Assimilation of numerical study of the distribution of ozone above the greater Athens area (GAA)

Air pollution is considered to be a critical environmental problem of large urban areas posing a threat to human health because of elevated concentrations of pollutants such as O3, NOx, VOCs and PM. In the past decades the GAA has experienced rapid expansion of the urban grid. Thus, the current study aims to examine the distribution of ozone above the GAA, with the help of the photochemical model CAMx, and assess the contribution of multiple geographical source areas, boundary and initial conditions to ozone formation. Results showed that the transport of primary and secondary pollutants can affect the air quality of the receptor area. Many pollution episodes reported to ground stations are often due to the development of a local circulation system (sea breeze) that disperses intense pollutant emissions. Moreover, the boundary and initial conditions used in numerical studies play a significant role to the ozone formation

Effect of the land use change characteristics on the air pollution patterns above the greater Athens area (GAA) after 2004

The Attica Peninsula has experienced the rapid expansion of the Athens urban area, prior to the Athens 2004 Olympics. As a result, the distribution of pollutant sources and emission patterns has changed with a subsequent effect on the distribution of photochemical pollutants and aerosols. The purpose of the present work is to perform a comparative study of the land use changes in the rapidly developing Attica Peninsula including the Greater Athens Area (GAA) before and after 2004, the year that the Olympic Games took place, as well as of the effect of these changes on the respective pollutant distribution profiles. The land use data were provided by USGS Global Land Use/Land Cover version 2.0 Database and the updating process was fulfilled with the help of a satellite image. The area was divided into cells using a spatial resolution of 5x5 km2. Results showed that the urban grid has expanded considerably the past fifteen years while a great shift of population has been made to the eastern area of Attica. Also, new towns were created while others expanded and many factories moved out of the center of the city of Athens. Moreover, the forest land has decreased considerably in the Attica Peninsula either by continuous and extended fires or by the residential burst. The Comprehensive Air Quality Model with extensions (CAMx) was used in order to estimate O3 distribution during a recorded pollution episode. Results revealed that land use changes affected slightly the O3 concentrations and the development of a new emission inventory related to the new LULC field is necessary

Concurrent administration of Docetaxel and Stealth® liposomal doxorubicin with radiotherapy in non-small cell lung cancer : excellent tolerance using subcutaneous amifostine for cytoprotection

The substantial augmentation of the radiation sequelae during chemo–radiotherapy with novel drugs masks the real potential of such regimens. In this study we examined whether subcutaneous administration of amifostine can reduce the toxicity of a highly aggressive chemo–radiotherapy scheme with Stealth® liposomal doxorubicin (Caelyx®) and Docetaxel (Taxotere®) in non-small cell lung cancer. Twenty-five patients with stage IIIb non-small cell lung cancer were recruited in a phase I/II dose escalation trial. The starting dose of Taxotere® was 20 mg m−2 week and of Caelyx® was 15 mg m−2 every two weeks, during conventionally fractionated radiotherapy (total dose of 64 Gy). The dose of Taxotere®/Caelyx® was, thereafter, increased to 20/25 (five patients) and 30/25 mg m−2 (15 patients). Amifostine 500 mg was given subcutaneously before each radiotherapy fraction, while an i.v. amifostine dose of 1000 mg preceded the infusion of docetaxel. The ‘in-field’ radiation toxicity was low. Grade 3 esophagitis occurred in 9 out of 25 (36%) patients. Apart from a marked reduction of the lymphocyte counts, the regimen was deprived from any haematological toxicity higher than grade 1. No other systemic toxicity was noted. The CR and CR/PR rates in 15 patients treated at the highest dose level was 40% (6 out of 15) and 87% (13 out of 15) respectively. It is concluded that the subcutaneous administration of amifostine during high dose Taxotere®/Caelyx® chemo–radiotherapy is a simple and effective way to render this aggressive regimen perfectly well tolerated, by reducing the systemic and the ‘in-field’ toxicity to the levels expected from simple conventional radiotherapy. The impressive tolerance and the high CR rate obtained encourages the conduct of a relevant randomized trial to assess an eventual survival benefit in patients with non-small cell lung cancer