Assessing the impact of socioeconomic and environmental factors on mental health during the COVID-19 pandemic based on GPS-enabled mobile sensing and survey data.

This study examines the impact of individual socioeconomic factors, living environment factors (e.g., housing conditions), and environmental exposures (e.

Individual-level noise exposure and its association with sleep quality and duration: A cross-sectional study using real-time data.

As urban populations grow, the problem of noise pollution becomes more significant. The limited number of epidemiological studies linking individual-level dynamic noise exposure to sleep highlights a gap in our understanding of how individual-level noise exposure impact sleep quality and duration. A cross-sectional survey was conducted in Hong Kong, and portable noise sensors were used to record participants' real-time noise exposure.

The Universal Neighborhood Effect Averaging in Mobility-Dependent Environmental Exposures.

The neighborhood effect averaging problem (NEAP) is a fundamental statistical phenomenon in mobility-dependent environmental exposures. It suggests that individual environmental exposures tend toward the average exposure in the study area when considering human mobility. However, the universality of the NEAP across various environmental exposures and the mechanisms underlying its occurrence remain unclear.

Non-linear associations between noise level and people's short-term noise annoyance in different activity contexts.

Recent research has become increasingly interested in the on-linear associations between noise levels and people's short-term noise annoyance. However, there has been limited investigation into measuring short-term noise annoyance and how different activity contexts may affect these non-linear associations. To address this research gap, this study measured people's short-term noise annoyance using real-time Ecological Momentary Assessment (EMA) data and the Day Reconstruction Method's (DRM) recalled data.

Confounding associations between green space and outdoor artificial light at night: Systematic investigations and implications for urban health.

Excessive urbanization leads to considerable nature deficiency and abundant artificial infrastructure in urban areas, which triggered intensive discussions on people's exposure to green space and outdoor artificial light at night (ALAN). Recent academic progress highlights that people's exposure to green space and outdoor ALAN may be confounders of each other but lacks systematic investigations. This study investigates the associations between people's exposure to green space and outdoor ALAN by adopting the three most used research paradigms: population-level residence-based, individual-level residence-based, and individual-level mobility-oriented paradigms.

Analyzing the Impact of Personalization on Fairness in Federated Learning for Healthcare.

As machine learning (ML) usage becomes more popular in the healthcare sector, there are also increasing concerns about potential biases and risks such as privacy. One countermeasure is to use federated learning (FL) to support collaborative learning without the need for patient data sharing across different organizations. However, the inherent heterogeneity of data distributions among participating FL parties poses challenges for exploring group fairness in FL.

Synthesis of a carbon-wrapped microsphere MoO/MoC heterojunction as an efficient electrocatalyst for the oxygen reduction reaction and the hydrogen evolution reaction.

The development of non-noble metal catalysts for the optimization of conversion and storage devices is an important research topic. Hence, the microsphere MoO/MoC/C heterojunction composites, which play an important role in the oxygen reduction reaction (ORR) and the hydrogen evolution reaction (HER), were synthesized using the solvothermal-sintering method. The results revealed that the as-prepared composite exhibited better ORR and HER catalytic performances than those of MoO/MoC and Vulcan XC-72R (carbon black), and approaching that of commercial Pt/C.

Nonstationary relationships among individuals' concurrent exposures to noise, air pollution and greenspace: A mobility-based study using GPS and mobile sensing data.

Individuals are often exposed to multiple environmental factors simultaneously. Understanding their joint effects is essential for developing effective public health policies. However, there has been a lack of research examining individuals' concurrent exposures to multiple environmental factors during people's daily mobility.

Perceiving noise in daily life: How real-time sound characteristics affect personal momentary noise annoyance in various activity microenvironments and times of day.

Annoyance is a major health burden induced by environmental noise. However, our understanding of the health impacts of noise is seriously undermined by the fixed contextual unit and limited sound characteristics (e.g.

MoC promoted electrocatalysis of the Pt/MoC (C) heterostructure for a superior hydrogen evolution reaction.

Constructing a unique electrochemical interface to enhance the catalytic capacity of Pt-based catalysts is indispensable for wider application of the hydrogen evolution reaction (HER). Herein, platinum-analogous molybdenum carbide (MoC) was combined with a lower content of Pt to construct the Pt/MoC (C) heterostructure a solid-phase method, using ammonium molybdate as the precursor. Vulcan-C served as a support to promote the distribution of the Pt and MoC heterostructure, and cooperative effects between Pt and the MoC heterostructure contributed to the significantly improved catalytic capacity of Pt.

Field Evaluation and Calibration of Low-Cost Air Pollution Sensors for Environmental Exposure Research.

This paper seeks to evaluate and calibrate data collected by low-cost particulate matter (PM) sensors in different environments and using different aggregated temporal units (i.e., 5-s, 1-min, 10-min, 30 min intervals).

Nationwide assessment of energy costs and policies to limit airborne infection risks in U.S. schools.

Practices such as improved ventilation and air filtration are being considered by schools to reduce the transmission of Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) that causes the pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19). Improved ventilation may significantly increase the energy cost of heating, ventilation, and air conditioning (HVAC), exacerbating financial challenges schools face amidst the worst pandemic in decades. This study evaluated HVAC energy costs for reducing COVID-19 airborne infection risks in 111,485 public and private schools in the U.

Airborne infection risks of SARS-CoV-2 in U.S. schools and impacts of different intervention strategies.

The potential airborne transmission of SARS-CoV-2 has triggered concerns as schools continue to reopen and resume in-person instruction during the current COVID-19 pandemic. It is critical to understand the risks of airborne SARS-CoV-2 transmission under different epidemiological scenarios and operation strategies for schools to make informed decisions to mitigate infection risk. Through scenario-based analysis, this study estimates the airborne infection risk of SARS-CoV-2 in 111,485 U.

Integrated environment-occupant-pathogen information modeling to assess and communicate room-level outbreak risks of infectious diseases.

Microbial pathogen transmission within built environments is a main public health concern. The pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) adds to the urgency of developing effective means to reduce pathogen transmission in mass-gathering public buildings such as schools, hospitals, and airports. To inform occupants and guide facility managers to prevent and respond to infectious disease outbreaks, this study proposed a framework to assess room-level outbreak risks in buildings by modeling built environment characteristics, occupancy information, and pathogen transmission.

Three 3D Co(ii) cluster-based MOFs constructed from polycarboxylate acids and bis(imidazole) ligands and their derivatives: magnetic properties and catalytic performance for the ORR.

Three 3D polymeric complexes containing polynuclear Co(ii) units, [Co(bpda)(bib)]·HO (1), [Co(OH)(HO)(bpda)(bib)]·2HO (2), and [Co(OH)(bib)(bpt)]·HO (3) (Hbpda = biphenyl-2,4'-dicarboxylic acid, Hbpt = biphenyl-3,4',5-tricarboxylic acid, bib = 1,4-bis(1-imidazolyl)benzene), have been prepared by urothermal synthesis. Complex 1 exhibits an unusual (4,6)-connected 3D network based on binuclear Co(ii) clusters and Co centers bridged by bpda and bib ligands. Complex 2, containing a novel pentanuclear Co(ii) cluster, features a porous 3D MOF with a regular nanosized tunnel.

Fractionation and ecological risk of metals in urban river sediments in Zhongshan City, Pearl River Delta.

Surface sediments collected from nine urban rivers located in Zhongshan City, Pearl River Delta, were analyzed for total concentration of metals with digestion and chemical fractionation adopting the modified European Community Bureau of Reference (BCR) sequential extraction procedure. The results showed that concentration and fractionation of metals varied significantly among the rivers. The total concentration of eight metals in most rivers did not exceed the China Environmental Quality Standard for Soil, Grade III.