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Introduction: Air pollution is a global issue that poses a significant threat to public health. Children, due to their developing physiology, are particularly susceptible to the inhalation of environmental pollutants. Exposure can trigger immune modulation and organ damage, increasing susceptibility to respiratory diseases. Therefore, we aim to examine the association between heavy metal and particulate matter exposure with tuberculosis in children., Methods and Analysis: As a case-control study, we will include children diagnosed with pulmonary tuberculosis (n=60) and matched healthy controls (n=80) recruited from the same communities in Dhaka, Bangladesh. Exposure data for both cases and controls will be collected by a trained field team conducting home visits. They will administer an exposure questionnaire, measure child anthropometry, collect blood and household dust samples and instal 48-hour air quality monitors. The blood samples will be analysed by inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry for serum heavy metal concentrations (lead, cadmium, arsenic, mercury and chromium), as a representative marker of exposure, and the presence of inflammatory biomarkers. Descriptive and inferential statistics, including independent samples t-tests, analysis of variance and conditional regression analysis, will be used to quantify heavy metal and particulate matter exposure status in tuberculosis cases compared with healthy controls, while accounting for potential confounders. Dust samples and air quality results will be analysed to understand household sources of heavy metal and particulate matter exposure. To test the study hypothesis, there is a positive association between exposure and tuberculosis diseases, we will also measure the accumulated effect of simultaneous exposures using Bayesian statistical modelling., Ethics and Dissemination: This study has been approved by International Centre for Diarrhoeal Disease Research, Bangladesh's Institutional Review Board (PR-22030). The study findings will be disseminated at conferences and published in peer-reviewed journals., Competing Interests: Competing interests: None declared., (© Author(s) (or their employer(s)) 2024. Re-use permitted under CC BY-NC. No commercial re-use. See rights and permissions. Published by BMJ.)

The health effects of air pollution remain a public concern worldwide. Using data from the Global Burden of Disease 2019 report, we statistically analyzed total mortality, disability-adjusted life years (DALY), and years of life lost (YLL) attributable to air pollution in eight East African countries between 1990 and 2019. We acquired ambient ozone (O 3 ), PM 2.5 concentrations and household air pollution (HAP) from the solid fuel from the State of Global Air report. The multilinear regression model was used to evaluate the predictability of YLLs by the air pollutants. We estimated the ratio rate for each health burden attributable to air pollution to compare the country's efforts in the reduction of air pollution health burden. This study found that the total number of deaths attributable to air pollution decreased by 14.26% for 30 years. The drop came from the reduction of 43.09% in mortality related to Lower Respiratory tract Infection (LRI). However, only five out of eight countries managed to decrease the total number of deaths attributable to air pollution with the highest decrease observed in Ethiopia (40.90%) and the highest increase in Somalia (67.49%). The linear regression model showed that HAP is the pollutant of the most concern in the region, with a 1% increase in HAP resulting in a 31.06% increase in regional YLL (R 2  = 0.93; p < 0.05). With the increasing ground-level ozone, accompanied by the lack of adequate measures to reduce particulate pollutants, the health burdens attributable to air pollution are still a threat in the region., (© 2024. The Author(s), under exclusive licence to Springer Nature Switzerland AG.)

Environmental air pollution presents a considerable risk to global respiratory health. If critical levels are exceeded, inhaled pollutants can lead to the development of respiratory dysfunction and provoke exacerbation in those with pre-existing chronic respiratory disease. Over 90% of the global population currently reside in areas where environmental air pollution is considered excessive-with adverse effects ranging from acute airway irritation to complex immunomodulatory alterations. This narrative review provides an up-to-date perspective concerning the impact of environmental air pollution on respiratory health and function and describes the underpinning mechanisms that contribute to the development and progression of chronic respiratory disease., (© 2024 The Author(s). Physiological Reports published by Wiley Periodicals LLC on behalf of The Physiological Society and the American Physiological Society.)

In China, despite the fact that the atmospheric environment quality has continued to improve in recent years, the PM 2.5 pollution still had not been controlled fundamentally and its driving mechanism was complex which remained to be explored. Based on the 1-km ground-level PM 2.5 datasets of China from 2000 to 2020, this study combined spatial autocorrelation, trend analysis, geographical detector, and multi-scale geographically weighted regression (MGWR) model to explore the spatial-temporal evolution of PM 2.5 in Shanxi Province and revealed its complex driving mechanism behind this process. The results reflected that (1) there was a pronounced spatial clustering of PM 2.5 concentration within Shanxi Province, with PM 2.5 concentrations decreasing from southwest to northeast. From 2000 to 2020, the levels of PM 2.5 pollution demonstrated a decline over time, with its concentrations decreasing by 9.15 µg/m 3 overall. The Hurst exponent indicated a projected decrease in PM 2.5 concentrations in the central and northern areas of Shanxi Province, contrasting with an anticipated increase in other regions. (2) The geographical detector indicated that all drivers had significant influences on PM 2.5 concentrations, with meteorological factors exerting the greatest effects then followed by human activity and vegetation cover showing the least effects. (3) Both gross domestic product and population density exhibited positive correlations with PM 2.5 concentration, while vegetation fractional cover, wind speed, precipitation, and elevation exerted negative influences on PM 2.5 concentration all over the space. This study enriched the research content and ideas on the driving mechanism of PM 2.5 and provided a reference for similar studies., (© 2024. The Author(s), under exclusive licence to Springer Nature Switzerland AG.)

The increasing number of vehicles are emitting a large amount of particles into the atmosphere, causing serious harm to the ecological environment and human health. This study conducted the Worldwide Harmonized Light Vehicles Test Cycle (WLTC) to investigate the emission characteristics of particle number (PN) of China-VI gasoline vehicles with different gasoline. The gasoline with lower aromatic hydrocarbons and olefins reduced particulate matter (PM) and PN emissions by 24% and 52% respectively. The average PN emission rate of the four vehicles during the first 300 s (the cold start period) was 7.2 times that of the 300 s-1800s. Additionally, because the particle transmission time and instrument response time, the test results of instantaneous emissions of PN were not synchronized with vehicle specific power (VSP). By calculating the Spearman correlation coefficient between pre-average vehicle specific power (PAVSP) and the test results of PN instantaneous emissions, the delay time was determined as 10s. After the PN emissions results were corrected, the PN emissions were found to be more related to VSP. By analyzing the influence of driving status on emission, this study found that vehicles in acceleration mode increased PN emissions by 76% compared to those in constant speed mode., (© 2024. The Author(s), under exclusive licence to Springer Nature Switzerland AG.)

Odor pollution, also referred to as odor nuisance, is a growing environmental concern that is significantly associated with mental health. Once emitted into the air, the concentration of odorous substances varies considerably with wind conditions, leading to difficulties in timely sampling. In the present study, we employed selected ion flow tube mass spectrometry (SIFT-MS) to measure 22 odor-producing molecules continuously in an urban-rural complex city. In addition, we applied statistical analyses, principal component analysis (PCA), and a conditional probability function (CPF) to the datasets obtained from SIFT-MS to identify the odor characteristics at two study sites. At site A, odorants related to livestock farming and industry showed high factor loadings on principal components (PCs) from the PCA. In contrast, we estimated that the odorous gaseous chemicals affecting site B were closely related to sewage treatment and municipal solid waste disposal. Similar CPF patterns of grouped substances from the PCA supported the association between potential odor sources and specific odorants at site B, which helped estimate possible source locations. Consequently, our findings indicate that continuous monitoring of odorous substances using SIFT-MS can be an effective way to provide sufficient information on odor-producing molecules, leading to the clear identification of odor characteristics despite the high variability of odorous substances., (© 2024. The Author(s), under exclusive licence to Springer Nature Switzerland AG.)

Adıyaman, a city recently affected by an earthquake, is facing significant air pollution challenges due to both anthropogenic activities and natural events. The sources of air pollution have been investigated using meteorological variables. Elevated southerly winds, especially prominent in spring and autumn, significantly contribute to dust transport, leading to a decline in local air quality as detected by the HYSPLIT model. Furthermore, using Suomi-NPP Thermal Anomaly satellite product, it is detected and analyzed for crop burning activities. Agricultural practices, including stubble burning, contribute to the exacerbation of PM 10 pollution during the summer months, particularly when coupled with winds from all directions except the north. In fall and winter months, heating is identified as the primary cause of pollution. The city center located north of the station is the dominant source of pollution throughout all seasons. The study established the connection between air pollutants and meteorological variables. Furthermore, the Spearman correlation coefficients reveal associations between PM 10 and SO 2 , indicating moderate positive correlations under pressure conditions (r = 0.35, 0.52). Conversely, a negative correlation is observed with windspeed (r = -0.35, -0.50), and temperature also exhibits a negative correlation (r = -0.39, -0.54). During atmospheric conditions with high pressure, PM 10 and SO 2 concentrations are respectively 41.2% and 117.2% higher. Furthermore, pollutant concentration levels are 29.2% and 53.3% higher on days with low winds. Last, practical strategies for mitigating air pollution have been thoroughly discussed and proposed. It is imperative that decision-makers engaged in city planning and renovation give careful consideration to the profound impact of air pollution on both public health and the environment, particularly in the aftermath of a recent major earthquake., (© 2024. The Author(s), under exclusive licence to Springer Nature Switzerland AG.)

In this study, the levels of sulfur dioxide (SO 2 ) and nitrogen dioxide (NO 2 ) were measured indoors and outdoors using passive samplers in Tymar village (20 homes), an industrial area, and Haji Wsu (15 homes), a non-industrial region, in the summer and the winter seasons. In comparison to Haji Wsu village, the results showed that Tymar village had higher and more significant mean SO 2 and NO 2 concentrations indoors and outdoors throughout both the summer and winter seasons. The mean outdoor concentration of SO 2 was the highest in summer, while the mean indoor NO 2 concentration was the highest in winter in both areas. The ratio of NO 2 indoors to outdoors was larger than one throughout the winter at both sites. Additionally, the performance of machine learning (ML) approaches: multiple linear regression (MLR), artificial neural network (ANN), and random forest (RF) were compared in predicting indoor SO 2 concentrations in both the industrial and non-industrial areas. Factor analysis (FA) was conducted on different indoor and outdoor meteorological and air quality parameters, and the resulting factors were employed as inputs to train the models. Cross-validation was applied to ensure reliable and robust model evaluation. RF showed the best predictive ability in the prediction of indoor SO 2 for the training set (RMSE = 2.108, MAE = 1.780, and R 2 = 0.956) and for the unseen test set (RMSE = 4.469, MAE = 3.728, and R 2 = 0.779) values compared to other studied models. As a result, it was observed that the RF model could successfully approach the nonlinear relationship between indoor SO 2 and input parameters and provide valuable insights to reduce exposure to this harmful pollutant., (© 2024. The Author(s), under exclusive licence to Springer Nature Switzerland AG.)

Tropospheric ozone is an air pollutant at the ground level and a greenhouse gas which significantly contributes to the global warming. Strong anthropogenic emissions in and around urban environments enhance surface ozone pollution impacting the human health and vegetation adversely. However, observations are often scarce and the factors driving ozone variability remain uncertain in the developing regions of the world. In this regard, here, we conducted machine learning (ML) simulations of ozone variability and comprehensively examined the governing factors over a major urban environment (Ahmedabad) in western India. Ozone precursors (NO 2 , NO, CO, C 5 H 8 and CH 2 O) from the CAMS (Copernicus Atmosphere Monitoring Service) reanalysis and meteorological parameters from the ERA5 (European Centre for Medium-Range Weather Forecast's (ECMWF) fifth-generation reanalysis) were included as features in the ML models. Automated ML (AutoML) fitted the deep learning model optimally and simulated the daily ozone with root mean square error (RMSE) of ~2 ppbv reproducing 84-88% of variability. The model performance achieved here is comparable to widely used ML models (RF-Random Forest and XGBoost-eXtreme Gradient Boosting). Explainability of the models is discussed through different schemes of feature importance, including SAGE (Shapley Additive Global importancE) and permutation importance. The leading features are found to be different from different feature importance schemes. We show that urban ozone could be simulated well (RMSE = 2.5 ppbv and R 2  = 0.78) by considering first four leading features, from different schemes, which are consistent with ozone photochemistry. Our study underscores the need to conduct science-informed analysis of feature importance from multiple schemes to infer the roles of input variables in ozone variability. AutoML-based studies, exploiting potentials of long-term observations, can strongly complement the conventional chemistry-transport modelling and can also help in accurate simulation and forecast of urban ozone., (© 2024. The Author(s), under exclusive licence to Springer Nature Switzerland AG.)

Pollution of air, water, and soil is a pressing global issue with significant implications for environmental and human health. This research paper explores the various methods and technologies employed for the monitoring and remediation of pollutants in these three crucial environmental compartments. It discusses the challenges associated with pollution, the importance of effective monitoring, and the diverse strategies available for pollutant remediation. By synthesizing current research and technologies, this paper aims to provide insights into the state-of-the-art approaches for addressing pollution and promoting environmental sustainability [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

China is currently focusing on the cooperative control of air pollution and CO2 emissions, as well as the mitigation of economic policy uncertainty (EPU). By using panel data from 282 cities spanning from 2003 to 2017 and a newly constructed city-level EPU index, a spatial Durbin, two-way fixed-effects model is employed, with the aim of estimating the impact of EPU on the synergistic emissions intensity (SEI) of air pollutants and CO2. Additionally, this paper investigates the potential channels through which EPU influences SEI. It also explores how pressures related to environmental protection and economic development affect the impact of EPU on SEI. The results indicate that a unit increase in EPU will result in a rise in the SEI of local cities, adjacent cities, and total cities by 930.9%, 69,162.7%, and 70,093.6%, respectively. Moreover, the channel analysis suggests that EPU exacerbates SEI by undermining the upgrading of the industrial structure, augmenting industrial structure distortion, and escalating labor market distortion. Furthermore, the effect of EPU on SEI may be lessened by an increase in environmental protection pressure, while an increase in economic development pressure may exert a positive influence. Finally, this paper concludes by recommending that policymakers should prioritize the maintenance and stability of economic policies, facilitate the advancement of the industrial structure, enhance the efficiency of labor resource allocation, and underscore the significance of managing urban air pollution and CO2 emissions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Omicron pandemic broke out in Shanghai in March 2022, and some infected people spread to some cities in the Yangtze River Delta (YRD) region. To achieve the dynamic zero-COVID target as soon as possible, Shanghai and nine cities that were heavily affected by Shanghai implemented the lockdown measures. This paper aims to quantify the impact of the lockdown on air quality and human health. A difference-in-difference (DID) model was first used to measure the impact of the lockdown on air quality in these ten cities. Based on the results of the DID model, we estimated the PM2.5-related health and economic benefits using the concentration–response function and the value of statistical life method. Results showed that the lockdown has reduced the concentrations of PM2.5, PM10, SO2, NO2, and CO by 9.87 μg/m3, 17.31 μg/m3, 0.75 μg/m3, 9.03 μg/m3, and 0.07 mg/m3, respectively. The number of avoided premature deaths due to PM2.5 reduction was estimated to be 35,342. The resulting economic benefits totaled 18.86 billion US dollars. We investigated the reasons for the air quality improvement in these ten cities and found the "3 + 11" policy has had a great impact on air quality. Compared with the first COVID-19 lockdown in early 2020, the effect of the lockdown in 2022 was smaller. These findings demonstrated that reductions in anthropogenic emissions would achieve substantial air quality improvement and health benefits. This paper re-emphasized continuous efforts to improve air quality are essential to protect public health. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The civil aircraft cabin is enclosed and highly occupied, making it susceptible to a decline in indoor environmental quality. The environmental quality of civil aircraft cabins not only depends on objective factors such as temperature, relative humidity, and the presence of air pollutants such as carbon dioxide (CO2), carbon monoxide (CO), ozone (O3), particle matter (PM), and volatile organic compounds (VOCs) but also the subjective factors pertaining to the perceptions and health symptoms of passengers and crew. However, few studies have thoroughly examined the air quality and thermal comfort parameters that are measured during in-flight testing in airplane cabins, as well as the passengers' subjective perceptions. In order to evaluate the in-flight thermal comfort and air quality status, this study conducted a review of the recent literature to compile data on primary categories, standard limits, and distribution ranges of in-flight environmental factors within civil aircraft cabins. Following a search procedure outlined in this paper, 54 papers were selected for inclusion. Utilizing the Monte Carlo method, the Predicted Mean Vote (PMV) distributions under different exercise intensities and clothing thermal resistance were measured with the in-cabin temperature and humidity from in-flight tests. Recommendations based on first-hand data were made to maintain the relative humidity in the cabin below 40%, ensure wind speed remains within the range of 0–1 m/s, and regulate the temperature between 25–27 °C (for summer) and 22–27 °C (for winter). The current estimated cabin air supply rate generally complies with the requirements of international standards. Additionally, potential carcinogenic and non-carcinogenic risks associated with formaldehyde, benzene, tetrachloroethylene, and naphthalene were calculated. The sorted data of in-flight tests and the evaluation of the subjective perception of the occupants provide an evaluation of current cabin thermal comfort and air quality status, which can serve as a reference for optimizing indoor environmental quality in future generations of civil aircraft cabins. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This systematic review assessed to evaluate the potential correlation between oral health and air pollution. To the best of the authors' knowledge, this is the first systematic review endeavoring to compare air pollution and oral health. A systematic search was performed according to the PRISMA (Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-analyses) statement and employed the PICO(S) approach (Patient or Population, Intervention, Control or Comparison, Outcome, and Study types). The search was limited to English-language articles, and publications within a 15-year timeframe were included in the electronic search. A comprehensive search was conducted across PubMed, Scopus, Embase, and Web of Science databases, spanning the years 2008 to 2023, resulting in a total of 4983 scientific articles. A final selection of 11 scientific papers was made based on their study type and the specific air pollutants examined. The selected papers analyzed various air pollutants associated with health-related diseases, including Ozone, Nitrogen Dioxide, Nitrogen Monoxide, Carbon Monoxide, sulfur dioxide, and particulate matter. Three out of eleven of the reviewed studies assert a strong correlation between air pollutants and oral diseases, specifically periodontitis. However, the exact biological mechanisms underlying this correlation do not seem to be fully understood, indicating the need for further comprehensive investigation in this regard. Dentists can contribute to the collective effort by educating their patients about the oral health implications of air pollution, thereby supporting initiatives aimed at promoting environmental and health sustainability. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In recent decades, numerous studies have indicated the substantial role semiconductors could play in photocatalytic processes for environmental applications. Materials that contain a semiconductor as a photocatalyst have a semi-permanent capacity for removing harmful gases from the ambient air. In this paper, the focus is on TiO2. Heterogeneous photocatalysis using TiO2 leads to the degradation of NO/NO2, benzene, toluene, and other priority air pollutants once in contact with the semiconductor surface. Preliminary evidence indicates that TiO2-containing construction materials and paints efficiently destroy the ozone precursors NO and NO2 by up to 80% and 30%, respectively. Therefore, the development of innovative coatings containing TiO2 as a photocatalyst was in the foreground of research activities. The aim of this was for coatings to be used as building and construction materials, mainly outdoors, e.g., on building façades on high-traffic roads for the degradation of priority air pollutants (NOx and volatile organic compounds) in the polluted urban atmosphere. Though there are advantages connected with the application of TiO2, due to its band gap of 3.2 eV, these are limited. TiO2 is effective only in the UV region (ca. 5%) of the solar spectrum with wavelengths λ < 380 nm. Hence, efforts are made here, as in many research studies, to dope TiO2 with transition metals to increase its activity using visible light, which will extend its application to indoor environments. In our studies, experiments were conducted with 0.1% (w/w) and 1% (w/w) Mn-TiO2 admixtures, and the ability of the modified photocatalysts to degrade NO by both solar and indoor illumination was evaluated. The surface chemistry at the air/catalyst interface, governed by the photoelectric characteristics of TiO2 and the formation of reactive oxygen species with co-occurring redox reactions, is reviewed in this paper. The factors affecting the application of TiO2 for the degradation of priority air pollutants as single compounds or mixtures are discussed. We investigated, particularly, the degradation of mixtures of priority compounds at typical concentrations in ambient air and confined spaces. This is a realistic approach, because pollutants are present as mixtures, rather than as individual compounds in ambient and indoor air. Moreover, organic polymers as paint constituents were found to be the primary source for carbonyl formation, e.g., formaldehyde, acetaldehyde, etc., during the heterogeneous photocatalytic processes conducted on TiO2-enriched coatings. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Nitrogen oxides (NOx = NO + NO2) are air pollutants which are co-emitted with CO2 during high-temperature combustion processes. Monitoring NOx emissions is crucial for assessing air quality and for providing proxy estimates of CO2 emissions. Satellite observations, such as those from the TROPOspheric Monitoring Instrument (TROPOMI) on board the Sentinel-5P satellite, provide global coverage at high temporal resolution. However, satellites measure only NO2 , necessitating a conversion to NOx. Previous studies have applied a constant NO2 -to- NOx conversion factor. In this paper, we develop a more realistic model for NO2 -to- NOx conversion and apply it to TROPOMI data of 2020 and 2021. To achieve this, we analysed plume-resolving simulations from the MicroHH large-eddy simulation model with chemistry for the Bełchatów (PL), Jänschwalde (DE), Matimba (ZA) and Medupi (ZA) power plants, as well as a metallurgical plant in Lipetsk (RU). We used the cross-sectional flux method to calculate NO , NO2 and NOx line densities from simulated NO and NO2 columns and derived NO2 -to- NOx conversion factors as a function of the time since emission. Since the method of converting NO2 to NOx presented in this paper assumes steady-state conditions and that the conversion factors can be modelled by a negative exponential function, we validated the conversion factors using the same MicroHH data. Finally, we applied the derived conversion factors to TROPOMI NO2 observations of the same sources. The validation of the NO2 -to- NOx conversion factors shows that they can account for the NOx chemistry in plumes, in particular for the conversion between NO and NO2 near the source and for the chemical loss of NOx further downstream. When applying these time-since-emission-dependent conversion factors, biases in NOx emissions estimated from TROPOMI NO2 images are greatly reduced from between - 50 % and - 42 % to between only - 9.5 % and - 0.5 % in comparison with reported emissions. Single-overpass estimates can be quantified with an uncertainty of 20 %–27 %, while annual NOx emission estimates have uncertainties in the range of 4 %–21 % but are highly dependent on the number of successful retrievals. Although more simulations covering a wider range of meteorological and trace gas background conditions will be needed to generalise the approach, this study marks an important step towards a consistent, uniform, high-resolution and near-real-time estimation of NOx emissions – especially with regard to upcoming NO2 -monitoring satellites such as Sentinel-4, Sentinel-5 and CO2M. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Research on the quality of the air in rural areas is essential for determining base emissions of air pollutants, evaluating the effects of dust pollutants particular to rural areas, modeling the dispersion of pollutants, and developing appropriate pollution mitigation systems. The absence of a systematic review based on the assessment of air quality levels in agricultural settings based on integrated weather variables and air pollutants in the literature draws attention to the deficiencies and the necessity of further research in this area. Hence, our study aimed to develop an Arduino monitoring system with related sensors to acquire some air pollutants and weather parameters. Additionally, we proposed an innovative solution to compare air quality levels by suggesting a new criterion called an integrated indicator for air quality assessment (IAQA). It was created based on the weighted average method to combine the investigated air pollutants and weather parameters. This criterion was evaluated while conducting field measurements in 29 environmentally different agricultural regions located within the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. To determine the integrated indicator, all the values of the variables were normalized between 0 and 1. The agricultural setting with the lowest integrated indicator was the best environmentally. The lowest and highest values of the integrated indicator ranged from 37.03% and 66.32%, respectively, with an arithmetic average of 48.24%. The developed criterion can change its value depending on the change in the weight value of the variables involved, and it is suitable for application to any other agricultural or non-agricultural setting to evaluate the pollution level in the air. Although similar research has been published, this paper presents novelty findings based on integrated values of air pollutants and weather variables for defining a new criterion called IAQA. Additionally, this paper presents original results for air pollutants and weather aspects in different agricultural settings. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper summarizes the results of a Special Issue focusing on the practical applications of model predictive control and other advanced control methods in the built environment. This Special Issue contains eleven publications and deals with various topics such as the virtual sensing of indoor air pollutants and prediction models for indoor air temperature and building heating and cooling loads, as well as local and supervisory control strategies. The last three publications tackle the predictive maintenance of chilled water systems. Most of these publications are field demonstrations of advanced control solutions or promising methodologies to facilitate the adoption of such control strategies, and they deal with existing buildings. The Special Issue also contains two review papers that provide a comprehensive overview of practical challenges, opportunities, and solutions to improve building operations. This article concludes with a discussion of the perspectives of advanced controls in the built environment and the increasing importance of data-driven solutions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The accurate quantification of concentration fluctuations is crucial when evaluating the exposure to toxic, infectious, reactive, flammable, or explosive substances, as well as for the estimation of odor nuisance. However, in the field of Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD), the industry currently relies predominantly on steady-state RANS turbulence models for simulating near-field pollutant dispersion, which are only capable of producing the time-averaged concentration field. This paper presents a regression relationship for calculating the standard deviation of the local concentration based on the mean concentration and the downstream distance from a point source, over a city-like surface, in the case of the wind direction perpendicular to the streets. The desired peak values and other statistical characteristics can be predicted by assuming a gamma distribution which is fitted based on the average and standard deviation. To obtain the regression function, a deep neural network model was used. The model was trained using timeresolved concentration data obtained from wind tunnel experiments. The validation results show that the concentration fluctuations predicted by the DNN-based model are in satisfactory agreement with the measurement data in terms of the skewness, the kurtosis, the median, and the peak concentrations. Furthermore, the present paper suggests a workflow for estimating the concentration fluctuations based on RANS CFD results, as well as recommendations for generating further training data for specific applications. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Environmental toxins pose significant threats to ecosystems and human health. Monitoring and assessing these toxins are crucial for effective environmental management and public health protection. Recently, plant species have garnered increasing attention as potential bioindicators for identifying and evaluating ecological toxins. Since plants often come into touch with harmful compounds in soil, water, and the atmosphere, they are particularly valuable for analyzing how human activities influence the terrestrial ecosystem, the aquatic system, and the atmosphere. This review paper emphasizes using plant species as a resource for tracking environmental pollution and analyzing contaminants. We focused on plants because they are significant indicators of soil, water, and air quality changes. Many plants have been used as bio-indicators to assess and predict pollution, toxicity, and environmental changes. These include Allium cepa, Vicia faba, Pisum sativum, Zea mays, Nicotiana tabacum, lichens, and mosses. The idea of bioindicators is discussed in the current paper, with a focus on plants as possible candidates for bioindicators for toxin assessment and related outcomes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The special large-slope V-shaped structure of underwater tunnels changes the ventilation characteristics during tunnel construction, making the traditional experience limited. Therefore, it is urgent to study the influence of the special structure on the safety of the air environment during construction. In this paper, a series of small-scale experiments were conducted to investigate the ventilation characteristics of V-shaped tunnels. The coupled effects of ventilation parameters (distance of duct outlet from working face  L 0 , air velocity at the duct outlet  u 0 ) and structural characteristics (digging length  L d , slope of the uphill section  θ) were considered. The extreme slope of the V-shaped tunnel of 8% was considered. The flow field and pollutant transport law were determined by using CO as a tracer in the experiments. The results show that  u 0  has a positive impact on the air return velocity, while  L d  has a negative impact, and neither of the other two factors has a significant effect. The transport characteristics of CO in V-shaped tunnels differ from those in flat tunnels, with the former tending to cause unconventional areas of high pollutant concentrations in the horizontal sections. Furthermore, the correlations between CO concentration and distance, ventilation time, and the influence factors discussed in this paper are derived from the experimental results. The conclusions provide guidance for the construction of V-shaped tunnels to prevent air pollution in the construction environment and to improve the working conditions of laborers. Additionally, it can also enrich the ventilation experience in tunnel construction. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The 31st FISU Summer World University Games (SWUG) was held in Chengdu, southwestern China, from July 22 to August 8, 2023. A series of control measures were carried out to ensure good air quality during the SWUG, providing an opportunity to investigate the atmospheric behaviors of light-absorbing aerosols under such a substantial disturbance caused by the control measures. To assess the impacts of emission controls on primary pollutants, a field campaign was conducted at a rural site in Chengdu to investigate the characterization of equivalent black carbon (eBC). The changes of eBC concentrations before, during, and after the SWUG were characterized. The sources of eBC were resolved, and the impacts of atmospheric processes on the absorption capacity were also investigated. During the SWUG, the eBC concentration decreased by 12.1 % and 25.3 % compared with those before and after the SWUG. A fossil fuel combustion (eBC ff ) and a biomass burning (eBC bb ) originated eBC were resolved using the aethalometer model. Both eBC ff and eBC bb decreased during the SWUG, indicating the effectiveness of control measures. After the SWUG, the influence of biomass burning emissions became more and more significant, and the contribution of brown carbon (BrC) to light absorption at 370-660 nm increased by 52, 19, 7, 6, and 17 % compared to those during the SWUG. As the biomass burning emitted aerosols aged, the absorption Ångström exponent and b abs (BrC 370nm ) decreased gradually, which was mainly due to the photobleaching of the chromophores during the daytime. eBC ff was mainly affected by strong wind, while high eBC bb concentration was mainly attributed to the gradual accumulation of biomass-burning emissions near the observation site. The results show the significant reduction of eBC with the implementation of the air pollution mitigation campaign, and provide insights on the impacts of atmospheric processes on BC optical properties during summertime., Competing Interests: Declaration of competing interest The authors declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper., (Copyright © 2024 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.)

Seasonal variations in black carbon (BC) pollution characteristics during haze episodes in Benxi city, Liaoning province, were analyzed using year-long measurements of BC, carbon monoxide (CO), and PM 2.5. Haze frequencies were recorded to be 0.07, 0.03 and 0.14 in spring, autumn, and winter respectively. Solid fuel contributions increased notably by 7%-8% during haze events compared to clean periods in all seasons. Transitioning from clean to haze periods led to ΔBC/ΔCO increases of 16% in spring and autumn, and 6.8% in winter, while BC/PM 2.5 ratios decreased by approximately 33%, 50%, and 24% for spring, autumn, and winter respectively, likely indicating enhanced residential and industrial contributions. These further led to an increase in BC absorption capacities by factors of around 2.2 in spring and autumn, and up to 2.6 in winter during haze periods. Despite liquid fuel sources dominating BC emissions, certain haze episodes (frequency <10%) showed solid fuel contributions of up to 65%, highlighting BC pollution complexity in the region during haze. Backward trajectories analysis revealed local air masses from Liaoning province arrived consistently with the most occurrence of haze events across all seasons, while long-range air masses from Mongolian regions, though with less frequent occurrence during haze periods, significantly elevated BC loadings from solid fuel sources, particularly in spring and autumn due to biomass burning. Despite higher BC wet scavenging rates (WSR) in long-range air masses (0.072 ng m -3  ppbv -1 mm -1 ) compared to local air masses (0.039 ng m -3  ppbv -1 mm -1 ), significant BC transport persisted due to limited precipitation along transport pathways, especially during haze periods. These findings provide crucial insights for policymakers, highlighting the need for targeted haze prevention and control strategies focusing on mitigating BC emissions in Northeast China., Competing Interests: Declaration of competing interest The authors declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper., (Copyright © 2024 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.)

Increased systemic oxidative stress, implicated in adverse pregnancy outcomes for both mothers and fetuses, has been associated with gestational exposure to air pollutants such as polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs), fine particulate matter (PM 2.5 ), and nitrogen dioxide (NO 2 ). However, it is unclear whether exposure to pollutants at levels below the current air quality standards can increase oxidative stress in pregnant women. In a cohort of 305 pregnant persons residing in western New York, we examined the association between exposure to PM 2.5 , NO 2 , and PAHs (measured as urinary 1-hydroxypyrene) and urinary biomarkers of oxidative stress (malondialdehyde [MDA] and 8-hydroxy-2'-deoxyguanosine [8-OHdG]) measured in each trimester. After controlling for gestational stage, maternal age, lifestyles, and socioeconomic factors, each interquartile range (IQR) increase in 1-hydroxypyrene concentration (65.8 pg/ml) was associated with a 7.73% (95%CI: 3.18%,12.3%) higher in MDA levels throughout the pregnancy and in the first and second trimester. An IQR increase in PM 2.5 concentration (3.20 μg/m 3 ) was associated with increased MDA levels in the first trimester (8.19%, 95%CI: 0.28%,16.1%), but not the 2nd (-7.99%, 95% CI: 13.8%, -2.23%) or 3rd trimester (-2.81%, 95% CI: 10.0%, 4.38%). The average cumulative PM 2.5 exposures in the 3-7 days before urine collection were associated with increased 8-OHdG levels during the second trimester, with the largest difference (22.6%; 95% CI: 3.46%, 41.7%) observed in relation to a one IQR increase in PM 2.5 concentration in the previous 7 days. In contrast, neither oxidative stress biomarker was associated with NO 2 exposure. Observed in pregnant women exposed to low-level air pollution, these findings expanded previously reported associations between systemic oxidative stress and high-level PM 2.5 and PAH concentrations. Further, the first and second trimesters may be a susceptible window during pregnancy for oxidative stress responses to air pollution exposure., Competing Interests: Declaration of competing interest The authors declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper., (Copyright © 2024. Published by Elsevier Ltd.)

Solid fuel combustion emitted abundant pollutants, especially polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) which had significant minus impact on human health in rural China. PAHs in PM 2.5 emitted from different fuels combustion and hydroxylated metabolites of PAHs (OH-PAHs) in urine samples of different fuel users were detected in this study. The indoor PAHs were higher than that in outdoors for solid fuel use households, and the concentration of PAHs in the indoor of liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) use household was not much lower than solid fuel use households. Biogas-use household produced the lowest PAHs, which significantly reduced 64-82% compared with those emitted by solid fuel combustion. The different combustion conditions influenced the gaseous PAHs in indoors between two sampling sites. The gas/particle partition indicated that PAHs tended to occur in the particle phase with increased molecular weight, and the absorption was the main mechanism. The relative higher contribution of high molecular weight PAHs (HMW-PAHs) in solid fuel use households than in clean fuel use households, induced more health risks of PAHs. The concentration of Σ 10 OH-PAHs in the urine samples for elders of different fuel-use households displayed the trend of coal (83.27 ng/mL) > wood (79.32 ng/mL) > LPG (51.61 ng/mL) > biogas (28.96 ng/mL), and OH-NaPs was the predominant metabolites, which accounted for more than 90% of the total concentration. The carcinogenic risk of PAHs based on internal exposure was greater than or close to 10 -4 , with serious carcinogenic risks. This was different with the incremental lifetime cancer risk based on the atmospheric concentrations. The exposure of PAHs from solid fuel combustion for human being especially for the elders in this region should be concerned, and more data should be done for the internal exposure of PAHs., Competing Interests: Declaration of competing interest The authors declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper., (Copyright © 2024 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.)

Trees act as natural filters that mitigate roadside air pollution. However, the filtration impact of different tree arrangements on traffic pollutants with different particle diameters has rarely been analysed in real street canyon environments. To quantify how roadside tree arrangements impact pedestrian exposure to particle number concentrations (PNCs) of different diameters (0.25-32 μm), in situ field measurements were carried out in a boulevard-type street canyon in the city of Xi'an, China. This study analysed the experimental data of PNCs collected along segments of a pedestrian lane under four typical tree arrangements: open space without trees, a sparse-spaced tree arrangement, a medium-spaced tree arrangement, and a dense-spaced tree arrangement in a street canyon. Our results reveal that the effect of tree arrangement on PNCs depended on the particle diameter. In general, trees can significantly reduce coarse PNC (particles with diameters >2.5 μm) but not the fine PNC. Quantitative analysis showed that a medium-spaced tree arrangement, in which tree crowns are adjacent to each other but do not overlap, is the most capable of reducing PNC, followed by a sparse-spaced tree arrangement, while a the dense-spaced tree arrangement has the least impact. The attenuation effect of trees on the PNCs increased with increasing particle diameter. Moreover, the presence of trees altered the local microclimate, which also affected how exposure to PNCs changed. Our empirical findings further highlight the complexity of how trees affect particulate pollutants in street canyons and provide timely insights for enhancing tree-planning management in cities from the perspective of air quality improvement., Competing Interests: Declaration of competing interest The authors declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper., (Copyright © 2024 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.)

The construction of cascade reservoirs can interfere with the natural hydrologic cycles of basins, causing negative environmental effects such as altering the emission patterns of the Nitrous oxide (N 2 O), a potent greenhouse gas. To elucidate the impact of cascade reservoirs construction on river N 2 O emissions, we utilized the thin boundary model and the incubation experiments to estimate the N 2 O fluxes at the air-water interface and at the water-sediment interface of cascade reservoirs on the Yunnan-Guizhou Plateau, respectively. Additionally, we explored the influence of various factors, with particular emphasis on damming, on N 2 O emissions and production. Moreover, we identified the main pathways of N 2 O production and proposed management strategies to mitigate N 2 O emissions from cascade reservoirs. The findings revealed that N 2 O fluxes at the air-water interface and the water-sediment interface were 4.73 ± 1.32 μmol m -2 · d -1 and 15.56 ± 1.98 μmol m -2 · d -1 , respectively. Influenced by temperature, dissolved oxygen (DO), resource substances (active nitrogen substrates and dissolved organic carbon (DOC)) and reservoir properties (scale, hydraulic retention time (HRT), reservoir age, etc.), the N 2 O concentration and flux exhibited notable spatial heterogeneity, gradually increasing downstream. Temperature has a significant direct impact on N 2 O flux, as well as indirect effects through DO and resource chemicals. Furthermore, the correlation between dissolved oxygen utilization rate (AOU) and net N 2 O flux (ΔN 2 O) indicated that N 2 O emissions at the water-air interface were primarily attributable to nitrification, whereas those at the water-sediment interface were predominantly driven by denitrification. These findings not only enhance our comprehension of N 2 O emissions at various interfaces of cascade reservoirs but also offer theoretical backing for the formulation of management strategies aimed at efficiently mitigating N 2 O emissions from continuously dammed rivers., Competing Interests: Declaration of competing interest The authors declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper., (Copyright © 2024 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.)

The Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei (BTH) is one of the key areas with PM 2.5 air pollution in China. Driven by the PM 2.5 target accessibility of the Interim Target-1 (IT-1) by World Health Organization (WHO) and China's carbon neutrality, this study explored and quantified the contribution of climate change and anthropogenic emission to future PM 2.5 in the region. The experiments considered future climate change scenarios RCP8.5, RCP4.5, and RCP2.6 with the baseline (Base) and reduced emission (EIT1) inventories in 2030, and RCP4.5 climate scenario with 3 emission inventories in 2050, the additional strong control emission scenario called Best-Health-Effect (BHE). Under various climate scenarios, the future air quality research modelling system projected annual PM 2.5 concentrations nearing 35 μg/m 3 in 2030. However, considering only the effect of emission reduction, the annual PM 2.5 concentrations under EIT1 emission scenario is about 35% less than under Base scenario in different key years. The future PM 2.5 concentrations are highly related to anthropogenic emission from human activities, while climate change by 2030 or 2050 has little impact on future air quality over the BTH region. The BHE emission reduction is significantly required for China to meet the new PM 2.5 guideline value of WHO in the future., Competing Interests: Declaration of competing interest The authors declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper., (Copyright © 2024 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Ltd.. All rights reserved.)

Understanding and managing the health effects of Nitrogen Dioxide (NO 2 ) requires high resolution spatiotemporal exposure maps. Here, we developed a multi-stage multi-resolution ensemble model that predicts daily NO 2 concentration across continental France from 2005 to 2022. Innovations of this work include the computation of daily predictions at a 200 m resolution in large urban areas and the use of a spatio-temporal blocking procedure to avoid data leakage and ensure fair performance estimation. Predictions were obtained after three cascading stages of modeling: (1) predicting NO 2 total column density from Ozone Monitoring Instrument satellite; (2) predicting daily NO 2 concentrations at a 1 km spatial resolution using a large set of potential predictors such as predictions obtained from stage 1, land-cover and road traffic data; and (3) predicting residuals from stage 2 models at a 200 m resolution in large urban areas. The latter two stages used a generalized additive model to ensemble predictions of three decision-tree algorithms (random forest, extreme gradient boosting and categorical boosting). Cross-validated performances of our ensemble models were overall very good, with a ten-fold cross-validated R 2 for the 1 km model of 0.83, and of 0.69 for the 200 m model. All three basis learners participated in the ensemble predictions to various degrees depending on time and space. In sum, our multi-stage approach was able to predict daily NO 2 concentrations with a relatively low error. Ensembling the predictions maximizes the chance of obtaining accurate values if one basis learner fails in a specific area or at a particular time, by relying on the other learners. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first study aiming to predict NO 2 concentrations in France with such a high spatiotemporal resolution, large spatial extent, and long temporal coverage. Exposure estimates are available to investigate NO 2 health effects in epidemiological studies., Competing Interests: Declaration of competing interest The authors declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper., (Copyright © 2024 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.)

In recent years, there has been a significant increase in surface ozone (O 3 ) concentrations in the troposphere. Ozone pollution has significant adverse effects on ecosystems, human health, and climate change, particularly on crop growth and yield. This study utilized the observational hourly O 3 data, cumulative O 3 concentration over 40 ppb per h (AOT40), and the mean daytime 7-h O 3 concentration (M7) to analyze the spatiotemporal distributions of relative yield losses (RYLs) and evaluate the yield reduction and economic losses of rice in Sichuan province from 2015 to 2020. The results indicated that the average O 3 concentration during the growing rice season ranged from 55.4 to 69.3 μg/m 3 , with the highest O 3 concentration observed in 2017, and the AOT40 ranged from 4.5 to 8.7 ppm h from 2015 to 2020. At the county level, the O 3 concentration, AOT40, and the relative yield loss (RYL) of rice based on AOT40 exhibited clear spatiotemporal differences in Sichuan. The RYLs of AOT40 were 4.9-9.2% from 2015 to 2020. According to AOT40 and M7 metrics, the yield loss and economic losses attributed to O 3 pollution amounted to 78.75-150.36 (9.74-21.54) ten thousand tons, and 2079.08-4149.89 (257.25-594.45) million Yuan, respectively. Rice yield and economic losses were relatively large in the Chengdu Plain, southern Sichuan, and northeast Sichuan. These findings will contribute to a deeper understanding of the detrimental effects of elevated surface O 3 concentrations on rice crops. It is imperative to implement more stringent O 3 reduction measures aimed at lowering O 3 concentrations, enhancing rice quality, and safeguarding food security in Sichuan., Competing Interests: Declaration of competing interest The authors declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper., (Copyright © 2024. Published by Elsevier Ltd.)

Long-term particulate matter with aerodynamic diameters ≤2.5 μm (PM 2.5 ) exposure has been associated with the occurrence of acute coronary syndrome (ACS). However, the impact of PM 2.5 exposure and its components on the severity of angina pectoris and disease-related health status in patients hospitalized for ACS is understudied. To assess the association between long-term exposure to PM 2.5 components and the angina pectoris severity in ACS patients, as well as the modification effects of genetic factors and disease history in north China. During 2017-2019, 6729 ACS patients were collected in Shandong Province and Beijing, with their angina pectoris severity evaluated using Seattle Angina Questionnaire (SAQ). The 0-3 years' average concentrations of PM 2.5 and its five major components were assigned to each patient's residential address. Linear mixed-effects model, weighted quantile regression, and quantile g-computation were used to estimate the effects of both single and joint associations between PM 2.5 components and SAQ scores. The interactive effect was estimated by polygenic risk scores and disease history. For each interquartile range increase in PM 2.5 , the overall SAQ score changed by -3.71% (95%CI: -4.54% to -2.88%), with score of angina stability more affected than angina frequency and other dimensions of angina pectoris severity. Sulfate and ammonium were major contributors to the effect of PM 2.5 exposure. Significant modification effect was only observed for disease history, especially for the dimension of physical limitation. Among a series of pre-existing diseases, patients with a family history of coronary artery disease, previous percutaneous coronary intervention or coronary artery bypass grafting, and stroke were more susceptible to PM 2.5 exposure than others. Greater exposure to PM 2.5 is associated with more serious angina pectoris and worse disease-related health status in ACS patients. Public health and clinical priority should be given to cutting down key effective components and protecting highly vulnerable individuals., Competing Interests: Declaration of competing interest The authors declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper., (Copyright © 2024 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.)

Due to a lack of long-term observations in China, reports on historical ozone concentration are severely limited. In this study, by combining observation, reanalysis and model simulation data, XGBoost machine learning algorithm is used to correct the surface ozone concentration from CMIP6 climate model, and the long-term and large-scale surface ozone concentration of China during 1950-2014 is obtained. The long-term evolutions and trends of ozone and meteorological effects on interannual ozone variations are further analyzed. The results reveal that CMIP6 historical simulations have a large underestimation in ozone concentrations and their trends. The XGB-derived ozone are closer to observations, with R 2 value of 0.66 and 0.74 for daily and monthly retrievals, respectively. Both the concentrations and exceedances of ozone in most parts of China have shown increasing trends from 1950 to 2014. The daily mean ozone concentration without climate change effects is estimated to be 117 ppb in the year 1950 averaged over China. It indicates that the increase in anthropogenic emissions of China has a significant contribution to ozone enhancement between 1950 and 2014. The higher ozone growth rates of XGB retrievals than those from the model indicate a regional surface ozone penalty due to the warming climate. The relatively significant increment in ozone are estimated in the Central and Western China. Seasonally, the ozone enhancement is largest in spring, indicating a shift in seasonal variation of ozone. Given the uncertainty in simulating historical ozone by climate model, we show that machine learning approaches can provide improved assessment of evolution in surface ozone, along with valuable information to guide future model development and formulate future ozone pollution prevention and control policies., Competing Interests: Declaration of competing interest The authors declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper., (Copyright © 2024 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.)

By 2020, China has implemented the use of 10% ethanol-blended-gasoline (E10), which is expected to notably impact vehicular volatile organic compounds (VOCs) emissions. The adoption of E10 reduced certain emissions but raised concerns with about more reactive oxygenated volatile organic compounds (OVOCs). This study aimed to evaluate the impact of E10 on the total VOCs emissions from both exhaust and evaporative emissions by conducting tests on the CHINA V (or CHINA VI) light-duty gasoline vehicles (LDGVs) using 0% ethanol blended gasoline (E0) and E10. E10 reduces VOCs emissions in the exhaust, and reduces the ozone and secondary organic aerosol generation potential of VOCs in the exhaust, as evidenced by the lower emission factors (EFs), ozone formation potentials (OFPs) and secondary organic aerosol formation potential (SOAFPs) in the CHINA V LDGVs. Evaporative emissions showed differences in emitted VOCs, with lower EFs, OFPs and SOAFPs for the CHINA V LDGVs fueled with E10. The CHINA VI LDGVs also exhibited reduced EFs, OFPs and SOAFPs. These findings highlight the environmental benefits of E10 in the CHINA VI-compliant LDGVs; however, the effectiveness of the earlier CHINA V standard vehicles requires further evaluation., Competing Interests: Declaration of competing interest The authors declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper., (Copyright © 2024 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.)

Extreme climatic conditions, like heat waves or cold spells, associated to high concentrations of air pollutants are responsible for a broad range of effects on human health. Consequently, in the recent years, the question on how urban and peri-urban forests may improve both air quality and surface climate conditions at city-scale is receiving growing attention by scientists and policymakers, with previous studies demonstrating how nature-based solutions (NBS) may contribute to reduce the risk of population to be exposed to high pollutant levels and heat stress, preventing, thus, premature mortality. In this study we present a new modeling framework designed to simulate air quality and meteorological conditions from regional to urban scale, allowing thus to assess the impacts of both air pollution and heat stress on human health at urban level. To assess the model reliability, we evaluated the model's performances in reproducing several relevant meteorological, chemical, and biological variables. Results show how our modeling system can reliably reproduce the main meteorological, chemical, and biological variables over our study areas, thus this tool can be used to estimate the impact of air pollution and heat stress on human health. As an example of application, we show how common heat stress and air pollutant indices used for human health protection change when computed from regional to urban scale for the cities of Florence (Italy) and Aix en Provence (France)., Competing Interests: Declaration of competing interest The authors declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper., (Copyright © 2024. Published by Elsevier Inc.)

This review is aimed at researchers in air pollution control seeking to understand the latest advancements in volatile organic compound (VOC) removal. Implementing of plasma-catalysis technology for the removal of volatile organic compounds (VOCs) led to a significant boost in terms of degradation yield and mineralization rate with low by-product formation. The plasma-catalysis combination can be used in two distinct ways: (I) the catalyst is positioned downstream of the plasma discharge, known as the "post plasma catalysis configuration" (PPC), and (II) the catalyst is located in the plasma zone and exposed directly to the discharge, called "in plasma catalysis configuration" (IPC). Coupling these two technologies, especially for VOCs elimination has attracted the interest of many researchers in recent years. The term "synergy" is widely reported in their works and associated with the positive effect of the plasma catalysis combination. This review paper investigates the state of the art of newly published papers about catalysis, photocatalysis, non-thermal plasma, and their combination for VOC removal application. The focus is on understanding different synergy sources operating mutually between plasma and catalysis discussed and classified into two main parts: the effect of the plasma discharge on the catalyst and the effect of the catalyst on plasma discharge. This approach has the potential for application in air purification systems for industrial processes or indoor environments., Competing Interests: Declaration of competing interest The authors declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper., (Copyright © 2024 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.)

Against the backdrop of global climate change and the "dual carbon" target, cities have a significant responsibility to achieve carbon reduction targets. As a crucial urban agglomeration in northern China, effectively balancing economic growth with CO 2 emission reduction to achieve high-quality economic development remains a significant challenge that the Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei region should address both presently and in the future. The objective of this study is to utilize nighttime lighting data and energy consumption information to quantify the CO 2 emissions of diverse cities within the Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei region spanning from 2006 to 2020. The research aims to analyze the spatial progression patterns of CO 2 emissions across these urban centers, identify key determinants and their interrelations, and delve into the underlying mechanisms pivotal for advancing carbon mitigation strategies within urban agglomerations. The results indicate that: with an exception in Beijing where CO 2 emissions slightly decreased compared to 2006, CO 2 emissions increased across cities in the Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei region by 2020. High-value CO 2 emission areas are primarily concentrated in central of the study area, exhibiting negative spatial correlation characteristics. Based on its urban development positioning, it is imperative for the Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei urban agglomeration to formulate and implement carbon reduction strategies on innovative development, industrial upgrading, and ecological protection among other aspects towards coordinated low-carbon development., Competing Interests: Declaration of competing interest The authors declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper., (Copyright © 2024 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.)

Background: Prolonged exposure to air pollution has been linked to adverse respiratory health, yet the evidence concerning its association with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) is inconsistent. The evidence of a greenness effect on chronic respiratory diseases is limited., Objective: This study aimed to investigate the association between long-term exposure to particulate matter (PM 2.5 and PM 10 ), black carbon (BC), nitrogen dioxide (NO 2 ), ozone (O 3 ) and greenness (as measured by the normalized difference vegetation index - NDVI) and incidence of self-reported chronic bronchitis or COPD (CB/COPD)., Methods: We analyzed data from 5355 adults from 7 centers participating in the Respiratory Health in Northern Europe (RHINE) study. Mean exposures to air pollution and greenness were assessed at available residential addresses in 1990, 2000 and 2010 using air dispersion models and satellite data, respectively. Poisson regression with log person-time as an offset was employed to analyze the association between air pollution, greenness, and CB/COPD incidence, adjusting for confounders., Results: Overall, there were 328 incident cases of CB/COPD during 2010-2023. Despite wide statistical uncertainty, we found a trend for a positive association between NO 2 exposure and CB/COPD incidence, with incidence rate ratios (IRRs) per 10 μg/m³ difference ranging between 1.13 (95% CI: 0.90-1.41) in 1990 and 1.18 (95% CI: 0.96-1.45) in 2000. O 3 showed a tendency for inverse association with CB/COPD incidence (IRR from 0.84 (95% CI: 0.66-1.07) in 2000 to 0.88 (95% CI: 0.69-1.14) in 2010. No consistent association was found between PM, BC and greenness with CB/COPD incidence across different exposure time windows., Conclusion: Consistent with prior research, our study suggests that individuals exposed to higher concentrations of NO 2 may face an elevated risk of developing COPD, although evidence remains inconclusive. Greenness was not associated with CB/COPD incidence, while O 3 showed a tendency for an inverse association with the outcome., Competing Interests: Declaration of competing interest The authors declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper., (Copyright © 2024 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.)

The growing effects of climate change on Malaysia's coastal ecology heighten worries about air pollution, specifically caused by urbanization and industrial activity in the maritime sector. Trucks and vessels are particularly noteworthy for their substantial contribution to gas emissions, including nitrogen dioxide (NO 2 ), which is the primary gas released in port areas. The application of advanced analysis techniques was spurred by the air pollution resulting from the combustion of fossil fuels such as fuel oil, natural gas and gasoline in vessels. The study utilized satellite photos captured by the Tropospheric Monitoring Instrument (TROPOMI) on the Sentinel-5P satellite to evaluate the levels of NO 2 gas pollution in Malaysia's port areas and exclusive economic zone. Before the COVID-19 pandemic, unrestricted gas emissions led to persistently high levels of NO 2 in the analyzed areas. The temporary cessation of marine industry operations caused by the pandemic, along with the halting of vessels to prevent the spread of COVID-19, resulted in a noticeable decrease in NO 2 gas pollution. In light of these favourable advancements, it is imperative to emphasize the need for continuous investigation and collaborative endeavours to further alleviate air contamination in Malaysian port regions, while simultaneously acknowledging the wider consequences of climate change on the coastal ecology. The study underscores the interdependence of air pollution, maritime activities and climate change. It emphasizes the need for comprehensive strategies that tackle both immediate environmental issues and the long-term sustainability and resilience of coastal ecosystems in the context of global climate challenges., Competing Interests: Declaration of competing interest The authors declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper., (Copyright © 2024 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.)

This study analyzed pollutant emissions from laser cutters used in modeling in a laboratory, which can have harmful effects on indoor air quality and health. Four conditions were tested: material thickness, laser cutter strength, minimum strength per thickness, and air purifier level. Four pollutants were analyzed: PM 2.5 , HCHO, VOCs, and CO 2 . The study found that the emissions of PM 2.5 , HCHO, and VOCs increased with paperboard thickness, while CO 2 emissions were not significant. PM 2.5 was more affected by laser cutting strength, while HCHO and VOCs were more affected by paperboard thickness. Additionally, we analyzed the PM 2.5 emission rates based on the thickness of the paperboard and the laser cutting strength. Therefore, emission rates based on thickness and laser cutting strength ranged from 7275 to 18,783 μg/min. The air purifier significantly reduced PM 2.5 but not HCHO and VOCs. To reduce these gaseous pollutants, combining mechanical ventilation or using an air purifier with a filter that adsorbs HCHO and VOCs is effective. This study highlights the importance of considering laser cutters as a potential source of indoor air pollutants and implementing measures to mitigate their harmful effects., Competing Interests: Declaration of competing interest The authors declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper., (Copyright © 2024 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.)

Radiocarbon measurements of total carbon (TC) fraction of aerosol samples collected at the campus of the Comenius University in Bratislava (Slovakia) during 2022-2023 were carried out. Based on radiocarbon activity of these samples and a source apportionment model we have determined the relative proportion of fossil and non-fossil carbon in collected atmospheric aerosols. The carbon from non-fossil sources (biomass burning and biogenic emissions) was dominant in this time period, on average it formed 72% of carbon present in the aerosols from the atmosphere of Bratislava. The whole range of determined non-fossil fraction was relatively small as it varied only from 0.67 (August-September) to 0.82 (December-January). These changes do not exhibit any significant seasonal variation as was previously observed in Bratislava during 2017-2018 in the elemental carbon (EC) aerosol fraction., Competing Interests: Declaration of competing interest The authors declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper., (Copyright © 2024 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.)

In response to the dual challenges of air pollution control and carbon mitigation, China has strategically shifted its focus towards the synergistic reduction of air pollutants and CO 2 emissions. This study identifies the potential areas and specific air pollutant species (including CO, NO x , and SO 2 ) for co-reduction with carbon mitigation. We also reveal the driving forces behind the emissions of each air pollutant at both the national and regional scales. Our findings are as follows: (1) The potential for synergistic reduction of CO and SO 2 with CO 2 emissions has diminished in economically developed areas. There is a significant opportunity for co-reduction of SO 2 and CO 2 in the western and northern regions of China, particularly within Heilongjiang Province. (2) NOx is the key species for synergistic reduction with CO 2 emissions across China, especially in the Chengyu Plain. (3) Cleaner production and the synergistic reduction effect are the primary contributors to national air pollutant reduction in China from 2008 to 2017. Conversely, efforts in economic development and energy efficiency have led to emission increases. Energy and industrial structures have only made limited contributions to emission reductions, and carbon mitigation shows an inhibition effect on emission reductions. These results offer valuable insights for developing targeted regional strategies for deeper air pollution control, considering the specific characteristics and needs of each region. Additionally, our findings highlight the importance of addressing policy misalignments and strengthening mutual-influence mechanisms between air pollution control and carbon mitigation, ensuring that policies for carbon reduction also effectively contribute to air quality improvements., Competing Interests: Declaration of competing interest The authors declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper., (Copyright © 2024 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.)

Wildfire intensity and severity have been increasing in the Iberian Peninsula in recent years, particularly in the Galicia region, due to rising temperatures and accumulating drier combustible vegetation in unmanaged lands. This leads to substantial emissions of air pollutants, notably fine particles (PM 2.5 ), posing a risk to public health. This study aims to assess the impact of local and regional wildfires on PM 2.5 levels in Galicia's main cities and their implications for air quality and public health. Over a decade (2013-2022), PM 2.5 data during wildfire seasons were analyzed using statistical methods and Lagrangian tracking to monitor smoke plume evolution. The results reveal a notable increase in PM 2.5 concentration during the wildfire season (June-November) in Galicia, surpassing health guidelines during extreme events and posing a significant health risk to the population. Regional wildfire analyses indicate that smoke plumes from Northern Portugal contribute to pollution in Galician cities, influencing the seasonality of heightened PM 2.5 levels. During extensive wildfires, elevated PM 2.5 concentration values persisted for several days, potentially exacerbating health concerns in Galicia. These findings underscore the urgency of implementing air pollution prevention and management measures in the region, including developing effective alerts for large-scale events and improved wildfire management strategies to mitigate their impact on air quality in Galician cities., Competing Interests: Declaration of competing interest The authors declare the following financial interests/personal relationships which may be considered as potential competing interests: Cesar Quishpe-Vasquez reports financial support was provided by University of Alcala. Patricia Oliva reports financial support was provided by Community of Madrid. Alejandro Casallas reports financial support was provided by European Union. Ellie Anne Lopez-Barrera reports financial support was provided by Sergio Arboleda University. If there are other authors, they declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper., (Copyright © 2024 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Ltd.. All rights reserved.)

Recently, Sustainable Aviation Fuel (SAF) blends and novel combustion technologies have been introduced to reduce aircraft engine emissions. However, there is limited knowledge about the impact of combustion technology and fuel composition on toxicity of primary Particulate Matter (PM) emissions, comparable to regulated non-volatile PM (nvPM). In this study, primary PM was collected on filters using a standardised approach, from both a Rich-Quench-Lean (RQL) combustion rig and a bespoke liquid fuelled Combustion Aerosol Standard (CAST) Generator burning 12 aviation fuels including conventional Jet-A, SAFs, and blends thereof. The fuels varied in aromatics (0-25.2%), sulphur (0-3000 ppm) and hydrogen (13.43-15.31%) contents. Toxicity of the collected primary PM was studied in vitro utilising Air-Liquid Interface (ALI) exposure of lung epithelial cells (Calu-3) in monoculture and co-culture with macrophages (differentiated THP-1 cells). Cells were exposed to PM extracted from filters and nebulised from suspensions using a cloud-based ALI exposure system. Toxicity readout parameters were analysed 24 h after exposure. Results showed presence of genotoxicity and changes in gene expression at dose levels which did not induce cytotoxicity. DNA damage was detected through Comet assay in cells exposed to CAST generated samples. Real-Time PCR performed to investigate the expression profile of genes involved in oxidative stress and DNA repair pathways showed different behaviours after exposure to the various PM samples. No differences were found in pro-inflammatory interleukin-8 secretion. This study indicates that primary PM toxicity is driven by wider factors than fuel composition, highlighting that further work is needed to substantiate the full toxicity of aircraft exhaust PM inclusive of secondary PM emanating from numerous engine technologies across the power range burning conventional Jet-A and SAF., Competing Interests: Declaration of competing interest The authors declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper., (Copyright © 2024 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Ltd.. All rights reserved.)

Ore mineralizations in bedrock and their exploitation may have a negative impact on air quality of surrounding urban areas and, subsequently, on human health. This study uses lichens as bioindicators of atmospheric pollution to evaluate the spatial distribution of potentially toxic elements (PTEs) in the towns close to the massive sulfide deposits of the Iberian Pyrite Belt (IPB) in SW Spain. Altogether 89 native lichen samples of Xanthoria parietina were collected from the mining towns, control towns out of the reach of the mining activity, as well as from distal sampling sites. The samples were analyzed for 29 elements after acid digestion. The concentrations for Co, Ni, Cu, Zn, As, Rb, Mo, Cd, Sn, Sb, Cs, Ba, W, Tl, Pb, S, and Fe are significantly higher in the mining towns in comparison to the control towns. The ore mineral-associated PTEs, including Cu, Zn, As, Ba, and Pb, exhibit extreme concentrations in the urban areas close to the mining activity, and particularly in the small settlement of La Dehesa next to the mineral processing plant and the tailings pond. The distal samples confirm the decrease in the concentrations of all PTEs, and these samples present similar values as in the control areas. The results, point at increased bioaccumulation of PTEs in the lichen thalli of the adjacent urban areas, suggesting that the air quality of the adjacent urban areas is locally impacted by the massive polymetallic sulfide deposits which is enhanced by the mining activity. Therefore, monitoring the urban air quality is recommended., Competing Interests: Declaration of competing interest The authors declare the following financial interests/personal relationships which may be considered as potential competing interests:Annika Parviainen reports financial support was provided by University of Granada. Annika Parviainen reports financial support was provided by Government of Andalusia. If there are other authors, they declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper., (Copyright © 2024 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Ltd.. All rights reserved.)

Prenatal exposure to fine particulate matter (PM 2.5 ) has been linked with increased neurodevelopmental disorders. However, the most detrimental component of PM 2.5 and the most vulnerable exposure time windows remain undetermined, especially in areas with high PM 2.5 levels. In a prospective cohort study involving 4494 mother-child dyads, we examined the associations of prenatal exposure to PM 2.5 and its four main components with children's neurodevelopmental and behavioral problems (NBPs), separately in three pregnancy trimesters. Poisson regression and generalized additive models were used to depict the linear and nonlinear associations, respectively. Weighted quantile sum and Bayesian kernel machine regression models were applied to examine the effects of exposure to both mixed and individual components. Results showed that exposure to PM 2.5 and its components throughout the three trimesters increased the risk of children's NBPs (Risk ratio for PM 2.5 : 1.16, 95 % confidence interval 1.14-1.18 per μg/m 3 in the first trimester; 1.15, 1.12-1.17 in the second trimester; 1.06, 1.04-1.08 in the third trimester), with associations gradually diminishing as pregnancy progressed (P values for trends < 0.05). Among the four main components of PM 2.5 , exposure to SO 4 2- posed the highest risks on children's NBPs, while organic matter contributed the largest proportion to the overall impacts of PM 2.5 exposure. These results underscore the significance of mitigating PM 2.5 exposure in pregnant women to reduce the risk of neurodevelopmental disorders in offspring. Our findings would inform risk assessment of PM 2.5 exposure and facilitate the development of precision preventive strategies targeting specific components of PM 2.5 in similar areas with high levels of exposure., Competing Interests: Declaration of Competing Interest The authors declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper., (Copyright © 2024 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.)

Particulate matter with aerodynamic diameters ≤2.5 µm (PM 2.5 ) is a major environmental risk factor for acute asthma exacerbation, and the underlying mechanism is not completely understood. Studies have indicated that DNA methylation is a potential mechanism linking PM 2.5 to its health effects. We conducted a panel study involving 24 adult patients with asthma in Beijing,China between 2017 and 2019. PM 2.5 and other atmospheric pollutant exposure data were repeatedly measured. Blood samples were collected for genome-wide DNA methylation analysis. A linear mixed-effects (LME) model was conducted to identify differentially methylated probes (DMPs) associated with PM 2.5 exposure. After filtering out probes that did not meet the criteria through quality control, 811,001 CpG sites were included in the LME model, and 36 DMPs were strongly associated with personal PM 2.5 exposure at false discovery rate (FDR) < 0.05, of which 22 and 14 DMPs negatively and positively correlated with personal PM 2.5 exposure, respectively. Functional analysis revealed that DMPs affected smooth muscle cell contraction and development, extracellular matrix synthesis and secretion, T cell activation and differentiation, and inflammatory factor production. This study provides evidence linking personal PM 2.5 exposure to genome-wide DNA methylation in adult patients with asthma. Identifying enrichment pathways can provide biological insights into the acute health effects of PM 2.5 ., Competing Interests: Declaration of Competing Interest The authors declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper., (Copyright © 2024 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.)

Background: Regular monitoring of the air pollutant nitrogen dioxide (NO 2 ), an indicator for traffic-related emissions, is a priority in urban environments. The health impacts associated with NO 2 exposure are the result of a combination of factors, including concentration, duration of exposure, and interactions with other pollutants. WHO has established air quality guidelines based on epidemiological studies., Objective: This study develops a new concept "Health Impact Pathways (HIPs)" using adversity as a probabilistic indicator of health effects. For this purpose, it integrates available toxicological and epidemiological information, using Adverse Outcome Pathways (AOPs), in order to understand chemical-biological interactions and their consequences on health., Methods: Literature review and meta-analysis of toxicological data supported by expert judgment were performed to establish: a) adversity pathways, b) quantitative criteria for scoring the observed toxicological effects (adversity indicators), c) NO 2 exposure - adversity relationship for both long-term (1-36 months) and shortterm (1-7 days). The NO 2 daily concentrations from January 2001 to December 2022, were obtained from Madrid city Air Quality network monitoring database. Adversity levels were compared with relative risk levels for all-cause and respiratory mortality estimated using linear equations from WHO 2021 guidelines., Results: Non-linear relations were obtained for all long- and short-term NO 2 related adversity indicators; for long-term effects, the best fitting was obtained with a modified Haber's law model with an exponential coefficient for the exposure time of 0.25. Estimations are presented for a set of case studies for Madrid city, covering temporal and spatial variability. A clear improvement trend along the two decades was observed, as well as high inter- and intra-station variability; the adversity indicators provided integrated information on the temporal and spatial evolution of population level risk., Discussion: The proposed HIP conceptual approach offers promising advances for integrating experimental and epidemiological data. The next step is linking the concentration-adversity relationship with population health impacts through probability estimations, the preliminary estimations confirm the need for assessing independently different population groups., Competing Interests: Declaration of competing interest The authors declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper., (Copyright © 2024 Instituto de Salud Carlos III. Published by Elsevier Ltd.. All rights reserved.)

A comprehensive chemical characterization (water-soluble ions, organic and elemental carbon, water- and methanol-soluble organic carbon, levoglucosan, and major and trace metals) of PM 10 samples collected in a rural area located in the southeast of the Iberian Peninsula was performed. Additionally, the oxidative potential of the samples, used as an indicator of aerosol toxicity, was determined by the ascorbic acid (OP AA ) and dithiothreitol (OP DTT ) assays. The average concentration of PM 10 during the study period, spanning from late winter to early spring, was 20.2 ± 10.8 μg m -3 . Nitrate, carbonate and calcium (accounting for 20% of the average PM 10 mass concentration) and organic matter (with a contribution of 28%) were the main chemical components of PM 10 . Average concentrations of traffic tracers such as elemental carbon, copper and zinc (0.31 μg m -3 , 3 ng m -3 , and 9 ng m -3 , respectively) were low compared with those obtained at an urban site in the same region, due to the almost total absence of traffic in the surrounding of the sampling site. Regarding levoglucosan and K + , which can be considered as tracers of biomass burning, their concentrations (0.12 μg m -3 and 55 ng m -3 , respectively) were in the lower range of values reported for other rural areas in Europe, suggesting a moderate contribution form this source to PM 10 levels. The results of the Pearson's correlation analysis showed that volume-normalised OP AA and OP DTT levels (average values of 0.11 and 0.32 nmol min -1  m -3 , respectively) were sensitive to different PM 10 chemical components. Whereas OP AA was not strongly correlated with any of the species measured, good correlation coefficients of OP DTT with water-soluble organic carbon (r = 0.81) and K + (r = 0.73) were obtained, which points to biomass burning as an important driver of the DTT activity., Competing Interests: Declaration of competing interest The authors declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper., (Copyright © 2024 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Ltd.. All rights reserved.)

Microplastics (MPs) and artificial fibers (AFs) have been detected suspended tens of meters above ground level in the atmosphere, yet empirical data on them remain scarce. This study aimed to investigate the presence of MPs and AFs in the digestive and respiratory systems of two abundant bird species, the Common House Martin (Delichon urbicum) and the Common Swift (Apus apus), within the Community of Madrid, Spain. Given that these birds spend the majority of their lives airborne, engaging in activities such as mating and sleeping during flight, the research sought to assess the potential of using these bird species as bioindicators for suspended atmospheric MPs and AFs. Samples were obtained from necropsies of birds (N = 24) collected primarily between spring and summer from 2021 to 2023. Only individuals that died within the initial 24-hour period and had not been fed were selected for examination to avoid contamination. MPs and AFS were identified by micro-FTIR, characterized and quantified. Results revealed that 75 % of the sampled birds exhibited at least one MPs in their respiratory and/or digestive system. All identified MPs were fibers, with polyester (PES) being the most predominant (48 %), followed by acrylic fibers (ACR; 28 %), and polyethylene (PE; 18 %). The average concentrations in the respiratory system were 1.12 ± 0.45 MPs/specimen and 2.78 ± 1.04 AFs/specimen for Common Swift and 0.75 ± 0.30 MPs/specimen and 0.75 ± 0.36 AFs/specimen for House Martin. In the digestive system, these were 1.92 ± 0.72 MPs/specimen and 3.42 ± 0.69 AFs/specimen for Common Swift, and 1.34 ± 0.50 MPs/specimen and 1.39 ± 0.47 AFs/specimen for House Martin. Birds collected areas with high population density located in the direction of the prevailing winds showed a concentration of MPs significantly higher in the digestive system. Taken together, these findings confirmed the potential use of these birds as bioindicators for monitoring of suspended atmospheric MPs and AFs., Competing Interests: Declaration of Competing Interest The authors declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper., (Copyright © 2024 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.)

Background: Current knowledge suggests that the gene region containing MUC5B and TOLLIP plays a role in airway defence and airway inflammation, and hence respiratory disease. It is also known that exposure to air pollution increases susceptibility to respiratory disease. We aimed to study whether the effect of air pollutants on the immune response and respiratory symptoms in infants may be modified by polymorphisms in MUC5B and TOLLIP genes., Methods: 359 healthy term infants from the prospective Basel-Bern Infant Lung Development (BILD) birth cohort were included in the study. The main outcome was the score of weekly assessed respiratory symptoms in the first year of life. Using the candidate gene approach, we selected 10 single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) from the MUC5B and TOLLIP regions. Nitrogen dioxide (NO 2 ) and particulate matter ≤10 μm in aerodynamic diameter (PM 10 ) exposure was estimated on a weekly basis. We used generalised additive mixed models adjusted for known covariates. To validate our results in vitro, cells from a lung epithelial cell line were downregulated in TOLLIP expression and exposed to diesel particulate matter (DPM) and polyinosinic-polycytidylic acid., Results: Significant interaction was observed between modelled air pollution (weekly NO 2 exposure) and 5 SNPs within MUC5B and TOLLIP genes regarding respiratory symptoms as outcome: E.g., infants carrying minor alleles of rs5744034, rs3793965 and rs3750920 (all TOLLIP) had an increased risk of respiratory symptoms with increasing NO 2 exposure. In vitro experiments showed that cells downregulated for TOLLIP react differently to environmental pollutant exposure with DPM and viral stimulation., Conclusion: Our findings suggest that the effect of air pollution on respiratory symptoms in infancy may be influenced by the genotype of specific SNPs from the MUC5B and TOLLIP regions. For validation of the findings, we provided in vitro evidence for the interaction of TOLLIP with air pollution., Competing Interests: Declaration of competing interest The authors declare the following financial interests/personal relationships which may be considered as potential competing interests:Urs Frey reports financial support was provided by Swiss National Science Foundation. Celine Ruettimann reports a relationship with Freie Akademische Gesellschaft Basel that includes: funding grants. Philipp Latzin reports a relationship with Vertex that includes: board membership, funding grants, and speaking and lecture fees. Philipp Latzin reports a relationship with Vifor Pharma Switzerland SA that includes: speaking and lecture fees. Philipp Latzin reports a relationship with OM Pharma Ltd that includes: board membership, funding grants, and speaking and lecture fees. Philipp Latzin reports a relationship with Polyphor Ltd that includes: board membership. Philipp Latzin reports a relationship with Santhera Pharmaceuticals Schweiz AG that includes: board membership. Philipp Latzin reports a relationship with Allecra Therapeutics that includes: board membership. Philipp Latzin reports a relationship with Sanofi that includes: board membership. If there are other authors, they declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper., (Copyright © 2024 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Ltd.. All rights reserved.)