Oxidative properties of ambient PM2.5 and elemental composition: Heterogeneous associations in 19 European cities

We assessed the extent to which constituents of PM_2.5 (transition metals, sodium, chloride) contribute to the ability to generate hydroxyl radicals (OH) in vitro in PM_2.5 sampled at 20 locations in 19 European centres participating in the European Community Respiratory Health Survey. PM_2.5 samples (n = 716) were collected on filters over one year and the oxidative activity of particle suspensions obtained from these filters was then assessed by measuring their ability to generate OH in the presence of hydrogen peroxide. Associations between OH formation and the studied PM constituents were heterogeneous. The total explained variance ranged from 85% in Norwich to only 6% in Albacete. Among the 20 centres, 15 showed positive correlations between one or more of the measured transition metals (copper, iron, manganese, lead, vanadium and titanium) and OH formation. In 9 of 20 centres OH formation was negatively associated with chloride, and in 3 centres with sodium. Across 19 European cities, elements which explained the largest variations in OH formation were chloride, iron and sodium.     

腐殖酸、细颗粒泥沙对粉末活性炭吸附苯酚特性影响的研究

通过一系列实验,探讨了粉末活性炭吸附水中苯酚时,腐殖酸(HA)浓度和细颗粒泥沙用量对苯酚吸附量和去除率的影响.实验结果表明:在中性条件下,随着HA浓度的增加,粉末活性炭对苯酚的吸附量减少;在不同质量细颗粒泥沙的影响下,苯酚的去除率基本不变;在未加HA时,粉末活性炭对苯酚的吸附行为用Langmuir吸附等温式拟合效果最好,对苯酚的最大吸附量为150.60 mg/g,而在有HA存在时,粉末活性炭对苯酚的吸附行为用Freundlich吸附等温式拟合效果最好,对苯酚的最大吸附量为28.49 mg/g.     

Spatiotemporal trends of PM2.5 and its major chemical components at urban sites in Canada

To evaluate the effectiveness of emission control regulations designed for reducing air pollution, chemically resolved PM_2.5 data have been collected across Canada through the National Air Pollution Surveillance network in the past decade. 24-hr time integrated PM_2.5 collected at seven urban and two rural sites during 2010-2016 were analyzed to characterize geographical and seasonal patterns and associated potential causes. Site-specific seven-year mean gravimetric PM_2.5 mass concentrations ranged from 5.7 to 9.6 µg/m³. Seven-year mean concentrations of SO₄^2?, NO₃^?, NH₄⁺, organic carbon (OC), and elemental carbon (EC) were in the range of 0.68 to 1.6, 0.21 to 1.5, 0.27 to 0.71, 1.1 to 1.9, and 0.37 to 0.71 µg /m³, accounting for 10.8%-18.1%, 3.7%-16.7%, 4.7%-7.4%, 18.4%-21.0%, and 6.4%-10.6%, respectively, of gravimetric PM_2.5 mass. PM_2.5 and its five major chemical components showed higher concentrations in southeastern Canada and lower values in Atlantic Canada, with the seven-year mean ratios between the two regions being on the order of 1.7 for PM_2.5 and 1.8-7.1 for its chemical components. When comparing the concentrations between urban and rural sites within the same region, those of SO₄^2? and NH₄⁺ were comparable, while those of NO₃^?, OC, and EC were around 20%, 40%-50%, and 70%-80%, respectively, higher at urban than rural sites, indicating the regional scale impacts of SO₄^2? and NH₄⁺ and effects of local sources on OC and EC. Monthly variations generally showed summertime peaks for SO₄^2? and wintertime peaks for NO₃^?, but those of NH₄⁺, OC, and EC exhibited different seasonality at different locations.     

An integrative analysis of miRNA and mRNA expression in the brains of Alzheimer's disease transgenic mice after real-world PM2.5 exposure

Fine particulatematter (PM2.5) is associated with increased risks of Alzheimer’s disease (AD),yet the toxicologicalmechanisms of PM2.5 promoting AD remain unclear. In this study,wildtype and APP/PS1 transgenic mice (AD mice) were exposed to either filtered air (FA) or PM2.5 for eight weeks with a real-world exposure system in Taiyuan, China (mean PM2.5 concentration in the cage was 61 μg/m3). We found that PM2.5 exposure could remarkably aggravate AD mice’s ethological and brain ultrastructural damage, along with the elevation of the pro-inflammatory cytokines (IL-6 and TNF-α), Aβ-42 and AChE levels and the decline of ChAT levels in the brains. Based on high-throughput sequencing results, some differentially expressed (DE) mRNAs and DE miRNAs in the brains of AD mice after PM2.5 exposure were screened.Using RT-qPCR, seven DEmiRNAs (mmu-miR-193b-5p, 122b-5p, 466h-3p, 10b-5p, 1895, 384–5p, and 6412) and six genes (Pcdhgb8, Unc13b, Robo3, Prph, Pter, and Tbata) were evidenced the and verified. Two miRNA-target gene pairs (miR-125b-Pcdhgb8 pair and miR-466h-3p-IL-17Rα/TGF-βR2/Aβ-42/AChE pairs) were demonstrated that they were more related to PM2.5-induced brain injury. Results of Gene Ontology (GO) pathways and Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes (KEGG) pathways predicted that synaptic and postsynaptic regulation, axon guidance, Wnt, MAPK, and mTOR pathways might be the possible regulatory mechanisms associated with pathological response. These revealed that PM2.5- elevated pro-inflammatory cytokine levels and PM2.5-altered neurotransmitter levels in AD mice could be the important causes of brain damage and proposed the promising miRNA andmRNA biomarkers and potentialmiRNA-mRNA interaction networks of PM2.5-promoted AD.     

大气微小颗粒物中汞的污染特性初步研究

采用分级采样器采集大气中微小颗粒物中的汞,用冷原子吸收测汞仪分析。结果表明,颗粒态汞浓度随粒径分布呈双峰型,2个峰值分别出现在粒径1.0μm和4.0μm左右,与水溶性离子,碳含量的粒径分布基本一致。PM_(1.6)、PM_(8)和TSP中颗粒态汞的浓度分别为0.150、0.273、0.429ng/m~3,汞的质量分数分别为3.75.1.09、1.07μg/g,高于背景参考值;结果还表明,颗粒态汞主要集中在细颗粒中。通过正态概率分布测算,PM_(1.6)、PM_(6)中汞主要来自于1个主体源;PM_(1.6)中汞的浓度与硫酸根离子呈显著性相关,而与硝酸根离子、氯离子则不显著相关:说明颗粒物中汞的主要来源可能与燃煤有关。     

牛仔布印染污泥组成特征及资源化途径分析

采用浸出-焙烧-化学分析和显微镜观察等手段查明了牛仔布印染污泥主要由纤维碎和浮石矿物组成。分析了牛仔布印染污泥的浸出物特性及模拟渗滤液的组成。渗滤液含Zn、Pb、Cr等重金属,AS、P和NH3-N超过地表水环境质量Ⅳ类水标准,简易填埋会对环境造成二次污染。分析提出了该类污泥的资源化途径,可用作吸附剂、水泥、轻质陶粒和岩棉的原料。     

精细化工固定源废气采样时机的选择探讨

以某医药企业某产品生产过程为实例,综合各工段生产步骤、时间、废气产生情况及估算的污染物浓度等因素,绘制各污染因子排放规律图,从而确定各污染因子排放浓度(排放量)最大的1 h为最佳采样时机。     

IKK inhibition prevents PM2.5-exacerbated cardiac injury in mice with type 2 diabetes

Epidemiological studies have found that individuals with diabetes mellitus(DM) display an increased susceptibility for adverse cardiovascular outcomes when exposed to air pollution.This study was conducted to explore the potential mechanism linking ambient fine particles(PM2.5) and heart injury in a Type 2 DM(T2DM) animal model. The KKay mouse, an animal model of T2DM, was exposed to concentrated ambient PM2.5 or filtered air for 8 weeks via a versatile aerosol exposure and concentrator system. Simultaneously, an inhibitor of IκB kinase-2(IKK-a)(IMD-0354), which is a blocker of nuclear factor κB(NF-κB)nuclear translocation, was administrated by intracerebroventricular injection(ICV) to regulate the NF-êB pathway. The results showed that ambient PM2.5 induced the increase of, NF-êB, cyclooxygenase-2(COX-2) and mitogen activated protein kinase(MAPK) expression in cardiac tissue, and that IMD-0354 could alleviate the inflammatory injury. The results suggested that the NF-êB pathway plays an important role in mediating the PM2.5-induced cardiovascular injury in the T2DM model. Inhibiting NFκB may be a therapeutic option in air-pollution-exacerbated cardiovascular injury in diabetes mellitus.     

Air pollutant concentrations near three Texas roadways, part II: Chemical characterization and transformation of pollutants

Spatial gradients of vehicular emitted air pollutants were measured in the vicinity of three roadways in the Austin, Texas area: (1) State Highway 71 (SH-71), a heavily traveled arterial highway dominated by passenger vehicles; (2) Interstate 35 (I-35), a limited access highway north of Austin in Georgetown; and (3) Farm to Market Road 973 (FM-973), a heavily traveled surface roadway with significant truck traffic. A mobile monitoring platform was used to characterize the gradients of CO and NO_x concentrations with increased distance from each roadway, while concentrations of carbonyls in the gas-phase and fine particulate matter mass and composition were measured at stationary sites upwind and at one (I-35 and FM-973) or two (SH-71) downwind sites. Regardless of roadway type or wind direction, concentrations of carbon monoxide (CO), nitric oxide (NO), and oxides of nitrogen (NO_x) returned to background levels within a few hundred meters of the roadway. Under perpendicular wind conditions, CO, NO and NO_x concentrations decreased exponentially with increasing distance perpendicular to the roadways. The decay rate for NO was more than a factor of two greater than for CO, and it comprised a larger fraction of NO_x closer to the roadways than further downwind suggesting the potential significance of near roadway chemical processing as well as atmospheric dilution. Concentrations of most carbonyl species decreased with distance downwind of SH-71. However, concentrations of acetaldehyde and acrolein increased farther downwind of SH-71, suggesting chemical generation from the oxidation of primary vehicular emissions. The behavior of particle-bound organic species was complex and further investigation of the size-segregated chemical composition of particulate matter (PM) at increasing downwind distances from roadways is warranted. Fine particulate matter (PM_2.5) mass concentrations, polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs), hopanes, and elemental carbon (EC) concentrations generally exhibited concentrations that decreased with distance downwind of SH-71. Concentrations of organic carbon (OC) increased from upwind concentrations immediately downwind of SH-71 and continued to increase further downwind from the roadway. This behavior may have primarily resulted from condensation of semi-volatile organic species emitted from vehicle sources with transport downwind of the roadway.     

Types of Ectomycorrhiza as Pollution Stress Indicators: Case Studies in Slovenia

Mycorrhiza is the main spatial and temporal linkage between different constituents in a forest ecosystem. The functional compatibility and stress tolerance of ectomycorrhizal types is species specific, and therefore the information on the ectomycorrhizal community structure can add to the understanding of processes in forest ecosystems and can also be applied as tools for bioindication of pollution stress in forest soils. We have studied the effects of pollution (N and S) on trees and forest soils by: (1) quantification of ECM types diversity as in situ indicators in forest stands, (2) determination and quantification of pollution-sensitive or -insensitive ECM types as passive monitors, (3) root growth and development of ECM on nonmycorrhizal spruce seedlings, planted at the studied sites (active monitors), and (4) ECM infection (a bioassay based on mycorrhizal inoculum potential) of seedlings in an experimental set-up as ex situ testers. ECM species richness for Norway spruce trees (Picea abies) showed higher values in unpolluted sites than in polluted ones, while the differences were not significant for European beech trees (Fagus sylvatica). As pollution-sensitive or -insensitive ECM species in spruce forests, we suggest Hydnum rufescens (sensitive) and Paxillus involutus (unsensitive). Mycorrhizal potential in Norway spruce seedlings as a bioassay for soil N and S pollution was effective, and is suggested as an additional, standardized and widely comparable system in bioindication of soil pollution.