Although studies of the composition of alveolar air have been invaluable to the advance of respiratory physiology a precise definition of alveolar gas pressures and the accurate sampling of alveolar air have proved elusive goals (1). Owing to the cyclic nature of the ventilatory process the partial pressures of 02 and CO2 in the alveoli are changing continually (time factor) (9), and, owing to ...

Studies have shown a link between living on a farm, exposure to microbial components (e.g., endotoxins or beta-d-glucans), and a lower risk for allergic diseases and asthma. Due to the lack of validated sampling methods, studies of asthma and atopy have not relied on exposure assessment based on culture techniques. Our objective was therefore to compare several dust sampling methods for the det...

Reliable measurements of air quality and emissions at large livestock buildings with inherently large spatial and temporal variations of pollutant concentrations are relatively difficult and expensive. Appropriate methodologies for such measurements are not readily apparent and techniques and strategies vary widely. Several important technical issues need to be addressed by an air pollutant emi...

In an effort to better understand the relationship between different fungal sampling methods in the indoor environment, four methods were used to quantify mold contamination in 13 homes with visible mold. Swab, fungal spore source strength tester (FSSST), and air samples (total of 52 samples) were analyzed using both the microscopic (total spore count) and culture-based (CFU count) enumeration ...

2 Irena Zdovc, PhD, assistant professor, University of Ljubljana, Veterinary Faculty, Institute for Microbiology and Parasitology, Gerbičeva 60, SI-1000 Ljubljana, Slovenia; Center of Excellence NAMASTE, Jamova 39, SI-1000 Ljubljana, Slovenia Summary Listeria monocytogenes and other Listeria species are microorganisms which can signi#cantly a$ect the health of consumers transferring by meat and...

Airborne fungi are often collected during the assessment of water-damaged buildings. Air sampling for endotoxin, a characteristic group of constituents of outer membranes of gram-negative bacteria, is another approach commonly used to characterize microbial conditions in buildings. This study presents results of fungal and endotoxin air samples collected in buildings with microbial complaints. ...

We used the case-crossover design to identify any increase in mortality in Seoul, Korea, when there were higher levels of ambient air pollution on case-days than would be expected solely as a result of chance. This empirical study showed that either unidirectional retrospective (selecting only control days prior to death) or prospective (selecting only control days after death) control sampling...

This study was carried out to determine the concentration of lead (Pb), anions, and cations at six primary schools located around Kuala Lumpur. Low volume sampler (MiniVol PM10) was used to collect the suspended particulates in indoor and outdoor air. Results showed that the concentration of Pb in indoor air was in the range of 5.18 ± 1.08 μg/g-7.01 ± 0.08 μg/g. All the concentrations of Pb in ...

The exposure of children to air pollution in low resource settings is believed to be high because of the common use of biomass fuels for cooking. We used microenvironment sampling to estimate the respirable fraction of air pollution (particles with median diameter less than 4 μm) to which 7-9 year old children in southern Nepal were exposed. Sampling was conducted for a total 2649 h in 55 house...

Introduction: Trichloroethylene (TCE) is an industrial solvent which is often used as a degreaser for metal parts. Due to adverse health effects and carcinogenic properties of this solvent, knowing its concentration in the workplace atmosphere is really crucial. Nowadays, carbon nanotubes with high efficiency are being used for sampling of this chemical. Method:</stron...