were followed from January 1, 2000, until appearance of ICD-9 coding of preeclampsia withdrawal from the NHI program, or December 31, 2013. Daily concentration of NOx, NO, NO2, and CO was calculated by Kriging method. The Cox proportional hazard regression model was used for risk assessment.Results: For NOx, Relative to Quartile [Q] 1 concentrations, the Q2 (adjusted hazard ratio adjusted = 2.20, 95% CI = 1.50–3.22), Q3 (aHR = 7.28, 95% CI = 4.78–11.0), and Q4 (aHR = 23.7, 95% CI = 13.7–41.1) concentrations were associated with a significantly higher preeclampsia or eclampsia risk. Similarly, for NO, relative to Q1 concentrations, the Q2 (aHR = 1.82, 95% CI = 1.26–2.63), Q3 (aHR = 7.53, 95% CI = 5.12–11.0), and Q4 (aHR = 11.1, 95% CI = 6.72–18.3) concentrations were correlated with significantly higher preeclampsia or eclampsia risk. Furthermore, for NO2, relative to Q1 concentration, the Q2 (aHR = 1.99, 95% CI = 1.37–2.90), Q3 (aHR = 6.15, 95% CI = 3.95–9.57), and Q4 (aHR = 32.7, 95% CI = 19.7–54.3) concentrations also associated with a significantly higher preeclampsia or eclampsia risk.Conclusion: Women exposed to higher NOX, NO, NO2, and CO concentrations demonstrated higher preeclampsia incidence.

Association between environmental air pollution and rheumatoid arthritis flares

Objectives Environmental air pollution has been linked to the pathogenesis of RA. Nevertheless, evidence linking higher concentrations of air pollutants with the risk of RA reactivations is missing. The objective of the present study was to determine the association between RA flares and air pollution. Methods We collected longitudinal data of patients affected by RA and of the daily concentration of air pollutants in the Verona area. We designed a case-crossover study. We compared the exposure to pollutants in the 30-day and 60-day periods preceding an arthritic flare referent to the 30-day and 60-day preceding a low-disease activity visit. Results The study included 888 patients with RA with 3396 follow-up visits; 13 636 daily air pollution records were retrieved. We found an exposure–response relationship between the concentration of air pollutants and the risk of having abnormal CRP levels. Patients exposed to greater concentrations of air pollutants were at higher risk of having CRP levels ≥5 mg/l. Concentrations of CO, NO, NO2, NOx, PM10, PM2.5 and O3 were higher in the 60-day period preceding a flare. Conclusions We found a striking association between air pollution and RA disease severity and reactivations in a cohort of patients followed over a 5-year period. The exposure to high levels of air pollutants was associated with increased CRP levels and a higher risk of experiencing a flare of arthritis. This excessive risk was evident at very low levels of exposure.

Sensor array for wireless remote monitoring of carbon dioxide and methane near carbon sequestration and oil recovery sites

Demonstration of a solar-powered sensor array for remote carbon sequestration and enhanced oil recovery monitoring. An unattended sensor array can collect real-time gas concentrations, allow leak detection, and measure daily concentration cycles.

Thermal Inversion and Particulate Matter Concentration in Wrocław in Winter Season

Studies on air quality frequently adopt clustering, in particular the k-means technique, owing to its simplicity, ease of implementation and efficiency. The aim of the present paper was the assessment of air quality in a winter season (December–February) in the conditions of temperature inversion using the k-means method, representing a non-hierarchical algorithm of cluster analysis. The air quality was assessed on the basis of the concentrations of particulate matter (PM10, PM2.5). The studies were conducted in four winter seasons (2015/16, 2016/17, 2017/18, 2019/20) in Wrocław (Poland). As a result of the application of the v-fold cross test, six clusters for each fraction of PM were identified. Even though the analysis covers only four winter seasons, the applied method has unequivocally revealed that the characteristics of surface-based (SBI) and elevated inversions (ELI) affect the concentration level of both fractions of particulate matter. In the case of PM10, the average lowest daily concentration (15.5 µg·m−3) was recorded in the conditions of approx. 205 m in thickness, 0.5 °C intensity of the SBI and at the height of the base of the ELI at approx. 1700 m a.g.l., a thickness of 148 m and an intensity of 1.2 °C. In turn, the average highest concentration (136 µg·m−3) was recorded at a thickness of SBI of approx. 400 m and an intensity of 1.4 °C. Such high concentration occurred when the lowest location of ELI formed at 764 m a.g.l. with a thickness of 308 m and an intensity of 0.96 °C. A marked role of the thickness of the SBI and ELI as well as the height of the base of the lowest location of ELI was also manifested with respect to PM2.5 concentrations.

The Persister Character of Clinical Isolates of Staphylococcus aureus Contributes to Faster Evolution to Resistance and Higher Survival in THP-1 Monocytes: A Study With Moxifloxacin

Staphylococcus aureus may cause relapsing infections. We previously showed that S. aureus SH1000 surviving intracellularly to bactericidal antibiotics are persisters. Here, we used 54 non-duplicate clinical isolates to assess links between persistence, resistance evolution, and intracellular survival, using moxifloxacin throughout as test bactericidal antibiotic. The relative persister fraction (RPF: percentage of inoculum surviving to 100× MIC moxifloxacin in stationary phase culture for each isolate relative to ATCC 25923) was determined to categorize isolates with low (≤10) or high (>10) RPF. Evolution to resistance (moxifloxacin MIC ≥ 0.5 mg/L) was triggered by serial passages at 0.5× MIC (with daily concentration readjustments). Intracellular moxifloxacin maximal efficacy (Emax) was determined by 24 h concentration-response experiments [pharmacodynamic model (Hill-Langmuir)] with infected THP-1 monocytes exposed to moxifloxacin (0.01 to 100× MIC) after phagocytosis. Division of intracellular survivors was followed by green fluorescence protein dilution (FACS). Most (30/36) moxifloxacin-susceptible isolates showed low RPF but all moxifloxacin-resistant (n = 18) isolates harbored high RPF. Evolution to resistance of susceptible isolates was faster for those with high vs. low RPF (with SOS response and topoisomerase-encoding genes overexpression). Intracellularly, moxifloxacin Emax was decreased (less negative) for isolates with high vs. low RPF, independently from resistance. Moxifloxacin intracellular survivors were non-dividing. The data demonstrate and quantitate persisters in clinical isolates of S. aureus, and show that this phenotype accelerates resistance evolution and is associated with intracellular survival in spite of high antibiotic concentrations. Isolates with high RPF may represent a possible cause of treatment failure not directly related to resistance in patients receiving active antibiotics.

Implications of COVID-19 on The of Fine Particulate Matter (PM2.5) in Ethiopia

Background: The novel coronavirus pandemic, namely COVID-19, has become a global public health problem. COVID-19 was first reported in Ethiopia on 14 March 2020 by WHO. This paper is aimed at identifying the implication of COVID-19 on the concentration of PM2.5 from March 14, 2020 to July 31, 2020 in Ethiopia. Methods: The study gathered the environmental data released by Addis Ababa Central monitoring station before and during the coronavirus pandemic and discusses its impact on air quality. Daily concentrations of PM2.5 were compared before and during the COVId-19 for 280 days. The study compared the daily concentration of PM2.5 before COVID-19 from October 25, 2019 to March 13, 2020 and during COVID-19 from March 14, 2020 to July 31, 2020. The summary of the particulate matter, number of cases and deaths from March 14, 2020 to July 31, 2020 were analyzed in Ethiopia.Results: The results show that, the concentration of PM2.5 during COVID-19 was higher than before COVID-19. As air pollution increased the number of deaths was increased during coronavirus pandemic. There were 16,615 confirmed cases and 263 number of deaths from March 14, 2020 to July 31, 2020 in Ethiopia. Conclusion: We found that the concentration of PM2.5 during COVID-19 was higher than before COVID-19. COVID-19 has implications for the fine particulate matter (PM2.5) pollution in metropolitan city.