This review deals with environmental home inspection services in Western Europe provided for patients at the request of attending physicians to improve patient management. Such requests are usually motivated by respiratory or general symptoms which occur or worsen at home. The visit includes a standardised questionnaire as well as environmental sampling such as mite-allergen measurement, mould identification and volatile organic compound (VOC) measurements. Besides, some non-respiratory indoor risks are also taken into account. Following the visit, a report is sent to the family and the attending physician. These services have been developed since the early 1990s, but evaluation of their efficacy is still limited. Some studies have demonstrated a reduction in mite-allergen levels and clinical improvement following the visit and implementation of advice provided to the family. However, more studies are needed to further document efficacy and also perform cost-benefit analysis of these services.
Download full-text PDF |
Source |
---|---|
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3047667 | PMC |
http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/s12199-010-0171-0 | DOI Listing |
J Hazard Mater
December 2024
College of Resources and Environment, University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100049, China. Electronic address:
The dissemination of antibiotic resistance genes (ARGs) in activated sludge (AS) systems poses significant environmental and public health challenges. The role of viruses, primarily bacteriophages, in storing and spreading ARGs in AS systems remains largely unexplored. This study characterized the viral community, virus-associated ARGs (vir_ARGs), and mobile genetic elements (MGEs) of aerobic AS viromes from eight wastewater treatment plants (WWTPs) in eastern China.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFEnviron Monit Assess
January 2025
Treeline Ecological Research, 21551 Twp Rd 520, Sherwood Park, Alberta, T8E 1E3, Canada.
Based on analysis of documents obtained in public databases and under freedom of information requests, this study assessed the Alberta Energy Regulator's (AER) monitoring and management of bitumen tailings spills. The AER's claims of no environmental impacts at any tailings spills lack corroborative environmental data. Claims of perfect spill recovery in 75% of tailings spills are not supported by credible evidence.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFACS Nano
January 2025
State Key Laboratory of Marine Food Processing and Safety Control, Dalian Polytechnic University, Dalian 116034 Liaoning, China.
Development of a multiplexed and sensitive biosensing platform is a priority for public health security. We report a micropore resistance counting platform based on polystyrene microsphere size-based encoding and Argonaute (CbAgo) decoding for multiplexed and ultrasensitive detection. Initially, we constructed a target DNA-modified polystyrene microsphere coding system based on micropore resistance counting.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFACS Appl Mater Interfaces
January 2025
School of Integrated Circuits and Electronics, Beijing Institute of Technology, Beijing 100081, China.
Portable sensor technologies are indispensable in personalized healthcare and environmental monitoring as they enable the continuous tracking of key analytes. Human sweat contains valuable physiological information, and previously developed noninvasive sweat-based sensors have effectively monitored single or multiple biomarkers. By successfully detecting biochemicals in sweat, portable sensors could also significantly broaden their application scope, encompassing non-biological fluids commonly encountered in daily life, such as mineral water.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFAngew Chem Int Ed Engl
January 2025
South China Normal University, Guangdong Provincial Key Laboratory of Quantum Engineering and Quantum Material, School of Physics and Telecommunication Engineering, Panyu University Mega Center, 510006, Guangzhou, CHINA.
Scintillators that convert ionizing radiation into low-energy photons are essential for medical diagnostics and industrial inspections. Despite advances in X-ray scintillators, challenges remain in achieving high efficiency, environmental compatibility, stability, and flexibility. Here, we present experimental investigations of a new type of europium(III)-based hybrid ternary complex scintillators for improved X-ray detection and imaging.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFEnter search terms and have AI summaries delivered each week - change queries or unsubscribe any time!