Air quality on UK diesel and hybrid trains.

Concentrations of particulate matter (PM10, PM2.5), ultrafine (UFP), particle number (PNC), black carbon (BC), nitrogen dioxide (NO2) and nitrogen oxides (NOX) were measured in train carriages on diesel and bi-mode trains on inter-city and long-distance journeys in the United Kingdom (UK) using a high-quality mobile measurement system. Air quality on 15 different routes was measured using highly-time resolved data on a total of 119 journeys during three campaigns in winter 2020 and summer 2021; this included 13 different train classes. Each journey was sampled 4-10 times with approximatively 11,000 min of in-train concentrations in total. Mean-journey concentrations were 7.552 µg m-3 (PM10); 3.936 µg m-3 (PM2.5); 333-11,300 # cm-3 (PNC); 225-9,131 # cm-3 (UFP); 0.6-11 µg m-3 (BC); 28-201 µg m-3 (NO2); and 130-3,456 µg m-3 (NOX). The impact of different factors on in-train concentrations was evaluated. The presence of tunnels was the factor with the largest impact on the in-train particle concentrations with enhancements by a factor of 40 greater than baseline for BC, and a factor 6 to 7 for PM and PNC. The engine fuel mode was the factor with the largest impact on NO2 with enhancements of up to 14-times larger when the train run on diesel compared to the times running on electric on hybrid trains. Train classes with an age < 10 years observed the lowest in-train PM, BC and NOX concentrations reflecting improvements in aspects of rail technology in recent years. Air quality on UK diesel trains is higher than ambient concentrations but has lower PM2.5 and PNC than most other transport modes, including subway systems, diesel and petrol cars. This paper adds significantly to the evidence on exposure to poor air quality in transport micro-environments and provides the industry and regulatory bodies with reference-grade measurements on which to establish in-train air quality guidelines.

The pericapsular nerve group block, a highly selective blockage for intracapsular hip fractures: A case series.

Hip fracture is a very frequent clinical situation in the elderly and frail patient. The Pericapsular Nerve Group (PENG) has emerged as a highly selective block for the intracapsular hip fractures. We describe 44 patients with intracapsular hip fractures who underwent a PENG block in addition to spinal anaesthesia with. The main objective was to assess post-surgical pain control at the recovery room and after 24 h. Also, we considered the need for first of second analgesic rescue during the first 24 h after surgery. Only 10 patients presented mild pain at the recovery room. Up to 30 of them had pain after 24 h. However, 25 of these patients reported having mild pain. Only 9 patients required analgesic rescue for postoperative pain control. In conclusion, PENG block is a locoregional technique that allows good postoperative pain control and low opioid consumption during the postoperative period of intracapsular hip fractures.

Associations between short-term exposure to airborne carbonaceous particles and mortality: A time-series study in London during 2010-2019.

Exposure to ambient particulate matter (PM) has been identified as a major global health concern; however, the importance of specific chemical PM components remains uncertain. Recent studies have suggested that carbonaceous aerosols are important detrimental components of the particle mixture. Using time-series methods, we investigated associations between short-term exposure to carbonaceous particles and mortality in London, UK. Daily counts of non-accidental, respiratory, and cardiovascular deaths were obtained between 2010 and 2019. For the same period, daily concentrations of carbonaceous particles: organic (OC), elemental (EC), wood-burning (WC), total carbon (TC) and equivalent black carbon (eBC) were sourced from two centrally located monitoring sites (one urban-traffic and one urban-background). Generalized additive models were used to estimate the percentage change in mortality risk associated with interquartile range increases in particulate concentrations. Lagged effects up to 3 days were examined. Stratified analyses were conducted by age, sex, and season, separate analyses were also performed by site-type. For non-accidental mortality, positive associations were observed for all particle species at lag1, including statistically significant percentage risk changes in WC (0.51% (95%CI: 0.19%, 0.82%) per IQR (0.68µg/m3)) and OC (0.45% (95%CI: 0.04%, 0.87% per IQR (2.36µg/m3)). For respiratory deaths, associations were greatest for particulate concentrations averaged over the current and previous 3 days, with increases in risk of 1.70% (95%CI: 0.64%, 2.77%) for WC and 1.31% (95%CI: -0.08%, 2.71%) for OC. No associations were found with cardiovascular mortality. Results were robust to adjustment for particle mass concentrations. Stratified analyses suggested particulate effects were greatest in the summer and respiratory associations more pronounced in females. Our findings are supportive of an association between carbonaceous particles and non-accidental and respiratory mortality. The strongest evidence of an effect was for WC; this is of significance given the rising popularity of wood-burning for residential space heating and energy production across Europe.

Variability of ambient air ammonia in urban Europe (Finland, France, Italy, Spain, and the UK).

This study addressed the scarcity of NH3 measurements in urban Europe and the diverse monitoring protocols, hindering direct data comparison. Sixty-nine datasets from Finland, France, Italy, Spain, and the UK across various site types, including industrial (IND, 8), traffic (TR, 12), urban (UB, 22), suburban (SUB, 12), and regional background (RB, 15), are analyzed to this study. Among these, 26 sites provided 5, or more, years of data for time series analysis. Despite varied protocols, necessitating future harmonization, the average NH3 concentration across sites reached 8.0 ± 8.9 µg/m3. Excluding farming/agricultural hotspots (FAHs), IND and TR sites had the highest concentrations (4.7 ± 3.2 and 4.5 ± 1.0 µg/m3), followed by UB, SUB, and RB sites (3.3 ± 1.5, 2.7 ± 1.3, and 1.0 ± 0.3 µg/m3, respectively) indicating that industrial, traffic, and other urban sources were primary contributors to NH3 outside FAH regions. When referring exclusively to the FAHs, concentrations ranged from 10.0 ± 2.3 to 15.6 ± 17.2 µg/m3, with the highest concentrations being reached in RB sites close to the farming and agricultural sources, and that, on average for FAHs there is a decreasing NH3 concentration gradient towards the city. Time trends showed that over half of the sites (18/26) observed statistically significant trends. Approximately 50 % of UB and TR sites showed a decreasing trend, while 30 % an increasing one. Meta-analysis revealed a small insignificant decreasing trend for non-FAH RB sites. In FAHs, there was a significant upward trend at a rate of 3.51[0.45,6.57]%/yr. Seasonal patterns of NH3 concentrations varied, with urban areas experiencing fluctuations influenced by surrounding emissions, particularly in FAHs. Diel variation showed differing patterns at urban monitoring sites, all with higher daytime concentrations, but with variations in peak times depending on major emission sources and meteorological patterns. These results offer valuable insights into the spatio-temporal patterns of gas-phase NH3 concentrations in urban Europe, contributing to future efforts in benchmarking NH3 pollution control in urban areas.