The particulate matter 2.5 (PM2.5) is a serious air-pollutant emission in China, which has caused serious risks to public health. To reduce the pollution and corresponding public mortality, this paper proposes a method by incorporating slacks-based data envelopment analysis (DEA) and an integrated exposure risk (IER) model. By identifying the relationship between the PM2.5 concentration and mor...

This report documents results of a 10-month first phase of a study to characterize urban and rural particulate matter. The three main purposes of the study are 1) to assess the effects of street sweeping on urban air quality, 2) to measure and compare total and inhalable mass concentrations in a rural area, and 3) to determine the sources of urban and rural particulate matter and their relative...

Air pollution by particulate matter is well linked with anthropogenic activities; the global economic crisis that broke out in the last year may be a proper indicator of this close relationship. Some economic indicators show the regional effects of the crisis on the Cantabria Region. The present work aims to evaluate the impact of the economic crisis on PM10 levels and composition at the major ...

The release of molecules adsorbed on the surfaces of amorphous carbon blacks has been studied using liquid-solid chromatography. Adsorbate molecules, adsorbents, and mobile phases were selected on the basis of their relevance as models for the release of toxic agents adsorbed on inhalable environmental particulate matter that originates from the incomplete combustion of organic materials. The p...

Marine particles in the ocean are exposed to diverse bacterial communities, and colonization and growth of attached bacteria are important processes in the degradation and transformation of the particles. In an earlier study, we showed that the initial colonization of model particles by individual bacterial strains isolated from marine aggregates was a function of attachment and detachment. In ...

Why are chemicals that have been banned for over a decade still being detected in the environment? How is it that chemicals and other pollutants such as particulate matter turn up hundreds or even thousands of miles from their sources? These are just two of the questions that a team of American and Canadian scientists hope will be answered using a model they have developed to track pollutants a...

Fungal spores can account for large proportions of air particulate matter, and they may potentially influence the hydrological cycle and climate as nuclei for water droplets and ice crystals in clouds, fog, and precipitation. Moreover, some fungi are major pathogens and allergens. The diversity of airborne fungi is, however, not well-known. By DNA analysis we found pronounced differences in the...

Many of the nation's largest airports, including Los Angeles International Airport, the Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport, Chicago O'Hare International Airport and Washington Dulles International Airport are located within areas designated by the EPA as having ambient particulate matter concentrations that exceed National Ambient Air Quality standards. When inhaled, fine particul...

The present study demonstrates that the α, ε, and ι isozymes of protein kinase C (PKC) are translocated to particulate fractions from the cytosol during brief intervals of global ischemia as well as reperfusion of ischemic rat myocardium. In contrast, phorbol ester treatment of perfused hearts resulted in the translocation of the α, δ, and ε isozymes of PKC to particulate fractions. Additionall...

Sixteen-month time-series measurements of water velocity and light scattering were coupled with hydrographic and suspended particulate matter sections to determine the flux and the variability in flux of suspended particulate matter through the Vema Channel. The northward flux of SPM through the Vema Channel ranged from 3 to 10.5 × 104 g s 1 with a mean of 6.5 × 104 g s 1. The largest fluxes we...