Oxidative potential associated with urban aerosol deposited into the respiratory system and relevant elemental and ionic fraction contributions

Size-segregated aerosol measurements were carried out at an urban and at an industrial site. Soluble and insoluble fractions of elements and inorganic ions were determined. Oxidative potential (OP) was assessed on the soluble fraction of Particulate Matter (PM) by ascorbic acid (AA), dichlorofluorescein (DCFH) and dithiothreitol (DTT) assays. Size resolved elemental, ion and OP doses in the head (H), tracheobronchial (TB) and alveolar (Al) regions were estimated using the Multiple-Path Particle Dosimetry (MPPD) model. The total aerosol respiratory doses due to brake and soil resuspension emissions were higher at the urban than at the industrial site. On the contrary, the doses of anthropic combustion tracers were generally higher at the industrial site. In general, the insoluble fraction was more abundantly distributed in the coarse than in the fine mode and vice versa for the soluble fraction. Consequently, for the latter, the percent of the total respiratory dose deposited in TB and Al regions increased. Oxidative potential assay (OPAA) doses were distributed in the coarse region; therefore, their major contribution was in the H region. The contribution in the TB and Al regions increased for OPDTT and OPDCFH

Qualitative and quantitative determination of water in airborne particulate matter

Abstract. This paper describes the optimization and validation of a new simple method for the quantitative determination of water in atmospheric particulate matter (PM). The analyses are performed by using a coulometric Karl-Fisher system equipped with a controlled heating device; different water contributions are separated by the application of an optimized thermal ramp (three heating steps: 50–120 °C, 120–180 °C, 180–250 °C). The analytical performance of the method was verified by using standard materials containing 5.55% and 1% by weight of water. The recovery was greater than 95%; the detection limit was about 20 μg. The method was then applied to NIST Reference Materials (NIST1649a, urban particulate matter) and to real PM10 samples collected in different geographical areas. In all cases the repeatability was satisfactory (10–15%). When analyzing the Reference Material, the separation of four different types of water was obtained. In real PM10 samples the amount of water and its thermal profile differed as a function of the chemical composition of the dust. Mass percentages of 3–4% of water were obtained in most samples, but values up to about 15% were reached in areas where the chemical composition of PM is dominated by secondary inorganic ions and organic matter. High percentages of water were also observed in areas where PM is characterized by the presence of desert dust. A possible identification of the quality of water released from the samples was tried by applying the method to some hygroscopic compounds that are likely contained in PM (pure SiO2, Al2O3, ammonium salts, carbohydrates and dicarboxylic acids) and by comparing the results with those obtained from field samples

Element levels and predictors of exposure in the hair of Ethiopian children

Children’s development and health may be affected by toxic heavy metal exposure or suboptimal essential element intake. This study aimed to provide updated information regarding the concentrations of 41 elements in children’s hair (aged under 18) living in a rural area of the Benishangul-Gumuz region, Ethiopia. The highest average levels (as a geometric mean) for toxic heavy metals were obtained for Al (1 mg kg−1), Pb (3.1 mg kg−1), and Ni (1.2 mg kg−1), while the lowest concentrations among the essential elements were found for Co (0.32 mg kg−1), Mo (0.07 mg kg−1), Se (0.19 mg kg−1), and V (0.8 mg kg−1). Hair analysis was combined with a survey to evaluate relationships and variations among subgroups and potential metal exposure predictors. Females showed significantly higher concentrations for most hair elements, excluding Zn, than males, and the 6–11 years age group reported the highest levels for Be, Ce, Co, Fe, La, Li, Mo, and Na. The main predictors of exposure to toxic elements were fish consumption for Hg and drinking water for Ba, Be, Cs, Li, Ni, Tl, and U. The data from this study can be used to develop prevention strategies for children’s health and protection in developing countries

Fibre types in skeletal muscles of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease patients related to respiratory function and exercise tolerance.

Abstract This study aimed to investigate the relationship between skeletal muscle, fibre type composition, functional respiratory impairment and exercise tolerance in patients with moderate to severe chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD). A group of 22 COPD patients and 10 healthy control subjects were studied. In COPD patients, vital capacity (VC) and forced expiratory volume in one second (FEV1) were reduced to 79% and 51%, respectively. Diffusion indices (transfer factor of the lung for carbon monoxide (TL,CO) and carbon monoxide transfer coefficient (KCO)) were also reduced. Arterial oxygen tension (Pa,O2) was normal or slightly altered. A maximal exercise test was performed and anaerobic threshold was calculated. Muscle samples from vastus lateralis were obtained by needle biopsy. Myosin heavy chain (MHC) and light chain (MLC) isoforms were separated by gel electrophoresis and quantified by densitometry. MHC isoforms were considered as molecular markers of fibre types. The proportion of the fast MHC-2B isoform was increased in COPD patients. TL,CO, KCO, VC and FEV1 were positively correlated with slow MHC isoform content. TL,CO and KCO were also negatively correlated with the content of the fast MHC-2B isoform. No correlation was found between exercise parameters and MHC isoform composition. The co-ordinated expression between MHC and MLC isoforms was altered in COPD patients. We conclude that reduced oxygen availability, probably in combination with muscle disuse, may determine muscle alterations in chronic obstructive pulmonary disease patients. The altered correlations between myosin heavy chain and light chain isoforms suggest that co-ordinated protein expression is lost in chronic obstructive pulmonary disease muscles

Urinary mercury levels and predictors of exposure among a group of Italian children

Urinary mercury (Hg) levels are suitable to assess long-term exposure to both elemental and inorganic Hg. In this study, the urinary Hg levels of 250 children (aged 6–11 years) from three areas with different anthropogenic impacts in the Rieti province, central Italy, were assessed. The Hg concentrations were in the range of 0.04–2.18 µg L−1 with a geometric mean equal to 0.18 µg L−1 [95% confidence interval (CI), 0.17–0.20 µg L−1] or 0.21 µg g−1 creatinine (95% CI, 0.19–0.23 µg g−1 creatinine), and a reference value calculated as 95th percentile of 0.53 µg L−1 (95% CI, 0.44–0.73 µg L−1) or 0.55 µg g−1 creatinine (95% CI, 0.50–0.83 µg g−1 creatinine). In all cases, urinary Hg data were below the HBM-I values (7 µg L−1 or 5 µg g−1 creatinine) established for urine, while the 95th percentile was above the German Human Biomonitoring Commission’s RV95 (0.4 µg L−1) set for children without amalgam fillings. A significant correlation (p < 0.05) was found between creatinine-corrected results and residence area, with higher urinary Hg levels in children living in the industrial area. Multiple linear regression analysis showed that creatinine was the main predictor of urinary Hg

In situ physical and chemical characterisation of the Eyjafjallajökull aerosol plume in the free troposphere over Italy

Abstract. Continuous measurements of physical and chemical properties at the Mt. Cimone (Italy) GAW-WMO (Global Atmosphere Watch, World Meteorological Organization) Global Station (2165 m a.s.l.) have allowed the detection of the volcanic aerosol plume resulting from the Eyjafjallajökull (Iceland) eruption of spring 2010. The event affected the Mt. Cimone site after a transport over a distance of more than 3000 km. Two main transport episodes were detected during the eruption period, showing a volcanic fingerprint discernible against the free tropospheric background conditions typical of the site, the first from April 19 to 21 and the second from 18 to 20 May 2010. This paper reports the modification of aerosol characteristics observed during the two episodes, both characterised by an abrupt increase in fine and, especially, coarse mode particle number. Analysis of major, minor and trace elements by different analytical techniques (ionic chromatography, particle induced X-ray emission–particle induced gamma-ray emission (PIXE–PIGE) and inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry (ICP-MS)) were performed on aerosols collected by ground-level discrete sampling. The resulting database allows the characterisation of aerosol chemical composition during the volcanic plume transport and in background conditions. During the passage of the volcanic plume, the fine fraction was dominated by sulphates, denoting the secondary origin of this mode, mainly resulting from in-plume oxidation of volcanic SO2. By contrast, the coarse fraction was characterised by increased concentration of numerous elements of crustal origin, such as Fe, Ti, Mn, Ca, Na, and Mg, which enter the composition of silicate minerals. Data analysis of selected elements (Ti, Al, Fe, Mn) allowed the estimation of the volcanic plume's contribution to total PM10, resulting in a local enhancement of up to 9.5 μg m−3, i.e. 40% of total PM10 on 18 May, which was the most intense of the two episodes. These results appear significant, especially in light of the huge distance of Mt. Cimone from the source, confirming the widespread diffusion of the Eyjafjallajökull ashes over Europe

In situ physical and chemical characterisation of the Eyjafjallajökull aerosol plume in the free troposphere over Italy

Continuous measurements of physical and chemical properties at the Mt. Cimone (Italy) GAW-WMO (Global Atmosphere Watch, World Meteorological Organization) Global Station (2165 m a.s.l.) have allowed the detection of the volcanic aerosol plume resulting from the Eyjafjallajökull (Iceland) eruption of spring 2010. The event affected the Mt. Cimone site after a transport over a distance of more than 3000 km. Two main transport episodes were detected during the eruption period, showing a volcanic fingerprint discernible against the free tropospheric background conditions typical of the site, the first from April 19 to 21 and the second from 18 to 20 May 2010. This paper reports the modification of aerosol characteristics observed during the two episodes, both characterised by an abrupt increase in fine and, especially, coarse mode particle number. Analysis of major, minor and trace elements by different analytical techniques (ionic chromatography, particle induced X-ray emission–particle induced gamma-ray emission (PIXE–PIGE) and inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry (ICP-MS)) were performed on aerosols collected by ground-level discrete sampling. The resulting database allows the characterisation of aerosol chemical composition during the volcanic plume transport and in background conditions. During the passage of the volcanic plume, the fine fraction was dominated by sulphates, denoting the secondary origin of this mode, mainly resulting from in-plume oxidation of volcanic SO2. By contrast, the coarse fraction was characterised by increased concentration of numerous elements of crustal origin, such as Fe, Ti, Mn, Ca, Na, and Mg, which enter the composition of silicate minerals. Data analysis of selected elements (Ti, Al, Fe, Mn) allowed the estimation of the volcanic plume's contribution to total PM10, resulting in a local enhancement of up to 9.5 μg m−3, i.e. 40% of total PM10 on 18 May, which was the most intense of the two episodes. These results appear significant, especially in light of the huge distance of Mt. Cimone from the source, confirming the widespread diffusion of the Eyjafjallajökull ashes over Europe

Molecular mechanism regulating myosin and cardiac functions by ELC

The essential myosin light chain (ELC) is involved in modulation of force generation of myosin motors and cardiac contraction, while its mechanism of action remains elusive. We hypothesized that ELC could modulate myosin stiffness which subsequently determines its force production and cardiac contraction. We therefore generated heterologous transgenic mouse (TgM) strains with cardiomyocyte-specific expression of ELC with human ventricular ELC (hVLC-1; TgM(hVLC-1)) or E56G-mutated hVLC-1 (hVLC-1(E56G); TgM(E56G)). hVLC-1 or hVLC-1(E56G) expression in TgM was around 39% and 41%, respectively of total VLC-1. Laser trap and in vitro motility assays showed that stiffness and actin sliding velocity of myosin with hVLC-1 prepared from TgM(hVLC-1) (1.67pN/nm and 2.3{my}m/s, respectively) were significantly higher than myosin with hVLC-1(E56G) prepared from TgM(E56G) (1.25pN/nm and 1.7{my}m/s, respectively) or myosin with mouse VLC-1 (mVLC-1) prepared from C57/BL6 (1.41 pN/nm and 1.5+-0.03 {my}m/s, respectively). Maximal left ventricular pressure development of isolated perfused hearts in vitro prepared from TgM(hVLC-1) (80.0mmHg) were significantly higher than hearts from TgM(E56G) (66.2mmHg) or C57/BL6 (59.3+-3.9 mmHg). These findings show that ELCs decreased myosin stiffness, in vitro motility, and thereby cardiac functions in the order hVLC-1 > hVLC-1(E56G) ≈ mVLC-1. They also suggest a molecular pathomechanism of cardiomyopathies caused by hVLC-1 mutations

Mapping the spatiotemporal dynamics of calcium signaling in cellular neural networks using optical flow

An optical flow gradient algorithm was applied to spontaneously forming net- works of neurons and glia in culture imaged by fluorescence optical microscopy in order to map functional calcium signaling with single pixel resolution. Optical flow estimates the direction and speed of motion of objects in an image between subsequent frames in a recorded digital sequence of images (i.e. a movie). Computed vector field outputs by the algorithm were able to track the spatiotemporal dynamics of calcium signaling pat- terns. We begin by briefly reviewing the mathematics of the optical flow algorithm, and then describe how to solve for the displacement vectors and how to measure their reliability. We then compare computed flow vectors with manually estimated vectors for the progression of a calcium signal recorded from representative astrocyte cultures. Finally, we applied the algorithm to preparations of primary astrocytes and hippocampal neurons and to the rMC-1 Muller glial cell line in order to illustrate the capability of the algorithm for capturing different types of spatiotemporal calcium activity. We discuss the imaging requirements, parameter selection and threshold selection for reliable measurements, and offer perspectives on uses of the vector data.Comment: 23 pages, 5 figures. Peer reviewed accepted version in press in Annals of Biomedical Engineerin