Nitrogen dioxide (NO2) is a ubiquitous atmospheric pollutant due to the widespread prevalence of both natural and anthropogenic sources, and it can be a respiratory irritant when inhaled at elevated concentrations. Evidence for health effects of ambient NO2 derives from three types of studies: observational epidemiology, human clinical exposures, and animal toxicology. Our review focuses on the...

A prospective panel study, in which personal exposure was monitored, was conducted among preschool children in Helsinki between October 1990 and June 1991. The aims of the study were: 1) to assess children’s personal weekly exposure to nitrogen dioxide (NO2), 2) to investigate the association of seasonal and weekly NO2 exposure with respiratory health and 3) to compare different exposure assess...

The effects of different concentrations of CdCl2 and AlCl3 on NH4+ and NO2? oxidation in an aqueous system were investigated. AlCl3 had no effect on NH4+ removal and its oxidation to NO2?, whereas NO2? disappearance was greatly enhanced by AlCl3. In contrast, CdCl2 delayed removal of NH4+ and its subsequent oxidation to NO2? and also decreased the rate of NO2? disappearance. When compared to th...

This work presents a new high-resolution NO2 dataset derived from the NASA Ozone Monitoring Instrument (OMI) NO2 version 3.0 retrieval that can be used to estimate surface level concentrations. The standard 15 NASA product uses NO2 vertical profile shape factors from a 1.25° × 1° (~110 × 110 km) resolution Global Model Initiative (GMI) model simulation to calculate air mass factors, a critical ...

SCIAMACHY (Scanning Imaging Spectrometer for Atmospheric Chartography) aboard the recently launched Environmental Satellite (ENVISAT) of ESA is measuring solar radiance upwelling from the atmosphere and the extraterrestrial irradiance. Appropriate inversion of the ultraviolet and visible radiance measurements, observed from the atmospheric limb, yields profiles of nitrogen dioxide, NO2, in the ...

Both nitrogen dioxide (NO2) and ozone (O3) are powerful oxidants in ambient air that are intimately linked through atmospheric chemistry and which continuously interchange over very short timescales. Based upon atmospheric chemistry alone, there is a strong, a priori, reason for considering O3 and NO2 together in epidemiological studies, rather than either of the two pollutants separately in si...

Recent studies in animal systems have shown that NO can interact with fatty acids to generate nitro-fatty acids (NO2-FAs). They are the product of the reaction between reactive nitrogen species and unsaturated fatty acids, and are considered novel mediators of cell signaling based mainly on a proven anti-inflammatory response. Although these signaling mediators have been described widely in ani...

The photochemistry of nitrate ions in bulk aqueous solution is well known, yet recent evidence suggests that the photolysis of nitrate may be more efficient at the air-water interface. Whether and how this surface enhancement is altered by the presence of different cations is not known. In the present studies, thin aqueous films of nitrate salts with different cations were deposited on the wall...

Although interest in biomarkers in the nitrate-nitrite-NO pathway has recently increased, associations between nitrite (NO2(-)) and nitrate (NO3(-)), and asthma, allergic sensitisation and rhinitis remain unclear. The study aimed to evaluate the associations between NO2(-)/NO3(-) and exhaled fraction of nitric oxide (FeNO) levels with asthma, allergic sensitisation and rhinitis. Plasma and exha...

In previous studies, we have reported bronchoalveolar lavage (BAL) findings following single and repeated exposures to NO2. Here, we present the first data on measurements of the frequency of the mucociliary activity in healthy subjects following exposure to NO2. Twenty four healthy nonsmoking volunteers underwent fibreoptic bronchoscopy, during which mucociliary activity was measured using an ...