Epidemiological evidence indicates that environmental air pollutants are positively associated with the development of chronic vascular disease; however, the mechanisms involved have not been fully elucidated. In the present study we examined molecular pathways associated with chronic vascular disease in atherosclerosis-prone apolipoprotein E-deficient (ApoE(-/-)) mice, including markers of vas...

The flow-field characteristics of high-temperature annular buoyant jets as well as the development laws influenced by ventilation system were studied using numerical methods to eliminate the pollutants effectively in this paper. The development laws of high-temperature annular buoyant jets were analyzed and compared with previous studies, including radial velocity distribution, axial velocity a...

OBJECTIVE Mechanisms of air pollution-induced exacerbation of cardiovascular disease are currently unknown, thus we examined the roles of vascular endothelin-1 (ET-1) and reactive oxygen species (ROS) in regulating mediators of vascular remodeling, namely matrix metalloproteinases (MMPs), after exposure to vehicle engine emissions. METHODS AND RESULTS ApoE(-/-) mice were exposed by inhalation...

BACKGROUND Epidemiological evidence demonstrates that exposure to traffic-derived pollution worsens respiratory symptoms in asthmatics, but controlled human exposure studies have failed to provide a mechanism for this effect. Here we investigated whether diesel exhaust (DE) would induce apoptosis or proliferation in the bronchial epithelium in vivo and thus contribute to respiratory symptoms. ...

Following the rapid economic growth after World War II, diseases associated with environmental pollution frequently occurred due to delayed implementation of countermeasures against environmental pollution. These diseases are exemplified by Minamata disease, Itai-itai disease, chronic arsenic poisoning, and Yokkaichi asthma. After multiple episodes of these pollution-related diseases were exper...

Transportation is second only to industrial use as the largest consumer of energy in the US and accounts for about 60% of our nation’s use of petroleum—an amount equivalent to all of the oil the country imports. The numbers are staggering: Some 10 000 gallons of petroleum are burned in the US each second of every day. Although new energy sources are being developed and renewable fuels are emerg...

Different optical techniques were applied to describe the thermal and chemical processes that occur in a SI small engine from the ported fuel injection and in-cylinder mixture formation to the combustion process and the exhaust emission. In PFI SI engines, the atomized fuel is sprayed towards the intake valves, where it may evaporate, puddle or rebound. Furthermore, a portion of the fuel may fl...

Compressed natural gas (CNG) is a substitution of alternative fuel for automotive application with significant environmental advantages as it is the only fuel cheaper than gasoline or diesel, comparatively lower air pollution emissions, lesser CO2 emissions. However, emission of methane is 40% more in CNG fuelled engines compared to gasoline and diesel. With the exponential growth in CNG fuelle...

Cytotoxic T lymphocytes and natural killer (NK) cells represent two major types of immune cytotoxic cells that have a crucial role in innate immunity. Urban air pollution represents a common and difficult problem in the majority of metropolises, which contain high levels of traffic congestion generating great amounts of genotoxic substances. Diesel exhaust particles act as adjuvant in the immun...

In recent years more and more focus has been placed on the environmental aspects of ships, because of the great attention to exhaust gas emissions from ships including CO2, a leading contributor to Green House Gasses (GHG) emissions, due to their negative effect on global warming. Maritime transport has clear environmental advantages: it expends relatively little energy and its infrastructure r...