Exposure to ambient air particulate matter and non-alcoholic fatty liver disease

The present study was designed to alert the public opinion and policy makers on the supposed enhancing effects of exposure to ambient air particulate matter with aerodynamic diameters < 2.5 mm (PM 2.5 ) on non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD), the most common chronic liver disease in Western countries. For far too long literature data have been fixated on pulmonary diseases and/or cardiovascular disease, as consequence of particulate exposure, ignoring the link between the explosion of obesity with related syndromes such as NAFLD and air pollution, the worst characteristics of nowadays civilization. In order to delineate a clear picture of this major health problem, further studies should investigate whether and at what extent cigarette smoking and exposure to ambient air PM 2.5 impact the natural history of patients with obesity-related NAFLD,i.e. , development of non alcoholic steatohepatitis, disease characterized by a worse prognosis due its progression towards fibrosis and hepatocarcinoma.

Lockdown-induced Urban Aerosol Change over Changchun, China During COVID-19 Outbreak with Polarization LiDAR

Depending on various government policies,COVID-19(Corona Virus Disease-19) lockdowns have had diverse impacts on global aerosol concentrations.In 2022,Changchun a provincial capital city in Northeast China,suffered a severe COVID-19 outbreak and implemented a very strict lockdown that lasted for nearly two months.Using ground-based polarization Light Detection and Ranging(LiDAR),we detected real-time aerosol profile parameters(EC,extinction coefficient;DR,depolarization ratio;AOD,aerosol optical depth),as well as air-quality and meteorological indexes from 1 March to 30 April in 2021 and 2022 to quantify the effects of lockdown on aerosol concentrations.The period in 2022 was divided into three stages:pre-lockdown(1-10 March),strict lockdown(11 March to 10 April),and partial lockdown(11-30 April).The results showed that,during the strict lockdown period,compared with the pre-lockdown period,there were substantial reductions in aerosol parameters(EC and AOD),and this was consistent with the concentrations of the atmospheric pollutants PM_(2.5)(particulate matter with an aerodynamic diameter ≤2.5 μm) and PM_(2.5)(particulate matter with an aerodynamic diameter ≤10 μm),and the Oconcentration increased by 8.3%.During the strict lockdown,the values of EC within0-1 km and AOD decreased by 16.0% and 11.2%,respectively,as compared to the corresponding period in 2021.Lockdown reduced the conventional and organized emissions of air pollutants,and it clearly delayed the time of seasonal emissions from agricultural burning;however,it did not decrease the number of farmland fire points.Considering meteorological factors and eliminating the influence of wind-blown dust events,the results showed that reductions from conventional organized emission sources during the strict lockdown contributed to a 30% air-quality improvement and a 22% reduction in near-surface extinction(0-2 km).Aerosols produced by urban epidemic prevention and disinfection can also be identified using the EC.Regarding seasonal sources of agricultural straw burning,the concentrated burning induced by the epidemic led to the occurrence of heavy pollution from increased amounts of atmospheric aerosols,with a contribution rate of 62%.These results indicate that there is great potential to further improve air quality in the local area,and suggest that the comprehensive use of straw accompanied by reasonable planned burning is the best way to achieve this.