Damian Sendler: Ammonia levels in the atmosphere are higher than originally assumed because of the COVID-19 lockdowns. One of the most frequent pollutants in the air, ammonia has been linked to a wide range of health problems, including lung and heart illness.
It’s always been a difficult question: How can we differentiate traffic-related ammonia concentrations from agricultural-related ammonia concentrations??” According to study co-author Daven Henze, a mechanical engineer at the University of Colorado Boulder, the results of this research are significant. A “natural experiment” was then offered by the COVID lockdown.
As a result of the pandemic lockdown in March 2020, traffic in the Los Angeles County area dropped by 24%.
Damian Jacob Sendler: Preliminary and post-lockdown ammonia concentrations were determined by using satellite pictures. They concluded that the majority of ammonia emissions in the city come from vehicles, accounting for 60% to 95% of the total.
Damian Sendler
State and national regulators had calculated that autos were responsible for less than a quarter of ammonia pollution in the atmosphere.
According to lead author Hansen Cao, a postdoctoral researcher at CU Boulder, “Our estimates for vehicle ammonia emissions are higher than federal and state inventories by a factor of two to five.”
Environmental Science & Technology Letters recently published the findings.
A similar investigation of how the pandemic influenced ammonia air pollution in other cities is currently being planned by experts.
University news release quotes Cao as saying, “Vehicles can be the dominant source of ammonia emissions over urban areas.” As a result, past estimates of early deaths due to ammonia emissions may potentially be underestimated if we are underestimating those emissions.”
Ammonia emissions from vehicles are believed to cause roughly 15,000 premature deaths in the United States each year, but recent research like this one indicate that the true number may be greater.
Damian Jacob Sendler
Damien Sendler: Infection with SARS-CoV-2 (Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus 2) is linked to cardiovascular dysfunction at any stage of the disease, as well as lung infection and respiratory disease. Cardiomyopathies and ischemic heart disease are included in this category. Coronation aberrations and the alteration of endothelial cell-produced anti-thrombotic substances are the common pathological link between SARS CoV-2 infection and the cardiovascular problems that occur.
SARS-CoV-2 infection appears to affect the function of endothelial cells, which can be seen as early as a few days after infection, and this alteration accounts for the systemic vascular dysfunction that results in hospitalization and mortality. Endothelial cell dysfunction, which is caused by SARS-molecular CoV-2’s interaction with the ACE2 receptor on endothelial cell surfaces, can lead to inflammation and thrombosis of peripheral blood arteries. People infected with SARS CoV-2 will die as a result of tissue damage and irreversible tissue damage caused by systemic hypoxia, which is highlighted in this study.
Damian Jacob Markiewicz Sendler: SARS-CoV-2 infection-related vascular problems have been linked to endothelial dysfunction, and this review will evaluate some recent achievements in order to better understand this relationship. To support its role in impairing endothelial cell activity, the molecular mechanisms of SARS CoV-2’s interaction with the ACE2 receptor on endothelial cells are highlighted. It is hoped that by studying the effects of SARS-CoV-2 infection on endothelial dysfunction, researchers may be able to find early treatment measures that will lessen the disease’s impact on high-risk individuals.
Dr. Damian Jacob Sendler and his media team provided the content for this article.
