Greenspace and Atopic Sensitization in Children and Adolescents-A Systematic Review

In the last decade, studies investigating greenspace have highlighted several benefits to human health. However, the effect of greenspace on allergies and atopic sensitization in children was not clear. While several studies have investigated this link, the evidence has not been systematically synthesized. We conducted a systematic search of eight databases. Study characteristics and findings were extracted from five articles covering 11 cohorts published between 2012 and 2016, and study quality assessments were performed. Due to significant heterogeneity, meta-analysis was not conducted. Findings were not consistent, possibly due to variations in exposure measurements, study populations and location, the specific allergens tested, and inclusion of confounders. Protective effects from greenspace were reported in four cohorts, while two cohorts showed an increase in sensitization related to greenspace. The other five cohorts found no significant effect of greenspace on atopic sensitization. There is limited understanding of the contributions of greenspace to specific allergens. Future research should consider amount and type of greenspace, as well as the specific allergens tested

Residential air pollution does not modify the positive association between physical activity and lung function in current smokers in the ECRHS study

Background: Very few studies have examined whether a long-term beneficial effect of physical activity on lung function can be influenced by living in polluted urban areas. Objective: We assessed whether annual average residential concentrations of nitrogen dioxide (NO2) and particulate matter with aerodynamic diameters = 2 times and >= 1 h per week) and forced expiratory volume in 1 s (FEV1) and forced vital capacity (FVC) were evaluated using adjusted mixed linear regression models. Models were conducted separately for never-and current smokers and stratified by residential long-term NO2, PM2.5 mass and PM10 mass concentrations ( 75th percentile (high)). Results: Among current smokers, physical activity and lung function were positively associated regardless of air pollution levels. Among never-smokers, physical activity was associated with lung function in areas with low/medium NO2, PM2.5 mass and PM10 mass concentrations (e.g. mean difference in FVC between active and non-active subjects was 43.0 mL (13.6, 72.5), 49.5 mL (20.1, 78.8) and 49.7 mL (18.6, 80.7), respectively), but these associations were attenuated in high air pollution areas. Only the interaction term of physical activity and PM10 mass for FEV1 among never-smokers was significant (p-value = 0.03). Conclusions: Physical activity has beneficial effects on adult lung function in current smokers, irrespective of residential air pollution levels in Western Europe. Trends among never-smokers living in high air pollution areas are less clear

Do Variants in GSTs Modify the Association between Traffic Air Pollution and Asthma in Adolescence?

Polymorphisms in genes involved in the oxidative stress response may partially explain the documented heterogeneous associations between traffic-related air pollution (TRAP) exposure and asthma and allergies in children. We investigated whether the GSTT1, GSTM1 and GSTP1 gene polymorphisms modified the associations between TRAP exposure during the first year of life and asthma, wheeze and hay fever in adolescence. We used a birth cohort of 620 high risk infants from the Melbourne Atopy Cohort Study. TRAP exposure during the first year of life was defined as the cumulative length of major roads within 150 m of each participant’s residence during the first year of life. Wheeze, asthma and hay fever were measured at ages 12 (n = 370) and 18 (n = 434) years. The associations and interactions with glutathione S-transferases (GST s) were investigated using regression models. Overall, there was no relationship between TRAP exposure during the first year of life and current asthma, wheeze and hay fever at ages 12 or 18 years. However, in GSTT1 null carriers, every 100 m increase in cumulative lengths of major road exposure during the first year of life was associated with a 2.31-fold increased risk of wheeze and a 2.15-fold increased risk of asthma at 12 years. TRAP is associated with some respiratory outcomes in carriers of genetic polymorphisms in oxidative stress metabolism genes

Air Pollution and Otitis Media in Children: A Systematic Review of Literature

Young children are particularly vulnerable to otitis media (OM) which globally affects over 80% of children below the age of 3 years. Although there is convincing evidence for an association between environmental tobacco smoke exposure and OM in children, the relationship with ambient air pollution is not clear. We aimed to systematically review the literature on the relationship between ambient air pollution exposure and OM in children. A systematic search was performed in PubMed and EMBASE databases. Of 934 references identified, 24 articles were included. There is an increasing body of evidence supporting an association between higher ambient air pollution exposure and a higher risk of OM in children. While NO2 showed the most consistent association with OM, other specific pollutants showed inconsistent associations. Studies were mainly conducted in high/middle income countries with limited evidence from low-income countries. Although there was a general consensus that higher air pollution exposure is associated with a greater prevalence of OM, the evidence for associations with specific pollutants is inconsistent. More well-designed studies on associations between specific air pollutants as risk factors for OM are warranted, especially in low income countries with high air pollution levels

Pseudophilautus semiruber Annandale 1913

Pseudophilautus semiruber (Annandale, 1913) Figs 2−4 Ixalus semiruber Annandale, 1913: 305. Material examined. Mature female, 13.4 mm SVL, WHT 5831, Agra-Bopath forest, 1750 m a.s.l. (06º 50 ' 15 "N, 80 º 40 ’ 50 "E), coll. 01 August 2005, Madhava Meegaskumbura & Mohomed Bahir. Diagnosis. ‘ Ixalus ’ semiruber is assigned to the genus Pseudophilautus as it is well nested within the Sri Lankan monophyletic group (Fig. 1) of shrub frogs (Meegaskumbura et al. 2002; Bossuyt et al. 2004; Yu et al. 2010) characterized by terrestrial direct development (Bossuyt and Dubois 2000). Pseudophilautus semiruber is distinguished from all other Sri Lankan congeners by a combination of the following characters: size small, mature individuals [12.0]– 13.4 mm SVL; canthal edges rounded; tympanum distinct; vomerine ridge absent; supratympanic fold feebly defined; throat, chest, belly and underside of thigh smooth. Description. Body stout. Head laterally convex. Snout oval in dorsal and lateral view. Canthal edges rounded. Loreal region flat. Interorbital space concave. Internarial space flat. Nostrils oval. Pupil oval, horizontal. Tympanum distinct, oval, vertical, its outer rim narrow but clear. Pineal ocellus absent. Vomerine ridge absent. Tongue moderate, elongate, emarginate; no lingual papilla. Supratympanic fold feebly defined. Cephalic ridges absent. Skin on head not co-ossified. Upper arm short, lower arm slender. Fingers slender, relative length of fingers, 1 <2 <4 <3. Tips of fingers with discs bearing circum-marginal grooves, lacking lateral dermal fringes but with rudimentary webbing. Subarticular tubercles on fingers feebly defined, oval, single. Prepollex oval, feebly defined. Two palmar tubercles, oval, feebly defined. Supernumerary tubercles present on fingers and palm. Thigh, shank, toes slender. Relative length of toes, 1 <2 <5 <3 <4. Tips of toes with discs bearing circum-marginal groves. Webbing present on toes. Subarticular tubercles on toes distinct, oval, single, all present. Inner metatarsal tubercle distinct, oval. Tarsal fold absent. Outer metatarsal tubercle absent. Supernumerary tubercles present on toes and on foot. Tarsal tubercle absent. Dorsal and lateral parts of head and body, and lower part of flank, smooth. Dorso-lateral fold absent. Dorsal and lateral parts of upper arm, lower arm, thigh, shank and foot smooth. A narrow dermal ridge on mid-dorsum to back of head, then to vent. Throat, chest, belly and underside of thigh smooth. Coloration. In life, dorsal surface of head ashy brown, inter-orbital region and dorsum gray. Flank ashy brown with a few white patches outlined in red. Inguinal zone dark brown with white patches. Loreal region, tympanic region, tympanum and lips ash. Entire upper arm and proximal half of lower arm dorsally red, a black band extending antero-dorsally from base of the upper arm to proximal half of lower arm. Distal half of lower arm and fingers dorsally reddish brown, vaguely banded with black. Thigh and inner shank dorsally red with ashy-brown crossbars outlined in black. Thigh and shank ventrally light red with white patches; inguinal zone red-orange. Foot dorsally red, ventrally ashy brown. Area around vent ashy brown. Throat and margin of throat ashy brown with whitish patches; chest and belly reddish brown with white patches. Stored in 70 % ethanol, following fixing in 10 % buffered formalin, mid-dorsal area dark brown, mid-dorsal ridge pale brown. Head dorsally dark brown. Both upper and lower flanks pale brown. Inguinal zone pale brown with dark-brown patches. Loreal, typanum, tympanic region, supratympanic fold, upper and lower lips dark brown. Dorsal and lateral areas of limbs dark to pale brown. Anterior and lateral margins of lower arm and upper arm with dark-brown markings. Dorsal area of thigh, shank and foot with wide, dark cross-bars. Knees dark brown. Ventral parts of head, body, both upper and lower arms, fingers, thigh, shank, foot and toes dark brown with yellow spots and patches. Measurements of WHT 5831 (in mm): DBE, 4.0; DFE, 2.5; DL, 0.4; DW, 0.5; ED, 1.7; EN, 1.0; ES, 2.4; FEL, 5.9; FL I, 1.0; FL II, 1.2; FL III, 2.2; FL IV, 1.8; FOL, 8.6; HL, 5.4; HW, 5.5; IML, 0.7; IN, 2.0; IO, 1.8; LAL, 6.5; MBE, 1.8; MFE, 3.2; MN, 4.1; NS, 0.8; PAL, 3.4; SVL, 13.4; TBL, 6.3; TL I, 1.1; TL II, 1.3; TL III, 1.9; TL IV, 3.0; TL V, 1.8; TYD, 0.5; TYE, 0.8; UAW, 3.3; UEW, 0.9. Distribution. Pseudophilautus semiruber was originally described from a single specimen collected at Pattipola (06º 51 ' 20 "N, 80 º 49 ’ 40 "E; 1,850 m a.s.l.), about 8 km southeast of Agra-Bopath (06º 50 ' 15 "N, 80 º 40 ’ 50 "E). The species is probably restricted to the montane forests of this area (Fig. 5), and is probably under-represented in collections because its diminutive size may have led to it being overlooked as the juvenile of an arboreal Pseudophilautus and because relatively little collection effort has involved searching through leaf litter on the forest floor, which is apparently the habitat of this ‘shrub-frog’.Published as part of Meegaskumbura, Madhava, Manamendra-Arachchi, Kelum, Bowatte, Gayan & Meegaskumbura, Suyama, 2012, Rediscovery of Pseudophilautus semiruber, a diminutive shrub frog (Rhacophoridae: Pseudophilautus) from Sri Lanka, pp. 58-68 in Zootaxa 3229 on pages 60-62, DOI: 10.5281/zenodo.28034

PM2.5 air pollution trends and patterns in Kandy, Sri Lanka

Air pollution is the leading environmental hazard that has devastating health effects on human health. Identification of trends and patterns of air pollution is crucial in a specific geographic area to inform and implement effective control and mitigation measurements. Standard air pollution monitoring networks are costly for most low-and middle-income countries. The aim of this study was to investigate the variations in the mean concentrations of air pollutants that occur at various times of the day, days of the week, months of the year, and seasons during the period of January 2019 to December 2019 in Kandy, Sri Lanka using low-cost sensors. A regression analysis with dummy variables was used to model the relationship between the concentrations of air pollutants and categorical independent variables, the time of day and day of the week. Considering temporal variations, the study found that pollution is highest in the early morning and evening, and lowest in the afternoon. The worst days for the air quality were Wednesdays and Thursdays, while Sundays had the lowest PM2.5 pollution. The analysis of air quality variations by month showed that December had the lowest air pollution of the examined months. The variation in PM2.5 was greatly influenced by wind speed, wind direction, and rainfall patterns. The study emphasized the importance of long-term consistently management and monitoring of air pollution levels.</p

A new frog species from rapidly dwindling cloud forest streams of Sri Lanka-Lankanectes pera (Anura, Nyctibatrachidae)

Senevirathne, Gayani, Samarawickrama, V.A.M.P.K., Wijayathilaka, Nayana, Manamendra-Arachchi, Kelum, Bowatte, Gayan, Samarawickrama, D.R.N.S., Meegaskumbura, Madhava (2018): A new frog species from rapidly dwindling cloud forest streams of Sri Lanka-Lankanectes pera (Anura, Nyctibatrachidae). Zootaxa 4461 (4): 519-538, DOI: https://doi.org/10.11646/zootaxa.4461.4.

Residential NO2 exposure is associated with urgent healthcare use in a thunderstorm asthma cohort

Background: There is increasing interest in the role of traffic-related air pollution (TRAP) in allergic airway diseases. Few studies investigate the relationship between TRAP exposure and acute exacerbations of asthma.Objective: The 2016 Melbourne thunderstorm asthma epidemic provided an opportunity to investigate the relationship between proxies of TRAP exposure and asthma exacerbation requiring urgent healthcare in the previous 12 months.Methods: Current asthmatics who presented to the 3 Emergency Departments of Melbourne's second-largest health service with epidemic thunderstorm asthma in November 2016 were identified and completed a standard questionnaire. Their residential addresses were geocoded and the annual average nitrogen dioxide (NO2) exposure for each patient was assigned using a validated satellite-based land use regression model. Residential distance to the nearest major road was calculated using ArcGIS. Multivariate logistic regression was used to investigate the relationship between each TRAP proxy and healthcare use, adjusting for potential confounders.Results: From 263 thunderstorm asthma patients, 88 patients identified with current asthma were analysed. Those with higher mean annual residential NO2 exposure had greater odds of urgent healthcare use in the previous year (odds ratio [OR], 3.45 per one interquartile-range increase; 95% confidence interval [CI], 1.31-9.10; p = 0.01), however distance from major road (OR, 0.95 per 100-m increase; 95% CI, 0.80-1.13; p = 0.57) and livin