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The present study aimed to distinguish different hypertriglyceridemic waist phenotypes and relevant risks of developing fatty liver and abnormal glycometabolic profiles in overweight/obese adults. A total of 1221 Chinese adults with mean (standard deviation [SD]) age of 37 (9) years, 37.3% males and 62.7% females, body mass index (BMI) of 29.0 (4.0) kg/m2, triglyceride (TG) 2.04 (1.45) mmol/L, and waist circumference (WC) 95.8 (10.7) cm were included and classified into four phenotypes: normal TG & normal WC (N-N); normal TG & high WC (N-WC); high TG & normal WC (TG-N); high TG & high WC (TG-WC). Participants in TG-WC group had the highest BMI, WC, blood pressure (BP), insulin, Homeostatic Model Assessment of Insulin Resistance (HOMA-IR), glycosylated hemoglobin (HbA1c), low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL), and fatty liver. Participants within N-WC group had a significantly higher risk of fatty liver (adjusted OR 3.50 [95% CI 2.05–5.97]), as well as TG-N (adjusted OR 2.59 [95% CI 1.61–4.16]) and TG-WC (adjusted OR 4.12 [95% CI 2.28–7.46]). The risk of elevated HOMA-IR was significantly higher in TG-N (adjusted OR 2.16 [95% CI 1.33–3.50]) and TG-WC (adjusted OR 2.04 [95% CI 1.22–3.40]). The risk of elevated HbA1c was significantly higher in the TG-WC (adjusted OR 2.79 [95% CI 1.47–5.31]). Hypertriglyceridemic waist phenotype can be a potential and cost-effective method to identify individuals with a high risk of fatty liver and glycometabolic disorders. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Introduction: The COVID-19 pandemic has initiated an upheaval in society and has been the cause of considerable stress during this period. Healthcare professionals have been on the front line during this health crisis, particularly paramedical staff. The aim of this study was to assess the high level of stress of healthcare workers during the first wave of the pandemic. Materials and methods: The COVISTRESS international study is a questionnaire disseminated online collecting demographic and stress-related data over the globe, during the pandemic. Stress levels were evaluated using non-calibrated visual analog scale, from 0 (no stress) to 100 (maximal stress). Results: Among the 13,537 individuals from 44 countries who completed the survey from January to June 2020, we included 10,051 workers (including 1379 healthcare workers, 631 medical doctors and 748 paramedical staff). The stress levels during the first wave of the pandemic were 57.8 ± 33 in the whole cohort, 65.3 ± 29.1 in medical doctors, and 73.6 ± 27.7 in paramedical staff. Healthcare professionals and especially paramedical staff had the highest levels of stress (p < 0.001 vs non-healthcare workers). Across all occupational categories, women had systematically significantly higher levels of work-related stress than men (p < 0.001). There was a negative correlation between age and stress level (r = -0.098, p < 0.001). Healthcare professionals demonstrated an increased risk of very-high stress levels (>80) compared to other workers (OR = 2.13, 95% CI 1.87–2.41). Paramedical staff risk for very-high levels of stress was higher than doctors' (1.88, 1.50–2.34). The risk of high levels of stress also increased in women (1.83, 1.61–2.09; p < 0.001 vs. men) and in people aged <50 (1.45, 1.26–1.66; p < 0.001 vs. aged >50). Conclusions: The first wave of the pandemic was a major stressful event for healthcare workers, especially paramedical staff. Among individuals, women were the most at risk while age was a protective factor. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Ethylene oxide (EtO) is a human carcinogen whose release from sterilization facilities to ambient air has gained recent attention. Measurements have typically relied on canister samples collected over minutes to hours and analyzed using gas chromatography/mass spectrometry (GC/MS). A novel application of tunable infrared laser direct absorption spectrometry (TILDAS) was recently deployed aboard a mobile air quality laboratory in Toronto, Canada, to measure EtO in near real-time. Detection limits comparable to canister-GC/MS methods were achieved while stationary at averaging times of only 100 s, and high frequency (1-s) sampling detected EtO at several locations. EtO was observed consistently near the only local facility reporting on-site releases to Canada's National Pollutant Release Inventory. The maximum 1-s mixing ratio observed nearby was 18 ppb (33 μg m−3), and a mean 1-s mixing ratio of 0.43 ppb (0.78 μg m−3) was observed in the vicinity of the detectable plumes that covered industrial, commercial and residential land uses up to 900 m downwind. EtO in those plumes was not related to common air pollutants such as nitric oxide (NO), carbon monoxide (CO), or methane (CH 4), whereas it was paired with elevated NO or CO and CH 4 at some other locations. EtO was less abundant elsewhere in the city, and no detectable EtO was found near potential sources including hospitals, spice distributors and vehicle exhaust. The EtO background measured in wintertime Toronto air was indistinguishable from zero and substantially lower than that reported in studies using canister-GC/MS methods. The multi-pollutant mobile method described herein marks a significant step forward in the capability to characterize atmospherically relevant concentrations of EtO at high spatiotemporal resolution. Future applications of high-resolution techniques will allow for comprehensive investigations of source impacts and characterization of ambient levels for which deployment of conventional canister/GC-MS methods would be unsuitable or prohibitive. [Display omitted] • First high-resolution ethylene oxide (EtO) in urban air aboard a mobile laboratory. • Levels near sterilization facility suggest exceedance of health-based guidelines. • Measured common air pollutants discern among sources of detected EtO. • Urban background lower than in previous studies using canister-GC/MS methods. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]