The Community Health Supporting Environments and Residents’ Health and Well-Being:The Role of Health Literacy

We evaluate the impacts that health supporting environments have on residents’ health and well-being. Using a stratified multi-stage sampling method, we select a sample of 12,360 permanent adult residents aged 15–69, and collect information on their health literacy level, as well as their demographic background and health. This individual level data is then merged with the administrative health supporting environment data. More than two thirds of residents self-reported having good/excellent health, and the percent of adults living in communities with healthy parks, healthy trails, and healthy huts in their community is 23 percent, 43 percent, and 25 percent, respectively. Controlling for a series of confounding factors at the community and individual levels, we find that healthy parks and healthy trails are positively correlated with self-reported health, which increases the probability of self-reporting good health by 2.0 percentage points (p < 0.10) and 6.0 percentage points (p < 0.01), respectively. Access to healthy huts is negatively associated with self-reported health, decreasing the probability of self-reporting good health by 5.0 percentage points (p < 0.01). Health literacy plays a role in moderating the effect of health parks, and a positive effect is more likely to be observed among adults with lower health literacy. Health supporting environments may play a role in reducing the likelihood of undiagnosed diseases and changing residents’ lifestyles, which promotes the health and well-being of residents, especially among those with inadequate health literacy

Association of Heart Rate Variability in Taxi Drivers with Marked Changes in Particulate Air Pollution in Beijing in 2008

BACKGROUND: Heart rate variability (HRV), a marker of cardiac autonomic function, has been associated with particulate matter (PM) air pollution, especially in older patients and those with cardiovascular diseases. However, the effect of PM exposure on cardiac autonomic function in young, healthy adults has received less attention. OBJECTIVES: We evaluated the relationship between exposure to traffic-related PM with an aerodynamic diameters &lt;= 2.5 mu m (PM(2.5)) and HRV in a highly exposed panel of taxi drivers. METHODS: Continuous measurements of personal exposure to PM(2.5) and ambulatory electrocardiogram monitoring were conducted on I I young healthy taxi drivers for a 12-hr work shift during their work time (0900-2100 hr) before, during, and after the Beijing 2008 Olympic Games. Mixed-effects regression models were used to estimate associations between PM(2.5) exposure and percent changes in 5-min HRV indices after combining data from the three time periods and controlling for potentially confounding variables. RESULTS: Personal exposures of taxi drivers to PM(2.5) changed markedly across the three time periods. The standard deviation of normal-to-normal (SDNN) intervals decreased by 2.2% [95% confidence interval (0), -3.8% to -0.6%] with an interquartile range (IQR; 69.5 mu g/m(3)) increase in the 30-min PM(2.5) moving average, whereas the low-frequency and high-frequency powers decreased by 4.2% (95% CI, -9.0% to 0.8%) and 6.2% (95% CI, -10.7% to -1.5%), respectively, in association with an IQR increase in the 2-hr PM(2.5) moving average. CONCLUSIONS: Marked changes in traffic-related PM(2.5) exposure were associated with altered cardiac autonomic function in young healthy adults.http://gateway.webofknowledge.com/gateway/Gateway.cgi?GWVersion=2&SrcApp=PARTNER_APP&SrcAuth=LinksAMR&KeyUT=WOS:000273292800029&DestLinkType=FullRecord&DestApp=ALL_WOS&UsrCustomerID=8e1609b174ce4e31116a60747a720701Environmental SciencesPublic, Environmental &amp; Occupational HealthToxicologySCI(E)PubMed65ARTICLE187-9111

ESDA2008-59373 AN INVESTIGATION INTO EFFECT OF TRAIN CURVING ON WEAR AND CONTACT STRESSES OF WHEEL AND RAIL

ABSTRACT Some important papers concerning the studies on rail wear and wheel/rail contact stresses are reviewed. The present paper utilizes a numerical method to analyze the effect of railway vehicle curving on the wear and contact stresses of wheel/rail. The numerical method considers a combination of Kalker&apos;s non-Hertzian rolling contact theory, a material wear model and a vertical and lateral coupling dynamics model of a half vehicle and a curved track. The present analysis investigates the influence of the curving speed, the curved track super-elevation and the rail cant on the wear and the contact stresses. Through the detailed numerical analysis, it is found that the maximum contact stress depends greatly not only on the curving speed but also on the profiles of the wheel/rail. The curving speed increasing leads to increase the normal load of the wheel rolling over the high curved rail, but, decrease the normal contact stress level under the condition of the optimum match of wheel/rail profiles. The track super elevation increasing efficiently lowers the contact stresses and the wear at a constant curving speed. The rail cant has a great influence on the low rail wear of the curved track. Increasing the rail cant leads to the great growth of the low curved rail wear, the reduction in the high rail wear. The results are very useful in the maintenance of the track

Association between short-term exposure to atmospheric NO2 and coagulation indexes of young individuals of different weights and modification effect of temperature

BackgroundNitrogen dioxide (NO2) is one of the main air pollutants, and though China's NO2 pollution has been improving year by year, it maintains at a high level, threatening the health of the population. ObjectiveTo investigate the effect of short-term exposure to atmospheric NO2 on the coagulation indexes in obese and normal-weight young individuals and potential modification effect of temperature. MethodsBased on a parallel control panel study design, this study recruited 53 normal-weight and 44 obese young individuals. Three prospective follow-ups were conducted. Air pollution data were obtained from the fixed monitoring station closest to the participant's residences, and personal air pollution exposure was simulated based on time-activity log and infiltration factor for the week before every follow-up. Temperature was collected from China Meteorological Data Service Center. Venous blood samples were taken to measure platelet (PLT) count, mean platelet volume (MPV), soluble CD40 ligand (sCD40L), soluble P-selectin (sP-selectin), platelet aggregation rate (PAgT), and plasminogen activator inhibitor type-1 (PAI-1) during every follow-up. A linear mixed-effect model was used to assess the association between short-term atmospheric NO2 exposure and the coagulation indexes of weight grouped young individuals, and a stratified analysis was used to explore potential modification effect of temperature. ResultsThe median [interquartile range (IQR)] of personal atmospheric NO2 exposure concentrations was 21.47 (8.01) µg·m−3. Short-term exposure to atmospheric NO2 was significantly associated the increase of sCD40L and PAgT in the obese individuals, while the most significant association appeared at 5 d lag, and for each IQR increase in the average sliding exposure concentration of atmospheric NO2 with a 5 d lag, sCD40L increased by 27.4% (95%CI: 4.2%, 56.6%) and PAgT increased by 37.5% (95%CI: 12.2%, 68.6%); short-term exposure to atmospheric NO2 was significantly associated with the decrease of PLT and PAgT in the normal-weight individuals, while the most significant association appeared at 5 d lag or 7 d lag, and for each IQR increase in the average sliding exposure concentration of atmospheric NO2 with a 5 d lag, PLT decreased by 11.8% (95%CI: −17.8%, −5.3%), and for each IQR increase in the average sliding exposure concentration of atmospheric NO2 with a 7 d lag, PAgT decreased by 16.8% (95%CI: −30.6%, −0.4%). We didn't find statistically significant association of short-term exposure to atmospheric NO2 with PLT in the obese individuals or sCD40L in the normal-weight individuals, nor statistically significant association between short-term exposure to atmospheric NO2 and PAI-1, MPV, and sP-selectin in different weight grouped individuals. The stratified analysis found that short-term exposure to atmospheric NO2 was significantly associated with PAgT in the normal-weight individuals, or with PLT, sCD40L, and sP-selectin in the obese individuals only at high temperature. ConclusionsShort-term exposure to atmospheric NO2 has adverse effects on the coagulation indexes of different weight grouped young individuals, and the obese individuals are more sensitive to it than the normal-weight individuals. High temperature can enhance the adverse health effect of short-term exposure to atmospheric NO2

Characterization of genome-wide H3K27ac profiles reveals a distinct PM2.5-associated histone modification signature

Complete list of differentially modified H3K27ac loci. (XLSX 69 kb

The relationship between personal exposure and ambient PM2.5 and black carbon in Beijing.

This study is part of the "Air Polluion Impacts on Cardiopulmonary disease in Beijing: an integrated study of Exposure Science, Toxicologenomics & Environmental Epidemiology (APIC-ESTEE)" project under the UK-China joint research programme "Atmospheric Pollution and Human Health in a Chinese Megacity (APHH-China)". The aim is to capture the spatio-temporal variability in people's exposure to fine particles (PM2.5) and black carbon (BC) air pollution in Beijing, China. A total of 120 students were recruited for a panel study from ten universities in Haidian District in northwestern Beijing from December 2017 to June 2018. Real-time personal concentrations of PM2.5 and BC were measured over a 24-h period with two research-grade portable personal exposure monitors. Personal microenvironments (MEs) were determined by applying an algorithm to the handheld GPS unit data. On average, the participants spent the most time indoors (79% in Residence and 16% in Workplace), and much less time travelling by Walking, Cycling, Bus and Metro. Similar patterns were observed across participant gender and body-mass index classifications. The participants were exposed to 33.8 ± 27.8 μg m-3 PM2.5 and to 1.9 ± 1.2 μg m-3 BC over the 24-h monitoring period, on average 24.3 μg m-3 (42%) and 0.8 μg m-3 (28%) lower, respectively, than the concurrent fixed-site ambient measurements. Relative differences between personal and ambient BC concentrations showed greater variability across the MEs, highlighting significant contributions from Dining and travelling by Bus, which involve potential combustion of fuels. This study demonstrates the potential value of personal exposure monitoring in investigating air pollution related health effects, and in evaluating the effectiveness of pollution control and intervention measures

Boron neutron capture therapy induces apoptosis of glioma cells through Bcl-2/Bax

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Boron neutron capture therapy (BNCT) is an alternative treatment modality for patients with glioma. The aim of this study was to determine whether induction of apoptosis contributes to the main therapeutic efficacy of BNCT and to compare the relative biological effect (RBE) of BNCT, γ-ray and reactor neutron irradiation.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>The neutron beam was obtained from the Xi'an Pulsed Reactor (XAPR) and γ-rays were obtained from [⁶⁰Co] γ source of the Fourth Military Medical University (FMMU) in China. Human glioma cells (the U87, U251, and SHG44 cell lines) were irradiated by neutron beams at the XAPR or [⁶⁰Co] γ-rays at the FMMU with different protocols: Group A included control nonirradiated cells; Group B included cells treated with 4 Gy of [⁶⁰Co] γ-rays; Group C included cells treated with 8 Gy of [⁶⁰Co] γ-rays; Group D included cells treated with 4 Gy BPA (p-borono-phenylalanine)-BNCT; Group E included cells treated with 8 Gy BPA-BNCT; Group F included cells irradiated in the reactor for the same treatment period as used for Group D; Group G included cells irradiated in the reactor for the same treatment period as used for Group E; Group H included cells irradiated with 4 Gy in the reactor; and Group I included cells irradiated with 8 Gy in the reactor. Cell survival was determined using the 3-(4,5-dimethylthiazol-2-yl-2,5-diphenyltetrazolium (MTT) cytotoxicity assay. The morphology of cells was detected by Hoechst33342 staining and transmission electron microscope (TEM). The apoptosis rate was detected by flow cytometer (FCM). The level of Bcl-2 and Bax protein was measured by western blot analysis.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>Proliferation of U87, U251, and SHG44 cells was much more strongly inhibited by BPA-BNCT than by irradiation with [⁶⁰Co] γ-rays (<it>P </it>< 0.01). Nuclear condensation was determined using both a fluorescence technique and electron microscopy in all cell lines treated with BPA-BNCT. Furthermore, the cellular apoptotic rates in Group D and Group E treated with BPA-BNCT were significantly higher than those in Group B and Group C irradiated by [⁶⁰Co] γ-rays (<it>P </it>< 0.01). The clonogenicity of glioma cells was reduced by BPA-BNCT compared with cells treated in the reactor (Group F, G, H, I), and with the control cells (<it>P </it>< 0.01). Upon BPA-BNCT treatment, the Bax level increased in glioma cells, whereas Bcl-2 expression decreased.</p> <p>Conclusions</p> <p>Compared with ��-ray and reactor neutron irradiation, a higher RBE can be achieved upon treatment of glioma cells with BNCT. Glioma cell apoptosis induced by BNCT may be related to activation of Bax and downregulation of Bcl-2.</p

Atmospheric pollution and human health in a Chinese megacity (APHH-Beijing) programme. Final report

In 2016, over 150 UK and Chinese scientists joined forces to understand the causes and impacts - emission sources, atmospheric processes and health effects - of air pollution in Beijing, with the ultimate aim of informing air pollution solutions and thus improving public health. The Atmospheric Pollution and Human Health in a Chinese Megacity (APHH-Beijing) research programme succeeded in delivering its objectives and significant additional science, through a large-scale, coordinated multidisciplinary collaboration. In this report are highlighted some of the research outcomes that have potential implications for policymaking