Acute exposure to diesel affects inflammation and vascular function.

BACKGROUND: Diesel exhaust fumes represent one of the most common toxic pollutants. The prolonged effects of acute exposure to this pollutant on inflammatory status and vascular properties are unknown. METHODS: During a 2-h session, 40 healthy subjects were exposed to diesel exhaust fumes and/or filtered air. Endothelial function was assessed with flow mediated dilation, arterial stiffness with pulse wave velocity and reflected waves with augmentation index. C-reactive protein, fibrinogen, protein C levels and protein S activity were also measured. Standard deviation of normal to normal R-R intervals (SDNN) was used to assess heart rate variability. Measurements were assessed before exposure and 2 and 24 h after diesel exposure. RESULTS: Compared with filtered air, exposure to diesel exhaust fumes decreased flow mediated dilation and increased pulse wave velocity and augmentation index up to 24 h after the exposure (p < 0.001 for all). Similarly, compared with filtered air, diesel exhaust exposure impaired SDNN during the 24-h study period (p = 0.007). C-reactive protein and fibrinogen levels were significantly increased after diesel exhaust exposure while protein C levels and protein S activity decreased (p < 0.01 for all). Exposure to diesel exhaust fumes resulted in higher C-reactive protein concentration in smokers compared with non-smokers (p < 0.001). CONCLUSION: Short-term exposure to diesel exhaust fumes has a prolonged adverse impact on endothelial function and vascular wall properties, along with impaired heart rate variability, abnormal fibrinolytic activity and increased markers of inflammation. These findings give insights into the mechanisms underlining the increased cardiovascular risk of subjects regularly exposed to diesel exhaust fumes

Diagnostic accuracy of a clinical diagnosis of idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis: An international case-cohort study

We conducted an international study of idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis (IPF) diagnosis among a large group of physicians and compared their diagnostic performance to a panel of IPF experts. A total of 1141 respiratory physicians and 34 IPF experts participated. Participants evaluated 60 cases of interstitial lung disease (ILD) without interdisciplinary consultation. Diagnostic agreement was measured using the weighted kappa coefficient (\u3baw). Prognostic discrimination between IPF and other ILDs was used to validate diagnostic accuracy for first-choice diagnoses of IPF and were compared using the Cindex. A total of 404 physicians completed the study. Agreement for IPF diagnosis was higher among expert physicians (\u3baw=0.65, IQR 0.53-0.72, p20 years of experience (C-index=0.72, IQR 0.0-0.73, p=0.229) and non-university hospital physicians with more than 20 years of experience, attending weekly MDT meetings (C-index=0.72, IQR 0.70-0.72, p=0.052), did not differ significantly (p=0.229 and p=0.052 respectively) from the expert panel (C-index=0.74 IQR 0.72-0.75). Experienced respiratory physicians at university-based institutions diagnose IPF with similar prognostic accuracy to IPF experts. Regular MDT meeting attendance improves the prognostic accuracy of experienced non-university practitioners to levels achieved by IPF experts

Cool roofs and cool pavements application in Acharnes, Greece

The continuously increasing urban temperature results to the well-known urban heat island phenomenon. Cool roofs and cool pavements are very promising mitigation techniques as they can be easily applied to new and existing buildings as well as urban spaces. In the present paper, the application of cool materials in the urban region of Acharnes municipality in Greece is described. Cool roofs in the form of ceiling tiles are installed on the rooftop of the municipality building while cool paving stones are used to replace conventional pavements. A series of monitoring activities are performed for the building and the urban region. Measurements of the outdoor meteorological conditions, the indoor thermal comfort of the case study building, the surface temperature of the roofs and pavements as well as thermal imaging are exploited for the analysis of the cool roofs and cool pavements’ performance. Thermal models using EnergyPlus and Envi-met are developed for the analysis of the cool roofs and cool pavements respectively. The overall study showed that the application of cool roofs results to 17% reduction in the annual cooling demand for the case study building while the surface temperature of the urban pavements is reduced by almost 10 K. © 2017 Elsevier Lt

Acute exposure to diesel affects inflammation and vascular function

Background: Diesel exhaust fumes represent one of the most common toxic pollutants. The prolonged effects of acute exposure to this pollutant on inflammatory status and vascular properties are unknown. Methods: During a 2-h session, 40 healthy subjects were exposed to diesel exhaust fumes and/or filtered air. Endothelial function was assessed with flow mediated dilation, arterial stiffness with pulse wave velocity and reflected waves with augmentation index. C-reactive protein, fibrinogen, protein C levels and protein S activity were also measured. Standard deviation of normal to normal R-R intervals (SDNN) was used to assess heart rate variability. Measurements were assessed before exposure and 2 and 24 h after diesel exposure. Results: Compared with filtered air, exposure to diesel exhaust fumes decreased flow mediated dilation and increased pulse wave velocity and augmentation index up to 24 h after the exposure (p &lt; 0.001 for all). Similarly, compared with filtered air, diesel exhaust exposure impaired SDNN during the 24-h study period (p = 0.007). C-reactive protein and fibrinogen levels were significantly increased after diesel exhaust exposure while protein C levels and protein S activity decreased (p &lt; 0.01 for all). Exposure to diesel exhaust fumes resulted in higher C-reactive protein concentration in smokers compared with non-smokers (p &lt; 0.001). Conclusion: Short-Term exposure to diesel exhaust fumes has a prolonged adverse impact on endothelial function and vascular wall properties, along with impaired heart rate variability, abnormal fibrinolytic activity and increased markers of inflammation. These findings give insights into the mechanisms underlining the increased cardiovascular risk of subjects regularly exposed to diesel exhaust fumes. © 2020 Published on behalf of the European Society of Cardiology. All rights reserved

Impact of Non-financial Disclosure Scores on the Cost of Equity Capital: Evidence from European Data in the Light of the Subprime Crisis

International audienceThis chapter explores the relationship between social, governance and environmental disclosure scores, on one hand, and the cost of capital, on the other. Its originality is the focus on the quality of corporate social responsibility (CSR) disclosure by studying global CSR at the same time as its three constituent dimensions. The empirical data it uses comes from Euronext SBF 120 companies over the period 2006 through 2011. The longitudinal study covers two separate periods (2006–2008 and 2009–2011). The corporate social responsibility disclosure scores (global, environment, social or governance) have an influence on the cost of capital. Moreover, financial analyst recommendations did, on the other hand, help lower the cost of capital. Lastly, the study shows that since 2009, financial analysts have increasingly taken the quality of CSR information disclosure into account in their Euronext SBF 120 stock recommendations