Chemical characterization and in vitro toxicity on human bronchial epithelial cells BEAS-2B of PM2.5_{2.5} from an urban site under industrial emission influence

Particulate Matter (PM) is one of the most relevant environment-related health issues all over the world. In 2013, the International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC) has classified air pollution and PM as a carcinogen for humans [1]. However, the mechanisms involved in the toxicity of these particles remains poorly understood, mainly because PM are uniquely complex owing to their physicochemical characteristics. In this study, fine particles were collected in the city center of Dunkirk, northern France using a 5 stages high volume cascade impactor (Staplex® 235, 68m3/h) and a Digitel DA80 high volume sampler (30m3/h).Samples were extensively characterized for their physico-chemical properties, including trace metals, water-soluble ions and organic species. Normal human bronchial epithelial cells (BEAS-2B) were used as cell model for toxicological analysis. Cytotoxicity, PAHs-metabolizing enzymes gene expression and genotoxic alterations were evaluated after 24, 48 or 72 h of exposure considering increasing concentrations of PM$_{2.5-0.3}$, organic extracts (OE) and water-soluble fraction (WF) of PM$_{2.5-0.3}$ and PM$_{2.5}$. Several sources such as road traffic, industrial activities mainly related to steelmaking, marine emissions including sea-salts and shipping, as well as soil resuspension were found to contribute to the PM$_{2.5}$ composition. Cytotoxicity assessment results showed time and dose dependent responses, with effects mainly related to PAH compounds in PM$_{2.5}$ OE in which their content were 12 times higher than in PM$_{2.5-0.3}$ one [2]. Differences in the induction of CYP1A1, CYP1B1 and NQO1 genes expression involved in the metabolic activation of organic compounds, as well as genotoxic effects (oxidative DNA adducts, H2A.X phosphorylation) were also evidenced after cells exposure to OE and PM$_{2.5-0.3}$ [3]. These results confirm the major effect of organic compounds on toxic effects, but also the potential contribution of the inorganic fraction of the PM which maintains longer the effects in exposed cells

Exhaust emissions of regulated and unregulated pollutants of passenger cars

Exhaust emissions of VOC speciation, aldehydes and other carbonyl compounds, polyaromatics and regulated pollutants are measured using a vehicle bench on a sample of passenger cars. 30 diesel and gasoline cars are tested, complying with ECE 1504 to Euro 3 emission standards, according to 10 real-world driving cycles based on European driving behaviour, with some of them adapted to vehicle size. The emission results of this large-scale measurement campaign show the influence of vehicle technology and driving behaviour on the emission of 100 individual pollutants. In addition, the results are discussed per VOC group and compared with other studies. The influence of the successive emission standards on the emission factors is very positive in most of cases. However, whereas hot CO2 is almost stable, diesel hot NOx, diesel hot and cold VOC, and the 6 most carcinogenic gasoline PAH have increased with standards. Diesel vehicles are less pollutant for CO, HC, CO2, VOC, but more pollutant for NOx and PAH. The distribution of VOC species per molecular family highlights the fact that monoaromatics make up the biggest share (~88 and 62 % resp. for gasoline and diesel vehicles). The second family is the alkanes which contribute resp. 8 and 9% of the total mass of measured VOC. The majority of volatile PAH is observed in the gaseous phase, but the least volatile and the carcinogenic PAH are adsorbed more in particulate phase

New genetic loci link adipose and insulin biology to body fat distribution.

Body fat distribution is a heritable trait and a well-established predictor of adverse metabolic outcomes, independent of overall adiposity. To increase our understanding of the genetic basis of body fat distribution and its molecular links to cardiometabolic traits, here we conduct genome-wide association meta-analyses of traits related to waist and hip circumferences in up to 224,459 individuals. We identify 49 loci (33 new) associated with waist-to-hip ratio adjusted for body mass index (BMI), and an additional 19 loci newly associated with related waist and hip circumference measures (P < 5 × 10(-8)). In total, 20 of the 49 waist-to-hip ratio adjusted for BMI loci show significant sexual dimorphism, 19 of which display a stronger effect in women. The identified loci were enriched for genes expressed in adipose tissue and for putative regulatory elements in adipocytes. Pathway analyses implicated adipogenesis, angiogenesis, transcriptional regulation and insulin resistance as processes affecting fat distribution, providing insight into potential pathophysiological mechanisms

Intérêt des champignons telluriques dans des processus de bioremédiation de sols pollués par des hydrocarbures aromatiques polycycliques

Polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAH) are ubiquitous and persistent pollutants that cause great environmental and health concern, because of their genotoxic and carcinogenic properties. Among the processes whereby these compounds are removed from the environment, microbial degradation plays a major role in the remediation of contaminated sites. Numerous biodegradation studies have been done on fungi, especially on various white rot fungi such as Phanerochaete chrysosporium, under in vitro and in vivo conditions. The installation of these foreign fungi in non-sterile soils is quite hazardous due to intense negative interactions with indigenous soil microorganisms. Optimising the degradation of PAH by the indigenous microbial community that had already been adapted to the soil habitat would be probably more economical and equally efficient. In our studies, we focused therefore on the ability of telluric fungi for PAH field bioremediation processes. In particular, we isolated a Deuteromycete fungus Fusarium solani that was able to grow in liquid medium with benzo[a]pyrene as sole carbon source and to mineralise this PAH. In a batch fermentor, [7,10-14C]benz[a]pyrene mineralization occurred rapidly at early stages of fermentation (15 hr) during the germination of fungal spores and was not a continuous process as mineralization occurred in a biphasic pattern. Moreover, Fusarium solani showed an average rate of mineralization about 65 μg/g dry weight/day within 11 days of incubation, comparable as mineralization rate obtained with a white rot fungus Phanerochaete chrysosporium.Les hydrocarbures aromatiques polycycliques (HAP) sont des polluants ubiquistes et persistants dont certains posent de réels problèmes pour l'environnement et la santé publique. Parmi les différentes techniques de réhabilitation actuellement disponibles, la bioremédiation s'est développée lors de ces dernières décades comme une alternative rentable et prometteuse. De nombreuses études ont mis en évidence l'aptitude des champignons de type lignolytique à dégrader les HAP. Cependant, l'origine non tellurique de ces champignons les rend peu compétitifs par rapport à la microflore endogène du sol. Dans une optique de bioremédiation, nous avons conduit des travaux de recherche afin d'utiliser le potentiel biotechnologique de champignons telluriques et en particulier de Fusarium solani

Rapid synthesis of a versatile organic/inorganic hybrid material based on pyrogenic silica

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Influence of ship emissions on NOx, SO2, O3 and PM concentrations in a North-Sea harbor in France

International audienceThe influence of in-port ship emissions on gases and PM10 concentrations has been estimated in the port city of Calais, northern France, one of the busiest harbor in Europe, with numerous rotations of ferries or roll-on/roll-off cargo in average per day. NOx, SO2, O3 and PM10 concentrations were continuously measured over a three-month period, as well as real-time particle size distribution. A rural site located at Cape Gris-Nez, 20 km from Calais, was considered to deduce intrinsic contribution of ship emissions at the harbor city. The average concentrations of the studied species as well as the pattern of the conditional bivariate probability function at the two sites evidenced that in-port shipping, especially during the maneuvering operations, has an important influence on the NOx and SO2 concentrations. The impact of shipping in the harbor of Calais on average concentrations was estimated to 51% for SO2, 35% for NO, 15% for NO2 and 2% for PM10 in the studied period. Concentration peaks of SO2 and NOx associated with an O3 depletion appeared synchronized with departures and arrivals of ferries. For winds blowing from the harbor, when compared to the background level, the number of particles appeared 10 times higher, with the highest differences in the 30–67 nm and the 109–167 nm size ranges. The average impact of in-port ships on PM10 concentrations was estimated to + 28.9 μg/m3 and concerned mainly the PM1 size fraction (40%). Punctually, PM10 can potentially reach a concentration value close to 100 μg/m3

Measurement of OH radicals using off-axis integrated output spectroscopy (OA-ICOS) at 2.8 &#181;m

International audience&lt;p&gt;The hydroxyl (OH) free radical plays an important role in atmospheric chemistry due to its high reactivity with volatile organic compounds (VOCs) and trace species (CH&lt;sub&gt;4, &lt;/sub&gt;CO, SO&lt;sub&gt;2&lt;/sub&gt;, etc) [1]. Due to its very short lifetime (~1 s or less) and very low concentration in the atmosphere (in the order of 10&lt;sup&gt;6&lt;/sup&gt; cm&lt;sup&gt;-&lt;/sup&gt;&lt;sup&gt;3&lt;/sup&gt;), in situ and direct measurement of OH concentration in the atmosphere is challenging [2].&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;We report in this paper our recent work on developing a compact spectroscopic instrument based on off-axis integrated cavity output spectroscopy (OA-ICOS) [3] for optical monitoring of OH radicals. In the present work, OH radicals of ~10&lt;sup&gt;12&lt;/sup&gt; OH radicals/cm&lt;sup&gt;3&lt;/sup&gt; were generated from continue micro-wave discharge at 2.45 GHz of water vapor at low pressure (0.2-1 mbar), and were used as sample for validation of the developed OA-ICOS approaches. Two experimental approaches are designed for the measurements of OH radicals: (1) OA-ICOS [4] and wavelength modulation enhanced OA-ICOS (WM OA-ICOS) [5]. A distributed feedback (DFB) laser operating at 2.8 &amp;#181;m was employed for probing the Q (1.5e) and Q (1.5f) double-line transitions of the &lt;sup&gt;2&lt;/sup&gt;&amp;#928;&lt;sub&gt;3/2&lt;/sub&gt;&lt;sub&gt;&lt;/sub&gt;state at 3568.52382 and 3568.41693 cm&lt;sup&gt;-&lt;/sup&gt;&lt;sup&gt;1&lt;/sup&gt;, respectively. A 1s detection limit of ~2.7&amp;#215;10&lt;sup&gt;10&lt;/sup&gt; cm&lt;sup&gt;-3&lt;/sup&gt; &amp;#160;was obtained for an averaging time of 125 s using a simple OA-ICOS scheme. This limit of detection is further improved by a factor of 3.4 using a WM OA-ICOS approach.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;The experimental detail and the preliminary results will be presented and discussed.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;strong&gt;&amp;#160;&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Acknowledgments. &lt;/strong&gt;The authors thank the financial supports from the CPER CLIMIBIO program and the Labex CaPPA project (ANR-10-LABX005).&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;strong&gt;References&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;[1]&amp;#160; U. Platt, M. Rateike, W. Junkermann, J. Rudolph, and D. H. Ehhalt, New tropospheric OH measurements, J. Geophys. Res. &lt;strong&gt;93&lt;/strong&gt; (1988) 5159-5166.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;[2]&amp;#160; D. E. Heard and M. J. Pilling, Measurement of OH and HO&lt;sub&gt;2&lt;/sub&gt; in the Troposphere, Chem. Rev. &lt;strong&gt;103&lt;/strong&gt; (2003) 5163-5198.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;[3]&amp;#160; J. B. Paul, L. Lapson, J. G. Anderson, Ultrasensitive absorption spectroscopy with a high-finesse optical cavity and off-axis alignment, Appl. Opt. 40 (2001) 4904-4910.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;[4]&amp;#160; W. Chen, A. A. Kosterev, F. K. Tittel, X. Gao, W. Zhao, &quot;H&lt;sub&gt;2&lt;/sub&gt;S trace concentration measurements using Off-Axis Integrated Cavity Output Spectroscopy in the near-infrared&quot;, Appl. Phys. B 90 (2008) 311-315&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;[5] W. Zhao, X. Gao, W. Chen, W. Zhang, T. Huang, T. Wu, H. Cha, Wavelength modulation off-axis integrated cavity output spectroscopy in the near infrared, Appl. Phys. B 86 (2007) 353-359&lt;/p&gt

La fin des émissions de polluants organiques volatils? Oui, C'EST POSSIBLE!

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Validation des solvants eutectiques profonds comme absorbants pour les composés organiques volatils sur un pilote de laboratoire

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