During March and April 2010 aerosol inventories from four large cities in Pakistan were assessed in terms of particle size distributions (N), mass (M) concentrations, and particulate matter (PM) concentrations. These M and PM concentrations were obtained for Karachi, Lahore, Rawalpindi, and Peshawar from N concentrations using a native algorithm based on the Grimm model 1.109 dust monitor. The results have confirmed high N, M and PM concentrations in all four cities. They also revealed major contributions to the aerosol concentrations from the re-suspension of road dust, from sea salt aerosols, and from vehicular and industrial emissions. During the study period the 24 hour average PM₁₀ concentrations for three sites in Karachi were found to be 461 μg m⁻³, 270 μg m⁻³, and 88 μg m⁻³, while the average values for Lahore, Rawalpindi and Peshawar were 198 μg m⁻³, 448 μg m⁻³, and 540 μg m⁻³, respectively. The corresponding 24 hour average PM_2.5 concentrations were 185 μg m⁻³, 151 μg m⁻³, and 60 μg m⁻³ for the three sites in Karachi, and 91 μg m⁻³, 140 μg m⁻³, and 160 μg m⁻³ for Lahore, Rawalpindi and Peshawar, respectively. The low PM_2.5/PM₁₀ ratios revealed a high proportion of coarser particles, which are likely to have originated from (a) traffic, (b) other combustion sources, and (c) the re-suspension of road dust. Our calculated 24 hour averaged PM₁₀ and PM_2.5 concentrations at all sampling points were between 2 and 10 times higher than the maximum PM concentrations recommended by the WHO guidelines. The aerosol samples collected were analyzed for crustal elements (Al, Fe, Si, Mg, Ca) and trace elements (B, Ba, Cr, Cu, K, Na, Mn, Ni, P, Pb, S, Sr, Cd, Ti, Zn and Zr). The averaged concentrations for crustal elements ranged from 1.02 ± 0.76 μg m⁻³ for Si at the Sea View location in Karachi to 74.96 ± 7.39 μg m⁻³ for Ca in Rawalpindi, and averaged concentrations for trace elements varied from 7.0 ± 0.75 ng m⁻³ for B from the SUPARCO location in Karachi to 17.84 ± 0.30 μg m⁻³ for Na at the M. A. Jinnah Road location, also in Karachi.

During a three-year field campaign of measuring waterfall generated ions, we monitored five different waterfalls in the Austrian Alps. Most measurements were performed at the Krimml waterfall (Salzburg, Austria), which is the biggest waterfall in Europe, and the Gartl waterfall (Mölltal, Austria). We characterized spatial, time and size distributions of waterfall-generated ions under the influence of surrounding topography. The smallest ions with boundary diameters of 0.9, 1.5 and 2 nm, were measured with a cylindrical air ion detector (CDI-06), while ion sizes from 5.5 to 350 nm were measured using a modified Grimm SMPS aerosol spectrometer. High negative ion concentration gradients are detected in the vicinity of the waterfalls, whereas the increase of positive ions was only moderate. Ions in the nano range were the most abundant at 2 nm, and at 120 nm in the sub-micrometer range.

A new prototype air–liquid interface (ALI) exposure system, a flatbed aerosol exposure chamber termed NAVETTA, was developed to investigate deposition of engineered nanoparticles (NPs) on cultured human lung A549 cells directly from the gas phase. This device mimics human lung cell exposure to NPs due to a low horizontal gas flow combined with cells exposed at the ALI. Electrostatic field assistance is applied to improve NP deposition efficiency. As proof-of-principle, cell viability and immune responses after short-term exposure to nanocopper oxide (CuO)-aerosol were determined. We found that, due to the laminar aerosol flow and a specific orientation of inverted transwells, much higher deposition rates were obtained compared to the normal ALI setup. Cellular responses were monitored with postexposure incubation in submerged conditions, revealing CuO dissolution in a concentration-dependent manner. Cytotoxicity was the result of ionic and nonionic Cu fractions. Using the optimized inverted ALI/postincubation procedure, pro-inflammatory immune responses, in terms of interleukin (IL)-8 promoter and nuclear factor kappa B (NFκB) activity, were observed within short time, i.e. One hour exposure to ALI-deposited CuO-NPs and 2.5 h postincubation. NAVETTA is a novel option for mimicking human lung cell exposure to NPs, complementing existing ALI systems.

Background: “Quantum biology” (QB) is a promising theoretical approach addressing questions about how living systems are able to unfold dynamics that cannot be solved on a chemical basis or seem to violate some fundamental laws (e.g., thermodynamic yield, morphogenesis, adaptation, autopoiesis, memory, teleology, biosemiotics). Current “quantum” approaches in biology are still very basic and “corpuscular”, as these rely on a semi-classical and approximated view. We review important considerations of theory and experiments of the recent past in the field of condensed matter, water, physics of living systems, and biochemistry to join them by creating a consistent picture applicable for life sciences. Within quantum field theory (QFT), the field (also in the matter field) has the primacy whereby the particle, or “quantum”, is a derivative of it. The phase of the oscillation and not the number of quanta is the most important observable of the system. Thermodynamics of open systems, symmetry breaking, fractals, and quantum electrodynamics (QED) provide a consistent picture of condensed matter, liquid water, and living matter. Coherence, resonance-driven biochemistry, and ion cyclotron resonance (Liboff–Zhadin effect) emerge as crucial hormetic phenomena. We offer a paradigmatic approach when dealing with living systems in order to enrich and ultimately better understand the implications of current research activities in the field of life sciences.

The experimental studies using hollow lung cast of human tracheobronchial (TB) tree and in-vivo experiments have demonstrated enhanced charged deposition in the lung. The present study was carried out to implement charge particle deposition into the stochastic human lung model and to estimate enhanced deposition for various charged particles at the airway generation level. Enhanced deposition calculations of charged particles are performed by implementing two different efficiency equations derived for the TB and alveolar (Al) region. Deposition fractions of inhaled charged particles are computed by the stochastic airway generation model IDEAL (Inhalation, Deposition and Exhalation of Aerosols in the Lung) for various breathing conditions and particle sizes. Enhanced deposition of charged particles in the Al region is found to be up to five times higher than in the TB region. Enhanced deposition in the TB region is higher under sitting breathing condition than under light exercise breathing condition. The introduction of pause time, during inhalation, increases the probability of increased enhanced deposition up to a certain breath-hold time limit. The calculated enhancement factors (EF) reveals that more than two times higher deposition can be achieved in the lung by the introduction of charged particles during inhalation. By introducing the charged particles during inhalation and by optimizing the flow rate, tidal volume, and particle size, the targeted deposition in the lung is improved for the best therapeutic aerosols utilization. In addition, the unnecessarily high deposition of toxic particles in the sensitive lung regions can be avoided. Copyright 2012 American Association for Aerosol Research

This study monitored ultrafine particles (UFP) concurrent with environmental air quality data, investigating whether already existing instrumentation used by environmental authorities can provide reference values for estimating UFP concentrations. Of particular interest was the relation of UFP to PM₁₀ (particulate matter) and nitrogen oxides (NOx, NO₂) in ambient air. Existing PM measurement methods alone did not correspond exactly enough with the actual particle number, but we observed a link between NO_x and NO₂ to UFP concentration. The combined data could act as proxy-indicator for authorities in estimating particle number concentrations, but cannot replace UFP monitoring.