Emission factors for gas-powered vehicles traveling through road tunnels in Sao Paulo, Brazil

The objective of this study was to improve the vehicular emissions inventory for the light- and heavy-duty fleet in the metropolitan area of Sao Paulo (MASP), Brazil. To that end, we measured vehicle emissions in road tunnels located in the MASP. On March 22-26, 2004 and May 04-07, 2004, respectively, CO, CO(2), NO(x), SO(2), and volatile organic compounds (VOCs) emissions were measured in two tunnels: the Janio Quadros, which carries light- duty vehicles; and the Maria Maluf, which carries light- duty vehicles and heavy-duty diesel trucks. Pollutant concentrations were measured inside the tunnels, and background pollutant concentrations were measured outside of the tunnels. The mean CO and NO(x) emission factors (in g km(-1)) were, respectively, 14.6 +/- 2.3 and 1.6 +/- 0.3 for light-duty vehicles, compared with 20.6 +/- 4.7 and 22.3 +/- 9.8 for heavy-duty vehicles. The total VOCs emission factor for the Maria Maluf tunnel was 1.4 +/- 1.3 g km(-1). The main VOCs classes identified were aromatic, alkane, and aldehyde compounds. For the heavy-duty fleet, NO(x) emission factors were approximately 14 times higher than those found for the light-duty fleet. This was attributed to the high levels of NO(x) emissions from diesel vehicles.40216722672

Evidence of hemispheric specialization in marmosets (Callithrix penicillata) using tympanic membrane thermometry

Recent studies have employed tympanic thermometry to assess lateralization of cognitive and emotional functions in primates. However, no studies using this technique have investigated the possibility of hemispheric specialization in New World monkeys. Therefore, the aim of the present study was to investigate tympanic membrane (TM) temperature asymmetries and their possible correlation with stress responses in marmosets (Callithrix penicillata). Infrared TM thermometry was completed bilaterally in 24 animals (14 males and 10 females) during a stressful situation of capture and restraint. There were no significant differences between gender. A significant negative correlation was observed between TM temperature of the right ear and the number of captures (r = -0.633; P<0.001). Subjects with a more frequent previous history of captures (5 to 9 captures; N = 11) showed lower TM temperature when compared to those with fewer previous captures (1 to 4 captures; N = 13). No differences were observed for the left TM temperature. These results suggest that under intense emotional challenge (capture and restraint) there is a stronger activation of the neural structures situated in the right brain hemisphere. Taken together, the data reveal for the first time evidence of hemispheric specialization in emotional physiological processing in a New World monkey