BACKGROUND Fine particulate matter (PM) air pollution is associated with numerous adverse health effects, including increased blood pressure (BP) and vascular dysfunction. Coarse PM substantially contributes to global air pollution, yet differs in characteristics from fine particles and is currently not regulated. However, the cardiovascular (CV) impacts of coarse PM exposure remain largely unk...

BACKGROUND Low birth weight (LBW, <2500 g) has been associated with exposure to air pollution, but it is still unclear which sources or components of air pollution might be in play. The association between ultrafine particles and LBW has never been studied. OBJECTIVES To study the relationships between LBW in term born infants and exposure to particles by size fraction, source and chemical co...

Two types of electron microscopy analyses were employed along with geographic information system (GIS) mapping to investigate potential sources of PM2.5 and PM10 (airborne particulate matter smaller than 2.5 and 10 μm, respectively) in two urbanized desert areas known to exhibit PM excursions. Integrated spectral imaging maps were obtained from scanning electron microscopy/energy-dispersive X-r...

Mass size distributions of ambient aerosol were measured in Zabrze, a heavily industrialized city of Poland, during a summer and a winter season. The chemical analyses of the surface layer of PM(10), PM(2.5) and PM(1) in this area were also performed by X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS). Results suggested that the influence of an atmospheric aerosol on the health condition of Zabrze reside...

Environmental pollutants, including ambient particulate matter (PM), increase respiratory morbidity. Studies of model PM particles, including residual oil fly ash and freshly generated diesel exhaust particles, have demonstrated that PM affects inflammatory airway responses. Neither of these particles completely represents ambient PM, and therefore questions remain about ambient particulates. W...

BACKGROUND The relationship of fine particulate matter < 2.5 microm in diameter (PM(2.5)) air pollution with mortality and cardiovascular disease is well established, with more recent long-term studies reporting larger effect sizes than earlier long-term studies. Some studies have suggested the coarse fraction, particles between 2.5 and 10 microm (PM(10-2.5)), may also be important. With respec...

Pyrethroids are commonly used insecticides in both agricultural and urban environments. Recent studies showed that surface runoff facilitated transport of pyrethroids to surface streams, probably by sediment movement. Sediment contamination by pyrethroids is of concern due to their wide-spectrum aquatic toxicity. In this study, we characterized the spatial distribution and persistence of bifent...

since individuals spend the majority of their times indoors, fine particles generated in indoor combustion processes and by resuspension are important for health effects assessment. the nature and magnitude of indoor particle exposures can change rapidly because of the rapid changes in activities and sources. indoor pm 2.5 concentrations were measured in indoor office, café, and home where peop...

Underground railway stations are known to have elevated particulate matter (PM) loads compared to ambient air. As these particles are derived from metal-rich sources and transition metals may pose a risk to health by virtue of their ability to catalyze generation of reactive oxygen species (ROS), their potential enrichment in underground environments is a source of concern. Compared to coarse (...

RATIONALE Acute and chronic exposures to airborne particulate matter (PM) have been linked in epidemiological studies to a wide spectrum of cardiovascular disorders that are characterized by a dysfunctional endothelium. The pathophysiological mechanisms underlying these associations are unclear. OBJECTIVE To examine whether exposure to fine PM with an aerodynamic diameter of <2.5 microm (PM(2...