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Novak R, Robinson JA, Kanduč T, Sarigiannis D, Džeroski S, Kocman D. Empowering Participatory Research in Urban Health: Wearable Biometric and Environmental Sensors for Activity Recognition. Sensors (Basel) 2023; 23:9890. [PMID: 38139735 PMCID: PMC10747712 DOI: 10.3390/s23249890] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/19/2023] [Revised: 11/20/2023] [Accepted: 12/15/2023] [Indexed: 12/24/2023]
Abstract
Participatory exposure research, which tracks behaviour and assesses exposure to stressors like air pollution, traditionally relies on time-activity diaries. This study introduces a novel approach, employing machine learning (ML) to empower laypersons in human activity recognition (HAR), aiming to reduce dependence on manual recording by leveraging data from wearable sensors. Recognising complex activities such as smoking and cooking presents unique challenges due to specific environmental conditions. In this research, we combined wearable environment/ambient and wrist-worn activity/biometric sensors for complex activity recognition in an urban stressor exposure study, measuring parameters like particulate matter concentrations, temperature, and humidity. Two groups, Group H (88 individuals) and Group M (18 individuals), wore the devices and manually logged their activities hourly and minutely, respectively. Prioritising accessibility and inclusivity, we selected three classification algorithms: k-nearest neighbours (IBk), decision trees (J48), and random forests (RF), based on: (1) proven efficacy in existing literature, (2) understandability and transparency for laypersons, (3) availability on user-friendly platforms like WEKA, and (4) efficiency on basic devices such as office laptops or smartphones. Accuracy improved with finer temporal resolution and detailed activity categories. However, when compared to other published human activity recognition research, our accuracy rates, particularly for less complex activities, were not as competitive. Misclassifications were higher for vague activities (resting, playing), while well-defined activities (smoking, cooking, running) had few errors. Including environmental sensor data increased accuracy for all activities, especially playing, smoking, and running. Future work should consider exploring other explainable algorithms available on diverse tools and platforms. Our findings underscore ML's potential in exposure studies, emphasising its adaptability and significance for laypersons while also highlighting areas for improvement.
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Affiliation(s)
- Rok Novak
- Department of Environmental Sciences, Jožef Stefan Institute, 1000 Ljubljana, Slovenia; (J.A.R.); (T.K.); (D.K.)
- Ecotechnologies Programme, Jožef Stefan International Postgraduate School, 1000 Ljubljana, Slovenia;
| | - Johanna Amalia Robinson
- Department of Environmental Sciences, Jožef Stefan Institute, 1000 Ljubljana, Slovenia; (J.A.R.); (T.K.); (D.K.)
- Ecotechnologies Programme, Jožef Stefan International Postgraduate School, 1000 Ljubljana, Slovenia;
- Centre for Research and Development, Slovenian Institute for Adult Education, 1000 Ljubljana, Slovenia
| | - Tjaša Kanduč
- Department of Environmental Sciences, Jožef Stefan Institute, 1000 Ljubljana, Slovenia; (J.A.R.); (T.K.); (D.K.)
| | - Dimosthenis Sarigiannis
- Environmental Engineering Laboratory, Department of Chemical Engineering, Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, 54124 Thessaloniki, Greece;
- HERACLES Research Centre on the Exposome and Health, Centre for Interdisciplinary Research and Innovation, 57001 Thessaloniki, Greece
- Environmental Health Engineering, Department of Science, Technology and Society, University School of Advanced Study IUSS, 27100 Pavia, Italy
| | - Sašo Džeroski
- Ecotechnologies Programme, Jožef Stefan International Postgraduate School, 1000 Ljubljana, Slovenia;
- Department of Knowledge Technologies, Jožef Stefan Institute, 1000 Ljubljana, Slovenia
| | - David Kocman
- Department of Environmental Sciences, Jožef Stefan Institute, 1000 Ljubljana, Slovenia; (J.A.R.); (T.K.); (D.K.)
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Novak R, Robinson JA, Kanduč T, Sarigiannis D, Kocman D. Simulating the impact of particulate matter exposure on health-related behaviour: A comparative study of stochastic modelling and personal monitoring data. Health Place 2023; 83:103111. [PMID: 37708688 DOI: 10.1016/j.healthplace.2023.103111] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/25/2023] [Revised: 09/03/2023] [Accepted: 09/04/2023] [Indexed: 09/16/2023]
Abstract
Epidemiological and exposure studies concerning particulate matter (PM) often rely on data from sparse governmental stations. While low-cost personal monitors have some drawbacks, recent developments have shown that they can provide fairly accurate and fit-for-purpose data. Comparing a stochastic, i.e., agent-based model (ABM), with environmental, biometric and activity data, collected with personal monitors, could provide insight into how the two approaches assess PM exposure and dose. An ABM was constructed, simulating a PM exposure/dose assessment of 100 agents. Their actions were governed by inherent probabilities of performing an activity, based on population data. Each activity was associated with an intensity level, and a PM pollution level. The ABM results were compared with real-world results. Both approaches had comparable results, showing similar trends and a mean dose. Discrepancies were seen in the activities with the highest mean dose values. A stochastic model, based on population data, does not capture well some specifics of a local population. Combined, personal sensors could provide input for calibration, and an ABM approach can help offset a low number of participants. Implementing a function of agents influencing others transport choice, increased the importance of cycling/walking in the overall dose estimate. Activists, agents with an increased transport influence, did not play an important role at low PM levels. As concentrations rose, higher shares of activists (and their influence) caused the dose to increase. Simulating a person's PM exposure/dose in different scenarios and activities in a virtual environment provides researchers and policymakers with a valuable tool.
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Affiliation(s)
- Rok Novak
- Department of Environmental Sciences, Jožef Stefan Institute, 1000, Ljubljana, Slovenia; Ecotechnologies Programme, Jožef Stefan International Postgraduate School, 1000, Ljubljana, Slovenia.
| | - Johanna Amalia Robinson
- Department of Environmental Sciences, Jožef Stefan Institute, 1000, Ljubljana, Slovenia; Ecotechnologies Programme, Jožef Stefan International Postgraduate School, 1000, Ljubljana, Slovenia; Center for Research and Development, Slovenian Institute for Adult Education, 1000, Ljubljana, Slovenia.
| | - Tjaša Kanduč
- Department of Environmental Sciences, Jožef Stefan Institute, 1000, Ljubljana, Slovenia.
| | - Dimosthenis Sarigiannis
- Environmental Engineering Laboratory, Department of Chemical Engineering, Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, Thessaloniki, 54124, Greece; HERACLES Research Centre on the Exposome and Health, Center for Interdisciplinary Research and Innovation, Thessaloniki, 57001, Greece; Environmental Health Engineering, Department of Science, Technology and Society, University School of Advanced Study IUSS, Pavia, Italy.
| | - David Kocman
- Department of Environmental Sciences, Jožef Stefan Institute, 1000, Ljubljana, Slovenia.
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Katsonouri A, Gabriel C, Esteban López M, Namorado S, Halldorsson TI, Snoj Tratnik J, Rodriguez Martin L, Karakoltzidis A, Chatzimpaloglou A, Giannadaki D, Anastasi E, Thoma A, Domínguez-Morueco N, Cañas Portilla AI, Jacobsen E, Assunção R, Peres M, Santiago S, Nunes C, Pedraza-Diaz S, Iavicoli I, Leso V, Lacasaña M, González-Alzaga B, Horvat M, Sepai O, Castano A, Kolossa-Gehring M, Karakitsios S, Sarigiannis D. HBM4EU-MOM: Prenatal methylmercury-exposure control in five countries through suitable dietary advice for pregnancy - Study design and characteristics of participants. Int J Hyg Environ Health 2023; 252:114213. [PMID: 37393843 DOI: 10.1016/j.ijheh.2023.114213] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/27/2023] [Revised: 06/02/2023] [Accepted: 06/22/2023] [Indexed: 07/04/2023]
Abstract
BACKGROUND Seafood is a major source of vital nutrients for optimal fetal growth, but at the same time is the main source of exposure to methylmercury (MeHg), an established neurodevelopmental toxicant. Pregnant women must be provided with dietary advice so as to include safely fish in their diet for nutrition and mercury control. The aim of this work is to present the design of a multicentre randomized control trial (RCT), which combines human biomonitoring (HBM) with dietary interventions using seafood consumption advice to pregnant women for MeHg control, and to collect information about other possible sources of exposure to mercury. It also presents the materials developed for the implementation of the study and the characteristics of the study participants, which were self-reported in the first trimester of pregnancy. METHODS The "HBM4EU-MOM" RCT was performed in the frame of the European Human Biomonitoring Initiative (HBM4EU) in five coastal, high fish-consuming European countries (Cyprus, Greece, Spain, Portugal and Iceland). According to the study design, pregnant women (≥120/country, ≤20 weeks gestational age) provided a hair sample for total mercury assessment (THg) and personal information relevant to the study (e.g., lifestyle, pregnancy status, diet before and during the pregnancy, information on seafood and factors related to possible non-dietary exposures to mercury) during the first trimester of pregnancy. After sampling, participants were randomly assigned to "control" (habitual practices) or "intervention" (received the harmonized HBM4EU-MOM dietary advice for fish consumption during the pregnancy and were encouraged to follow it). Around child delivery, participants provided a second hair sample and completed another tailored questionnaire. RESULTS A total of 654 women aged 18-45 years were recruited in 2021 in the five countries, primarily through their health-care providers. The pre-pregnancy BMI of the participants ranged from underweight to obese, but was on average within the healthy range. For 73% of the women, the pregnancy was planned. 26% of the women were active smokers before the pregnancy and 8% continued to smoke during the pregnancy, while 33% were passive smokers before pregnancy and 23% remained passively exposed during the pregnancy. 53% of the women self-reported making dietary changes for their pregnancy, with 74% of these women reporting making the changes upon learning of their pregnancy. Of the 43% who did not change their diet for the pregnancy, 74% reported that their diet was already balanced, 6% found it difficult to make changes and 2% were unsure of what changes to make. Seafood consumption did not change significantly before and during the first trimester of pregnancy (overall average ∼8 times per month), with the highest frequency reported in Portugal (≥15 times per month), followed by Spain (≥7 times per month). During the first-trimester of pregnancy, 89% of the Portuguese women, 85% of the Spanish women and <50% of Greek, Cypriot and Icelandic women reported that they had consumed big oily fish. Relevant to non-dietary exposure sources, most participants (>90%) were unaware of safe procedures for handling spillage from broken thermometers and energy-saving lamps, though >22% experienced such an incident (>1 year ago). 26% of the women had dental amalgams. ∼1% had amalgams placed and ∼2% had amalgams removed during peri-pregnancy. 28% had their hair dyed in the past 3 months and 40% had body tattoos. 8% engaged with gardening involving fertilizers/pesticides and 19% with hobbies involving paints/pigments/dyes. CONCLUSIONS The study design materials were fit for the purposes of harmonization and quality-assurance. The harmonized information collected from pregnant women suggests that it is important to raise the awareness of women of reproductive age and pregnant women about how to safely include fish in their diet and to empower them to make proper decisions for nutrition and control of MeHg, as well as other chemical exposures.
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Affiliation(s)
| | - Catherine Gabriel
- HERACLES Research Center - KEDEK, Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, Thessaloniki, Greece; Environmental Engineering Laboratory, Department of Chemical Engineering, Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, Thessaloniki, Greece.
| | - Marta Esteban López
- Environmental Toxicology Unit, National Centre for Environmental Health. Instituto de Salud Carlos III (CNSA-ISCIII), Madrid, Spain
| | - Sonia Namorado
- Department of Epidemiology, National Institute of Health Dr. Ricardo Jorge (INSA), Lisbon, Portugal; NOVA National School of Public Health, Public Health Research Centre, Universidade NOVA de Lisboa, Lisbon, Portugal; Comprehensive Health Research Center (CHRC), Lisbon, Portugal
| | | | | | | | - Achilleas Karakoltzidis
- HERACLES Research Center - KEDEK, Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, Thessaloniki, Greece; Environmental Engineering Laboratory, Department of Chemical Engineering, Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, Thessaloniki, Greece
| | - Anthoula Chatzimpaloglou
- HERACLES Research Center - KEDEK, Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, Thessaloniki, Greece; Environmental Engineering Laboratory, Department of Chemical Engineering, Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, Thessaloniki, Greece
| | | | - Elena Anastasi
- State General Laboratory, Ministry of Health, Nicosia, Cyprus
| | - Anthi Thoma
- State General Laboratory, Ministry of Health, Nicosia, Cyprus
| | - Noelia Domínguez-Morueco
- Environmental Toxicology Unit, National Centre for Environmental Health. Instituto de Salud Carlos III (CNSA-ISCIII), Madrid, Spain
| | - Ana I Cañas Portilla
- Environmental Toxicology Unit, National Centre for Environmental Health. Instituto de Salud Carlos III (CNSA-ISCIII), Madrid, Spain
| | | | - Ricardo Assunção
- Egas Moniz School & Health Science, Campus Universitário, Quinta da Granja, 2829-511, Monte de Caparica, Almada, Portugal
| | - Maria Peres
- Department of Epidemiology, National Institute of Health Dr. Ricardo Jorge (INSA), Lisbon, Portugal
| | - Susana Santiago
- Department of Epidemiology, National Institute of Health Dr. Ricardo Jorge (INSA), Lisbon, Portugal
| | - Carla Nunes
- Department of Epidemiology, National Institute of Health Dr. Ricardo Jorge (INSA), Lisbon, Portugal
| | - Susana Pedraza-Diaz
- Environmental Toxicology Unit, National Centre for Environmental Health. Instituto de Salud Carlos III (CNSA-ISCIII), Madrid, Spain
| | - Ivo Iavicoli
- Department of Public Health University of Naples Federico II, Naples, Italy
| | - Veruscka Leso
- Department of Public Health University of Naples Federico II, Naples, Italy
| | - Marina Lacasaña
- Andalusian School of Public Health (EASP), Granada, Spain; Instituto de Investigación Biosanitaria, Ibs.GRANADA, Granada, Spain; CIBER Epidemiology and Public Health (CIBERESP), Madrid, Spain; Andalusian Health and Environment Observatory (OSMAN), Granada, Spain
| | - Beatriz González-Alzaga
- Andalusian School of Public Health (EASP), Granada, Spain; Instituto de Investigación Biosanitaria, Ibs.GRANADA, Granada, Spain; CIBER Epidemiology and Public Health (CIBERESP), Madrid, Spain
| | | | - Ovnair Sepai
- UK Health Security Agency, Radiation, Chemicals and Environment Division, Harwell, UK
| | - Argelia Castano
- Environmental Toxicology Unit, National Centre for Environmental Health. Instituto de Salud Carlos III (CNSA-ISCIII), Madrid, Spain
| | | | - Spyros Karakitsios
- HERACLES Research Center - KEDEK, Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, Thessaloniki, Greece; Environmental Engineering Laboratory, Department of Chemical Engineering, Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, Thessaloniki, Greece
| | - Dimosthenis Sarigiannis
- HERACLES Research Center - KEDEK, Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, Thessaloniki, Greece; Environmental Engineering Laboratory, Department of Chemical Engineering, Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, Thessaloniki, Greece; Environmental Health Engineering, School for Advanced Study IUSS, Pavia, Italy
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Novak R, Robinson JA, Frantzidis C, Sejdullahu I, Persico MG, Kontić D, Sarigiannis D, Kocman D. Integrated assessment of personal monitor applications for evaluating exposure to urban stressors: A scoping review. Environ Res 2023; 226:115685. [PMID: 36921791 DOI: 10.1016/j.envres.2023.115685] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/12/2023] [Revised: 02/23/2023] [Accepted: 03/11/2023] [Indexed: 06/18/2023]
Abstract
Urban stressors pose a health risk, and individual-level assessments provide necessary and fine-grained insight into exposure. An ever-increasing amount of research literature on individual-level exposure to urban stressors using data collected with personal monitors, has called for an integrated assessment approach to identify trends, gaps and needs, and provide recommendations for future research. To this end, a scoping review of the respective literature was performed, as part of the H2020 URBANOME project. Moreover, three specific aims were identified: (i) determine current state of research, (ii) analyse literature according with a waterfall methodological framework and identify gaps and needs, and (iii) provide recommendations for more integrated, inclusive and robust approaches. Knowledge and gaps were extracted based on a systematic approach, e.g., data extraction questionnaires, as well as through the expertise of the researchers performing the review. The findings were assessed through a waterfall methodology of delineating projects into four phases. Studies described in the papers vary in their scope, with most assessing exposure in a single macro domain, though a trend of moving towards multi-domain assessment is evident. Simultaneous measurements of multiple stressors are not common, and papers predominantly assess exposure to air pollution. As urban environments become more diverse, stakeholders from different groups are included in the study designs. Most frequently (per the quadruple helix model), civil society/NGO groups are involved, followed by government and policymakers, while business or private sector stakeholders are less frequently represented. Participants in general function as data collectors and are rarely involved in other phases of the research. While more active involvement is not necessary, more collaborative approaches show higher engagement and motivation of participants to alter their lifestyles based on the research results. The identified trends, gaps and needs can aid future exposure research and provide recommendations on addressing different urban communities and stakeholders.
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Affiliation(s)
- Rok Novak
- Department of Environmental Sciences, Jožef Stefan Institute, 1000, Ljubljana, Slovenia; Jožef Stefan International Postgraduate School, 1000, Ljubljana, Slovenia.
| | - Johanna Amalia Robinson
- Department of Environmental Sciences, Jožef Stefan Institute, 1000, Ljubljana, Slovenia; Jožef Stefan International Postgraduate School, 1000, Ljubljana, Slovenia; Center for Research and Development, Slovenian Institute for Adult Education, Ulica Ambrožiča Novljana 5, 1000, Ljubljana, Slovenia
| | - Christos Frantzidis
- Biomedical Engineering & Aerospace Neuroscience (BEAN), Laboratory of Medical Physics and Digital Innovation, School of Medicine, Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, Greece; Greek Aerospace Medical Association and Space Research (GASMA-SR), Greece
| | - Iliriana Sejdullahu
- Ambiente Italia Società a Responsabilità Limitata, Department of Adaptation and Resilience, 20129, Milan, Italy
| | - Marco Giovanni Persico
- Urban Resilience Department, City of Milan, Italy; Postgraduate School of Health Statistics and Biometrics, Department of Clinical and Community Sciences, University of Milan, Milan, Italy
| | - Davor Kontić
- Department of Environmental Sciences, Jožef Stefan Institute, 1000, Ljubljana, Slovenia; Centre for Participatory Research, Jožef Stefan Institute, 1000, Ljubljana, Slovenia
| | - Dimosthenis Sarigiannis
- Environmental Engineering Laboratory, Department of Chemical Engineering, Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, 54124, Thessaloniki, Greece; HERACLES Research Centre on the Exposome and Health, Center for Interdisciplinary Research and Innovation, 54124, Thessaloniki, Greece; Department of Science, Technology and Society, University School of Advanced Study IUSS, 27100, Pavia, Italy
| | - David Kocman
- Department of Environmental Sciences, Jožef Stefan Institute, 1000, Ljubljana, Slovenia
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Kermenidou M, Frydas IS, Moschoula E, Kousis D, Christofilos D, Karakitsios S, Sarigiannis D. Quantification and characterization of microplastics in the Thermaic Gulf, in the North Aegean Sea. Sci Total Environ 2023:164299. [PMID: 37211124 DOI: 10.1016/j.scitotenv.2023.164299] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/28/2022] [Revised: 04/26/2023] [Accepted: 05/16/2023] [Indexed: 05/23/2023]
Abstract
The abundance and distribution of microplastics has largely increased during last years and the respective implications on the environment and human health is an emerging field in research. In addition, recent studies in the enclosed Mediterranean Sea in Spain and Italy have shown an extended occurrence of microplastics (MPs) in different sediments of environmental samples. This study is focused on the quantification and the characterization of MPs in the Thermaic Gulf in northern Greece. Briefly, samples from different environmental compartments such as seawater, local beaches and seven commercially available fish species collected and analyzed. MPs particles extracted and classified by size, shape, colour and polymer type. A total of 28,523 microplastic particles recorded in the surface water samples, with their numbers ranging from 189 to 7714 particles per sample. The mean concentration of MPs recorded on the surface water was 1.9 ± 2 items/m3 or 750,846 ± 838,029 items/km2. Beach sediment sample analysis revealed 14,790 microplastic particles, of which 1825 were large microplastics (LMPs, 1-5 mm) and 12,965 were small microplastics (SMPs, <1 mm). Furthermore, beach sediment samples showed a mean concentration of 733.6 ± 136.6 items/m2, with the concentration of LMPs being 90.5 ± 12.4 items/m2 and the concentration of SMPs being 643 ± 132 items/m2. Concerning fish deposition, microplastics were detected in intestines and mean concentrations per species ranged from 1.3 ± 0.6 to 15.0 ± 1.5 items/individual. The differences in microplastic concentrations between species were statistically significant (p < 0.05) and showed that mesopelagic fish contained the highest concentrations, followed by epipelagic species. The most common size fraction found in the data-set was 1.0-2.5 mm, and polyethylene and polypropylene were the most abundant polymer types recorded. This is the first detailed investigation of MPs in Thermaic Gulf, which raises concerns on their potential negative effects.
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Affiliation(s)
- M Kermenidou
- Environmental Engineering Laboratory, Department of Chemical Engineering, Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, Thessaloniki 54124, Greece; HERACLES Research Centre on the Exposome and Health, Center for Interdisciplinary Research and Innovation, Thessaloniki 54124, Greece
| | - I S Frydas
- Environmental Engineering Laboratory, Department of Chemical Engineering, Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, Thessaloniki 54124, Greece; HERACLES Research Centre on the Exposome and Health, Center for Interdisciplinary Research and Innovation, Thessaloniki 54124, Greece
| | - E Moschoula
- Environmental Engineering Laboratory, Department of Chemical Engineering, Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, Thessaloniki 54124, Greece
| | - D Kousis
- Environmental Engineering Laboratory, Department of Chemical Engineering, Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, Thessaloniki 54124, Greece
| | - D Christofilos
- School of Chemical Engineering & Physics Laboratory, Faculty of Engineering, Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, Thessaloniki 54124, Greece
| | - S Karakitsios
- Environmental Engineering Laboratory, Department of Chemical Engineering, Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, Thessaloniki 54124, Greece; HERACLES Research Centre on the Exposome and Health, Center for Interdisciplinary Research and Innovation, Thessaloniki 54124, Greece
| | - D Sarigiannis
- Environmental Engineering Laboratory, Department of Chemical Engineering, Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, Thessaloniki 54124, Greece; HERACLES Research Centre on the Exposome and Health, Center for Interdisciplinary Research and Innovation, Thessaloniki 54124, Greece; School for Advanced Study (IUSS), Science, Technology and Society Department, Environmental Health Engineering, Piazza della Vittoria 15, Pavia 27100, Italy.
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Bajard L, Adamovsky O, Audouze K, Baken K, Barouki R, Beltman JB, Beronius A, Bonefeld-Jørgensen EC, Cano-Sancho G, de Baat ML, Di Tillio F, Fernández MF, FitzGerald RE, Gundacker C, Hernández AF, Hilscherova K, Karakitsios S, Kuchovska E, Long M, Luijten M, Majid S, Marx-Stoelting P, Mustieles V, Negi CK, Sarigiannis D, Scholz S, Sovadinova I, Stierum R, Tanabe S, Tollefsen KE, van den Brand AD, Vogs C, Wielsøe M, Wittwehr C, Blaha L. Application of AOPs to assist regulatory assessment of chemical risks - Case studies, needs and recommendations. Environ Res 2023; 217:114650. [PMID: 36309218 PMCID: PMC9850416 DOI: 10.1016/j.envres.2022.114650] [Citation(s) in RCA: 11] [Impact Index Per Article: 11.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/02/2022] [Revised: 10/18/2022] [Accepted: 10/21/2022] [Indexed: 05/06/2023]
Abstract
While human regulatory risk assessment (RA) still largely relies on animal studies, new approach methodologies (NAMs) based on in vitro, in silico or non-mammalian alternative models are increasingly used to evaluate chemical hazards. Moreover, human epidemiological studies with biomarkers of effect (BoE) also play an invaluable role in identifying health effects associated with chemical exposures. To move towards the next generation risk assessment (NGRA), it is therefore crucial to establish bridges between NAMs and standard approaches, and to establish processes for increasing mechanistically-based biological plausibility in human studies. The Adverse Outcome Pathway (AOP) framework constitutes an important tool to address these needs but, despite a significant increase in knowledge and awareness, the use of AOPs in chemical RA remains limited. The objective of this paper is to address issues related to using AOPs in a regulatory context from various perspectives as it was discussed in a workshop organized within the European Union partnerships HBM4EU and PARC in spring 2022. The paper presents examples where the AOP framework has been proven useful for the human RA process, particularly in hazard prioritization and characterization, in integrated approaches to testing and assessment (IATA), and in the identification and validation of BoE in epidemiological studies. Nevertheless, several limitations were identified that hinder the optimal usability and acceptance of AOPs by the regulatory community including the lack of quantitative information on response-response relationships and of efficient ways to map chemical data (exposure and toxicity) onto AOPs. The paper summarizes suggestions, ongoing initiatives and third-party tools that may help to overcome these obstacles and thus assure better implementation of AOPs in the NGRA.
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Affiliation(s)
- Lola Bajard
- RECETOX, Faculty of Science, Masaryk University, Kotlarska 2, 611 37 Brno, Czech Republic
| | - Ondrej Adamovsky
- RECETOX, Faculty of Science, Masaryk University, Kotlarska 2, 611 37 Brno, Czech Republic
| | - Karine Audouze
- Université Paris Cité, T3S, Inserm UMR S-1124, F-75006 Paris, France
| | - Kirsten Baken
- Unit Health, Flemish Institute for Technological Research (VITO NV), Boeretang 200, 2400 Mol, Belgium
| | - Robert Barouki
- Université Paris Cité, T3S, Inserm UMR S-1124, F-75006 Paris, France
| | - Joost B Beltman
- Division of Drug Discovery and Safety, Leiden Academic Centre for Drug Research, Leiden University, Leiden, Netherlands
| | - Anna Beronius
- Institute of Environmental Medicine, Karolinska Institutet, Nobels väg 13, Solna, Sweden
| | - Eva Cecilie Bonefeld-Jørgensen
- Centre for Arctic Health & Molecular Epidemiology, Department of Public Health, Aarhus University, Bartholins Allé 2, 8000 Aarhus, Denmark; Greenland Centre for Health Research, University of Greenland, Manutooq 1, 3905 Nuussuaq, Greenland
| | | | - Milo L de Baat
- KWR Water Research Institute, Groningenhaven 7, 3433 PE Nieuwegein, the Netherlands
| | - Filippo Di Tillio
- Division of Drug Discovery and Safety, Leiden Academic Centre for Drug Research, Leiden University, Leiden, Netherlands
| | - Mariana F Fernández
- Center for Biomedical Research (CIBM) & School of Medicine, University of Granada, 18016 Granada, Spain; Instituto de Investigación Biosanitaria (ibs. GRANADA), 18012, Granada, Spain; Consortium for Biomedical Research in Epidemiology and Public Health (CIBERESP), 28029 Madrid, Spain
| | - Rex E FitzGerald
- Swiss Centre for Applied Human Toxicology SCAHT, University of Basel, Missionsstrasse 64, CH-4055 Basel, Switzerland
| | - Claudia Gundacker
- Institute of Medical Genetics, Center for Pathobiochemistry and Genetics, Medical University of Vienna, 1090 Vienna, Austria
| | - Antonio F Hernández
- Instituto de Investigación Biosanitaria (ibs. GRANADA), 18012, Granada, Spain; Department of Legal Medicine and Toxicology, University of Granada School of Medicine, Avda. de la Investigación, 11, 18016, Granada, Spain; Consortium for Biomedical Research in Epidemiology & Public Health, CIBERESP, Madrid, Spain
| | - Klara Hilscherova
- RECETOX, Faculty of Science, Masaryk University, Kotlarska 2, 611 37 Brno, Czech Republic
| | - Spyros Karakitsios
- Environmental Engineering Laboratory, Department of Chemical Engineering, Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, Thessaloniki, Greece; HERACLES Research Centre on the Exposome and Health, Center for Interdisciplinary Research and Innovation, Thessaloniki, Greece
| | - Eliska Kuchovska
- IUF-Leibniz Research Institute for Environmental Medicine, Auf'm Hennekamp 50, 40225, Duesseldorf, Germany
| | - Manhai Long
- Centre for Arctic Health & Molecular Epidemiology, Department of Public Health, Aarhus University, Bartholins Allé 2, 8000 Aarhus, Denmark
| | - Mirjam Luijten
- National Institute for Public Health and the Environment (RIVM), Centre for Health Protection, Bilthoven, the Netherlands
| | - Sanah Majid
- KWR Water Research Institute, Groningenhaven 7, 3433 PE Nieuwegein, the Netherlands
| | - Philip Marx-Stoelting
- German Federal Institute for Risk Assessment, Dept. Pesticides Safety, Berlin, Germany
| | - Vicente Mustieles
- Center for Biomedical Research (CIBM) & School of Medicine, University of Granada, 18016 Granada, Spain; Instituto de Investigación Biosanitaria (ibs. GRANADA), 18012, Granada, Spain; Consortium for Biomedical Research in Epidemiology and Public Health (CIBERESP), 28029 Madrid, Spain
| | - Chander K Negi
- RECETOX, Faculty of Science, Masaryk University, Kotlarska 2, 611 37 Brno, Czech Republic
| | - Dimosthenis Sarigiannis
- Environmental Engineering Laboratory, Department of Chemical Engineering, Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, Thessaloniki, Greece; HERACLES Research Centre on the Exposome and Health, Center for Interdisciplinary Research and Innovation, Thessaloniki, Greece
| | - Stefan Scholz
- UFZ Helmholtz Center for Environmental Research, Dept Bioanalyt Ecotoxicol, D-04318 Leipzig, Germany
| | - Iva Sovadinova
- RECETOX, Faculty of Science, Masaryk University, Kotlarska 2, 611 37 Brno, Czech Republic
| | - Rob Stierum
- Netherlands Organisation for Applied Scientific Research, Risk Analysis for Products in Development, Utrecht, the Netherlands
| | - Shihori Tanabe
- Division of Risk Assessment, Center for Biological Safety and Research, National Institute of Health Sciences, Kawasaki, Japan
| | - Knut Erik Tollefsen
- Norwegian Institute for Water Research (NIVA), Section of Ecotoxicology and Risk Assessment, Gaustadalléen, Oslo, Norway; Norwegian University of Life Sciences (NMBU), Faculty of Environmental Sciences and Natural Resource Management (MINA), Norway
| | - Annick D van den Brand
- Institute for Public Health and the Environment (RIVM), Centre for Nutrition, Prevention and Health Services, 3720 BA Bilthoven, the Netherlands
| | - Carolina Vogs
- Institute of Environmental Medicine, Karolinska Institutet, Nobels väg 13, Solna, Sweden; Department of Biomedical Sciences and Veterinary Public Health, Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences, SE-75007 Uppsala, Sweden
| | - Maria Wielsøe
- Centre for Arctic Health & Molecular Epidemiology, Department of Public Health, Aarhus University, Bartholins Allé 2, 8000 Aarhus, Denmark
| | | | - Ludek Blaha
- RECETOX, Faculty of Science, Masaryk University, Kotlarska 2, 611 37 Brno, Czech Republic.
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7
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Richterová D, Govarts E, Fábelová L, Rausová K, Rodriguez Martin L, Gilles L, Remy S, Colles A, Rambaud L, Riou M, Gabriel C, Sarigiannis D, Pedraza-Diaz S, Ramos JJ, Kosjek T, Snoj Tratnik J, Lignell S, Gyllenhammar I, Thomsen C, Haug LS, Kolossa-Gehring M, Vogel N, Franken C, Vanlarebeke N, Bruckers L, Stewart L, Sepai O, Schoeters G, Uhl M, Castaño A, Esteban López M, Göen T, Palkovičová Murínová Ľ. PFAS levels and determinants of variability in exposure in European teenagers - Results from the HBM4EU aligned studies (2014-2021). Int J Hyg Environ Health 2023; 247:114057. [PMID: 36327670 PMCID: PMC9758614 DOI: 10.1016/j.ijheh.2022.114057] [Citation(s) in RCA: 15] [Impact Index Per Article: 15.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/08/2022] [Revised: 09/14/2022] [Accepted: 10/21/2022] [Indexed: 11/05/2022]
Abstract
BACKGROUND Perfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) are man-made fluorinated chemicals, widely used in various types of consumer products, resulting in their omnipresence in human populations. The aim of this study was to describe current PFAS levels in European teenagers and to investigate the determinants of serum/plasma concentrations in this specific age group. METHODS PFAS concentrations were determined in serum or plasma samples from 1957 teenagers (12-18 years) from 9 European countries as part of the HBM4EU aligned studies (2014-2021). Questionnaire data were post-harmonized by each study and quality checked centrally. Only PFAS with an overall quantification frequency of at least 60% (PFOS, PFOA, PFHxS and PFNA) were included in the analyses. Sociodemographic and lifestyle factors were analysed together with food consumption frequencies to identify determinants of PFAS exposure. The variables study, sex and the highest educational level of household were included as fixed factors in the multivariable linear regression models for all PFAS and each dietary variable was added to the fixed model one by one and for each PFAS separately. RESULTS The European exposure values for PFAS were reported as geometric means with 95% confidence intervals (CI): PFOS [2.13 μg/L (1.63-2.78)], PFOA ([0.97 μg/L (0.75-1.26)]), PFNA [0.30 μg/L (0.19-0.45)] and PFHxS [0.41 μg/L (0.33-0.52)]. The estimated geometric mean exposure levels were significantly higher in the North and West versus the South and East of Europe. Boys had significantly higher concentrations of the four PFAS compared to girls and significantly higher PFASs concentrations were found in teenagers from households with a higher education level. Consumption of seafood and fish at least 2 times per week was significantly associated with 21% (95% CI: 12-31%) increase in PFOS concentrations and 20% (95% CI: 10-31%) increase in PFNA concentrations as compared to less frequent consumption of seafood and fish. The same trend was observed for PFOA and PFHxS but not statistically significant. Consumption of eggs at least 2 times per week was associated with 11% (95% CI: 2-22%) and 14% (95% CI: 2-27%) increase in PFOS and PFNA concentrations, respectively, as compared to less frequent consumption of eggs. Significantly higher PFOS concentrations were observed for participants consuming offal (14% (95% CI: 3-26%)), the same trend was observed for the other PFAS but not statistically significant. Local food consumption at least 2 times per week was associated with 40% (95% CI: 19-64%) increase in PFOS levels as compared to those consuming local food less frequently. CONCLUSION This work provides information about current levels of PFAS in European teenagers and potential dietary sources of exposure to PFAS in European teenagers. These results can be of use for targeted monitoring of PFAS in food.
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Affiliation(s)
- D Richterová
- Slovak Medical University in Bratislava, Faculty of Public Health, Department of Environmental Medicine, Bratislava, Slovakia
| | - E Govarts
- VITO Health, Flemish Institute for Technological Research (VITO), Mol, Belgium
| | - L Fábelová
- Slovak Medical University in Bratislava, Faculty of Public Health, Department of Environmental Medicine, Bratislava, Slovakia
| | - K Rausová
- Slovak Medical University in Bratislava, Faculty of Public Health, Department of Environmental Medicine, Bratislava, Slovakia
| | - L Rodriguez Martin
- VITO Health, Flemish Institute for Technological Research (VITO), Mol, Belgium
| | - L Gilles
- VITO Health, Flemish Institute for Technological Research (VITO), Mol, Belgium
| | - S Remy
- VITO Health, Flemish Institute for Technological Research (VITO), Mol, Belgium
| | - A Colles
- VITO Health, Flemish Institute for Technological Research (VITO), Mol, Belgium
| | - L Rambaud
- Department of Environmental and Occupational Health, Santé Publique France, Saint-Maurice, France
| | - M Riou
- Department of Environmental and Occupational Health, Santé Publique France, Saint-Maurice, France
| | - C Gabriel
- Environmental Engineering Laboratory, Department of Chemical Engineering, Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, Thessaloniki, Greece; HERACLES Research Center on the Exposome and Health, Center for Interdisciplinary Research and Innovation, Balkan Center, Greece
| | - D Sarigiannis
- Environmental Engineering Laboratory, Department of Chemical Engineering, Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, Thessaloniki, Greece; HERACLES Research Center on the Exposome and Health, Center for Interdisciplinary Research and Innovation, Balkan Center, Greece; Environmental Health Engineering, Institute of Advanced Study, Pavia, Italy
| | - S Pedraza-Diaz
- National Centre for Environmental Health, Instituto de Salud Carlos III (ISCIII), Madrid, Spain
| | - J J Ramos
- National Centre for Environmental Health, Instituto de Salud Carlos III (ISCIII), Madrid, Spain
| | - T Kosjek
- Jožef Stefan Institute, Department of Environmental Sciences, Ljubljana, Slovenia
| | - J Snoj Tratnik
- Jožef Stefan Institute, Department of Environmental Sciences, Ljubljana, Slovenia
| | - S Lignell
- Swedish Food Agency, Uppsala, Sweden
| | | | - C Thomsen
- Norwegian Institute of Public Health, Oslo, Norway
| | - L S Haug
- Norwegian Institute of Public Health, Oslo, Norway
| | | | - N Vogel
- German Environment Agency (UBA), GerES V-sub, Germany
| | - C Franken
- Provincial Institute for Hygiene, Antwerp, Belgium
| | | | - L Bruckers
- BioStat, Data Science Institute, Hasselt University, Martelarenlaan 42, 3500, Hasselt, Belgium
| | - L Stewart
- Public Health England, Chilton, United Kingdom
| | - O Sepai
- Public Health England, Chilton, United Kingdom
| | - G Schoeters
- VITO Health, Flemish Institute for Technological Research (VITO), Mol, Belgium
| | - M Uhl
- Umweltbundesamt, Vienna, Austria
| | - A Castaño
- National Centre for Environmental Health, Instituto de Salud Carlos III (ISCIII), Madrid, Spain
| | - M Esteban López
- National Centre for Environmental Health, Instituto de Salud Carlos III (ISCIII), Madrid, Spain
| | - T Göen
- Institute and Outpatient Clinic of Occupational, Social and Environmental Medicine, Friedrich-Alexander-Universität Erlangen-Nürnberg, Erlangen, Germany
| | - Ľ Palkovičová Murínová
- Slovak Medical University in Bratislava, Faculty of Public Health, Department of Environmental Medicine, Bratislava, Slovakia.
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8
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Bil W, Govarts E, Zeilmaker MJ, Woutersen M, Bessems J, Ma Y, Thomsen C, Haug LS, Lignell S, Gyllenhammar I, Palkovicova Murinova L, Fabelova L, Tratnik JS, Kosjek T, Gabriel C, Sarigiannis D, Pedraza-Diaz S, Esteban-López M, Castaño A, Rambaud L, Riou M, Franken C, Colles A, Vogel N, Kolossa-Gehring M, Halldorsson TI, Uhl M, Schoeters G, Santonen T, Vinggaard AM. Approaches to mixture risk assessment of PFASs in the European population based on human hazard and biomonitoring data. Int J Hyg Environ Health 2023; 247:114071. [PMID: 36446273 DOI: 10.1016/j.ijheh.2022.114071] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/26/2022] [Revised: 09/25/2022] [Accepted: 11/05/2022] [Indexed: 11/27/2022]
Abstract
Per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFASs) are a highly persistent, mobile, and bioaccumulative class of chemicals, of which emissions into the environment result in long-lasting contamination with high probability for causing adverse effects to human health and the environment. Within the European Biomonitoring Initiative HBM4EU, samples and data were collected in a harmonized way from human biomonitoring (HBM) studies in Europe to derive current exposure data across a geographic spread. We performed mixture risk assessments based on recent internal exposure data of PFASs in European teenagers generated in the HBM4EU Aligned Studies (dataset with N = 1957, sampling years 2014-2021). Mixture risk assessments were performed based on three hazard-based approaches: the Hazard Index (HI) approach, the sum value approach as used by the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) and the Relative Potency Factor (RPF) approach. The HI approach resulted in the highest risk estimates, followed by the RPF approach and the sum value approach. The assessments indicate that PFAS exposure may result in a health risk in a considerable fraction of individuals in the HBM4EU teenager study sample, thereby confirming the conclusion drawn in the recent EFSA scientific opinion. This study underlines that HBM data are of added value in assessing the health risks of aggregate and cumulative exposure to PFASs, as such data are able to reflect exposure from different sources and via different routes.
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Affiliation(s)
- W Bil
- National Institute for Public Health and the Environment (RIVM), Bilthoven, the Netherlands.
| | - E Govarts
- VITO Health, Flemish Institute for Technological Research (VITO), Mol, Belgium
| | - M J Zeilmaker
- National Institute for Public Health and the Environment (RIVM), Bilthoven, the Netherlands
| | - M Woutersen
- National Institute for Public Health and the Environment (RIVM), Bilthoven, the Netherlands
| | - J Bessems
- VITO Health, Flemish Institute for Technological Research (VITO), Mol, Belgium
| | - Y Ma
- National Food Institute, Technical University of Denmark (DTU), Lyngby, Denmark
| | - C Thomsen
- Norwegian Institute of Public Health (NIPH), Oslo, Norway
| | - L S Haug
- Norwegian Institute of Public Health (NIPH), Oslo, Norway
| | - S Lignell
- Swedish Food Agency, Uppsala, Sweden
| | | | | | - L Fabelova
- Faculty of Public Health, Slovak Medical University (SZU), Bratislava, Slovakia
| | | | - T Kosjek
- Jožef Stefan Institute (IJS), Ljubljana, Slovenia
| | - C Gabriel
- Environmental Engineering Laboratory, Department of Chemical Engineering, Aristotle University of Thessaloniki (AUTH), Thessaloniki, Greece; HERACLES Research Center on the Exposome and Health, Center for Interdisciplinary Research and Innovation, Balkan Center, Thessaloniki, Greece
| | - D Sarigiannis
- Environmental Engineering Laboratory, Department of Chemical Engineering, Aristotle University of Thessaloniki (AUTH), Thessaloniki, Greece; HERACLES Research Center on the Exposome and Health, Center for Interdisciplinary Research and Innovation, Balkan Center, Thessaloniki, Greece; Environmental Health Engineering, Institute of Advanced Study, Pavia, Italy
| | - S Pedraza-Diaz
- National Centre for Environmental Health, Instituto de Salud Carlos III (ISCIII), Madrid, Spain
| | - M Esteban-López
- National Centre for Environmental Health, Instituto de Salud Carlos III (ISCIII), Madrid, Spain
| | - A Castaño
- National Centre for Environmental Health, Instituto de Salud Carlos III (ISCIII), Madrid, Spain
| | - L Rambaud
- Santé Publique France, Saint-Maurice, France
| | - M Riou
- Santé Publique France, Saint-Maurice, France
| | - C Franken
- Provincial Institute for Hygiene, Antwerp, Belgium
| | - A Colles
- VITO Health, Flemish Institute for Technological Research (VITO), Mol, Belgium
| | - N Vogel
- German Environment Agency (UBA), Berlin, Germany
| | | | - T I Halldorsson
- Faculty of Food Science and Nutrition, University of Iceland (UI), Reykjavik, Iceland
| | - M Uhl
- Environment Agency Austria (EAA), Vienna, Austria
| | - G Schoeters
- VITO Health, Flemish Institute for Technological Research (VITO), Mol, Belgium
| | - T Santonen
- Finnish Institute of Occupational Health (FIOH), Työterveyslaitos, Finland
| | - A M Vinggaard
- National Food Institute, Technical University of Denmark (DTU), Lyngby, Denmark
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9
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Marx-Stoelting P, Rivière G, Luijten M, Aiello-Holden K, Bandow N, Baken K, Cañas A, Castano A, Denys S, Fillol C, Herzler M, Iavicoli I, Karakitsios S, Klanova J, Kolossa-Gehring M, Koutsodimou A, Vicente JL, Lynch I, Namorado S, Norager S, Pittman A, Rotter S, Sarigiannis D, Silva MJ, Theunis J, Tralau T, Uhl M, van Klaveren J, Wendt-Rasch L, Westerholm E, Rousselle C, Sanders P. A walk in the PARC: developing and implementing 21st century chemical risk assessment in Europe. Arch Toxicol 2023; 97:893-908. [PMID: 36645448 PMCID: PMC9968685 DOI: 10.1007/s00204-022-03435-7] [Citation(s) in RCA: 20] [Impact Index Per Article: 20.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/08/2022] [Accepted: 12/14/2022] [Indexed: 01/17/2023]
Abstract
Current approaches for the assessment of environmental and human health risks due to exposure to chemical substances have served their purpose reasonably well. Nevertheless, the systems in place for different uses of chemicals are faced with various challenges, ranging from a growing number of chemicals to changes in the types of chemicals and materials produced. This has triggered global awareness of the need for a paradigm shift, which in turn has led to the publication of new concepts for chemical risk assessment and explorations of how to translate these concepts into pragmatic approaches. As a result, next-generation risk assessment (NGRA) is generally seen as the way forward. However, incorporating new scientific insights and innovative approaches into hazard and exposure assessments in such a way that regulatory needs are adequately met has appeared to be challenging. The European Partnership for the Assessment of Risks from Chemicals (PARC) has been designed to address various challenges associated with innovating chemical risk assessment. Its overall goal is to consolidate and strengthen the European research and innovation capacity for chemical risk assessment to protect human health and the environment. With around 200 participating organisations from all over Europe, including three European agencies, and a total budget of over 400 million euro, PARC is one of the largest projects of its kind. It has a duration of seven years and is coordinated by ANSES, the French Agency for Food, Environmental and Occupational Health & Safety.
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Affiliation(s)
- P. Marx-Stoelting
- grid.417830.90000 0000 8852 3623German Federal Institute for Risk Assessment (BfR), Max-Dohrn-Str. 8-10, 10589 Berlin, Germany
| | - G. Rivière
- grid.15540.350000 0001 0584 7022French Agency for Food, Environmental and Occupational Health and Safety (ANSES), 94701 Maisons-Alfort, France
| | - M. Luijten
- National Institute for Health and Environment (RIVM), Bilthoven, The Netherlands
| | - K. Aiello-Holden
- grid.417830.90000 0000 8852 3623German Federal Institute for Risk Assessment (BfR), Max-Dohrn-Str. 8-10, 10589 Berlin, Germany
| | - N. Bandow
- grid.425100.20000 0004 0554 9748German Environment Agency (UBA), Wörlitzer Platz 1, 06844 Dessau, Germany
| | - K. Baken
- grid.6717.70000000120341548VITO (Flemish Institute for Technological Research), Boeretang 200, 2400 Mol, Belgium
| | - A. Cañas
- grid.413448.e0000 0000 9314 1427National Centre for Environmental Health, Instituto de Salud Carlos III (ISCIII), Madrid, Spain
| | - A. Castano
- grid.413448.e0000 0000 9314 1427National Centre for Environmental Health, Instituto de Salud Carlos III (ISCIII), Madrid, Spain
| | - S. Denys
- grid.493975.50000 0004 5948 8741Santé Publique France (SpFrance), 12, Rue du Val D’Osne, 94415 St. Maurice, France
| | - C. Fillol
- grid.493975.50000 0004 5948 8741Santé Publique France (SpFrance), 12, Rue du Val D’Osne, 94415 St. Maurice, France
| | - M. Herzler
- grid.417830.90000 0000 8852 3623German Federal Institute for Risk Assessment (BfR), Max-Dohrn-Str. 8-10, 10589 Berlin, Germany
| | - I. Iavicoli
- grid.4691.a0000 0001 0790 385XDepartment of Public Health, University of Naples Federico II (UNINA), Naples, Italy
| | - S. Karakitsios
- grid.4793.90000000109457005Aristoteles University Thessaloniki (AUTH), Thessaloniki, Greece
| | - J. Klanova
- Masaryk Uinversity, Recetox, Kotlarska 2, 61137 Brno, Czechia
| | - M. Kolossa-Gehring
- grid.425100.20000 0004 0554 9748German Environment Agency (UBA), Wörlitzer Platz 1, 06844 Dessau, Germany
| | - A. Koutsodimou
- General Chemical State Laboratory of Greece, Athens, Greece
| | - J. Lobo Vicente
- grid.453985.60000 0004 0619 3405European Environment Agency, Kongens Nytorv 6, 1050 Copenhagen K, Denmark
| | - I. Lynch
- grid.6572.60000 0004 1936 7486School of Geography, Earth and Environmental Sciences, University of Birmingham (UoB), Edgbaston, Birmingham, B15 2TT UK
| | - S. Namorado
- grid.422270.10000 0001 2287 695XNational Institute of Health Dr. Ricardo Jorge (INSA), Avenida Padre Cruz, 1649-016 Lisbon, Portugal
| | - S. Norager
- grid.270680.bEuropean Commission, DG Research and Innovation, Orban 09/199, 1049 Brussels, Belgium
| | - A. Pittman
- grid.15540.350000 0001 0584 7022French Agency for Food, Environmental and Occupational Health and Safety (ANSES), 94701 Maisons-Alfort, France
| | - S. Rotter
- grid.417830.90000 0000 8852 3623German Federal Institute for Risk Assessment (BfR), Max-Dohrn-Str. 8-10, 10589 Berlin, Germany
| | - D. Sarigiannis
- grid.4793.90000000109457005Aristoteles University Thessaloniki (AUTH), Thessaloniki, Greece
| | - M. J. Silva
- grid.422270.10000 0001 2287 695XNational Institute of Health Dr. Ricardo Jorge (INSA), Avenida Padre Cruz, 1649-016 Lisbon, Portugal
| | - J. Theunis
- grid.6717.70000000120341548VITO (Flemish Institute for Technological Research), Boeretang 200, 2400 Mol, Belgium
| | - T. Tralau
- grid.417830.90000 0000 8852 3623German Federal Institute for Risk Assessment (BfR), Max-Dohrn-Str. 8-10, 10589 Berlin, Germany
| | - M. Uhl
- Austrian Federal Environments Agency, Vienna, Austria
| | - J. van Klaveren
- National Institute for Health and Environment (RIVM), Bilthoven, The Netherlands
| | - L. Wendt-Rasch
- grid.437386.d0000 0001 1523 2072Swedish Chemicals Agency (KemI), Vasagatan 12D, 172 67 Sundbyberg, Sweden
| | - E. Westerholm
- grid.437386.d0000 0001 1523 2072Swedish Chemicals Agency (KemI), Vasagatan 12D, 172 67 Sundbyberg, Sweden
| | - C. Rousselle
- grid.15540.350000 0001 0584 7022French Agency for Food, Environmental and Occupational Health and Safety (ANSES), 94701 Maisons-Alfort, France
| | - P. Sanders
- grid.15540.350000 0001 0584 7022French Agency for Food, Environmental and Occupational Health and Safety (ANSES), 94701 Maisons-Alfort, France
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10
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Novak R, Robinson JA, Kanduč T, Sarigiannis D, Kocman D. Assessment of Individual-Level Exposure to Airborne Particulate Matter during Periods of Atmospheric Thermal Inversion. Sensors (Basel) 2022; 22:7116. [PMID: 36236214 PMCID: PMC9573455 DOI: 10.3390/s22197116] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/12/2022] [Revised: 09/05/2022] [Accepted: 09/15/2022] [Indexed: 06/16/2023]
Abstract
Air pollution exposure is harmful to human health and reducing it at the level of an individual requires measurements and assessments that capture the spatiotemporal variability of different microenvironments and the influence of specific activities. In this paper, activity-specific and general indoor and outdoor exposure during and after a period of high concentrations of particulate matter (PM), e.g., an atmospheric thermal inversion (ATI) in the Ljubljana subalpine basin, Slovenia, was assessed. To this end, personal particulate matter monitors (PPM) were used, worn by participants of the H2020 ICARUS sampling campaigns in spring 2019 who also recorded their hourly activities. ATI period(s) were determined based on data collected from two meteorological stations managed by the Slovenian Environmental Agency (SEA). Results showed that indoor and outdoor exposure to PM was significantly higher during the ATI period, and that the difference between mean indoor and outdoor exposure to PM was much higher during the ATI period (23.0 µg/m3) than after (6.5 µg/m3). Indoor activities generally were associated with smaller differences, with cooking and cleaning even having higher values in the post-ATI period. On the other hand, all outdoor activities had higher PM values during the ATI than after, with larger differences, mostly >30.0 µg/m3. Overall, this work demonstrated that an individual-level approach can provide better spatiotemporal resolution and evaluate the relative importance of specific high-exposure events, and in this way provide an ancillary tool for exposure assessments.
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Affiliation(s)
- Rok Novak
- Department of Environmental Sciences, Jožef Stefan Institute, 1000 Ljubljana, Slovenia
- Jožef Stefan International Postgraduate School, 1000 Ljubljana, Slovenia
| | - Johanna Amalia Robinson
- Department of Environmental Sciences, Jožef Stefan Institute, 1000 Ljubljana, Slovenia
- Jožef Stefan International Postgraduate School, 1000 Ljubljana, Slovenia
- Center for Research and Development, Slovenian Institute for Adult Education, Ulica Ambrožiča Novljana 5, 1000 Ljubljana, Slovenia
| | - Tjaša Kanduč
- Department of Environmental Sciences, Jožef Stefan Institute, 1000 Ljubljana, Slovenia
| | - Dimosthenis Sarigiannis
- Environmental Engineering Laboratory, Department of Chemical Engineering, Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, 54124 Thessaloniki, Greece
- HERACLES Research Centre on the Exposome and Health, Center for Interdisciplinary Research and Innovation, 54124 Thessaloniki, Greece
- Department of Science, Technology and Society, University School of Advanced Study IUSS, 27100 Pavia, Italy
| | - David Kocman
- Department of Environmental Sciences, Jožef Stefan Institute, 1000 Ljubljana, Slovenia
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11
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Lange R, Vogel N, Schmidt P, Gerofke A, Luijten M, Bil W, Santonen T, Schoeters G, Gilles L, Sakhi AK, Haug LS, Jensen TK, Frederiksen H, Koch HM, Szigeti T, Szabados M, Tratnik JS, Mazej D, Gabriel C, Sarigiannis D, Dzhedzheia V, Karakitsios S, Rambaud L, Riou M, Koppen G, Covaci A, Zvonař M, Piler P, Klánová J, Fábelová L, Richterová D, Kosjek T, Runkel A, Pedraza-Díaz S, Verheyen V, Bastiaensen M, Esteban-López M, Castaño A, Kolossa-Gehring M. Cumulative risk assessment of five phthalates in European children and adolescents. Int J Hyg Environ Health 2022; 246:114052. [DOI: 10.1016/j.ijheh.2022.114052] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/07/2022] [Revised: 10/06/2022] [Accepted: 10/06/2022] [Indexed: 11/06/2022]
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12
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Papaioannou N, Papageorgiou T, Gabriel C, Le Mentec H, Lagadic-Gossmann D, Karakitsios S, Podechard N, Sarigiannis D. P20-14 Metabolomic and lipidomic profiling of zebrafish (danio rerio) embryos exposed to amiodarone and DEHP. Toxicol Lett 2022. [DOI: 10.1016/j.toxlet.2022.07.680] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 10/14/2022]
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13
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Novak R, Petridis I, Kocman D, Robinson JA, Kanduč T, Chapizanis D, Karakitsios S, Flückiger B, Vienneau D, Mikeš O, Degrendele C, Sáňka O, García Dos Santos-Alves S, Maggos T, Pardali D, Stamatelopoulou A, Saraga D, Persico MG, Visave J, Gotti A, Sarigiannis D. Harmonization and Visualization of Data from a Transnational Multi-Sensor Personal Exposure Campaign. Int J Environ Res Public Health 2021; 18:11614. [PMID: 34770131 PMCID: PMC8583633 DOI: 10.3390/ijerph182111614] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/28/2021] [Revised: 10/26/2021] [Accepted: 11/01/2021] [Indexed: 11/17/2022]
Abstract
Use of a multi-sensor approach can provide citizens with holistic insights into the air quality of their immediate surroundings and their personal exposure to urban stressors. Our work, as part of the ICARUS H2020 project, which included over 600 participants from seven European cities, discusses the data fusion and harmonization of a diverse set of multi-sensor data streams to provide a comprehensive and understandable report for participants. Harmonizing the data streams identified issues with the sensor devices and protocols, such as non-uniform timestamps, data gaps, difficult data retrieval from commercial devices, and coarse activity data logging. Our process of data fusion and harmonization allowed us to automate visualizations and reports, and consequently provide each participant with a detailed individualized report. Results showed that a key solution was to streamline the code and speed up the process, which necessitated certain compromises in visualizing the data. A thought-out process of data fusion and harmonization of a diverse set of multi-sensor data streams considerably improved the quality and quantity of distilled data that a research participant received. Though automation considerably accelerated the production of the reports, manual and structured double checks are strongly recommended.
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Affiliation(s)
- Rok Novak
- Department of Environmental Sciences, Jožef Stefan Institute, 1000 Ljubljana, Slovenia; (D.K.); (J.A.R.); (T.K.)
- Jožef Stefan International Postgraduate School, 1000 Ljubljana, Slovenia
| | - Ioannis Petridis
- Environmental Engineering Laboratory, Department of Chemical Engineering, Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, 54124 Thessaloniki, Greece; (I.P.); (D.C.); (S.K.); (D.S.)
| | - David Kocman
- Department of Environmental Sciences, Jožef Stefan Institute, 1000 Ljubljana, Slovenia; (D.K.); (J.A.R.); (T.K.)
| | - Johanna Amalia Robinson
- Department of Environmental Sciences, Jožef Stefan Institute, 1000 Ljubljana, Slovenia; (D.K.); (J.A.R.); (T.K.)
- Jožef Stefan International Postgraduate School, 1000 Ljubljana, Slovenia
| | - Tjaša Kanduč
- Department of Environmental Sciences, Jožef Stefan Institute, 1000 Ljubljana, Slovenia; (D.K.); (J.A.R.); (T.K.)
| | - Dimitris Chapizanis
- Environmental Engineering Laboratory, Department of Chemical Engineering, Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, 54124 Thessaloniki, Greece; (I.P.); (D.C.); (S.K.); (D.S.)
| | - Spyros Karakitsios
- Environmental Engineering Laboratory, Department of Chemical Engineering, Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, 54124 Thessaloniki, Greece; (I.P.); (D.C.); (S.K.); (D.S.)
- HERACLES Research Centre on the Exposome and Health, Center for Interdisciplinary Research and Innovation, 54124 Thessaloniki, Greece
| | - Benjamin Flückiger
- Department of Epidemiology and Public Health, Swiss Tropical and Public Health Institute, CH-4051 Basel, Switzerland; (B.F.); (D.V.)
- University of Basel, CH-4001 Basel, Switzerland
| | - Danielle Vienneau
- Department of Epidemiology and Public Health, Swiss Tropical and Public Health Institute, CH-4051 Basel, Switzerland; (B.F.); (D.V.)
- University of Basel, CH-4001 Basel, Switzerland
| | - Ondřej Mikeš
- RECETOX, Faculty of Science, Masaryk University, 62500 Brno, Czech Republic; (O.M.); (C.D.); (O.S.)
| | - Céline Degrendele
- RECETOX, Faculty of Science, Masaryk University, 62500 Brno, Czech Republic; (O.M.); (C.D.); (O.S.)
- LCE, CNRS, Aix-Marseille University, 13003 Marseille, France
| | - Ondřej Sáňka
- RECETOX, Faculty of Science, Masaryk University, 62500 Brno, Czech Republic; (O.M.); (C.D.); (O.S.)
| | - Saul García Dos Santos-Alves
- Department of Atmospheric Pollution, National Environmental Health Centre, Institute of Health Carlos III, 28220 Madrid, Spain;
| | - Thomas Maggos
- Atmospheric Chemistry and Innovative Technologies Laboratory, INRASTES, NCSR “Demokritos”, Aghia Paraskevi, 15310 Athens, Greece; (T.M.); (D.P.); (A.S.); (D.S.)
| | - Demetra Pardali
- Atmospheric Chemistry and Innovative Technologies Laboratory, INRASTES, NCSR “Demokritos”, Aghia Paraskevi, 15310 Athens, Greece; (T.M.); (D.P.); (A.S.); (D.S.)
| | - Asimina Stamatelopoulou
- Atmospheric Chemistry and Innovative Technologies Laboratory, INRASTES, NCSR “Demokritos”, Aghia Paraskevi, 15310 Athens, Greece; (T.M.); (D.P.); (A.S.); (D.S.)
| | - Dikaia Saraga
- Atmospheric Chemistry and Innovative Technologies Laboratory, INRASTES, NCSR “Demokritos”, Aghia Paraskevi, 15310 Athens, Greece; (T.M.); (D.P.); (A.S.); (D.S.)
| | - Marco Giovanni Persico
- Department of Science, Technology and Society, University School of Advanced Study IUSS, 27100 Pavia, Italy; (M.G.P.); (J.V.)
- Eucentre Foundation, Via A. Ferrata, 1, 27100 Pavia, Italy;
| | - Jaideep Visave
- Department of Science, Technology and Society, University School of Advanced Study IUSS, 27100 Pavia, Italy; (M.G.P.); (J.V.)
- Eucentre Foundation, Via A. Ferrata, 1, 27100 Pavia, Italy;
| | - Alberto Gotti
- Eucentre Foundation, Via A. Ferrata, 1, 27100 Pavia, Italy;
| | - Dimosthenis Sarigiannis
- Environmental Engineering Laboratory, Department of Chemical Engineering, Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, 54124 Thessaloniki, Greece; (I.P.); (D.C.); (S.K.); (D.S.)
- HERACLES Research Centre on the Exposome and Health, Center for Interdisciplinary Research and Innovation, 54124 Thessaloniki, Greece
- Department of Science, Technology and Society, University School of Advanced Study IUSS, 27100 Pavia, Italy; (M.G.P.); (J.V.)
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Karakitsios S, Petridis I, Kokaraki V, Sarigiannis D. Toxicokinetic interactions of industrial chemical mixtures as internal exposure modifiers. Toxicol Lett 2021. [DOI: 10.1016/s0378-4274(21)00798-0] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/24/2022]
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15
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Kermenidou M, Balcells L, Martinez-Boubeta C, Chatziavramidis A, Konstantinidis I, Samaras T, Sarigiannis D, Simeonidis K. Magnetic nanoparticles: An indicator of health risks related to anthropogenic airborne particulate matter. Environ Pollut 2021; 271:116309. [PMID: 33387781 DOI: 10.1016/j.envpol.2020.116309] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/26/2020] [Revised: 12/01/2020] [Accepted: 12/12/2020] [Indexed: 06/12/2023]
Abstract
Due to their small dimensions, airborne particles are able to penetrate through inhalation into many human organs, from the lungs to the cardiovascular system and the brain, which can threaten our health. This work establishes a novel approach of collecting quantitative data regarding the fraction, the composition and the size distribution of combustion-emitted particulate matter through the magnetic characterization and analysis of samples received by common air pollution monitoring. To this end, SQUID magnetometry measurements were carried out for samples from urban and suburban areas in Thessaloniki, the second largest city of Greece, taking into consideration the seasonal and weekly variation of airborne particles levels as determined by occurring traffic and meteorological conditions. The level of estimated magnetically-responding atmospheric particulate matter was at least 0.5 % wt. of the collected samples, mostly being present in the form of ultrafine particles with nuclei sizes of approximately 14 nm and their aggregates. The estimated quantities of magnetic particulate matter show maximum values during autumn months (0.8 % wt.) when increased commuting takes place, appearing higher in the city center by up to 50% than those in suburban areas. In combination with high-resolution transmission electron imaging and elemental analysis, it was found that Fe3O4 and similar ferrites, some of them attached to heavy metals (Co, Cr), are the dominant magnetic contributors arising from anthropogenic high-temperature processes, e.g. due to traffic emissions. Importantly, nasal cytologic samples collected from residents of both central and suburban areas showed same pattern in what concerns magnetic behavior, thus verifying the critical role of nanosized magnetic particles in the assessment of air pollution threats. Despite the inherent statistical limitations of our study, such findings also indicate the potential transmission of infectious pathogens by means of pollution-derived nanoparticles into the respiratory system of the human body.
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Affiliation(s)
- M Kermenidou
- Department of Chemical Engineering, Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, 54124 Thessaloniki, Greece
| | - Ll Balcells
- Institut de Ciència de Materials de Barcelona, CSIC, 08193 Bellaterra, Spain
| | - C Martinez-Boubeta
- Ecoresources P.C., Giannitson-Santaroza Str. 15-17, 54627 Thessaloniki, Greece
| | - A Chatziavramidis
- 2nd Academic Otorhinolaryngology Department, General Hospital Papageorgiou, Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, 56403 Thessaloniki, Greece
| | - I Konstantinidis
- 2nd Academic Otorhinolaryngology Department, General Hospital Papageorgiou, Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, 56403 Thessaloniki, Greece
| | - T Samaras
- Department of Physics, Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, 54124 Thessaloniki, Greece
| | - D Sarigiannis
- Department of Chemical Engineering, Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, 54124 Thessaloniki, Greece
| | - K Simeonidis
- Ecoresources P.C., Giannitson-Santaroza Str. 15-17, 54627 Thessaloniki, Greece; Department of Physics, Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, 54124 Thessaloniki, Greece.
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16
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Saraga D, Maggos T, Degrendele C, Klánová J, Horvat M, Kocman D, Kanduč T, Garcia Dos Santos S, Franco R, Gómez PM, Manousakas M, Bairachtari K, Eleftheriadis K, Kermenidou M, Karakitsios S, Gotti A, Sarigiannis D. Multi-city comparative PM 2.5 source apportionment for fifteen sites in Europe: The ICARUS project. Sci Total Environ 2021; 751:141855. [PMID: 32889477 DOI: 10.1016/j.scitotenv.2020.141855] [Citation(s) in RCA: 17] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/25/2020] [Revised: 08/01/2020] [Accepted: 08/19/2020] [Indexed: 06/11/2023]
Abstract
PM2.5 is an air pollution metric widely used to assess air quality, with the European Union having set targets for reduction in PM2.5 levels and population exposure. A major challenge for the scientific community is to identify, quantify and characterize the sources of atmospheric particles in the aspect of proposing effective control strategies. In the frame of ICARUS EU2020 project, a comprehensive database including PM2.5 concentration and chemical composition (ions, metals, organic/elemental carbon, Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbons) from three sites (traffic, urban background, rural) of five European cities (Athens, Brno, Ljubljana, Madrid, Thessaloniki) was created. The common and synchronous sampling (two seasons involved) and analysis procedure offered the prospect of a harmonized Positive Matrix Factorization model approach, with the scope of identifying the similarities and differences of PM2.5 key-source chemical fingerprints across the sampling sites. The results indicated that the average contribution of traffic exhausts to PM2.5 concentration was 23.3% (traffic sites), 13.3% (urban background sites) and 8.8% (rural sites). The average contribution of traffic non-exhausts was 12.6% (traffic), 13.5% (urban background) and 6.1% (rural sites). The contribution of fuel oil combustion was 3.8% at traffic, 11.6% at urban background and 18.7% at rural sites. Biomass burning contribution was 22% at traffic sites, 30% at urban background sites and 28% at rural sites. Regarding soil dust, the average contribution was 5% and 8% at traffic and urban background sites respectively and 16% at rural sites. Sea salt contribution was low (1-4%) while secondary aerosols corresponded to the 16-34% of PM2.5. The homogeneity of the chemical profiles as well as their relationship with prevailing meteorological parameters were investigated. The results showed that fuel oil combustion, traffic non-exhausts and soil dust profiles are considered as dissimilar while biomass burning, sea salt and traffic exhaust can be characterized as relatively homogenous among the sites.
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Affiliation(s)
- D Saraga
- National Centre for Scientific Research 'Demokritos', Atmospheric Chemistry & Innovative Technologies Laboratory, 15310 Aghia Paraskevi, Athens, Greece.
| | - T Maggos
- National Centre for Scientific Research 'Demokritos', Atmospheric Chemistry & Innovative Technologies Laboratory, 15310 Aghia Paraskevi, Athens, Greece
| | - C Degrendele
- Masaryk University, RECETOX Centre, Kamenice 5, 625 00 Brno, Czech Republic
| | - J Klánová
- Masaryk University, RECETOX Centre, Kamenice 5, 625 00 Brno, Czech Republic
| | - M Horvat
- Department of Environmental Sciences, Jožef Stefan Institute, Jamova 39, 1000 Ljubljana, Slovenia
| | - D Kocman
- Department of Environmental Sciences, Jožef Stefan Institute, Jamova 39, 1000 Ljubljana, Slovenia
| | - T Kanduč
- Department of Environmental Sciences, Jožef Stefan Institute, Jamova 39, 1000 Ljubljana, Slovenia
| | - S Garcia Dos Santos
- Instituto de salud Carlos III, Área de Contaminación Atmosférica, Centro Nacional de Sanidad Ambiental, Ctra. Majadahonda a Pozuelo, 28220 Majadahonda, Madrid, Spain
| | - R Franco
- Instituto de salud Carlos III, Área de Contaminación Atmosférica, Centro Nacional de Sanidad Ambiental, Ctra. Majadahonda a Pozuelo, 28220 Majadahonda, Madrid, Spain
| | - P Morillo Gómez
- Instituto de salud Carlos III, Área de Contaminación Atmosférica, Centro Nacional de Sanidad Ambiental, Ctra. Majadahonda a Pozuelo, 28220 Majadahonda, Madrid, Spain
| | - M Manousakas
- National Centre for Scientific Research 'Demokritos', Environmental Radioactivity Laboratory, 15310 Aghia Paraskevi, Athens, Greece
| | - K Bairachtari
- National Centre for Scientific Research 'Demokritos', Atmospheric Chemistry & Innovative Technologies Laboratory, 15310 Aghia Paraskevi, Athens, Greece
| | - K Eleftheriadis
- National Centre for Scientific Research 'Demokritos', Environmental Radioactivity Laboratory, 15310 Aghia Paraskevi, Athens, Greece
| | - M Kermenidou
- Department of Chemical Engineering, Aristotle University of Thessaloniki (AUTH), Environmental Engineering Laboratory, 54124 Thessaloniki, Greece
| | - S Karakitsios
- Department of Chemical Engineering, Aristotle University of Thessaloniki (AUTH), Environmental Engineering Laboratory, 54124 Thessaloniki, Greece
| | - A Gotti
- Department of Chemical Engineering, Aristotle University of Thessaloniki (AUTH), Environmental Engineering Laboratory, 54124 Thessaloniki, Greece
| | - D Sarigiannis
- Department of Chemical Engineering, Aristotle University of Thessaloniki (AUTH), Environmental Engineering Laboratory, 54124 Thessaloniki, Greece
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17
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Trivizakis E, Tsiknakis N, Vassalou EE, Papadakis GZ, Spandidos DA, Sarigiannis D, Tsatsakis A, Papanikolaou N, Karantanas AH, Marias K. Advancing COVID-19 differentiation with a robust preprocessing and integration of multi-institutional open-repository computer tomography datasets for deep learning analysis. Exp Ther Med 2020; 20:78. [PMID: 32968435 PMCID: PMC7500043 DOI: 10.3892/etm.2020.9210] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/14/2020] [Accepted: 09/11/2020] [Indexed: 12/15/2022] Open
Abstract
The coronavirus pandemic and its unprecedented consequences globally has spurred the interest of the artificial intelligence research community. A plethora of published studies have investigated the role of imaging such as chest X-rays and computer tomography in coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) automated diagnosis. Οpen repositories of medical imaging data can play a significant role by promoting cooperation among institutes in a world-wide scale. However, they may induce limitations related to variable data quality and intrinsic differences due to the wide variety of scanner vendors and imaging parameters. In this study, a state-of-the-art custom U-Net model is presented with a dice similarity coefficient performance of 99.6% along with a transfer learning VGG-19 based model for COVID-19 versus pneumonia differentiation exhibiting an area under curve of 96.1%. The above was significantly improved over the baseline model trained with no segmentation in selected tomographic slices of the same dataset. The presented study highlights the importance of a robust preprocessing protocol for image analysis within a heterogeneous imaging dataset and assesses the potential diagnostic value of the presented COVID-19 model by comparing its performance to the state of the art.
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Affiliation(s)
- Eleftherios Trivizakis
- Computational Biomedicine Laboratory (CBML), Foundation for Research and Technology Hellas (FORTH), 70013 Heraklion, Greece
- Department of Radiology, Medical School, University of Crete, 71003 Heraklion, Greece
| | - Nikos Tsiknakis
- Computational Biomedicine Laboratory (CBML), Foundation for Research and Technology Hellas (FORTH), 70013 Heraklion, Greece
| | - Evangelia E. Vassalou
- Department of Medical Imaging, University Hospital of Heraklion, 71110 Heraklion, Greece
- Department of Radiology, Sitia District Hospital, 72300 Lasithi, Greece
| | - Georgios Z. Papadakis
- Computational Biomedicine Laboratory (CBML), Foundation for Research and Technology Hellas (FORTH), 70013 Heraklion, Greece
- Department of Radiology, Medical School, University of Crete, 71003 Heraklion, Greece
| | - Demetrios A. Spandidos
- Laboratory of Clinical Virology, Medical School, University of Crete, 71003 Heraklion, Greece
| | - Dimosthenis Sarigiannis
- HERACLES Research Center on the Exposome and Health, Centre for Interdisciplinary Research and Innovation, Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, 57001 Thermi, Greece
- University School for Advanced Studies IUSS, I-27100 Pavia, Italy
| | - Aristidis Tsatsakis
- Department of Forensic Sciences and Toxicology, Medical School, University of Crete, 71003 Heraklion, Greece
| | - Nikolaos Papanikolaou
- Computational Biomedicine Laboratory (CBML), Foundation for Research and Technology Hellas (FORTH), 70013 Heraklion, Greece
- Computational Clinical Imaging Group, Centre for the Unknown, Champalimaud Foundation, 1400-038 Lisbon, Portugal
| | - Apostolos H. Karantanas
- Computational Biomedicine Laboratory (CBML), Foundation for Research and Technology Hellas (FORTH), 70013 Heraklion, Greece
- Department of Radiology, Medical School, University of Crete, 71003 Heraklion, Greece
- Department of Medical Imaging, University Hospital of Heraklion, 71110 Heraklion, Greece
| | - Kostas Marias
- Computational Biomedicine Laboratory (CBML), Foundation for Research and Technology Hellas (FORTH), 70013 Heraklion, Greece
- Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering, Hellenic Mediterranean University, 71410 Heraklion, Greece
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18
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Goumenou M, Sarigiannis D, Tsatsakis A, Anesti O, Docea AO, Petrakis D, Tsoukalas D, Kostoff R, Rakitskii V, Spandidos DA, Aschner M, Calina D. COVID‑19 in Northern Italy: An integrative overview of factors possibly influencing the sharp increase of the outbreak (Review). Mol Med Rep 2020; 22:20-32. [PMID: 32319647 PMCID: PMC7248465 DOI: 10.3892/mmr.2020.11079] [Citation(s) in RCA: 74] [Impact Index Per Article: 18.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/23/2020] [Accepted: 04/16/2020] [Indexed: 12/27/2022] Open
Abstract
Italy is currently one of the countries seriously affected by the COVID‑19 pandemic. As per 10 April 2020, 147,577 people were found positive in a total of 906,864 tests performed and 18,849 people lost their lives. Among all cases, 70.2% of positive, and 79.4% of deaths occurred in the provinces of Northern Italy (Lombardi, Emilia Romagna, Veneto and Piemonte), where the outbreak first started. Originally, it was considered that the high number of positive cases and deaths in Italy resulted from COVID‑19 initially coming to Italy from China, its presumed country of origin. However, an analysis of the factors that played a role in the extent of this outbreak is needed. Evaluating which factors could be specific for a country and which might contribute the most is nevertheless complex, with accompanying high uncertainty. The purpose of this work is to discuss some of the possible contributing factors and their possible role in the relatively high infection and death rates in Northern Italy compared to other areas and countries.
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Affiliation(s)
- Marina Goumenou
- Center of Toxicology Science and Research, Medical School, University of Crete, 71003 Heraklion, Greece
| | - Dimosthenis Sarigiannis
- HERACLES Research Center on the Exposome and Health, Center for Interdisciplinary Research and Innovation, Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, 57001 Thessaloniki, Greece
- School for Advanced Studies IUSS, Science, Technology and Society Department, I-25100 Pavia, Italy
| | - Aristidis Tsatsakis
- Center of Toxicology Science and Research, Medical School, University of Crete, 71003 Heraklion, Greece
- I.M. Sechenov First Moscow State Medical University (Sechenov University), 119146 Moscow, Russia
| | - Ourania Anesti
- Center of Toxicology Science and Research, Medical School, University of Crete, 71003 Heraklion, Greece
- School for Advanced Studies IUSS, Science, Technology and Society Department, I-25100 Pavia, Italy
| | - Anca Oana Docea
- Department of Toxicology, University of Medicine and Pharmacy of Craiova, 200349 Craiova, Romania
| | - Dimitrios Petrakis
- Center of Toxicology Science and Research, Medical School, University of Crete, 71003 Heraklion, Greece
| | - Dimitris Tsoukalas
- Metabolomic Medicine, Health Clinics for Autoimmune and Chronic Diseases, 10674 Athens, Greece
| | - Ronald Kostoff
- Research Affiliate, School of Public Policy, Georgia Institute of Technology, Gainesville, VA 20155, USA
| | - Valeri Rakitskii
- Federal Scientific Center of Hygiene, F.F. Erisman, 141014 Moscow, Russia
| | - Demetrios A. Spandidos
- Laboratory of Clinical Virology, Medical School, University of Crete, 71003 Heraklion, Greece
| | - Michael Aschner
- I.M. Sechenov First Moscow State Medical University (Sechenov University), 119146 Moscow, Russia
- Department of Molecular Pharmacology, Albert Einstein College of Medicine, New York, NY 10461, USA
| | - Daniela Calina
- Department of Clinical Pharmacy, University of Medicine and Pharmacy of Craiova, 200349 Craiova, Romania
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19
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Kholodov A, Zakharenko A, Drozd V, Chernyshev V, Kirichenko K, Seryodkin I, Karabtsov A, Olesik S, Khvost E, Vakhnyuk I, Chaika V, Stratidakis A, Vinceti M, Sarigiannis D, Hayes AW, Tsatsakis A, Golokhvast K. Identification of cement in atmospheric particulate matter using the hybrid method of laser diffraction analysis and Raman spectroscopy. Heliyon 2020; 6:e03299. [PMID: 32128461 PMCID: PMC7042420 DOI: 10.1016/j.heliyon.2020.e03299] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/30/2019] [Revised: 12/10/2019] [Accepted: 01/22/2020] [Indexed: 12/20/2022] Open
Abstract
The production of cement is associated with the emissions of dust and particulate matter, nitrogen oxides (NOx), sulfur dioxide (SO2), carbon monoxide (CO), heavy metals, and volatile organic compounds into the environment. People living near cement production facilities are potentially exposed to these pollutants, including carcinogens, although at lower doses than the factory workers. In this study we focused on the distribution of fine particulate matter, the composition, size patterns, and spatial distribution of the emissions from Spassk cement plant in Primorsky Krai, Russian Federation. The particulate matter was studied in wash-out from vegetation (conifer needles) using a hybrid method of laser diffraction analysis and Raman spectroscopy. The results showed that fine particulate matter (PM10 fraction) extended to the entire town and its neighbourhood. The percentage of PM10 in different areas of the town and over the course of two seasons ranged from 34.8% to 65% relative to other size fractions of particulate matter. It was further shown that up to 80% of the atmospheric PM content at some sampling points was composed of cement-containing particles. This links the cement production in Spassk-Dalny with overall morbidity of the town population and pollution of the environment.
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Affiliation(s)
- Aleksei Kholodov
- Far Eastern Federal University, 8 Sukhanova Street, Vladivostok 690950, Russian Federation.,Far East Geological Institute, Far Eastern Branch of Russian Academy of Sciences, 159 Pr-t 100-letiya Vladivostoka, Vladivostok, 690022, Russian Federation
| | - Alexander Zakharenko
- Far Eastern Federal University, 8 Sukhanova Street, Vladivostok 690950, Russian Federation
| | - Vladimir Drozd
- Far Eastern Federal University, 8 Sukhanova Street, Vladivostok 690950, Russian Federation
| | - Valery Chernyshev
- Far Eastern Federal University, 8 Sukhanova Street, Vladivostok 690950, Russian Federation
| | - Konstantin Kirichenko
- Far Eastern Federal University, 8 Sukhanova Street, Vladivostok 690950, Russian Federation
| | - Ivan Seryodkin
- Pacific Geographical Institute, Far Eastern Branch of Russian Academy of Sciences, 7 Radio Street, Vladivostok, 690041, Russian Federation
| | - Alexander Karabtsov
- Far East Geological Institute, Far Eastern Branch of Russian Academy of Sciences, 159 Pr-t 100-letiya Vladivostoka, Vladivostok, 690022, Russian Federation
| | - Svetlana Olesik
- Far Eastern Federal University, 8 Sukhanova Street, Vladivostok 690950, Russian Federation
| | - Ekaterina Khvost
- Far Eastern Federal University, 8 Sukhanova Street, Vladivostok 690950, Russian Federation
| | - Igor Vakhnyuk
- Far Eastern Federal University, 8 Sukhanova Street, Vladivostok 690950, Russian Federation
| | - Vladimir Chaika
- Far Eastern Federal University, 8 Sukhanova Street, Vladivostok 690950, Russian Federation
| | - Antonios Stratidakis
- Environmental Health Engineering, University School of Advanced Studies IUSS, Pavia, Italy
| | - Marco Vinceti
- Department of Biomedical, Metabolical and Neurosciences, University of Modena and Reggio Emilia, Modena, Italy
| | - Dimosthenis Sarigiannis
- Environmental Health Engineering, University School of Advanced Studies IUSS, Pavia, Italy.,Environmental Engineering Laboratory, Department of Chemical Engineering, Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, Thessaloniki 54124, Greece
| | - A Wallace Hayes
- College of Public Health, University of South Florida, Tampa, USA
| | - Aristidis Tsatsakis
- Laboratory of Toxicology, School of Medicine, University of Crete, Heraklion 71003, Greece
| | - Kirill Golokhvast
- Far Eastern Federal University, 8 Sukhanova Street, Vladivostok 690950, Russian Federation.,Pacific Geographical Institute, Far Eastern Branch of Russian Academy of Sciences, 7 Radio Street, Vladivostok, 690041, Russian Federation.,Federal Research Center N. I. Vavilov All-Russian Institute of Plant Genetic Resources (VIR), 42, 44 Bolshaya Morskaya Street, Saint-Petersburgh, 190121, Russian Federation
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Novak R, Kocman D, Robinson JA, Kanduč T, Sarigiannis D, Horvat M. Comparing Airborne Particulate Matter Intake Dose Assessment Models Using Low-Cost Portable Sensor Data. Sensors (Basel) 2020; 20:E1406. [PMID: 32143455 PMCID: PMC7085603 DOI: 10.3390/s20051406] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/06/2020] [Revised: 02/27/2020] [Accepted: 03/02/2020] [Indexed: 11/24/2022]
Abstract
Low-cost sensors can be used to improve the temporal and spatial resolution of an individual's particulate matter (PM) intake dose assessment. In this work, personal activity monitors were used to measure heart rate (proxy for minute ventilation), and low-cost PM sensors were used to measure concentrations of PM. Intake dose was assessed as a product of PM concentration and minute ventilation, using four models with increasing complexity. The two models that use heart rate as a variable had the most consistent results and showed a good response to variations in PM concentrations and heart rate. On the other hand, the two models using generalized population data of minute ventilation expectably yielded more coarse information on the intake dose. Aggregated weekly intake doses did not vary significantly between the models (6-22%). Propagation of uncertainty was assessed for each model, however, differences in their underlying assumptions made them incomparable. The most complex minute ventilation model, with heart rate as a variable, has shown slightly lower uncertainty than the model using fewer variables. Similarly, among the non-heart rate models, the one using real-time activity data has less uncertainty. Minute ventilation models contribute the most to the overall intake dose model uncertainty, followed closely by the low-cost personal activity monitors. The lack of a common methodology to assess the intake dose and quantifying related uncertainties is evident and should be a subject of further research.
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Affiliation(s)
- Rok Novak
- Department of Environmental Sciences, Jožef Stefan Institute, 1000 Ljubljana, Slovenia; (D.K.); (J.A.R.); (T.K.); (M.H.)
- Jožef Stefan International Postgraduate School, 1000 Ljubljana, Slovenia
| | - David Kocman
- Department of Environmental Sciences, Jožef Stefan Institute, 1000 Ljubljana, Slovenia; (D.K.); (J.A.R.); (T.K.); (M.H.)
| | - Johanna Amalia Robinson
- Department of Environmental Sciences, Jožef Stefan Institute, 1000 Ljubljana, Slovenia; (D.K.); (J.A.R.); (T.K.); (M.H.)
- Jožef Stefan International Postgraduate School, 1000 Ljubljana, Slovenia
| | - Tjaša Kanduč
- Department of Environmental Sciences, Jožef Stefan Institute, 1000 Ljubljana, Slovenia; (D.K.); (J.A.R.); (T.K.); (M.H.)
| | - Dimosthenis Sarigiannis
- Environmental Engineering Laboratory, Department of Chemical Engineering, Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, 54124 Thessaloniki, Greece;
- HERACLES Research Centre on the Exposome and Health, Center for Interdisciplinary Research and Innovation, 54124 Thessaloniki, Greece
- University School of Advanced Study IUSS, 27100 Pavia, Italy
| | - Milena Horvat
- Department of Environmental Sciences, Jožef Stefan Institute, 1000 Ljubljana, Slovenia; (D.K.); (J.A.R.); (T.K.); (M.H.)
- Jožef Stefan International Postgraduate School, 1000 Ljubljana, Slovenia
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Li N, Friedrich R, Maesano CN, Medda E, Brescianini S, Stazi MA, Sabel CE, Sarigiannis D, Annesi-Maesano I. Lifelong exposure to multiple stressors through different environmental pathways for European populations. Environ Res 2019; 179:108744. [PMID: 31561052 DOI: 10.1016/j.envres.2019.108744] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/10/2019] [Revised: 08/06/2019] [Accepted: 09/14/2019] [Indexed: 05/06/2023]
Abstract
Traditional exposure studies provide valuable insights for epidemiology, toxicology, and risk assessment. Throughout their lives, individuals are exposed to thousands of stressors in the environment which are not static, but influenced by environmental, temporal, spatial, and even socio-demographic factors. Existing exposure studies have usually focused on specific stressors for a constrained period of time. In response, the concept of the exposome has been raised, which is defined as the totality of exposure experienced from conception until death. The EU FP7-ENVIRONMENT research project HEALS was launched with the aim of incorporating a series of novel technologies, data analysis, and modelling tools to efficiently support exposome studies in Europe. The authors have developed a framework of modelling tools for estimating the long-term external exposure of selected population groups to multiple stressors through different pathways. As the starting point, the stressors, including electromagnetic fields (EMF) and ultraviolet light (UV) through dermal uptake, phthalates (DEHP, DIDP, and DINP) through inhalation, as well as chromium, mercury, and lead through food intake, have been selected. The simulation for multiple stressors has been realised by developing a probabilistic model that integrates the micro-environment approach, time-activity patterns, and a life course trajectory model. The methodology has been applied to a selected sample of subjects enrolled in the Italian Twin Registry (ITR). The results show that long-term exposures to multiple stressors are affected by factors including age, gender, geographical location, and education level. The methods developed in this paper extended the temporal and spatial scales of exposure modelling in Europe. Moreover, the application of our methods provided a novel approach and crucial input data for future work on environment-wide association studies.
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Affiliation(s)
- Naixin Li
- Institute for Energy Economics and the Rational Use of Energy, University of Stuttgart, Heßbrühlstraße 49a, 70565, Stuttgart, Germany.
| | - Rainer Friedrich
- Institute for Energy Economics and the Rational Use of Energy, University of Stuttgart, Heßbrühlstraße 49a, 70565, Stuttgart, Germany
| | - Cara N Maesano
- Pierre Louis Institute of Epidemiology and Public Health, Dept of Epidemiology of Allergic and Respiratory Disease, Sorbonne University and INSERM, Paris, France
| | | | | | | | - Clive E Sabel
- Department of Environmental Science, Aarhus University, Roskilde, Denmark
| | - Dimosthenis Sarigiannis
- Technologies Division - Environmental Engineering Laboratory, Department of Chemical Engineering, Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, Thessaloniki, Greece
| | - Isabella Annesi-Maesano
- Pierre Louis Institute of Epidemiology and Public Health, Dept of Epidemiology of Allergic and Respiratory Disease, Sorbonne University and INSERM, Paris, France
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Li N, Maesano CN, Friedrich R, Medda E, Brandstetter S, Kabesch M, Apfelbacher C, Melter M, Seelbach-Göbel B, Annesi-Maesano I, Sarigiannis D. A model for estimating the lifelong exposure to PM2.5 and NO 2 and the application to population studies. Environ Res 2019; 178:108629. [PMID: 31476682 DOI: 10.1016/j.envres.2019.108629] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/13/2019] [Revised: 07/30/2019] [Accepted: 08/04/2019] [Indexed: 06/10/2023]
Abstract
Numerous epidemiological studies have confirmed the negative influences of air pollutants on human health, where fine particles (PM2.5) and nitrogen dioxide (NO2) cause the highest health risks. However, the traditional studies have only involved the ambient concentration for a short to medium time period, which ignores the influence of indoor sources, the individual time-activity pattern, and the fact that the health status is impacted by the long-term accumulated exposure. The aim of this paper is to develop a methodology to simulate the lifelong exposure (rather than outdoor concentration) to PM2.5 and NO2 for individuals in Europe. This method is realized by developing a probabilistic model that integrates an outdoor air quality model, a model estimating indoor air pollution, an exposure model, and a life course trajectory model for predicting retrospectively the employment status. This approach has been applied to samples of two population studies in the frame of the European Commission FP7-ENVIRONMENT research project HEALS (Health and Environment-wide Associations based on Large Population Surveys), where socioeconomic data of the participants have been collected. Results show that the simulated exposures to both pollutants for the samples are influenced by socio-demographic characteristics, including age, gender, residential location, employment status and smoking habits. Both outdoor concentrations and indoor sources play an important role in the total exposure. Moreover, large variances have been observed among countries and cities. The application of this methodology provides valuable insights for the exposure modelling, as well as important input data for exploring the correlation between exposure and health impacts.
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Affiliation(s)
- Naixin Li
- Institute for Energy Economics and the Rational Use of Energy, University of Stuttgart, Heßbrühlstraße 49a, 70565 Stuttgart, Germany.
| | - Cara N Maesano
- Pierre Louis Institute of Epidemiology and Public Health, Dept of Epidemiology of Allergic and Respiratory Disease, Sorbonne University and INSERM, Paris, France
| | - Rainer Friedrich
- Institute for Energy Economics and the Rational Use of Energy, University of Stuttgart, Heßbrühlstraße 49a, 70565 Stuttgart, Germany
| | | | | | - Michael Kabesch
- University Children's Hospital Regensburg (KUNO-Clinics), Regensburg, Germany
| | - Christian Apfelbacher
- Medical Sociology, Institute of Epidemiology and Preventive Medicine, University of Regensburg, Germany; Institute of Social Medicine and Health Economics, Otto von Guericke University Magdeburg, Magdeburg, Germany
| | - Michael Melter
- University Children's Hospital Regensburg (KUNO-Clinics), Regensburg, Germany
| | - Birgit Seelbach-Göbel
- Clinic of Obstetrics and Gynecology St. Hedwig, University of Regensburg, Regensburg, Germany
| | - Isabella Annesi-Maesano
- Pierre Louis Institute of Epidemiology and Public Health, Dept of Epidemiology of Allergic and Respiratory Disease, Sorbonne University and INSERM, Paris, France
| | - Dimosthenis Sarigiannis
- Technologies Division - Environmental Engineering Laboratory, Department of Chemical Engineering, Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, Thessaloniki, Greece
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Sarigiannis D, Papaioannou N, Kapretsos N, Gabriel C, Distel E, de Oliveira E, Karakitsios S, Aggerbeck M, Barouki R. Multi-omics Analysis reveals that co-exposure to phthalates and metals disturbs urea cycle and choline metabolism. Toxicol Lett 2018. [DOI: 10.1016/j.toxlet.2018.06.710] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/28/2022]
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Asimina S, Chapizanis D, Karakitsios S, Kontoroupis P, Asimakopoulos DN, Maggos T, Sarigiannis D. Assessing and enhancing the utility of low-cost activity and location sensors for exposure studies. Environ Monit Assess 2018; 190:155. [PMID: 29464404 DOI: 10.1007/s10661-018-6537-2] [Citation(s) in RCA: 11] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/08/2017] [Accepted: 02/08/2018] [Indexed: 06/08/2023]
Abstract
Nowadays, the advancement of mobile technology in conjunction with the introduction of the concept of exposome has provided new dynamics to the exposure studies. Since the addressing of health outcomes related to environmental stressors is crucial, the improvement of exposure assessment methodology is of paramount importance. Towards this aim, a pilot study was carried out in the two major cities of Greece (Athens, Thessaloniki), investigating the applicability of commercially available fitness monitors and the Moves App for tracking people's location and activities, as well as for predicting the type of the encountered location, using advanced modeling techniques. Within the frame of the study, 21 individuals were using the Fitbit Flex activity tracker, a temperature logger, and the application Moves App on their smartphones. For the validation of the above equipment, participants were also carrying an Actigraph (activity sensor) and a GPS device. The data collected from Fitbit Flex, the temperature logger, and the GPS (speed) were used as input parameters in an Artificial Neural Network (ANN) model for predicting the type of location. Analysis of the data showed that the Moves App tends to underestimate the daily steps counts in comparison with Fitbit Flex and Actigraph, respectively, while Moves App predicted the movement trajectory of an individual with reasonable accuracy, compared to a dedicated GPS. Finally, the encountered location was successfully predicted by the ANN in most of the cases.
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Affiliation(s)
- Stamatelopoulou Asimina
- Environmental Research Laboratory, I.N.RA.S.T.E.S., NCSR "DEMOKRITOS", Athens, Greece.
- Department of Applied Physics, Faculty of Physics, University of Athens, Athens, Greece.
| | - D Chapizanis
- Environmental Engineering Laboratory, Department of Chemical Engineering, Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, Thessaloniki, Greece
| | - S Karakitsios
- Environmental Engineering Laboratory, Department of Chemical Engineering, Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, Thessaloniki, Greece
| | - P Kontoroupis
- Environmental Engineering Laboratory, Department of Chemical Engineering, Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, Thessaloniki, Greece
| | - D N Asimakopoulos
- Department of Applied Physics, Faculty of Physics, University of Athens, Athens, Greece
| | - T Maggos
- Environmental Research Laboratory, I.N.RA.S.T.E.S., NCSR "DEMOKRITOS", Athens, Greece
| | - D Sarigiannis
- Environmental Engineering Laboratory, Department of Chemical Engineering, Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, Thessaloniki, Greece
- Institute for Advanced Study of Pavia, Pavia, Italy
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Pino A, Chiarotti F, Calamandrei G, Gotti A, Karakitsios S, Handakas E, Bocca B, Sarigiannis D, Alimonti A. Human biomonitoring data analysis for metals in an Italian adolescents cohort: An exposome approach. Environ Res 2017; 159:344-354. [PMID: 28841522 DOI: 10.1016/j.envres.2017.08.012] [Citation(s) in RCA: 13] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/08/2017] [Revised: 07/02/2017] [Accepted: 08/05/2017] [Indexed: 06/07/2023]
Abstract
The first Italian human biomonitoring survey (PROBE - PROgramme for Biomonitoring general population Exposure) considered a reference population of adolescents, aged 13-15 years, living in urban and rural areas and investigated their exposure to metals. The study was expanded up to 453 adolescents living in the same areas of Latium Region (Italy) and blood samples were analyzed for 19 metals (As, Be, Cd, Co, Cr, Hg, Ir, Mn, Mo, Ni, Pb, Pd, Pt, Rh, Sb, Sn, Tl, V, and W) by sector field inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry. The exposure assessment was contextualized following an exposome approach that considered several determinants related to the subjects, available environmental parameters and geo-coding of residence address. To assess the influence of exposure determinants and modifiers on children biomarkers levels we used two independent methodologies. The first makes use of the so-called Environment-Wide Association Study (EWAS) methodology while the second was based on the application of a Generalized Liner Model (GLM) capturing co-exposures to pairs of key determinants. Based on our analysis, Hg and As were positively associated with dietary pathways (primarily linked to fish and to a lesser extent to milk consumption) while Cr showed a more complex interaction between co-exposure to different dietary pathways (milk and fish) coupled to proximity of residence to industrial activities. In addition to diet, socio-economic status of the mother revealed robust statistical associations with Cd, Ni and W biomonitoring levels in the respective children.
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Affiliation(s)
- Anna Pino
- Dept. of Environment and Primary Prevention, Italian National Institute for Health, Rome, Italy
| | - Flavia Chiarotti
- Dept. of Cell Biology and Neurosciences, Italian National Institute of Health, Rome, Italy
| | - Gemma Calamandrei
- Dept. of Cell Biology and Neurosciences, Italian National Institute of Health, Rome, Italy
| | - Alberto Gotti
- Environmental Health Engineering, School for Advanced Study, IUSS Pavia, Italy
| | - Spyros Karakitsios
- Environmental Engineering Laboratory, Chemical Engineering Department, Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, Thessaloniki, Greece
| | - Evangelos Handakas
- Environmental Engineering Laboratory, Chemical Engineering Department, Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, Thessaloniki, Greece
| | - Beatrice Bocca
- Dept. of Environment and Primary Prevention, Italian National Institute for Health, Rome, Italy
| | - Dimosthenis Sarigiannis
- Environmental Health Engineering, School for Advanced Study, IUSS Pavia, Italy; Environmental Engineering Laboratory, Chemical Engineering Department, Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, Thessaloniki, Greece.
| | - Alessandro Alimonti
- Dept. of Environment and Primary Prevention, Italian National Institute for Health, Rome, Italy
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Ganzleben C, Antignac JP, Barouki R, Castaño A, Fiddicke U, Klánová J, Lebret E, Olea N, Sarigiannis D, Schoeters GR, Sepai O, Tolonen H, Kolossa-Gehring M. Human biomonitoring as a tool to support chemicals regulation in the European Union. Int J Hyg Environ Health 2017; 220:94-97. [DOI: 10.1016/j.ijheh.2017.01.007] [Citation(s) in RCA: 95] [Impact Index Per Article: 13.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/05/2016] [Revised: 01/20/2017] [Accepted: 01/24/2017] [Indexed: 10/20/2022]
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Priftis A, Papikinos K, Koukoulanaki M, Kerasioti E, Stagos D, Konstantinopoulos K, Spandidos DA, Kermenidou M, Karakitsios S, Sarigiannis D, Tsatsakis AM, Kouretas D. Development of an assay to assess genotoxicity by particulate matter extract. Mol Med Rep 2017; 15:1738-1746. [PMID: 28260086 PMCID: PMC5365018 DOI: 10.3892/mmr.2017.6171] [Citation(s) in RCA: 9] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/14/2016] [Accepted: 01/30/2017] [Indexed: 01/11/2023] Open
Abstract
The current study describes a method for assessing the oxidative potential of common environmental stressors (ambient air particulate matter), using a plasmid relaxation assay where the extract caused single-strand breaks, easily visualised through electrophoresis. This assay utilises a miniscule amount (11 µg) of particulate matter (PM) extract compared to other, cell-based methods (~3,000 µg). The negative impact of air pollution on human health has been extensively recognised. Among the air pollutants, PM plays an eminent role, as reflected in the broad scientific interest. PM toxicity highly depends on its composition (metals and organic compounds), which in turn has been linked to multiple health effects (such as cardiorespiratory diseases and cancer) through multiple toxicity mechanisms; the induction of oxidative stress is considered a major mechanism among these. In this study, the PM levels, oxidative potential, cytotoxicity and genotoxicity of PM in the region of Larissa, Greece were examined using the plasmid relaxation assay. Finally, coffee extracts from different varieties, derived from both green and roasted seeds, were examined for their ability to inhibit PM-induced DNA damage. These extracts also exerted an inhibitory effect on xanthine oxidase and catalase, but had no effect against superoxide dismutase. Overall, this study highlights the importance of assays for assessing the oxidative potential of widespread environmental stressors (PM), as well as the antioxidant capacity of beverages and food items, with the highlight being the development of a plasmid relaxation assay to assess the genotoxicity caused by PM using only a miniscule amount.
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Affiliation(s)
- Alexandros Priftis
- Department of Biochemistry and Biotechnology, University of Thessaly, Larissa 41221, Greece
| | - Konstantinos Papikinos
- Department of Biochemistry and Biotechnology, University of Thessaly, Larissa 41221, Greece
| | - Marina Koukoulanaki
- Department of Biochemistry and Biotechnology, University of Thessaly, Larissa 41221, Greece
| | - Efthalia Kerasioti
- Department of Biochemistry and Biotechnology, University of Thessaly, Larissa 41221, Greece
| | - Dimitrios Stagos
- Department of Biochemistry and Biotechnology, University of Thessaly, Larissa 41221, Greece
| | | | - Demetrios A Spandidos
- Laboratory of Clinical Virology, University of Crete, Medical School, Heraklion 71409, Greece
| | - Marianthi Kermenidou
- Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, Department of Chemical Engineering, Environmental Engineering Laboratory, Thessaloniki 54124, Greece
| | - Spyros Karakitsios
- Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, Department of Chemical Engineering, Environmental Engineering Laboratory, Thessaloniki 54124, Greece
| | - Dimosthenis Sarigiannis
- Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, Department of Chemical Engineering, Environmental Engineering Laboratory, Thessaloniki 54124, Greece
| | - Aristides M Tsatsakis
- Department of Forensic Sciences and Toxicology, Medical School, University of Crete, Heraklion 71003, Greece
| | - Demetrios Kouretas
- Department of Biochemistry and Biotechnology, University of Thessaly, Larissa 41221, Greece
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Sarigiannis D, Karakitsios S, Handakas E, Gotti A. Exposome analysis of polyaromatic hydrocarbons. Toxicol Lett 2016. [DOI: 10.1016/j.toxlet.2016.06.1298] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 10/21/2022]
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Sarigiannis D, Polanska K, Theodoridis G, Chatziioannou C, Hanke W. Pathway analysis of prenatal exposure to phthalates and child motor development. Toxicol Lett 2016. [DOI: 10.1016/j.toxlet.2016.06.1772] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 10/21/2022]
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Alegakis A, Androutsopoulos V, Karakitsios S, Sarigiannis D. Modelling risk for chemical mixtures. Toxicol Lett 2015. [DOI: 10.1016/j.toxlet.2015.08.185] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/16/2022]
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Tsakiris I, Tzatzarakis M, Alegakis A, Mitlianga P, Vakonaki E, Tsatsakis I, Dumanov J, Sarigiannis D, Tsatsakis A. Monitoring of Ochratoxin A residues in Greek bottled wine. Toxicol Lett 2015. [DOI: 10.1016/j.toxlet.2015.08.278] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/28/2022]
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Sarigiannis D, Peck J, Mountziaris T, Kioseoglou G, Petrou A. Vapor Phase Synthesis of II-IV Semiconductor Nanoparticles in a Counterflow Jet Reactor. ACTA ACUST UNITED AC 2011. [DOI: 10.1557/proc-616-41] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/13/2022]
Abstract
AbstractThe vapor-phase synthesis of polycrystalline ZnSe nanoparticles is reported. The particles were grown at room temperature and at a pressure of 125 torr in a counterflow jet reactor and were collected by impact on a Si watler. The precursors used in this study were vapors of (CH3)2Zn:[N(C2H5)3)]2 and H2Se gas diluted in hydrogen. These precursors have been used in the past for Metalorganic Vapor Phase Epitaxy (MOVPE) of ZnSe thin films. The particles were characterized by Transmission Electron Microscopy (TEM). electron diffraction. and Raman spectroscopy. The reactor was operated in a continuous, steady-state mode using a gas delivery system that is typical flor MOVPII systems.
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Affiliation(s)
- D Sarigiannis
- Human Exposure to Environmental Stressors and Health Effects, European Commission – Joint Research Centre, Institute for Health and Consumer Protection, Physical and Chemical Exposure Unit, Ispra, Italy
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Sarigiannis D, Gotti A, Reale GC, Marafante E. Reflections on new directions for risk assessment of environmental chemical mixtures. ACTA ACUST UNITED AC 2009. [DOI: 10.1504/ijram.2009.030697] [Citation(s) in RCA: 20] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/21/2022]
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