Background: A body of literature has suggested an elevated risk of lung cancer associated with particulate matter and traffic-related pollutants.Objective: We examined the relation of lung cancer incidence with long-term residential exposures to ambient particulate matter and residential distance to roadway, as a proxy for traffic-related exposures.Methods: For participants in the Nurses’ Health Study, a nationwide prospective cohort of women, we estimated 72-month average exposures to PM2.5, PM2.5–10, and PM10 and residential distance to road. Follow-up for incident cases of lung cancer occurred from 1994 through 2010. Cox proportional hazards models were adjusted for potential confounders. Effect modification by smoking status was examined.Results: During 1,510,027 person-years, 2,155 incident cases of lung cancer were observed among 103,650 participants. In fully adjusted models, a 10-μg/m3 increase in 72-month average PM10 [hazard ratio (HR) = 1.04; 95% CI: 0.95, 1.14], PM2.5 (HR = 1.06; 95% CI: 0.91, 1.25), or PM2.5–10 (HR = 1.05; 95% CI: 0.92, 1.20) was positively associated with lung cancer. When the cohort was restricted to never-smokers and to former smokers who had quit at least 10 years before, the associations appeared to increase and were strongest for PM2.5 (PM10: HR = 1.15; 95% CI: 1.00, 1.32; PM2.5: HR = 1.37; 95% CI: 1.06, 1.77; PM2.5–10: HR = 1.11; 95% CI: 0.90, 1.37). Results were most elevated when restricted to the most prevalent subtype, adenocarcinomas. Risks with roadway proximity were less consistent.Conclusions: Our findings support those from other studies indicating increased risk of incident lung cancer associated with ambient PM exposures, especially among never- and long-term former smokers.Citation: Puett RC, Hart JE, Yanosky JD, Spiegelman D, Wang M, Fisher JA, Hong B, Laden F. 2014. Particulate matter air pollution exposure, distance to road, and incident lung cancer in the Nurses’ Health Study Cohort. Environ Health Perspect 122:926–932; http://dx.doi.org/10.1289/ehp.1307490

BackgroundExposure measurement error is a concern in long-term PM2.5 health studies using ambient concentrations as exposures. We assessed error magnitude by estimating calibration coefficients as the association between personal PM2.5 exposures from validation studies and typically available surrogate exposures.MethodsDaily personal and ambient PM2.5, and when available sulfate, measurements were compiled from nine cities, over 2 to 12 days. True exposure was defined as personal exposure to PM2.5 of ambient origin. Since PM2.5 of ambient origin could only be determined for five cities, personal exposure to total PM2.5 was also considered. Surrogate exposures were estimated as ambient PM2.5 at the nearest monitor or predicted outside subjects’ homes. We estimated calibration coefficients by regressing true on surrogate exposures in random effects models.ResultsWhen monthly-averaged personal PM2.5 of ambient origin was used as the true exposure, calibration coefficients equaled 0.31 (95% CI:0.14, 0.47) for nearest monitor and 0.54 (95% CI:0.42, 0.65) for outdoor home predictions. Between-city heterogeneity was not found for outdoor home PM2.5 for either true exposure. Heterogeneity was significant for nearest monitor PM2.5, for both true exposures, but not after adjusting for city-average motor vehicle number for total personal PM2.5.ConclusionsCalibration coefficients were <1, consistent with previously reported chronic health risks using nearest monitor exposures being under-estimated when ambient concentrations are the exposure of interest. Calibration coefficients were closer to 1 for outdoor home predictions, likely reflecting less spatial error. Further research is needed to determine how our findings can be incorporated in future health studies.

We report the design strategy and synthesis of a structurally locked GFP core chromophore p-LHBDI, its ortho-derivative, o-LHBDI, and H2BDI possessing both para- and ortho-hydroxyl groups such that the inherent rotational motion of the titled compounds has been partially restricted. o-LHBDI possesses a doubly locked configuration, i.e., the seven-membered ring hydrogen bond and five-membered ring C(4-5-10-13-14) cyclization, from which the excited-state intramolecular proton transfer takes place, rendering a record high tautomer emission yield (0.18 in toluene) and the generation of amplified spontaneous emission. Compared with their unlocked counterparts, a substantial increase in the emission yield is also observed for p-LHBDI and H2BDI in anionic forms in water, and accordingly the structure versus luminescence relationship is fully discussed based on their chemistry and spectroscopy aspect. In solid, o-LHBDI exhibits an H-aggregate-like molecular packing, offers narrow-bandwidth emission, and has been successfully applied to fabricate a yellow organic light emitting diodes (λmax = 568 nm, ηext = 1.9%) with an emission full width at half-maximum as narrow as 70 nm.

BackgroundLong-term exposure to particulate matter less than 2.5 μm in diameter (PM2.5) has been consistently associated with risk of all-cause mortality. The methods used to assess exposure, such as area averages, nearest monitor values, land use regressions, and spatio-temporal models in these studies are subject to measurement error. However, to date, no study has attempted to incorporate adjustment for measurement error into a long-term study of the effects of air pollution on mortality.MethodsWe followed 108,767 members of the Nurses’ Health Study (NHS) 2000–2006 and identified all deaths. Biennial mailed questionnaires provided a detailed residential address history and updated information on potential confounders. Time-varying average PM2.5 in the previous 12-months was assigned based on residential address and was predicted from either spatio-temporal prediction models or as concentrations measured at the nearest USEPA monitor. Information on the relationships of personal exposure to PM2.5 of ambient origin with spatio-temporal predicted and nearest monitor PM2.5 was available from five previous validation studies. Time-varying Cox proportional hazards models were used to estimate hazard ratios (HRs) and 95 percent confidence intervals (95%CI) for each 10 μg/m3 increase in PM2.5. Risk-set regression calibration was used to adjust estimates for measurement error.ResultsIncreasing exposure to PM2.5 was associated with an increased risk of mortality, and results were similar regardless of the method chosen for exposure assessment. Specifically, the multivariable adjusted HRs for each 10 μg/m3 increase in 12-month average PM2.5 from spatio-temporal prediction models were 1.13 (95%CI:1.05, 1.22) and 1.12 (95%CI:1.05, 1.21) for concentrations at the nearest EPA monitoring location. Adjustment for measurement error increased the magnitude of the HRs 4-10% and led to wider CIs (HR = 1.18; 95%CI: 1.02, 1.36 for each 10 μg/m3 increase in PM2.5 from the spatio-temporal models and HR = 1.22; 95%CI: 1.02, 1.45 from the nearest monitor estimates).ConclusionsThese findings support the large body of literature on the adverse effects of PM2.5, and suggest that adjustment for measurement error be considered in future studies where possible.