Ambient PM exposure and tuberculosis reactivation: a cross-sectional study in an intermediate burden city.

Hong Kong is an intermediate tuberculosis (TB) endemicity city dominated by reactivation diseases. A cross-sectional study on the clinical and epidemiologic data of newly diagnosed TB cases was conducted in such a setting, to examine the association between ambient PM and TB reactivation. After the exclusion of cases most likely resulting from recent infection, four distinct TB population phenotypes were delineated by latent class analysis based on their reactivation risk and clinical profiles ( = 2,153): '' (26%), '' (34%), '' (19%) and '' (21%).

Association of ambient PM concentration with tuberculosis reactivation diseases-an integrated spatio-temporal analysis.

Objectives: While the plausible role of ambient particulate matter (PM) exposure in tuberculosis (TB) reactivation has been inferred from experiments, epidemiologic evidence is lacking. We examined the relationship between ambient PM concentration and pulmonary TB (PTB) in an intermediate TB endemicity city dominated by reactivation diseases.

Methods: Spatio-temporal analyses were performed on TB notification data and satellite-based annual mean PM concentration in Hong Kong.

Inter- and Intra-Individual Variability of Personal Health Risk of Combined Particle and Gaseous Pollutants across Selected Urban Microenvironments.

Exposure surrogates, such as air quality measured at a fixed-site monitor (FSM) or residence, are typically used for health estimates. However, people spend various amounts of time in different microenvironments, including the home, office, outdoors and in transit, where they are exposed to different magnitudes of particle and gaseous air pollutants. Health risks caused by air pollution exposure differ among individuals due to differences in activity, microenvironmental concentration, as well as the toxicity of pollutants.

A Multiscale Land Use Regression Approach for Estimating Intraurban Spatial Variability of PM Concentration by Integrating Multisource Datasets.

Poor air quality has been a major urban environmental issue in large high-density cities all over the world, and particularly in Asia, where the multiscale complex of pollution dispersal creates a high-level spatial variability of exposure level. Investigating such multiscale complexity and fine-scale spatial variability is challenging. In this study, we aim to tackle the challenge by focusing on PM (particulate matter with an aerodynamic diameter less than 2.

Reducing the Influence of Environmental Factors on Performance of a Diffusion-Based Personal Exposure Kit.

Sensor technology has enabled the development of portable low-cost monitoring kits that might supplement many applications in conventional monitoring stations. Despite the sensitivity of electrochemical gas sensors to environmental change, they are increasingly important in monitoring polluted microenvironments. The performance of a compact diffusion-based Personal Exposure Kit (PEK) was assessed for real-time gaseous pollutant measurement (CO, O, and NO) under typical environmental conditions encountered in the subtropical city of Hong Kong.

Statistical evidence on the impact of agricultural straw burning on urban air quality in China.

Agricultural straw burning is prevalent globally with a long history, but evidence on its pollution and health impact is limited in many countries. This study quantifies the effect of agricultural straw burning on urban air quality in China. Fixed-effects (FE) panel regression models are employed to link straw burning points detected by high-resolution satellites to air quality monitored at 1650 ground-level stations from 2013 to 2015.

Source apportionment of ambient volatile organic compounds in Hong Kong.

Volatile organic compounds (VOCs) were measured at four stations with different environments in Hong Kong (HK) during two sampling campaigns. Positive matrix factorization was applied to characterize major VOC sources in HK. Nine sources were identified, and the spatial and seasonal variations of their contributions were derived.

Abundance and sources of ambient dioxins in Hong Kong: a review of dioxin measurements from 1997 to 2001.

Ambient measurements of seventeen 2,3,7,8-polychlorinated dibenzo-p-dioxin/dibenzofuran congeners (2,3,7,8-PCDD/Fs) have been taken in a number of monitoring programs or ad-hoc studies in Hong Kong. The longest monitoring program started at two locations in the territory in July 1997. The other monitoring efforts are ad-hoc studies, varying from a few coordinated sampling events at multiple sites to a year-long monitoring project that targeted suspected local dioxin sources.