International Journal of Biometeorology最新文献

Previous epidemiological studies have reported a short-term association between ambient temperature and suicide risk. To gain a clearer understanding of this association, it is essential to differentiate the risk factors for intentional self-harm (ISH) from those specifically associated with suicide deaths. Therefore, this study aims to examine whether the association between daily temperature and ISH or suicide deaths differs by age and sex. Between 2014 and 2019, cases of emergency room visits related to ISH and suicide deaths in Seoul were identified. A time-stratified case-crossover design was used to adjust for temporal trends and seasonal variation. A distributed lag nonlinear model was used to analyze the nonlinear and time-delayed effect of ambient temperature on ISH and suicide deaths. Positive associations were observed between temperature and both ISH and suicide deaths. For ISH, the relative risk (RR) was high at 1.17 (95% confidence interval (CI): 1.03, 1.34) for a temperature of 25.7 °C compared with 14.8 °C. The RR for suicide death was higher than those for ISH, at 1.43 (95% CI: 1.03, 2.00) for a temperature of 33.7 °C. These associations varied by age and sex, with males and females aged 35–64 years showing increased susceptibility to suicide deaths. This study provides detailed evidence that unusually high temperatures, both anomalous and out of season, may trigger suicidal behaviors, including both ISH and suicide deaths.

The associations between atmospheric temperature and congenital heart disease (CHD) and its subtypes are still inconclusive. In this population-based retrospective case-control study, 643 CHD cases and 3,215 non-CHD controls were analyzed through distributed lag nonlinear model to estimate the effect of weekly temperature exposure on CHD risk and to identify potentially vulnerable windows. Through the binary logistic regression model, we found that elevated temperature in the first trimester was associated with an increased risk of overall CHD and ventricular septal defect (VSD) (OR: 1.059, 95% CI: 1.002–1.119; OR: 1.094, 95% CI: 1.005–1.190, respectively), while increased temperature in the second trimester was significantly positively correlated with atrial septal defect (ASD) risk. However, the results of the DLNM showed a nonlinear relationship between the weekly average temperature and the risk of total CHDs and the subtypes. Exposure to extremely, moderately, and mildly high temperatures significantly increased the risk of overall CHD, ASD and VSD, and the critical windows were mainly concentrated at the 5th-11th and 23rd-27th weeks of gestation. Low-temperature extreme exposure resulted in vulnerable windows for ASD only: 13th-14th gestational weeks. No significant positive associations were found between extreme temperature and patent ductus arteriosus or tetralogy of Fallot. In the current context of climate change, our results add new evidence to the present understanding of the effects of high- and low-temperature extreme exposure on CHD and its main subtypes.

The objective of this work was to evaluate the effect of using naturally shaded pastures on scrotal thermoregulatory capacity, testicular echotexture, and sperm morphology of Nelore (Bos indicus) and Canchim (5/8 Bos taurus x 3/8 Bos indicus) bulls in a tropical climate region. Sixty-four adult Nelore and Canchim bulls were used, equally allocated in Full Sun (FS, n = 32) or Crop-Livestock-Forestry (CLF, n = 32) pasture systems. During five consecutive climate seasons, the bulls underwent monthly breeding soundness evaluations and the biometeorological variables in the systems were continuously monitored. Microclimate was significantly different between systems. CLF system had lower BGHI than FS throughout the experimental period. No triple interaction (Season x Breed x Treatment, P > 0.05) was observed for any of the variables. Animals in CLF showed lower body temperature in Summer (FS:39.41 ± 0.05 vs. CLF:39.30 ± 0.05 °C; P = 0.005) and in Autumn (FS:39.54 ± 0.05 vs. CLF:39.35 ± 0.05 °C; P = 0.005). Access to shading did not determine differences in the evolution of scrotal biometry, temperatures, and scrotal thermal gradients (P > 0.05). Regardless of breed, animals in CLF showed greater right testicular volume (FS:247.5 ± 5.7 vs. CLF:259.0 ± 5.7 cm³; P < 0.05), more suitable parenchyma echotexture, and fewer microlithiasis spots in the Spring and Summer. Testosterone concentration was higher in FS (FS:2.6 ± 0.2 vs. CLF:2.1 ± 0.2 ng/mL; P = 0.035). Canchim bulls presented higher total sperm defects during the Autumn and Winter (P = 0.010), but the total defects levels for Canchim and Nelore bulls were in normal range for adult bulls. Thus, the natural shade in CLF system was effective in improving the microclimate of pastures and minimizing adverse environmental effects on some reproductive features of interest in beef cattle.

The present study investigates the susceptibility of two imported dairy cattle breeds to Algerian local climatic conditions, with a primary focus on heat stress (HS) and its repercussions on fertility traits. The dataset comprises 20,926 artificial insemination records involving 6,191 Prim’Holstein and 5,279 Montbéliarde cows. The animals originated from three distinct agro-ecological regions: littoral (L), semi-arid (SA), and arid (Ar), characterized by average annual Temperature-Humidity Index (THI) values of 75.2, 69.53, and 74.75, respectively. Logistic and linear regression models were performed to analyze the relationship between the THI on the AI day, season, and agro-ecological origin of the animals with the Conception Rate at 1st Artificial Insemination (CR 1stAI), Conception Risk (CR), Services per Conception (SPC), and reproductive period (RP). The results demonstrated a significant negative impact (P < 0.001) of THI > 72 compared to THI ≤ 72 on CR1st AI and CR for both cattle breeds (Prim‘Holstein: -49.7% and − 17%, respectively; Montbéliarde: -20.7% and − 15%, respectively). Seasonal effects revealed a notably higher CR1stAI in winter and spring (≈ 25%) for Prim‘Holstein and Montbéliarde cows compared to summer (19.41%) and autumn (19.12%), respectively. Furthermore, a reduced likelihood of conception at 1stAI and subsequent AI was observed during summer (0.839) and autumn (0.818) compared to winter for the Montbéliarde cows. Taking into account the littoral region as a reference, the likelihood of 1stAI success increased for both breeds in the SA region and decreased for the Ar region (P < 0.001). SPC increased for both breeds in THI > 72 categories (Prim’Holstein: 6.3%, Montbéliarde: 7.1%, P < 0.01), in the Ar region (Prim’Holstein: 30.9%, Montbéliarde: 26%, P < 0.001), and in the SA region (4%, P < 0.05) compared to the L region No significant seasonal effect on SPC was observed for either breed (P > 0.05). The RP increased in the THI > 72 category (Prim’Holstein: 4.1%, Montbéliarde: 7.4%, P < 0.001) and in the Ar region (Prim’Holstein: 122%, Montbéliarde: 73.4%) for both breeds. RP decreased in autumn compared to winter (Prim’Holstein: 15.3%, Montbéliarde: 8.4%). This study underscores the adverse impact of mild to severe heat stress (HS) and related factors (season, region) on fertility of Prim‘Holstein and Montbéliarde cows under Algerian conditions, emphasizing the necessity for heat stress mitigation strategies, especially in adverse littoral humid and Saharan-arid environmental conditions.

Rice is one of the major food crops, and the study of suitable planting areas for rice plays an important role in improving rice yield and optimizing the production layout. This study used Maximum Entropy (MaxEnt) model to simulate and predict the distribution of suitable rice planting areas in China from 1981 to 2020 by combining the climate, soil, and human activities, analyzed the spatial and temporal changes of suitable rice planting areas in China, and determined the main factors affecting rice planting suitability. The results indicated that the main factors influencing the distribution of suitable planting areas for rice in China were gross domestic product (GDP), population density (Pop), and annual sunshine duration (Sun), with human activities playing a dominant role. The high suitable planting areas of rice were mainly distributed in Hubei, Hunan, Jiangxi, Anhui, Guangdong, southeastern Sichuan and western Guizhou. The total suitable planting areas for rice were 346.00 × 10⁴ km², 345.66 × 10⁴ km², 347.01 × 10⁴ km², and 355.57 × 10⁴ km² from 1981 to 1990, 1991 to 2000, 2001 to 2010 and 2011 to 2020, respectively. With the passage of time, the area of unsuitable areas for rice gradually decreased, and the area of medium suitable areas increased, with large changes in the area of high- and low-suitable areas. Moreover, due to the transfer of a large number of rural laborers to the cities in recent years, the tension between people and land caused by the population explosion has led to the increasing impact of Pop on rice suitable areas and the relatively weakening of the impact of GDP on rice production interventions. The results can be used to provide scientific evidence for the management of rice cultivation and food production safety, with a view to reducing the impacts of climate change on agricultural production in the context of global climate change.

Horizontal and vertical viewing perspectives exert varying influences on the environmental perceptions and emotional states of college students. Despite this, scant research addresses the impact on this demographic. We selected typical campus open spaces for comprehensive physical parameter assessments, encompassing meteorological and spatial characteristics. A cohort of 36 healthy college students participated in a questionnaire survey designed to ascertain shifts in visual comfort, thermal comfort, and emotional responses when viewing landscapes in look-forward and look-up orientations. Key findings following both viewing modalities included: 1) a notable rise in mean visual comfort vote (MVCV), by 1.22 for look-forward and 1.01 for look-up, with a pronouncedly higher sunlight sensation vote (SSV) for the latter orientation; 2) a significant increase in thermal comfort vote (TCV), although the difference in increments between the two viewing angles was minimal; 3) Positive affect (PA) exhibited considerable improvement in both viewing conditions, while negative affect (NA) was markedly reduced in the look-up condition relative to look-forward viewing; 4) The SSV was predominantly influenced by the trunk ratio and canopy-to-trunk ratio, with substantial weights of 31.47% and 32.15%, respectively. Landscape element diversity emerged as the most critical factor affecting visual comfort vote (VCV) and aesthetic assessment score (AAS), with overwhelming weights of 70.67% and 63.15%, respectively. Moreover, the leaf ratio was identified as the chief determinant of emotional responses. Our results provide insights into the design of campus spaces for enhanced student well-being.

Allergic rhino-conjunctivitis (AR) is a globally relevant health disorder characterized by sneezing, rhinorrhea and sleep disturbance. Ragweed (Ambrosia artemisiifolia) is a plant common to North America and an important allergen. Coarse methods of measuring airborne pollen counts are used to predict seasonal allergy symptoms. This research used a longitudinal study design with a novel, model-based raster of predicted pollen counts to test associations with self-reported symptoms of AR collected from patients receiving immunotherapy for pollen allergies at an allergy clinic. Researchers visited a clinic six times over three weeks. Immunotherapy patients were asked to fill out a brief intake survey on allergic and symptomatic profiles, daytime sleepiness, housing quality, and demographics. Participants responded to a daily, emailed survey on sleepiness and asthma symptoms for 21 days. Using the date and location of responses, ragweed pollen counts were extracted from a prognostic, model based raster (25km pixels). Lag associations of pollen counts with sleepiness were tested using a logistic regression model , adjusted for housing and demographic characteristics, in a distributed lag non-linear model (DLNM) framework. 49 people participated in the study. 26 (52%) were female. The mean age was 37.9 years. Asthma/allergy symptoms were not associated with ragweed pollen but sleepiness was highest two days after exposure (Estimate: 0.33 [0.04,0.62]). Subjects traveled widely during the study period. Intense exposures to ragweed pollen may be associated with daytime sleepiness within small exposure windows. Model-based predicted pollen counts could be used to study health impacts of pollen in people with disease severe enough to receive immunotherapy. Daytime sleepiness can affect productivity and injury risk, and pollen season length and allergenicity may be increasing with climate change. Thus our results may have important implications for population health.

In this study, we conducted a literature review to deepen our understanding of the sweating response of the thermoregulatory system, focusing on the influence of individual characteristics and local body functions. Among the factors related to individual characteristics, improvement in aerobic fitness had a positive effect on the sweating response, whereas aging exerted an inhibitory effect. Short-term artificial acclimation and seasonal heat acclimatization promoted sweating, whereas long-term geographical acclimatization suppressed sweating. Male exhibited higher sweat rates than female when the metabolic heat production was high. Individuals with smaller surface area-to-mass ratios tended to have higher sweat rates than those with larger ratios. Regarding local body functions, sweat distribution in the resting state showed high regional sweat rates in the lower limbs and torso, with higher values in the lower limbs when in the supine position and higher values in the torso when in the seated position. During exercise, the regional sweat rates was high in the torso, whereas the limbs exhibited relatively low sweat rates. These differences in sweat distribution stem from the thermoregulatory potential of each body region, which aims to efficiently regulate body temperature. Local effects have only been examined in the thigh and forearm, with temperature coefficient Q₁₀ ranging from 2 to 5. Only the forehead showed significantly high thermosensitivity among all body regions.

Climate change, particularly temperature fluctuations, profoundly impacts pest populations. This study focuses on the tomato, a crucial commercial crop in the Eastern Himalayan Region of India. The study examined the impact of varying thermal regimes on tomato fruit borers. Field experiments were conducted at three locations, with altitudes ranging from < 500 to > 1500 m. At lower altitudes, fruit borer incidence commenced earlier (5^th − 18^th March) and peaked higher (1.47 ± 0.34 to 1.73 ± 0.37 larvae/plant), causing more damage (26–29%) as compared to the highest location (~ 9%). The generalized linear mixed model (GLMM) analysis indicated that maximum temperature had significant positive impacts on the H. armigera incidence and fruit damage. Climatic datasets indicate an increase in the temperature of the region during the tomato growing season, thereby increasing the risk of fruit borer impact. As an adaptation option, we evaluated eight different tomato varieties/genotypes and studied biochemical parameters to understand their tolerance. Results showed a strong positive association of fruit borer incidence with total soluble solids whereas negative association with acidity. Cherry tomato (7.62%) and MT-2 (10.04%) had relatively lower fruit damage; MT-3 (50.92 t/ha) and MT-2 (50.57 t/ha) consistently yielded the highest across all locations. Hence, the selection of appropriate genotypes and the development of varieties with suitable characteristics hold the key to fruit borer management. This insight is crucial for developing effective pest management strategies and ensuring sustainable agricultural practices in the region.