Influence of methodology on the estimation of the particle surface area dose received by a population in all-day activities.

In everyday life, people are exposed to different concentrations of airborne particles depending on the microenvironment where they perform their different activities. Such exposure can lead to high sub-micron particle doses. The received dose depends on particle concentration to which people are exposed (typically expressed in terms of number or surface area), time spent in each activity or microenvironment (time activity pattern) and amount of air inhaled (inhalation rate).

Evaluation of air quality and mobility policies in 14 large Italian cities from 2006 to 2016.

Despite a connection between road traffic and air pollution has been clearly identified, few integrated analyses on air quality and mobility policies are currently available worldwide. Aim of this work is to build a framework for the evaluation of the impact of mobility policies on air quality in 14 major Italian cities, on a long-time scale (2006-2016). Air quality data was collected from all PM, PM, and NO monitoring stations, installed in compliance with the European directive 2008/50/EC.

Characteristics of school children's personal exposure to ultrafine particles in Heshan, Pearl River Delta, China - A pilot study.

Background: There is a significant lack of scientific knowledge on population exposure to ultrafine particles (UFP) in China to date. This paper quantifies and characterises school children's personal UFP exposure and exposure intensity against their indoor and outdoor activities during a school day (home, school and commuting) in the city of Heshan within the Pearl River Delta (PRD) region, southern China.

Methods: Time-series of UFP number concentrations and average size were measured over 24 h for 24 children (9-13 years old), using personal monitors over two weeks in April 2016.

Effects of the exposure to ultrafine particles on heart rate in a healthy population.

The correlation amongst exposure to ultrafine particle concentrations and heart rate in a large healthy population was investigated. The study was conducted by continuously monitoring for seven days fifty volunteers in terms of exposure to particle concentrations, heart rate and physical activity performed through portable monitors. Data were analyzed adopting a linear mixed model able to manage the obtained repeated measures and to recognize a general trend resulting from the subject-specific patterns.

Investigations into factors affecting personal exposure to particles in urban microenvironments using low-cost sensors.

Epidemiological studies have linked outdoor PM concentrations to a range of health effects, although people spend most of the time indoors. To better understand how individuals' exposure vary as they move between different indoor and outdoor microenvironments, our study investigated personal PM exposure and exposure intensity of 14 adult volunteers over one week (five weekdays and one weekend), using low-cost personal monitors, recording PM concentrations in 5 min intervals. Further, the study evaluated community perception of air pollution exposure during the recruitment and engagement with the volunteers.