The Chinese Spring Festival Impact on Air Quality in China: A Critical Review.

It is known that the sharp change of air pollutants affects air quality. Chinese Spring Festival is the most important holiday for Chinese people, and the celebration of the holiday with fireworks and the movement of people all around the country results in significant change in multiple air pollutant emissions of various sources. As many cities and rural areas suffer from the air pollution caused by firework displays and more residential fuel consumption, there is an urgency to examine the impact of the Chinese Spring Festival on air quality. Hence, this paper firstly gives an overall insight into the holiday's impact on ambient and household air quality in China, both in urban and rural areas. The main findings of this study are: (1) The firework displays affect the air quality of urban and rural atmosphere and household air; (2) the reduction in anthropogenic emissions improves the air quality during the Chinese Spring Festival; (3) the household air in urban areas was affected most by firework burning, while the household air in rural homes was affected most by fuel consumption; and (4) the short-term health impact of air pollution during the holidays also need more concern. Although there have been many publications focused on the holiday's impact on ambient and household air quality, most of them focused on the measurement of pollutant concentration, while studies on the formation mechanism of air pollution, the influence of meteorological conditions, and the health outcome under the effect of the Chinese Spring Festival are rare. In the future, studies focused on these processes are welcomed.

Pulmonary function of patients with 2019 novel coronavirus induced-pneumonia: a retrospective cohort study.

BACKGROUND: The aim of this study was to investigate the pulmonary function of patients with 2019 novel coronavirus (COVID-19)-induced pneumonia. METHODS: A retrospective analysis of 137 patients with COVID-19-induced pneumonia who were discharged from the Enze Hospital, Taizhou Enze Medical Center (Group) from January 31 2020 to March 11 2020 was conducted. Follow-up occurred 2 weeks after hospital discharge, during which patients underwent a pulmonary function test. RESULTS: Of the 137 patients who underwent a pulmonary function test 2 weeks after discharge, 51.8% were male, and the mean age was 47 years. Only 19.7% of the patients were identified as having severe COVID-19-induced pneumonia. The pulmonary function tests showed that for a small number of patients the forced expiratory volume in one second/forced vital capacity ratio (FEV1/FVC)/% values were <70%, and the mean forced inspiratory volume (IVC) and FVC values were 2.4±0.7 and 3.2±0.8 L, respectively. In severe cases, 88.9% of patients had an IVC <80% of the predicted value, and 55.6% of patients had an FVC <80% of the predicted value. The proportion of patients with maximum expiratory flow rate at 25%, 50% and 75% of the vital capacity (MEF25, MEF50, and MEF75) values <70% were 55.6%, 40.7%, and 25.9%, respectively. In the non-severe group, 79.1% of patients had an IVC <80% of the predicted value, and 16.4% of patients had an FVC <80% of the predicted value. The mean MEF25, MEF50, and MEF75 <70% values were 57.3%, 30%, and 13.6%, respectively. CONCLUSIONS: Our results demonstrated that the pulmonary function of patients with COVID-19-induced pneumonia predominantly manifested as restrictive ventilation disorder and small airway obstruction, which was increased in critically ill patients.

Relationship between chest CT manifestations and immune response in COVID-19 patients.

OBJECTIVES: To study the correlations of lymphocytes and cytokines between changes of lung lesion volumes in patients with COVID-19, and to predict these correlations. METHODS: 93 patients with COVID-19 were divided into mild and severe groups. The data of lymphocyte subgroups and cytokines were collected, the imaging characteristics were measured, and correlation analysis was performed to analyze the differences. RESULTS: 60 mild and 33 severe patients were included. Lymphocyte subsets decreased in both groups. The reduction percentages of the absolute lymphocytes value in mild and severe groups were 32% and 64%, respectively. The lung CT lesion volume of all patients was 241.45 ± 282.92 cm3, among which the mild group was 151.29 ± 226.04 cm3, and the severe group was 405.38 ± 304.90 cm3, respectively. In critically ill patients, the decrease of the absolute value of CD4+ T cells and the increase of IL-6 levels are significantly correlated with the volume of lung lesions. CONCLUSIONS: The absolute values of CD3+, CD4+, and CD8+ T cells are lower in patients with COVID-19, while the levels of IL-6 and IL-10 are increased. The severity of lung lesions predicts poor clinical outcomes and may be a predictor of the transition from mild to severe.