Pollution Research Today is a free monthly online journal that collates and summarizes the latest research about Pollution, including details on effects of air pollution, respiratory illness, industry.

Particulate air pollution and short-term mortality due to specific causes among the elderly in Madrid (Spain): seasonal differences.

Jimenez E, Linares C, Martinez D, Diaz J

Department of Preventive Medicine, San Carlos University Teaching Hospital, Madrid.

A time-series study was conducted to ascertain the short-term effects of different-sized airborne particulate matter (PM) on daily respiratory and cardiovascular cause-specific mortality in winter and summer, among subjects aged over 75 years in Madrid. Poisson regression was used to analyse the time-series, in which the dependent variable was daily mortality due to different specific respiratory and circulatory causes, and the principal independent variables were daily mean PM(10), PM(2.5) and PM(10-2.5) concentrations; other variables: other air pollutants (chemicals, biotic and acoustic), influenza, trend, seasonality and autocorrelation of the series. The results indicated an association between coarser PM fractions (PM(10) and PM(10-2.5)) and respiratory-specific mortality on the one hand, and between PM(2.5) and cardiovascular-specific mortality on the other. While the risk of mortality due to exposure to particulate matter was greater in summer than in winter, this difference was statistically significant solely for total organic-cause mortality.

Published 6 May 2011 in Int J Environ Health Res.
Full-text of this article is available online (may require subscription).

Articles on Pollution published 6 May 2011:

Agroforestry buffers for nonpoint source pollution reductions from agricultural watersheds.   J Environ Qual, 40(3): 800-6.

Despite increased attention and demand for the adoption of agroforestry practices throughout the world, rigorous long-term scientific studies confirming environmental benefits from the use of agroforestry practices are limited. The objective was to examine nonpoint-source pollution (NPSP) reduction as influenced by agroforestry buffers in watersheds under grazing and row crop management. The grazing study consists of six watersheds in the Central Mississippi Valley wooded slopes and the row ... [Abstract] [Full-text]

Response of glutathione S-transferase (GST) genes to cadmium exposure in the marine pollution indicator worm, Perinereis nuntia.   Comp Biochem Physiol C Toxicol Pharmacol.

Glutathione S-transferase (GST) is a phase II enzyme that functions as a detoxicant by catalyzing the conjugation of reduced glutathione with a variety of xenobiotics via cysteine thiol. Molecular genetic approaches using gene biomarkers show substantial relevance as sensitive biomarkers for the indication of pollution levels. In order to use GSTs as molecular biomarkers for marine pollution monitoring, we cloned and sequenced the full-length cDNA of seven GST genes from the marine polychaete ... [Abstract] [Full-text]

Articles on Pollution published 5 May 2011:

Fine Particulate Matter Pollution Linked To Respiratory Illness In Infants And Increased Hospital Costs.   Health Aff (Millwood).

There has been little research to date on the linkages between air pollution and infectious respiratory illness in children, and the resulting health care costs. In this study we used data on air pollutants and national hospitalizations to study the relationship between fine particulate air pollution and health care charges and costs for the treatment of bronchiolitis, an acute viral infection of the lungs. We found that as the average exposure to fine particulate matter over the lifetime of an ... [Abstract] [Full-text]

Air Pollution Around Schools Is Linked To Poorer Student Health And Academic Performance.   Health Aff (Millwood).

Exposing children to environmental pollutants during important times of physiological development can lead to long-lasting health problems, dysfunction, and disease. The location of children's schools can increase their exposure. We examined the extent of air pollution from industrial sources around public schools in Michigan to find out whether air pollution jeopardizes children's health and academic success. We found that schools located in areas with the highest air pollution levels had the ... [Abstract] [Full-text]

Dental clinics: A point pollution source, not only of mercury but also of other amalgam constituents.   Chemosphere.

Current literature suggests that amalgam waste from dental clinics is a point-source of mercury pollution in the environment. However, apart from mercury, other amalgam constituents (e.g. Ag, Sn, Cu, and Zn) in dental clinics' wastewater have not been reported in the literature before. The objective of this study was to evaluate the concentrations of mercury and other metals in the wastewater of some dental clinics and the influent of a wastewater treatment plant in Al-Madinah Al-Munawarah ... [Abstract] [Full-text]

Articles on Pollution published 4 May 2011:

Statistical analysis of trends in organic pollution and pollution by nutrients at selected Danube river stations.   J Environ Monit, 13(5): 1435-45.

The paper describes an application of a statistical analysis for estimating long-term trends in pollutant concentrations of selected pollutants in the Danube river. The results show the changes of concentrations of NH(4)(+)-N, NO(3)(-)-N, PO(4)(3-)-P, total P, BOD(5) and COD(Cr) in a ten year period with the aim to find how the concentrations vary in the whole stretch of this river. The study was based on the data collected in the frame of Transnational Monitoring Network of the ICPDR. To ... [Abstract] [Full-text]

Proximity analysis of air pollution exposure and its potential risk.   J Environ Monit, 13(5): 1264-70.

Proximity analysis and spatial variability of the ambient nitrogen dioxide (NO(2)) concentration in Rayong province, Thailand, were analyzed using geostatistics and spatial modeling techniques. Annual concentrations of nitrogen dioxide were predicted and spatially interpolated using various interpolation techniques (i.e. kriging, IDW and spline). Sensitivity analysis was carried out to assure the accuracy of the predicted results. The GIS-based exposure map was simulated and was assisted to ... [Abstract] [Full-text]

Articles on Pollution published 2 May 2011:

Estrogen pollution in a highly productive ecosystem off central-south Chile.   Mar Pollut Bull.

While the presence of steroid estrogens in the environment has become a major environmental and health concern, their occurrence in coastal sediments remains poorly characterized. In this study, we measured the levels of three natural (estrone, 17β-estradiol, estriol) and one synthetic (17α-ethinylestradiol) estrogens in 54 coastal sediment samples collected from nine locations off central-southern Chile. Steroid estrogens were found in every sample. Remarkably high levels of ... [Abstract] [Full-text]

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