Search results for "Exposure"

Effects of soil compaction, rain exposure and their interaction on Soil Carbon Dioxide emission

2012

Soils release more carbon per annum than current global anthropogenic emissions (Luo and Zhou, 2006). Soils emit carbon dioxide through mineralization and decomposition of organic matter and respiration of roots and soil organism (Houghton 2007) Evaluation of the effects of abiotic factors on microbial activity is of major importance in the context of mitigation greenhouse gases emissions. One of the key greenhouse gases is carbon dioxide (CO2) and previous studies demonstrate that soil CO2 emission is significantly affected by temperature and soil water content. There are a limited number of studies that examine the impact of bulk density and soil surface characteristics as a result of exp…

Fire risk sub-module assessment under solvency II. Calculating the highest risk exposure

2021

The European Directive 2009/138 of Solvency II requires adopting a new approach based on risk, applying a standard formula as a market proxy in which the risk profile of insurers is fundamental. This study focuses on the fire risk sub-module, framed within the man-made catastrophe risk module, for which the regulations require the calculation of the highest concentration of risks that make up the portfolio of an insurance company within a radius of 200 m. However, the regulations do not indicate a specific methodology. This study proposes a procedure consisting of calculating the cluster with the highest risk and identifying this on a map. The results can be applied immediately by any insur…

Ramucirumab in patients with advanced hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) and elevated alpha fetoprotein (AFP): An exposure-response analysis

2019

Passive sound exposure induces rapid perceptual learning in musicians: event-related potential evidence.

2013

Musicians show enhanced auditory processing compared to nonmusicians. However, the neural basis underlying the effects of musical training on rapid plasticity in auditory processing has not been systematically studied. Here, the rapid (one session) learning-related plastic changes in event-related potential (ERP) responses for pitch and duration deviants between passive blocks were compared between musicians and nonmusicians. Passive blocks were interleaved with an active discrimination task. In addition to musicians having faster and stronger overall source activation for deviating sounds, source analysis revealed rapid plastic changes in the left and right temporal and left frontal source…

Media Effects: Cumulation and Duration

2017

The cumulation of media effects describes a process during which numerous (often, but not necessarily, small) effects accumulate over time as individuals use a certain medium or specific media contents repeatedly. Cumulative effects are especially central in forming individuals' perceptions of reality and are therefore a central premise in several theories and approaches that explain media effects (e.g., cultivation, agenda-setting, or spiral of silence). Whereas effects of single stimuli typically persist only in the short term, cumulative effects of media messages are long-term effects. This entry theorizes on the processes occurring between the short-term effects of a single stimulus and…

Prenatal exposure to organochlorine compounds and lung function during childhood

2019

Introduction: Prenatal exposure to organochlorine compounds (OCs) can increase the risk of reported respiratory symptoms in children. It remains unclear whether these compounds can also impact on lung function. We assessed the association between prenatal exposure to OCs and lung function during childhood. Methods: We included 1308 mother-child pairs enrolled in a prospective cohort study. Prenatal concentrations of p,p′-dichlorodiphenyltrichloroethane [p,p′-DDT], p,p′-dichlorodiphenyldichloroethylene [p,p′-DDE], hexachlorobenzene [HCB], and seven polychlorinated biphenyls [PCBs] were measured in cord blood. Spirometry was performed in the offspring at ages 4 (n = 636) and 7 years (n = 1192…

Prenatal exposure to perfluoroalkyl substances, immune-related outcomes, and lung function in children from a Spanish birth cohort study.

2019

Background: Prenatal exposure to perfluoroalkyl substances (PFASs) has been associated with impaired immune and respiratory health during childhood but the evidence is inconsistent and limited for lung function. We studied the association between prenatal PFASs exposure and immune and respiratory health, including lung function, up to age 7 years in the Spanish INMA birth cohort study. Methods: We assessed four PFASs in maternal plasma samples collected during the 1st trimester of pregnancy (years: 2003-2008): perfluorohexane sulfonate (PFHxS), perfluorooctane sulfonate (PFOS), perfluorooctanoate (PFOA), and perfluorononanoate (PFNA). Mothers reported the occurrence (yes/no) of lower respir…

Lower probability of FEV1 improvement in asthmatic children exposed to passive smoke

2015

Background: Guidelines advocate the use of spirometry to assess lung function in asthmatic. Inhaled corticosteroid(ICS) therapy is a mainstay of treatment for asthma, but the clinical response is variable. Aim: To assess the time variation of FEV1% in treated children with Persistent Asthma (PA). Methods: 110 children with PA, with two visits between September 2011 and December 2014 at the IBIM pediatric clinic were studied. Spirometry was performed using Pony FX, Cosmed, Italy; values were expressed as %pred using GLI-2012equation. The time trend of FEV1% for each subject was estimated through separate regressions. A linear regression model for the individual slopes (FEV1% average month va…

Safety assessment of food-contact paper and board using a battery of short-term toxicity tests: European union BIOSAFEPAPER project.

2005

International audience; An European Union (EU)-funded project QLK1-CT-2001-00930 (BIOSAFEPAPER) involves the development, validation and intercalibration of a short-term battery of toxicological tests for the safety assessment of food-contact paper and board. Dissemination of the results to industry, legislators (e.g. DG Consumer Protection, DG Enterprises, DG Research), standardization bodies such as CEN, and consumers will create an agreed risk evaluation procedure. The project involves pre-normative research in order to establish a set of in-vitro cytotoxicity and genotoxicity tests that will be easily adaptable to food-contact fibre-based materials and have endpoints relevant to consume…

Stress-Strain Concept in Whole-Body Vibration

1986

The strain-stress concept defines stress. First of all, stress refers to vibration exposure (kind, intensity, and duration of vibration) and the additional stress factors that act upon man when exposed. Strain, on the other hand, means the effects of such stress, that is, the reaction (biodynamic, psychological, physiological, damaging) of the human being, taking into consideration the individual endogenous conditions (see Table 2).