Effects of air pollution on asthma hospitalization rates in different age groups in metropolitan cities of Korea

Many studies have shown relationships between air pollution and the rate of hospital admissions for asthma. A few studies have controlled for age-specific effects by adding separate smoothing functions for each age group. However, it has not yet been reported whether air pollution effects are significantly different for different age groups. This lack of information is the motivation for this study, which tests the hypothesis that air pollution effects on asthmatic hospital admissions are significantly different by age groups. Each air pollutant's effect on asthmatic hospital admissions by age groups was estimated separately. In this study, daily time-series data for hospital admission rates from seven cities in Korea from June 1999 through 2003 were analyzed. The outcome variable, daily hospital admission rates for asthma, was related to five air pollutants which were used as the independent variables, namely particulate matter <10 micrometers (μm) in aerodynamic diameter (PM10), carbon monoxide (CO), ozone (O3), nitrogen dioxide (NO2), and sulfur dioxide (SO2). Meteorological variables were considered as confounders. Admission data were divided into three age groups: children (<15 years of age), adults (ages 15-64), and elderly (≥ 65 years of age). The adult age group was considered to be the reference group for each city. In order to estimate age-specific air pollution effects, the analysis was separated into two stages. In the first stage, Generalized Additive Models (GAMs) with cubic spline for smoothing were applied to estimate the age-city-specific air pollution effects on asthmatic hospital admission rates by city and age group. In the second stage, the Bayesian Hierarchical Model with non-informative prior which has large variance was used to combine city-specific effects by age groups. The hypothesis test showed that the effects of PM10, CO and NO2 were significantly different by age groups. Assuming that the air pollution effect for adults is zero as a reference, age-specific air pollution effects were: -0.00154 (95% confidence interval(CI)= (-0.0030,-0.0001)) for children and 0.00126 (95% CI = (0.0006, 0.0019)) for the elderly for PM 10; -0.0195 (95% CI = (-0.0386,-0.0004)) for children for CO; and 0.00494 (95% CI = (0.0028, 0.0071)) for the elderly for NO2. Relative rates (RRs) were 1.008 (95% CI = (1.000-1.017)) in adults and 1.021 (95% CI = (1.012-1.030)) in the elderly for every 10 μg/m3 increase of PM10 , 1.019 (95% CI = (1.005-1.033)) in adults and 1.022 (95% CI = (1.012-1.033)) in the elderly for every 0.1 part per million (ppm) increase of CO; 1.006 (95%CI = (1.002-1.009)) and 1.019 (95%CI = (1.007-1.032)) in the elderly for every 1 part per billion (ppb) increase of NO2 and SO2, respectively. Asthma hospital admissions were significantly increased for PM10 and CO in adults, and for PM10, CO, NO2 and SO2 in the elderly.^

The relationship of anthropometric measures of Hispanic children up to the age 5, to economic status and parental stature

Using data from the Hispanic Health and Nutrition Examination Survey, 1982-1984 (HHANES) of the Nutritional Center for Health Statistics (NCHS), the heights, weights and arm circumferences of 217 Mexican-American children ranging in age from six to sixty months were examined to assess whether birth weight, parental stature, and economic status greatly influenced growth patterns of Mexican-American children living with both parents.^ Heights, weights, and arm circumferences were converted to standardized values of height-for-age, weight-for-age, and arm circumference-for-age using norms developed for Anglo-American children (NCHS, 1977).^ Correlation and contingency table analysis were performed to test hypotheses concerning factors found associated with the stature of children in earlier studies.^ While relationships among childhood stature and birth weight, parental stature, and economic status were in the expected direction, few were statistically significant due to the small number of cases in the analyses. Reliable conclusions concerning these relationships require a much longer sample of families. ^

Childhood cancer survivor satisfaction with characteristics of clinical care

This study investigated the characteristics of a clinic that affect how satisfied survivors of childhood cancer are with their medical care. Questionnaire and interview data from the Passport for Care: Texas Implementation project collected between January 2011 to April 2012 were analyzed. Eleven clinics in Texas participated. Questionnaire respondents were childhood cancer survivor patients who had been off therapy for at least 2 years, or their parents. Interview respondents were clinical providers or research staff at the participating clinics. The outcomes evaluated were answers to a single question on satisfaction with care and a composite Percent Satisfaction Score created from seven other questionnaire items that were correlated (Spearman Rho >0.3) with the question on satisfaction. The following characteristics were also evaluated: sex, age, race, education, and type of cancer. The following clinic indicators were evaluated: type of clinic (general vs. dedicated cancer survivor clinics), number of providers, number of survivors, ratio of survivors/providers, distribution of handouts, distribution of treatment summaries, and use of Children's Oncology Group (COG) guidelines. ^ The only demographic characteristic that affected satisfaction was race. A Kruskal-Wallis test showed a statistically significant difference (Chi-square 6.129, 2 d.f., p = 0.0467). To analyze this further, Wilcoxon Rank Sum test of pairings of the three groups were performed. A Bonferroni correction for multiple testing was applied, with p = 0.017 indicating significance at alpha = 0.05. There was no significant difference between the White and Hispanic groups or between the Hispanic and "Other" groups. For the White and "Other" groups there was a significant difference for the satisfaction item (p = 0.0123) but not for the Percent Satisfaction Score (p = 0.0289). These results suggest that race may influence satisfaction and should be evaluated further in future studies. ^ None of the clinic indicators affected the Percent Satisfaction Score. Going to a clinic that distributed patient information handouts (Wilcoxon Rank Sum p = 0.048) and going to a clinic with >=100 survivors (Wilcoxon Rank Sum p = 0.021) were associated with increased satisfaction. The population of childhood cancer survivors is a growing group of individuals with special health needs. In the future survivors will likely seek medical care in a variety of clinical settings, so it is important to investigate features to improve patient satisfaction with clinical care.^

Age determination with strontium isotopes on sediment core CRP-1 from the Ross Sea, Antarctica

Strontium isotope stratigraphy was used to date five discrete horizons within CRP-1. Early and late Quaternary (0.87-1.3 Ma and 0-0.67 Ma respectively) age sediments overlie a major sequence boundary at 43.15 meters below sea floor (mbsf). This hiatus is estimated to account for ~16 m.y. of missing section. Early Miocene (16.6-~20.8-25 Ma) age deposits below this boundary are in turn cut by multiple erosion surface representing hiatus is of between 0.2 and 1.2 m.y. Estimated minimum sedimentation rates range between 0.9 and 2.8 cm/k.y. in the Quaternary, and 1.5 and 6.4 cm/ky in the lower Miocene.

Stable oxygen isotope record from a high-latitude reef off Western Australia

A core from a coral colony of Porites lutea was analysed for stable oxygen isotopic composition*. A 200-year proxy record of sea surface temperatures from the Houtman Abrolhos Islands off west Australia was obtained from coral delta18O. At 29°S, the Houtman Abrolhos are the southernmost major reef complex of the Indian Ocean. They are located on the path of the Leeuwin Current, a southward flow of warm, tropical water, which is coupled to Indonesian throughflow. Coral delta18O primarily reflects local oceanographic and climatic variability, which is largely determined by spatial variability of the Leeuwin Current. However, coherence between coral delta18O and the current strength itself is relatively weak. Evolutionary spectral and singular spectrum analyses of coral delta18O demonstrate a high variability in spectral composition through time. Oscillations in the 5-7-y, 14-15-y, and quasi-biennial bands reflect teleconnections of local sea surface temperature (SST) to tropical Pacific climate variability. Deviations between local (coral-based) and regional (instrument) SST contain a cyclic component with a period of 15 y. Coral delta18O suggests a rise in SST by 0.6°C since AD 1944, consistent with available instrumental SST records. A long-term warming by 1.4°C since AD 1795 is inferred from the coral record.

Dinoflagellate cyst counts and age model from sediment samples of ODP Hole 175-1085A

Sediment samples from ODP Site 1085 were investigated in order to obtain more information on the initiation and development of the Benguela upwelling system during the middle and upper Miocene. In particular, our intent was to establish the causes of the upwelling as well as the response of the upwelling regime to the development of the Antarctic Circumpolar Current. Based on changes in the calcareous dinoflagellate cyst association, we found an initial increase of the dinoflagellate cyst productivity, probably related to the initiation of upwelling about 11.8 Ma ago. Two distinct increases in cyst productivity in conjunction with temperature decreases of the upper water masses reflect upwelling pulses off Namibia and occur at the end of the Miocene cooling events Mi5 (about 11.5 Ma) and Mi6 (about 10.5 Ma). Both cooling events are associated with an ice volume increase in Antarctica and are thought to have led to an increase in southeasterly winds, possibly causing these two upwelling pulses. We demonstrate a decrease in dinoflagellate cyst productivity and enhanced terrigenous input via the Orange River after the Mi5 event. At about 11.1 Ma, the dinoflagellate cyst productivity increases again. The polar cyst species Caracomia arctica occurs here for the first time. This implies an influence of subantarctic mode water and therefore a change in the quality of the upwelling water which allowed the Benguela upwelling to develop into modern conditions. From about 10.4 Ma, C. arctica forms a permanent part of the association, pointing to an establishment of the upwelling regime.

Mid-Cretaceous planktonic foraminifera off central Morocco

Sites 545 and 547 collectively penetrated 629 m of mid-Cretaceous strata (upper Aptian to upper Cenomanian) off central Morocco during Leg 79 of the Deep Sea Drilling Project. Site 545, at the base of the steep Mazagan Escarpment, records a virtually complete succession of hemipelagic sediments of early late Aptian to middle Cenomanian age. Minor faunal recycling occurred throughout much of the upper Aptian to middle Albian part of the sequence (Cores 55 through 41), reflecting bottom currents along the Mazagan Escarpment. This may be related to the strong upwelling regime and high surface water productivity over Site 545 during the latest Aptian through middle Albian. The upwelling system ceased rather abruptly in this area in late middle Albian time. Recycling of older strata by bottom currents also ceased in the late middle Albian and resulted in a slower average accumulation rate in the upper Albian to middle Cenomanian section of Site 545 (Cores 40 through 28). However, intervals of pebbly claystone conglomerates in Cores 40 and 34 record sporadic instability in the slope adjacent to Site 545. Site 547, located only about 15 km seaward, is situated in a small sub-basin adjacent to the basement block drilled by Site 544. It contains an expanded upper Albian to upper Cenomanian sequence as a result of the numerous conglomeratic intervals throughout much of the section. In contrast to Site 545, the conglomerates were not derived from older strata cropping out on the Mazagan Escarpment; rather, they originated penecontemporaneously from a local unstable slope. A detailed biostratigraphic framework based on planktonic foraminifers is established for the mid-Cretaceous sections of Sites 545 and 547 and a new composite zonal scheme is proposed for the early late Aptian through early late Cenomanian interval. Fifty-five species are recognized and illustrated

Mineralogy and age determination of sediment core D11957P

The Tore Seamount is a circular, volcano-like feature 100 km in diameter with its summit at 2200 m water depth and a small, 5000 m deep basin in its interior. It is situated approximately 300 km west of Lisbon and is surrounded by deep abyssal plains. This site with a standard pelagic stratigraphy is the southernmost point where the so-called Heinrich events have so far been recorded. A succession of alternating interglacial/glacial periods reveals a stratigraphic record back to the beginning of isotopic stage 7 (225 kyr). Climatic changes are identifiable by coherent variations in colour, carbonate content and distribution of ice-rafted detritus in the carbonate-free fraction. Inputs of ice-rafted quartz are well defined. Characteristics in common with other sites showing Heinrich layers include a high terrigenous to biogenic ratio, a dramatic decrease in the accumulation rate of foraminifera shells, an increase in dolomite abundance and the occurrence of polar foraminiferal species indicating southwards penetration of cold waters which lead us to consider a wider southeastern extent of the North Atlantic ice-rafted detritus belt than hitherto. If the presently accepted position of the Polar Front is maintained, icebergs must have been swept southwards from the southern boundary of the pack ice in a current merging into the ancestral Canary Current, bringing ice-rafted material to the Tore Seamount. The coincidence of reddish-feldspar, probably derived from the northern Appalachian Triassic red facies, with the transparent quartz suggests at least a partial Labrador source for all the Heinrich layers here, including HL 3. In comparison to other sites in the entire North Atlantic, two exceptions stand out: the absence of HL 5 and the low detritus to biogenics ratio for HL 3. The simultaneous occurrence of these two types of ice-rafted minerals is a new piece in the puzzle of the origin of Heinrich layers.

Recent distribution and accumulation of organic carbon on the continental margin west off Spitsbergen

The study compiles the controlling factors for organic matter sedimentation patterns from a suite of organogeochemical parameters in surface sediments off Spitsbergen and direct seabed observations using a Remotely Operated Vehicle (ROV). In addition we assess its storage rates as well as the potential of carbon sinks on the northwestern margin of the Barents Sea with short sediment cores from a selected fjord environment (Storfjord). While sedimentation in the fjords is mainly controlled by river/meltwater discharge and coastal erosion by sea ice/glaciers resulting in high supply of terrigenous organic matter, Atlantic water inflow, and thus enhanced marine organic matter supply, characterizes the environment on the outer shelf and slope. Local deviations from this pattern, particularly on the shelf, are due to erosion and out washing of fine-grained material by bottom currents. Spots dominated by marine productivity close to the island have been found at the outer Isfjord and west off Prins Karls Forland as well as off the Kongsfjord/Krossfjord area and probably reflect local upwelling of nutrient-rich Atlantic water-derived water masses. Accumulation rates of marine organic carbon as well as reconstructed primary productivities decreased since the middle of the last century. Negative correlation of the Isfjord temperature record with reconstructed productivities in the Storfjord could be explained by a reduced annual duration of the marginal ice zone in the area due to global warming. Extremely high accumulation rates of marine organic carbon between 5.4 and 17.2 g/m**2/yr mark the Storfjord area, and probably high-latitude fjord environments in general, as a sink for carbon dioxide.