Acute Effects of Particulate Air Pollution on Ischemic Stroke and Hemorrhagic Stroke Mortality

Background and Purpose: A large body of literature reported the association of particulate matter (PM) with stroke in high-income countries. Few studies have examined the association between PM and stroke in middle- and low-income countries and considered the types of stroke. In this study, we examined the short-term effects of particulate matter <2.5 μm in diameter (PM2.5) and particulate matter <10 μm in diameter (PM10) on ischemic stroke mortality and hemorrhagic stroke mortality in Beijing, China.Methods: We used an ecological study design and quasi-Poisson generalized additive models to evaluate the association of PM2.5 and PM10 and cerebrovascular diseases mortality, as well as ischemic- and hemorrhagic stroke mortality. In the model, we controlled long-term and season trends, temperature, and relative humidity, the day of the week and air pollution. For cerebrovascular diseases mortality, we examined the effects stratified by sex and age with different lag days.Results: A total of 48,122 deaths for cerebrovascular disease (32,799 deaths for ischemic stroke and 13,051 deaths for hemorrhagic stroke) were included in the study. PM2.5 was associated with stroke mortality. The 10 μg/m3 increase of PM2.5 was associated with the increase of mortality, 0.27% (95% CI, 0.12–0.43%) for cerebrovascular diseases, 0.23% (95% CI, 0.04–0.42%) for ischemic stroke and 0.37% (95% CI, 0.07–0.67%) for hemorrhagic stroke -. The associations between PM10 and mortality were also detected for cerebrovascular diseases and ischemic stroke, but not in hemorrhagic stroke. The stratified analysis suggested age and gender did not modify the effects of PM on mortality significantly.Conclusions: Our study suggested that short-term exposure to ambient PM was associated with the risk of stroke mortality

<strong>Two new species of <em>Oxycera </em>and description of the female of <em>O</em>. <em>signata </em>Brunetti from China (Diptera, Stratiomyidae)</strong>

Two new species, Oxycera qiana sp. nov. and Oxycera micronigra sp. nov., are described from China. Oxycera signata Brunetti, 1920 is recorded for the first time from China with the female described for the first time. Diagnostic characters of all three species are illustrated. A key to the Chinese Oxycera species (19 spp.) is presented.</jats:p

Clinical characteristics of infectious ulceration over tophi in patients with gout

Objective The aim of this study was to investigate the clinical characteristics of infectious ulceration over tophi in patients with gout. Methods Participants were recruited from the First Affiliated Hospital of Wenzhou Medical University. The clinical characteristics of the patients and wound characteristics were recorded. Results Of the 38 enrolled patients, 18 were found to have infectious ulceration over tophi. Staphylococcus aureus was the most common pathogen and was identified in nine patients. Patients with infection were significantly older (69.6 vs. 60.1 years) and had a worse quality of life than those without infection. Patients with infection also had a significantly longer ulcer duration (125.6 vs. 54.2 days), larger ulcer size (2.47 vs. 1.99 cm2), a higher rate of tissue necrosis in the ulcer bed (55.6% vs. 20.0%), a lower rate of callus at the edge (27.8% vs. 70.0%), and a higher moisture level than did patients without infection. Additionally, patients with infection had significantly delayed wound healing (35.3 vs. 20.3 days) compared with patients without infection. Conclusions Older patients with a long ulcer duration and larger ulcer size are more susceptible to infection. Infection can lower patients’ quality of life and delay wound healing. </jats:sec

Progressive Collapse Resistance Assessment of a Multi-Column Frame Tube Structure with an Assembled Truss Beam Composite Floor under Different Column Removal Conditions

To estimate the progressive collapse resistance capacity of a multi-column frame tube structure with an assembled truss beam composite floor (ATBCF), pushdown analysis and nonlinear dynamic analysis are conducted for such a structure using the alternate load path (ALP) method. The bearing capacities of the remaining structures under three different work conditions, which are the side middle column removal, the edge middle column removal, and the corner column removal, are individually studied, and the collapse mechanism of the remaining structures is analyzed based on the aspects of the internal force redistribution and the failure mode of the second defense line. Simultaneously, the influence of the column failure time on the dynamic response of the remaining structure and the dynamic amplification coefficient is discussed. The results indicate that the residual bearing capacity of the remaining structure following the bottom corner column removal is higher than that of the one following the side or edge middle column removal, while the latter has a stronger plastic deformation capacity. When the ALP method is adopted to operate the progressive collapse analysis, it is reasonable to take the column failure time as 0.1 times the period of the first-order vertical vibration mode of the remaining structure, and it is suitable to set the dynamic amplification coefficient as 2.0, which is the ratio of the maximum dynamic displacement to the static displacement of the remaining structure under the transient loading condition

Sodium Lauroyl Glutamate as a Collector in Cassiterite Flotation

In this paper, sodium lauroyl glutamate (SLG), a stable and inexpensive green surfactant, was used as a flotation collector for the first time in cassiterite flotation. The micro-flotation tests revealed that SLG could effectively collect cassiterite and have superior selectivity against quartz over a wide pH range, compared with benzohydroxamic acid (BHA). The maximum recovery of cassiterite in the presence of SLG was 93.2%, while the quartz recovery was consistently lower than 8%. The adsorption experiments and zeta potential measurements suggested SLG was chemisorbed onto the cassiterite surface. The Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR) and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) analyses indicated that the polar groups of SLG anions (the carboxyl and amide groups) chelate with the Sn ions on the cassiterite surface to form five-membered rings. This structure made SLG attach firmly to the cassiterite surface, effectively recovering cassiterite. Lastly, a good flotation index was achieved in the bench-scale flotation tests using SLG as the collector, which confirmed its potential economic value in practical application

Sodium Lauroyl Glutamate as a Collector in Cassiterite Flotation

In this paper, sodium lauroyl glutamate (SLG), a stable and inexpensive green surfactant, was used as a flotation collector for the first time in cassiterite flotation. The micro-flotation tests revealed that SLG could effectively collect cassiterite and have superior selectivity against quartz over a wide pH range, compared with benzohydroxamic acid (BHA). The maximum recovery of cassiterite in the presence of SLG was 93.2%, while the quartz recovery was consistently lower than 8%. The adsorption experiments and zeta potential measurements suggested SLG was chemisorbed onto the cassiterite surface. The Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR) and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) analyses indicated that the polar groups of SLG anions (the carboxyl and amide groups) chelate with the Sn ions on the cassiterite surface to form five-membered rings. This structure made SLG attach firmly to the cassiterite surface, effectively recovering cassiterite. Lastly, a good flotation index was achieved in the bench-scale flotation tests using SLG as the collector, which confirmed its potential economic value in practical application.</jats:p

An Investigation on Formaldehyde Emission Characteristics of Wood Building Materials in Chinese Standard Tests: Product Emission Levels, Measurement Uncertainties, and Data Correlations between Various Tests.

As a large producer and consumer of wood building materials, China suffers product formaldehyde emissions (PFE) but lacks systematic investigations and basic data on Chinese standard emission tests (CST), so this paper presented a first effort on this issue. The PFE of fiberboards, particleboards, blockboards, floorings, and parquets manufactured in Beijing region were characterized by the perforator extraction method (PE), 9-11 L and 40 L desiccator methods (D9, D40), and environmental chamber method (EC) of the Chinese national standard GB 18580; based on statistics of PFE data, measurement uncertainties in CST were evaluated by the Monte Carlo method; moreover, PFE data correlations between tests were established. Results showed: (1) Different tests may give slightly different evaluations on product quality. In PE and D9 tests, blockboards and parquets reached E1 grade for PFE, which can be directly used in indoor environment; but in D40 and EC tests, floorings and parquets achieved E1. (2) In multiple tests, PFE data characterized by PE, D9, and D40 complied with Gaussian distributions, while those characterized by EC followed log-normal distributions. Uncertainties in CST were overall low, with uncertainties for 20 material-method combinations all below 7.5%, and the average uncertainty for each method under 3.5%, thus being acceptable in engineering application. A more complicated material structure and a larger test scale caused higher uncertainties. (3) Conventional linear models applied to correlating PFE values between PE, D9, and EC, with R2 all over 0.840, while novel logarithmic (exponential) models can work better for correlations involving D40, with R2 all beyond 0.901. This research preliminarily demonstrated the effectiveness of CST, where results for D40 presented greater similarities to EC-the currently most reliable test for PFE, thus highlighting the potential of Chinese D40 as a more practical approach in production control and risk assessment