Oxidative stress markers are elevated in exhaled breath condensate of workers exposed to nanoparticles during iron oxide pigment production

PubMed ID: 26828137Markers of oxidative stress and inflammation were analysed in the exhaled breath condensate (EBC) and urine samples of 14 workers (mean age 43  ±  7 years) exposed to iron oxide aerosol for an average of 10  ±  4 years and 14 controls (mean age 39  ±  4 years) by liquid chromatography-electrospray ionization-mass spectrometry/mass spectrometry (LC-ESI-MS/MS) after solid-phase extraction. Aerosol exposure in the workplace was measured by particle size spectrometers, a scanning mobility particle sizer (SMPS) and an aerodynamic particle sizer (APS), and by aerosol concentration monitors, P-TRAK and DustTRAK DRX. Total aerosol concentrations in workplace locations varied greatly in both time and space. The median mass concentration was 0.083 mg m−3 (IQR 0.063–0.133 mg m−3) and the median particle concentration was 66 800 particles cm−3 (IQR 16 900–86 900 particles cm−3). In addition, more than 80% of particles were smaller than 100 nm in diameter. Markers of oxidative stress, malondialdehyde (MDA), 4-hydroxy-trans-hexenale (HHE), 4-hydroxy-trans-nonenale (HNE), 8-isoProstaglandin F2α (8-isoprostane) and aldehydes C6–C12, in addition to markers of nucleic acid oxidation, including 8-hydroxy-2-deoxyguanosine (8-OHdG), 8-hydroxyguanosine (8-OHG), 5-hydroxymethyl uracil (5-OHMeU), and of proteins, such as o-tyrosine (o-Tyr), 3-chlorotyrosine (3-ClTyr), and 3-nitrotyrosine (3-NOTyr) were analysed in EBC and urine by LC-ESI-MS/MS. Almost all markers of lipid, nucleic acid and protein oxidation were elevated in the EBC of workers comparing with control subjects. Elevated markers were MDA, HNE, HHE, C6–C10, 8-isoprostane, 8-OHdG, 8-OHG, 5-OHMeU, 3-ClTyr, 3-NOTyr, o-Tyr (all p  <  0.001), and C11 (p  <  0.05). Only aldehyde C12 and the pH of samples did not differ between groups. Markers in urine were not elevated. These findings suggest the adverse effects of nano iron oxide aerosol exposure and support the utility of oxidative stress biomarkers in EBC. The analysis of urine oxidative stress biomarkers does not support the presence of systemic oxidative stress in iron oxide pigment production workers.Web of Science101art. no. 01600

Recommendations for reporting equivalent black carbon (eBC) mass concentrations based on long-term pan-European in-situ observations

A reliable determination of equivalent black carbon (eBC) mass concentrations derived from filter absorption photometers (FAPs) measurements depends on the appropriate quantification of the mass absorption cross-section (MAC) for converting the absorption coefficient (babs) to eBC. This study investigates the spatial–temporal variability of the MAC obtained from simultaneous elemental carbon (EC) and babs measurements performed at 22 sites. We compared different methodologies for retrieving eBC integrating different options for calculating MAC including: locally derived, median value calculated from 22 sites, and site-specific rolling MAC. The eBC concentrations that underwent correction using these methods were identified as LeBC (local MAC), MeBC (median MAC), and ReBC (Rolling MAC) respectively. Pronounced differences (up to more than 50 %) were observed between eBC as directly provided by FAPs (NeBC; Nominal instrumental MAC) and ReBC due to the differences observed between the experimental and nominal MAC values. The median MAC was 7.8 ± 3.4 m2 g-1 from 12 aethalometers at 880 nm, and 10.6 ± 4.7 m2 g-1 from 10 MAAPs at 637 nm. The experimental MAC showed significant site and seasonal dependencies, with heterogeneous patterns between summer and winter in different regions. In addition, long-term trend analysis revealed statistically significant (s.s.) decreasing trends in EC. Interestingly, we showed that the corresponding corrected eBC trends are not independent of the way eBC is calculated due to the variability of MAC. NeBC and EC decreasing trends were consistent at sites with no significant trend in experimental MAC. Conversely, where MAC showed s.s. trend, the NeBC and EC trends were not consistent while ReBC concentration followed the same pattern as EC. These results underscore the importance of accounting for MAC variations when deriving eBC measurements from FAPs and emphasize the necessity of incorporating EC observations to constrain the uncertainty associated with eBC.</p

Changes in Sub-micron Number Size Distributions at Czech Rural and Urban Background Stations in the Last Ten Years.

In the Czech Republic, long-term sub-micron measurement has been set up simultaneously at two background stations, almost ten years ago. The first station is Prague-Suchdol, an urban background station that started in 11/2007, the second is Košetice observatory, a rural background station starting its measurement in 4/2008

SMPS Spectra during Various Meteorological Conditions

This work describes first results of categorization of aerosol PSD according to the various meteorological conditions connected to atmospheric humidity

Comparison of Particle Number Size Distributions in Three Central European Capital Cities

Health aspects of ultrafine aerosol particles in urban environment have been studied extensively in recent years (Salma et al., 2011; Putaud et al., 2010; Qian et al., 2007 etc.). Three main sources of the ultrafine particles have been defined – traffic, biomass burning, and atmospheric nucleation. However, the diurnal changes in intensities of individual sources are of considerable extent, similarly to the scale of variations in particle number concentrations due to meteorological phenomena

Spatial variability of precipitation annual cycles

This thesis enquires into the spatial variability of precipitation annual cycles and its representation by regional climate models. Goal is to find suitable metrics that could describe spatial character of the precipitation field and consequently evaluate model results. For complete understanding the issue, there is an introduction to modeling with regional climate models and also parameters of the precipitation in the Czech Republic. The main part of the thesis is an application of different methods of descripiton on the results of the regional climate models (including the Czech model ALADIN) and CRU data. Results of the models are compared to observed data transferred into the regular grid. Each method is applied on the model results and assessed with regard to advantages and disadvantages. The metrics that were found useful are recommended for the further evaluation of the spatial variability of precipitation annual cycles. The ALADIN model seems to be quite successfull, weak points are only modelling of the precipitation in spring and the effect of the continentality and oceanity on the precipitation annual cycles

Fog and Cloud Processingof SMPS Spectra

Atmospheric aerosols have been studied extensively due to the confirmed influence of aerosols on global climate, aerosol – clouds interactions, atmospheric visibility, human health etc. (Kerminen et al., 2005; IPCC, 2007; Wichmann et al., 2000). However, the uncertainties connected to the effects of aerosols on phenomena in the atmosphere are considerable – there are various sources of aerosol particles, having different chemical compositions and particle size distributions (PSD). Moreover, the atmospheric aerosol is exposed to both dry and wet deposition, which further inflences the PSD. In this work, we have focused on cloud and fog processing of aerosol PSD

Statistical Evaluation of New Particles Formation Events at Košetice Station

In this work, we present a basic statistical evaluation of NPF at Košetice background station in the region of middle Europe.Variability between the two years is not high, especially ratio of NPF events to all classifiable days varies only by several percents between the two years. Results from Košetice station are very similar to those from Hyytiala station (Finland), despite different geographical location and different time periods

(IN)DEPENDENCE OF AEROSOL ACTIVATION ON CLOUD POSITION

Five in situ campaigns focused on aerosol-cloud interactions were conducted at Mount Milešovka in the Czech Republic to gain more insight into aerosol activation and its dependence on meteorological parameters, mainly vertical air velocity and position within the cloud. The activated fraction was calculated from the difference of concentrations measured behind the whole air inlet and the PM2.5 inlet. The liquid water content (LWC) was calculated from visibility, cloud base position was estimated from ceilometer data. Vertical air velocity was estimated from cloud radar. No strong dependence was found between visibility and vertical velocity, suggesting that the clouds at the station are mostly of advection or inversion origin. Both visibility and LWC depend on the position within the cloud, with the highest LWC values found when the station was between 100 and 400 m above the cloud base, independently of the actual value