Publications by authors named "Kristina Plauskaite"

An integrated framework is introduced and applied to assess the health impact of airborne pollution with greater physiological relevance, moving beyond conventional exposure metrics. Measured particle number size distribution data was integrated with a regional respiratory tract deposition fractions to estimate total and alveolar deposited particle surface area concentrations. Land use regression modeling, combined with randomized commuting patterns, enabled the evaluation of city-specific alveolar surface area deposition doses, providing new insight into localized average exposure and its implications for public health.

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Article Synopsis
  • Atmospheric new particle formation (NPF) is the natural process of creating tiny particles (sub-10 nm) from gases, observed globally in various environments.
  • Although these particles impact total and ultrafine particle concentrations, there is limited research on their health effects largely due to a lack of specific identifiers in existing data.
  • This study introduces an automated machine learning algorithm that identifies NPF events from particle data across 65 global measurement sites from 1996 to 2023, facilitating future research on NPF.
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Source apportionment (SA) for indoor air pollution is challenging due to the multiplicity and high variability of indoor sources, the complex physical and chemical processes that act as primary sources, sinks and sources of precursors that lead to secondary formation, and the interconnection with the outdoor environment. While the major indoor sources have been recognized, there is still a need for understanding the contribution of indoor versus outdoor-generated pollutants penetrating indoors, and how SA is influenced by the complex processes that occur in indoor environments. This paper reviews our current understanding of SA, through reviewing information on the SA techniques used, the targeted pollutants that have been studied to date, and their source apportionment, along with limitations or knowledge gaps in this research field.

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This study investigates potential influence of urban trees on black carbon (BC) removal by Norway spruce and silver birch along with the BC formation, mass concentration in air, and source apportionment. The main sources of BC in urban areas are transport, household and industry. BC concentrations monitored in urban background station in Vilnius (Lithuania) showed that biomass burning was a significant contributor to BC emissions even during warm period of the year.

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