1,720,983 research outputs found
Input strategy analysis for an air quality data modelling procedure at a local scale based on neural network
No full textIn recent years, a significant part of the studies on air pollutants has been devoted to improve statistical techniques for forecasting the values of their concentrations in the atmosphere. Reliable predictions of pollutant trends are essential not only for setting up preventive measures able to avoid risks for human health but also for helping stakeholders to take decision about traffic limitations. In this paper, we present an operating procedure, including both pollutant concentration measurements (CO, SO2, NO2, O3, PM10) and meteorological parameters (hourly data of atmospheric pressure, relative humidity, wind speed), which improves the simple use of neural network for the prediction of pollutant concentration trends by means of the integration of multivariate statistical analysis. In particular, we used principal component analysis in order to define an unconstrained mix of variables able to improve the performance of the model. The developed procedure is particularly suitable for characterizing the investigated phenomena at a local scale
Influence of Climatic Conditions and Atmospheric Pollution on Admission to Emergency Room During Warm Season: The Case Study of Bari
Full text linkThe study of the effects of climate change and air pollution on human health
is an interesting topic for wellbeing projects in urban areas. We present a method for
highlighting how adverse weather and environmental conditions affect human health and influence emergency room admissions during the summer in an urban area. Daily apparent temperature, a biometeorological index, was used to characterize thermal discomfort while atmospheric concentrations of PM10 and NOX were used as indicators of unfavorable environmental conditions. We analyzed how the above parameters influence the emergency room access, considering all the different pathologies. Over the four years analyzed, we identified the periods during which environmental conditions (both thermal discomfort and pollutant concentrations) were unfavorable, the persistence of these conditions, and verified that during these days, the average daily number of emergency room visits increased. Visits for ENT and dermatological disorders also showed significant increases. Our analysis showed that emergency room access is useful in evaluating the impact of unfavorable climatic and environmental conditions on human health during the summer period; viceversa, our results could be used to optimize resource management in emergency rooms during this specific period of the year
Source profiles of heavy metals in atmospheric particulate: the influence of the particle size and the local meteorological conditions
No full textThe application of an integrated GIS procedure for characterising TSP industrial emissions impact: a test case in Southern Italy
No full textMagnetic susceptibility measurements as proxy method to monitor soil pollution: development of experimental protocols for field surveys.
No full textIn the framework of the development of new methods for measuring and monitoring soil pollution, this paper deals with the use of magnetic methodologies to monitor the heavy metals presence in soils. In particular it shows a procedure for collecting magnetic susceptibility measurements in order to interpret them as proxy variable for monitoring heavy metals in soils. Magnetic measurements are carried out using a magnetic susceptibility meter with two different probes for in situ field surveys. The experimental procedure is divided in two parts. In the first part we carry out laboratory tests aimed to evaluate, for both the probes, the effective investigation depth for soil, the measurement reproducibility under different conditions, and the influence of water content. We complete this part comparing in situ measurements obtained by means of two probes with different characteristics. In the second part we carry out tests to evaluate the relationships between heavy metal levels and magnetic susceptibility values of soil samples. We investigate the variability of the magnetic susceptibility measurements contaminating different soil samples with well known concentration of heavy metals. Moreover we study the correlation between magnetic susceptibility values and metal concentrations, determined by means of AAS, in soil samples collected during a field survey. Results suggest that a careful check of the experimental procedure play a crucial role for using magnetic susceptibility measurements for heavy metals in situ monitoring. This is very helpful both for improving the quality of data and for making simpler data interpretation
APPLICATION OF MCA FOR STUDYING AS THE LIFESTYLE AND THE AIR QUALITY CAN AFFECT FORMS OF SLEEP DISORDERED BREATHING
No full textDespite an extensive research on the adverse effects of air pollution on human health, little was known about the mechanism by which air pollutants may affect sleep. Particularly for adults, it was proposed that particles influence sleep because they cause damages to the upper airways and because they have dangerous effects on the central nervous system. It was also suggested that environmental tobacco smoke exposure (active or passive) may be a cause of poor sleep and of sleep health disparities. In this study we present the application of the Multiple Correspondence Analysis (MCA) to analyze qualitative data regarding lifestyles of patients and the analysis of results obtained combining qualitative e quantitative data. In particular, Cluster Analysis (CA), and Principal Component Analysis (PCA) were used in order to investigate the potential relationships between PM10 concentrations and the occurrence of the Obstructive Sleep Apnoea Syndrome (OSAS), a particular respiratory disease consisting in a form of sleep disordered breathing. We used a database composed of polisomnography test performed on 295 patients living in Rome urban area, data about the lifestyles related to OSAS risk factors of the patients and PM10 daily concentrations measured by Air Quality Monitoring Network of Rome urban area in 11 sampling sites from 2008 to 2011
Gli indicatori per la stima della vulnerabilità alla land degradation da fattori antropici: strumenti per uan efficace pianificazione territoriale
No full textA statistical procedure for analyzing the behavior of air pollutants during temperature extreme events: The case study of emilia‐romagna region (northern italy)
Full text linkMeteorological conditions play a crucial role in air pollution by affecting both directly and indirectly the emissions, transport, formation, and deposition of air pollutants. Extreme weather events can strongly affect surface air quality. Understanding relations between air pollutant concentrations and extreme weather events is a fundamental step toward improving the knowledge of how excessive heat impacts on air quality. In this work, we developed a statistical procedure for investigating the variations in the correlation structure of four air pollutants (NOx, O3, PM10, PM2,5) during extreme temperature events measured in monitoring sites located of Emilia Romagna region, Northern Italy, in summer (June–August) from 2015 to 2017. For the selected stations, Hot Days (HDs) and Heat Waves (HWs) were identified with respect to historical series of maximum temperature measured for a 30‐year period (1971–2000). This method, based on multivariate techniques, allowed us to highlight the variations in air quality of study area due to the occurrence of HWs. The examined data, including PM concentrations, show higher values, whereas NOx and O3 concentrations seem to be not influenced by HWs. This operative procedure can be easily exported in other geographical areas for studying effects of climate change on a local scale
Magnetic susceptibility measurements as proxy method to monitor soil pollution: development of experimental protocols for field surveys
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