Association between measured air pollution levels in the troposphere and surface air with COVID-19 hospitalization in Tomsk, Russia, 2022

The results of a preliminary analysis of the relationship between the short-term impact of air pollution exposure on hospitalizations associated with COVID-19 in Tomsk, Russia are presented. The statistical data on air pollution and COVID-19 associated hospitalization were collected and analyzed for the period from March 16, 2022 to April 14, 2022. This period corresponds to a flat plateau of confirmed COVID-19 cases after the main pandemic wave in 2022 in Tomsk and the Tomsk region which were associated with omicron strain of SARS-CoV-2. It was found that all representative peaks in a graph of daily hospitalizations coincide with the peaks in graphs of measured levels of air pollution. The increase in hospitalizations occurred on the same days when air pollution levels increased, or with a slight lag of 1-2 days. This allows us to tentatively conclude that air pollution has a quick effect on infected persons and may provoke an increase in symptoms and severity of the disease. Further detailed research is required. © 2022 SPIE.

Promising Role of the Scutellaria baicalensis Root Hydroxyflavone-Baicalein in the Prevention and Treatment of Human Diseases.

Plant roots, due to a high content of natural antioxidants for many years, have been used in herbal medicine. It has been documented that the extract of Baikal skullcap (Scutellaria baicalensis) has hepatoprotective, calming, antiallergic, and anti-inflammatory properties. Flavonoid compounds found in the extract, including baicalein, have strong antiradical activity, which improves overall health and increases feelings of well-being. Plant-derived bioactive compounds with antioxidant activity have for a long time been used as an alternative source of medicines to treat oxidative stress-related diseases. In this review, we summarized the latest reports on one of the most important aglycones with respect to the pharmacological activity and high content in Baikal skullcap, which is 5,6,7-trihydroxyflavone (baicalein).

Risk assessment of exposure to the Middle Eastern dust storms in Iran

The aims of this study were to i) assess the relationship between COVID-19 cases with PM10 concentration and ii) investigation premature deaths due to cardiovascular (M-CVD) and respiratory (M-RD) diseases in three classification levels (PM10<50 mu g m(-3) in normal days, 50-200 mu g m(-3) in dusty days, and >200 mu g m(-3) in MED storm), by using daily averages of PM10 concentrations. The number of M-CVD and M-RD were estimated by concentration-response model, per 10(5) people during 2017 to 2021. The results showed that 187, 183, 163, 215, and 206 days were observed with the PM10 concentrations lower than 50 mu g m(-3) during 2017 to 2021, and 178, 180, 200, 150, and 149 days were subtotal with exceeding PM10 from the WHO guideline (50 mu g m(-3)), respectively. A positive correlation (r(2)=0.33, p < 0.05) was found to be between the number of COVID-19 cases and PM10 mean concentrations (r = 0.589, p = 0.046). Our findings showed that the highest M-CVD and M-RD were among exposed people at dusty days (50 < PM10 <= 200 mu g m(-3)) in 2019. The total M-CVD and M-RD from 2017 to 2021 were 11.78 and 12.2, 18.25 and 17.4, 22.29 and 23.78, 10.33 and 7.6, 10.37 and 9.95 per 10(5) people, respectively which 31.48% of health effects were related to PM10 concentrations more than 200 mu g m(-3).

Ambient PM2.5 and O3 pollution and health impacts in Iranian megacity.

The main objectives of this study were to (i) assess variation within fine particles (PM2.5) and tropospheric ozone (O3) time series in Khorramabad (Iran) between 2019 (before) and 2020 (during COVID-19 pandemic); (ii) assess relationship between PM2.5 and O3, the PM2.5/O3 ratio, and energy consumption; and (iii) estimate the health effects of exposure to ambient PM2.5 and O3. From hourly PM2.5 and O3 concentrations, we applied both linear-log and integrated exposure-response functions, city-specific relative risk, and baseline incidence values to estimate the health effects over time. A significant correlation was found between PM2.5 and O3 (r =-0.46 in 2019, r =-0.55 in 2020, p < 0.05). The number of premature deaths for all non-accidental causes (27.5 and 24.6), ischemic heart disease (7.3 and 6.3), chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (17 and 19.2), and lung cancer (9.2 and 6.25) attributed to ambient PM2.5 exposure and for respiratory diseases (4.7 and 5.4) for exposure to O3 above 10 µg m-3 for people older than 30-year-old were obtained in 2019 and 2020. The number of years of life lost declined by 11.6% in 2020 and exposure to PM2.5 reduced the life expectancy by 0.58 and 0.45 years, respectively in 2019 and 2020. Compared to 2019, the restrictive measures associated to COVID-19 pandemic led to reduction in PM2.5 (-25.5%) and an increase of O3 concentration (+ 8.0%) in Khorramabad.

Risk assessment of exposure to the Middle Eastern dust storms in Iran

The aims of this study were to i) assess the relationship between COVID-19 cases with PM10 concentration and ii) investigation premature deaths due to cardiovascular (M-CVD) and respiratory (M-RD) diseases in three classification levels (PM10<50µg m−3 in normal days, 50–200 µg m−3 in dusty days, and >200 µg m−3 in MED storm), by using daily averages of PM10 concentrations. The number of M-CVD and M-RD were estimated by concentration-response model, per 105 people during 2017 to 2021. The results showed that 187, 183, 163, 215, and 206 days were observed with the PM10 concentrations lower than 50 µg m−3 during 2017 to 2021, and 178, 180, 200, 150, and 149 days were subtotal with exceeding PM10 from the WHO guideline (50 µg m−3), respectively. A positive correlation (r2=0.33, p < 0.05) was found to be between the number of COVID-19 cases and PM10 mean concentrations (r = 0.589, p = 0.046). Our findings showed that the highest M-CVD and M-RD were among exposed people at dusty days (50 < PM10≤ 200 μg m−3) in 2019. The total M-CVD and M-RD from 2017 to 2021 were 11.78 and 12.2, 18.25 and 17.4, 22.29 and 23.78, 10.33 and 7.6, 10.37 and 9.95 per 105 people, respectively which 31.48% of health effects were related to PM10 concentrations more than 200 μg m−3. [ FROM AUTHOR]

Increased tropospheric ozone levels as a public health issue during COVID-19 lockdown and estimation the related pulmonary diseases.

The aims of this study were to i) investigate the variation of tropospheric ozone (O3) levels during the COVID-19 lockdown; ii) determine the relationships between O3 concentrations with the number of COVID-19 cases; and iii) estimate the O3-related health effects in Southwestern Iran (Khorramabad) over the time period 2019-2021. The hourly O3 data were collected from ground monitoring stations, as well as retrieved from Sentinel-5 satellite data for showing the changes in O3 levels pre, during, and after lockdown period. The concentration-response function model was applied using relative risk (RR) values and baseline incidence (BI) to assess the O3-related health effects. Compared to 2019, the annual O3 mean concentrations increased by 12.2% in 2020 and declined by 3.9% in 2021. The spatiotemporal changes showed a significant O3 increase during COVID-19 lockdown, and a negative correlation between O3 levels and the number of COVID-19 cases was found (r = - 0.59, p < 0.05). In 2020, the number of hospital admissions for cardiovascular diseases increased by 4.0 per 105 cases, the mortality for respiratory diseases increased by 0.7 per 105 cases, and the long-term mortality for respiratory diseases increased by 0.9 per 105 cases. Policy decisions are now required to reduce the surface O3 concentrations and O3-related health effects in Iran.

Assessing the effect of COVID-19 pandemic on air quality change and human health outcomes in a capital city, southwestern Iran.

The aimsof this study were to assess the spatial variation of PM2.5, NO2, and O3 between 2019 (before) and 2020 (during COVID-19 pandemic); and calculation the health outcomes of exposure to these pollutants. The daily PM2.5, NO2, and O3 concentrations were applied to assess health effects by relative risk, and baseline incidence. The annual PM2.5 and NO2 mean concentrations exceeded the WHO guideline values, while O3 did not exceed. The restrictive measures associated to COVID-19 led to reduction at the annual means of PM2.5 and NO2 by -25.5% and -23.1%, respectively, while the annual mean of O3 increased by +7.9%. The number of M-CVD and M-RD (-25.6%, -26.1%) related to PM2.5 exposure, and HA-COPD and HA-RD >65 years old (-21% and -3.84%) related to NO2 exposure were reduced in 2020, and O3 exposure-related M-CVD (+30.1%) and HA-RD >65 years old (+23.4%) increased compared to the previous year 2019.

Climatic, Environmental and Health Impacts of Disused Coronavirus Protective Equipment: Towards Effective Regulatory and Containment Measures.

Though global health care delivery systems have been under inevitable pressure and risks from the ongoing coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic, our natural human environment is also increasingly threatened. The reason is that efforts to contain the pandemic have resulted in a vast generation of medical waste from disused personal protective equipment, such as facemasks, face-shields, hand-gloves, hand-sanitisers, and related single-use products. Unprofessional management of medical waste can result in environmental contagion. This article, adopting an analytical approach, argues that COVID-19 waste represents a mode of contagion, and hence demands special regulatory attention, management, and disposal procedures at all levels of governance. The article offers an epidemiological perspective on COVID-19 waste and its place in medical waste. It provides insights into the best practices for managing COVID-19 waste and examines how global objectives and frameworks visibly support COVID-19 medical waste management globally.

Effect of Indoor Bioaerosols (Fungal) Exposure on the Health of Post-COVID-19 Patients and Possible Mitigation Strategies

Bioaerosols are present everywhere around us, either on surfaces or in the air. Depending on their nature, these bioaerosols have positive or negative impacts on our bodies. Our immune system always creates a balance in our health system in response to these bioaerosols. If our body's immune system is compromised for a while, it could have many severe health complications. A good example is in patients who recovered from COVID-19 during the COVID-19 pandemic. During treatment, many drugs like dexamethasone, tocilizumob, itolizumab, and steroids were extensively used that suppressed the immune system, resulting in many fungal infections. In this review, we summarise the various studies carried out throughout the globe regarding fungal infection, including Mucormycetes (black fungus), Candida spp., Aspergillus fumigatus, and pneumocystis jirovecii. The patient disease history and treatment details were also examined so as to develop the risk of mortality. Populations with other pre-existing diseases such as diabetes and asthma are more vulnerable to infection. These infections spread at a very high rate and have a high risk of mortality in patients who have recovered from COVID-19. Earnest attention is needed regarding the treatment procedure of COVID-19 patients and for the follow-up of recovered patients. Here, we suggest some treatment methods that will help prevent infection in patients who have recovered from COVID-19 or in immunosuppressed bodies. [ FROM AUTHOR] Copyright of COVID is the property of MDPI and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full . (Copyright applies to all s.)

Influences of Public Medical Insurance System on Labor Health Status and Supply.

BACKGROUND: The emergence of COVID-19 in 2020 has brought dramatic impacts to the global economy. The resulting health crisis and widespread fear have triggered labor shortage problems such as high job vacancy rate and low labor participation rate. Thus, how to increase the labor supply has become a hotspot among scholars. We aimed to analyze the influences of public medical insurance system on labor health status and supply. METHOD: Using the China Health and Nutrition Survey five-phase panel data, the new rural cooperative medical system was taken as an example to empirically analyze the influences of public medical insurance system on the individual health status and labor supply via the panel Tobit model and panel binary Logit model. The analysis revealed the mediating effect of health status. RESULTS: First, Public medical insurance system could significantly improve individual health status. Second, public medical insurance system will lengthen the labor supply time and elevate the labor supply rate by improving individual health status. Third, the influences of public medical insurance system on labor health status and supply vary with gender and age. CONCLUSION: Public medical insurance system will generate positive influences on labor health status and labor supply. Hence, perfecting the public medical insurance system is able to mitigate the negative impacts of population aging and pandemic on the labor supply.

Review on Source Emission and Source Identification of Bioaerosols in the Atmosphere

Recent pandemic outbreak of the corona-virus disease 2019 (COVID-19) has raised widespread concerns about the importance of the bioaerosols. Bioaerosols are an important part of atmospheric aerosols. Due to its physico-chemical properties and inherent biological characteristics, bioaerosols play a key role in global ecosystem, climate change, air quality and public health. A large number of studies have been focused on the sampling and detection techniques of bioaerosols, disinfection protection, effects on health and environment. However, little is known about the source characteristics of bioaerosols. Therefore, the research status of airborne microbes source was focused, and the progress on the emission characteristics of natural and anthropogenic source of bioaerosols in the past 20 years was comprehensively summarized. Combined with our study, the main factors affecting the source emission and transport process were also highlighted, such as biogeographic regions, land-use types, and environmental factors. Subsequently, the various source analysis methods of current bioaerosols were discussed. Finally, the future work prospects of bioaerosols source characteristics were prospected. It is expected to provide reference for in-depth understanding of the source and transmission change mechanism of bioaerosols, and to better evaluate the level of atmospheric microbial pollution and monitor the aerosol transmission of pathogens. © 2021, Editorial Department of Journal of Earth Sciences and Environment. All right reserved.

Substantial Changes of Gaseous Pollutants and Health Effects During the COVID-19 Lockdown Period Across China.

The human movement and economic activities have been drastically reduced due to the Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) outbreak, leading to the sharp decreases of pollutant emissions and remarkable air quality improvement. Nevertheless, however, the changes of gaseous pollutant concentrations and health effects across China during the COVID-19 lockdown period remained poorly understood. Here, a random forest model was applied to assess the impact of COVID-19 lockdown on pollutant concentrations and potential health effects. The results suggested that estimated NO2, SO2, and CO concentrations in China during January 23-March 31, 2020 decreased by 13.68%, 25.71%, and 7.42%, respectively compared with the same periods in 2018-2019. Nonetheless, the predicted 8-h O3 concentrations across China suffered from 1.29% increases during this period. The avoided premature all-cause, cardiovascular disease (CVD), respiratory disease (RD), and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) mortalities induced by NO2 decrease during COVID-19 lockdown period reached 3,954 (3,076-4,832), 635 (468-801), 612 (459-765), and 920 (653-1,186) cases. However, the increases of all-cause, CVD, RD, and COPD mortalities due to O3 increase during COVID-19 lockdown period achieved 462 (250-674), 79 (29-129), 40 (-25-105), and 52 (-34-138) cases. The natural experiment demonstrated the drastic emission reduction measures could significantly decrease the NO2, SO2, and CO concentrations, while they significantly elevated the O3 concentration. It is highly imperative to propose more coordinated air pollution control strategies to control O3 pollution.

Consumer Reported Care Deferrals Due to the COVID-19 Pandemic, and the Role and Potential of Telemedicine: Cross-Sectional Analysis.

BACKGROUND: The COVID-19 pandemic forced many health systems to proactively reduce care delivery to prepare for an expected surge in hospitalizations. There have been concerns that care deferral may have negative health effects, but it is hoped that telemedicine can provide a viable alternative. OBJECTIVE: This study aimed to understand what type of health care services were being deferred during the COVID-19 pandemic lockdown, the role played by telemedicine to fill in care gaps, and changes in attitudes toward telemedicine. METHODS: We conducted a cross-sectional analysis of survey responses from 1694 primary care patients in a mid-sized northeastern city. Our main outcomes were use of telemedicine and reports of care deferral during the shutdown. RESULTS: Deferred care was widespread-48% (n=812) of respondents deferred care-but it was largely for preventive services, particularly dental and primary care, and did not cause concerns about negative health effects. In total, 30.2% (n=242) of those who delayed care were concerned about health effects, with needs centered around orthopedics and surgery. Telemedicine was viewed more positively than prior to the pandemic; it was seen as a viable option to deliver deferred care, particularly by respondents who were over 65 years of age, female, and college educated. Mental health services stood out for having high levels of deferred care. CONCLUSIONS: Temporary health system shutdowns will give rise to deferred care. However, much of the deferrals will be for preventive services. The effect of this on patient health can be moderated by prioritizing surgical and orthopedic services and delivering other services through telemedicine. Having telemedicine as an option is particularly crucial for mental health services.

Spatio-temporal assessment of ambient air quality, their health effects and improvement during COVID-19 lockdown in one of the most polluted cities of India.

The present work aims to investigate seasonal variations in air pollution levels in Lucknow and assess the ambient air quality of the city together with highlighting the health impacts of major pollutants like PM10, PM2.5, SO2, NO2, Pb, Ni and aerosols from 2010 to 2019. The maximum and minimum values of PM10, PM2.5, SO2, NO2, Pb and Ni were found to be 270.75 and 122.45 µg/m3, 124.95 and 95.52 µg/m3, 25.60 and 8.05 µg/m3, 75.65 and 23.85 µg/m3, 0.66 and 0.03 µg/m3 and 0.07 and 0.01 ng/m3, respectively. Health impact of particulate matter has also been assessed with AirQ+, and it was estimated that long-term exposure of PM10 was attributed to between 37 and 48% for post-neonatal (age 1-12 months) mortality rate due to all causes, whereas long-term attributable proportions in mortality due to exposure of PM2.5 were to about 19 to 28% from all causes. Further, an attempt has also been made to evaluate the impact of lockdown amid COVID-19 on the ambient air quality of Lucknow. During the lockdown, PM2.5 levels reduced by 65% (at Gomti Nagar), 23% (at central school), 79% (at Lalbagh) and 35% (at Talkatora), due to which, air quality index of Gomti Nagar came down to 43, well below 50 which falls in the healthy range. NO2 levels also came down. However, levels of SO2 did not show significant reduction. Correlating the data between aerosol optical depth and Angstrom exponent by Pearson correlation analysis revealed a significant positive correlation (r = 0.65, P < 0.001).