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Communities near transportation sources can be impacted by higher concentrations of particulate matter (PM) and other air pollutants. Few studies have reported on air quality in complex urban environments with multiple transportation sources. To better understand these environments, the Kansas City Transportation and Local-Scale Air Quality Study (KC-TRAQS) was conducted in three neighborhoods in Southeast Kansas City, Kansas. This area has several emissions sources including transportation (railyards, vehicles, diesel trucks), light industry, commercial facilities, and residential areas. Stationary samples were collected for 1-year (October 24, 2017, to October 31, 2018) at six sites using traditional sampling methods and lower-cost air sensor packages. This work examines PM less than 2.5 μm in diameter (PM2.5), black carbon (BC), and trace metals data collected during KC-TRAQS. PM2.5 filter samples showed the highest 24-h mean concentrations (9.34 μg/m3) at the sites located within 20–50 m of the railyard. Mean 24-h PM2.5 concentrations, ranging from 7.96 to 9.34 μg/m3, at all sites were lower than that of the nearby regulatory site (9.83 μg/m3). Daily maximum PM2.5 concentrations were higher at the KC-TRAQS sites (ranging from 25.31 to 43.76 μg/m3) compared to the regulatory site (20.50 μg/m3), suggesting short-duration impacts of localized emissions sources. Across the KC-TRAQS sites, 24-h averaged PM2.5 concentrations from the sensor package (P-POD) ranged from 3.24 to 5.69 µg/m3 showing that, out-of-the-box, the PM sensor underestimated the reference concentrations. KC-TRAQS was supplemented by elemental and organic carbon (EC/OC) and trace metal analysis of filter samples. The EC/OC data suggested the presence of secondary organic aerosol formation, with the highest mean concentrations observed at the site within 20 m of the railyard. Trace metals data showed daily, monthly, and seasonal variations for iron, copper, zinc, chromium, and nickel, with elevated concentrations occurring during the summer at most of the sites. Implications: This work reports on findings from a year-long air quality study in Southeast Kansas City, Kansas to understand micro-scale air quality in neighborhoods impacted by multiple emissions sources such as transportation sources (including a large railyard operation), light industry, commercial facilities, and residential areas. While dozens of studies have reported on air quality near roadways, this work will provide more information on PM2.5, black carbon, and trace metals concentrations near other transportation sources in particular railyards. This work can also inform additional field studies near railyards. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Traffic emissions are associated with the elevation of health risks of people living close to highways. Roadside vegetation barriers have the potential of reducing these risks by decreasing near-road air pollution concentrations. However, while we understand the mechanisms that determine the mitigation caused by solid barriers, we still have questions about how vegetative barriers affect dispersion. The US EPA conducted several field experiments to understand the effects of vegetation barriers on dispersion of pollutants near roadways (e.g., 2008 North Carolina study and 2014 California study) that indicate the reduction of near-road pollutant concentrations can be up to 30% due to the barrier effects. The results of these field studies are being used to develop and evaluate dispersion models that account for the effects of near-road vegetative barriers. These models can be used for evaluating the effectiveness of vegetation barriers as a potential mitigation strategy to reduce exposure to traffic-related pollutants and their associated adverse health effects. This paper presents the results of the analysis of the field studies and discusses dispersion models being used to describe the data in order to simulate the effects of near-road barriers and to develop recommendations for model improvements.

In combination with copper(II) ions, disulfiram (DSF) has been reported to be a potentially potent anticancer agent based on in vitro results. The interaction of DSF with copper(II) chloride in solution has been studied using a range of spectroscopic techniques. There is strong evidence for the rapid formation of the bis(N,N-diethyl dithiocarbamato)copper(II) complex in situ. Kinetic experiments were used to determine rate laws for the reaction that give insight into the mechanism of the process which may help to explain the observed in vitro cytotoxicity. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Communities near transportation sources can be impacted by higher concentrations of particulate matter (PM) and other air pollutants. Few studies have reported on air quality in complex urban environments with multiple transportation sources. To better understand these environments, the Kansas City Transportation and Local-Scale Air Quality Study (KC-TRAQS) was conducted in three neighborhoods in Southeast Kansas City, Kansas. This area has several emissions sources including transportation (railyards, vehicles, diesel trucks), light industry, commercial facilities, and residential areas. Stationary samples were collected for 1-year (October 24, 2017, to October 31, 2018) at six sites using traditional sampling methods and lower-cost air sensor packages. This work examines PM less than 2.5 μm in diameter (PM 2.5 ), black carbon (BC), and trace metals data collected during KC-TRAQS. PM 2.5 filter samples showed the highest 24-h mean concentrations (9.34 μg/m 3 ) at the sites located within 20-50 m of the railyard. Mean 24-h PM 2.5 concentrations, ranging from 7.96 to 9.34 μg/m 3 , at all sites were lower than that of the nearby regulatory site (9.83 μg/m 3 ). Daily maximum PM 2.5 concentrations were higher at the KC-TRAQS sites (ranging from 25.31 to 43.76 μg/m 3 ) compared to the regulatory site (20.50 μg/m 3 ), suggesting short-duration impacts of localized emissions sources. Across the KC-TRAQS sites, 24-h averaged PM 2.5 concentrations from the sensor package (P-POD) ranged from 3.24 to 5.69 µg/m 3 showing that, out-of-the-box, the PM sensor underestimated the reference concentrations. KC-TRAQS was supplemented by elemental and organic carbon (EC/OC) and trace metal analysis of filter samples. The EC/OC data suggested the presence of secondary organic aerosol formation, with the highest mean concentrations observed at the site within 20 m of the railyard. Trace metals data showed daily, monthly, and seasonal variations for iron, copper, zinc, chromium, and nickel, with elevated concentrations occurring during the summer at most of the sites. Implications : This work reports on findings from a year-long air quality study in Southeast Kansas City, Kansas to understand micro-scale air quality in neighborhoods impacted by multiple emissions sources such as transportation sources (including a large railyard operation), light industry, commercial facilities, and residential areas. While dozens of studies have reported on air quality near roadways, this work will provide more information on PM 2.5 , black carbon, and trace metals concentrations near other transportation sources in particular railyards. This work can also inform additional field studies near railyards.

Nitrogen dioxide (NO 2 ) not only is linked to adverse effects on the respiratory system but also contributes to the formation of ground-level ozone (O 3 ) and fine particulate matter (PM 2.5 ). Our curbside monitoring data analysis in Detroit, MI, and Atlanta, GA, strongly suggests that a large fraction of NO 2 is produced during the "tailpipe-to-road" stage. To substantiate this finding, we designed and carried out a field campaign to measure the same exhaust plumes at the tailpipe-level by a portable emissions measurement system (PEMS) and at the on-road level by an electric vehicle-based mobile platform. Furthermore, we employed a turbulent reacting flow model, CTAG, to simulate the on-road chemistry behind a single vehicle. We found that a three-reaction (NO-NO 2 -O 3 ) system can largely capture the rapid NO to NO 2 conversion (with time scale ≈ seconds) observed in the field studies. To distinguish the contributions from different mechanisms to near-road NO 2 , we clearly defined a set of NO 2 /NO x ratios at different plume evolution stages, namely tailpipe, on-road, curbside, near-road, and ambient background. Our findings from curbside monitoring, on-road experiments, and simulations imply the on-road oxidation of NO by ambient O 3 is a significant, but so far ignored, contributor to curbside and near-road NO 2 .

Objective. While there has been a great deal of speculation by clinical researchers over the last three decades on effective and safe methods for the pharmacological management of aggression in children and adolescents, it is only in the last decade that there have been well-designed studies available to address this issue. Medication is commonly used to control aggression in children and adolescents in inpatient units. Also, there exists a need for evidence-based guidelines for the use of these different pharmacological agents for managing pediatric aggression on inpatient units. The aims of this article are to provide a systemic review and to provide treatment guidelines based on these limited but currently available studies.Methods. The articles reviewed in this study were obtained through a PubMed search using the key words 'children,' 'adolescents,' 'aggression,' 'inpatient,' 'ziprasidone,' 'lithium,' and 'risperidone.' A total of 499 studies were generated. Only studies focusing on pharmacological management of inpatient pediatric aggression with mean duration less than six weeks and published during January 1980 to August 2009 were included. Only English articles were considered. A total of 13 studies met these criteria, which were included in the review without any further statistical analysis. Recommendations are made on this available evidenced-based literature.Results. There is some evidence for the standing use of oral lithium, haloperidol, olanzapine, and risperidone for aggression related to specific psychiatric diagnoses. Intramuscular ziprasidone and olanzapine administered as needed were found to be effective for the rapid management of moderate to severe aggression. Oral or intramuscular diphenhydramine administered as needed was found to be useful for managing mild aggression due to a placebo effect.Conclusions. Studies are available on managing aggression in children and adolescents in inpatient treatment settings but are limited. Further studies on the use of various psychotropic medications are needed in order to develop comprehensive guidelines for the safe and effective pharmacological management of child and adolescent inpatient aggression.