Pigeons home faster through polluted air.
Ontology highlight
ABSTRACT:
SUBMITTER: Li Z
PROVIDER: S-EPMC4732542 | biostudies-other | 2016 Jan
REPOSITORIES: biostudies-other
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Project description:BACKGROUND:Air pollution has been a serious health issue in Beijing for years. Airborne antibiotic-resistant bacteria could be a potential health crisis as reserve of antibiotic resistance transmission in environment. The composition and antibiotic resistance pattern of culturable bacterial community and how these are affected by air pollution remain unclear. OBJECTIVES:This study aimed to compare the compositions and antibiotic resistance patterns of culturable bacteria in polluted and non-polluted weather conditions in Beijing. METHODS:Air samples were collected indoors and outdoors during polluted and non-polluted weather using six-stage Andersen Samplers. For each isolated bacterium, the 16S ribosomal RNA gene was amplified, sequenced, and blasted against the National Center for Biotechnology Information database Antibiotic resistance was conducted by antimicrobial susceptibility testing. RESULTS:Bacterial concentration in polluted weather was significantly higher than in non-polluted weather, both indoors and outdoors (P?<?0.05). Gram-positive bacteria (GPB) were dominant in both weathers but gram-negative bacteria (GNB) were more abundant in polluted weather than non-polluted weather both indoors and outdoors. Multidrug-resistant (MDR) bacteria occupied 23.7% of all bacterial isolates, 22.4% of isolates from polluted weather and 27.8% of isolates from non-polluted weather. Penicillins were resisted by 72.4% and 83.3% of isolates from polluted and non-polluted weather, respectively. CONCLUSIONS:The bacterial concentration was significantly higher in polluted weather, compared to non-polluted weather. Polluted weather is correlated with changes in the bacterial composition in the air, with a greater abundance of GNB. Penicillins was resisted by over 70% of bacterial isolates. The abundance of MDR bacteria suggested potential risks for human health.
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Project description:China has made great efforts in air pollution control since 2013. However, there is a lack of evaluation of environmental, health and economic co-benefits associated with the national and local air pollution control measures at a city level. We analyzed local air pollution control policies and implementation in Jinan, one of the most heavily air-polluted cities in China between 2013 and 2017. We assessed the changes in exhaust emissions, air quality, mortality and morbidity of associated specific-diseases, and related economic benefits. We also projected the future scenarios of PM2.5 concentration dropped to 15??g/m3. There were significant decreases in exhaust emissions of SO2 and NOx in Jinan during the study period. Annual reductions in ambient air pollution were 72.6% for SO2, 43.1% for PM2.5, and 34.2% for PM10. A total of 2,317 (95%CI: 1,533-2,842) premature deaths and 15,822 (95%CI: 8,734-23,990) related morbidity cases had been avoided in 2017, leading to a total of US$ 317.7 million (95%CI: 227.5-458.1) in economic benefits. Decreasing PM2.5 concentrations to 15??g/m3 would result in reductions of 70% in total PM2.5-related non-accidental mortality and 95% in total PM2.5-related morbidity, which translates into US$ 1,289.5 million (95%CI: 825.8-1,673.6) in economic benefits. The national and local air pollution control measures have brought significant environmental, health and economic benefits to a previously heavy polluted Chinese city.
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Project description:Air pollution is a serious environmental issue worldwide in developing countries' megacities, affecting the population's health, including the ocular surface, by predisposing or exacerbating other ocular diseases. Herpes simplex keratitis (HSK) is caused by the herpes simplex virus type 1 (HSV-1). The primary or recurring infection in the ocular site causes progressive corneal scarring that may result in visual impairment. The present study was designed to study the immunopathological changes of acute HSK under urban polluted air, using the acute HSK model combined with an experimental urban polluted air exposure from Buenos Aires City. We evaluated the corneal clinical outcomes, viral DNA and pro-inflammatory cytokines by RT-PCR and ELISA assays, respectively. Then, we determined the innate and adaptive immune responses in both cornea and local lymph nodes after HSV-1 corneal by immunofluorescence staining and flow cytometry. Our results showed that mice exposed to polluted air develop a severe form of HSK with increased corneal opacity, neovascularization, HSV-1 DNA and production of TNF-α, IL-1β, IFN-γ, and CCL2. A high number of corneal resident immune cells, including activated dendritic cells, was observed in mice exposed to polluted air; with a further significant influx of bone marrow-derived cells including GR1+ cells (neutrophils and inflammatory monocytes), CD11c+ cells (dendritic cells), and CD3+ (T cells) during acute corneal HSK. Moreover, mice exposed to polluted air showed a predominant Th1 type T cell response over Tregs in local lymph nodes during acute HSK with decreased corneal Tregs. These findings provide strong evidence that urban polluted air might trigger a local imbalance of innate and adaptive immune responses that exacerbate HSK severity. Taking this study into account, urban air pollution should be considered a key factor in developing ocular inflammatory diseases.
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Project description:An important step in understanding biological rhythms is the control of period. A multicellular, rhythmic patterning system termed the segmentation clock is thought to govern the sequential production of the vertebrate embryo's body segments, the somites. Several genetic loss-of-function conditions, including the Delta-Notch intercellular signalling mutants, result in slower segmentation. Here, we generate DeltaD transgenic zebrafish lines with a range of copy numbers and correspondingly increased signalling levels, and observe faster segmentation. The highest-expressing line shows an altered oscillating gene expression wave pattern and shortened segmentation period, producing embryos with more, shorter body segments. Our results reveal surprising differences in how Notch signalling strength is quantitatively interpreted in different organ systems, and suggest a role for intercellular communication in regulating the output period of the segmentation clock by altering its spatial pattern.
| S-EPMC4912627 | biostudies-literature
Project description:Background: People with respiratory conditions are susceptible to health problems caused by exposure to indoor air pollutants. An economic framework was developed to inform a guideline developed by National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) to estimate the required level of efficacy necessary for an intervention to be cost-saving in dwellings across England. Methods: An economic modelling framework was built to estimate the incremental costs pre- and post-implementation of interventions designed to reduce exposure to indoor air pollution within dwellings of varying building-related risk factors and profiles. The intervention cost was varied simultaneously with the relative reduction in symptomatic cases of each health condition to estimate the point at which an intervention may become cost-saving. Four health conditions were considered. Results: People living in dwellings with either an extreme risk profile or usable floor area <90m2 have the greatest capacity to benefit and save National Health Service (NHS) costs from interventions at any given level of effectiveness and upfront cost. Conclusions: At any effectiveness level, the threshold for the upfront intervention cost to remain cost-saving is equivalent across the different home characteristics. The flexible model can be used to guide decision-making under a range of scenarios.
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Project description:One recognized cause of cardiorespiratory diseases is air pollution. Older adults (OA) are one of the most vulnerable groups that suffer from its adverse effects. The objective of the study was to analyze the association between exposure to air pollution and changes in cardiorespiratory variables in OA. Observational prospective cohort study. Health questionnaires, blood pressure (BP) measurements, lung functions, respiratory symptoms, physical activity levels, and physical fitness in high and low exposure to air pollution were all methods used in evaluating OAs in communes with high contamination rates. Linear and logistic models were created to adjust for variables of interest. A total of 92 OA participated in this study. 73.9% of the subjects were women with 72.3 ± 5.6 years. 46.7% were obese, while 12.1% consumed tobacco. The most prevalent diseases found were hypertension, diabetes, and cardiovascular disease. Adjusted linear models maintained an increase for systolic BP of 6.77 mmHg (95% CI: 1.04-12.51), and diastolic of 3.51 mmHg (95% CI: 0.72-6.29), during the period of high exposure to air pollution. The adjusted logistic regression model indicated that, during the period of high exposure to air pollution increase the respiratory symptoms 4 times more (OR: 4.43, 95% CI: 2.07-10.04) in the OA. The results are consistent with an adverse effect on cardiorespiratory variables in periods of high exposure to air pollution in the OA population.
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Project description:In this study, toluene and ethylbenzene were degraded in the photocatalytic-proxone process using BiOI@NH2-MIL125(Ti)/Zeolite nanocomposite. The simultaneous presence of ozone and hydrogen peroxide is known as the proxone process. Nanocomposite Synthesis was carried out using the solvothermal method. Inlet airflow, ozone concentrations, H2O2 concentrations, relative humidity, and initial pollutants concentrations were studied. The nanocomposite was successfully synthesized based on FT-IR, BET, XRD, FESEM, EDS element mapping, UV-Vis spectra and TEM analysis. A flow rate of 0.1 L min-1, 0.3 mg min-1 of ozone, 150 ppm of hydrogen peroxide, 45% relative humidity, and 50 ppmv of pollutants were found to be optimal operating conditions. Both pollutants were degraded in excess of 95% under these conditions. For toluene and ethylbenzene, the synergistic of mechanisms effect coefficients were 1.56 and 1.76, respectively. It remained above 95% efficiency 7 times in the hybrid process and had good stability. Photocatalytic-proxone processes were evaluated for stability over 180 min. The remaining ozone levels in the process was insignificant (0.01 mg min-1). The CO2 and CO production in the photocatalytic-proxone process were 58.4, 5.7 ppm for toluene and 53.7, and 5.5 ppm for ethylbenzene respectively. Oxygen gas promoted and nitrogen gas had an inhibitory effect on the effective removal of pollutants. During the pollutants oxidation, various organic intermediates were identified.
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Project description:Gas fermentation offers both fossil carbon-free sustainable production of fuels and chemicals and recycling of gaseous and solid waste using gas-fermenting microbes. Bioprocess development, systems-level analysis of biocatalyst metabolism, and engineering of cell factories are advancing the widespread deployment of the commercialised technology. Acetogens are particularly attractive biocatalysts but effects of the key physiological parameter – specific growth rate (μ) – on acetogen metabolism and the gas fermentation bioprocess have not been established yet. Here, we investigate the μ-dependent bioprocess performance of the model-acetogen Clostridium autoethanogenum in CO and syngas (CO+CO2+H2) grown chemostat cultures and assess systems-level metabolic responses using gas analysis, metabolomics, transcriptomics, and metabolic modelling. We were able to obtain steady-states up to μ ~2.8 day-1 (~0.12 h-1) and show that faster growth supports both higher yields and productivities for reduced by-products ethanol and 2,3-butanediol. Transcriptomics data revealed differential expression of 1,337 genes with increasing μ and suggest that C. autoethanogenum uses transcriptional regulation to a large extent for facilitating faster growth. Metabolic modelling showed significantly increased fluxes for faster growing cells that were, however, not accompanied by gene expression changes in key catabolic pathways for CO and H2 metabolism. Cells thus seem to maintain sufficient “baseline” gene expression to rapidly respond to CO and H2 availability without delays to kick-start metabolism. Our work advances understanding of transcriptional regulation in acetogens and shows that faster growth of the biocatalyst improves the gas fermentation bioprocess.
2022-04-12 | GSE196640 | GEO
Project description:Alaska Native and American Indian children experience frequent respiratory illness. Indoor air quality is associated with the severity and frequency of respiratory infections in children. High efficiency particulate air (HEPA) purifiers effectively improve indoor air quality and may protect respiratory health. In 2019, the Yukon-Kuskokwim Health Corporation implemented a pilot programme that provided education and HEPA purifiers to households of children with chronic lung conditions. The team evaluated HEPA purifier acceptability and use by interviewing representatives from 11 households that participated in the pilot programme. All interviewees reported improvement in their child's health, and some believed that the health of other household members was also improved because of the HEPA purifier. Interviewees reported that the HEPA purifiers were easy to use, quiet, and not expensive to run. Five of 11 households were still using the HEPA purifier at the time of the interview, which was about three years after receipt of the unit. The most common reasons for discontinuing use were equipment failure and lack of replacement filter, suggesting that programme support could increase sustainability. Our evaluation suggests that HEPA purifiers are acceptable and feasible for use in rural Alaska Native households.
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