Noxious Gases Research Articles

The effect of climate and air pollution on the development of complicated appendicitis

<b>Aim:</b> The aim of this study was to examine whether there is a relationship between complicated appendicitis and seasons, weekends, and air pollution. </br></br> <b> Materials and methods:</b> Patients who had undergone appendectomy in the last three years due to acute appendicitis were filtered from the database. Patients’ demographic features, date of the surgery, pathology reports, data on atmospheric temperatures, atmospheric pressure, relative humidity, and air pollution on the date of the surgery were collected and compared between complicated and non-complicated appendicitis groups. </br></br> <b>Results:</b> Out of 360 patients, 238 were men. The median age was 39 years for women and 29 years for men. Complicated appendicitis was seen in 78 (21.7%) patients, and the incidence rates were similar between the sexes (p = 0.69); this rate increased with increasing age (p = 0.001). The day of the week in which the surgery was performed (p = 0.55) and weekdays versus weekends (p = 0.16) did not change the complicated appendicitis incidence rate. This rate was similar among seasons (p = 0.44), temperature (p = 0.81), humidity (p = 0.62), and atmospheric pressure (p = 0.95). There was no difference between the groups for all noxious gases or PM2.5 levels, but for PM10 levels there was a significant difference (p = 0.045). In multivariate analysis, age (p = 0.001) and PM10 air pollution (p = 0.045) significantly affected the development of complicated appendicitis. </br></br> <b>Conclusions:</b> Air pollution of PM10 may have a real effect on the incidence of complicated appendicitis.

Theoretical Analysis of Single-Stage and Multi-Stage Monod Model of Landfill Degradation Through Mathematical Modelling

Background: Preventing substantial environmental hazards caused by noxious gases and solutes from sanitary landfills necessitates adequate regulations that require knowledge of the underlying mechanisms involved and the effect of various strategies. Mathematical models have been used to understand the development of landfill gas based on sequential biological growth and certain simple chemical and physical processes. Methods: The single-stage and multi-stage Monod landfill degradation model is based on a coupled system of rate equations containing a nonlinear term related to Michaelis- Menten kinetics of the enzymatic reaction. In this communication, an approximate analytical solution of the nonlinear differential equations is solved using a new approach of the homotopy perturbation method. Results: Substrate and biomass concentrations for the single-stage Monod landfill degradation model as well as biomass, solid, aqueous, acetic, and gases for the multi-stage model are derived for all possible values of parameters. Theoretical evaluations of the kinetic parameters such as the constant of Michaelis- Menten, mass-specific growth rate, half-saturation, and the death rate are reported. Conclusion: The accuracy of the proposed analytical expressions is validated by direct comparison with numerical simulations generated by MATLAB. A sensitivity analysis is presented to report the effect of all parameters on the governing model and the time required to reach the steady-state. The obtained analytical results are expected to contribute to a better understanding of the model and the effect of parameters and hence a better designing of experiments.

Assessment of Noxious Gases Emission from Herbal and Conventional Cigarettes - A Comparative Study toward Health Promotion

Assessment of Noxious Gases Emission from Herbal and Conventional Cigarettes - A Comparative Study toward Health Promotion

Assessment of Noxious Gases Emission from Herbal and Conventional Cigarettes - A Comparative Study toward Health Promotion

Assessment of Noxious Gases Emission from Herbal and Conventional Cigarettes - A Comparative Study toward Health Promotion

Outcomes of Peripheral Blood Eosinophilia in Hospitalized Exacerbations of COPD

Abstract Background The Global Initiative for Chronic Obstructive Lung Disease (GOLD) guidelines define COPD as a disease state characterized by airflow limitation that is not fully reversible, is usually progressive, and is associated with an abnormal inflammatory response of the lungs to inhaled noxious particles or gases. Objective To identify outcomes of patients with eosinophilic COPD exacerbations requiring hospital admission. Patients and Methods This study is a prospective cohort study that was conducted on two groups of total 60 patients recruited from Ain Shams University hospitals between October 2019 and July 2020. Group 1: Eosinophilic COPD exacerbation if the peripheral blood eosinophil on admission is ≥ 200 cells/µL and/or ≥2% of the total leukocyte count Group 2: Non-eosinophilic COPD exacerbation if the peripheral blood eosinophil on admission is < 200 cells/µL and/or < 2% of the total leukocyte count. Results There was significant high diagnostic performance in predicting readmission at 6-month among eosinophilic group. Eosinophils count, percent (%) and NLR cutoff points had high characteristics (highest in NLR ≥3.1 at discharge) in predicting readmission at 6-month among eosinophilic group. Diagnostic performance of Eosinophils count, percent (%) and NLR were assessed. Eosinophils count, percent (%) and NLR had significant high diagnostic performance in predicting readmission at 6-month among eosinophilic group. Eosinophils count, % and NLR cutoff points had high characteristics (highest in NLR ≥2.1 at discharge) in predicting readmission at 6month among non-eosinophilic group. Conclusion Eosinophils can be used as a prognostic marker in non-infective COPD exacerbations. Validity of eosinophil count and percent as a prognostic parameter in COPD exacerbation can be increased by combining with other parameters for example NLR.

Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, exacerbation and self-management: a literature review.

Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) is being increasingly diagnosed in the UKs on the rise, and is expected to continue to rise due to an ageing population with multiple co-morbidities and exposure to risk factors, such as cigarette smoke, noxious gases and air pollutants. The prevalence of this disease is high is areas of socioeconomic deprivation and among high industrial areas. The use of self-management plans in COPD is recommended by the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE), to enable to patients with this disease to be competent and confident in taking part in managing their own health condition and recognising signs and symptoms of an exacerbation. The aim of this article is to discuss self-management of COPD and the clinical guidance surrounding exacerbation of disease. A follow-up literature review will focus on the effectiveness of self-management plans in COPD.

TiO2 nanostructures with different crystal phases for sensitive acetone gas sensors

Gas sensors have become increasingly significant because of the rapid development in electronic devices that are applied in detecting noxious gases. Adjusting the crystal phase structure of sensing materials can optimize the band gap and oxygen-adsorptive capacity, which influences the gas sensing characteristics. Therefore, titanium dioxide (TiO2) materials with different crystal phase structures including rutile TiO2 nanorods (R-TiO2 NRs), anatase TiO2 nanoparticles (A-TiO2 NRs) and brookite TiO2 nanorods (B-TiO2 NRs) were synthesized successfully via one-step hydrothermal process, respectively. The gas sensing characteristics were also investigated systematically. The sensors based on R-TiO2 NRs displayed the higher response value (12.3) to 100 ppm acetone vapor at 320 °C compared to A-TiO2 NRs (4.1) and B-TiO2 NRs (2.3). Furthermore, gas sensors based on R-TiO2 NRs exhibited excellent repeatability under six cycles and good selectivity to acetone. The outstanding sensing properties of gas sensors based on R-TiO2 NRs can be ascribed to relatively narrow band gap and more oxygen vacancies of rutile phase, which showed a probable way for design gas sensors based on metal oxide semiconductors with remarkable gas sensing performances by the crystal phase adjustment engineering in the future.

Our Pigs, Ourselves

Our Pigs, Ourselves

Dissociation of air pollutants on the uniform surface of pentagonal BeP2

In this present work, the investigation was carried out using density functional theory (DFT) for the dissociation of noxious gas molecules such as carbon and nitrogen-based molecules (CO, CO2, N2, NH3, NO, and NO2) on a pentagonal two-dimensional beryllium diphosphide (BeP2). The pentagonal BeP2 monolayer has a similar band structure as graphene. Here, some carbon and nitrogen-based noxious gases such as CO, CO2, N2, NH3, NO, and NO2 with Van der Waals (vdW) interaction behave like physisorbed, while strong covalent (Be-O) interactions of O2 on BeP2 formed chemisorption. Due to the chemisorption of O2 gas molecules, the bandgap at Dirac point at P-site on BeP2 opens. While CO, CO2, N2, NO, and NO2 are dissociated at the C-site, only CO, N2, and NO are dissociated at the P-site. Beryllium diphosphide's band-gap shifts resulting from interactions with CO, N2, and O2 molecules are just 6%, 12.1%, and 22.2%, respectively, meaning that the BeP2 material has a moderate and high sensitivity towards CO, N2, and O2 molecules. BeP2 appears to be a potential catalyst for the dissociation of CO, CO2, N2, NO, NO2, and O2 gas molecules, which is even more interesting.

Evaluation of Relaxant effect in Methanolic Extract of Aegle marmelos on Isolated Sprague Dawley Bronchial Tissue

Introduction: Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) is a common disease characterized by persistent airflow obstruction with an enhanced chronic inflammatory response in the airways and the lung to noxious particles or gases. Oxygen deficiency (hypoxia) causes an increase in Reactive Oxygen Species (ROS). ROS can be neutralized with antioxidants, one of which is Bael leaf. Objective: To evaluate the antibacterial activity of plant leaf extract against the common isolated bacteria [Psuedomonas aeruginosa]. To know the Relaxant effect of bael leaf (Aegle marmelos) on oxidative stress in Sprague Dawley lung induced chronic systemic hypoxia. Methods: The study was conducted in SIMATS and Sri Akilandeswari Pharma College for the period of Six months from April 2020 to September 2020. 110 sputum samples were analysed for testing antibacterial activity. Neutralization of ROS has been determined by DPPH radical scavenging method. Contractile effect was done by the Organ bath method. Results: Among gram negative bacteria predominantly Pseudomonas aeruginosa is the commonest bacteria. The other important organisms are Klebsiella pneumoniae, E. coli, Acinetobacter species. Antibiotics showing high activity against Pseudomonas aeruginosa are Piperacillin tazobactam, Carbapenemase, and Quinolones. mucA gene mutation of P. aeruginosa could be used as predictors to identify poor prognosis in COPD patients. Analysis of antioxidant activity in Aegle marmelos shows 79.8% of reductions in DPPH free radicals for 100μg/ml. The minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC) value of the methanolic extract is around 256 μg/ml. 1mg/ml and 2mg/ml doses of the methanolic extract of this plant produced a positive relaxant effect in an isolated mouse bronchial rings, respectively. Conclusion: Methanolic extracts elicited the antagonistic effect against histamine and also relaxed the histamine-induced contractions, it can be concluded that relaxations induced by A. marmelos in mouse broncheal chain were due to the depression of H1-receptors. This study shows that Aegle marmelos can be effectively used in the treatment of COPD disorders.

Effect of BDNF on airway inflammation in a rat model of COPD.

Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) is characterized by airflow limitation that is not fully reversible. The airflow limitation is usually progressive and associated with an abnormal inflammatory response of the lungs to noxious particles or gases. The present study aimed to investigate the effect of brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) on lung function and airway inflammation in a rat model of COPD. A rat model of COPD was established in this study, and anti-BDNF antibody was injected to observe the effect of BDNF on pulmonary function and airway inflammation. Lung function and hematoxylin and eosin staining analyses were performed. BDNF in the airway was examined using immunohistochemistry, western blotting and enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay. Levels of oxidant stress and inflammatory cytokines were measured. After long-term heavy cigarette exposure, pulmonary inflammation and emphysema were observed, while lung function had deteriorated in the COPD, COPD + anti-BDNF and COPD + normal saline groups. Levels of BDNF expression, malondialdehyde, tumor necrosis factor-α and interleukin-6 were increased in rats with COPD compared with control rats, while levels of superoxide dismutase and glutathione peroxidase were decreased. Anti-BDNF intervention improved airway inflammation. To conclude, anti-BDNF intervention could alleviate inflammation and improve any imbalance between oxidation and antioxidation in the airway.

Update on Asthma-COPD Overlap (ACO): A Narrative Review.

Although chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) and asthma are well-characterized diseases, they can coexist in a given patient. The term asthma–COPD overlap (ACO) was introduced to describe patients that have clinical features of both diseases and may represent around 25% of COPD patients and around 20% of asthma patients. Despite the increasing interest in ACO, there are still substantial controversies regarding its definition and its position within clinical guidelines for patients with obstructive lung disease. In general, most definitions indicate that ACO patients must present with non-reversible airflow limitation, significant exposure to smoking or other noxious particles or gases, together with features of asthma. In patients with a primary diagnosis of COPD, the identification of ACO has therapeutic implication because the asthmatic component should be treated with inhaled corticosteroids and some studies suggest that the most severe patients may respond to biological agents indicated for severe asthma. This manuscript aims to summarize the current state-of-the-art of ACO. The definitions, prevalence, and clinical manifestations will be reviewed and some innovative aspects, such as genetics, epigenetics, and biomarkers will be addressed. Lastly, the management and prognosis will be outlined as well as the position of ACO in the COPD and asthma guidelines.

Effect of Glycemic Control on Outcome of Acute Exacerbation of Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease(AECOPD)

Introduction: Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) is defined as a common preventable and treatable disease that is characterized by persistent airflow limitation that is usually progressive and associated with an enhanced chronic inflammatory response in the airways and the lung to noxious particles or gases. In this article we compared hospital stay between diabetic, non diabetic and prediabetic patients of acute exacerbation of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (AECOPD) who were treated with corticosteroids. We checked in hospital mortality and 30 day mortality in patients with AECOPD patients with diabetes, Its the first article on this topic from eastern India. Materials and Methods: The study was done in tertiary care centre from November 2017 to April 2019. We included 161 patients with age more than 40 years or more. Patients admitted in hospital with COPD with cough, sputum, dyspnea were included. They were divided into diabetic,prediabetic and non diabetic. We included readmission of patients who were diagnosed previously as AECOPD. Statistical Analysis was performed with help of Epi Info (TM) 7.2.2.2 EPI INFO is a trademark of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). It was a prospective observational study. Results: We found significant association between length of hospital stay and those with AECOPD with diabetes.29.6% of patients with diabetes had a stay of more than two weeks. Hospital stay was found to be 10.8+/-2.30 days in those who had mean random blood sugar (RBS) between 140 -170 mg/dl, 12.98 +/- 2.24 days in those who had RBS between 170–200 mg/dl and 12.62 +/- 3.10 days in those who had RBS more than 200 mg/dl. 89.4% of patient had a BMI (Body mass index) of < 25 kg/square meter. 8.1 % died in hospital and 9.5% died within 30 days of discharge. Among those who were treated with steroids, diabetic patients had a stay of 14.55+/- 0.74 days, compared to prediabetic who had a stay of 14.07+/-1.26 days and non diabetics who had 12.5+/-1.33 days. No association was found between hospital mortality and status of diabetes mellitus. No association was found between 30 day mortality and diabetes mellitus in our study. Conclusion: Diabetes Mellitus and AECOPD are major public health challenges. Whether there is an association between them needs to be addressed, specially in this part of the world. Those patients who were diabetic and treated with steroids had a longer stay than non diabetics and prediabetics. We found no association between hospital mortality and 30 day mortality with diabetes mellitus.

A Photogrammetric Technique for Developing Boundary Equations for Flexible Sheath Waterless Trap Seals as Used in Building Drainage Systems

The water trap seal is still the main method of protecting building inhabitants from the ingress of foul contaminated air and noxious gases from the sewer. This seal can become compromised when water is lost in the trap by processes including evaporation and siphonage from excessive system suction pressures. A recent innovation is the waterless trap seal, which uses flexible sheaths, typically made from silicone rubber to form the seal. The sheath opens in response to a sub-atmospheric air pressure and will shut tightly under a supra-atmospheric pressure in order to form a seal. Full system numerical modelling of building drainage systems has offered insight into system responses to pressure transients and has opened up the evaluation of building wastewater systems to predictive modelling which has assisted in producing improvements to public health. A requirement of any predictive model is a mathematical representation of the physical characteristics of the system. This research develops a technique for developing boundary equations so that predictive modelling is possible. We combine photographic and pressure data analysed by Fourier analysis to develop the model. The technique is applicable to any device were the fluid structure interaction plays a significant role in its operation.

Supplemental effects of fish oil and powdered/coated docosahexaenoic acid on the growth performance, nutrient digestibility, blood profile and fecal coliform and lactic acid bacteria counts in weaner pigs

The present study was conducted to evaluate the effect of supplemental unrefined fish oil and refined fish oil enriched in docosahexaenoic acid (DHA) in powdered and coated forms on the performance and immune status of weaner pigs. In total, 140 crossbred weaner pigs [(Yorkshire × Landrace) × Duroc, 28 days old] with an average body weight (BW) of 7.47 ± 1.27 kg were used in a 6-week experiment trial in three phases. Pigs were blocked based on BW and sex and randomly allotted to 1 of 4 dietary treatments [5 pigs per pen (2 barrows and 3 gilts); 7 pens per treatment]. Treatments consisted of pigs fed basal diet or basal diet supplemented with 5 g/kg unrefined fish oil (FO), 1.73 g/kg powdered DHA enriched oil (pDHA), and 2.99 g/kg coated DHA enriched oil (cDHA). The supplementation of unrefined FO or DHA enriched FO to the diet of weaner pigs significantly increased body weight (BW) at days 7, 21, and 42 compared with pigs fed control diet. The average daily gain (ADG) increased (P < 0.05) during day 1−7 and day 22−42 as well as the overall experiment period (day1−42); and the average daily feed intake (ADFI) during day 1−7 and gain: feed (G:F) during overall experiment period were higher (P < 0.05) in pigs receiving FO or DHA supplemented diet as compared with pigs fed control diet. The BW during days 7 and 42, ADG during day 1−7 and overall and G:F during overall experiment were higher (P < 0.05) in pigs receiving DHA than the pigs fed with FO supplemented diet. A higher (P < 0.05) co-efficient of apparent total tract digestibility (CATTD) of fat was observed in pigs receiving cDHA and pDHA supplemented diet compared with the pigs fed basal or FO supplemented diet at day 42 of the experiment. The C-reactive protein concentration was reduced in fish oil and DHA supplemented groups compared with control. However, the fecal lactic acid bacteria and coliform counts as well as fecal noxious gases emission remained unaffected among the treatments. Thus, the supplementation of DHA in coated or powdered form has beneficial effect on the performance and immunity and it may help to overcome the stress faced by the weaner pigs during the transition of liquid to solid feed intake.

A framework for IoT-enabled environment aware traffic management

Vehicular traffic has increased across all over the world especially in urban areas due to many reasons including the reduction in the cost of vehicles, degradation of the quality of public transport services and increased wealth of people. The traffic congestion created by these vehicles causes many problems. Increased environment pollution is one of the most serious negative effects of traffic congestion. Noxious gases and fine particles emitted by vehicles affect people in different ways depending on their age and present health conditions. Professionals and policy makers have devised schemes for better managing traffic in congested areas. These schemes suffer from many shortcomings including the inability to adapt to dynamic changes of traffic patterns. With the development of technology, new applications like Google maps help drivers to select less congested routes. But, the identification of the best route takes only the present traffic condition on different road segments presently. In this paper the authors propose a system that helps drivers select routes based on the present and expected environment pollution levels at critical points in a given area.

Problems of Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD) Among Workers

Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD) is a common, preventable and treatable disease that is characterized by persistent respiratory symptoms and airflow limitation that is due to airway and/or alveolar abnormalities usually caused by significant exposure to noxious particles or gases. Occupational exposure as a one of important risk factor that contribute for COPD on nonsmoker patients. Several studies at population consistent showed that COPD correlated with hazards exposure at work place. COPD among workers can decrease quality of life, increase of work impairment, work disability and hospitalitation also increase of abstinentia from work and decrease of work productivity. Prevention were major action to prevent incident and morbidity of COPD among workers. Prevention programs including primary, secondary and tertiary prevention.

Role of single-breath diffusing capacity for carbon monoxide in patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease

Background Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) is a common, preventable, and treatable disease characterized by persistent respiratory symptoms and airflow limitation that is due to airway and/or alveolar abnormalities, usually caused by significant exposure to noxious particles or gases. The chronic airflow limitation that characterizes COPD is caused by a mixture of small airway disease (e.g. obstructive bronchiolitis) and parenchymal destruction (emphysema), the relative contributions of which vary from person to person. Aim The aim of the study was to measure diffusing capacity for carbon monoxide using single-breath technique in different stages of COPD. Patients and methods A total of 100 patients with COPD with mild to very severe obstruction were included in the study. Results There was a statistically significant negative (inverse) correlation between both transfer capacity of the lung (TLCO%) and KCO and PCO2 and HCO3, and there was a statistically significant positive (direct) correlation between both TLCO% and KCO and PO2, and arterial oxygen saturation. There was a statistically significant positive (direct) correlation between forced vital capacity %, forced expiratory volume in 1 s%, forced expiratory flow (FEF)25%, FEF50%, and FEF75% and each of TLCO% and KCO. Conclusion Decline in forced expiratory volume in 1 s/forced vital capacity is associated with decline in diffusing capacity of the lung for carbon monoxide, and it is affected more in patients with severe and very severe degrees of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD).

Effect of corticosteroid therapy in patients with an acute exacerbation of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease receiving ventilatory support

Background Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) is a common, preventable, and treatable disease characterized by persistent respiratory symptoms and airflow limitation that is due to airway and/or alveolar abnormalities, usually caused by significant exposure to noxious particles or gases. The chronic airflow limitation that characterizes COPD is caused by a mixture of small airway disease (e.g. obstructive bronchiolitis) and parenchymal destruction (emphysema), the relative contributions of which vary from person to person. Aim The aim of the study was to determine the effect of systemic corticosteroids in patients with severe acute exacerbations of COPD admitted to the ICU receiving ventilatory support. Patients and methods A total of 100 patients with acute exacerbations of COPD leading to hypoxemia and respiratory acidosis with pH less than 7.35 and PaCO2 more than 45 mmHg admitted to the ICU who were receiving ventilator support (invasive or noninvasive mechanical ventilation) were included. Results It was noticed that steroid group had significantly lower duration of mechanical ventilation (4.67±2.76 vs. 2.76±1.11 days; P=0.01), ICU stay (5.33±2.87 vs. 7.89±3.36 days; P=0.04), and hospital stay (11.65±3.89 vs. 16.67±4.44 days; P=0.03). Conclusion Corticosteroid therapy was associated with significantly lower duration of mechanical ventilation, ICU stay, and hospital stay.

Physicochemical Characteristics of Landfill Leachate from Simpang Renggam Landfill Site, Johor, Malaysia

The worldwide increasing amount of municipal solid waste causes a major problem in managing waste as well as requires an effective solution to manage the waste generation. In Malaysia, landfilling is the main alternative technique for managing solid waste. In the same way, the main advantage of having a landfill is that it is easy to operate and comparatively lower in cost. Thus, in Malaysia, total 296 municipal solid waste landfills are open to overcome this issue. Drawbacks of landfilling can includes; i) generation of noxious gases, ii) leachate wastewater contamination of both ground and surface water, iii) problems such as odor, noise, and dust, iv) attraction of disease vectors and, v) the requirement for considerable land area. This present research study focuses on the characterization of Simpang Renggam Landfill (SRLS) Site such as its organic constitutes (mg/L), Ammoniacal Nitrogen (mg/L), SS (mg/L), BOD5/COD, BOD5 (mg/L), and pH. All the analyzed results were compared with the past researchers’ researches and also were compared with Malaysian Environmental Quality Act 1974. From the results, it is concluded that the Simpang Renggam Landfill Site was characterized old (stabilized) landfill leachate wastewater with BOD5/COD &gt; 0.1. For the SRL site, it is recommended that physical-chemical method is better fitted for the leachate wastewater treatment and the aerated lagoon technique does not support the treatment of aging leachate.