The harmful alga, Karenia brevis, produces a suite of polyether neurotoxins, brevetoxins or PbTx, that cause marine animal mortality and neurotoxic shellfish poisoning (NSP). A characteristic of K. brevis blooms is associated airborne toxins that result in severe respiratory problems.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFSulfur mustard (SM) is a chemical threat agent for which its effects have no current treatment. Due to the ease of synthesis and dispersal of this material, the need to develop therapeutics is evident. The present manuscript details the techniques used to develop SM laboratory exposure systems for the development of animal models of pulmonary injury.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFBackground: During operation of a jet nebulizer, the temperature of the nebulizer outlet could decrease by more than 10 degrees C, depending on the nebulizer type and operating conditions, such as driving flow rate and fill volume. The droplet size distribution generated from the nebulizer can be measured by a cascade impactor. However, when the cascade impactor is operated at ambient room temperature, the droplets could evaporate because of the temperature difference between the nebulizer outlet and the body of the impactor.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFEnviron Health Perspect
May 2005
Red tides in the Gulf of Mexico are commonly formed by the fish-killing dinoflagellate Karenia brevis, which produces nine potent polyether brevetoxins (PbTxs). Brevetoxins can be transferred from water to air in wind-powered white-capped waves. Inhalation exposure to marine aerosol containing brevetoxins causes respiratory symptoms.
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