Are green roofs the path to clean air and low carbon cities?

Green roofs, as part of urban green structures, have been pointed out as the solution to pursuit the goal of healthy cities. This study aims to investigate the direct, focused on meteorological changes, and indirect, related to both meteorological and emissions changes, impacts of green roofs on air quality (PM10, NO2 and O3). For that, the numerical modelling system composed by the WRF-SLUCM-CHIMERE models was applied to a 1-year period (2017), having as case study the Porto urban area. The EnergyPlus model was also applied to estimate the green roofs impacts on the building's energy needs and related impacts on air quality and atmospheric emissions. The analysis of the direct impacts showed that green roofs promote a temperature increase during the autumn and winter seasons and a temperature decrease during the spring and summer seasons. Both negative - concentrations increase - and positive - concentrations decrease - impacts were obtained for the primary, PM10 and NO2, and secondary, O3, air pollutants, respectively, due to changes in the dynamical structure of the urban boundary layer. The indirect effects of green roofs showed their potential to enhance the buildings energy efficiency, reducing the cooling and heating needs. These changes in energy consumption promoted an overall decrease of the environmental and economic indicators. Regarding air quality, the impact was negligible. The obtained results highlight the need for a multipurpose evaluation of the impacts of green roofs, with the different effects having to be traded off against each other to better support the decision-making process.

Assessing air pollution in European cities to support a citizen centered approach to air quality management.

European cities have made significant progress over the last decades towards clean air. Despite this progress, several cities are still facing acute air pollution episodes, with various urban areas frequently exceeding air quality levels allowed by the European legal standards and WHO guidelines. In this paper, six European cities/ regions (Bristol, UK; Amsterdam, NL; Sosnowiec, PL; Ljubljana, SI; Aveiro, PT; Liguria, IT) are studied in terms of air quality, namely particulate matter, nitrogen dioxide and ozone. The concentrations trends from 2008 to 2017 in the different typology of monitoring stations are addressed, together with the knowledge of daily, weekly and seasonal pollution patterns to better understand the city specific profiles and to characterize pollutant dynamics and variations in multiple locations. Additionally, an analysis of the duration and severity of air pollution episodes is also discussed, followed by an analysis of the fulfillment of the legislated limit values. Each of our 6 case study locations face different air pollution problems, but all these case studies have made some progress in reducing ambient concentrations. In Bristol, there have been strong downward trends in many air pollutants, but the levels of NO2 remain persistently high and of concern. In recent years, decreasing concentration levels point to some success of Amsterdam air quality policies. PM10 exceedances are a seasonal pollution problem in Ljubljana, Sosnowiec and Aveiro region (even if with different levels of severity). While, exceedances of NO2 and O3 concentrations are still problematic in Liguria region. The main findings of this paper are particular relevant to define and compare future citizen-led strategies and policy initiatives that may be implemented to improve and fulfill the EU legislation and the WHO guidelines.

Acne in the adult.

This paper is a general overview that contributes for the knowledge systematization concerning the characteristics of the acne in the adult, its prevalence, causes, diagnosis, classification and drugs available for treatment. The reference therapy is the combination between topical retinoids and oral antibiotics. Oral isotretinoin is still the only available therapy that may modify the different acne physiopathologic factors and therefore it is the standard treatment for severe acne. The importance of the acne treatment in the adult should be enhanced as it can also lead to symptoms of serious depression and anxiety.

Paget's disease of the nipple. Clinical and pathological review of 109 female patients.

The most relevant literature concerning Paget's disease of the breast is reviewed. A clinical and pathological study of female patients with Paget's disease of the breast observed during 30 years at the Lisbon 'Instituto Português de Oncologia' is carried out and its results are discussed. The low incidence of the disease in this series, when compared with those described in the available literature, is pointed out. The absence of a relation between the type of the cutaneous lesions and the histological type of the underlying tumor is emphasized. The similarity of the microscopical aspects, whichever the histological type of the underlying tumor, is considered. The differences in the clinical behavior of the tumors, related to their histological types, and the differences in respect to age, menarch, menopause, breast feeding, primary lesion and percentage of adenopathies observed between patients with and without a palpable mass, are enumerated. The authors conclude that the cure rate after 5 years is lower in patients with palpable tumors and adenopathies and in the cases with onset before menopause. The cure rate also decreases in relation to the histological type of the underlying tumor.