Abstract. In order to quantify the aerosol impact on climate, a range of aerosol parameters are required. In this paper, twoyear of ground-based observations of aerosol optical properties from an urban site in Beijing of China are assessed. The aerosol absorption coefficient (σ a ), scattering coefficient (σ s ), as well as single scattering albedo (ω) are analyzed to aid in characterizing Beijing's urban aerosol. Two-year averages (and standard deviations) for σ a at 532 nm, σ s at 525 nm and ω at 525 nm are 56±49 Mm −1 , 288±281 Mm −1 and 0.80±0.09, respectively. Meanwhile, there is a distinct diurnal variation for σ a , with its minimum occurring at approximately 14:00 to 15:00 and maximum at midnight. σ s peaks in the late morning and the minimum occurs in the evening. σ s in summer is higher than that in winter. ω is also higher in summer than that in winter, except before 07:00 a.m., and peaks in the early afternoon. Both σ a and σ s show strong dependence on local wind in all four seasons. When the wind blows from the north with low speed (0-2 m/s), the values of σ a are high, and in contrast, very low with wind speeds higher than 4 m/s. When the wind blows from south with low speed (0-4 m/s), σ a is intermediate. The patterns of the wind dependence of σ a indicates that σ a is mainly dominated by local emissions. σ s displays a similar dependence on wind speed and direction to σ a , except in summer. In summer, the σ s value is highest when wind is from southeast with speed of 0-6 m/s. This indicates that the particle pollution resulting from regional transport is only significant in the summer season. ω also shows wind dependence to some extent though not as strong as σ a or σ s . Overall, the wind dependence results provide valuable information about the locations of Correspondence to: C. C. Li (ccli@pku.edu.cn) aerosol pollution sources and suggest that the air pollution in summer is a regional problem but in other seasons it is mainly affected by local urban emissions.

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This meta-analysis identified an inverse association between overweight and obesity with all-cause mortality after AMI compared with healthy weight, which indicated an obesity paradox. Another notable finding is that obesity is associated with neither an increased nor a decreased risk of death in patients after AMI compared with overweight patients.

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Abstract.A novel approach for the joint retrieval of aerosol optical depth (AOD) and aerosol type, using Meteosat Second Generation -Spinning Enhanced Visible and Infrared Imagers (MSG/SEVIRI) observations in two solar channels, is presented. The retrieval is based on a Time Series (TS) technique, which makes use of the two visible bands at 0.6 µm and 0.8 µm in three orderly scan times (15 min interval between two scans) to retrieve the AOD over land. Using the radiative transfer equation for plane-parallel atmosphere, two coupled differential equations for the upward and downward fluxes are derived. The boundary conditions for the upward and downward fluxes at the top and at the bottom of the atmosphere are used in these equations to provide an analytic solution for the AOD. To derive these fluxes, the aerosol single scattering albedo (SSA) and asymmetry factor are required to provide a solution. These are provided from a set of six pre-defined aerosol types with the SSA and asymmetry factor. We assume one aerosol type for a grid of 1 • ×1 • and the surface reflectance changes little between two subsequent observations. A k-ratio approach is used in the inversion to find the best solution of atmospheric properties and surface reflectance. The k-ratio approach assumes that the surface reflectance is little influenced by aerosol scattering at 1.6 µm and therefore the ratio of surface reflectances in the solar band for two subsequent observations can be wellapproximated by the ratio of the reflectances at 1.6 µm. A further assumption is that the surface reflectance varies only slightly over a period of 30 min. The algorithm makes use of numerical minimisation routines to obtain the optimal solution of atmospheric properties and surface reflectance by selection of the most suitable aerosol type from pre-defined sets.A detailed analysis of the retrieval results shows that it is suitable for AOD retrieval over land from SEVIRI data. Six AErosol RObotic NETwork (AERONET) sites with different surface types are used for detailed analysis and 42 other AERONET sites are used for validation. From 445 collocations representing stable and homogeneous aerosol type, we find that >75 % of the MSG-retrieved AOD at 0.6 and 0.8 µm values compare favourably with AERONET observed AOD values, within an error envelope of ± 0.05 ± 0.15τ and a high correlation coefficient (R>0.86). The AOD datasets derived Published by Copernicus Publications on behalf of the European Geosciences Union. L. Mei et al.: Retrieval of aerosol optical depth over landusing the TS method with SEVIRI data is also compared with collocated AOD products derived from NASA TERRA and AQUA MODIS (The Moderate-resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer) data using the Dark Dense Vegetation (DDV) method and the Deep Blue algorithms. Using the TS method, the AOD could be retrieved for more pixels than with the NASA Deep Blue algorithm. This method is potentially also useful for surface reflectance retrieval using SEVIRI observations. The current paper focuses on AOD retrieval ...

Idiopathic pulmonary arterial hypertension (IPAH) is a severe cardiovascular disease that is a serious threat to human life. However, the specific diagnostic biomarkers have not been fully clarified and candidate regulatory targets for IPAH have not been identified. The aim of this study was to explore the potential diagnostic biomarkers and possible regulatory targets of IPAH. We performed a weighted gene coexpression network analysis and calculated module-trait correlations based on a public microarray data set (GSE703) and six modules were found to be related to IPAH. Two modules which have the strongest correlation with IPAH were further analyzed and the top 10 hub genes in the two modules were identified. Furthermore, we validated the data by quantitative real-time polymerase chain reaction (qRT-PCR) in an independent sample set originated from our study center. Overall, the qRT-PCR results were consistent with most of the results of the microarray analysis.Intriguingly, the highest change was found for YWHAB, a gene encodes a protein belonging to the 14-3-3 family of proteins, members of which mediate signal transduction by binding to phosphoserine-containing proteins. Thus, YWHAB was subsequently selected for validation. In congruent with the gene expression analysis, plasma 14-3-3β concentrations were significantly increased in patients with IPAH compared with healthy controls, and 14-3-3β expression was also positively correlated with mean pulmonary artery pressure (R 2 = 0.8783; p < 0.001). Taken together, using weighted gene coexpression analysis, YWHAB was identified and validated in association with IPAH progression, which might serve as a biomarker and/or therapeutic target for IPAH. K E Y W O R D S biomarker, idiopathic pulmonary arterial hypertension, weighted gene coexpression network analysis (WGCNA), YWHAB J Cell Physiol. 2019;234:6449-6462.wileyonlinelibrary.com/journal/jcp

Acute aortic dissection (AAD) is a life-threatening disease. Despite the higher risk of mortality, currently there are no effective therapies that can ameliorate AAD development or progression. Identification of meaningful clusters of co-expressed genes or representative biomarkers for AAD may help to identify new pathomechanisms and foster development of new therapies. To this end, we performed a weighted gene co-expression network analysis (WGCNA) and calculated module-trait correlations based on a public microarray dataset (GSE 52093) and discovered 9 modules were found to be related to AAD. The module which has the strongest positive correlation with AAD was further analyzed and the top 10 hub genes SLC20A1, GINS2, CNN1, FAM198B, MAD2L2, UBE2T, FKBP11, SLMAP, CCDC34, and GALK1 were identified. Furthermore, we validated the data by qRT-PCR in an independent sample set originated from our study center. Overall, the qRT-PCR results were consistent with the results of the microarray analysis. Intriguingly, the highest change was found for FKBP11, a protein belongs to the FKBP family of peptidyl-prolyl cis/trans isomerases, which catalyze the folding of proline-containing polypeptides. In congruent with the gene expression analysis, FKBP11 expression was induced in cultured endothelial cells by angiotensin II treatment and endothelium of the dissected aorta. More importantly we show that FKBP11 provokes inflammation in endothelial cells by interacting with NF-kB p65 subunit, resulting in pro-inflammatory cytokines production. Accordingly, siRNA mediated knockdown of FKBP11 in cultured endothelial cells suppressed angiotensin II induced monocyte transmigration through the endothelial monolayer. Based on these data, we hypothesize that pro-inflammatory cytokines elicited by FKBP11 overexpression in the endothelium under AAD condition could facilitate transendothelial migration of the circulating monocytes into the aorta, where they differentiate into active macrophages and secrete MMPs and other extracellular matrix (ECM) degrading proteins, contributing to sustained inflammation and AAD. Taken together, our data identify important role of FKBP11 which can serve as biomarker and/or therapeutic target for AAD.

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