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Breathing particulate-laden (aka smoggy) air may be hardening your arteries faster than normalWhile everyones’ arteries harden gradually with age, a team of researchers led by epidemiologist Sara Adar of the University of Michigan School of Public Health discovered that higher concentrations of fine particulate air pollution were linked to a faster thickening of the inner two layers of the carotid artery.根据研究，呼吸含大量颗粒物的（雾霾）空气可能会让你的动脉硬化速度加快。尽管每个人的动脉都会随着年龄增大而逐渐硬化，但密歇根大学公共卫生学院的流行病学家萨拉•阿达领导的研究团队发现，空气中的细微颗粒污染物浓度升高与颈动脉内膜和中膜增厚加快有关。
Because the carotid artery feeds blood to the neck, head, and brain, a narrowing or blockage there can trigger strokes. And general atherosclerosis, or hardening of the arteries, is a major risk factor for cardiovascular disease, heart attack, and heart failure.由于颈动脉要向颈部、头部和大脑供血，颈动脉变窄或堵塞可能会引发中风。通常动脉硬化是冠心病、心脏病发作和心力衰竭的主要风险因素。
Past research has demonstrated that the rates of stroke and heart attack are higher in polluted areas, but experts haven’t been able to pinpoint just how polluted air is raising peoples’ risk for heart attack or stroke. This time, Adar’s team, along with Joel Kaufman, professor of environmental and occupational health sciences and medicine at the University of Washington, was able to directly measure carotid artery thickness and link it to air pollution data.以往的研究已经表明，在受污染地区中风和心脏病发作的几率更高，但专家还未能查明空气污染是如何提高人们心脏病或中风发作的风险的。这次阿达带领的团队和华盛顿大学环境与职业健康科学和医学专业的教授乔尔•考夫曼联手合作，已经能够直接测量颈动脉厚度，并将其和空气污染数据联系起来。
The study involved 5,362 people between the ages of 45 and 84 living in six different cities that are part of the MESA AIR (Multi-Ethnic Study of Atherosclerosis and Air Pollution) research project, led by Joel Kaufman. Each participant underwent two carotid artery ultrasounds three years apart. These measurements were then correlated with data on fine particulate air pollution.乔尔•考夫曼领导的这一动脉硬化和空气污染多种族研究项目调查了居住在6个不同城市、年龄在45岁到84岁之间的5362个人。每个参与者隔三年都要做一次颈动脉超声波检查。研究人员把这些测量结果和细颗粒物空气污染的数据联系起来。
While the artery walls of all participants increased by 14 micrometers per year, the arteries of those who were exposed to higher levels of fine particulate air pollution in their homes thickened faster than their neighbors in other parts of the city. Interestingly, the researchers also found the reverse effect to be true: reducing fine particulate air pollution levels slowed down atherosclerosis progression. Carotid artery measurements are considered by experts to be an indicator for arterial plaque and hardening throughout the body.尽管所有参与者的动脉壁每年都会增厚14微米，但那些家周边空气中细颗粒污染物水平更高的人动脉壁比住在同城其他地区的人增厚速度更快。 有趣的是，研究人员还发现反之亦然：降低空气中的细颗粒污染物水平会减慢动脉硬化的速度。专家认为颈动脉的测量数据是动脉斑块和周身硬化的指示标志。

Scientists have detected a similarity in the gene sequence of the H7N9 flu virus in humans and that of H7N9 found in live poultry, the China Academy of Agricultural Sciences (CAAS) said.从中国农业科学院获悉，该院哈尔滨兽医研究所陈化兰科研团队经过连续作战，最新得出的研究结果表明：在我国导致人感染的新型H7N9流感病毒与同一时期存在于活禽市场上的H7N9禽流感病毒高度同源，在国际上首次从病原学角度揭示了新型H7N9流感病毒的来源，为我国科学防控H7N9禽流感提供了重要依据。
Studies, carried out by CAAS Harbin Veterinary Research Institute, found that the H7N9 flu virus is a combination of genes from various viruses, a CAAS statement said.研究结果表明，新型H7N9流感病毒是不同来源病毒的重组病毒，它的6个内部基因来源于H9N2禽流感病毒，而血凝素(HA)和神经氨酸酶(NA)基因的来源尚不明确。研究发现，新型H7N9病毒的受体结合位点获得了部分人流感病毒特征的突变，病毒在感染人后获得了关键氨基酸位点的适应性突变，这些可能与该病毒对人的感染和致死能力有关。
In the H7N9 flu virus, six of its inner genes are from the H9N2 bird flu virus, but origins of both its hemagglutinin (HA) gene and neuraminidase (NA) gene are not clear, the statement said.自从3月31日国家卫生和计划生育委员会公布了上海和安徽出现新型人感染H7N9流感病毒病例之后，哈尔滨兽医所科研团队连夜分赴各地开展监测，彻夜进行实验室诊断、病毒分离与基因序列比对。他们先后在上海、安徽的活禽市场和养殖场采集病原学样品970份，在分离自活禽市场采集的样品中，检测出20份H7N9禽流感病毒阳性，而所有养殖场样品的检测结果均为阴性。通过基因序列分析表明，H7N9禽流感病毒的各个基因片段，与H7N9人体分离株高度同源，证明了导致人感染和致死的H7N9流感病毒可能来源于同一时期家禽中的H7N9禽流感病毒。
Chen Hualan and Li Chengjun, researchers with the institute, headed the study。They collected 970 samples from live poultry markets and farms in Shanghai and Anhui. Twenty of the samples from the markets were positive and all samples from poultry farms were negative.目前，该实验室正在积极评估已有储备的H7亚型禽流感病毒疫苗对新型H7N9禽流感病毒的免疫保护效果，同时加紧研制专门针对新型H7N9禽流感病毒的疫苗。
Further work should be carried out to detect H7N9 bird flu virus to explore its sources and transmission channels, Chen said。The research was published in the latest English version of Chinese Science Bulletin, which is sponsored by Chinese Academy of Sciences and National Natural Science Foundation of China.陈化兰表示，在前期工作的基础上，下一步将加强H7N9禽流感病毒在家禽中的检测，查明病毒的来源和传播途径，开展H7N9病毒在动物模型中的致病性、传播能力及致病机理研究，为制定科学合理的防控措施提供理论依据。