Greenspace exposure and the retinal microvasculature in healthy adults across three European cities.

Background: Emerging evidence points to the beneficial role of greenspace exposure in promoting cardiovascular health. Most studies have evaluated such associations with conventional cardiovascular endpoints such as mortality, morbidity, or macrovascular markers. In comparison, the microvasculature, a crucial compartment of the vascular system where early subclinical signs of cardiovascular problems appear, has not been studied in association with greenspace exposure.

The impact of black carbon (BC) on mode-specific galvanic skin response (GSR) as a measure of stress in urban environments.

Previous research has shown that walking and cycling could help alleviate stress in cities, however there is poor knowledge on how specific microenvironmental conditions encountered during daily journeys may lead to varying degrees of stress experienced at that moment. We use objectively measured data and a robust causal inference framework to address this gap. Using a Bayesian Doubly Robust (BDR) approach, we find that black carbon exposure statistically significantly increases stress, as measured by Galvanic Skin Response (GSR), while cycling and while walking.

Day-to-day intrapersonal variability in mobility patterns and association with perceived stress: A cross-sectional study using GPS from 122 individuals in three European cities.

Many aspects of our life are related to our mobility patterns and individuals can exhibit strong tendencies towards routine in their daily lives. Intrapersonal day-to-day variability in mobility patterns has been associated with mental health outcomes. The study aims were: (a) calculate intrapersonal day-to-day variability in mobility metrics for three cities; (b) explore interpersonal variability in mobility metrics by sex, season and city, and (c) describe intrapersonal variability in mobility and their association with perceived stress.

Position paper on management of personal data in environment and health research in Europe.

Management of datasets that include health information and other sensitive personal information of European study participants has to be compliant with the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR, Regulation (EU) 2016/679). Within scientific research, the widely subscribed'FAIR' data principles should apply, meaning that research data should be findable, accessible, interoperable and re-usable. Balancing the aim of open science driven FAIR data management with GDPR compliant personal data protection safeguards is now a common challenge for many research projects dealing with (sensitive) personal data.

Harmonization of Human Biomonitoring Studies in Europe: Characteristics of the HBM4EU-Aligned Studies Participants.

Human biomonitoring has become a pivotal tool for supporting chemicals' policies. It provides information on real-life human exposures and is increasingly used to prioritize chemicals of health concern and to evaluate the success of chemical policies. Europe has launched the ambitious REACH program in 2007 to improve the protection of human health and the environment.

The effects of traveling in different transport modes on galvanic skin response (GSR) as a measure of stress: An observational study.

Background: Stress is one of many ailments associated with urban living, with daily travel a potential major source. Active travel, nevertheless, has been associated with lower levels of stress compared to other modes. Earlier work has relied on self-reported measures of stress, and on study designs that limit our ability to establish causation.

Denser Retinal Microvascular Network Is Inversely Associated With Behavioral Outcomes and Sustained Attention in Children.

Changes in geometry of the retinal microvascular network, including vessel width, vessel density, and tortuosity, have been associated with neurological disorders in adults. We investigated metrics of the retinal microvasculature in association with behavior and cognition in 8- to 12-year-old children. Digital fundus images of 190 children (48.

Combination of snapshot hyperspectral retinal imaging and optical coherence tomography to identify Alzheimer's disease patients.

Introduction: The eye offers potential for the diagnosis of Alzheimer's disease (AD) with retinal imaging techniques being explored to quantify amyloid accumulation and aspects of neurodegeneration. To assess these changes, this proof-of-concept study combined hyperspectral imaging and optical coherence tomography to build a classification model to differentiate between AD patients and controls.

Methods: In a memory clinic setting, patients with a diagnosis of clinically probable AD (n = 10) or biomarker-proven AD (n = 7) and controls (n = 22) underwent non-invasive retinal imaging with an easy-to-use hyperspectral snapshot camera that collects information from 16 spectral bands (460-620 nm, 10-nm bandwidth) in one capture.

Retinal microvascular complexity comparing mono- and multifractal dimensions in relation to cardiometabolic risk factors in a Middle Eastern population.

Purpose: Metrics that capture changes in the retinal microvascular structure are relevant in the context of cardiometabolic disease development. The microvascular topology is typically quantified using monofractals, although it obeys more complex multifractal rules. We study mono- and multifractals of the retinal microvasculature in relation to cardiometabolic factors.

Evaluation of Different Recruitment Methods: Longitudinal, Web-Based, Pan-European Physical Activity Through Sustainable Transport Approaches (PASTA) Project.

Background: Sufficient sample size and minimal sample bias are core requirements for empirical data analyses. Combining opportunistic recruitment with a Web-based survey and data-collection platform yields new benefits over traditional recruitment approaches.

Objective: This paper aims to report the success of different recruitment methods and obtain data on participants' characteristics, participation behavior, recruitment rates, and representativeness of the sample.

Effects of physical activity and air pollution on blood pressure.

Aim: To assess the main and interaction effects of black carbon and physical activity on arterial blood pressure in a healthy adult population from three European cities using objective personal measurements over short-term (hours and days) and long-term exposure.

Methods: A panel study of 122 healthy adults was performed in three European cities (Antwerp, Barcelona, and London). In 3 seasons between March 2015 and March 2016, each participant wore sensors for one week to objectively measure their exposure to black carbon and monitor their physical activity continuously.

Transport mode choice and body mass index: Cross-sectional and longitudinal evidence from a European-wide study.

Background: In the fight against rising overweight and obesity levels, and unhealthy urban environments, the renaissance of active mobility (cycling and walking as a transport mode) is encouraging. Transport mode has been shown to be associated to body mass index (BMI), yet there is limited longitudinal evidence demonstrating causality. We aimed to associate transport mode and BMI cross-sectionally, but also prospectively in the first ever European-wide longitudinal study on transport and health.

Short-term effects of physical activity, air pollution and their interaction on the cardiovascular and respiratory system.

Physical activity (PA) in urban environments may lead to increased inhalation of air pollutants. As PA and air pollution (AP) have respectively beneficial and detrimental effects on the cardiorespiratory system, the responses to these exposures can interact. Therefore, we assessed the short-term effects of PA, AP and their interaction on a set of subclinical cardiovascular and respiratory outcomes in a panel of healthy adults: heart rate variability (HRV), retinal vessel diameters, lung function and fractional exhaled nitric oxide (FeNO).

Black Carbon Reduces the Beneficial Effect of Physical Activity on Lung Function.

Introduction: When physical activity is promoted in urban outdoor settings (e.g., walking and cycling), individuals are also exposed to air pollution.

Short-term air pollution exposure decreases lung function: a repeated measures study in healthy adults.

Background: Daily changes in ambient concentrations of particulate matter, nitrogen oxides and ozone are associated with increased cardiopulmonary morbidity and mortality, with the lungs and their function being a vulnerable target.

Methods: To evaluate the association between daily changes in air pollution and lung function in healthy adults we obtained annual lung function measurements from a routine worker health surveillance program not designed for research purposes. Forced Vital Capacity (FVC), Forced Expiratory Volume in the first second (FEV1), FEV1/FVC and Peak Expiratory flow (PEF) from a cohort of 2449 employees were associated with daily measurements of PM, NO and ozone at a nearby monitoring station in the North of Belgium.

Physical activity and sedentary behaviour in daily life: A comparative analysis of the Global Physical Activity Questionnaire (GPAQ) and the SenseWear armband.

Reduction of sedentary time and an increase in physical activity offer potential to improve public health. However, quantifying physical activity behaviour under real world conditions is a major challenge and no standard of good practice is available. Our aim was to compare the results of physical activity and sedentary behaviour obtained with a self-reported instrument (Global Physical Activity Questionnaire (GPAQ)) and a wearable sensor (SenseWear) in a repeated measures study design.

Wearable Sensors for Personal Monitoring and Estimation of Inhaled Traffic-Related Air Pollution: Evaluation of Methods.

Physical activity and ventilation rates have an effect on an individual's dose and may be important to consider in exposure-response relationships; however, these factors are often ignored in environmental epidemiology studies. The aim of this study was to evaluate methods of estimating the inhaled dose of air pollution and understand variability in the absence of a true gold standard metric. Five types of methods were identified: (1) methods using (physical) activity types, (2) methods based on energy expenditure, METs (metabolic equivalents of task), and oxygen consumption, (3) methods based on heart rate or (4) breathing rate, and (5) methods that combine heart and breathing rate.

Assessing multimedia/multipathway exposures to inorganic arsenic at population and individual level using MERLIN-Expo.

In this study, we report on model simulations performed using the newly developed exposure tool, MERLIN-Expo, in order to assess inorganic arsenic (iAs) exposure to adults resulting from past emissions by non-ferrous smelters in Belgium (Northern Campine area). Exposure scenarios were constructed to estimate external iAs exposure as well as the toxicologically relevant As (tAs, i.e.

Multimedia & PBPK modelling with MERLIN-Expo versus biomonitoring for assessing Pb exposure of pre-school children in a residential setting.

This paper reports on a case study - conducted within the European FP7 project "4FUN" - focusing on exposure of pre-school children to lead resulting from past emissions by non-ferrous smelters in Belgium (Northern Campine area). Exposure scenarios were constructed and simulated with the MERLIN-Expo tool to estimate external Pb exposure as well as the Pb body burden in children living in the vicinity of the former industrial sites as compared to children living in adjacent areas and a reference area. Simulations were run for several scenarios ranging from very simple to rather complex in order to study the effect of different simulation approaches (e.

Physical Activity through Sustainable Transport Approaches (PASTA): a study protocol for a multicentre project.

Introduction: Only one-third of the European population meets the minimum recommended levels of physical activity (PA). Physical inactivity is a major risk factor for non-communicable diseases. Walking and cycling for transport (active mobility, AM) are well suited to provide regular PA.

Physical Activity through Sustainable Transport Approaches (PASTA): protocol for a multi-centre, longitudinal study.

Background: Physical inactivity is one of the leading risk factors for non-communicable diseases, yet many are not sufficiently active. The Physical Activity through Sustainable Transport Approaches (PASTA) study aims to better understand active mobility (walking and cycling for transport solely or in combination with public transport) as an innovative approach to integrate physical activity into individuals' everyday lives. The PASTA study will collect data of multiple cities in a longitudinal cohort design to study correlates of active mobility, its effect on overall physical activity, crash risk and exposure to traffic-related air pollution.

The Aeroflex: a bicycle for mobile air quality measurements.

Fixed air quality stations have limitations when used to assess people's real life exposure to air pollutants. Their spatial coverage is too limited to capture the spatial variability in, e.g.

Modeling individual cell lag time distributions for Listeria monocytogenes.

The food industry faces two paradoxical demands: on the one hand, foods need to be microbiologically safe for consumption and on the other hand, consumers want fresh, minimally processed foods. To meet these demands, more insight into the mechanisms of microbial growth is needed, which includes, among others, the microbial lag phase. This is the time needed by bacterial cells to adapt to a new environment (for example, after food product contamination) before starting an exponential growth regime.