Associations between short-term exposure to airborne carbonaceous particles and mortality: A time-series study in London during 2010-2019.

Exposure to ambient particulate matter (PM) has been identified as a major global health concern; however, the importance of specific chemical PM components remains uncertain. Recent studies have suggested that carbonaceous aerosols are important detrimental components of the particle mixture. Using time-series methods, we investigated associations between short-term exposure to carbonaceous particles and mortality in London, UK.

Air quality on UK diesel and hybrid trains.

Concentrations of particulate matter (PM, PM), ultrafine (UFP), particle number (PNC), black carbon (BC), nitrogen dioxide (NO) and nitrogen oxides (NO) were measured in train carriages on diesel and bi-mode trains on inter-city and long-distance journeys in the United Kingdom (UK) using a high-quality mobile measurement system. Air quality on 15 different routes was measured using highly-time resolved data on a total of 119 journeys during three campaigns in winter 2020 and summer 2021; this included 13 different train classes. Each journey was sampled 4-10 times with approximatively 11,000 min of in-train concentrations in total.

Variability of ambient air ammonia in urban Europe (Finland, France, Italy, Spain, and the UK).

This study addressed the scarcity of NH measurements in urban Europe and the diverse monitoring protocols, hindering direct data comparison. Sixty-nine datasets from Finland, France, Italy, Spain, and the UK across various site types, including industrial (IND, 8), traffic (TR, 12), urban (UB, 22), suburban (SUB, 12), and regional background (RB, 15), are analyzed to this study. Among these, 26 sites provided 5, or more, years of data for time series analysis.

Do cross-food allergies to propofol exist?

Background: Propofol is a short and rapidly acting intravenous anesthetic extensively used for the induction and maintenance of general anesthesia. It is a lipid emulsion that contains soybean oil, purified egg phosphatide, and egg lecithin. Therefore, the package leaflet indicates that its administration is contraindicated in patients allergic to soy, eggs, or peanuts.

Sources of particle number concentration and noise near London Gatwick Airport.

There is increasing evidence of potential health impacts from both aircraft noise and aircraft-associated ultrafine particles (UFP). Measurements of noise and UFP are however scarce near airports and so their variability and relationship are not well understood. Particle number size distributions and noise levels were measured at two locations near Gatwick airport (UK) in 2018-19 with the aim to characterize particle number concentrations (PNC) and link PNC sources, especially UFP, with noise.

Source attribution and quantification of atmospheric nickel concentrations in an industrial area in the United Kingdom (UK).

Pontardawe in South Wales, United Kingdom (UK), consistently has the highest concentrations of nickel (Ni) in PM in the UK and repeatedly breaches the 20 ng m annual mean EU target value. Several local industries use Ni in their processes. To assist policy makers and regulators in quantifying the relative Ni contributions of these industries and developing appropriate emission reduction approaches, the hourly concentrations of 23 elements were measured using X-ray fluorescence alongside meteorological variables and black carbon during a four-week campaign in November-December 2015.

Trends in International Cancer Research Investment 2006-2018.

The International Cancer Research Partnership (ICRP) is an active network of cancer research funding organizations, sharing information about funded research projects in a common database. Data are publicly available to enable the cancer research community to find potential collaborators and avoid duplication. This study presents an aggregated analysis of projects funded by 120 partner organizations and institutes in 2006-2018, to highlight trends in cancer research funding.

Air quality in enclosed railway stations: Quantifying the impact of diesel trains through deployment of multi-site measurement and random forest modelling.

Concentrations of the air pollutants (NO and particulate matter) were measured for several months and at multiple locations inside and outside two enclosed railway stations in the United Kingdom - Edinburgh Waverly (EDB) and London King's Cross (KGX) - which, respectively, had at the time 59% and 18% of their train services powered by diesel engines. Average concentrations of NO were above the 40 μg m annual limit value outside the stations and were further elevated inside, especially at EDB. Concentrations of PM inside the stations were 30-40% higher at EDB than outside and up to 20% higher at KGX.

A tale of two cities: is air pollution improving in Paris and London?

Paris and London are Europe's two megacities and both experience poor air quality with systemic breaches of the NO limit value. Policy initiatives have been taken to address this: some European-wide (e.g.

Fetal growth, stillbirth, infant mortality and other birth outcomes near UK municipal waste incinerators; retrospective population based cohort and case-control study.

Background: Some studies have reported associations between municipal waste incinerator (MWI) exposures and adverse birth outcomes but there are few studies of modern MWIs operating to current European Union (EU) Industrial Emissions Directive standards.

Methods: Associations between modelled ground-level particulate matter ≤10 μm in diameter (PM) from MWI emissions (as a proxy for MWI emissions) within 10 km of each MWI, and selected birth and infant mortality outcomes were examined for all 22 MWIs operating in Great Britain 2003-10. We also investigated associations with proximity of residence to a MWI.

Impact of London's low emission zone on air quality and children's respiratory health: a sequential annual cross-sectional study.

Background: Low emission zones (LEZ) are an increasingly common, but unevaluated, intervention aimed at improving urban air quality and public health. We investigated the impact of London's LEZ on air quality and children's respiratory health.

Methods: We did a sequential annual cross-sectional study of 2164 children aged 8-9 years attending primary schools between 2009-10 and 2013-14 in central London, UK, following the introduction of London's LEZ in February, 2008.

Estimating Particulate Exposure from Modern Municipal Waste Incinerators in Great Britain.

Municipal Waste Incineration (MWI) is regulated through the European Union Directive on Industrial Emissions (IED), but there is ongoing public concern regarding potential hazards to health. Using dispersion modeling, we estimated spatial variability in PM concentrations arising from MWIs at postcodes (average 12 households) within 10 km of MWIs in Great Britain (GB) in 2003-2010. We also investigated change points in PM emissions in relation to introduction of EU Waste Incineration Directive (EU-WID) (subsequently transposed into IED) and correlations of PM with SO, NOx, heavy metals, polychlorinated dibenzo-p-dioxins/furan (PCDD/F), polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon (PAH) and polychlorinated biphenyl (PCB) emissions.

Associations between environmental factors and hospital admissions for sickle cell disease.

Sickle cell disease is an increasing global health burden. This inherited disease is characterized by a remarkable phenotypic heterogeneity, which can only partly be explained by genetic factors. Environmental factors are likely to play an important role but studies of their impact on disease severity are limited and their results are often inconsistent.

Did policies to abate atmospheric emissions from traffic have a positive effect in London?

A large number of policy initiatives are being taken at the European level, across the United Kingdom and in London to improve air quality and reduce population exposure to harmful pollutants from traffic emissions. Trends in roadside increments of nitrogen oxides (NO), nitrogen dioxide (NO), particulate matter (PM), black carbon (CBLK) and carbon dioxide (CO) were examined at 65 London monitoring sites for two periods of time: 2005-2009 and 2010-2014. Between 2005 and 2009 there was an overall increase in NO reflecting the growing evidence of real world emissions from diesel vehicles.

Degradation in urban air quality from construction activity and increased traffic arising from a road widening scheme.

Road widening schemes in urban areas are often proposed as a solution to traffic congestion and as a means of stimulating economic growth. There is however clear evidence that new or expanded roads rapidly fill with either displaced or induced traffic, offsetting any short-term gains in eased traffic flows. What has not been addressed in any great detail is the impact of such schemes on air quality, with modelled impact predictions seldom validated by measurements after the expansion of road capacity.

Comparative assessment of particulate air pollution exposure from municipal solid waste incinerator emissions.

Background: Research to date on health effects associated with incineration has found limited evidence of health risks, but many previous studies have been constrained by poor exposure assessment. This paper provides a comparative assessment of atmospheric dispersion modelling and distance from source (a commonly used proxy for exposure) as exposure assessment methods for pollutants released from incinerators.

Methods: Distance from source and the atmospheric dispersion model ADMS-Urban were used to characterise ambient exposures to particulates from two municipal solid waste incinerators (MSWIs) in the UK.

A low-cost contact system to assess load displacement velocity in a resistance training machine.

This study sought to determine the validity of a new system for assessing the displacement and average velocity within machine-based resistance training exercise using the Chronojump System. The new design is based on a contact bar and a simple, low-cost mechanism that detects the conductivity of electrical potentials with a precision chronograph. This system allows coaches to assess velocity to control the strength training process.