Effects of PM2.5 Exposure in Different Air Quality Grades on Daily Outpatient Visits for Childhood Asthma in Shijiazhuang, China

Asthma is a common chronic inflammatory disorder that is more prevalent in children than in adults.China has seen an increasing prevalence of childhood asthma in recentdecades[1].Earlier studies have shown that air particulate matter (PM),particularly fine particulate matter(PM2.5)[2],is an important factor triggering childhood asthma. Since nationalPM2.5data were nota vailabl euntil 2013,

Study on the Correlation between Temperature and Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease in Shijiazhuang, China—Retrospective Cohort

Using the chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) medical records from January 1st to December 31st of 2013 and the Meteorological observation data, the air pollution data in the same time periods, generalized additive models were used to quantitatively analyze the relationship between COPD hospitalizations and temperature with controlling the confounding effects of time trend, meteorological factors and air pollution index (AQI). Results showed: variable temperature in 24 h (BT), 3d lagged minimum temperature (Tm3) and 5d lagged diurnal maximum temperature and minimum temperature range (Tc5) have different effects on COPD hospitalizations. When BT is between -4.4°C and -0.7°C, the relative risk (RR) increases to 1.0207 (95% CI: 1.0074 - 1.0342)with every 1°C increase in BT;when Tm3 is between -3.6°C and 3.2°C, the relative risk (RR) increases to 1.0118 (95% CI: 1.0015 - 1.0222)with every 1°C increase in Tm3, and when Tm3 is greater than 20.5°C, the relative risk (RR) increases to 1.0069 (95% CI: 1.0005 - 1.0133) with every 1°C increase in Tm3;when Tc5 is between 0.9°C and 8.6°C, if the Tc5 increases 1°C, the relative risk (RR) increases to 1.0125 (95% CI: 1.0066 - 1.0185. There are different effects for weather in different seasons on COPD hospitalizations: in autumn and winter, it is mainly of little BT and heavy air pollution weather;in spring, the large Tc5 weather is a main feature, and in summer, it’s mainly of high temperature and low pressure weather. The results help to provide some guidance on COPD forecasting services.

Characteristics of an Explosive Cyclone over Northeast China Revealed by Satellite Water Vapor Imagery

In this paper,an explosive cyclone(EC)that occurred over Northeast China in the spring of 2016 is studied by using 6.7μm FY satellite water vapor(WV)imagery and NCEP(1°×1°)reanalysis data.Moreover,the evolutions of the upper-level jet stream(ULJ),the vertical motions,and the potential vorticity(PV)are analyzed in detail.Results show that different shapes of the WV image dark zones could reflect different stages of the EC.At the pre-explosion stage,a small dark zone and an S-shaped baroclinic leaf cloud can be found on the WV imagery.Then the dark zone expands and the leaf cloud grows into a comma-shaped cloud at the explosively developing stage.At the post-explosion stage,the dark zone brightens,and the spiral cloud forms.The whole process can be well described by the WV imagery.The dynamic dry band associated with the sinking motion and the ULJ can develop into the dry intrusion later,which is an important signal in forecasting the EC and should be paid attention to when analyzing the WV imagery.Furthermore,the mechanism is also analyzed in detail in this article.EC usually occurs in the left-exit region of the 200-h Pa jet and the region ahead of the 500-h Pa trough where there is significant positive vorticity advection(PVA).When the EC moves onto the sea surface,the decreased friction would favour the development of the EC.The upper-level PVA,the strong convergence at low level,and the divergence at high levels can maintain the strong updraft.Meanwhile,the high PV zone from the upper levels extends downward,approaching the cyclone.Together,they keep the cyclone deepening continuously.