The anti-obesity effects of EGCG in relation to oxidative stress and air-pollution in China

Modern China,similar to most developing nations,has seen a rise in the prevalence of both obesity and diesel exhaust based air pollution.The cause of obesity is multi-factorial encompassing diet,lifestyle and social factors.Also there has been a reduction in the consumption of fruit,vegetables,and traditional medicinal foods such as polyphenol containing green tea.Replacing these,are high fat and carbohydrate based processed foods which are quickly displacing these wholefoods in the diet.This review paper proposes evidence that a potential cause of obesity is also linked to environmental stress stimuli such as air pollutants,particularly diesel exhaust fumes(DEF)of>2.5μm particulate matter,and discusses a role for a green tea catechin(EGCG)for use as a dietary defence against diet and environmentally induced obesity.China is now at a critical point of a public health pandemic with rising air-borne pollution(via car exhaust fumes DEF),industry pollution such as heavy metals,and the benzene hydrocarbon based‘2PM’particulate matter,now accepted as a major environmental issue for public health.Relevant data published in MEDLINE since 1995 has been gathered to formulate the following review.

Impact of Noise Barriers on Air-Pollution Dispersion

The impact of noise barriers on gaseous air-pollution dispersion was examined using the high-resolution CLMM (Charles University LES (Large Eddy Simulation) Microscale Model). The dispersion of a mixture of nitrogen oxides (denoted as NOx—a mix of NO and NO2) was computed, providing the simulation in which wind direction is approximately perpendicular to the noise barriers. The barriers were assumed to be straight and infinitely long, with a height of 3 m. Dispersion of NOx was modeled for situations with no noise barriers along the highway, barriers on both sides, and for a single barrier on the upwind and downwind sides of the highway. The modelling results are presented and discussed in relation to previous studies and the implications of the results are considered for pollution barriers along highways.

Synoptic Typing and Its Application for Evaluating Climatic Impact on Air Quality in Urumqi

An automated procedure employing principal-component analysis and a two-stage cluster analysis was developed to classify the synoptic meteorological conditions prevailing over Urumqi, one of the most heavily polluted cities in the world. Six clusters representing different circulation patterns and air-mass characteristics were classified using surface- and upper-meteorological variables during the heating period from 2001 to 2008, and the relationships between synoptic clusters and air quality were evaluated. The heaviest air-pollution episodes occurred when Urumqi was in either an extremely cold, strong anticyclone or at the front of a migrating cyclone, both with light winds, wet surface air, and relatively dry upper air. Moderate pollution was seen when Urumqi was in the pre-cold/cold frontal passages with lower temperatures and light winds or moderate anticyclone with relatively warmer, drier air. When Urumqi was at the front of a migrating anticyclone or in a weak anticyclone with moderate winds and most warm, dry air, or in the cold/post-cold frontal passages with relatively strongly northerly airflows and precipitation, relatively good air quality could be seen. These results suggest that air pollution in Urumqi is very closely related to the synoptic meteorological conditions, which provides an important basis for not only the prediction and control of urban air-quality problems here but also for the analysis of the differential impacts of weather and pollution on human morbidity.