Combustion-derived flame generated ultrafine soot generates reactive oxygen species and activates Nrf2 antioxidants differently in neonatal and adult rat lungs.

Background: Urban particulate matter (PM) has been epidemiologically correlated with multiple cardiopulmonary morbidities and mortalities, in sensitive populations. Children exposed to PM are more likely to develop respiratory infections and asthma. Although PM originates from natural and anthropogenic sources, vehicle exhaust rich in polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAH) can be a dominant contributor to the PM2.

Combustion derived ultrafine particles induce cytochrome P-450 expression in specific lung compartments in the developing neonatal and adult rat.

Vehicle exhaust is rich in polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAH) and can be a dominant contributor to ultrafine urban particulate matter (PM). Exposure to ultrafine PM is correlated with respiratory infections and asthmatic symptoms in young children. The lung undergoes substantial growth, alveolarization, and cellular maturation within the first years of life, which may be impacted by environmental pollutants such as PM.

Age-specific effects on rat lung glutathione and antioxidant enzymes after inhaling ultrafine soot.

Vehicle exhaust is rich in polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) and is a dominant contributor to urban particulate pollution (PM). Exposure to PM is linked to respiratory and cardiovascular morbidity and mortality in susceptible populations, such as children. PM can contribute to the development and exacerbation of asthma, and this is thought to occur because of the presence of electrophiles in PM or through electrophile generation via the metabolism of PAHs.

Susceptibility to inhaled flame-generated ultrafine soot in neonatal and adult rat lungs.

Over a quarter of the U.S. population is exposed to harmful levels of airborne particulate matter (PM) pollution, which has been linked to development and exacerbation of respiratory diseases leading to morbidity and mortality, especially in susceptible populations.

Age specific responses to acute inhalation of diffusion flame soot particles: cellular injury and the airway antioxidant response.

Current studies of particulate matter (PM) are confounded by the fact that PM is a complex mixture of primary (crustal material, soot, metals) and secondary (nitrates, sulfates, and organics formed in the atmosphere) compounds with considerable variance in composition by sources and location. We have developed a laboratory-based PM that is replicable, does not contain dust or metals and that can be used to study specific health effects of PM composition in animal models. We exposed both neonatal (7 days of age) and adult rats to a single 6-h exposure of laboratory generated fine diffusion flame particles (DFP; 170 µg/m(3)), or filtered air.

Small particles disrupt postnatal airway development.

Increasing numbers of epidemiologic studies associate air pollution exposure in children with decreased lung function development. The objective of this study was to examine the effects of exposure to combustion-generated fine [230 and 212 nm number mean aerodynamic particle diameter (NMAD)] to ultrafine (73 nm NMAD) particles differing in elemental (EC) and organic (OC) carbon content on postnatal airway development in rats. Neonatal Sprague-Dawley rats were exposed from postnatal day 7 through 25, and lung function and airway architecture were evaluated 81 days of age.

Airway mast cells in a rhesus model of childhood allergic airways disease.

Asthma is a leading cause of morbidity in children. Risk factors include chronic exposure to allergens and air pollution. While chronically activated mast cells contribute to the pathophysiology of asthma in part through their proteases such as chymase and tryptase, previous studies of airway mast cell abundance and distribution in asthmatics have been inconsistent.

Autofluorescence characteristics of early, atrophic, and high-risk fellow eyes in age-related macular degeneration.

Purpose: To assess the relationships of drusen, pigment, and focally increased autofluorescence (FIAF) and the reticular pattern of hypoautofluorescence, to distinguish the combined photographic and AF characteristics of early, atrophic, and high-risk fellow eyes in AMD.

Methods: In a retrospective interinstitutional clinical study, AF and color photograph pairs of 221 eyes were examined: 166 eyes of 83 patients with bilateral large, soft drusen, with and without geographic atrophy (GA), and 55 fellow eyes of 55 patients with unilateral choroidal neovascularization (CNV). Forty-two eyes (one eye from each of 42 patients with early or atrophic AMD) were divided into four groups: 14 with drusen only, 9 with drusen and pigment abnormalities, 11 fellow eyes of patients with unilateral GA, and 8 eyes of patients with bilateral GA (acronyms for the groups: D-D, D-Pig, D-GA and GA-GA, respectively).

Automated detection of macular drusen using geometric background leveling and threshold selection.

Background: Age-related macular degeneration (ARMD) is the most prevalent cause of visual loss in patients older than 60 years in the United States. Observation of drusen is the hallmark finding in the clinical evaluation of ARMD.

Objectives: To segment and quantify drusen found in patients with ARMD using image analysis and to compare the efficacy of image analysis segmentation with that of stereoscopic manual grading of drusen.

A method of drusen measurement based on the geometry of fundus reflectance.

Background: The hallmarks of age-related macular degeneration, the leading cause of blindness in the developed world, are the subretinal deposits known as drusen. Drusen identification and measurement play a key role in clinical studies of this disease. Current manual methods of drusen measurement are laborious and subjective.