This study aimed to assess the microstructure, chemical composition, and image quality of different photostimulable phosphor plates (PSP). Four PSP systems, Express®, Digora®, VistaScan®, and Apixia,® were assessed. Five radiographs of a homogeneous acrylic phantom were obtained with the PSP of each system, to acquire a total of 20 images. The images were objectively evaluated for uniformity using mean grey and standard deviation (SD) of their grey values. PSP receptors were analyzed using scanning electron microscopy (SEM) to determine the thickness of the granule layer and the size of the granules. The chemical composition of the PSP receptors was analyzed using total reflection X-ray fluorescence (TXRF). VistaScan showed more uniform and higher density images than the other tested systems (p < 0.05), as well as the lowest SD of grey values (p < 0.05). Regarding the microstructure of the receptors, Digora and VistaScan had thicker granule layers than Express and Apixia, and VistaScan had smaller granules than Digora and Express (p < 0.05). Fourteen chemical elements were detected in the receptors, with barium being the element with the highest concentration in all PSP systems. The microstructure, chemical composition, and image quality varied among all four PSP receptors studied. VistaScan receptors showed the smallest variation in granule size, one of the thickest granule layers, and the most uniform and least noisy images.

High particulate matter (PM) emissions from vehicular traffic impact air quality in urban areas. In 2018, a truckers’ strike interrupted some of the services in Brazil, leading to a fuel outage in several cities that significantly reduced the flow of vehicles. This study evaluated air quality during the strike in two cities (Limeira and Campinas) in Southeastern Brazil. PM10 concentration was analyzed in the periods before (BTS — 05/01/2018 to 05/22/2018), during (DTS — 05/23/2018 to 05/30/2018), and after (ATS — 05/31/2018 to 06/30/2018) the strike using the Theil-Sen method and the Autoregressive Integrated Moving Average model with Exogenous Variables (ARIMAX). A reduction in the PM daily mean concentration in both cities occurred during the strike. Considering the daily peak time of vehicular flow (6:00 p.m.), the PM10 concentration was 20% higher in the BTS period compared to the DTS period for both cities. In comparison, the ATS period showed concentrations 17% (Limeira) and 7% (Campinas) higher when compared with the DTS period. The variations were statistically significant based on the time series models, and the influences of wind speed, rainfall on the sampling day and the day before sampling, and weekends were also evaluated. It was also possible to verify the contribution of the truckers’ strike to the PM10 concentration in the two cities evaluated. In Limeira, truck traffic had a greater influence on the concentration of PM10, while in Campinas, the contribution of trucks was like that of light vehicles. Based on the variation of the PM10 concentration, the influence of changes in vehicle emission dynamics, one of the main sources of emission in the regions studied, was observed. The results indicate that restricting vehicular traffic had an immediate impact on improving air quality. Therefore, public investment in other types of transport and traffic control policies are suggested.