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Pure biogenic new particle formation (NPF) induced by highly oxygenated organic molecules (HOMs) could be an important mechanism for pre-industrial aerosol formation. However, it has not been unambiguously confirmed in the ambient due to the scarcity of truly pristine continental locations in the present-day atmosphere or the lack of chemical characterization of NPF precursors. Here, we report ambient observations of pure biogenic HOM-driven NPF over a peatland in southern Finland. Meteorological decoupling processes formed an "air pocket" (i.e., a very shallow surface layer) at night and favored NPF initiated entirely by biogenic HOM from this peatland, whose atmospheric environment closely resembles that of the pre-industrial era. Our study sheds light on pre-industrial aerosol formation, which represents the baseline for estimating the impact of present and future aerosol on climate, as well as on future NPF, the features of which may revert toward pre-industrial-like conditions due to air pollution mitigation.

Introduction: The aim of this study was to evaluate the clinical, epidemiological and laboratory aspects of SARS-CoV-2 infection during pregnancy and postpartum in 16 maternity hospitals., Methods and Analysis: A prospective multicentre study, with five axes. First, the prevalence of SARS-CoV-2 infection among women admitted for childbirth will be described in a cross-sectional study. Second, maternal and perinatal outcomes will be assessed in a prospective cohort study including pregnant or postpartum women with suspected COVID-19. Third, a cohort of positive COVID-19 cases with sampling of a variety of biological material. Histopathological and viral analysis of biological maternal and neonatal samples will be performed, and the assessment of nutritional variables to evaluate the association between vitamin D and severity of infection. Fourth, a monitoring and evaluation committee to collect relevant healthcare information and plan actions in centres facing the pandemic. Furthermore, qualitative studies will be performed to study pregnant women, their families and health professionals. Fifth, an ecological study will monitor the number of live births, stillbirths and other outcomes to explore any trend among the periods before, during and after the pandemic. Data will systematically be collected in an electronic platform following standardised operational procedures. For quantitative study components, an appropriate statistical approach will be used for each analysis. For qualitative data, in-depth interviews recorded in audio will be transcribed, checking the text obtained with the recording. Subsequently, thematic analysis with the aid of the NVivo programme will be performed., Ethics and Dissemination: Ethical approval was obtained (letters of approval numbers 4.047.168, 4.179.679 and 4.083.988). All women will be fully informed to sign the consent form before enrolment in the study. Findings will be disseminated through peer-reviewed journals and scientific conferences., Competing Interests: Competing interests: None declared., (© Author(s) (or their employer(s)) 2021. Re-use permitted under CC BY-NC. No commercial re-use. See rights and permissions. Published by BMJ.)

Atmospheric new-particle formation (NPF) affects climate by contributing to a large fraction of the cloud condensation nuclei (CCN). Highly oxygenated organic molecules (HOMs) drive the early particle growth and therefore substantially influence the survival of newly formed particles to CCN. Nitrogen oxide (NO x ) is known to suppress the NPF driven by HOMs, but the underlying mechanism remains largely unclear. Here, we examine the response of particle growth to the changes of HOM formation caused by NO x . We show that NO x suppresses particle growth in general, but the suppression is rather nonuniform and size dependent, which can be quantitatively explained by the shifted HOM volatility after adding NO x . By illustrating how NO x affects the early growth of new particles, a critical step of CCN formation, our results help provide a refined assessment of the potential climatic effects caused by the diverse changes of NO x level in forest regions around the globe., (Copyright © 2020 The Authors, some rights reserved; exclusive licensee American Association for the Advancement of Science. No claim to original U.S. Government Works. Distributed under a Creative Commons Attribution NonCommercial License 4.0 (CC BY-NC).)

A major fraction of atmospheric aerosol particles, which affect both air quality and climate, form from gaseous precursors in the atmosphere. Highly oxygenated organic molecules (HOMs), formed by oxidation of biogenic volatile organic compounds, are known to participate in particle formation and growth. However, it is not well understood how they interact with atmospheric pollutants, such as nitrogen oxides (NO x ) and sulfur oxides (SO x ) from fossil fuel combustion, as well as ammonia (NH 3 ) from livestock and fertilizers. Here, we show how NO x suppresses particle formation, while HOMs, sulfuric acid, and NH 3 have a synergistic enhancing effect on particle formation. We postulate a novel mechanism, involving HOMs, sulfuric acid, and ammonia, which is able to closely reproduce observations of particle formation and growth in daytime boreal forest and similar environments. The findings elucidate the complex interactions between biogenic and anthropogenic vapors in the atmospheric aerosol system.

Atmospheric new particle formation (NPF) is an important global phenomenon that is nevertheless sensitive to ambient conditions. According to both observation and theoretical arguments, NPF usually requires a relatively high sulfuric acid (H 2 SO 4 ) concentration to promote the formation of new particles and a low preexisting aerosol loading to minimize the sink of new particles. We investigated NPF in Shanghai and were able to observe both precursor vapors (H 2 SO 4 ) and initial clusters at a molecular level in a megacity. High NPF rates were observed to coincide with several familiar markers suggestive of H 2 SO 4 -dimethylamine (DMA)-water (H 2 O) nucleation, including sulfuric acid dimers and H 2 SO 4 -DMA clusters. In a cluster kinetics simulation, the observed concentration of sulfuric acid was high enough to explain the particle growth to ~3 nanometers under the very high condensation sink, whereas the subsequent higher growth rate beyond this size is believed to result from the added contribution of condensing organic species. These findings will help in understanding urban NPF and its air quality and climate effects, as well as in formulating policies to mitigate secondary particle formation in China., (Copyright © 2018 The Authors, some rights reserved; exclusive licensee American Association for the Advancement of Science. No claim to original U.S. Government Works.)

A substantial fraction of aerosols, which affect air quality and climate, is formed from gaseous precursors. Highly oxygenated organic molecules (HOMs) are essential to grow the newly formed particles and have been evidenced to initiate ion-induced nucleation in chamber experiments in the absence of sulfuric acid. We investigate this phenomenon in the real atmosphere using an extensive set of state-of-the-art ion and mass spectrometers deployed in a boreal forest environment. We show that within a few hours around sunset, HOMs resulting from the oxidation of monoterpenes are capable of forming and growing ion clusters even under low sulfuric acid levels. In these conditions, we hypothesize that the lack of photochemistry and essential vapors prevents the organic clusters from growing past 6 nm. However, this phenomenon might have been a major source of particles in the preindustrial atmosphere and might also contribute to particle formation in the future and consequently affect the climate.

Furnas do Dionísio is a Brazilian Afro-descendant settlement in the city of Jaraguari, 21.4 miles from Campo Grande, Mato Grosso do Sul, Brazil. Approximately 96 families live in this quilombola (Maroon) settlement, also known in Brazil as a remnant community of descendants of African slaves. Recent studies found 20% of households were infested by triatomines, 18% of insects captured in the community were infected by Trypanosoma cruzi, and 22.7% of dogs presented T. cruzi antibodies. The low prevalence of Chagas disease observed in humans in Mato Grosso do Sul State is attributed to its arrival via colonist migration and subsequent transplacental transmission. In order to gain a better understanding of the T. cruzi cycle in residents of the study community, serological and molecular tests were carried out to diagnose Chagas disease. In the present study, 175 residents between 2 and 80 years old were included. A total of 175 participants were interviewed and 170 provided blood samples, which were tested for T. cruzi antibodies with serological tests. Molecular diagnosis was performed in 167 participants by PCR (KDNA) and NPCR (satellite DNA) tests. One of the 170 samples tested positive for all serological tests performed. The overall frequency of Chagas disease in the community was low (0.6%). Interview responses revealed that 66.3% knew of triatomine insects and 65.7% reported having had no contact with them. Physical improvements to residences, together with vector surveillance and control by the State and municipal governments and local ecological conservation contribute to the low frequency of the Chagas disease in this quilombola community.

Background: A clear relationship between asthma and obesity has been reported, but the mechanisms remain unclear. The aim of this study was to evaluate the influence of obesity on eosinophil activity (chemotaxis and adhesion) in asthmatic children and adolescents compared with cells from healthy volunteers., Methods: Asthmatic obese (AO), asthmatic non-obese (ANO), non-asthmatic obese (NAO) and non-asthmatic non-obese (NANO) individuals were included in the present study. The chemotaxis of eosinophils after stimulation with eotaxin (300 ng/ml), platelet-activating factor (10 μM; PAF) and RANTES (100 ng/ml) was performed using a microchemotaxis chamber. The eosinophil peroxidase activity was measured to determine the adhesion activity of eosinophils cultivated on fibronectin-coated plates. The serum leptin, adiponectin, TNF-α and IgE levels were quantified using ELISA assays., Results: The serum IgE levels and eosinophil counts were significantly higher in asthmatic (obese and non-obese) individuals compared with non-asthmatic individuals (obese and non-obese). Spontaneous eosinophil chemotaxis was greater in the AO group compared with either the ANO or NANO groups. The activation of eosinophils using eotaxin and PAF increased eosinophil chemotaxis in the AO group. RANTES treatment increased eosinophil chemotaxis in the NAO group compared with the NANO or ANO groups. The activation of eosinophils using eotaxin significantly increased eosinophil adhesion in the AO group compared with other groups. The serum leptin and TNF-α levels were higher in obese subjects (asthmatic and non-asthmatic), whereas the levels of adiponectin did not significantly differ among these groups., Conclusion: This study is the first to show increased eosinophilic activity (chemotaxis and adhesion) associated with high serum leptin and TNF-α levels in atopic asthmatic obese children and adolescents compared with non-obese healthy volunteers.

Chagas disease is caused by Trypanosoma cruzi and remains a health problem in the developing countries of South America. The condition leads to cardiac conduction disturbances and chronic heart failure. In this study, 136 individuals were evaluated by the Chagas Disease Study Group of the Hospital de la Universidad Estatal de Campinas in Brazil to determine the relationship between chronic heart failure and the serum C-reactive protein (CRP) level. When patients were stratified according to the different clinical presentations of Chagas disease, it was found that the CRP levels in those with severe heart disease and non-Chagasic cardiopathy were significantly higher than in controls or those with mild heart disease (P< .05), even when participants were stratified by age (i.e. <40 and > or =40 years). There was a direct linear correlation between age and CRP level, such that the older the individual, the higher the CRP level. These data provide further evidence for an association between chronic inflammation and the development of heart failure. Although CRP elevations are not exclusively related to Chagas disease, the CRP level may be a useful marker for the progression of Chagas disease to a more advanced phase.