Contribution of local and surrounding anthropogenic emissions to a particulate matter pollution episode in Zhengzhou, Henan, China.

In this study, we simulated the spatial and temporal processes of a particulate matter (PM) pollution episode from December 10-29, 2019, in Zhengzhou, the provincial capital of Henan, China, which has a large population and severe PM pollution. As winter is the high incidence period of particulate pollution, winter statistical data were selected from the pollutant observation stations in the study area. During this period, the highest concentrations of PM2.5 (atmospheric PM with a diameter of less than 2.5 µm) and PM10 (atmospheric PM with a diameter of less than 10 µm) peaked at 283 µg m-3 and 316 µg m-3, respectively. The contribution rates of local and surrounding regional emissions within Henan (emissions from the regions to the south, northwest, and northeast of Zhengzhou) to PM concentrations in Zhengzhou were quantitatively analyzed based on the regional Weather Research and Forecasting model coupled with Chemistry (WRF/Chem). Model evaluation showed that the WRF/Chem can accurately simulate the spatial and temporal variations in the PM concentrations in Zhengzhou. We found that the anthropogenic emissions south of Zhengzhou were the main causes of high PM concentrations during the studied episode, with contribution rates of 14.39% and 16.34% to PM2.5 and PM10, respectively. The contributions of anthropogenic emissions from Zhengzhou to the PM2.5 and PM10 concentrations in Zhengzhou were 7.94% and 7.29%, respectively. The contributions of anthropogenic emissions from the area northeast of Zhengzhou to the PM2.5 and PM10 concentrations in Zhengzhou were 7.42% and 7.18%, respectively. These two areas had similar contributions to PM pollution in Zhengzhou. The area northeast of Zhengzhou had the lowest contributions to the PM2.5 and PM10 concentrations in Zhengzhou (5.96% and 5.40%, respectively).

Investigating the Association between Streetscapes and Mental Health in Zhanjiang, China: Using Baidu Street View Images and Deep Learning.

Mental health is one of the main factors that significantly affect one's life. Previous studies suggest that streets are the main activity space for urban residents and have important impacts on human mental health. Existing studies, however, have not fully examined the relationships between streetscape characteristics and people's mental health on a street level. This study thus aims to explore the spatial patterns of urban streetscape features and their associations with residents' mental health by age and sex in Zhanjiang, China. Using Baidu Street View (BSV) images and deep learning, we extracted the Green View Index (GVI) and the street enclosure to represent two physical features of the streetscapes. Global Moran's I and hotspot analysis methods were used to examine the spatial distributions of streetscape features. We find that both GVI and street enclosure tend to cluster, but show almost opposite spatial distributions. The Results of Pearson's correlation analysis show that residents' mental health does not correlate with GVI, but it has a significant positive correlation with the street enclosure, especially for men aged 31 to 70 and women over 70-year-old. These findings emphasize the important effects of streetscapes on human health and provide useful information for urban planning.

Assessing Inequity in Green Space Exposure toward a "15-Minute City" in Zhengzhou, China: Using Deep Learning and Urban Big Data.

Green space exposure is considered an important aspect of a livable environment and human well-being. It is often regarded as an indicator of social justice. However, due to the difficulties in obtaining green space exposure data from a ground-based view, an effective evaluation of the green space exposure inequity at the community level remains challenging. In this study, we presented a green space exposure inequity assessment framework, integrating the Green View Index (GVI), deep learning, spatial statistical analysis methods, and urban rental price big data to analyze green space exposure inequity at the community level toward a "15-minute city" in Zhengzhou, China. The results showed that green space exposure inequality is evident among residential communities. The areas in the old city were with relatively high GVI and the new city districts were with relatively low GVI. Moreover, a spatially uneven association was observed between the degree of green space exposure and housing prices. Especially, the wealthier communities in the new city districts benefit from low green space, compared to disadvantaged communities in the old city. The findings provide valuable insights for policy and planning to effectively implement greening strategies and eliminate environmental inequality in urban areas.

Interactive short-term effects of meteorological factors and air pollution on hospital admissions for cardiovascular diseases.

A substantial number of studies have demonstrated the association between air pollution and adverse health effects. However, few studies have explored the potential interactive effects between meteorological factors and air pollution. This study attempted to evaluate the interactive effects between meteorological factors (temperature and relative humidity) and air pollution ([Formula: see text], [Formula: see text], [Formula: see text], and [Formula: see text]) on cardiovascular diseases (CVDs). Next, the high-risk population susceptible to air pollution was identified. We collected daily counts of CVD hospitalizations, air pollution, and weather data in Nanning from January 1, 2014, to December 31, 2015. Generalized additive models (GAMs) with interaction terms were adopted to estimate the interactive effects of air pollution and meteorological factors on CVD after controlling for seasonality, day of the week, and public holidays. On low-temperature days, an increase of [Formula: see text] in [Formula: see text], [Formula: see text], and [Formula: see text] was associated with increases of 4.31% (2.39%, 6.26%) at lag 2; 2.74% (1.65%, 3.84%) at lag 0-2; and 0.13% (0.02%, 0.23%) at lag 0-3 in CVD hospitalizations, respectively. During low relative humidity days, a [Formula: see text] increment of lag 0-3 exposure was associated with increases of 3.43% (4.61%, 2.67%) and 0.10% (0.04%, 0.15%) for [Formula: see text] and [Formula: see text], respectively. On high relative humidity days, an increase of [Formula: see text] in [Formula: see text] was associated with an increase of 5.86% (1.82%, 10.07%) at lag 0-2 in CVD hospitalizations. Moreover, elderly (≥ 65 years) and female patients were vulnerable to the effects of air pollution. There were interactive effects between air pollutants and meteorological factors on CVD hospitalizations. The risk that [Formula: see text], [Formula: see text], and [Formula: see text] posed to CVD hospitalizations could be significantly enhanced by low temperatures. For [Formula: see text] and [Formula: see text], CVD hospitalization risk increased in low relative humidity. The effects of [Formula: see text] were enhanced at high relative humidity.

Rural-urban differences in associations between air pollution and cardiovascular hospital admissions in Guangxi, southwest China.

Epidemiological studies found that exposure to air pollution increases cardiovascular hospitalizations. However, studies on rural-urban differences in associations between hospitalizations for cardiovascular diseases and air pollution are limited. The generalized linear model (GLM) was applied to investigate the associations between cardiovascular hospitalizations and air pollution (SO2, NO2, PM2.5, PM10, CO, and O3) in Guangxi, southwest China, in 2015 (January 1-December 31). The relative risk of pollutants (SO2, NO2) on cardiovascular hospital admissions was significantly different between urban and rural areas. The effect of SO2 on cardiovascular hospitalizations was higher in urban areas than in rural areas at lag0 to lag3 and cumulative lag01 to lag03. In urban areas, there were positive associations between NO2 and cardiovascular hospitalizations at lag0, lag1 and cumulative lag01, lag02. In contrast, the effect of NO2 on cardiovascular hospitalizations was not significant in rural areas. Urban residents were more sensitive than rural residents to SO2 and NO2. Subgroup analyses showed statistically significant differences between rural and urban areas in the association between SO2 and NO2 and cardiovascular hospitalizations for males. For age groups, people aged ≥ 65 years appeared to be more vulnerable to SO2 and NO2 in urban areas. The effects of PM2.5 PM10, CO, and O3 on cardiovascular hospitalizations were consistently negative for all groups. Our findings indicated that there were rural-urban differences in associations between cardiovascular hospitalizations and air pollutants. In rural areas, the risk of cardiovascular hospitalizations was mainly influenced by SO2. Therefore, we expect to pay attention to protecting people from air pollution, particularly for those aged ≥ 65 years in urban areas.

Synergistic effects of gaseous pollutants on hospital admissions for cardiovascular disease in Liuzhou, China.

Previous studies demonstrated that short-term exposure to gaseous pollutants (nitrogen dioxide (NO2), sulfur dioxide (SO2), and ozone (O3)) had a greater adverse effect on cardiovascular disease. However, little evidence exists regarding the synergy between gaseous pollutants and cardiovascular disease (CVD). Therefore, we aimed to estimate the effect of individual gaseous pollutants on hospital admissions for CVD and to explore the possible synergistic effects between gaseous pollutants. Daily hospitalization counts for CVD were collected from January 1, 2014, to December 31, 2015. We also collected daily time series on gaseous pollutants from the Environment of the People's Republic of China, including NO2, SO2, and O3. We used distributed lag nonlinear models (DLNMs) to assess the association of individual gaseous pollutants on CVD hospitalization, after controlling for seasonality, day of the week, public holidays, and weather variables. Then, we explored the variability across age and sex groups. In addition, we analyzed the synergistic effects between gaseous pollutants on CVD. Extremely low NO2 and SO2 increase the risk of CVD in all subgroup at lag 7 days. The greatest effect of high concentration of SO2 was observed in male and the elderly (≥ 65 years) at lag 3 days. Greater effects of high concentration of O3 were more pronounced in the young (< 65 years) and female at lag 3 days, while the effect of low concentration of O3 was greater in male and the young (< 65 years) at lag 0 day. We found a synergistic effect between NO2 and SO2 for CVD, as well as between SO2 and O3. The synergistic effects of NO2 and SO2 on CVD were stronger in the elderly (≥ 65) and female. The female was sensitive to synergistic effects of SO2-O3 and NO2-O3. Interestingly, we found that there was a risk of CVD in the susceptible population even for gaseous pollutant concentrations below the National Environmental Quality Standard. The synergy between NO2 and SO2 was significantly associated with cardiovascular disease hospitalization in the elderly (≥ 65). This study provides evidence for the synergistic effect of gaseous pollutants on hospital admissions for cardiovascular disease.

Spatiotemporal variations of asthma admission rates and their relationship with environmental factors in Guangxi, China.

OBJECTIVE: The study aimed to determine if and how environmental factors correlated with asthma admission rates in geographically different parts of Guangxi province in China. SETTING: Guangxi, China. PARTICIPANTS: This study was done among 7804 asthma patients. PRIMARY AND SECONDARY OUTCOME MEASURES: Spearman correlation coefficient was used to estimate correlation between environmental factors and asthma hospitalisation rates in multiple regions. Generalised additive model (GAM) with Poisson regression was used to estimate effects of environmental factors on asthma hospitalisation rates in 14 regions of Guangxi. RESULTS: The strongest effect of carbon monoxide (CO) was found on lag1 in Hechi, and every 10 µg/m3 increase of CO caused an increase of 25.6% in asthma hospitalisation rate (RR 1.26, 95% CI 1.02 to 1.55). According to the correlation analysis, asthma hospitalisations were related to the daily temperature, daily range of temperature, CO, nitrogen dioxide (NO2) and particulate matter (PM2.5) in multiple regions. According to the result of GAM, the adjusted R2 was high in Beihai and Nanning, with values of 0.29 and 0.21, which means that environmental factors are powerful in explaining changes of asthma hospitalisation rates in Beihai and Nanning. CONCLUSION: Asthma hospitalisation rate was significantly and more strongly associated with CO than with NO2, SO2 or PM2.5 in Guangxi. The risk factors of asthma exacerbations were not consistent in different regions, indicating that targeted measures should differ between regions.

Hotspot detection and socio-ecological factor analysis of asthma hospitalization rate in Guangxi, China.

BACKGROUND: Asthma is a major public health concern throughout the world. Numerous researches have shown that the spatial-temporal patterns of asthma are inconsistent, leading to the suggestion that these patterns are determined by multiple factors. This study aims to detect spatial-temporal clusters of asthma and analyze socio-ecological factors associated with the asthma hospitalization rate in Guangxi, China. METHODS: Asthma hospitalization and socio-ecological data for 88 counties/municipal districts in Guangxi, China in 2015 was collected. Space-time scan statistics were applied to identify the high-risk periods and areas of asthma hospital admissions. We further used GeoDetector and Spearman correlation coefficient to investigate the socio-ecological factors associated with the asthma hospitalization rates. RESULTS: There were a total of 7804 asthma admissions in 2015. The high-risk period was from April to June. The age groups of 0-4 and ≥65 years were both at the highest risk, with hospital admission rates of 45.0/105 and 46.5/105, respectively. High-risk areas were found in central and western Guangxi with relative risk (RR) values of asthma hospitalizations greater than 2.0. GDP per capita and altitude were positively associated with asthma hospitalizations, while air pressure and wind speed had a negative association. The explanatory powers of these factors (i.e., GDP per capita, altitude, air pressure, wind speed) were 22%, 20%, 14% and 10%, respectively. CONCLUSIONS: The GDP per capita appears to have the strongest correlation with asthma hospitalization rates. High-risk areas were identified in central and western Guangxi characterized by high GDP per capita. These findings may be helpful for authorities developing targeted asthma prevention policies for high-risk areas and vulnerable populations, especially during high-risk periods.

Spatial-temporal variation and risk factor analysis of hand, foot, and mouth disease in children under 5 years old in Guangxi, China.

BACKGROUND: Hand, foot and mouth disease (HFMD) incidence is a critical challenge to disease control and prevention in parts of China, particularly Guangxi. However, the association between socioeconomic factors and meteorological factors on HFMD is still unclear. METHODS: This study applied global and local Moran's I to examine the spatial pattern of HFMD and series analysis to explore the temporal pattern. The effects of meteorological factors and socioeconomic factors on HFMD incidence in Guangxi, China were analyzed using GeoDetector Model. RESULTS: This study collected 45,522 cases from 87 counties in Guangxi during 2015, among which 43,711 cases were children aged 0-4 years. Temporally, there were two HFMD risk peaks in 2015. One peak was in September with 7890 cases. The other appeared in May with 4687 cases of HFMD. A high-risk cluster was located in the valley areas. The tertiary industry, precipitation and second industry had more influence than other risk factors on HFMD incidence with explanatory powers of 0.24, 0.23 and 0.21, respectively. The interactive effect of any two risk factors would enhance the risk of HFMD. CONCLUSIONS: This study suggests that precipitation and tertiary industry factors might have stronger effects on the HFMD incidence in Guangxi, China, compared with other factors. High-risk of HFMD was identified in the valley areas characterized by high temperature and humidity. Local government should pay more attention and strengthen public health services level in this area.

Particulate matter pollution in Chinese cities: Areal-temporal variations and their relationships with meteorological conditions (2015-2017).

As the second largest economy in the world, China experiences severe particulate matter (PM) pollution in many of its cities. Meteorological factors are critical in determining both areal and temporal variations in PM pollution levels; understanding these factors and their interactions is critical for accurate forecasting, comprehensive analysis, and effective reduction of this pollution. This study analyzed areal and temporal variations in concentrations of PM2.5, PM10, and PMcoarse (PM10 - PM2.5) and PM2.5 to PM10 ratios (PM2.5/PM10) and their relationships with meteorological conditions in 366 Chinese cities from January 1, 2015 to December 31, 2017. On the national scale, PM2.5 and PM10 decreased from 48 to 42 µg m-³ and from 88 to 84 µg m-³, respectively, and the annual mean concentrations were 45 µg m-³ (PM2.5) and 84 µg m-³ (PM10) during the time period (2015-2017). In most regions, largest PM concentrations occurred in winter. However, in northern China, in spring PMcoarse concentrations were highest due to dust. The PM2.5/PM10 ratio was higher in southern than in northern China. There were large regional disparities in PM diurnal variations. Generally, PM concentrations were negatively correlated with precipitation, relative humidity, air temperature, and wind speed, but were positively correlated with surface pressure. The sunshine duration showed negative and positive impacts on PM in northern and southern cities, respectively. Meteorological factors impacted particulates of different size differently in different regions and over different periods of time.

Modeling the impacts of climate change and technical progress on the wheat yield in inland China: An autoregressive distributed lag approach.

This study aims to evaluate the impacts of climate change and technical progress on the wheat yield per unit area from 1970 to 2014 in Henan, the largest agricultural province in China, using an autoregressive distributed lag approach. The bounded F-test for cointegration among the model variables yielded evidence of a long-run relationship among climate change, technical progress, and the wheat yield per unit area. In the long run, agricultural machinery and fertilizer use both had significantly positive impacts on the per unit area wheat yield. A 1% increase in the aggregate quantity of fertilizer use increased the wheat yield by 0.19%. Additionally, a 1% increase in machine use increased the wheat yield by 0.21%. In contrast, precipitation during the wheat growth period (from emergence to maturity, consisting of the period from last October to June) led to a decrease in the wheat yield per unit area. In the short run, the coefficient of the aggregate quantity of fertilizer used was negative. Land size had a significantly positive impact on the per unit area wheat yield in the short run. There was no significant short-run or long-run impact of temperature on the wheat yield per unit area in Henan Province. The results of our analysis suggest that climate change had a weak impact on the wheat yield, while technical progress played an important role in increasing the wheat yield per unit area. The results of this study have implications for national and local agriculture policies under climate change. To design well-targeted agriculture adaptation policies for the future and to reduce the adverse effects of climate change on the wheat yield, climate change and technical progress factors should be considered simultaneously. In addition, adaptive measures associated with technical progress should be given more attention.

[Calculation of regional carbon emission: a case of Guangdong Province].

By using IPCC carbon emission calculation formula (2006 edition), economy-carbon emission dynamic model, and cement carbon emission model, a regional carbon emission calculation framework was established, and, taking Guangdong Province as a case, its energy consumption carbon emission, cement production CO2 emission, and forest carbon sink values in 2008-2050 were predicted, based on the socio-economic statistical data, energy consumption data, cement production data, and forest carbon sink data of the Province. In 2008-2050, the cement production CO2 emission in the Province would be basically stable, with an annual carbon emission being 10-15 Mt C, the energy consumption carbon emission and the total carbon emission would be in inverse U-shape, with the peaks occurred in 2035 and 2036, respectively, and the carbon emission intensity would be decreased constantly while the forest carbon sink would have a fluctuated decline. It was feasible and reasonable to use the regional carbon emission calculation framework established in this paper to calculate the carbon emission in Guangdong Province.