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J Hazard Mater 2021 08 17;416:126127. Epub 2021 May 17.

Guangdong Provincial Key Laboratory of Soil and Groundwater Pollution Control, and State Environmental Protection Key Laboratory of Integrated Surface Water-Groundwater Pollution Control, School of Environmental Science and Engineering, Southern University of Science and Technology, Shenzhen, China; Consortium on Health, Environment, Education and Research (CHEER), Department of Science and Environmental Studies, The Education University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong, China. Electronic address:

The inefficient and incomplete combustion of solid fuel (SF) is associated with high levels of indoor air pollutants leading to 3.55 million deaths annually. The risk is higher in women and children, due to their higher exposure duration and unique physical properties. Read More

Chemosphere 2021 Apr 26;269:128735. Epub 2020 Oct 26.

Faculty of Science, Engineering and Built Environment, Deakin University, Burwood, VIC, 3125, Australia. Electronic address:

Mangrove plays an important role in modulating global warming through substantial blue carbon storage relative to their greenhouse gas emission potential. The presence of heavy metals in mangrove wetlands can influence soil microbial communities with implications for decomposition of soil organic matter and emission of greenhouse gases. In this study, field monitoring and a microcosm experiment were conducted to examine the impacts of heavy metal pollution on soil microbial communities and greenhouse gas fluxes. Read More

Environ Health Prev Med 2020 Sep 26;25(1):56. Epub 2020 Sep 26.

Department of Public Health, Sagami Women's University, Sagamihara, 252-0383, Japan.

Background: We previously demonstrated that continuous exposure to nitrous acid gas (HONO) for 4 weeks, at a concentration of 3.6 parts per million (ppm), induced pulmonary emphysema-like alterations in guinea pigs. In addition, we found that HONO affected asthma symptoms, based on the measurement of respiratory function in rats exposed to 5. Read More

Environ Pollut 2020 Feb 16;257:113556. Epub 2019 Nov 16.

Collaborative Innovation Center on Forecast and Evaluation of Meteorological Disasters, School of Applied Meteorology, Nanjing University of Information Science & Technology, Nanjing 210044, China.

The effects of warming and elevated ozone (O) concentrations on nitrous oxide (NO) emission from cropland has received increasing attention; however, the small number of studies on this topic impedes understanding. A field experiment was performed to explore the role of warming and elevated O concentrations on NO emission from wheat-soybean rotation cropland from 2012 to 2013 using open-top chambers (OTCs). Experimental treatments included ambient temperature (control), elevated temperature (+2 °C), elevated O (100 ppb), and combined elevated temperature (+2 °C) and O (100 ppb). Read More

Environ Pollut 2020 Jan 8;256:113347. Epub 2019 Oct 8.

Key Laboratory of Pollution Processes and Environmental Criteria (Ministry of Education), Tianjin Engineering Center of Environmental Diagnosis and Contamination Remediation, College of Environmental Science and Engineering, Nankai University, Tianjin 300350, China.

Microplastics (MPs) are characterized by small particle sizes (<5 mm) and are widely distributed in the soil environment. To date, little research has been conducted on investigating the effects of MPs on the soil microbial community, which plays a vital role in biogeochemical cycling. In the present study, we investigate the influence of two particle sizes of MPs on dissolved organic carbon (DOC) and its relative functional groups, fluxes of greenhouse gases (GHGs), and the bacterial and fungal communities in fertilized soil. Read More

MethodsX 2018 19;5:656-668. Epub 2018 Jun 19.

Federal University of São Carlos (UFSCar) - Department of Environmental Sciences, Rod. João Leme dos Santos Km 110, 18052-780, Sorocaba, SP, Brazil.

This methodology is proposed to measure the fluxes of trace gases among microcosms and the atmosphere. As microcosm respiration we include both aerobic and anaerobic respiration, which may results in CO, CH, NO, NO, N, HS and H fluxes. Its applicability includes the assessment of products biodegradability and toxicity, the effect of treatments and products on greenhouse gases fluxes, and the mineralization of organic fertilizers. Read More

Sci Total Environ 2018 Sep 5;636:1408-1415. Epub 2018 May 5.

Key Laboratory of Three Gorges Reservoir Region's Eco-Environment, Ministry of Education, Chongqing University, Chongqing 400045, PR China. Electronic address:

The fungicide chlorothalonil (CHT) has been widely used in the tea orchard due to its high-efficiency and sterilization. It has been reported that repeated application of CHT inhibits soil nitrification process. However, the acute impact of CHT on soil denitrification and associated NO emissions is unclear. Read More

Inhal Toxicol 2018 Mar - Apr;30(4-5):149-158. Epub 2018 Jun 4.

f Department of Applied Chemistry , Graduate School of Engineering, Osaka Prefecture University , Sakai , Japan.

We examined the baseline pulmonary resistance (RLung), baseline dynamic lung compliance (Cdyn), cytokine inductions, and histological alterations in rats exposed to nitrous acid (HONO) with secondary products of nitrogen dioxide (NO) and nitric oxide (NO) to assess its biological effects. We exposed three groups of nine male F344 rats to different doses of HONO for six weeks (24 h/day). The cumulative values of HONO concentration were measured twice. Read More

Environ Res 2018 01 21;160:398-411. Epub 2017 Oct 21.

Faculty of Management, Universiti Teknologi Malaysia, 81310 Skudai, Johor, Malaysia.

The aim of this study is to examine the impact of air pollutants, including mono-nitrogen oxides (NOx), nitrous oxide (NO), sulfur dioxide (SO), carbon dioxide emissions (CO), and greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions on ecological footprint, habitat area, food supply, and biodiversity in a panel of thirty-four developed and developing countries, over the period of 1995-2014. The results reveal that NOx and SO emissions both have a negative relationship with ecological footprints, while NO emission and real GDP per capita have a direct relationship with ecological footprints. NOx has a positive relationship with forest area, per capita food supply and biological diversity while CO emission and GHG emission have a negative impact on food production. Read More

Nanoscale Res Lett 2017 Dec 2;12(1):478. Epub 2017 Aug 2.

Technical Center for Safety of Industrial Products of Tianjin Entry-Exit Inspection and Quarantine Bureau, Tianjin, 300308, China.

Nanoscale titanium dioxide (nano-TiO) has been widely used in industry and medicine. However, the safety of nano-TiO exposure remains unclear. In this study, we evaluated the liver, brain, and embryo toxicity and the underlying mechanism of nano-TiO using mice models. Read More

Hum Exp Toxicol 2017 Mar 11;36(3):238-246. Epub 2016 Jul 11.

4 Department of Environmental Health Sciences, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI, USA.

The objective of this study was to determine if the association between exposure to ambient air pollutants such as sulfur dioxide, nitrogen dioxde (NO), nitrous oxide (NO), and PM, and variation in lung function measures was modified by genotype. A validated questionnaire was administered to 71 African children to evaluate prevalence of respiratory symptoms. Atopy was evaluated by skin-prick testing and bihourly measures of lung function (spirometry) were collected. Read More

Anesth Analg 2016 Apr;122(4):996-1006

From the *Department of Anesthesiology, Sidney Kimmel Medical College, Thomas Jefferson University, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania; †Division of Management Consulting, Department of Anesthesia, University of Iowa, Iowa City, Iowa; and ‡Department of Anesthesiology, Thomas Jefferson University, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.

Background: Reducing fresh gas flow (FGF) during general anesthesia reduces costs by decreasing the consumption of volatile anesthetics and attenuates their contribution to greenhouse gas pollution of the environment. The sevoflurane FGF recommendations in the Food and Drug Administration package insert relate to concern over potential toxicity from accumulation in the breathing circuit of compound A, a by-product of the reaction of the volatile agent with legacy carbon dioxide absorbents containing strong alkali such as sodium or potassium hydroxide. Newer, nonreactive absorbents do not produce compound A, making such restrictions moot. Read More

Eur J Anaesthesiol 2016 May;33(5):356-60

From the Service d'Anesthesie Reanimation Chirurgicale, Hopitaux Universitaires, Strasbourg, France (PAD, JP, EN); IRCAD-EITS, Strasbourg, France (MD); Laboratoire de Physiologie EA 3072, Faculté de médecine, Strasbourg, France (BG); and Department of Anesthesiology, and Pain Management, University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center, Dallas, Texas, USA (GPJ).

Background: Nitrous oxide (N2O) is still considered an important component of general anaesthesia. However, should gas embolisation occur as result of carbon dioxide (CO2) pneumoperitoneum, N2O may compromise safety, as the consequences of a gas embolus consisting of a combination of CO2 and N2O may be more severe than CO2 alone.

Objective: This experimental study was designed to compare the cardiopulmonary consequences of gas embolisation with a N2O/CO2 mixture, or CO2 alone. Read More

J Hazard Mater 2015 Apr 19;286:15-29. Epub 2014 Dec 19.

Advanced Environmental Biotechnology Centre (AEBC), Nanyang Environment and Water Research Centre (NEWRI), Nanyang Technological University,Singapore 637141, Singapore; Department of Chemical Engineering, Imperial College London, SW7 2AZ, UK. Electronic address:

Biological wastewater treatment processes (WWTPs), by nature of their reliance on biological entities to degrade organics and sometimes remove nutrients, are vulnerable to toxicants present in their influent. Various toxicity measurement methods have been adopted for biological WWTPs, but most are performed off-line, and cannot be adapted to on-line monitoring tools to provide an early warning for WWTP operators. However, the past decade has seen a rapid expansion in the research and development of biosensors that can be used for toxicity assessment of aquatic environments. Read More

Inhal Toxicol 2014 Sep;26(11):691-6

Lovelace Respiratory Research Institute , Albuquerque, NM , USA .

An experiment was conducted to test the hypothesis that a mixture of five inorganic gases could reproduce certain central vascular effects of repeated inhalation exposure of apolipoprotein E-deficient mice to diesel or gasoline engine exhaust. The hypothesis resulted from preceding multiple additive regression tree (MART) analysis of a composition-concentration-response database of mice exposed by inhalation to the exhausts and other complex mixtures. The five gases were the predictors most important to MART models best fitting the vascular responses. Read More

Zhonghua Yi Xue Za Zhi 2012 Apr;92(13):873-7

Department of Anesthesiology, Second Affiliated Hospital, Wenzhou Medical College, Wenzhou 325027, China.

Objective: To evaluate the efficacy of ultrasound guidance for ilioinguinal or iliohypogastric nerve block in pediatric outpatients undergoing inguinal surgery.

Methods: The present study was approved by the ethics committee of our hospital. One hundred children with ASA status I, aged 4 - 8 years old, scheduled for unilateral inguinal surgery were randomly divided into ultrasound group (Group U) and traditional group (Group T) (n = 50 each). Read More

Environ Res 2012 Aug 6;117:36-45. Epub 2012 Jun 6.

South Florida Asthma Consortium, Ft. Lauderdale, FL, USA.

Background: Asthma affects more than 17 million people in the United States;1/3 of these are children. Children are particularly vulnerable to airborne pollution because of their narrower airways and because they generally breathe more air per pound of body weight than adults, increasing their exposure to air pollutants. However, the results from previous studies on the association between motor vehicle emissions and the development of childhood wheeze and asthma are conflicting. Read More

World Health Organ Tech Rep Ser 2010 (956):1-80, back cover

This report represents the conclusions of a Joint FAO/WHO Expert Committee convened to evaluate the safety of various food additives, with a view to recommending acceptable daily intakes (ADIs) and to preparing specifications for identity and purity. The first part of the report contains a general discussion of the principles governing the toxicological evaluation and assessment of intake of food additives. A summary follows of the Committee's evaluations of technical, toxicological and intake data for certain food additives: branching glycosyltransferase from Rhodothermus obamensis expressed in Bacillus subtilis, cassia gum, cyclamic acid and its salts (dietary exposure assessment), cyclotetraglucose and cyclotetraglucose syrup, ferrous ammonium phosphate, glycerol ester of gum rosin, glycerol ester of tall oil rosin, lycopene from all sources, lycopene extract from tomato, mineral oil (low and medium viscosity) class II and class III, octenyl succinic acid modified gum arabic, sodium hydrogen sulfate and sucrose oligoesters type I and type II. Read More

Int J Hyg Environ Health 2011 Jan 18;214(1):1-25. Epub 2010 Sep 18.

Helmholtz Zentrum München, National Research Center for Environmental Health, Institute of Epidemiology, Munich, Germany.

Asthma has become the most common, childhood chronic disease in the industrialized world, and it is also increasing in developing regions. There are huge differences in the prevalence of childhood asthma across countries and continents, and there is no doubt that the prevalence of asthma was strongly increasing during the past decades worldwide. Asthma, as a complex disease, has a broad spectrum of potential determinants ranging from genetics to life style and environmental factors. Read More

Inhal Toxicol 2010 Sep;22(11):930-6

Department of Environmental Health, Osaka Prefectural Institute of Public Health, Osaka, Japan.

Many epidemiological studies on the effects of nitrogen dioxide (NO(2)) on respiratory function may have included nitrous acid (HONO) exposures in their measures, because conventional NO(2) assays detect HONO as NO(2). A few epidemiological studies and human HONO inhalation experiments have associated HONO with decrements in lung functions. However, there have been few HONO exposure experiments in animals. Read More

Toxicol In Vitro 2010 Mar 10;24(2):363-9. Epub 2009 Nov 10.

Energy and Environment Research Division, Japan Automobile Research Institute, Japan.

To evaluate the health effects of diesel emissions (DE) using an in vitro experiment, A549 cells were exposed to emission from a diesel engine on an engine dynamo, using a culture-cell-exposure device. Three groups were set according to cell exposure to high concentrations of particulate matter (PM) and/or nitrogen dioxide (NO(2)). The emissions of each group was dilution rate 1:100 and 1:10, and PM was 0. Read More

Asia Pac J Public Health 2008 ;20(1):36-48

Vallabhbhai Patel Chest Institute, University of Delhi, Delhi 110007, India.

The objective of this study was to investigate the effects of indoor air pollution on respiratory function of children (aged 7-15 years). The study took place at Ashok Vihar, an urban locality in the northwest part of Delhi during the summer months of June and July 2004. The team did house visits. Read More

Anesth Analg 2009 Jan;108(1):90-104

Department of Anesthesia, Cincinnati Children's Hospital Medical Center, Cincinnati, Ohio 45229, USA.

Background: Volatile anesthetics, such as isoflurane, are widely used in infants and neonates. Neurodegeneration and neurocognitive impairment after exposure to isoflurane, midazolam, and nitrous oxide in neonatal rats have raised concerns regarding the safety of pediatric anesthesia. In neonatal mice, prolonged isoflurane exposure triggers hypoglycemia, which could be responsible for the neurocognitive impairment. Read More

J Toxicol Environ Health A 2008 ;71(13-14):976-80

Institute of Hygiene and Occupational Medicine, University Hospital Essen, Essen, Germany.

Surface-treated titanium dioxide (TiO(2)) particles coated with vanadium pentoxide (V(2)O(5)) are used industrially for selective catalytic reactions such as the removal of nitrous oxide from exhaust gases of combustion power plants (SCR process) and in biomaterials for increasing the strength of implants. In the present study, untreated ultrafine TiO(2) particles (anatase, diameter: 30-50 nm) and vanadium pentoxide (V(2)O(5))-treated anatase particles were tested for their cyto- and genotoxic effects in V79 cells (hamster lung fibroblasts). Cytotoxic effects of the particles were assessed by trypan blue exclusion, while genotoxic effects were investigated by micronucleus (MN) assay. Read More

Arch Environ Occup Health 2007 ;62(2):75-80

Vallabhbhai Patel Chest Institute, University of Delhi, India.

The authors conducted this prospective study at the Shahdara industrial area of Delhi, India. They examined the effects of indoor and outdoor air pollutant levels on respiratory health in 394 children aged 7 to 15 years. The majority of children had a history of respiratory problems, including cough (62. Read More

J Egypt Public Health Assoc 2003 ;78(3-4):225-44

Occupational Health Dep., High Institute of Public Health, Alex. University, Egypt.

The emissions from medical waste incinerators might perform a threat to the environment and the Public Health, the aim of the present work is to evaluate the emissions of six medical waste incinerators in six hospitals in Alexandria, Namely; Gamal Abd El-Naser, Sharq El-Madina, Central Blood Bank, Fever, Medical Research Institute, and Al-Mo'asat, ordered serially from 1 to 6. Five air pollutants were sampled and analyzed in the emissions comprising smoke, lead, carbon monoxide, sulphur dioxide and nitrogen oxides. The results of the present study have revealed that all the average values of gases in the six incinerators were within the limits stated in Egyptian environmental law, where as carbonaceous particulate (smoke) averages of the six incinerators have exceeded the maximum allowable limit in the law. Read More

Environ Pollut 2007 Feb 4;145(3):818-28. Epub 2006 Aug 4.

Department of Biological and Environmental Sciences, University of Helsinki, P.O. Box 27, 00014 Helsinki, Finland.

Open-top chambers (OTCs) were used to evaluate the effects of moderately elevated O3 (40-50 ppb) and CO2 (+100 ppm) and their combination on N2O, CH4 and CO2 fluxes from ground-planted meadow mesocosms. Bimonthly measurements in 2002-2004 showed that the daily fluxes of N2O, CH4 and CO2 reacted mainly to elevated O3, while the fluxes of CO2 also responded to elevated CO2. However, the fluxes did not show any marked response when elevated O3 and CO2 were combined. Read More

Arch Environ Health 2004 Dec;59(12):663-8

Department of Healthcare Information and Management, Ming Chuan University, Taoyuan, Taiwan, ROC.

This study investigated the influence of petrochemical air pollution on birth weight. Birth data on 92,288 singleton infants with gestational periods of 37-44 wk born in a petrochemical industrial city (Kaohsiung, n = 31,530) with severe pollution or a nonpetrochemical industrial city (Taipei, n = 60,758) in Taiwan between 1995 and 1997 were included in this analysis. Air pollutant concentration derived from routinely monitored data showed significantly higher concentrations of SO2, O3, and PM10 in Kaohsiung. Read More

J Environ Qual 2006 Jul-Aug;35(4):973-81. Epub 2006 May 31.

Department of Plant Biology and Ecology, University of the Basque Country, Apdo. 644, E-48080 Bilbao, Bizkaia, Spain.

Intensively managed grasslands are potentially a large source of NH3, N2O, and NO emissions because of the large input of nitrogen (N) in fertilizers. Addition of nitrification inhibitors (NI) to fertilizers maintains soil N in ammonium form. Consequently, N2O and NO losses are less likely to occur and the potential for N utilization is increased, and NH3 volatilization may be increased. Read More