| 1. |
- Beal, Jacob, et al.
(författare)
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Robust estimation of bacterial cell count from optical density
- 2020
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Ingår i: Communications Biology. - : Springer Science and Business Media LLC. - 2399-3642. ; 3:1
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Optical density (OD) is widely used to estimate the density of cells in liquid culture, but cannot be compared between instruments without a standardized calibration protocol and is challenging to relate to actual cell count. We address this with an interlaboratory study comparing three simple, low-cost, and highly accessible OD calibration protocols across 244 laboratories, applied to eight strains of constitutive GFP-expressing E. coli. Based on our results, we recommend calibrating OD to estimated cell count using serial dilution of silica microspheres, which produces highly precise calibration (95.5% of residuals <1.2-fold), is easily assessed for quality control, also assesses instrument effective linear range, and can be combined with fluorescence calibration to obtain units of Molecules of Equivalent Fluorescein (MEFL) per cell, allowing direct comparison and data fusion with flow cytometry measurements: in our study, fluorescence per cell measurements showed only a 1.07-fold mean difference between plate reader and flow cytometry data.
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| 2. |
- Adam, Martin, et al.
(författare)
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Adult lung function and long-term air pollution exposure. ESCAPE : a multicentre cohort study and meta-analysis
- 2015
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Ingår i: European Respiratory Journal. - : European Respiratory Society (ERS). - 0903-1936 .- 1399-3003. ; 41:5, s. 38-50
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- The chronic impact of ambient air pollutants on lung function in adults is not fully understood. The objective of this study was to investigate the association of long-term exposure to ambient air pollution with lung function in adult participants from five cohorts in the European Study of Cohorts for Air Pollution Effects (ESCAPE). Residential exposure to nitrogen oxides (NO2, NOx) and particulate matter (PM) was modelled and traffic indicators were assessed in a standardised manner. The spirometric parameters forced expiratory volume in 1 s (FEV1) and forced vital capacity (FVC) from 7613 subjects were considered as outcomes. Cohort-specific results were combined using meta-analysis. We did not observe an association of air pollution with longitudinal change in lung function, but we observed that a 10 μg·m(-3) increase in NO2 exposure was associated with lower levels of FEV1 (-14.0 mL, 95%CI -25.8- -2.1) and FVC (-14.9 mL, 95% CI -28.7- -1.1). An increase of 10 μg·m(-3) in PM10, but not other PM metrics (PM2.5, coarse fraction of PM, PM absorbance), was associated with a lower level of FEV1 (-44.6 mL, 95% CI -85.4- -3.8) and FVC (-59.0 mL, 95% CI -112.3- -5.6). The associations were particularly strong in obese persons. This study adds to the evidence for an adverse association of ambient air pollution with lung function in adults at very low levels in Europe.
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| 3. |
- Cai, Yutong, et al.
(författare)
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Cross-sectional associations between air pollution and chronic bronchitis : an ESCAPE meta-analysis across five cohorts
- 2014
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Ingår i: Thorax. - : BMJ. - 0040-6376 .- 1468-3296. ; 69:11, s. 1005-1014
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- BACKGROUND: This study aimed to assess associations of outdoor air pollution on prevalence of chronic bronchitis symptoms in adults in five cohort studies (Asthma-E3N, ECRHS, NSHD, SALIA, SAPALDIA) participating in the European Study of Cohorts for Air Pollution Effects (ESCAPE) project.METHODS: Annual average particulate matter (PM10, PM2.5, PMabsorbance, PMcoarse), NO2, nitrogen oxides (NOx) and road traffic measures modelled from ESCAPE measurement campaigns 2008-2011 were assigned to home address at most recent assessments (1998-2011). Symptoms examined were chronic bronchitis (cough and phlegm for ≥3 months of the year for ≥2 years), chronic cough (with/without phlegm) and chronic phlegm (with/without cough). Cohort-specific cross-sectional multivariable logistic regression analyses were conducted using common confounder sets (age, sex, smoking, interview season, education), followed by meta-analysis.RESULTS: 15 279 and 10 537 participants respectively were included in the main NO2 and PM analyses at assessments in 1998-2011. Overall, there were no statistically significant associations with any air pollutant or traffic exposure. Sensitivity analyses including in asthmatics only, females only or using back-extrapolated NO2 and PM10 for assessments in 1985-2002 (ECRHS, NSHD, SALIA, SAPALDIA) did not alter conclusions. In never-smokers, all associations were positive, but reached statistical significance only for chronic phlegm with PMcoarse OR 1.31 (1.05 to 1.64) per 5 µg/m(3) increase and PM10 with similar effect size. Sensitivity analyses of older cohorts showed increased risk of chronic cough with PM2.5abs (black carbon) exposures.CONCLUSIONS: Results do not show consistent associations between chronic bronchitis symptoms and current traffic-related air pollution in adult European populations.
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| 4. |
- Eguiluz-Gracia, Ibon, et al.
(författare)
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The need for clean air : The way air pollution and climate change affect allergic rhinitis and asthma
- 2020
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Ingår i: Allergy: European Journal of Allergy and Clinical Immunology. - : Wiley. - 0105-4538. ; 75:9, s. 2170-2184
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Forskningsöversikt (refereegranskat)abstract
- Air pollution and climate change have a significant impact on human health and well-being and contribute to the onset and aggravation of allergic rhinitis and asthma among other chronic respiratory diseases. In Westernized countries, households have experienced a process of increasing insulation and individuals tend to spend most of their time indoors. These sequelae implicate a high exposure to indoor allergens (house dust mites, pets, molds, etc), tobacco smoke, and other pollutants, which have an impact on respiratory health. Outdoor air pollution derived from traffic and other human activities not only has a direct negative effect on human health but also enhances the allergenicity of some plants and contributes to global warming. Climate change modifies the availability and distribution of plant- and fungal-derived allergens and increases the frequency of extreme climate events. This review summarizes the effects of indoor air pollution, outdoor air pollution, and subsequent climate change on asthma and allergic rhinitis in children and adults and addresses the policy adjustments and lifestyle changes required to mitigate their deleterious effects.
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| 5. |
- Jacquemin, Benedicte, et al.
(författare)
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Ambient Air Pollution and Adult Asthma Incidence in Six European Cohorts (ESCAPE)
- 2015
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Ingår i: Journal of Environmental Health Perspectives. - : Environmental Health Perspectives. - 0091-6765 .- 1552-9924. ; 123:6, s. 613-621
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- BACKGROUND: Short-term exposure to air pollution has adverse effects among patients with asthma, but whether long-term exposure to air pollution is a cause of adult-onset asthma is unclear. OBJECTIVE: We aimed to investigate the association between air pollution and adult onset asthma. METHODS: Asthma incidence was prospectively assessed in six European cohorts. Exposures studied were annual average concentrations at home addresses for nitrogen oxides assessed for 23,704 participants (including 1,257 incident cases) and particulate matter (PM) assessed for 17,909 participants through ESCAPE land-use regression models and traffic exposure indicators. Meta-analyses of cohort-specific logistic regression on asthma incidence were performed. Models were adjusted for age, sex, overweight, education, and smoking and included city/area within each cohort as a random effect. RESULTS: In this longitudinal analysis, asthma incidence was positively, but not significantly, associated with all exposure metrics, except for PMcoarse. Positive associations of borderline significance were observed for nitrogen dioxide [adjusted odds ratio (OR) = 1.10; 95% CI: 0.99, 1.21 per 10 mu g/m(3); p = 0.10] and nitrogen oxides (adjusted OR = 1.04; 95% CI: 0.99, 1.08 per 20 mu g/m(3); p = 0.08). Nonsignificant positive associations were estimated for PM10 (adjusted OR = 1.04; 95% CI: 0.88, 1.23 per 10 mu g/m(3)), PM2.5 (adjusted OR = 1.04; 95% CI: 0.88, 1.23 per 5 mu g/m(3)), PM2.5absorbance (adjusted OR = 1.06; 95% CI: 0.95, 1.19 per 10(-5)/m), traffic load (adjusted OR = 1.10; 95% CI: 0.93, 1.30 per 4 million vehicles x meters/day on major roads in a 100-m buffer), and traffic intensity (adjusted OR = 1.10; 95% CI: 0.93, 1.30 per 5,000 vehicles/day on the nearest road). A nonsignificant negative association was estimated for PMcoarse (adjusted OR = 0.98; 95% CI: 0.87, 1.14 per 5 mu g/m(3)). CONCLUSIONS: Results suggest a deleterious effect of ambient air pollution on asthma incidence in adults. Further research with improved personal-level exposure assessment (vs. residential exposure assessment only) and phenotypic characterization is needed.
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| 6. |
- Schikowski, Tamara, et al.
(författare)
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Association of ambient air pollution with the prevalence and incidence of COPD
- 2014
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Ingår i: European Respiratory Journal. - : European Respiratory Society. - 0903-1936 .- 1399-3003. ; 44:3, s. 614-626
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- The role of air pollution in chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) remains uncertain.The aim was to assess the impact of chronic exposure to air pollution on COPD in four cohorts using the standardised ESCAPE exposure estimates. Annual average particulate matter (PM), nitrogen oxides (NOx) and road traffic exposure were assigned to home addresses using land-use regression models. COPD was defined by NHANES reference equation (forced expiratory volume in 1 s (FEV1)/forced vital capacity (FVC) less than the lower limit of normal) and the Global Initiative for Chronic Obstructive Lung Disease criterion (FEV1/FVC <0.70) and categorised by severity in non-asthmatics.We included 6550 subjects with assigned NOx and 3692 with PM measures. COPD was not associated with NO2 or PM10 in any individual cohort. In meta-analyses only NO2, NOx, PM10 and the traffic indicators were positively, although not significantly, associated with COPD. The only statistically significant associations were seen in females (COPD prevalence using GOLD: OR 1.57, 95% CI 1.11-2.23; and incidence: OR 1.79, 95% CI 1.21-2.68).None of the principal results were statistically significant, the weak positive associations of exposure with COPD and the significant subgroup findings need to be evaluated in further well standardised cohorts followed up for longer time, and with time-matched exposure assignments.
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| 7. |
- Yang, Liu, et al.
(författare)
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Exposure to greenness, air pollution and respiratory health among pre-school children in northern China
- 2023
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Ingår i: Atmospheric Environment. - : Elsevier. - 1352-2310 .- 1873-2844. ; 298
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Background: Evidence from developed countries on the association between greenspace and childhood respira-tory health has been inconsistent whilst such evidence is largely lacking in the developing world where rapid urbanization is occurring. This study aimed to investigate the associations between surrounding greenness, air pollution and respiratory health among pre-school children in a rapidly developing city in China.Methods: We recruited 2920 pre-school children in Taiyuan city. Greenness exposure was represented by the Normalized Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI) which combined estimations based on a weighted mean that children spend time both in kindergarten and home (75% home, 25% kindergarten). Air pollution exposures were estimated from a land-use-regression model which was also calculated based on a weighted mean as with greenness. Logistic regression was performed to assess the relationships between greenness, air pollution and respiratory symptoms.Results: Greenness had negatively impacted respiratory health among pre-school children in Taiyuan city, particularly for current dry cough at night. A 0.1-unit increment for NDVI300m was associated with an Odds Ratio (OR) of 2.45 (95%CI: 1.33-4.53) for dry cough at night. The associations were robust after adjusting for air pollution and road condition. No statistically significant associations were found between air pollution and any symptoms. The mediating effect of air pollution on dry cough at night with greenness was not observed.Conclusion: Our study found that within different buffers, a higher level of greenness was consistently associated with a higher risk of dry cough at night among pre-school children. This finding has indicated that environmental policies on urban greening should be scientifically justified to protect respiratory health among young children.
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