A mobile car monitoring system as a supplementary tool for air quality monitoring in urban and rural environments: the case study from Poland.

Living in healthy environment should be regarded as a primary human right and not a privilege rendered to chosen ones. For that reason, a national air monitoring grid should be as extensive as possible. Unfortunately, small towns and villages, which are also exposed to air pollution episodes are not commonly covered by monitoring grid.

Adverse health and environmental outcomes of cycling in heavily polluted urban environments.

Cycling is a healthy habit; however, are its benefits outweighing risks when biking in heavily trafficked and air-polluted cities? Research involved studying contamination with traffic-related elements of dust collected from bike paths located in top trafficked cities of Europe in Poland. Human health risk was assessed via inhalation and ingestion pathways for adults and children. Bike path dust was heavily contaminated with Zn, Cd (Geoaccumulation index Igeo 4) and Pb (Igeo 3), sourced predominantly from nonexhaust car emissions.

Content of toxic metals and As in marine and freshwater fish species available for sale in EU supermarkets and health risk associated with its consumption.

Background: The present study investigated Pb, Cd and As concentrations in canned tuna, tuna steak, rainbow trout, smoked mackerel, and Baltic and Atlantic cod, as well as Atlantic salmon. The aim was to spot check the quality of the most commonly purchased types of fish that are available for sale in most common supermarket chains throughout the Poland, as well as to determine potentially less contaminated sources of fish available for retail. A dry ashing digestion protocol followed by inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry analysis was employed to achieve a better recover of heavy metals and As from fish muscle tissues.

Human Health Risk Assessment associated with contaminants in the finest fraction of sidewalk dust collected in proximity to trafficked roads.

The objective of the study was to determine concentration of metals in sidewalk dust collected in close vicinity to heavily congested roads in Poland in order to assess non-carcinogenic and carcinogenic health risk for both children and adults associated with the ingestion, dermal contact and inhalation of sidewalk dust. Results revealed that sidewalk dust from Warsaw, Krakow, Wroclaw and Opole is heavily contaminated especially with Sb, Se, Cd, Cu, Zn, Pb, considered as indicators of traffic emission. Hazardous indices determined for different exposure pathways indicated that the greatest health risk for both children and adults is associated with the ingestion of sidewalk dust.

Road Environments: Impact of Metals on Human Health in Heavily Congested Cities of Poland.

Road dust as a by-product of exhaust and non-exhaust emissions can be a major cause of systemic oxidative stress and multiple disorders. Substantial amounts of road dust are repeatedly resuspended, in particular at traffic lights and junctions where more braking is involved, causing potential threat to pedestrians, especially children. In order to determine the degree of contamination in the heavily traffic-congested cities of Poland, a total of 148 samples of road dust (RD), sludge from storm drains (SL) and roadside soil (RS) were collected.

Chemical fractionation and mobility of traffic-related elements in road environments.

Due to considerable progress in exhaust control emission technology and extensive regulatory work regarding this issue, non-exhaust sources of air pollution have become a growing concern. This research involved studying three types of road environment samples such as road dust, sludge from storm drains and roadside soil collected from heavily congested and polluted cities in Poland (Krakow, Warszawa, Opole and Wroclaw). Particles below 20 µm were examined since it was previously estimated that this fine fraction of road dust is polluted mostly by metals derived from non-exhaust sources of pollution such as brake linings wear.

Assessing Historical Mining and Smelting Effects on Heavy Metal Pollution of River Systems over Span of Two Decades.

Research was conducted on the most polluted river system in Poland, impacted by active and historical mining. Bottom sediment, suspended particulate matter and river water were collected in 2014 from Przemsza river and its tributaries. Sampling points remained the same as those chosen in a 1995 study.

Heavy metals from non-exhaust vehicle emissions in urban and motorway road dusts.

The main sources of non-exhaust vehicular emissions that contribute to road dust are tire, brake and clutch wear, road surface wear, and other vehicle and road component degradation. This study is an attempt to identify and investigate heavy metals in urban and motorway road dusts as well as in dust from brake linings and tires. Road dust was collected from sections of the A-4 motorway in Poland, which is part of European route E40, and from urban roads in Katowice, Poland.

A morphometric study of prenatal development of the human larynx.

Introduction: Precise knowledge of the anatomy and development of the airways in the fetus is needed for advances in neonatal medicine. The aim of this study was to assess the morphometry of the larynx during fetal development.

Material And Methods: The study was performed on 47 human fetal larynges (27 male and 20 female) collected between the age of 13-27 weeks of intrauterine life according to Pineau and preserved in 10% buffered formalin.

[Prenatal development of the human humerus in light of anthropometric examinations].

The study was done on 128 humeral bones (76 male and 52 female; 57 right and 71 left) obtained from 71 fetuses with C-R lengths ranging from 105 to 255 mm. Periosteum and perichondrium were exposed prior to radiography of frontal and lateral aspects using a Microphocus 401 bone X-ray apparatus. Radiographs were digitized with an analogue camera and an A/D converter for transfer to a PC computer.

Prenatal development of the human trachea.

The tracheas of 46 human foetuses were examined: 26 male, 20 female with C-R length of 99-255 mm. The analysis of the total length of the trachea was carried out and its transverse dimension was presented on three levels: on the first tracheal cartilage, in the mid-length of the trachea, and at the bifurcation into the main bronchi; also the proportions between these dimensions and the C-R length were analysed. The length of the trachea was measured in a straight line--from the end of larynx to the bifurcation of the trachea.