49 research outputs found

    Human airway construct model is suitable for studying transcriptome changes associated with indoor air particulate matter toxicity

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    In vitro models mimicking the human respiratory system are essential when investigating the toxicological effects of inhaled indoor air particulate matter (PM). We present a pulmonary cell culture model for studying indoor air PM toxicity. We exposed normal human bronchial epithelial cells, grown on semi‐permeable cell culture membranes, to four doses of indoor air PM in the air‐liquid interface. We analyzed the chemokine interleukin‐8 concentration from the cell culture medium, protein concentration from the apical wash, measured tissue electrical resistance, and imaged airway constructs using light and transmission electron microscopy. We sequenced RNA using a targeted RNA toxicology panel for 386 genes associated with toxicological responses. PM was collected from a non‐complaint residential environment over 1 week. Sample collection was concomitant with monitoring size‐segregated PM counts and determination of microbial levels and diversity. PM exposure was not acutely toxic for the cells, and we observed up‐regulation of 34 genes and down‐regulation of 17 genes when compared to blank sampler control exposure. The five most up‐regulated genes were related to immunotoxicity. Despite indications of incomplete cell differentiation, this model enabled the comparison of a toxicological transcriptome associated with indoor air PM exposure

    Health and Household Air Pollution from Solid Fuel Use: The Need for Improved Exposure Assessment

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    Background: Nearly 3 billion people worldwide rely on solid fuel combustion to meet basic household energy needs. The resulting exposure to air pollution causes an estimated 4.5% of the global burden of disease. Large variability and a lack of resources for research and development have resulted in highly uncertain exposure estimates. Objective: We sought to identify research priorities for exposure assessment that will more accurately and precisely define exposure–response relationships of household air pollution necessary to inform future cleaner-burning cookstove dissemination programs. Data Sources: As part of an international workshop in May 2011, an expert group characterized the state of the science and developed recommendations for exposure assessment of household air pollution. Synthesis: The following priority research areas were identified to explain variability and reduce uncertainty of household air pollution exposure measurements: improved characterization of spatial and temporal variability for studies examining both short- and long-term health effects; development and validation of measurement technology and approaches to conduct complex exposure assessments in resource-limited settings with a large range of pollutant concentrations; and development and validation of biomarkers for estimating dose. Addressing these priority research areas, which will inherently require an increased allocation of resources for cookstove research, will lead to better characterization of exposure–response relationships. Conclusions: Although the type and extent of exposure assessment will necessarily depend on the goal and design of the cookstove study, without improved understanding of exposure–response relationships, the level of air pollution reduction necessary to meet the health targets of cookstove interventions will remain uncertain

    Jewish Christianity in Russia after the Six-Day War

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    RADON PROGENY AS AN EXPERIMENTAL TOOL FOR DOSIMETRY OF NANOAEROSOLS

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    The study of aerosol exposure and dosimetry measurements and related quantitation of health effects are important to the understanding of the consequences of air pollution, and are discussed widely in the scientific literature. During the last 10 years the need to correlate aerosol exposure and biological effects has become especially important due to rapid development of a new, revolutionary industry ?-- nanotechnology. Nanoproduct commerce is predicted to top $1 trillion by 2015. Quantitative assessment of aerosol particle behavior in air and in lung deposition, and dosimetry in different parts of the lung, particularly for nanoaerosols, remains poor despite several decades of study. Direct measurements on humans are still needed in order to validate the hollow cast, animal studies, and lung deposition modeling. We discuss here the use of nanoscale radon decay products as an experimental tool in the study of local deposition and lung dosimetry for nanoaerosols. The issue of the safe use of radon progeny in such measurements is discussed based on a comparison of measured exposure in 3 settings: general population, miners, and in a human experiment conducted at the Paul Scherer Institute (PSI) in Switzerland. One of the properties of radon progeny is that they consist partly of 1 nm radioactive particles called unattached activity; having extremely small size and high diffusion coefficients, these particles can be potentially useful as radioactive tracers in the study of nanometer-sized aerosols. We present a theoretical and experimental study of the correlation between the unattached activity and aerosol particle surface area, together with a description of its calibration and method for measurement of the unattached fraction

    Hermeneutyka Teodora z Mopsuestii: teologia przekształcona w odpowiedzi na teologiczne kryzysy IV wieku

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    Niniejsze studium ukazuje, w jaki sposób egzegeza Teodora z Mopsuestii, powstała w reakcji na główne spory teologiczne IV w., wpływała na dalszy rozwój jego chrystologii, którą odziedziczył po swoim mistrzu – Diodorze z Tarsu. Polemiczna dynamika myślenia Teodora doprowadziła go do wytworzenia obrazu Chrystusa, skupiającego się wyłącznie na Jego człowieczeństwie. Rozwój ten jest wyraźnie dostrzegalny przede wszystkim w zachowanym w języku syryjskim Komentarzu na Ewangelię według św. Jana. Niniejszy artykuł skupia się zatem na analizie tego komentarza i poszukiwaniu w nim wskazań Teodora na wyzwania czasów w których żył, zwłaszcza ówczesnych herezji (głównie arianizmu i apolinaryzmu), oraz dróg, które wiodły go do przekształcenia jego teologii, w szczególności zaś chrystologicznego myślenia, odzwierciedlonego w hermeneutycznym kontekście Komentarza
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