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Background Air pollution has been related to incidence of type 2 diabetes (T2D). We assessed the joint association of various air pollutants with the risk of T2D and examined potential modification by obesity status and genetic susceptibility on the relationship. Methods and findings A total of 449,006 participants from UK Biobank free of T2D at baseline were included. Of all the study population, 90.9% were white and 45.7% were male. The participants had a mean age of 56.6 (SD 8.1) years old and a mean body mass index (BMI) of 27.4 (SD 4.8) kg/m.sup.2 . Ambient air pollutants, including particulate matter (PM) with diameters [less than or equal to]2.5 [mu]m (PM.sub.2.5 ), between 2.5 [mu]m and 10 [mu]m (PM.sub.2.5-10 ), nitrogen oxide (NO.sub.2 ), and nitric oxide (NO) were measured. An air pollution score was created to assess the joint exposure to the 4 air pollutants. During a median of 11 years follow-up, we documented 18,239 incident T2D cases. The air pollution score was significantly associated with a higher risk of T2D. Compared to the lowest quintile of air pollution score, the hazard ratio (HR) (95% confidence interval [CI]) for T2D was 1.05 (0.99 to 1.10, p = 0.11), 1.06 (1.00 to 1.11, p = 0.051), 1.09 (1.03 to 1.15, p = 0.002), and 1.12 (1.06 to 1.19, p < 0.001) for the second to fifth quintile, respectively, after adjustment for sociodemographic characteristics, lifestyle factors, genetic factors, and other covariates. In addition, we found a significant interaction between the air pollution score and obesity status on the risk of T2D (p-interaction < 0.001). The observed association was more pronounced among overweight and obese participants than in the normal-weight people. Genetic risk score (GRS) for T2D or obesity did not modify the relationship between air pollution and risk of T2D. Key study limitations include unavailable data on other potential T2D-related air pollutants and single-time measurement on air pollutants. Conclusions We found that various air pollutants PM.sub.2.5, PM.sub.2.5-10, NO.sub.2, and NO, individually or jointly, were associated with an increased risk of T2D in the population. The stratified analyses indicate that such associations were more strongly associated with T2D risk among those with higher adiposity., Author(s): Xiang Li 1, Mengying Wang 1,2, Yongze Song 3, Hao Ma 1, Tao Zhou 1,4, Zhaoxia Liang 5, Lu Qi 1,6,* Introduction Type 2 diabetes (T2D) is a persistent [...]

Identifying the factors influencing wetland variations is crucial for understanding the relationship of climate change with wetland conservation and management. The wetland distribution is associated with multiple variables, and the interactions among these variables are complex. In this study, we aim to explore an interpretable and quantitative analysis of factors related to wetland spatiotemporal variations on the Tibetan Plateau (TP). By combining SHapley Additive exPlanations with a spatially stratified heterogeneity model, we propose a locally explained stratified heterogeneity (LESH) model that well reveals the effects of multiple variable interactions on the spatiotemporal variations of wetlands. The results show that topographic variables are the most important variables related to the spatial distribution of wetlands on the TP, and climatic variables are the most relevant factors for the increase in the wetland area on the TP from 2015 to 2019. In addition, the interactions among multiple variables strongly influence wetlands on the TP. Among them, when other geographic variables interact with the evaporation variable, its explanatory power on wetland distribution is significantly increased. Knowledge of wetland distribution determinants can help us understand the evolution of wetlands and the impacts of climate change on wetland variations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In China, backfill mining has been selected as an effective approach to realize the green mining of underground coal resources, where backfill materials are the major factor in the development of backfill mining. In order to provide a better reference for further research and development of backfill mining, the experience and research achievements are reviewed in this paper. Firstly, the backfill materials that have been successfully applied in Chinese underground backfill coal mining are divided into two categories according to whether water is used during the backfill mining operation. Then, the primary considerations of each backfill material during its preparation, transportation and activation stages are discussed and evaluated. Finally, suggestions for backfill material exploration are proposed in terms of the future backfill mining of coal resources in Western China, where there is serious surface desertification. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]