We evaluated the association between mortality outcomes in elderly individuals and particulate matter (PM) of varying aerodynamic diameters (in micrometers) [PM(10), PM(2.5), and PM(CF )(PM(10) minus PM(2.5))], and selected particulate and gaseous phase pollutants in Phoenix, Arizona, using 3 years of daily data (1995-1997). Although source apportionment and epidemiologic methods have been prev...

OBJECTIVES A previous study of the short term effects of air pollution in London from April 1987 to March 1992 found associations between all cause mortality and black smoke and ozone, but no clear evidence of specificity for cardiorespiratory deaths. London data from 1992 to 1994 were analysed to examine the consistency of results over time and to include particles with a mean aerodynamic diam...

We present a new method for vapor deposition of columnar ZnO structures in the form of rods on various substrates without the need for substrate modification with catalyst seed particles and at relatively low temperatures compared to other vapor deposition methods. These structures are used for the photodegradation of stearic acid (C18H36O2) and the photoactivated detection of gases such as car...

Heating of a ruthenium surface on which carbon monoxide and atomic oxygen are coadsorbed leads exclusively to desorption of carbon monoxide. In contrast, excitation with femtosecond infrared laser pulses enables also the formation of carbon dioxide. The desorption is caused by coupling of the adsorbate to the phonon bath of the ruthenium substrate, whereas the oxidation reaction is initiated by...

A combinatorial high-throughput temperature-programmed method to obtain the optimal operating temperature (OOT) of gas sensor materials is demonstrated here for the first time. A material library consisting of SnO2, ZnO, WO3, and In2O3 sensor films was fabricated by screen printing. Temperature-dependent conductivity curves were obtained by scanning this gas sensor library from 300 to 700 K in ...

In urban areas, emissions of air pollutants by anthropogenic processes such as traffic, industry, power plants and domestic heating systems are the main sources of pollution (Fenger, 1999). The massive growth in road traffic and in the use of fossil fuels during the last decades has changed the composition of urban air, increasing the frequency of pollution episodes and the number of cities exp...

Inflammation is highly prevalent among peritoneal dialysis (PD) patients. High-sensitivity C-reactive protein (hs-CRP) is the most widely used inflammatory marker in clinical medicine and is correlated with mortality in PD patients. Air pollution is associated with systemic inflammation. The aim of this cross-sectional study was to assess the role of air pollutants and other clinical variables ...