Validation of mobile phone use recall in the multinational MOBI-kids study.

Potential differential and non-differential recall error in mobile phone use (MPU) in the multinational MOBI-Kids case-control study were evaluated. We compared self-reported MPU with network operator billing record data up to 3 months, 1 year, and 2 years before the interview date from 702 subjects aged between 10 and 24 years in eight countries. Spearman rank correlations, Kappa coefficients and geometric mean ratios (GMRs) were used.

Associations of light exposure patterns with sleep among Dutch children: The ABCD cohort study.

Light exposure affects the circadian system and consequently can affect sleep quality. Only few studies examined this relationship in children. We evaluated associations between light exposure patterns and sleep metrics in children.

Modelling of daily radiofrequency electromagnetic field dose for a prospective adolescent cohort.

Introduction: Radiofrequency electromagnetic fields originate from a variety of wireless communication sources operating near and far from the body, making it challenging to quantify daily absorbed dose. In the framework of the prospective cohort SCAMP (Study of Cognition, Adolescents and Mobile Phones), we aimed to characterize RF-EMF dose over a 2-year period.

Methods: The SCAMP cohort included 6605 children from greater London, UK at baseline (age 12.

Estimated all-day and evening whole-brain radiofrequency electromagnetic fields doses, and sleep in preadolescents.

Objective: To investigate the association of estimated all-day and evening whole-brain radiofrequency electromagnetic field (RF-EMF) doses with sleep disturbances and objective sleep measures in preadolescents.

Methods: We included preadolescents aged 9-12 years from two population-based birth cohorts, the Dutch Generation R Study (n = 974) and the Spanish INfancia y Medio Ambiente Project (n = 868). All-day and evening overall whole-brain RF-EMF doses (mJ/kg/day) were estimated for several RF-EMF sources including mobile and Digital Enhanced Cordless Telecommunications (DECT) phone calls (named phone calls), other mobile phone uses, tablet use, laptop use (named screen activities), and far-field sources.

Exploring the Effects of Environmental Factors on the Development of 0-4-Year Old Children in The Netherlands.

Air pollution, noise, and green space are important environmental exposures, having been linked to a variety of specific health outcomes. However, there are few studies addressing overall early life development. To assess their effects, associations between developmental milestones for a large population of 0-4-year old children in The Netherlands and environmental exposures were explored.

A Scoping Review of Technologies and Their Applicability for Exposome-Based Risk Assessment in the Oil and Gas Industry.

Introduction: Oil and gas workers have been shown to be at increased risk of chronic diseases including cancer, asthma, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, and hearing loss, among others. Technological advances may be used to assess the external (e.g.

Radio-frequency electromagnetic field exposure and contribution of sources in the general population: an organ-specific integrative exposure assessment.

In order to achieve an integrated radio-frequency electromagnetic fields (RF-EMF) dose assessment, detailed information about source-specific exposure duration and output power is needed. We developed an Integrated Exposure Model (IEM) to combine energy absorbed due to use of and exposure to RF-EMF sources and applied it to a sample of the general population to derive population RF-EMF estimates. The IEM used specific absorption rate transfer algorithms to provide RF-EMF daily dose estimates (mJ/kg/day) using source-specific attributes (e.

Radiofrequency electromagnetic fields from mobile communication: Description of modeled dose in brain regions and the body in European children and adolescents.

Background: Little is known about radiofrequency electromagnetic fields (RF) from mobile technology and resulting dose in young people. We describe modeled integrated RF dose in European children and adolescents combining own mobile device use and surrounding sources.

Methods: Using an integrated RF model, we estimated the daily RF dose in the brain (whole-brain, cerebellum, frontal lobe, midbrain, occipital lobe, parietal lobe, temporal lobes) and the whole-body in 8358 children (ages 8-12) and adolescents (ages 14-18) from the Netherlands, Spain, and Switzerland during 2012-2016.

Association between estimated whole-brain radiofrequency electromagnetic fields dose and cognitive function in preadolescents and adolescents.

Objective: To investigate the association between estimated whole-brain radiofrequency electromagnetic fields (RF-EMF) dose, using an improved integrated RF-EMF exposure model, and cognitive function in preadolescents and adolescents.

Methods: Cross-sectional analysis in preadolescents aged 9-11 years and adolescents aged 17-18 years from the Dutch Amsterdam Born Children and their Development Study (n = 1664 preadolescents) and the Spanish INfancia y Medio Ambiente Project (n = 1288 preadolescents and n = 261 adolescents), two population-based birth cohort studies. Overall whole-brain RF-EMF doses (mJ/kg/day) were estimated for several RF-EMF sources together including mobile and Digital Enhanced Cordless Telecommunications phone calls (named phone calls), other mobile phone uses than calling, tablet use, laptop use (named screen activities), and far-field sources.

EVALUATION OF SPECIFIC ABSORPTION RATE IN THE FAR-FIELD, NEAR-TO-FAR FIELD AND NEAR-FIELD REGIONS FOR INTEGRATIVE RADIOFREQUENCY EXPOSURE ASSESSMENT.

The specific absorption rate (SAR) induced by wireless radiofrequency (RF) systems depends on different parameters. Previously, SAR was mainly assessed under conditions of a single frequency and technology and for a limited number of localized RF sources. The current and emerging mobile systems involve a wider range of usage scenarios and are frequently used simultaneously, leading to combined exposures for which almost no exposure evaluation exists.

Estimated whole-brain and lobe-specific radiofrequency electromagnetic fields doses and brain volumes in preadolescents.

Objective: To assess the association between estimated whole-brain and lobe-specific radiofrequency electromagnetic fields (RF-EMF) doses, using an improved integrated RF-EMF exposure model, and brain volumes in preadolescents at 9-12 years old.

Methods: Cross-sectional analysis in preadolescents aged 9-12 years from the Generation R Study, a population-based birth cohort set up in Rotterdam, The Netherlands (n = 2592). An integrated exposure model was used to estimate whole-brain and lobe-specific RF-EMF doses (mJ/kg/day) from different RF-EMF sources including mobile and Digital Enhanced Cordless Telecommunications (DECT) phone calls, other mobile phone uses than calling, tablet use, laptop use, and far-field sources.

Shedding Some Light in the Dark-A Comparison of Personal Measurements with Satellite-Based Estimates of Exposure to Light at Night among Children in the Netherlands.

Background: Exposure to light at night (LAN) can perturb the biological clock and affect sleep and health. Previous epidemiological studies have evaluated LAN levels measured by satellites, but the validity of this measure as a proxy for personal LAN exposure is unclear. In addition, outdoor satellite-measured LAN levels are higher in urban environments, which means that this measure could potentially represent a proxy for other, likely urban, environmental exposures.

Changes in Work Practices for Safe Use of Formaldehyde in a University-Based Anatomy Teaching and Research Facility.

Anatomy teaching and research relies on the use of formaldehyde (FA) as a preservation agent for human and animal tissues. Due to the recent classification of FA as a carcinogen, university hospitals are facing a challenge to (further) reduce exposure to FA. The aim of this study was to reduce exposure to FA in the anatomy teaching and research facility.

Personal exposure to radio-frequency electromagnetic fields in Europe: Is there a generation gap?

Background: Exposure to radiofrequency electromagnetic fields (RF-EMF) from mobile communication technologies is changing rapidly. To characterize sources and associated variability, we studied the differences and correlations in exposure patterns between children aged 8 to 18 and their parents, over the course of the day, by age, by activity pattern, and for different metrics of exposure.

Methods: Using portable RF-EMF measurement devices, we collected simultaneous real-time personal measurements of RF-EMF over 24 to 72 h in 294 parent-child pairs from Denmark, the Netherlands, Slovenia, Switzerland, and Spain.

Spatial and temporal variability of personal environmental exposure to radio frequency electromagnetic fields in children in Europe.

Background: Exposure to radiofrequency electromagnetic fields (RF-EMF) has rapidly increased and little is known about exposure levels in children. This study describes personal RF-EMF environmental exposure levels from handheld devices and fixed site transmitters in European children, the determinants of this, and the day-to-day and year-to-year repeatability of these exposure levels.

Methods: Personal environmental RF-EMF exposure (μW/m, power flux density) was measured in 529 children (ages 8-18 years) in Denmark, the Netherlands, Slovenia, Switzerland, and Spain using personal portable exposure meters for a period of up to three days between 2014 and 2016, and repeated in a subsample of 28 children one year later.

Recall of mobile phone usage and laterality in young people: The multinational Mobi-Expo study.

Objective: To study recall of mobile phone usage, including laterality and hands-free use, in young people.

Methods: Actual mobile phone use was recorded among volunteers aged between 10 and 24 years from 12 countries by the software application XMobiSense and was compared with self-reported mobile phone use at 6 and 18 months after using the application. The application recorded number and duration of voice calls, number of text messages, amount of data transfer, laterality (% of call time the phone was near the right or left side of the head, or neither), and hands-free usage.

Chemical Characterization of the Indoor Air Quality of a University Hospital: Penetration of Outdoor Air Pollutants.

For healthcare centers, local outdoor sources of air pollution represent a potential threat to indoor air quality (IAQ). The aim of this study was to study the impact of local outdoor sources of air pollution on the IAQ of a university hospital. IAQ was characterized at thirteen indoor and two outdoor locations and source samples were collected from a helicopter and an emergency power supply.

Context-sensitive ecological momentary assessments; integrating real-time exposure measurements, data-analytics and health assessment using a smartphone application.

Introduction: Modern sensor technology makes it possible to collect vast amounts of environmental, behavioural and health data. These data are often linked to contextual information on for example exposure sources which is separately collected with considerable lag time, leading to complications in assessing transient and/or highly spatially variable environmental exposures. Context-Sensitive Ecological Momentary Assessments (CS-EMAs) could be used to address this.

Aggregate dermal exposure to cyclic siloxanes in personal care products: implications for risk assessment.

Consumers who use personal care products (PCPs) are internally exposed to some of the organic components present of which some may be detected in exhaled air when eliminated. The aim of this study was the quantitative determination of octamethylcyclotetrasiloxane (D4) and decamethylcyclopentasiloxane (D5) in end-exhaled air to study dermal absorption of substances in PCPs. We exposed the forearm of fifteen healthy volunteers for 60min to pure D4 or D5 and to commercial products containing D4 and D5.

Polymorphisms in the interferon regulatory factor-1 promoter are not associated with psoriasis and do not influence IFN-alpha-induced Th1 polarization.

Psoriasis is a chronic inflammatory skin disease, characterized by a Th1 cytokine profile. We previously demonstrated that type I interferon (IFN-alpha/beta) signaling is activated in psoriatic skin. Type I IFNs regulate the expression of many proinflammatory and anti-inflammatory cytokines, resulting in Th1 polarization.

IFN-alpha enhances poly-IC responses in human keratinocytes by inducing expression of cytosolic innate RNA receptors: relevance for psoriasis.

Keratinocytes play a key role in innate immune responses of the skin to bacterial and viral pathogens. Viral double-stranded RNA and its synthetic analogue polyriboinosinic-polyribocytidylic acid (poly-IC) are recognized via multiple pathways involving the receptors Toll-like receptor 3 (TLR3), protein kinase R (PKR), and the recently described cytosolic RNA helicases retinoic acid-inducible gene-I (RIG-I) and melanoma differentiation-associated gene 5 (MDA5). We show that preincubation of human keratinocytes with IFN-alpha enhances the proinflammatory responses to poly-IC.

First real-time measurement of the evolving 2H/1H ratio during water evaporation from plant leaves.

We have studied the temporal behaviour of the deuterium isotope ratio of water vapour emerging from a freshly cut plant leaf placed in a dry nitrogen atmosphere. The leaf material was placed directly inside the sample gas cell of the stable isotope ratio infrared spectrometer. At the reduced pressure ( approximately 40 mbar) inside the cell, the appearance of water evaporating from the leaf is easily probed by the spectrometer, as well as the evolving isotope ratios, with a precision of about 1 per thousand.

Elevated interleukin-18 protein expression in early active and progressive plaque-type psoriatic lesions.

Psoriasis is a T cell-mediated inflammatory skin disease characterized by an elevated IFN-gamma and IL-12p70 expression in skin lesions. Interleukin-18 (IL-18) synergizes with IL-12 to induce IFN-gamma production and a strong T-helper-1-mediated immune response, or to induce Th2 polarization depending on the immunological context. We have previously shown that keratinocytes in normal skin produce and store large amounts of pro-IL-18.

In psoriasis lesional skin the type I interferon signaling pathway is activated, whereas interferon-alpha sensitivity is unaltered.

The epidermal phenotype as observed in psoriatic skin results from inflammation and abnormal proliferation and terminal differentiation of keratinocytes. Mice deficient for interferon regulatory factor-2, a repressor of interferon signaling, display psoriasis-like skin inflammation. The development of this phenotype is strictly dependent on type I interferon (interferon-alpha/beta) signaling.