Effects of Environmental Emissions on the Respiratory System: Secrets and Consequences

Human health has been affected adversely by air pollution as a serious environmental challenge. Ambient (outdoor) air pollution mainly resulted from human activities (e.g., fuel combustion, heat generation, industrial facilities) causes 4.2 million deaths every year. Moreover, each year, 3.8 million people die from indoor air pollution which means household exposure to smoke from fuels and dirty cook stoves. They are the risks of stroke, heart attack, lung disease, or cancer that resulted from air pollution which assaults our brain, heart, and lungs using its invisible weapons named particulate matter (PM). These inhalable particles are of a nanoscale or microscale size. Upon inhalation, the air with its components enters the human body through the respiratory system. The lungs are the responsible organs for gas exchange with blood. Inhaled particles, such as silica, organic compounds, and metallic dusts, have toxic effects on our pulmonary system. For example, the accumulation of nanoparticles in the kidneys, liver, spleen, and central nervous system through the penetration of the epithelial barriers in the lungs has been observed. The purpose of this chapter is to describe the toxic effects of air particles on the different organs in the human body and to introduce some of the adverse effects of air pollution on human health

Is the shape of air particulate matter important? A study on the interactions of the two shapes of titanium dioxide nanoparticles with a model of pulmonary surfactant

Air quality indices are measured based on the concentration and size of the particles. But should the shape of these particles be considered as well? Upon inhalation, Air Particulate Matter with a size of less than or equal to 2.5μm (PM2.5) can reach the deepest areas of the respiratory system called alveolar region where the gas exchange with blood circulation happens. In this zone, the walls of almost 500 million tiny alveoli sacs are lined with a tiny layer of fluid which causes a high surface tension and instability in this large air-liquid interface. However, thanks to the lung surfactant, there is no collapse of this region in a healthy human. Therefore, the first barrier that PM2.5 encounter before reaching the blood circulation is the interface covered by a monolayer of lung surfactant molecules. The purpose of this research is to study the interfacial properties of these monolayers interacted with titanium (IV) oxide nanoparticles with two different shapes, spherical and irregular ones, and with the same average size of 20 nm. Dipalmitoyl phosphatidylcholine (DPPC) as one of the main constituents of the pulmonary surfactant was used as the synthetic model. Using Profile Analysis Tensiometry (PAT) as an automatic set-up working based on Young-Laplace equation, we measured the interfacial tension and surface dilatational viscoelasticity in the pendant drop mode. The temperature was constant at 37℃. Four different amplitudes, 1, 2, 5, and 10, for the volume change of drops were used. Moreover, various frequencies, 0.1, 0.125, 0.25, and 0.5 Hz, were applied as the representative of the breathing cycle at different ages for a healthy human. The dependence of the interfacial and mechanical properties of the bespoke monolayers on the shape of the nanoparticles can be considered as an important factor for the environmental authorities

Corrosion stratifications on glass jewellery excavated beneath the market square in Kraków, Poland

Glass has been one of the materials selected for its decorative purposes since early mankind. Its production was complex and varied all around the world, considering the sources of local materials used for its production as well technological knowledge about the manufacturing process. The aim of this work is to put some light on glass jewelry unearthed during the archeological excavations at the Main Market Square in Kraków, and to increase the importance of a stratifications investigation of ancient subjects by induced corrosion, using glass sensors.The collected data helps to determinate the definitive condition of a historical object. This data will also help to establish the chemical nature of the corrosion products and the altered glass and metal surfaces. Moreover, the ring presented in this work can be considered to be from a small group of fine medieval jewelry corresponding to the upper class of the population, such as the nobility or wealthy merchants. Such individuals dealt with the exchange of goods with foreign countries. Because of a very limited amount of analytical material, only nondestructive analysis: scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (EDXS), X-ray diffraction (XRD), X-ray fluorescence spectrometry (XRF), glass sensors were applied. The glass and metal have been tested separately

Optical Fiber: A Potential Method for Critical Micelle Concentration Measurement

Critical Micelle Concentration (CMC) of the surfactants is one of the most significant nominal properties of their solutions. This characteristic affects interfacial phenomena and bulk properties. In this study, two methods are used to measure the CMC of two ionic surfactants, CTAB and SDS. The first technique is the drop profile analysis tensiometry (PAT) method and the second one is optical fiber technique. The purpose of this research is to find the potential of optical fiber method as a potential way to measure the CMC because it has been proved to be helpful for in-situ measurements of chemical properties. The spectrum width centre obtained by optical fiber and surface tension of measured by PAT at different concentrations of the surfactant in the solutions were compared together. The preliminary results demonstrated that there is a compliance between optical fiber and PAT techniques. However, the behaviour of two surfactants, one cationic and one anionic, was different in the optical fiber measurement. Based on the outcomes, it is important to consider the interactions between surfactant molecules and the solid surface of the fiber. The setup of the optical fiber should be in a closed volume chamber, and the hydrophilicity/hydrophobicity of the fiber should be determined

Can optical fiber compete with profile analysis tensiometry in critical micelle concentration measurement?

Critical micelle concentration (CMC) is one of the important nominal characteristics of the surfactants which can be measured using various methods. In this study, to detect the CMC of two ionic surfactants, cetyltrimethylammonium bromide (CTAB) and sodium dodecyl sulfate (SDS), two methods were utilized: (a) optical fiber and (b) drop profile analysis tensiometry (PAT) techniques. The spectrum width center and surface tension of the solutions at different concentrations of the surfactant were measured. The preliminary outcomes showed a compliance between optical fiber method and PAT technique. However, there were differences in the behavior of two surfactants in optical fiber measurement. In this method, when the solid surface of fiber is put in the system, the interactions between surfactant molecules and the fiber surface must be carefully considered

Particle and Particle-Surfactant Mixtures at Fluid Interfaces: Assembly, Morphology, and Rheological Description

We report here a review of particle-laden interfaces. We discuss the importance of the particle’s wettability, accounted for by the definition of a contact angle, on the attachment of particles to the fluid interface and how the contact angle is strongly affected by several physicochemical parameters. The different mechanisms of interfacial assembly are also addressed, being the adsorption and spreading the most widely used processes leading to the well-known adsorbed and spread layers, respectively. The different steps involved in the adsorption of the particles and the particle-surfactant mixtures from bulk to the interface are also discussed. We also include here the different equations of state provided so far to explain the interfacial behavior of the nanoparticles. Finally, we discuss the mechanical properties of the interfacial particle layers via dilatational and shear rheology. We emphasize along that section the importance of the shear rheology to know the intrinsic morphology of such particulate system and to understand how the flow-field-dependent evolution of the interfacial morphology might eventually affect some properties of materials such as foams and emulsions. We dedicated the last section to explaining the importance of the particulate interfacial systems in the stabilization of foams and emulsions.Peer Reviewe

Identification of the phase composition of solid microparticles in the nasal mucosa of patients with chronic hypertrophic rhinitis using Raman microspectroscopy

Solid particles, predominantly in micron and submicron sizes, have repeatedly been observed as a threat to a human health unique compared to the other textures of the same materials. In this work, the hypothesis the solid metal-based particles play a role in the pathogenesis of chronic hypertrophic rhinitis was investigated in patients who had not responded positively to medication. In the group of 40 randomly selected patients indicated for surgical mucotomy, the presence of solid micro- and submicron particles present in their nasal mucosa was assessed. For comparison, a set of 13 reference samples from patients without diagnosed chronic hypertrophic rhinitis was evaluated. The analysis was performed using Raman microspectroscopy. The advantage of this method is the direct identification of compounds. The main detected compounds in the mucosa samples of patients with chronic hypertrophic rhinitis were TiO2, carbon-based compounds, CaCO3, Ca(Fe, Mg, Mn)(CO3)2 MgCO3, Fe2O3, BaSO4, FeCO3 and compounds of Al and Si, all of which may pose a health risk to a living organism. In the reference samples, only TiO2 and amorphous carbon were found. In the control group mucosa, a significantly lower presence of most of the assessed compounds was found despite the longer time they had to accumulate them due to their higher mean age. Identification and characterisation of such chemicals compounds in a living organism could contribute to the overall picture of the health of the individual and lead to a better understanding of the possible causes not only in the chronic hypertrophic rhinitis, but also in other mucosal and idiopathic diseases

Corrosion stratifications on glass jewellery excavated beneath the market square in Kraków, Poland

Tyt. z nagłówka.Bibliogr. s. 233-240.Glass has been one of the materials selected for its decorative purposes since early mankind. Its production was complex and varied all around the world, considering the sources of local materials used for its production as well technological knowledge about the manufacturing process. The aim of this work is to put some light on glass jewelry unearthed during the archeological excavations at the Main Market Square in Kraków, and to increase the importance of a stratifications investigation of ancient subjects by induced corrosion, using glass sensors. The collected data helps to determinate the definitive condition of a historical object. This data will also help to establish the chemical nature of the corrosion products and the altered glass and metal surfaces. Moreover, the ring presented in this work can be considered to be from a small group of fine medieval jewelry corresponding to the upper class of the population, such as the nobility or wealthy merchants. Such individuals dealt with the exchange of goods with foreign countries. Because of a very limited amount of analytical material, only nondestructive analysis: scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (EDXS), X-ray diffraction (XRD), X-ray fluorescence spectrometry (XRF), glass sensors were applied. The glass and metal have been tested separately.Dostępny również w formie drukowanej.KEYWORDS: induced corrosion, glass corrosion, metal corrosion, glass jewelry, glass sensor

Activated carbon monoliths from particle stabilized foams

Particle stabilized liquid foams are used as templates to obtain carbon-based porous materials with open cell structure, high specific area and hierarchical porosity. This route relies on gel casting to strengthen the structure of the liquid foams, followed by high temperature treatment to eliminate organic components and obtain solid foams. The liquid foam stabilizer was a commercial activated carbon powder, characterized by high porosity and irregular morphology of the particles, associated with a cationic surfactant. The micro-structure and the textural properties of the final solid materials have been investigated by Scanning Electronic Microscopy and Nitrogen adsorption methods. The results show that this method can be used to fabricate high specific area porous materials in the form of monoliths, with adequate consistence and mechanical resistance. The materials obtained seem promising for many practical applications such as gas adsorption, filtering and catalysis

Carbon based porous materials from particle stabilized wet foams

In this work, a method is proposed for the production of carbon porous materials based on the foaming of a carbon colloidal dispersion in the presence of a short chain ionic surfactant (CTAB) and Poly(vinyl alcohol) followed by the in situ polymerization by cross-linking with 2,5-dimethoxy-2,5-dihydrofuran (DHF). The particle stabilized wet foams are used as templates for the gel-casting providing porous materials with carbon particles mainly distributed at the surface of the cells. This sample so obtained is then submitted to a high temperature treatment to remove all organic components from the matrix and get a compact carbon solid foam. The morphology of the samples obtained according to this procedure have been analyzed via Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM) and different aspects regarding both the procedure and the composition of the initial dispersion have been investigated such as the role of the surfactant, the dependence on the particle concentration and the temperature adopted during the thermal treatment