Investigation of PM2.5 pollution during COVID-19 pandemic in Guangzhou, China

The COVID-19 pandemic has raised awareness about various environmental issues,including PM_2.5 pollution.Here,PM_2.5 pollution during the COVID-19 lockdown was traced and analyzed to clarify the sources and factors influencing PM_2.5 in Guangzhou,with an emphasis on heavy pollution.The lockdown led to large reductions in industrial and traffic emissions,which significantly reduced PM_2.5 concentrations in Guangzhou.Interestingly,the trend of PM_2.5     

新形势下环境质量综合分析思路探讨

随着中国共产党第十九次全国代表大会的顺利召开,环保"大部制"改革、环境监测垂直管理制度改革以及国家"大气十条""水十条""土十条"的全面实施均对生态环境保护、环境监测乃至环境质量综合分析工作提出了新要求。新形势下,环境质量综合分析应与时俱进、开拓创新,进一步优化工作机制,加强系统分析,增强综合分析报告的科学性、规范性、时效性、精准性、客观性等,强化技术与能力支撑,更好发挥环境监测对环境管理和决策的引领作用。     

Sanitation workers at the frontline: work and vulnerability in response to COVID-19

ABSTRACT

The absence of a vaccine and effective treatment for COVID-19 has created public panic and burdened the health systems in most countries. Along with health workers’, sanitation personnel are also working at the frontlines in the war against the disease by keeping cities clean. Sanitation workers are engaged in Drudgery, Dangerous, Dirty and Dehumanising work that makes them vulnerable for developing the chronic respiratory diseases due to the exposure of various hazardous materials and toxic gases that are emitted from the solid waste. The sanitation workers working on a contractual basis are excluded from the labour policies and welfare programs who are playing a vital role in fighting the pandemic. Women sanitation workers are even more vulnerable because most of them are non-literate, poor in financial management and under-represented in the sanitation employee’s union. The local and state governments should protect and safeguard sanitation workers by providing them with adequate protective equipment, ensure payment of paying adequate salaries and provide them with health insurance.     

Glocalization of COVID-19 responses and management of the pandemic in Africa

ABSTRACT

The study explores how glocalization of COVID-19 responses affects the management of the pandemic in Africa. Using data from 20 selected African countries, the study found that the reliance on local medicines alongside other salient global initiatives for containment of COVID-19 is effective in managing the pandemic in Africa. It concluded that despite the high vulnerabilities of African countries to COVID-19, the glocal approach has yielded positive outcomes by increasing the number of patients that recover from COVID-19 and scaling down the fatalities compared with the other regions.     

Prenatal diagnosis of de novo (7;19)(q11.2;q13.3) translocation associated with a thick corpus callosum and Wilms tumor of the kidneys

We present a case of prenatal diagnosis of a de novo (7;19)(q11.2;q13.3) translocation associated with ultrasound features, including enlarged cisterna magna, normal vermis, thick corpus callosum, micrognathia, small and low-set ears and right hyperechogenic kidney. Karyotyping was performed at 24 weeks of gestation. Termination of pregnancy was accepted at the parents' request. Postmortem examination confirmed the prenatal findings, but revealed bilateral Wilms tumors of the kidneys. Parental karyotype was normal. Copyright © 2005 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

甘肃南部典型城镇PM2.5浓度及水溶性离子特征分析

为研究甘肃南部城镇PM_2.5及水溶性离子（WSIIs）浓度水平,于2019年4月—2020年2月在甘肃成县按季度进行PM_2.5样品采集,分析了其变化特征,并运用相关和主成分分析法进行来源解析.结果表明：采样期间甘肃成县PM_2.5年平均质量浓度为（57.2±26.9） μg·m^-3,表现为冬季>春季>秋季>夏季的季节变化特征,冬季质量浓度约为夏季的1.9倍,全年空气质量优良率为81%,其中夏季达100%.WSIIs质量浓度呈现SO₄^2->NO₃^->Na⁺>NH₄⁺>Ca²⁺> K⁺>Cl^->Mg²⁺的特征.SNA是浓度水平最高的3种水溶性离子,占8种主要水溶性离子浓度的70.1%.ρ（NO₃^-）/ρ（SO₄^2-）平均值为0.6,表明工农业生产及化石燃料燃烧排放等固定源是颗粒物污染的主要来源.新型冠状病毒疫情期间人员管控对PM_2.5和水溶性离子中SNA质量浓度影响显著,PM_2.5平均质量浓度降幅达44.2%.源解析表明,PM_2.5中WSIIs主要来自化石燃料燃烧、生物质燃烧及二次源和道路建筑扬尘等.     

人为排放及气象因素对空气质量影响的定量分析——以疫情期间邢台市为例

选择河北省邢台市作为研究对象,将2020疫情作为一个极限管控措施下的极限减排实验情景,把2021疫情作为未来常态化疫情防控实验分析情景.与疫情前期对比,两次疫情期间臭氧浓度均有提升且2021疫情时期颗粒物浓度同样有提高,2020疫情时期其他污染物浓度均有不同程度的改善,而与2019历史同期相比,两次疫情期间臭氧浓度同样有升高现象,除此以外,2021疫情时期污染物改善较好.利用长短期记忆网络（LSTM）算法和空气质量预报模式系统（WRF-CMAQ）量化了两次疫情时期气象因素对于污染物浓度变化的影响,根据空气质量模拟法反推了不同污染物受人为影响的浓度变化.实验结果表明,LSTM算法在两次疫情期间的模拟均显示人为影响对污染物产生了负影响（降低了污染物浓度）且在总变化影响中占比较高,而CMAQ模式模拟结果中的气象因素影响占比远高于LSTM算法.CMAQ模式在两次疫情模拟中表现出了不同的结果,在2020疫情中人为影响占据了主导,而在2021疫情中,相比较2020疫情时期,除NO₂外,人类活动对其他污染物的影响均为正值（促进了污染物浓度升高）.     

Dramatic decline of observed atmospheric CO2 and CH4 during the COVID-19 lockdown over the Yangtze River Delta of China

The temporal variation of greenhouse gas concentrations in China during the COVID-19 lockdown in China is analyzed in this work using high resolution measurements of near surface △CO₂, △CH₄ and △CO concentrations above the background conditions at Lin'an station (LAN), a regional background station in the Yangtze River Delta region. During the pre-lockdown observational period (IOP-1), both △CO₂ and △CH₄ exhibited a significant increasing trend relative to the 2011-2019 climatological mean. The reduction of △CO₂, △CH₄ and △CO during the lockdown observational period (IOP-2) (which also coincided with the Chinese New Year Holiday) reached up to 15.0 ppm, 14.2 ppb and 146.8 ppb, respectively, and a reduction of △CO₂/△CO probably due to a dramatic reduction from industrial emissions. △CO₂, △CH₄ and △CO were observed to keep declining during the post-lockdown easing phase (IOP-3), which is the synthetic result of lower than normal CO₂ emissions from rural regions around LAN coupled with strong uptake of the terrestrial ecosystem. Interestingly, the trend reversed to gradual increase for all species during the later easing phase (IOP-4), with △CO₂/△CO constantly increasing from IOP-2 to IOP-3 and finally IOP-4, consistent with recovery in industrial emissions associated with the staged resumption of economic activity. On average, △CO₂ declined sharply throughout the days during IOP-2 but increased gradually throughout the days during IOP-4. The findings showcase the significant role of emission reduction in accounting for the dramatic changes in measured atmospheric △CO₂ and △CH₄ associated with the COVID-19 lockdown and recovery.     

A rare case of de novo distal 19q trisomy prenatally diagnosed

We present a case of de novo trisomy of distal 19q diagnosed prenatally by cytogenetics and FISH analysis. The autopsy performed after termination of the pregnancy showed major internal and external malformations that are associated with this chromosome abnormality. Copyright © 2004 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.