WorldWideScience

Sample records for matter national ambient

  1. Emissions from residential energy use dominate exposure to ambient fine particulate matter in India

    Science.gov (United States)

    Conibear, L.; Butt, E. W.; Knote, C. J.; Arnold, S.; Spracklen, D. V.

    2017-12-01

    Exposure to ambient particulate matter of less than 2.5 µm in diameter (PM2.5) is a leading cause of disease burden in India. Information on the source contributions to the burden of disease attributable to ambient PM2.5 exposure is critical to support the national and sub-national control of air pollution. Previous studies analysing the contributions of different emission sectors to disease burden in India have been limited by coarse model resolutions and a lack of extensive PM2.5 observations before 2016. We use a regional numerical weather prediction model online-coupled with chemistry, evaluated against extensive surface observations, to make the first high resolution study of the contributions of seven emission sectors to the disease burden associated with ambient PM2.5 exposure in India. We find that residential energy use is the dominant contributing emission sector. Removing air pollution emissions from residential energy use would reduce population-weighted annual mean ambient PM2.5 concentrations by 52%, reducing the number of premature mortalities caused by exposure to ambient PM2.5 by 26%, equivalent to 268,000 (95% uncertainty interval (95UI): 167,000-360,000) lives every year. The smaller fractional reduction in mortality burden is due to the non-linear exposure-response relationship at the high PM2.5 concentrations observed across India and consequently large reductions in emissions are required to reduce the health burden from ambient PM2.5 exposure in India. Keywords: ambient air quality, India, residential energy use, health impact, particulate matter, WRF-Chem

  2. Ambient particulate matter as a risk factor for suicide.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kim, Changsoo; Jung, Sang Hyuk; Kang, Dae Ryong; Kim, Hyeon Chang; Moon, Ki Tae; Hur, Nam Wook; Shin, Dong Chun; Suh, Il

    2010-09-01

    The authors assessed the relationship between exposure to ambient particulate matter and suicide in urban settings during a 1-year period. The association between particulate matter and suicide was determined using a time-stratified case-crossover approach in which subjects served as their own controls. All suicide cases (4,341) in 2004 that occurred in seven cities in the Republic of Korea were included. Hourly mean concentrations of particulate matter suicide risk associated with an interquartile range increase in particulate matter was determined by conditional logistic regression analysis after adjusting for national holidays and meteorological factors. Subgroup analysis was performed after stratification by underlying disease (cardiovascular disease, diabetes mellitus, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, cancer, and psychiatric illness). The largest associations were a 9.0% increase (95% CI=2.4-16.1) and a 10.1% (95% CI=2.0-19.0) increase in suicide risk related to an interquartile range increase in particulate matter suicide) and particulate matter suicide), respectively. Among individuals with cardiovascular disease, a significant association between particulate matter suicide) and suicide was observed (18.9%; 95% CI=3.2-37.0). Conclusions: A transient increase in particulate matter was associated with increased suicide risk, especially for individuals with preexisting cardiovascular disease.

  3. 76 FR 22665 - Release of Final Document Related to the Review of the National Ambient Air Quality Standards for...

    Science.gov (United States)

    2011-04-22

    ... criteria. The revised air quality criteria reflect advances in scientific knowledge on the effects of the... National Ambient Air Quality Standards, contains staff analyses of the scientific bases for alternative... Document Related to the Review of the National Ambient Air Quality Standards for Particulate Matter AGENCY...

  4. Ambient fine particulate matter in China: Its negative impacts and possible countermeasures.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Qi, Zihan; Chen, Tingjia; Chen, Jiang; Qi, Xiaofei

    2018-03-01

    In recent decades, China has experienced rapid economic development accompanied by increasing concentrations of ambient PM 2.5 , particulate matter of less than 2.5 μm in diameter. PM 2.5 is now believed to be a carcinogen, causing higher lung cancer risks and generating losses to the economy and society. This meta-analysis evaluates the losses generated by ambient PM 2.5 in Suzhou from 2014 to 2016 and predicts losses at different concentrations. Estimations of total losses in Beijing, Shanghai, Hangzhou, Guangzhou, Dalian, and Xiamen are also presented, with a total national loss in 2015. The authors then demonstrate that lowering ambient PM 2.5 concentrations would be a realistic way for China to reduce the evaluated social losses in the short term. Possible legal measures are listed for lowering ambient PM 2.5 concentrations. The present findings quantify the economic effects of ambient PM 2.5 due to the increased incidence rate and mortality rate of lung cancer. Lowering ambient PM 2.5 concentrations would be the most realistic way for China to reduce tghe evaluated social losses in the short term. Possible legal measures for lowering ambient PM 2.5 concentrations to reduce the total losses are identified.

  5. Pediatric asthma and ambient pollutant levels in industrializing nations.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Jassal, Mandeep S

    2015-01-01

    Asthma is one of the most common chronic diseases in childhood and its prevalence has been increasing within industrializing nations. The contribution of ambient pollutants to asthma symptomatology has been explored in some countries through epidemiological investigations, molecular analysis and monitoring functional outcomes. The health effects of rising environmental pollution have been of increasing concern in industrializing nations with rising urbanization patterns. This review article provides an overview of the link between pediatric asthma and exposure to rising sources of urban air pollution. It primarily focuses on the asthma-specific effects of sulfur dioxide, nitrogen dioxide, ozone and particulate matter. Worldwide trends of asthma prevalence are also provided which detail the prominent rise in asthma symptoms in many urban areas of Africa, Latin America and Asia. The molecular and functional correlation of ambient pollutants with asthma-specific airway inflammation in the pediatric population are also highlighted. The final aspect of the review considers the correlation of motor vehicle, industrial and cooking energy sources, ascribed as the major emitters among the pollutants in urban settings, with asthma epidemiology in children. © The Author 2014. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of Royal Society of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene. All rights reserved. For permissions, please e-mail: journals.permissions@oup.com.

  6. Toward Distinguishing Woodsmoke and Diesel Exhaust in Ambient Particulate Matter

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Braun, A.; Huggins, F.; Kubatova, A.; Wirick, S.; Maricq, M.; Mun, B.; McDonald, J.; Kelly, K.; Shah, N.; Huffman, G.

    2008-01-01

    Particulate matter (PM) from biomass burning and diesel exhaust has distinct X-ray spectroscopic, carbon specific signatures, which can be employed for source apportionment. Characterization of the functional groups of a wide selection of PM samples (woodsmoke, diesel soot, urban air PM) was carried out using the soft X-ray spectroscopy capabilities at the synchrotron radiation sources in Berkeley (ALS) and Brookhaven (NSLS). The spectra reveal that diesel exhaust particulate (DEP) matter is made up from a semigraphitic solid core and soluble organic matter, predominantly with carboxylic functional groups. Woodsmoke PM has no or a less prevalent, graphitic signature, instead it contains carbon-hydroxyl groups. Using these features to apportion the carbonaceous PM in ambient samples we estimate that the relative contribution of DEP to ambient PM in an urban area such as Lexington, KY and St. Louis, MO is 7% and 13.5%, respectively. These values are comparable to dispersion modeling data from nonurban and urban areas in California, and with elemental carbon measurements in urban locations such as Boston, MA, Rochester, NY, and Washington, DC.

  7. Technical comments on EPA`s proposed revisions to the National Ambient Air Quality Standard for particulate matter

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Lipfert, F.W.

    1997-03-01

    The US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has proposed new ambient air quality standards specifically for fine particulate matter, regulating concentrations of particles with median aerodynamic diameters less than 2.5 {mu}m (PM{sub 2.5}). Two new standards have been proposed: a maximum 24-hr concentration that is intended to protect against acute health effects, and an annual concentration limit that is intended to protect against longer-term health effects. EPA has also proposed a slight relaxation of the 24-hr standard for inhalable particles (PM{sub 10}), by allowing additional exceedances each year. Fine particles are currently being indirectly controlled by means of regulations for PM{sub 10} and TSP, under the Clean Air Act of 1970 and subsequent amendments. Although routine monitoring of PM{sub 2.5} is rare and data are sparse, the available data indicate that ambient concentrations have been declining at about 6% per year under existing regulations.

  8. Estimating source-attributable health impacts of ambient fine particulate matter exposure: global premature mortality from surface transportation emissions in 2005

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Chambliss, S E; Zeinali, M; Minjares, R; Silva, R; West, J J

    2014-01-01

    Exposure to ambient fine particular matter (PM 2.5 ) was responsible for 3.2 million premature deaths in 2010 and is among the top ten leading risk factors for early death. Surface transportation is a significant global source of PM 2.5 emissions and a target for new actions. The objective of this study is to estimate the global and national health burden of ambient PM 2.5 exposure attributable to surface transportation emissions. This share of health burden is called the transportation attributable fraction (TAF), and is assumed equal to the proportional decrease in modeled ambient particulate matter concentrations when surface transportation emissions are removed. National population-weighted TAFs for 190 countries are modeled for 2005 using the MOZART-4 global chemical transport model. Changes in annual average concentration of PM 2.5 at 0.5 × 0.67 degree horizontal resolution are based on a global emissions inventory and removal of all surface transportation emissions. Global population-weighted average TAF was 8.5 percent or 1.75 μg m −3 in 2005. Approximately 242 000 annual premature deaths were attributable to surface transportation emissions, dominated by China, the United States, the European Union and India. This application of TAF allows future Global Burden of Disease studies to estimate the sector-specific burden of ambient PM 2.5 exposure. Additional research is needed to capture intraurban variations in emissions and exposure, and to broaden the range of health effects considered, including the effects of other pollutants. (letter)

  9. Impact of National Ambient Air Quality Standards Nonattainment Designations on Particulate Pollution and Health.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Zigler, Corwin M; Choirat, Christine; Dominici, Francesca

    2018-03-01

    Despite dramatic air quality improvement in the United States over the past decades, recent years have brought renewed scrutiny and uncertainty surrounding the effectiveness of specific regulatory programs for continuing to improve air quality and public health outcomes. We employ causal inference methods and a spatial hierarchical regression model to characterize the extent to which a designation of "nonattainment" with the 1997 National Ambient Air Quality Standard for ambient fine particulate matter (PM2.5) in 2005 causally affected ambient PM2.5 and health outcomes among over 10 million Medicare beneficiaries in the Eastern United States in 2009-2012. We found that, on average across all retained study locations, reductions in ambient PM2.5 and Medicare health outcomes could not be conclusively attributed to the nonattainment designations against the backdrop of other regional strategies that impacted the entire Eastern United States. A more targeted principal stratification analysis indicates substantial health impacts of the nonattainment designations among the subset of areas where the designations are estimated to have actually reduced ambient PM2.5 beyond levels achieved by regional measures, with noteworthy reductions in all-cause mortality, chronic obstructive pulmonary disorder, heart failure, ischemic heart disease, and respiratory tract infections. These findings provide targeted evidence of the effectiveness of local control measures after nonattainment designations for the 1997 PM2.5 air quality standard.

  10. Effects of ambient particulate matter on aerobic exercise performance

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Dale R. Wagner

    2018-04-01

    Full Text Available Background/Objective: Wintertime thermal inversions in narrow mountain valleys create a ceiling effect, increasing concentration of small particulate matter (PM2.5. Despite potential health risks, many people continue to exercise outdoors in thermal inversions. This study measured the effects of ambient PM2.5 exposure associated with a typical thermal inversion on exercise performance, pulmonary function, and biological markers of inflammation. Methods: Healthy, active adults (5 males, 11 females performed two cycle ergometer time trials outdoors in a counterbalanced design: 1 low ambient PM2.5 concentrations ( .05 for PM2.5 concentration and the measured variables. Conclusion: An acute bout of vigorous exercise during an AQI of “yellow” did not diminish exercise performance in healthy adults, nor did it have a negative effect on pulmonary function or biological health markers. These variables might not be sensitive to small changes from acute, mild PM2.5 exposure. Keywords: Air pollution, Cycle ergometry, Pulmonary function, Time trial, Vigorous exercise

  11. 77 FR 30087 - Air Quality Designations for the 2008 Ozone National Ambient Air Quality Standards

    Science.gov (United States)

    2012-05-21

    ... and 81 Air Quality Designations for the 2008 Ozone National Ambient Air Quality Standards; Implementation of the 2008 National Ambient Air Quality Standards for Ozone: Nonattainment Area Classifications...-9668-2] RIN 2060-AP37 Air Quality Designations for the 2008 Ozone National Ambient Air Quality...

  12. Oxidative stress, inflammation, and DNA damage in rats after intratracheal instillation or oral exposure to ambient air and wood smoke particulate matter

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Danielsen, Pernille Høgh; Loft, Steffen; Jacobsen, Nicklas Raun

    2010-01-01

    Wood combustion is a significant source of ambient particulate matter (PM) in many regions of the world. Exposure occurs through inhalation or ingestion after deposition of wood smoke particulate matter (WSPM) on crops and food. We investigated effects of ambient PM and WSPM by intragastric...

  13. Long-term exposure to residential ambient fine and coarse particulate matter and incident hypertension in post-menopausal women.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Honda, Trenton; Eliot, Melissa N; Eaton, Charles B; Whitsel, Eric; Stewart, James D; Mu, Lina; Suh, Helen; Szpiro, Adam; Kaufman, Joel D; Vedal, Sverre; Wellenius, Gregory A

    2017-08-01

    Long-term exposure to ambient particulate matter (PM) has been previously linked with higher risk of cardiovascular events. This association may be mediated, at least partly, by increasing the risk of incident hypertension, a key determinant of cardiovascular risk. However, whether long-term exposure to PM is associated with incident hypertension remains unclear. Using national geostatistical models incorporating geographic covariates and spatial smoothing, we estimated annual average concentrations of residential fine (PM 2.5 ), respirable (PM 10 ), and course (PM 10-2.5 ) fractions of particulate matter among 44,255 post-menopausal women free of hypertension enrolled in the Women's Health Initiative (WHI) clinical trials. We used time-varying Cox proportional hazards models to evaluate the association between long-term average residential pollutant concentrations and incident hypertension, adjusting for potential confounding by sociodemographic factors, medical history, neighborhood socioeconomic measures, WHI study clinical site, clinical trial, and randomization arm. During 298,383 person-years of follow-up, 14,511 participants developed incident hypertension. The adjusted hazard ratios per interquartile range (IQR) increase in PM 2.5 , PM 10 , and PM 10-2.5 were 1.13 (95% CI: 1.08, 1.17), 1.06 (1.03, 1.10), and 1.01 (95% CI: 0.97, 1.04), respectively. Statistically significant concentration-response relationships were identified for PM 2.5 and PM 10 fractions. The association between PM 2.5 and hypertension was more pronounced among non-white participants and those residing in the Northeastern United States. In this cohort of post-menopausal women, ambient fine and respirable particulate matter exposures were associated with higher incidence rates of hypertension. These results suggest that particulate matter may be an important modifiable risk factor for hypertension. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  14. [Burden of disease attributable to ambient particulate matter pollution in 1990 and 2010 in China].

    Science.gov (United States)

    Liu, Shiwei; Zhou, Maigeng; Wang, Lijun; Li, Yichong; Liu, Yunning; Liu, Jiangmei; You, Jinling; Yin, Peng

    2015-04-01

    To assess the burden of disease attributable to ambient particulate matter pollution in 1990 and 2010 in China. On the basis of the results of the Global Burden of Diseases Study 2010 (GBD 2010) for China's estimates, we used population attributable fractions (PAF) to examine the burden of disease (mortality and disability-adjusted life years (DALY)) attributable to ambient particulate matter pollution in 1990 and 2010 in China, with 95% uncertainty interval (95% UI) estimate, and increasing rate to explore the trends of attributed burden of disease across the study period of 20 years. In 2010, 38.9% (95% UI: 27.0%-49.4%) of lower respiratory infections for disease, 35.0% (95% UI: 27.4%-41.1%) of stroke, and 21.0% (95% UI: 10.7%-30.3%) of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) for ≥ 25 years adults were attributable to ambient particulate matter pollution, which accounted for 1.235 (95% UI: 1.038-1.410) million deaths and 25.230 (95% UI: 21.770-28.600) million person years DALY in total, and increased by 33.4% and 4.0%, respectively by comparison with that in 1990 (0.926 million and 24.260 million person years). Lung cancer accounted for the largest increasing rate of 154.5% (from 0.055 million to 0.140 million) and 130.1% (from 1.330 million person years to 3.060 million person years), followed by ischemic heart disease (118.5%, from 0.130 million to 0.284 million, and 86.6%, from 3.280 million person years to 6.120 million person years) and stroke (41.0%, from 0.429 million to 0.605 million, and 33.8%, from 8.970 million person years to 12.000 million person years). The attributed mortality for both gender mostly occurred in age group of 60-79 years (male: 0.260 million and 0.404 million accounting for 53.7% and 54.8%; female: 0.214 million and 0.236 million accounting for 48.5% and 47.5%) both in 1990 and 2010. The age group of 40-79 years accounted for the most portion of attributed DALY for both gender (male: 8.458 million person years and 13

  15. Mortality, hospital days and expenditures attributable to ambient air pollution from particulate matter in Israel.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ginsberg, Gary M; Kaliner, Ehud; Grotto, Itamar

    2016-01-01

    Worldwide, ambient air pollution accounts for around 3.7 million deaths annually. Measuring the burden of disease is important not just for advocacy but also is a first step towards carrying out a full cost-utility analysis in order to prioritise technological interventions that are available to reduce air pollution (and subsequent morbidity and mortality) from industrial, power generating and vehicular sources. We calculated the average national exposure to particulate matter particles less than 2.5 μm (PM2.5) in diameter by weighting readings from 52 (non-roadside) monitoring stations by the population of the catchment area around the station. The PM2.5 exposure level was then multiplied by the gender and cause specific (Acute Lower Respiratory Infections, Asthma, Circulatory Diseases, Coronary Heart Failure, Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease, Diabetes, Ischemic Heart Disease, Lung Cancer, Low Birth Weight, Respiratory Diseases and Stroke) relative risks and the national age, cause and gender specific mortality (and hospital utilisation which included neuro-degenerative disorders) rates to arrive at the estimated mortality and hospital days attributable to ambient PM2.5 pollution in Israel in 2015. We utilised a WHO spread-sheet model, which was expanded to include relative risks (based on more recent meta-analyses) of sub-sets of other diagnoses in two additional models. Mortality estimates from the three models were 1609, 1908 and 2253 respectively in addition to 184,000, 348,000 and 542,000 days hospitalisation in general hospitals. Total costs from PM2.5 pollution (including premature burial costs) amounted to $544 million, $1030 million and $1749 million respectively (or 0.18 %, 0.35 % and 0.59 % of GNP). Subject to the caveat that our estimates were based on a limited number of non-randomly sited stations exposure data. The mortality, morbidity and monetary burden of disease attributable to air pollution from particulate matter in Israel is of

  16. Differences in Blood Pressure and Vascular Responses Associated with Ambient Fine Particulate Matter Exposures Measured at the Personal Versus Community Level

    Science.gov (United States)

    Background Higher ambient fine particulate matter (PM2.5) levels can be associated with increased blood pressure and vascular dysfunction. Objectives To determine the differential effects on blood pressure and vascular function of daily changes in community ambient-...

  17. Simulated reaction of formaldehyde and ambient atmospheric particulate matter using a chamber

    Institute of Scientific and Technical Information of China (English)

    Yueyue Chen; Jia Liu; Jing Shang; Tong Zhu

    2017-01-01

    The reaction of HCHO with Beijing winter's real ambient particulate matter (PM) inside a 3.3 m3 Teflon Chamber was conducted in this study.NO2,O3 and H2O gases were removed from the ambient aerosol before entering into the chamber.The decays of HCHO were monitored (acetylacetone spectrophotometry method) during the reactions at different PM number concentrations (Na) and relative humidities (RHs),and the formed particulate formate was detected by IC and XPS techniques.The results showed that when RH was 10%-15%,the decay rate of HCHO in the chamber was higher with the existence of PM from relatively clean days (with number concentration (Na) < 200,000 particle/L,0.35-22.5 μm) compared to dirty days (Na > 200,000 particle/L,0.35-22.5 μm).When RH increased to 30%-45%,PM can hardly have significant influences on the decay of HCHO.The formations of formate on the reacted PM were consistent with the HCHO decay rates at different ambient PM Na and RH conditions.This is a first study related to the "real" ambient PM reacted with HCHO and suggested that in the clean and low RH days,PM could be an effective medium for the conversion of HCHO to formate.

  18. Health effects of ambient levels of respirable particulate matter (PM) on healthy, young-adult population

    Science.gov (United States)

    Shaughnessy, William J.; Venigalla, Mohan M.; Trump, David

    2015-12-01

    There is an absence of studies that define the relationship between ambient particulate matter (PM) levels and adverse health outcomes among the young and healthy adult sub-group. In this research, the relationship between exposures to ambient levels of PM in the 10 micron (PM10) and 2.5 micron (PM2.5) size fractions and health outcomes in members of the healthy, young-adult subgroup who are 18-39 years of age was examined. Active duty military personnel populations at three strategically selected military bases in the United States were used as a surrogate to the control group. Health outcome data, which consists of the number of diagnoses for each of nine International Classification of Diseases, 9th Revision (ICD-9) categories related to respiratory illness, were derived from outpatient visits at each of the three military bases. Data on ambient concentrations of particulate matter, specifically PM10 and PM2.5, were obtained for these sites. The health outcome data were correlated and regressed with the PM10 and PM2.5 data, and other air quality and weather-related data on a daily and weekly basis for the period 1998 to 2004. Results indicate that at Fort Bliss, which is a US Environmental Protection Agency designated non-attainment area for PM10, a statistically significant association exists between the weekly-averaged number of adverse health effects in the young and healthy adult population and the corresponding weekly-average ambient PM10 concentration. A least squares regression analysis was performed on the Fort Bliss data sets indicated that the health outcome data is related to several environmental parameters in addition to PM10. Overall, the analysis estimates a .6% increase in the weekly rate of emergency room visits for upper respiratory infections for every 10 μg/m3 increase in the weekly-averaged PM10 concentration above the mean. The findings support the development of policy and guidance opportunities that can be developed to mitigate exposures

  19. 76 FR 58509 - Release of Risk and Exposure Assessment Planning Document for the Review of the National Ambient...

    Science.gov (United States)

    2011-09-21

    ... Assessment Planning Document for the Review of the National Ambient Air Quality Standards for Lead AGENCY... available for public review the Review of the National Ambient Air Quality Standards for Lead: Risk and... and/or welfare effects in this review of the national ambient air quality standards (NAAQS) for lead...

  20. Contributions to cities' ambient particulate matter (PM): A systematic review of local source contributions at global level

    Science.gov (United States)

    Karagulian, Federico; Belis, Claudio A.; Dora, Carlos Francisco C.; Prüss-Ustün, Annette M.; Bonjour, Sophie; Adair-Rohani, Heather; Amann, Markus

    2015-11-01

    For reducing health impacts from air pollution, it is important to know the sources contributing to human exposure. This study systematically reviewed and analysed available source apportionment studies on particulate matter (of diameter of 10 and 2.5 microns, PM10 and PM2.5) performed in cities to estimate typical shares of the sources of pollution by country and by region. A database with city source apportionment records, estimated with the use of receptor models, was also developed and available at the website of the World Health Organization. Systematic Scopus and Google searches were performed to retrieve city studies of source apportionment for particulate matter. Six source categories were defined. Country and regional averages of source apportionment were estimated based on city population weighting. A total of 419 source apportionment records from studies conducted in cities of 51 countries were used to calculate regional averages of sources of ambient particulate matter. Based on the available information, globally 25% of urban ambient air pollution from PM2.5 is contributed by traffic, 15% by industrial activities, 20% by domestic fuel burning, 22% from unspecified sources of human origin, and 18% from natural dust and salt. The available source apportionment records exhibit, however, important heterogeneities in assessed source categories and incompleteness in certain countries/regions. Traffic is one important contributor to ambient PM in cities. To reduce air pollution in cities and the substantial disease burden it causes, solutions to sustainably reduce ambient PM from traffic, industrial activities and biomass burning should urgently be sought. However, further efforts are required to improve data availability and evaluation, and possibly to combine with other types of information in view of increasing usefulness for policy making.

  1. Olive Oil Supplements Ameliorate Endothelial Dysfunction Caused by Concentrated Ambient Particulate Matter Exposure in Healthy Human Volunteers

    Science.gov (United States)

    Context: Exposure to ambient particulate matter (PM) induces endothelial dysfunction, a risk factor for clinical cardiovascular events and progression of atherosclerosis. Dietary supplements such as olive oil and fish oil have beneficial effects on endothelial function, and ther...

  2. Ambient particulate matter air pollution and cardiopulmonary diseases.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Thurston, George; Lippmann, Morton

    2015-06-01

    Population exposures to ambient outdoor particulate matter (PM) air pollution have been assessed to represent a major burden on global health. Ambient PM is a diverse class of air pollution, with characteristics and health implications that can vary depending on a host of factors, including a particle's original source of emission or formation. The penetration of inhaled particles into the thorax is dependent on their deposition in the upper respiratory tract during inspiration, which varies with particle size, flow rate and tidal volume, and in vivo airway dimensions. All of these factors can be quite variable from person to person, depending on age, transient illness, cigarette smoke and other short-term toxicant exposures that cause transient bronchoconstriction, and occupational history associated with loss of lung function or cumulative injury. The adverse effects of inhaled PM can result from both short-term (acute) and long-term (chronic) exposures to PM, and can range from relatively minor, such as increased symptoms, to very severe effects, including increased risk of premature mortality and decreased life expectancy from long-term exposure. Control of the most toxic PM components can therefore provide major health benefits, and can help guide the selection of the most human health optimal air quality control and climate change mitigation policy measures. As such, a continued improvement in our understanding of the nature and types of PM that are most dangerous to health, and the mechanism(s) of their respective health effects, is an important public health goal. Thieme Medical Publishers 333 Seventh Avenue, New York, NY 10001, USA.

  3. 76 FR 72097 - Air Quality Designations for the 2008 Lead (Pb) National Ambient Air Quality Standards

    Science.gov (United States)

    2011-11-22

    ... Air Quality Designations for the 2008 Lead (Pb) National Ambient Air Quality Standards AGENCY: Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). ACTION: Final rule. SUMMARY: This rule establishes air quality designations for most areas in the United States for the 2008 lead (Pb) National Ambient Air Quality Standards...

  4. Impact of ambient fine particulate matter air pollution on health behaviors: a longitudinal study of university students in Beijing, China.

    Science.gov (United States)

    An, R; Yu, H

    2018-03-19

    Poor air quality has become a national public health concern in China. This study examines the impact of ambient fine particulate matter (PM 2.5 ) air pollution on health behaviors among college students in Beijing, China. Prospective cohort study. Health surveys were repeatedly administered among 12,000 newly admitted students at Tsinghua University during 2012-2015 over their freshman year. Linear individual fixed-effect regressions were performed to estimate the impacts of ambient PM 2.5 concentration on health behaviors among survey participants, adjusting for various time-variant individual characteristics and environmental measures. Ambient PM 2.5 concentration was found to be negatively associated with time spent on walking, vigorous physical activity and sedentary behavior in the last week, but positively associated with time spent on nighttime/daytime sleep among survey participants. An increase in the ambient PM 2.5 concentration by one standard deviation (36.5 μg/m³) was associated with a reduction in weekly total minutes of walking by 7.3 (95% confidence interval [CI] = 5.3-9.4), a reduction in weekly total minutes of vigorous physical activity by 10.1 (95% CI = 8.5-11.7), a reduction in daily average hours of sedentary behavior by 0.06 (95% CI = 0.02-0.10) but an increase in daily average hours of nighttime/daytime sleep by 1.07 (95% CI = 1.04-1.11). Ambient PM 2.5 air pollution was inversely associated with physical activity level but positively associated with sleep duration among college students. Future studies are warranted to replicate study findings in other Chinese cities and universities, and policy interventions are urgently called to reduce air pollution level in China's urban areas. Copyright © 2018 The Royal Society for Public Health. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  5. 40 CFR Appendix R to Part 50 - Interpretation of the National Ambient Air Quality Standards for Lead

    Science.gov (United States)

    2010-07-01

    ... 40 Protection of Environment 2 2010-07-01 2010-07-01 false Interpretation of the National Ambient Air Quality Standards for Lead R Appendix R to Part 50 Protection of Environment ENVIRONMENTAL.... 50, App. R Appendix R to Part 50—Interpretation of the National Ambient Air Quality Standards for...

  6. SOURCE SAMPLING FINE PARTICULATE MATTER: A KRAFT PROCESS RECOVERY BOILER AT A PULP AND PAPER FACILITY, VOLUMES 1 AND 2

    Science.gov (United States)

    Fine particulate matter of aerodynamic diameter 2.5 m or less (PM-2.5) has been found harmful to human health, and a National Ambient Air Quality Standard for PM-2.5 was promulgated by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency in July 1997. A national network of ambient monitorin...

  7. Evaluation of traffic exhaust contributions to ambient carbonaceous submicron particulate matter in an urban roadside environment in Hong Kong

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lee, Berto Paul; Kwok Keung Louie, Peter; Luk, Connie; Keung Chan, Chak

    2017-12-01

    Road traffic has significant impacts on air quality particularly in densely urbanized and populated areas where vehicle emissions are a major local source of ambient particulate matter. Engine type (i.e., fuel use) significantly impacts the chemical characteristics of tailpipe emission, and thus the distribution of engine types in traffic impacts measured ambient concentrations. This study provides an estimation of the contribution of vehicles powered by different fuels (gasoline, diesel, LPG) to carbonaceous submicron aerosol mass (PM1) based on ambient aerosol mass spectrometer (AMS) and elemental carbon (EC) measurements and vehicle count data in an urban inner city environment in Hong Kong with the aim to gauge the importance of different engine types to particulate matter burdens in a typical urban street canyon. On an average per-vehicle basis, gasoline vehicles emitted 75 and 93 % more organics than diesel and LPG vehicles, respectively, while EC emissions from diesel vehicles were 45 % higher than those from gasoline vehicles. LPG vehicles showed no appreciable contributions to EC and thus overall represented a small contributor to traffic-related primary ambient PM1 despite their high abundance (˜ 30 %) in the traffic mix. Total carbonaceous particle mass contributions to ambient PM1 from diesel engines were only marginally higher (˜ 4 %) than those from gasoline engines, which is likely an effect of recently introduced control strategies targeted at commercial vehicles and buses. Overall, gasoline vehicles contributed 1.2 µg m-3 of EC and 1.1 µ m-3 of organics, LPG vehicles 0.6 µg m-3 of organics and diesel vehicles 2.0 µg m-3 of EC and 0.7 µg m-3 of organics to ambient carbonaceous PM1.

  8. Uncertainty associated with the gravimetric measurement of particulate matter concentration in ambient air.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lacey, Ronald E; Faulkner, William Brock

    2015-07-01

    matter (PM) concentrations approach regulatory limits, the uncertainty of the measurement is essential in determining the sample size and the probability of type II errors in hypothesis testing. This is an important factor in determining if ambient PM concentrations exceed regulatory limits. The technique described in this paper can be applied to other measurement systems and is especially useful where there are no methods available to generate these values empirically.

  9. Ambient particulate matter induces IL-8 expression through an alternative NF-kB mechanism in human airway epithelial cells

    Science.gov (United States)

    BACKGROUND: Exposure to ambient air particulate matter (PM) has been shown to increase rates of cardio-pulmonary morbidity and mortality, but the underlying mechanisms are still not well understood. OBJECTIVE: To examine signaling events involved in the expression of the inflamma...

  10. 40 CFR Appendix S to Part 50 - Interpretation of the Primary National Ambient Air Quality Standards for Oxides of Nitrogen...

    Science.gov (United States)

    2010-07-01

    ... Ambient Air Quality Standards for Oxides of Nitrogen (Nitrogen Dioxide) S Appendix S to Part 50 Protection... National Ambient Air Quality Standards for Oxides of Nitrogen (Nitrogen Dioxide) 1. General (a) This... national ambient air quality standards for oxides of nitrogen as measured by nitrogen dioxide (“NO2 NAAQS...

  11. SOURCE SAMPLING FINE PARTICULATE MATTER: A KRAFT PROCESS HOGGED FUEL BOILER AT A PULP AND PAPER FACILITY, VOLUMES 1 AND 2

    Science.gov (United States)

    Fine particulate matter of aerodynamic diameter 2.5 m or less (PM-2.5) has been found harmful to human health, and a National Ambient Air Quality Standard for PM-2.5 was promulgated by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency in July 1997. A national network of ambient monitorin...

  12. New Council of State degree on ambient air quality is in the making

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Rahnasto, O.

    2000-01-01

    The Finnish Ministry of the Environment is currently preparing a new Council of State decree on ambient air quality to implement EC directive 1999/30/EC relating to limit values for SO 2 , NO 2 , particulate matter and lead in the ambient air, the EC directive 2000/69/EC relating to benzene and carbon monoxide in the ambient air, and regulations in EC directive 96/62/EC on ambient air quality assessment and management. The national legislation will come into force in July 2001. Current studies based on measurements and calculations show that the SO 2 concentrations in ambient air are generally low and clearly below the limit values. The same holds good for lead. However, the new limit values for NO 2 are exceeded in the largest towns, and the 2010 limit values for particulate matter presented in the guidelines are generally exceeded in small towns, too. The 2005 limit values for particulate matter are not so strict, and it is estimated that they will be exceeded especially in years when spring dust problems are serious. The limit values for CO may at times be exceeded in areas with heavy traffic. The limit values intended to protect the vegetation and the ecosystems are not exceeded in background areas to the implementation. As for benzene, it is assumed that the concentrations will generally be below the limit value in other parts of the world as well

  13. 78 FR 47191 - Air Quality Designations for the 2010 Sulfur Dioxide (SO2) Primary National Ambient Air Quality...

    Science.gov (United States)

    2013-08-05

    ... Air Quality Designations for the 2010 Sulfur Dioxide (SO[bdi2]) Primary National Ambient Air Quality... air quality designations for certain areas in the United States for the 2010 primary Sulfur Dioxide (SO 2 ) National Ambient Air Quality Standard (NAAQS). The EPA is issuing this rule to identify areas...

  14. Seasonal Variability of Concentration and Air Quality of Ambient Particulate Matter in Sosnowiec City

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Jolanta Cembrzyńska

    2015-12-01

    Full Text Available Introduction: Exposing the population to more than standard concentration of particulate matter (PM is a crucial factor shaping the public health on urbanized areas both in Europe and Poland. In most cases, exceeded air quality standards relate to the winter period, in which there has been the greatest amount. Many studies have indicated, that exposure to PM can cause adverse health effects. Human exposure especially to fine particles (with an aerodynamic diameter less than 2.5 µm, causes risk of cardiovascular and respiratory diseases, due to daily mortality and hospital admissions. Various types of epidemiological studies have indicated, that ambient air pollution is responsible for increasing risk of lung cancer. For this reason, in 2013 The International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC classified outdoor air pollution and particulate matter as carcinogenic to humans (Group 1.

  15. Omega-3 Fatty Acid Attenuates Cardiovascular Effects in Healthy Older Volunteers Exposed to Concentrated Ambient Fine and UltrafineParticulate Matter

    Science.gov (United States)

    Rationale: Ambient particulate matter (PM) exposure has been associated with adverse cardiovascular effects. A recent epidemiology study reported that omega-3 polyunsaturated fatty acid (fish oil) supplementation blunted the response of study participants to PM. Our study was des...

  16. 77 FR 39205 - Public Hearings for Proposed Rules-National Ambient Air Quality Standards for Particulate Matter

    Science.gov (United States)

    2012-07-02

    ..., respectively, and to make corresponding revisions to the data handling conventions for PM and ambient air.... Environmental Protection Agency, Office of Air Quality Planning and Standards, Ariel Rios Building, 1200...

  17. 40 CFR Appendix I to Part 50 - Interpretation of the 8-Hour Primary and Secondary National Ambient Air Quality Standards for Ozone

    Science.gov (United States)

    2010-07-01

    ... Secondary National Ambient Air Quality Standards for Ozone 1. General. This appendix explains the data.... Primary and Secondary Ambient Air Quality Standards for Ozone. 2.1 Data Reporting and Handling Conventions... and Secondary National Ambient Air Quality Standards for Ozone I Appendix I to Part 50 Protection of...

  18. Why cross-national differences in role overload? Don't overlook ambient temperature!

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Van de Vliert, E.; Van Yperen, N.W.

    The finding that, across nations, power distance (expected and accepted unequal interpersonal influence) Is positively related to role overload (Peterson et al., 1995) might he an artifact of the relation between role overload and ambient temperature or other third factors. We related data on power

  19. Ozone co-exposure modifies cardiac responses to fine and ultrafine ambient particulate matter in mice: concordance of electrocardiogram and mechanical responses

    Science.gov (United States)

    BackgroundStudies have shown a relationship between air pollution and increased risk of cardiovascular morbidity and mortality. Due to the complexity of ambient air pollution composition, recent studies have examined the effects of co-exposure, particularly particulate matter (PM...

  20. 40 CFR Appendix P to Part 50 - Interpretation of the Primary and Secondary National Ambient Air Quality Standards for Ozone

    Science.gov (United States)

    2010-07-01

    ... the data handling procedures for the reported data). 2.3Comparisons with the Primary and Secondary... Secondary National Ambient Air Quality Standards for Ozone P Appendix P to Part 50 Protection of Environment ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY (CONTINUED) AIR PROGRAMS NATIONAL PRIMARY AND SECONDARY AMBIENT AIR QUALITY...

  1. Ambient fine particulate matter air pollution and leisure-time physical inactivity among US adults.

    Science.gov (United States)

    An, R; Xiang, X

    2015-12-01

    There is mounting evidence documenting the adverse health effects of short- and long-term exposure to ambient fine particulate matter (PM2.5) air pollution, but population-based evidence linking PM2.5 and health behaviour remains lacking. This study examined the relationship between ambient PM2.5 air pollution and leisure-time physical inactivity among US adults 18 years of age and above. Retrospective data analysis. Participant-level data (n = 2,381,292) from the Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System 2003-2011 surveys were linked with Wide-ranging Online Data for Epidemiologic Research air quality data by participants' residential county and interview month/year. Multilevel logistic regressions were performed to examine the effect of ambient PM2.5 air pollution on participants' leisure-time physical inactivity, accounting for various individual and county-level characteristics. Regressions were estimated on the overall sample and subsamples stratified by sex, age cohort, race/ethnicity and body weight status. One unit (μg/m(3)) increase in county monthly average PM2.5 concentration was found to be associated with an increase in the odds of physical inactivity by 0.46% (95% confidence interval = 0.34%-0.59%). The effect was similar between the sexes but to some extent (although not always statistically significant) larger for younger adults, Hispanics, and overweight/obese individuals compared with older adults, non-Hispanic whites or African Americans, and normal weight individuals, respectively. Ambient PM2.5 air pollution is found to be associated with a modest but measurable increase in individuals' leisure-time physical inactivity, and the relationship tends to differ across population subgroups. Copyright © 2015 The Royal Society for Public Health. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  2. Using National Ambient Air Quality Standards for fine particulate matter to assess regional wildland fire smoke and air quality management.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Schweizer, Don; Cisneros, Ricardo; Traina, Samuel; Ghezzehei, Teamrat A; Shaw, Glenn

    2017-10-01

    Wildland fire is an important ecological process in the California Sierra Nevada. Personal accounts from pre-20th century describe a much smokier environment than present day. The policy of suppression beginning in the early 20th century and climate change are contributing to increased megafires. We use a single particulate monitoring site at the wildland urban interface to explore impacts from prescribed, managed, and full suppression wildland fires from 2006 to 2015 producing a contextual assessment of smoke impacts over time at the landscape level. Prescribed fire had little effect on local fine particulate matter (PM 2.5 ) air quality with readings typical of similar non-fire times; hourly and daily good to moderate Air Quality Index (AQI) for PM 2.5 , maximum hourly concentrations 21-103 μg m -3 , and mean concentrations between 7.7 and 13.2 μg m -3 . Hourly and daily AQI was typically good or moderate during managed fires with 3 h and one day reaching unhealthy while the site remained below National Ambient Air Quality Standards (NAAQS), with maximum hourly concentrations 27-244 μg m -3 , and mean concentrations 6.7-11.7 μg m -3 . The large high intensity fire in this area created the highest short term impacts (AQI unhealthy for 4 h and very unhealthy for 1 h), 11 unhealthy for sensitive days, and produced the only annual value (43.9 μg m -3 ) over the NAAQS 98th percentile for PM 2.5 (35 μg m -3 ). Pinehurst remained below the federal standards for PM 2.5 when wildland fire in the local area was managed to 7800 ha (8-22% of the historic burn area). Considering air quality impacts from smoke using the NAAQS at a landscape level over time can give land and air managers a metric for broader evaluation of smoke impacts particularly when assessing ecologically beneficial fire. Allowing managers to control the amount and timing of individual wildland fire emissions can help lessen large smoke impacts to public health from a megafire

  3. NAAQS Designated Area Polygons - Fine Particulate Matter (24-Hr, PM-2.5), Region 9, 2012, US EPA Region 9

    Data.gov (United States)

    U.S. Environmental Protection Agency — Designated Areas for Particulate Matter < 2.5 microns, according to the 24-Hour National Ambient Air Quality Standards (NAAQS). Nonattainment areas are geographic...

  4. Proceedings of the 9. National Meeting on Condensed Matter Physics

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    1986-01-01

    The 9. National Meeting on Condensed Matter Physics presents works developed in the following fields: amorphous materials, atomic and molecular physics, biophysics, crystallography, defects, growth and critical phenomena, instrumentation, liquid crystals, magnetism, matter science/mechanical properties, metals and alloys, optic, magnetic resonance and semiconductors. (M.C.K.) [pt

  5. Properties and cellular effects of particulate matter from direct emissions and ambient sources.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Jin, Wenjie; Su, Shu; Wang, Bin; Zhu, Xi; Chen, Yilin; Shen, Guofeng; Liu, Junfeng; Cheng, Hefa; Wang, Xilong; Wu, Shuiping; Zeng, Eddy; Xing, Baoshan; Tao, Shu

    2016-10-14

    The pollution of particulate matter (PM) is of great concern in China and many other developing countries. It is generally recognized that the toxicity of PM is source and property dependent. However, the relationship between PM properties and toxicity is still not well understood. In this study, PM samples from direct emissions of wood, straw, coal, diesel combustion, cigarette smoking and ambient air were collected and characterized for their physicochemical properties. Their expression of intracellular reactive oxygen species (ROS) and levels of inflammatory cytokines (i.e., tumor necrosis factor-α (TNF-α)) was measured using a RAW264.7 cell model. Our results demonstrated that the properties of the samples from different origins exhibited remarkable differences. Significant increases in ROS were observed when the cells were exposed to PMs from biomass origins, including wood, straw and cigarettes, while increases in TNF-α were found for all the samples, particularly those from ambient air. The most important factor associated with ROS generation was the presence of water-soluble organic carbon, which was extremely abundant in the samples that directly resulted from biomass combustion. Metals, endotoxins and PM size were the most important properties associated with increases in TNF-α expression levels. The association of the origins of PM particles and physicochemical properties with cytotoxic properties is illustrated using a cluster analysis.

  6. 40 CFR 50.11 - National primary and secondary ambient air quality standards for oxides of nitrogen (with...

    Science.gov (United States)

    2010-07-01

    ... 40 Protection of Environment 2 2010-07-01 2010-07-01 false National primary and secondary ambient air quality standards for oxides of nitrogen (with nitrogen dioxide as the indicator). 50.11 Section 50.11 Protection of Environment ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY (CONTINUED) AIR PROGRAMS NATIONAL...

  7. Modeling Of In-Vehicle Human Exposure to Ambient Fine Particulate Matter

    Science.gov (United States)

    Liu, Xiaozhen; Frey, H. Christopher

    2012-01-01

    A method for estimating in-vehicle PM2.5 exposure as part of a scenario-based population simulation model is developed and assessed. In existing models, such as the Stochastic Exposure and Dose Simulation model for Particulate Matter (SHEDS-PM), in-vehicle exposure is estimated using linear regression based on area-wide ambient PM2.5 concentration. An alternative modeling approach is explored based on estimation of near-road PM2.5 concentration and an in-vehicle mass balance. Near-road PM2.5 concentration is estimated using a dispersion model and fixed site monitor (FSM) data. In-vehicle concentration is estimated based on air exchange rate and filter efficiency. In-vehicle concentration varies with road type, traffic flow, windspeed, stability class, and ventilation. Average in-vehicle exposure is estimated to contribute 10 to 20 percent of average daily exposure. The contribution of in-vehicle exposure to total daily exposure can be higher for some individuals. Recommendations are made for updating exposure models and implementation of the alternative approach. PMID:23101000

  8. 10 CFR 95.35 - Access to matter classified as National Security Information and Restricted Data.

    Science.gov (United States)

    2010-01-01

    ... SECURITY CLEARANCE AND SAFEGUARDING OF NATIONAL SECURITY INFORMATION AND RESTRICTED DATA Control of Information § 95.35 Access to matter classified as National Security Information and Restricted Data. (a... have access to matter revealing Secret or Confidential National Security Information or Restricted Data...

  9. Higher Education as a Matter of National Security: Can a Democracy Plan Ahead?

    Science.gov (United States)

    Skaggs, David

    2014-01-01

    What is often viewed as the fairly arcane business of determining and administering higher education policy is a matter of great national interest and, actually, a matter of national security. It thus makes a difference for American society in ways you may not have considered. The ability of the United States to protect itself and its interests…

  10. Setting ambient air quality standards for particulate matter

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    McClellan, Roger O.

    2002-01-01

    Ambient air particulate matter (PM), unspecified as to chemical composition, is of concern because of its health effects. Air quality standards for PM have been established in many countries. The earliest standards were based on threshold models and use of a margin of safety. Initially, standards were based on the mass of total suspended material. In the 1980s a shift to a size-specific standard, PM 10 , began. PM 10 is the fraction of PM captured with 50% efficiency at 10 μm and greater efficiency at smaller sizes. In the late 1990s, standards were proposed for PM 2.5 , which is captured with 50% efficiency at 2.5 μm. The standards for PM are based almost exclusively on human epidemiological data, with laboratory animal and in vitro data used in a supporting role. During the 1990s, new statistical tools began to be used and demonstrated an association between increased PM and an increase in cardiorespiratory morbidity and mortality. The analyses are complicated by the effects of other pollutants such as ozone. Effects have been observed down to 10-20 μg of PM 10 per cubic meter, levels equal to or below background in many parts of the world. In many studies there has been no evidence of a threshold. In the absence of a threshold, a critical issue becomes how to determine how low is low enough? This paper reviews the current literature on PM health effects and suggests research avenues that may yield data which, combined with public policy considerations, may be able to address the issue of 'how low is low enough?'

  11. Measurement and analysis of ambient atmospheric particulate matter in urban and remote environments

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hagler, Gayle S. W.

    Atmospheric particulate matter pollution is a challenging environmental concern in both urban and remote locations worldwide. It is intrinsically difficult to control, given numerous anthropogenic and natural sources (e.g. fossil fuel combustion, biomass burning, dust, and seaspray) and atmospheric transport up to thousands of kilometers after production. In urban regions, fine particulate matter (particles with diameters under 2.5 mum) is of special concern for its ability to penetrate the human respiratory system and threaten cardiopulmonary health. A second major impact area is climate, with particulate matter altering Earth's radiative balance through scattering and absorbing solar radiation, modifying cloud properties, and reducing surface reflectivity after deposition in snow-covered regions. While atmospheric particulate matter has been generally well-characterized in populated areas of developed countries, particulate pollution in developing nations and remote regions is relatively unexplored. This thesis characterizes atmospheric particulate matter in locations that represent the extreme ends of the spectrum in terms of air pollution-the rapidly-developing and heavily populated Pearl River Delta Region of China, the pristine and climate-sensitive Greenland Ice Sheet, and a remote site in the Colorado Rocky Mountains. In China, fine particles were studied through a year-long field campaign at seven sites surrounding the Pearl River Delta. Fine particulate matter was analyzed for chemical composition, regional variation, and meteorological impacts. On the Greenland Ice Sheet and in the Colorado Rocky Mountains, the carbonaceous fraction (organic and elemental carbon) of particulate matter was studied in the atmosphere and snow pack. Analyses included quantifying particulate chemical and optical properties, assessing atmospheric transport, and evaluating post-depositional processing of carbonaceous species in snow.

  12. Short term effects of ambient sulphur dioxide and particulate matter on mortality in 12 European cities : Results from time series data from the APHEA project

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Katsouyanni, K; Touloumi, G; Spix, C; Schwartz, J; Balducci, F; Medina, S; Rossi, G; Wojtyniak, B; Sunyer, J; Bacharova, L; Schouten, JP; Ponka, A; Anderson, HR

    1997-01-01

    Objectives: To carry out a prospective combined quantitative analysis of the associations between all cause mortality and ambient particulate matter and sulphur dioxide. . Design: Analysis of time series data on daily number of deaths from all causes and concentrations of sulphur dioxide and

  13. A survey to establish ambient and personal dose equivalent standards in the X- and γ-ray field

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Morishita, Yuichiro

    2007-01-01

    National Institute of Advanced Industrial Science and Technology (AIST) develops and supplies standards of ionizing radiations as national primary references. Fundamental matters to establish ambient and personal dose equivalent standards of X- and γ-radiation are reviewed in this report. First, units of radiation dose in measurements of X- and γ-radiation are surveyed. Next, the present status of the preparation of X-radiation standard is explained, and finally the relationship between the physical dose and the radiation-protection dose is described. (J.P.N.)

  14. ARE CARS OR TREES MORE IMPORTANT TO PARTICULATE MATTER AIR POLUTION? WHAT RADIOCARBON MEASUREMENTS HAVE TO SAY

    Science.gov (United States)

    Air pollution in the form of particulate matter (PM) originates from both human activities and "natural" phenomena. Setting and achieving National Ambient Air Quality Standards (NAAQS) for PM has to take into account the latter since they are in general less controllable than th...

  15. Effects of nitrogen enrichment on soil organic matter in tropical forests with different ambient nutrient status

    Science.gov (United States)

    Vaughan, E.; Cusack, D. F.; McDowell, W. H.; Marin-Spiotta, E.

    2017-12-01

    Nitrogen (N) enrichment is a widespread and increasingly important human influence on ecosystems globally, with implications for net primary production and biogeochemical processes. Previous research has shown that N enrichment can alter soil carbon (C) cycling, although the direction and magnitude of the changes are not consistent across studies, and may change with time. Inconsistent responses to N additions may be due to differences in ambient nutrient status, and/or variable responses of plant C inputs and microbial decomposition. Although plant production in the tropics is not often limited by N, soil processes may respond differently to N enrichment. Our study uses a 15-year N addition experiment at two different tropical forest sites in the Luquillo Long-Term Ecological Research project site in Puerto Rico to address long-term changes in soil C pools due to fertilization. The two forests differ in elevation and ambient nutrient status. Soil sampling three and five years post-fertilization showed increased soil C concentrations under fertilization, driven by increases in mineral-associated C (Cusack et al. 2011). However, the longer-term trends at these sites are unknown. To this end, soil samples were collected following fifteen years of fertilization. Soils were sampled from 0-10 cm and 10-20 cm. Bulk soil C and N concentrations will be measured and compared to samples collected before fertilization (2002) and three years post fertilization (2005). We are using density fractionation to isolate different soil organic matter pools into a free light, occluded light, and dense, mineral associated fraction. These pools represent different mechanisms of soil organic matter stabilization, and provide more detailed insight into changes in bulk soil C. These data will provide insight into the effects of N enrichment on tropical forest soils, and how those effects may change through time with a unique long-term data set.

  16. Intracerebral haemorrhage associated with hourly concentration of ambient particulate matter: case-crossover analysis.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Yamazaki, S; Nitta, H; Ono, M; Green, J; Fukuhara, S

    2007-01-01

    To examine the association of hourly time lagged concentration of ambient particulate matter and death due to stroke. Mortality data for five years (January 1990 to December 1994) were obtained from the Ministry of Health, Labour, and Welfare of Japan. Data were used only if the deceased was 65 years old or older at the time of death, if death was attributed to intracerebral haemorrhage or ischaemic stroke, and if the deceased lived in one of 13 major urban areas. Hourly mean concentrations of PM7, NO2, and photochemical oxidants were measured at monitoring stations in the 13 areas. Time stratified case-crossover analysis was used to examine the data for evidence of triggering stroke mortality. The 1-hour mean concentration of PM7 measured about 2 hours before death was associated with the risk of death due to intracerebral haemorrhage from April to September (odds ratio = 2.40, 95% CI 1.48 to 3.89, for exposure to PM7 of more than 200 microg/m3 (threshold)). The higher risk was independent of the 24-hour mean concentration of PM7. PM7 was not associated with death due to ischaemic stroke. Transiently high concentrations of PM7 are associated with death due to intracerebral haemorrhage. Air quality standards or guidelines for particulate matter should be based not only on 24-hour mean concentrations, but also on hourly data.

  17. Intracerebral haemorrhage associated with hourly concentration of ambient particulate matter: case‐crossover analysis

    Science.gov (United States)

    Yamazaki, S; Nitta, H; Ono, M; Green, J; Fukuhara, S

    2007-01-01

    Aims To examine the association of hourly time lagged concentration of ambient particulate matter and death due to stroke. Methods Mortality data for five years (January 1990 to December 1994) were obtained from the Ministry of Health, Labour, and Welfare of Japan. Data were used only if the deceased was 65 years old or older at the time of death, if death was attributed to intracerebral haemorrhage or ischaemic stroke, and if the deceased lived in one of 13 major urban areas. Hourly mean concentrations of PM7, NO2, and photochemical oxidants were measured at monitoring stations in the 13 areas. Time stratified case‐crossover analysis was used to examine the data for evidence of triggering stroke mortality. Results The 1‐hour mean concentration of PM7 measured about 2 hours before death was associated with the risk of death due to intracerebral haemorrhage from April to September (odds ratio = 2.40, 95% CI 1.48 to 3.89, for exposure to PM7 of more than 200 μg/m3 (threshold)). The higher risk was independent of the 24‐hour mean concentration of PM7. PM7 was not associated with death due to ischaemic stroke. Conclusions Transiently high concentrations of PM7 are associated with death due to intracerebral haemorrhage. Air quality standards or guidelines for particulate matter should be based not only on 24‐hour mean concentrations, but also on hourly data. PMID:16847037

  18. Nanomaterials vs Ambient Ultrafine Particles

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Stone, Vicki; Miller, Mark R.; Clift, Martin J. D.

    2017-01-01

    BACKGROUND: A rich body of literature exists that has demonstrated adverse human health effects following exposure to ambient air particulate matter (PM), and there is strong support for an important role of ultrafine (nanosized) particles. At present, relatively few human health or epidemiology ...

  19. Ambient particulate matter and microRNAs in extracellular vesicles: a pilot study of older individuals.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Rodosthenous, Rodosthenis S; Coull, Brent A; Lu, Quan; Vokonas, Pantel S; Schwartz, Joel D; Baccarelli, Andrea A

    2016-03-08

    Air pollution from particulate matter (PM) has been linked to cardiovascular morbidity and mortality; however the underlying biological mechanisms remain to be uncovered. Gene regulation by microRNAs (miRNAs) that are transferred between cells by extracellular vesicles (EVs) may play an important role in PM-induced cardiovascular risk. This study sought to determine if ambient PM2.5 levels are associated with expression of EV-encapsulated miRNAs (evmiRNAs), and to investigate the participation of such evmiRNAs in pathways related to cardiovascular disease (CVD). We estimated the short- (1-day), intermediate- (1-week and 1-month) and long-term (3-month, 6-month, and 1-year) moving averages of ambient PM2.5 levels at participants' addresses using a validated hybrid spatio-temporal land-use regression model. We collected 42 serum samples from 22 randomly selected participants in the Normative Aging Study cohort and screened for 800 miRNAs using the NanoString nCounter® platform. Mixed effects regression models, adjusted for potential confounders were used to assess the association between ambient PM2.5 levels and evmiRNAs. All p-values were adjusted for multiple comparisons. In-silico Ingenuity Pathway Analysis (IPA) was performed to identify biological pathways that are regulated by PM-associated evmiRNAs. We found a significant association between long-term ambient PM2.5 exposures and levels of multiple evmiRNAs circulating in serum. In the 6-month window, ambient PM2.5 exposures were associated with increased levels of miR-126-3p (0.74 ± 0.21; p = 0.02), miR-19b-3p (0.52 ± 0.15; p = 0.02), miR-93-5p (0.78 ± 0.22; p = 0.02), miR-223-3p (0.74 ± 0.22; p = 0.02), and miR-142-3p (0.81 ± 0.21; p = 0.03). Similarly, in the 1-year window, ambient PM2.5 levels were associated with increased levels of miR-23a-3p (0.83 ± 0.23; p = 0.02), miR-150-5p (0.90 ± 0.24; p = 0.02), miR-15a-5p (0.70 ± 0.21; p = 0

  20. Ambient air monitoring for organic compounds, acids, and metals at Los Alamos National Laboratory, January 1991

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Williams, C.H.; Eberhart, C.F.

    1992-01-01

    Los Alamos National Laboratory (LANL) contracted Radian Corporation (Radian) to conduct a short-term, intensive air monitoring program whose goal was to estimate the impact of chemical emissions from LANL on the ambient air environment. A comprehensive emission inventory had identified more than 600 potential air contaminants in LANL's emissions. A subset of specific target chemicals was selected for monitoring: 20 organic vapors, 6 metals and 5 inorganic acid vapors. These were measured at 5 ground level sampling sites around LANL over seven consecutive days in January 1991. The sampling and analytical strategy used a combination of EPA and NIOSH methods modified for ambient air applications

  1. Ambient air sampling for radioactive air contaminants at Los Alamos National Laboratory: A large research and development facility

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Eberhart, C.F.

    1998-01-01

    This paper describes the ambient air sampling program for collection, analysis, and reporting of radioactive air contaminants in and around Los Alamos National Laboratory (LANL). Particulate matter and water vapor are sampled continuously at more than 50 sites. These samples are collected every two weeks and then analyzed for tritium, and gross alpha, gross beta, and gamma ray radiation. The alpha, beta, and gamma measurements are used to detect unexpected radionuclide releases. Quarterly composites are analyzed for isotopes of uranium ( 234 U, 235 U, 238 U), plutonium ( 238 Pu, 239/249 Pu), and americium ( 241 Am). All of the data is stored in a relational database with hard copies as the official records. Data used to determine environmental concentrations are validated and verified before being used in any calculations. This evaluation demonstrates that the sampling and analysis process can detect tritium, uranium, plutonium, and americium at levels much less than one percent of the public dose limit of 10 millirems. The isotopic results also indicate that, except for tritium, off-site concentrations of radionuclides potentially released from LANL are similar to typical background measurements

  2. The National Shipbuilding Program. Preliminary Impact Analysis of Proposed Revisions of National Ambient Air Quality Standard for Ozone and Particulate Matter

    National Research Council Canada - National Science Library

    1997-01-01

    ...) and particulate matter (PM). The analysis was performed to provide information to the U.S. ship building and ship repair industry, so that companies in that industry could determine whether to submit comments on these EPA proposals...

  3. Neurobehavioral effects of ambient air pollution on cognitive performance in US adults.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Chen, Jiu-Chiuan; Schwartz, Joel

    2009-03-01

    In vivo animal experiments demonstrate neurotoxicity of exposures to particulate matter (PM) and ozone, but only one small epidemiological study had linked ambient air pollution with central nervous system (CNS) functions in children. To examine the neurobehavioral effects associated with long-term exposure to ambient PM and ozone in adults. We conducted a secondary analysis of the Neurobehavioral Evaluation System-2 (NES2) data (including a simple reaction time test [SRTT] measuring motor response speed to a visual stimulus; a symbol-digit substitution test [SDST] for coding ability; and a serial-digit learning test [SDLT] for attention and short-term memory) from 1764 adult participants (aged 37.5+/-10.9 years) of the Third National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey in 1988-1991. Based on ambient PM(10) (PM with aerodynamic diameter SDLT, but not in SRTT. Each 10-ppb increase in annual ozone was associated with increased SDST and SDLT scores by 0.16 (95%CI: 0.01, 0.23) and 0.56 (95%CI: 0.07, 1.05), equivalent to 3.5 and 5.3 years of aging-related decline in cognitive performance. Our study provides the first epidemiological data supporting the adverse neurobehavioral effects of ambient air pollutants in adults.

  4. 76 FR 76048 - Air Quality Designations for the 2008 Lead (Pb) National Ambient Air Quality Standards

    Science.gov (United States)

    2011-12-06

    ... ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY 40 CFR Part 81 [EPA-HQ-OAR-2009-0443; FRL-9492-3] RIN 2060-AR17 Air Quality Designations for the 2008 Lead (Pb) National Ambient Air Quality Standards Correction In rule document 2011-29460 appearing on pages 72097-72120 in the issues of Tuesday, November 22, 2011...

  5. Measurement of ambient aerosol hydration state at Great Smoky Mountains National Park in the southeastern United States

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    N. F. Taylor

    2011-12-01

    Full Text Available We present results from two field deployments of a unique tandem differential mobility analyzer (TDMA configuration with two primary capabilities: identifying alternative stable or meta-stable ambient aerosol hydration states associated with hysteresis in aerosol hydration behavior and determining the actual Ambient hydration State (AS-TDMA. This data set is the first to fully classify the ambient hydration state of aerosols despite recognition that hydration state significantly impacts the roles of aerosols in climate, visibility and heterogeneous chemistry. The AS-TDMA was installed at a site in eastern Tennessee on the border of Great Smoky Mountains National Park for projects during the summer of 2006 and winter of 2007–2008. During the summer, 12% of the aerosols sampled in continuous AS-TDMA measurements were found to posses two possible hydration states under ambient conditions. In every case, the more hydrated of the possible states was occupied. The remaining 88% did not posses multiple possible states. In continuous measurements during the winter, 49% of the aerosols sampled possessed two possible ambient hydration states; the remainder possessed only one. Of those aerosols with multiple possible ambient hydration states, 65% occupied the more hydrated state; 35% occupied the less hydrated state. This seasonal contrast is supported by differences in the fine particulate (PM2.5 composition and ambient RH as measured during the two study periods. In addition to seasonal summaries, this work includes case studies depicting the variation of hydration state with changing atmospheric conditions.

  6. Environment and Obesity in the National Children's Study Ambiente e obesidade no National Children's Study

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Leonardo Trasande

    2010-01-01

    Full Text Available We describe the approach taken by the National Children's Study (NCS to understanding the role of environmental factors in the development of obesity. We review the literature with regard to the two core hypotheses in the NCS that relate to environmental origins of obesity and describe strategies that will be used to test each hypothesis. Although it is clear that obesity in an individual results from an imbalance between energy intake and expenditure, control of the obesity epidemic will require understanding of factors in the modern built environment and chemical exposures that may have the capacity to disrupt the link between energy intake and expenditure. Through its embrace of the life-course approach to epidemiology, the NCS will be able to study the origins of obesity from preconception through late adolescence, including factors ranging from genetic inheritance to individual behaviors to the social, built, and natural environment and chemical exposures. It will have sufficient statistical power to examine interactions among these multiple influences, including geneenvironment and geneobesity interactions. A major secondary benefit will derive from the banking of specimens for future analysis.Descrevemos a abordagem do National Children's Study (NCS para entender o papel dos fatores ambientais no desenvolvimento da obesidade. Revisamos a literatura a respeito de duas hipóteses principais no NCS que se relacionam a origens ambientais da obesidade e descrevem estratégias que serão utilizadas para testar cada hipótese. Apesar de estar claro que a obesidade em um indivíduo é resultado de um desequilíbrio entre consumo e gasto de energia, o controle da epidemia de obesidade requer o entendimento de fatores no ambiente moderno e exposições químicas que podem ter a capacidade de interromper a ligação entre o consumo e gasto de energia. Através da aceitação da abordagem do curso de vida a epidemiologia, o NCS será capaz de estudar

  7. Two-Step Single Particle Mass Spectrometry for On-Line Monitoring of Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbons Bound to Ambient Fine Particulate Matter

    Science.gov (United States)

    Zimmermann, R.; Bente, M.; Sklorz, M.

    2007-12-01

    Polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAH) are formed as trace products in combustion processes and are emitted to the atmosphere. Larger PAH have low vapour pressure and are predominantly bound to the ambient fine particulate matter (PM). Upon inhalation, PAH show both, chronic human toxicity (i.e. many PAH are potent carcinogens) as well as acute human toxicity (i.e. inflammatory effects due to oxi-dative stress) and are discussed to be relevant for the observed health effect of ambient PM. Therefore a better understanding of the occurrence, dynamics and particle size dependence of particle bound-PAH is of great interest. On-line aerosol mass spectrometry in principle is the method of choice to investigate the size resolved changes in the chemical speciation of particles as well the status of internal vs. external mixing of chemical constituents. However the present available aerosol mass spectrometers (ATOFMS and AMS) do not allow detection of PAH from ambient air PM. In order to allow a single particle based monitoring of PAH from ambient PM a new single particle laser ionisation mass spectrometer was built and applied. The system is based on ATOFMS principle but uses a two- step photo-ionization. A tracked and sized particle firstly is laser desorbed (LD) by a IR-laser pulse (CO2-laser, λ=10.2 μm) and subsequently the released PAH are selectively ionized by an intense UV-laser pulse (ArF excimer, λ=248 nm) in a resonance enhanced multiphoton ionisation process (REMPI). The PAH-ions are detected in a time of flight mass spectrometer (TOFMS). A virtual impactor enrichment unit is used to increase the detection frequency of the ambient particles. With the current inlet system particles from about 400 nm to 10 μm are accessible. Single particle based temporal profiles of PAH containing particles ion (size distribution and PAH speciation) have been recorded in Oberschleissheim, Germany from ambient air. Furthermore profiles of relevant emission sources (e

  8. Global chemical composition of ambient fine particulate matter for exposure assessment.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Philip, Sajeev; Martin, Randall V; van Donkelaar, Aaron; Lo, Jason Wai-Ho; Wang, Yuxuan; Chen, Dan; Zhang, Lin; Kasibhatla, Prasad S; Wang, Siwen; Zhang, Qiang; Lu, Zifeng; Streets, David G; Bittman, Shabtai; Macdonald, Douglas J

    2014-11-18

    Epidemiologic and health impact studies are inhibited by the paucity of global, long-term measurements of the chemical composition of fine particulate matter. We inferred PM2.5 chemical composition at 0.1° × 0.1° spatial resolution for 2004-2008 by combining aerosol optical depth retrieved from the MODIS and MISR satellite instruments, with coincident profile and composition information from the GEOS-Chem global chemical transport model. Evaluation of the satellite-model PM2.5 composition data set with North American in situ measurements indicated significant spatial agreement for secondary inorganic aerosol, particulate organic mass, black carbon, mineral dust, and sea salt. We found that global population-weighted PM2.5 concentrations were dominated by particulate organic mass (11.9 ± 7.3 μg/m(3)), secondary inorganic aerosol (11.1 ± 5.0 μg/m(3)), and mineral dust (11.1 ± 7.9 μg/m(3)). Secondary inorganic PM2.5 concentrations exceeded 30 μg/m(3) over East China. Sensitivity simulations suggested that population-weighted ambient PM2.5 from biofuel burning (11 μg/m(3)) could be almost as large as from fossil fuel combustion sources (17 μg/m(3)). These estimates offer information about global population exposure to the chemical components and sources of PM2.5.

  9. Redox Toxicology of Ambient Air Pollution

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ambient air pollution is a leading global cause of morbidity and mortality. Millions of Americans live in areas in which levels of tropospheric ozone exceed air quality standards, while exposure to particulate matter (PM2.5) alone results in 3.2 million excess deaths annually wor...

  10. Proceedings of the 12. National Meeting on Condensed Matter Physics

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    1989-01-01

    The XII National Meeting on Condensed Matter Physics presented works in the areas: atomic and molecular physics; biophysics; crystallography; defects growth and characterization of crystals; instrumentation; liquid crystals; magnetism; science of materials, metals and alloys; magnetic resonance; semiconductors; superconductivity and; surfaces and thin films. (M.C.K.) [pt

  11. Ambient air quality of karachi city as reflected by atmospheric particulate matter (PM/sub 10/) concentrations

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Hashmi, D.R.; Shareef, A.

    2016-01-01

    The present study examines the variation of ambient aerosol (PM/sub 10/) concentrations in Karachi, city. Samples were collected from ten different locations, representative of urban background, residential, traffic and industrial areas from 2007 to 2011. At each location, PM/sub 10/) was measured continuously from 08:00 am to 06:00 pm at local time. The maximum 10 h average particulate matter (PM/sub 10/) mass concentrations were found at Tibet Centre (440.1 mg/m/sup 3/) and minimum at PCSIR Campus (21.7 mg/m/sup 3/) during 2008. A rising trend during 2008 may be due to the civil works for bridges and extension of roads at different locations in Karachi. The results also suggest that urban traffic and industrial areas appeared to have higher PM/sub 10/) concentration than residential and background areas. (author)

  12. Effect of biomass open burning on particulate matter and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon concentration levels and PAH dry deposition in ambient air.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Chiu, Jui C; Shen, Yun H; Li, Hsing W; Chang, Shun S; Wang, Lin C; Chang-Chien, Guo P

    2011-01-01

    The objectives of the present study were to investigate particulate matter (PM) and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon (PAH) concentrations in ambient air during rice straw open burning and non-open burning periods. In the ambient air of a rice field, the mean PM concentration during and after an open burning event were 1828 and 102 μg m⁻³, respectively, which demonstrates that during a rice field open burning event, the PM concentration in the ambient air of rice field is over 17 times higher than that of the non-open burning period. During an open burning event, the mean total PAH and total toxic equivalence (BaP(eq)) concentrations in the ambient air of a rice field were 7206 ng m⁻³ and 10.3 ng m⁻³, respectively, whereas after the open burning event, they were 376 ng m⁻³ and 1.50 ng m⁻³, respectively. Open burning thus increases total PAH and total BaP(eq) concentrations by 19-fold and 6.8-fold, respectively. During a rice straw open burning event, in the ambient air of a rice field, the mean dry deposition fluxes of total PAHs and total BaP(eq) were 1222 μg m⁻² day⁻¹ and 4.80 μg m⁻² day⁻¹, respectively, which are approximately 60- and 3-fold higher than those during the non-open burning period, respectively. During the non-open burning period, particle-bound PAHs contributed 79.2-84.2% of total dry deposition fluxes (gas + particle) of total PAHs. However, an open burning event increases the contribution to total PAH dry deposition by particle-bound PAHs by up to 85.9-95.5%. The results show that due to the increased amount of PM in the ambient air resulting from rice straw open burning, particle-bound PAHs contributed more to dry deposition fluxes of total PAHs than they do during non-open burning periods. The results show that biomass (rice straw) open burning is an important PAH emission source that significantly increases both PM and PAH concentration levels and PAH dry deposition in ambient air.

  13. Exposure to Ambient Fine Particulate Air Pollution in Utero as a Risk Factor for Child Stunting in Bangladesh.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Goyal, Nihit; Canning, David

    2017-12-23

    Pregnant mothers in Bangladesh are exposed to very high and worsening levels of ambient air pollution. Maternal exposure to fine particulate matter has been associated with low birth weight at much lower levels of exposure, leading us to suspect the potentially large effects of air pollution on stunting in children in Bangladesh. We estimate the relationship between exposure to air pollution in utero and child stunting by pooling outcome data from four waves of the nationally representative Bangladesh Demographic and Health Survey conducted between 2004 and 2014, and calculating children's exposure to ambient fine particulate matter in utero using high resolution satellite data. We find significant increases in the relative risk of child stunting, wasting, and underweight with higher levels of in utero exposure to air pollution, after controlling for other factors that have been found to contribute to child anthropometric failure. We estimate the relative risk of stunting in the second, third, and fourth quartiles of exposure as 1.074 (95% confidence interval: 1.014-1.138), 1.150 (95% confidence interval: 1.069-1.237, and 1.132 (95% confidence interval: 1.031-1.243), respectively. Over half of all children in Bangladesh in our sample were exposed to an annual ambient fine particulate matter level in excess of 46 µg/m³; these children had a relative risk of stunting over 1.13 times that of children in the lowest quartile of exposure. Reducing air pollution in Bangladesh could significantly contribute to the Sustainable Development Goal of reducing child stunting.

  14. Study of indoor and ambient air fungual bioaerosols and its relation with particulate matters in a hospital of khorramabad

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Hasan Basiri

    2016-02-01

    Full Text Available Background: The climate change and particulate matter emission contented of bioaerosols is known as an important reason of increasing the allergic interactions especially in patients with defect in immunity system. The aim of this study was to investigate fungal bioaerosol concentrations in relation to particulate matter (PM10, PM2.5 and PM1 in indoor parts and ambient air of the generd educational hospital of Khorramabad city. Materials and Methods: In this descriptive-analytical study, 192 samples (168 for indoor and 24 for outdoor were gathered during 6 months at the seven indoor wards and one outdoor unit using Quick Take-30 method  at an airflow rate of 28.3 L/min and sampling time of 2.5 min on to Sabouraud dextrose agar medium containing chloramphenicol. The sampling of particulate matter was carried out by Monitor Dust-Trak 8520. Also, the relative humidity and temperature were surveyed by TES-1360 digital. Results: The results showed that infectious ward with 101.7 CFU/m3 was as the most contaminated part and operating room with 46.4 CFU/m3 was the cleanest part. Cladosporium with 36.75% and Rodotorolla with 1.3% had higher and lower of fungi rates, respectively. The rate of  I/O<1  illustrate that this contamination had an outdoor source. Conclusion: The surveys demonstrated that the increase of temperature and relative humidity have an effective influence on the pollutant accumulation. In addition, between fungi bioaerosols frequency and particulate matter ther was a significant correlation.

  15. Health Effects of Ambient Air Pollution in Developing Countries

    OpenAIRE

    Mannucci, Pier Mannuccio; Franchini, Massimo

    2017-01-01

    The deleterious effects of ambient air pollution on human health have been consistently documented by many epidemiologic studies worldwide, and it has been calculated that globally at least seven million deaths are annually attributable to the effects of air pollution. The major air pollutants emitted into the atmosphere by a number of natural processes and human activities include nitrogen oxides, volatile organic compounds, and particulate matter. In addition to the poor ambient air quality...

  16. EXPOSURE TO CONCENTRATED AMBIENT PARTICLES (CAPS): REVIEW

    Science.gov (United States)

    Epidemiologic studies support a participation of fine particulate matter (PM) with a diameter of 0.1 to 2.5 microm in the effects of air pollution particles on human health. The ambient fine particle concentrator is a recently developed technology that can enrich the mass of ambi...

  17. Ambient Particulate Matter Air Pollution Exposure and Mortality in the NIH-AARP Diet and Health Cohort.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Thurston, George D; Ahn, Jiyoung; Cromar, Kevin R; Shao, Yongzhao; Reynolds, Harmony R; Jerrett, Michael; Lim, Chris C; Shanley, Ryan; Park, Yikyung; Hayes, Richard B

    2016-04-01

    Outdoor fine particulate matter (≤ 2.5 μm; PM2.5) has been identified as a global health threat, but the number of large U.S. prospective cohort studies with individual participant data remains limited, especially at lower recent exposures. We aimed to test the relationship between long-term exposure PM2.5 and death risk from all nonaccidental causes, cardiovascular (CVD), and respiratory diseases in 517,041 men and women enrolled in the National Institutes of Health-AARP cohort. Individual participant data were linked with residence PM2.5 exposure estimates across the continental United States for a 2000-2009 follow-up period when matching census tract-level PM2.5 exposure data were available. Participants enrolled ranged from 50 to 71 years of age, residing in six U.S. states and two cities. Cox proportional hazard models yielded hazard ratio (HR) estimates per 10 μg/m3 of PM2.5 exposure. PM2.5 exposure was significantly associated with total mortality (HR = 1.03; 95% CI: 1.00, 1.05) and CVD mortality (HR = 1.10; 95% CI: 1.05, 1.15), but the association with respiratory mortality was not statistically significant (HR = 1.05; 95% CI: 0.98, 1.13). A significant association was found with respiratory mortality only among never smokers (HR = 1.27; 95% CI: 1.03, 1.56). Associations with 10-μg/m3 PM2.5 exposures in yearly participant residential annual mean, or in metropolitan area-wide mean, were consistent with baseline exposure model results. Associations with PM2.5 were similar when adjusted for ozone exposures. Analyses of California residents alone also yielded statistically significant PM2.5 mortality HRs for total and CVD mortality. Long-term exposure to PM2.5 air pollution was associated with an increased risk of total and CVD mortality, providing an independent test of the PM2.5-mortality relationship in a new large U.S. prospective cohort experiencing lower post-2000 PM2.5 exposure levels. Thurston GD, Ahn J, Cromar KR, Shao Y, Reynolds HR, Jerrett M

  18. Ambient air pollution, traffic noise and adult asthma prevalence : A BioSHaRE approach

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Cai, Yutong; Zijlema, Wilma L.; Doiron, Dany; Blangiardo, Marta; Burton, Paul R.; Fortier, Isabel; Gaye, Amadou; Gulliver, John; de Hoogh, Kees; Hveem, Kristian; Mbatchou, Stephane; Morley, David W; Stolk, Ronald P.; Elliott, Paul; Hansell, Anna L.; Hodgson, Susan

    2017-01-01

    We investigated the effects of both ambient air pollution and traffic noise on adult asthma prevalence, using harmonised data from three European cohort studies established in 2006-2013 (HUNT3, Lifelines and UK Biobank). Residential exposures to ambient air pollution (particulate matter with

  19. Development, enhancement, and evaluation of aircraft measurement techniques for national ambient air quality standard criteria pollutants

    Science.gov (United States)

    Brent, Lacey Cluff

    The atmospheric contaminants most harmful to human health are designated Criteria Pollutants. To help Maryland attain the national ambient air quality standards (NAAQS) for Criteria Pollutants, and to improve our fundamental understanding of atmospheric chemistry, I conducted aircraft measurements in the Regional Atmospheric Measurement Modeling Prediction Program (RAMMPP). These data are used to evaluate model simulations and satellite observations. I developed techniques for improving airborne observation of two NAAQS pollutants, particulate matter (PM) and nitrogen dioxide (NO2). While structure and composition of organic aerosol are important for understanding PM formation, the molecular speciation of organic ambient aerosol remains largely unknown. The spatial distribution of reactive nitrogen is likewise poorly constrained. To examine water-soluble organic aerosol (WSOA) during an air pollution episode, I designed and implemented a shrouded aerosol inlet system to collect PM onto quartz fiber filters from a Cessna 402 research aircraft. Inlet evaluation conducted during a side-by-side flight with the NASA P3 demonstrated agreement to within 30%. An ion chromatographic mass spectrometric method developed using the NIST Standard Reference Material (SRM) 1649b Urban Dust, as a surrogate material resulted in acidic class separation and resolution of at least 34 organic acids; detection limits approach pg/g concentrations. Analysis of aircraft filter samples resulted in detection of 8 inorganic species and 16 organic acids of which 12 were quantified. Aged, re-circulated metropolitan air showed a greater number of dicarboxylic acids compared to air recently transported from the west. While the NAAQS for NO2 is rarely exceeded, it is a precursor molecule for ozone, America's most recalcitrant pollutant. Using cavity ringdown spectroscopy employing a light emitting diode (LED), I measured vertical profiles of NO2 (surface to 2.5 km) west (upwind) of the Baltimore

  20. Gender Disparity in Lung Function Abnormalities among a Population Exposed to Particulate Matter Concentration in Ambient Air in the National Capital Region, India

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Chandrasekharan Nair Kesavachandran

    2015-01-01

    Conclusions. Since the women in this study were non-smokers, the PM in ambient air can be considered to be the major reason for the decline in lung function. The sources of PM pollutants in the study locations are large scale infrastructural development activities such as building and road construction activities. Narrowed lung airways can alter the airway caliber or resistance and flow rates proportional to the airway radius, especially in smaller airways. The present study suggests the need for policy makers and stake holders to take the necessary steps to identify PM sources and reduce the emissions of PM concentrations in ambient air.

  1. The ambient air quality accounts for the Nova Scotia Genuine Progress Index

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Monette, A.; Colman, R.

    2004-01-01

    The Nova Scotia Genuine Progress Index (GPI) is a measure of sustainable development which provides a complete and accurate picture of our well-being as a society. The GPI assigns explicit values to environmental quality, population health, livelihood security, equity, free time, and educational attainment. The Nova Scotia GPI includes 22 social, economic and environmental components, including ambient air quality. This report investigates Nova Scotia's ambient air concentrations and emissions of carbon monoxide (CO), total particulate matter (PM), sulphur dioxide (SO 2 ), nitrogen oxides (NOx), and volatile organic compounds (VOC). The costs of damages caused by the these key air pollutants are also examined. Exposure to these pollutants results in negative impacts on human health, damage to materials, agricultural crops and changes in forest productivity. From 1979 to 1996, national ambient concentrations of each of these pollutants decreased significantly. However, the national average concentration of ground-level ozone increased by 34 per cent during the same time period. In Nova Scotia, concentrations of CO, PM and SO 2 have declined dramatically since 1979, but the trends for NO 2 and ground-level ozone do not show significant declines. On a per capita basis, SOx emissions from electric power generation in the province are more than 8 times the Canadian average. The province also had higher per capita emissions of CO, PM, SOx and VOCs than all reporting OECD countries. Electric power generation is the greatest source of fuel combustion emissions in the province, followed by industrial and transportation sources. This report also described some individual actions that can be taken to reduce air pollutant emissions. 174 refs., 37 tabs., 60 figs

  2. Health Effects of Ambient Air Pollution in Developing Countries.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Mannucci, Pier Mannuccio; Franchini, Massimo

    2017-09-12

    The deleterious effects of ambient air pollution on human health have been consistently documented by many epidemiologic studies worldwide, and it has been calculated that globally at least seven million deaths are annually attributable to the effects of air pollution. The major air pollutants emitted into the atmosphere by a number of natural processes and human activities include nitrogen oxides, volatile organic compounds, and particulate matter. In addition to the poor ambient air quality, there is increasing evidence that indoor air pollution also poses a serious threat to human health, especially in low-income countries that still use biomass fuels as an energy resource. This review summarizes the current knowledge on ambient air pollution in financially deprived populations.

  3. Concentration and Size Distribution of Particulate Matter in a Broiler House Ambient Air

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Ismael Rodrigues Amador

    2016-07-01

    Full Text Available Atmospheric particulate matter (PM is an important constituent of ambient air. The determination of its concentration and size distribution in different environments is essential because of its ability to penetrate deeply into animal and human respiratory tract. In this study, air sampling was performed in a broiler house to estimate the concentration and size distribution of PM emitted along with its activities. Low-vol impactor (< 10 mm, cyclones (< 2.5 e < 1.0 mm, and Sioutas cascade impactor (> 2.5; 1.0 – 2.5; 0.50 – 1.0; 0.25 – 0.50; < 0.25 mm connected with membrane pumps were used. PM10 showed high concentration (209 - 533 mg m-3. PM2.5 and PM1.0 initially showed relatively low concentration (20.8 and 16.0 mg m-3 respectively with significantly increasing levels (412.9 and 344.8 mg m-3 respectively during the samplings. It was also possible to observe the contribution of fine particles. This was evidenced by the high correlation between PM2.5 and PM1.0 and by the profile of particle distribution in the Sioutas sampler. PM concentration levels are considered excessively high, with great potential to affect animal and human health. DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.17807/orbital.v8i3.847 

  4. Cardiopulmonary Toxicity Induced by Ambient Particulate Matter (BI City Concentrated Ambient Particle Study)

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Annette Rohr; James Wagner Masako Morishita; Gerald Keeler; Jack Harkema

    2010-06-30

    Alterations in heart rate variability (HRV) have been reported in rodents exposed to concentrated ambient particles (CAPs) from different regions of the United States. The goal of this study was to compare alterations in cardiac function induced by CAPs in two distinct regional atmospheres. AirCARE 1, a mobile laboratory with an EPA/Harvard fine particle (particulate matter <2.5 {micro}m; PM{sub 2.5}) concentrator was located in urban Detroit, MI, where the PM mixture is heavily influenced by motor vehicles, and in Steubenville, OH, where PM is derived primarily from long-range transport and transformation of power plant emissions, as well as from local industrial operations. Each city was studied during both winter and summer months, for a total of four sampling periods. Spontaneously hypertensive rats instrumented for electrocardiogram (ECG) telemetry were exposed to CAPs 8 h/day for 13 consecutive days during each sampling period. Heart rate (HR), and indices of HRV (standard deviation of the average normal-to-normal intervals [SDNN]; square root of the mean squared difference of successive normal-to-normal intervals [rMSSD]), were calculated for 30-minute intervals during exposures. A large suite of PM components, including nitrate, sulfate, elemental and organic carbon, and trace elements, were monitored in CAPs and ambient air. In addition, a unique sampler, the Semi-Continuous Elements in Air Sampler (SEAS) was employed to obtain every-30-minute measurements of trace elements. Positive matrix factorization (PMF) methods were applied to estimate source contributions to PM{sub 2.5}. Mixed modeling techniques were employed to determine associations between pollutants/CAPs components and HR and HRV metrics. Mean CAPs concentrations in Detroit were 518 and 357 {micro}g/m{sup 3} (summer and winter, respectively) and 487 and 252 {micro}g/m{sup 3} in Steubenville. In Detroit, significant reductions in SDNN were observed in the summer in association with cement

  5. Design and laboratory testing of a new flow-through directional passive air sampler for ambient particulate matter.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lin, Chun; Solera Garcia, Maria Angeles; Timmis, Roger; Jones, Kevin C

    2011-03-01

    A new type of directional passive air sampler (DPAS) is described for collecting particulate matter (PM) in ambient air. The prototype sampler has a non-rotating circular sampling tray that is divided into covered angular channels, whose ends are open to winds from sectors covering the surrounding 360°. Wind-blown PM from different directions enters relevant wind-facing channels, and is retained there in collecting pools containing various sampling media. Information on source direction and type can be obtained by examining the distribution of PM between channels. Wind tunnel tests show that external wind velocities are at least halved over an extended area of the collecting pools, encouraging PM to settle from the air stream. Internal and external wind velocities are well-correlated over an external velocity range of 2.0-10.0 m s⁻¹, which suggests it may be possible to relate collected amounts of PM simply to ambient concentrations and wind velocities. Measurements of internal wind velocities in different channels show that velocities decrease from the upwind channel round to the downwind channel, so that the sampler effectively resolves wind directions. Computational fluid dynamics (CFD) analyses were performed on a computer-generated model of the sampler for a range of external wind velocities; the results of these analyses were consistent with those from the wind tunnel. Further wind tunnel tests were undertaken using different artificial particulates in order to assess the collection performance of the sampler in practice. These tests confirmed that the sampler can resolve the directions of sources, by collecting particulates preferentially in source-facing channels.

  6. Alpha B-crystallin prevents the arrhythmogenic effects of particulate matter isolated from ambient air by attenuating oxidative stress

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Park, Hyelim [The Division of Cardiology, Yonsei University College of Medicine, Seoul (Korea, Republic of); Brain Korea 21 Project for Medical Science, Yonsei University, Seoul (Korea, Republic of); Park, Sanghoon; Jeon, Hyunju [The Division of Cardiology, Yonsei University College of Medicine, Seoul (Korea, Republic of); Song, Byeong-Wook [The Division of Cardiology, Yonsei University College of Medicine, Seoul (Korea, Republic of); Brain Korea 21 Project for Medical Science, Yonsei University, Seoul (Korea, Republic of); Kim, Jin-Bae [Division of Cardiology, Kyung Hee University College of Medicine, Seoul (Korea, Republic of); Kim, Chang-Soo [The Department of Preventive Medicine, Yonsei University College of Medicine, Seoul (Korea, Republic of); Pak, Hui-Nam [The Division of Cardiology, Yonsei University College of Medicine, Seoul (Korea, Republic of); Hwang, Ki-Chul [The Division of Cardiology, Yonsei University College of Medicine, Seoul (Korea, Republic of); Brain Korea 21 Project for Medical Science, Yonsei University, Seoul (Korea, Republic of); Lee, Moon-Hyoung [The Division of Cardiology, Yonsei University College of Medicine, Seoul (Korea, Republic of); Chung, Ji Hyung, E-mail: jhchung@yuhs.ac [The Division of Cardiology, Yonsei University College of Medicine, Seoul (Korea, Republic of); Joung, Boyoung, E-mail: cby6908@yuhs.ac [The Division of Cardiology, Yonsei University College of Medicine, Seoul (Korea, Republic of); Brain Korea 21 Project for Medical Science, Yonsei University, Seoul (Korea, Republic of)

    2013-01-15

    Ca{sup 2+}/calmodulin-dependent protein kinase II (CaMKII) is activated by particulate matter (PM) isolated from ambient air and linked to prolonged repolarization and cardiac arrhythmia. We evaluated whether alpha B-crystallin (CryAB), a heat shock protein, could prevent the arrhythmogenic effects of PM by preventing CaMKII activation. CryAB was delivered into cardiac cells using a TAT-protein transduction domain (TAT-CryAB). ECGs were measured before and after tracheal exposure of diesel exhaust particles (DEP) and each intervention in adult Sprague–Dawley rats. After endotracheal exposure of DEP (200 μg/mL for 30 minutes, n = 11), QT intervals were prolonged from 115 ± 14 ms to 144 ± 20 ms (p = 0.03), and premature ventricular contractions were observed more frequently (0% vs. 44%) than control (n = 5) and TAT-Cry (n = 5). However, DEP-induced arrhythmia was not observed in TAT-CryAB (1 mg/kg) pretreated rats (n = 5). In optical mapping of Langendorff-perfused rat heats, compared with baseline, DEP infusion of 12.5 μg/mL (n = 12) increased apicobasal action potential duration (APD) differences from 2 ± 6 ms to 36 ± 15 ms (p < 0.001), APD restitution slope from 0.26 ± 0.07 to 1.19 ± 0.11 (p < 0.001) and ventricular tachycardia (VT) from 0% to 75% (p < 0.001). DEP infusion easily induced spatially discordant alternans. However, the effects of DEP were prevented by TAT-CryAB (1 mg/kg, n = 9). In rat myocytes, while DEP increased reactive oxygen species (ROS) generation and phosphated CaMKII, TAT-CryAB prevented these effects. In conclusion, CryAB, a small heat shock protein, might prevent the arrhythmogenic effects of PM by attenuating ROS generation and CaMKII activation. -- Highlights: ► Particulate matter (PM) increases arrhythmia. ► PM induced arrhythmias are related with oxidative stress and CaMKII activation. ► Alpha B-crystallin (CryAB) could attenuate the arrhythmogenic effect of PM. ► CryAB decreases oxidative stress and CaMKII activation

  7. PM4 crystalline silica emission factors and ambient concentrations at aggregate-producing sources in California.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Richards, John R; Brozell, Todd T; Rea, Charles; Boraston, Geoff; Hayden, John

    2009-11-01

    The California Construction and Industrial Minerals Association and the National Stone, Sand, & Gravel Association have sponsored tests at three sand and gravel plants in California to compile crystalline silica emission factors for particulate matter (PM) of aerodynamic diameter of 4 microm or less (PM4) and ambient concentration data. This information is needed by industrial facilities to evaluate compliance with the Chronic Reference Exposure Level (REL) for ambient crystalline silica adopted in 2005 by the California Office of Environmental Health Hazard Assessment. The REL applies to PM4 respirable PM. Air Control Techniques, P.C. sampled for PM4 crystalline silica using a conventional sampler for PM of aerodynamic diameter of 2.5 microm or less (PM2.5), which met the requirements of 40 Code of Federal Regulations Part 50, Appendix L. The sample flow rate was adjusted to modify the 50% cut size to 4 microm instead of 2.5 microm. The filter was also changed to allow for crystalline silica analyses using National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) Method 7500. The particle size-capture efficiency curve for the modified Appendix L instrument closely matched the performance curve of NIOSH Method 0600 for PM4 crystalline silica and provided a minimum detection limit well below the levels attainable with NIOSH Method 0600. The results of the tests indicate that PM4 crystalline silica emissions range from 0.000006 to 0.000110 lb/t for screening operations, tertiary crushers, and conveyor transfer points. The PM4 crystalline silica emission factors were proportional to the crystalline silica content of the material handled in the process equipment. Measured ambient concentrations ranged from 0 (below detectable limit) to 2.8 microg/m3. All values measured above 2 microg/m3 were at locations upwind of the facilities being tested. The ambient PM4 crystalline silica concentrations measured during this study were below the California REL of 3 microg/m3

  8. Ambient Space and Ambient Sensation

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Schmidt, Ulrik

    The ambient is the aesthetic production of the sensation of being surrounded. As a concept, 'ambient' is mostly used in relation to the music genre 'ambient music' and Brian Eno's idea of environmental background music. However, the production of ambient sensations must be regarded as a central...... aspect of the aesthetization of modern culture in general, from architecture, transport and urbanized lifeforms to film, sound art, installation art and digital environments. This presentation will discuss the key aspects of ambient aesthetization, including issues such as objectlessness...

  9. Short‐term Changes in Ambient Particulate Matter and Risk of Stroke: A Systematic Review and Meta‐analysis

    Science.gov (United States)

    Wang, Yi; Eliot, Melissa N.; Wellenius, Gregory A.

    2014-01-01

    Background Stroke is a leading cause of death and long‐term disability in the United States. There is a well‐documented association between ambient particulate matter air pollution (PM) and cardiovascular disease morbidity and mortality. Given the pathophysiologic mechanisms of these effects, short‐term elevations in PM may also increase the risk of ischemic and/or hemorrhagic stroke morbidity and mortality, but the evidence has not been systematically reviewed. Methods and Results We provide a comprehensive review of all observational human studies (January 1966 to January 2014) on the association between short‐term changes in ambient PM levels and cerebrovascular events. We also performed meta‐analyses to evaluate the evidence for an association between each PM size fraction (PM2.5, PM10, PM2.5‐10) and each outcome (total cerebrovascular disease, ischemic stroke/transient ischemic attack, hemorrhagic stroke) separately for mortality and hospital admission. We used a random‐effects model to estimate the summary percent change in relative risk of the outcome per 10‐μg/m3 increase in PM. Conclusions We found that PM2.5 and PM10 are associated with a 1.4% (95% CI 0.9% to 1.9%) and 0.5% (95% CI 0.3% to 0.7%) higher total cerebrovascular disease mortality, respectively, with evidence of inconsistent, nonsignificant associations for hospital admission for total cerebrovascular disease or ischemic or hemorrhagic stroke. Current limited evidence does not suggest an association between PM2.5‐10 and cerebrovascular mortality or morbidity. We discuss the potential sources of variability in results across studies, highlight some observations, and identify gaps in literature and make recommendations for future studies. PMID:25103204

  10. Modeling individual exposures to ambient PM2.5 in the diabetes and the environment panel study (DEPS)

    Science.gov (United States)

    Air pollution epidemiology studies of ambient fine particulate matter (PM2.5) often use outdoor concentrations as exposure surrogates, which can induce exposure error. The goal of this study was to improve ambient PM2.5 exposure assessments for a repeated measurements study with ...

  11. 77 FR 12482 - Approval and Promulgation of Air Quality Implementation Plans; Indiana; Lead Ambient Air Quality...

    Science.gov (United States)

    2012-03-01

    ... Promulgation of Air Quality Implementation Plans; Indiana; Lead Ambient Air Quality Standards AGENCY... incorporates the National Ambient Air Quality Standards (NAAQS) for Pb promulgated by EPA in 2008. DATES: This... FR 66964) and codified at 40 CFR 50.16, ``National primary and secondary ambient air quality...

  12. Ambient Temperature and Cerebrovascular Hemodynamics in the Elderly.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Pan, Wen-Chi; Eliot, Melissa N; Koutrakis, Petros; Coull, Brent A; Sorond, Farzaneh A; Wellenius, Gregory A

    2015-01-01

    Some prior studies have linked ambient temperature with risk of cerebrovascular events. If causal, the pathophysiologic mechanisms underlying this putative association remain unknown. Temperature-related changes in cerebral vascular function may play a role, but this hypothesis has not been previously evaluated. We evaluated the association between ambient temperature and cerebral vascular function among 432 participants ≥65 years old from the MOBILIZE Boston Study with data on cerebrovascular blood flow, cerebrovascular resistance, and cerebrovascular reactivity in the middle cerebral artery. We used linear regression models to assess the association of mean ambient temperature in the previous 1 to 28 days with cerebrovascular hemodynamics adjusting for potential confounding factors. A 10°C increase in the 21-day moving average of ambient temperature was associated with a 10.1% (95% confidence interval [CI], 2.2%, 17.3%) lower blood flow velocity, a 9.0% (95% CI, 0.7%, 18.0%) higher cerebrovascular resistance, and a 15.3% (95%CI, 2.7%, 26.4%) lower cerebral vasoreactivity. Further adjustment for ozone and fine particulate matter (PM2.5) did not materially alter the results. However, we found statistically significant interactions between ambient temperature and PM2.5 such that the association between temperature and blood flow velocity was attenuated at higher levels of PM2.5. In this elderly population, we found that ambient temperature was negatively associated with cerebral blood flow velocity and cerebrovascular vasoreactivity and positively associated with cerebrovascular resistance. Changes in vascular function may partly underlie the observed associations between ambient temperature and risk of cerebrovascular events.

  13. Some measurements of ambient air pollution

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Memon, H.R.; Memon, A.A.; Behan, M.Y.

    1999-01-01

    Ambient air pollution arising from different sources in Karachi and its surroundings has been studied. The urban centres like Karachi are mostly confronted with eye-irritation, reduce visibility, heart-diseases, nervous disorder, smog and other unpleasant experiences. In this paper quantitative estimations of some air-pollutants such as sulphur dioxide, carbon monoxide, oxides of nitrogen, chlorine and particular matters are presented with their hazardous effects. The remedial measures for the control of major air emissions are also discussed. (author)

  14. Characterization of organic matter in lake sediments from Minnesota and Yellowstone National Park

    Science.gov (United States)

    Dean, Walter E.

    2006-01-01

    Samples of sediment from lakes in Minnesota and Yellowstone National Park (YNP) were analyzed for organic carbon (OC), hydrogen richness by Rock-Eval pyrolysis, and stable carbon- and nitrogen-isotope composition of bulk organic matter. Values of delta 13C of lake plankton tend to be around -28 to -32 parts per thousand (0/00). Organic matter with values of delta 13C in the high negative 20s overlap with those of organic matter derived from C3 higher terrestrial plants but are at least 10 0/00 more depleted in 13C than organic matter derived from C4 terrestrial plants. If the organic matter is produced mainly by photosynthetic plankton and is not oxidized in the water column, there may be a negative correlation between H-richness (Rock-Eval pyrolysis H-index) and delta 13C, with more H-rich, algal organic matter having lower values of delta 13C. However, if aquatic organic matter is oxidized in the water column, or if the organic matter is a mixture of terrestrial and aquatic organic matter, then there may be no correlation between H-richness and carbon-isotopic composition. Values of delta 13C lower than about -28 0/00 probably indicate a contribution of bacterial biomass produced in the hypolimnion by chemoautotrophy or methanotrophy. In highly eutrophic lakes in which large amounts of 13C-depleted organic matter is continually removed from the epilimnion by photosynthesis throughout the growing season, the entire carbon reservoir in the epilimnion may become severely 13C-enriched so that 13C-enriched photosynthetic organic matter may overprint 13C-depleted chemosynthetic bacterial organic matter produced in the hypolimnon. Most processes involved with the nitrogen cycle in lakes, such as production of ammonia and nitrate, tend to produce 15N-enriched values of delta 15N. Most Minnesota lake sediments are 15N-enriched. However, some of the more OC-rich sediments have delta 15N values close to zero (delta 15N of air), suggesting that organic matter production is

  15. RadNet (Environmental Radiation Ambient Monitoring System)

    Data.gov (United States)

    U.S. Environmental Protection Agency — RadNet, formerly Environmental Radiation Ambient Monitoring System (ERAMS), is a national network of monitoring stations that regularly collect air, precipitation,...

  16. Association between ambient fine particulate matter and preterm birth or term low birth weight: An updated systematic review and meta-analysis

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Li, Xiangyu; Huang, Shuqiong; Jiao, Anqi; Yang, Xuhao; Yun, Junfeng; Wang, Yuxin; Xue, Xiaowei; Chu, Yuanyuan; Liu, Feifei; Liu, Yisi; Ren, Meng

    2017-01-01

    An increasing number of studies have been conducted to determine a possible linkage between maternal exposure to ambient fine particulate matter and effects on the developing human fetus that can lead to adverse birth outcomes, but, the present results are not consistent. A total of 23 studies published before July 2016 were collected and analyzed and the mean value of reported exposure to fine particulate matter (PM 2.5 ) ranged from 1.82 to 22.11 We found a significantly increased risk of preterm birth with interquartile range increase in PM 2.5 exposure throughout pregnancy (odds ratio (OR) = 1.03; 95% conditional independence (CI): 1.01–1.05). The pooled OR for the association between PM 2.5 exposure, per interquartile range increment, and term low birth weight throughout pregnancy was 1.03 (95% CI: 1.02–1.03). The pooled ORs for the association between PM 2.5 exposure per 10 increment, and term low birth weight and preterm birth were 1.05 (95% CI: 0.98–1.12) and 1.02 (95% CI: 0.93–1.12), respectively throughout pregnancy. There is a significant heterogeneity in most meta-analyses, except for pooled OR per interquartile range increase for term low birth weight throughout pregnancy. We here show that maternal exposure to fine particulate air pollution increases the risk of preterm birth and term low birth weight. However, the effect of exposure time needs to be further explored. In the future, prospective cohort studies and personal exposure measurements needs to be more widely utilized to better characterize the relationship between ambient fine particulate exposure and adverse birth outcomes. - Highlights: • The results had shorter intervals indicate and smaller heterogeneity by using IQR increment increase as selected standard. • The manuscript included the latest research results and updated the previous systematic review and meta-analysis. - Meta-analysis of preterm birth and term low birth weight of PM 2.5

  17. 75 FR 81126 - Revisions to Lead Ambient Air Monitoring Requirements

    Science.gov (United States)

    2010-12-27

    ... tons per year of lead is necessary to provide sufficient information about airborne lead levels near... Revisions to Lead Ambient Air Monitoring Requirements AGENCY: Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). ACTION...) that revised the primary and secondary National Ambient Air Quality Standards (NAAQS) for lead and...

  18. Respiratory dose analysis for components of ambient particulate matter#

    Science.gov (United States)

    Particulate matter (PM) in the atmosphere is a complex mixture of particles with different sizes and chemical compositions. Although PM is known to cause health hazard, specific attributes of PM that may cause health effects are somewhat ambiguous. The dose of each specific compo...

  19. Electric Power From Ambient Energy Sources

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    DeSteese, John G.; Hammerstrom, Donald J.; Schienbein, Lawrence A.

    2000-10-03

    This report summarizes research on opportunities to produce electric power from ambient sources as an alternative to using portable battery packs or hydrocarbon-fueled systems in remote areas. The work was an activity in the Advanced Concepts Project conducted by Pacific Northwest National Laboratory (PNNL) for the Office of Research and Development in the U.S. Department of Energy Office of Nonproliferation and National Security.

  20. 2011 NATA - Risks and Annual Ambient Concentrations

    Data.gov (United States)

    U.S. Environmental Protection Agency — This dataset includes the modeled annual ambient concentrations and risks at the census tract level for the 2011 National Air Toxics Assessment. All concentrations...

  1. Particulate matter urban air pollution from traffic car

    Science.gov (United States)

    Filip, G. M.; Brezoczki, V. M.

    2017-05-01

    The particulate matters (PM) are very important compounds of urban air pollution. There are a lot of air pollution sources who can generate PM and one of the most important of them it is urban traffic car. Air particulate matters have a major influence on human health so everywhere are looking for PM reducing solutions. It is knows that one of the solution for reduce the PM content from car traffic on ambient urban air is the fluidity of urban traffic car by introduction the roundabout intersections. This paper want to present some particulate matter determinations for PM10 and PM2.5 conducted on the two types of urban intersection respectively traffic light and roundabout intersections in Baia Mare town in the approximate the same work conditions. The determinations were carried out using a portable particulate matter monitor Haz - Dust model EPAM - 5000, who can provide a real time data for PM10, PM 2.5.Determinations put out that there are differences between the two locations regarding the PM content on ambient air. On roundabout intersection the PM content is less than traffic light intersection for both PM10 and PM 2.5 with more than 30%.

  2. Oxidative Potential of ambient particulate matter in Athens, Greece.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Paraskevopoulou, Despina; Bougiatioti, Aikaterini; Fang, Ting; Liakakou, Eleni; Weber, Rodney; Nenes, Athanasios; Mihalopoulos, Nikolaos

    2017-04-01

    Exposure of populations to airborne particulate matter (PM) is a leading cause of premature death worldwide. Oxidative stress resulting from exposure of chemical species present in PM is a mechanism thought to cause adverse health effects. Apart from radicals present in aerosol, species that can catalytically deplete the antioxidant buffering capacity of cells, called Oxidative Potential (OP), are thought to be particularly toxic. The variability of OP over location, particle age, source and environmental conditions is virtually unknown for most populated regions of the world. Motivated by this, we have built and deployed one of the first operational measurements of OP in Europe at the National Observatory of Athens site in downtown Athens, Greece. OP for fine and coarse mode is measured using a semi-automated dithiothreitol (DTT) assay developed at the Georgia Institute of Technology; the assay measures the oxidation rate of DTT by water-soluble aerosol constituents, and simulates the rate at which the same compounds would deplete antioxidants in-vivo. The DTT oxidation rate per unit volume of air (water-soluble "DTT activity") and aerosol size class (fine, coarse) are used as a measure of aerosol toxicity. We present continuous (24hr average) OP measurements in downtown Athens from July 2016 to January 2017, conducted through quartz fiber filter analysis. The dataset covers a broad range of aerosol sources (pollution from Europe, regional and local biomass burning, dust, marine aerosol, biogenic aerosol) and meteorological conditions. The daily water-soluble DTT activity ranges between 0.02-0.81 nmolmin-1 m-3 (averaging at 0.24 nmolmin-1 m-3) for fine aerosol and between 0.01-0.52 nmolmin-1 m-3 (averaging at 0.08 nmolmin-1 m-3) for coarse particulate matter, indicating that water-soluble fine mode aerosol components possess a significant fraction of the OP. The seasonal variability demonstrates a higher DTT activity during the coldest period of the year for both

  3. Solvent effects on extraction of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons in ambient aerosol samples

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Flasch Mira

    2016-01-01

    Full Text Available Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbons (PAHs in the ambient particulate matter pose one of the most important issues in the focus of environmental management. The concentration of their representative, Benzo(apyrene (BaP, undergoes limitations according to European Union directive. However, a successful control over the pollution levels and their sources is limited by the high uncertainty of analytical and statistical approaches used for their characterization. Here we compare differences in PAH concentrations related to the use of different solvents in the course of ultrasonic extraction of a certified reference material (PM10-like PAH mixture and filter samples of ambient particulate matter collected in Austria for the CG-MS PAH analysis. Using solvents of increasing polarity: Cyclohexane (0,006, Toluene (0,099, Dichloromethane (0,309, Acetone (0,43 and Acetonitrile (0,460, as well as mixtures of those, filters representing high and low concentrations of particulate matter were investigated. Although some scatter of the obtained concentrations was observed no trend related to the polarity of the solvent became visible. Regarding the reproducibility, which can be expected of PAH analysis no significant difference between the different solvents was determined. This result is valid for all compounds under investigation.

  4. Nepal Ambient Monitoring and Source Testing Experiment (NAMaSTE): Emissions of particulate matter from wood and dung cooking fires, brick kilns, generators, trash and crop residue burning

    Science.gov (United States)

    Stone, Elizabeth; Jayarathne, Thilina; Stockwell, Chelsea; Christian, Ted; Bhave, Prakash; Siva Praveen, Puppala; Panday, Arnico; Adhikari, Sagar; Maharjan, Rashmi; Goetz, Doug; DeCarlo, Peter; Saikawa, Eri; Yokelson, Robert

    2016-04-01

    The Nepal Ambient Monitoring and Source Testing Experiment (NAMASTE) field campaign targeted the in situ characterization of widespread and under-sampled combustion sources. In Kathmandu and the Terai, southern Nepal's flat plains, samples of fine particulate matter (PM2.5) were collected from wood and dung cooking fires (n = 22), generators (n = 2), groundwater pumps (n = 2), clamp kilns (n = 3), zig-zag kilns (n = 3), trash burning (n = 4), one heating fire, and one crop residue fire. Co-located measurements of carbon dioxide, carbon monoxide, and volatile organic compounds allowed for the application of the carbon mass balance approach to estimate emission factors for PM2.5, elemental carbon, organic carbon, and water-soluble inorganic ions. Organic matter was chemically speciated using gas chromatography - mass spectrometry for polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons, sterols, n-alkanes, hopanes, steranes, and levoglucosan, which accounted for 2-8% of the measured organic carbon. These data were used to develop molecular-marker based profiles for use in source apportionment modeling. This study provides quantitative emission factors for particulate matter and its constituents for many important combustion sources in Nepal and South Asia.

  5. NIF Ambient Vibration Measurements

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Noble, C.R.; Hoehler, M.S.; S.C. Sommer

    1999-01-01

    LLNL has an ongoing research and development project that includes developing data acquisition systems with remote wireless communication for monitoring the vibrations of large civil engineering structures. In order to establish the capability of performing remote sensing over an extended period of time, the researchers needed to apply this technology to a real structure. The construction of the National Ignition Facility provided an opportunity to test the data acquisition system on a large structure to monitor whether the facility is remaining within the strict ambient vibration guidelines. This document will briefly discuss the NIF ambient vibration requirements and summarize the vibration measurements performed during the Spring and Summer of 1999. In addition, a brief description of the sensors and the data acquisition systems will be provided in Appendix B

  6. Composition and oxidation state of sulfur in atmospheric particulate matter

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    A. F. Longo

    2016-10-01

    Full Text Available The chemical and physical speciation of atmospheric sulfur was investigated in ambient aerosol samples using a combination of sulfur near-edge x-ray fluorescence spectroscopy (S-NEXFS and X-ray fluorescence (XRF microscopy. These techniques were used to determine the composition and oxidation state of sulfur in common primary emission sources and ambient particulate matter collected from the greater Atlanta area. Ambient particulate matter samples contained two oxidation states: S0 and S+VI. Ninety-five percent of the individual aerosol particles (> 1 µm analyzed contain S0. Linear combination fitting revealed that S+VI in ambient aerosol was dominated by ammonium sulfate as well as metal sulfates. The finding of metal sulfates provides further evidence for acidic reactions that solubilize metals, such as iron, during atmospheric transport. Emission sources, including biomass burning, coal fly ash, gasoline, diesel, volcanic ash, and aerosolized Atlanta soil, and the commercially available bacterium Bacillus subtilis, contained only S+VI. A commercially available Azotobacter vinelandii sample contained approximately equal proportions of S0 and S+VI. S0 in individual aerosol particles most likely originates from primary emission sources, such as aerosolized bacteria or incomplete combustion.

  7. Short-term effects of ambient fine particulate matter pollution on hospital visits for chronic obstructive pulmonary disease in Beijing, China.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Tian, Yaohua; Xiang, Xiao; Juan, Juan; Song, Jing; Cao, Yaying; Huang, Chao; Li, Man; Hu, Yonghua

    2018-02-27

    Little is known about the effect of ambient fine particulate matter (PM 2.5 ) on chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) in China. The objective of this study was to explore the short-term effects of PM 2.5 on outpatient and inpatient visits for COPD in Beijing, China. A total of 3,503,313 outpatient visits and 126,982 inpatient visits for COPD between January 1, 2010, and June 30, 2012, were identified from the Beijing Medical Claim Data for Employees. A generalized additive Poisson model was applied to estimate the percentage change with 95% confidence interval (CI) in hospital visits for COPD in relation to an interquartile range (IQR) (90.8 μg/m 3 ) increase in PM 2.5 concentrations. Short-term exposure to PM 2.5 was significantly associated with increased use of COPD-related health services. There were clear exposure-response associations of PM 2.5 with COPD outpatient and inpatient visits. An IQR increase in the concurrent day PM 2.5 concentrations was significantly associated with a 2.38% (95% CI, 2.22%-2.53%) and 6.03% (95% CI, 5.19%-6.87%) increase in daily outpatient visits and inpatient visits, respectively. Elderly people were more sensitive to the adverse effects. The estimated risk was higher during the warm season compared to the cool season. Short-term exposure to PM 2.5 was associated with increased risk of hospital visits for COPD. Our findings contributed to the limited evidence concerning the effects of ambient PM 2.5 on COPD morbidity in developing countries.

  8. A new technology for the reduction of particulate matter from diesel engines in ships

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Van Rens, G.L.M.A.

    2008-01-01

    In this thesis the focus is on the particulate matter reduction of ships, as ships contribute significantly to the particulate matter concentration in ambient air. Because the fuel of sea ships contains a lot of ash, the emitted particulate matter will also contain a lot of ash. In car and truck

  9. Will the circle be unbroken: a history of the U.S. National Ambient Air Quality Standards.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Bachmann, John

    2007-06-01

    In celebration of the 100th anniversary of the Air & Waste Management Association, this review examines the history of air quality management (AQM) in the United States over the last century, with an emphasis on the ambient standards programs established by the landmark 1970 Clean Air Act (CAA) Amendments. The current CAA system is a hybrid of several distinct air pollution control philosophies, including the recursive or circular system driven by ambient standards. Although this evolving system has resulted in tremendous improvements in air quality, it has been far from perfect in terms of timeliness and effectiveness. The paper looks at several periods in the history of the U.S. program, including: (1) 1900-1970, spanning the early smoke abatement and smog control programs, the first federal involvement, and the development of a hybrid AQM approach in the 1970 CAA; (2) 1971-1976, when the first National Ambient Air Quality Standards (NAAQS) were set and implemented; (3) 1977-1993, a period of the first revisions to the standards, new CAA Amendments, delays in implementation and decision-making, and key science/policy/legislative developments that would alter both the focus and scale of air pollution programs and how they are implemented; and (4) 1993-2006, the second and third wave of NAAQS revisions and their implementation in the context of the 1990 CAA. This discussion examines where NAAQS have helped drive implementation programs and how improvements in both effects and air quality/control sciences influenced policy and legislation to enhance the effectiveness of the system over time. The review concludes with a look toward the future of AQM, emphasizing challenges and ways to meet them. The most significant of these is the need to make more efficient progress toward air quality goals, while adjusting the system to address the growing intersections between air quality management and climate change.

  10. Health effects associated with exposure to ambient air pollution.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Samet, Jonathan; Krewski, Daniel

    2007-02-01

    The World Health Organization has identified ambient air pollution as a high public health priority, based on estimates of air pollution related death and disability-adjusted life years derived in its Global Burden of Disease initiative. The NERAM Colloquium Series on Health and Air Quality was initiated to strengthen the linkage between scientists, policymakers, and other stakeholders by reviewing the current state of science, identifying policy-relevant gaps and uncertainties in the scientific evidence, and proposing a path forward for research and policy to improve air quality and public health. The objective of this paper is to review the current state of science addressing the impacts of air pollution on human health. The paper is one of four background papers prepared for the 2003 NERAM/AirNet Conference on Strategies for Clean Air and Health, the third meeting in the international Colloquium Series. The review is based on the framework and findings of the U.S. National Research Committee (NRC) on Research Priorities for Airborne Particulate Matter and addresses key questions underlying air quality risk management policy decisions.

  11. Ambient urban Baltimore particulate-induced airway hyperresponsiveness and inflammation in mice

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Walters, D.M.; Breysse, P.N.; Wills-Karp, M. [Childrens Hospital, Cincinnati, OH (United States). Medical Centre, Division of Immunobiology

    2001-10-15

    Airborne particulate matter (PM) is hypothesized to play a role in increases in asthma prevalence, although a causal relationship has yet to be established. To investigate the effects of real-world PM exposure on airway reactivity (AHR) and bronchoalveolar lavage (BAL) cellularity, mice were exposed to a single dose (0.5 mg/ mouse) of ambient PM, coal fly ash, or diesel PM. It was found that ambient PM exposure induced increases in AHR and BAL cellularity, whereas diesel PM induced significant increases in BAL cellularity, but not AHR. On the other hand, coal fly ash exposure did not elicit significant changes in either of these parameters. Ambient PM-induced temporal changes in AHR, BAL cells, and lung cytakine levels over a 2-wk period were then examined. Ambient PM-induced AHR was sustained over 7 d. The increase in AHR was preceded by dramatic increases in BAL eosinophils, whereas a decline in AHR was associated with increases in macrophages. It is concluded that ambient PM can induce asthmalike parameters in mice, suggesting that PM exposure may be an important factor in increases in asthma prevalence.

  12. Spatiotemporal analysis for the effect of ambient particulate matter on cause-specific respiratory mortality in Beijing, China.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Wang, Xuying; Guo, Yuming; Li, Guoxing; Zhang, Yajuan; Westerdahl, Dane; Jin, Xiaobin; Pan, Xiaochuan; Chen, Liangfu

    2016-06-01

    This study explored the association between particulate matter with an aerodynamic diameter of less than 10 μm (PM10) and the cause-specific respiratory mortality. We used the ordinary kriging method to estimate the spatial characteristics of ambient PM10 at 1-km × 1-km resolution across Beijing during 2008-2009 and subsequently fit the exposure-response relationship between the estimated PM10 and the mortality due to total respiratory disease, chronic lower respiratory disease, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), and pneumonia at the street or township area levels using the generalized additive mixed model (GAMM). We also examined the effects of age, gender, and season in the stratified analysis. The effects of ambient PM10 on the cause-specific respiratory mortality were the strongest at lag0-5 except for pneumonia, and an inter-quantile range increase in PM10 was associated with an 8.04 % (95 % CI 4.00, 12.63) increase in mortality for total respiratory disease, a 6.63 % (95 % CI 1.65, 11.86) increase for chronic lower respiratory disease, and a 5.68 % (95 % CI 0.54, 11.09) increase for COPD, respectively. Higher risks due to the PM10 exposure were observed for females and elderly individuals. Seasonal stratification analysis showed that the effects of PM10 on mortality due to pneumonia were stronger during spring and autumn. While for COPD, the effect of PM10 in winter was statistically significant (15.54 %, 95 % CI 5.64, 26.35) and the greatest among the seasons. The GAMM model evaluated stronger associations between concentration of PM10. There were significant associations between PM10 and mortality due to respiratory disease at the street or township area levels. The GAMM model using high-resolution PM10 could better capture the association between PM10 and respiratory mortality. Gender, age, and season also acted as effect modifiers for the relationship between PM10 and respiratory mortality.

  13. Different relationships between personal exposure and ambient concentration by particle size.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Guak, Sooyoung; Lee, Kiyoung

    2018-04-06

    Ambient particulate matter (PM) concentrations at monitoring stations were often used as an indicator of population exposure to PM in epidemiological studies. The correlation between personal exposure and ambient concentrations of PM varied because of diverse time-activity patterns. The aim of this study was to determine the relationship between personal exposure and ambient concentrations of PM 10 and PM 2.5 with minimal impact of time-activity pattern on personal exposure. Performance of the MicroPEM, v3.2 was evaluated by collocation with central ambient air monitors for PM 10 and PM 2.5 . A field technician repeatedly conducted measurement of 24 h personal exposures to PM 10 and PM 2.5 with a fixed time-activity pattern of office worker over 26 days in Seoul, Korea. The relationship between the MicroPEM and the ambient air monitor showed good linearity. Personal exposure and ambient concentrations of PM 2.5 were highly correlated with a fixed time-activity pattern compared with PM 10 . The finding implied a high infiltration rate of PM 2.5 and low infiltration rate of PM 10 . The relationship between personal exposure and ambient concentrations of PM 10 and PM 2.5 was different for high level episodes. In the Asian dust episode, staying indoors could reduce personal exposure to PM 10 . However, personal exposure to PM 2.5 could not be reduced by staying indoors during the fine dust advisory episode.

  14. Health impact assessment of ambient fine particulate matter exposure in impacts by different vehicle control measures in China

    Science.gov (United States)

    LI, S.; Wang, H.; Jiang, F.; Zhang, S.

    2017-12-01

    Road transportation is the one of the largest emission sources contributing to ambient PM2.5 pollution in China. Since the 1990s, China has adopted comprehensive control measures to mitigate vehicle emissions. However, the effects of these measures on reducing emissions, improving air quality and avoiding negative health impacts have not been systematically evaluated. In this study, we combine emissions inventory, air quality modeling, and IER model to evaluate the effect of various vehicle control measures on premature deaths attributable to ambient PM2.5 at a spatial resolution of 36 km × 36 km across China. Our results show that, comparing to no control scenarios, the total vehicular emissions with the actual vehicle emission controls implemented have reduced the emissions of NOX, HC, CO, PM2.5 by 57%, 69%, 75%, 71% respectively; and reduced the national annual mean PM2.5 concentration by 2.5ug/m³ across China by 2010. The number of avoidable deaths associated with reducing PM2.5 level is 150 thousands (95% Confidence interval: 66 thousand - 212 thousand). The geographic distribution of the absolute number of avoidable deaths presents a distinct regional feature and is particularly evident in several regions. The most influential areas are mainly concentrated in Beijing and its south part, which formed a large area of continuous high value. Our results have important policy implications on prioritizing vehicular emission control strategy in China.

  15. Long-term exposure to elemental constituents of particulate matter and cardiovascular mortality in 19 European cohorts

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Wang, Meng; Beelen, Rob; Stafoggia, Massimo

    2014-01-01

    Associations between long-term exposure to ambient particulate matter (PM) and cardiovascular (CVD) mortality have been widely recognized. However, health effects of long-term exposure to constituents of PM on total CVD mortality have been explored in a single study only.......Associations between long-term exposure to ambient particulate matter (PM) and cardiovascular (CVD) mortality have been widely recognized. However, health effects of long-term exposure to constituents of PM on total CVD mortality have been explored in a single study only....

  16. Biofilm Formation Derived from Ambient Air and the Characteristics of Apparatus

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Kanematsu, H; Kougo, H; Kuroda, D; Itho, H; Ogino, Y; Yamamoto, Y

    2013-01-01

    Biofilm is a kind of thin film on solidified matters, being derived from bacteria. Generally, planktonic bacteria float in aqueous environments, soil or air, most of which can be regarded as oligotrophic environments. Since they have to survive by instinct, they seek for nutrients that would exist on materials surfaces as organic matters. Therefore, bacteria attach materials surfaces reversibly. The attachment and detachment repeat for a while and finally, they attach on them irreversibly and the number of bacteria on them increases. At a threshold number, bacteria produce polymeric matters at the same time by quorum sensing mechanism and the biofilm produces on material surfaces. The biofilm produced in that way generally contains water (more than 80%), EPS (Exopolymeric Substance) and bacteria themselves. And they might bring about many industrial problems, fouling, corrosion etc. Therefore, it is very important for us to control and prevent the biofilm formation properly. However, it is generally very hard to produce biofilm experimentally and constantly in ambient atmosphere on labo scale. The authors invented an apparatus where biofilm could form on specimen's surfaces from house germs in the ambient air. In this experiment, we investigated the basic characteristics of the apparatus, reproducibility, the change of biofilm with experimental time, the quality change of water for biofilm formation and their significance for biofilm research.

  17. A direct sensitivity approach to predict hourly ozone resulting from compliance with the National Ambient Air Quality Standard.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Simon, Heather; Baker, Kirk R; Akhtar, Farhan; Napelenok, Sergey L; Possiel, Norm; Wells, Benjamin; Timin, Brian

    2013-03-05

    In setting primary ambient air quality standards, the EPA's responsibility under the law is to establish standards that protect public health. As part of the current review of the ozone National Ambient Air Quality Standard (NAAQS), the US EPA evaluated the health exposure and risks associated with ambient ozone pollution using a statistical approach to adjust recent air quality to simulate just meeting the current standard level, without specifying emission control strategies. One drawback of this purely statistical concentration rollback approach is that it does not take into account spatial and temporal heterogeneity of ozone response to emissions changes. The application of the higher-order decoupled direct method (HDDM) in the community multiscale air quality (CMAQ) model is discussed here to provide an example of a methodology that could incorporate this variability into the risk assessment analyses. Because this approach includes a full representation of the chemical production and physical transport of ozone in the atmosphere, it does not require assumed background concentrations, which have been applied to constrain estimates from past statistical techniques. The CMAQ-HDDM adjustment approach is extended to measured ozone concentrations by determining typical sensitivities at each monitor location and hour of the day based on a linear relationship between first-order sensitivities and hourly ozone values. This approach is demonstrated by modeling ozone responses for monitor locations in Detroit and Charlotte to domain-wide reductions in anthropogenic NOx and VOCs emissions. As seen in previous studies, ozone response calculated using HDDM compared well to brute-force emissions changes up to approximately a 50% reduction in emissions. A new stepwise approach is developed here to apply this method to emissions reductions beyond 50% allowing for the simulation of more stringent reductions in ozone concentrations. Compared to previous rollback methods, this

  18. A study of bacteria, fungi and biomass in particulate matter in ambient air of Khorramabad during summer and autumn 2012

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    hatam Godini

    2015-05-01

    Full Text Available Introduction: Particulate matter refers to the combination of atmospheric pollutants that a portion of this particulate is bioaerosol. The aim of this study was the evaluation of bacteria, fungi and biomass in particulate matter in ambient air of Khorramabad during summer and autumn 2012. Materials and Methods: This study was a cross sectional study that conducted in Khorramabad city during summer and fall 2012. Sampling has been done via high-volume sampler. The special cultures were used for cultivation and determination of fungal and Heterotrophic Plate Count (HPC (and Bradford method were used to determine bacteria and protein as biomass indicator, respectively. Relationship between these variables with metrological parameters was evaluated too. Results: The highest PM10 in July (257.18 µg/m3 and lowest in September (92.45 µg/m3 had been recorded. The highest amount of bacteria and fungi were measured as monthly in November (605 No/m3 and December (120 No/m3, respectively. The highest of protein concentration was measured in August, September and December (27-30 µg/m3. With the increase in PM10, biomass concentration in the air showed a meaningful increase. Conclusion: Biomass concentration in the air increased with increasing PM10 but it had no significant effect on the concentration of bacteria and fungi in the air. Meteorological factors such as temperature, humidity, wind speed, solar radiation and the amount of exposure time had a significant impact on bioaerosol concentrations in the air.

  19. Measurements of air contaminants during the Cerro Grande fire at Los Alamos National Laboratory

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Eberhart, Craig

    2010-08-01

    Ambient air sampling for radioactive air contaminants was continued throughout the Cerro Grande fire that burned part of Los Alamos National Laboratory. During the fire, samples were collected more frequently than normal because buildup of smoke particles on the filters was decreasing the air flow. Overall, actual sampling time was 96% of the total possible sampling time for the May 2000 samples. To evaluate potential human exposure to air contaminants, the samples were analyzed as soon as possible and for additional specific radionuclides. Analyses showed that the smoke from the fire included resuspended radon decay products that had been accumulating for many years on the vegetation and the forest floor that burned. Concentrations of plutonium, americium, and depleted uranium were also measurable, but at locations and concentrations comparable to non-fire periods. A continuous particulate matter sampler measured concentrations that exceeded the National Ambient Air Quality Standard for PM-10 (particles less than 10 micrometers in diameter). These high concentrations were caused by smoke from the fire when it was close to the sampler.

  20. Det Ambiente

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Schmidt, Ulrik

    Det ambiente er iscenesættelsen af en karakteristisk sanseoplevelse, der er kendetegnet ved fornemmelsen af at være omgivet. I dag bliver begrebet om det ambiente mest anvendt i forbindelse med musikgenren ’ambient musik’. Det ambiente er dog ikke essentielt knyttet til det musikalske, men må...... forstås som et betydeligt bredere fænomen i den moderne æstetiske kultur, der spiller en væsentlig rolle i oplevelsen af moderne transportformer, arkitektur, film, lydkunst, installationskunst og digitale multimedieiscenesættelser. En forståelse af det ambiente er derfor centralt for forståelsen af en...... moderne æstetiseret oplevelseskultur i almindelighed. Da det ambiente ikke hidtil har været gjort til genstand for en mere indgående teoretisk behandling, er der dog stor usikkerhed omkring, hvad fænomenet overhovedet indebærer. Hovedformålet med Det ambiente – Sansning, medialisering, omgivelse er derfor...

  1. A Comparison of the Health Effects of Ambient Particulate Matter Air Pollution from Five Emission Sources

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Neil J. Hime

    2018-06-01

    Full Text Available This article briefly reviews evidence of health effects associated with exposure to particulate matter (PM air pollution from five common outdoor emission sources: traffic, coal-fired power stations, diesel exhaust, domestic wood combustion heaters, and crustal dust. The principal purpose of this review is to compare the evidence of health effects associated with these different sources with a view to answering the question: Is exposure to PM from some emission sources associated with worse health outcomes than exposure to PM from other sources? Answering this question will help inform development of air pollution regulations and environmental policy that maximises health benefits. Understanding the health effects of exposure to components of PM and source-specific PM are active fields of investigation. However, the different methods that have been used in epidemiological studies, along with the differences in populations, emission sources, and ambient air pollution mixtures between studies, make the comparison of results between studies problematic. While there is some evidence that PM from traffic and coal-fired power station emissions may elicit greater health effects compared to PM from other sources, overall the evidence to date does not indicate a clear ‘hierarchy’ of harmfulness for PM from different emission sources. Further investigations of the health effects of source-specific PM with more advanced approaches to exposure modeling, measurement, and statistics, are required before changing the current public health protection approach of minimising exposure to total PM mass.

  2. Impacts of rural worker migration on ambient air quality and health in China: From the perspective of upgrading residential energy consumption.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Shen, Huizhong; Chen, Yilin; Russell, Armistead G; Hu, Yongtao; Shen, Guofeng; Yu, Haofei; Henneman, Lucas R F; Ru, Muye; Huang, Ye; Zhong, Qirui; Chen, Yuanchen; Li, Yufei; Zou, Yufei; Zeng, Eddy Y; Fan, Ruifang; Tao, Shu

    2018-04-01

    In China, rural migrant workers (RMWs) are employed in urban workplaces but receive minimal resources and welfare. Their residential energy use mix (REM) and pollutant emission profiles are different from those of traditional urban (URs) and rural residents (RRs). Their migration towards urban areas plays an important role in shaping the magnitudes and spatial patterns of pollutant emissions, ambient PM 2.5 (fine particulate matter with a diameter smaller than 2.5 μm) concentrations, and associated health impacts in both urban and rural areas. Here we evaluate the impacts of RMW migration on REM pollutant emissions, ambient PM 2.5 , and subsequent premature deaths across China. At the national scale, RMW migration benefits ambient air quality because RMWs tend to transition to a cleaner REM upon arrival at urban areas-though not as clean as urban residents'. In 2010, RMW migration led to a decrease of 1.5 μg/m 3 in ambient PM 2.5 exposure concentrations (C ex ) averaged across China and a subsequent decrease of 12,200 (5700 to 16,300, as 90% confidence interval) in premature deaths from exposure to ambient PM 2.5 . Despite the overall health benefit, large-scale cross-province migration increased megacities' PM 2.5 levels by as much as 10 μg/m 3 due to massive RMW inflows. Model simulations show that upgrading within-city RMWs' REMs can effectively offset the RMW-induced PM 2.5 increase in megacities, and that policies that properly navigate migration directions may have potential for balancing the economic growth against ambient air quality deterioration. Our study indicates the urgency of considering air pollution impacts into migration-related policy formation in the context of rapid urbanization in China. Copyright © 2018 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  3. Estimating contribution of wildland fires to ambient ozone levels in National Parks in the Sierra Nevada, California

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Preisler, Haiganoush K.; Zhong Shiyuan; Esperanza, Annie; Brown, Timothy J.; Bytnerowicz, Andrzej; Tarnay, Leland

    2010-01-01

    Data from four continuous ozone and weather monitoring sites operated by the National Park Service in Sierra Nevada, California, are used to develop an ozone forecasting model and to estimate the contribution of wildland fires on ambient ozone levels. The analyses of weather and ozone data pointed to the transport of ozone precursors from the Central Valley as an important source of pollution in these National Parks. Comparisons of forecasted and observed values demonstrated that accurate forecasts of next-day hourly ozone levels may be achieved by using a time series model with historic averages, expected local weather and modeled PM values as explanatory variables. Results on fire smoke influence indicated occurrence of significant increases in average ozone levels with increasing fire activity. The overall effect on diurnal ozone values, however, was small when compared with the amount of variability attributed to sources other than fire. - We have demonstrated that it is possible to produce accurate forecasts of next-day hourly ozone levels in the Sierra Nevada, CA, during fire season.

  4. Estimating contribution of wildland fires to ambient ozone levels in National Parks in the Sierra Nevada, California

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Preisler, Haiganoush K., E-mail: hpreisler@fs.fed.u [USDA Forest Service, Pacific Southwest Research Station, 800 Buchanan St, Albany, CA 94710 (United States); Zhong Shiyuan, E-mail: zhongs@msu.ed [Department of Geography, Michigan State University, 116 Geography Building, East Lansing, MI 48824-1117 (United States); Esperanza, Annie, E-mail: annie_esperanza@nps.go [Sequoia and Kings Canyon National Parks, 47050 Generals Highway Three Rivers, CA 93271 (United States); Brown, Timothy J., E-mail: tim.brown@dri.ed [Desert Research Institute, 2215 Raggio Parkway, Reno, NV 89521-10095 (United States); Bytnerowicz, Andrzej, E-mail: abytnerowicz@fs.fed.u [USDA Forest Service, Pacific Southwest Research Station, 4955 Canyon Crest Drive, Riverside, CA 92507 (United States); Tarnay, Leland, E-mail: Leland_Tarnay@nps.go [Yosemite National Park, El Portal, CA 95318 (United States)

    2010-03-15

    Data from four continuous ozone and weather monitoring sites operated by the National Park Service in Sierra Nevada, California, are used to develop an ozone forecasting model and to estimate the contribution of wildland fires on ambient ozone levels. The analyses of weather and ozone data pointed to the transport of ozone precursors from the Central Valley as an important source of pollution in these National Parks. Comparisons of forecasted and observed values demonstrated that accurate forecasts of next-day hourly ozone levels may be achieved by using a time series model with historic averages, expected local weather and modeled PM values as explanatory variables. Results on fire smoke influence indicated occurrence of significant increases in average ozone levels with increasing fire activity. The overall effect on diurnal ozone values, however, was small when compared with the amount of variability attributed to sources other than fire. - We have demonstrated that it is possible to produce accurate forecasts of next-day hourly ozone levels in the Sierra Nevada, CA, during fire season.

  5. Considering the effects of ambient particulate matter on the lung function of motorcycle taxi drivers in Bangkok, Thailand.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Arphorn, Sara; Ishimaru, Tomohiro; Hara, Kunio; Mahasandana, Suwisa

    2018-02-01

    The motorcycle taxi drivers of Bangkok have been heavily exposed to high concentrations of PM 10 (particulate matter with an aerodynamic diameter ≤10 μm), and the impact of this on their lungs has been neither documented nor studied. This study examines the association between exposure to PM 10 and lung function decline among motorcycle taxi drivers. A cross-sectional study was conducted in Bangkok between two groups: a subject group of motorcycle taxi drivers and control group of enclosed vehicle taxi drivers. The findings of the Thailand Pollution Control Department were used to estimate the annual ambient PM 10 concentration levels in the metropolis. Pulmonary functions of motorcycle taxi drivers and enclosed vehicle taxi drivers were measured and compared using the Mann-Whitney test. Multiple linear regression analysis was applied to estimate the effects of PM 10 exposure on the lung function of motorcycle taxi drivers. A total of 1283 motorcycle taxi drivers and 600 taxi drivers were investigated. The mean forced expiratory volume in 1 sec/forced vital capacity (FEV 1 /FVC) of the motorcycle taxi drivers was significantly lower than that of the taxi drivers (P Organization (WHO) vehicular emission standards should be recognized and eventually enforced.

  6. Continuous determination of gaseous ammonia in the ambient atmosphere using fluorescence derivatization

    Science.gov (United States)

    Abbas, Rana; Tanner, Roger L.

    A method for continuous determination of ambient ammonia levels employing o-phthalaldehyde fluorescence derivatization is described. A simplified Venturi scrubber and gas-liquid separator have been employed for reproducible measurements of ⩾ 0.1 ppb ambient ammonia with less than 2 min time resolution. The scrubbing efficiency of the ammonia gas collection system was determined to be 29 ± 1 %. During 4 d in August 1979 ambient ammonia levels at the Brookhaven National Laboratory site averaged about 1.5 ± 1.1 ppb during afternoon daylight hours.

  7. Estimating particulate matter health impact related to the combustion of different fossil fuels

    OpenAIRE

    Kuenen , Jeroen; Gschwind , Benoît; Drebszok , Kamila M.; Stetter , Daniel; Kranenburg , Richard; Hendriks , Carlijn; Lefèvre , Mireille; Blanc , Isabelle; Wyrwa , Artur; Schaap , Martijn

    2013-01-01

    International audience; Exposure to particulate matter (PM) in ambient air leads to adverse health effects. To design cost effective mitigation strategies, a thorough understanding of the sources of particulate matter is crucial. We have successfully generated a web map service that allows to access information on fuel dependent health effects due to particulate matter. For this purpose, the LOTOS-EUROS air pollution model was equipped with a source apportionment module that tracks the origin...

  8. Ozone, Fine Particulate Matter, and Chronic Lower Respiratory Disease Mortality in the United States.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hao, Yongping; Balluz, Lina; Strosnider, Heather; Wen, Xiao Jun; Li, Chaoyang; Qualters, Judith R

    2015-08-01

    Short-term effects of air pollution exposure on respiratory disease mortality are well established. However, few studies have examined the effects of long-term exposure, and among those that have, results are inconsistent. To evaluate long-term association between ambient ozone, fine particulate matter (PM2.5, particles with an aerodynamic diameter of 2.5 μm or less), and chronic lower respiratory disease (CLRD) mortality in the contiguous United States. We fit Bayesian hierarchical spatial Poisson models, adjusting for five county-level covariates (percentage of adults aged ≥65 years, poverty, lifetime smoking, obesity, and temperature), with random effects at state and county levels to account for spatial heterogeneity and spatial dependence. We derived county-level average daily concentration levels for ambient ozone and PM2.5 for 2001-2008 from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's down-scaled estimates and obtained 2007-2008 CLRD deaths from the National Center for Health Statistics. Exposure to ambient ozone was associated with an increased rate of CLRD deaths, with a rate ratio of 1.05 (95% credible interval, 1.01-1.09) per 5-ppb increase in ozone; the association between ambient PM2.5 and CLRD mortality was positive but statistically insignificant (rate ratio, 1.07; 95% credible interval, 0.99-1.14). This study links air pollution exposure data with CLRD mortality for all 3,109 contiguous U.S. counties. Ambient ozone may be associated with an increased rate of death from CLRD in the contiguous United States. Although we adjusted for selected county-level covariates and unobserved influences through Bayesian hierarchical spatial modeling, the possibility of ecologic bias remains.

  9. Estimation of Satellite-Based SO42- and NH4+ Composition of Ambient Fine Particulate Matter Over China Using Chemical Transport Model

    Science.gov (United States)

    Si, Y.; Li, S.; Chen, L.; Yu, C.; Zhu, W.

    2018-04-01

    Epidemiologic and health impact studies have examined the chemical composition of ambient PM2.5 in China but have been constrained by the paucity of long-term ground measurements. Using the GEOS-Chem chemical transport model and satellite-derived PM2.5 data, sulfate and ammonium levels were estimated over China from 2004 to 2014. A comparison of the satellite-estimated dataset with model simulations based on ground measurements obtained from the literature indicated our results are more accurate. Using satellite-derived PM2.5 data with a spatial resolution of 0.1° × 0.1°, we further presented finer satellite-estimated sulfate and ammonium concentrations in anthropogenic polluted regions, including the NCP (the North China Plain), the SCB (the Sichuan Basin) and the PRD (the Pearl River Delta). Linear regression results obtained on a national scale yielded an r value of 0.62, NMB of -35.9 %, NME of 48.2 %, ARB_50 % of 53.68 % for sulfate and an r value of 0.63, slope of 0.67, and intercept of 5.14 for ammonium. In typical regions, the satellite-derived dataset was significantly robust. Based on the satellite-derived dataset, the spatial-temporal variation of 11-year annual average satellite-derived SO42- and NH4+ concentrations and time series of monthly average concentrations were also investigated. On a national scale, both exhibited a downward trend each year between 2004 and 2014 (SO42-: -0.61 %; NH4+: -0.21 %), large values were mainly concentrated in the NCP and SCB. For regions captured at a finer resolution, the inter-annual variation trends presented a positive trend over the periods 2004-2007 and 2008-2011, followed by a negative trend over the period 2012-2014, and sulfate concentrations varied appreciably. Moreover, the seasonal distributions of the 11-year satellite-derived dataset over China were presented. The distribution of both sulfate and ammonium concentrations exhibited seasonal characteristics, with the seasonal concentrations ranking as

  10. 24th Condensed Matter Days National Conference (CMDAYS2016)

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    2016-01-01

    The 24 th edition of Condensed Matter Days (CMDAYS) 2016, a National Conference had been decided to be held at Physics Department, Mizoram University, Aizwal, Mizoram, India during 29-31 August 2016. This decision was taken by the General Body meeting of the CMDAYS on 28 August 2015 at Viswa Bharati, Shanti Niketan, West Bengal, India and Prof. R.K. Thapa was proposed as the Convener of CMDAYS-2016. Initiated by the Institute of Physics, Bhubaneswar, Odisa. The CMDAYS conference is held annually in the last week of August. The main objective of the conference was to bring all the researchers/scientists working in the field of Condensed Matter Physics, or related topics, together on a single platform. In this way, they can present, share and discuss their research findings and further plan collaborative works in future. The conference topics were on the theory and experimental research works done on Strongly correlated systems, Soft condensed matter, Magnetism and Magnetic materials, Disordered systems, Phase transition, Materials for energy harvesting, Nanomaterials and applications, Dielectrics and Ferroelectrics, Optoelectronics and devices, Semiconductors and devices, Biophysics, Biomaterials and composites, Superconductivity, Thin films and devices. It was open to all researchers from the research institutes, universities and colleges. Until the last date 1 st June 2016, we have received 1 plenary lecture, 3 Keynote lectures, 8 invited talks and 55 oral contributed papers. In total, there were 10 technical sessions to complete all the contributed papers along with the invited talks. Sessions were very interesting with the young participants interacting extensively with the senior scientists and everybody enjoyed the conference period with two cultural programmes. On the last day after the closing function, a local tour programme was arranged for all the outside participants. We are grateful to Prof. R. Lalthantluanga, Vice Cahncellor, Mizoram University, Aizawl

  11. Study of temporal variation in ambient air quality during Diwali festival in India.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Singh, D P; Gadi, Ranu; Mandal, T K; Dixit, C K; Singh, Khem; Saud, T; Singh, Nahar; Gupta, Prabhat K

    2010-10-01

    The variation in air quality was assessed from the ambient concentrations of various air pollutants [total suspended particle (TSP), particulate matter festival, post-Diwali, and foggy day (October, November, and December), Delhi (India), from 2002 to 2007. The extensive use of fireworks was found to be related to short-term variation in air quality. During the festival, TSP is almost of the same order as compared to the concentration at an industrial site in Delhi in all the years. However, the concentrations of PM(10), SO(2), and NO(2) increased two to six times during the Diwali period when compared to the data reported for an industrial site. Similar trend was observed when the concentrations of pollutants were compared with values obtained for a typical foggy day each year in December. The levels of these pollutants observed during Diwali were found to be higher due to adverse meteorological conditions, i.e., decrease in 24 h average mixing height, temperature, and wind speed. The trend analysis shows that TSP, PM(10), NO(2), and SO(2) concentration increased just before Diwali and reached to a maximum concentration on the day of the festival. The values gradually decreased after the festival. On Diwali day, 24-h values for TSP and PM(10) in all the years from 2002 to 2007 and for NO(2) in 2004 and 2007 were found to be higher than prescribed limits of National Ambient Air Quality Standards and exceptionally high (3.6 times) for PM(10) in 2007. These results indicate that fireworks during the Diwali festival affected the ambient air quality adversely due to emission and accumulation of TSP, PM(10), SO(2), and NO(2).

  12. Short-term exposure to ambient fine particulate matter (PM2,5 and PM10) and the risk of heart rhythm abnormalities and stroke.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kowalska, Małgorzata; Kocot, Krzysztof

    2016-09-28

    Results of epidemiological studies suggest a significant impact of ambient particulate matter air pollution (PM10 and PM2,5) on the health of the population. Increased level of these pollutants is connected with increased rate of daily mortality and hospitalizations due to cardiovascular diseases. Among analyzed health effects, heart arrhythmias and stroke are mentioned most frequently. The aim of the study was to present the current knowledge of potential influence of the exposure to fine particulate matter on the presence of arrhythmias and strokes. Subject literature review suggests, that there is a link between short-term exposure to fine dust and the occurrence of arrhythmias. Results of previous studies indicates that this exposure may lead to significant electrophysiological changes in heart, resulting in higher susceptibility to cardiac rhythm abnormalities. In case of stroke, a stronger correlation between number of hospitalizations and death cases and exposure to fine dust was seen for ischaemic stroke than for haemorhhagic stroke. In addition, a significantly more harmful impact of the exposure to ultra particles (particles of aerodynamic diameter below 2,5 μm) has been confirmed. Among important mechanisms responsible for observed health impact of particulate matter there are: induction and intensification of inflammation, increased oxidative stress, increased autonomic nervous system activity, vasoconstriction, rheological changes and endothelial dysfunction. Among people of higher susceptibility to fine dust negative health impact are: elderly (over 65 years old), obese people, patients with respiratory and cardiovascular diseases, patients with diabetes and those with coagulation disorders. For further improvement of general health status, actions aimed at reducing the risk associated with fine dust and at the same time at continuing studies to clarify the biological mechanisms explaining the influence of fine dust on human health are necessary.

  13. Short-term exposure to ambient fine particulate matter (PM2,5 and PM10 and the risk of heart rhythm abnormalities and stroke

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Małgorzata Kowalska

    2016-09-01

    Full Text Available Results of epidemiological studies suggest a significant impact of ambient particulate matter air pollution (PM10 and PM2,5 on the health of the population. Increased level of these pollutants is connected with increased rate of daily mortality and hospitalizations due to cardiovascular diseases. Among analyzed health effects, heart arrhythmias and stroke are mentioned most frequently. The aim of the study was to present the current knowledge of potential influence of the exposure to fine particulate matter on the presence of arrhythmias and strokes. Subject literature review suggests, that there is a link between short-term exposure to fine dust and the occurrence of arrhythmias. Results of previous studies indicates that this exposure may lead to significant electrophysiological changes in heart, resulting in higher susceptibility to cardiac rhythm abnormalities. In case of stroke, a stronger correlation between number of hospitalizations and death cases and exposure to fine dust was seen for ischaemic stroke than for haemorhhagic stroke. In addition, a significantly more harmful impact of the exposure to ultra particles (particles of aerodynamic diameter below 2,5 μm has been confirmed. Among important mechanisms responsible for observed health impact of particulate matter there are: induction and intensification of inflammation, increased oxidative stress, increased autonomic nervous system activity, vasoconstriction, rheological changes and endothelial dysfunction. Among people of higher susceptibility to fine dust negative health impact are: elderly (over 65 years old, obese people, patients with respiratory and cardiovascular diseases, patients with diabetes and those with coagulation disorders. For further improvement of general health status, actions aimed at reducing the risk associated with fine dust and at the same time at continuing studies to clarify the biological mechanisms explaining the influence of fine dust on human health

  14. Advance of the National Program of Radiological Protection and Safety for medical diagnostic with X-rays

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Verdejo S, M.

    1999-01-01

    The National Program of Radiological Protection and Safety for medical diagnostic with X-ray (Programa Nacional de Proteccion y Seguridad Radiologica para diagnostico medico con rayos X) was initiated in the General Direction of Environmental Health (Direccion General de Salud Ambiental) in 1995. Task coordinated with different dependences of the Public Sector in collaboration between the Secretary of Health (Secretaria de Salud), the National Commission of Nuclear Safety and Safeguards (Comision Nacional de Seguridad Nuclear y Salvaguardias) and, the National Institute of Nuclear Research (Instituto Nacional de Investigaciones Nucleares). The surveillance to the fulfilment of the standardization in matter of Radiological Protection and Safety in the medical diagnostic with X-rays has been obtained for an important advance in the Public sector and it has been arousing interest in the Private sector. (Author)

  15. Effects of high ambient temperature on urea-nitrogen recycling in lactating dairy cows.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Obitsu, Taketo; Kamiya, Mitsuru; Kamiya, Yuko; Tanaka, Masahito; Sugino, Toshihisa; Taniguchi, Kohzo

    2011-08-01

    Effects of exposure to hot environment on urea metabolism were studied in lactating Holstein cows. Four cows were fed ad libitum a total mixed ration and housed in a temperature-controlled chamber at constant moderate (18°C) or high (28°C) ambient temperatures in a cross-over design. Urea nitrogen (N) kinetics was measured by determining urea isotopomer in urine after single injection of [(15) N(2) ]urea into the jugular vein. Both dry matter intake and milk yield were decreased under high ambient temperature. Intakes of total N and digestible N were decreased under high ambient temperature but urinary urea-N excretion was increased. The ratio of urea-N production to digestible N was increased, whereas the proportion of gut urea-N entry to urea-N production tended to be decreased under high ambient temperature. Neither return to the ornithine cycle, anabolic use nor fecal excretion of urea-N recycled to the gut was affected by ambient temperature. Under high ambient temperature, renal clearance of plasma urea was not affected but the gut clearance was decreased. Increase of urea-N production and reduction of gut urea-N entry, in relative terms, were associated with increased urinary urea-N excretion of lactating dairy cows in higher thermal environments. 2011 The Authors. Animal Science Journal © 2011 Japanese Society of Animal Science.

  16. Pervasive Mobile and Ambient Wireless Communications COST Action 2100

    CERN Document Server

    Zanella, Alberto

    2012-01-01

    Pervasive Mobile and Ambient Wireless Communications reports the findings of COST 2100, a project of the European intergovernmental COST framework addressing various topics currently emerging in mobile and wireless communications. Drawing on experience developed in this and earlier COST projects, the text represents the final outcome of collaborative work involving more than 500 researchers in 140 institutions and 30 countries (including outside Europe). The book’s subject matter includes: • transmission techniques; • signal processing; • radio channel modelling and measurement; • radio network issues; and • recent paradigms including ultra-wideband, cooperative, vehicle-to-vehicle and body communications. The research reported comes from a variety of backgrounds: academic, equipment-manufacturing and operational. The information contained in this book will bring the study reported to a wider audience from all those spheres of work. Pervasive Mobile and Ambient Wireless Communications will be of i...

  17. Chemical characterization of airborne particulate matter in ambient air of Nagoya, Japan, as studied by the multielement determination with ICP-AES and ICP-MS

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Fukai, Taku; Kobayashi, Tatsuya; Sakaguchi, Masahiro; Aoki, Masanori; Saito, Tsuyoshi; Fujimori, Eiji; Haraguchi, Hiroki

    2007-01-01

    The multielement determination of PM 10 (airborne particulate matter smaller than 10 μm) samples, which was collected by a high volume air sampler at the urban site of Nagoya City, was carried out by inductively coupled plasma atomic emission spectrometry (ICP-AES) and inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry (ICP-MS). The present analytical method was validated by analyzing urban particulate matter standard reference material of NIST SRM 1648. The analytical data for ca. 30 elements in PM 10 samples collected during a period from 8 September to 9 October, 2003, were obtained in the concentration range from sub-μg g -1 to several-10 mg g -1 , but the data for 18 elements among ca. 30 elements were available for the characterization of PM 10 samples in ambient air, because of problems caused by the filter blanks. Then, the trends concerning the distributions of diverse elements in PM 10 samples were analyzed based on the enrichment factors and size distribution factors. The lithophile and siderophile elements were distributed more than 50% in coarse particle fraction (>2.1 μm), which was derived mainly from natural sources, such as soils and crustal minerals. On the other hand, chalcophile elements were distributed more than 50% in fine particle fraction ( 10 samples as well as their mining influence factors (MIFs) suggested their wide use in industrial productions. (author)

  18. Potential impact of particulate matter less than 10 micron (PM10) to ambient air quality of Jakarta and Palembang

    Science.gov (United States)

    Agustine, I.; Yulinawati, H.; Gunawan, D.; Suswantoro, E.

    2018-01-01

    Particulate is a main urban air pollutant affects the environment and human wellbeing. The purpose of this study is to analyze the impact of particulate matter less than 10 micron (PM10) to ambient air quality of Jakarta and Palembang. The analysis is done with calendarPlot Function of openair model, which is based on the calculation of Pollutant Standards Index (PSI) or better known as Air Quality Index (AQI). The AQI category of “moderate” dominates Jakarta’s calendar from 2015 to 2016, which indicates the impact of PM10 is the visibility reduction. There was one day with category “unhealthy” that indicates the impact of dust exposure everywhere in Jakarta during 2015. Similar to Jakarta, the AQI category “moderate” also dominates Palembang’s calendar during 2015. However, the AQI category “hazardous” happened for few days in September and October 2015 during forest fires, which indicates the more harmful impacts of PM10, such as reduced visibility, dust exposure everywhere, increased sensitivity in patients with asthma and bronchitis to respiratory illness in all exposed populations. During 2016, AQI category of Jakarta mostly “moderate”, while in Palembang was “good”. Dominant AQI category from 2015 to 2016 shows higher PM10 concentration occurred in Jakarta compared to Palembang.

  19. Combustion characteristics of water-insoluble elemental and organic carbon in size selected ambient aerosol particles

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    K. Wittmaack

    2005-01-01

    Full Text Available Combustion of elemental carbon (EC and organic carbon (OC contained in ambient aerosol matter was explored using scanning electron microscopy (SEM in combination with energy dispersive X-ray analysis (EDX. To ease identification of the particles of interest and to avoid or at least reduce interaction with simultaneously sampled inorganic oxides and salts, the approach used in this work differed in two ways from commonly applied procedures. First, rather than using a mixture of particles of vastly different sizes, as in PM10 or PM2.5, aerosol matter was collected in a 5-stage impactor. Second, the water soluble fraction of the collected matter was removed prior to analysis. Diesel soot particles, which appeared in the well-known form of chain-type aggregates, constituted the major fraction of EC. In contrast, OC containing particles were observed in a variety of shapes, including a sizable amount of bioaerosol matter appearing mostly in the size range above about 1 µm. During heating in ambient air for 1h, diesel soot particles were found to be stable up to 470°C, but complete combustion occurred in a narrow temperature interval between about 480 and 510°C. After diesel soot combustion, minute quantities of 'ash' were observed in the form of aggregated tiny particles with sizes less than 10 nm. These particles could be due to elemental or oxidic contaminants of diesel soot. Combustion of OC was observed over a wide range of temperatures, from well below 200°C to at least 500°C. Incompletely burnt bioaerosol matter was still found after heating to 600°C. The results imply that the EC fraction in aerosol matter can be overestimated significantly if the contribution of OC to a thermogram is not well separated.

  20. Periodismo ambiental

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Lucía Lemos

    2015-01-01

    Full Text Available Los periodistas toman el tema del medio ambiente cada vez más en serio. El uso de temas relacionados con el medio ambiente, debe estar ligado al análisis socio-económico y a las posibilidades de comunicación y educación de diferentes regiones del mundo. A continuación se presenta un resumen de la situación ambiental, las acciones de prensa y comunicación que se llevan a cabo en América Central (Panamá, El Salvador, Costa Rica y en Sudamérica Brasil,Colombia, Chile, México, y Perú. Se concluye en la necesidad de formar hábitos ecológicos. Los comunicadores deben presentar soluciones a los problemas, fomentar campañas comunes, compartir información y velar por el ambiente ambiente para que las generaciones futuras no tengan que perecer.

  1. Stellar Wakes from Dark Matter Subhalos.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Buschmann, Malte; Kopp, Joachim; Safdi, Benjamin R; Wu, Chih-Liang

    2018-05-25

    We propose a novel method utilizing stellar kinematic data to detect low-mass substructure in the Milky Way's dark matter halo. By probing characteristic wakes that a passing dark matter subhalo leaves in the phase-space distribution of ambient halo stars, we estimate sensitivities down to subhalo masses of ∼10^{7}  M_{⊙} or below. The detection of such subhalos would have implications for dark matter and cosmological models that predict modifications to the halo-mass function at low halo masses. We develop an analytic formalism for describing the perturbed stellar phase-space distributions, and we demonstrate through idealized simulations the ability to detect subhalos using the phase-space model and a likelihood framework. Our method complements existing methods for low-mass subhalo searches, such as searches for gaps in stellar streams, in that we can localize the positions and velocities of the subhalos today.

  2. Stellar Wakes from Dark Matter Subhalos

    Science.gov (United States)

    Buschmann, Malte; Kopp, Joachim; Safdi, Benjamin R.; Wu, Chih-Liang

    2018-05-01

    We propose a novel method utilizing stellar kinematic data to detect low-mass substructure in the Milky Way's dark matter halo. By probing characteristic wakes that a passing dark matter subhalo leaves in the phase-space distribution of ambient halo stars, we estimate sensitivities down to subhalo masses of ˜107 M⊙ or below. The detection of such subhalos would have implications for dark matter and cosmological models that predict modifications to the halo-mass function at low halo masses. We develop an analytic formalism for describing the perturbed stellar phase-space distributions, and we demonstrate through idealized simulations the ability to detect subhalos using the phase-space model and a likelihood framework. Our method complements existing methods for low-mass subhalo searches, such as searches for gaps in stellar streams, in that we can localize the positions and velocities of the subhalos today.

  3. Feasibility of using low-cost portable particle monitors for measurement of fine and coarse particulate matter in urban ambient air.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Han, Inkyu; Symanski, Elaine; Stock, Thomas H

    2017-03-01

    Exposure to ambient particulate matter (PM) is known as a significant risk factor for mortality and morbidity due to cardiorespiratory causes. Owing to increased interest in assessing personal and community exposures to PM, we evaluated the feasibility of employing a low-cost portable direct-reading instrument for measurement of ambient air PM exposure. A Dylos DC 1700 PM sensor was collocated with a Grimm 11-R in an urban residential area of Houston Texas. The 1-min averages of particle number concentrations for sizes between 0.5 and 2.5 µm (small size) and sizes larger than 2.5 µm (large size) from a DC 1700 were compared with the 1-min averages of PM 2.5 (aerodynamic size less than 2.5 µm) and coarse PM (aerodynamic size between 2.5 and 10 µm) concentrations from a Grimm 11-R. We used a linear regression equation to convert DC 1700 number concentrations to mass concentrations, utilizing measurements from the Grimm 11-R. The estimated average DC 1700 PM 2.5 concentration (13.2 ± 13.7 µg/m 3 ) was similar to the average measured Grimm 11-R PM 2.5 concentration (11.3 ± 15.1 µg/m 3 ). The overall correlation (r 2 ) for PM 2.5 between the DC 1700 and Grimm 11-R was 0.778. The estimated average coarse PM concentration from the DC 1700 (5.6 ± 12.1 µg/m 3 ) was also similar to that measured with the Grimm 11-R (4.8 ± 16.5 µg/m 3 ) with an r 2 of 0.481. The effects of relative humidity and particle size on the association between the DC 1700 and the Grimm 11-R results were also examined. The calculated PM mass concentrations from the DC 1700 were close to those measured with the Grimm 11-R when relative humidity was less than 60% for both PM 2.5 and coarse PM. Particle size distribution was more important for the association of coarse PM between the DC 1700 and Grimm 11-R than it was for PM 2.5 . The performance of a low-cost particulate matter (PM) sensor was evaluated in an urban residential area. Both PM 2.5 and coarse PM (PM 10-2.5 ) mass concentrations

  4. Ambient commons: attention in the age of embodied information

    CERN Document Server

    McCullough, Malcolm

    2013-01-01

    The world is filling with ever more kinds of media, in ever more contexts and formats. Glowing rectangles have become part of the scene; screens, large and small, appear everywhere. Physical locations are increasingly tagged and digitally augmented. Sensors, processors, and memory are not found only in chic smart phones but also built into everyday objects. Amid this flood, your attention practices matter more than ever. You might not be able to tune this world out. So it is worth remembering that underneath all these augmentations and data flows, fixed forms persist, and that to notice them can improve other sensibilities. In Ambient Commons, Malcolm McCullough explores the workings of attention though a rediscovery of surroundings. Not all that informs has been written and sent; not all attention involves deliberate thought. The intrinsic structure of space -- the layout of a studio, for example, or a plaza -- becomes part of any mental engagement with it. McCullough describes what he calls the Ambient: an...

  5. Ambient dose measurement in some CT departments in Khartoum State

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Mohammed, S. A. H.

    2012-09-01

    Computerized Tomography (CT) is now one of the most important radiological examinations world wide.The frequency of CT examinations is increasing rapidly from 2% of all radiological examinations in some countries a decade age to 10-15% now. During the imaging procedure, staff may expose to a significant dose. Therefore, ambient dose measurement is important in the shortage of regular personal monitoring in sudan. This study intended to evaluate the ambient dose at some CT departments (Medical Military hospital, Alamal National Hospital, Elnelin Diagnostic Center and Modern Medical Centre). These departments were equipped with daul, 16 and 64 multi detector CT machines. A survey meter (Radios) was used to measure ambient doses in three locations: Doors, Control Rooms and Adjacent Rooms. The ambient dose equivalent (scatter dose) was measured at various distances from the isocenter of the CT unit at various angles to establish isodose cartography. The mean and range of radiation at control room is 10.00-0.20 and mean (7.05μSv/hr,) reception 1.0-0 (0.40) and doors 4.00-100.00 (73.5) for height 1 meter above the ground. For height 2 meters at control room 0-10.00 (6,75), reception 0-90.00 (30) at door 9.00-90.00 (49.50). This study confirms that low levels of radiation dose are received by staff during CT imaging and these levels are within safe limits as prescribed by the national and international regulations. (Author)

  6. ACUTE EXPOSURE TO PARTICULATE MATTER IN A RAT MODEL OF HEART FAILURE

    Science.gov (United States)

    Human exposure to ambient particulate matter (PM) has been linked to cardiovascular morbidity and mortality. This association strengthens in people with preexisting cardiopulmonary diseases—especially heart failure (HF). To better characterize the cardiovascular effects of PM, we...

  7. Ambient concentrations of total suspended particulate matter and its elemental constituents at the wider area of the mining facilities of TVX Hellas in Chalkidiki, Greece.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Gaidajis, George

    2003-01-01

    To assess ambient air quality at the wider area of TVX Hellas mining facilities, the Total Suspended Particulate matter (TSP) and its content in characteristic elements, i.e., As, Cd, Cu, Fe, Mn, Pb, Zn are being monitored for more than thirty months as part of the established Environmental Monitoring Program. High Volume air samplers equipped with Tissue Quartz filters were employed for the collection of TSP. Analyses were effected after digestion of the suspended particulate with an HNO3-HCl solution and determination of elemental concentrations with an Atomic Absorption Spectroscopy equipped with graphite furnace. The sampling stations were selected to record representatively the existing ambient air quality in the vicinity of the facilities and at remote sites not affected from industrial activities. Monitoring data indicated that the background TSP concentrations ranged from 5-60 microg/m3. Recorded TSP concentrations at the residential sites close to the facilities ranged between 20-100 microg/m3, indicating only a minimal influence from the mining and milling activities. Similar spatial variation was observed for the TSP constituents and specifically for Pb and Zn. To validate the monitoring procedures, a parallel sampling campaign took place with different High Volume samplers at days where low TSP concentrations were expected. The satisfactory agreement (+/- 11%) at low concentrations (50-100 microg/m3) clearly supported the reproducibility of the techniques employed specifically at the critical range of lower concentrations.

  8. LACK OF EFFECT OF AGE AND ANTIOXIDANT DEPLETION ON RESPIRATORY RESPONSES TO CONCENTRATED AMBIENT PARTICULATES (CAPS) IN RATS

    Science.gov (United States)

    2003 AAR PM MeetingParticulate Matter: Atmospheric Sciences,Exposure and the Fourth Colloquium on PM and Human HealthLACK OF EFFECT OF AGE AND ANTIOXIDANT DEPLETION ON RESPIRATORY RESPONSES TO CONCENTRATED AMBIENT PARTICULATES (CAPs) IN RATS. JA Dye, LC Walsh, C...

  9. 77 FR 12524 - Approval and Promulgation of Air Quality Implementation Plans; Indiana; Lead Ambient Air Quality...

    Science.gov (United States)

    2012-03-01

    ... Promulgation of Air Quality Implementation Plans; Indiana; Lead Ambient Air Quality Standards AGENCY... Indiana State Implementation Plan (SIP) for lead (Pb) under the Clean Air Act (CAA). This submittal incorporates the National Ambient Air Quality Standards (NAAQS) for Pb promulgated by EPA in 2008. DATES...

  10. Lessons Learned from 2 Decades of Modelling Forest Dead Organic Matter and Soil Carbon at the National Scale

    Science.gov (United States)

    Shaw, C.; Kurz, W. A.; Metsaranta, J.; Bona, K. A.; Hararuk, O.; Smyth, C.

    2017-12-01

    The Carbon Budget Model of the Canadian Forest Sector (CBM-CFS3) is a forest carbon budget model that operates on individual stands. It is applied from regional to national-scales in Canada for national and international reporting of GHG emissions and removals and in support of analyses of forest sector mitigation options and other scientific and policy questions. This presentation will review the history and continuous improvement process of representations of dead organic matter (DOM) and soil carbon modelling. Early model versions in which dead organic matter (DOM) pools only included litter, downed deadwood and soil, to the current version where these pools are estimated separately to better compare model estimates against field measurements, or new pools have been added. Uncertainty analyses consistently point at soil C pools as large sources of uncertainty. With the new ground plot measurements from the National Forest Inventory, and with a newly compiled forest soil carbon database, we have recently completed a model data assimilation exercise that helped reduce parameter uncertainties. Lessons learned from the continuous improvement process will be summarised and we will discuss how model modification have led to improved representation of DOM and soil carbon dynamics. We conclude by suggesting future research priorities that can advance DOM and soil carbon modelling in Canadian forest ecosystems.

  11. FY 1994 ambient air monitoring report for McMurdo Station, Antarctica

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Lugar, R.M.

    1994-12-01

    This report presents the results of ambient air monitoring performed during the 1994 fiscal year (FY 1994) in the vicinity of McMurdo Station, Antarctica. Routine monitoring was performed during the 1993-1994 austral summer at three locations for airborne particulate matter less than 10 micrometers (PM-10) and at two locations for carbon monoxide (CO), sulfur dioxide (SO 2 ), and nitrogen oxides (NO, NO 2 , and NO x ). Selected PM-10 filters were analyzed for arsenic, beryllium, cadmium, chromium, lead, mercury, and nickel. Additional air samples were collected at three McMurdo area locations and at Black Island for determination of the airborne concentration of polychlorinated dibenzo-p-dioxins (PCDDs) and polychlorinated dibenzofurans (PCDFs). Sampling site selection, sampling procedures, and quality assurance procedures used were consistent with US Environmental Protection Agency guidance for local ambient air quality networks

  12. Use of spatiotemporal characteristics of ambient PM2.5 in rural South India to infer local versus regional contributions.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kumar, M Kishore; Sreekanth, V; Salmon, Maëlle; Tonne, Cathryn; Marshall, Julian D

    2018-05-08

    This study uses spatiotemporal patterns in ambient concentrations to infer the contribution of regional versus local sources. We collected 12 months of monitoring data for outdoor fine particulate matter (PM 2.5 ) in rural southern India. Rural India includes more than one-tenth of the global population and annually accounts for around half a million air pollution deaths, yet little is known about the relative contribution of local sources to outdoor air pollution. We measured 1-min averaged outdoor PM 2.5 concentrations during June 2015-May 2016 in three villages, which varied in population size, socioeconomic status, and type and usage of domestic fuel. The daily geometric-mean PM 2.5 concentration was ∼30 μg m -3 (geometric standard deviation: ∼1.5). Concentrations exceeded the Indian National Ambient Air Quality standards (60 μg m -3 ) during 2-5% of observation days. Average concentrations were ∼25 μg m -3 higher during winter than during monsoon and ∼8 μg m -3 higher during morning hours than the diurnal average. A moving average subtraction method based on 1-min average PM 2.5 concentrations indicated that local contributions (e.g., nearby biomass combustion, brick kilns) were greater in the most populated village, and that overall the majority of ambient PM 2.5 in our study was regional, implying that local air pollution control strategies alone may have limited influence on local ambient concentrations. We compared the relatively new moving average subtraction method against a more established approach. Both methods broadly agree on the relative contribution of local sources across the three sites. The moving average subtraction method has broad applicability across locations. Copyright © 2018 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Ltd.. All rights reserved.

  13. Associations between particulate matter composition and childhood blood pressure - The PIAMA study

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Bilenko, Natalya; Brunekreef, Bert; Beelen, Rob; Eeftens, Marloes; de Hoogh, Kees; Hoek, Gerard; Koppelman, Gerard H.; Wang, Meng; van Rossem, Lenie; Gehring, Ulrike

    2015-01-01

    Background: Childhood blood pressure is an important predictor of hypertension and cardiovascular disease in adulthood. Evidence for an association between ambient particulate matter (PM) exposure and blood pressure is increasing, but little is known about the relevance of different PM constituents.

  14. Baseline ambient sound levels in Everglades National Park

    Science.gov (United States)

    2012-11-01

    The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) and the National Park Service (NPS), with the assistance of the U.S. Department of Transportation, John A. Volpe National Transportation Systems Center (Volpe Center) are developing Air Tour Management Plans ...

  15. Ultrastructural alterations in the mouse lung caused by real-life ambient PM10 at urban traffic sites

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Samara, Constantini; Kouras, Athanasios; Kaidoglou, Katerina; Emmanouil-Nikoloussi, Elpida-Niki; Simou, Chrysanthi; Bousnaki, Maria; Kelessis, Apostolos

    2015-01-01

    Current levels of ambient air particulate matter (PM) are associated with mortality and morbidity in urban populations worldwide. Nevertheless, current knowledge does not allow precise quantification or definitive ranking of the health effects of individual PM components and indeed, associations may be the result of multiple components acting on different physiological mechanisms. In this paper, healthy Balb/c mice were exposed to ambient PM 10 at a traffic site of a large city (Thessaloniki, northern Greece), in parallel to control mice that were exposed to filtered air. Structural damages were examined in ultrafine sections of lung tissues by Transmission Electronic Microscopy (TEM). Ambient PM 10 samples were also collected during the exposure experiment and characterized with respect to chemical composition and oxidative potential. Severe ultrastructural alterations in the lung tissue after a 10-week exposure of mice at PM 10 levels often exceeding the daily limit of Directive 2008/50/EC were revealed mainly implying PM-induced oxidative stress. The DTT-based redox activity of PM 10 was found within the range of values reported for traffic sites being correlated with traffic-related constituents. Although linkage of the observed lung damage with specific chemical components or sources need further elucidation, the magnitude of biological responses highlight the necessity for national and local strategies for mitigation of particle emissions from combustion sources. - Highlights: • Animal exposure to PM10 was conducted at a traffic site of a large city. • Chemical and toxicological characterization of PM10 was carried out. • Severe degenerative alterations in alveolar cells were revealed. • PM induced oxidative stress from carbonaceous species was suggested

  16. Cytokine release from alveolar macrophages exposed to ambient particulate matter: Heterogeneity in relation to size, city and season

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Dybing Erik

    2005-08-01

    Full Text Available Abstract Background Several studies have demonstrated an association between exposure to ambient particulate matter (PM and respiratory and cardiovascular diseases. Inflammation seems to play an important role in the observed health effects. However, the predominant particle component(s that drives the inflammation is still not fully clarified. In this study representative coarse (2.5–10 μm and fine (0.1–2.5 μm particulate samples from a western, an eastern, a northern and a southern European city (Amsterdam, Lodz, Oslo and Rome were collected during three seasons (spring, summer and winter. All fractions were investigated with respect to cytokine-inducing potential in primary macrophages isolated from rat lung. The results were related to the physical and chemical parameters of the samples in order to disclose possible connections between inflammatory potential and specific characteristics of the particles. Results Compared on a gram-by gram basis, both site-specific and seasonal variations in the PM-induced cytokine responses were demonstrated. The samples collected in the eastern (Lodz and southern (Rome cities appeared to be the most potent. Seasonal variation was most obvious with the samples from Lodz, with the highest responses induced by the spring and summer samples. The site-specific or seasonal variation in cytokine release could not be attributed to variations in any of the chemical parameters. Coarse fractions from all cities were more potent to induce the inflammatory cytokines interleukin-6 and tumour necrosis factor-α than the corresponding fine fractions. Higher levels of specific elements such as iron and copper, some polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs and endotoxin/lipopolysaccaride seemed to be prevalent in the coarse fractions. However, variations in the content of these components did not reflect the variation in cytokine release induced by the different coarse fractions. Addition of polymyxin B did not affect

  17. The relationships between ambient air pollutants and childhood asthma and eczema are modified by emotion and conduct problems.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Zhou, Cailiang; Baïz, Nour; Banerjee, Soutrik; Charpin, Denis André; Caillaud, Denis; de Blay, Fréderic; Raherison, Chantal; Lavaud, François; Annesi-Maesano, Isabella

    2013-12-01

    This study examined the hypothesis that emotion and conduct problems (ECPs) may modify the relationships between ambient air pollutants and childhood asthma and eczema. In the cross-sectional study, 4209 French schoolchildren (aged 10e12 years) were investigated between March 1999 and October 2000. Ambient air pollutants exposures were estimated with dispersion modeling. Health outcomes and ECPs were evaluated by validated questionnaires, completed by the parents. Marginal models were used to analyze the relationships of exposures to ambient air pollutants and/or ECPs to asthma phenotypes and current eczema, adjusting for potential confounders. In our population, interactions were found between ECPs and exposures to ambient air pollutants (benzene, carbon monoxide, nitrogen dioxide, nitrogen oxides, particulate matter with an aerodynamic diameter below 10 mm, volatile organic compounds) (P eczema (aOR, 2.21; 95% CI, 1.61e3.02). Children with ECPs had 1.17e1.51 times higher aORs for the associations between ambient air pollutants and asthma phenotypes and current eczema than those without ECPs. ECPs may modify the relationships between ambient air pollutants and childhood asthma and eczema. 2013 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  18. Ambient endotoxin in PM10 and association with inflammatory activity, air pollutants, and meteorology, in Chitwan, Nepal.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Mahapatra, Parth Sarathi; Jain, Sumeet; Shrestha, Sujan; Senapati, Shantibhusan; Puppala, Siva Praveen

    2018-03-15

    Endotoxin associated with ambient PM (particulate matter) has been linked to adverse respiratory symptoms, but there have been few studies of ambient endotoxin and its association with co-pollutants and inflammation. Our aim was to measure endotoxin associated with ambient PM 10 (particulate matter with aerodynamic diametermeteorology, co-pollutants, and inflammatory activity. PM 10 concentrations were recorded and filter paper samples were collected using E-samplers; PM 1, PM 2.5 , black carbon (BC), methane (CH 4 ), and carbon monoxide (CO) were also measured. The Limulus amebocyte lysate (LAL) assay was used for endotoxin quantification and the nuclear factor kappa B (NFκB) activation assay to assess inflammatory activity. The mean concentration of PM 10 at the different locations ranged from 136 to 189μg/m 3 , and of endotoxin from 0.29 to 0.53EU/m 3 . Pollutant presence was positively correlated with endotoxin. Apart from relative humidity, meteorological variations had no significant impact on endotoxin concentration. NF-κB activity was negatively correlated with endotoxin concentration. To the best of our knowledge, this study provides the first measurements of ambient endotoxin associated with PM 10 in Nepal. Endotoxin and co-pollutants were positively associated indicating a similar source. Endotoxin was negatively correlated with inflammatory activity as a result of a time-limited forest fire event during the sampling period. Studies of co-pollutants suggested that the higher levels of endotoxin related to biomass burning were accompanied by increased levels of anti-inflammatory agents, which suppressed the endotoxin inflammatory effect. Copyright © 2017. Published by Elsevier B.V.

  19. Evaluation of the causal framework used for setting national ambient air quality standards.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Goodman, Julie E; Prueitt, Robyn L; Sax, Sonja N; Bailey, Lisa A; Rhomberg, Lorenz R

    2013-11-01

    Abstract A scientifically sound assessment of the potential hazards associated with a substance requires a systematic, objective and transparent evaluation of the weight of evidence (WoE) for causality of health effects. We critically evaluated the current WoE framework for causal determination used in the United States Environmental Protection Agency's (EPA's) assessments of the scientific data on air pollutants for the National Ambient Air Quality Standards (NAAQS) review process, including its methods for literature searches; study selection, evaluation and integration; and causal judgments. The causal framework used in recent NAAQS evaluations has many valuable features, but it could be more explicit in some cases, and some features are missing that should be included in every WoE evaluation. Because of this, it has not always been applied consistently in evaluations of causality, leading to conclusions that are not always supported by the overall WoE, as we demonstrate using EPA's ozone Integrated Science Assessment as a case study. We propose additions to the NAAQS causal framework based on best practices gleaned from a previously conducted survey of available WoE frameworks. A revision of the NAAQS causal framework so that it more closely aligns with these best practices and the full and consistent application of the framework will improve future assessments of the potential health effects of criteria air pollutants by making the assessments more thorough, transparent, and scientifically sound.

  20. Integrated indoor and outdoor exposure assessment framework for fine particulate matter pollution

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    McKone, Thomas E; Hodas, Natasha; Apte, Joshua S.

    2016-01-01

    The 2010 Global Burden of Disease report demonstrates that fine particulate matter (PM2.5) pollution is the major environmental contributor to mortality. Exposures outdoors (ambient) and indoors (household) contribute almost qually to this burden. Unfortunately, the health impacts from exposure t...

  1. Hanford 200 East Area ambient NO/sub x/ concentrations, February 1968 through February 1969

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Ramsdell, J.V.

    1981-09-01

    Ambient concentrations of oxides of nitrogen (NO/sub x/) were measured in the vicinity of the 200 East Area of Hanford from late February 1968 through February 1969. This report contains an analysis of the complete set to document the ambient NO/sub x/ concentrations during time periods when the Purex Plant was emitting NO/sub x/. It is not intended to represent either current ambient NO/sub x/ concentrations or concentrations during Purex Plant operation in the future. However, it does provide a reference for use in comparison of ambient NO/sub x/ concentrations during future periods of Purex emissions with those occurring in past periods. It is also of interest to compare the annual average concentrations estimated from the measurements with the national primary ambient air quality standard for NO 2 , which is 50 parts per billion (ppb) annual arithmetic mean

  2. Environmental management in Chile: The power plants case; Gestion ambiental en Chile: Caso de las centrales termoelectricas

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Jadrijevic, Maritza [Comision Nacional del Medio Ambiente, (Chile)

    1997-12-31

    In this paper are presented the general aspects of the historic evolution o the legal norms on environmental matters in Chile; general aspects of the electric generation system and the instruments of environmental management currently applied in the fossil fueled power plants, such as: the assessment system of the environmental impact; compliance of the air quality and emissions Standards and plans for decontamination [Espanol] En este trabajo se dan a conocer aspectos generales de la evolucion historica de las normas juridicas en materia ambiental en Chile; aspectos generales del sistema de generacion electrica y los instrumentos de gestion ambiental que actualmente se aplican a las plantas de generacion termoelectricas, tales como: el sistema de evaluacion de impacto ambiental; cumplimiento de normas de la calidad de aire y de emision y, planes de descontaminacion

  3. Environmental management in Chile: The power plants case; Gestion ambiental en Chile: Caso de las centrales termoelectricas

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Jadrijevic, Maritza [Comision Nacional del Medio Ambiente, (Chile)

    1996-12-31

    In this paper are presented the general aspects of the historic evolution o the legal norms on environmental matters in Chile; general aspects of the electric generation system and the instruments of environmental management currently applied in the fossil fueled power plants, such as: the assessment system of the environmental impact; compliance of the air quality and emissions Standards and plans for decontamination [Espanol] En este trabajo se dan a conocer aspectos generales de la evolucion historica de las normas juridicas en materia ambiental en Chile; aspectos generales del sistema de generacion electrica y los instrumentos de gestion ambiental que actualmente se aplican a las plantas de generacion termoelectricas, tales como: el sistema de evaluacion de impacto ambiental; cumplimiento de normas de la calidad de aire y de emision y, planes de descontaminacion

  4. Atmosphere and Ambient Space

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Schmidt, Ulrik

    Atmosphere and Ambient Space This paper explores the relation between atmosphere and ambient space. Atmosphere and ambient space share many salient properties. They are both ontologically indeterminate, constantly varying and formally diffuse and they are both experienced as a subtle, non......-signifying property of a given space. But from a certain point of view, the two concepts also designate quite dissimilar experiences of space. To be ’ambient’ means to surround. Accordingly, ambient space is that space, which surrounds something or somebody. (Gibson 1987: 65) Since space is essentially...... of a surrounding character, all space can thus be described as having a fundamentally ambient character. So what precisely is an ambient space, then? As I will argue in my presentation, ambient space is a sensory effect of spatiality when a space is experienced as being particularly surrounding: a ‘space effect...

  5. Licenciamento ambiental e sustentabilidade

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Marcelo Macedo Valinhas

    2011-12-01

    Full Text Available A sustentabilidade está apoiada principalmente nas dimensões econômica, ambiental e social. No entanto, sem a dimensão política ela não se constrói. Um dos principais instrumentos de comando e controle da política nacional de meio ambiente, o licenciamento ambiental é um processo contínuo de gestão ambiental pública e privada. Analisou-se o processo de licenciamento ambiental como acoplamento estrutural entre os sistemas social, econômico e ambiental. Apesar da constatação de críticas aos mecanismos de comando e controle dos últimos anos, foi verificado que o Estado do Rio de Janeiro tem buscado integrar a política ambiental do Estado à gestão ambiental privada e que esta integração busca atender às demandas dos sistemas sociais e econômicos para as questões ambientais. Em linhas gerais, este caminho segue as estratégias e ações propostas na Agenda 21 brasileira.

  6. Association between exposure to ambient air pollution and renal function in Korean adults.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kim, Hyun-Jin; Min, Jin-Young; Seo, Yong-Seok; Min, Kyoung-Bok

    2018-01-01

    Ambient air pollution has a negative effect on many diseases, such as cardiovascular and respiratory diseases. Recent studies have reported a relationship between air pollution and renal function, but the results were limited to exposure to particulate matter (PM). This study was to identify associations between various air pollutants and renal function among Korean adults. Nationwide survey data for a total of 24,407 adults were analyzed. We calculated the estimated glomerular filtration rate (eGFR) for each individual to assess their renal function and used this to categorize those with chronic kidney disease (CKD). To evaluate exposure to ambient air pollution, we used the annual mean concentrations of four ambient air pollutants: PM with an aerodynamic diameter ≤ 10 μm (PM 10 ), nitrogen dioxide (NO 2 ), sulfur dioxide (SO 2 ), and carbon monoxide (CO). We identified significant inverse relationships between the air pollutants PM 10 and NO 2 and eGFR in all statistical adjustment models (all p  ambient air pollutants were significantly related to an increased risk of CKD in the unadjusted model ( p   0.05). Exposures to PM 10 and NO 2 were significantly associated with decreases in eGFR levels, but not CKD, in Korean adults.

  7. Saúde Ambiental: uma Análise dos Resultados das Conferências Nacionais de Meio Ambiente, Saúde e Saúde Ambiental

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Maria Beatriz Maury de Carvalho

    2010-08-01

    Full Text Available A representação nas políticas públicas do conceito de saúde ambiental, como expressão do equilíbrio da rede de conexões entre a sociedade humana e a natureza é discutida neste trabalho, no intuito de demonstrar o status quo da saúde ambiental nas políticas públicas no país. Primeiro foi traçado o histórico da “ambientalização na saúde”, do conceito de saúde ambiental e da institucionalização das políticas ambientais e de saúde ambiental no âmbito dos Ministérios do Meio Ambiente e da Saúde. As interações entre as políticas de Saúde e de Meio Ambiente para a efetivação de uma Política Nacional de Saúde Ambiental e as intersecções dos resultados das Conferências Nacionais de Saúde, Meio Ambiente e Saúde Ambiental foram analisadas; concluindo- se com os avanços conseguidos pelos dois setores, os desafios para a articulação intersetorial e a participação social para a construção de políticas públicas de saúde ambiental.

  8. Particulate matter air pollution and respiratory symptoms in individuals having either asthma or chronic obstructive pulmonary disease: a European multicentre panel study

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Karakatsani, A.; Analitis, A.; Perifanou, D.; Ayres, J.G.; Harrison, R.M.; Kotronarou, A.; Kavouras, I.G.; Pekkanen, J.; Hameri, K.; Kos, G.P.; de Hartog, J.J.; Hoek, G.; Katsouyanni, K.

    2012-01-01

    ABSTRACT: BACKGROUND: Particulate matter air pollution has been associated with adverse health effects. The fraction of ambient particles that are mainly responsible for the observed health effects is still a matter of controversy. Better characterization of the health relevant particle fraction

  9. Temporal-Spatial Ambient Concentrator Estimator (T-SpACE): Hierarchical Bayesian Model Software Used to Estimate Ambient Concentrations of NAAQS Air Pollutants in Support of Health Studies

    Science.gov (United States)

    To fulfill its mission to protect human health and the environment, EPA has established National Ambient Air Quality Standards (NAAQS) on six selected air pollutants known as criteria pollutants: ozone (O3); carbon monoxide (CO); lead (Pb); nitrogen dioxide (NO2); sulfur dioxide ...

  10. Personal and ambient PM2.5 exposure assessment in the city of Agra

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    M. Habil

    2016-03-01

    Full Text Available Human exposure to fine particles can have significant harmful effects on the respiratory and cardiovascular system. To investigate daily exposure characteristics to PM2.5 with ambient concentrations in an urban environment, a personal exposure measurements were conducted for school children, office workers and at their residents, in the city of Taj ‘Agra’, India. In order to account for all the sources of particulate matter exposure, measurements on several different days during December 2013 to February 2014 were carried out. Personal environment monitors (PEM and APM 550 were used to measure PM2.5 concentration. The research findings provide insight into possible sources and their interaction with human activities in modifying the human exposure levels. Keywords: Personal exposure, PM2.5, Ambient concentration, Correlation analysis, Health effects

  11. Ultrastructural alterations in the mouse lung caused by real-life ambient PM{sub 10} at urban traffic sites

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Samara, Constantini, E-mail: csamara@chem.auth.gr [Environmental Pollution Control Laboratory, Department of Chemistry, Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, 541 24 Thesaloniki (Greece); Kouras, Athanasios; Kaidoglou, Katerina [Environmental Pollution Control Laboratory, Department of Chemistry, Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, 541 24 Thesaloniki (Greece); Emmanouil-Nikoloussi, Elpida-Niki; Simou, Chrysanthi; Bousnaki, Maria [Laboratory of Histology-Embryology and Anthropology, School of Medicine, Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, 541 24 Thesaloniki (Greece); Kelessis, Apostolos [Environmental Department, Municipality of Thessaloniki, Kleanthous 18, 54 642 Thessaloniki (Greece)

    2015-11-01

    Current levels of ambient air particulate matter (PM) are associated with mortality and morbidity in urban populations worldwide. Nevertheless, current knowledge does not allow precise quantification or definitive ranking of the health effects of individual PM components and indeed, associations may be the result of multiple components acting on different physiological mechanisms. In this paper, healthy Balb/c mice were exposed to ambient PM{sub 10} at a traffic site of a large city (Thessaloniki, northern Greece), in parallel to control mice that were exposed to filtered air. Structural damages were examined in ultrafine sections of lung tissues by Transmission Electronic Microscopy (TEM). Ambient PM{sub 10} samples were also collected during the exposure experiment and characterized with respect to chemical composition and oxidative potential. Severe ultrastructural alterations in the lung tissue after a 10-week exposure of mice at PM{sub 10} levels often exceeding the daily limit of Directive 2008/50/EC were revealed mainly implying PM-induced oxidative stress. The DTT-based redox activity of PM{sub 10} was found within the range of values reported for traffic sites being correlated with traffic-related constituents. Although linkage of the observed lung damage with specific chemical components or sources need further elucidation, the magnitude of biological responses highlight the necessity for national and local strategies for mitigation of particle emissions from combustion sources. - Highlights: • Animal exposure to PM10 was conducted at a traffic site of a large city. • Chemical and toxicological characterization of PM10 was carried out. • Severe degenerative alterations in alveolar cells were revealed. • PM induced oxidative stress from carbonaceous species was suggested.

  12. Det ambiente

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Schmidt, Ulrik

    Om begrebet "det ambiente", der beskriver, hvad der sker, når vi fornemmer baggrundsmusikkens diskrete beats, betragter udsigten gennem panoramavinduet eller tager 3D-brillerne på og læner os tilbage i biografsædet. Bogen analyserer, hvorfan ambiente oplevelser skabes, og hvilke konsekvenser det...

  13. Ambient Sensors

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Börner, Dirk; Specht, Marcus

    2014-01-01

    This software sketches comprise two custom-built ambient sensors, i.e. a noise and a movement sensor. Both sensors measure an ambient value and process the values to a color gradient (green > yellow > red). The sensors were built using the Processing 1.5.1 development environment. Available under

  14. Physics through the 1990s: condensed-matter physics

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    1986-01-01

    The volume presents the current status of condensed-matter physics from developments since the 1970s to opportunities in the 1990s. Topics include electronic structure, vibrational properties, critical phenomena and phase transitions, magnetism, semiconductors, defects and diffusion, surfaces and interfaces, low-temperature physics, liquid-state physics, polymers, nonlinear dynamics, instabilities, and chaos. Appendices cover the connections between condensed-matter physics and applications of national interest, new experimental techniques and materials, laser spectroscopy, and national facilities for condensed-matter physics research. The needs of the research community regarding support for individual researchers and for national facilities are presented, as are recommendations for improved government-academic-industrial relations

  15. Pedagogía ambiental y didáctica ambiental como fundamentos del currículo para la formación ambiental

    OpenAIRE

    Julio César Tovar-Gálvez

    2013-01-01

    Se trata el problema de la fundamentación del currículo para la formación ambiental en la educación superior, frente a lo cual es necesario construir los conceptos de pedagogía ambiental y de didáctica ambiental. El marco teórico permite definir las categorías "lo pedagógico" y "lo didáctico", a partir de lo cual se analiza la literatura y con ello definir pedagogía ambiental y didáctica ambiental. El estado del arte permite establecer que existen dos sustentos teóricos: a) uno que se cimenta...

  16. Effect of exposure to ambient PM2.5 pollution on the risk of respiratory tract diseases: a meta-analysis of cohort studies

    OpenAIRE

    Liu, Qian; Xu, Cheng; Ji, Guixiang; Liu, Hui; Shao, Wentao; Zhang, Chunlan; Gu, Aihua; Zhao, Peng

    2017-01-01

    The International Agency for Research on Cancer and the World Health Organization have designated airborne particulates, including particulates of median aerodynamic diameter ? 2.5 ?m (PM2.5), as Group 1 carcinogens. It has not been determined, however, whether exposure to ambient PM2.5 is associated with an increase in respiratory related diseases. This meta-analysis assessed the association between exposure to ambient fine particulate matter (PM2.5) and the risk of respiratory tract disease...

  17. Types for BioAmbients

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Sara Capecchi

    2010-02-01

    Full Text Available The BioAmbients calculus is a process algebra suitable for representing compartmentalization, molecular localization and movements between compartments. In this paper we enrich this calculus with a static type system classifying each ambient with group types specifying the kind of compartments in which the ambient can stay. The type system ensures that, in a well-typed process, ambients cannot be nested in a way that violates the type hierarchy. Exploiting the information given by the group types, we also extend the operational semantics of BioAmbients with rules signalling errors that may derive from undesired ambients' moves (i.e. merging incompatible tissues. Thus, the signal of errors can help the modeller to detect and locate unwanted situations that may arise in a biological system, and give practical hints on how to avoid the undesired behaviour.

  18. Estimating the acute health effects of coarse particulate matter accounting for exposure measurement error.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Chang, Howard H; Peng, Roger D; Dominici, Francesca

    2011-10-01

    In air pollution epidemiology, there is a growing interest in estimating the health effects of coarse particulate matter (PM) with aerodynamic diameter between 2.5 and 10 μm. Coarse PM concentrations can exhibit considerable spatial heterogeneity because the particles travel shorter distances and do not remain suspended in the atmosphere for an extended period of time. In this paper, we develop a modeling approach for estimating the short-term effects of air pollution in time series analysis when the ambient concentrations vary spatially within the study region. Specifically, our approach quantifies the error in the exposure variable by characterizing, on any given day, the disagreement in ambient concentrations measured across monitoring stations. This is accomplished by viewing monitor-level measurements as error-prone repeated measurements of the unobserved population average exposure. Inference is carried out in a Bayesian framework to fully account for uncertainty in the estimation of model parameters. Finally, by using different exposure indicators, we investigate the sensitivity of the association between coarse PM and daily hospital admissions based on a recent national multisite time series analysis. Among Medicare enrollees from 59 US counties between the period 1999 and 2005, we find a consistent positive association between coarse PM and same-day admission for cardiovascular diseases.

  19. Ambient air pollution exposure and full-term birth weight in California

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Sadd James L

    2010-07-01

    Full Text Available Abstract Background Studies have identified relationships between air pollution and birth weight, but have been inconsistent in identifying individual pollutants inversely associated with birth weight or elucidating susceptibility of the fetus by trimester of exposure. We examined effects of prenatal ambient pollution exposure on average birth weight and risk of low birth weight in full-term births. Methods We estimated average ambient air pollutant concentrations throughout pregnancy in the neighborhoods of women who delivered term singleton live births between 1996 and 2006 in California. We adjusted effect estimates of air pollutants on birth weight for infant characteristics, maternal characteristics, neighborhood socioeconomic factors, and year and season of birth. Results 3,545,177 singleton births had monitoring for at least one air pollutant within a 10 km radius of the tract or ZIP Code of the mother's residence. In multivariate models, pollutants were associated with decreased birth weight; -5.4 grams (95% confidence interval -6.8 g, -4.1 g per ppm carbon monoxide, -9.0 g (-9.6 g, -8.4 g per pphm nitrogen dioxide, -5.7 g (-6.6 g, -4.9 g per pphm ozone, -7.7 g (-7.9 g, -6.6 g per 10 μg/m3 particulate matter under 10 μm, -12.8 g (-14.3 g, -11.3 g per 10 μg/m3 particulate matter under 2.5 μm, and -9.3 g (-10.7 g, -7.9 g per 10 μg/m3 of coarse particulate matter. With the exception of carbon monoxide, estimates were largely unchanged after controlling for co-pollutants. Effect estimates for the third trimester largely reflect the results seen from full pregnancy exposure estimates; greater variation in results is seen in effect estimates specific to the first and second trimesters. Conclusions This study indicates that maternal exposure to ambient air pollution results in modestly lower infant birth weight. A small decline in birth weight is unlikely to have clinical relevance for individual infants, and there is debate about whether

  20. A realistic in vitro exposure revealed seasonal differences in (pro-)inflammatory effects from ambient air in Fribourg, Switzerland.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Bisig, Christoph; Petri-Fink, Alke; Rothen-Rutishauser, Barbara

    2018-01-01

    Ambient air pollutant levels vary widely in space and time, therefore thorough local evaluation of possible effects is needed. In vitro approaches using lung cell cultures grown at the air-liquid interface and directly exposed to ambient air can offer a reliable addition to animal experimentations and epidemiological studies. To evaluate the adverse effects of ambient air in summer and winter a multi-cellular lung model (16HBE14o-, macrophages, and dendritic cells) was exposed in a mobile cell exposure system. Cells were exposed on up to three consecutive days each 12 h to ambient air from Fribourg, Switzerland, during summer and winter seasons. Higher particle number, particulate matter mass, and nitrogen oxide levels were observed in winter ambient air compared to summer. Good cell viability was seen in cells exposed to summer air and short-term winter air, but cells exposed three days to winter air were compromised. Exposure of summer ambient air revealed no significant upregulation of oxidative stress or pro-inflammatory genes. On the opposite, the winter ambient air exposure led to an increased oxidative stress after two exposure days, and an increase in three assessed pro-inflammatory genes already after 12 h of exposure. We found that even with a short exposure time of 12 h adverse effects in vitro were observed only during exposure to winter but not summer ambient air. With this work we have demonstrated that our simple, fast, and cost-effective approach can be used to assess (adverse) effects of ambient air.

  1. High density matter at RHIC

    Indian Academy of Sciences (India)

    QCD predicts a phase transition between hadronic matter and a quark-gluon plasma at high energy density. The relativistic heavy ion collider (RHIC) at Brookhaven National Laboratory is a new facility dedicated to the experimental study of matter under extreme conditions. Already the first round of experimental results at ...

  2. 78 FR 3085 - National Ambient Air Quality Standards for Particulate Matter

    Science.gov (United States)

    2013-01-15

    ... and emergency department visits, and development of chronic respiratory disease), and to retain the 24..., and development of chronic respiratory disease. The EPA also is eliminating spatial averaging... micrograms per cubic meter ([mu]g/m\\3\\) so as to provide increased protection against health effects...

  3. 77 FR 38889 - National Ambient Air Quality Standards for Particulate Matter

    Science.gov (United States)

    2012-06-29

    ... Applicable to the Proposed Revised Primary Annual PM 2.5 NAAQS c. Surrogacy Approach for the Proposed New... D, 4.7.1(b)]. \\12\\ Population-oriented monitoring (or sites) means residential areas, commercial...

  4. Exploration Mission Particulate Matter Filtration Technology Performance Testing in a Simulated Spacecraft Cabin Ventilation System

    Science.gov (United States)

    Agui, Juan H.; Vijayakumar, R.; Perry, Jay L.; Frederick, Kenneth R.; Mccormick, Robert M.

    2017-01-01

    Human deep space exploration missions will require advances in long-life, low maintenance airborne particulate matter filtration technology. As one of the National Aeronautics and Space Administrations (NASA) developments in this area, a prototype of a new regenerable, multi-stage particulate matter filtration technology was tested in an International Space Station (ISS) module simulation facility. As previously reported, the key features of the filter system include inertial and media filtration with regeneration and in-place media replacement techniques. The testing facility can simulate aspects of the cabin environment aboard the ISS and contains flight-like cabin ventilation system components. The filtration technology test article was installed at the inlet of the central ventilation system duct and instrumented to provide performance data under nominal flow conditions. In-place regeneration operations were also evaluated. The real-time data included pressure drop across the filter stages, process air flow rate, ambient pressure, humidity and temperature. In addition, two video cameras positioned at the filtration technology test articles inlet and outlet were used to capture the mechanical performance of the filter media indexing operation under varying air flow rates. Recent test results are presented and future design recommendations are discussed.

  5. Adjuvant activity of ambient particulate matter of different sites, sizes, and seasons in a respiratory allergy mouse model

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Steerenberg, P.A.; Withagen, C.E.T.; Dalen, W.J. van; Dormans, J.A.M.A.; Cassee, F.R.; Heisterkamp, S.H.; Loveren, H. van

    2004-01-01

    In the framework of an EU project entitled, 'Respiratory Allergy and Inflammation due to Ambient Particles (RAIAP)', various ambient particulate matter samples were tested for their adjuvant potency in an animal allergy model to ovalbumin. Coarse (2.5-10 μm) and fine (0.15-2.5 μm) particles were collected during the spring, summer, and winter in Rome, Oslo, Lodz, and Amsterdam. Coarse and fine particles were also collected near a seaside location in the Netherlands, where prevailing winds are westerly. These latter particles served as a control, with a minimum contribution by traffic. Ottawa dust (EHC-93) was used as a standard reference sample. Immunoglobulins (IgE, IgG 1 , and IgG 2a ), histopathological changes in the lung, cytokines, and the number of cells and their differentiation in lung lavages were used as effect parameters to study the adjuvant potency of these particles. The particles (3 mg/ml) were mixed with ovalbumin (0.4 mg/ml) and intranasally administered during the sensitization or the challenge phase. Intranasal administration of ovalbumin only induced very little antibody response, but introduced a minor inflammatory response in the lung or BAL during the sensitization and challenge phase. On the contrary, after coexposure to EHC-93 and ovalbumin, a major increase was found in immunoglobulin levels specific for ovalbumin, and a major inflammatory response in lung and BAL was induced. Coexposure to ovalbumin with 4 out of 12 collected PM samples (3 mg/ml) resulted in an increase of mainly IgE and IgG 1 . The histopathological changes consisted of a small to severe peribronchial and perivascular inflammatory response, a hypertrophy of bronchiolar mucous cells and an increase in eosinophils and neutrophils in the BAL. Statistical evaluation of the above-mentioned parameters showed associations with PM x (coarse and fine), site, season, season x PM x , season x site and PM x x site. In addition, adjuvant activity of the PM x can be ranked as Lodz

  6. Data based ambient lighting control

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    2012-01-01

    In controlling an ambient lighting element, a category of data being rendered by a host is identified, ambient lighting data associated with the identified category is retrieved, and the retrieved ambient lighting data is rendered in correspondence with the rendered data. The retrieved ambient

  7. Biotecnologia Ambiental. Aplicacions biotecnològiques a la millora del medi ambient

    OpenAIRE

    Blanch i Gisbert, Anicet

    2010-01-01

    La biotecnología ambiental comprende el conjunto de actividades tecnológicas que facilitan la comprensión y la gestión de los sistemas biológicos en el medio ambiente, con el fin de proveer productos y servicios. Actualmente, la gestión del medio ambiente y de sus recursos naturales no se comprende si no se realiza de manera sostenible. Los avances científicos y tecnológicos le están permitiendo a la biotecnología ambiental, el desarrollo de nuevas herramientas y aplicaciones con los que resp...

  8. ANALYSIS OF RESPIRATORY DEPOSITION OF INHALED AMBIENT AEROSOLS FOR DIFFERENT DOSE METRICS

    Science.gov (United States)

    ANALYSIS OF RESPIRATORY DEPOSITION OF INHALED AMBIENT AEROSOLS FOR DIFFERENT DOSE METRICS.Chong S. Kim, SC. Hu**, PA Jaques*, US EPA, National Health and Environmental Effects Research Laboratory, Research Triangle Park, NC 27711; **IIT Research Institute, Chicago, IL; *South...

  9. The future is 'ambient'

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lugmayr, Artur

    2006-02-01

    The research field of ambient media starts to spread rapidly and first applications for consumer homes are on the way. Ambient media is the logical continuation of research around media. Media has been evolving from old media (e.g. print media), to integrated presentation in one form (multimedia - or new media), to generating a synthetic world (virtual reality), to the natural environment is the user-interface (ambient media), and will be evolving towards real/synthetic undistinguishable media (bio-media or bio-multimedia). After the IT bubble was bursting, multimedia was lacking a vision of potential future scenarios and applications. Within this research paper the potentials, applications, and market available solutions of mobile ambient multimedia are studied. The different features of ambient mobile multimedia are manifold and include wearable computers, adaptive software, context awareness, ubiquitous computers, middleware, and wireless networks. The paper especially focuses on algorithms and methods that can be utilized to realize modern mobile ambient systems.

  10. Towards New Ambient Light Systems: a Close Look at Existing Encodings of Ambient Light Systems

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Andrii Matviienko

    2015-10-01

    Full Text Available Ambient systems provide information in the periphery of a user’s attention. Their aim is to present information as unobtrusively as possible to avoid interrupting primary tasks (e.g. writing or reading. In recent years, light has been used to create ambient systems to display information. Examples of ambient light systems range from simple notification systems such as displaying messages or calendar event reminders, to more complex systems such as focusing on conveying information regarding health activity tracking. However, for ambient light systems, there is a broad design space that lacks guidelines on when to make use of light displays and how to design them. In this paper we provide a systematic overview of existing ambient light systems over four identified information classes derived from 72 existing ambient light systems. The most prominent encoding parameters among the surveyed ambient light systems are color, brightness, and their combination. By analyzing existing ambient light systems, we provide a first step towards developing guidelines for designing future ambient light systems.

  11. Biomagnetic monitoring of particulate matter (PM through leaves of an invasive alien plant Lantana camara in an Indo-Burma hot spot region

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Prabhat Kumar Rai

    2016-03-01

    Full Text Available Present study was performed in urban forests of Aizawl, Mizoram, North East India falling under an Indo-Burma hot spot region of existing ecological relevance and pristine environment. Phyto-sociolology of invasive weeds has been performed and results revealed that Lantana camara was the most dominant invasive weed. Further, the air quality studies revealed high suspended particulate matter (SPM as well as respirable suspended particulate matter (RSPM in ambient air of Aizawl, Mizoram, North East India. Bio-magnetic monitoring through plant leaves has been recognised as recent thrust area in the field of particulate matter (PM science. We aimed to investigate that whether magnetic properties of Lantana camara leaves may act as proxy of PM pollution and hence an attempt towards it's sustainable management. Magnetic susceptibility (χ, Anhyste reticremanent magnetization (ARM and Saturation isothermal remanent magnetization (SIRM of Lantana camara plant leaves were assessed and concomitantly correlated these magnetic properties with ambient PM in order to screen this invasive plant which may act as proxy for ambient PM concentrations. Results revealed high χ, ARM, SIRM of Lantana camara leaves and moreover, these parameters were having significant and positive correlation with ambient SPM as well as RSPM. Therefore, present study recommended the use of Lantana camara as bio-magnetic monitor which may further have sustainable management implications of an invasive plant.

  12. PARTICULATE MATTER EXPOSURE IN CARS IS ASSOCIATED WITH CARDIOVASCULAR EFFECTS IN HEALTHY YOUNG MEN

    Science.gov (United States)

    Exposure to fine airborne particulate matter (PM(2.5)) is associated with cardiovascular events and mortality in older and cardiac patients. Potential physiologic effects of in-vehicle, roadside, and ambient PM(2.5) were investigated in young, healthy, nonsmoking, male North Caro...

  13. Impact of coal combustion from thermal power plant: estimates on ambient SO2 levels

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Joshi, P.V.

    1991-01-01

    Using a Gaussian dispersion model, ambient Ground Levels Concentrations (GLC) of SO 2 due to Nashik Thermal Power Plant have been computed. Annual GLC in 16 cardinal sectors and concentration levels in 6 atmospheric stability classes have been estimated as a function of down wind distance. The values are compared with national ambient air quality standard and risk involved due to the release of SO 2 from power plant has been assessed. (author). 8 refs., 2 appendixes

  14. What's the matter with Antimatter? Exhibition Science Bringing Nations Together

    CERN Multimedia

    2000-01-01

    Antimatter may be the stuff of science fiction, but to physicists it poses a serious question. Why is there not more of it around? At the Big Bang, matter and antimatter should have been created in equal amounts, yet today we seem to live in a Universe entirely made of matter. So where has all the antimatter gone?

  15. Baseline ambient sound levels in Dry Tortugas National Park

    Science.gov (United States)

    2012-11-01

    The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) and the National Park Service (NPS), with the assistance of the U.S. Department of Transportation, John A. Volpe National Transportation Systems Center (Volpe Center) are developing Air Tour Management Plans ...

  16. Baseline ambient sound levels in Point Reyes National Seashore

    Science.gov (United States)

    2011-03-01

    The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), with the cooperation of the National Park : Service (NPS) and assistance of the U.S. Department of Transportation, John A. Volpe : National Transportation Systems Center (Volpe Center) is developing Air Tour...

  17. Ambient Dried Aerogels

    Science.gov (United States)

    Jones, Steven M.; Paik, Jong-Ah

    2013-01-01

    A method has been developed for creating aerogel using normal pressure and ambient temperatures. All spacecraft, satellites, and landers require the use of thermal insulation due to the extreme environments encountered in space and on extraterrestrial bodies. Ambient dried aerogels introduce the possibility of using aerogel as thermal insulation in a wide variety of instances where supercritically dried aerogels cannot be used. More specifically, thermoelectric devices can use ambient dried aerogel, where the advantages are in situ production using the cast-in ability of an aerogel. Previously, aerogels required supercritical conditions (high temperature and high pressure) to be dried. Ambient dried aerogels can be dried at room temperature and pressure. This allows many materials, such as plastics and certain metal alloys that cannot survive supercritical conditions, to be directly immersed in liquid aerogel precursor and then encapsulated in the final, dried aerogel. Additionally, the metalized Mylar films that could not survive the previous methods of making aerogels can survive the ambient drying technique, thus making multilayer insulation (MLI) materials possible. This results in lighter insulation material as well. Because this innovation does not require high-temperature or high-pressure drying, ambient dried aerogels are much less expensive to produce. The equipment needed to conduct supercritical drying costs many tens of thousands of dollars, and has associated running expenses for power, pressurized gasses, and maintenance. The ambient drying process also expands the size of the pieces of aerogel that can be made because a high-temperature, high-pressure system typically has internal dimensions of up to 30 cm in diameter and 60 cm in height. In the case of this innovation, the only limitation on the size of the aerogels produced would be in the ability of the solvent in the wet gel to escape from the gel network.

  18. Spatio-temporal Variations and Source Contributions of China's Premature Deaths Attributable to Ambient PM2.5

    Science.gov (United States)

    Rong, X.; Wang, H.

    2016-12-01

    With rapid economic growth, China has witnessed increasingly frequent and severe haze and smog episodes over the past decade, posing serious health impacts to the Chinese population, especially those in densely populated city clusters. Quantifications of the spatial and temporal variations of health impacts attributed to ambient fine particulate matter (PM2.5) are not only important for designing effective strategies in mitigating the health damage of air pollution, but also provide valuable references for other developing regions in the world. In this study, we evaluated the spatial distribution of premature deaths in China between 2000 and 2014 attributed to ambient PM2.5 in accord with Global Burden of Disease (GBD) based on a high resolution population density map, satellite retrieved PM2.5 concentration, and provincial health data. An Integrated Exposure Response (IER) model was applied to analyze the premature deaths for four leading causes (ischemic heart disease (IHD), chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), lung cancer (LC), stroke) in China. The contributions of emission sources to air pollution and related mortality burdens across China were further evaluated by incorporating CMAQ model. Our results suggest that China's anthropogenic ambient PM2.5 led to 1,255,400 premature deaths in 2010, 42% higher than the level in 2000. Besides the increased PM2.5 concentration, rapid urbanization has been attracting large population migration into the more developed eastern coastal urban areas, intensifying the overall health impacts. Our analysis implies that the health burdens were exacerbated in some developing inner provinces with high population density (e.g. Henan, Anhui, Sichuan) because of the relocation of more polluting and resource-intensive industries into these regions. China's regulations on PM2.5 should not be loosened on inner provinces to avoid such national level environmental inequities, and furthermore policies should be designed to form

  19. Particulate Matter (Environmental Health Student Portal)

    Science.gov (United States)

    ... that includes curriculum standards, assessments, and lesson rubrics. Sources of Particulate Matter (U.S. Environmental Protection Agency) - Information and activity on interpreting ... U.S. National Library of Medicine National Institutes of Health U.S. Department ...

  20. Ambient particulate air pollution from vehicles promotes lipid peroxidation and inflammatory responses in rat lung.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Pereira, C E L; Heck, T G; Saldiva, P H N; Rhoden, C R

    2007-10-01

    Oxidative stress plays a major role in the pathogenesis of particle-dependent lung injury. Ambient particle levels from vehicles have not been previously shown to cause oxidative stress to the lungs. The present study was conducted to a) determine whether short-term exposure to ambient levels of particulate air pollution from vehicles elicits inflammatory responses and lipid peroxidation in rat lungs, and b) determine if intermittent short-term exposures (every 4 days) induce some degree of tolerance. Three-month-old male Wistar rats were exposed to ambient particulate matter (PM) from vehicles (N = 30) for 6 or 20 continuous hours, or for intermittent (5 h) periods during 20 h for 4 consecutive days or to filtered air (PM polluted air for 20 h (P-20) showed a significant increase in the total number of leukocytes in bronchoalveolar lavage compared to control (C-20: 2.61 x 105 +/- 0.51;P-20: 5.01 x 105 +/- 0.81; P air pollution did not cause a significant increase in lung water content. These data suggest oxidative stress as one of the mechanisms responsible for the acute adverse respiratory effects of particles, and suggest that short-term inhalation of ambient particulate air pollution from street with high automobile traffic represents a biological hazard.

  1. CUIDADO AMBIENTAL E RESPONSABILIDADE: POSSÍVEL DIÁLOGO ENTRE PSICOLOGIA AMBIENTAL E LOGOTERAPIA

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Diogo Arnaldo Corrêa

    2016-05-01

    Full Text Available O cuidado ambiental vem sendo marcado pela tônica da conservação e da promoção da sustentabilidade. A premente necessidade de um dado compromisso e educação ambiental e de condutas pró-ambientais vem sendo defendida em vários contextos: na mídia, nas políticas públicas, por meio de campanhas sazonais. Todavia, pouco se descreve acerca do sentido presente nos modos de cuidado configurados a partir da inter-relação pessoa-ambiente. Nesta perspectiva, este estudo objetivou promover um possível diálogo a partir das contribuições da Psicologia Ambiental e da Logoterapia visando aproximar a noção de cuidado ambiental, delineada pela Psicologia Ambiental, à ideia de responsabilidade, como defendida pela Logoterapia, por meio de uma revisão bibliográfica. As articulações propositadas corroboraram, portanto, para acenar que a relação pessoa-ambiente pode ser arraigada em qualidade se a responsabilidade é reconhecida em sua propriedade de potencial humano, o que pode favorecer na emergência do sentido das atitudes e condutas pró-ambientais e explicitar o caráter de tarefa única e irrepetível inerente à vida.

  2. Association between ambient air pollution and pregnancy rate in women who underwent IVF.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Choe, S A; Jun, Y B; Lee, W S; Yoon, T K; Kim, S Y

    2018-04-05

    Are the concentrations of five criteria air pollutants associated with probabilities of biochemical pregnancy loss and intrauterine pregnancy in women? Increased concentrations of ambient particulate matter (PM10), nitrogen dioxide (NO2), carbon monoxide (CO) during controlled ovarian stimulation (COS) and after embryo transfer were associated with a decreased probability of intrauterine pregnancy. Exposure to high ambient air pollution was suggested to be associated with low fertility and high early pregnancy loss in women. Using a retrospective cohort study design, we analysed 6621 cycles of 4581 patients who underwent one or more fresh IVF cycles at a fertility centre from January 2006 to December 2014, and lived in Seoul at the time of IVF treatment. To estimate patients' individual exposure to air pollution, we computed averages of hourly concentrations of five air pollutants including PM10, NO2, CO, sulphur dioxide (SO2) and ozone (O3) measured at 40 regulatory monitoring sites in Seoul for each of the four exposure periods: period 1 (start of COS to oocyte retrieval), period 2 (oocyte retrieval to embryo transfer), period 3 (embryo transfer to hCG test), and period 4 (start of COS to hCG test). Hazard ratios (HRs) from the time-varying Cox-proportional hazards model were used to estimate probabilities of biochemical pregnancy loss and intrauterine pregnancy for an interquartile range (IQR) increase in each air pollutant concentration during each period, after adjusting for individual characteristics. We tested the robustness of the result using generalised linear mixed model, accounting for within-woman correlation. Mean age of the women was 35 years. Average BMI was 20.9 kg/m2 and the study population underwent 1.4 IVF cycles on average. Cumulative pregnancy rate in multiple IVF cycles was 51.3% per person. Survival analysis showed that air pollution during periods 1 and 3 was generally associated with IVF outcomes. Increased NO2 (adjusted HR = 0.93, 95% CI

  3. Evaluation of the Emission, Transport, and Deposition of Mercury and Fine Particulate Matter from Coal-Based Power Plants in the Ohio River Valley Region

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Kevin Crist

    2008-12-31

    As stated in the proposal: Ohio University, in collaboration with CONSOL Energy, Advanced Technology Systems, Inc (ATS) and Atmospheric and Environmental Research, Inc. (AER) as subcontractors, evaluated the impact of emissions from coal-fired power plants in the Ohio River Valley region as they relate to the transport and deposition of mercury and associated fine particulate matter. This evaluation involved two interrelated areas of effort: ambient air monitoring and regional-scale modeling analysis. The scope of work for the ambient air monitoring included the deployment of a surface air monitoring (SAM) station in southeastern Ohio. The SAM station contains sampling equipment to collect and measure mercury (including speciated forms of mercury and wet and dry deposited mercury), particulate matter (PM) mass, PM composition, and gaseous criteria pollutants (CO, NOx, SO2, O3, etc.). Laboratory analyses of time-integrated samples were used to obtain chemical speciation of ambient PM composition and mercury in precipitation. Nearreal- time measurements were used to measure the ambient concentrations of PM mass and all gaseous species including Hg0 and RGM. Approximately 30 months of field data were collected at the SAM site to validate the proposed regional model simulations for episodic and seasonal model runs. The ambient air quality data provides mercury, and fine particulate matter data that can be used by Ohio Valley industries to assess performance on multi-pollutant control systems. The scope of work for the modeling analysis includes (1) development of updated inventories of mercury emissions from coal plants and other important sources in the modeled domain; (2) adapting an existing 3-D atmospheric chemical transport model to incorporate recent advancements in the understanding of mercury transformations in the atmosphere; (3) analyses of the flux of Hg0, RGM, and fine particulate matter in the different sectors of the study region to identify key transport

  4. Time-series analysis for ambient concentrations

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Gonzalez-Manteiga, W.; Prada-Sanchez, J.M.; Cao, R.; Garcia-Jurado, I.; Febrero-Bande, M.; Lucas-Dominguez, T. (Santiago de Compostela University, Santiago de Compostela (Spain). Dept. of Statistics and Operations Research)

    1993-02-01

    In this paper a dynamic system is presented which has been implemented to predict, every 5 min, the ambient concentrations of SO[sub 2] in the neighbourhood of a power station run by ENDESA, the National Electricity Company of Spain, in As Pontes. This prediction task is very important in order to prevent a high ground-level of concentration of SO[sub 2]. For forecasting a mixed model is used which has a parametric component and a nonparametric one. Confidence intervals are also constructed for future observations using bootstrap and classical techniques. 4 refs., 5 figs., 3 tabs.

  5. Ambient air quality predictions in the Athabasca oil sands region

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    1996-01-01

    This report presents dispersion modelling predictions for SO 2 , NOx, CO, HC and particulate matter (PM), which complement regional monitoring observations. The air quality simulation models provide a scientific means of relating industrial emissions to changes in ambient air quality. The four models applied to the emission sources in the region were: (1) SCREEN3, (2) ISC3BE, (3) ADEPT2, and (4) the box model. Model predictions were compared to air quality guidelines. It was concluded that the largest SO 2 concentrations were associated with intermittent flaring, and with the Suncor Powerhouse whose emissions are continuous. 45 refs., 36 tabs., 40 figs

  6. ANALYSIS OF RESPIRATORY DESPOSITION DOSE OF INHALED AMBIENT AEROSOLS FOR DIFFERENT SIZE FRACTIONS

    Science.gov (United States)

    ANALYSIS OF RESPIRATORY DEPOSITION DOSE OF INHALED AMBIENT AEROSOLS FOR DIFFERENT SIZE FRACTIONS. Chong S. Kim, SC. Hu**, PA Jaques*, US EPA, National Health and Environmental Effects Research Laboratory, Research Triangle Park, NC 27711; **IIT Research Institute, Chicago, IL; *S...

  7. [Comparison of atmospheric particulate matter and aerosol optical depth in Beijing City].

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lin, Hai-Feng; Xin, Jin-Yuan; Zhang, Wen-Yu; Wang, Yue-Si; Liu, Zi-Rui; Chen, Chuan-Lei

    2013-03-01

    The pollution of particulate matter was serious in Beijing City from the synchronous observation of particulate matter mass concentration and aerosol optical characteristics in 2009. The annual mean concentrations of PM2.5 and PM10 were (65 +/- 14) microg x m(-3) and (117 +/- 31) microg x m(-3), respectively, which exceeded the national ambient air quality annual standards to be implemented in 2016. There were 35% and 26% days of 2009 that the daily standards were exceeded. There was a significant correlation between fine particulate (PM2.5) and inhalable particle (PM10), with a correlation coefficient (R) of approximately 0.90 (P 500 nm) and Angstrom exponent were (0.55 +/- 0.1) and (1.12 +/- 0.08), respectively. There were significant correlations between PM2.5, PM10 and AOD in the four seasons and the whole year, and the correlation coefficients were greater than or equal to 0.50. Furthermore, the correlation functions and coefficients had seasonal variations. The correlations were more significant in summer and autumn than in spring and winter. The annual correlation could cover up the seasonal systematic differences. The correlations between AOD revised by Mixed Layer Height and PM2.5 PM10 revised by Relative Humidity became stronger, and the exponential correlations were superior to the linear correlations.

  8. Changes in gene expression in chronic allergy mouse model exposed to natural environmental PM2.5-rich ambient air pollution.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ouyang, Yuhui; Xu, Zhaojun; Fan, Erzhong; Li, Ying; Miyake, Kunio; Xu, Xianyan; Zhang, Luo

    2018-04-20

    Particulate matter (PM) air pollution has been associated with an increase in the incidence of chronic allergic diseases; however, the mechanisms underlying the effect of exposure to natural ambient air pollution in chronic allergic diseases have not been fully elucidated. In the present study, we aimed to investigate the cellular responses induced by exposure to natural ambient air pollution, employing a mouse model of chronic allergy. The results indicated that exposure to ambient air pollution significantly increased the number of eosinophils in the nasal mucosa. The modulation of gene expression profile identified a set of regulated genes, and the Triggering Receptor Expressed on Myeloid cells1(TREM1) signaling canonical pathway was increased after exposure to ambient air pollution. In vitro, PM2.5 increased Nucleotide-binding oligomerization domain-containing protein 1 (Nod1) and nuclear factor (NF)-κB signaling pathway activation in A549 and HEK293 cell cultures. These results suggest a novel mechanism by which, PM2.5 in ambient air pollution may stimulate the innate immune system through the PM2.5-Nod1-NF-κB axis in chronic allergic disease.

  9. From concentration to dose: factors influencing airborne particulate matter deposition in humans and rats

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Winter-sorkina R de; Cassee FR; LBV; LBO

    2003-01-01

    Particulate matter (PM) consisting of solid particles and droplets is present in the ambient air. Particles with an aerodynamic diameter less than 10 micro m can be inhaled by humans. Knowledge of the tissue-specific internal dose of PM is a critical link between individual external exposure and

  10. Pedagogía ambiental y didáctica ambiental: tendencias en la educación superior

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Julio César Tovar-Gálvez

    2017-01-01

    Full Text Available El artículo aborda el problema del currículo de educación ambiental en la educación superior, para lo que se centra en los conceptos pedagogía ambiental y didáctica ambiental. La metodología consiste en realizar un estado del arte para identificar las tendencias existentes sobre pedagogía ambiental y didáctica ambiental, para desde allí diseñar una encuesta que es dirigida a profesores y estudiantes de programas con formación en lo ambiental, de algunas universidades en Bogotá, con el objetivo de identificar sus opiniones como expertos en lo ambiental. Los resultados muestran un especial énfasis en las tendencias sobre la complejidad, pero así mismo plantean la posibilidad de múltiples modelos según los contextos y necesidades.

  11. Chemical characterization and sources of personal exposure to fine particulate matter in the general population of Guangzhou, China

    Science.gov (United States)

    Chen, Xiao-Cui; Jahn, Heiko J.; Engling, Guenter; Ward, Tony J.; Kraemer, Alexander; Ho, Kin-Fai; Hung-Lam Yim, Steve; Chan, Chuen-Yu

    2017-04-01

    Fine particulate matter pollution severely deteriorates the environmental conditions and negatively impacts human health in the Chinese megacity Guangzhou. Concurrent ambient and personal measurements of fine particulate matter (PM2.5) were conducted in Guangzhou, China. Personal-to-ambient (P-C) relationships of PM2.5 chemical components were determined and sources of personal PM2.5 exposure were evaluated using principal component analysis along with a mixed-effects model. Water-soluble inorganic ions (mainly secondary inorganic ions) and anhydrosugars exhibited median personal-to-ambient (P/C) ratios < 1 accompanied by strong P-C correlations, indicating that these constituents in personal PM2.5 were significantly affected by ambient sources. Conversely, elemental carbon (EC) and calcium (Ca2+) showed median P/C ratios greater than unity, which indicated that among subjects who spent a great amount of time indoors, aside from particles of ambient origin, individual's total exposure to PM2.5 includes contributions of non-ambient exposure while indoors and outdoors (e.g., local traffic, indoor sources, personal activities). SO42- displayed very low coefficient of divergence (COD) values coupled with strong P-C correlations, implying a uniform distribution of SO42- in the urban area of Guangzhou. EC, Ca2+, and levoglucosan were otherwise heterogeneously distributed across individuals in different districts. Regional air pollution (50.4 ± 0.9%), traffic-related particles (8.6 ± 0.7%), dust-related particles (5.8 ± 0.7%), and biomass burning emissions (2.0 ± 0.2%) were moderate to high positive sources of personal PM2.5 exposure in Guangzhou. The observed positive and significant contribution of Ca2+ to personal PM2.5 exposure, highlighting indoor sources and/or personal activities, were driving factors determining personal exposure to dust-related particles. Considerable discrepancies (COD values ranging from 0.42 to 0.50) were shown between ambient

  12. Estimating particulate matter health impact related to the combustion of different fossil fuels

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Kuenen, Jeroen; Kranenburg, Richard; Hendriks, Carlijn; Schaap, Martijn; Gschwind, Benoit; Lefevre, Mireille; Blanc, Isabelle; Drebszok, Kamila; Wyrwa, Artur; Stetter, Daniel

    2013-01-01

    Exposure to particulate matter (PM) in ambient air leads to adverse health effects. To design cost effective mitigation strategies, a thorough understanding of the sources of particulate matter is crucial. We have successfully generated a web map service that allows to access information on fuel dependent health effects due to particulate matter. For this purpose, the LOTOS-EUROS air pollution model was equipped with a source apportionment module that tracks the origin of the modelled particulate matter distributions thoughout a simulation. Combined with a dedicated emission inventory PM2.5 maps specified by fuel type were generated for 2007-2009. These maps were combined with a health impact calculation to estimate Lost of Life Expectancy for each fuel categories. An user friendly web client was generated to access the results and use the web mapping service in an easy manner. (orig.)

  13. Identifying fecal matter contamination in produce fields using multispectral reflectance imaging under ambient solar illumination

    Science.gov (United States)

    Everard, Colm D.; Kim, Moon S.; Lee, Hoonsoo; O'Donnell, Colm P.

    2016-05-01

    An imaging device to detect fecal contamination in fresh produce fields could allow the producer avoid harvesting fecal contaminated produce. E.coli O157:H7 outbreaks have been associated with fecal contaminated leafy greens. In this study, in-field spectral profiles of bovine fecal matter, soil, and spinach leaves are compared. A common aperture imager designed with two identical monochromatic cameras, a beam splitter, and optical filters was used to simultaneously capture two-spectral images of leaves contaminated with both fecal matter and soil. The optical filters where 10 nm full width half maximum bandpass filters, one at 690 nm and the second at 710 nm. These were mounted in front of the object lenses. New images were created using the ratio of these two spectral images on a pixel by pixel basis. Image analysis results showed that the fecal matter contamination could be distinguished from soil and leaf on the ratio images. The use of this technology has potential to allow detection of fecal contamination in produce fields which can be a source of foodbourne illnesses. It has the added benefit of mitigating cross-contamination during harvesting and processing.

  14. Temperature modifies the health effects of particulate matter in Brisbane, Australia

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ren, Cizao; Tong, Shilu

    2006-11-01

    A few epidemiological studies have examined whether there was an interactive effect between temperature and ambient particulate matter on cardiorespiratory morbidity and mortality, but the results were inconsistent. The present study used three time-series approaches to explore whether maximum temperature modified the impact of ambient particulate matter less than 10 μm in diameter (PM10) on daily respiratory hospital admissions, cardiovascular hospital admissions, respiratory emergency visits, cardiovascular emergency visits, non-external cause mortality and cardiovascular mortality in Brisbane between 1996 and 2001. The analytical approaches included a bivariate response surface model, a non-stratification parametric model and a stratification parametric model. Results show that there existed a statistically significant interaction between PM10 and temperature on most health outcomes at various lags. PM10 exhibited more adverse health effects on warm days than cold days. The choice of the degree of freedom for smoothers to adjust for confounders and the selection of arbitrary cut-offs for temperature affected the interaction estimates to a certain extent, but did not change the overall conclusion. The results imply that it is important to control and reduce the emission of air particles in Brisbane, particularly when temperature increases.

  15. The effect of size-segregated ambient particulate matter on Th1/Th2-like immune responses in mice.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Kuo-Liang Huang

    Full Text Available Particulate matter (PM has been associated with increased pulmonary and cardiovascular mortality and morbidity. Additionally, PM is known to exacerbate asthma. However, whether ambient PM exposure contributes to the onset of asthma, especially in non-atopic children and adults, is less conclusive. The current study aimed to evaluate the effects of size-fractioned PM on lung immune responses in healthy BALB/c mice.We collected PM10, PM2.5, PM1 and PM0.1 samples from October 2012 to August 2013 in the Taipei Basin. These PM samples were representative of urban traffic pollution. The samples were extracted and sonicated in phosphate-buffered saline (PBS. Female BALB/c mice were exposed to the samples via intratracheal instillation at three different doses: 1.75 mg/kg (35 μg/per mouse, 5 mg/kg (100 μg/per mouse, and 12.5 mg/kg (250 μg/per mouse. The mice were exposed on days 0 and 7, and PBS alone was used as a control. Following the exposures, the expression profiles of inflammatory cells and cytokines in bronchoalveolar lavage fluid (BALF were assessed. Exposure to PM10 resulted in inflammatory responses, including the recruitment of neutrophils and the induction of T helper 1 (Th1 cell-related cytokine release, such as TNF-α and IFN-γ. Furthermore, an allergic immune response, including the recruitment of eosinophils and the up-regulation of T helper 2 (Th2 cell-related cytokine release, such as IL-5 and IL-13, was also observed in the BALF of mice exposed to PM10.Our study showed that exposure to PM alone caused mixed Th1/Th2 inflammatory responses in healthy mice. These findings support the hypothesis that PM may contribute to the onset of asthma.

  16. PREFACE: 1st International Workshop on Theoretical and Computational Physics: Condensed Matter, Soft Matter and Materials Physics & 38th National Conference on Theoretical Physics

    Science.gov (United States)

    2014-09-01

    This volume contains selected papers presented at the 38th National Conference on Theoretical Physics (NCTP-38) and the 1st International Workshop on Theoretical and Computational Physics: Condensed Matter, Soft Matter and Materials Physics (IWTCP-1). Both the conference and the workshop were held from 29 July to 1 August 2013 in Pullman hotel, Da Nang, Vietnam. The IWTCP-1 was a new activity of the Vietnamese Theoretical Physics Society (VTPS) organized in association with the 38th National Conference on Theoretical Physics (NCTP-38), the most well-known annual scientific forum dedicated to the dissemination of the latest development in the field of theoretical physics within the country. The IWTCP-1 was also an External Activity of the Asia Pacific Center for Theoretical Physics (APCTP). The overriding goal of the IWTCP is to provide an international forum for scientists and engineers from academia to share ideas, problems and solution relating to the recent advances in theoretical physics as well as in computational physics. The main IWTCP motivation is to foster scientific exchanges between the Vietnamese theoretical and computational physics community and world-wide scientists as well as to promote high-standard level of research and education activities for young physicists in the country. About 110 participants coming from 10 countries participated in the conference and the workshop. 4 invited talks, 18 oral contributions and 46 posters were presented at the conference. In the workshop we had one keynote lecture and 9 invited talks presented by international experts in the fields of theoretical and computational physics, together with 14 oral and 33 poster contributions. The proceedings were edited by Nguyen Tri Lan, Trinh Xuan Hoang, and Nguyen Ai Viet. We would like to thank all invited speakers, participants and sponsors for making the conference and the workshop successful. Nguyen Ai Viet Chair of NCTP-38 and IWTCP-1

  17. POLÍTICA PÚBLICA AMBIENTAL Y AMBIENTE EN EL VALLE DEL CAUCA, 1991-2010

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Álvaro Quiceno Martínez

    2010-01-01

    Full Text Available La política pública ambiental en el Valle del Cauca, a partir de 1991, va en contravía de la conservación ambiental al enfatizar en el crecimiento económico, la generación de plusvalía y la ampliación de la tasa de ganancia. Para la realización de esta investigación se adoptó como herramienta metodológica la revisión bibliográfica. Se halló que la política pública ambiental en el Valle se ha orientado a subsidiar monetaria, ecológica, ambiental y socialmente al sector cañicultor. Se concluye que dicha política ha contribuido al desequilibrio ecológico y al deterioro ambiental.

  18. Ambiente e justiça: sobre a utilidade do conceito de racismo ambiental no contexto brasileiro

    OpenAIRE

    Silva, Lays Helena Paes e

    2013-01-01

    A ideia de crise ambiental suscita discussões a respeito de distintas concepções de natureza e de ambiente e das disputas simbólicas e materiais neste meio. Uma concepção que toma sociedade e ambiente como pares inseparáveis levou à emergência, nos Estados Unidos, de movimentos que introduziram conceitos como justiça ambiental e racismo ambiental. No Brasil, surgiram movimentos e estudos focados nas mesmas bandeiras de luta e nos mesmos conceitos. Considerando as especificidades do racismo no...

  19. Saúde e meio ambiente nas cidades: os desafios da saúde ambiental

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Nelson Gouveia

    1999-02-01

    Full Text Available Dentro de alguns poucos anos, nosso planeta contará com mais habitantes em áreas urbanas do que em áreas rurais. A urbanização desenfreada, sem mecanismos regulatórios e de controle, típica dos países periféricos, trouxe consigo enormes repercussões na saúde da população. Problemas como a insuficiência dos serviços básicos de saneamento, coleta e destinação adequada do lixo e condições precárias de moradia, tradicionalmente relacionados com a pobreza e o subdesenvolvimento, somam-se agora à poluição química e física do ar, da água e da terra, problemas ambientais antes considerados "modernos". Novamente, é sobre as populações mais carentes que recai a maior parte dos efeitos negativos da urbanização, gerando uma situação de extrema desigualdade e iniqüidade ambiental e em saúde. Para reverter esse quadro é preciso que haja uma reincorporação das questões do meio ambiente nas políticas de saúde, e a integração dos objetivos da saúde ambiental numa ampla estratégia de desenvolvimento sustentável. Uma abordagem mais integrada, com mecanismos intersetoriais que possibilitem um diálogo amplo entre as partes, trará enormes benefícios na conquista de melhores condições de vida nas cidades. A saúde ambiental hoje tem o desafio de promover uma melhor qualidade de vida e saúde nas cidades e a oportunidade de enfrentar o absurdo quadro de exclusão social, sob a perspectiva da eqüidade.In a matter of few years there will be more urban than rural dwellers worldwide. The rapid urbanisation lacking adequate control and regulatory mechanisms typical of developing countries, brought along huge effects to the health of the population Environmental problems traditionally related to poverty and underdevelopment such as insufficient provision of sanitation services, waste collection and disposal, and precarious housing conditions, are now added to environmental problems considered of "modern life" such as the

  20. Ambient air quality trends in Alberta

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    2007-01-01

    This document provided an overview of ambient air pollutant trends in Alberta. The report discussed the following pollutants having effect on human and environmental health: carbon monoxide (CO), hydrogen sulphide (H2 S ), nitrogen dioxide (NO 2 ), sulphur dioxide (SO 2 ), ozone (O 3 ), fine particulate matter (PM 2 .5), benzene, and benzopyrene. Each of these pollutants was described. The report provided data on annual average concentration trends and annual 99th percentile concentration as an indicator of peak concentrations. A map illustrating air quality monitoring stations in 2006 was also provided. The findings revealed that mean annual CO levels were the lowest they have been since 1990; hydrogen sulphide concentrations have fluctuated in time since 1990; most Edmonton and Calgary area stations showed significant decreasing trends in annual average NO 2 levels since 1990; and higher SO 2 concentrations have been found in the industrial areas of Alberta, such as the Redwater and Scotford oil sands locations. tabs., figs

  1. 32 CFR 776.66 - Bar admission and disciplinary matters.

    Science.gov (United States)

    2010-07-01

    ... 32 National Defense 5 2010-07-01 2010-07-01 false Bar admission and disciplinary matters. 776.66... ADVOCATE GENERAL Rules of Professional Conduct § 776.66 Bar admission and disciplinary matters. (a) Bar admission and disciplinary matters. A covered attorney, in connection with any application for bar admission...

  2. Time-varying cycle average and daily variation in ambient air pollution and fecundability.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Nobles, Carrie J; Schisterman, Enrique F; Ha, Sandie; Buck Louis, Germaine M; Sherman, Seth; Mendola, Pauline

    2018-01-01

    Does ambient air pollution affect fecundability? While cycle-average air pollution exposure was not associated with fecundability, we observed some associations for acute exposure around ovulation and implantation with fecundability. Ambient air pollution exposure has been associated with adverse pregnancy outcomes and decrements in semen quality. The LIFE study (2005-2009), a prospective time-to-pregnancy study, enrolled 501 couples who were followed for up to one year of attempting pregnancy. Average air pollutant exposure was assessed for the menstrual cycle before and during the proliferative phase of each observed cycle (n = 500 couples; n = 2360 cycles) and daily acute exposure was assessed for sensitive windows of each observed cycle (n = 440 couples; n = 1897 cycles). Discrete-time survival analysis modeled the association between fecundability and an interquartile range increase in each pollutant, adjusting for co-pollutants, site, age, race/ethnicity, parity, body mass index, smoking, income and education. Cycle-average air pollutant exposure was not associated with fecundability. In acute models, fecundability was diminished with exposure to ozone the day before ovulation and nitrogen oxides 8 days post ovulation (fecundability odds ratio [FOR] 0.83, 95% confidence interval [CI]: 0.72, 0.96 and FOR 0.84, 95% CI: 0.71, 0.99, respectively). However, particulate matter ≤10 microns 6 days post ovulation was associated with greater fecundability (FOR 1.25, 95% CI: 1.01, 1.54). Although our study was unlikely to be biased due to confounding, misclassification of air pollution exposure and the moderate study size may have limited our ability to detect an association between ambient air pollution and fecundability. While no associations were observed for cycle-average ambient air pollution exposure, consistent with past research in the United States, exposure during critical windows of hormonal variability was associated with prospectively measured couple

  3. Source Contributions to Premature Mortality Due to Ambient Particulate Matter in China

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hu, J.; Huang, L.; Ying, Q.; Zhang, H.; Shi, Z.

    2016-12-01

    Outdoor air pollution is linked to various health effects. Globally it is estimated that ambient air pollution caused 3.3 million premature deaths in 2010. The health risk occurs predominantly in developing countries, particularly in Asia. China has been suffering serious air pollution in recent decades. The annual concentrations of ambient PM2.5 are more than five times higher than the WHO guideline value in many populous Chinese cities. Sustained exposure to high PM2.5 concentrations greatly threatens public health in this country. Recognizing the severity of the air pollution situation, the Chinese government has set a target in 2013 to reduce PM2.5 level by up to 25% in major metropolitan areas by 2017. It is urgently needed for China to assess premature mortality caused by outdoor air pollution, identify source contributions of the premature mortality, and evaluate responses of the premature mortality to air quality improvement, in order to design effective control plans and set priority for air pollution controls to better protect public health. In this study, we determined the spatial distribution of excess mortality (ΔMort) due to adult (> 30 years old) ischemic heart disease (IHD), cerebrovascular disease (CEV), chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) and lung cancer (LC) at 36-km horizontal resolution for 2013 from the predicted annual-average surface PM2.5 concentrations using an updated source-oriented Community Multiscale Air Quality (CMAQ) model along with an ensemble of four regional and global emission inventories. Observation data fusing was applied to provide additional correction of the biases in the PM2.5 concentration field from the ensemble. Source contributions to ΔMort were determined based on total ΔMort and fractional source contributions to PM2.5 mass concentrations. We estimated that ΔMort due to COPD, LC, IHD and CEV are 0.329, 0.148, 0.239 and 0.953 million in China, respectively, leading to a total ΔMort of 1.669 million

  4. The relationship of lung function with ambient temperature.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Collaco, Joseph M; Appel, Lawrence J; McGready, John; Cutting, Garry R

    2018-01-01

    Lung function is complex trait with both genetic and environmental factors contributing to variation. It is unknown how geographic factors such as climate affect population respiratory health. To determine whether ambient air temperature is associated with lung function (FEV1) in the general population. Associations between spirometry data from two National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES) periods representative of the U.S. non-institutionalized population and mean annual ambient temperature were assessed using survey-weighted multivariate regression. The NHANES III (1988-94) cohort included 14,088 individuals (55.6% female) and the NHANES 2007-12 cohort included 14,036 individuals (52.3% female), with mean ages of 37.4±23.4 and 34.4±21.8 years old and FEV1 percent predicted values of 99.8±15.8% and 99.2±14.5%, respectively. After adjustment for confounders, warmer ambient temperatures were associated with lower lung function in both cohorts (NHANES III p = 0.020; NHANES 2007-2012 p = 0.014). The effect was similar in both cohorts with a 0.71% and 0.59% predicted FEV1 decrease for every 10°F increase in mean temperature in the NHANES III and NHANES 2007-2012 cohorts, respectively. This corresponds to ~2 percent predicted difference in FEV1 between the warmest and coldest regions in the continental United States. In the general U.S. population, residing in regions with warmer ambient air temperatures was associated with lower lung function with an effect size similar to that of traffic pollution. Rising temperatures associated with climate change could have effects on pulmonary function in the general population.

  5. The relationship of lung function with ambient temperature.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Joseph M Collaco

    Full Text Available Lung function is complex trait with both genetic and environmental factors contributing to variation. It is unknown how geographic factors such as climate affect population respiratory health.To determine whether ambient air temperature is associated with lung function (FEV1 in the general population.Associations between spirometry data from two National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES periods representative of the U.S. non-institutionalized population and mean annual ambient temperature were assessed using survey-weighted multivariate regression.The NHANES III (1988-94 cohort included 14,088 individuals (55.6% female and the NHANES 2007-12 cohort included 14,036 individuals (52.3% female, with mean ages of 37.4±23.4 and 34.4±21.8 years old and FEV1 percent predicted values of 99.8±15.8% and 99.2±14.5%, respectively.After adjustment for confounders, warmer ambient temperatures were associated with lower lung function in both cohorts (NHANES III p = 0.020; NHANES 2007-2012 p = 0.014. The effect was similar in both cohorts with a 0.71% and 0.59% predicted FEV1 decrease for every 10°F increase in mean temperature in the NHANES III and NHANES 2007-2012 cohorts, respectively. This corresponds to ~2 percent predicted difference in FEV1 between the warmest and coldest regions in the continental United States.In the general U.S. population, residing in regions with warmer ambient air temperatures was associated with lower lung function with an effect size similar to that of traffic pollution. Rising temperatures associated with climate change could have effects on pulmonary function in the general population.

  6. Organic speciation of size-segregated atmospheric particulate matter

    Science.gov (United States)

    Tremblay, Raphael

    Particle size and composition are key factors controlling the impacts of particulate matter (PM) on human health and the environment. A comprehensive method to characterize size-segregated PM organic content was developed, and evaluated during two field campaigns. Size-segregated particles were collected using a cascade impactor (Micro-Orifice Uniform Deposit Impactor) and a PM2.5 large volume sampler. A series of alkanes and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) were solvent extracted and quantified using a gas chromatograph coupled with a mass spectrometer (GC/MS). Large volume injections were performed using a programmable temperature vaporization (PTV) inlet to lower detection limits. The developed analysis method was evaluated during the 2001 and 2002 Intercomparison Exercise Program on Organic Contaminants in PM2.5 Air Particulate Matter led by the US National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST). Ambient samples were collected in May 2002 as part of the Tampa Bay Regional Atmospheric Chemistry Experiment (BRACE) in Florida, USA and in July and August 2004 as part of the New England Air Quality Study - Intercontinental Transport and Chemical Transformation (NEAQS - ITCT) in New Hampshire, USA. Morphology of the collected particles was studied using scanning electron microscopy (SEM). Smaller particles (one micrometer or less) appeared to consist of solid cores surrounded by a liquid layer which is consistent with combustion particles and also possibly with particles formed and/or coated by secondary material like sulfate, nitrate and secondary organic aerosols. Source apportionment studies demonstrated the importance of stationary sources on the organic particulate matter observed at these two rural sites. Coal burning and biomass burning were found to be responsible for a large part of the observed PAHs during the field campaigns. Most of the measured PAHs were concentrated in particles smaller than one micrometer and linked to combustion sources

  7. Ambient air monitoring to support HLW repository site characterization

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Fransioli, P.M.; Dixon, W.R.

    1993-01-01

    Site characterization at the Yucca Mountain site includes an ambient air quality and meteorological monitoring program to provide information for environmental and site characterization issues. The program is designed to provide data for four basic purposes: Atmospheric dispersion calculations to estimate impacts of possible airborne releases of radiological material; Engineering design and extreme weather event characterization; Local climate studies for environmental impact analyses and climate characterization; and, Air quality permits required for site characterization work. The program is compiling a database that will provide the basis for analyses and reporting related to the purposes of the program. Except for reporting particulate matter and limited meteorological data to the State of Nevada for an air quality permit condition, the data have yet to be formally analyzed and reported

  8. 76 FR 46083 - Secondary National Ambient Air Quality Standards for Oxides of Nitrogen and Sulfur

    Science.gov (United States)

    2011-08-01

    ... 2. Linking ANC to Deposition 3. Linking Deposition to Ambient Air Indicators 4. Aquatic... ANC Levels 2. ANC Levels Related to Effects on Aquatic Ecosystems 3. Consideration of Episodic Acidity 4. Consideration of Ecosystem Response Time 5. Prior Examples of Target ANC Levels 6. Consideration...

  9. Meteorology drives ambient air quality in a valley: a case of Sukinda chromite mine, one among the ten most polluted areas in the world.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Mishra, Soumya Ranjan; Pradhan, Rudra Pratap; Prusty, B Anjan Kumar; Sahu, Sanjat Kumar

    2016-07-01

    The ambient air quality (AAQ) assessment was undertaken in Sukinda Valley, the chromite hub of India. The possible correlations of meteorological variables with different air quality parameters (PM10, PM2.5, SO2, NO2 and CO) were examined. Being the fourth most polluted area in the globe, Sukinda Valley has always been under attention of researchers, for hexavalent chromium contamination of water. The monitoring was carried out from December 2013 through May 2014 at six strategic locations in the residential and commercial areas around the mining cluster of Sukinda Valley considering the guidelines of Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB). In addition, meteorological parameters viz., temperature, relative humidity, wind speed, wind direction and rainfall, were also monitored. The air quality data were subjected to a general linear model (GLM) coupled with one-way analysis of variance (ANOVA) test for testing the significant difference in the concentration of various parameters among seasons and stations. Further, a two-tailed Pearson's correlation test helped in understanding the influence of meteorological parameters on dispersion of pollutants in the area. All the monitored air quality parameters varied significantly among the monitoring stations suggesting (i) the distance of sampling location to the mine site and other allied activities, (ii) landscape features and topography and (iii) meteorological parameters to be the forcing functions. The area was highly polluted with particulate matters, and in most of the cases, the PM level exceeded the National Ambient Air Quality Standards (NAAQS). The meteorological parameters seemed to play a major role in the dispersion of pollutants around the mine clusters. The role of wind direction, wind speed and temperature was apparent in dispersion of the particulate matters from their source of generation to the surrounding residential and commercial areas of the mine.

  10. Every Child Mattered in England: But What Matters to Children?

    Science.gov (United States)

    Meehan, Catherine

    2016-01-01

    "Every Child Matters" under New Labour provided a framework for services for young children's care and education. It was pushed aside by the Conservative-led coalition and replaced by "More Great Childcare". The UK as a signatory to the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child, therefore has obligations for…

  11. Limitations of ambient air quality standards in evaluating indoor environments

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Peterson, J.E.

    1992-01-01

    Analysis of the kinds of data used for the derivation of ambient air quality standards (AAQSs) for carbon monoxide and ozone shows that these values are based on the toxicology of the materials and thus are suitable for evaluating potential health effects of indoor environments, especially on the very young, the aged, and the infirm. A similar analysis shows that the AAQSs for suspended particulate matter, nitrogen dioxide, and sulfur dioxide are strictly empirical and that they should not be used for any but their first, intended purpose. The AAQSs for non-methane hydrocarbons are based on photochemical smog production, not injury of any kind, and have no utility for indoor environment evaluation

  12. Salud ambiental: conceptos y actividades

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Gonzalo A. Ordóñez

    2000-03-01

    Full Text Available La finalidad del trabajo es aportar información y propuestas conceptuales que faciliten la tarea de quienes tienen a su cargo la sistematización institucional de la salud ambiental. Se hace un análisis de la noción de "ambiente" para la cual se sugiere una definición, y se examina el lugar de la salud ambiental en el contexto de los problemas ambientales y sus vertientes "verde" y "azul". Se examinan denominaciones equivalentes de salud ambiental y se introducen los servicios de salud ambiental. Se proporcionan varias definiciones y se da la oficial de salud ambiental adoptada por la OMS en Sofía, Bulgaria (1993. A continuación se transcriben las áreas básicas que a la salud ambiental le han asignado diversas organizaciones o reuniones, como la OPS, la OMS, el Programa 21 y otros. A partir de aquí se construye un repertorio bastante completo de áreas y subáreas y se encuentra que todos los listados son, en realidad, una reunión asistemática de tres tipos de constituyentes: determinantes (factores o hechos de la realidad física, procesos (conjuntos de intervenciones y funciones (conjuntos de acciones de gestión, los cuales pueden enfocarse matricialmente y llevan a individualizar actividades de los servicios de salud ambiental. Se proponen unas reglas de operación que permiten, en una especie de álgebra, construir expresiones para especificar con precisión las actividades y sus agregados. De este modo se logra disponer de un lenguaje simbólico común que puede ayudar a la intercomunicación, enseñanza e investigación en el ámbito de la salud ambiental.

  13. 40 CFR Appendix L to Part 50 - Reference Method for the Determination of Fine Particulate Matter as PM2.5 in the Atmosphere

    Science.gov (United States)

    2010-07-01

    ... and 1000 W/m2 solar radiation intensity. 7.4.8.2 The ambient temperature sensor shall be of such a... measurement of the mass concentration of fine particulate matter having an aerodynamic diameter less than or... matter specified in § 50.7 and § 50.13 of this part are met. The measurement process is considered to be...

  14. MODIFICANDO O AMBIENTE ESCOLAR ATRAVÉS DO PROJETO MEIO AMBIENTE: CULTIVANDO E CONHECENDO AS PLANTAS

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Letícia Caroline Lopes

    2011-07-01

    Full Text Available O presente trabalho intitulado “MODIFICANDO O AMBIENTE ESCOLAR ATRAVÉS DO PROJETO MEIO AMBIENTE: CULTIVANDO E CONHECENDO AS PLANTAS” tem como desígnio apresentar o desenvolvimento do projeto “meio ambiente: cultivando e conhecendo as plantas”, no qual teve como proposta sensibilizar os alunos sobre a importância e preservação do meio ambiente através da prática e modificação do ambiente escolar, onde procurou-se utilizar materiais reciclados, tais como, garrafas pet, pneus velhos, carreteis de fios de eletricidade, e também mudas de arvore, plantas e hortaliças. Desta forma buscou se utilizar da criatividade dos envolvidos no processo para a transformação do ambiente escolar seco e vazio, para uma ambiente alegre, e acolhedor. O projeto foi elaborado pelas professoras da Extensão Betel, e aplicado em parceria com acadêmicos do sexto semestre do curso de Licenciatura em Pedagogia da Universidade do Estado do Mato Grosso (UNEMAT, campus de Sinop. Tendo como proposta a interdisciplinaridade, o projeto foi divido em três eixos orientados pelas professoras Edneuza Alves Trugillo, Sinóvia Rauber e Mariza Kreinner, abrangendo assim alunos e professoras de duas turmas de 2º Ano do Ensino Fundamental, e acadêmicos e professores da Universidade, os eixos foram arborização, jardinagem e horta, onde teve a duração de aproximadamente dois meses. A finalização das práticas obteve resultados satisfatórios e objetivos alcançados, tanto pela sensibilização dos alunos sobre a preservação e importância do meio-ambiente, quanto pela prática de intervenção pelos acadêmicos envolvidos no processo, que em coletividade conseguiram modificar o ambiente escolar através do objetivo do projeto, meio-ambiente, proporcionando assim um enriquecimento na formação acadêmica enquanto práticas pedagógicas.

  15. Educação ambiental na escola: a perspectiva estudantil sobre o meio ambiente e a propaganda ambiental na internet

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Fernanda Reis de Pinho Tavares

    2005-01-01

    Full Text Available Este trabalho visa mostrar as idéias dos estudantes sobre um tema - a propaganda - refletindo como ela se insere na questão ambiental. Também abordamos como os alunos percebem questões como as relações, empresa, meio ambiente e sociedade. Foi realizado em uma oficina de Educação Ambiental, em uma escola particular de Lagoa Santa - MG, durante os meses de junho e julho de 2004. Analisaram-se sites de diversas empresas e ONG's (Organizações Não Governamentais. Em sua maioria os estudantes conseguiram posicionar-se criticamente em relação às entidades investigadas.

  16. Advance of the National Program of Radiological Protection and Safety for medical diagnostic with X-rays; Avance del Programa Nacional de Proteccion y Seguridad Radiologica para diagnostico medico con rayos X

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Verdejo S, M. [Direccion de Riesgos Radiologicos, Direccion General de Salud Ambiental (Mexico)

    1999-07-01

    The National Program of Radiological Protection and Safety for medical diagnostic with X-ray (Programa Nacional de Proteccion y Seguridad Radiologica para diagnostico medico con rayos X) was initiated in the General Direction of Environmental Health (Direccion General de Salud Ambiental) in 1995. Task coordinated with different dependences of the Public Sector in collaboration between the Secretary of Health (Secretaria de Salud), the National Commission of Nuclear Safety and Safeguards (Comision Nacional de Seguridad Nuclear y Salvaguardias) and, the National Institute of Nuclear Research (Instituto Nacional de Investigaciones Nucleares). The surveillance to the fulfilment of the standardization in matter of Radiological Protection and Safety in the medical diagnostic with X-rays has been obtained for an important advance in the Public sector and it has been arousing interest in the Private sector. (Author)

  17. 77 FR 38760 - National Ambient Air Quality Standards for Particulate Matter; Correction

    Science.gov (United States)

    2012-06-29

    ...% discount rate) for alternative PM 2.5 standard levels of 11/35 [mu]g/m\\3\\ (annual and 24- hour standards...\\ Net benefits \\b\\ Alternate PM2.5 standards (annual/ 24-hour, in [mu]g/m\\3\\) 3% Discount 7% Discount rate rate 3% Discount rate 7% Discount rate 3% Discount rate \\c\\ 7% Discount rate 13/35 $2.9 $2.9 $88...

  18. COMPLEJIDAD AMBIENTAL: PROPUESTAS ÉTICAS EMERGENTES DEL PENSAMIENTO AMBIENTAL LATINOAMERICANO

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Noguera de Echeverri Ana Patricia

    2008-07-01

    Full Text Available En este artículo, se recogen las propuestas ético ambientales más importantes de la Escuela de Pensamiento Ambiental Latinoamericano, que ha ido construyéndose desde hace 30 años. Se destacan autores de primera línea en el campo de la construcción de Pensamiento Ambiental filosófico, como el Filósofo y Pensador Colombiano, de trascendencia latinoamericana, Augusto Ángel Maya, quien plantea la posibilidad de construir una Filosofía Ambiental Ético estética, dado que la Filosofía Moderna ha sido Metafísica, aún en sus corrientes empiristas, positivistas y neopositivistas. Se destaca la obra de Enrique Leff, mexicano, que propone los conceptos de Complejidad y Saber Ambiental, como puntos de partida de una ética en la educación, la ciencia y la tecnología, dentro de unas relaciones sistémicas y holísticas. Igualmente la propuesta ético estética compleja de Julio Carrizoza, colombiano, se hace presente en este ensayo, como una propuesta política fundamental ante problemas colombianos como son la violencia y la exclusión. Las propuestas de Filósofos colombianos de gran importancia en el campo de la Filosofía Política y Moral, que han desembocado en la propuesta de una Ética Ambiental, Pública y Comunicativa, como es el caso de Guillermo Hoyos Vásquez y de otros pensadores tanto de Colombia como de otros países latinoamericanos, se presentan en este espacio, con el fin de recoger de manera crítica nuestras ideas acerca de la posibilidad de una ética ambiental, es decir una ética descentrada, sin sujeto y sin objeto, una ética sistémica, donde los valores se construyen en las relaciones y donde la intricada trama de la vida, que ha venido construyéndose desde hace más de 2.500 millones de años, y de la cual somos meros hilos, pasa de ser objeto a ser valor primero en su más genuino sentido.

  19. Det ambientes fænomenologi

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Walther-Hansen, Mads

    2014-01-01

    Det ambiente: sansning, medialisering, omgivelse er et aktuelt og ambitiøst værk. Bogen skildrer hvordan ambiente fænomener har fået en stigende betydning i den moderne verden, og redegør for måden hvorpå det ambiente virker ind på hele vores oplevelseskultur. Det er en levende, uprætentiøs og frem...

  20. 76 FR 67437 - Draft Aquatic Life Ambient Water Quality Criteria for Carbaryl-2011

    Science.gov (United States)

    2011-11-01

    ... ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY [EPA-HQ-OW-2011-0787; FRL-9483-8] Draft Aquatic Life Ambient Water... National Water Quality Criteria for the Protection of Aquatic Organisms and Their Uses (1985), (EPA/R-85... authorized Tribes in adopting water quality standards for protecting aquatic life and human health. These...

  1. Persuasion in Ambient Intelligence

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Kaptein, M.C.; Markopoulos, P.; Ruyter, de B.E.R.; Aarts, E.H.L.

    2010-01-01

    Although the field of persuasive technologies has lately attracted a lot of attention, only recently the notion of ambient persuasive technologies was introduced. Ambient persuasive technologies can be integrated into every aspect of life, and as such have greater persuasive power than the

  2. Representations of the Old and Ageing in the Design of the New and Emerging. Assessing the design of Ambient Intelligence technologies for older people.

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Neven, Louis

    2011-01-01

    This thesis analyses the way older people are conceived of, imagined, or, in the terms of this thesis, represented, as potential users of a new type of information technology (IT/ICT): ambient intelligence (AmI). These user representations matter as gerontechnological innovations are, in our ageing

  3. Association between Chronic Laryngitis and Particulate Matter Based on the Korea National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey 2008-2012.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Young-Hoon Joo

    Full Text Available Chronic laryngitis (CL has been described as chronic inflammation of the larynx. CL have various causes such as long-term smoking, acid reflux, voice overuse, bronchitis, allergies, pneumonia, excessive exposure to toxic chemicals and complications from the flu or a chronic cold. However, the prevalence of CL and role of air pollution in the etiology is uncertain.The aim of this study was to investigate the relationship between CL and particulate matter with aerodynamic diameter less than 10 μm (PM10 in South Korea using data from the Korea National Health and Nutrition Examination Surveys (KNHANES during 2008-2012.KNHANES is a cross-sectional survey of the civilian, non-institutionalized population of South Korea (n = 21,116. A field survey team that included an otolaryngologist moved with a mobile examination unit and performed interviews and physical examinations. The mean annual concentrations of ambient PM10, SO2, O3, NO2, and CO levels in Korea were determined from monitoring station data. Multiple logistic regression was used to examine the relationship of air pollution to CL.Among the population ≥ 19 years of age, the weighted prevalence of CL was 3.37 ± 0.30% (95% confidence interval, 2.79-3.95%. CL was more prevalent in men, current smokers, and those with lower household income and prevalence increased with age. A significant decrease over time was observed in the prevalence of CL (P for trend = 0.0049 and the annual average concentrations of PM10 (P for trend < 0.0001 from 2008 to 2012. In a multivariate model, the factors associated with CL included PM10 (odds ratio [OR], 1.378, p = 0.0457, age (OR, 1.020, p<0.0001, sex (OR, 0.734, p = 0.0179, and smoking status (OR, 1.438, p = 0.0054.Elevated PM10 exposures could be associated with increased risk of CL in South Koreans. Further epidemiological and experimental studies are necessary to clarify the impact of chronic PM10 exposure on CL.

  4. Does Nationality Matter in Eco-Behaviour?

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Michelle Bonera

    2017-09-01

    Full Text Available Although many authors agree on the role of personal values in explaining the main determinants of eco-behaviour, disagreement about the effects of socio-demographic features exists, particularly about the effect of nationality. In an attempt to fill this gap in the literature, this paper contributes to the debate surrounding the main determinants of eco-behaviour, based on a cross-country analysis. To test the role of nationality and personal values in eco-behaviour, a linear regression model involving 353 Chinese and 333 Italian subjects was performed. A stepwise analysis was then conducted to identify the main significant effects. The explorative and stepwise analyses confirmed that nationality is significant when explaining individual eco-behaviour, for both Italian and Chinese people. Moreover, the linear regression model, as a stepwise analysis, showed that regulatory focus and universalism are the main personal values influencing ecological behaviour. Differences emerging from the analysis show significant differences in terms of eco-behaviour and eco-awareness, for the two countries involved in the analysis, that might lead companies to adopt different marketing strategies when promoting eco-products.

  5. The association between low level exposures to ambient air pollution and term low birth weight: a retrospective cohort study

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Stieb David

    2006-02-01

    Full Text Available Abstract Background Studies in areas with relatively high levels of air pollution have found some positive associations between exposures to ambient levels of air pollution and several birth outcomes including low birth weight (LBW. The purpose of this study was to examine the association between LBW among term infants and ambient air pollution, by trimester of exposure, in a region of lower level exposures. Methods The relationship between LBW and ambient levels of particulate matter up to 10 um in diameter (PM10, sulfur dioxide (SO2 and ground-level ozone (O3 was evaluated using the Nova Scotia Atlee Perinatal Database and ambient air monitoring data from the Environment Canada National Air Pollution Surveillance Network and the Nova Scotia Department of Environment. The cohort consisted of live singleton births (≥37 weeks of gestation between January1,1988 and December31,2000. Maternal exposures to air pollution were assigned to women living within 25 km of a monitoring station at the time of birth. Air pollution was evaluated as a continuous and categorical variable (using quartile exposures for each trimester and relative risks were estimated from logistic regression, adjusted for confounding variables. Results There were 74,284 women with a term, singleton birth during the study period and with exposure data. In the analyses unadjusted for year of birth, first trimester exposures in the highest quartile for SO2 and PM10suggested an increased risk of delivering a LBW infant (relative risk = 1.36, 95% confidence interval = 1.04 to 1.78 for SO2 exposure and relative risk = 1.33, 95% confidence interval = 1.02 to 1.74 for PM10. After adjustment for birth year, the relative risks were attenuated somewhat and not statistically significant. A dose-response relationship for SO2 was noted with increasing levels of exposure. No statistically significant effects were noted for ozone. Conclusion Our results suggest that exposure during the first

  6. Short term respiratory health effects of ambient air pollution: results of the APHEA project in Paris.

    OpenAIRE

    Dab, W; Medina, S; Quénel, P; Le Moullec, Y; Le Tertre, A; Thelot, B; Monteil, C; Lameloise, P; Pirard, P; Momas, I; Ferry, R; Festy, B

    1996-01-01

    STUDY OBJECTIVE: To quantify the short term respiratory health effects of ambient air pollution in the Paris area. DESIGN: Time series analysis of daily pollution levels using Poisson regression. SETTING: Paris, 1987-92. MEASUREMENTS AND MAIN RESULTS: Air pollution was monitored by measurement of black smoke (BS) (15 monitoring stations), sulphur dioxide (SO2), nitrogen dioxide (NO2), particulate matter less than 13 microns in diameter (PM13), and ozone (O3) (4 stations). Daily mortality and ...

  7. Source identification of ambient PM2.5 during summer inhalation exposure studies in Detroit, MI

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Morishita, M.; Keeler, G.J.; Wagner, J.G.; Harkema, J.R. [University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI (United States). Air Quality Laboratory

    2006-07-15

    Particulate air pollution is associated with cardiopulmonary morbidity and mortality in heavily populated urban centers of the United States. Because ambient fine particulate matter (aerodynamic diameter {<=} 2.5 {mu}m; PM2.5) is a complex mixture resulting from multiple sources and variable atmospheric conditions, it is difficult to identify specific components of PM2.5 that are responsible for adverse health effects. During four consecutive summers from 2000 to 2003 we characterized the ambient gaseous and PM2.5 air quality in an urban southwest Detroit community where childhood asthma hospitalization rates are more than twice the statewide average. Both integrated and continuous PM measurements together with gaseous air pollution measurements were performed using a mobile air research facility, AirCARE1, in which concurrent toxicological studies were being conducted. Chemical and physical characterizations of PM2.5 as well as receptor modeling using positive matrix factorization (PMF) were completed. Results from PMF indicated that six major sources contributed to the observed ambient PM2.5 mass during the summer months. Primary sources included (1) coal combustion/secondary sulfate aerosol, (2) motor vehicle/urban road dust, (3) municipal waste incinerators, (4) oil combustion/refineries, (5) sewage sludge incinerators, and (6) iron/steel manufacturing. Although the contribution of the coal/secondary sulfate aerosol source was greater than other factors, increased levels of urban PM2.5 from local combustion sources were also observed. In addition to characterization of ambient PM2.5 and their sources in southwest Detroit, this paper discusses possible associations of ambient PM2.5 from local combustion sources, specifically incinerator and refinery emissions and the observed adverse health effects during the inhalation exposure campaigns.

  8. Cardiomyopathy confers susceptibility to particulate matter-induced oxidative stress, vagal dominance, arrhythmia, pulmonary inflammation in heart failure-prone rats

    Science.gov (United States)

    Acute exposure to ambient fine particulate matter (PM2.5) is tied to cardiovascular morbidity and mortality, especially among those with prior cardiac injury. The mechanisms and pathophysiologic events precipitating these outcomes remain poorly understood but may involve inflamm...

  9. Condensed matter physics

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Anon.

    1985-01-01

    The condensed matter physics research in the Physics Department of Risoe National Laboratory is predominantly experimental utilising diffraction of neutrons and x-rays. The research topics range from studies of structure, excitations and phase transitions in model systems to studies of ion transport, texture and recrystallization kinetics with a more applied nature. (author)

  10. Algorithms in ambient intelligence

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Aarts, E.H.L.; Korst, J.H.M.; Verhaegh, W.F.J.; Weber, W.; Rabaey, J.M.; Aarts, E.

    2005-01-01

    We briefly review the concept of ambient intelligence and discuss its relation with the domain of intelligent algorithms. By means of four examples of ambient intelligent systems, we argue that new computing methods and quantification measures are needed to bridge the gap between the class of

  11. Australia's national men's health policy: masculinity matters.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Saunders, Margo; Peerson, Anita

    2009-08-01

    The development of Australia's first national men's health policy provides an important opportunity for informed discussions of health and gender. It is therefore a concern that the stated policy appears to deliberately exclude hegemonic masculinity and other masculinities, despite evidence of their major influence on men's health-related values, beliefs, perspectives, attitudes, motivations and behaviour. We provide an evidence-based critique of the proposed approach to a national men's health policy which raises important questions about whether the new policy can achieve its aims if it fails to acknowledge 'masculinity' as a key factor in Australian men's health. The national men's health policy should be a means to encourage gender analysis in health. This will require recognition of the influence of hegemonic masculinity, and other masculinities, on men's health. Recognising the influence of 'masculinity' on men's health is not about 'blaming' men for 'behaving badly', but is crucial to the development of a robust, meaningful and comprehensive national men's health policy.

  12. Sistemas de gestión ambiental normalizados

    OpenAIRE

    Fronti de García, Luisa; Pahlen, Ricardo José María; D’Onofrio, Paula Alejandra

    2004-01-01

    La contabilidad ambiental presupone la existencia de un sistema de gestión ambiental. Dentro del sistema integral de la organización, el sistema de gestión ambiental permite la obtención de información oportuna y segura. Podríamos definir el sistema de gestión ambiental de un ente como el conjunto de medidas destinadas a prevenir el impacto negativo de las actividades del ente sobre el medio ambiente. El sistema de gestión ambiental (SGA) es aquella parte del sistema de gestión total que incl...

  13. Notes on the Particulate Matter Standards in the European Union and the Netherlands

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Hugo Priemus

    2009-03-01

    Full Text Available The distribution of Particulate Matter in the atmosphere, resulting from emissions produced by cars, trucks, ships, industrial estates and agricultural complexes, is a topical public health problem that has increased in recent decades due to environmental factors in advanced economies in particular. This contribution relates the health impact caused by concentrations of Particulate Matter (PM in ambient air to the PM standards, the size of the particles and spatial planning. Diverging impacts of PM standards in legal regulation are discussed. The authors present a review of the development of legal PM standards in the European Union, with a specific reference to The Netherlands.

  14. EVALUATION OF THE EMISSION, TRANSPORT, AND DEPOSITION OF MERCURY, FINE PARTICULATE MATTER, AND ARSENIC FROM COAL-BASED POWER PLANTS IN THE OHIO RIVER VALLEY REGION

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Kevin Crist

    2004-10-02

    Ohio University, in collaboration with CONSOL Energy, Advanced Technology Systems, Inc (ATS) and Atmospheric and Environmental Research, Inc. (AER) as subcontractors, is evaluating the impact of emissions from coal-fired power plants in the Ohio River Valley region as they relate to the transport and deposition of mercury, arsenic, and associated fine particulate matter. This evaluation will involve two interrelated areas of effort: ambient air monitoring and regional-scale modeling analysis. The scope of work for the ambient air monitoring will include the deployment of a surface air monitoring (SAM) station in southeastern Ohio. The SAM station will contain sampling equipment to collect and measure mercury (including speciated forms of mercury and wet and dry deposited mercury), arsenic, particulate matter (PM) mass, PM composition, and gaseous criteria pollutants (CO, NOx, SO{sub 2}, O{sub 3}, etc.). Laboratory analysis of time-integrated samples will be used to obtain chemical speciation of ambient PM composition and mercury in precipitation. Near-real-time measurements will be used to measure the ambient concentrations of PM mass and all gaseous species including Hg{sup 0} and RGM. Approximately of 18 months of field data will be collected at the SAM site to validate the proposed regional model simulations for episodic and seasonal model runs. The ambient air quality data will also provide mercury, arsenic, and fine particulate matter data that can be used by Ohio Valley industries to assess performance on multi-pollutant control systems. The scope of work for the modeling analysis will include (1) development of updated inventories of mercury and arsenic emissions from coal plants and other important sources in the modeled domain; (2) adapting an existing 3-D atmospheric chemical transport model to incorporate recent advancements in the understanding of mercury transformations in the atmosphere; (3) analyses of the flux of Hg{sup 0}, RGM, arsenic, and fine

  15. Evaluation of the Emission, Transport, and Deposition of Mercury, Fine Particulate Matter, and Arsenic from Coal-Based Power Plants in the Ohio River Valley Region

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Kevin Crist

    2006-04-02

    As stated in the proposal: Ohio University, in collaboration with CONSOL Energy, Advanced Technology Systems, Inc (ATS) and Atmospheric and Environmental Research, Inc. (AER) as subcontractors, is evaluating the impact of emissions from coal-fired power plants in the Ohio River Valley region as they relate to the transport and deposition of mercury, arsenic, and associated fine particulate matter. This evaluation will involve two interrelated areas of effort: ambient air monitoring and regional-scale modeling analysis. The scope of work for the ambient air monitoring will include the deployment of a surface air monitoring (SAM) station in southeastern Ohio. The SAM station will contain sampling equipment to collect and measure mercury (including speciated forms of mercury and wet and dry deposited mercury), arsenic, particulate matter (PM) mass, PM composition, and gaseous criteria pollutants (CO, NO{sub x}, SO{sub 2}, O{sub 3}, etc.). Laboratory analysis of time-integrated samples will be used to obtain chemical speciation of ambient PM composition and mercury in precipitation. Near-real-time measurements will be used to measure the ambient concentrations of PM mass and all gaseous species including Hg0 and RGM. Approximately 18 months of field data will be collected at the SAM site to validate the proposed regional model simulations for episodic and seasonal model runs. The ambient air quality data will also provide mercury, arsenic, and fine particulate matter data that can be used by Ohio Valley industries to assess performance on multi-pollutant control systems. The scope of work for the modeling analysis will include (1) development of updated inventories of mercury and arsenic emissions from coal plants and other important sources in the modeled domain; (2) adapting an existing 3-D atmospheric chemical transport model to incorporate recent advancements in the understanding of mercury transformations in the atmosphere; (3) analyses of the flux of Hg{sup 0

  16. Evaluation of the Emission, Transport, and Deposition of Mercury, Fine Particulate Matter, and Arsenic from Coal-Based Power Plants in the Ohio River Valley Region

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Kevin Crist

    2005-10-02

    Ohio University, in collaboration with CONSOL Energy, Advanced Technology Systems, Inc (ATS) and Atmospheric and Environmental Research, Inc. (AER) as subcontractors, is evaluating the impact of emissions from coal-fired power plants in the Ohio River Valley region as they relate to the transport and deposition of mercury, arsenic, and associated fine particulate matter. This evaluation will involve two interrelated areas of effort: ambient air monitoring and regional-scale modeling analysis. The scope of work for the ambient air monitoring will include the deployment of a surface air monitoring (SAM) station in southeastern Ohio. The SAM station will contain sampling equipment to collect and measure mercury (including speciated forms of mercury and wet and dry deposited mercury), arsenic, particulate matter (PM) mass, PM composition, and gaseous criteria pollutants (CO, NOx, SO{sub 2}, O{sub 3}, etc.). Laboratory analysis of time-integrated samples will be used to obtain chemical speciation of ambient PM composition and mercury in precipitation. Near-real-time measurements will be used to measure the ambient concentrations of PM mass and all gaseous species including Hg{sup 0} and RGM. Approximately of 18 months of field data will be collected at the SAM site to validate the proposed regional model simulations for episodic and seasonal model runs. The ambient air quality data will also provide mercury, arsenic, and fine particulate matter data that can be used by Ohio Valley industries to assess performance on multi-pollutant control systems. The scope of work for the modeling analysis will include (1) development of updated inventories of mercury and arsenic emissions from coal plants and other important sources in the modeled domain; (2) adapting an existing 3-D atmospheric chemical transport model to incorporate recent advancements in the understanding of mercury transformations in the atmosphere; (3) analyses of the flux of Hg0, RGM, arsenic, and fine

  17. Characteristics and determinants of ambient fungal spores in Hualien, Taiwan

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ho, Hsiao-Man; Rao, Carol Y.; Hsu, Hsiao-Hsien; Chiu, Yueh-Hsiu; Liu, Chi-Ming; Chao, H. Jasmine

    Characteristics and determinants of ambient aeroallergens are of much concern in recent years because of the apparent health impacts of allergens. Yet relatively little is known about the complex behaviors of ambient aeroallergens. To address this issue, we monitored ambient fungal spores in Hualien, Taiwan from 1993-1996 to examine the compositions and temporal variations of fungi, and to evaluate possible determinants. We used a Burkard seven-day volumetric spore trap to collect daily fungal spores. Air pollutants, meteorological factors, and Asian dust events were included in the statistical analyses to predict fungal levels. We found that the most dominant fungal categories were ascospores, followed by Cladosporium and Aspergillus/Penicillium. The majority of the fungal categories had significant diurnal and seasonal variations. Total fungi, Cladosporium, Ganoderma, Arthrinium/Papularia, Cercospora, Periconia, Alternaria, Botrytis, and PM 10 had significantly higher concentrations ( p<0.05) during the period affected by Asian dust events. In multiple regression models, we found that temperature was consistently and positively associated with fungal concentrations. Other factors correlated with fungal concentrations included ozone, particulate matters with an aerodynamic diameter less than 10 μm (PM 10), relative humidity, rainfall, atmospheric pressure, total hydrocarbons, carbon monoxide, nitrogen dioxide, and sulfur dioxide. Most of the fungal categories had higher levels in 1994 than in 1995-96, probably due to urbanization of the study area. In this study, we demonstrated complicated interrelationships between fungi and air pollution/meteorological factors. In addition, long-range transport of air pollutants contributed significantly to local aeroallergen levels. Future studies should examine the health impacts of aeroallergens, as well as the synergistic/antagonistic effects of weather, and local and global-scale air pollutions.

  18. Effects of ambient oxygen concentration on soot temperature and concentration for biodiesel and diesel spray combustion

    KAUST Repository

    Zhang, Ji

    2015-06-01

    Ambient oxygen concentration, a key variable directly related to exhaust gas recirculation (EGR) levels in diesel engines, plays a significant role in particulate matter (PM) and nitrogen oxides (NOx) emissions. The utilization of biodiesel in diesel engines has been investigated over the last decades for its renewable characteristics and lower emissions compared to diesel. In an earlier work, we demonstrated that the soot temperature and concentration of biodiesel were lower than diesel under regular diesel engine conditions without EGR. Soot concentration was quantified by a parameter called KL factor. As a continuous effort, this paper presents an experimental investigation of the ambient oxygen concentration on soot temperature and KL factor during biodiesel and diesel spray combustion. The experiment was implemented in a constant volume chamber system, where the ambient oxygen concentration varied from 21 to 10% and the ambient temperature was kept to 1,000 K. A high speed two-color pyrometry technique was used to measure transient soot temperature and the KL factor of the spray flame. The soot temperature of biodiesel is found to be lower than that of diesel under the same conditions, which follows the same trend from our previous results found when the ambient temperature changes to 21% oxygen conditions. A reduction in ambient oxygen concentration generally reduces the soot temperature for both fuels. However, this is a complicated effect on soot processes as the change of oxygen concentration greatly affects the balance between soot formation and oxidation. The KL factor is observed to be the highest at 12% O2 for diesel and 18% O2 for biodiesel, respectively. On the other hand, the 10% O2 condition shows the lowest KL factor for both fuels. These results can provide quantitative experimental evidences to optimize the ambient oxygen concentration for diesel engines using different fuels for better emissions characteristics. © 2014 American Society of

  19. Contabilidade ambiental o passaporte para a competitividade

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Maria Elisabeth Pereira Kraemer

    2002-03-01

    Full Text Available Como todos os problemas ambientais provocaram grandes danos irreversíveis, que incidiram e incidem agora em todos os países subdesenvolvidos e desenvolvidos, nasce, então, como necessidade imperiosa, introduzir nos nossos sistemas econômicos a Contabilidade Ambiental, pois as organizações, até alguns anos atrás, preocupavam-se apenas com a eficiência dos sistemas produtivos. Chegamos a "era da revolução ambiental", e o ambiente não somente aparece como um conjunto de problemas relativos ao controle da contaminação, mas representa um custo no crescimento econômico. Neste sentido, o contador precisa de uma formação que se estenda além dos limites das técnicas e dos procedimentos. É necessário acrescentar o registro contábil do meio ambiente, dada a velocidade de sua afetação e a influência do mundo atual na utilização e disposição dos recursos naturais. Deve ser considerado como um dos princípios contábeis, onde é um desafio para a contabilidade. Precisa ser considerada como uma ciência contábil integrada, pois com a ciência ecológica e outras ciências são responsáveis pela natureza onde devem ser aplicados critérios de proteção ambiental, demonstrando que os recursos naturais constituem nosso principal capital. Partindo dessa premissa é que este trabalho está enfocando os seguintes tópicos: Responsabilidade Social da Empresa; A Empresa e o Meio Ambiente; Gestão Ambiental; Sistema de Gestão Ambiental; Ações para Preservar o Meio Ambiente - O Protocolo Verde, A Contabilidade, Custos Ambientais, Ativo Ambiental, Passivo Ambiental, Patrimônio Ambiental, Contabilidade Ambiental e Contabilidade Ambiental - o Passaporte para a Competitividade.

  20. Ambient Air Pollution and Increases in Blood Pressure: Role for biological constituents of particulate matter

    Science.gov (United States)

    Particulate matter (PM) is a complex mixture of extremely small particles and liquid droplets made up of a number of components including elemental carbon, organic chemicals, metals, acids (such as nitrates and sulfates), and soil and dust particles. Epidemiological studies con...

  1. Turbine airfoil with ambient cooling system

    Science.gov (United States)

    Campbell, Jr, Christian X.; Marra, John J.; Marsh, Jan H.

    2016-06-07

    A turbine airfoil usable in a turbine engine and having at least one ambient air cooling system is disclosed. At least a portion of the cooling system may include one or more cooling channels configured to receive ambient air at about atmospheric pressure. The ambient air cooling system may have a tip static pressure to ambient pressure ratio of at least 0.5, and in at least one embodiment, may include a tip static pressure to ambient pressure ratio of between about 0.5 and about 3.0. The cooling system may also be configured such that an under root slot chamber in the root is large to minimize supply air velocity. One or more cooling channels of the ambient air cooling system may terminate at an outlet at the tip such that the outlet is aligned with inner surfaces forming the at least one cooling channel in the airfoil to facilitate high mass flow.

  2. Intraurban Spatiotemporal Variability of Ambient Air Pollutants across Metropolitan St. Louis

    Science.gov (United States)

    Du, Li

    Ambient air monitoring networks have been established in the United States since the 1970s to comply with the Clean Air Act. The monitoring networks are primarily used to determine compliance but also provide substantive support to air quality management and air quality research including studies on health effects of air pollutants. The Roxana Air Quality Study (RAQS) was conducted at the fenceline of a petroleum refinery in Roxana, Illinois. In addition to providing insights into air pollutant impacts from the refinery, these measurements increased the St. Louis area monitoring network density for gaseous air toxics and fine particulate matter (PM2.5) speciation and thus provided an opportunity to examine intraurban spatiotemporal variability for these air quality parameters. This dissertation focused on exploring and assessing aspects of ambient air pollutant spatiotemporal variability in the St. Louis area from three progressively expanded spatial scales using a suite of methods and metrics. RAQS data were used to characterize air quality conditions in the immediate vicinity of the petroleum refinery. For example, PM2.5 lanthanoids were used to track impacts from refinery fluidized bed catalytic cracker emissions. RAQS air toxics data were interpreted by comparing to network data from the Blair Street station in the City of St. Louis which is a National Air Toxics Trends Station. Species were classified as being spatially homogeneous (similar between sites) or heterogeneous (different between sites) and in the latter case these differences were interpreted using surface winds data. For PM 2.5 species, there were five concurrently operating sites in the St. Louis area - including the site in Roxana - which are either formally part of the national Chemical Speciation Network (CSN) or rigorously follow the CSN sampling and analytical protocols. This unusually large number of speciation sites for a region the size of St. Louis motivated a detailed examination of

  3. Characterization of Organic Matter under Different Pedoenvironments in the Viruá National Park, in Northern Amazon

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    José Frutuoso do Vale Júnior

    2016-01-01

    Full Text Available ABSTRACT Soil organic matter (SOM fractions result from a variety of environmental processes, which affect incorporation and production rates, decomposition, alteration, and/or mineralization of organic matter. The aim of this study was to characterize SOM under the environments of rain forest, wooded campinarana (grasslands, arboreal-shrubby campinarana, grassy-woody campinarana, and pioneer plants of the Viruá National Park, in the north of the Brazilian Amazon. After chemical and physical characterization and soil classification, total organic carbon (TOC, total N, microbial activity, organic C from fulvic acid fractions (FA, humic acid (HA, and humin (Hu were determined at two depths (0.00-0.15 and 0.15-0.30 m. The TOC was lower in the grassy-woody campinarana, arboreal-shrubby campinarana, and pioneer formation areas than in the rain forest. Higher values of microbial activity were related to forest ecosystems in soils without physical or water restrictions and with better fertility compared to the other areas. The Hu predominated in all vegetation types studied, especially in the surface layer, because of the more soluble nature of HA and FA; and the higher values of HA/FA ratios in wooded campinaranas indicate that these environments contribute to higher losses of humic substances through fulvic acid forms, due to better drainage conditions.

  4. Impacts of Ambient and Ablation Plasmas on Short- and Ultrashort-Pulse Laser Processing of Surfaces

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Nadezhda M. Bulgakova

    2014-12-01

    Full Text Available In spite of the fact that more than five decades have passed since the invention of laser, some topics of laser-matter interaction still remain incompletely studied. One of such topics is plasma impact on the overall phenomenon of the interaction and its particular features, including influence of the laser-excited plasma re-radiation, back flux of energetic plasma species, and massive material redeposition, on the surface quality and processing efficiency. In this paper, we analyze different plasma aspects, which go beyond a simple consideration of the well-known effect of plasma shielding of laser radiation. The following effects are considered: ambient gas ionization above the target on material processing with formation of a “plasma pipe”; back heating of the target by both laser-driven ambient and ablation plasmas through conductive and radiative heat transfer; plasma chemical effects on surface processing including microstructure growth on liquid metals; complicated dynamics of the ablation plasma flow interacting with an ambient gas that can result in substantial redeposition of material around the ablation spot. Together with a review summarizing our main to-date achievements and outlining research directions, we present new results underlining importance of laser plasma dynamics and photoionization of the gas environment upon laser processing of materials.

  5. Ambient particulate pollution and the world-wide prevalence of asthma, rhinoconjunctivitis and eczema in children: Phase One of the International Study of Asthma and Allergies in Childhood (ISAAC).

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Anderson, H.R.; Ruggles, R.; Pandey, K.D.; Kapetanakis, V.; Brunekreef, B.; Lai, C.K.; Strachan, D.P.; Weiland, S.K.

    2010-01-01

    OBJECTIVES: To investigate the effect of ambient particulate matter on variation in childhood prevalence of asthma, rhinoconjunctivitis and eczema. METHODS: Prevalences of asthma, rhinoconjunctivitis and eczema obtained in Phase One of the International Study of Asthma and Allergies in Childhood

  6. 78 FR 52192 - Final Aquatic Life Ambient Water Quality Criteria For Ammonia-Freshwater 2013

    Science.gov (United States)

    2013-08-22

    ... ambient water quality criteria for the protection of aquatic life from effects of ammonia in freshwater... ammonia to freshwater aquatic life. On December 30, 2009, EPA published draft national recommended water... freshwater are intended to protect aquatic life and do not address human health toxicity data. The water...

  7. Ambient Air Quality Data Inventory

    Data.gov (United States)

    U.S. Environmental Protection Agency — The Office of Air and Radiation's (OAR) Ambient Air Quality Data (Current) contains ambient air pollution data collected by EPA, other federal agencies, as well as...

  8. Co-exposure to inhaled ambient particulate matter and acrolein alters myocardial synchrony in mice: evidence for TRPA1 involvement

    Science.gov (United States)

    Because air pollution is a complex mixture of constituents, often including particulates and aldehydes, attributing health effects to air pollutants in a given ambient air shed can be difficult when pollutants are studied in isolation. The purpose of this study was to examine the...

  9. Johns Hopkins Particulate Matter Research Center

    Data.gov (United States)

    Federal Laboratory Consortium — The Johns Hopkins Particulate Matter Research Center will map health risks of PM across the US based on analyses of national databases on air pollution, mortality,...

  10. La Educación Ambiental una herramienta clave de la Gestión Ambiental

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    María josé Esteves Ivanissevich

    2013-06-01

    Full Text Available Entendemos que el objeto de la educación ambiental no es el ambiente como tal, sino nuestra relación con él; la multiplicidad y diversidad de objetivos y la necesidad de anclar la intervención en cada contexto específico, hace de ésta una tarea inmensa y compleja. La provincia del Chubut registra desde el año 1999 un historial importante. Éste trabajo, toma lo realizado en la temática de eliminación de bolsas de polietileno en los espacios públicos, de forma interinstitucional y en ámbitos educativo formal y no formal. Con la hipótesis de que la educación ambiental constituye un instrumento de política ambiental preventivo atendiendo los problemas que afecten o pudieran afectar al ambiente; nos planteamos como objetivos: construir una ciudadanía ambientalmente responsable; Impulsar la formación y capacitación de docentes y actores sociales con una mirada ambiental; Contribuir a la conservación ambiental disponiendo de las nuevas tecnologías. La metodología se sustenta en una concepción que hace eje en el aumento de la participación de la sociedad. Desde el ámbito formal se trabajó durante el 2007-2011 con capacitaciones presenciales y a distancia, para docentes de nivel inicial y primario (434 capacitados, en forma conjunta con el Ministerio de Educación. El equipo de trabajo consta de cuatro profesionales del Ministerio de Ambiente y la colaboración de especialistas según el lugar y la temática. En el ámbito no formal se realizaron charlas y talleres con la comunidad (5826 capacitados; comunicación extrainstitucional por medios masivos de comunicación; campañas ambientales, trabajando en forma conjunta con organismos municipales, provinciales, no gubernamentales y privados. Se cubrieron 28 localidades en todo el territorio provincial. Se abarcó un gran número de docentes, quedando el trabajo con directores y supervisores, para pensar en la inclusión de las temáticas como los residuos sólidos urbanos, en el

  11. Alternative Refrigerant Evaluation for High-Ambient-Temperature Environments: R-22 and R-410A Alternatives for Rooftop Air Conditioners

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Abdelaziz, Omar [Oak Ridge National Lab. (ORNL), Oak Ridge, TN (United States); Shrestha, Som S. [Oak Ridge National Lab. (ORNL), Oak Ridge, TN (United States); Shen, Bo [Oak Ridge National Lab. (ORNL), Oak Ridge, TN (United States); Linkous, Randall Lee [Oak Ridge National Lab. (ORNL), Oak Ridge, TN (United States); Goetzler, William [Navigant Consulting Inc., Burlington, MA (United States); Guernsey, Matt [Navigant Consulting Inc., Burlington, MA (United States); Bargach, Youssef [Navigant Consulting Inc., Burlington, MA (United States)

    2016-09-01

    The Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL) High-Ambient-Temperature Evaluation Program for Low-Global Warming Potential (Low-GWP) Refrigerants aims to develop an understanding of the performance of low-GWP alternative refrigerants relative to hydrochlorofluorocarbon (HCFC) and hydrofluorocarbon (HFC) refrigerants in packaged or Rooftop Unit (RTU) air conditioners under high-ambient-temperature conditions. This final report describes the parties involved, the alternative refrigerants selection process, the test procedures, and the final results.

  12. Evaluación Ambiental Estratégica y Auditoría Contable Ambiental como Instrumentos para la Optimización de la Política Pública Ambiental en el Brasil

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Gardênia Maria Braga de Carvalho

    2014-01-01

    Full Text Available La política ambiental es un conjunto de directrices, objetivos e instrumentos de acción que el poder público utiliza para producir efectos deseables sobre el medio ambiente. Algunos de esos instrumentos aunque no están institucionalizados, como la Evaluación Ambiental Estratégica (AAE, que objetiva desarrollar un estudio macro de los impactos causados al medio ambiente y a la comunidad; y la Auditoría Contable Ambiental (ACA, que consiste en la confrontación de las informaciones de los informes ambientales y contables. Así, se cuestiona: a ¿qué problemas generados por la ausencia de la AAE y de la ACA en la política ambiental brasileira? b ¿cómo la inserción de la AAE y de la ACA contribuiría para la solución de los problemas específicos detectados? Este artículo tiene como objetivo demostrar que existe una laguna en la política ambiental por desconsideración de esos instrumentos. El referencial teórico fue construido teniendo como base la contabilidad ambiental, auditoría ambiental y política pública. Se utilizó como método el análisis descriptivo en relación a sus objetivos, siendo realizada una pesquisa bibliográfica y exploratoria sobre los temas: políticas públicas, AAE y ACA. Se concluye que es necesaria la institucionalización de la AAE y de la ACA, en la fase inicial y final, respectivamente, del proceso de instalación y acompañamiento de emprendimientos impactantes al medio ambiente, pues el hecho de no ser compulsorios, revelaron una laguna en la política ambiental, tornándola frágil.

  13. Agreements for energy and environment; Patto per l'energia e l'ambiente

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    NONE

    1998-07-01

    In this paper are reported in ambit of italian national conference of energy and environment, an agreement undersigned by deputy of political and social forces. [Italian] In questo documento e' illustrato il patto per l'energia e l'ambiente cui hanno aderito forze sociali e politiche del paese.

  14. 77 FR 74115 - Approval and Promulgation of Air Quality Implementation Plans; Pennsylvania; The 2002 Base Year...

    Science.gov (United States)

    2012-12-13

    ... Pittsburgh-Beaver Valley Nonattainment Area for 1997 Fine Particulate Matter National Ambient Air Quality... Pittsburgh- Beaver Valley nonattainment area (hereafter referred to as the Area) for the 1997 PM 2.5 National... certified as not having a significant economic impact on a substantial number of small entities under the...

  15. Alternative Refrigerant Evaluation for High-Ambient Temperature Environments: R-22 and R-410A Alternatives for Mini-Split Air Conditioners

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Abdelaziz, Omar [ORNL; Munk, Jeffrey D [ORNL; Shrestha, Som S [ORNL; Linkous, Randall Lee [ORNL; Goetzler, William [Navigant Consulting Inc.; Guernsey, Matt [Navigant Consulting Inc.; Kassuga, Theo [Navigant Consulting Inc.

    2015-08-01

    The Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL) High-Ambient Temperature Testing Program for Low-GWP Refrigerants aims to develop an understanding of the performance of low-Global Warming Potential (low-GWP) alternatives to Hydrochlorofluorocarbon (HCFC) and Hydrofluorocarbon (HFC) refrigerants in mini-split air conditioners under high ambient temperature conditions. This interim working paper describes the parties involved, the alternative refrigerants selection process, the test procedures, and the preliminary results.

  16. Alternative Refrigerant Evaluation for High-Ambient-Temperature Environments: R-22 and R-410A Alternatives for Mini-Split Air Conditioners

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Abdelaziz, Omar [Oak Ridge National Lab. (ORNL), Oak Ridge, TN (United States); Shrestha, Som S. [Oak Ridge National Lab. (ORNL), Oak Ridge, TN (United States); Munk, Jeffrey D. [Oak Ridge National Lab. (ORNL), Oak Ridge, TN (United States); Linkous, Randall Lee [Oak Ridge National Lab. (ORNL), Oak Ridge, TN (United States); Goetzler, William [Navigant Consulting Inc., Burlington, MA (United States); Guernsey, Matt [Navigant Consulting Inc., Burlington, MA (United States); Kassuga, Theo [Navigant Consulting Inc., Burlington, MA (United States)

    2015-10-01

    The Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL) High-Ambient-Temperature Evaluation Program for low– global warming potential (Low-GWP) Refrigerants aims to develop an understanding of the performance of low-GWP alternative refrigerants to hydrochlorofluorocarbon (HCFC) and hydrofluorocarbon (HFC) refrigerants in mini-split air conditioners under high-ambient-temperature conditions. This final report describes the parties involved, the alternative refrigerant selection process, the test procedures, and the final results.

  17. Identifying fecal matter contamination in produce fields using multispectral reflectance imaging under ambient solar illumination

    Science.gov (United States)

    An imaging device to detect fecal contamination in fresh produce fields could allow the producer to avoid harvesting fecal-contaminated produce. E.coli O157:H7 outbreaks have been associated with fecal-contaminated leafy greens. In this study, in-field spectral profiles of bovine fecal matter, soil,...

  18. Seasonal Contribution of Mineral Dust and Otlher Major Components to Particulate Matter at Two Remote Sites in Central Asia

    Science.gov (United States)

    Dust storms are significant contributors to ambient levels of particulate matter (PM) in many areas of the world. Central Asia, an area that is relatively understudied in this regard, is anticipated to be affected by dust storms due to its proximity to several major deserts that ...

  19. Removal of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) from industrial sludges in the ambient air conditions: automotive industry.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Karaca, Gizem; Tasdemir, Yucel

    2013-01-01

    Removal of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) existed in automotive industry treatment sludge was examined by considering the effects of temperature, UV, titanium dioxide (TiO2) and diethyl amine (DEA) in different dosages (i.e., 5% and 20%) in this study. Application of TiO2 and DEA to the sludge samples in ambient environment was studied. Ten PAH (Σ10 PAH) compounds were targeted and their average value in the sludge was found to be 4480 ± 1450 ng/g dry matter (DM). Total PAH content of the sludge was reduced by 25% in the ambient air environment. Meteorological conditions, atmospheric deposition, evaporation and sunlight irradiation played an effective role in the variations in PAH levels during the tests carried out in ambient air environment. Moreover, it was observed that when the ring numbers of PAHs increased, their removal rates also increased. Total PAH level did not change with the addition of 5% DEA and only 10% decreased with 5% TiO2 addition. PAH removal ratios were 8% and 32% when DEA (20%) and TiO2 (20%) were added, respectively. It was concluded that DEA was a weak photo-sensitizer yet TiO2 was effective only at 20% dosage.

  20. Single particle characterization, source apportionment, and aging effects of ambient aerosols in Southern California

    Science.gov (United States)

    Shields, Laura Grace

    , the impact of large wildfires on the ambient levels of particulate matter in Southern California is discussed. The results of this work provide insight into single particles impacting the Southern California region, the relative source contributions to this region, and finally an examination of how atmospheric aging influences the ability to perform source apportionment.

  1. Educación ambiental en la crisis y crisis de la educación ambiental

    OpenAIRE

    Delgado Huertos, Enrique

    2012-01-01

    Producción Científica Es preciso repensar la Educación Ambiental una vez asumido que los ciudadanos despues de tres décadas de mensajes y actividades educativas, si bien han cambiado su percepción de los problemas ambientales, apenas ha variado su actitud y su compromiso personal en favor del medio ambiente. La educación ambiental ha de perder el carácter anecdótico y pasar de actividades aisladas, repetitivas y desconectadas del resto de los aprendizajes a una intervención basada en la si...

  2. It doesn’t matter, but: examining the impact of ambient learning displays on energy consumption and conservation at the workplace

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Börner, Dirk; Kalz, Marco; Specht, Marcus

    2014-01-01

    This study reports an intervention to initiate environmental learning and facilitate pro-environmental behaviour. The purpose was to examine the impact of ambient learning displays on energy consumption and conservation at the workplace, more specifically the evaluation of learning outcome and

  3. Spatial Analysis of BioAmbients

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Nielson, Hanne Riis; Nielson, Flemming; Pilegaard, Henrik

    2004-01-01

    Programming language technology can contribute to the development and understanding of Systems Biology by providing formal calculi for specifying and analysing the dynamic behaviour of biological systems. Our focus is on BioAmbients, a variation of the ambient calculi developed for modelling...

  4. Indicadores de salud ambiental

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Manuel Posada de la Paz

    2004-12-01

    Full Text Available Esta ponencia presenta una visión general del proyecto de Indicadores de Salud Ambiental, coordinado por la OMS a nivel internacional y liderado por el Centro de Investigación sobre el Síndrome del Aceite Tóxico y Enfermedades Raras (CISATER en España. En ella se describen los objetivos del proyecto, las gestiones realizadas y los resultados obtenidos durante la fase de viabilidad de este proyecto. El proyecto consiste en el establecimiento de un sistema de información sobre salud ambiental que permita desarrollar una vigilancia de los factores ambientales determinantes de los estados de salud, realizar comparaciones internacionales, elaborar políticas de acción, así como facilitar la comunicación con la ciudadanía. La OMS desarrolló una metodología para el desarrollo de estos indicadores dentro del marco conceptual de información ambiental DPSEEA (Fuerzas impulsoras, Presión, Estado, Exposición, Efecto, Acción y seleccionó un total de 55 indicadores (que incluyen 168 variables sobre 10 áreas de la salud ambiental. Durante la fase de viabilidad se predijo que podrían obtenerse el 89% de los indicadores. Sin embargo la recolección de los datos supuso muchas dificultades debido a la incompatibilidad de algunas variables en los sistemas de información españoles con las variables definidas por la OMS. A nivel de gestión del proyecto, la mayor dificultad radica en la disparidad de responsabilidades en materia de medio ambiente y salud entre las instituciones españolas. Además de la aportación técnica a la salud ambiental en España, un valor añadido de este proyecto ha sido el establecimiento de líneas de colaboración estrechas con los responsables de los diferentes Ministerios implicados.

  5. Automatic national network of radiation environmental monitoring in Mexico; Red nacional automatica de monitoreo radiologico ambiental en Mexico

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Aguirre, Jaime; Delgado, Jose L.; Lopez, Manuel; Zertuche, Jorge V., E-mail: jaguirre@cnsns.gob.mx, E-mail: jldelgado@cnsns.gob.mx, E-mail: mlopez@cnsns.gob.mx, E-mail: jorge.zertuche@cnsns.gob.mx [Comision Nacional de Seguridad Nuclear y Salvaguardias (CNSNS), D.F. (Mexico). Direccion de Vigilancia Radiologica

    2013-07-01

    The Direccion de Vigilancia Radiologica (DVR) of the Comision Nacional de Seguridad Nuclear y Salvaguardias (CNSNS) de Mexico, performs several function for environmental radiation monitoring. One of these functions is the permanent monitoring of the environmental gamma radiation. For this, it implemented the Red Nacional Automatica de Monitoreo Radiologico Ambiental (RENAMORA) - the National Automated Network for Environmental Radiation Monitoring,which currently comprises 60 detector probes for gamma radiation which with a programmable system that includes information technologies, data transmission and software can send the information in real time to a primary center of data located in the facilities of CNSNS. - When the data are received, the system performs the verification and extraction of the information organized in Tables and charts, and generates a report of environmental gamma radiation dose rate average for each of the probes and for each period of time determined bu CNSNS. The RENAMORA covers the main cities and allows to establish the bases of almost the entire country, as well as to warn about abnormal situations caused by incidents or natural events generated by human activities inside or outside the country which involves radioactive materials; paying special attention to main radiological sites, such as the surroundings of the Laguna Verde Nuclear Power Plants, research centers and the radioactive waste disposal sites.

  6. Medio ambiente y educación ambiental: representaciones sociales de los profesores en formación

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Raúl Calixto Flores

    2010-06-01

    Full Text Available Una de las líneas actuales de investigación educativa que aporta elementos valiosos para comprender los procesos de formación de los sujetos es la que corresponde a las representaciones sociales. En este artículo se describen los aspectos centrales de la investigación Representaciones del medio ambiente de los estudiantes de la licenciatura en educación primaria. Con las representaciones los estudiantes discriminan espacio-temporalmente los elementos del medio ambiente, estableciendo correspondencias con las prácticas sociales. Entre los resultados de la investigación referida se encuentra la existencia de una relación entre las representaciones del medio ambiente y las corrientes de la educación ambiental.

  7. Medio ambiente y educación ambiental: representaciones sociales de los profesores en formación

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Raúl Calixto Flores

    2010-01-01

    Full Text Available Una de las líneas actuales de investigación educativa que aporta elementos valiosos para comprender los procesos de formación de los sujetos es la que corresponde a las representaciones sociales. En este artículo se describen los aspectos centrales de la investigación Representaciones del medio ambiente de los estudiantes de la licenciatura en educación primaria. Con las representaciones los estudiantes discriminan espaciotemporalmente los elementos del medio ambiente, estableciendo correspondencias con las prácticas sociales. Entre los resultados de la investigación referida se encuentra la existencia de una relación entre las representaciones del medio ambiente y las corrientes de la educación ambiental.

  8. Validating Firewalls in Mobile Ambients

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Nielson, Flemming; Nielson, Hanne Riis; Hansen, René Rydhof

    1999-01-01

    The ambient calculus is a calculus of computation that allows active processes (mobile ambients) to move between sites. A firewall is said to be protective whenever it denies entry to attackers not possessing the required passwords. We devise a polynomial time algorithm for rejecting proposed...

  9. Particulate Matter: a closer look

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Buijsman E; Beck JP; Bree L van; Cassee FR; Koelemeijer RBA; Matthijsen J; Thomas R; Wieringa K; LED; MGO

    2005-01-01

    The summary in booklet form 'Fijn stof nader bekeken' (Particulate Matter: a closer look) , published in Dutch by the Netherlands Environmental Assessment Agency (MNP) and the Environment and Safety Division of the National Institute for Public Health and the Environment (RIVM), has been designed to

  10. Ambient diagnostics

    CERN Document Server

    Cai, Yang

    2014-01-01

    Part I. FundamentalsIntroductionWhat is Ambient Diagnostics?Diagnostic ModelsMultimedia IntelligenceCrowd SourcingSoft SensorsScience of SimplicityPersonal DiagnosesBasic AlgorithmsBasic ToolsSummaryProblemsTransformationEarly Discoveries of Heartbeat PatternsTransforms, Features, and AttributesSequential FeaturesSpatiotemporal FeaturesShape FeaturesImagery FeaturesFrequency Domain FeaturesMulti-Resolution FeaturesSummaryProblemsPattern RecognitionSimilarities and DistancesClustering MethodsClassification MethodsClassifier Accuracy MeasuresSummaryProblemsPart II. Multimedia IntelligenceSound RecognitionMicrophone AppsModern Acoustic Transducers (Microphones)Frequency Response CharacteristicsDigital Audio File FormatsHeart Sound SensingLung Sound SensingSnore MeterSpectrogram (STFT)Ambient Sound AnalysisSound RecognitionRecognizing Asthma SoundPeak ShiftFeature CompressionRegroupingNoise IssuesFuture ApplicationsSummaryProblemsColor SensorsColor SensingHuman Color VisionColor SensorsColor Matching ExperimentsC...

  11. Elemental analysis of sub-hourly ambient aerosol collections

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Kidwell, C.B.; Ondov, J.M. [University of Maryland, College Park, MD (USA). Dept. of Chemical & Biochemistry

    2004-03-01

    Simultaneous multielement graphite furnace atomic absorption spectrometry was used to determine Al, As, Cd, Cr, Cu, Fe, Mn, Ni, Pb, Sb, Se, and Zn in ambient air sampled at 170 L.min{sup -1} for 30 min and collected as a slurry after dynamic preconcentration. Analyses of slurries of NIST SRM 1648, Urban Particulate Matter, were typically within 10% of expected values for all elements except Al, Cr, and Fe, elements for which deviations were mostly due to difficulties in transferring large particles. This problem will be reduced for urban fine particulate matter samples (PM2.5). Trends in the concentrations of elemental source markers were readily correlated with wind direction and other meteorological factors to identify the influences of local industrial emissions, including motor vehicle traffic, coal- and oil-fired power plants, and municipal incinerators. Factor analysis was applied to the 88-sample data set to extract 7 factors: urban dust, meteorological factors, incinerators, coal- fired power plants, Tour Bus emission, unknown As source, and oil-fired power plants. Factor analysis was also applied to an 18-sample data set representing 2.5 h averages of the 30 min data to simulate the effect of longer sample collection times. Only 6 factors were extracted from this data set, which shows that increased temporal resolution enhances the power of factor analysis to resolve sources. These results indicate that a wealth of detailed information is revealed at this level of temporal resolution.

  12. Fine Particulate Matter Air Pollution and Cognitive Function Among Older US Adults

    OpenAIRE

    Ailshire, Jennifer A.; Crimmins, Eileen M.

    2014-01-01

    Existing research on the adverse health effects of exposure to pollution has devoted relatively little attention to the potential impact of ambient air pollution on cognitive function in older adults. We examined the cross-sectional association between residential concentrations of particulate matter with aerodynamic diameter of 2.5 μm or less (PM2.5) and cognitive function in older adults. Using hierarchical linear modeling, we analyzed data from the 2004 Health and Retirement Study, a large...

  13. Association of ambient air quality with children`s lung function in urban and rural Iran

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Asgari, M.M.; Dubois, A.; Beckett, W.S. [Yale Univ. School of Medicine, New Haven, CT (United States); Asgari, M. [Shaheed Beheshti Univ., Tehran (Iran, Islamic Republic of); Gent, J. [John B. Pierce Lab., New Haven, CT (United States)

    1998-05-01

    During the summer of 1994, a cross-sectional epidemiological study, in which the pulmonary function of children in Tehran was compared with pulmonary function in children in a rural town in Iran, was conducted. Four hundred children aged 5--11 y were studied. Daytime ambient nitrogen dioxide, sulfur dioxide, and particulate matter were measured with portable devices, which were placed in the children`s neighborhoods on the days of study. Levels of these ambient substances were markedly higher in urban Tehran than in rural areas. Children`s parents were questioned about home environmental exposures (including heating source and environmental tobacco smoke) and the children`s respiratory symptoms. Pulmonary function was assessed, both by spirometry and peak expiratory flow meter. Forced expiratory volume in 1 s and forced vital capacity--as a percentage of predicted for age, sex and height--were significantly lower in urban children than in rural children. Both measurements evidenced significant reverse correlations with levels of sulfur dioxide, nitrogen dioxide, and particulate matter. Differences in spirometric lung function were not explained by nutritional status, as assessed by height and weight for age, or by home environmental exposures. Reported airway symptoms were higher among rural children, whereas reported physician diagnosis of bronchitis and asthma were higher among urban children. The association between higher pollutant concentrations and reduced pulmonary function in this urban-rural comparison suggests that there is an effect of urban air pollution on short-term lung function and/or lung growth and development during the preadolescent years.

  14. La crisis del medio ambiente

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Juan Carlos Quintero Vélez

    2013-07-01

    Full Text Available Este artículo, introducción al tema del medio ambiente, pretende proporcionar conceptos básicos para analizar y dimensionar el impacto que genera el hombre sobre los sistemas que soportan la vida. Para entender estos problemas, es indispensable partir de un análisis básico de la relación entre el hombre actual, su medio ambiente, sus necesidades y sus actividades. El autor revisa los antecedentes, las causas y las consecuencias de la crisis ambiental internacional, e intenta dar explicación a la problemática nacionalen este campo, y establecer los puntos más críticos en Colombia. Finalmente, con base en los parámetros establecidos por el gobierno, se presenta el concepto de“desarrollo sostenible" como modelo que interrelaciona los procesos económicos, sociales y tecnológicos con el medio ambiente.

  15. Construindo cidadania ambiental na escola

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Cibele Schwanke

    2014-03-01

    Full Text Available http://dx.doi.org/10.5007/1807-0221.2013v10n16p14 O forte componente transversal da Educação Ambiental possibilita sua inserção em vários espaços e níveis de escolaridade. No ensino fundamental, constitui-se em uma importante ferramenta para criar espaços que permitam a abordagem de temáticas socioambientais atuais, de forma crítica e participativa. O presente trabalho tem como objetivo apresentar o Projeto Construindo Cidadania Ambiental, executado por bolsistas do Grupo PET - Conexões Gestão Ambiental em unidades escolares, explicitando sua filosofia de implantação e resultados obtidos até o momento. Verifica-se que sua natureza interdisciplinar e integrada permite uma efetiva interação com o corpo docente e discente da escola, bem como permite a prática de uma educação ambiental crítica e transformadora.

  16. Ambient ionization mass spectrometry: A tutorial

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Huang, Min-Zong; Cheng, Sy-Chi; Cho, Yi-Tzu [Department of Chemistry, National Sun Yat-Sen University, Kaohsiung, Taiwan (China); Shiea, Jentaie, E-mail: jetea@fac.nsysu.edu.tw [Department of Chemistry, National Sun Yat-Sen University, Kaohsiung, Taiwan (China); Cancer Center, Kaohsiung Medical University, Kaohsiung, Taiwan (China)

    2011-09-19

    Highlights: {yields} Ambient ionization technique allows the direct analysis of sample surfaces with little or no sample pretreatment. {yields} We sort ambient ionization techniques into three main analytical strategies, direct ionization, direct desorption/ionization, and two-step ionization. {yields} The underlying principles of operation, ionization processes, detecting mass ranges, sensitivity, and representative applications of these techniques are described and compared. - Abstract: Ambient ionization is a set of mass spectrometric ionization techniques performed under ambient conditions that allows the direct analysis of sample surfaces with little or no sample pretreatment. Using combinations of different types of sample introduction systems and ionization methods, several novel techniques have been developed over the last few years with many applications (e.g., food safety screening; detection of pharmaceuticals and drug abuse; monitoring of environmental pollutants; detection of explosives for antiterrorism and forensics; characterization of biological compounds for proteomics and metabolomics; molecular imaging analysis; and monitoring chemical and biochemical reactions). Electrospray ionization and atmospheric pressure chemical ionization are the two main ionization principles most commonly used in ambient ionization mass spectrometry. This tutorial paper provides a review of the publications related to ambient ionization techniques. We describe and compare the underlying principles of operation, ionization processes, detecting mass ranges, sensitivity, and representative applications of these techniques.

  17. Ambient ionization mass spectrometry: A tutorial

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Huang, Min-Zong; Cheng, Sy-Chi; Cho, Yi-Tzu; Shiea, Jentaie

    2011-01-01

    Highlights: → Ambient ionization technique allows the direct analysis of sample surfaces with little or no sample pretreatment. → We sort ambient ionization techniques into three main analytical strategies, direct ionization, direct desorption/ionization, and two-step ionization. → The underlying principles of operation, ionization processes, detecting mass ranges, sensitivity, and representative applications of these techniques are described and compared. - Abstract: Ambient ionization is a set of mass spectrometric ionization techniques performed under ambient conditions that allows the direct analysis of sample surfaces with little or no sample pretreatment. Using combinations of different types of sample introduction systems and ionization methods, several novel techniques have been developed over the last few years with many applications (e.g., food safety screening; detection of pharmaceuticals and drug abuse; monitoring of environmental pollutants; detection of explosives for antiterrorism and forensics; characterization of biological compounds for proteomics and metabolomics; molecular imaging analysis; and monitoring chemical and biochemical reactions). Electrospray ionization and atmospheric pressure chemical ionization are the two main ionization principles most commonly used in ambient ionization mass spectrometry. This tutorial paper provides a review of the publications related to ambient ionization techniques. We describe and compare the underlying principles of operation, ionization processes, detecting mass ranges, sensitivity, and representative applications of these techniques.

  18. La protección internacional del medio ambiente

    OpenAIRE

    Bou Franch, Valentín

    2017-01-01

    PowerPoint del Tema 14 de la asignatura "Derecho Internacional Público". Curso 2017-18. Tema 14. La protección internacional del medio ambiente: 1.- El Derecho Internacional del Medio Ambiente: caracteres específicos. 2.- Principios fundamentales del Derecho Internacional del Medio Ambiente. 3.- Medio ambiente y Desarrollo: el Desarrollo Sostenible.

  19. Pulmonary diseases induced by ambient ultrafine and engineered nanoparticles in twenty-first century.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Xia, Tian; Zhu, Yifang; Mu, Lina; Zhang, Zuo-Feng; Liu, Sijin

    2016-12-01

    Air pollution is a severe threat to public health globally, affecting everyone in developed and developing countries alike. Among different air pollutants, particulate matter (PM), particularly combustion-produced fine PM (PM 2.5 ) has been shown to play a major role in inducing various adverse health effects. Strong associations have been demonstrated by epidemiological and toxicological studies between increases in PM 2.5 concentrations and premature mortality, cardiopulmonary diseases, asthma and allergic sensitization, and lung cancer. The mechanisms of PM-induced toxicological effects are related to their size, chemical composition, lung clearance and retention, cellular oxidative stress responses and pro-inflammatory effects locally and systemically. Particles in the ultrafine range (ambient ultrafine particles have higher toxic potential compared with PM 2.5 . In addition, the rapid development of nanotechnology, bringing ever-increasing production of nanomaterials, has raised concerns about the potential human exposure and health impacts. All these add to the complexity of PM-induced health effects that largely remains to be determined, and mechanistic understanding on the toxicological effects of ambient ultrafine particles and nanomaterials will be the focus of studies in the near future.

  20. Assessment of suspended particulate matters and their heavy metal content in the ambient air of Mobarakeh city, Isfahan, Iran

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Avazali Saririan Mobarakeh

    2014-01-01

    Conclusion: This study showed that ambient air of Mobarakeh city is polluted by TSP. The high concentration of Fe and Ni in this area may be attributed to the nearby industrial emissions. Therefore, in industrial areas, efforts should be taken to control the atmospheric pollution in order to protect humans from hazardous health effects of these potentially toxic pollutants.

  1. La economía ambiental y la política ambiental.

    OpenAIRE

    Caraballo, Leonardo Javier

    2007-01-01

    Presentación. Ramos Jiménez, Alfredo Los círculos bolivarianos. El mito de la unidad del pueblo. Arenas, Nelly y Gómez Calcaño, Luis Lo massmediático y las sociedades contemporáneas. Un acercamiento a la relación medios-democracia. Briceño Romero, Ysabel La economía ambiental y la política ambiental. Caraballo, Leonardo Javier Veinte años de democracia en la Argentina. ¿Qué democracia? Kers, Mercedes y Leiras, Santiago C. La ciencia de la política. Bolívar ...

  2. Historical Ambient Air Quality Data Inventory

    Data.gov (United States)

    U.S. Environmental Protection Agency — The Historical Ambient Air Quality Data Inventory contains measured and estimated data on ambient air pollution for use in assessing air quality, assisting in...

  3. Ambient air pollution, traffic noise and adult asthma prevalence: a BioSHaRE approach.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Cai, Yutong; Zijlema, Wilma L; Doiron, Dany; Blangiardo, Marta; Burton, Paul R; Fortier, Isabel; Gaye, Amadou; Gulliver, John; de Hoogh, Kees; Hveem, Kristian; Mbatchou, Stéphane; Morley, David W; Stolk, Ronald P; Elliott, Paul; Hansell, Anna L; Hodgson, Susan

    2017-01-01

    We investigated the effects of both ambient air pollution and traffic noise on adult asthma prevalence, using harmonised data from three European cohort studies established in 2006-2013 (HUNT3, Lifelines and UK Biobank).Residential exposures to ambient air pollution (particulate matter with aerodynamic diameter ≤10 µm (PM 10 ) and nitrogen dioxide (NO 2 )) were estimated by a pan-European Land Use Regression model for 2007. Traffic noise for 2009 was modelled at home addresses by adapting a standardised noise assessment framework (CNOSSOS-EU). A cross-sectional analysis of 646 731 participants aged ≥20 years was undertaken using DataSHIELD to pool data for individual-level analysis via a "compute to the data" approach. Multivariate logistic regression models were fitted to assess the effects of each exposure on lifetime and current asthma prevalence.PM 10 or NO 2 higher by 10 µg·m -3 was associated with 12.8% (95% CI 9.5-16.3%) and 1.9% (95% CI 1.1-2.8%) higher lifetime asthma prevalence, respectively, independent of confounders. Effects were larger in those aged ≥50 years, ever-smokers and less educated. Noise exposure was not significantly associated with asthma prevalence.This study suggests that long-term ambient PM 10 exposure is associated with asthma prevalence in western European adults. Traffic noise is not associated with asthma prevalence, but its potential to impact on asthma exacerbations needs further investigation. Copyright ©ERS 2017.

  4. An exploratory analysis of the relationship between ambient ozone and particulate matter concentrations during early pregnancy and selected birth defects in Texas

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Vinikoor-Imler, Lisa C.; Stewart, Thomas G.; Luben, Thomas J.; Davis, J. Allen; Langlois, Peter H.

    2015-01-01

    We performed an exploratory analysis of ozone (O 3 ) and fine particulate matter (PM 2.5 ) concentrations during early pregnancy and multiple types of birth defects. Data on births were obtained from the Texas Birth Defects Registry (TBDR) and the National Birth Defects Prevention Study (NBDPS) in Texas. Air pollution concentrations were previously determined by combining modeled air pollution concentrations with air monitoring data. The analysis generated hypotheses for future, confirmatory studies; although many of the observed associations were null. The hypotheses are provided by an observed association between O 3 and craniosynostosis and inverse associations between PM 2.5 and septal and obstructive heart defects in the TBDR. Associations with PM 2.5 for septal heart defects and ventricular outflow tract obstructions were null using the NBDPS. Both the TBDR and the NBPDS had inverse associations between O 3 and septal heart defects. Further research to confirm the observed associations is warranted. - Highlights: • Air pollution concentrations combined modeled air data and air monitoring data. • No associations were observed between the majority of birth defects and PM 2.5 and O 3 . • Estimated associations between PM 2.5 and certain heart defects varied by dataset. • Results were suggestive of an inverse association between O 3 and septal heart defects. • Higher O 3 concentrations may be associated with increased odds of craniosynostosis. - Although most observed associations between ozone and fine particulate matter concentrations and birth defects were null, some were present and warrant further consideration

  5. The Search of Axion Dark Matter

    CERN Multimedia

    CERN. Geneva

    2006-01-01

    The axion provides a solution to the strong CP problem and is a cold dark matter candidate. I will review the limits on the axion from particle physics, stellar evolution and cosmology. The various constraints suggest that the axion mass is in the micro-eV to milli-eV range. In this range, axions contribute significantly to the energy density of the universe in the form of cold dark matter. Dark matter axions can be searched for on Earth by stimulating their conversion to microwave photons in an electromagnetic cavity permeated by a strong magnetic field. Using this technique, limits on the local halo density have been placed by the Axion Dark Matter experiment at Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory. I will give a status report on ADMX and its upgrade presently under construction. I will also discuss the results from solar axion searches (Tokyo helioscope, CAST) and laser experiments (PVLAS).

  6. Below-Ambient and Cryogenic Thermal Testing

    Science.gov (United States)

    Fesmire, James E.

    2016-01-01

    Thermal insulation systems operating in below-ambient temperature conditions are inherently susceptible to moisture intrusion and vapor drive toward the cold side. The subsequent effects may include condensation, icing, cracking, corrosion, and other problems. Methods and apparatus for real-world thermal performance testing of below-ambient systems have been developed based on cryogenic boiloff calorimetry. New ASTM International standards on cryogenic testing and their extension to future standards for below-ambient testing of pipe insulation are reviewed.

  7. Managing Transnational Education: Does National Culture Really Matter?

    Science.gov (United States)

    Eldridge, Kaye; Cranston, Neil

    2009-01-01

    This article reports on an exploratory study that examined the effect of national culture upon the management of Australia's provision of transnational higher education in Thailand. In particular, using Hofstede's national cultural value dimensions as an analytical tool, interviews with managers responsible for Australia's provision of…

  8. Personal and ambient exposures to air toxics in Camden, New Jersey.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lioy, Paul J; Fan, Zhihua; Zhang, Junfeng; Georgopoulos, Panos; Wang, Sheng-Wei; Ohman-Strickland, Pamela; Wu, Xiangmei; Zhu, Xianlei; Harrington, Jason; Tang, Xiaogang; Meng, Qingyu; Jung, Kyung Hwa; Kwon, Jaymin; Hernandez, Marta; Bonnano, Linda; Held, Joann; Neal, John

    2011-08-01

    Personal exposures and ambient concentrations of air toxics were characterized in a pollution "hot spot" and an urban reference site, both in Camden, New Jersey. The hot spot was the city's Waterfront South neighborhood; the reference site was a neighborhood, about 1 km to the east, around the intersection of Copewood and Davis streets. Using personal exposure measurements, residential ambient air measurements, statistical analyses, and exposure modeling, we examined the impact of local industrial and mobile pollution sources, particularly diesel trucks, on personal exposures and ambient concentrations in the two neighborhoods. Presented in the report are details of our study design, sample and data collection methods, data- and model-analysis approaches, and results and key findings of the study. In summary, 107 participants were recruited from nonsmoking households, including 54 from Waterfront South and 53 from the Copewood-Davis area. Personal air samples were collected for 24 hr and measured for 32 target compounds--11 volatile organic compounds (VOCs*), four aldehydes, 16 polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs), and particulate matter (PM) with an aerodynamic diameter 0.6) was found between benzene and MTBE in both locations. These results suggest that automobile exhausts were the main contributors to benzene and MTBE air pollution in both neighborhoods. Formaldehyde and acetaldehyde concentrations were found to be high in both neighborhoods. Mean (+/- SD) concentrations of formaldehyde were 20.2 +/- 19.5 microg/m3 in Waterfront South and 24.8 +/- 20.8 microg/m3 in Copewood-Davis. A similar trend was observed for the two compounds during the saturation-sampling campaigns. The results indicate that mobile sources (i.e., diesel trucks) had a large impact on formaldehyde and acetaldehyde concentrations in both neighborhoods and that both are aldehyde hot spots. The study also showed that PM2.5, aldehydes, BTEX, and MTBE concentrations in both Waterfront South

  9. Particulate matter and heart disease: Evidence from epidemiological studies

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Peters, Annette

    2005-01-01

    The association between particulate matter and heart disease was noted in the mid-nineties of last century when the epidemiological evidence for an association between air pollution and hospital admissions due to cardiovascular disease accumulated and first hypotheses regarding the pathomechanism were formulated. Nowadays, epidemiological studies have demonstrated coherent associations between daily changes in concentrations of ambient particles and cardiovascular disease mortality, hospital admission, disease exacerbation in patients with cardiovascular disease and early physiological responses in healthy individuals consistent with a risk factor profile deterioration. In addition, evidence was found that annual average PM 2.5 exposures are associated with increased risks for mortality caused by ischemic heart disease and dysrhythmia. Thereby, evidence is suggesting not only a short-term exacerbation of cardiovascular disease by ambient particle concentrations but also a potential role of particles in defining patients' vulnerability to acute coronary events. While this concept is consistent with the current understanding of the factors defining patients' vulnerability, the mechanisms and the time-scales on which the particle-induced vulnerability might operate are unknown

  10. Photoacoustic Optical Properties at UV, VIS, and near IR Wavelengths for Laboratory Generated and Winter Time Ambient Urban Aerosols

    Science.gov (United States)

    Gyawali, M.; Arnott, W. P.; Zaveri, R. A.; Song, C.; Moosmuller, H.; Liu, L.; Mishchenko, M. I.; Chen, L.-W.A.; Green, M. C.; Watson, J. G.; hide

    2012-01-01

    We present the laboratory and ambient photoacoustic (PA) measurement of aerosol light absorption coefficients at ultraviolet wavelength (i.e., 355 nm) and compare with measurements at 405, 532, 870, and 1047 nm. Simultaneous measurements of aerosol light scattering coefficients were achieved by the integrating reciprocal nephelometer within the PA's acoustic resonator. Absorption and scattering measurements were carried out for various laboratory generated aerosols, including salt, incense, and kerosene soot to evaluate the instrument calibration and gain insight on the spectral dependence of aerosol light absorption and scattering. Ambient measurements were obtained in Reno, Nevada, between 18 December 2009 and 18 January 2010. The measurement period included days with and without strong ground level temperature inversions, corresponding to highly polluted (freshly emitted aerosols) and relatively clean (aged aerosols) conditions. Particulate matter (PM) concentrations were measured and analyzed with other tracers of traffic emissions. The temperature inversion episodes caused very high concentration of PM (sub 2.5) and PM( sub 10) (particulate matter with aerodynamic diameters less than 2.5 micrometers and 10 micrometers, respectively) and gaseous pollutants: carbon monoxide (CO), nitric oxide (NO), and nitrogen dioxide (NO2). The diurnal change of absorption and scattering coefficients during the polluted (inversion) days increased approximately by a factor of two for all wavelengths compared to the clean days. The spectral variation in aerosol absorption coefficients indicated a significant amount of absorbing aerosol from traffic emissions and residential wood burning. The analysis of single scattering albedo (SSA), Angstrom exponent of absorption (AEA), and Angstrom exponent of scattering (AES) for clean and polluted days provides evidences that the aerosol aging and coating process is suppressed by strong temperature inversion under cloudy conditions. In

  11. Measurement of Ambient Air Particle (TSP, PM10, PM2,5) Around Candidate Location of PLTN Semenanjung Lemahabang

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    AgusGindo S; Budi Hari H

    2008-01-01

    Measurement analysis of ambient air particle (TSP, PM 10 , PM 2,5 ) around location candidate of PLTN (Power Station of Nuclear Energy) Semenanjung Lemahabang has been carried out. The measurement was conducted in May 2007 with a purpose to providing information about concentration of ambient air particle (TSP, PM 10 , PM 2,5 ) and diameter distribution of its air particle. The measurement was conducted in three locations i.e. 1). Balong village 2). Bayuran 3). Bondo. Concentration of TSP, PM 10 , and PM 2,5 per 24 hours in all measured locations in area candidate of PLTN exceed quality standard of national ambient air is specified by government. All measurement locations for the TSP, PM 10 , and PM 2,5 was include category of ISPU (Standard Index of Air Pollution) moderate. (author)

  12. REPRESENTACIONES SOCIALES DE AMBIENTE Y EDUCACIÓN AMBIENTAL EN EL C.E.D. LA CONCEPCIÓN (BOGOTA-COLOMBIA

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Jenny Johanna Duarte Díaz

    2014-05-01

    Full Text Available En la actualidad en las instituciones educativas existe dificultad por construir prácticas relacionadas con temas ambientales, a consecuencia de que no hay suficiente claridad en la forma de diseñar e implementar propuestas, propiciando que lo abordado desde los proyectos ambientales no tenga el impacto esperado. Razón que genera la necesidad de iniciar procesos investigativos que establezcan coherencia en las posturas curriculares, políticas nacionales y los contextos escolares en los que está inmersa la educación ambiental.   Por lo cual, el presente estudio se planteó con el objetivo de identificar las representaciones sociales frente al ambiente y la educación ambiental que poseían algunos miembros de una institución educativa de carácter público en Bogotá. Con el fin de iniciar procesos formativos que lleven a trabajar la educación ambiental de manera interdisciplinar en la escuela desde miradas reflexivas, que nos permitan construir una visión global del ambiente.   Para lo cual se utilizó un enfoque metodológico cualitativo apoyado en la técnica de entrevistas y como instrumento el cuestionario.   Concluyendo que el grupo de participantes no presentan una única representación social de ambiente definiéndolo desde tres miradas: como el medio de vida, los recursos a utilizar y la naturaleza. Y la educación ambiental desde las visiones naturalista, conservacionista - recursista y humanista. Evidenciando la importancia de generar más que actividades puntuales, procesos formativos en educación ambiental que vinculen a los diversos sujetos de las comunidades educativas.

  13. It Doesn't Matter, But: Examining the Impact of Ambient Learning Displays on Energy Consumption and Conservation at the Workplace

    Science.gov (United States)

    Börner, Dirk; Kalz, Marco; Specht, Marcus

    2015-01-01

    This study reports an intervention to initiate environmental learning and facilitate pro-environmental behaviour. The purpose was to examine the impact of ambient learning displays on energy consumption and conservation at the workplace, more specifically the evaluation of learning outcome and behaviour change. Using a quasi-experimental design,…

  14. Norm in the matter of safeguards

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Saavedra, Analia; Maceiras, Elena; Valentino, Lucia; Chiliutti, Mauro

    2001-01-01

    The Nuclear Regulatory Authority (NRA), through its norm, establishes requirements in the matter of safeguards that allow him to control the fulfillment of the objectives established at national level and the international commitments that the Argentine Republic has assumed in the scope of Nuclear Non-proliferation. The measures of fortification of the safeguards proposed by the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), will imply new obligations for the country and consequently it will require the update of the effective norm in the matter. The objective of this work is to describe the reach of the update of the norm in the matter of safeguards and their relation with some procedures of application in the scope of the radiological protection and the nuclear security

  15. Calidad ambiental interior: bienestar, confort y salud

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Francisco Vargas Marcos

    2005-01-01

    Full Text Available Distintas formas de interpretar las condiciones ambientales han llevado al desarrollo de conceptos tales como edificio enfermo, calidad del aire o calidad ambiental interior, todos ellos encaminados a entender la complejidad de los contaminantes en los ambientes cerrados y las implicaciones sobre la salud de la población. La propuesta de "Calidad ambiental interior" es un avance conceptual y operativo que supera ampliamente a los anteriores, puesto que orienta las acciones hacia ambientes saludables sin limitar al aire la idea de contaminación. El objetivo del trabajo es identificar las competencias y el marco legislativo que permiten actuar en la prevención de riesgos asociados a la exposición de contaminantes en ambientes interiores. Óptimas condiciones en los ambientes interiores deben redundar en salud, bienestar y confort, tanto en lo que respecta a la vida laboral como a los ámbitos donde se desarrollan las actividades cotidianas extralaborales, escolares, de descanso y de ocio. La sociedad actual exige lugares seguros, limpios y bien climatizados, para lo que es necesario integrar percepciones y exigencias de los habitantes y alcanzar un óptimo equilibrio entre estándares sociales, uso de la energía y desarrollo sostenible, buscando confort sin contaminar y sin aumentar el consumo de fuentes energéticas que degraden el medio ambiente. El desarrollo legislativo se orienta a la seguridad y la salud en los lugares de trabajo y la regulación de las sustancias químicas. La Sanidad Ambiental lleva a cabo tareas de prevención y control, participa en la ejecución de convenios internacionales de reducción de contaminantes y desechos y promueve acciones para el desarrollo de la Estrategia Europea de Salud y Medio Ambiente.

  16. INFLUÊNCIA DO TREINAMENTO AMBIENTAL NA CONSCIÊNCIA AMBIENTAL DE PROFISSIONAIS DA ÁREA DE RECURSOS HUMANOS

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Thais Accioly Baccaro

    2015-08-01

    Full Text Available Actualmente, muchas organizaciones trabajan para minimizar y contribuir para resolver los problemasambientales. En esa dirección, el área de recursos humanos emerge como facilitadora de la implantación deprácticas y políticas ambientales en las empresas, principalmente por la utilización de los programas deentrenamiento. Esta investigación tiene como objetivo analizar la influencia del entrenamiento ambiental enla conciencia ambiental de los profesionales de recursos humanos. Con un abordaje cuantitativodescriptivo, se aplicó un cuestionario, ya validado, a 73 profesionales de recursos humanos de la región deLondrina-PR. El análisis de datos involucró la estadística descriptiva y el teste sin parámetros χ 2 dePearson. Los resultados señalaron la relación entre el entrenamiento ambiental y la conciencia ambientalde los profesionales de recursos humanos investigados: de hecho, los que recibieron algún tipo deentrenamiento ambiental presentaron un nivel de conciencia ambiental mayor que los que no recibieronningún entrenamiento en esa área.

  17. Beijing ambient particle exposure accelerates atherosclerosis in ApoE knockout mice.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Chen, Tian; Jia, Guang; Wei, Yongjie; Li, Jiucun

    2013-11-25

    Air pollution is associated with significant adverse health effects including increased cardiovascular morbidity and mortality. However research on the cardiovascular effect of "real-world" exposure to ambient particulate matter (PM) in susceptible animal model is very limited. In this study, we aimed to investigate the association between Beijing ambient particle exposure and the atherosclerosis development in the apolipoprotein E knockout mice (ApoE(-/-) mice). Two parallel exposure chambers were used for whole body exposure among ApoE knockout mice. One of the chambers was supplied with untreated ambient air (PM group) and the other chamber was treated with ambient air filtered by high-efficiency particulate air (HEPA) filter (FA group). Twenty mice were divided into two groups and exposed to ambient PM (n=10 for PM group) or filtered air (n=10 for FA group) for two months from January 18th to March 18th, 2010. During the exposure, the mass concentrations of PM2.5 and PM10 in the two chambers were continuously monitored. Additionally, a receptor source apportionment model of chemical mass balance using 19 organic tracers was applied to determine the contributions of sources on the PM2.5 in terms of natural gas, diesel vehicle, gasoline vehicle, coal burning, vegetable debris, biomass burning and cooking. At the end of the two-month exposure, biomarkers of oxidative stress, inflammation and lipid metabolism in bronchoalveolar lavage fluid (BAL) and blood samples were determined and the plaque area on the aortic endothelium was quantified. In the experiment, the concentrations of PM10 and PM2.5 in PM chamber were 99.45μg/m(3) and 61.0μg/m(3) respectively, while PM2.5 in FA chamber was 17.6μg/m(3). Source apportionment analysis by organic tracers showed that gasoline vehicle (39.9%) and coal burning (24.3%) emission were the two major sources contributing to the mass concentration of PM2.5 in Beijing. Among the ApoE knockout mice, the PM group were significantly

  18. 77 FR 42297 - National Petroleum Council

    Science.gov (United States)

    2012-07-18

    ... DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY National Petroleum Council AGENCY: Department of Energy, Office of Fossil... National Petroleum Council. The Federal Advisory Committee Act (Pub. L. 92-463, 86 Stat. 770) requires that... Matters Discussion of Any Other Business Properly Brought Before the National Petroleum Council...

  19. Ambient versus traditional environment in pediatric emergency department.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Robinson, Patricia S; Green, Jeanette

    2015-01-01

    We sought to examine the effect of exposure to an ambient environment in a pediatric emergency department. We hypothesized that passive distraction from ambient lighting in an emergency department would lead to reduction in patient pain and anxiety and increased caregiver satisfaction with services. Passive distraction has been associated with lower anxiety and pain in patients and affects perception of wait time. A pediatric ED was designed that optimized passive distraction techniques using colorful ambient lighting. Participants were nonrandomly assigned to either an ambient ED environment or a traditional ED environment. Entry and exit questionnaires assessed caregiver expectations and experiences. Pain ratings were obtained with age-appropriate scales, and wait times were recorded. A total of 70 participants were assessed across conditions, that is, 40 in the ambient ED group and 30 in the traditional ED group. Caregivers in the traditional ED group expected a longer wait, had higher anxiety pretreatment, and felt more scared than those in the ambient ED group. Caregivers in the ambient ED group felt more included in the care of their child and rated quality of care higher than caregivers in the traditional ED group. Pain ratings and administrations of pain medication were lower in the ambient ED group. Mean scores for the ambient ED group were in the expected direction on several items measuring satisfaction with ED experiences. Results were suggestive of less stress in caregivers, less pain in patients, and higher satisfaction levels in the ambient ED group. © The Author(s) 2015.

  20. 7 CFR 1466.4 - National priorities.

    Science.gov (United States)

    2010-01-01

    ..., will be used in EQIP implementation: (1) Reductions of nonpoint source pollution, such as nutrients... quality impairment violations of National Ambient Air Quality Standards; (4) Reduction in soil erosion and... Agriculture Regulations of the Department of Agriculture (Continued) COMMODITY CREDIT CORPORATION, DEPARTMENT...

  1. National Nuclear Physics Summer School

    CERN Document Server

    2016-01-01

    The 2016 National Nuclear Physics Summer School (NNPSS) will be held from Monday July 18 through Friday July 29, 2016, at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT). The summer school is open to graduate students and postdocs within a few years of their PhD (on either side) with a strong interest in experimental and theoretical nuclear physics. The program will include the following speakers: Accelerators and Detectors - Elke-Caroline Aschenauer, Brookhaven National Laboratory Data Analysis - Michael Williams, MIT Double Beta Decay - Lindley Winslow, MIT Electron-Ion Collider - Abhay Deshpande, Stony Brook University Fundamental Symmetries - Vincenzo Cirigliano, Los Alamos National Laboratory Hadronic Spectroscopy - Matthew Shepherd, Indiana University Hadronic Structure - Jianwei Qiu, Brookhaven National Laboratory Hot Dense Nuclear Matter 1 - Jamie Nagle, Colorado University Hot Dense Nuclear Matter 2 - Wilke van der Schee, MIT Lattice QCD - Sinead Ryan, Trinity College Dublin Neutrino Theory - Cecil...

  2. Context Dependent Analysis of BioAmbients

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Pilegaard, Henrik; Nielson, Flemming; Nielson, Hanne Riis

    2006-01-01

    BioAmbients is a derivative of mobile ambients that has shown promise of describing interesting features of the behaviour of biological systems. The technical contribution of this paper is to extend the Flow Logic approach to static analysis with a couple of new techniques in order to give precise...... information about the behaviour of systems written in BioAmbients. Applying the development to a simple model of a cell releasing nutrients from food compunds we illustrate how the proposed analysis does indeed improve on previous efforts....

  3. Diesel Particulate Matter Polygons, California, 2005, NATA

    Data.gov (United States)

    U.S. Environmental Protection Agency — The national-scale assessment includes 177 air pollutants (a subset of the air toxics on the Clean Air Act's list of 187 air toxics plus diesel particulate matter...

  4. Diesel Particulate Matter Polygons, Hawaii, 2005, NATA

    Data.gov (United States)

    U.S. Environmental Protection Agency — The national-scale assessment includes 177 air pollutants (a subset of the air toxics on the Clean Air Act's list of 187 air toxics plus diesel particulate matter...

  5. Diesel Particulate Matter Polygons, Arizona, 2005, NATA

    Data.gov (United States)

    U.S. Environmental Protection Agency — The national-scale assessment includes 177 air pollutants (a subset of the air toxics on the Clean Air Act's list of 187 air toxics plus diesel particulate matter...

  6. Diesel Particulate Matter Polygons, Nevada, 2005, NATA

    Data.gov (United States)

    U.S. Environmental Protection Agency — The national-scale assessment includes 177 air pollutants (a subset of the air toxics on the Clean Air Act's list of 187 air toxics plus diesel particulate matter...

  7. Ambient oxygen promotes tumorigenesis.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Ho Joong Sung

    2011-05-01

    Full Text Available Oxygen serves as an essential factor for oxidative stress, and it has been shown to be a mutagen in bacteria. While it is well established that ambient oxygen can also cause genomic instability in cultured mammalian cells, its effect on de novo tumorigenesis at the organismal level is unclear. Herein, by decreasing ambient oxygen exposure, we report a ∼50% increase in the median tumor-free survival time of p53-/- mice. In the thymus, reducing oxygen exposure decreased the levels of oxidative DNA damage and RAG recombinase, both of which are known to promote lymphomagenesis in p53-/- mice. Oxygen is further shown to be associated with genomic instability in two additional cancer models involving the APC tumor suppressor gene and chemical carcinogenesis. Together, these observations represent the first report directly testing the effect of ambient oxygen on de novo tumorigenesis and provide important physiologic evidence demonstrating its critical role in increasing genomic instability in vivo.

  8. Evaluación ambiental estratégica (EAE; un instrumento preventivo de gestión ambiental

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Domingo Gómez Orea

    2011-12-01

    Full Text Available La evaluación ambiental estratégica (EAE es un instrumento para integrar primero el medio ambiente en el proceso de formulación de políticas, planes y programas (PPP y verificar después la realidad de ello. La integración consiste en incorporar sensibilidad, criterio, conocimiento y compromiso ambiental al proceso de elaboración del PPP, desde el principio, con el fin de que la decisión pública al respecto sea la más acertada posible. La verificación comporta dos facetas: la comprobación de que efectivamente se ha hecho un esfuerzo de integración ambiental en la elaboración del PPP y la evaluación del resultado conseguido, evaluación que se realiza a través de la identificación, valoración, prevención y seguimiento de los impactos que se producirían en caso de que llegue a ejecutarse.La integración ambiental comienza en el momento mismo en que surge la idea de elaborar el PPP, y su evaluación también; luego se concreta en un documento técnico (Informe de Sostenibilidad Ambiental: ISA que es parte integrante de la documentación del PPP y que se va desarrollando al mismo tiempo que el borrador del PPP; después sigue el proceso de integración incorporando las determinaciones establecidas en la Memoria Ambiental, que incluirá los resultados de la participación pública, a la elaboración del PPP definitivo.La EAE está regulada a nivel de la UE por la Directiva 2001/42/CE sobre evaluación de los efectos de determinados planes y programas en el medio ambiente; en el ámbito español por la Ley 9/2006 y en las comunidades autónomas por la legislación propia.En el procedimiento administrativo a través del que se aplica existe una fase técnicamente crucial: la elaboración al mismo tiempo del borrador del PPP y del ISA, de tal manera que este se podría interpretar como la incorporación de la dimensión ambiental al proceso de elaboración del borrador del PPP, la verificación de ello y la identificación, valoraci

  9. Atherosclerosis and vasomotor dysfunction in arteries of animals after exposure to combustion-derived particulate matter or nanomaterials

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Møller, Peter; Christophersen, Daniel Vest; Raun Jacobsen, Nicklas

    2016-01-01

    Exposure to particulate matter (PM) from traffic vehicles is hazardous to the vascular system, leading to clinical manifestations and mortality due to ischemic heart disease. By analogy, nanomaterials may also be associated with the same outcomes. Here, the effects of exposure to PM from ambient......O2, carbon black and carbon nanotubes, have similar hazards to the vascular system as combustion-derived PM....

  10. Economía y medio ambiente

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Ciro Alfonso Serna Mendoza

    2010-12-01

    Full Text Available En ciertos escenarios académicos, políticos, sociales y ambientales se declara que el modelo económico dominante o los conceptos que lo integran son responsables de que el bienestar económico implique malestar ecológico.Al partir de este supuesto, una forma de comprender las causas y de contribuir a la solución de la problemática ambiental es develar en qué consisten, en qué términos plantean la relación ombre-medio ambiente, las propuestas que incluyen la dimensión ambiental en el campo de la economía. Y si, al igual que las teorías ambientales, acuden a la ética como factor adecuado para disminuir las externalidades negativas generadas en el ambiente por la actividad económica.

  11. Medio ambiente urbano

    OpenAIRE

    Rodríguez-Chaves Mimbrero, Blanca

    2007-01-01

    El estudio  y análisis  de las interacciones  entre  ambiente  y desarrollo y  su inserción  en los procesos  de  planificación del crecimiento  social y económico  de  los  países  de América Latina, reviste especial interés para proponer alternativas de acción que  conduzcan  al  logro  de  una mejor  calidad de  vida.  El impacto  que las conferencias sobre  el  Medio Ambiente Humano Estocolmo (1972),  Cocoyoc  (1974) o de documentos como "Nuestro Futuro Común" o "Nuestra Propia Agenda" ha...

  12. El dispositivo Problemática ambiental

    OpenAIRE

    Federico Di Pasquo; Tomas Busan; Gabriela Klier

    2018-01-01

    Se presenta y problematiza un dispositivo dirigido al tema de la problemática ambiental, del cual destaca su alcance global, su carácter de urgente y su capacidad para afectar a la viabilidad de la especie humana. A la vez, indicamos que esta caracterización de la crisis ambiental se encuentra asociada a una red institucional de corte internacional dirigida a la gestión de este tema. También, se señalan algunos intentos por utilizar a la problemática ambiental como coartada para el establecim...

  13. National companies : performance, ventures, utility

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Didier, F.

    1994-01-01

    The author shows how a performing National Company can efficiently contribute, in line with the producing State, to the negotiation with International Companies and the success of large oil ventures contemplated by reserves-short countries. Fully entrepreneurial, the National Company will usefully ''explore'' touchy matters, and bring closer national rationale and petroleum rationale. (Author)

  14. Consideraciones sobre ética, derecho y ambiente

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Pierre Foy Valencia

    2009-12-01

    Full Text Available El presente ensayo aborda la importancia que progresivamente está adquiriendo la ética ambiental en relación con las variadas formas del ejercicio contemporáneo del Derecho, así como de sus diversificadas áreas o especialidades y, por cierto, en particular respecto del Derecho Ambiental. Para ello, en primer lugar, identificaremos conceptualmente el escenario y el proceso de la ética ambiental como presupuesto condicionante que impacta en los múltiples mecanismos de actuación social —léase la política, la economía, la educación, los sistemas jurídicos, entre otros—.2 Luego, estableceremos algunas premisas sobre la responsabilidad profesional en particular del abogado y cómo estas deberían ser integradas en una perspectiva ético-ambiental o, si se quiere, basadas en una ética de la sostenibilidad. Finalmente, interpretaremos cómo tales consideraciones debieran articularse con el ejercicio de las disciplinas jurídicas, en especial con el Derecho Ambiental, enfatizando la cuestión de la corrupción con la preocupación ambiental.

  15. Correlation of Air Quality Data to Ultrafine Particles (UFP Concentration and Size Distribution in Ambient Air

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Werner Hofmann

    2010-07-01

    Full Text Available This study monitored ultrafine particles (UFP concurrent with environmental air quality data, investigating whether already existing instrumentation used by environmental authorities can provide reference values for estimating UFP concentrations. Of particular interest was the relation of UFP to PM10 (particulate matter and nitrogen oxides (NOx, NO2 in ambient air. Existing PM measurement methods alone did not correspond exactly enough with the actual particle number, but we observed a link between NOx and NO2 to UFP concentration. The combined data could act as proxy-indicator for authorities in estimating particle number concentrations, but cannot replace UFP monitoring.

  16. IC design challenges for ambient intelligence

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Aarts, E.H.L.; Roovers, R.L.J.

    2003-01-01

    The vision of ambient intelligence opens a world of unprecedented experiences: the interaction of people with electronic devices is changed as contextual awareness, natural interfaces and ubiquitous availability of information are realized. We analyze the consequences of the ambient intelligence

  17. Progress towards an ab initio real-time treatment of warm dense matter

    Science.gov (United States)

    Baczewski, Andrew; Cangi, Attila; Hansen, Stephanie; Jensen, Daniel

    2017-10-01

    Time-dependent density functional theory (TDDFT) provides an accurate description of equilibrium properties of warm dense matter, such as the dynamic structure factor (Baczewski et al., Phys. Rev. Lett., 116(11), 2016). While non-equilibrium properties, such as stopping power, have also been demonstrated to be within the grasp of TDDFT, the ultrafast isochoric heating of condensed matter into the warm dense state, enabled by recent advances in XFELs, remains beyond its capabilities. In this talk, we will describe the successes of and continuing challenges for TDDFT for warm dense matter, and present progress towards a more complete ab initio treatment of isochoric x-ray heating. Sandia National Laboratories is a multi-mission laboratory managed and operated by National Technology and Engineering Solutions of Sandia, LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Honeywell International, Inc., for the DOE's National Nuclear Security Administration under contract DE-NA0003525.

  18. National subprogram 'Sistema Nacional de Vigilancia Radiologica Ambiental y de los Alimentos en la Republica de Cuba'

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Fernandez Gomez, Isis Maria

    2008-01-01

    The purpose of this work is to inform and raise awareness about the Sistema Nacional de Vigilancia Radiologica Ambiental y de los Alimentos in the Republica de Cuba. The radiological environmental monitoring is defined as the assessment of current or potential exposure of the population to radiation and radioactive materials released into the environment. It determines when is required the radiological environmental monitoring, what is a radiological environmental monitoring program, which are the points to consider during the design of this kind of program and what are their objectives. In addition, the program on the Republica de Cuba is focused, referring to the components of a radiological environmental monitoring program; equipment for the detection of radiations; the procedures for collecting environmental samples and laboratory analysis capabilities. It also noted the techniques of radiological environmental monitoring and is described extensively the Red Nacional de Vigilancia Ambiental of the Republica de Cuba. Likewise, it is included the table on radiological monitoring of food and water. Other radiological monitoring programs in Cuba are commented as the radiological control of industrial scrap [es

  19. Seasonal variability of carbon in humic-like matter of ambient size-segregated water soluble organic aerosols from urban background environment

    Science.gov (United States)

    Frka, Sanja; Grgić, Irena; Turšič, Janja; Gini, Maria I.; Eleftheriadis, Konstantinos

    2018-01-01

    Long-term measurements of carbon in HUmic-LIke Substances (HULIS-C) of ambient size-segregated water soluble organic aerosols were performed using a ten-stage low-pressure Berner impactor from December 2014 to November 2015 at an urban background environment in Ljubljana, Slovenia. The mass size distribution patterns of measured species (PM - particulate matter, WSOC - water-soluble organic carbon and HULIS-C) for all seasons were generally tri-modal (primarily accumulation mode) but with significant seasonal variability. HULIS-C was found to have similar distributions as WSOC, with nearly the same mass median aerodynamic diameters (MMADs), except for winter when the HULIS-C size distribution was bimodal. In autumn and winter, the dominant accumulation mode with MMAD at ca. 0.65 μm contributed 83 and 97% to the total HULIS-C concentration, respectively. HULIS-C accounted for a large fraction of WSOC, averaging more than 50% in autumn and 40% in winter. Alternatively, during warmer periods the contributions of ultrafine (27% in summer) and coarse mode (27% in spring) were also substantial. Based on mass size distribution characteristics, HULIS-C was found to be of various sources. In colder seasons, wood burning was confirmed as the most important HULIS source; secondary formation in atmospheric liquid water also contributed significantly, as revealed by the MMADs of the accumulation mode shifting to larger sizes. The distinct difference between the spring and summer ratios of HULIS-C/WSOC in fine particles (ca. 50% in spring, but only 10% in summer) indicated different sources and chemical composition of WSOC in summer (e.g., SOA formation from biogenic volatile organic compounds (BVOCs) via photochemistry). The enlarged amount of HULIS-C in the ultrafine mode in summer suggests that the important contribution was most likely from new particle formation during higher emissions of BVOC due to the vicinity of a mixed deciduous forest; the higher contribution of

  20. Risk related behaviour under different ambient scent conditions

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Alina Gagarina

    2016-09-01

    Full Text Available The article analyses the effect of two ambient scents (peppermint and vanilla and their intensiveness on risk related behaviour that is expressed through selected decision making heuristics. Purpose of the article: The purpose of this article is to identify the relationship of ambient scent type and intensiveness with risk related behaviour that is expressed through selected decision making heuristics. Methodology/methods: 2×2 factorial experiment with control group was run. Ambient scent type (vanilla vs. peppermint and intensiveness (8 (1mg vs. 16 sprays (2mg of scent concentrate in the same room were manipulated as between subject variables. Risk aversion, effect of anchoring heuristic on bidding, and affect (risk and benefit heuristics were tracked as dependent variables. Scientific aim: To identify whether ambient scent type and intensiveness have effect on risk related behaviour. Findings: Evidence suggests that there are effects of ambient scent on risk related behaviour, thus fulfilling the missing gap to relate ambient environment to decision making heuristics when risks are involved. However, not all heuristics were affected by experimental conditions. Subjects were bidding significantly higher amounts under low anchor conditions, when peppermint scent was around (if compared to vanilla group. Affect risk was perceived as lower in peppermint ambient scent conditions, if compared to the control group. Intensity of ambient scent also had influence on affect risk: subjects perceived less risk under high scent intensity conditions. Conclusions: By manipulating ambient scent, marketers may reduce or increase consumers risk perception and behaviour and as a consequence influence their purchase decisions. Marketers could use peppermint scent in high intensiveness in the situations where they want consumers to undertake higher risks (expensive purchases, gambling, insurance, since stakes were higher under peppermint ambient scent condition

  1. Directly Detecting MeV-Scale Dark Matter Via Solar Reflection.

    Science.gov (United States)

    An, Haipeng; Pospelov, Maxim; Pradler, Josef; Ritz, Adam

    2018-04-06

    If dark matter (DM) particles are lighter than a few   MeV/c^{2} and can scatter off electrons, their interaction within the solar interior results in a considerable hardening of the spectrum of galactic dark matter received on Earth. For a large range of the mass versus cross section parameter space, {m_{e},σ_{e}}, the "reflected" component of the DM flux is far more energetic than the end point of the ambient galactic DM energy distribution, making it detectable with existing DM detectors sensitive to an energy deposition of 10-10^{3}  eV. After numerically simulating the small reflected component of the DM flux, we calculate its subsequent signal due to scattering on detector electrons, deriving new constraints on σ_{e} in the MeV and sub-MeV range using existing data from the XENON10/100, LUX, PandaX-II, and XENON1T experiments, as well as making projections for future low threshold direct detection experiments.

  2. Directly Detecting MeV-Scale Dark Matter Via Solar Reflection

    Science.gov (United States)

    An, Haipeng; Pospelov, Maxim; Pradler, Josef; Ritz, Adam

    2018-04-01

    If dark matter (DM) particles are lighter than a few MeV /c2 and can scatter off electrons, their interaction within the solar interior results in a considerable hardening of the spectrum of galactic dark matter received on Earth. For a large range of the mass versus cross section parameter space, {me,σe}, the "reflected" component of the DM flux is far more energetic than the end point of the ambient galactic DM energy distribution, making it detectable with existing DM detectors sensitive to an energy deposition of 10 -103 eV . After numerically simulating the small reflected component of the DM flux, we calculate its subsequent signal due to scattering on detector electrons, deriving new constraints on σe in the MeV and sub-MeV range using existing data from the XENON10/100, LUX, PandaX-II, and XENON1T experiments, as well as making projections for future low threshold direct detection experiments.

  3. Temporal evolution of main ambient PM2. 5 sources in Santiago, Chile, from 1998 to 2012

    Science.gov (United States)

    Barraza, Francisco; Lambert, Fabrice; Jorquera, Héctor; María Villalobos, Ana; Gallardo, Laura

    2017-08-01

    The inhabitants of Santiago, Chile have been exposed to harmful levels of air pollutants for decades. The city's poor air quality is a result of steady economic growth, and stable atmospheric conditions adverse to mixing and ventilation that favor the formation of oxidants and secondary aerosols. Identifying and quantifying the sources that contribute to the ambient levels of pollutants is key for designing adequate mitigation measures. Estimating the evolution of source contributions to ambient pollution levels is also paramount to evaluating the effectiveness of pollution reduction measures that have been implemented in recent decades. Here, we quantify the main sources that have contributed to fine particulate matter (PM2. 5) between April 1998 and August 2012 in downtown Santiago by using two different source-receptor models (PMF 5.0 and UNMIX 6.0) that were applied to elemental measurements of 1243 24 h filter samples of ambient PM2.5. PMF resolved six sources that contributed to ambient PM2. 5, with UNMIX producing similar results: motor vehicles (37.3 ± 1.1 %), industrial sources (18.5 ± 1.3 %), copper smelters (14.4 ± 0.8 %), wood burning (12.3 ± 1.0 %), coastal sources (9.5 ± 0.7 %) and urban dust (3.0 ± 1.2 %). Our results show that over the 15 years analyzed here, four of the resolved sources significantly decreased [95 % confidence interval]: motor vehicles 21.3 % [2.6, 36.5], industrial sources 39.3 % [28.6, 48.4], copper smelters 81.5 % [75.5, 85.9], and coastal sources 58.9 % [38.5, 72.5], while wood burning did not significantly change and urban dust increased by 72 % [48.9, 99.9]. These changes are consistent with emission reduction measures, such as improved vehicle emission standards, cleaner smelting technology, introduction of low-sulfur diesel for vehicles and natural gas for industrial processes, public transport improvements, etc. However, it is also apparent that the mitigation expected from the above regulations has been partially

  4. The Burden of COPD Morbidity Attributable to the Interaction between Ambient Air Pollution and Temperature in Chengdu, China

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Hang Qiu

    2018-03-01

    Full Text Available Evidence on the burden of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD morbidity attributable to the interaction between ambient air pollution and temperature has been limited. This study aimed to examine the modification effect of temperature on the association of ambient air pollutants (including particulate matter (PM with aerodynamic diameter <10 μm (PM10 and <2.5 μm (PM2.5, nitrogen dioxide (NO2, sulfur dioxide (SO2, carbon monoxide (CO and ozone (O3 with risk of hospital admissions (HAs for COPD, as well as the associated morbidity burden in urban areas of Chengdu, China, from 2015 to 2016. Based on the generalized additive model (GAM with quasi-Poisson link, bivariate response surface model and stratification parametric model were developed to investigate the potential interactions between ambient air pollution and temperature on COPD HAs. We found consistent interactions between ambient air pollutants (PM2.5, PM10 and SO2 and low temperature on COPD HAs, demonstrated by the stronger associations between ambient air pollutants and COPD HAs at low temperatures than at moderate temperatures. Subgroup analyses showed that the elderly (≥80 years and males were more vulnerable to this interaction. The joint effect of PM and low temperature had the greatest impact on COPD morbidity burden. Using WHO air quality guidelines as reference concentration, about 17.30% (95% CI: 12.39%, 22.19% and 14.72% (95% CI: 10.38%, 19.06% of COPD HAs were attributable to PM2.5 and PM10 exposures on low temperature days, respectively. Our findings suggested that low temperature significantly enhanced the effects of PM and SO2 on COPD HAs in urban Chengdu, resulting in increased morbidity burden. This evidence has important implications for developing interventions to reduce the risk effect of COPD morbidity.

  5. 78 FR 71592 - National Coal Council

    Science.gov (United States)

    2013-11-29

    ... DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY National Coal Council AGENCY: Department of Energy, Office of Fossil Energy..., notice is hereby given that the National Coal Council (NCC) will be renewed for a two-year period. The... matters relating to coal issues. Additionally, the renewal of the National Coal Council has been...

  6. Rainwater capacities for BTEX scavenging from ambient air

    Science.gov (United States)

    Šoštarić, A.; Stanišić Stojić, S.; Vuković, G.; Mijić, Z.; Stojić, A.; Gržetić, I.

    2017-11-01

    The contribution of atmospheric precipitation to volatile organic compound (VOC) removal from the atmosphere remains a matter of scientific debate. The aim of this study was to examine the potential of rainwater for benzene, toluene, ethylbenzene and xylene (BTEX) scavenging from ambient air. To that end, air and rainwater samples were collected simultaneously during several rain events that occurred over two distinct time periods in the summer and autumn of 2015. BTEX concentrations in the gaseous and aqueous phases were determined using proton transfer reaction mass spectrometry. The results reveal that the registered amounts of BTEX in rainwater samples were higher than those predicted by Henry's law. Additional analysis, including physico-chemical characterization and source apportionment, was performed and a possible mechanism underlying the BTEX adsorption to the aqueous phase was considered and discussed herein. Finally, regression multivariate methods (MVA) were successfully applied (with relative errors from 20%) to examine the functional dependency of BTEX enrichment factor on gaseous concentrations, physico-chemical properties of rainwater and meteorological parameters.

  7. Conhecimento, interdisciplinaridade e Psicologia Ambiental

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Ombretta Romice

    2005-01-01

    Full Text Available Responde às questões - como os métodos da Psicologia Ambiental devem ser discutidos em um enquadramento interdisciplinar; a Psicologia Ambiental pede alguma abordagem metodológica especial; como a intervenção ambiental é determinada pela interdisciplinaridade; quais são estas disciplinas e como elas se relacionam entre si - baseando-se em experiências profissionais como orientador em um projeto com comunidade, com habitação popular e exclusão social em vários países da Europa, e como consultora. Conclui que as abordagens usadas pelas diferentes profissões são muito separadas, e que apenas metas comuns não são suficientes, sendo também necessários um treino conjunto e identidade de valores.

  8. The influence of ambient light on the driver

    Science.gov (United States)

    Klinger, Karsten D.; Lemmer, Uli

    2008-04-01

    Increasingly, cars are fitted with interior ambient lighting which is switched on while driving. This special kind of interior light emphasizes the interior design of the car, it makes a car look special and gives the buyers a new option to personalize their automobiles. But how does ambient interior light influence the driver? We conducted a series of over 50 tests to study the influence of interior ambient light on contrast perception under different illumination levels, colors and positions of the illuminated areas. Our tests show that in many cases the ambient lighting can improve the visual contrast for seeing objects in the headlamp beam. But the test persons mentioned that the tested brightness looked too bright and that they felt glared. The measured values instead proved that no disability glare exists. Therefore, provided that the drivers can adjust the intensity of the ambient light to avoid glare, the ambient light has no negative effect on the drivers' contrast perception.

  9. National Toxicology Program

    Science.gov (United States)

    ... NTP? NTP develops and applies tools of modern toxicology and molecular biology to identify substances in the ... depend on for decisions that matter. The National Toxicology Program provides the scientific basis for programs, activities, ...

  10. Particle Dark Matter and DAMA/LIBRA

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Bernabei, R.; Nozzoli, F.; Belli, P.; Cappella, F.; D'Angelo, A.; Prosperi, D.; Cerulli, R.; Dai, C. J.; He, H. L.; Ma, X. H.; Sheng, X. D.; Wang, R. G.; Incicchitti, A.; Montecchia, F.; Ye, Z. P.

    2010-01-01

    The DAMA/LIBRA set-up (about 250 kg highly radiopure NaI(Tl) sensitive mass) is running at the Gran Sasso National Laboratory of the I.N.F.N.. The first DAMA/LIBRA results confirm the evidence for the presence of a Dark Matter particle component in the galactic halo, as pointed out by the former DAMA/NaI set-up; cumulatively the data support such evidence at 8.2 σ C.L. and satisfy all the many peculiarities of the Dark Matter annual modulation signature. The main aspects and prospects of this model independent experimental approach will be outlined.

  11. Evaluating Ambient Displays in the Wild

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Messeter, Jörn; Molenaar, Daryn

    A prominent issue for evaluating ambient displays has been the conflict between the relative intrusiveness of evaluation methods and the intention to keep the display at the periphery of the user’s attention. There is a general lack of research discussing the difficulties of evaluating ambient di...

  12. Control Flow Analysis for BioAmbients

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Nielson, Flemming; Nielson, Hanne Riis; Priami, C.

    2007-01-01

    This paper presents a static analysis for investigating properties of biological systems specified in BioAmbients. We exploit the control flow analysis to decode the bindings of variables induced by communications and to build a relation of the ambients that can interact with each other. We...

  13. Freedom and privacy in ambient intelligence

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Brey, Philip A.E.

    2006-01-01

    This paper analyzes ethical aspects of the new paradigm of Ambient Intelligence, which is a combination of Ubiquitous Computing and Intelligent User Interfaces (IUI’s). After an introduction to the approach, two key ethical dimensions will be analyzed: freedom and privacy. It is argued that Ambient

  14. A study of health effect estimates using competing methods to model personal exposures to ambient PM2.5.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Strand, Matthew; Hopke, Philip K; Zhao, Weixiang; Vedal, Sverre; Gelfand, Erwin; Rabinovitch, Nathan

    2007-09-01

    Various methods have been developed recently to estimate personal exposures to ambient particulate matter less than 2.5 microm in diameter (PM2.5) using fixed outdoor monitors as well as personal exposure monitors. One class of estimators involves extrapolating values using ambient-source components of PM2.5, such as sulfate and iron. A key step in extrapolating these values is to correct for differences in infiltration characteristics of the component used in extrapolation (such as sulfate within PM2.5) and PM2.5. When this is not done, resulting health effect estimates will be biased. Another class of approaches involves factor analysis methods such as positive matrix factorization (PMF). Using either an extrapolation or a factor analysis method in conjunction with regression calibration allows one to estimate the direct effects of ambient PM2.5 on health, eliminating bias caused by using fixed outdoor monitors and estimated personal ambient PM2.5 concentrations. Several forms of the extrapolation method are defined, including some new ones. Health effect estimates that result from the use of these methods are compared with those from an expanded PMF analysis using data collected from a health study of asthmatic children conducted in Denver, Colorado. Examining differences in health effect estimates among the various methods using a measure of lung function (forced expiratory volume in 1 s) as the health indicator demonstrated the importance of the correction factor(s) in the extrapolation methods and that PMF yielded results comparable with the extrapolation methods that incorporated correction factors.

  15. Ambient temperature, humidity and hand, foot, and mouth disease: A systematic review and meta-analysis.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Cheng, Qiang; Bai, Lijun; Zhang, Yanwu; Zhang, Heng; Wang, Shusi; Xie, Mingyu; Zhao, Desheng; Su, Hong

    2018-06-01

    The relationship between ambient temperature, humidity and hand, foot, and mouth disease (HFMD) has been highlighted in East and Southeast Asia, which showed multiple different results. Therefore, our goal is to conduct a meta-analysis to further clarify this relationship and to quantify the size of these effects as well as the susceptible populations. PubMed, Web of science, and Cochrane library were searched up to November 22, 2017 for articles analyzing the relationships between ambient temperature, humidity and incidence of HFMD. We assessed sources of heterogeneity by study design (temperature measure and exposed time resolution), population vulnerability (national income level and regional climate) and evaluated pooled effect estimates for the subgroups identified in the heterogeneity analysis. We identified 11 studies with 19 estimates of the relationship between ambient temperature, humidity and incidence of HFMD. It was found that per 1°C increase in the temperature and per 1% increase in the relative humidity were both significantly associated with increased incidence of HFMD (temperature: IRR, 1.05; 95% CI, 1.02-1.08; relative humidity: IRR, 1.01; 95% CI, 1.00-1.02). Subgroup analysis showed that people living in subtropical and middle income areas had a higher risk of incidence of HFMD. Ambient temperature and humidity may increase the incidence of HFMD in Asia-Pacific regions. Further studies are needed to clarify the relationship between ambient temperature, humidity and incidence of HFMD in various settings with distinct climate, socioeconomic, and demographic features. Copyright © 2018. Published by Elsevier B.V.

  16. Opportunities for scientists to influence policy: When does radiation metrology matter in development of national policy?

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Coursey, Bert M.

    2014-01-01

    Accurate measurements of radiation and radioactivity rarely rise to the level of national policy. The things that matter most to ordinary citizens do not normally include questions of science and technology. Citizens are more often concerned with issues close to home relating to commerce, health, safety, security and the environment. When questions of confidence in measurements arise, they are first directed to the ministry that has responsibilities in that area. When the required uncertainty in field measurements challenges the capability of the regulatory authorities, the National Metrology Institute may be asked to develop transfer standards to enhance the capabilities of the ministry with the mission lead. In this paper, we will consider eight instances over the past nine decades in which questions in radiation and radionuclide metrology in the US did rise to the level that they influenced decisions on national policy. These eight examples share some common threads. Radioactivity and ionizing radiation are useful tools in many disciplines, but can often represent potential or perceived threats to health and public safety. When unforeseen applications of radiation arise, or when environmental radioactivity from natural and man-made sources presents a possible health hazard, the radiation metrologists may be called upon to provide the technical underpinning for policy development. - Highlights: • We review instances in which accurate measurements of radiation influence policy. • Heads of state rely on senior science advisors to frame policy decisions. • Metrologists support federal agencies that have mission leads in different fields. • Metrologists are called on when other agencies lack requisite expertise. • Radionuclide metrologists must recognize and accept challenges

  17. The effect of composition, size, and solubility on acute pulmonary injury in rats following exposure to Mexico city ambient particulate matter samples.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Snow, Samantha J; De Vizcaya-Ruiz, Andrea; Osornio-Vargas, Alvaro; Thomas, Ronald F; Schladweiler, Mette C; McGee, John; Kodavanti, Urmila P

    2014-01-01

    Particulate matter (PM)-associated metals can contribute to adverse cardiopulmonary effects following exposure to air pollution. The aim of this study was to investigate how variation in the composition and size of ambient PM collected from two distinct regions in Mexico City relates to toxicity differences. Male Wistar Kyoto rats (14 wk) were intratracheally instilled with chemically characterized PM10 and PM2.5 from the north and PM10 from the south of Mexico City (3 mg/kg). Both water-soluble and acid-leachable fractions contained several metals, with levels generally higher in PM10 South. The insoluble and total, but not soluble, fractions of all PM induced pulmonary damage that was indicated by significant increases in neutrophilic inflammation, and several lung injury biomarkers including total protein, albumin, lactate dehydrogenase activity, and γ-glutamyl transferase activity 24 and 72 h postexposure. PM10 North and PM2.5 North also significantly decreased levels of the antioxidant ascorbic acid. Elevation in lung mRNA biomarkers of inflammation (tumor necrosis factor [TNF]-α and macrophage inflammatory protein [MIP]-2), oxidative stress (heme oxygenase [HO]-1, lectin-like oxidized low-density lipoprotein receptor [LOX]-1, and inducibile nitric oxide synthase [iNOS]), and thrombosis (tissue factor [TF] and plasminogen activator inhibitor [PAI]-1), as well as reduced levels of fibrinolytic protein tissue plasminogen activator (tPA), further indicated pulmonary injury following PM exposure. These responses were more pronounced with PM10 South (PM10 South > PM10 North > PM2.5 North), which contained higher levels of redox-active transition metals that may have contributed to specific differences in selected lung gene markers. These findings provide evidence that surface chemistry of the PM core and not the water-soluble fraction played an important role in regulating in vivo pulmonary toxicity responses to Mexico City PM.

  18. Ambient Utopia

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Heylen, Dirk K.J.; Bosse, Tibor

    2012-01-01

    his chapter presents an analysis of the ambitions that lie behind the concept of Ambient Intelligence as it is presented by the advocates and researchers working in the field. In particular it looks at the ideas regarding the forms of natural and intuitive forms of interaction that are envisaged –

  19. Ambient PM2.5 exposure and premature mortality burden in the holy city Varanasi, India

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Jain, Vaishali; Dey, Sagnik; Chowdhury, Sourangsu

    2017-01-01

    More than 3 million population residing in the holy city Varanasi and sub-urban areas is exposed to very high level of fine particulate matter (PM 2.5 ) from various sources. Continuous monitoring by Central Pollution Control Board started only in 2015; therefore what was the pollution level in the past and how it has changed over the years are not known. We use MODIS aerosol products to infer PM 2.5 and examine 15-year climatology. Data shows a rapid (1.5–3% per year) increase in PM 2.5 in the last 15 years and high (87% days in a year) persistence of PM 2.5 above the national air quality standard. It translates to a burden of 5700 (2800–7500) annual premature deaths (0.16% of the population), of which 29%, 18%, 33%, 19% and remaining 1% are attributed to ischemic heart disease, stroke, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, acute lower respiratory infection and lung cancer respectively. If the region achieves the Indian (WHO) air quality standard, 1900 (3800) premature deaths can be avoided every year. - Highlights: • MODIS AOD data are used to infer surface PM 2.5 in the holy city Varanasi, India. • PM 2.5 increases rapidly (1.5–3% per year) in the last 15 years. • 87% days in a year, daily PM 2.5 exceeds national standard. • 5700 annual premature death is estimated, of which 1900 can be saved if Indian standard is met. • COPD has the largest share in the burden. - This study presents 15-year ambient PM 2.5 statistics in Varanasi using satellite data (in absence of long-term in-situ data) and the associated premature mortality burden.

  20. 76 FR 40303 - Revisions to the California State Implementation Plan, South Coast Air Quality Management District

    Science.gov (United States)

    2011-07-08

    ... the California State Implementation Plan, South Coast Air Quality Management District AGENCY... limited disapproval of revisions to the South Coast Air Quality Management District (SCAQMD) portion of... designated nonattainment for the fine particulate matter (PM2.5) National Ambient Air Quality Standards...

  1. 78 FR 4804 - Revision to the Washington State Implementation Plan; Tacoma-Pierce County Nonattainment Area

    Science.gov (United States)

    2013-01-23

    ... Washington State Implementation Plan; Tacoma- Pierce County Nonattainment Area AGENCY: Environmental... Tacoma-Pierce County nonattainment area for the 2006 fine particulate matter (PM 2.5 ) National Ambient... Rules.'' The updated PSCAA rules help implement the recommendations of the Tacoma-Pierce County Clean...

  2. Crisis ambiental, desastre natural y la "sociedad desierto"

    OpenAIRE

    Reynol Díaz Coutiño

    2010-01-01

    La crisis ambiental y los "desastres naturales" se muestran como un conjunto que está definido por la sensibilidad de los factores de correlación. La crisis ambiental se entiende como los cambios "inesperados" delos procesos de aquellos factores que forman el ambiente local. La transición silenciosa de tales cambios altera, cuando va más allá de ciertos límites, el frágil balance del medio ambiente, hasta que emerge el desastre. En este sentido, el desastre nos es natural, pero sí los fenómen...

  3. Results on MeV-scale dark matter from a gram-scale cryogenic calorimeter operated above ground

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Angloher, G.; Bauer, P.; Bento, A.; Iachellini, N.F.; Hauff, D.; Kiefer, M.; Mancuso, M.; Petricca, F.; Proebst, F.; Reindl, F.; Rothe, J.; Seidel, W.; Stodolsky, L.; Strauss, R.; Tanzke, A.; Wuestrich, M. [Max-Planck-Institut fuer Physik, Muenchen (Germany); Bucci, C.; Canonica, L.; Gorla, P.; Pagliarone, C.; Schaeffner, K. [Laboratori Nazionali del Gran Sasso, INFN, Assergi (Italy); Defay, X.; Erb, A.; Feilitzsch, F. v.; Lanfranchi, J.C.; Langenkaemper, A.; Mondragon, E.; Muenster, A.; Oberauer, L.; Potzel, W.; Schoenert, S.; Thi, H.H.T.; Ulrich, A.; Wawoczny, S.; Willers, M.; Zoeller, A. [Technische Universitaet Muenchen, Physik-Department and Excellence Cluster Universe, Garching (Germany); Guetlein, A.; Kluck, H.; Puig, R.; Schieck, J.; Stahlberg, M.; Tuerkoglu, C. [Institut fuer Hochenergiephysik der Oesterreichischen Akademie der Wissenschaften, Vienna (Austria); Vienna University of Technology, Atominstitut, Vienna (Austria); Jochum, J.; Loebell, J.; Strandhagen, C.; Uffinger, M.; Usherov, I. [Eberhard-Karls-Universitaet Tuebingen, Tuebingen (Germany); Kraus, H. [University of Oxford, Department of Physics, Oxford (United Kingdom); Collaboration: CRESST Collaboration

    2017-09-15

    Models for light dark matter particles with masses below 1 GeV/c{sup 2} are a natural and well-motivated alternative to so-far unobserved weakly interacting massive particles. Gram-scale cryogenic calorimeters provide the required detector performance to detect these particles and extend the direct dark matter search program of CRESST. A prototype 0.5 g sapphire detector developed for the ν-cleus experiment has achieved an energy threshold of E{sub th} = (19.7 ± 0.9)eV. This is one order of magnitude lower than for previous devices and independent of the type of particle interaction. The result presented here is obtained in a setup above ground without significant shielding against ambient and cosmogenic radiation. Although operated in a high-background environment, the detector probes a new range of light-mass dark matter particles previously not accessible by direct searches. We report the first limit on the spin-independent dark matter particle-nucleon cross section for masses between 140 and 500 MeV/c{sup 2}. (orig.)

  4. Results on MeV-scale dark matter from a gram-scale cryogenic calorimeter operated above ground

    Science.gov (United States)

    Angloher, G.; Bauer, P.; Bento, A.; Bucci, C.; Canonica, L.; Defay, X.; Erb, A.; Feilitzsch, F. v.; Iachellini, N. Ferreiro; Gorla, P.; Gütlein, A.; Hauff, D.; Jochum, J.; Kiefer, M.; Kluck, H.; Kraus, H.; Lanfranchi, J.-C.; Langenkämper, A.; Loebell, J.; Mancuso, M.; Mondragon, E.; Münster, A.; Oberauer, L.; Pagliarone, C.; Petricca, F.; Potzel, W.; Pröbst, F.; Puig, R.; Reindl, F.; Rothe, J.; Schäffner, K.; Schieck, J.; Schönert, S.; Seidel, W.; Stahlberg, M.; Stodolsky, L.; Strandhagen, C.; Strauss, R.; Tanzke, A.; Thi, H. H. Trinh; Türkoǧlu, C.; Uffinger, M.; Ulrich, A.; Usherov, I.; Wawoczny, S.; Willers, M.; Wüstrich, M.; Zöller, A.

    2017-09-01

    Models for light dark matter particles with masses below 1 GeV/c^2 are a natural and well-motivated alternative to so-far unobserved weakly interacting massive particles. Gram-scale cryogenic calorimeters provide the required detector performance to detect these particles and extend the direct dark matter search program of CRESST. A prototype 0.5 g sapphire detector developed for the ν -cleus experiment has achieved an energy threshold of E_{th}=(19.7± 0.9) eV. This is one order of magnitude lower than for previous devices and independent of the type of particle interaction. The result presented here is obtained in a setup above ground without significant shielding against ambient and cosmogenic radiation. Although operated in a high-background environment, the detector probes a new range of light-mass dark matter particles previously not accessible by direct searches. We report the first limit on the spin-independent dark matter particle-nucleon cross section for masses between 140 and 500 MeV/c^2.

  5. Ambient ionization mass spectrometry

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Lebedev, A T

    2015-01-01

    Ambient ionization mass spectrometry emerged as a new scientific discipline only about ten years ago. A considerable body of information has been reported since that time. Keeping the sensitivity, performance and informativity of classical mass spectrometry methods, the new approach made it possible to eliminate laborious sample preparation procedures and triggered the development of miniaturized instruments to work directly in the field. The review concerns the theoretical foundations and design of ambient ionization methods. Their advantages and drawbacks, as well as prospects for application in chemistry, biology, medicine, environmetal analysis, etc., are discussed. The bibliography includes 194 references

  6. PERCEPCIÓN AMBIENTAL EN ESTUDIANTES DE SECUNDARIA

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Benito Zamorano González

    2009-01-01

    Full Text Available Se investigó un grupo de 254 estudiantes de una secundaria pública de Matamoros, Tamaulipas, México, adaptando el cuestionario utilizado por el Grup de Recerca Educació i Ciutadani (GREIC de la Universitat de les Illes Balears. El estudio se basa en un conjunto de 39 preguntas distribuidas en cuatro secciones: Afirmaciones relacionadas con el medio ambiente, para indagar su postura; Preocupación por el medio ambiente, para identificar el lugar que genera mayor interés; Problemas ambientales, sirvió para identificar el conocimiento de la problemática que afecta a su región y la cuarta sección Acciones para hacer un mundo mejor, para identificar la disposición de los estudiantes para mejorar el ambiente. La validación del cuestionario adaptado refiere un coeficiente del Alfa de Cronbach de 0.862 y los datos en estudio representan de forma generalizada la percepción ambiental que tienen los estudiantes y manifiestan la importancia de la educación ambiental.

  7. Radon-222 related influence on ambient gamma dose.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Melintescu, A; Chambers, S D; Crawford, J; Williams, A G; Zorila, B; Galeriu, D

    2018-04-03

    Ambient gamma dose, radon, and rainfall have been monitored in southern Bucharest, Romania, from 2010 to 2016. The seasonal cycle of background ambient gamma dose peaked between July and October (100-105 nSv h -1 ), with minimum values in February (75-80 nSv h -1 ), the time of maximum snow cover. Based on 10 m a.g.l. radon concentrations, the ambient gamma dose increased by around 1 nSv h -1 for every 5 Bq m -3 increase in radon. Radon variability attributable to diurnal changes in atmospheric mixing contributed less than 15 nSv h -1 to the overall variability in ambient gamma dose, a factor of 4 more than synoptic timescale changes in air mass fetch. By contrast, precipitation-related enhancements of the ambient gamma dose were 15-80 nSv h -1 . To facilitate routine analysis, and account in part for occasional equipment failure, an automated method for identifying precipitation spikes in the ambient gamma dose was developed. Lastly, a simple model for predicting rainfall-related enhancement of the ambient gamma dose is tested against rainfall observations from events of contrasting duration and intensity. Results are also compared with those from previously published models of simple and complex formulation. Generally, the model performed very well. When simulations underestimated observations the absolute difference was typically less than the natural variability in ambient gamma dose arising from atmospheric mixing influences. Consequently, combined use of the automated event detection method and the simple model of this study could enable the ambient gamma dose "attention limit" (which indicates a potential radiological emergency) to be reduced from 200 to 400% above background to 25-50%. Copyright © 2018 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  8. Subject Matter Expert Workshop to Identify Cybersecurity ...

    Science.gov (United States)

    Report In recognition of the growing need to better address cyber risk and cyber management, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) National Homeland Security Research Center (NHSRC) held a Subject Matter Expert Workshop to Identify Cybersecurity Research Gaps and Needs of the Nation’s Water and Wastewater Systems Sector on March 30th and 31st, 2016, at the Ronald Reagan Building in Washington, D.C. The workshop was designed to create a forum for subject matter experts (SMEs) to exchange ideas and address important cybersecurity challenges facing the water sector.

  9. #BlackLivesMatter and Feminist Pedagogy: Teaching a Movement Unfolding

    OpenAIRE

    Reena N. Goldthree; Aimee Bahng

    2016-01-01

    What are the stakes of teaching #BlackLivesMatter simultaneously in New Hampshire and in the national media? We draw upon our experiences leading two iterations of a #BlackLivesMatter course at Dartmouth College to consider the feminist pedagogical origins of “experiential learning,” the intersectional dynamics of enacting a teaching collective, and working in dialogue with the movement itself.

  10. Ambient polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons and pulmonary function in children

    Science.gov (United States)

    Padula, Amy M.; Balmes, John R.; Eisen, Ellen A.; Mann, Jennifer; Noth, Elizabeth M.; Lurmann, Frederick W.; Pratt, Boriana; Tager, Ira B.; Nadeau, Kari; Hammond, S. Katharine

    2014-01-01

    Few studies have examined the relationship between ambient polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) and pulmonary function in children. Major sources include vehicular emissions, home heating, wildland fires, agricultural burning, and power plants. PAHs are an important component of fine particulate matter that has been linked to respiratory health. This cross-sectional study examines the relationship between estimated individual exposures to the sum of PAHs with 4, 5, or 6 rings (PAH456) and pulmonary function tests (forced expiratory volume in one second (FEV1) and forced expiratory flow between 25% and 75% of vital capacity) in asthmatic and non-asthmatic children. We applied land-use regression to estimate individual exposures to ambient PAHs for averaging periods ranging from 1 week to 1 year. We used linear regression to estimate the relationship between exposure to PAH456 with pre- and postbronchodilator pulmonary function tests in children in Fresno, California (N =297). Among non-asthmatics, there was a statistically significant association between PAH456 during the previous 3 months, 6 months, and 1 year and postbronchodilator FEV1. The magnitude of the association increased with the length of the averaging period ranging from 60 to 110 ml decrease in FEV1 for each 1 ng/m3 increase in PAH456. There were no associations with PAH456 observed among asthmatic children. We identified an association between annual PAHs and chronic pulmonary function in children without asthma. Additional studies are needed to further explore the association between exposure to PAHs and pulmonary function, especially with regard to differential effects between asthmatic and non-asthmatic children. PMID:24938508

  11. Aspectos políticos de la educación ambiental

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Martínez Castillo, Róger

    2007-12-01

    Full Text Available Resumen: La dominación interna y externa a que está sometida nuestra realidad requiere de alternativas educacionales comprometidas, que rompan con los lazos de dependencia y gesten una conciencia de necesidades colectivas y nacionales. Por eso, la educación debe estar orientada hacia una praxis política y crítica que promueva la transformación en general.La educación ambiental analiza las estructuras socio-económicas y políticas, en la medida en que afecten a la sociedad y a los ecosistemas, no se trata de una práctica neutra, sino representa un compromiso o alternativa a la problemática socio-ambiental.Ante los nuevos paradigmas educativos y la crisis del sistema de desarrollo convencional, la educación ambiental politizada constituye una alternativa dirigida a lograr una acción educativa, transformadora del individuo en sujeto de su propio destino, comprometido con su sociedad, con la conciencia de los problemas actuales y con la búsqueda de soluciones para un desarrollo social y ambiental sustentable.Abstract: The inner/outer domination our reality is submitted to, requires from committed educational alternatives, that break the dependence ties and generate one of collective and national necessities. Therefore, education must be oriented towards a critical political praxis, that promotes the transformation in general.The environmental education analyses the social, economical and political structure, to the extent they affect society and ecosystems since education is not neutral. It represents a compromise or alternative to the social-environmental problem.Against the new educational paradigms and the conventional development system crisis, the politicized environmental education constitutes an alternative directed to accomplish an educational action, that transforms the individual into a subject of his own destiny, committed with his society and aware of the current problems, that looks for necessary solutions to a social and

  12. Matter-antimatter and matter-matter interactions at intermediate energies

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Santos, Antonio Carlos Fontes dos

    2002-01-01

    This article presents some of the recent experimental advances on the study on antimatter-matter and matter-matter interactions, and some of the subtle differences stimulated a great theoretical efforts for explanation of the results experimentally observed

  13. Assessing the impact of fine particulate matter (PM2.5) on respiratory-cardiovascular chronic diseases in the New York City Metropolitan area using Hierarchical Bayesian Model estimates

    Science.gov (United States)

    An enhanced research paradigm is presented to address the spatial and temporal gaps in fine particulate matter (PM2.5) measurements and generate realistic and representative concentration fields for use in epidemiological studies of human exposure to ambient air particulate conce...

  14. Response of radiation monitors for ambient dose equivalent, H*(10)

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Grecco, Claudio Henrique dos Santos

    2001-01-01

    Radiation monitors are used all over the world to evaluate if places with presence of ionising radiation present safe conditions for people. Radiation monitors should be tested according to international or national standards in order to be qualified for use. This work describes a methodology and procedures to evaluate the energy and angular responses of any radiation monitor for ambient dose equivalent, H*(10), according to the recommendations of ISO and IEC standards. The methodology and the procedures were applied to the Monitor Inteligente de Radiacao MIR 7026, developed by the Instituto em Engenharia Nuclear (IEN), to evaluate and to adjust its response for H*(10), characterizing it as an ambient dose equivalent meter. The tests were performed at the Laboratorio Nacional de Metrologia das Radiacoes Ionizantes (LNMRI), at Instituto de Radioprotecao e Dosimetria (IRD), and results showed that the Monitor Inteligente de Radiacao MIR 7026 can be used as an EI*(10) meter, in accordance to the IEC 60846 standard requirements. The overall estimated uncertainty for the determination of the MIR 7026 response, in all radiation qualities used in this work, was 4,5 % to a 95 % confidence limit. (author)

  15. Simulation of microbubble response to ambient pressure changes

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Andersen, Klaus Scheldrup; Jensen, Jørgen Arendt

    2008-01-01

    The theory on microbubbles clearly indicates a relation between the ambient pressure and the acoustic behavior of the bubble. The purpose of this study was to optimize the sensitivity of ambient pressure measurements, using the subharmonic component, through microbubble response simulations....... The behaviour of two different contrast agents was investigated as a function of driving pulse and ambient overpressure, pov. Simulations of Levovist using a rectangular driving pulse show an almost linear reduction in the subharmonic component as pov is increased. For a 20 cycles driving pulse, a reduction...... is not completely linear as a function of the ambient pressure....

  16. Gestión ambiental en las empresas agroindustriales. Un diagnóstico sobre el cumplimiento de la legislación ambiental

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Doris C. Reinosa P.

    2014-01-01

    Full Text Available El objetivo es diagnosticar el cumplimiento de la Legislación Ambiental por las empresas agroindustriales del Municipio Colón del Estado Zulia. El tipo de investigación es descriptiva, de campo, con la utilización de técnicas como la encuesta y entrevista y se enmarca en el conocimiento y cumplimiento de la normativa ambiental vigente en Venezuela. Se obtuvieron los siguientes resultados: 1 Prevalecen las debilidades en cuanto al conocimiento y manejo de la normativa ambiental. 2 Se determinó la omisión de los Estudios de Impacto Ambiental. 3 Existe incumplimiento en la inscripción en el Registro de Actividades Susceptibles de Degradar el Ambiente - RASDA. 4 Existe desconocimiento de los principales efluentes, no se han establecido técnicas o procedimientos para mejorar el impacto ocasionado y, 5 Se evidencian debilidades en la actuación del MINAMB como organismo controlador de las actividades susceptibles y como ente ductor en el marco de velar por el cumplimiento de la legislación ambiental vigente

  17. EXPERIENCIA INTEGRADORA PARA EDUCACIÓN AMBIENTAL

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Jorge F. Coronel

    2015-01-01

    Full Text Available En este trabajo se relacionó la práctica experimental de laboratorio co n el análisis de problemas ambientales. El objetivo de este trabajo es analizar una propuesta que vinculó el trabajo experimental con la situación del ambiente local para promover el cuidado de la naturaleza y su uso con sostenibilidad . Esta estrategia brindó un enfoque integrador aportando a los alumnos de profesorado una alternativa de aprendizaje con exper iencias sencillas para el estudio cualitativo de l ambiente local y motivar a l análisis de problemas asociad o s. Las experiencias permitieron caracterizar las muestras de suelo, agua y aire del lugar de residencia de los alumnos. La información experimental obtenida potenció la discusión de la situación ambiental actual. E l enfoque de enseñanza basado en problemas socio - científicos posibilit ó la visión interdisciplinar del tema , redimensionando valores y acciones para el cuidado ambiental y el desarrollo sustentable.

  18. Personal exposures of preschool children to carbon monoxide: roles of ambient air quality and gas stoves

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Alm, S.; Reponen, A.; Mukala, K.; Pasanen, P.; Tuomisto, J.; Jantunen, M.J. (National Public Health Institute, Kuopio (Finland). Division of Environmental Health)

    1994-12-01

    Personal 1 h mean CO exposures of preschool children in two day care centers (Toolo and Vallila) in Helsinki were measured with continuously recording personal exposure monitors. In Vallila, the median CO exposure of children from homes with gas stoves was 2.0 mgm[sup -3], and with electric stoves, 0.9 mgm[sup -3]. In Tooloo, the corresponding values were 1.9 and 1.0 mgm[sup -3], respectively. The national ambient air quality guidelines for CO in Finland were exceeded in a few percent of the exposure measurements. The results were compared to fixed-site ambient air monitoring data and related to the presence of town-gas fired stoves in the children's homes. The results show that fixed-site ambient air monitors are of little value in predicting personal exposures of children or even their relative differences between areas. They also show that town-gas fired stoves may have a profound effect on the CO exposures of the children. 8 refs., 4 figs., 3 tabs.

  19. Modification of the effect of ambient air pollution on pediatric asthma emergency visits: susceptible subpopulations

    Science.gov (United States)

    Strickland, Matthew J; Klein, Mitchel; Flanders, W Dana; Chang, Howard H; Mulholland, James A; Tolbert, Paige E; Darrow, Lyndsey A

    2016-01-01

    Background Children may have differing susceptibility to ambient air pollution concentrations depending on various background characteristics of the children. Methods Using emergency department (ED) data linked with birth records from Atlanta, Georgia, we identified ED visits for asthma or wheeze among children aged 2–16 years from 1 January 2002 through 30 June 2010 (n=109,758). We stratified by preterm delivery, term low birth weight, maternal race, Medicaid status, maternal education, maternal smoking, delivery method, and history of a bronchiolitis ED visit. Population-weighted daily average concentrations were calculated for 1-hour maximum carbon monoxide and nitrogen dioxide; 8-hour maximum ozone; and 24-hour average particulate matter less than 10 microns in diameter, particulate matter less than 2.5 microns in diameter (PM2.5), and the PM2.5 components sulfate, nitrate, ammonium, elemental carbon, and organic carbon, using measurements from stationary monitors. Poisson time-series models were used to estimate rate ratios for associations between three-day moving average pollutant concentrations and daily ED visit counts and to investigate effect-measure modification by the stratification factors. Results Associations between pollutant concentrations and asthma exacerbations were larger among children born preterm and among children born to African American mothers. Stratification by race and preterm status together suggested that both factors affected susceptibility. The largest estimated effect size (for an interquartile-range increase in pollution) was observed for ozone among preterm births to African American mothers: rate ratio=1.138 (95% confidence interval=1.077–1.203). In contrast, the rate ration for the ozone association among full-term births to mothers of other races was 1.025 (0.970–1.083). Conclusions Results support the hypothesis that children vary in their susceptibility to ambient air pollutants. PMID:25192402

  20. d13C and d15N dynamics of particulate organic matter in freshwater and brackish waters of the Scheldt estuary

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    De Brabandere, Loreto; Dehairs, F.; Van Damme, S.

    2002-01-01

    the growth season reflects the 15N enrichment of the ambient NH4 + pool induced by nitrification and NH4+ uptake. Zooplankton in the mesohaline section of the river was consistently enriched in 15N relative to suspended matter but followed its seasonal trend. During summer and autumn the isotopic offset...... matter in the oligohaline and mesohaline section increased compared to the 1970s, probably because today nitrification, which enriches the NH4+ pool in 15N, starts earlier in the season. For summer, the discrepancy between present-day suspended matter d15N values and those observed in the 1970s was even...

  1. MEIO AMBIENTE E DESENVOLVIMENTO

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Suely Salgueiro Chacon

    2009-12-01

    Full Text Available O objetivo deste artigo é resgatar elementos para subsidiar uma reflexão crítica sobre o modelo de desenvolvimento econômico prevalente na sociedade e as relações com o meio ambiente, sob a ameaça que ronda o destino da espécie humana, conforme afirmação de Lovelock (2006, p. 20 sobre o conceito de desenvolvimento sustentável: “uma ideia adorável se a tivéssemos aplicado 200 anos atrás, quando havia um bilhão de pessoas no mundo. Agora é tarde demais. Não há mais espaço para nenhum tipo de desenvolvimento. A humanidade tem que regredir”. Este artigo apresenta a evolução do conceito de desenvolvimento econômico sob a ótica da sustentabilidade, e interliga temas como: o ambientalismo, aglutinador de distintos pensamentos sobre as relações entre a sociedade e a natureza; o movimento ambiental, a fundamentar a disseminação do conceito de desenvolvimento sustentável, e a gestão ambiental, abordada como prática orientada pelo conceito de desenvolvimento sustentável.

  2. Effects of Ambient Temperature on Growth Performance, Blood Metabolites, and Immune Cell Populations in Korean Cattle Steers

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    H. J. Kang

    2016-03-01

    Full Text Available Exposure to cold may affect growth performance in accordance with the metabolic and immunological activities of animals. We evaluated whether ambient temperature affects growth performance, blood metabolites, and immune cell populations in Korean cattle. Eighteen Korean cattle steers with a mean age of 10 months and a mean weight of 277 kg were used. All steers were fed a growing stage-concentrate diet at a rate of 1.5% of body weight and Timothy hay ad libitum for 8 weeks. Experimental period 1 (P1 was for four weeks from March 7 to April 3 and period 2 (P2 was four weeks from April 4 to May 1. Mean (8.7°C and minimum (1.0°C indoor ambient temperatures during P1 were lower (p<0.001 than those (13.0°C and 6.2°C, respectively during P2. Daily dry matter feed intake in both the concentrate diet and forage groups was higher (p<0.001 during P2 than P1. Average daily weight gain was higher (p<0.001 during P2 (1.38 kg/d than P1 (1.13 kg/d. Feed efficiency during P2 was higher (p = 0.015 than P1. Blood was collected three times; on March 7, April 4, and May 2. Nonesterified fatty acids (NEFA were higher on March 7 than April 4 and May 2. Blood cortisol, glucose, and triglyceride concentrations did not differ among months. Blood CD4+, CD8+, and CD4+CD25+ T cell percentages were higher, while CD8+CD25+ T cell percentage was lower, during the colder month of March than during May, suggesting that ambient temperature affects blood T cell populations. In conclusion, colder ambient temperature decreased growth and feed efficiency in Korean cattle steers. The higher circulating NEFA concentrations observed in March compared to April suggest that lipolysis may occur at colder ambient temperatures to generate heat and maintain body temperature, resulting in lower feed efficiency in March.

  3. A cartografia social em ambientes escolares - por uma educação ambiental crítica

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Amanda Azevedo Cruz

    2016-06-01

    Full Text Available A educação ambiental garante espaço nas escolas brasileiras como uma importante proposta para o enfrentamento dos problemas ambientais, porém, costuma ter uma concepção conservadora e, assim, ser desconexa das realidades locais. Para tanto, o artigo visa analisar a educação ambiental ensinada nos ambientes escolares no município de Diamantina/MG, a fim de atualizá-la temporo-espacialmente. As prioridades ambientais do entorno de nove escolas do ensino fundamental foram registradas via mapeamento participativo, juntamente à análise dos livros didáticos adotados por estes locais de modo a identificar e caracterizar suas abordagens ambientais. De modo geral, os produtos cartográficos representaram questões associadas a resíduos sólidos, efluentes e poluições hídrica, sonora e atmosférica, sem trazer elementos que apontem para as relações de poder e os consequentes embates por hegemonia que estrutura a sociedade moderna. E os materiais didáticos apresentam temas ambientais em sua composição, mas a maioria de forma simplificada e descontextualizada, o que contribui para os resultados alcançados nas atividades de mapeamento participativo. Como construção criativa e coletiva, a educação ambiental crítica urge-se diante da crise ambiental e, portanto, a atualização temporal e espacial das temáticas ambientais se torna, desde já, uma tarefa necessária.

  4. INAA of airborne particulate matter collected in Bangkok 2002-2004

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Chueinta, W.; Bunprapob, S.; Tedthong, S.

    2006-01-01

    This paper presents the summary report of the monitoring study on ambient air quality in Bangkok metropolis and its boundary covering the period from 2002 to 2004. The work performed included sampling of fine and coarse fractions of particulate matter at the sites representing urban and suburban areas; measurement of particle mass concentration and elemental concentration; and data interpretation. Instrumental neutron activation by use of research reactor facilities at Office of Atoms for Peace was carried out for multielemental analysis of all filter samples collected. Twenty elements were determined. The database of the three consecutive years are summarized and reviewed in this paper. (author)

  5. Satellite-based Estimates of Ambient Air Pollution and Global Variations in Childhood Asthma Prevalence

    Science.gov (United States)

    Anderson, H. Ross; Butland, Barbara K.; Donkelaar, Aaron Matthew Van; Brauer, Michael; Strachan, David P.; Clayton, Tadd; van Dingenen, Rita; Amann, Marcus; Brunekreef, Bert; Cohen, Aaron; hide

    2012-01-01

    Background: The effect of ambient air pollution on global variations and trends in asthma prevalence is unclear. Objectives: Our goal was to investigate community-level associations between asthma prevalence data from the International Study of Asthma and Allergies in Childhood (ISAAC) and satellite-based estimates of particulate matter with aerodynamic diameter < 2.5 microm (PM2.5) and nitrogen dioxide (NO2), and modelled estimates of ozone. Methods: We assigned satellite-based estimates of PM2.5 and NO2 at a spatial resolution of 0.1deg × 0.1deg and modeled estimates of ozone at a resolution of 1deg × 1deg to 183 ISAAC centers. We used center-level prevalence of severe asthma as the outcome and multilevel models to adjust for gross national income (GNI) and center- and country-level sex, climate, and population density. We examined associations (adjusting for GNI) between air pollution and asthma prevalence over time in centers with data from ISAAC Phase One (mid-1900s) and Phase Three (2001-2003). Results: For the 13- to 14-year age group (128 centers in 28 countries), the estimated average within-country change in center-level asthma prevalence per 100 children per 10% increase in center-level PM2.5 and NO2 was -0.043 [95% confidence interval (CI): -0.139, 0.053] and 0.017 (95% CI: -0.030, 0.064) respectively. For ozone the estimated change in prevalence per parts per billion by volume was -0.116 (95% CI: -0.234, 0.001). Equivalent results for the 6- to 7-year age group (83 centers in 20 countries), though slightly different, were not significantly positive. For the 13- to 14-year age group, change in center-level asthma prevalence over time per 100 children per 10% increase in PM2.5 from Phase One to Phase Three was -0.139 (95% CI: -0.347, 0.068). The corresponding association with ozone (per ppbV) was -0.171 (95% CI: -0.275, -0.067). Conclusion: In contrast to reports from within-community studies of individuals exposed to traffic pollution, we did not find

  6. Manufactured Porous Ambient Surface Simulants

    Science.gov (United States)

    Carey, Elizabeth M.; Peters, Gregory H.; Chu, Lauren; Zhou, Yu Meng; Cohen, Brooklin; Panossian, Lara; Green, Jacklyn R.; Moreland, Scott; Backes, Paul

    2016-01-01

    The planetary science decadal survey for 2013-2022 (Vision and Voyages, NRC 2011) has promoted mission concepts for sample acquisition from small solar system bodies. Numerous comet-sampling tools are in development to meet this standard. Manufactured Porous Ambient Surface Simulants (MPASS) materials provide an opportunity to simulate variable features at ambient temperatures and pressures to appropriately test potential sample acquisition systems for comets, asteroids, and planetary surfaces. The original "flavor" of MPASS materials is known as Manufactured Porous Ambient Comet Simulants (MPACS), which was developed in parallel with the development of the Biblade Comet Sampling System (Backes et al., in review). The current suite of MPACS materials was developed through research of the physical and mechanical properties of comets from past comet missions results and modeling efforts, coordination with the science community at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory and testing of a wide range of materials and formulations. These simulants were required to represent the physical and mechanical properties of cometary nuclei, based on the current understanding of the science community. Working with cryogenic simulants can be tedious and costly; thus MPACS is a suite of ambient simulants that yields a brittle failure mode similar to that of cryogenic icy materials. Here we describe our suite of comet simulants known as MPACS that will be used to test and validate the Biblade Comet Sampling System (Backes et al., in review).

  7. Ambient air pollution, smog episodes and mortality in Jinan, China.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Zhang, Jun; Liu, Yao; Cui, Liang-Liang; Liu, Shou-Qin; Yin, Xi-Xiang; Li, Huai-Chen

    2017-09-11

    We aimed to assess the acute effects of ambient air pollution and weather conditions on mortality in the context of Chinese smog episodes. A total of 209,321 deaths were recorded in Jinan, a large city in eastern China, during 2011-15. The mean concentrations of daily particulate matter ≤10 μm (PM 10 ), fine particulate matter (PM 2.5 ), sulfur dioxide (SO 2 ) and nitrogen dioxide (NO 2 ) were 169 μg/m 3 , 100 μg/m 3 , 77 μg/m 3 , and 54 μg/m 3 , respectively. Increases of 10 μg/m 3 in PM 10 , PM 2.5 , SO 2 and NO 2 were associated with 1.11% (95% CI 0.96-1.26%), 0.71% (95% CI 0.60-0.82%), 1.69% (95% CI 1.56-1.83%), and 3.12% (95% CI 2.72-3.53%) increases in daily non-accidental mortality rates, respectively. Moreover, the risk estimates for these 4 pollutants were higher in association with respiratory and cardiovascular mortality. The effects of all the evaluated pollutants on mortality were greater in winter than in summer. Smog episodes were associated with a 5.87% (95% CI 0.16-11.58%) increase in the rate of overall mortality. This study highlights the effect of exposure to air pollution on the rate of mortality in China.

  8. PREFACE: Quark Matter 2006 Conference

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ma, Yu-Gang; Wang, En-Ke; Cai, Xu; Huang, Huan-Zhong; Wang, Xin-Nian; Zhu, Zhi-Yuan

    2007-07-01

    The Quark Matter 2006 conference was held on 14 20 November 2006 at the Shanghai Science Hall of the Shanghai Association of Sciences and Technology in Shanghai, China. It was the 19th International Conference on Ultra-Relativistic Nucleus Nucleus Collisions. The conference was organized jointly by SINAP (Shanghai Institute of Applied Physics, Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS)) and CCNU (Central China Normal University, Wuhan). Over 600 scientists from 32 countries in five continents attended the conference. This is the first time that China has hosted such a premier conference in the field of relativistic heavy-ion collisions, an important event for the Chinese high energy nuclear physics community. About one half of the conference participants are junior scientists—a clear indication of the vigor and momentum for this field, in search of the fundamental nature of the nuclear matter at extreme conditions. Professor T D Lee, honorary chair of the conference and one of the founders of the quark matter research, delivered an opening address with his profound and philosophical remarks on the recent discovery of the nature of strongly-interacting quark-gluon-plasma (sQGP). Professor Hongjie Xu, director of SINAP, gave a welcome address to all participants on behalf of the two hosting institutions. Dr Peiwen Ji, deputy director of the Mathematics and Physics Division of the Natural Science Foundation of China (NSFC), also addressed the conference participants and congratulated them on the opening of the conference. Professor Mianheng Jiang, vice president of the Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS), gave a concise introduction about the CAS as the premier research institution in China. He highlighted continued efforts at CAS to foster international collaborations between China and other nations. The Quark Matter 2006 conference is an example of such a successful collaboration between high energy nuclear physicists in China and other nations all over the world. The

  9. Ambient cosmology and spacetime singularities

    CERN Document Server

    Antoniadis, Ignatios

    2015-01-01

    We present a new approach to the issues of spacetime singularities and cosmic censorship in general relativity. This is based on the idea that standard 4-dimensional spacetime is the conformal infinity of an ambient metric for the 5-dimensional Einstein equations with fluid sources. We then find that the existence of spacetime singularities in four dimensions is constrained by asymptotic properties of the ambient 5-metric, while the non-degeneracy of the latter crucially depends on cosmic censorship holding on the boundary.

  10. Effect of Ambient Particulate Matter 2.5 Micrometer (PM2.5 to Prevalence of Impaired Lung Function and Asthma in Tangerang and Makassar

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Budi Haryanto

    2016-06-01

    Full Text Available Particulate matter 2.5 micrometer (PM2.5 emission increased with increasing number of urban population as a result of increasing number of motor vehicles for their daily transportation. This study aimed to determine the level of impaired lung function and asthma and its relation to ambient levels of PM2.5 among migrant communities in Tangerang and Makassar and socioeconomic conditions. A cross-sectional design was implemented by involving 4,250 and 2,900 respondents in Tangerang and Makassar respectively on April to September 2010. Cluster sampling approach was applied. PM2.5 ambient measurements in each city were based on the coordinates of 40 global positioning system locations. The PM2.5 levels found higher in the morning than afternoon in both cities, with average about six folds of WHO guideline of 35 mg/m3. Asthma prevalence was found similar in both cities (1.3% and impaired lung function prevalence in Makassar was higher (24% than Tangerang (21%. Data showed there was no association between PM2.5 levels to the prevalence of asthma and impaired lung function in both cities. The study confirmed that exposure to PM2.5 is associated with prevalence of asthma and impaired lung function and provided evidence showed that the effect of air pollution was modified by certain living environment characteristics. These findings suggest the improvement of housing ventilations and larger space of living room for better oxygen circulation. AbstrakEmisi partikel debu 2,5 mikrometer (PM2.5 meningkat dengan bertambahnya jumlah penduduk kota akibat peningkatan angka kendaraan bermotor sebagai transportasi penduduk sehari-hari. Penelitian ini bertujuan untuk mengetahui tingkat gangguan fungsi paru dan asma serta hubungannya dengan kadar ambien PM2.5 pada masyarakat migran di Tangerang dan Makassar dan kondisi sosial ekonomi. Desain potong lintang digunakan dengan melibatkan 4.250 dan 2.900 responden di Tangerang dan Makassar pada bulan April sampai September

  11. Embedded systems design issues in ambient intelligence

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Aarts, E.H.L.; Roovers, R.L.J.; Basten, A.A.; Geilen, M.C.W.; Groot, de H.W.H.

    2003-01-01

    The vision of ambient intelligence opens a world of unprecedented ex.periences: the interaction of people with electronic devices is changed as context awareness, natural interfaces and ubiquitous availability of information are realized. We analyze the consequences of the ambient intelligence

  12. O QUE PENSAM OS ENFERMEIROS SOBRE A PROBLEMÁTICA AMBIENTAL

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Sabrina Gonçalves Aguiar Soares

    2012-01-01

    Full Text Available El objetivo fue conocer lo que piensan los enfermeros acerca de la problemática ambiental. Investigación cualitativa, descriptiva exploratoria, con enfermeros de Hospital Universitario. Los datos fueron recolectados entre noviembre de 2010 y marzo de 2011, por medio de entrevista semiestructurada y analizados con base en el referencial de análisis de contenido. Los enfermeros tienen visiones diferenciadas sobre el medio ambiente y noción de que enfrentarse una grave crisis ambiental. Afirman que hay interfaz entre salud y medio ambiente, pero no fueron instrumentalizados acerca d el tema. Entienden que precisan actuar de forma responsable con el medio ambiente. El debate sobre la interfaz salud y medio ambiente necesita ser ampliado, en el cotidiano del profesional enfermero, en el sentido de buscar la responsabilidad de los profesionales con la sustentabilidad ambiental .

  13. On dithiothreitol (DTT as a measure of oxidative potential for ambient particles: evidence for the importance of soluble ewline transition metals

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    J. G. Charrier

    2012-10-01

    Full Text Available The rate of consumption of dithiothreitol (DTT is increasingly used to measure the oxidative potential of particulate matter (PM, which has been linked to the adverse health effects of PM. While several quinones are known to be very reactive in the DTT assay, it is unclear what other chemical species might contribute to the loss of DTT in PM extracts. To address this question, we quantify the rate of DTT loss from individual redox-active species that are common in ambient particulate matter. While most past research has indicated that the DTT assay is not sensitive to metals, our results show that seven out of the ten transition metals tested do oxidize DTT, as do three out of the five quinones tested. While metals are less efficient at oxidizing DTT compared to the most reactive quinones, concentrations of soluble transition metals in fine particulate matter are generally much higher than those of quinones. The net result is that metals appear to dominate the DTT response for typical ambient PM2.5 samples. Based on particulate concentrations of quinones and soluble metals from the literature, and our measured DTT responses for these species, we estimate that for typical PM2.5 samples approximately 80% of DTT loss is from transition metals (especially copper and manganese, while quinones account for approximately 20%. We find a similar result for DTT loss measured in a small set of PM2.5 samples from the San Joaquin Valley of California. Because of the important contribution from metals, we also tested how the DTT assay is affected by EDTA, a chelator that is sometimes used in the assay. EDTA significantly suppresses the response from both metals and quinones; we therefore recommend that EDTA should not be included in the DTT assay.

  14. 78 FR 40131 - National Petroleum Council

    Science.gov (United States)

    2013-07-03

    ... DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY National Petroleum Council AGENCY: Office of Fossil Energy, Department of... Petroleum Council. The Federal Advisory Committee Act (Pub. L. 92-463, 86 Stat. 770) requires that public... Administrative Matters Discussion of Any Other Business Properly Brought Before the National Petroleum Council...

  15. Evaluación ambiental del PRMC

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Waldo López Moya

    2001-12-01

    Full Text Available El presente artículo es una revisión constructiva de las actuales disposiciones sobre la evaluación ambiental de los planes reguladores, intentada con el propósito de contribuir a mejorar los procedimientos en práctica. En este sentido, aboga porque al plan regulador no se le exijan contribuciones ambientales que excedan a sus verdaderas competencias, para lo cual introduce el concepto de "efectos territoriales"; justifica que su evaluación ambiental deba ser realizda mediante una "declaración", y ahonda en la forma de elaborar y presentar esta declaración, acogiendo lo que a este respecto estipula el Art. 15° del Reglamento de la ley sobre Bases Generales del Medio Ambiente.

  16. Derecho ambiental municipal: las intendencias frente a la problemática del medio ambiente

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Gastón Casaux

    2014-11-01

    Full Text Available Trabajo presentado en las III Jornadas de Derecho Municipal celebradas del 9 al 11 de setiembre de 1998.en el Palacio Munieipal, con el auspicio de la IMM y la Éditorial Nueva Juridica.Contenido: Panorama de las competencias municipales a través de la ley 2.820 de 1903. Ley Orgánica Municipal 9515 de 1935 y capítulos de la Constitución de 1966 (arts.7,72 y 332. La Reforma Constitucional de 8 de diciembre de 1996 aprobada por la Asamblea General el 14 de enero de 1997, constitucionaliza el Derecho Ambiental y el Congreso Nacional de Intendentes. Naturaleza Jurídica, del Plenario Municipal Nacional. Antecedentes, vía de hecho, distintas materias, unidad y organicidad. El advenimiento del Derecho Ambiental en la legislación contemporánea y su incorporación en el ámbito municipal. El siglo XXI, el Derecho Ambiental, el rol de los Municipios y su trascendencia para el ciudadano

  17. A RESPONSABILIDADE CIVIL E O MEIO AMBIENTE

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    DELCYLENE VILLALBA SOARES

    2012-06-01

    Full Text Available RESUMOEste artigo tem por finalidade realizar uma análise sobre a evolução da responsabilidade civil e suas teorias, subjetiva e objetiva aplicadas ao meio ambiente. Dentro desta área, deve-se ressaltar que a responsabilidade civil ao meio ambiente, é um assunto de importante relevância para o efetivo controle da depredação ambiental, permitindo que sejam alcançadas as metas propostas como condição de sobrevivência da espécie humana, ou seja, a conservação do meio ambiente e o desenvolvimento econômico social, visando desta maneira, permitir a qualidade e a continuação da vida. Existe o entendimento, que somente com educação ambiental e normas reguladoras fortes, como a penalidade de ter que indenizar quando praticar algum dano ao meio ambiente conseguirá atingir o objetivo maior de preservação. Necessitam-se além de uma mudança na legislação que responsabilize poluidores do meio ambiente, atribuindo-lhes sanções que inibam a prática de tal conduta ilícita e realizando assim, a aplicabilidade da justiça.Palavras-chave:Responsabilidade Civil; Responsabilidade; Meio Ambiente ABSTRACTThis article have objective to realize a analysis about civil responsibility evolution and your theories, subjective and objective apply environment. Inside this area have to stand out that civil responsibility environment, it is a theme very important relevance for environment depredation control effective, permitting have been obtain proposals target like been human survival condition, therefore, environment conservation and social economic development objective permit quality and continuation of life. There is understanding, that only with environment education and strong regulation principle, like penalty has to indemnify when practice some injury of environment, will obtain more preservation. Demand a change on legislation that responsible environment polluter attribute him inhibit sanctions for practice this illicit conduct and

  18. Formation of nitro-PAHs from the heterogeneous reaction of ambient particle-bound PAHs with NO3/N2O5

    Science.gov (United States)

    Zimmermann, K.; Jariyasopit, N.; Simonich, S. L.; Atkinson, R.; Arey, J.

    2012-12-01

    Polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) and their nitrated derivatives (nitro-PAHs) have been shown to be mutagenic in bacterial and mammalian assays and are classified as probable human carcinogens. Semi-volatile PAHs partition between the gas and particulate phases, depending on their liquid-phase vapor pressures and ambient temperatures. These PAHs have been extensively measured in ambient particulate matter and can ultimately undergo long-range transport from source regions (e.g., China to the western USA) (1). During transport these particle-bound PAHs may undergo reaction with NO3/N2O5 to form nitro-PAH derivatives. Previous studies of heterogeneous nitration of PAHs have used particles composed of graphite, diesel soot, and wood smoke (2-4). This study investigates the heterogeneous formation of nitro-PAHs from ambient particle-bound PAHs from Beijing, China and sites located within the Los Angeles air basin. These ambient particle samples, along with filters coated with isotopically labeled PAHs, were exposed to a mix of NO2/NO3/N2O5 in a 7000 L Teflon chamber, with analysis focused on the heterogeneous formation of molecular weight 247 and 273 nitro-PAHs. The heterogeneous formation of certain nitro-PAHs (including1-nitropyrene and 1- and 2-nitrotriphenylene) was observed for some, but not all, ambient samples. Formation of nitro-PAHs typically formed through gas-phase reactions (2-nitrofluoranthene and 2-nitropyrene) was not observed. The effect of particle age and local photochemical conditions during sampling on the degree of nitration in environmental chamber reactions, as well as ambient implications, will be presented. 1. Primbs, T.; Simonich, S.; Schmedding, D.; Wilson, G.; Jaffe, D.; Takami, A.; Kato, S.; Hatakeyama, S.; Kajii, Y. Environ. Sci. Technol. 2007, 41, 3551-3558. 2. Esteve, W.; Budzinski, H.; Villenave, E. Atmospheric Environment 2004, 38, 6063-6072. 3. Nguyen, M.; Bedjanian, Y.; Guilloteau, A. Journal of Atmospheric Chemistry 2009, 62

  19. Quantifying the sources of ozone, fine particulate matter, and regional haze in the Southeastern United States.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Odman, M Talat; Hu, Yongtao; Russell, Armistead G; Hanedar, Asude; Boylan, James W; Brewer, Patricia F

    2009-07-01

    A detailed sensitivity analysis was conducted to quantify the contributions of various emission sources to ozone (O3), fine particulate matter (PM2.5), and regional haze in the Southeastern United States. O3 and particulate matter (PM) levels were estimated using the Community Multiscale Air Quality (CMAQ) modeling system and light extinction values were calculated from modeled PM concentrations. First, the base case was established using the emission projections for the year 2009. Then, in each model run, SO2, primary carbon (PC), NH3, NO(x) or VOC emissions from a particular source category in a certain geographic area were reduced by 30% and the responses were determined by calculating the difference between the results of the reduced emission case and the base case. The sensitivity of summertime O3 to VOC emissions is small in the Southeast and ground-level NO(x) controls are generally more beneficial than elevated NO(x) controls (per unit mass of emissions reduced). SO2 emission reduction is the most beneficial control strategy in reducing summertime PM2.5 levels and improving visibility in the Southeast and electric generating utilities are the single largest source of SO2. Controlling PC emissions can be very effective locally, especially in winter. Reducing NH3 emissions is an effective strategy to reduce wintertime ammonium nitrate (NO3NH4) levels and improve visibility; NO(x) emissions reductions are not as effective. The results presented here will help the development of specific emission control strategies for future attainment of the National Ambient Air Quality Standards in the region.

  20. Subjektivitas Dalam Iklan Ambient Media Miracle Aesthetic Clinic

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Wegig Murwonugroho

    2015-09-01

    Full Text Available Subjektivitas di dalam iklan adalah kuasa yang dimiliki iklan untuk mengkonstruksi trend, kebenaran, hingga ideologi yang terjadi melalui alam bawah sadar. Iklan berfungsi menyampaikan pesan, yang direpresentasi-visualkan melalui metafora-metafora yang menjembatani antara gambaran imajinasi dan realitas. Ambient media merupakan media beriklan yang memanfaatkan lingkungan di mana iklan ditempatkan. Miracle Aesthetic Clinic (Miracle merepresentasi-visualkan iklan ambient media-nya dengan cara menghilangkan tampilan wajah kedua boneka perempuan. Wajah model iklan merupakan komoditi pencitraan yang pada umumnya memiliki nilai jual, namun dalam kedua iklan ini justeru ditenggelamkan ke dalam alas meja dan dinding tembok. Penelitian ini menggunakan metode penelitian Analisa Wacana Kritis untuk menganalisa subjektivitas di dalam pemaknaan ambient media. Subjektivitas iklan Miracle menyudutkan perempuan tidak dapat hadir, tersisih, menjadi sosok yang mengerikan di dalam tataran sosialnya ketika wajah berjerawat.  Iklan ambient media Miracle ini berhasil mengkonstruksi wacana trend baru kecantikan wajah yang tidak terbatas pada tolok ukur karakteristik kecantikan pada umumnya. Kata kunci: ambient media, subjektivitas, kuasa, kecantikan ideal perempuan.

  1. Brookhaven National Laboratory site environmental report for calendar year 1994

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Naidu, J.R.; Royce, B.A.

    1995-05-01

    This report documents the results of the Environmental Monitoring Program at Brookhaven National Laboratory and presents summary information about environmental compliance for 1994. To evaluate the effect of Brookhaven National Laboratory's operations on the local environment, measurements of direct radiation, and a variety of radionuclides and chemical compounds in ambient air, soil, sewage effluent, surface water, groundwater, fauna and vegetation were made at the Brookhaven National Laboratory site and at sites adjacent to the Laboratory

  2. socio-ec(h)o: Ambient Intelligence and Gameplay

    OpenAIRE

    Wakkary, Ron

    2005-01-01

    The socio-ec(h)o project aims to research a generalized ambient intelligent software platform and design models for responsive environments based on the concept of ambient intelligent "ecologies" and group gameplay. The benefits of the research include a software-architecture, ambient intelligence inference engine, and interaction design models for gameplay and responsive environments. The paper will discuss the results of our prototypes for games in responsive environments. These prototypes ...

  3. Genetics Home Reference: leukoencephalopathy with vanishing white matter

    Science.gov (United States)

    ... Torres C, Pröschel C. EIF2B5 mutations compromise GFAP+ astrocyte generation in vanishing white matter leukodystrophy. Nat Med. ... of Medicine Lister Hill National Center for Biomedical Communications 8600 Rockville Pike, Bethesda, MD 20894, USA HONCode ...

  4. Ambient cosmology and spacetime singularities

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Antoniadis, Ignatios; Cotsakis, Spiros

    2015-01-01

    We present a new approach to the issues of spacetime singularities and cosmic censorship in general relativity. This is based on the idea that standard 4-dimensional spacetime is the conformal infinity of an ambient metric for the 5-dimensional Einstein equations with fluid sources. We then find that the existence of spacetime singularities in four dimensions is constrained by asymptotic properties of the ambient 5-metric, while the non-degeneracy of the latter crucially depends on cosmic censorship holding on the boundary. (orig.)

  5. Assessing plant response to ambient ozone: growth of young apple trees in open-top chambers and corresponding ambient air plots

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Manning, W.J.; Cooley, D.R.; Tuttle, A.F.; Frenkel, M.A.; Bergweiler, C.J.

    2004-01-01

    Open-top chambers (OTCs) and corresponding ambient air plots (AA) were used to assess the impact of ambient ozone on growth of newly planted apple trees at the Montague Field research center in Amherst, MA. Two-year-old apple trees (Malus domestica Borkh 'Rogers Red McIntosh') were planted in the ground in circular plots. Four of the plots were enclosed with OTCs where incoming air was charcoal-filtered (CF); four were enclosed with OTCs where incoming air was not charcoal-filtered (NF) and four were not enclosed, allowing access to ambient air conditions (AA). Conditions in both CF and NF OTCs resulted in increased tree growth and changed incidence of disease and arthropod pests, compared to trees in AA. As a result, we were not able to use the OTC method to assess the impact of ambient ozone on growth of young apple trees in Amherst, MA. - Capsule: Conditions in charcoal-filtered and non-filtered open-top chambers affected apple tree growth equally and prevented assessment of ambient ozone effects

  6. 78 FR 37457 - Approval and Promulgation of Implementation Plans; State of Missouri; Infrastructure SIP...

    Science.gov (United States)

    2013-06-21

    ... ensure that the structural components of each state's air quality management program are adequate to meet... ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY 40 CFR Part 52 [EPA-R07-OAR-2013-0208; FRL-9825-7] Approval and... Fine Particulate Matter National Ambient Air Quality Standards AGENCY: Environmental Protection Agency...

  7. 76 FR 81727 - Approval and Promulgation of Implementation Plans; Oklahoma; Federal Implementation Plan for...

    Science.gov (United States)

    2011-12-28

    ... separately assessed the costs of installation of controls for these units using well established costing... particulate matter National Ambient Air Quality Standards. This CAA requirement is intended to prevent... fails to make a required SIP submittal or we find that the state's submittal is incomplete or...

  8. Physics through the 1990s: Condensed-matter physics

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    1986-01-01

    In this survey of condensed-matter physics we describe the current status of the field, present some of the significant discoveries and developments in it since the early 1970s, and indicate some areas in which we expect that important discoveries will be made in the next decade. We also describe the resources that will be required to produce these discoveries. This volume is organized as follows. The first part is devoted to a discussion of the importance of condensed-matter physics; to brief descriptions of several of the most significant discoveries and advances in condensed-matter physics made in the 1970s and early 1980s, and of areas that appear to provide particularly exciting research opportunities in the next decade; and to a presentation of the support needs of condensed-matter physicists in the next decade and of recommendations aimed at their provision. Next, the subfields of condensed-matter physics are reviewed in detail. The volume concludes with several appendixes in which new materials, new experimental techniques, and the National Facilities are reviewed

  9. Burden of mortality and years of life lost due to ambient PM10 pollution in Wuhan, China.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Zhang, Yunquan; Peng, Minjin; Yu, Chuanhua; Zhang, Lan

    2017-11-01

    Ambient particulate matter (PM) has been mainly linked with mortality and morbidity when assessing PM-associated health effects. Up-to-date epidemiologic evidence is very sparse regarding the relation between PM and years of life lost (YLL). The present study aimed to estimate the burden of YLL and mortality due to ambient PM pollution. Individual records of all registered deaths and daily data on PM 10 and meteorology during 2009-2012 were obtained in Wuhan, central China. Using a time-series study design, we applied generalized additive model to assess the short-term association of 10-μg/m 3 increase in PM 10 with daily YLL and mortality, adjusting for long-term trend and seasonality, mean temperature, relative humidity, public holiday, and day of the week. A linear-no-threshold dose-response association was observed between daily ambient PM 10 and mortality outcomes. PM 10 pollution along lag 0-1 days was found to be mostly strongly associated with mortality and YLL. The effects of PM 10 on cause-specific mortality and YLL showed generally similar seasonal patterns, with stronger associations consistently occurring in winter and/or autumn. Compared with males and younger persons, females and the elderly suffered more significantly from both increased YLL and mortality due to ambient PM 10 pollution. Stratified analyses by education level (0-6 and 7 + years) demonstrated great mortality impact on both subgroups, whereas only low-educated persons were strongly affected by PM 10 -associated burden of YLL. Our study confirmed that short-term PM 10 exposure was linearly associated with significant increases in both mortality incidence and years of life lost. Given the non-threshold adverse effects on mortality burden, the on-going efforts to reduce particulate air pollution would substantially benefit public health in China. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  10. NATIONAL SECURITY AND THE CONSTITUTIONAL RIGHT TO ...

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    Such conduct has sacrificed the country's national security at the altar of soldiers' ..... may one day intervene directly or indirectly in politics of the country thereby .... Because this matter does not affect the National Council of Provinces or.

  11. Assessment of ambient noise levels in the urban residential streets of Eastern Alexandria, Egypt.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Zaki, Gehan R

    2012-12-01

    Street of Alexandria have numerous unplanned, mixed, and noisy activities that may interfere with public health and comfort. The aim of this study was to assess A-weighted ambient noise levels in urban residential streets of Eastern Alexandria, Egypt, from September 2010 to January 2011, with the objective of recommending corrective actions to minimize high noise levels. A descriptive cross-sectional study was carried out, in which A-weighted ambient noise levels were measured on the basis of 24-h periods, using Ono sokki la-5120--precision integrating sound level meter, from September 2010 to January 2011. The measurements were taken on three streets, which were selected using stratified random sampling. Seven measurement sites, along the three streets under study, were selected by site visits according to predetermined criteria. A-weighted ambient noise levels (LAeq) were the highest [70.7 (24.2) dB] on high-traffic-density and high-human-activity streets followed by streets with moderate and low traffic density and human activity [67.5 (31.3) and 62.8 (38.2) dB], respectively. It varied significantly depending on means of transportation (road traffic, train, and/or tram) and human activities (parking lots, shops, and/or street merchants). The A-weighted ambient noise levels on urban residential streets of Eastern Alexandria, Egypt, exceeded the Egyptian National Standards during the three periods of the day (daytime, evening, and night), except in some relatively quiet locations during the night. Consequently, remedial actions to reduce noise levels were recommended.

  12. Spaceflight Effect on White Matter Structural Integrity

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lee, Jessica K.; Kopplemans, Vincent; Paternack, Ofer; Bloomberg, Jacob J.; Mulavara, Ajitkumar P.; Seidler, Rachael D.

    2017-01-01

    Recent reports of elevated brain white matter hyperintensity (WMH) counts and volume in postflight astronaut MRIs suggest that further examination of spaceflight's impact on the microstructure of brain white matter is warranted. To this end, retrospective longitudinal diffusion-weighted MRI scans obtained from 15 astronauts were evaluated. In light of the recent reports of microgravity-induced cephalad fluid shift and gray matter atrophy seen in astronauts, we applied a technique to estimate diffusion tensor imaging (DTI) metrics corrected for free water contamination. This approach enabled the analysis of white matter tissue-specific alterations that are unrelated to fluid shifts, occurring from before spaceflight to after landing. After spaceflight, decreased fractional anisotropy (FA) values were detected in an area encompassing the superior and inferior longitudinal fasciculi and the inferior fronto-occipital fasciculus. Increased radial diffusivity (RD) and decreased axial diffusivity (AD) were also detected within overlapping regions. In addition, FA values in the corticospinal tract decreased and RD measures in the precentral gyrus white matter increased from before to after flight. The results show disrupted structural connectivity of white matter in tracts involved in visuospatial processing, vestibular function, and movement control as a result of spaceflight. The findings may help us understand the structural underpinnings of the extensive spaceflight-induced sensorimotor remodeling. Prospective longitudinal assessment of the white matter integrity in astronauts is needed to characterize the evolution of white matter microstructural changes associated with spaceflight, their behavioral consequences, and the time course of recovery. Supported by a grant from the National Space Biomedical Research Institute, NASA NCC 9-58.

  13. 78 FR 8160 - President's National Security Telecommunications Advisory Committee

    Science.gov (United States)

    2013-02-05

    ... DEPARTMENT OF HOMELAND SECURITY [Docket No. DHS-2013-0002] President's National Security... National Security Telecommunications Advisory Committee (NSTAC) will meet on Thursday, February 21, 2013... matters related to national security and emergency preparedness telecommunications policy. Agenda: The...

  14. Elementos para una política exterior ambiental (Tema Central)

    OpenAIRE

    Salvador, Íñigo

    2002-01-01

    La necesidad de una política exterior ecuatoriana en lo ambiental surge de la naturaleza global del medio ambiente, de la responsabilidad del Ecuador como país privilegiado por su megadiversidad, de la vinculación inevitable entre la pobreza que le aqueja y la degradación del ambiente y de los compromisos internacionales por él adquiridos. Una política exterior ambiental debe resultar de un proceso de diseño en que participen todos los actores de la temática ambiental, aunque su ejecución deb...

  15. Hot Strange Hadronic Matter in an Effective Model

    Science.gov (United States)

    Qian, Wei-Liang; Su, Ru-Keng; Song, Hong-Qiu

    2003-10-01

    An effective model used to describe the strange hadronic matter with nucleons, Λ-hyperons, and Ξ-hyperons is extended to finite temperature. The extended model is used to study the density, temperature, and strangeness fraction dependence of the effective masses of baryons in the matter. The thermodynamical quantities, such as free energy and pressure, as well as the equation of state of the matter, are given. The project supported in part by National Natural Science Foundation of China under Grant Nos. 10075071, 10047005, 19947001, 19975010, and 10235030, and the CAS Knowledge Innovation Project No. KJCX2-N11. Also supported by the State Key Basic Research Development Program under Grant No. G200077400 and the Exploration Project of Knowledge Innovation Program of the Chinese Academy of Sciences

  16. 76 FR 74049 - National Coal Council

    Science.gov (United States)

    2011-11-30

    ... DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY National Coal Council AGENCY: Office of Fossil Energy, Department of Energy..., notice is hereby given that the National Coal Council will be renewed for a two-year period beginning... general policy matters relating to coal issues. Additionally, the renewal of the Council has been...

  17. Protected natural resources: Media representations of national parks

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Simeunović-Bajić Nataša

    2011-01-01

    Full Text Available This paper attempts to set trends of reporting about national parks as exquisite units of national importance through the research of online editions of dominant media in Serbia. Since 2009 the entire set of “green laws“ was adopted, the great progress has been made in this area, and the research will refer to the next year of 2010 so it can be detected how much is the public informed by the means of communication about ambient, ecologic, aesthetic and recreational potentials of the national parks in Serbia.

  18. Organic and inorganic speciation of particulate matter formed during different combustion phases in an improved cookstove.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Leavey, Anna; Patel, Sameer; Martinez, Raul; Mitroo, Dhruv; Fortenberry, Claire; Walker, Michael; Williams, Brent; Biswas, Pratim

    2017-10-01

    Residential solid fuel combustion in cookstoves has established health impacts including bladder and lung cancers, cataracts, low birth weight, and pneumonia. The chemical composition of particulate matter (PM) from 4 commonly-used solid fuels (coal, dung, ambient/dry applewood, and oakwood pellets), emitted from a gasifier cookstove, as well as propane, were examined. Temporal changes between the different cookstove burn-phases were also explored. Normalized concentrations of non-refractory PM 1 , total organics, chloride, ammonium, nitrate, sulfate, and 41 particle-phase polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) were measured using a High-Resolution Time-of-Flight Aerosol Mass Spectrometer (HR-ToF-AMS) and a Thermal desorption Aerosol Gas chromatograph (TAG), respectively. Coal demonstrated the highest fraction of organic matter in its particulate emission composition (98%), followed by dung (94%). Coal and dung also demonstrated the highest numbers and concentrations of PAHs. While dry applewood emitted ten times lower organic matter compared to ambient applewood, a higher fraction of these organics was composed of PAHs, especially the more toxic ones such as benzo(a)pyrene (9.63ng/L versus 0.04ng/L), and benzo(b)fluoranthene (31.32ng/L versus 0.19ng/L). Data from the AMS demonstrated no clear trends for any of the combustion fuels over the different combustion phases unlike the previously reported trends observed for the physical characteristics. Of the solid fuels, pellets demonstrated the lowest emissions. Emissions from propane were below the quantification limit of the instruments. This work highlights the benefits of incorporating additional metrics into the cookstove evaluation process, thus enriching the existing PM data inventory. Copyright © 2017. Published by Elsevier Inc.

  19. Quality and Reputation: The Indirect Effect of Fine Particulate Matter on Health through Individuals' Life-style

    OpenAIRE

    Cinzia Di Novi

    2011-01-01

    Limited literature has been published on the association between environmental health indicators, life-style habits and ambient air pollution. We have examined the association of asthma prevalence and the amount of health investment with daily mean concentrations of particulate matter (PM) with a mass median aerodynamic diameter less than 2.5 mm (PM 2.5 ) in 16 metropolitan areas in U.S. using the Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System (2001) data in conjunction with the Air Quality Syste...

  20. Improving Energy Saving Techniques by Ambient Intelligence Scheduling

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Cristani, Matteo; Karafili, Erisa; Tomazzoli, Claudio

    2015-01-01

    Energy saving is one of the most challenging aspects of modern ambient intelligence technologies, for both domestic and business usages. In this paper we show how to combine Ambient Intelligence and Artificial Intelligence techniques to solve the problem of scheduling a set of devices under a given...... for Ambient Intelligence to a specific framework and exhibit a sample usage for a real life system, Elettra, that is in use in an industrial context....

  1. Numerical Analysis of Exergy for Air-Conditioning Influenced by Ambient Temperature

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Jing-Nang Lee

    2014-07-01

    Full Text Available The article presents numerical analysis of exergy for air-conditioning influenced by ambient temperature. The model of numerical simulation uses an integrated air conditioning system exposed in varied ambient temperature to observe change of the four main devices, the compressor, the condenser, the capillary, and the evaporator in correspondence to ambient temperature. The analysis devices of the four devices’s exergy influenced by the varied ambient temperature and found that the capillary has unusual increasing exergy loss vs. increasing ambient temperature in comparison to the other devices. The result shows that reducing exergy loss of the capillary influenced by the ambient temperature is the key for improving working efficiency of an air-conditioning system when influence of the ambient temperature is considered. The higher ambient temperature causes the larger pressure drop of capillary and more exergy loss.

  2. INAA of Airborne Particulate Matter Collected in Bangkok and Pathumthani 2002-2004

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Chueinta, W.; Bunprapob, S.

    2005-01-01

    This paper presents the summary report of the monitoring study on ambient air quality in Bangkok metropolis and its boundary covering the period from 2002 to 2004. The work performed included sampling of fine and coarse fractions of particulate matter at the sites representing urban and suburban areas; measurement of particle mass concentration and elemental concentration; and data interpretation. Instrumental neutron activation by use of research reactor facilities at Office of Atoms for Peace was carried out for multielemental analysis of all filter samples collected. Twenty elements were determined. The database of the three consecutive years are summarized and reviewed in this paper

  3. White Book on National Defense (Republic of Argentina)

    Science.gov (United States)

    1999-01-01

    Geografico Militar. Military Geographic Institute. XXIV IM: Infanteria de Marina. Marine Corps. INA: Institute Nacional de Agua y Ambiente. National Water and...Brazil . Chile and the US) allowed to put an end to the confrontation and, through a regional peacekeeping force (the MOMEP), prevented an armed...democratic Nations’ shared interests, was taken in the // Summit of the Americas, held in April 1998 in Santiago de Chile . In this summit of heads of State

  4. INTERNATIONAL JURISDICTION RULES IN MATTERS OF PARENTAL RESPONSIBILITY IN THE EUROPEAN UNION AND BOSNIA AND HERZEGOVINA: THE CONCEPT OF HABITUAL RESIDENCE V NATIONALITY

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Jasmina Alihodzic

    2012-09-01

    Full Text Available The rules of jurisdiction in matters of parental responsibility contained in the Brussels II bis Regulation are based on the concept of habitual residence, while the legislation in B&H in this area gave priority to the principle of nationality. Analyzing these concepts, the author of the paper points to the importance of interpreting the concept of habitual residence by the European Court of Justice, and gives possible directions for reform of the relevant provisions of the PIL Act in terms of their compliance with EU law.

  5. Revealing source signatures in ambient BTEX concentrations

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Zalel, Amir; Yuval; Broday, David M.

    2008-01-01

    Management of ambient concentrations of Volatile Organic Compounds (VOCs) is essential for maintaining low ozone levels in urban areas where its formation is under a VOC-limited regime. The significant decrease in traffic-induced VOC emissions in many developed countries resulted in relatively comparable shares of traffic and non-traffic VOC emissions in urban airsheds. A key step for urban air quality management is allocating ambient VOC concentrations to their pertinent sources. This study presents an approach that can aid in identifying sources that contribute to observed BTEX concentrations in areas characterized by low BTEX concentrations, where traditional source apportionment techniques are not useful. Analysis of seasonal and diurnal variations of ambient BTEX concentrations from two monitoring stations located in distinct areas reveal the possibility to identify source categories. Specifically, the varying oxidation rates of airborne BTEX compounds are used to allocate contributions of traffic emissions and evaporative sources to observed BTEX concentrations. - BTEX sources are identified from temporal variations of ambient concentration

  6. Automated Processing Workflow for Ambient Seismic Recordings

    Science.gov (United States)

    Girard, A. J.; Shragge, J.

    2017-12-01

    Structural imaging using body-wave energy present in ambient seismic data remains a challenging task, largely because these wave modes are commonly much weaker than surface wave energy. In a number of situations body-wave energy has been extracted successfully; however, (nearly) all successful body-wave extraction and imaging approaches have focused on cross-correlation processing. While this is useful for interferometric purposes, it can also lead to the inclusion of unwanted noise events that dominate the resulting stack, leaving body-wave energy overpowered by the coherent noise. Conversely, wave-equation imaging can be applied directly on non-correlated ambient data that has been preprocessed to mitigate unwanted energy (i.e., surface waves, burst-like and electromechanical noise) to enhance body-wave arrivals. Following this approach, though, requires a significant preprocessing effort on often Terabytes of ambient seismic data, which is expensive and requires automation to be a feasible approach. In this work we outline an automated processing workflow designed to optimize body wave energy from an ambient seismic data set acquired on a large-N array at a mine site near Lalor Lake, Manitoba, Canada. We show that processing ambient seismic data in the recording domain, rather than the cross-correlation domain, allows us to mitigate energy that is inappropriate for body-wave imaging. We first develop a method for window selection that automatically identifies and removes data contaminated by coherent high-energy bursts. We then apply time- and frequency-domain debursting techniques to mitigate the effects of remaining strong amplitude and/or monochromatic energy without severely degrading the overall waveforms. After each processing step we implement a QC check to investigate improvements in the convergence rates - and the emergence of reflection events - in the cross-correlation plus stack waveforms over hour-long windows. Overall, the QC analyses suggest that

  7. VIOLÊNCIA E MEIO AMBIENTE: PODE A EDUCAÇÃO AMBIENTAL CONTRIBUIR PARA A PAZ E A SUSTENTABILIDADE?

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Gustavo Ferreira da Costa Lima

    2010-03-01

    Full Text Available Historicamente a relação social e humana com o meio ambiente sempre implicou em algum tipo de destruição e degradação. Com a constituição da sociedade industrial capitalista e seu desdobramento em sociedade de consumo de massa, esse avanço sobre os recursos naturais tem se dado de forma tão radical que ameaça a continuidade da vida e da biosfera como a conhecemos nos últimos milênios. O texto reflete sobre a relação entre a violência social e o meio ambiente a partir de um feixe de teorias e conceitos provenientes do cruzamento da questão ambiental, da teoria crítica, da teoria da complexidade, da teoria da sociedade de risco e de contribuições de filosofias tradicionais como o Budismo. Os conceitos considerados são os de sustentabilidade, de interdependência, de cidadania ambiental e de justiça socioambiental. Nesse sentido, procura investigar as raízes sociais e psicossociais da violência que condicionam as relações e instituições sócio-culturais, entre as quais figuram a própria ciência, como saber social hegemônico, e a educação; observar suas implicações sobre a vida social e ambiental; e verificar a possível contribuição da educação, em geral, e da educação ambiental como foco curricular, em particular, para transformar ou reorientar essas forças e práticas associadas à violência para fins mais pacíficos e construtivos.

  8. The program of environmental improvement of the Tlalpan delegation; El programa de mejoramiento ambiental de la Delegacion Tlalpan

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Sheinbaum, C [Instituto de Ingenieria de la UNAM (Mexico); Oven, M; Vazquez, O [Hagler Bailly Services, Mexico, D.F. (Mexico); Roman, G [Centro para la Produccion mas Limpia, IPN, Mexico, D. F. (Mexico)

    1999-07-01

    Mexico contributes with nearly 2% of the world-wide greenhouse effect gas emissions (GEG), it is the thirteenth country with greater carbon dioxide emissions in the world. In this document the initiative of the program of environmental improvement of the Tlalpan Delegation of Mexico City is presented, as a pilot example within the national efforts in the matter of possible diminution of GEG emissions. The premise of the Tlalpan Program is the following one: The projects that will be successful in the global scope will be those that entail local benefits. With base in this, one has focused in activities that simultaneously offer local economic benefits and global results of GEG reduction. [Spanish] Mexico contribuye con cerca del 2% de las emisiones mundiales de gases de efecto invernadero (GEI), es el decimotercer pais con mayores emisiones de bioxido de carbono en el mundo. En este documento se presenta la iniciativa del programa de mejoramiento ambiental de la Delegacion Tlalpan, de Mexico D. F. como un ejemplo piloto dentro de los esfuerzos nacionales en materia de posible disminucion de emisiones de GEI. La premisa del Programa Tlalpan es la siguiente: Los proyectos que tendran exito en el ambito global seran los que conllevan beneficios locales. Con base en esto, se ha enfocado en actividades que simultaneamente ofrecen beneficios economicos locales y resultados globales de reduccion de GEI.

  9. Modified dark matter: Relating dark energy, dark matter and baryonic matter

    Science.gov (United States)

    Edmonds, Douglas; Farrah, Duncan; Minic, Djordje; Ng, Y. Jack; Takeuchi, Tatsu

    Modified dark matter (MDM) is a phenomenological model of dark matter, inspired by gravitational thermodynamics. For an accelerating universe with positive cosmological constant (Λ), such phenomenological considerations lead to the emergence of a critical acceleration parameter related to Λ. Such a critical acceleration is an effective phenomenological manifestation of MDM, and it is found in correlations between dark matter and baryonic matter in galaxy rotation curves. The resulting MDM mass profiles, which are sensitive to Λ, are consistent with observational data at both the galactic and cluster scales. In particular, the same critical acceleration appears both in the galactic and cluster data fits based on MDM. Furthermore, using some robust qualitative arguments, MDM appears to work well on cosmological scales, even though quantitative studies are still lacking. Finally, we comment on certain nonlocal aspects of the quanta of modified dark matter, which may lead to novel nonparticle phenomenology and which may explain why, so far, dark matter detection experiments have failed to detect dark matter particles.

  10. Transportation conformity particulate matter hot-spot air quality modeling.

    Science.gov (United States)

    2013-07-01

    In light of the new development in particulate matter (PM) hot-spot regulations and Illinois Department : of Transportation (IDOT)s National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) documentation requirements, : this project is intended to (1) perform and ...

  11. Hybrid Logical Analyses of the Ambient Calculus

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Bolander, Thomas; Hansen, Rene Rydhof

    2010-01-01

    In this paper, hybrid logic is used to formulate three control flow analyses for Mobile Ambients, a process calculus designed for modelling mobility. We show that hybrid logic is very well-suited to express the semantic structure of the ambient calculus and how features of hybrid logic can...

  12. Brookhaven National Laboratory site environmental report for calendar year 1994

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Naidu, J.R.; Royce, B.A. [eds.

    1995-05-01

    This report documents the results of the Environmental Monitoring Program at Brookhaven National Laboratory and presents summary information about environmental compliance for 1994. To evaluate the effect of Brookhaven National Laboratory`s operations on the local environment, measurements of direct radiation, and a variety of radionuclides and chemical compounds in ambient air, soil, sewage effluent, surface water, groundwater, fauna and vegetation were made at the Brookhaven National Laboratory site and at sites adjacent to the Laboratory.

  13. Short-Term Exposure to Ambient Air Pollution and Biomarkers of Systemic Inflammation: The Framingham Heart Study.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Li, Wenyuan; Dorans, Kirsten S; Wilker, Elissa H; Rice, Mary B; Ljungman, Petter L; Schwartz, Joel D; Coull, Brent A; Koutrakis, Petros; Gold, Diane R; Keaney, John F; Vasan, Ramachandran S; Benjamin, Emelia J; Mittleman, Murray A

    2017-09-01

    The objective of this study is to examine associations between short-term exposure to ambient air pollution and circulating biomarkers of systemic inflammation in participants from the Framingham Offspring and Third Generation cohorts in the greater Boston area. We included 3996 noncurrent smoking participants (mean age, 53.6 years; 54% women) who lived within 50 km from a central air pollution monitoring site in Boston, MA, and calculated the 1- to 7-day moving averages of fine particulate matter (diameterpollution was associated with higher levels of C-reactive protein, interleukin-6, and tumor necrosis factor receptor 2 but not fibrinogen or tumor necrosis factor α in individuals residing in the greater Boston area. © 2017 American Heart Association, Inc.

  14. Descentralización y ambiente: construcción de capacidad municipal para la gestión ambiental local en Colombia

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Juan Camilo Cárdenas

    1995-10-01

    Full Text Available Con los cambios institucionales derivados de la Nueva Constitución de 1991 y la Ley 99 de 1993, el país está entrando a una nueva etapa en materia de gestión ambiental. Un sistema nacional ambiental ha sido propuesto, y si se revisa en detalle, dos elementos -o tal vez mejor, dos condiciones- ofrecen una gran oportunidad de abrir un camino hacia la sostenibilidad del país: la descentralización y la participación de la sociedad civil en la gestión ambiental. El éxito de una gestión ambiental local dependerá entonces de que a nivel municipal se construya “capacidad”, y ésta tiene en la sociedad civil y sus diferentes formas de expresión y organización, su principal fuente de apoyo.

  15. Students Matter: Quality Measurements in Online Courses

    Science.gov (United States)

    Unal, Zafer; Unal, Aslihan

    2016-01-01

    Quality Matters (QM) is a peer review process designed to certify the quality of online courses and online components. It has generated widespread interest and received national recognition for its peer-based approach to quality assurance and continuous improvement in online education. While the entire QM online course design process is…

  16. 77 FR 42686 - Approval and Promulgation of Air Quality Implementation Plans; Maryland; the 2002 Base Year...

    Science.gov (United States)

    2012-07-20

    ... Promulgation of Air Quality Implementation Plans; Maryland; the 2002 Base Year Inventory AGENCY: Environmental... matter (PM 2.5 ) 2002 base year emissions inventory portion of the Maryland State Implementation Plan... National Ambient Air Quality Standard (NAAQS) SIP. EPA is proposing to approve the 2002 base year PM 2.5...

  17. Status of ambient air quality at Barauni

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Kannan, G.K.

    1993-01-01

    Due to industrialization, Barauni has become a well developed industrial estate to be considered as industrial hub of Bihar. Contemporary to the industrial growth, the environmental quality also gradually deteriorated. Hence a need was felt to know the status of ambient air quality for proper planning of the future growth of industries. The ambient air quality was monitored at 16 stations in and around Barauni industrial estate during 3 major seasons for the period of one year. The results are discussed as to the status of the ambient air quality and suggestion have also been made for improvement. (author). 5 refs., 2 figs., 7 tabs

  18. Sampling and chemical analysis by TXRF of size-fractionated ambient aerosols and emissions

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    John, A.C.; Kuhlbusch, T.A.J.; Fissan, H.; Schmidt, K.-G-; Schmidt, F.; Pfeffer, H.-U.; Gladtke, D.

    2000-01-01

    Results of recent epidemiological studies led to new European air quality standards which require the monitoring of particles with aerodynamic diameters ≤ 10 μm (PM 10) and ≤ 2.5 μm (PM 2.5) instead of TSP (total suspended particulate matter). As these ambient air limit values will be exceeded most likely at several locations in Europe, so-called 'action plans' have to be set up to reduce particle concentrations, which requires information about sources and processes of PMx aerosols. For chemical characterization of the aerosols, different samplers were used and total reflection x-ray fluorescence analysis (TXRF) was applied beside other methods (elemental and organic carbon analysis, ion chromatography, atomic absorption spectrometry). For TXRF analysis, a specially designed sampling unit was built where the particle size classes 10-2.5 μm and 2.5-1.0 μm were directly impacted on TXRF sample carriers. An electrostatic precipitator (ESP) was used as a back-up filter to collect particles <1 μm directly on a TXRF sample carrier. The sampling unit was calibrated in the laboratory and then used for field measurements to determine the elemental composition of the mentioned particle size fractions. One of the field campaigns was carried out at a measurement site in Duesseldorf, Germany, in November 1999. As the composition of the ambient aerosols may have been influenced by a large construction site directly in the vicinity of the station during the field campaign, not only the aerosol particles, but also construction material was sampled and analyzed by TXRF. As air quality is affected by natural and anthropogenic sources, the emissions of particles ≤ 10 μm and ≤ 2.5 μm, respectively, have to be determined to estimate their contributions to the so called coarse and fine particle modes of ambient air. Therefore, an in-stack particle sampling system was developed according to the new ambient air quality standards. This PM 10/PM 2.5 cascade impactor was

  19. Pro-inflammatory effects and oxidative stress in lung macrophages and epithelial cells induced by ambient particulate matter.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Michael, S; Montag, M; Dott, W

    2013-12-01

    The objective of this study was to compare the toxicological effects of different source-related ambient PM10 samples in regard to their chemical composition. In this context we investigated airborne PM from different sites in Aachen, Germany. For the toxicological investigation human alveolar epithelial cells (A549) and murine macrophages (RAW264.7) were exposed from 0 to 96 h to increasing PM concentrations (0-100 μg/ml) followed by analyses of cell viability, pro-inflammatory and oxidative stress responses. The chemical analysis of these particles indicated the presence of 21 elements, water-soluble ions and PAHs. The toxicological investigations of the PM10 samples demonstrated a concentration- and time-dependent decrease in cell viability and an increase in pro-inflammatory and oxidative stress markers. Copyright © 2013 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  20. Temporal evolution of main ambient PM2. 5 sources in Santiago, Chile, from 1998 to 2012

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    F. Barraza

    2017-08-01

    Full Text Available The inhabitants of Santiago, Chile have been exposed to harmful levels of air pollutants for decades. The city's poor air quality is a result of steady economic growth, and stable atmospheric conditions adverse to mixing and ventilation that favor the formation of oxidants and secondary aerosols. Identifying and quantifying the sources that contribute to the ambient levels of pollutants is key for designing adequate mitigation measures. Estimating the evolution of source contributions to ambient pollution levels is also paramount to evaluating the effectiveness of pollution reduction measures that have been implemented in recent decades. Here, we quantify the main sources that have contributed to fine particulate matter (PM2. 5 between April 1998 and August 2012 in downtown Santiago by using two different source-receptor models (PMF 5.0 and UNMIX 6.0 that were applied to elemental measurements of 1243 24 h filter samples of ambient PM2.5. PMF resolved six sources that contributed to ambient PM2. 5, with UNMIX producing similar results: motor vehicles (37.3 ± 1.1 %, industrial sources (18.5 ± 1.3 %, copper smelters (14.4 ± 0.8 %, wood burning (12.3 ± 1.0 %, coastal sources (9.5 ± 0.7 % and urban dust (3.0 ± 1.2 %. Our results show that over the 15 years analyzed here, four of the resolved sources significantly decreased [95 % confidence interval]: motor vehicles 21.3 % [2.6, 36.5], industrial sources 39.3 % [28.6, 48.4], copper smelters 81.5 % [75.5, 85.9], and coastal sources 58.9 % [38.5, 72.5], while wood burning did not significantly change and urban dust increased by 72 % [48.9, 99.9]. These changes are consistent with emission reduction measures, such as improved vehicle emission standards, cleaner smelting technology, introduction of low-sulfur diesel for vehicles and natural gas for industrial processes, public transport improvements, etc. However, it is also apparent that the

  1. Particulate matter air pollution exposure: role in the development and exacerbation of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Sean H Ling

    2009-06-01

    Full Text Available Sean H Ling, Stephan F van EedenJames Hogg iCAPTURE Centre for Pulmonary and Cardiovascular Research and Heart and Lung Institute, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, British Columbia, CanadaAbstract: Due to the rapid urbanization of the world population, a better understanding of the detrimental effects of exposure to urban air pollution on chronic lung disease is necessary. Strong epidemiological evidence suggests that exposure to particulate matter (PM air pollution causes exacerbations of pre-existing lung conditions, such as, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD resulting in increased morbidity and mortality. However, little is known whether a chronic, low-grade exposure to ambient PM can cause the development and progression of COPD. The deposition of PM in the respiratory tract depends predominantly on the size of the particles, with larger particles deposited in the upper and larger airways and smaller particles penetrating deep into the alveolar spaces. Ineffective clearance of this PM from the airways could cause particle retention in lung tissues, resulting in a chronic, low-grade inflammatory response that may be pathogenetically important in both the exacerbation, as well as, the progression of lung disease. This review focuses on the adverse effects of exposure to ambient PM air pollution on the exacerbation, progression, and development of COPD.Keywords: chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, particulate matter, air pollution, alveolar macrophage

  2. The Aesthetics of the Ambient Video Experience

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Jim Bizzocchi

    2008-01-01

    Full Text Available Ambient Video is an emergent cultural phenomenon, with roots that go deeply into the history of experimental film and video art. Ambient Video, like Brian Eno's ambient music, is video that "must be as easy to ignore as notice" [9]. This minimalist description conceals the formidable aesthetic challenge that faces this new form. Ambient video art works will hang on the walls of our living rooms, corporate offices, and public spaces. They will play in the background of our lives, living video paintings framed by the new generation of elegant, high-resolution flat-panel display units. However, they cannot command attention like a film or television show. They will patiently play in the background of our lives, yet they must always be ready to justify our attention in any given moment. In this capacity, ambient video works need to be equally proficient at rewarding a fleeting glance, a more direct look, or a longer contemplative gaze. This paper connects a series of threads that collectively illuminate the aesthetics of this emergent form: its history as a popular culture phenomenon, its more substantive artistic roots in avant-garde cinema and video art, its relationship to new technologies, the analysis of the viewer's conditions of reception, and the work of current artists who practice within this form.

  3. Ocean Ambient Noise Measurement and Theory

    CERN Document Server

    Carey, William M

    2011-01-01

    This book develops the theory of ocean ambient noise mechanisms and measurements, and also describes general noise characteristics and computational methods.  It concisely summarizes the vast ambient noise literature using theory combined with key representative results.  The air-sea boundary interaction zone is described in terms of non-dimensional variables requisite for future experiments.  Noise field coherency, rare directional measurements, and unique basin scale computations and methods are presented.  The use of satellite measurements in these basin scale models is demonstrated.  Finally, this book provides a series of appendices giving in-depth mathematical treatments.  With its complete and careful discussions of both theory and experimental results, this book will be of the greatest interest to graduate students and active researchers working in fields related to ambient noise in the ocean.

  4. Trends in ambient intelligent systems the role of computational intelligence

    CERN Document Server

    Khan, Mohammad; Abraham, Ajith

    2016-01-01

    This book demonstrates the success of Ambient Intelligence in providing possible solutions for the daily needs of humans. The book addresses implications of ambient intelligence in areas of domestic living, elderly care, robotics, communication, philosophy and others. The objective of this edited volume is to show that Ambient Intelligence is a boon to humanity with conceptual, philosophical, methodical and applicative understanding. The book also aims to schematically demonstrate developments in the direction of augmented sensors, embedded systems and behavioral intelligence towards Ambient Intelligent Networks or Smart Living Technology. It contains chapters in the field of Ambient Intelligent Networks, which received highly positive feedback during the review process. The book contains research work, with in-depth state of the art from augmented sensors, embedded technology and artificial intelligence along with cutting-edge research and development of technologies and applications of Ambient Intelligent N...

  5. MEDIO AMBIENTE, TUTELAS DE URGENCIA Y PROCESO COLECTIVO

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Jeferson Marin

    2011-12-01

    Full Text Available A problemática ambiental vem assumindo grande importância na sociedade atual. A utilização demasiada dos recursos serve como base para grandes discussões. Ao mesmo tempo em que se reconhece ao cidadão o direito de usufruir do ambiente que o cerca, impõe deveres, no sentido de garantir-se a utilização racional dos recursos ambientais. Apesar da existência de uma vasta legislação ambiental, o tema exige maiores mecanismos de controle, visando a proteção e garantia dos recursos naturais. Assim, faz-se necessária uma nova interpretação dos princípios processuais que vigoram no ordenamento, no sentido de melhorar a tutela do bem ambiental.

  6. Long-Term Exposure to Fine Particulate Matter: Association with Nonaccidental and Cardiovascular Mortality in the Agricultural Health Study Cohort

    OpenAIRE

    Weichenthal, Scott; Villeneuve, Paul J.; Burnett, Richard T.; van Donkelaar, Aaron; Martin, Randall V.; Jones, Rena R.; DellaValle, Curt T.; Sandler, Dale P.; Ward, Mary H.; Hoppin, Jane A.

    2014-01-01

    Background: Few studies have examined the relationship between long-term exposure to ambient fine particulate matter (PM2.5) and nonaccidental mortality in rural populations. Objective: We examined the relationship between PM2.5 and nonaccidental and cardiovascular mortality in the U.S. Agricultural Health Study cohort. Methods: The cohort (n = 83,378) included farmers, their spouses, and commercial pesticide applicators residing primarily in Iowa and North Carolina. Deaths occurring between ...

  7. Ambient air contamination: Characterization and detection techniques

    Science.gov (United States)

    Nulton, C. P.; Silvus, H. S.

    1985-01-01

    Techniques to characterize and detect sources of ambient air contamination are described. Chemical techniques to identify indoor contaminants are outlined, they include gas chromatography, or colorimetric detection. Organics generated from indoor materials at ambient conditions and upon combustion are characterized. Piezoelectric quartz crystals are used as precision frequency determining elements in electronic oscillators.

  8. Unidades de Pediatría Ambiental

    OpenAIRE

    PARÍS M, ENRIQUE; MOLINA M, HELIA; RÍOS B, JUAN CARLOS

    2007-01-01

    Se considera que una Unidad de Pediatría Ambiental es una estructura con roles claramente definidos, situada preferentemente en un centro de salud, especializada en afecciones pediátricas, relacionadas al ambiente. Estos centros pueden proporcionar asesoramiento, información y tratamiento, promover la investigación, entrenar a profesionales, educar al público e informar a las autoridades responsables. Su personal, especialmente entrenado en problemas ambientales, incluye: pediatras, toxicólog...

  9. 78 FR 38077 - National Industrial Security Program Policy Advisory Committee (NISPPAC)

    Science.gov (United States)

    2013-06-25

    ... NATIONAL ARCHIVES AND RECORDS ADMINISTRATION Information Security Oversight Office [NARA-13-0030] National Industrial Security Program Policy Advisory Committee (NISPPAC) AGENCY: National Archives and... following committee meeting to discuss National Industrial Security Program policy matters. DATES: The...

  10. 78 FR 64024 - National Industrial Security Program Policy Advisory Committee (NISPPAC)

    Science.gov (United States)

    2013-10-25

    ... NATIONAL ARCHIVES AND RECORDS ADMINISTRATION Information Security Oversight Office [NARA-2014-001] National Industrial Security Program Policy Advisory Committee (NISPPAC) AGENCY: National Archives and... following committee meeting to discuss National Industrial Security Program policy matters. DATES: The...

  11. Exposure to particulate matter in India: A synthesis of findings and future directions.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Pant, Pallavi; Guttikunda, Sarath K; Peltier, Richard E

    2016-05-01

    Air pollution poses a critical threat to human health with ambient and household air pollution identified as key health risks in India. While there are many studies investigating concentration, composition, and health effects of air pollution, investigators are only beginning to focus on estimating or measuring personal exposure. Further, the relevance of exposures studies from the developed countries in developing countries is uncertain. This review summarizes existing research on exposure to particulate matter (PM) in India, identifies gaps and offers recommendations for future research. There are a limited number of studies focused on exposure to PM and/or associated health effects in India, but it is evident that levels of exposure are much higher than those reported in developed countries. Most studies have focused on coarse aerosols, with a few studies on fine aerosols. Additionally, most studies have focused on a handful of cities, and there are many unknowns in terms of ambient levels of PM as well as personal exposure. Given the high mortality burden associated with air pollution exposure in India, a deeper understanding of ambient pollutant levels as well as source strengths is crucial, both in urban and rural areas. Further, the attention needs to expand beyond the handful large cities that have been studied in detail. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  12. Equality of care between First Nations and non-First Nations patients in Saskatoon emergency departments.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Batta, Rachit; Carey, Robert; Sasbrink-Harkema, Martin Ashley; Oyedokun, Taofiq Olusegun; Lim, Hyun J; Stempien, James

    2018-03-28

    CLINICIAN'S CAPSULE What is known about the topic? There are concerns regarding unequal treatment towards First Nations people when engaged with health care services. What did this study ask? Whether quantitative differences in care exist between First Nations and non-First Nations patients in the ED. What did this study find? First Nations presenting with abdominal pain were found to have no difference in the time-related care parameters relative to non-First Nations patients. Why does this study matter to clinicians? Future quantitative and qualitative studies will be necessary to further understand the care inequality that has been expressed among First Nations patients.

  13. Interacting dark matter disguised as warm dark matter

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Boehm, Celine; Riazuelo, Alain; Hansen, Steen H.; Schaeffer, Richard

    2002-01-01

    We explore some of the consequences of dark-matter-photon interactions on structure formation, focusing on the evolution of cosmological perturbations and performing both an analytical and a numerical study. We compute the cosmic microwave background anisotropies and matter power spectrum in this class of models. We find, as the main result, that when dark matter and photons are coupled, dark matter perturbations can experience a new damping regime in addition to the usual collisional Silk damping effect. Such dark matter particles (having quite large photon interactions) behave like cold dark matter or warm dark matter as far as the cosmic microwave background anisotropies or matter power spectrum are concerned, respectively. These dark-matter-photon interactions leave specific imprints at sufficiently small scales on both of these two spectra, which may allow us to put new constraints on the acceptable photon-dark-matter interactions. Under the conservative assumption that the abundance of 10 12 M · galaxies is correctly given by the cold dark matter, and without any knowledge of the abundance of smaller objects, we obtain the limit on the ratio of the dark-matter-photon cross section to the dark matter mass σ γ-DM /m DM -6 σ Th /(100 GeV)≅6x10 -33 cm 2 GeV -1

  14. 78 FR 9431 - National Industrial Security Program Policy Advisory Committee (NISPPAC)

    Science.gov (United States)

    2013-02-08

    ... NATIONAL ARCHIVES AND RECORDS ADMINISTRATION Information Security Oversight Office National Industrial Security Program Policy Advisory Committee (NISPPAC) AGENCY: National Archives and Records... meeting to discuss National Industrial Security Program policy matters. DATES: The meeting will be held on...

  15. 77 FR 63893 - National Industrial Security Program Policy Advisory Committee (NISPPAC)

    Science.gov (United States)

    2012-10-17

    ... NATIONAL ARCHIVES AND RECORDS ADMINISTRATION Information Security Oversight Office National Industrial Security Program Policy Advisory Committee (NISPPAC) AGENCY: National Archives and Records... meeting to discuss National Industrial Security Program policy matters. DATES: The meeting will be held on...

  16. Microbial Biomarkers for Native and Agricultural Soil Inputs to Atmospheric Particulate Matter

    Science.gov (United States)

    Fulton, J. M.; Herckes, P.; Fraser, M. P.; Collins, J.; Van Mooy, B. A.

    2017-12-01

    Intense dust storms (haboobs) erode desert soils and cause dramatic short-term increases in particulate matter (PM) concentration in the atmosphere. Background atmospheric PM levels in the southwestern United States also commonly exceed the National Ambient Air Quality Standards, so episodic haboobs and normal weather patterns both contribute to aeolian transport. We analyzed fine (PM2.5) and coarse (PM>2.5) dust fractions sampled in Tempe, Arizona for molecular biomarkers indicative of dust sourced from either native or agricultural soils. We focused on pigments and intact polar lipids (IPLs) that were also in soil crusts collected in the region. The PM samples were taken during two weeks (23 July to 5 August 2014) that included two haboobs during the first week and mostly calm weather with minor rainfall during the second week. We detected scytonemin, a diagnostic pigment biomarker for cyanobacteria, in all PM>2.5 samples, but its concentration was highest in haboob dust. Similarly, scytonemin was only abundant in PM2.5 samples taken during haboobs. Scytonemin is an important component of native biological soil crusts, protecting the crust community from UV radiation, and is ca. two orders of magnitude less abundant in disturbed agricultural soils. In biological soil crusts, scytonemin is associated with extracellular polysaccharides that are produced by cyanobacteria and bind soil into cohesive crusts. The association between scytonemin and haboobs suggests that native soil erosion is facilitated by high energy, episodic events that overcome crust cohesion. IPLs were abundant in agricultural soil crusts and included phosphatidylethanolamine from soil bacteria and a glucosylceramide from fungi. These compounds had similar concentration in haboob and background dust, suggesting agricultural or otherwise disturbed soils contribute more to ambient dust. In this study, we employed a new high resolution mass spectrometric method that produces molecular formulas and

  17. The relationship between body and ambient temperature and corneal temperature

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Kessel, Line; Johnson, Leif; Arvidsson, Henrik Sven

    2010-01-01

    Exposure to elevated ambient temperatures has been mentioned as a risk factor for common eye diseases, primarily presbyopia and cataract. The aim of the present study was to examine the relationship among ambient, cornea, and body core temperature.......Exposure to elevated ambient temperatures has been mentioned as a risk factor for common eye diseases, primarily presbyopia and cataract. The aim of the present study was to examine the relationship among ambient, cornea, and body core temperature....

  18. Territorios vulnerables e injusticia ambiental en Argentina

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Miguel Lacabana

    2016-07-01

    Full Text Available Justicia ambiental es un concepto fructífero en tanto modificó la perspectiva clásica de análisis sobre el problema de la degradación ambiental al establecer como principal interrogante no tanto las "causas" que producen tal degradación sino que interroga el proceso político, económico y social que consolida la desigual distribución social de las cargas nocivas de la contaminación. El conurbano sur de Buenos Aires y dentro de este el Municipio de Quilmes condensan distintas situaciones se vulnerabilidad social ambiental donde los conflictos son acallados, ocultos o simplemente quedan latentes frente a la emergencia de mantener o crear nuevas fuentes de empleo. La cuestión ambiental no se constituyó durante años en un problema con relevancia pública si bien existieron tímidas políticas públicas que tendieron a regular los efectos de polución industrial y sus efectos sobre la calidad de vida de las personas.

  19. Long-Term Exposure to Ambient Air Pollution and Incidence of Postmenopausal Breast Cancer in 15 European Cohorts within the ESCAPE Project

    Science.gov (United States)

    Stafoggia, Massimo; Weinmayr, Gudrun; Pedersen, Marie; Galassi, Claudia; Jørgensen, Jeanette T.; Oudin, Anna; Forsberg, Bertil; Olsson, David; Oftedal, Bente; Marit Aasvang, Gunn; Aamodt, Geir; Pyko, Andrei; Pershagen, Göran; Korek, Michal; De Faire, Ulf; Pedersen, Nancy L.; Östenson, Claes-Göran; Fratiglioni, Laura; Eriksen, Kirsten T.; Tjønneland, Anne; Peeters, Petra H.; Bueno-de-Mesquita, Bas; Plusquin, Michelle; Key, Timothy J.; Jaensch, Andrea; Nagel, Gabriele; Lang, Alois; Wang, Meng; Tsai, Ming-Yi; Fournier, Agnes; Boutron-Ruault, Marie-Christine; Baglietto, Laura; Grioni, Sara; Marcon, Alessandro; Krogh, Vittorio; Ricceri, Fulvio; Sacerdote, Carlotta; Migliore, Enrica; Tamayo-Uria, Ibon; Amiano, Pilar; Dorronsoro, Miren; Vermeulen, Roel; Sokhi, Ranjeet; Keuken, Menno; de Hoogh, Kees; Beelen, Rob; Vineis, Paolo; Cesaroni, Giulia; Brunekreef, Bert; Hoek, Gerard; Raaschou-Nielsen, Ole

    2017-01-01

    Background: Epidemiological evidence on the association between ambient air pollution and breast cancer risk is inconsistent. Objective: We examined the association between long-term exposure to ambient air pollution and incidence of postmenopausal breast cancer in European women. Methods: In 15 cohorts from nine European countries, individual estimates of air pollution levels at the residence were estimated by standardized land-use regression models developed within the European Study of Cohorts for Air Pollution Effects (ESCAPE) and Transport related Air Pollution and Health impacts - Integrated Methodologies for Assessing Particulate Matter (TRANSPHORM) projects: particulate matter (PM) ≤2.5μm, ≤10μm, and 2.5–10μm in diameter (PM2.5, PM10, and PMcoarse, respectively); PM2.5 absorbance; nitrogen oxides (NO2 and NOx); traffic intensity; and elemental composition of PM. We estimated cohort-specific associations between breast cancer and air pollutants using Cox regression models, adjusting for major lifestyle risk factors, and pooled cohort-specific estimates using random-effects meta-analyses. Results: Of 74,750 postmenopausal women included in the study, 3,612 developed breast cancer during 991,353 person-years of follow-up. We found positive and statistically insignificant associations between breast cancer and PM2.5 {hazard ratio (HR)=1.08 [95% confidence interval (CI): 0.77, 1.51] per 5 μg/m3}, PM10 [1.07 (95% CI: 0.89, 1.30) per 10 μg/m3], PMcoarse [1.20 (95% CI: 0.96, 1.49 per 5 μg/m3], and NO2 [1.02 (95% CI: 0.98, 1.07 per 10 μg/m3], and a statistically significant association with NOx [1.04 (95% CI: 1.00, 1.08) per 20 μg/m3, p=0.04]. Conclusions: We found suggestive evidence of an association between ambient air pollution and incidence of postmenopausal breast cancer in European women. https://doi.org/10.1289/EHP1742 PMID:29033383

  20. Baseline repeated measures from controlled human exposure studies: associations between ambient air pollution exposure and the systemic inflammatory biomarkers IL-6 and fibrinogen.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Thompson, Aaron M S; Zanobetti, Antonella; Silverman, Frances; Schwartz, Joel; Coull, Brent; Urch, Bruce; Speck, Mary; Brook, Jeffrey R; Manno, Michael; Gold, Diane R

    2010-01-01

    Systemic inflammation may be one of the mechanisms mediating the association between ambient air pollution and cardiovascular morbidity and mortality. Interleukin-6 (IL-6) and fibrinogen are biomarkers of systemic inflammation that are independent risk factors for cardio-vascular disease. We investigated the association between ambient air pollution and systemic inflammation using baseline measurements of IL-6 and fibrinogen from controlled human exposure studies. In this retrospective analysis we used repeated-measures data in 45 nonsmoking subjects. Hourly and daily moving averages were calculated for ozone, nitrogen dioxide, sulfur dioxide, and particulate matter pollutants on systemic IL-6 and fibrinogen. Effect modification by season was considered. We observed a positive association between IL-6 and O3 [0.31 SD per O3 interquartile range (IQR); 95% confidence interval (CI), 0.080.54] and between IL-6 and SO2 (0.25 SD per SO2 IQR; 95% CI, 0.060.43). We observed the strongest effects using 4-day moving averages. Responses to pollutants varied by season and tended to be higher in the summer, particularly for O3 and PM2.5. Fibrinogen was not associated with pollution. This study demonstrates a significant association between ambient pollutant levels and baseline levels of systemic IL-6. These findings have potential implications for controlled human exposure studies. Future research should consider whether ambient pollution exposure before chamber exposure modifies IL-6 response.

  1. Arte-educação ambiental, um constructo transdisciplinar

    OpenAIRE

    Rache, Rita Patta

    2017-01-01

    A partir da práxis educativa de arte-­educadoras que desenvolvem ações articuladas entre arte-­ educação e educação ambiental, particularmente aquelas que contribuíram para a elaboração da metodologia de educação ambiental da ONG Núcleo de Educação e Monitoramento Ambiental (NEMA), de Rio Grande/RS, e da Escola da Natureza, de Brasília/DF, constatamos a emergência da expressão Arte-­Educação Ambiental (AEA). Nosso objetivo foi investigar o fenômeno, seu conteúdo, referenciais teóricos, as met...

  2. Ambient air pollution the risk of stillbirth: A prospective birth cohort study in Wuhan, China.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Yang, Shaoping; Tan, Yafei; Mei, Hui; Wang, Fang; Li, Na; Zhao, Jinzhu; Zhang, Yiming; Qian, Zhengmin; Chang, Jen Jen; Syberg, Kevin M; Peng, Anna; Mei, Hong; Zhang, Dan; Zhang, Yan; Xu, Shunqing; Li, Yuanyuan; Zheng, Tongzhang; Zhang, Bin

    2018-04-01

    Recent studies suggest that ambient air pollution exposure during pregnancy is associated with stillbirth occurrence. However, the results on the associations between ambient air pollutants and stillbirths are inconsistent and little is known about the gestational timing of sensitive periods for the effects of ambient air pollutants exposure on stillbirth. This study aimed to examine whether exposure to high levels of ambient air pollutants in a Chinese population is associated with an increased risk of stillbirth, and determine the gestational period when the fetus is most susceptible. We conducted a population-based cohort study in Wuhan, China, involving 95,354 births between June 10, 2011 and June 9, 2013. The exposure assessments were based on the daily mean concentrations of air pollutants obtained from the exposure monitor nearest to the pregnant women's residence. Logistic regression analyses were performed to determine the associations between stillbirths and exposure to each of the air pollutants at different pregnancy periods with adjustment for confounding factors. Stillbirth increased with a 10 μg/m 3 increase in particulate matter 2.5 (PM 2.5 ) in each stage of pregnancy, and a significant association between carbon monoxide (CO) exposure and stillbirth was found during the third trimester (adjusted odds ratio (aOR): 1.01, 95% confidence interval (CI): 1.00-1.01) and in the entire pregnancy (aOR: 1.18, 95% CI: 1.04-1.34). Furthermore, an increased risk of stillbirth in the third trimester was associated with a 10 μg/m 3 increase in PM 10 (aOR: 1.08, 95% CI: 1.04-1.11), nitrogen dioxide (NO 2 ) (aOR: 1.13, 95% CI: 1.07-1.21) and sulfur dioxide (SO 2 ) (aOR: 1.26, 95% CI: 1.16-1.35). However, no positive association was observed between ozone exposure and stillbirth. In the two-pollutant models, PM 2.5 and CO exposures were found to be consistently associated with stillbirth. Our study revealed that exposure to high levels of PM 2.5 , PM 10 , SO 2

  3. Ambient PM2.5 Exposure in India: Burden, Source-Apportionment and Projection Under Climate Change

    Science.gov (United States)

    Dey, S.; Chowdhury, S.; Upadhyay, A. K.; Smith, K. R.

    2017-12-01

    Air pollution has been identified as one of the leading factors of premature death in India. Absence of adequate in-situ monitors led us to use satellite retrieved aerosol optical depth (AOD) data to infer surface fine particulate matter (PM2.5). Annual premature mortality burden due to ambient PM2.5 exposure is estimated to be 1.17 (0.42-2.7) million for India. A chemical transport model WRF-Chem is utilized to estimate source-apportioned PM2.5 exposure. We estimate the exposure for four major sources - transport, residential, energy and industrial and found that the largest contribution to ambient PM2.5 exposure in India is contributed by residential sources. We estimate that if all the solid fuel use at households is replaced by clean fuel, ambient PM2.5 exposure would reduce by 30-45%, leading to 170,000 (14.5% of total burden) averted premature deaths annually. To understand how the air quality is projected to change under climate change scenarios, we analyze 13 CMIP5 models. We calculate the relative changes in PM2.5 (ensemble mean) in future relative to the baseline period (2001-2005) and apply the factor to satellite-derived PM2.5 exposure in baseline period to project future PM2.5 exposure. Ambient PM2.5 is expected to reach a maxima in 2030 under RCP4.5 (15.5% rise from baseline period) and in 2040 (25.5% rise) under RCP8.5 scenario. The projected exposure under RCP4.5 and RCP8.5 scenarios are further used to estimate premature mortality burden till the end of the century by considering population distribution projections from five shared socio-economic pathways (SSP) scenarios. We separate the burden due to ambient PM2.5 exposure in future attributable to change in meteorology due to climate change and change in demographic and epidemiological transitions. If all-India average PM2.5 exposure meets WHO interim target 1 (35 µg/m3) by 2031-40, 28000-38000 and 41100-60100 premature deaths can be averted every year under RCP4.5 and RCP8.5 respectively. Even

  4. Auditoria Operacional Ambiental: Instrumento para Efetivação do Direito Fundamental ao Meio Ambiente

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Azor El Achkar

    2011-12-01

    Full Text Available Este artigo tem o objetivo de ressaltar a importância e competência dos tribunais de contas brasileiros em realizar auditorias publicas com enfoque na questão ambiental. Trata dos primórdios da lida com o tema, ressalta o destaque conferido pela Constituição Federal de 1988, evidencia a responsabilidade do Poder Publico com o assunto e observa que as cortes de contas tem missão constitucional de avaliar as acoes empreendidas para preservação e conservação do meio ambiente ecologicamente equilibrado.

  5. TRABALHO DE EDUCAÇÃO AMBIENTAL PARA CONSCIENTIZAR DA IMPORTÂNCIA NA RECICLAGEM PARA PRESERVAÇÃO DO MEIO AMBIENTE.

    OpenAIRE

    Rossato, Ivete Fatima; Sens Neto, Valdemar Norberto

    2014-01-01

    O objetivo deste artigo foi trabalhar com a educação ambiental para conscientizar sobre da importância da reciclagem para preservação do meio ambiente. O projeto contou com a participação de 650 estudantes do Ensino fundamental de seis escolas no município de Palhoça/SC. Foram realizadas visitas na Associação do Centro de Triagem da Pró-CREP, localizada na Praia da Pinheira SC, onde aconteciam as palestras de educação ambiental com a finalidade de discutir os pontos relativos a coleta seletiv...

  6. Mass extinction efficiency and extinction hygroscopicity of ambient PM2.5 in urban China.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Cheng, Zhen; Ma, Xin; He, Yujie; Jiang, Jingkun; Wang, Xiaoliang; Wang, Yungang; Sheng, Li; Hu, Jiangkai; Yan, Naiqiang

    2017-07-01

    The ambient PM 2.5 pollution problem in China has drawn substantial international attentions. The mass extinction efficiency (MEE) and hygroscopicity factor (f(RH)) of PM 2.5 can be readily applied to study the impacts on atmospheric visibility and climate. The few previous investigations in China only reported results from pilot studies and are lack of spatial representativeness. In this study, hourly average ambient PM 2.5 mass concentration, relative humidity, and atmospheric visibility data from China national air quality and meteorological monitoring networks were retrieved and analyzed. It includes 24 major Chinese cities from nine city-clusters with the period of October 2013 to September 2014. Annual average extinction coefficient in urban China was 759.3±258.3Mm -1 , mainly caused by dry PM 2.5 (305.8.2±131.0Mm -1 ) and its hygroscopicity (414.6±188.1Mm -1 ). High extinction coefficient values were resulted from both high ambient PM 2.5 concentration (68.5±21.7µg/m 3 ) and high relative humidity (69.7±8.6%). The PM 2.5 mass extinction efficiency varied from 2.87 to 6.64m 2 /g with an average of 4.40±0.84m 2 /g. The average extinction hygroscopic factor f(RH=80%) was 2.63±0.45. The levels of PM 2.5 mass extinction efficiency and hygroscopic factor in China were in comparable range with those found in developed countries in spite of the significant diversities among all 24 cities. Our findings help to establish quantitative relationship between ambient extinction coefficient (visual range) and PM 2.5 & relative humidity. It will reduce the uncertainty of extinction coefficient estimation of ambient PM 2.5 in urban China which is essential for the research of haze pollution and climate radiative forcing. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  7. Characteristic of ambient airborne and respirable particulate around a non formal industrial area

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Muhayatun Santoso; Diah Dwiana Lestiani; Mariana Marselina; Rita Mukhtar

    2016-01-01

    Characterization of airborne particulate matter and respirable particulate in Parung Panjang district especially on surrounding non formal used batteries industrial area has been carried out to follow up the previous results with respect to high concentrations of lead detected in Serpong area. Sampling of airborne particulate matter in Parung Panjang was conducted using Gent stacked filter unit sampler, while the respirable particulate matter samples collected using personal dust sampler in Parung Panjang as a non formal Industrial area and Sukarasa village as a control, during 2011-2012. The concentration of masses were determined gravimetrically, while for elemental concentrations by X-Ray based methods. The average of mass concentration of air ambient PM 2.5 and PM 10 in Parung Panjang were 27.3 ± 13.7 and 77.5 ± 17.1 μg.m -3 , respectively. While the average concentration of respirable particulate in non formal industrial and control areas were 260 ± 233 and 82 ± 38 μg.m -3 , respectively. The percentage of average Pb concentration in PM 2.5 and PM 2.5-10 were contribute up to 45 and 10 % of the mass concentration, respectively. The maximum percentage concentration of Pb in respirable particulate in industrial and control area were 12.11 and 0.27 %, respectively. These results showed that the Pb concentrations in respirable particulate in industrial area were significantly tens times higher than in the control area. The high concentration of Pb in Parung Panjang was the main key element came from the used lead battery industry and one of pollutant source that contributed to the Pb pollution in Serpong area. (author)

  8. EMRP JRP MetNH3: Towards a Consistent Metrological Infrastructure for Ammonia Measurements in Ambient Air

    Science.gov (United States)

    Leuenberger, Daiana; Balslev-Harder, David; Braban, Christine F.; Ebert, Volker; Ferracci, Valerio; Gieseking, Bjoern; Hieta, Tuomas; Martin, Nicholas A.; Pascale, Céline; Pogány, Andrea; Tiebe, Carlo; Twigg, Marsailidh M.; Vaittinen, Olavi; van Wijk, Janneke; Wirtz, Klaus; Niederhauser, Bernhard

    2016-04-01

    Measuring ammonia in ambient air is a sensitive and priority issue due to its harmful effects on human health and ecosystems. In addition to its acidifying effect on natural waters and soils and to the additional nitrogen input to ecosystems, ammonia is an important precursor for secondary aerosol formation in the atmosphere. The European Directive 2001/81/EC on "National Emission Ceilings for Certain Atmospheric Pollutants (NEC)" regulates ammonia emissions in the member states. However, there is a lack of regulation regarding certified reference material (CRM), applicable analytical methods, measurement uncertainty, quality assurance and quality control (QC/QA) procedures as well as in the infrastructure to attain metrological traceability. As shown in a key comparison in 2007, there are even discrepancies between reference materials provided by European National Metrology Institutes (NMIs) at amount fraction levels up to three orders of magnitude higher than ambient air levels. MetNH3 (Metrology for ammonia in ambient air), a three-year project that started in June 2014 in the framework of the European Metrology Research Programme (EMRP), aims to reduce the gap between requirements set by the European emission regulations and state-of-the-art of analytical methods and reference materials. The overarching objective of the JRP is to achieve metrological traceability for ammonia measurements in ambient air from primary certified reference material CRM and instrumental standards to the field level. This requires the successful completion of the three main goals, which have been assigned to three technical work packages: To develop improved reference gas mixtures by static and dynamic gravimetric generation methods Realisation and characterisation of traceable preparative calibration standards (in pressurised cylinders as well as mobile generators) of ammonia amount fractions similar to those in ambient air based on existing methods for other reactive analytes. The

  9. O Contexto Ambiental e as Mudanças Organizacionais no Setor de C&T Agrícola do Paraná

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Gustavo Matarazzo Rezende

    2011-01-01

    Full Text Available This article has as objective the description of the ambient conditions that had influenced the reorganization of the sector of Paraná Agricultural S&T in the period between 1980 and 2007. By means of secondary data - books, articles, dissertations, pages of the Internet, among others - it was investigated the conditions that had propitiated the institutionalization of new standards of performance of the public agricultural S&T organizations. The research showed that to increase the financial resources destined to the financing of the research, the organizations of agricultural S&T had searched for bigger competitiveness, using models of enterprise management. This occurred in national scope, with the Brazilian Company of Farming Research (Embrapa, like in the state, with the Agronomic Institute of Paraná (Iapar. Thus, if analyzing the ambient conditions for which the organizations had passed and the structural changes tending to the similarity, it was observed mainly the coercitive isomorphism, because the ambient pressures of the organizational field.

  10. Reparabilidade do dano ambiental no sistema da responsabilização civil: 25 anos da lei 6938/1981

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Luciana Cardoso Pilati

    2006-12-01

    Full Text Available O presente artigo trata da evolução daresponsabilização civil ambiental noordenamento jurídico brasileiro. Procurasistematizar os aspectos relacionados à reparaçãodo meio ambiente, a partir de uma visãopanorâmica. Nesse passo, trata, inicialmente, dohistórico da responsabilização civil ambiental noBrasil, com enfoque para a Lei da Política Nacionaldo Meio Ambiente e para as funções daresponsabilidade civil. Em seguida, analisa o danoambiental, sua conceituação e classificação.Examina, a seguir, as formas de reparação do dano,destacando a prevalência da restauração in natura,assim como alguns julgados concernentes ao tema.Por fim, aborda – em função da sua atualidade –a questão do dano moral extrapatrimonialcoletivo, aduzindo julgados que já contemplarama sua reparabilidade.The present article deals with the evolutionof the ambient civil responsabilização in the Brazilianlegal system. Search systemize the aspects relatedto the repairing of the environment, from apanoramic vision. In this step, it treats, initially, ofthe description of the ambient civil responsabilizaçãoin Brazil, with approach for the Law of the NationalPolitics of the Environment and for the functions ofthe civil liability. After that, it analyzes the ambientdamage, its conceptualization and classification. Itexamines, to follow, the forms of repairing of thedamage, detaching the prevalence of the restorationin natura, as well as some concernentes judgeshipsto the subject. Finally, it approaches – in function ofits present time – the question of the collectiveextrapatrimonial pain and suffering, alleging judgedthat already they had contemplated its repairability.

  11. Evaluation of respirable particle matter in gold mine tailings on the Witwatersrand

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Ojelede, M.E.; Annegarn, H.J.

    2007-01-01

    Within the Witwatersrand gold mining area of South Africa, wind-blown dust is a significant contributor to atmospheric air pollution brought to the fore with the reworking of old mine tailings. Approximately 40,000 hectares are covered with tailings in the Witwatersrand. Wind-erosion during late austral winter and early spring causes surfaces of these tailings to be exposed, particularly during higher wind speeds and in the absence of rainfall. Local residents complain as the surrounding areas experience unpleasant dust episodes. As a result of urban PM 10 and PM 2.5 respirable particulate matter, increased respiratory ailments, morbidity and mortality, and concerns about the health impacts of wind-blown mine tailings in South Africa have been reported. Since 1981, significant monitoring of dustfall has taken place on the Witwatersrand, however, characterization of the respirable fraction of gold mine tailings material and dustfall is lacking. This paper presented the results of a study that established the content of respirable particulate matter in exposed mine tailings and wind-blown dust, and their likely contributions to ambient air. The initial results of the particulate size distribution of material samples from tailings and dust deposits collected in ambient dustfall-monitors were provided. Particle size distributions from different deposit types include slimes and sand deposits, surface and core material, and wind-winnowed secondary deposits. Fractions of PM 10 in source and deposited material were also discussed. It was concluded that there was a significant fraction of PM 10 material in the mine tailings, and that further work to quantify the population exposure risk is needed. 11 refs., 1 tab., 6 figs

  12. Ambient workplace heterosexism: Implications for sexual minority and heterosexual employees.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Miner, Kathi N; Costa, Paula L

    2018-06-01

    This study examined the relationship between ambient workplace heterosexism, emotional reactions (i.e., fear and anger), and outcomes for sexual minority and heterosexual employees. Five hundred thirty-six restaurant employees (68% female, 77% White) completed an online survey assessing the variables of interest. Results showed that greater experiences of ambient workplace heterosexism were associated with heightened fear and anger and, in turn, with heightened psychological distress (for fear) and greater physical health complaints, turnover intentions, and lowered job satisfaction (for anger). Fear also mediated the relationship between ambient workplace heterosexism and psychological distress. In addition, sexual orientation moderated the relationship between ambient workplace heterosexism and fear such that sexual minority employees reported more fear than heterosexuals with greater ambient heterosexism. These effects occurred after controlling for personal experiences of interpersonal discrimination. Our findings suggest that ambient workplace heterosexism can be harmful to all employees, not only sexual minorities or targeted individuals. Copyright © 2018 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

  13. La cultura ambiental. Una mirada desde la comunidad Venceremos

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Msc. Bertha Nudis Ferrer-Hechavarría

    2015-10-01

    Full Text Available Este trabajo constituye una aproximación al estudio de la cultura ambiental como elemento necesario en el camino al desarrollo comunitario. Parte de un breve análisis conceptual de la cultura para luego llegar a la cultura ambiental de acuerdo con las consideraciones de la autora. Momento singular resulta el que destaca la necesidad de que las comunidades enfrenten los problemas ambientales en el camino al desarrollo y sean depositarias de una cultura ambiental que lo posibilite. En este empeño tiene gran importancia la implementación de proyectos comunitarios, pues las comunidades constituyen grupos sociales claves en la solución de los problemas ambientales a nivel global y local. Teniendo en cuenta lo anterior, ha sido diseñado y ya se implementa un proyecto de educación ambiental para el desarrollo local sostenible en una comunidad que lleva como nombre Venceremos; tiene, entre sus distintas líneas de desarrollo, a la cultura ambiental.

  14. Diesel Particulate Matter Polygons, US EPA Region 9, 2005, NATA

    Data.gov (United States)

    U.S. Environmental Protection Agency — The national-scale assessment includes 177 air pollutants (a subset of the air toxics on the Clean Air Act's list of 187 air toxics plus diesel particulate matter...

  15. Air pollution-induced health impacts on the national economy of China: demonstration of a computable general equilibrium approach.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Wan, Yue; Yang, Hongwei; Masui, Toshihiko

    2005-01-01

    At the present time, ambient air pollution is a serious public health problem in China. Based on the concentration-response relationship provided by international and domestic epidemiologic studies, the authors estimated the mortality and morbidity induced by the ambient air pollution of 2000. To address the mechanism of the health impact on the national economy, the authors applied a computable general equilibrium (CGE) model, named AIM/Material China, containing 39 production sectors and 32 commodities. AIM/Material analyzes changes of the gross domestic product (GDP), final demand, and production activity originating from health damages. If ambient air quality met Grade II of China's air quality standard in 2000, then the avoidable GDP loss would be 0.38%o of the national total, of which 95% was led by labor loss. Comparatively, medical expenditure had less impact on national economy, which is explained from the aspect of the final demand by commodities and the production activities by sectors. The authors conclude that the CGE model is a suitable tool for assessing health impacts from a point of view of national economy through the discussion about its applicability.

  16. Detection of Coxiella burnetii in Ambient Air after a Large Q Fever Outbreak.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Myrna M T de Rooij

    Full Text Available One of the largest Q fever outbreaks ever occurred in the Netherlands from 2007-2010, with 25 fatalities among 4,026 notified cases. Airborne dispersion of Coxiella burnetii was suspected but not studied extensively at the time. We investigated temporal and spatial variation of Coxiella burnetii in ambient air at residential locations in the most affected area in the Netherlands (the South-East, in the year immediately following the outbreak. One-week average ambient particulate matter < 10 μm samples were collected at eight locations from March till September 2011. Presence of Coxiella burnetii DNA was determined by quantitative polymerase chain reaction. Associations with various spatial and temporal characteristics were analyzed by mixed logistic regression. Coxiella burnetii DNA was detected in 56 out of 202 samples (28%. Airborne Coxiella burnetii presence showed a clear seasonal pattern coinciding with goat kidding. The spatial variation was significantly associated with number of goats on the nearest goat farm weighted by the distance to the farm (OR per IQR: 1.89, CI: 1.31-2.76. We conclude that in the year after a large Q fever outbreak, temporal variation of airborne Coxiella burnetii is suggestive to be associated with goat kidding, and spatial variation with distance to and size of goat farms. Aerosol measurements show to have potential for source identification and attribution of an airborne pathogen, which may also be applicable in early stages of an outbreak.

  17. Human-Centric Interfaces for Ambient Intelligence

    CERN Document Server

    Aghajan, Hamid; Delgado, Ramon Lopez-Cozar

    2009-01-01

    To create truly effective human-centric ambient intelligence systems both engineering and computing methods are needed. This is the first book to bridge data processing and intelligent reasoning methods for the creation of human-centered ambient intelligence systems. Interdisciplinary in nature, the book covers topics such as multi-modal interfaces, human-computer interaction, smart environments and pervasive computing, addressing principles, paradigms, methods and applications. This book will be an ideal reference for university researchers, R&D engineers, computer engineers, and graduate s

  18. Sampling and analyte enrichment strategies for ambient mass spectrometry.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Li, Xianjiang; Ma, Wen; Li, Hongmei; Ai, Wanpeng; Bai, Yu; Liu, Huwei

    2018-01-01

    Ambient mass spectrometry provides great convenience for fast screening, and has showed promising potential in analytical chemistry. However, its relatively low sensitivity seriously restricts its practical utility in trace compound analysis. In this review, we summarize the sampling and analyte enrichment strategies coupled with nine modes of representative ambient mass spectrometry (desorption electrospray ionization, paper vhspray ionization, wooden-tip spray ionization, probe electrospray ionization, coated blade spray ionization, direct analysis in real time, desorption corona beam ionization, dielectric barrier discharge ionization, and atmospheric-pressure solids analysis probe) that have dramatically increased the detection sensitivity. We believe that these advances will promote routine use of ambient mass spectrometry. Graphical abstract Scheme of sampling stretagies for ambient mass spectrometry.

  19. Volumetric ambient occlusion for real-time rendering and games.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Szirmay-Kalos, L; Umenhoffer, T; Toth, B; Szecsi, L; Sbert, M

    2010-01-01

    This new algorithm, based on GPUs, can compute ambient occlusion to inexpensively approximate global-illumination effects in real-time systems and games. The first step in deriving this algorithm is to examine how ambient occlusion relates to the physically founded rendering equation. The correspondence stems from a fuzzy membership function that defines what constitutes nearby occlusions. The next step is to develop a method to calculate ambient occlusion in real time without precomputation. The algorithm is based on a novel interpretation of ambient occlusion that measures the relative volume of the visible part of the surface's tangent sphere. The new formula's integrand has low variation and thus can be estimated accurately with a few samples.

  20. Acoustic ambient noise recorder

    Digital Repository Service at National Institute of Oceanography (India)

    Saran, A.K.; Navelkar, G.S.; Almeida, A.M.; More, S.R.; Chodankar, P.V.; Murty, C.S.

    with a robust outfit that can withstand high pressures and chemically corrosion resistant materials. Keeping these considerations in view, a CMOS micro-controller-based marine acoustic ambient noise recorder has been developed with a real time clock...

  1. Algorithms in ambient intelligence

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Aarts, E.H.L.; Korst, J.H.M.; Verhaegh, W.F.J.; Verhaegh, W.F.J.; Aarts, E.H.L.; Korst, J.H.M.

    2004-01-01

    In this chapter, we discuss the new paradigm for user-centered computing known as ambient intelligence and its relation with methods and techniques from the field of computational intelligence, including problem solving, machine learning, and expert systems.

  2. Perceived Mattering to the Family and Physical Violence within the Family by Adolescents

    Science.gov (United States)

    Elliott, Gregory C.; Cunningham, Susan M.; Colangelo, Melissa; Gelles, Richard J.

    2011-01-01

    Mattering is the extent to which people believe they make a difference in the world around them. This study hypothesizes that adolescents who believe they matter less to their families will more likely threaten or engage in intrafamily physical violence. The data come from a national sample of 2,004 adolescents. Controlling for respondents' age,…

  3. Modeling the effects of reformulated gasoline usages on ambient concentrations of ozone and five air toxics

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Ligocki, M.P.; Schulhof, R.R.; Jackson, R.E.; Jimenez, M.M.; Atkinson, D.

    1993-01-01

    The use of reformulated gasolines to reduce motor-vehicle-related hydrocarbon emissions has been mandated by the 1990 Clean Air Act Amendments for nine severely polluted urban areas. Using a version of the Urban Airshed Model that includes explicit representation of five motor-vehicle-related air toxics, the effects of reformulated gasoline usage on ambient ozone and toxics concentrations were simulated. Simulations were conducted for two urban areas. Baltimore-Washington and Houston, for the year 1995. Additional simulation were conducted for Baltimore-Washington including winter and 1999 scenarios. In the Baltimore-Washington areas, the 1995 Federal reformulated gasoline scenario produce reductions of 1.1 percent in simulated peak ozone and 2.7 percent in the areal extent of simulated ozone exceedances. Simulated ozone reductions were much smaller in Houston. In the reformulated gasoline simulations, secondary formulation of formaldehyde and acetaldehyde was reduced, and decreases in ambient benzene and polycyclic organic matter (POM) concentrations were simulated. Larger reductions in ozone and toxics concentrations were simulated for reformulated gasolines meeting California Phase II standards than for those meeting Federal standards. The effects of reductions in motor-vehicle-related nitrogen oxides (NO x ) emissions, alone and in combination with hydrocarbon reductions, were also examined

  4. Concentrations of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons and inorganic constituents in ambient surface soils, Chicago, Illinois: 2001-2002

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kay, R.T.; Arnold, T.L.; Cannon, W.F.; Graham, D.

    2008-01-01

    Samples of ambient surface soils were collected from 56 locations in Chicago, Illinois, using stratified random sampling techniques and analyzed for polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon (PAH) compounds and inorganic constituents. PAHs appear to be derived primarily from combustion of fossil fuels and may be affected by proximity to industrial operations, but do not appear to be substantially affected by the organic carbon content of the soil, proximity to nonindustrial land uses, or proximity to a roadway. Atmospheric settling of particulate matter appears to be an important mechanism for the placement of PAH compounds into soils. Concentrations of most inorganic constituents are affected primarily by soil-forming processes. Concentrations of lead, arsenic, mercury, calcium, magnesium, phosphorus, copper, molybdenum, zinc, and selenium are elevated in ambient surface soils in Chicago in comparison to the surrounding area, indicating anthropogenic sources for these elements in Chicago soils. Concentrations of calcium and magnesium in Chicago soils appear to reflect the influence of the carbonate bedrock parent material on the chemical composition of the soil, although the effects of concrete and road fill cannot be discounted. Concentrations of inorganic constituents appear to be largely unaffected by the type of nearby land use. Copyright ?? Taylor & Francis Group, LLC.

  5. Matter, dark matter, and anti-matter in search of the hidden universe

    CERN Document Server

    Mazure, Alain

    2012-01-01

    For over ten years, the dark side of the universe has been headline news. Detailed studies of the rotation of spiral galaxies, and 'mirages' created by clusters of galaxies bending the light from very remote objects, have convinced astronomers of the presence of large quantities of dark (unseen) matter in the cosmos. Moreover, in the 1990s, it was discovered that some four to five billion years ago the expansion of the universe entered a phase of acceleration. This implies the existence of dark energy. The nature of these 'dark; ingredients remains a mystery, but they seem to comprise about 95 percent of the matter/energy content of the universe. As for ordinary matter, although we are immersed in a sea of dark particles, including primordial neutrinos and photons from 'fossil' cosmological radiation, both we and our environment are made of ordinary, baryonic matter. Strangely, even if 15-20 percent of matter is baryonic matter, this represents only 4-5 percent of the total matter/energy content of the cosmos...

  6. MODELING THE AMBIENT CONDITION EFFECTS OF AN AIR-COOLED NATURAL CIRCULATION SYSTEM

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Hu, Rui; Lisowski, Darius D.; Bucknor, Matthew; Kraus, Adam R.; Lv, Qiuping

    2017-07-02

    The Reactor Cavity Cooling System (RCCS) is a passive safety concept under consideration for the overall safety strategy of advanced reactors such as the High Temperature Gas-Cooled Reactor (HTGR). One such variant, air-cooled RCCS, uses natural convection to drive the flow of air from outside the reactor building to remove decay heat during normal operation and accident scenarios. The Natural convection Shutdown heat removal Test Facility (NSTF) at Argonne National Laboratory (“Argonne”) is a half-scale model of the primary features of one conceptual air-cooled RCCS design. The facility was constructed to carry out highly instrumented experiments to study the performance of the RCCS concept for reactor decay heat removal that relies on natural convection cooling. Parallel modeling and simulation efforts were performed to support the design, operation, and analysis of the natural convection system. Throughout the testing program, strong influences of ambient conditions were observed in the experimental data when baseline tests were repeated under the same test procedures. Thus, significant analysis efforts were devoted to gaining a better understanding of these influences and the subsequent response of the NSTF to ambient conditions. It was determined that air humidity had negligible impacts on NSTF system performance and therefore did not warrant consideration in the models. However, temperature differences between the building exterior and interior air, along with the outside wind speed, were shown to be dominant factors. Combining the stack and wind effects together, an empirical model was developed based on theoretical considerations and using experimental data to correlate zero-power system flow rates with ambient meteorological conditions. Some coefficients in the model were obtained based on best fitting the experimental data. The predictive capability of the empirical model was demonstrated by applying it to the new set of experimental data. The

  7. Fundamentación teórica de la auditoria ambiental

    OpenAIRE

    Manuel Vélez C.

    1998-01-01

    International audience; La fundamentación teórica de la auditoria ambiental se orienta a establecer las bases del enfoque alternativo de la auditoria ambiental al medio ambiente y desarrollo local, desde la perspectiva de la sustentabilidad y las normas de auditoría generalmente aceptadas, por medio de la descripción y análisis de los principios de la auditoría, los conceptos de la auditoria con énfasis en el conceptos de ambiente y desarrollo sustentable, las normas de auditoría, las polític...

  8. Long-term exposure to ambient air pollution and mortality due to cardiovascular disease and cerebrovascular disease in Shenyang, China.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Pengfei Zhang

    Full Text Available BACKGROUND: The relationship between ambient air pollution exposure and mortality of cardiovascular and cerebrovascular diseases in human is controversial, and there is little information about how exposures to ambient air pollution contribution to the mortality of cardiovascular and cerebrovascular diseases among Chinese. The aim of the present study was to examine whether exposure to ambient-air pollution increases the risk for cardiovascular and cerebrovascular disease. METHODOLOGY/PRINCIPAL FINDINGS: We conducted a retrospective cohort study among humans to examine the association between compound-air pollutants [particulate matter <10 µm in aerodynamic diameter (PM(10, sulfur dioxide (SO(2 and nitrogen dioxide (NO(2] and mortality in Shenyang, China, using 12 years of data (1998-2009. Also, stratified analysis by sex, age, education, and income was conducted for cardiovascular and cerebrovascular mortality. The results showed that an increase of 10 µg/m(3 in a year average concentration of PM(10 corresponds to 55% increase in the risk of a death cardiovascular disease (hazard ratio [HR], 1.55; 95% confidence interval [CI], 1.51 to 1.60 and 49% increase in cerebrovascular disease (HR, 1.49; 95% CI, 1.45 to 1.53, respectively. The corresponding figures of adjusted HR (95%CI for a 10 µg/m(3 increase in NO(2 was 2.46 (2.31 to 2.63 for cardiovascular mortality and 2.44 (2.27 to 2.62 for cerebrovascular mortality, respectively. The effects of air pollution were more evident in female that in male, and nonsmokers and residents with BMI<18.5 were more vulnerable to outdoor air pollution. CONCLUSION/SIGNIFICANCE: Long-term exposure to ambient air pollution is associated with the death of cardiovascular and cerebrovascular diseases among Chinese populations.

  9. Transcriptome Profiling of the Lungs Reveals Molecular Clock Genes Expression Changes after Chronic Exposure to Ambient Air Particles

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Pengcheng Song

    2017-01-01

    Full Text Available The symptoms of asthma, breathlessness, insomnia, etc. all have relevance to pulmonary rhythmic disturbances. Epidemiology and toxicology studies have demonstrated that exposure to ambient air particles can result in pulmonary dysfunction. However, there are no data directly supporting a link between air pollution and circadian rhythm disorder. In the present study, we found that breathing highly polluted air resulted in changes of the molecular clock genes expression in lung by transcriptome profiling analyses in a rodent model. Compared to those exposed to filtered air, in both pregnant and offspring rats in the unfiltered group, key clock genes (Per1, Per2, Per3, Rev-erbα and Dbp expression level decreased and Bmal1 expression level increased. In both rat dams and their offspring, after continuous exposure to unfiltered air, we observed significant histologic evidence for both perivascular and peribronchial inflammation, increased tissue and systemic oxidative stress in the lungs. Our results suggest that chronic exposure to particulate matter can induce alterations of clock genes expression, which could be another important pathway for explaining the feedbacks of ambient particle exposure in addition to oxidative stress and inflammation.

  10. Do US Ambient Air Lead Levels Have a Significant Impact on Childhood Blood Lead Levels: Results of a National Study

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    LuAnn L. Brink

    2013-01-01

    Full Text Available Introduction. Although lead paint and leaded gasoline have not been used in the US for thirty years, thousands of US children continue to have blood lead levels (BLLs of concern. Methods. We investigated the potential association of modeled air lead levels and BLLs ≥ 10 μg/dL using a large CDC database with BLLs on children aged 0–3 years. Percent of children with BLLs ≥ 10 μg/dL (2000–2007 by county and proportion of pre-50 housing and SES variables were merged with the US EPA's National Air Toxics Assessment (NATA modeled air lead data. Results. The proportion with BLL ≥ 10 μg/dL was 1.24% in the highest air lead counties, and the proportion with BLL ≥ 10 μg/dL was 0.36% in the lowest air lead counties, resulting in a crude prevalence ratio of 3.4. Further analysis using multivariate negative binomial regression revealed that NATA lead was a significant predictor of % BLL ≥ 10 μg/dL after controlling for percent pre-l950 housing, percent rural, and percent black. A geospatial regression revealed that air lead, percent older housing, and poverty were all significant predictors of % BLL ≥ 10 μg/dL. Conclusions. More emphasis should be given to potential sources of ambient air lead near residential areas.

  11. Quantifying Matter

    CERN Document Server

    Angelo, Joseph A

    2011-01-01

    Quantifying Matter explains how scientists learned to measure matter and quantify some of its most fascinating and useful properties. It presents many of the most important intellectual achievements and technical developments that led to the scientific interpretation of substance. Complete with full-color photographs, this exciting new volume describes the basic characteristics and properties of matter. Chapters include:. -Exploring the Nature of Matter. -The Origin of Matter. -The Search for Substance. -Quantifying Matter During the Scientific Revolution. -Understanding Matter's Electromagnet

  12. 77 FR 60087 - Approval and Promulgation of Air Quality Implementation Plans; West Virginia; The 2002 Base Year...

    Science.gov (United States)

    2012-10-02

    ... Promulgation of Air Quality Implementation Plans; West Virginia; The 2002 Base Year Inventory for the... proposing to approve the fine particulate matter (PM 2.5 ) 2002 base year emissions inventory portion of the... National Ambient Air Quality Standard (NAAQS) SIP. EPA is proposing to approve the 2002 base year PM 2.5...

  13. 76 FR 67484 - National Industrial Security Program Policy Advisory Committee (NISPPAC)

    Science.gov (United States)

    2011-11-01

    ... NATIONAL ARCHIVES AND RECORDS ADMINISTRATION Information Security Oversight Office National Industrial Security Program Policy Advisory Committee (NISPPAC) AGENCY: Information Security Oversight Office... made for the following committee meeting to discuss National Industrial Security Program policy matters...

  14. 76 FR 28099 - National Industrial Security Program Policy Advisory Committee (NISPPAC)

    Science.gov (United States)

    2011-05-13

    ... NATIONAL ARCHIVES AND RECORDS ADMINISTRATION Information Security Oversight Office National Industrial Security Program Policy Advisory Committee (NISPPAC) AGENCY: Information Security Oversight Office... made for the following committee meeting to discuss National Industrial Security Program policy matters...

  15. Ambijentalna muzika kao praksa popularne umetnosti / Ambient Music as Popular Art Practice

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Ivana Ančić

    2016-11-01

    Full Text Available This paper considers ambient music in a comparative perspective. Taking the 1950s as a mirror time axis, I suggest comparing Erik Satie’s ideas on Furniture music (1920s to Brian Eno’s notions of ambient music (1970s onwards. Satie is considered as the father of ambient music as he was among the first people aware of the interconnection of music and ambient sounds. Music that Brian Eno creates almost thirty years later has deep roots in Satie’s concept of implementation of ambiental music, which means that the music “should last and represent the environment” (Brian Eno, “Ambient Music”, 2014. Ambiental music’s theoretical foundations can be compared to American Minimalist and environmental art. Consideration of the audio perception phenomena is also very important for understanding and Adorno’s interpretation of the term regressive listening that will be explored later in this paper. This is an attempt to study the artistic side of ambient music, which has a wide scope of applications beyond the art sphere. In this respect, I will try to state the differences between ambient music as an art intermission in our everyday life and ambient music as a control device over human behavior.

  16. The association between ambient inhalable particulate matter and the disease burden of respiratory disease: An ecological study based on ten-year time series data in Tianjin, China.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Zeng, Qiang; Wu, Ziting; Jiang, Guohong; Wu, Xiaoyin; Li, Pei; Ni, Yang; Xiong, Xiuqin; Wang, Xinyan; Parasat; Li, Guoxing; Pan, Xiaochuan

    2017-08-01

    There is limited evidence available worldwide about the quantitative relationship between particulate matter with an aerodynamic diameter of less than 10µm (PM 10 ) and years of life lost (YLL) caused by respiratory diseases (RD), especially regarding long-term time series data. We investigated the quantitative exposure-response association between PM 10 and the disease burden of RD. We obtained the daily concentration of ambient pollutants (PM 10 , nitrogen dioxide and sulphur dioxide), temperature and relative humidity data, as well as the death monitoring data from 2001 to 2010 in Tianjin. Then, a time series database was built after the daily YLL of RD was calculated. We applied a generalized additive model (GAM) to estimate the burden of PM 10 on daily YLL of RD and to determine the effect (the increase of daily YLL) of every 10μg/m 3 increase in PM 10 on health. We found that every 10μg/m 3 increase in PM 10 was associated with the greatest increase in YLL of 0.84 (95% CI: 0.45, 1.23) years at a 2-day (current day and previous day, lag01) moving average PM 10 concentration for RD. The association between PM 10 and YLL was stronger in females and the elderly (≥65 years of age). The association between PM 10 and YLL of RD differed according to district. These findings also provide new epidemiological evidence for respiratory disease prevention. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  17. Dark Matter

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Einasto J.

    2011-06-01

    Full Text Available I give a review of the development of the concept of dark matter. The dark matter story passed through several stages from a minor observational puzzle to a major challenge for theory of elementary particles. Modern data suggest that dark matter is the dominant matter component in the Universe, and that it consists of some unknown non-baryonic particles. Dark matter is the dominant matter component in the Universe, thus properties of dark matter particles determine the structure of the cosmic web.

  18. A HERMENÊUTICA AMBIENTAL E A RESPONSABILIZAÇÃO PELO DANO MORAL AMBIENTAL OBJETIVO / THE ENVIRONMENTAL INTERPRETATION AND THE RESPONSABILITY FOR THE MORAL OBJECTIVE ENVIRONMENTAL DAMAGE

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Márcia Rodrigues Bertoldi

    2015-08-01

    Full Text Available Resumo: O princípio da responsabilidade impõe um imperativo moral, no sentido de que se deve agir de modo que os direitos estabelecidos sejam compatíveis com a permanência de uma autêntica vida humana na Terra. É com a intenção de atar firmemente a efetiva responsabilização pelo dano ambiental ao imperativo moral em seu viés preventivo e repressivo que este trabalho se põe em marcha. Os modos de vida humanos individuais e coletivos das sociedades ocidentais evoluem no sentido de uma progressiva deterioração do meio ambiente. É a relação da subjetividade com sua exterioridade que se encontra comprometida. Se não houver uma rearticulação dos três registros fundamentais da ecologia – subjetivo, social e ambiental –, podemos, infelizmente, pressagiar a escalada de todos os perigos que envolvem a sociedade atual. Em lugar da relação harmônica e sustentável com o meio ambiente, as sociedades de consumo introduziram a ideia da subjetividade que constrói o mundo que a circunda. A relação do sujeito com o mundo no qual se encontra deve ser sua principal preocupação. Para isso, torna-se imprescindível um envolvimento com a efetiva proteção do meio ambiente, caso se queira manter a vida na Terra para as presentes e futuras gerações. A implementação de uma hermenêutica jurídica eminentemente ambiental é o caminho jurídico para a efetiva proteção do chamado bem ambiental, considerando-se as especificidades do bem em comento. Na esteira dessa hermenêutica, o dano moral ambiental objetivo encontra respaldo, e o seu agente pode ser responsabilizado. Palavras-chave: Hermenêutica ambiental. Risco ambiental. Dano moral ambiental objetivo.

  19. Long-term exposure to ambient air pollution and incidence of brain tumor

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Andersen, Zorana J.; Pedersen, Marie; Weinmayr, Gudrun

    2018-01-01

    .5 absorbance (Hazard Ratio and 95% Confidence Interval: 1.67; 0.89-3.14 per 10 -5/m 3), and weak positive or null associations with the other pollutants. Hazard ratio for PM2.5 absorbance (1.01; 0.38-2.71 per 10 -5/m 3) and all other pollutants were lower for nonmalignant than for malignant brain tumors......Background: Epidemiological evidence on the association between ambient air pollution and brain tumor risk is sparse and inconsistent. Methods: In 12 cohorts from six European countries, individual estimates of annual mean air pollution levels at the baseline residence were estimated...... by standardized land-use regression models developed within the ESCAPE and TRANSPHORM projects: particulate matter (PM) ≤ 2.5, ≤ 10, and 2.5-10 μm in diameter (PM2.5, PM10, and PMcoarse), PM2.5 absorbance, nitrogen oxides (NO2 and NOx) and elemental composition of PM. We estimated cohort-specific associations...

  20. Galvanic manufacturing in the cities of Russia: potential source of ambient nanoparticles.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Kirill S Golokhvast

    Full Text Available Galvanic manufacturing is widely employed and can be found in nearly every average city in Russia. The release and accumulation of different metals (Me, depending on the technology used can be found in the vicinities of galvanic plants. Under the environmental protection act in Russia, the regulations for galvanic manufacturing do not include the regulations and safety standards for ambient ultrafine and nanosized particulate matter (PM. To assess whether Me nanoparticles (NP are among environmental pollutants caused by galvanic manufacturing, the level of Me NP were tested in urban snow samples collected around galvanic enterprises in two cities. Employing transmission electronic microscopy, energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy, and a laser diffraction particle size analyzer, we found that the size distribution of tested Me NP was within 10-120 nm range. This is the first study to report that Me NP of Fe, Cr, Pb, Al, Ni, Cu, and Zn were detected around galvanic shop settings.