Preliminary results on the characterisation of organic aerosols in urban schools by Aerosol Mass Spectrometry

Vehicle emissions have been linked to detrimental health effects with children thought to be more susceptible (See e.g., Ryan et al 2005). In an urban environment a major source of organic aerosols (OA) are vehicle emissions. The ambient concentration of OA is dynamic in nature and the use of an aerosol mass spectrometer can achieve the necessary temporal resolution to capture the daily variation of OA (Jimenez et al 2009). Currently there is a limited understanding of effects of long term exposure to traffic emissions on children’s health. In the present study, we used an aerosol mass spectrometer to monitor OA and determine children’s potential exposure at school to traffic emissions.In this paper, we present the preliminary results of this investigation. The study is a part of a larger project aimed at gaining a holistic picture of the exposure of children to traffic related pollutants, known as UPTECH (www.ilaqh.qut.edu.au/Misc/ UPTECH%20Home.htm).

Impact of prescribed burning on urban air quality : a case study

For fuel management and/or ecological reasons prescribed burnings are conducted each year across Australia. Smoke from prescribed burnings could be the major source of air pollution in urban environment during the period of intensive prescribed burning. To investigate the impact of prescribed burning on air quality and the characteristics of prescribed burning particles, field measurements were conducted during the end period of a prescribed burning event in September 2011, Brisbane, Australia.

Preliminary results on the chemical composition of outdoor airborne particles at urban schools and possible implications for the air quality in classrooms

Vehicle emissions are a significant source of fine particles (Dp < 2.5 µm) in an urban environment. These fine particles have been shown to have detrimental health effects, with children thought to be more susceptible. Vehicle emissions are mainly carbonaceous in nature, and carbonaceous aerosols can be defined as either elemental carbon (EC) or organic carbon (OC). EC is a soot-like material emitted from primary sources while OC fraction is a complex mixture of hundreds of organic compounds from either primary or secondary sources (Cao et al., 2006). Therefore the ratio of OC/EC can aid in the identification of source. The purpose of this paper is to use the concentration of OC and EC in fine particles to determine the levels of vehicle emissions in schools. It is expected that this will improve the understanding of the potential exposure of children in a school environment to vehicle emissions.

Muscle, skin and core temperature after −110°C cold air and 8°C water treatment

The aim of this investigation was to elucidate the reductions in muscle, skin and core temperature following exposure to −110°C whole body cryotherapy (WBC), and compare these to 8°C cold water immersion (CWI). Twenty active male subjects were randomly assigned to a 4-min exposure of WBC or CWI. A minimum of 7 days later subjects were exposed to the other treatment. Muscle temperature in the right vastus lateralis (n = 10); thigh skin (average, maximum and minimum) and rectal temperature (n = 10) were recorded before and 60 min after treatment. The greatest reduction (P<0.05) in muscle (mean ± SD; 1 cm: WBC, 1.6±1.2°C; CWI, 2.0±1.0°C; 2 cm: WBC, 1.2±0.7°C; CWI, 1.7±0.9°C; 3 cm: WBC, 1.6±0.6°C; CWI, 1.7±0.5°C) and rectal temperature (WBC, 0.3±0.2°C; CWI, 0.4±0.2°C) were observed 60 min after treatment. The largest reductions in average (WBC, 12.1±1.0°C; CWI, 8.4±0.7°C), minimum (WBC, 13.2±1.4°C; CWI, 8.7±0.7°C) and maximum (WBC, 8.8±2.0°C; CWI, 7.2±1.9°C) skin temperature occurred immediately after both CWI and WBC (P<0.05). Skin temperature was significantly lower (P<0.05) immediately after WBC compared to CWI. The present study demonstrates that a single WBC exposure decreases muscle and core temperature to a similar level of those experienced after CWI. Although both treatments significantly reduced skin temperature, WBC elicited a greater decrease compared to CWI. These data may provide information to clinicians and researchers attempting to optimise WBC and CWI protocols in a clinical or sporting setting.

Cameron's hot air. Pollution, fraud and the politics of carbon emissions

It is widely recognised that exposure to air pollutants affect pulmonary and lung dysfunction as well as a range of neurological and vascular disorders. The rapid increase of worldwide carbon emissions continues to compromise environmental sustainability whilst contributing to premature death. Moreover, the harms caused by air pollution have a more pernicious reach, such as being the major source of climate change and ‘natural disasters’, which reportedly kills millions of people each year (World Health Organization, 2012). The opening quotations tell a story of the UK government's complacency towards the devastation of toxic and contaminating air emissions. The above headlines greeted the British public earlier this year after its government was taken to the Court of Appeal for an appalling air pollution record that continues to cause the premature deaths of 30,000 British people each year at a health cost estimated at £20 billion per annum. This combined with pending legal proceedings against the UK government for air pollution violations by the European Commission, point to a Cameron government that prioritises hot air and profit margins over human lives. The UK's legal air pollution regimes are an industry dominated process that relies on negotiation and partnership between regulators and polluters. The entire model seeks to assist business compliance rather than punish corporate offenders. There is no language of ‘crime’ in relation to UK air pollution violations but rather a discourse of ‘exceedence’ (Walters, 2010). It is a regulatory system not premised on the ‘polluter pay’ principle but instead the ‘polluter profit’ principle.

Air pollution trends in four Australian cities

This study examined the long-term trends in four air pollutants in Australia’s four largest cities between 1996 and 2011. There were long-term improvements in carbon monoxide and sulfur dioxide. Particulate matter levels (PM10) remained relatively constant. Ozone levels increased in all four cities when including the influence of temperature, and levels are predicted to increase further because of climate change.

Model development and dynamic load-sharing analysis of longitudinal-connected air suspensions

The objective of this research was to investigate the effect of suspension parameters on dynamic load-sharing of longitudinal-connected air suspensions of a tri-axle semi-trailer. A novel nonlinear model of a multi-axle semi-trailer with longitudinal-connected air suspension was formulated based on fluid mechanics and thermodynamics and was validated through test results. The effects of suspension parameters on dynamic load-sharing and road-friendliness of the semi-trailer were analyzed. Simulation results indicate that the road-friendliness metric DLC (Dynamic Load Coefficient), is generally in accordance with the load-sharing metric - DLSC (Dynamic Load Sharing Coefficient). When the static height or static pressure increases, the DLSC optimization ratio declines monotonically. The effect of employing larger air lines and connectors on the DLSC optimization ratio gives varying results as road roughness increases and as driving speed increases. The results also indicate that if the air line diameter is always assumed to be larger than the connector diameter, the influence of air line diameter on load-sharing is more significant than that of the connector.

Importance of a resilient air services network to Australian remote, rural, and regional communities

Rural, regional, and remote settlements in Australia require resilient infrastructure to remain sustainable in a context characterized by frequent large-scale natural disasters, long distances between urban centers, and the pressures of economic change. A critical aspect of this infrastructure is the air services network, a system of airports, aircraft operators, and related industries that enables the high-speed movement of people, goods, and services to remote locations. A process of deregulation during the 1970s and 1980s resulted in many of these airports passing into local government and private ownership, and the rationalization of the industry saw the closure of a number of airlines and airports. This paper examines the impacts of deregulation on the resilience of air services and the contribution that they make to regional and rural communities. In particular, the robustness, redundancy, resourcefulness, and rapidity of the system are examined. The conclusion is that while the air services network has remained resilient in a situation of considerable change, the pressures of commercialization and the tendency to manage aspects of the system in isolation have contributed to a potential decrease in overall resilience.

Estimating vulnerable windows of exposure to air pollution during pregnancy

Exposure to air pollution during pregnancy is a potential cause of adverse birth outcomes such as preterm birth and stillbirth. The risk of exposure may be greater during vulnerable windows of the pregnancy which might only be weeks long. We demonstrate a method to find these windows based on smoothing the risk of weekly exposure using conditional autoregression. We use incidence density sampling to match cases with adverse birth outcomes to controls whose gestation lasted at least as long as the case. This matching means that cases and controls are have equal length exposure periods, rather than comparing, for example, cases with short gestations to controls with longer gestations. We demonstrate the ability of the method to find vulnerable windows using two simulation studies. We illustrate the method by examining the association between particulate matter air pollution and stillbirth in Brisbane, Australia.

Air crimes and atmospheric justice

This chapter explores the political economy of air pollution. It draws on discourses of power, harm and violence to analyse air pollution within emerging frameworks of 'eco-crime' and atmospheric justice' (see Vanderheiden 2008; Walters 2010). In doing so, it identifies how green criminology continues to push new boundaries by engaging with issues of both global and local concern.

Swept source OCT with air puff chamber for corneal dynamics measurements

None of currently used tonometers produce estimated IOP values that are free of errors. Measurement incredibility arises from indirect measurement of corneal deformation and the fact that pressure calculations are based on population averaged parameters of anterior segment. Reliable IOP values are crucial for understanding and monitoring of number of eye pathologies e.g. glaucoma. We have combined high speed swept source OCT with air-puff chamber. System provides direct measurement of deformation of cornea and anterior surface of the lens. This paper describes in details the performance of air-puff ssOCT instrument. We present different approaches of data presentation and analysis. Changes in deformation amplitude appears to be good indicator of IOP changes. However, it seems that in order to provide accurate intraocular pressure values an additional information on corneal biomechanics is necessary. We believe that such information could be extracted from data provided by air-puff ssOCT.

Ion transport in small-molecule electrolytes based on LiI/3-hydroxypropionitrile with high salt contents

Abnormal “polymer-in-salt” conduction behavior is observed in a solid electrolyte composed of lithium iodide (LiI) and 3-hydroxypropionitrile (HPN). Based on comprehensive investigations by X-ray diffraction (XRD) and Raman and infrared spectroscopy, this abnormal conduction behavior is attributed to the formation of new ionic associates [Lim +In−]· · ·N C (m> n) and the reinforced hydrogen bonding of I· · ·HO in the electrolyte at high LiI concentrations.