Found 10359 publications. Showing page 379 of 415:
This report gives an overview of annual statistics and results from the monitoring programme of ozone in EMEP 2022.
NILU
2024
European pollen reanalysis, 1980–2022, for alder, birch, and olive
The dataset presents a 43 year-long reanalysis of pollen seasons for three major allergenic genera of trees in Europe: alder (Alnus), birch (Betula), and olive (Olea). Driven by the meteorological reanalysis ERA5, the atmospheric composition model SILAM predicted the flowering period and calculated the Europe-wide dispersion pattern of pollen for the years 1980–2022. The model applied an extended 4-dimensional variational data assimilation of in-situ observations of aerobiological networks in 34 European countries to reproduce the inter-annual variability and trends of pollen production and distribution. The control variable of the assimilation procedure was the total pollen release during each flowering season, implemented as an annual correction factor to the mean pollen production. The dataset was designed as an input to studies on climate-induced and anthropogenically driven changes in the European vegetation, biodiversity monitoring, bioaerosol modelling and assessment, as well as, in combination with intra-seasonal observations, for health-related applications.
2024
New advanced models (NAMs) for risk assessment of bisphenol A alternatives
The safety of bisphenol A (BPA) due to its adverse effects on the immune system has led to an increasing concern and a significant regulatory shift. The European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) proposed a reduction in the tolerable daily intake (TDI) of BPA in food in their 2023 scientific opinion, highlighting the need for stricter regulations compared to their previous assessment in 2015. This regulatory action has spurred the production of BPA alternatives, raising concerns about their safety due to insufficient toxicological data. Addressing this gap is crucial for ensuring human and environmental health. In this project, multiple genotoxicity endpoints were applied for testing of two regulatory relevant BPA alternatives, bisphenol E (BPE) and bisphenol P (BPP), in different human models: 2D HepG2 liver cells, 3D liver spheroids and primary human peripheral blood lymphocytes. DNA strand breaks and oxidised base lesions were evaluated by the enzyme-modified version of the comet assay, while clastogenicity and aneugenicity were analysed by the in vitro micronucleus assay (OECD TG 487, 2016), together with cytotoxicity. Development of new advanced models (NAMs), as 3D spheroids, are essential for next-generation risk assessment (NGRA) in line with the 3R's to replace, reduce or refine animal experiments. In this aspect, validation and standardisation of NAMs are needed to reach regulatory readiness level and development of OECD Test Guidelines. Therefore, a standardisation and pre-validation of the advanced 3D liver spheroid model was performed by using multiple genotoxicity endpoints and by comparing the obtained results with standard genotoxicity models.
2024
A Quantitative Model of Endogenous Climate Adaptation: Data Challenges, Validation, and Applications
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Adult neurotoxicity (ANT) and developmental neurotoxicity (DNT) assessments aim to understand the adverse effects and underlying mechanisms of toxicants on the human nervous system. In recent years, there has been an increasing focus on the so-called new approach methodologies (NAMs). The Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD), together with European and American regulatory agencies, promote the use of validated alternative test systems, but to date, guidelines for regulatory DNT and ANT assessment rely primarily on classical animal testing. Alternative methods include both non-animal approaches and test systems on non-vertebrates (e.g., nematodes) or non-mammals (e.g., fish). Therefore, this review summarizes the recent advances of NAMs focusing on ANT and DNT and highlights the potential and current critical issues for the full implementation of these methods in the future. The status of the DNT in vitro battery (DNT IVB) is also reviewed as a first step of NAMs for the assessment of neurotoxicity in the regulatory context. Critical issues such as (i) the need for test batteries and method integration (from in silico and in vitro to in vivo alternatives, e.g., zebrafish, C. elegans) requiring interdisciplinarity to manage complexity, (ii) interlaboratory transferability, and (iii) the urgent need for method validation are discussed.
2024
Reviderte beregninger av luftkvalitet ved Bjørnheimveien 26
NILU har blitt engasjert av Prem Partners II A/S for å vurdere utbredelse av luftsoner for dagens situasjon og en framtidig situasjon med foreslått boligblokk i Bjørnheimveien 26. Det er anvendt en Gaussisk spredningsmodell for linjekilder (Hiway-2). Når det tas hensyn til lokal topografi ved det aktuelle området, viser beregningene at den nye bygningen i hovedsak faller utenfor rød luftsone på bakkenivå, med unntak av det sørøstre hjørnet av bygningen som beregningene indikerer at ligger innenfor. Videre viser beregningene at skjermingseffekten for eksisterende bebyggelse av en ny bygning er marginal. Rapporten er en revisjon av NILU-rapport 15/2021.
NILU
2024
2024
Whereas inhalation exposure to organic contaminants can negatively impact human health, knowledge of their spatial variability in the ambient atmosphere remains limited. We analyzed the extracts of passive air samplers deployed at 119 unique sites in Southern Canada between 2019 and 2022 for 353 organic vapors. Hierarchical clustering of the obtained data set revealed four archetypes of spatial concentration variability in the outdoor atmosphere, which are indicative of common sources and similar atmospheric dispersion behavior. “Point Source” signatures are characterized by elevated concentration in the vicinity of major release locations. A “Population” signature applies to compounds whose air concentrations are highly correlated with population density, and is associated with emissions from consumer products. The “Water Source” signature applies to substances with elevated levels in the vicinity of water bodies from which they evaporate. Another group of compounds displays a “Uniform” signature, indicative of a lack of major sources within the study area. We illustrate how such a data set, and the derived spatial patterns, can be applied to support the identification of sources, the quantification of atmospheric emissions, the modeling of air quality, and the investigation of potential inequities in inhalation exposure.
2024
Monitoring of environmental contaminants in air and precipitation. Annual report 2023
This report presents air monitoring data from 2023 for the Norwegian monitoring programme "Atmospheric contaminants". The results covers 16 groups comprising of 260 organic compounds (regulated and non-regulated) as well as 14 heavy metals, and a selection of organic chemicals of concern.
NILU
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A reliable determination of equivalent black carbon (eBC) mass concentrations derived from filter absorption photometers (FAPs) measurements depends on the appropriate quantification of the mass absorption cross-section (MAC) for converting the absorption coefficient (babs) to eBC. This study investigates the spatial–temporal variability of the MAC obtained from simultaneous elemental carbon (EC) and babs measurements performed at 22 sites. We compared different methodologies for retrieving eBC integrating different options for calculating MAC including: locally derived, median value calculated from 22 sites, and site-specific rolling MAC. The eBC concentrations that underwent correction using these methods were identified as LeBC (local MAC), MeBC (median MAC), and ReBC (Rolling MAC) respectively. Pronounced differences (up to more than 50 %) were observed between eBC as directly provided by FAPs (NeBC; Nominal instrumental MAC) and ReBC due to the differences observed between the experimental and nominal MAC values. The median MAC was 7.8 ± 3.4 m2 g-1 from 12 aethalometers at 880 nm, and 10.6 ± 4.7 m2 g-1 from 10 MAAPs at 637 nm. The experimental MAC showed significant site and seasonal dependencies, with heterogeneous patterns between summer and winter in different regions. In addition, long-term trend analysis revealed statistically significant (s.s.) decreasing trends in EC. Interestingly, we showed that the corresponding corrected eBC trends are not independent of the way eBC is calculated due to the variability of MAC. NeBC and EC decreasing trends were consistent at sites with no significant trend in experimental MAC. Conversely, where MAC showed s.s. trend, the NeBC and EC trends were not consistent while ReBC concentration followed the same pattern as EC. These results underscore the importance of accounting for MAC variations when deriving eBC measurements from FAPs and emphasize the necessity of incorporating EC observations to constrain the uncertainty associated with eBC.
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Surface-Bioengineered Extracellular Vesicles Seeking Molecular Biotargets in Lung Cancer Cells
Personalized medicine is a new approach to modern oncology. Here, to facilitate the application of extracellular vesicles (EVs) derived from lung cancer cells as potent advanced therapy medicinal products in lung cancer, the EV membrane was functionalized with a specific ligand for targeting purposes. In this role, the most effective heptapeptide in binding to lung cancer cells (PTHTRWA) was used. The functionalization process of EV surface was performed through the C- or N-terminal end of the heptapeptide. To prove the activity of the EVs functionalized with PTHTRWA, both a model of lipid membrane mimicking normal and cancerous cell membranes as well as human adenocarcinomic alveolar basal epithelial cells (A549) and human normal bronchial epithelial cells (BEAS-2B) have been exposed to these bioconstructs. Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) showed that the as-bioengineered PTHTRWA-EVs loaded with superparamagnetic iron oxide nanoparticle (SPIO) cargos reach the growing tumor when dosed intravenously in NUDE Balb/c mice bearing A549 cancer. Molecular dynamics (MD) in silico studies elucidated a high affinity of the synthesized peptide to the α5β1 integrin. Preclinical safety assays did not evidence any cytotoxic or genotoxic effects of the PTHTRWA-bioengineered EVs.
2024
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A growing number of studies have reported that routinely monitored per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) are not sufficient to explain the extractable organic fluorine (EOF) measured in human blood. In this study, we address this gap by screening pooled human serum collected over 3 decades (1986–2015) in Tromsø (Norway) for >5000 PFAS and >300 fluorinated pharmaceuticals. We combined multiple analytical techniques (direct infusion Fourier transform ion cyclotron resonance mass spectrometry, liquid chromatography-Orbitrap-high-resolution mass spectrometry, and total oxidizable precursors assay) in a three-step suspect screening process which aimed at unequivocal suspect identification. This approach uncovered the presence of one PFAS and eight fluorinated pharmaceuticals (including some metabolites) in human serum. While the PFAS suspect only accounted for 2–4% of the EOF, fluorinated pharmaceuticals accounted for 0–63% of the EOF, and their contribution increased in recent years. Although fluorinated pharmaceuticals often contain only 1–3 fluorine atoms, our results indicate that they can contribute significantly to the EOF. Indeed, the contribution from fluorinated pharmaceuticals allowed us to close the organofluorine mass balance in pooled serum from 2015, indicating a good understanding of organofluorine compounds in humans. However, a portion of the EOF in human serum from 1986 and 2007 still remained unexplained.
2024