An improved model representation of mineral dust cycle is critical to reducing the uncertainty of dust-induced environmental and climatic impact. Here we present a mesoscale model study of the seasonal dust activity in the semiarid drylands of Central Asia, focusing on the effects of wind speed, soil moisture, surface roughness heterogeneity, and vegetation phenology on the threshold friction v...

Exposure to Portland cement dust has long been associated with the prevalence of respiratory symptoms and varying degrees of airway obstruction in man. Apart from respiratory diseases, it was also found to be the cause of lung and laryngeal cancer, gastrointestinal tumours and also dermatitis. This study was done to investigate the effect of dust exposure on ventilatory lung function of Portlan...

Transports of bacteria in the atmosphere relate to climate and global hydrological cycles by acting as nuclei of ice-cloud formation, and affect the ecosystems and public health in the downwind ecosystems. Here we present quantitative investigations of airborne bacterial cells coupled with LIVE/DEAD BacLight assay in southwestern Japan to show that airborne bacteria were widespread with Asian d...

The measurements of cosmic interplanetary dust by the instruments on board the Pioneer 10 and 11 spacecraft contain the dynamical signature of dust generated by Edgeworth-Kuiper Belt objects, as well as short period Oort Cloud comets and short period Jupiter family comets. While the dust concentration detected between Jupiter and Saturn is mainly due to the cometary components , the dust outsid...

Occupational exposures to wood dust have been associated with an elevated risk of sinonasal cancer (SNC). Wood dust is recognized as a human carcinogen but the specific cancer causative agent remains unknown. One possible explanation is a co-exposure to; wood dust and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs). PAHs could be generated during incomplete combustion of wood due to heat created by use...

To reduce maintenance workers’ dose rate caused by activated dust adhering to the ITER blanket remote handling system (BRHS), dust must be removed from BRHS surfaces. Dust that adheres to the top surface of the BRHS rail from cyclic loading of the vehicle manipulator is considered to be the most difficult dust to remove. Dust removal experiments were conducted to simulate the materials, conditi...

New axisymmetric (2D) models for dust-driven winds of C-stars are presented which include hydrodynamics with radiation pressure on dust, equilibrium chemistry and time-dependent dust formation with coupled grey Monte Carlo radiative transfer. Considering the most simple case without stellar pulsation (hydrostatic inner boundary condition) these models reveal a more complex picture of the dust f...

Dust storms in northern China strongly affect the living and health of people there and the dusts could travel a full circle of the globe in a short time. Historically, more frequent dust storms occurred during cool periods, particularly the Little Ice Age (LIA), generally attributed to the strengthened Siberian High. However, limited by chronological uncertainties in proxy records, this mechan...

PURPOSE To survey the species diversity of home dust mites (HDM) in Xishuangbanna, a tropical rainforest region in Southwest China. METHODS From August 2010 to January 2011, mite-allergic patients and healthy controls were invited to participate. Dust samples from the patients' homes were collected, and mites in the samples were isolated. Permanent slides were prepared for morphologically bas...