An analysis of factors that influence personal exposure to toluene and xylene in residents of Athens, Greece

BACKGROUND: Personal exposure to pollutants is influenced by various outdoor and indoor sources. The aim of this study was to evaluate the exposure of Athens citizens to toluene and xylene, excluding exposure from active smoking. METHODS: Passive air samplers were used to monitor volunteers, their homes and various urban sites for one year, resulting in 2400 measurements of toluene and xylene levels. Since both indoor and outdoor pollution contribute significantly to human exposure, volunteers were chosen from occupational groups who spend a lot of time in the streets (traffic policemen, bus drivers and postmen), and from groups who spend more time indoors (teachers and students). Data on individual and house characteristics were obtained using a questionnaire completed at the beginning of the study; a time-location-activity diary was also completed daily by the volunteers in each of the six monitoring campaigns. RESULTS: Average personal toluene exposure varied over the six monitoring campaigns from 53 to 80 μg/m(3). Urban and indoor concentrations ranged from 47 – 84 μg/m(3 )and 30 – 51 μg/m(3), respectively. Average personal xylene exposure varied between 56 and 85 μg/m(3 )while urban and indoor concentrations ranged from 53 – 88 μg/m(3 )and 27 – 48 μg/m(3), respectively. Urban pollution, indoor residential concentrations and personal exposures exhibited the same pattern of variation during the measurement periods. This variation among monitoring campaigns might largely be explained by differences in climate parameters, namely wind speed, humidity and amount of sunlight. CONCLUSION: In Athens, Greece, the time spent outdoors in the city center during work or leisure makes a major contribution to exposure to toluene and xylene among non-smoking citizens. Indoor pollution and means of transportation contribute significantly to individual exposure levels. Other indoor residential characteristics such as recent painting and mode of heating used might also contribute significantly to individual levels. Groups who may be subject to higher exposures (e.g. those who spent more time outdoors because of occupational activities) need to be surveyed and protected against possible adverse health effects

Composition of the pericellular matrix modulates the deformation behaviour of chondrocytes in articular cartilage under static loading

The aim was to assess the role of the composition changes in the pericellular matrix (PCM) for the chondrocyte deformation. For that, a three-dimensional finite element model with depth-dependent collagen density, fluid fraction, fixed charge density and collagen architecture, including parallel planes representing the split-lines, was created to model the extracellular matrix (ECM). The PCM was constructed similarly as the ECM, but the collagen fibrils were oriented parallel to the chondrocyte surfaces. The chondrocytes were modelled as poroelastic with swelling properties. Deformation behaviour of the cells was studied under 15% static compression. Due to the depth-dependent structure and composition of cartilage, axial cell strains were highly depth-dependent. An increase in the collagen content and fluid fraction in the PCMs increased the lateral cell strains, while an increase in the fixed charge density induced an inverse behaviour. Axial cell strains were only slightly affected by the changes in PCM composition. We conclude that the PCM composition plays a significant role in the deformation behaviour of chondrocytes, possibly modulating cartilage development, adaptation and degeneration. The development of cartilage repair materials could benefit from this information

Differences in social decision-making between proposers and responders during the ultimatum game: an eeg study

The Ultimatum Game (UG) is a typical paradigm to investigate social decision-making. Although the behavior of humans in this task is already well established, the underlying brain processes remain poorly understood. Previous investigations using event-related potentials (ERPs) revealed three major components related to cognitive processes in participants engaged in the responder condition, the early ERP component P2, the feedback-related negativity (FRN) and a late positive wave (late positive component, LPC). However, the comparison of the ERP waveforms between the responder and proposer conditions has never been studied. Therefore, to investigate condition-related electrophysiological changes, we applied the UG paradigm and compared parameters of the P2, LPC and FRN components in twenty healthy participants. For the responder condition, we found a significantly decreased amplitude and delayed latency for the P2 component, whereas the mean amplitudes of the LPC and FRN increased compared to the proposer condition. Additionally, the proposer condition elicited an early component consisting of a negative deflection around 190 ms, in the upward slope of the P2, probably as a result of early conflict-related processing. Using independent component analysis (ICA), we extracted one functional component time-locked to this deflection, and with source reconstruction (LAURA) we found the anterior cingulate cortex (ACC) as one of the underlying sources. Overall, our findings indicate that intensity and time-course of neuronal systems engaged in the decision-making processes diverge between both UG conditions, suggesting differential cognitive processes. Understanding the electrophysiological bases of decision-making and social interactions in controls could be useful to further detect which steps are impaired in psychiatric patients in their ability to attribute mental states (such as beliefs, intents, or desires) to oneself and others. This ability is called mentalizing (also known as theory of mind)

Measurement of the cross-section and charge asymmetry of WW bosons produced in proton-proton collisions at s=8\sqrt{s}=8 TeV with the ATLAS detector

This paper presents measurements of the $W^+ \rightarrow \mu^+\nu$ and $W^- \rightarrow \mu^-\nu$ cross-sections and the associated charge asymmetry as a function of the absolute pseudorapidity of the decay muon. The data were collected in proton--proton collisions at a centre-of-mass energy of 8 TeV with the ATLAS experiment at the LHC and correspond to a total integrated luminosity of 20.2~\mbox{fb^{-1}}. The precision of the cross-section measurements varies between 0.8% to 1.5% as a function of the pseudorapidity, excluding the 1.9% uncertainty on the integrated luminosity. The charge asymmetry is measured with an uncertainty between 0.002 and 0.003. The results are compared with predictions based on next-to-next-to-leading-order calculations with various parton distribution functions and have the sensitivity to discriminate between them.Comment: 38 pages in total, author list starting page 22, 5 figures, 4 tables, submitted to EPJC. All figures including auxiliary figures are available at https://atlas.web.cern.ch/Atlas/GROUPS/PHYSICS/PAPERS/STDM-2017-13

The role of ergonomic saddle seats and magnification loupes in the prevention of musculoskeletal disorders. A systematic review.

OBJECTIVES: Musculoskeletal disorders affect a high percentage of dentists, dental hygienists and therapists. Static and awkward working postures are considered as major risk factors. Proper seat selection and use of magnification loupes are promoted for their ergonomic benefits. The aim of this review was to evaluate the existing empirical evidence on the effect of the above interventions on (i) correction of poor posture and (ii) reduction in musculoskeletal pain. METHODS: The review was conducted according to the PRISMA guidelines. The review protocol was registered with PROSPERO (CRD42017058580). The Medline via Ovid, CINHAL via EBSCO, Web of Science, OpenGrey and EThOS electronic databases were searched. Prospective experimental studies were considered for inclusion. The Effective Public Health Practice Project Quality Assessment Tool (EPHPP) was used to assess the methodological quality of the included studies. RESULTS: Eight studies were included in the review. Four investigated the effect of loupes on posture and musculoskeletal pain, 4 the effect of the saddle seats on posture and one of the latter explored the combined effect of magnification and use of saddle seats on posture. CONCLUSIONS: Based on a limited number of studies, the use of ergonomic saddle seats and dental loupes leads to improved working postures. The use of loupes appears to relieve shoulder, arm and hand pain. However, their effect on neck pain is scarce. None of the studies reported on the effect of the saddle seats on musculoskeletal pain. Future well-powered prospective longitudinal studies are deemed necessary to confirm the conclusions of this review

Search for new phenomena in final states with an energetic jet and large missing transverse momentum in pp collisions at √ s = 8 TeV with the ATLAS detector

Results of a search for new phenomena in final states with an energetic jet and large missing transverse momentum are reported. The search uses 20.3 fb−1 of √ s = 8 TeV data collected in 2012 with the ATLAS detector at the LHC. Events are required to have at least one jet with pT > 120 GeV and no leptons. Nine signal regions are considered with increasing missing transverse momentum requirements between Emiss T > 150 GeV and Emiss T > 700 GeV. Good agreement is observed between the number of events in data and Standard Model expectations. The results are translated into exclusion limits on models with either large extra spatial dimensions, pair production of weakly interacting dark matter candidates, or production of very light gravitinos in a gauge-mediated supersymmetric model. In addition, limits on the production of an invisibly decaying Higgs-like boson leading to similar topologies in the final state are presente

Search for chargino-neutralino production with mass splittings near the electroweak scale in three-lepton final states in √s=13 TeV pp collisions with the ATLAS detector

A search for supersymmetry through the pair production of electroweakinos with mass splittings near the electroweak scale and decaying via on-shell W and Z bosons is presented for a three-lepton final state. The analyzed proton-proton collision data taken at a center-of-mass energy of √s=13  TeV were collected between 2015 and 2018 by the ATLAS experiment at the Large Hadron Collider, corresponding to an integrated luminosity of 139  fb−1. A search, emulating the recursive jigsaw reconstruction technique with easily reproducible laboratory-frame variables, is performed. The two excesses observed in the 2015–2016 data recursive jigsaw analysis in the low-mass three-lepton phase space are reproduced. Results with the full data set are in agreement with the Standard Model expectations. They are interpreted to set exclusion limits at the 95% confidence level on simplified models of chargino-neutralino pair production for masses up to 345 GeV

Expected Performance of the ATLAS Experiment - Detector, Trigger and Physics

A detailed study is presented of the expected performance of the ATLAS detector. The reconstruction of tracks, leptons, photons, missing energy and jets is investigated, together with the performance of b-tagging and the trigger. The physics potential for a variety of interesting physics processes, within the Standard Model and beyond, is examined. The study comprises a series of notes based on simulations of the detector and physics processes, with particular emphasis given to the data expected from the first years of operation of the LHC at CERN

Central role for MCP-1/CCL2 in injury-induced inflammation revealed by in vitro, in silico, and clinical studies

The translation of in vitro findings to clinical outcomes is often elusive. Trauma/hemorrhagic shock (T/HS) results in hepatic hypoxia that drives inflammation. We hypothesize that in silico methods would help bridge in vitro hepatocyte data and clinical T/HS, in which the liver is a primary site of inflammation. Primary mouse hepatocytes were cultured under hypoxia (1% O 2) or normoxia (21% O2) for 1-72 h, and both the cell supernatants and protein lysates were assayed for 18 inflammatory mediators by Luminex™ technology. Statistical analysis and data-driven modeling were employed to characterize the main components of the cellular response. Statistical analyses, hierarchical and k-means clustering, Principal Component Analysis, and Dynamic Network Analysis suggested MCP-1/CCL2 and IL-1α as central coordinators of hepatocyte-mediated inflammation in C57BL/6 mouse hepatocytes. Hepatocytes from MCP-1-null mice had altered dynamic inflammatory networks. Circulating MCP-1 levels segregated human T/HS survivors from non-survivors. Furthermore, T/HS survivors with elevated early levels of plasma MCP-1 post-injury had longer total lengths of stay, longer intensive care unit lengths of stay, and prolonged requirement for mechanical ventilation vs. those with low plasma MCP-1. This study identifies MCP-1 as a main driver of the response of hepatocytes in vitro and as a biomarker for clinical outcomes in T/HS, and suggests an experimental and computational framework for discovery of novel clinical biomarkers in inflammatory diseases. © 2013 Ziraldo et al