Control of toxicity of fine particulate matter emissions in China.

Fine particulate matter (particulate matter with a diameter of 2.5 μm or less; PM) causes millions of premature deaths globally, but not all particles are equally harmful. Current air-pollution control strategies, prioritizing PM mass reduction, have provided considerable health benefits but further refinements based on differences in the toxicity of various emission sources may provide greater benefits.

Prenatal exposure to fine particulate matter composition and risk of cerebral palsy: A population-based retrospective cohort study in Ontario, Canada.

Background: Existing literature suggests an association between prenatal exposure to fine particulate air pollution (PM) and cerebral palsy (CP). However, the impact of individual PM components (SO, NH, NO, SS, BC, dust, OM) on CP risk remains unknown.

Objective: To examine the associations between prenatal exposure to PM components, and risk of CP among term births in Ontario, Canada.

Traffic-related air pollution backcasting using convolutional neural network and long short-term memory approach.

Air pollution backcasting, especially nitrogen dioxide (NO), is crucial in epidemiological studies, thus enabling the reconstruction of historical exposure levels for assessing long-term health effects. Changes in NO concentrations in urban areas are typically influenced by vehicle composition, technology, and traffic volumes. However, the observed NO levels at a monitoring site also reflect contributions from other sources, such as industrial and regional backgrounds.

Examining the social distributions in neighbourhood black carbon and ultrafine particles in Montreal and Toronto, Canada.

Background: Socioeconomic inequities in outdoor ultrafine particles (UFP) and black carbon (BC) are understudied in Canada, where metropoles like Montreal and Toronto feature distinct sociodemographic diversity and urban characteristics compared to U.S. cities.

Unveiling the Impact of Wildfires on Nanoparticle Characteristics and Exposure Disparities through Mobile and Fixed-Site Monitoring in Toronto, Canada.

This study investigates the impacts of wildfires on nanoparticle characteristics and exposure disparities in Toronto, integrating data from a large-scale mobile monitoring campaign and fixed-site measurements during the unprecedented 2023 wildfire season. Our results reveal changes in particle characteristics during wildfire days, with particle number concentrations decreasing by 60% and particle diameter increasing by 30% compared to nonwildfire days. Moreover, the median lung deposited surface area (LDSA) levels rose by 31% during wildfire events.

Wildfire Seasons, Prenatal PM Exposure, and Respiratory Infections by Age 1 Year: A Population-Based Case-Control Analysis of Critical Developmental Windows.

The 2017 and 2018 wildfire seasons in British Columbia (BC), Canada were unprecedented. Among all the pollutants in wildfire smoke, fine particulate matter (PM) poses the most significant risk to human health. There is limited research on prenatal wildfire smoke exposure and its impacts on infant health.

Airborne ultrafine particle concentrations and brain cancer incidence in Canada's two largest cities.

Background: Malignant brain tumours are rare, but are important to study because survival rates are low and few modifiable risk factors have been identified. Existing evidence suggests that outdoor ultrafine particles (UFPs; particulate matter < 100 nm; sometimes referred to as nanoparticles) can deposit in the brain and could encourage initiation and progression of cancerous tumours, but epidemiological data are limited.

Methods: High-resolution estimates of outdoor UFP concentrations and size were linked to residential locations of approximately 1.

Predicting within-city spatiotemporal variations in daily median outdoor ultrafine particle number concentrations and size in Montreal and Toronto, Canada.

Background: Epidemiological evidence suggests that long-term exposure to outdoor ultrafine particles (UFPs, <0.1 μm) may have important human health impacts. However, less is known about the acute health impacts of these pollutants as few models are available to estimate daily within-city spatiotemporal variations in outdoor UFPs.

Epidemiological studies likely need to consider PM composition even if total outdoor PM mass concentration is the exposure of interest.

Background: Outdoor fine particulate air pollution, <2.5 µm (PM) mass concentrations can be constructed through many different combinations of chemical components that have varying levels of toxicity. This poses a challenge for studies interested in estimating the health effects of total outdoor PM (i.

High-resolution spatial and spatiotemporal modelling of air pollution using fixed site and mobile monitoring in a Canadian city.

The development of high-resolution spatial and spatiotemporal models of air pollutants is essential for exposure science and epidemiological applications. While fixed-site sampling has conventionally provided input data for statistical predictive models, the evolving mobile monitoring method offers improved spatial resolution, ideal for measuring pollutants with high spatial variability such as ultrafine particles (UFP). The Quebec Air Pollution Exposure and Epidemiology (QAPEE) study measured and modelled the spatial and spatiotemporal distributions of understudied pollutants, such as UFPs, black carbon (BC), and brown carbon (BrC), along with fine particulate matter (PM), nitrogen dioxide (NO), and ozone (O) in Quebec City, Canada.

Within-city spatial variations in PM magnetite nanoparticles and brain cancer incidence in Toronto and Montreal, Canada.

Magnetite nanoparticles are small, strongly magnetic iron oxide particles which are produced during high-temperature combustion and friction processes and form part of the outdoor air pollution mixture. These particles can translocate to the brain and have been found in human brain tissue. In this study, we estimated associations between within-city spatial variations in concentrations of magnetite nanoparticles in outdoor fine particulate matter (PM) and brain cancer incidence.

Early life exposure to pollens and increased risks of childhood asthma: a prospective cohort study in Ontario children.

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Associations between brake and tire wear-related PM metal components, particulate oxidative stress potential, and autism spectrum disorder in Southern California.

Background: Air pollution is a global health concern, with fine particulate matter (PM) constituents posing potential risks to human health, including children's neurodevelopment. Here we investigated associations between exposure during pregnancy and infancy to specific traffic-related PM components with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) diagnosis.

Methods: For exposure assessment, we estimated PM components related to traffic exposure (Barium [Ba] as a marker of brake dust and Zinc [Zn] as a tire wear marker, Black Carbon [BC]) and oxidative stress potential (OSP) markers (Hydroxyl Radical [OP] formation, Dithiothreitol activity [OP], reactive oxygen species [ROS]) modeled with land use regression with co-kriging based on an intensive air monitoring campaign.

Exploring the triple burden of social disadvantage, mobility poverty, and exposure to traffic-related air pollution.

Understanding the relationships between ultrafine particle (UFP) exposure, socioeconomic status (SES), and sustainable transportation accessibility in Toronto, Canada is crucial for promoting public health, addressing environmental justice, and ensuring transportation equity. We conducted a large-scale mobile measurement campaign and employed a gradient boost model to generate exposure surfaces using land use, built environment, and meteorological conditions. The Ontario Marginalization Index was used to quantify various indicators of social disadvantage for Toronto's neighborhoods.

Air pollution prediction and backcasting through a combination of mobile monitoring and historical on-road traffic emission inventories.

An important challenge for studies of air pollution and health effects is the derivation of historical exposures. These generally entail some form of backcasting, which refers to a range of approaches that aim to project a current surface into the past. Accurate backcasting is conditional upon the availability of historical data for predictor variables and the ability to capture spatial and temporal trends in these variables.

Daily Summer Temperatures and Hospitalization for Acute Cardiovascular Events: Impact of Outdoor PM 2.5 Oxidative Potential on Observed Associations Across Canada.

Background: Oxidative stress plays an important role in the health impacts of both outdoor fine particulate air pollution (PM 2.5 ) and thermal stress. However, it is not clear how the oxidative potential of PM 2.

Within-city spatial variations in long-term average outdoor oxidant gas concentrations and cardiovascular mortality: Effect modification by oxidative potential in the Canadian Census Health and Environment Cohort.

Unlabelled: Health effects of oxidant gases may be enhanced by components of particulate air pollution that contribute to oxidative stress. Our aim was to examine if spatial variations in the oxidative potential of outdoor fine particulate air pollution (PM) modify relationships between oxidant gases and cardiovascular mortality.

Methods: We conducted a retrospective cohort study of participants in the Canadian Census Health and Environment Cohort who lived in Toronto or Montreal, Canada, from 2002 to 2015.

Predicting spatial variations in annual average outdoor ultrafine particle concentrations in Montreal and Toronto, Canada: Integrating land use regression and deep learning models.

Background: Concentrations of outdoor ultrafine particles (UFP; <0.1 µm) and black carbon (BC) can vary greatly within cities and long-term exposures to these pollutants have been associated with a variety of adverse health outcomes.

Objective: This study integrated multiple approaches to develop new models to estimate within-city spatial variations in annual median (i.

Personal Mobility Choices and Disparities in Carbon Emissions.

The promotion of sustainable mobility choices is a crucial element of transport decarbonization. It requires a fundamental understanding of the choices available to urban dwellers and of the equity and justice implications of green mobility solutions. In this study, we quantified personal mobility-related greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions in the Greater Toronto and Hamilton Area (GTHA) and their associations with various land use, built environment, and socioeconomic factors.

Randomized Cross-Over Study of In-Vehicle Cabin Air Filtration, Air Pollution Exposure, and Acute Changes to Heart Rate Variability, Saliva Cortisol, and Cognitive Function.

To determine how traffic-related air pollution (TRAP) exposures affect commuter health, and whether cabin air filtration (CAF) can mitigate exposures, we conducted a cross-over study of 48 adults exposed to TRAP during two commutes with and without CAF. Measurements included particulate air pollutants (PM, black carbon [BC], ultrafine particles [UFPs]), volatile organic compounds, and nitrogen dioxide. We measured participants' heart rate variability (HRV), saliva cortisol, and cognitive function.