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  • Journal article
    Fuertes E, Jarvis D, Lam H, Davies B, Fecht D, Candeias J, Schmidt-Weber C, Douiri A, Slovick A, Scala E, Smith T, Shamji M, Buters J, Cecchi L, Till Set al., 2024,

    Phl p 5 levels more strongly associated than grass pollen counts with allergic respiratory health

    , Journal of Allergy and Clinical Immunology, Vol: 153, Pages: 844-851, ISSN: 0091-6749

    Background:Studies have linked daily pollen counts to respiratory allergic health outcomes but few have considered allergen levels.Objective:This study assessed associations of grass pollen counts and allergen levels (Phl p 5) with 1) respiratory allergic health symptoms in a panel of 93 adults with moderate-severe allergic rhinitis and 2) daily asthma hospital admissions in London, UK.Methods:Daily symptom and medication scores were collected from adult participants in an allergy clinical trial. Daily counts of asthma hospital admissions in the London general population were obtained from Hospital Episode Statistics data. Daily grass pollen counts were measured using a volumetric air sampler, and novel Phl p 5 levels, using a Chemvol high-volume cascade impactor and ELISA analyses (May-August). Associations between the two pollen variables and daily health scores (dichotomized based on within-person 75th percentiles) were assessed using generalized estimating equation logistic models, and with asthma hospital admissions using Poisson regression models.Results:Daily pollen counts and Phl p 5 levels were each positively associated with reporting a high combined symptom and medication health score in separate models. However, in mutually adjusted models including terms for both pollen counts and Phl p 5 levels, associations remained for Phl p 5 levels (odds ratio [95% confidence intervals]: 1.18 [1.12, 1.24]) but were heavily attenuated for pollen counts (1.00 [0.93, 1.07]). Similar trends were not observed for asthma hospital admissions in London.Conclusion:Grass allergen (Phl p 5) levels are more consistently associated with allergic respiratory symptoms than grass pollen counts.

  • Journal article
    Blackford K, Kasoar M, Burton C, Burke E, Prentice IC, Voulgarakis Aet al., 2024,

    INFERNO-peat v1.0.0: a representation of northern high latitude peat fires in the JULES-INFERNO global fire model

    , Geoscientific Model Development, ISSN: 1991-959X
  • Journal article
    Liu X, Lara R, Dufresne M, Wu L, Zhang X, Wang T, Monge M, Reche C, Di Leo A, Lanzani G, Colombi C, Font A, Sheehan A, Green DC, Makkonen U, Sauvage S, Salameh T, Petit J-E, Chatain M, Coe H, Hou S, Harrison R, Hopke PK, Petäjä T, Alastuey A, Querol Xet al., 2024,

    Variability of ambient air ammonia in urban Europe (Finland, France, Italy, Spain, and the UK).

    , Environ Int, Vol: 185

    This study addressed the scarcity of NH3 measurements in urban Europe and the diverse monitoring protocols, hindering direct data comparison. Sixty-nine datasets from Finland, France, Italy, Spain, and the UK across various site types, including industrial (IND, 8), traffic (TR, 12), urban (UB, 22), suburban (SUB, 12), and regional background (RB, 15), are analyzed to this study. Among these, 26 sites provided 5, or more, years of data for time series analysis. Despite varied protocols, necessitating future harmonization, the average NH3 concentration across sites reached 8.0 ± 8.9 μg/m3. Excluding farming/agricultural hotspots (FAHs), IND and TR sites had the highest concentrations (4.7 ± 3.2 and 4.5 ± 1.0 μg/m3), followed by UB, SUB, and RB sites (3.3 ± 1.5, 2.7 ± 1.3, and 1.0 ± 0.3 μg/m3, respectively) indicating that industrial, traffic, and other urban sources were primary contributors to NH3 outside FAH regions. When referring exclusively to the FAHs, concentrations ranged from 10.0 ± 2.3 to 15.6 ± 17.2 μg/m3, with the highest concentrations being reached in RB sites close to the farming and agricultural sources, and that, on average for FAHs there is a decreasing NH3 concentration gradient towards the city. Time trends showed that over half of the sites (18/26) observed statistically significant trends. Approximately 50 % of UB and TR sites showed a decreasing trend, while 30 % an increasing one. Meta-analysis revealed a small insignificant decreasing trend for non-FAH RB sites. In FAHs, there was a significant upward trend at a rate of 3.51[0.45,6.57]%/yr. Seasonal patterns of NH3 concentrations varied, with urban areas experiencing fluctuations influenced by surrounding emissions, particularly in FAHs. Diel variation showed differing patterns at urban monitoring sites, all with high

  • Other
    Borella A, Boucher O, Shine KP, Stettler M, Tanaka K, Teoh R, Bellouin Net al., 2024,

    Supplementary material to "The importance of an informed choice of CO<sub>2</sub>-equivalence metrics for contrail avoidance"

  • Journal article
    Weinmayr G, Chen J, Jaensch A, Skodda L, Rodopoulou S, Strak M, de Hoogh K, Andersen ZJ, Bellander T, Brandt J, Fecht D, Forastiere F, Gulliver J, Hertel O, Hoffmann B, Hvidtfeldt UA, Katsouyanni K, Ketzel M, Leander K, Magnusson PKE, Pershagen G, Rizzuto D, Samoli E, Severi G, Stafoggia M, Tjønneland A, Vermeulen R, Wolf K, Zitt E, Brunekreef B, Thurston G, Hoek G, Raaschou-Nielsen O, Nagel Get al., 2024,

    Long-term exposure to several constituents and sources of PM2.5 is associated with incidence of upper aerodigestive tract cancers but not gastric cancer: Results from the large pooled European cohort of the ELAPSE project

    , Science of the Total Environment, Vol: 912, ISSN: 0048-9697

    It is unclear whether cancers of the upper aerodigestive tract (UADT) and gastric cancer are related to air pollution, due to few studies with inconsistent results. The effects of particulate matter (PM) may vary across locations due to different source contributions and related PM compositions, and it is not clear which PM constituents/sources are most relevant from a consideration of overall mass concentration alone. We therefore investigated the association of UADT and gastric cancers with PM2.5 elemental constituents and sources components indicative of different sources within a large multicentre population based epidemiological study. Cohorts with at least 10 cases per cohort led to ten and eight cohorts from five countries contributing to UADT- and gastric cancer analysis, respectively. Outcome ascertainment was based on cancer registry data or data of comparable quality. We assigned home address exposure to eight elemental constituents (Cu, Fe, K, Ni, S, Si, V and Zn) estimated from Europe-wide exposure models, and five source components identified by absolute principal component analysis (APCA). Cox regression models were run with age as time scale, stratified for sex and cohort and adjusted for relevant individual and neighbourhood level confounders. We observed 1139 UADT and 872 gastric cancer cases during a mean follow-up of 18.3 and 18.5 years, respectively. UADT cancer incidence was associated with all constituents except K in single element analyses. After adjustment for NO2, only Ni and V remained associated with UADT. Residual oil combustion and traffic source components were associated with UADT cancer persisting in the multiple source model. No associations were found for any of the elements or source components and gastric cancer incidence. Our results indicate an association of several PM constituents indicative of different sources with UADT but not gastric cancer incidence with the most robust evidence for traffic and residual oil combust

  • Journal article
    Marschalek J, Thomson S, Hillenbrand C-D, Vermeesch P, Siddoway C, Carter A, Nichols K, Rood D, Venturelli R, Hammond S, Wellner J, van de Flierdt Tet al., 2024,

    Geological insights from the newly discovered granite of Sif island between Thwaites and Pine Island Glaciers

    , Antarctic Science, ISSN: 0954-1020

    Large-scale geological structures have controlled the long-term development of the bed and thus the flow of the West Antarctic Ice Sheet (WAIS). However, complete ice cover has obscured the age and exact positions of faults and geological boundaries beneath Thwaites Glacier and Pine Island Glacier, two major WAIS outlets in the Amundsen Sea sector. Here, we characterise the only rock outcrop between these two glaciers, which was exposed by the retreat of slow-flowing coastal ice in the early 2010s to form the new “Sif Island”. The island comprises of granite, zircon U-Pb dated to ~177-174 Ma and characterised by initial εNd, 87Sr/86Sr and εHf isotope compositions of -2.3, 0.7061 and -1.3, respectively. These characteristics resemble Thurston Island/Antarctic Peninsula crustal block rocks, strongly suggesting that the Sif Island granite belongs to this province and placing the crustal block’s boundary with the Marie Byrd Land province under Thwaites Glacier or its eastern shear margin. Low temperature thermochronological data reveal that the granite underwent rapid cooling following emplacement, rapidly cooled again at ~100-90 Ma, and then remained close to the Earth’s surface until present. These data help date vertical displacement across the major tectonic structure beneath Pine Island Glacier to the Late Cretaceous.

  • Working paper
    Koberle A, Holtedahl P, 2024,

    Livestock intensification and the role of finance in the Food System Transformation in Brazil

    , Publisher: Food Systems Economics Commission

    The potential for the Brazilian cattle sector to increase production while concurrently reducingpressure for land expansion is widely recognized. With mounting evidence that land use changeamplifies the impacts from global climate change, a transition to climate resilient and low-carbonagriculture becomes imperative and unavoidable. This analysis explores possible contributions ofthe Brazilian beef cattle sector can make to a Food System Transition (FST). The results of thisanalysis show a large potential to increase productivity and spare land for other uses, but severalsocioeconomic and political economy challenges will need to be overcome, such as increasingaccess to finance and technical assistance as well as a tightening of environmental governanceacross the country. Adopting intensification practices can increase farm profitability and havepayback periods of months to a couple of years but require up-front investments that posechallenges for farmers with low access to finance. While results indicate that realizing the landsparing potential of the cattle sector is not free from macroeconomic frictions, there are alsosocioeconomic opportunities for the country in a global FST trajectory. However, capturing theopportunities will require well-designed policies that can link multiple objectives and maximize thesynergies across the environmental, health, and inclusion domains.

  • Journal article
    Ponsonby J, King L, Murray BJ, Stettler MEJet al., 2024,

    Jet aircraft lubrication oil droplets as contrail ice-forming particles

    , Atmospheric Chemistry and Physics, Vol: 24, Pages: 2045-2058, ISSN: 1680-7316

    The radiative characteristics and lifetimes of contrails are dependent on the number concentration of ice-forming particles in the engine exhaust plume. Aircraft gas turbine engines produce a variety of particles, yet it is understood that non-volatile black carbon aggregates are the dominant source of ice-forming particles with typical, fossil-derived jet fuel. However, with cleaner combustion technologies and the adoption of alternative fuels (e.g. hydrogen or synthetic aviation fuel), non-volatile black carbon particle emissions are expected to decrease or even be eliminated. Under these conditions, contrail properties will depend upon the concentration and characteristics of particles other than black carbon. Ultrafine (<100nm) jet lubrication oil droplets constitute a significant fraction of the total organic particulate matter released by aircraft; however, their ability to form contrail ice crystals has hitherto been unexplored. In this work, we experimentally investigate the activation and freezing behaviour of lubrication oil droplets using an expansion chamber, assessing their potential as ice-forming particles. We generate lubrication oil droplets with a geometric mean mobility diameter of (100.9±0.6)nm and show that these activate to form water droplets, which subsequently freeze when the temperature is below ĝ1/4235K. We find that nucleation on lubrication oil droplets should be considered in future computational studies - particularly under soot-poor conditions - and that these studies would benefit from particle size distribution measurements at cruise altitude. Overall, taking steps to reduce lubrication oil number emissions would help reduce the climate impact of contrail cirrus.

  • Journal article
    Taj T, Chen J, Rodopoulou S, Strak M, de Hoogh K, Poulsen AH, Andersen ZJ, Bellander T, Brandt J, Zitt E, Fecht D, Forastiere F, Gulliver J, Hertel O, Hoffmann B, Hvidtfeldt UA, Jørgensen JT, Katsouyanni K, Ketzel M, Lager A, Leander K, Liu S, Ljungman P, Severi G, Besson C, Magnusson PKE, Nagel G, Pershagen G, Peters A, Rizzuto D, Samoli E, Sørensen M, Stafoggia M, Tjønneland A, Weinmayr G, Wolf K, Brunekreef B, Hoek G, Raaschou-Nielsen Oet al., 2024,

    Long-term exposure to ambient air pollution and risk of leukemia and lymphoma in a pooled European cohort.

    , Environ Pollut, Vol: 343

    Leukemia and lymphoma are the two most common forms of hematologic malignancy, and their etiology is largely unknown. Pathophysiological mechanisms suggest a possible association with air pollution, but little empirical evidence is available. We aimed to investigate the association between long-term residential exposure to outdoor air pollution and risk of leukemia and lymphoma. We pooled data from four cohorts from three European countries as part of the "Effects of Low-level Air Pollution: a Study in Europe" (ELAPSE) collaboration. We used Europe-wide land use regression models to assess annual mean concentrations of fine particulate matter (PM2.5), nitrogen dioxide (NO2), black carbon (BC) and ozone (O3) at residences. We also estimated concentrations of PM2.5 elemental components: copper (Cu), iron (Fe), zinc (Zn); sulfur (S); nickel (Ni), vanadium (V), silicon (Si) and potassium (K). We applied Cox proportional hazards models to investigate the associations. Among the study population of 247,436 individuals, 760 leukemia and 1122 lymphoma cases were diagnosed during 4,656,140 person-years of follow-up. The results showed a leukemia hazard ratio (HR) of 1.13 (95% confidence intervals [CI]: 1.01-1.26) per 10 μg/m3 NO2, which was robust in two-pollutant models and consistent across the four cohorts and according to smoking status. Sex-specific analyses suggested that this association was confined to the male population. Further, the results showed increased lymphoma HRs for PM2.5 (HR = 1.16; 95% CI: 1.02-1.34) and potassium content of PM2.5, which were consistent in two-pollutant models and according to sex. Our results suggest that air pollution at the residence may be associated with adult leukemia and lymphoma.

  • Journal article
    Jin J, Xu Z, Beevers SD, Huang J, Kelly F, Li Get al., 2024,

    Long-term ambient ozone, omega-3 fatty acid, genetic susceptibility, and risk of mental disorders among middle-aged and older adults in UK biobank

    , Environmental Research, Vol: 243, ISSN: 0013-9351

    BACKGROUND: Evidence linking ozone to depression and anxiety disorders remains sparse and results are heterogeneous. It remains unknown whether omega-3 fatty acid, or genetic susceptibility of mental disorders modify the impacts of ozone. The aim is to assess the associations of ambient ozone with depression and anxiety, and further explore the potential modification effects of omega-3 fatty acid and genetic susceptibility. METHODS: In total of 257,534 participants were enrolled from 2006 to 2010 and followed up to 2016. Depression and anxiety were assessed using mental health questionnaires, primary care records and hospital admission records. The annual average concentrations of ozone were calculated and linked to individuals by home address. Dietary intake and plasma concentration were selected to reflect levels of omega-3 fatty acid. Polygenetic risk scores were selected to reflect genetic susceptibility. We examined the associations of ozone and incident mental disorders, and potential modification of omega-3 fatty acid and genetic susceptibility. RESULTS: Incidences of depression (N = 6957) and anxiety (N = 6944) was associated with increase of ozone. Higher levels of omega-3 fatty acid might attenuate the ozone related depression risk. However, the modification effects of genetic susceptibility were not found. CONCLUSIONS: Long-term exposure to ambient ozone increase the risk of mental disorders among the middle aged and older adults, and omega-3 fatty acid could reduce the adverse effects of ozone on mental health. Higher intake of omega-3 fatty acid is a potential strategy to prevent the risks caused by ozone on public mental health.

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