EDITORIAL: Hydration for Clean Air Today

Edwards, David A.; Nordén, Bengt; Karnath, Lorie; Yaghi, Omar M.; Roy, Chad J.; Johanson, Donald C.; Ott, Mélanie; Brownstein, John S.; Grove, John; Tomson, Göran; Friberg, Peter

doi:10.1142/s252973252101001x

Cited by 6 publications

(5 citation statements)

References 22 publications

Supporting

Mentioning

Contrasting

Order By: Relevance

“…Dirty air and poor access to healthcare already threaten the lives of billions of people in low-income regions of the world 8 , where respiratory disease is the leading cause of death 8 . There is therefore an urgent need for practical, implementable and effective scientific solutions to minimize risks of respiratory disease such as COVID-19 among the least fortunate.Getting moisture to the upper airways may be such a solution [9][10][11][12] . Whole-body dehydration frequently accompanies COVID-19 12 and is a potential common underlying factor in phenotypical states such as advanced age 13 and high BMI 14 associated with heightened risk of disease.…”

mentioning

confidence: 99%

See 1 more Smart Citation

COVID-19 symptoms are reduced by targeted hydration of the nose, larynx and trachea

George

Scheuch²,

Seifart³

et al. 2022

Sci Rep

Self Cite

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Dehydration of the upper airways increases risks of respiratory diseases from COVID-19 to asthma and COPD. We find in human volunteer studies involving 464 human subjects in Germany, the US, and India that respiratory droplet generation increases by up to 4 orders of magnitude in dehydration-associated states of advanced age (n = 357), elevated BMI-age (n = 148), strenuous exercise (n = 20) and SARS-CoV-2 infection (n = 87), and falls with hydration of the nose, larynx and trachea by calcium-rich hypertonic salts. We also find in a protocol of exercise-induced airway dehydration that hydration of the airways by calcium-rich salts increases oxygenation relative to a non-treatment control (P < 0.05). In a random control study of COVID-19 positive subjects (n = 40), thrice-a-day delivery of the calcium-rich hypertonic salts (active) suppressed respiratory droplet generation by 51% ± 11% and increased oxygen saturation over three days of treatment by 48.08% ± 9.61% (P < 0.001), while no changes were observed in the nasal-saline control group. Self-reported symptoms significantly declined in the active group and did not decline in the control group. Hydration of the upper airways appears promising as a non-drug approach for reducing risks of respiratory diseases such as COVID-19.

show abstract

mentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Getting moisture to the upper airways may be such a solution [9][10][11][12] . Whole-body dehydration frequently accompanies COVID-19 12 and is a potential common underlying factor in phenotypical states such as advanced age 13 and high BMI 14 associated with heightened risk of disease.…”

mentioning

confidence: 99%

COVID-19 symptoms are reduced by targeted hydration of the nose, larynx and trachea

George

Scheuch²,

Seifart³

et al. 2022

Sci Rep

Self Cite

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…According to The Lancet Commission, more than 90% of these deaths occur in low‐ and middle‐income countries, particularly among children and pregnant women. [ 270 ] Hybridization of SAWH also has shown encouraging improvements in their performances and demonstrated their potential to meet the needs of the society in terms of water, food, and energy. Even though a standard SAWH with desorption–condensation mechanism can be hybridized in almost all water‐consuming sectors, the development of new thermoresponsive sorbents such as SMAG and PC‐MOF has further simplified the process and liquid water is directly available for these sectors.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Sorption‐Based Atmospheric Water Harvesting: Materials, Components, Systems, and Applications

et al. 2023

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Freshwater scarcity is a global challenge posing threats to the lives and daily activities of humankind such that two‐thirds of the global population currently experience water shortages. Atmospheric water, irrespective of geographical location, is considered as an alternative water source. Sorption‐based atmospheric water harvesting (SAWH) has recently emerged as an efficient strategy for decentralized water production. SAWH thus opens up a self‐sustaining source of freshwater that can potentially support the global population for various applications. In this review, the state‐of‐the‐art of SAWH, considering its operation principle, thermodynamic analysis, energy assessment, materials, components, different designs, productivity improvement, scale‐up, and application for drinking water, is first extensively explored. Thereafter, the practical integration and potential application of SAWH, beyond drinking water, for wide range of utilities in agriculture, fuel/electricity production, thermal management in building services, electronic devices, and textile are comprehensively discussed. The various strategies to reduce human reliance on natural water resources by integrating SAWH into existing technologies, particularly in underdeveloped countries, in order to satisfy the interconnected needs for food, energy, and water are also examined. This study further highlights the urgent need and future research directions to intensify the design and development of hybrid‐SAWH systems for sustainability and diverse applications.

show abstract

“…Dehydrated airways promote inflammation (Barbet et al , 1988 ), mucus production (D’Amato et al , 2018 ), cilia dysfunction (Ghosh et al , 2015 ; D’Amato et al , 2018 ; Moriyama et al , 2021 ) and triggers of cough (Purokivi et al , 2011 ; Zanasi and Dal Negro, 2022 ), notably adenosine triphosphate (ATP) release (Button et al , 2013 ) and associated acidification of the airways (Zajac et al , 2021 ). By these phenomena, and the associated reduction of mucociliary clearance of inhaled particles (Ghosh et al , 2015 ; D’Amato et al , 2018 ; Mecenas et al , 2020 ), dry upper airways amplify the health risks of polluted air (Edwards et al , 2021 ).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Dehydrated airways promote inflammation (5), mucus production (6), cilia dysfunction (1,3,6), and triggers of cough (7,8), notably ATP release (9) and associated acidification of the airways (10). By these phenomena, and the associated reduction of mucociliary clearance of inhaled particles (1,4,6), dry upper airways amplify the health risks of polluted air (11).…”

mentioning

confidence: 99%

Mouth breathing, dry air, and low water permeation promote inflammation, and activate neural pathways, by osmotic stresses acting on airway lining mucus

Edwards

Chung²

2023

QRB Discovery

Self Cite

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Respiratory disease and breathing abnormalities worsen with dehydration of the upper airways. We find that humidification of inhaled air occurs by evaporation of water over mucus lining the upper airways in such a way as to deliver an osmotic force on mucus, displacing it toward the epithelium. This displacement thins the periciliary layer of water beneath mucus while thickening topical water that is partially condensed from humid air on exhalation. With the rapid mouth breathing of dry air, this condensation layer, not previously reported while common to transpiring hydrogels in nature, can deliver an osmotic compressive force of up to around 100 cm H 2 O on underlying cilia, promoting ATP secretion and activating neural pathways. We derive expressions for the evolution of the thickness of the condensation layer, and its impact on cough frequency, inflammatory marker secretion, cilia beat frequency, and respiratory droplet generation. We compare our predictions with human clinical data from multiple published sources, and highlight the damaging impact of mouth breathing, dry air, and high minute volume on upper airway function. We predict the hypertonic (or hypotonic) saline mass required to reduce (or amplify) dysfunction by restoration (or deterioration) of the structure of ciliated and condensation water layers in the upper airways, and compare these predictions with published human clinical data. Preserving water balance in the upper airways appears critical in light of contemporary respiratory health challenges posed by the breathing of dirty and dry air.

show abstract

EDITORIAL: Hydration for Clean Air Today

Cited by 6 publications

References 22 publications

COVID-19 symptoms are reduced by targeted hydration of the nose, larynx and trachea

COVID-19 symptoms are reduced by targeted hydration of the nose, larynx and trachea

Sorption‐Based Atmospheric Water Harvesting: Materials, Components, Systems, and Applications

Mouth breathing, dry air, and low water permeation promote inflammation, and activate neural pathways, by osmotic stresses acting on airway lining mucus

Contact Info

Product

Resources

About