The role of glucocorticoids in increasing cardiovascular risk.

Introduction: Different studies provide conflicting evidence regarding the potential for glucocorticoids (GCs) to increase the risk of cardiovascular diseases. This study performed a systematic review and meta-analysis to determine the correlation between GCs and cardiovascular risk, including major adverse cardiovascular events (MACE), death from any cause, coronary heart disease (CHD), heart failure (HF), and stroke. Methods: We performed a comprehensive search in PubMed and Embase (from inception to June 1, 2022). Studies that reported relative risk (RR) estimates with 95% confidence intervals (CIs) for the associations of interest were included. Results: A total of 43 studies with 15,572,512 subjects were included. Patients taking GCs had a higher risk of MACE (RR = 1.27, 95% CI: 1.15-1.40), CHD (RR = 1.25, 95% CI: 1.11-1.41), and HF (RR = 1.92, 95% CI: 1.51-2.45). The MACE risk increased by 10% (95% CI: 6%-15%) for each additional gram of GCs cumulative dose or by 63% (95% CI: 46%-83%) for an additional 10 µg daily dose. The subgroup analysis suggested that not inhaled GCs and current GCs use were associated with increasing MACE risk. Similarly, GCs were linked to an increase in absolute MACE risk of 13.94 (95% CI: 10.29-17.58) cases per 1,000 person-years. Conclusions: Administration of GCs is possibly related with increased risk for MACE, CHD, and HF but not increased all-cause death or stroke. Furthermore, it seems that the risk of MACE increased with increasing cumulative or daily dose of GCs.

Distinct responses of airborne abundant and rare microbial communities to atmospheric changes associated with Chinese New Year.

Airborne microorganisms, including pathogens, would change with surrounding environments and become issues of global concern due to their threats to human health. Microbial communities typically contain a few abundant but many rare species. However, how the airborne abundant and rare microbial communities respond to environmental changes is still unclear, especially at hour scale. Here, we used a sequencing approach based on bacterial 16S rRNA genes and fungal ITS2 regions to investigate the high time-resolved dynamics of airborne bacteria and fungi and to explore the responses of abundant and rare microbes to the atmospheric changes. Our results showed that air pollutants and microbial communities were significantly affected by human activities related to the Chinese New Year (CNY). Before CNY, significant hour-scale changes in both abundant and rare subcommunities were observed, while only abundant bacterial subcommunity changed with hour time series during CNY. Air pollutants and meteorological parameters explained 61.5%-74.2% variations of abundant community but only 13.3%-21.6% variations of rare communities. These results suggested that abundant species were more sensitive to environmental changes than rare taxa. Stochastic processes predominated in the assembly of abundant communities, but deterministic processes determined the assembly of rare communities. Potential bacterial pathogens during CNY were the highest, suggesting an increased health risk of airborne microbes during CNY. Overall, our findings highlighted the "holiday effect" of CNY on airborne microbes and expanded the current understanding of the ecological mechanisms and health risks of microbes in a changing atmosphere.

Corrigendum to "Pulsed Radiofrequency of the Trigeminal Ganglion for Treating Postherpetic Neuralgia of the Ophthalmic Branch".

[This corrects the article DOI: 10.1155/2021/6638392.].

Subcutaneous Peripheral Nerve Stimulation for Treatment of Acute/Subacute Herpes Zoster-related Trigeminal Neuralgia: A Retrospective Research.

OBJECTIVES: The purpose of this study was to observe the effect of subcutaneous stimulation of the peripheral nerve on acute or subacute zoster occurring in trigeminal nerve branches, and to evaluate the preventive effect of prior temporary implant of a peripheral stimulation electrode in the acute or subacute phase of herpes zoster (HZ) (from 30 to 90 d after zoster onset) before postherpetic neuralgia (PHN) presents. METHODS AND MATERIALS: A total of 26 patients' medical records were analyzed. All of patients had received temporary subcutaneous peripheral nerve stimulation (PNS). The clinical efficacy of treatment was evaluated on a visual analog scale (VAS), and dosages of pain medication were recorded before and at 1 to 6 months after the temporary stimulation. The rate of PHN was reevaluated at a 6 months follow-up. RESULTS: There was a significant decrease in VAS values after PNS. Medication doses decreased significantly after TPNS. The rate of clinically meaningful PHN (VAS >3) dropped below 4%. DISCUSSION: This study revealed that PNS is an effective treatment for trigeminal herpetic neuralgia following acute or subacute HZ. As a extend neuromodulation method, subcutaneous peripheral nerve-field stimulation might be a useful option to reduce the progression of neuropathic changes caused by persistent transmission of pain signals in the trigeminal nerve branches after the acute or subacute phase of HZ.

Pulsed Radiofrequency of the Trigeminal Ganglion for Treating Postherpetic Neuralgia of the Ophthalmic Branch.

Postherpetic neuralgia (PHN) is a painful, long-lasting condition as a consequence of nerve damage resulting from a herpes zoster infection. Although there are many different treatments available to reduce pain duration and severity, PHN is often refractory to them and no single therapy shows an effective cure for all cases of PHN, especially for those involving the ophthalmic branch of the trigeminal nerve. Pulsed radiofrequency (PRF) is a minimally invasive procedure for pain treatment that has been practiced over the past decade. However, its clinical efficacy and safety for treating PHN involving the ophthalmic branch of the trigeminal nerve have not been evaluated. Objective. This study aimed to evaluate the efficacy and safety of PRF for treating PHN involving the ophthalmic branch of the trigeminal ganglion. Study Design. An observational study. Setting. All patients received PRF of the ophthalmic branch of the trigeminal nerve, pain intensity was assessed by a visual analogue scale (VAS), and complications before and after PRF stimulation were noted. Methods. Thirty-two patients with PHN of the ophthalmic branch were treated by PRF of the ophthalmic branch with controlled temperature at 42°C for 8 min. Pain relief, corneal reflex, sleep quality, and satisfaction were assessed for all patients. Results. Thirty out of 32 patients (93.75%) reported significant pain reduction after PRF treatment. Twenty-eight of them (87.5%) were satisfied with their sleep and obtained a pain score lower than 3 following the procedure. Only two patients had a recurrence of the severe burning pain and returned to the hospital for other medical therapies 2 weeks after the PRF procedure. No patient lost the corneal reflex. Limitations. This study is an observational study and a nonprospective trial with a short-term follow-up period. Conclusion. PRF of the trigeminal ganglion of the ophthalmic branch can significantly reduce pain sensation and improve sleep quality and satisfaction for PHN of the ophthalmic branch.

[Pollution Characteristics and Potential Source Contributions of Gaseous Elemental Mercury (GEM) During Summer and Autumn in Ningbo City].

Gaseous elemental mercury (GEM) is commonly known as a hazardous heavy metal in the atmosphere and is harmful to living organisms. GEM is chemically stable and has a long residence time in the atmosphere; hence, it can be transported over long distances with air masses and is regarded as a global pollutant. We study the transportation and transformation mechanisms of GEM and its potential anthropogenic and natural contribution sources. GEM, conventional atmospheric pollutants, and meteorological parameters were monitored at a coastal site in Ningbo during the summer and autumn of 2017. The results were as follows. ① The concentrations of GEM ranged from 0.97-10.95 ng·m-3 and the mean and standard deviation (SD) were (2.32±0.90) ng·m-3, whereby the mean summer concentration was lower than the mean autumn concentration. ② The diurnal variations of GEM, ozone (O3), and gaseous oxidized mercury (GOM) during summer/autumn and sunny/rainy days suggest that higher levels of O3 and that strong solar radiation accounted for the rapid photochemical oxidation of GEM. The intensity of oxidation on sunny days was higher than that on rainy days. ③ Correlation analysis showed that GEM was significantly positively correlated with PM2.5 (R=0.65, P<0.01), PM10 (R=0.47, P<0.01), NO2 (R=0.46, P<0.01), and CO (R=0.57, P<0.01). Local and regional sources of GEM were mainly related to fossil fuel combustion. ④ The photochemical oxidation rate of GEM was influenced by the concentrations of oxidants (e.g., O3), gas-particle partitioning between GEM and particles, and light extinction effects of PM2.5, water vapor, and NO2. ⑤ Potential source contribution analysis (PSCF) indicated that the northwestern Zhejiang Province (including Ningbo City), the southern Anhui Province, and most of Jiangxi Province constitute a triangular area that is a potential source contribution to NBUEORS atmospheric GEM pollution during the summer. Local, regional, and long-range sources all had strong impacts on GEM pollution. During the autumn, the potential sources were mainly in the northern Zhejiang Province, and the source was smaller than that during the summer. GEM pollution during the autumn was mainly influenced by local and regional sources. Therefore, the control of atmospheric GEM pollution in the Yangtze River delta should apply inter-regional prevention and comprehensive control strategies in order to reduce atmospheric mercury pollution.

[Pollution Characteristics of Heavy Metals in PM2.5 and Their Human Health Risks Among the Coastal City Group Along Western Taiwan Straits Region, China].

PM2.5 samples were collected from 11 sampling sites in the coastal city group along western Taiwan Straits region, China, and these heavy metal elements (Zn, Cu, Pb, Ni, Cr, As) were detected using particle-induced X-ray emission (PIXE) method. The pollution characteristics, enrichment factors and source apportionment of heavy metals in PM2.5 were analyzed, and furthermore, their human health risks were determined. The result showed concentration distribution was obviously different between PM2.5 and heavy metals in the city group, for the main sources (e.g. construction dust and ground dust) for PM2.5 were not the main contribution to these heavy metals. The enrichment factors of Zn, Cu, Pb, Mn, Ni, Cr, As exceeded 10, which suggested these metals were enriched and significantly impacted by anthropogenic pollution. Three main groups of heavy metals in PM2.5 were identified by principal component analysis (PCA-MLR), such as coal combustion and traffic emissions (70.59%), multiple sources (coal and oil combustion, pyrometallurgical process, 17.55%) and other industry (11.86%). The risk levels for carcinogenic heavy metals (Ni, Cr, As) and non-carcinogenic heavy metals (Zn, Cu, Pb, Mn) were lower than the average level of risk acceptance (10-6), which suggested these heavy metals did not cause harm to human health in these cities.

[Pollution characteristics of platinum group elements in road rust in Xiamen].

With the potential risks for the environment and human health, the concentration and distribution characteristics of platinum group element(PGEs) in road dust in Xiamen city were investigated. Road dust samples were collected from the traffic trunk road, tunnel, tourism area, and industrial area of Xiamen on October 2012. The samples were digested with aqua regia in a microwave assisted digestion system under high pressure condition, separated and purified with cation exchange resin( Dowex AG50W-X8), and the resulting solutions were analyzed by inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry (ICP-MS). The results showed that the average concentrations(range) of Pd, Pt and Rh in road dust were 246.82 (58.68-765.52) ng x g(-1), 95.45 (42.14-371.36) ng x g(-1) and 51.76 (21.04-119.72) ng x g(-1), respectively, which were two orders of magnitude higher than the background values. Compared with other cities worldwide, the concentrations of Pd, Pt and Rh in road dust in Xiamen were at higher levels. Theconcentrations of PGEs for different functional areas were listed in the following order: tunnel > urban district > industrial area > tourism area, which indicated that their spatial distributions were mainly affected by the traffic intensity. Correlation analysis results showed that concentration of Pd in the urban traffic artery was significantly correlated with Rh, while Pt was not so correlated with Pd and Rh, suggesting that other sources contributed to PGEs in road dust in addition to the vehicle emission. Although motor vehicle traveling was banned in tourist area, the concentration of PGEs was still at a high level. Some of them might originate from the road dust in surrounding area by atmosphere diffusion.

[Characterization of organic carbon (OC) and elemental carbon (EC) in PM2.5 during the winter in three major cities in Fujian province, China].

PM2.5 samples were collected in three cities (Fuzhou, Xiamen and Quanzhou) in Fujian Province, China, during the winter, and were analyzed for organic carbon (OC) and elemental carbon (EC) by thermal optical transmission (TOT). The characteristics such as pollution levels and spatial distributions of PM2.5, OC and EC, correlations between OC and EC, OC/EC ratios and secondary organic carbon (SOC) were discussed in details. Average concentrations of PM2.5 were ranged from (79.94 +/- 18.08) microg(-3) to (114.78 +/- 26.10) microg x m(-3), which were in excess of the Ambient Air Quality Standards (GB 3095-2012) 24-hr mass-based standards of 75 microg x m(-3). Averages concentrations of OC and EC were fluctuated from (14.77 +/- 2.65) microg x m(-3) to (19.27 +/- 1.96) microg x m(-3) and (1.99 +/- 0.50) microg x m(-3) to (3.36 +/- 0.41) microg x m(-3), respectively, which were 1.2 to 1.6 times and 1.2 to 2.0 times more than that in the background site, Pingtan in Fuzhou. Correlations between OC and EC in PM2.5 were found to be strong in Pingtan (R2 = 0.70) and Jin'an (R2 = 0.66) (Fuzhou) , suggesting that there were similar primary pollutants of OC and EC. Average OC/EC ratios were 5.64-7.71 and all higher than 2, which indicated that the secondary organic carbon (SOC) was formed. The estimated concentrations of SOC were from 2.47 microg x m3 to 7.17 microg x m(-3), which contributed 13.08%-45.67% to the OC and 2.20%-7.78% to PM2.5.

Src/p38 MAPK pathway in spinal microglia is involved in mechanical allodynia induced by peri-sciatic administration of recombinant rat TNF-α.

Our previous work has shown that peri-sciatic administration of recombinant rat TNF-α (rrTNF) induces mechanical allodynia and up-regulation of TNF-α in the spinal dorsal horn of rats; however, the underlying mechanisms remain unknown. In the current study, we found that the levels of phosphorylated Src-family kinases (p-SFKs) and phosphorylated p38 mitogen-activated protein kinase (p-p38 MAPK) were significantly increased in bilateral lumbar spinal dorsal horn on day 3 after rrTNF administration. Double immunofluorescence staining revealed that p-SFKs and p-p38 MAPK were nearly restricted to the microglia. Intrathecal delivery of SFKs inhibitor PP2 or p38 MAPK inhibitor SB203580, started 30 min before rrTNF administration and given once daily thereafter for 7 days, blocked mechanical allodynia in bilateral hind paws and increase of TNF-α expression in the spinal dorsal horn. Moreover, PP2 inhibited the up-regulation of p-p38 MAPK induced by rrTNF. We also found that intrathecal injection of TNF-α neutralization antibody alleviated mechanical allodynia in bilateral hind paws and suppressed up-regulation of p-SFKs and p-p38 MAPK. These results suggest that activation of the SFKs/p38 MAPK pathway in microglia and subsequent TNF-α expression in the spinal dorsal horn may contribute to the mechanical hyperalgesic state induced by peri-sciatic administered rrTNF.

[Oxidation behavior and kinetics of representative VOCs emitted from petrochemical industry over CuCeOx composite oxides].

CuCeOx composite catalysts were synthesized via coprecipitation (COP-CuCeO,) and incipient impregnation (IMP-CuCeOx) methods, respectively. The physicochemical properties of the samples were characterized by XRD, low-temperature N2 sorption, H2-TPR and O2-TPD. The influences of reactant composition and concentration, reaction space velocity, O2 content, H2O concentration, and catalyst type on the oxidation behaviors of benzene, toluene, and n-hexane emitted from petrochemical industry were systematically investigated. In addition, the related kinetic parameters were model fitted. Compared with IMP-CuCeOx, COP-CuCeOx had well-dispersed active phase, better low-temperature reducibility, and more active surface oxygen species. The increase of reactant concentration was unfavorable for toluene oxidation, while the opposite phenomenon could be observed in n-hexane oxidation. The inlet concentration of benzene was irrelevant to its conversion under high oxidation rate. The introduction of benzene obviously inhibited the oxidation of toluene and n-hexane, while the presence of toluene had a positive effect on beuzene conversion. The presence of n-hexane could promote the oxidation of toluene, while toluene had a negative influence on e-hexane oxidation. Both low space velocity and high oxygen concentration were beneficial for the oxidation process, and the variation of oxygen content had negligible effect on n-hexane and henzene oxidation. The presence of H2O noticeably inhibited the oxidation of toluene, while significantly accelerated the oxidation procedure of henzene and n-hexane. COP-CuCeOx had superior catalytic performance for toluene and benzene oxidation, while IMP-CuCeOx showed higher n-hexane oxidation activity under dry condition. The oxidation behaviors under different conditions could be well fitted and predicted by the pseudo first-order kinetic model.

[Atmospheric pollution characteristic during fireworks burning time in spring festival in Quanzhou suburb].

Atmospheric pollution characteristics during fireworks burning time in 2009 Spring Festival in Quangzhou suburb were studied. Particulate aerosol has been monitored and collected using real-time monitor and middle-volume sampler during fireworks burning time. The objectives of this study were to identify the contents and distributing characteristics of particles, polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon (PAHs) and water-soluble ions and to discuss sources of these pollutants. The results showed that PM2.5 and PM10 were increased significantly during fireworks burning time. The highest concentration of particles presented time of 00:57-01:27 on New Year's Eve, which the average concentration of PM2.5 and PM10 were reached 1102.43 microm(-3) and 1610.22 microg x m(-3) in 30 min. The concentration of particle- and gas-PAHs were 54.18 ng x m(-1) and 47.10 ng x m(-3), respectively, during fireworks burning time in New Year's Eve, which were higher than that in the normal day. It can be judged by the diagnostic ratios that the primary source of PAHs in Quanzhou suburb were the combustion of coal, biomass and the exhaust emission from diesel vehicles in this region. Results of water-soluble ions indicated that fireworks burning were the main reason to lead to higher concentration of these ions during Spring Festival. Moreover, pollution gases of NOx and SO2 that were origined from fireworks burning, coal combustion and exhaust emission from motor vehicle were supplied precursors to form secondary pollutants, such as NO3- and SO4(2-).

[Impact of atmospheric total suspended particulate pollution on photosynthetic parameters of street mango trees in Xiamen City].

With the development of urbanization, total suspended particulate (TSP) pollution is getting serious, and the normal physiological processes of urban vegetation are profoundly affected while adsorbing and purifying the particulates. In this study, four areas were selected, i.e., Tingxi reservoir (clean control area), Xiamen University (cultural and educational area), Xianyue (business area), and Haicang (industrial area), with their atmospheric TSP concentrations and the photosynthetic parameters of street Mango (Mangifera indica) trees monitored in April and May, 2009. The daily average concentration of TSP in Tingxi, Xiamen University, Xianyue, and Haicang was 0.061, 0.113, 0.120 and 0.205 mg x m(-3), respectively, and the impact of TSP stress on M. indica was in the sequence of Haicang > Xianyue > Xiamen University > Tingxi. TSP pollution negatively affected the net photosynthetic rate, stomatal conductance, and transpiration rate of M. indica, and induced intercellular CO2 concentration changed significantly. High TSP concentration could cause the decline of net photosynthetic rate via stomatal limitation.

[Distribution characteristics of particulate mercury in aerosol in coastal city].

Particulate mercury, which is bound with aerosol in atmosphere, has a negative impact on human health and the environment, also plays an important role in the biogeochemical process of mercury. In this paper, taking southeast coastal city of Xiamen as research object, the PM2.5, PM10 and TSP were collected in residential, tourism, industrial area and background, respectively, during four seasons (October 2008-September 2009). RA-915 + mercury analyzer was employed to determinate mercury concentration in different size particle matters based on zeeman atomic absorption spectrometry. The results showed that the contents of particulate mercury in different size of aerosol during Winter, Spring were obviously higher than that of Summer, Autumn; the concentrations of particulate mercury in fine particle during Spring, Summer, Autumn and Winter were (51.46 +/- 19.28), (42.41 +/- 12.74), (38.38 +/- 6.08) and (127.23 +/- 33.70) pg/m3, respectively. The experimental data showed that the particulate mercury were mainly distributed in fine particles (PM2.5), which covered 42.48%-67.87%, and it can be concluded that the rate of particulate mercury enrichment in coarse particle was much lower than that of fine particle. The sequence of atmospheric particulate mercury concentration in different functional areas was: background < resident < tourism < industrial area < suburban; which showed characteristics of spatial distribution of particulate mercury was affected by the sampling location. On the whole, Xiamen had a low level of atmospheric particulate mercury; the enrichment of PM2.5 to particulate mercury was significantly higher than that of PM10 and TSP, and showed that fine particle pollution should be tightly controlled to reduce particulate mercury.

Phosphorus recovery from synthetic swine wastewater by chemical precipitation using response surface methodology.

With synthetic swine wastewater, central composite design using response surface methodology was employed to investigate the effects of pH value and concentrations of ammonium, phosphate, magnesium and calcium on phosphorous recovery. P recovery efficiency with the range of 53-99% was observed in the experimental runs. Results showed that magnesium ammonium phosphate were the only crystals, mixed with amorphous calcium precipitates, in the deposits. According to the regression quadratic model, the linear and quadratic terms of PO(4)(3-)-P and Mg had significant effects on the P recovery amount. With regard to the interaction terms, pH x NH(4)(+)-N, PO(4)(3-)-P x Mg, PO(4)(3-)-P x Ca and Mg x Ca showed significant influences. A maximum P recovery amount of 299.25 mg/L was achieved at optimized conditions with pH 9.7, NH(4)(+)-N 456 mg/L, PO(4)(3-)-P 300 mg/L, Mg(2+) 264 mg/L and Ca(2+) 59 mg/L, respectively.