Living near Main Streets and Respiratory Symptoms in Adults: The Swiss Cohort Study on Air Pollution and Lung Diseases in Adults

The Swiss Cohort Study on Air Pollution and Lung Diseases in Adults (SAPALDIA), conducted in 1991 (SAPALDIA 1) in eight areas among 9,651 randomly selected adults aged 18-60 years, reported associations among the prevalence of respiratory symptoms, nitrogen dioxide, and particles with an aerodynamic diameter of less than 10 μg/m3. Later, 8,047 subjects reenrolled in 2002 (SAPALDIA 2). The effects of individually assigned traffic exposures on reported respiratory symptoms were estimated, while controlling for socioeconomic and exposure- and health-related factors. The risk of attacks of breathlessness increased for all subjects by 13% (95% confidence interval: 3, 24) per 500-m increment in the length of main street segments within 200 m of the home and decreased in never smokers by 12% (95% confidence interval: 0, 22) per 100-m increment in distance from home to a main street. Living within 20 m of a main street increased the risks of regular phlegm by 15% (95% confidence interval: 0, 31) and wheezing with breathing problems by 34% (95% confidence interval: 0, 79) in never smokers. In 2002, the effects related to road distance were different from those in 1991, which could be due to changes in the traffic pollution mixture. These findings among a general population provide strong confirmation that living near busy streets leads to adverse respiratory health effect

Impacts of highway traffic exhaust in alpine valleys on the respiratory health in adults: a cross-sectional study

BACKGROUND: Most studies having shown respiratory health effects from traffic exhaust were conducted in urban areas with a complex mixture of air pollution sources. This study has investigated the potential impact of traffic exhaust on respiratory symptoms among adults living along a Swiss alpine highway corridor, where traffic exhaust from the respective trans-Alpine highway is the predominant source of air pollution. METHODS: In summer 2005, we recruited 1839 adults aged 15 to 70 from a random sample of 10 communities along the Swiss alpine highway corridors. Subjects answered a questionnaire on respiratory health (asthmatic and bronchitic symptoms), risk factors, and potential confounding variables. We used logistic regression models to assess associations between respiratory symptoms and traffic exposure being defined a) as living within 200 m of the highway, and b) as a bell-shaped function simulating the decrease of pollution levels with increasing distance to the highway. RESULTS: Positive associations were found between living close to a highway and wheezing without cold (OR = 3.10, 95%-CI: 1.27-7.55) and chronic cough (OR = 2.88, 95%-CI: 1.17-7.05). The models using a bell-shaped function suggested that symptoms reached background levels after 400-500 m from the highway. The association with chronic cough was driven by a subgroup reporting hay fever or allergic rhinitis. CONCLUSIONS: Highway traffic exhaust in alpine highway corridors, in the absence of other industrial sources, showed negative associations with the respiratory health of adults, higher than those previously found in urban areas

Photophysical properties of three-dimensional transition metal tris-oxalate network structures

Excitation energy transfer processes play an important role in many areas of physics, chemistry and biology. The three-dimensional oxalate networks of composition [MIII(bpy)3][MIMIII(ox)3]ClO4 (bpy=2,2-bipyridine, ox=oxalate, MI=alkali ion) allow for a variety of combinations of different transition metal ions. The combination with chromium(III) on both the tris-bipyridine as well as the tris-oxalate site constitutes a model system in which it is possible to differentiate unambiguously between energy transfer from [Cr(ox)3]3– to [Cr(bpy)3]3+ due to dipole-dipole interaction on the one hand and exchange interaction on the other hand. Furthermore it is possible to just as unambiguously differentiate between the common temperature dependent phonon-assisted energy migration within the 2E state of [Cr(ox)3]3–, and a unique resonant process

Luminescence and Energy Transfer of [Ru(bpy) 3 ] 2+ , [Cr(ox) 3 ] 3- , and [Os(bpy) 3 ] 2+ in Three-Dimensional Oxalato-Networks

Luminescence and energy transfer in [Zn1-xRux(bpy)3][NaAl1-yCry(ox)3] (x ≈ 0.01, y = 0.006 − 0.22; bpy = 2,2‘-bipyridine, ox = C2O42-) and [Zn1-x-yRuxOsy(bpy)3][NaAl(ox)3] (x ≈ 0.01, y = 0.012) are presented and discussed. Surprisingly, the luminescence of the isolated luminophores [Ru(bpy)3]2+ and [Os(bpy)3]2+ in [Zn(bpy)3][NaAl(ox)3] is hardly quenched at room temperature. Steady-state luminescence spectra and decay curves show that energy transfer occurs between [Ru(bpy)3]2+ and [Cr(ox)3]3- and between [Ru(bpy)3]2+ and [Os(bpy)3]2+ in [Zn1-xRux(bpy)3][NaAl1-yCry(ox)3] and [Zn1-x-yRuxOsy(bpy)3] [NaAl(ox)3], respectively. For a quantitative investigation of the energy transfer, a shell type model is developed, using a Monte Carlo procedure and the structural parameters of the systems. A good description of the experimental data is obtained assuming electric dipole−electric dipole interaction between donors and acceptors, with a critical distance Rc for [Ru(bpy)3]2+ to [Cr(ox)3]3- energy transfer of 15 Å and for [Ru(bpy)3]2+ to [Os(bpy)3]2+ energy transfer of 33 Å. These values are in good agreement with those derived using the Förster−Dexter theory

PM2.5 assessment in 21 European study centers of ECRHS II: Method and first winter results

To access publisher full text version of this article. Please click on the hyperlink in Additional Links fieldThe follow-up of a cohort of adults from 29 European centers of the former European Community Respiratory Health Survey (ECRHS) I (1989-1992) will examine the long-term effects of exposure to ambient air pollution on the incidence, course, and prognosis of respiratory diseases, in particular asthma and decline in lung function. The purpose of this article is to describe the methodology and the European-wide quality control program for the collection of particles with 50% cut-off size of 2.5 microm aerodynamic diameter (PM2.5) in the ECRHS II and to present the PM2.5 results from the winter period 2000-2001. Because PM2.5 is not routinely monitored in Europe, we measured PM2.5 mass concentrations in 21 participating centers to estimate background exposure in these cities. A standardized protocol was developed using identical equipment in each center (U.S. Environmental Protection Agency Well Impactor Ninety-Six [WINS] and PQ167 from BGI, Inc.). Filters were weighed in a single central laboratory. Sampling was conducted for 7 days per month for a year. Winter mean PM2.5 mass concentrations (November 2000-February 2001) varied substantially, with Iceland reporting the lowest value (5 microg/m3) and northern Italy the highest (69 microg/m3). A standardized procedure appropriate for PM2.5 exposure assessment in a multicenter study was developed. We expect ECRHS II to have sufficient variation in exposure to assess long-term effects of air pollution in this cohort. Any bias caused by variation in the characteristics of the chosen monitoring location (e.g., proximity to traffic sources) will be addressed in later analyses. Given the homogenous spatial distribution of PM2.5, however, concentrations measured near traffic are not expected to differ substantially from those measured at urban background sites

PM2.5 assessment in 21 European study centers of ECRHS II: Method and first winter results

To access publisher full text version of this article. Please click on the hyperlink in Additional Links fieldThe follow-up of a cohort of adults from 29 European centers of the former European Community Respiratory Health Survey (ECRHS) I (1989-1992) will examine the long-term effects of exposure to ambient air pollution on the incidence, course, and prognosis of respiratory diseases, in particular asthma and decline in lung function. The purpose of this article is to describe the methodology and the European-wide quality control program for the collection of particles with 50% cut-off size of 2.5 microm aerodynamic diameter (PM2.5) in the ECRHS II and to present the PM2.5 results from the winter period 2000-2001. Because PM2.5 is not routinely monitored in Europe, we measured PM2.5 mass concentrations in 21 participating centers to estimate background exposure in these cities. A standardized protocol was developed using identical equipment in each center (U.S. Environmental Protection Agency Well Impactor Ninety-Six [WINS] and PQ167 from BGI, Inc.). Filters were weighed in a single central laboratory. Sampling was conducted for 7 days per month for a year. Winter mean PM2.5 mass concentrations (November 2000-February 2001) varied substantially, with Iceland reporting the lowest value (5 microg/m3) and northern Italy the highest (69 microg/m3). A standardized procedure appropriate for PM2.5 exposure assessment in a multicenter study was developed. We expect ECRHS II to have sufficient variation in exposure to assess long-term effects of air pollution in this cohort. Any bias caused by variation in the characteristics of the chosen monitoring location (e.g., proximity to traffic sources) will be addressed in later analyses. Given the homogenous spatial distribution of PM2.5, however, concentrations measured near traffic are not expected to differ substantially from those measured at urban background sites