BACKGROUND Airborne particles entering the respiratory tract may interact with the apical plasma membrane (APM) of epithelial cells and enter them. Differences in the entering mechanisms of fine (between 0.1 microm and 2.5 microm) and ultrafine ( <or= 0.1 microm) particles may be associated with different effects on the APM. Therefore, we studied particle-induced changes in APM surface area in ...

Monitoring of aerosol particle concentrations (PM(10), PM(2.5), PM(1)) and chemical analysis (PM(10)) was undertaken at a major European airport (El Prat, Barcelona) for a whole month during autumn 2007. Concentrations of airborne PM at the airport were close to those at road traffic hotspots in the nearby Barcelona city, with means measuring 48 microg PM(10)/m(3), 21 microg PM(2.5)/m(3) and 17...

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...

The particulate matter 2.5 (PM2.5) is a serious air-pollutant emission in China, which has caused serious risks to public health. To reduce the pollution and corresponding public mortality, this paper proposes a method by incorporating slacks-based data envelopment analysis (DEA) and an integrated exposure risk (IER) model. By identifying the relationship between the PM2.5 concentration and mor...

This report documents results of a 10-month first phase of a study to characterize urban and rural particulate matter. The three main purposes of the study are 1) to assess the effects of street sweeping on urban air quality, 2) to measure and compare total and inhalable mass concentrations in a rural area, and 3) to determine the sources of urban and rural particulate matter and their relative...

An analysis was made of solid particulate matter suspended in the air in the city of Cordoba. Particles greater than 10 micra were collected using volumetric particle samplers (Lanzoni VPPS 2000, Bologna, Italy), and analysed by means of aerobiological methods enabling identification of the source of biological particulate material (BPM). Particles smaller than 10 micra were collected using aut...

The release of molecules adsorbed on the surfaces of amorphous carbon blacks has been studied using liquid-solid chromatography. Adsorbate molecules, adsorbents, and mobile phases were selected on the basis of their relevance as models for the release of toxic agents adsorbed on inhalable environmental particulate matter that originates from the incomplete combustion of organic materials. The p...

CONTEXT Aggregate blood lead testing data for Wisconsin children younger than age 6 exhibit seasonal trends in both average blood lead levels and in the percent of those tested and found to have blood lead levels in excess of the 10 mcg/dL threshold for poisoning. Blood lead levels and poisoning rates typically peak during the late summer and early fall months, and are at their minimum during t...