API Index Research Articles

Estimating the health risks associated with air pollution in Baghdad City, Iraq.

Data of total suspended particulate, O₃, SO₂, NO, NO₂, CO, methane, and non-methane hydrocarbons gathered from three monitoring stations in Baghdad City for the period from 2009 to 2012 have been analyzed. So an attempt is made to calculate the monthly quality indexes based on US EPA and UK system. Concentrations of most air pollutants in Baghdad City have shown a downward trend in recent years, but they are generally in many instances worse than natural ambient air; thus, all pollutants (except CO) fluctuated between high and below limits certified by Iraqi and international standards. The results show that the average of TSP during 2009-2012 were very high, and they pose concern for Baghdad population. The SO₂/CO concentration ratios were less than 1 suggesting that mobile emissions are the primary sources within the study area. It has been observed that the concentrations of the most pollutants are high in summer in comparison to the other seasons. The peak concentrations of pollutants are linked to traffic density, private generators, and chemical processes in the atmosphere. Aside from single air pollutant standards, AQI and API indices enable an additional assessment of the air quality conditions. The application of the UK system suppose low pollution with all pollutants expect TSP. Analysis of AQI values for an average of concentrations CO, NO₂, SO₂, and O₃ are categorized as good to moderate during the study period, while the same index indicated that the TSP located within the three categories (unhealthy, very unhealthy, and hazardous).

Air Quality Characteristics and the Meteorological Conditions for the Few Air Polluted Examples during the Spring Festivals

Analysis on the variation characteristics of the air quality in Chongqing during the spring festivals from 2001 to 2013, and the weather-affecting system of the typical sample. The result shows that: Prior to and after the ban-lifting for the firecrackers setting in 2006, significant differences had shown in the API Index from the lunar New Years Eve to Jan.1. After an analysis on the large-scale circulation background during the spring festival of 2006 and 2008 with the meteorological observation data.The result shows that the air pollution during the spring festival is co-resulted from the pollution source of firecrackers setting and the meteorological system that is unsuitable for the pollutant diffusion.

API시험법에 의한 국내 석탄회의 품질 평가

최근, 산업부산물의 재활용과 이산화탄소 저감은 사회적으로 매우 중요한 이슈이다. 이러한 측면에서 화력발전소에서 발생되는 석탄회는 콘크리트의 혼합재로 사용되는 것이 재활용 방안 중 최선으로 알려져 있다. 석탄회를 콘크리트에 사용하기 위하여 KS에서는 <TEX>$SiO_2$</TEX>, 분말도, 비중, 강열감량 및 활성도 지수 등의 품질 항목을 선정하여 관리하고 있다. 특히, 활성도 지수의 경우는 석탄회가 콘크리트에 사용될 때의 강도 발현성을 판정할 수 있는 가장 주요한 판정기준인데 반해서 실험소요 기간이 최소 28일 혹은 91일이 요구되는 단점을 가지고 있다. 이러한 문제점에 착안하여 본 연구에서는 기존 활성도 지수를 대체하여 석탄회의 포졸란 반응성을 신속하게 측정할 수 있는 API 시험법을 적용하여, API 시험결과와 활성도지수 및 K-value와의 비교 분석을 통하여 API 시험법의 적용 가능성을 검토하고, 신속 측정방법인 API 시험법에 의한 국내 석탄회의 품질을 평가하고자 하였다. 실험 결과, 국내 석탄회는 수분 및 비중을 제외하고는 KS 품질기준을 대부분 만족하지 못하는 것으로 나타났으며, 특히 유동층 보일러 애시는 고유의 특성을 가지는 것으로 나타났다. API와 활성도지수 및 K-value의 경우, 각각의 상관성이 상당히 좋은 것으로 나타났다. 특히, 재령이 증가할수록 API와의 상관성은 점점 증가하는 것으로 나타나 장기 재령의 실험을 요구하는 활성도 지수 대신에 2일 내에 결과를 알 수 있는 API시험이 석탄회의 포졸란 반응성 평가에 매우 유용한 시험방법인 것으로 판단된다. Recently, recycling of industrial by-products and CO2 reduction have been important issues in the world. In this reason, applications and reuse of Fly ash as a binder for concrete, which is generated in thermoelectric power plant, have been one of the effective recycle methods. In order for Fly ash to be applied to concrete, Korean Standard(KS) has selected and managed quality such as <TEX>$SiO_2$</TEX>, fineness, specific gravity, ignition loss and activity index. However, there is a limits for activity index, whose test period required is at least 28 days or 91 days. Activity index is the critical indication standard to determine mechanical strength of concrete that contained Fly ash. To complement the disadvantage of test method, this research provided "API test method", which quickly measure Pozzolanic reaction of Fly ash can be considered as a alternative of activity index. Then, the adaptable API test method need to be investigated through comparative analysis with the test result of API, activity index and K-value. The test method can make evaluation of Fly ash quality faster and more accurate. As a result, most Fly ash produced in Korea has not been satisfied in the KS quality standard except water content and specific gravity, and especially fluidized bed boiler ash has its characteristics. Also, API, activity index and K-value have superior interrelationship. The interrelationship between API and activity index and K-value gets increased as the material age gets higher, so API test can be considered as very useful test method for Pozzolanic reaction evaluation of Fly ash.

Assessing air quality with regards to its effect on human health in the European Union through air quality indices

This paper focuses on the assessment of the air quality with regards to its effects on human health at 14 monitoring stations in 8 EU Countries through two different Air Quality Index methodologies. Specifically, hourly values of SO2, CO, NO2, O3 and PM10 are used to calculate the PI and API indices. The analysis reveals that, although CO and SO2 do not form a public health hazard at the sites studied, in terms of NO2 the percentages of “low pollution” days are more than 65%, while a number of stations present significant percentages of “moderate pollution” (up to 33%) and “unhealthy conditions for sensitive groups” (up to 1.5%). Regarding PM10, “moderate pollution” days reach 36.5%, whereas another 0.5% of the days are found to be “unhealthy for sensitive groups” in some areas. It is also found that when examining the combined effect of all 5 above-mentioned pollutants, roughly 50–75% of the days present moderate risk of increased mortality, whereas in some areas high risk is observed in more than 35% of the days. Furthermore, some areas present significant percentages (up to 9%) of days with very high risk of increased mortality (i.e. more than 15.3%). Finally, it is found that the CO and SO2 contribution to the risk of increased total mortality is relatively low at all stations, while the O3 and NO2 contributions are quite variable (13–52% and 11–50%, respectively) depending mainly on the type of station. On the other hand, the PM10 contribution is rather uniform at all stations (approximately 30%), suggesting that PM10 forms a homogeneous air quality stressor in the EU.

Classification of coal hydrogenation products, as compared to the properties of natural oil

Hydrogenated brown coal from the Borodino deposit in the Kansk-Achinsk Basin was considered as synthetic petroleum, whose characteristics and the properties of individual fractions were compared with the physicochemical properties of native natural oils. It was found that brown coal hydrogenation products prepared in accordance with a technology developed at the Institute for Fossil Fuels (IGI) were comparable with medium petroleum in terms of a set of characteristics. After mild hydrofining, they can be classified as sweet light synthetic petroleum in accordance with the API index of the American Petroleum Institute and a sulfur content of <0.3%.

Comparison of Caries Prevalence in Two Populations of Cleft Patients

To assess and compare the oral and dental status and the level of oral health care among Polish and German patients with cleft lip and palate treated in Łódź and Erlangen, followed by an assessment of the level of realization of oral care procedures. Oral and dental status were assessed by the presence of dental plaque and caries lesions. Parents of each patient completed a questionnaire related to frequency of tooth brushing, frequency of dental visits, and the use of means with increased fluoride content. Department of Dentistry for Developmental Ages, Medical University of Łódź, Łódź, Poland, and Department of Orthodontics, University of Erlangen-Nuremburg, Erlangen, Germany. Thirty-seven Polish patients were examined between February and April 2004. Sixty-three German patients were examined between October 2004 and August 2005. In Erlangen, decayed teeth = 1.625, missing teeth = 0.014, and filled teeth = 2.39. In Łódź, decayed teeth = 2.5, missing teeth = 0.09, and filled teeth = 0.75. Among the subjects with Approximal Plaque Index scores <40%, the Decayed-Missing-Filled-Teeth Index was significantly higher in Polish than in German patients. In the total population of patients, a positive correlation between the value of the API Index and caries intensity was recorded. Declared parents' answers did not copy the actual oral cavity status. Caries prevalence in each group was much higher than in the general population and significantly higher among Polish than German cleft patients. Programs for cleft children promoting oral health, especially aimed at plaque control, are recommended in the early stages of the children's lives.

Correlation between periventricular lucency and extracranial arterial lesions

This study was done to clarify relationships between the degree of periventricular lucency (PVL), and lesions in the carotid arteries and the legs as detected with B-mode ultrasonography and the ankle pressure index, respectively. According to the distribution of PVL on computed tomography, 45 patients were divided into 2 groups: 22 patients with diffuse PVL (from the periventricular white matter to the subcortical area, DPVL group) and 23 patients with PVL localized in the frontal deep white matter (LPVL group). Plaque, defined as a thickened intima-media complex of 2.1 mm or more, was divided into two types; mural plaque and nodular plaque. Hypertension was more common in the DPVL group than in control groups, which consisted of 70 age-matched patients with cerebral thrombosis without PVL (CTH group) and 50 controls with neither PVL nor cerebrovascular lesions (NCT group). All patients in the DPVL group met the diagnostic criteria for Binswanger's disease proposed by Bennett DA. The incidence of low API indices (< 0.9) in the DPVL group (45%) was significantly higher than that in the NCT group, and it was slightly higher than that in the LPVL group. Carotid lesions, mainly nodular plaques, were seen in 82% of patients in the DPVL group and in 74% of those in the LPVL group; these percentages were significantly higher than those in the CTH (49%) and NCT (40%) groups. In particular, bilateral carotid lesions were more common in the DPVL group than in the other three groups. The degree of PVL correlated with lesions in the carotid arteries and the legs. These correlations suggest that the arterial lesions not only resulted from a risk factor (hypertension) for PVL, but also promoted PVL by causing extra- and intra-cranial arterial lesions. Furthermore, they imply that LPVL is a precusor to DPVL.

Usefulness of the API-20E system for the identification of bacterial fish pathogens

A total of 223 isolates belonging to motile Aeromonas, A. salmonicida, Vibrio anguillarum, Pasteurella piscicida and Yersinia ruckeri species were tested by the API-20E system and the results compared with those obtained with standard biochemical tube and plate tests. Depending on the species, the API-20E yielded false negative and positive reactions for fermentation of different sugars, lysine decarboxylase (LDC), Voges Proskauer (VP), citrate and gelatinase reactions. Thirteen of 32 (41%) A. salmonicida strains and 9 of 53 (17%) Y. ruckeri isolates were correctly identified using the API index. Forty-five of 69 (65%) motile Aeromonas tested (including 34 A. hydrophila, 10 A. sobria and 1 A. caviae strains) were identified as A. hydrophila. The low discrimination profiles generated by 9 Yersinia and 2 motile Aeromonas isolates were avoided using the supplementary tests cited in the API index. In the case of V. anguillarum and P. piscicida, which are not at present included in the API-20E system, 35 of 53 strains of V. anguillarum were wrongly identified as A. hydrophila, and all the P. piscicida isolates were incorrectly identified as Pseudomonas fluorescens/Ps. putida. A large number of isolates, including some reference strains, produced uncoded profiles. From these results, we consider that the API-20E system will be a useful tool for field diagnosis of bacterial fish diseases if its database is expanded to include V. anguillarum, P. piscicida, A. sobria and A. caviae species and the new profiles generated by strains of species already considered. In addition, some reactions necessary to discriminate between strains which share the same profile number are proposed.