Search

Over the past decades, particulate matter (PM), especially fine PM <2.5 μm in aerodynamic diameter (PM 2.5) has been a major research focus. However, the air pollutant is a mixture of gases or vapour-phase compounds, such as carbon monoxide (C), nitrogen oxides (NO x), photochemical oxidants (Ox), and sulfur dioxide (SO 2). Little is known about their cardiovascular effect, individually or in combination with PM. Thus, we aimed to determine the associations between the incidence of acute cardiac events and both gaseous and PM using a case-crossover design. Cardiovascular cases were identified through the Gunma Prefectural Ambulance Activity Database in Japan in 2015 (1,512 out-of-hospital cardiac arrest [OHCA] and 1,002 heart failures from 53,006 ambulance cases). Air quality data from the nearest station was for day of the arrest (lag0) and 1-2 days before the arrest (lag1, lag2) and the moving average across days 0-1 (lag0-1). Conditional logistic regression was used for unadjusted and adjusted analysis for temperature and humidity. Independent associations of OHCA were daily concentrations of SO 2 at lag1 (OR 1.173, 95%CI 1.004, 1.370; p=0.044) and lag0-1 (OR 1.203, 95%CI 1.015, 1.425; p=0.033); and daily NO concentrations at lag2 (OR 1.039, 95%CI 1.007, 1.072; p=0.016). The incidence of heart failure was significantly associated with daily concentrations of O x on the day of the event in univariable model but not after adjustment for temperature and humidity. No associations were found for other pollutants. Short-term exposure to SO 2 and NO are associated with an increased risk of OHCA. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

As more and more renewable generation resources are integrated into the smart grid, they are likely to cause supply–demand imbalance such as overgeneration due to their uncertain and variable nature, resulting in poor power quality and unreliable power delivery. To balance overgeneration, this paper presents a collaborative control strategy of thermostatically controlled appliances in the timescale of minutes. The proposed strategy includes four parts: state awareness, real‐time analysis, scientific decision‐making, and precise execution. A responsive task‐type model is designed to identify the executable task type of an appliance in the state awareness part. A multiobjective 0–1 programming method is used to solve the optimal control combination in the scientific decision‐making part. And a thermostat set‐point control rule is used to generate the control signals of appliances in the precise execution part. In order to illustrate the advantage of the proposed strategy, four case studies are designed, and the advantage of the strategy is validated by the simulation results of the case studies. © 2019 Institute of Electrical Engineers of Japan. Published by John Wiley & Sons, Inc. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: PM 2·5 is an important but modifiable environmental risk factor, not only for pulmonary diseases and cancers, but for cardiovascular health. However, the evidence regarding the association between air pollution and acute cardiac events, such as out-of-hospital cardiac arrest (OHCA), is inconsistent, especially at concentrations lower than the WHO daily guideline (25 μg/m 3 ). This study aimed to determine the associations between exposure to ambient air pollution and the incidence of OHCA., Methods: In this nationwide case-crossover study, we linked prospectively collected population-based registry data for OHCA in Japan from Jan 1, 2014, to Dec 31, 2015, with daily PM 2·5 , carbon monoxide (CO), nitrogen dioxide (NO 2 ), photochemical oxidants (O x ), and sulphur dioxide (SO 2 ) exposure on the day of the arrest (lag 0) or 1-3 days before the arrest (lags 1-3), as well as the moving average across days 0-1 and days 0-3. Daily exposure was calculated by averaging the measurements from all PM 2·5 monitoring stations in the same prefecture. The effect of PM 2·5 on risk of all-cause or cardiac OHCA was estimated using a time-stratified case-crossover design coupled with conditional logistic regression analysis, adjusted for daily temperature and relative humidity. Single-pollutant models were also investigated for the individual gaseous pollutants (CO, NO 2 , O x , and SO 2 ), as well as two-pollutant models for PM 2·5 with these gaseous pollutants. Subgroup analyses were done by sex and age., Findings: Over the 2 years, 249 372 OHCAs were identified, with 149 838 (60·1%) presumed of cardiac origin. The median daily PM 2·5 was 11·98 μg/m 3 (IQR 8·13-17·44). Each 10 μg/m 3 increase in PM 2·5 was associated with increased risk of all-cause OHCA on the same day (odds ratio [OR] 1·016, 95% CI 1·009-1·023) and at lags of up to 3 days, ranging from OR 1·015 (1·008-1·022) at lag 1 to 1·033 (1·023-1·043) at lag 0-3. Results for cardiac OHCA were similar (ORs ranging from 1·016 [1·007-1·025] at lags 1 and 2 to 1·034 [1·021-1·047] at lag 0-3). Patients older than 65 years were more susceptible to PM 2·5 exposure than younger age groups but no sex differences were identified. CO, O x , and SO 2 were also positively associated with OHCA while NO 2 was not. However, in two-pollutant models of PM 2·5 and gaseous pollutants, only PM 2·5 (positive association) and NO 2 (negative association) were independently associated with increased risk of OHCA., Interpretation: Short-term exposure to PM 2·5 was associated with an increased risk of OHCA even at relatively low concentrations. Regulatory standards and targets need to incorporate the potential health gains from continual air quality improvement even in locations already meeting WHO standards., Funding: None., (Copyright © 2020 The Author(s). Published by Elsevier Ltd. This is an Open Access article under the CC BY 4.0 license. Published by Elsevier Ltd.. All rights reserved.)