scholarly journals Relation of Crossbite Malocclusions in Children with Breathing Illnesses and Environmental Pollution

Author(s):  
Menchaca-Torre HL ◽  
Carrillo-González R ◽  
Arias-Cruz A ◽  
Yépez-Rincón F ◽  
Torre-Martínez HHH

Respiration requires the free passage of air through the nasopharyngeal duct. The obstruction of the respiratory canal may cause growth and development anomalies in young patients. Atmospheric pollution in urban areas increases respiratory allergies such as allergic rhinitis in the population. This research analyzed the relation between the variation in atmospheric pollution and allergic rhinitis with the incidence of posterior and anterior crossbite in the Metropolitan Area of Monterrey. Patients between 5 to 16 years old were diagnosed with chronic allergic rhinitis. Patients were given dental exams to identify the presence of crossbite in the patients. The geographical location of their homes and concentration variation of ozone, PM2.5, PM10 and sulphur dioxide in three-year periods from 2004-2014 was analyzed using mapping techniques to establish if the increasing pollution concentrations are related to the presence of crossbite in patients with allergic rhinitis. In general, an increase in pollutant concentrations resulted in a significant increase of crossbite in patients. In conclusion, the increasing concentrations of air pollution and respiratory diseases are related to craniofacial growth and development anomalies.

2020 ◽  
Vol 12 (5) ◽  
pp. 1858
Author(s):  
Daniel Schmitt ◽  
Chisenga Muyoya

The number of scholars working on transition concepts in the Global South is rapidly increasing. In this context, a substantial amount of research output particularly focusses on niches and how they affect transition towards sustainability in a wider framework of the multi-level-perspective. At the same time, there is a growing interest in digital technology and its effect on sustainability challenges. In this article, we combine the two fields, and by utilizing social media data, we create an innovative network science approach to analyze the production environment of digital innovations in Africa. We focus on three innovation hubs that we conceptualize as niches and innovation intermediaries that not only create communities to develop, test and implement new technology but also function as networks to discuss and form new ideas around innovations. Our key findings show how local communities are embedded in larger innovation structures. The connections between local stakeholders and global actors are predominantly created through bridge actors, who hold key positions in their communities. With tools from network science, we demonstrate that these linking elements can regulate and steer discussions and therefore, strongly influence digital niche environments. Utilizing geographical location data, we can also see that the online space of technological innovations in Africa is heavily cantered in urban areas.


2008 ◽  
Vol 8 (17) ◽  
pp. 5313-5325 ◽  
Author(s):  
S. Stephens ◽  
S. Madronich ◽  
F. Wu ◽  
J. B. Olson ◽  
R. Ramos ◽  
...  

Abstract. Surface pollutant concentrations in México City show a distinct pattern of weekly variations similar to that observed in many other cities of the world. Measurements of the concentrations of carbon monoxide (CO), nitrogen oxides (NOx=NO+NO2), particulate matter smaller than 10 μm (PM10), and ozone (O3) collected hourly over 22 years (1986–2007) at 39 urban monitoring locations were analyzed. Morning concentrations of CO, NOx, and PM10 are lower on Saturdays and even more so on Sundays, compared to workdays (Monday–Friday), while afternoon O3 concentrations change minimally and are occasionally even higher. This weekend effect is empirical evidence that photochemical O3 production is NOx-inhibited, and to the extent that emissions of CO are proportional to those of reactive volatile organic compounds (VOCs), it is VOC-limited, at least in the urban areas for which the monitoring stations are representative. The VOC-limitation has increased in the past decade, due to decreases in the concentrations of CO (and presumably VOCs) and consequent decreases in the CO/NOx and VOC/NOx ratios. Enhancements of photolysis frequencies resulting from smaller weekend aerosol burdens are not negligible, but fall short of being an alternate explanation for the observed weekend effect. The strength of the weekend effect indicates that local radical termination occurs primarily via formation of nitric acid and other NOx-related compounds, some of which (e.g. peroxy acyl nitrates) can contribute to the regional NOx budget. While VOC emission reductions would be most effective in reducing local O3 production, NOx emission reduction may be more important for controlling regional oxidants.


2014 ◽  
Vol 94 (2) ◽  
pp. 65-82
Author(s):  
Sanja Topalovic

Allergic rhinitis and eczema represent ailments which are increasingly linked with urban areas. Although they do not belong to illnesses which are predominantly caused by geographical factors, their importance for the development of these illnesses will be considered in this paper. As an example of the influence of urban environment on the development of these illnesses, the city core of Belgrade (the area included in the General Urban Plan) is taken into consideration. The emphasis is put especially on the quality of air, industry, traffic and the conditions for living. The research is based on tracking these illnesses among children, considering the frequent appearance of these illnesses especially among school children. The survey, whose results were partly presented in this research paper, was an important method for examining the subject matter of this paper. Namely, the above mentioned survey was realized in the International Study of Asthma and Allergy among children (ISAAC), which was conducted by World Health Organization (WHO), 156 centres from 56 countries took part. Among them, there were four centres from Serbia: Belgrade, Nis, Podgorica and Sombor.


2011 ◽  
Vol 11 (1) ◽  
pp. 1025-1051 ◽  
Author(s):  
F. Yang ◽  
J. Tan ◽  
Q. Zhao ◽  
Z. Du ◽  
K. He ◽  
...  

Abstract. Based on PM2.5 chemical database from literature and our observations, chemical species and reconstructed speciation of PM2.5 in several representative Chinese megacities and across China were compared to draw insights into the characteristics of PM2.5 speciation. PM2.5 mass and speciation varied substantially over geographical regions in China. Near six-fold variations in average PM2.5 concentrations (34.0–193.4 μg m−3) across China were found with high PM2.5 levels (>100 μg m−3) appearing along northern region and in western urban areas. At both urban and rural sites in eastern region, sum of sulfate, nitrate, and ammonia (SNA) typically constituted 40–57% of PM2.5 mass, indicative of the regional characteristics of fine particulate pollution and more intensive "complex atmospheric pollution" compared to western region. Particulate organic matter (POM) had constant and significant contribution to PM2.5 mass. POM plus SNA accounted for 62–90% of PM2.5 mass at most of the sites. PM2.5 speciation in China was also characterized by high content of mineral dust. In four representative megacities (i.e. Beijing, Chongqing, Shanghai, and Guangzhou) with substantially higher levels of all the species except that NO3−, NH4+, and EC in PM2.5 than those in Los Angeles, distinct differences in nitrate and sulfate levels and their mass ratio [NO3−]/[SO42−] imply that mobile source is likely more important than stationary (coal combustion) source in Guangzhou whereas in Chongqing the situation is contrary. The observed intra-city variations in PM2.5 mass and speciation indicate that local emissions and regional transportation both contributed significantly to high fine particles levels in Beijing, while local contribution likely played a predominant role in Chongqing. During the ten-year period from 1999 through 2008 in urban Beijing, both SNA and [NO3−]/[SO42−] exhibited steadily increasing trends, implying that the characteristic of "complex atmospheric pollution" and the contribution from mobile sources were both being enhanced.


Author(s):  
IGNACIO J. TURIAS ◽  
JOSÉ M. JEREZ ◽  
LEONARDO FRANCO ◽  
HÉCTOR MESA ◽  
JUAN J. RUIZ-AGUILAR ◽  
...  

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ju Li ◽  
Zhaobin Sun ◽  
Donald H. Lenschow ◽  
Mingyu Zhou ◽  
Youjun Dou ◽  
...  

Abstract. Despite frequent foehns in the Beijing–Tianjin–Hebei (BTH) region, there are only a few studies of their effects on air pollution in this region, or elsewhere. Here, we discuss a foehn-induced haze front (HF) event using observational data to document its structure and evolution. Using a dense network of comprehensive measurements in the BTH region, our analyses indicate that the foehn played an important role in the formation of the HF with significant impacts on air pollution. Northerly warm–dry foehn winds, with low particulate concentration in the northern area, collided with a cold–wet polluted air mass to the south and formed an HF in the urban area. The HF, which is associated with a surface wind convergence line and distinct contrasts of temperatures, humidity and pollutant concentrations, resulted in an explosive growth of particulate concentration. As the plains-mountain wind circulation was overpowered by the foehn, a weak pressure gradient due to the different air densities between air masses was the main factor forcing advances of the polluted air mass into the clean air mass, resulting in severe air pollution over the main urban areas. Our results show that the foehn can affect air pollution through two effects: direct wind transport of air pollutants, and altering the air mass properties to inhibit boundary-layer growth and thus indirectly aggravating air pollution. This study highlights the need to further investigate the foehn and its impacts on air pollution in the BTH region.


Author(s):  
Owais Gilani ◽  
Simon Urbanek ◽  
Michael J. Kane

Abstract Epidemiologic studies have established associations between various air pollutants and adverse health outcomes for adults and children. Due to high costs of monitoring air pollutant concentrations for subjects enrolled in a study, statisticians predict exposure concentrations from spatial models that are developed using concentrations monitored at a few sites. In the absence of detailed information on when and where subjects move during the study window, researchers typically assume that the subjects spend their entire day at home, school, or work. This assumption can potentially lead to large exposure assignment bias. In this study, we aim to determine the distribution of the exposure assignment bias for an air pollutant (ozone) when subjects are assumed to be static as compared to accounting for individual mobility. To achieve this goal, we use cell-phone mobility data on approximately 400,000 users in the state of Connecticut, USA during a week in July 2016, in conjunction with an ozone pollution model, and compare individual ozone exposure assuming static versus mobile scenarios. Our results show that exposure models not taking mobility into account often provide poor estimates of individuals commuting into and out of urban areas: the average 8-h maximum difference between these estimates can exceed 80 parts per billion (ppb). However, for most of the population, the difference in exposure assignment between the two models is small, thereby validating many current epidemiologic studies focusing on exposure to ozone. Supplementary materials accompanying this paper appear online.


Author(s):  
Honey Dawn Alas ◽  
Almond Stöcker ◽  
Nikolaus Umlauf ◽  
Oshada Senaweera ◽  
Sascha Pfeifer ◽  
...  

Abstract Background Data from extensive mobile measurements (MM) of air pollutants provide spatially resolved information on pedestrians’ exposure to particulate matter (black carbon (BC) and PM2.5 mass concentrations). Objective We present a distributional regression model in a Bayesian framework that estimates the effects of spatiotemporal factors on the pollutant concentrations influencing pedestrian exposure. Methods We modeled the mean and variance of the pollutant concentrations obtained from MM in two cities and extended commonly used lognormal models with a lognormal-normal convolution (logNNC) extension for BC to account for instrument measurement error. Results The logNNC extension significantly improved the BC model. From these model results, we found local sources and, hence, local mitigation efforts to improve air quality, have more impact on the ambient levels of BC mass concentrations than on the regulated PM2.5. Significance Firstly, this model (logNNC in bamlss package available in R) could be used for the statistical analysis of MM data from various study areas and pollutants with the potential for predicting pollutant concentrations in urban areas. Secondly, with respect to pedestrian exposure, it is crucial for BC mass concentration to be monitored and regulated in areas dominated by traffic-related air pollution.


2020 ◽  
Vol 12 (6) ◽  
pp. 2352 ◽  
Author(s):  
Marta Leyton-Román ◽  
Marta Guíu-Carrera ◽  
Asier Coto-Cañamero ◽  
Ruth Jiménez-Castuera

The aim of this study was to find out how self-determined motivation, Basic Psychological Needs (BPN) and the perception of support influence autonomy-predicted autotelic experience and enjoyment, and to analyse the differences depending on the geographical location of the centre and whether they lead to the practice of physical activity, extracurricular or not, of 271 learners in physical education from 10 to 12 years (M = 10.94, SD = 0.73). The theoretical framework used was the Self-Determination Theory. The results showed that more self-determined motivation, the perception of support for autonomy and BPN positively predict both autotelic experience and enjoyment. Moreover, learners from urban areas have higher values in less self-determined forms of motivation and lower levels of perceived support for autonomy and BPN than learners from rural areas. Furthermore, students who carry out extracurricular physical activity had higher values in all variables compared to those who did not. It is essential to promote sport to students with more self-determined forms of motivation through the satisfaction of BPN, especially in students who do not do extracurricular physical activity and students in urban areas.


2006 ◽  
Vol 6 (2) ◽  
pp. 167-178 ◽  
Author(s):  
A. H. Thieken ◽  
M. Müller ◽  
L. Kleist ◽  
I. Seifert ◽  
D. Borst ◽  
...  

Abstract. In risk analysis there is a spatial mismatch of hazard data that are commonly modelled on an explicit raster level and exposure data that are often only available for aggregated units, e.g. communities. Dasymetric mapping techniques that use ancillary information to disaggregate data within a spatial unit help to bridge this gap. This paper presents dasymetric maps showing the population density and a unit value of residential assets for whole Germany. A dasymetric mapping approach, which uses land cover data (CORINE Land Cover) as ancillary variable, was adapted and applied to regionalize aggregated census data that are provided for all communities in Germany. The results were validated by two approaches. First, it was ascertained whether population data disaggregated at the community level can be used to estimate population in postcodes. Secondly, disaggregated population and asset data were used for a loss evaluation of two flood events that occurred in 1999 and 2002, respectively. It must be concluded that the algorithm tends to underestimate the population in urban areas and to overestimate population in other land cover classes. Nevertheless, flood loss evaluations demonstrate that the approach is capable of providing realistic estimates of the number of exposed people and assets. Thus, the maps are sufficient for applications in large-scale risk assessments such as the estimation of population and assets exposed to natural and man-made hazards.


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