Exposure of Individuals in Europe to Air Pollution and Related Health Effects

Air pollutants, especially PM2.5 and NO2, are associated with adverse health impacts, as shown by numerous epidemiological studies. In these studies, the observed health impacts have been correlated with ambient concentrations, mainly taken from air pollution monitoring stations. However, individuals are harmed by the pollutants in the inhaled air at the places where they stay, and thus, the concentration of pollutants in the inhaled air is obviously a better indicator for health impacts than the ambient concentration at a monitoring station. Furthermore, the current method for estimating the occurrence of chronic diseases uses annual average concentrations as indicator. However, according to current hypotheses, chronic diseases, especially chronic mortality, develop through the exposure to pollutants over many years, maybe up to a full lifetime. Thus in this study, a methodology and a computer-aided probabilistic model system are described for calculating the exposure of a person to PM2.5 and NO2 over the whole lifetime where the person is characterized by attributes such as age, gender, place of residence and work as well as socioeconomic status. The model system contains a "life course trajectory model", which estimates the course of the education and professional development for the past lifetime of a person, whose present socioeconomic status is known. Furthermore, a "time-activity model" estimates at which places (so-called micro-environments) a person with a certain socioeconomic status stayed and how long he stayed there within a certain year. The concentrations of air pollutants in indoor environments are calculated with a "mass-balance model", the outdoor concentrations with "atmospheric models". Finally, the results of these models are combined to estimate the annual average exposure for the life years of individuals and population subgroups. The exposure is then used to estimate and monetize health impacts. The exposures and health impacts for a number of population subgroups in Europe are presented. For instance, a European citizen, who was 70 years old in 2015, has been exposed to around 25 μg/m3 of PM2.5 during his lifetime above the age of 30, which is associated with a reduction of life expectancy of 13.4 days per year of exposure above 30

The impact of maturation on concentrations of key odour active compounds which determine the aroma of tequila

Samples of non-mature and añejo (matured) tequila of the same brand/provenance were analysed using GC–MS and gas chromatography olfactometry (GC-O)/aroma extract dilution analysis (AEDA) to provide quantitative data on the most odour active compounds that contribute to the aroma of these spirits. Extracts of non-mature tequila were characterized by 26 odour-active regions, which included ethyl hexanoate, ethyl octanoate, 2-phenylethyl acetate, β-damascenone, isoamyl alcohol and octanoic acid as the most odour-active compounds (flavour dilution, FD, factor ≥ 6561). In contrast, extracts of the mature spirit showed 36 odour-active zones, where the compounds with the highest FD factors (6561) were ethyl hexanoate, ethyl octanoate, 2-phenylethyl acetate, isoamyl alcohol, phenethyl alcohol, guaiacol, 4-ethyl guaiacol, vanillin, cis/trans whisky lactones, β-damascenone and octanoic acid. The aromagram of mature tequila was thus differentiated from that of the non-mature spirit owing to the presence of cask-extractive compounds and the increased FD factors of certain terpenes, higher alcohols and acetals. This study provides a comprehensive and quantitative understanding of changes in key odourants of tequila as a result of the maturation process and also reveals a further characterization of the likely impact of each compound on overall spirit flavour, in terms of odour activity values

Underlay aware approach to support quality of service in publish-subscribe systems

Providing delay-reduced routing is important in publish-subscribe systems where timely delivery of event notifications is a critical factor affecting system operation or user experience. However, common research focused primarily on alleviating false-positives. More recent efforts aim towards quality related issues through adapting the overlay according to subscriber requirements but leaving underlying network characteristics aside. It is commonly accepted that efficient routing can only be achieved when underlying network characteristics are respected. Even so, incorporating underlay-aware strategies to build low-stretch overlays is not considered in many distributed environments. This work focuses on solving the problem of establishing an efficient underlay-aware routing mechanism in a content-based publish-subscribe system. In particular, we strive to reduce end-to-end delay among communication partners. Thereby, our contributions are twofold: We will develop a topology inference scheme for unstructured peer-to-peer networks and introduce a routing mechanism reducing overall end-to-end delay among peers. Experimental evaluations will be given for different Internet-like router topologies showing that the approach is capable of modeling an underlay network in an efficient and accurate manner. Furthermore, we will show the positive impact on the stretch of the overlay to outline the concept as a source for efficient event notification delivery in a publish-subscribe environment

Discrimination of roast and ground coffee aroma

Background: Four analytical approaches were used to evaluate the aroma profile at key stages in roast and ground coffee brew preparation (concentration within the roast and ground coffee and respective coffee brew; concentration in the headspace of the roast and ground coffee and respective brew). Each method was evaluated by the analysis of 15 diverse key aroma compounds that were predefined by odour port analysis. Results: Different methods offered complimentary results for the discrimination of products; the concentration in the coffee brew was found to be the least discriminatory and concentration in the headspace above the roast and ground coffee was shown to be most discriminatory. Conclusions: All approaches should be taken into consideration when classifying roast and ground coffee especially for alignment to sensory perception and consumer insight data as all offer markedly different discrimination abilities due to the variation in volatility, hydrophobicity, air-water partition coefficient and other physicochemical parameters of the key aroma compounds present

Inactivation of palladium-based oxygen scavenger system by volatile sulphur compounds present in the headspace of packaged food

An oxygen scavenger based on a catalytic system with palladium (CSP) was recently developed to remove oxygen in food packagings. Although the CSP worked with various types of food, with some foods, an inhibition of the CSP was observed. Because such catalytic systems are susceptible to poisoning by sulfurcontaining compounds, the aim of this study was to understand the inactivation of palladium-based catalysts in presence of foods containing volatile sulfur compounds (VSCs). To achieve this, the oxygen scavenging activity (OSA) of the CSP was evaluated in presence of selected food products. Afterwards, VSCs mainly present in these foods were exposed to the CSP, and the influence on the OSA was evaluated. Finally, headspace analysis was performed with the diluted VSCs and with the packaged food products using proton transfer reaction time-of-flight mass spectrometry. It was found that the catalytic activity of the CSP was inhibited when VSCs were present in the headspace in concentrations ranging between 10.8–36.0 ppbv (dimethyl sulfide, DMS), 1.2–7.2 ppbv (dimethyl disulfide), 0.7–0.9 ppbv (dimethyl trisulfide), 2.1–5.8 ppbv methional) and 4.6–24.5 ppbv (furfuryl thiol). It was concluded that in packaged roast beef and cheese, DMS may be the compound mainly responsible for the inactivation of the CSP. In packagings containing ham, the key compounds were hydrogen sulfide and methanethiol; in peanuts, it was methanethiol; and in par-baked buns, an accumulation of methional, DMS, butanethiol and methionol. When potato chips were packaged, it was demonstrated that when VSCs are present in low concentrations, oxygen can still be scavenged at a reduced OSA

Analyse der Studiengänge Informationswissenschaft / Information Science (BA & MA) an der Hochschule Darmstadt zu den Auswirkungen der Covid19-Pandemie – Studierendenumfrage

Das Sommersemester 2020 musste binnen kürzester Zeit umgeplant werden. Wurde bis Anfang März 2020 noch davon ausgegangen, dass die Lehrveranstaltungen traditionell als Präsenzveranstaltungen durchgeführt werden könnten, so mussten an allen Universitäten und Hochschulen in Deutschland binnen weniger Wochen der Gesamtbetrieb von Präsenz auf digitale Lehr- und Lernformen umgestellt werden. Diese pandemiebedingte Notwendigkeit hat retrospektiv betrachtet einen revolutionären Charakter. Revolutionär vor allem deshalb, weil binnen weniger Tage und Wochen traditionelle Lehr- und Vermittlungskonzepte über Bord geworfen und zugleich neue Lehrmethoden und technologische Systeme unmittelbar implementiert, kaum getestet und von heute auf morgen zugleich auch eingesetzt werden mussten. Faktisch verwandelte sich dadurch die gesamte deutsche Hochschullandschaft über Nacht in ein riesiges Laboratorium und Lehrende und Studierende gleichermaßen Insassen, die sich in der Regel in diesem digitalen Raum in diesen Kontexten weder auskannten noch ansatzweise darin sozialisiert waren. Präsenz und das gemeinsame Lehren und Lernen vor Ort in einem universitären Raum war für die meisten Veranstaltungen aufgrund der Pandemie zu einer Unmöglichkeit geworden, der Austausch und die Interaktion zwischen Lehrenden und Studierenden fortan auf unterschiedlichste digitale Systeme beschränkt und zugleich große Teile der Bevölkerung ihrer sozialen Netze und Interaktionen entbunden. Die folgende Studie fasst eine Umfrage unter Studierenden der Bachelor- und Masterstudiengänge Informationswissenschaft / Information Science zusammen und analysiert die studentische Perspektive auf das digitale Sommersemester 2020. Ziel der Umfrage war darüber hinaus zu eruieren, ob Best-Practices zu identifizieren sind, die auf zukünftige digitale Lehr- und Lernformate übertragen werden könnten

Empfehlungen für die Einführung von Datenmanagementplänen an Hochschulen zur FAIRen (Nach-)Nutzung von Forschungsdaten

Datenmanagementpläne (DMPs) dienen als Grundlage für ein verantwortungsvolles Forschungsdatenmanagement (FDM), da sie eine systematische Beschreibung enthalten, wie mit Forschungsdaten während der Projektlaufzeit umgegangen wird. Hierin werden Anforderungen benannt, damit Daten möglichst langfristig auffindbar, verständlich erschlossen und somit nutzbar für Dritte gemacht werden. FHs und HAWs stellt die Implementierung von FDM und die dazugehörigen DMPs vor große Herausforderungen, da sie bislang nur auf wenig etablierte Infrastrukturen, Standards und Best Practices aus den für sie charakteristischen praxisrelevanten Disziplinen und Kooperationen zurückgreifen können. Dies gilt gerade im Hinblick auf Transferprojekte und Forschungsvorhaben mit Partnern aus Industrie, Wirtschaft oder Verwaltung, die oftmals im Vergleich zu klassischen Forschungsprojekten spezifische und eigene Bedarfe (z. B. rechtliche, wettbewerbsspezifische, administrative sowie ökonomische) haben. Das Projekt SAN-DMP setzt genau an diesen Problemstellungen an und untersucht die Anforderungen unterschiedlicher Stakeholdergruppen hinsichtlich DMPs. Durch qualitative Methoden entstehen evidenzbasierte Umsetzungsszenarien und Handlungsempfehlungen für das FDM, die auf die substanziellen Bedürfnisse dieses Hochschultyps zugeschnitten sind. Hierzu wurden bisher publizierte DMPs, Templates und Policies analysiert und leitfadengestützte Gruppeninterviews mit neun Stakeholder-Gruppen (Wirtschaft, Medien, Kultur/Verwaltung, Forschungsprojekte, Lehrende, Studierende, Bibliothek, Rechenzentrum/IT, Forschungsservice) durchgeführt. Durch die breite Konstellation liegt ein großer Fächer an Erfahrungskontexten und Praxisbezügen vor, in der zugleich regionale sowie bundesweite Phänomene adressiert werden. Das verwendete Forschungsdesign ermöglicht: (1) Herausarbeitung der Bedarfe der verschiedenen Stakeholdergruppen an DMPs und Identifikation von Anforderungen, Möglichkeiten sowie Spezifika, (2) Identifikation von Kernelementen eines DMPs, die als Minimalkonsens über Branchen- und Spartengrenzen hinweg definiert werden können, (3) Evaluation von ergänzenden kontextualisierenden Strukturelementen eines DMPs aus Sicht spezifischer Stakeholdergruppen. Das Projekt adressiert den Wissensaustausch und schließt an aktuelle Diskussionen, wie etwa in der Nationalen Forschungsdateninfrastruktur, an. Auf dem Poster werden die Ergebnisse des Projekts präsentiert und zur Diskussion gestellt

Speciation of anthropogenic emissions of non-methane volatile organic compounds: a global gridded data set for 1970–2012

Non-methane volatile organic compounds (NMVOCs) include a large number of chemical species which differ significantly in their chemical characteristics and thus in their impacts on ozone and secondary organic aerosol formation. It is important that chemical transport models (CTMs) simulate the chemical transformation of the different NMVOC species in the troposphere consistently. In most emission inventories, however, only total NMVOC emissions are reported, which need to be decomposed into classes to fit the requirements of CTMs. For instance, the Emissions Database for Global Atmospheric Research (EDGAR) provides spatially resolved global anthropogenic emissions of total NMVOCs. In this study the EDGAR NMVOC inventory was revised and extended in time and in sectors. Moreover the new version of NMVOC emission data in the EDGAR database were disaggregated on a detailed sector resolution to individual species or species groups, thus enhancing the usability of the NMVOC emission data by the modelling community. Region- and source-specific speciation profiles of NMVOC species or species groups are compiled and mapped to EDGAR processes (detailed resolution of sectors), with corresponding quality codes specifying the quality of the mapping. Individual NMVOC species in different profiles are aggregated to 25 species groups, in line with the common classification of the Global Emissions Initiative (GEIA). Global annual grid maps with a resolution of 0.1°  ×  0.1° for the period 1970–2012 are produced by sector and species. Furthermore, trends in NMVOC composition are analysed, taking road transport and residential sources in Germany and the United Kingdom (UK) as examples

Influence of processing on the volatile profile of strawberry spreads made with isomaltulose

[EN] A new strawberry spread formulated with fructose and isomaltulose (replacing sucrose partially or totally) and a high percentage of fruit was developed in line with the new trend of healthier products. This work studies the influence of some process variables (percentage of sugar, pectin and citric acid, and time of thermal treatment) on the volatile profile of these spreads with different formulations. The ripeness of the raw strawberries influences the concentrations of some of the compounds in the spreads, such as isobutyl acetate, butyl butyrate, 3-hexen-1-yl acetate or propan-2-ol. The process conditions have an important effect on the volatile profiles. Most of the esters and alcohols decreased whereas 13 new compounds appear, mostly furans (furfural, 2-acetylfurane, 5-methyl furfural, mesifurane) and aldehydes (octanal, nonanal, decanal and benzaldeyhde). In general, the spreads formulated with sucrose-isomaltulose that contained higher levels of pectin and citric acid gave better results in the preservation of the original aromatic compounds in raw strawberries.Authors would like to thank Direccion General de Investigacion del Ministerio de Ciencia y Tecnologia (AGL2008-01745/ALI) as well as the Universitat Politecnica de Valencia for the financial support given to this investigation.Peinado Pardo, I.; Rosa Barbosa, EM.; Heredia Gutiérrez, AB.; Escriche Roberto, MI.; Andrés Grau, AM. (2013). Influence of processing on the volatile profile of strawberry spreads made with isomaltulose. Food Chemistry. 138(1):621-629. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.foodchem.2012.09.104S621629138