Modelling the dispersion of particle numbers in five European cities

We present an overview of the modelling of particle number concentrations (PNCs) in five major European cities, namely Helsinki, Oslo, London, Rotterdam, and Athens, in 2008. Novel emission inventories of particle numbers have been compiled both on urban and European scales. We used atmospheric dispersion modelling for PNCs in the five target cities and on a European scale, and evaluated the predicted results against available measured concentrations. In all the target cities, the concentrations of particle numbers (PNs) were mostly influenced by the emissions originating from local vehicular traffic. The influence of shipping and harbours was also significant for Helsinki, Oslo, Rotterdam, and Athens, but not for London. The influence of the aviation emissions in Athens was also notable. The regional background concentrations were clearly lower than the contributions originating from urban sources in Helsinki, Oslo, and Athens. The regional background was also lower than urban contributions in traffic environments in London, but higher or approximately equal to urban contributions in Rotterdam. It was numerically evaluated that the influence of coagulation and dry deposition on the predicted PNCs was substantial for the urban background in Oslo. The predicted and measured annual average PNCs in four cities agreed within approximatelyPeer reviewe

Diabetes care: reasons for missing HbA1c measurements in general practice

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Glycated haemoglobin (HbA_1c) is often used as one of the indicators to measure the quality of diabetes care. Complete registration is difficult to obtain. This study investigated the reasons for missing HbA_1cmeasurements.</p> <p>Findings</p> <p>HbA_1cmeasurements for 1485 patients with diabetes mellitus type 2 who were attended by 19 general practitioners at 4 primary care health centres in south-east Amsterdam were studied. HbA_1cmeasurements were missing for 356 (23.9%) of the patients. The main reason stated in 50% of the cases was that the patient was under specialized care.</p> <p>Conclusions</p> <p>The general practitioners provided multiple reasons for the missing HbA_1cmeasurements. This study provides insight into why HbA_1cmeasurements were not present in the patients' electronic medical record.</p

Особливості державного регулювання інвестиційно-інноваційної діяльності, в сфері екології

BACKGROUND: Particulate matter (PM) air pollution is a human lung carcinogen; however, the components responsible have not been identified. We assessed the associations between PM components and lung cancer incidence. METHODS: We used data from 14 cohort studies in eight European countries. We geocoded baseline addresses and assessed air pollution with land-use regression models for eight elements (Cu, Fe, K, Ni, S, Si, V and Zn) in size fractions of PM2.5 and PM10. We used Cox regression models with adjustment for potential confounders for cohort-specific analyses and random effect models for meta-analysis. RESULTS: The 245,782 cohort members contributed 3,229,220 person-years at risk. During follow-up (mean, 13.1 years), 1878 incident cases of lung cancer were diagnosed. In the meta-analyses, elevated hazard ratios (HRs) for lung cancer were associated with all elements except V; none was statistically significant. In analyses restricted to participants who did not change residence during follow-up, statistically significant associations were found for PM2.5 Cu (HR, 1.25; 95% CI, 1.01-1.53 per 5 ng/m(3)), PM10 Zn (1.28; 1.02-1.59 per 20 ng/m(3)), PM10 S (1.58; 1.03-2.44 per 200 ng/m(3)), PM10 Ni (1.59; 1.12-2.26 per 2 ng/m(3)) and PM10 K (1.17; 1.02-1.33 per 100 ng/m(3)). In two-pollutant models, associations between PM10 and PM2.5 and lung cancer were largely explained by PM2.5 S. CONCLUSIONS: This study indicates that the association between PM in air pollution and lung cancer can be attributed to various PM components and sources. PM containing S and Ni might be particularly important

Air pollution exposure estimation using dispersion modelling and continuous monitoring data in a prospective birth cohort study in the Netherlands

Previous studies suggest that pregnant women and children are particularly vulnerable to the adverse effects of air pollution. A prospective cohort study in pregnant women and their children enables identification of the specific effects and critical periods. This paper describes the design of air pollution exposure assessment for participants of the Generation R Study, a population-based prospective cohort study from early pregnancy onwards in 9778 women in the Netherlands. Individual exposures to PM10 and NO2 levels at the home address were estimated for mothers and children, using a combination of advanced dispersion modelling and continuous monitoring data, taking into account the spatial and temporal variation in air pollution concentrations. Full residential history was considered. We observed substantial spatial and temporal variation in air pollution exposure levels. The Generation R Study provides unique possibilities to examine effects of short- and long-term air pollution exposure on various maternal and childhood outcomes and to identify potential critical windows of exposure

Effects of halogens on European air-quality

Halogens (Cl, Br) have a profound influence on stratospheric ozone (O3). They (Cl, Br and I) have recently also been shown to impact the troposphere, notably by reducing the mixing ratios of O3 and OH. Their potential for impacting regional air-quality is less well understood. We explore the impact of halogens on regional pollutants (focussing on O3) with the European grid of the GEOS-Chem model (0.25° × 0.3125°). It has recently been updated to include a representation of halogen chemistry. We focus on the summer of 2015 during the ICOZA campaign at the Weybourne Atmospheric Observatory on the North Sea coast of the UK. Comparisons between these observations together with those from the UK air-quality network show that the model has some skill in representing the mixing ratios/concentration of pollutants during this period. Although the model has some success in simulating the Weybourne ClNO2 observations, it significantly underestimates ClNO2 observations reported at inland locations. It also underestimates mixing ratios of IO, OIO, I2 and BrO, but this may reflect the coastal nature of these observations. Model simulations, with and without halogens, highlight the processes by which halogens can impact O3. Throughout the domain O3 mixing ratios are reduced by halogens. In northern Europe this is due to a change in the background O3 advected into the region, whereas in southern Europe this is due to local chemistry driven by Mediterranean emissions. The proportion of hourly O3 above 50 nmol mol-1 in Europe is reduced from 46% to 18% by halogens. ClNO2 from N2O5 uptake onto sea-salt leads to increases in O3 mixing ratio, but these are smaller than the decreases caused by the bromine and iodine. 12% of ethane and 16% of acetone within the boundary layer is oxidised by Cl. Aerosol response to halogens is complex with small (∼10%) reductions in PM2.5 in most locations. A lack of observational constraints coupled to large uncertainties in emissions and chemical processing of halogens make these conclusions tentative at best. However, the results here point to the potential for halogen chemistry to influence air quality policy in Europe and other parts of the world

Locus coeruleus imaging as a biomarker for noradrenergic dysfunction in neurodegenerative diseases

Pathological alterations to the locus coeruleus, the major source of noradrenaline in the brain, are histologically evident in early stages of neurodegenerative diseases. Novel MRI approaches now provide an opportunity to quantify structural features of the locus coeruleus in vivo during disease progression. In combination with neuropathological biomarkers, in vivo locus coeruleus imaging could help to understand the contribution of locus coeruleus neurodegeneration to clinical and pathological manifestations in Alzheimer’s disease, atypical neurodegenerative dementias and Parkinson’s disease. Moreover, as the functional sensitivity of the noradrenergic system is likely to change with disease progression, in vivo measures of locus coeruleus integrity could provide new pathophysiological insights into cognitive and behavioural symptoms. Locus coeruleus imaging also holds the promise to stratify patients into clinical trials according to noradrenergic dysfunction. In this article, we present a consensus on how non-invasive in vivo assessment of locus coeruleus integrity can be used for clinical research in neurodegenerative diseases. We outline the next steps for in vivo, post-mortem and clinical studies that can lay the groundwork to evaluate the potential of locus coeruleus imaging as a biomarker for neurodegenerative diseases

Locus coeruleus imaging as a biomarker for noradrenergic dysfunction in neurodegenerative diseases

Pathological alterations to the locus coeruleus, the major source of noradrenaline in the brain, are histologically evident in early stages of neurodegenerative diseases. Novel MRI approaches now provide an opportunity to quantify structural features of the locus coeruleus in vivo during disease progression. In combination with neuropathological biomarkers, in vivo locus coeruleus imaging could help to understand the contribution of locus coeruleus neurodegeneration to clinical and pathological manifestations in Alzheimer’s disease, atypical neurodegenerative dementias and Parkinson’s disease. Moreover, as the functional sensitivity of the noradrenergic system is likely to change with disease progression, in vivo measures of locus coeruleus integrity could provide new pathophysiological insights into cognitive and behavioural symptoms. Locus coeruleus imaging also holds the promise to stratify patients into clinical trials according to noradrenergic dysfunction. In this article, we present a consensus on how non-invasive in vivo assessment of locus coeruleus integrity can be used for clinical research in neurodegenerative diseases. We outline the next steps for in vivo, post-mortem and clinical studies that can lay the groundwork to evaluate the potential of locus coeruleus imaging as a biomarker for neurodegenerative diseases