Air pollution and its relationship to lung function among adolescents from Taubate, São Paulo, Brazil

Background: This paper sought to evaluate individual exposure to air pollution by quantifying the carbon in alveolar macrophages (AMs) and its relationship to lung function. We also examined the proximity of participants' residences to the Presidente Dutra highway (PDH) in adolescents with asthma from Taubaté, São Paulo, Brazil. Methods: This descriptive study examined fifty 13- to 14-year-old adolescents with asthma identified by the International Study of Asthma and Allergies in Childhood (ISAAC) in Taubaté. These adolescents underwent spirometry and sputum induction via the inhalation of 3% hypertonic saline (HSS). Sputum was collected after each nebulisation, and forced expiratory flow in one second (FEV1) was measured. The collected sputum was stored and transported to the laboratory; it was then processed and analysed for ultrafine particles (≤100 nm). This analysis was correlated with the residence location and FEV1 of each adolescent. Results: A total of 39 adolescents completed the study. The comparison of the carbon fraction within macrophages (CA/MA) showed no differences according to residence in relation to the PDH (p=0.758). After adjustment, a mixed linear model with FEV1 as the dependent variable and CA/MA, location, and evaluation condition as the predictors found that the interactions among the variables were not significant. Conclusions:T he amount of carbon present within the AMs of adolescents with asthma was not correlated with either lung function or residence location. Evaluations of the topograghy and local climatic conditions in Taubaté should be considered in future studies (AU)

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Proinflammatory effects of diesel exhaust nanoparticles on scleroderma skin cells.

Autoimmune diseases are complex disorders of unknown etiology thought to result from interactions between genetic and environmental factors. We aimed to verify whether environmental pollution from diesel engine exhaust nanoparticulate (DEP) of actually operating vehicles could play a role in the development of a rare immune-mediated disease, systemic sclerosis (SSc), in which the pathogenetic role of environment has been highlighted. The effects of carbon-based nanoparticulate collected at the exhaust of newer (Euro 5) and older (Euro 4) diesel engines on SSc skin keratinocytes and fibroblasts were evaluated in vitro by assessing the mRNA expression of inflammatory cytokines (IL-1 α , IL-6, IL-8, and TNF-α) and fibroblast chemical mediators (metalloproteases 2, 3, 7, 9, and 12; collagen types I and III; VEGF). DEP was shown to stimulate cytokine gene expression at a higher extent in SSc keratinocytes versus normal cells. Moreover, the mRNA gene expression of all MMPs, collagen types, and VEGF genes was significantly higher in untreated SSc fibroblasts versus controls. Euro 5 particle exposure increased the mRNA expression of MMP-2, -7, and -9 in SSc fibroblasts in a dose dependent manner and only at the highest concentration in normal cells. We suggest that environmental DEP could trigger the development of SSc acting on genetically hyperreactive cell systems.

Removal of black carbon particles from experimental flue gas by surfactant solution in a new type of umbrella plate scrubber.

Black carbon (BC) particles were removed from experimental flue gas by the surfactant solutions of sodium dodecylbenzene sulfonate (SDBS), hexadecyl trimethyl ammonium bromide (CTAB), fatty alcohol polyoxyethylene ether-9 (AEO-9) and polyoxy ethrlene nonyl phinyl ether-10 (TX-10), as well as AEO-9-SDBS, AEO-9-CTAB and SDBS-CTAB, in a new type of umbrella plate scrubber. Among the four independent surfactants, AEO-9 has the lowest surface tension, 35.9 mN/m, which resulted in the highest BC removal ratio among the alone surfactants. The experimental conditions were as follows: dust concentration = 3000 mg/m3; gas velocity = 14 m/s; liquid-gas ratio = 0.80 l/m3; and gas flow = 400 m3/h. When the mole ratio of the mixed surfactants was 1:1, the lowest surface tension could be detected among the studied mixed surfactants. According to the molecular interaction parameters (beta) and the mole ratio of surfactant 1 in the mixture (x1), the synergistic effects of AEO-9-SDBS and SDBS-CTAB solutions were obviously higher than those of AEO-9-TX-10 and AEO-9-CTAB. Therefore, AEO-9-SDBS solution had the lowest surface tension among the mixtures due to its beta < 0 and x1 = 0.85. The mixture solution of AEO-9-SDBS (1:1 mole ratio, 0.2 mmol/l) yielded the highest BC removal ratio, about 99.8%, and it was about 12% higher than that of only water, which was about 87.9%. The calculated critical micelle concentration was almost the same as that of the experimental concentration when the related equation was corrected by beta.

Adsorption mechanism of sodium dodecyl benzene sulfonate on carbon blacks by adsorption isotherm and zeta potential determinations.

Surfactant solutions were propounded to remove fine and hydrophobic carbon black particles from coal-fired flue gas. The adsorption mechanisms between sodium dodecyl benzene sulfonate (SDBS, an anionic surfactant) and carbon black particles in suspension were investigated. The influence of inorganic salt (NaCl) was also considered. As results showed, hydrophobic interactions contributed to the strong adsorption between SDBS and carbon black particles in the absence of NaCl, and adding NaCl affected the adsorption process. The adsorption amount of SDBS significantly increased when NaCl was added into the SDBS solution; however, when SDBS was in low concentration, the amount of adsorbed SDBS, which was responsible for the shift of zeta potentials, varied little under different concentrations of NaCl. This indicated that the adsorption of SDBS was mainly caused by hydrophobic interaction and Na+ could not change the adsorption of SDBS on adsorption site when SDBS was in low concentration. Moreover, the adsorbed SDBS and Na+ were retained in the Stern layer.

Dissolved black carbon in grassland streams: is there an effect of recent fire history?

While the existence of black carbon as part of dissolved organic matter (DOM) has been confirmed, quantitative determinations of dissolved black carbon (DBC) in freshwater ecosystem and information on factors controlling its concentration are scarce. In this study, stream surface water samples from a series of watersheds subject to different burn frequencies in Konza Prairie (Kansas, USA) were collected in order to determine if recent fire history has a noticeable effect on DBC concentration. The DBC levels detected ranged from 0.04 to 0.11 mg L(-1), accounting for ca. 3.32±0.51% of dissolved organic carbon (DOC). No correlation was found between DBC concentration and neither fire frequency nor time since last burn. We suggest that limited DBC flux is related to high burning efficiency, possibly greater export during periods of high discharge and/or the continuous export of DBC over long time scales. A linear correlation between DOC and DBC concentrations was observed, suggesting the export mechanisms determining DOC and DBC concentrations are likely coupled. The potential influence of fire history was less than the influence of other factors controlling the DOC and DBC dynamics in this ecosystem. Assuming similar conditions and processes apply in grasslands elsewhere, extrapolation to a global scale would suggest a global grasslands flux of DBC on the order of 0.14 Mt carbon year(-1).

Removal of carbon black particles from polymer substrates in water/ethanol mixtures.

The removal of the carbon black (CB) particles from the polymer substrates was investigated in water/ethanol mixtures. As substrates, the films and the fibrous assemblies of polyethylene, nylon 6 and cellulose acetate were used. The ultrasonic wave was applied as a mechanical action for cleaning. The detergency of the CB particles for the films and the fibrous assemblies was assessed with the quartz crystal microbalance (QCM) technique and the reflectometry, respectively. The detergency for the films was discussed with the wetting force calculated from the experimentally determined contact angle on the substrate and surface tension of the water/ethanol mixture.

Effects of native organic material and water on sorption properties of reference diesel soot.

Soot has been considered as a potentially important sorbent for organic contaminants in soils, sediments, and aerosols. This paper demonstrates that native (authigenic) extractable organic material (EOM) and surface-covering water on soot may have a substantial influence on sorption properties of the soot. Sorption isotherms were determined for apolar and weakly polar sorbates (n-octane, cyclooctane, n-propylbenzene, naphthalene) from an aqueous solution to a standard reference material of diesel soot (SRM 2975) in the original state and after extraction with methanol. For all sorbates tested, removal of EOM from soot by methanol caused the sorption isotherms to be more nonlinear (decrease of Freundlich exponents by 0.19-0.25) compared to the untreated soot. The changes in the isotherms depend on both sorbate structure and sorbate concentration and can be accounted for by two opposing roles that EOM could have on the sorption properties of soot (i) enhancing the overall sorption by absorbing the sorbate into the EOM phase, and (ii) attenuating the sorbate adsorption to the soot carbon surface through sorption competition or site blockage. The n-alkane-to-cycloalkane sorption coefficient ratios (Kn/Kc) indicated that the removal of EOM altered the sorption mode for alkanes from absorption to adsorption. A comparison of the sorption isotherms measured in aqueous suspensions with the soot-air sorption coefficients reported for SRM 2975 in the literature showed that sorption to "soot in water" is significantly weaker than sorption to "soot in air", indicating that complete surface coverage with water suppresses the sorption by soot.

Isolation and quantitative estimation of diesel exhaust and carbon black particles ingested by lung epithelial cells and alveolar macrophages in vitro.

A new procedure for isolating and estimating ingested carbonaceous diesel exhaust particles (DEP) or carbon black (CB) particles by lung epithelial cells and macrophages is described. Cells were incubated with DEP or CB to examine cell-particle interaction and ingestion. After various incubation periods, the cells were separated from free extracellular DEP or CB particles by Ficoll density gradient centrifugation and dissolved in hot sodium dodecyl sulfate detergent. Insoluble DEP or CB residues were isolated by high-speed centrifugation, and the elemental carbon (EC) concentrations in the pellets were estimated by a thermal-optical-transmittance method (i.e., carbon analysis). From the EC concentration, the amount of ingested DEP or CB could be calculated. The described technique allowed the determination of the kinetics and dose dependence of DEP uptake by LA4 lung epithelial cells and MHS alveolar macrophages. Both cell types ingested DEP to a similar degree; however, the MHS macrophages took up significantly more CB than the epithelial cells. Cytochalasin D, an agent that blocks actin polymerization in the cells, inhibited approximately 80% of DEP uptake by both cell types, indicating that the process was actin-dependent in a manner similar to phagocytosis. This technique can be applied to examine the interactions between cells and particles containing EC and to study the modulation of particle uptake in diseased tissue.