Does Living near Trees and Other Vegetation Affect the Contemporaneous Odds of Asthma Exacerbation among Pediatric Asthma Patients?

Vegetation may influence asthma exacerbation through effects on aeroallergens, localized climates, air pollution, or children's behaviors and stress levels. We investigated the association between residential vegetation and asthma exacerbation by conducting a matched case-control study based on electronic health records of asthma patients, from the Children's Hospital of Philadelphia (CHOP). Our study included 17,639 exacerbation case events and 34,681 controls selected from non-exacerbation clinical visits for asthma, matched to cases by age, sex, race/ethnicity, public payment source, and residential proximity to the CHOP main campus ED and hospital. Overall greenness, tree canopy, grass/shrub cover, and impervious surface were assessed near children's homes (250 m) using satellite imagery and high-resolution landcover data. We used generalized estimating equations to estimate odds ratios (OR) and 95% confidence intervals (CI) for associations between each vegetation/landcover measure and asthma exacerbation, with adjustment for seasonal and sociodemographic factors-for all cases, and for cases defined by diagnosis setting and exacerbation frequency. Lower odds of asthma exacerbation were observed in association with greater levels of tree canopy near the home, but only for children who experienced multiple exacerbations in a year (OR = 0.94 per 10.2% greater tree canopy coverage, 95% CI = 0.90-0.99). Our findings suggest possible protection for asthma patients from tree canopy, but differing results by case frequency suggest that potential benefits may be specific to certain subpopulations of asthmatic children.

Fast multipoint immobilization of lipase through chiral L-proline on a MOF as a chiral bioreactor.

In this paper, we describe the facile preparation of a chiral catalyst by the combination of the amino acid, l-proline (Pro), and the enzyme, porcine pancreas lipase (PPL), immobilized on a microporous metal-organic framework (PPL-Pro@MOF). The multipoint immobilization of PPL onto the MOF is made possible with the aid of Pro, which also provided a chiral environment for enhanced enantioselectivity. The application of the microporous MOF is pivotal in maintaining the catalytic activity of PPL, wherein it prevented the leaching of Pro during the catalytic reaction, leading to the enhanced activity of PPL. The prepared biocatalyst was applied in asymmetric carbon-carbon bond formation, demonstrating the potential of this simple approach for chemical transformations.

Association between the occurrence of albuminuria and the risk of early dementia among older people upon health examination: a community-based cohort study in Taiwan.

OBJECTIVES: This study aimed to investigate the associations between biochemical markers, renal function, health behaviours and dementia among older people. DESIGN: A retrospective cohort study. SETTING: Community-based health examination database from Taipei city. PARTICIPANTS: In total, 35 434 older people were included from February 2005 to December 2012. To assess changes in renal function, we selected participants who attended health examinations at least twice and responded to the AD8 questionnaire in 2012. We excluded those with dementia at baseline. PRIMARY OUTCOME MEASURES: Early dementia was assessed using the AD8 questionnaire in 2012. Explanatory variables included demographic factors, health behaviours, biochemical markers and renal function. We used a Cox proportional hazard model to estimate the HR for early dementia onset. RESULTS: Individuals with mild albuminuria (HR 1.228; 95% CI 1.066 to 1.414), lower eGFR (HR 1.549; 95% CI 1.319 to 1.820) and higher age (HR 1.022; 95% CI 1.015 to 1.028) were associated with a high risk of early dementia. Older people with no alcohol intake (HR 0.872; 95% CI 0.794 to 0.958), and higher education levels (HR 0.647; 95% CI 0.589 to 0.710) were at a low risk of early dementia. CONCLUSIONS: Elevated mild albuminuria and low eGFR were associated with a high risk of early dementia in this community-based cohort. Routine health examinations for older people can help screen out the high-risk population, and clinical management might reduce or delay the risk of early dementia.