A 14-month study was undertaken to assess the long-term efficiencies of four dust suppressants (i.e., biocatalyst stabilizer, polymer emulsion, petroleum emulsion with polymer, and nonhazardous crude-oil-containing materials) to reduce the emission of PM10 from public unpaved roads. PM10 emission rates were calculated for each test section and for an untreated section for comparison purposes. E...

This study investigated 2-wheeler exposures to CO and PM10 along six standardized arterial main road stretches in Bangalore city in India during morning peak (9:00-11:00) and afternoon non-peak hours (13:00-15:00) using personal samplers. Background levels on a local street carrying no traffic and away from main roads were also monitored to determine the actual contributions of vehicular traffi...

Nature-based solutions have been identified by the European Union as being critical for the enhancement of environmental qualities in cities, where urban and peri-urban forests play a key role in air quality amelioration through pollutant removal. A remote sensing and geographic information system (GIS) approach was applied to the Metropolitan City (MC) of Rome to assess the seasonal particulat...

BACKGROUND Air pollution is associated with asthma exacerbations. We examined the associations of exposure to ambient particulate matter (PM10) and nitrogen dioxide (NO2) with the risk of wheezing in preschool children, and assessed whether these associations were modified by tobacco smoke exposure. METHODS This study was embedded in the Generation R Study, a population-based prospective coho...

BACKGROUND Ambient particulate matter (PM) air pollution exposure has been associated with increases in QT interval duration (QT). However, innate susceptibility to PM-associated QT prolongation has not been characterized. OBJECTIVE To characterize genetic susceptibility to PM-associated QT prolongation in a multi-racial/ethnic, genome-wide association study (GWAS). METHODS Using repeated e...

Platelet-derived growth factor (PDGF) and its receptor system regulate mesenchymal cell proliferation. We recently reported that emission-source fly-ash particles and asbestos fibers induce the PDGF alpha-receptor through a macrophage-dependent pathway, and upregulation of this receptor greatly enhances the mitogenic response of lung myofibroblasts to PDGF (Lindroos and colleagues, Am. J. Respi...

African Dust Events (ADE) are a seasonal phenomenon that has been suggested to exacerbate respiratory and proinflammatory diseases in Puerto Rico (PR). Increases in PM10 concentration and the effects of biological endotoxins (ENX) are critical factors to consider during these storms. ENX promote proinflammatory responses in lungs of susceptible individuals through activation of the Toll-like re...

Assessment of human health impact from the exposure to PM10 air pollution is crucial for evaluating environmental damage. We established an empirical model to estimate ground PM10 mass concentration from satellite-derived aerosol optical depth and adopted the doseresponse model to evaluate the annual average human health risks and losses related to PM10 exposure over China from 2010 to 2014. Un...

Concentrations of endotoxin in urban air pollution have not previously been extensively characterized. We measured 24-hr levels of PM10 (particulate matter < 10 microm in aerodynamic diameter) and the associated endotoxin component once every 6 weeks for 1 year in 13 communities in Southern California. All the samples collected had detectable PM10 and endotoxin levels. The geometric mean PM10 w...

OBJECTIVES Environmental particles < 10 microns average aerodynamic diameter (PM10) are associated with mortality, exacerbation of airways diseases, and decrement in lung function. It is hypothesised that PM10 particles, along with other pathogenic particles, generate free radicals at their surface in reactions involving iron, and that this is a factor in the pathogenicity of PM10 particles. Id...