Luigi Paoletti

Exposure to fine and ultrafine particles from secondhand smoke in public places before and after the smoking ban, Italy 2005

Background: A smoking ban in all indoor public places was enforced in Italy on 10 January 2005. Methods: We compared indoor air quality before and after the smoking ban by monitoring the indoor concentrations of fine (<2.5 μm diameter, PM2.5) and ultrafine particulate matter (<0.1 μm diameter, UFP). PM2.5 and ultrafine particles were measured in 40 public places (14 bars, six fast food restaurants, eight restaurants, six game rooms, six pubs) in Rome, before and after the introduction of the law banning smoking (after 3 and 12 months). Measurements were taken using real time particle monitors (DustTRAK Mod. 8520 TSI; Ultra-fine Particles Counter-TRAK Model 8525 TSI). The PM2.5 data were scaled using a correction equation derived from a comparison with the reference method (gravimetric measurement). The study was completed by measuring urinary cotinine, and pre-law and post-law enforcement among non-smoking employees at these establishments Results: In the post-law period, PM2.5 decreased significantly from a mean concentration of 119.3 μg/m3 to 38.2 μg/m3 after 3 months (p<0.005), and then to 43.3 μg/m3 a year later (p<0.01). The UFP concentrations also decreased significantly from 76 956 particles/cm3 to 38 079 particles/cm3 (p<0.0001) and then to 51 692 particles/cm3 (p<0.01). Similarly, the concentration of urinary cotinine among non-smoking workers decreased from 17.8 ng/ml to 5.5 ng/ml (p<0.0001) and then to 3.7 ng/ml (p<0.0001). Conclusion: The application of the smoking ban led to a considerable reduction in the exposure to indoor fine and ultrafine particles in hospitality venues, confirmed by a contemporaneous reduction of urinary cotinine.

Inflammatory mediators induced by coarse (PM2.5-10) and fine (PM2.5) urban air particles in RAW 264.7 cells

Increased incidence of mortality and morbidity due to cardiopulmonary complications has been found to associate with elevated levels of urban air particles with an aerodynamic diameter <10 micron, PM10 and <2.5 micron, PM2.5. Respirable particles reach the lower respiratory tract where they are phagocytized by alveolar macrophages. Depending on particle composition, exposed macrophages may produce inflammatory mediators. A cascade impactor sampler was used to collect size-fractionated urban air particles. Particulate matter from the city of Rome (Italy) were collected onto stainless steel plates, and recovered using alcohol. The murine monocytic/macrophagic RAW 264.7 cell line was used to compare the ability of PM2.5-10, PM2.5 and carbon black to cause cell injury, such as arachidonic acid (AA) release, tumour necrosis factor alpha (TNF alpha) and interleukin (IL)-6 production. All test particles have been used at the same concentrations 30 and 120 microg/ml. Treatment with PM2.5-10 and PM2.5 induced significant AA release after 5 h of exposure at both concentrations, while carbon black was effective only at the higher concentration. After 5 h of incubation, PM2.5-10 and PM2.5 at 120 microg/ml induced 10 times the amount of TNF alpha than carbon black particles. The urban air particles-stimulated TNF alpha production decreased after 24 h of incubation while carbon black-stimulated TNF alpha was not. IL-6 production was induced by PM2.5 and by PM2.5-10 but not by carbon black. Carbon black was consistently less effective than the urban particles, suggesting that, the contaminants adsorbed on the particles are responsible for the release of inflammatory mediators.

Unusually high incidence of malignant pleural mesothelioma in a town of Eastern Sicily: An epidemiological and environmental study

Abstract In a recent epidemiological study, researchers investigated mortality from malignant pleural neoplasms in Italy, and they detected some geographic clusters of cases of this disease. We found a town located in a volcanic area of eastern Sicily to be of special interest. The residents, some of whom were diagnosed with pleural mesothelioma, had never had any relevant exposure to asbestos during their professional lives. The results of an environmental survey suggested that a possible cause of asbestos exposure was the stone quarries near the town. The products of the quarries contain fibrous amphiboles, which are used widely in the local building industry. These fibrous amphiboles were identified as intermediate phases between tremolite and actinolite. Samples were collected from buildings in the town, and concentrations of amphibole fibers were evaluated. Fibrous phases were detected in 71 % of the samples, and fiber concentrations ranged from a few thousand to more than 4 × 104 fibers/mg of material. In addition, we conducted a study on the mineral fiber lung burden in a pleural mesothelioma case. Many mineral fibers that were classified as the same tremolite-actinolite fibrous amphibole found in the quarries and in the building materials were detected in the lung tissue. The results suggest that the inhabitants of the town we studied had been exposed for several decades to asbestos fibers that were present in the material extracted from the local stone quarries. The material was subsequently used in the building industry, and this has caused an increased risk of pleural mesothelioma in the area.

Physico-chemical characterisation of the inhalable particulate matter (PM10) in an urban area: an analysis of the seasonal trend

Between October 1998 and February 2000, 11 particulate samplings were conducted in an urban area of Rome to evaluate the seasonal trend of PM10 characteristics: seven samplings were made at ground-level and four 30 m above ground level. The samples were analysed by scanning electron microscopy equipped with an EDS X-ray attachment and by transmission electron microscopy and an electron energy-loss spectrometer. The airborne particulate matter was characterised from a physico-chemical point of view to provide information on the particle composition and on the compounds carried on their surface. The data sets, consisting of the atomic concentrations of the constituent chemical elements of the fine (PM3.3) and of the coarse (PM10-3.3) particulate, were subjected to cluster analysis to determine the principal components of PM10. In the particulate matter, the statistical analysis methods allowed us to identify seven groups (clusters) of particles: C-rich particles; carbonates; silica; silicates; sulfates; Fe-rich particles; and metals. Carbonaceous and silicate particles with a surface coating containing S were observed. This sulfur-enriched coating turned out to be a PM3.3 feature strongly dependent upon season.

Asbestos lung burden and asbestosis after occupational and environmental exposure in an asbestos cement manufacturing area: a necropsy study

OBJECTIVE: The largest Italian asbestos cement factory had been active in Casale Monferrato until 1986: in previous studies a substantial increase in the incidence of pleural mesothelioma was found among residents without occupational exposure to asbestos. To estimate exposure to asbestos in the population, this study evaluated the presence of histological asbestosis and the lung burden of asbestos fibres (AFs) and asbestos bodies (ABs). METHODS: The study comprises the consecutive series of necropsies performed at the Hospital of Casale Monferrato between 1985 and 1988. A sample of lung parenchima was collected and stored for 48 out of 55 necropsies. The AF concentration was measured with a TEM electron microscope with x ray mineralogical analysis. The ABs were counted and fibrosis evaluated by optical microscopy. The nearest relative of each subject was interviewed on occupational and residential history. Mineralogical and histological analyses and interviews were conducted in 1993-4. RESULTS: Statistical analyses included 41 subjects with AF, AB count, and interview. Subjects without occupational exposure who ever lived in Casale Monferrato had an average concentration of 1500 AB/g dried weight (gdw); Seven of 18 presented with asbestosis or small airway lung disease (SAL). G2 asbestosis was diagnosed in two women with no occupational asbestos exposure. One of them had been teaching at a school close to the factory for 12 years. Ten subjects had experienced occupational asbestos exposure, seven in asbestos cement production: mean concentrations were 1.032 x 10(6) AF/gdw and 96,280 AB/gdw. Eight of the 10 had asbestosis or SAL. CONCLUSION: The high concentration of ABs and the new finding of environmental asbestosis confirm that high asbestos concentration was common in the proximity of the factory. Subjects not occupationally exposed and ever living in Casale Monferrato tended to have higher AB concentration than subjects never living in the town (difference not significant). The concentrations of ABs and AFs were higher than those found in other studies on nonoccupationally exposed subjects.

Characterisation of aerosol individual particles in a controlled underground area

The aim of this study is to determine the sources and provide a physico-chemical description of the airborne particulate present in two communicating underground areas: a highway tunnel with heavy vehicular traffic and a controlled underground laboratory. Individual particles were collected in the two zones and examined using scanning electron microscopy with EDS X-ray attachment. The principal components of the particulate were analysed using principal factor analysis and hierarchical cluster analysis. The data obtained suggest that three main factors determine airborne particulate pollution in the laboratory: the ventilation system for air replacement, the access of motor vehicles into the laboratory, and the metallic installations and structure of the laboratory itself.

Features of airborne breathable particulate in a remote rural and in an urban area

In order to define the atmosphere pollution role in the lung cancer etiology it is necessary to carefully measure the composition of airborne pollutants. The evaluation of atmosphere pollution by analytic electron microscopy technique has made it possible to analyze the morphology and composition of airborne breathable particulate and to characterize the sources. The comparative study of a rural area and a downtown area in Rome has shown qualitative and quantitative differences in the pollution pattern. In the urban area the data we have obtained point out motor vehicle traffic as the greatest source of pollution. A large amount of heavy metals and mineral fibers, potentially noxious for health, was observed.

Effects of the new-identified amphibole fluoro-edenite in lung epithelial cells

An epidemiological survey on mortality for malignant pleural neoplasm in Italy evidenced a number of patients in Biancavilla, a village located in a volcanic area of eastern Sicily, none of which had been significantly exposed to asbestos during their professional lives. Environmental studies suggested the involvement of the material derived from stone quarries in the disease onset. A detailed crystal-chemical analysis of amphiboles contained in this material allowed the discovery and the identification of a new fiber that was named fluoro-edenite. In order to define the mode of action of fluoro-edenite at a subcellular level, we have conducted a study by using A549 cells, a tumor-cell line from a human lung carcinoma with properties of alveolar epithelial cells. The results obtained showed a remarkable tropism of A549 cells toward fluoro-edenite fibers. In fact, these epithelial cells contacted the fibers via the extension of membrane ruffles and filopodia that allowed the capture and most probably the internalization of material into the cytoplasm. Moreover, fluoro-edenite interfered with epithelial cell physiology, by reducing the proliferation rate without perturbing the cell cycle and increasing the release of the proinflammatory cytokine IL-6, one of the main mediators of asbestos-induced pathophysiological response.

pH-sensitive hydrogels of dextran: synthesis, characterization and in vivo studies.

pH-Sensitive hydrogels of dextran were synthesized by photochemical cross-linking reaction of methacrylate dextran (DEX-MA) at different derivatization degree, functionalized with acidic residues through reaction with phthalic anhydride. The hydrogels were characterized by FT-IR spectra, swelling measurements, experiments of chemical and enzymatic hydrolyses. The swelling data agreed with the formation of networks having pH-sensitive behaviour. This property was confirmed by the morphological examination performed by scanning electron microscopy on samples maintained in media at different pH. (S)-4-Isobutyl-2-phenylpropionic acid (ibuprofen) was loaded into the polymeric matrices. The analysis of the release profiles of the drug from the three networks showed that all the matrices were able to retain ibuprofen during the transit through the stomach, releasing it in a sustained way in the intestinal tract at a rate strictly dependent on the derivatization degree in methacrylic groups. In vivo studies verified the biocompatibility of the materials. Moreover, when the matrix loaded with ibuprofen was administered to rats, it was able to protect them from the ulcerogenic effects of the drug.

Mineral lung burden of an urban population

Abstract A study was carried out on mineral lung burden in 85 autopsy cases who died accidentally. Subjects of both sexes aged from 15 to 70 years were selected from all the autopsies performed at the Institute of Forensic Medicine in Rome. These subjects were living in an urban area and were not affected by neoplasm diseases. All selected subjects were residing in Rome at the time of their death. Information on years of legal residence in urban areas, smoking habits and occupational history were obtained by interviews with relatives. Lung parenchyma samples were obtained from the right upper lobe. The mineral particulate matter present in the tissue samples was studied by means of analytical transmission electron microscopy (ATEM) techniques: 16 mineral varieties and 22 metallic elements were identified. Smoke, age and residence seem to have influence on the lung burden.