Assessment of indoor air exposure at residential homes: Inhalation dose and lung deposition of PM, PM and ultrafine particles among newborn children and their mothers.

Accurate assessment of particulate matter (PM) dose and respiratory deposition is essential to better understand the risks of exposure to PM and, consequently, to develop the respective risk-control strategies. In homes, this is especially relevant in regards to ultrafine particles (UFP; <0.1 μm) which origin in these environments is mostly due to indoor sources.

Exposure assessment in one central hospital: A multi-approach protocol to achieve an accurate risk characterization.

The bioburden in a Hospital building originates not only from patients, visitors and staff, but is also disseminated by several indoor hospital characteristics and outdoor environmental sources. This study intends to assess the exposure to bioburden in one central Hospital with a multi-approach protocol using active and passive sampling methods. The microbial contamination was also characterized through molecular tools for toxigenic species, antifungal resistance and mycotoxins and endotoxins profile.

Self-disinfecting surfaces and infection control.

According to World Health Organization, every year in the European Union, 4 million patients acquire a healthcare associated infection. Even though some microorganisms represent no threat to healthy people, hospitals harbor different levels of immunocompetent individuals, namely patients receiving immunosuppressors, with previous infections, or those with extremes of age (young children and elderly), requiring the implementation of effective control measures. Public spaces have also been found an important source of infectious disease outbreaks due to poor or none infection control measures applied.

The Influence of Thermal Comfort on the Quality of Life of Nursing Home Residents.

Thermal comfort (TC) parameters were measured in 130 rooms from nursing homes (NH), following ISO 7730:2005 in order to evaluate the influence of winter season TC indices on quality of life (QoL) in older individuals. Mean radiant temperature (mrT), predicted mean vote (PMV) and predicted percent of dissatisfied people (PPD) indices, and the respective measurement uncertainties were calculated using Monte Carlo Method. The WHOQOL-BREF questionnaire was conducted from September 2012 to April 2013, during the winter season TC sampling campaign.

Indoor fungal diversity in primary schools may differently influence allergic sensitization and asthma in children.

Background: Childhood exposure to microbiologic agents may influence the development of allergic and respiratory diseases. Apart from home, children spend most of their time at school, which represents an environment of significant exposure to indoor air microbes. Therefore, we aimed to assess how the prevalence of allergic sensitization and asthma in schoolchildren is affected by microbiologic exposure within classrooms.

Indoor air quality and atopic sensitization in primary schools: A follow-up study.

Highlights: The SINPHONIE guidelines were successful in reducing PM and PM in schools.The schools failed to reduce the levels of other IAQ pollutants.No significant changes were observed in the prevalence of atopy.

Children exposure to indoor ultrafine particles in urban and rural school environments.

Extended exposure to ultrafine particles (UFPs) may lead to consequences in children due to their increased susceptibility when compared to older individuals. Since children spend in average 8 h/day in primary schools, assessing the number concentrations of UFPs in these institutions is important in order to evaluate the health risk for children in primary schools caused by indoor air pollution. Thus, the purpose of this study was to assess and determine the sources of indoor UFP number concentrations in urban and rural Portuguese primary schools.

The impact of indoor air quality and contaminants on respiratory health of older people living in long-term care residences in Porto.

Background: persons who are 65 years or older often spend an important part of their lives indoors thus adverse indoor climate might influence their health status.

Objective: to evaluate the influence of indoor air quality and contaminants on older people's respiratory health.

Design: cross-sectional study.

Biological air contamination in elderly care centers: geria project.

Indoor air quality (IAQ) affects health particularly in susceptible individuals such as the elderly. It has been estimated that the older population spends approximately 19-20 h/d indoors, and the majority of the elderly spend all of their time indoors in elderly care centers (ECC). Older individuals may be particularly at risk of exposure to detrimental effects from pollutants, even at low concentrations, due to common and multiple underlying chronic diseases that increase susceptibility.

Environmental and ventilation assessment in Child Day Care Centers in Porto: the ENVIRH Project.

Children attending day care centers (CDCC) have been reported to be more prone to infectious diseases when compared with those cared for at home, and are exposed to conditions that may increase the risk of allergies and asthma. Several studies revealed that consequences of poor ventilation conditions include high levels of carbon dioxide (CO2) and many other indoor pollutants commonly detected in schools. Nine child day care centers were selected randomly to participate in this study.

Indoor air quality and thermal comfort-results of a pilot study in elderly care centers in Portugal.

The age of the European population is rising and percentage of adults aged 65 years and older is projected to increase from 16% in 2000 to 20% in 2020. It has been estimated that older subjects spend approximately 19 to 20 h/d indoors. Older individuals may be particularly at risk for detrimental effects from pollutants, even at low concentrations, due to reduced immunological defenses and multiple underlying chronic diseases.

Overcoming the learning curve of laparoscopic Roux-en-Y gastric bypass: a 12-year experience.

Background: Surgical treatment of morbid obesity with laparoscopic Roux-en-Y gastric bypass (LRYGB) is technically challenging and involves high-risk patients. In this study, the short-term outcome of LRYGB in a large population of patients has been evaluated, and morbimortality before and after overcoming the learning curve has been assessed. The objective of this study was to establish the learning curve for laparoscopic Roux-en-Y gastric bypass.