No abstract

Background: Several epidemiological and laboratory studies have evidenced the fact that atmospheric particulate matter (PM) increases the risk of respiratory morbidity. It is well known that the smallest fraction of PM (PM1 -particulate matter having a diameter below 1 μm) penetrates the deepest into the airways. The ratio of the different size fractions in PM is highly variable, but in industrial areas PM1 can be significant. Despite these facts, the health effects of PM1 have been poorly investigated and air quality standards are based on PM10 and PM2.5 (PM having diameters below 10 μm and 2.5 μm, respectively) concentrations. Therefore, this study aimed at determining whether exposure to ambient PM1 at a near alert threshold level for PM10 has respiratory consequences in rats. Methods: Rats were either exposed for 6 weeks to 100 μg/m 3 (alert threshold level for PM10 in Hungary) urban submicron aerosol, or were kept in room air. End-expiratory lung volume, airway resistance (R aw ) and respiratory tissue mechanics were measured. Respiratory mechanics were measured under baseline conditions and following intravenous methacholine challenges to characterize the development of airway hyperresponsiveness (AH). Bronchoalveolar lavage fluid (BALF) was analyzed and lung histology was performed. Results: No significant differences were detected in lung volume and mechanical parameters at baseline. However, the exposed rats exhibited significantly greater MCh-induced responses in R aw , demonstrating the progression of AH. The associated bronchial inflammation was evidenced by the accumulation of inflammatory cells in BALF and by lung histology. Conclusions: Our findings suggest that exposure to concentrated ambient PM1 (mass concentration at the threshold level for PM10) leads to the development of mild respiratory symptoms in healthy adult rats, which may suggest a need for the reconsideration of threshold limits for airborne PM1.

Our research team has developed a new well completion and rework technology involving lasers. The system is made up of a high-power laser generator and a custom-designed directional laser drilling head. The laser head is attached to a coiled tubing unit to maximize production and to carry out special downhole tasks. In this phase of the development effort, laser technology is particularly well suited to cost-efficiently drill short laterals from existing wells in a single work phase, drilling through the casing and cement as well as the formation. The technology, which is an extended perforation solution, enables a more intensive interaction with the downhole environment and supports cutting edge subsurface engineering scenarios such as barite removal. Laser-induced heat treatment appears to be a suitable alternative to effectively remove the almost immovable deposits and scales from thermal water-well pipes.

No abstract

The 10 m thick Madaras loess-palaeosol profile is one of the Hungarian outcrops that yielded Upper Palaeolithic artefacts in 1966. To clarify the nature of the deposits and establish a reliable litho-and chronostratigraphy, a profile was opened and sampled at 25 cm intervals on the northern side of the brickyard in 1975. Analyses focused on grain size, carbonate content and the mollusc fauna. The chronology was based on the mollusc composition and a single date from the archaeological layer at the depth of ca 7 m below the surface. The 1975 profile was destroyed by mining but the reposited samples allowed an extended analysis of this important Marine Isotope Stage 2 record to which archaeological features were directly assigned. A new absolute chronology was built based on 11 14 C dates. Environmental magnetic, geochemical and palaeoecological investigations allowed a refined view of site evolution with reliable chronology for the Last Glacial Maximum. Our results corroborated those of previous investigations done on other coeval loess-palaeosol sequences of the Southern Carpathian Basin. This also allowed for a temporal correlation to another local record with the published high-resolution chronology of the same brickyard and enabled modelling of local-scale heterogeneity of the environment in the long run.