<p>Indoor air quality in office buildings can impact the health, well-being, and productivity of occupants. In most buildings, occupants exhaled breath is the primary source of carbon dioxide (CO₂). Concentrations of indoor CO₂ are also strongly associated with the operational mode of the mechanical ventilation system. While CO2 is routinely monitored in indoor environments, there are few spatially-resolved real-time measurements of CO₂ throughout mechanical ventilation systems. Such measurements can provide insight into indoor- and outdoor-generated CO₂ dispersion throughout a building and between the building and the outdoor atmosphere. This thesis aims to investigate spatiotemporal variations in CO₂ concentrations and mass fluxes throughout a mechanical ventilation system of a living laboratory office in a LEED-certified building. The impact of human occupancy patterns and ventilation conditions of CO₂ concentrations and fluxes was evaluated. </p> <p>A four-month measurement campaign was conducted in one of the four living laboratory offices at the Ray W. Herrick Laboratories. The living laboratory offices feature precise control and monitoring of the mechanical ventilation system via an advanced building automation system. Various mechanical ventilation modes were implemented, such as variable outdoor air exchange rates (AERs) and recirculation ratios. A novel multi-location sampling manifold was used to measure CO₂ at eight locations throughout the ventilation system, such as across the outdoor, supply, and return air ducts. Office occupancy was measured via a chair-based temperature sensor array. Volumetric airflow rate data and CO₂ concentration data were used to estimate CO₂ mass fluxes through the ventilation system. The CO₂ mass flux for the outdoor and exhaust air was used to evaluate the net CO₂ transport from the office to the outdoor atmosphere. </p> <p>The measurements demonstrate that there exist significant spatiotemporal variations in CO₂ concentrations across the outdoor, supply, and return air ducts. CO₂ concentrations varied with human occupancy in the office and the outdoor AER of the mechanical ventilation system. Due to human-associated CO₂ emissions, the net CO₂ mass flux from the office to the outdoor environment was approximately 700 kg of CO₂ per year. Thus, occupied offices may represent an important, yet unrecognized, source of CO₂ to the urban atmosphere.</p>

Many applied statistical applications face the potential problem of model contamination and measurement error. The form and degree of contamination as well as the measurement error are usually unknown and sample-specific, which brings additional challenges for researchers. In this thesis, we have proposed several Bayesian inference models to address these issues, with the application to one type of special data for allergen concentration measurement, which is called serial dilution data and is self-calibrated. In our first chapter, we address the problem of model contamination by using a multilevel model to simultaneously flag problematic observations and estimate unknown concentrations in serial dilution data, a problem where the current approach can lead to noisy estimates and difficulty in estimating very low or high concentrations. In our second chapter, we propose the Bayesian joint contamination model for modeling multiple measurement units at the same time while adjusting for differences between experiments using the idea of global calibration, and it could account for uncertainty in both predictors and response variables in Bayesian regression. We are able to get efficacy gain by analyzing multiple experiments together while maintaining robustness with the use of hierarchical models. In our third chapter, we develop a Bayesian two-step inference model to account for measurement uncertainty propagation in regression analysis when the joint inference model is infeasible. We aim to increase model inference reliability while providing flexibility to users by not restricting the type of inference model used in the first step. For each of the proposed methods, We also demonstrate how to integrate multiple model building blocks through the idea of Bayesian workflow. In extensive simulation studies, we show that our proposed methods outperform other commonly used approaches. For the data applications, we apply the proposed new methods to the New York City Neighborhood Asthma and Allergy Study (NYC NAAS) data to estimate indoor allergen concentrations more accurately as well as reveal the underlying associations between dust mite allergen concentrations and the exhaled nitric oxide (NO) measurement for asthmatic children. The methods and tools developed here have a wide range of applications and can be used to improve lab analyses, which are crucial for quantifying exposures to assess disease risk and evaluating interventions.

Air pollution affects the environment negatively, boosts climate change, and is the cause of millions of deaths per year, first and foremost affecting the people living in urban areas. Since the early 20th century, many cities have been planned around cars, which are the main contributors to the bad air quality. However, after the Covid-19 pandemic, cities have been reshaped to enhance active travel and to provide more space for greenery. In London, this reassessment of the urban areas has led to the Low-Traffic Neighbourhoods (LTNs). The LTNs origins from 2019, however, most of them were implemented during the pandemic because of the crucial times demanding social distance, while also enabling people to walk and cycle more in their local borough. The LTNs only allow residents, emergency vehicles and blue badge carriers to enter, if travelling by a motorised vehicle. The scheme further aims for more greenery to be implemented. The aim of this thesis is to study the impact from the LTNs on the air quality of the local area, specifically regarding PM10 and NOX, by using openly available data from the Imperial College London. Furthermore, the existing Green Infrastructure (GI) around each sensor, as well as the traffic, has been studied and compared to the air pollutant levels. This has been done to be able to analyse the air pollutants in relation to the surrounding GI and the level of traffic. The methodology further consists of mapping the air pollutants measured by the sensors; a statistical analysis; an interview with Sally Oldfield, the Nature Conservation Manager at Islington Ecology Centre; and field studies to the sensors used in the thesis, both the ones in LTNs and the ones in non-LTNs. The boroughs included in the study are the City of London, Islington, Wandsworth, and Westminster.  Previous research about the LTNs have focused on health and social issues, and the research about traffic schemes have focused on Low Emission Zones (LEZ) and Ultra Low Emission Zones (ULEZ). Studies on the air quality impact of the Covid-19 lockdowns have been done on New York, Madrid and Barcelona. The previous research on air pollutants in urban areas show a difficulty in mapping the movement of the pollutants hence the varied variables having an impact, such as wind, weather, the height and positions of the surrounding buildings. Research on the impact on the air quality from GI in general, has shown that the efficiency is dependent on the planning, type and size of the vegetation, as well as the distance to the emission source. However, the studies on GI are uncertain in how effective it is in terms of air quality improvement.  The result of this thesis shows a decline in NOX- and PM10-values after the implementation of the LTN by all sensors. The annual patterns further show that the yearly trends of the pollutants remained, however the magnitude is lower after the implementation of the LTNs. The daily patterns show varied results, where NOX has clear connections to the traffic, and the sources of PM10 are uncertain. Lastly, the statistical analysis showed that the data series came from different distributions, except the PM10-values by one of the sensors in Islington. Although a reduction was seen by all sensors, this might be because of, e.g., the Covid-19 pandemic. Furthermore, a correlation between GI and lower values of the pollutants could be seen by some sensors, however the results varied, making it difficult to distinguish any correlation. In conclusion, the absence of traffic can be seen to reduce the air pollutants NOX and PM10, where GI might have a positive impact. Suggesting to reshape urban areas to enable active travel, and reduce the possibilities to travel by car, with the exception of blue badge carriers and emergency vehicles. Although the impact on air improvement from GI is uncertain, it is suggested to be incorporated in the planning due to its other benefits such as recreation, well- being, and biodiversity.

No description available.

Current methods for the risk assessment of environmental exposures commonly involve questionnaires, stationary monitoring, and personal air sampling. However, as these approaches do not capture the body's internal response, they lend minimal understanding to the biologic consequence of exposure. In order to address the unmet need of connecting external exposure measurements with signatures of internal exposure, this thesis examines the overarching hypothesis that transcriptomic changes in the human airway epithelium can serve as indicators of physiologic responses to inhaled pollutants. This is an extension of previous work that has demonstrated an airway ''field of injury'' effect where cigarette smoke exposure alters gene-expression in epithelial cells lining the respiratory tract. Specifically, I examine transcriptomic changes and the biologic responses associated with exposure to the following pollutants: environmental tobacco smoke (Aim 1), household air pollution from smoky coal combustion (Aim 2), and electronic cigarette vapor (Aim 3). First, I performed whole-genome transcriptional profiling of the nasal epithelium in children and adults and detected gene-expression changes associated with exposure to environmental tobacco smoke. Next, I employed similar approaches to detect a signature of coal smoke exposure in the buccal epithelium of healthy, non-smoking females exposed to household air pollution Xuanwei, China. The findings from these studies suggest that upper airway gene-expression can reflect the host response to prolific sources of environmental exposures that are major risk factors for chronic lung disease. Lastly, I examine the cellular and physiologic consequences of electronic cigarette (ECIG) aerosol exposure by analyzing transcriptomic profiles of human bronchial epithelial cells that have either been (1) differentiated and exposed in vitro or (2) acquired via bronchoscopy from the airway epithelium of ECIG users. The studies detailed in this dissertation offer valuable insight that will accelerate the efforts to evaluate the health effects of both well-established and emerging types of inhaled exposures in large-scale population studies. Furthermore, the transcriptomic strategies woven throughout the following chapters push for a novel assessment paradigm that may enable the public health community to rapidly characterize the physiologic host response to inhalation exposures of different sources, and to evaluate the biologic consequences of exposure-reduction initiatives. / 2017-05-01T00:00:00Z

Yes / Air pollution has been integrated into global challenges over the last few years due to its negative impact on the health of human beings, increasing socio-economic risks and its contribution to climate change. This study attempts to evaluate the current status of Iran's air pollution with regard to the sources of emissions, control policies, as well as the health and climate consequences that have resulted through available data from monitoring stations reported in the literature, official documents and previous published papers. Many large cities in Iran surpass the permissible concentration of air pollutants, particularly particulate matter, sulfur dioxide, black carbon and ozone. Although regulations and policies are in place and enormous efforts are being made to address air pollution issues in the country, implementation and enforcement are not as effective as they could be. The significant challenges may be regarded as the inefficiency of regulation and supervision systems, the lack of air quality monitoring systems and technology, particularly in industrial cities rather than Tehran as well as the lack of continual feedback and investigations on the efficiency of regulation. Providing such an up-to-date report can bring opportunities for international collaboration, which is essential in addressing the air pollution worldwide. We suggest that a way forward could be more focused on conducting systematic reviews using scientometric methods to show an accurate picture and trend in air pollution and its association in Iran, implementing an integrated approach for both climate change and air pollution issues, collaborating with international counterparts to share knowledge, tools, and techniques.

The Air Quality Health Index (AQHI) is a 10-point scale that communicates the cumulative health risks associated with air pollution (ECCC, 2016). The general theme of this dissertation centers on an understanding of AQHI adoption while accounting for socioeconomic status (SES) in order to facilitate AQHI uptake by the public with particular focus on “at risk” populations (i.e. young children, seniors, and those with pre-existing respiratory and/or cardiovascular conditions). The study is unique since it approaches AQHI adoption consistent with the ecological model and an equity lens, and AQHI adoption is considered at the individual, organizational and community levels. The study area for this dissertation is Hamilton, Ontario, Canada. The findings from this dissertation contribute to an understanding of why AQHI is or is not being adopted and suggests potential intervention strategies to increase its uptake. Consistent with health behaviour theory, demographics (gender, age, education, area of residence), knowledge/understanding and individual risk perceptions (neighbourhood air effects on health) were found to be significant predictors of AQHI adoption. Additionally, perceived benefits of AQHI adoption included protection of health for self and those cared for via familial and/or occupational duties. While perceived barriers of AQHI adoption included lack of time required to check and follow AQHI health messages and the inability to “self-identify” as belonging to the “at risk” population. This dissertation proposes that increases in AQHI adoption may be achieved by increasing AQHI knowledge and emphasizing the benefits and relevance of AQHI such that “at risk” populations can self-identify. Additionally, AQHI uptake may be increased by providing AQHI information at a neighbourhood scale via local media sources and wearable devices. / Dissertation / Doctor of Philosophy (PhD)

[pt] Amostras de precipitação foram coletadas em dois locais distintos (Gávea e Parque Nacional da Serra dos Órgãos - PARNASO) no estado do Rio de Janeiro, no período de abril de 2022 a abril de 2023. As amostras foram analisadas quanto aos constituintes iônicos por cromatografia de íons (CI) e quanto aos elementos traço por ICP-MS para a determinação de suas concentrações e identificação das fontes potenciais. A concentração dos íons (microequivalentes L-1 ) das amostras da Gávea foi (oxalato) < fluoreto < (malonato) < (brometo) < (acetato) < (sulfato) < (nitrato) < Cle (potássio) < (magnésio) < (amônia)< (cálcio) < (sódio) , enquanto nas do PARNASO foi (brometo) < (oxalato) < (acetato) < (oxalato)< (nitrato) < (fosfato) < Cle (cálcio) < (magnésio) < (potássio) < (sódio) . Já a concentração (miligrama por litro) dos elementos traço na Gávea foi (cromo) = (níquel) = (estanho) < (manganês) < (cobre) < (ferro) < (chumbo) < (zinco), enquanto no PARNASO foi (cromo) < (manganês) < (níquel) < (ferro) < (estanho) < (chumbo) < (cobre) < (zinco). As amostras da Gávea apresentaram um pH médio de 5,73 e uma condutividade média de 21,9 microsiemens cm-1 , enquanto as do PARNASO um pH de 6,05 e uma condutividade de 21,4 microsiemens cm-1 . (Sódio) e (Cloreto) foram os íons mais abundantes na precipitação em ambos os locais, tendo sua origem fortemente associada ao spray marinho. Correlações significativas, fatores de enriquecimento, frações não marinhas e fracionamento de fontes foram realizados para sugerir a origem das espécies iônicas determinadas. A região urbana da Gávea sofreu um maior impacto das fontes antropogênicas (52 por cento), enquanto a região preservada do PARNASO das fontes naturais (62 por cento). Os elementos traço principais foram avaliados a partir da comparação com estudos anteriores presentes na literatura. (Estanho) e (chumbo) foram associados ao desgaste de componentes veiculares, aditivos de combustível e tráfego. As altas de (ferro), (níquel) e (zinco) no PARNASO sugeriram a contribuição, respectivamente, do solo, dos combustíveis líquidos/carvão e dos materiais vegetais geológicos/micronutrientes. Assim, foi confirmada a eficácia da água da chuva como outra ferramenta de avaliação da qualidade do ar de uma região. Além disso, comprovou-se, conforme esperado, que a poluição na Gávea foi maior do que no PARNASO. / [en] Precipitation samples were collected in two different locations (Gávea and Serra dos Órgãos National Park - PARNASO) in the state of Rio de Janeiro, from April 2022 to April 2023. The samples were analyzed for ionic constituents by ionchromatography (IC) and to trace elements by ICP-MS to determine their concentrations and identify potential sources. The ion concentration (microequivalents L-1) of the Gávea samples was (oxalate) < (fluoride)< (malonate)< (bromide)< (acetate)< (sulfate)< (nitrate) < (chloride) and (potassium) < (magnesium) < (ammonium) < (calcium) < (sodium), while in PARNASO it was (bromide)< (oxalate)<(acetate)< (sulfate) < (nitrate) < (phosphate)< Cl and (calcium) < (magnesium) < (sulfate) < (potassium) < (sodium). The concentration (milligram per liter) of the trace elements in Gávea was (chrome) = (nickel)= (tin) < (manganese) < (copper)< (iron) < (lead) < (zinc), while in PARNASO it was (chrome) < (manganese) < (nickel) < (iron) < (tin)< (lead)< (copper) <(zinc). The samples from Gávea had an average pH of 5.73 and an average conductivity of 21.9 (microsiemens) cm-1, while those from PARNASO had a pH of 6.05 and a conductivityof 21.4 (microsiemens) cm-1. (sodium) e (chloride) were the most abundant ions in precipitation in bothlocations, having their origin strongly associated with sea spray. Significant correlations, enrichment factors, non-marine fractions and source fractio nation were performed to suggest the origin of the determined ionic species. The urban region of Gávea suffered a greater impact fro man thropogenic sources (52 percent), while the preserved region of PARNASO from natural sources (62 percent). The main trace elements were evaluated based on comparison with previous studies in the literature. (Tin) and (lead) have been linked to wear on vehicle components, fuel additives, and traffic. The increases in (iron), (nickel) and (zinc) in PARNASO suggested the contribution, respectively, of soil, liquid fuels/coal and geological plant materials/micronutrients. Thus, the effectiveness of rainwater as another tool for assessing air quality in a region was confirmed. Furthermore, it was proven, as expected, that pollution in Gávea was greater than in PARNASO.

Air pollution is a public health issue, and traffic is one of the main sources of pollutants such as NO2, PM10 and PM2.5. Consequently, European cities have been implementing low-emission zones (LEZs) by defining regulated areas, where the most-polluting vehicles are prohibited from driving. Such measure has been proven to mostly accelerate local fleet renewal rates, thus decreasing emissions and overall pollutant concentrations, provided that restrictions were strict enough. The 2019 mobility-orientation law in France made mandatory for some territories to set up action plans for tackling air pollution issues. With only four currently implemented LEZs in France, feedback from similar territories within the country may be lacking for decision-makers. The goal of this thesis was therefore to aggregate past experiences of already-implemented LEZs in Europe in order to provide recommendations for a large-scale implementation of such policy in France. Relevant city-specific indicators were identified, and K-Means clustering was implemented in order to classify European cities currently implementing LEZs. Such typology was applied to French territories that may face an obligation to implement a LEZ. Recommendations regarding the most relevant strategies were thus formulated. Four city archetypes were identified – public transport metropoles, cycling cities, car-oriented cities, and walkable-impoverished cities. LEZ strategies applied in Berlin, Brussels and Lisbon were respectively the identified best practices associated with the first three clusters. Moreover, out of the 263 French territories targeted in the mobility-orientation law, 54 of them were classified according to the developed typology. More specifically, the majority of them fell into the car-oriented archetype and 20 agglomerations could hence reasonably adapt the Lisbon strategy to their local specificities. Six territories at the outskirts of Paris, associated with public transport metropoles, could also investigate how the current Greater Paris LEZ affect their inhabitants. This thesis is the first to propose a typology tailored for LEZ evaluation. By incorporating modal shares within the classification indicators, potential synergies between LEZs and existing transportation networks were highlighted. Additionally, this thesis shows that future research should focus on investigating impacts of LEZs on traveling patterns and mode choices (vehicle purchases, modal shifts, etc.). This would help future ex-ante evaluations to better calibrate hypotheses regarding direct effects of LEZs.

Indiana University-Purdue University Indianapolis (IUPUI) / Rise in air pollution resulting in negative health externalities for humans has created an urgent need for cities and communities to monitor it regularly. At present we have insufficient ground passive and active monitoring networks in place which presents a huge challenge. Satellite imagery has been used extensively for such analysis, but its resolution and methodology present other challenges in estimating pollution burden. The objective of this study was to propose three low-cost methods to fill in the gaps that exist currently. First, EPA grade sensors were used in 11 cities across the U.S. to examine NO2. This is a simplistic way to assess the burden of air pollution in a region. However, this technique cannot be applied to fine scale analysis, which resulted in the next two components of this research study. Second, a citizen science network was established on the east side of Indianapolis, IN who hosted 32 Ogawa passive sensors to examine NO2 and O3 at a finer scale. These low-cost passive sensors, not requiring power, and very little maintenance, have historically tracked very closely with Federal Reference Monitors. Third, a low-cost PurpleAir PA-II-SD active sensors measuring PM2.5 were housed with the citizen scientists identified above. This data was uploaded via Wi-Fi and available via a crowd sourced site established by PurpleAir. These data sets were analyzed to examine the burden of air pollution. The second and third research studies enabled granular analyses utilizing citizen science, tree canopy data, and traffic data, thus accommodating some of the present limitations. Advancement in low-cost sensor technology, along with ease of use and maintenance, presents an opportunity for not just communities, but cities to take charge of some of these analyses to help them examine health equity impacts on their citizens because of air pollution.