Heat waves (HWs) and urban heat islands (UHIs) can potentially interact. The mechanisms behind their synergy are not fully disclosed. Starting from the localized UHI phenomenon, this study aims i) to reveal their associated impacts on human thermal comfort through three different definitions of HW events, based on air temperature (airT), wet-bulb globe temperature (WBGT) and human-perceived temperature (AppT) respectively, and ii) to understand the role of air moisture and wind. The analysis was conducted in four districts (NH, JD, MH and XJH) with different urban development patterns and geographic conditions, in the megacity of Shanghai with a subtropical humid climate. Results evidenced the localized interplay between HWs and UHIs. The results indicate that less urbanized districts were generally more sensitive to the synergies. JD district recorded the highest urban heat island intensity (UHII) amplification, regardless of the specific HW definition. Notably, during AppT-HWs, the increment was observed in terms of maximum (1.3 °C), daily average (0.8 °C), diurnal (0.4 °C) and nocturnal UHII (1.0 °C). Nevertheless, localized synergies between HWs and UHIs at different stations also exhibited some commonalities. Under airT-HW, the UHII was amplified throughout the day at all stations. Under WBGT-HW, diurnal UHII (especially at 1100-1700 LST) was consistently amplified at all stations. Under AppT-HW conditions, the nocturnal UHII was slightly amplified at all stations.  https://www.selleckchem.com/products/ex229-compound-991.html  Air moisture and wind alleviated the synergistic heat exacerbation to the benefit of thermal comfort. The extent depended on geographic condition, diurnal and nocturnal scenarios, temperature type and HW/normal conditions. Stronger HW-UHI synergies indicate the necessity to develop specific urban heat emergency response plans, able to capture and intervene on the underlying mechanisms. This study paves to way to their identification.New York City (NYC) experienced a sharp decline in air pollution during the COVID-19 shutdown period (March 15, 2020 to May 15, 2020)-albeit at high social and economic costs. It provided a unique opportunity to simulate a scenario in which the city-wide air quality improvement during the shutdown were sustained over the five-year period, 2021 through 2025, allowing us to estimate the potential public health benefits to children and adults and their associated economic benefits. We focused on fine particulate matter (PM2.5) and modeled potential future health benefits to children and adults. The analysis considered outcomes in children that have not generally been accounted for in clean air benefits assessments, including preterm birth, term low birthweight, infant mortality, child asthma incidence, child asthma hospital admissions and emergency department visits, autism spectrum disorder, as well as adult mortality. We estimated a city-wide 23% improvement in PM2.5 levels during the COVID-19 shutdown months compared to the average level for those months in 2015-2018 (the business as usual period). Based on the data for 2020, we extrapolated the ambient levels of PM2.5 for the following five-year period. The estimated cumulative benefits for 2021-2025 included thousands of avoided cases of illness and death, with associated economic benefits from $31.8 billion to $77 billion. This "natural experiment," tragic though the cause, has provided a hypothetical clean air scenario that can be considered aspirational-one that could be achieved through transportation, climate, and environmental policies that support robust economic recovery with similarly reduced emissions.
  There is evidence that exposure to mercury (Hg) may be a risk factor for cardiovascular disease (CVD).
 
  To conduct a systematic review of published studies and a meta-analysis of the results to examine the associations between chronic Hg exposure and CVD outcomes.
 
  We searched PubMed, Embase, and TOXLINE using previously developed strategies. Studies were selected according to a priori-defined inclusion criteria, and their qualities were assessed. Study estimates were extracted, and subgroup analyses were conducted to explore potential sources of heterogeneity 1) fatal vs. nonfatal events, 2) cohort study vs. non-cohort study, and 3) inorganic Hg vs. methyl mercury (MeHg). Dose-response meta-analyses were conducted for MeHg exposure and fatal/nonfatal ischemic heart disease (IHD), stroke, and all CVD.
 
  A total of 14 studies reporting results collected from more than 34,000 participants in 17 countries were included in the meta-analysis. Hg exposure was associated with an increase in nonfatal IHD (relativn increased risk of all-cause mortality and fatal/nonfatal IHD. The risk of multiple cardiovascular endpoints starts to increase consistently at a hair Hg concentration of 2 μg/g.Combining nitrate/nitrite dependent anaerobic methane oxidation (n-DAMO) and anaerobic ammonium oxidation (Anammox) is a promising sustainable wastewater treatment technology, which simultaneously achieve nitrogen removal and methane emission mitigation. However, the practical application of n-DAMO has been greatly limited by its extremely slow growth-rate and low reaction rate. This work proposes an innovative Membrane BioTrickling Filter (MBTF), which consist of hollow fiber membrane for effective methane supplementation and polyurethane sponge as support media for the attachment and growth of biofilm coupling n-DAMO with Anammox. When steady state with a hydraulic retention time (HRT) of 6.00 h was reached, above 99.9% of nitrogen was removed from synthetic sidestream wastewater at a rate of 3.99 g N L-1 d-1. This system presented robust capacity to withstand unstable partial nitritation effluent, achieving complete nitrogen removal at a varied nitrite to ammonium ratio in the range of 1.10-1.40. It is confirmed that n-DAMO and Anammox microorganisms jointly dominated the microbial community by pyrosequencing technology. The complete nitrogen removal potential at high-rate and efficient biomass retention (12.4 g VSS L-1) of MBTF offers promising alternative for sustainable wastewater treatment by the combination of n-DAMO and Anammox.