Field Evaluation of NanoEnvi Microsensors for O3 Monitoring

Previous studies have showed that microsensors can successfully measure ozone in ambient air for a limited period of time after on-site calibration by comparison to ultraviolet photometry. This method is generally more successful than the calibration in exposure chambers under controlled conditions because of the difference between laboratory and fields air matrixes. To expand this result, we carried out an experiment at two sampling sites. At the first site, the microsensors were calibrated during a few days. Subsequently, the calibrated microsensors were taken to another sampling site where the effectiveness of the calibration function of the first site was evaluated. The trend of the differences between UV photometry and microsensors were analyzed to evidence possible drift of the microsensors over time. The correlation of these differences with meteorological data was investigated to evidence possible interference and to propose new calibration methods.JRC.H.2-Air and Climat

Particle Measurement Programme (PMP) Heavy-Duty (HD) Inter-laboratory Exercise - Validation Exercise Tests at JRC (Phase A: Feb. '08 and Phase B: June '08)

This document reports the results of the validation exercise during the PMP Heavy-Duty inter-laboratory exercise in Feb. ¿08 (Phase A) and June ¿08 (Phase B) conducted at the Vehicles Emissions Laboratory (VELA-5) in the Transport and Air Quality Unit of the European Commission¿s Joint Research Centre (JRC, Ispra). This report presents the results of the work undertaken on an IVECO Cursor 8 Heavy-Duty engine equipped with a Continuous Regenerating Trap (CRT), i.e. the Golden Engine. The tests included European and World Harmonized cycles following a strict protocol. Mass and number measurements were conducted simultaneously at the full flow and the partial flow sampling systems.JRC.H.4-Transport and air qualit

Surface Plasmon Resonance as a Tool for Ligand Binding Investigation of Engineered GPR17 Receptor, a G Protein Coupled Receptor Involved in Myelination

The aim of this study was to investigate the potential of surface plasmon resonance (SPR) spectroscopy for the measurement of real-time ligand-binding affinities and kinetic parameters for GPR17, a G protein-coupled receptor (GPCR) of major interest in medicinal chemistry as potential target in demyelinating diseases. The receptor was directly captured, in a single-step, from solubilized membrane extracts on the sensor chip through a covalently bound anti-6x-His-antibody and retained its ligand binding activity for over 24h. Furthermore, our experimental setup made possible, after a mild regeneration step, to remove the bound receptor without damaging the antibody, and thus to reuse many times the same chip. Two engineered variants of GPR17, designed for crystallographic studies, were expressed in insect cells, extracted from crude membranes and analyzed for their binding with two high affinity ligands: the antagonist Cangrelor and the agonist Asinex 1. The calculated kinetic parameters and binding constants of ligands were in good agreement with those reported from activity assays and highlighted a possible functional role of the N-terminal residues of the receptor in ligand recognition and binding. Validation of SPR results was obtained by docking and molecular dynamics of GPR17-ligands interactions and by functional in vitro studies. The latter allowed us to confirm that Asinex 1 behaves as GPR17 receptor agonist, inhibits forskolin-stimulated adenylyl cyclase pathway and promotes oligodendrocyte precursor cell maturation and myelinating ability

JRC – Ispra: Atmosphere – Biosphere – Climate Integrated monitoring Station: 2015 Report

A comprehensive set of essential atmospheric variables have been measured at the JRC-Ispra Atmosphere -Biosphere - Climate Integrated monitoring Station (ABC-IS) for several years to detect the impact of European policies and international conventions on air pollution and climate forcing. The variables we measure include greenhouse gas concentrations (CO2, CH4, N2O, SF6), radon (222Rn)activity concentration, short-lived gaseous and particulate pollutants (CO, SO2, NO, NO2, O3, PM2.5 and its main ionic and carbonaceous constituents), atmospheric particle micro-physical characteristics (number concentration and size distribution) and optical properties (light scattering and absorption in-situ, light scattering and extinction vertical profiles remotely), eutrophying and acidifying species (SO42-, NO3-, NH4+) wet deposition, and vegetation atmosphere exchanges (CO2, O3, H2O and heat), backed up by meteorological and pedological measurements. All the measurements performed at ABC-IS are made under international projects and programs like InGOS (Integrated non-CO2 Greenhouse gas Observation System), ACTRIS (the EU research Infra-Structure for the observation of Aerosols, Clouds and TRace gases), EMEP (co-operative Program for Monitoring and Evaluation of the long range transmission of air pollutants in Europe) and GAW (Global Atmosphere Watch), which implies the use of standard methods and scales, and the participation in quality assurance activities. The JRC has a leading role in ACTRIS and EMEP regarding the quality assurance for carbonaceous aerosol measurements. All the data obtained at ABC-IS are submitted to international open data bases (www.europe-fluxdata.eu, fluxnet.ornl.gov, www.ingos-infrastructure.eu, ebas.nilu.no,) and can be freely downloaded from these web sites. The data we produce are used in European wide assessments, for model inputs and validation, and for calibrating satellite airborne sensors. The ABC-IS 2015 report presents the data produced during the past year in the context of the previous years of measurements.JRC.C.5-Air and Climat

JRC – Ispra Atmosphere – Biosphere – Climate Integrated monitoring Station 2013 report

The Institute for Environment and Sustainability provides long-term observations of the atmosphere within international programs and research projects. These observations are performed from the research infrastructure named ABC-IS: Atmosphere – Biosphere – Climate Integrated monitoring Station. Most measurements are performed at the JRC-Ispra site, but observations are also carried out from two other platforms: the forest station in San Rossore, and a ship cruising in the Western Mediterranean sea. This document reports about the measurement programs, the equipment which is deployed, the data quality assessment, and the results obtained for each site. Our observations are presented, compared to each other, as well as to historical data obtained over more than 25 years at the Ispra site.JRC.H.2-Air and Climat

JRC – Ispra Atmosphere – Biosphere – Climate Integrated monitoring Station: 2014 Report

The Institute for Environment and Sustainability provides long-term observations of the atmosphere within international programs and research projects. These observations are performed from the research infrastructure named ABC-IS: Atmosphere – Biosphere – Climate Integrated monitoring Station. Most measurements are performed at the JRC-Ispra site, but observations are also carried out from two other platforms: the forest station in San Rossore, and a ship cruising in the Western Mediterranean sea. This document reports about the measurement programs, the equipment which is deployed, the data quality assessment, and the results obtained for each site. Our observations are presented, compared to each other, as well as to historical data obtained over close to 30 years at the Ispra site.JRC.H.2-Air and Climat

Associations between depressive symptoms and disease progression in older patients with chronic kidney disease: results of the EQUAL study

Background Depressive symptoms are associated with adverse clinical outcomes in patients with end-stage kidney disease; however, few small studies have examined this association in patients with earlier phases of chronic kidney disease (CKD). We studied associations between baseline depressive symptoms and clinical outcomes in older patients with advanced CKD and examined whether these associations differed depending on sex. Methods CKD patients (>= 65 years; estimated glomerular filtration rate <= 20 mL/min/1.73 m(2)) were included from a European multicentre prospective cohort between 2012 and 2019. Depressive symptoms were measured by the five-item Mental Health Inventory (cut-off <= 70; 0-100 scale). Cox proportional hazard analysis was used to study associations between depressive symptoms and time to dialysis initiation, all-cause mortality and these outcomes combined. A joint model was used to study the association between depressive symptoms and kidney function over time. Analyses were adjusted for potential baseline confounders. Results Overall kidney function decline in 1326 patients was -0.12 mL/min/1.73 m(2)/month. A total of 515 patients showed depressive symptoms. No significant association was found between depressive symptoms and kidney function over time (P = 0.08). Unlike women, men with depressive symptoms had an increased mortality rate compared with those without symptoms [adjusted hazard ratio 1.41 (95% confidence interval 1.03-1.93)]. Depressive symptoms were not significantly associated with a higher hazard of dialysis initiation, or with the combined outcome (i.e. dialysis initiation and all-cause mortality). Conclusions There was no significant association between depressive symptoms at baseline and decline in kidney function over time in older patients with advanced CKD. Depressive symptoms at baseline were associated with a higher mortality rate in men

ECLAIRE: Effects of Climate Change on Air Pollution Impacts and Response Strategies for European Ecosystems. Project final report

The central goal of ECLAIRE is to assess how climate change will alter the extent to which air pollutants threaten terrestrial ecosystems. Particular attention has been given to nitrogen compounds, especially nitrogen oxides (NOx) and ammonia (NH3), as well as Biogenic Volatile Organic Compounds (BVOCs) in relation to tropospheric ozone (O3) formation, including their interactions with aerosol components. ECLAIRE has combined a broad program of field and laboratory experimentation and modelling of pollution fluxes and ecosystem impacts, advancing both mechanistic understanding and providing support to European policy makers. The central finding of ECLAIRE is that future climate change is expected to worsen the threat of air pollutants on Europe’s ecosystems. Firstly, climate warming is expected to increase the emissions of many trace gases, such as agricultural NH3, the soil component of NOx emissions and key BVOCs. Experimental data and numerical models show how these effects will tend to increase atmospheric N deposition in future. By contrast, the net effect on tropospheric O3 is less clear. This is because parallel increases in atmospheric CO2 concentrations will offset the temperature-driven increase for some BVOCs, such as isoprene. By contrast, there is currently insufficient evidence to be confident that CO2 will offset anticipated climate increases in monoterpene emissions. Secondly, climate warming is found to be likely to increase the vulnerability of ecosystems towards air pollutant exposure or atmospheric deposition. Such effects may occur as a consequence of combined perturbation, as well as through specific interactions, such as between drought, O3, N and aerosol exposure. These combined effects of climate change are expected to offset part of the benefit of current emissions control policies. Unless decisive mitigation actions are taken, it is anticipated that ongoing climate warming will increase agricultural and other biogenic emissions, posing a challenge for national emissions ceilings and air quality objectives related to nitrogen and ozone pollution. The O3 effects will be further worsened if progress is not made to curb increases in methane (CH4) emissions in the northern hemisphere. Other key findings of ECLAIRE are that: 1) N deposition and O3 have adverse synergistic effects. Exposure to ambient O3 concentrations was shown to reduce the Nitrogen Use Efficiency of plants, both decreasing agricultural production and posing an increased risk of other forms of nitrogen pollution, such as nitrate leaching (NO3-) and the greenhouse gas nitrous oxide (N2O); 2) within-canopy dynamics for volatile aerosol can increase dry deposition and shorten atmospheric lifetimes; 3) ambient aerosol levels reduce the ability of plants to conserve water under drought conditions; 4) low-resolution mapping studies tend to underestimate the extent of local critical loads exceedance; 5) new dose-response functions can be used to improve the assessment of costs, including estimation of the value of damage due to air pollution effects on ecosystems, 6) scenarios can be constructed that combine technical mitigation measures with dietary change options (reducing livestock products in food down to recommended levels for health criteria), with the balance between the two strategies being a matter for future societal discussion. ECLAIRE has supported the revision process for the National Emissions Ceilings Directive and will continue to deliver scientific underpinning into the future for the UNECE Convention on Long-range Transboundary Air Pollution

ECLAIRE third periodic report

The ÉCLAIRE project (Effects of Climate Change on Air Pollution Impacts and Response Strategies for European Ecosystems) is a four year (2011-2015) project funded by the EU's Seventh Framework Programme for Research and Technological Development (FP7)