The weather conditions affecting aerosol pollution in Beijing and its
vicinity (BIV) in wintertime have worsened in recent years, particularly
after 2010. The relation between interdecadal changes in ...weather conditions
and climate warming is uncertain. Here, we analyze long-term variations of an
integrated pollution-linked meteorological index (which is approximately and
linearly related to aerosol pollution), the extent of changes in vertical
temperature differences in the boundary layer (BL) in BIV, and northerly
surface winds from Lake Baikal during wintertime to evaluate the potential
contribution of climate warming to changes in meteorological conditions
directly related to aerosol pollution in this area; this is accomplished
using NCEP reanalysis data, surface observations, and long-term vertical
balloon sounding observations since 1960. The weather conditions affecting
BIV aerosol pollution are found to have worsened since the 1960s as a whole.
This worsening is more significant after 2010, with PM2.5 reaching
unprecedented high levels in many cities in China, particularly in BIV. The
decadal worsening of meteorological conditions in BIV can partly be
attributed to climate warming, which is defined by more warming in the higher
layers of the boundary layer (BL) than the lower layers. This worsening can
also be influenced by the accumulation of aerosol pollution, to a certain
extent (particularly after 2010), because the increase in aerosol pollution
from the ground leads to surface cooling by aerosol–radiation interactions,
which facilitates temperature inversions, increases moisture accumulations,
and results in the extra deterioration of meteorological conditions. If
analyzed as a linear trend, weather conditions have worsened by
∼ 4 % each year from 2010 to 2017. Given such a deterioration rate,
the worsening of weather conditions may lead to a corresponding amplitude
increase in PM2.5 in BIV during wintertime in the next 5 years (i.e.,
2018 to 2022). More stringent emission reduction measures will need to be
conducted by the government.
The risk of workplace violence and job burnout among Chinese correctional officers is high. Stress and insomnia may influence the relationship between workplace violence and job burnout; however, ...this influence has been rarely studied. This study aimed to explore the effect of workplace violence on job burnout among Chinese correctional officers and to assess the contribution of stress and insomnia to this effect.
In this study, the workplace violence scale, the Assens insomnia scale, the 21-item Depression Anxiety Stress Scale, and the Maslach Burnout Inventory-General Survey scale were used to assess the workplace violence, insomnia, stress, and job burnout experienced by the 472 correctional officers, respectively.
The results showed that (1) workplace violence was significantly and positively predictive of job burnout, (2) workplace violence affected job burnout through the mediation of stress, (3) workplace violence affected job burnout through the mediation of insomnia, and (4) stress and insomnia played fully interlocking mediating roles in the effect of workplace violence on job burnout.
Stress and insomnia may play a full mediating role in the relationship between workplace violence and job burnout. This suggested that correctional officers may take measures to reduce stress and improve insomnia, thereby reducing their job burnout. Further research may focus on the development of effective interventions to reduce stress and improve insomnia among correctional officers.
Celotno besedilo
Dostopno za:
DOBA, IZUM, KILJ, NUK, PILJ, PNG, SAZU, SIK, UILJ, UKNU, UL, UM, UPUK
Aim
Gut microbiota and its metabolite bile acids may play a significant role in the occurrence and development of major depressive disorder (MDD). Therefore, this study analyzes gut microbiota and ...bile acids, as well as their correlation in patients.
Methods
Thirty‐one patients with MDD and 29 healthy controls (HCs) were enrolled in this study. We collected their both blood and feces. Plasma bile acid content was determined by liquid chromatography‐mass spectrometry and gut microbiota was detected by 16SrRNA gene sequencing and subsequently analyzed. We also analyzed the correlation between different gut microbiota, bile acids, and Hamilton Depression (HAMD) score.
Results
The α‐diversity analysis found that Simpson and Pielou evenness index was much higher in HCs than in the patients with MDD. The β‐diversity of the two groups were differences by nonmetric multidimensional scaling analysis. Linear discriminant analysis effect size analysis identified 16 different strains. Bile acids detection showed that 23‐nordeoxycholic acid in patients with MDD was significantly higher than in HCs, whereas taurolithocholic acid (TLCA), glycolithocholic acid (GLCA), and lithocholic acid 3‐sulfate were significantly lower. Spearman correlation analysis showed that Turicibacteraceae, Turicibacterales, and Turicibacter were positively related with TLCA, GLCA, glycodeoxycholic acid (GDCA), and taurodeoxycholic acid, and were negatively correlated with HAMD score. At the same time, TLCA, GLCA, and GDCA were negatively correlated with HAMD score.
Conclusions
Gut microbiota and bile acids metabolism are disturbances in MDD, and there exists a correlation between gut microbiota and bile acids metabolism. Moreover, their interaction may be related to the pathophysiological mechanism of MDD.
Are there still persistent heavy aerosol pollution episodes (HPEs) in Beijing one year after the implementation of the “Action Plan for the Prevention and Control of Air Pollution (“Ten Statements of ...Atmosphere” in China: 2013–2017)”? Will the cumulative aerosol pollution still induce significant two-way feedback between PM2.5 and the planetary boundary layer structure? Answers to these matters are particular concerns of the government and the public. The analysis of the vertical structure of the aerosol and meteorological factors in planetary boundary layer shows that the two-way feedback between unfavorable meteorological conditions and PM2.5 pollution cumulating is still the primary mechanism for the maintenance of HPEs, accounting especially ~66% to 88% for explosive rise in PM2.5, in autumn and winter in Beijing area a year after the “Ten Statements of Atmosphere”. This effect also shows that the concentration of PM2.5 in Beijing had not fallen low enough to decouple the influence of unfavorable meteorological factors. The increased level of PM2.5 mass during the explosive rise stage was similar to those of the precursor gases of NO2, SO2 and CO, as well as to the declining ratio of the boundary layer height (BLH), which also suggest that the interaction between PM2.5 cumulating and the boundary layer structure is playing a leading role for the maintenance of HPEs and the PM2.5 explosive rise in Beijing. The depolarization ratio signal of the Lidar also shows that the transit of mineral aerosols from the northwest over Beijing often appears in the upper layer of the planetary boundary layer or higher atmosphere during the late or subside stage of HPEs.
Display omitted
•PM2.5 mass in Beijing has not fallen enough to decouple from unfavorable meteorological influence after the "Ten Statement of Atmosphere".•The increased level of PM2.5 mass during its explosive rise is similar to the precursor gases, and similar to the declining ratio of the BLH, showing that the two-way feedback is still the primary mechanism for the HPEs in Beijing.•Feedback effects of pollution-induced further "deteriorate" of unfavorable meteorological conditions explain more than 66% to 88% of the explosive increase of PM2.5.
Using negative oxygen ion (NOI) observations, with an hourly resolution, the automatic weather station (AWS), and a comparative analysis of three well-known scenic locations, namely, Zoige Wetland ...Nature Reserve (ZWNR), Sichuan Panda Nature Habitat (PNH), and Hangzhou West Lake (HWL) Scenic Area was performed and the dynamic mechanisms of typical wetlands in response to a NOI surge were investigated. The findings are as follows.
① At HWL, NOI concentration was higher than in the metropolitan center. The influence of meteorological conditions on NOI in the ZWNR wetland and PNH in southwest China was more significant than that in Hangzhou in the eastern densely populated metropolitan areas. ② Sensitive contribution parameters of microphysical meteorological conditions are given, including the atmospheric condensation rates (fc) and supersaturation (S), as well as the height and amount of low cloud (H0 and M). A parametric model of exponential attenuation driven by the size of water vapor (fog droplets) is given for diagnosing the NOI concentration change in natural wetlands. At the critical threshold of S > 4%, the NOI rapidly increases to the maximum value. ③ Based on parametric principle of the wet aerodynamics of natural wetlands, the NOI meteorological condition index of the quasi-linear relationship with real-time NOI observation is established. The geographical distribution band of the high concentration of NOI in China is given, which meeting with the typical famous wetlands and giant panda habitat NOI characteristics in China. It provides the application prospects for NOI diagnosis and prediction.
Display omitted
•Observations of ZWNR wetland air quality and the mechanism of wetland NOI generation.•Once the supersaturation threshold >4%, NOI increases rapidly nearby the wetlands.•The distribution of NOI in China is given based on theory and actual observations.
Atmospheric fluctuation can be seen everywhere. This study focuses on the record-breaking increase of O3 concentration during the summer in some sensitive areas in recent years. The findings indicate ...that in the vicinity of the East Asian continent near western Pacific ocean, when the atmospheric conditions are stable or neutral, it is conducive to the maintenance and propagation of atmospheric oscillations near the height of the pollutant mixed layer (H_PML). Accompanied by the "peak-trough" effect of external gravity wave oscillations, due to the abundant water vapor of the cloud system (there are low pressure or typhoon disturbances in summer) near the large-scale cloud belt at the edge of the subtropical high in the western Pacific, the bright temperature at cloud top shows "light and dark changes" on satellite images, forming a wave-like cloud system. The novelty of this study lies in the fact that atmospheric fluctuations near the H_PML is not only related to the known aggravation of heavy rainfall, but also leads to the additional value-added effect of aerosols. Under static atmospheric conditions, the impact of atmospheric fluctuations near the H_PML on additional rise of O3 concentration helps us to deepen our understanding of the so-called "entrained ozone (EZ) effect" in the atmosphere. Due to the external gravity waves, the concentration of O3 increased further. Diurnal variations of solar zenith angle and H_PML are key meteorological factors influencing the significant increase in near-surface O3 concentration entrainment. The formation mechanism of solar photochemical O3 is further deepened and supplemented by analyzing the record-breaking increase of O3 concentration in summer observed in recent years.
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•Effect of fluctuations in static atmospheric on the increase of O3.•Positive correlation area between O3 & H_PML was distributed as banded in Western Pacific.•Ncrease in O3 at sunrise & noon accompanied with the change of the solar zenith angle.•Wave-like clouds belt characteristics took place under condition of static atmosphere.
Inflammatory depression is a treatment-resistant subtype of depression. A causal role of the gut microbiota as a source of low-grade inflammation remains unclear. Here, as part of an observational ...trial, we first analyze the gut microbiota composition in the stool, inflammatory factors and short-chain fatty acids (SCFAs) in plasma, and inflammatory and permeability markers in the intestinal mucosa of patients with inflammatory depression (ChiCTR1900025175). Gut microbiota of patients with inflammatory depression exhibits higher Bacteroides and lower Clostridium, with an increase in SCFA-producing species with abnormal butanoate metabolism. We then perform fecal microbiota transplantation (FMT) and probiotic supplementation in animal experiments to determine the causal role of the gut microbiota in inflammatory depression. After FMT, the gut microbiota of the inflammatory depression group shows increased peripheral and central inflammatory factors and intestinal mucosal permeability in recipient mice with depressive and anxiety-like behaviors. Clostridium butyricum administration normalizes the gut microbiota, decreases inflammatory factors, and displays antidepressant-like effects in a mouse model of inflammatory depression. These findings suggest that inflammatory processes derived from the gut microbiota can be involved in neuroinflammation of inflammatory depression.
During the 2020 Chinese Spring Festival extended holidays and the COVID-19 period in Wuhan, the “quasi-zero emissions increase” occurred due to the human activities have a considerably lower impact ...on air quality. A new scientific question of concern: Why has high of O3 and PM2.5 still been observed? The comparative analysis of the influences of anomalous atmospheric circulation and weather conditions during this special period in 2019–2020 with those in the historical years can be useful. The results in the study were as follows:
(1) Even during this “quasi-zero emissions increase” period, the concentrations of O3 and PM2.5 are higher than normal, with O3 being significantly higher in Wuhan. Which is associated with a anomaly large-scale humid/warm water vapor transport in the Northern Hemisphere which is significantly different from that of the same period with historical more-haze years. (2) In this scenario, the large-scale humid/warm water vapor transport brings sustained high-humidity water vapor lifting conditions to north China. The daily cycling change of the sun's zenith angle to support the high-humidity and high-condensation condition are conducive to the elevation of high condensation (fc) and degree of super-saturation (S) going up to the peak of S >10%. Under the condition driven by high fc, it causes the power exponent law to be followed converting NO2 to O3, thereby resulting in an increase in O3 concentration. This additional contribution to O3 concentration is as high as 37% than those from pure chemical process. (3) An objective quantitative reversal method for calculating the monthly threshold in fc is given based on the power exponential conversion law by the observed data. It can be prospectively applied to assess the feedback on the impact of pollution on urban climate.
Display omitted
•Atmospheric Super-saturation is conducive to secondary conversion of O3 precursors.•Water vapor conveyor belt maintains particle matter's humidification growth nearby.•Daily change of sun's zenith angle supports O3 growth in power exponential transform.
Based on observations of urban mass concentration of fine particulate matter smaller than 2.5 μm in diameter （PM2.5）, ground meteorological data, vertical measurements of winds, temperature, and ...relative humidity （RH）, and ECMWF reanalysis data, the major changes in the vertical structures of meteorological factors in the boundary layer （BL） during the heavy aerosol pollution episodes （HPEs） that occurred in winter 2016 in the urban Beijing area were analyzed. The HPEs are divided into two stages： the transport of pollutants under prevailing southerly winds, known as the transport stage （TS）, and the PM2.5 explosive growth and pollution accumulation period characterized by a temperature inversion with low winds and high RH in the lower BL, known as the cumulative stage （CS）. During the TS, a surface high lies south of Beijing, and pollutants are transported northwards. During the CS, a stable BL forms and is characterized by weak winds, temperature inversion, and moisture accumulation. Stable atmospheric stratifica- tion featured with light/calm winds and accumulated moisture （RH 〉 80%） below 250 m at the beginning of the CS is closely associated with the inversion, which is strengthened by the considerable decrease in near-surface air temperat- ure due to the interaction between aerosols and radiation after the aerosol pollution occurs. A significant increase in the PLAM （Parameter Linking Aerosol Pollution and Meteorological Elements） index is found, which is linearly re- lated to PM mass change. During the first 10 h of the CS, the more stable BL contributes approximately 84% of the explosive growth of PM2.5 mass. Additional accumulated near-surface moisture caused by the ground temperature de- crease, weak turbulent diffusion, low BL height, and inhibited vertical mixing of water vapor is conducive to the sec- ondary aerosol formation through chemical reactions, including liquid phase and heterogeneous reactions, which fur- ther increases the PM2.5 concentration levels. The contribution of these reaction mechanisms to the explosive growth of PM2,5 mass during the early CS and subsequent pollution accumulation requires further investigation.
Substance use has been a serious public safety issue. It not only affects the users' physical and mental health but is also detrimental to social stability. To improve our understanding of this ...issue, the present study looked to examine the factors influencing substance use craving and develop interventions to reduce craving and relapse among substance users.
A total of 502 substance users were included in this study. Socio-demographic characteristics and substance use-related characteristics were recorded using self-developed forms. With regard to psychological traits, we used the self-esteem scale, the experience of shame scale, and the revised Cheek and Buss shyness scale to assess the self-esteem, shame, and shyness of substance users, respectively. The degree of substance use craving of substance users was assessed using the visual analog scale (VAS). Data were analyzed using independent samples
-test, Pearson correlation analysis, and multiple linear regression analysis, as appropriate.
The majority of the substance users were unmarried, employed, and with lower education levels. For substance use-related characteristics, the age of first use was 27.52 ± 8.30 years and the duration of substance use was 12.29 ± 7.72 years. The scores of their self-esteem, shame, and shyness were 25.65 ± 3.19, 57.26 ± 7.82, and 37.8 ± 7.13, respectively. All substance users rated the intensity of their substance use cravings using the VAS, which showed that the mean score was 2.83 ± 1.87. Multiple linear regression analysis showed that substance use craving was positively associated with the frequency of substance use (β = 0.186,
< 0.001), times of substance rehabilitation (β = 0.128,
= 0.003), shyness (β = 0.211,
< 0.001), and shame (β = 0.091,
= 0.033), and negatively associated with self-esteem (β = -0.117,
= 0.008).
Factors and psychological traits related to substance use are important to account for substance use craving and relapse. Thus, our findings are helpful for a better understanding of the extent of substance use cravings among users and the selection of appropriate interventions to control the craving and relapse.
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