Barking up the Right Tree: Using Tree Bark to Track Airborne Particles in School Environment and Link Science to Society.

Children's exposure to air pollution affects both their health and learning skills. Fine and ultrafine particulate matter (PM2.5, PM1), notably issued from traffic sources in urban centers, belong to the most potential harmful health hazards. However their monitoring and the society's awareness on their dangers need to be consolidated. In this study, raising teacher and pupil involvement for air quality improvement in their schools environment is reached through developing a passive monitoring technique (bio-sensors made of tree bark). The experiment was implemented in two urban elementary schools situated close to a main traffic road of the city of Toulouse (South of France). Magnetic properties, carbonaceous fraction measurements, and scanning electronic microscopy (SEM-EDX) investigations were realized both on passive bio-sensors and filters issued from active sampling. We find that traffic is the main PM1 source for both outdoors and indoors at schools. Higher levels of outdoor PM in the school's environments compared to urban background are reached especially in the cold period. The schools proximity to a main traffic source and lack of ventilation are the main causes for observed PM1 accumulation in classrooms. The co-working experiment with educational teams and pupils shows that the use of bio-sensors is a driver for children empowerment to air pollution and therefore represents a potential key tool for the teachers though limiting eco-anxiety. As PM accumulation is observed in many scholar environments across Europe, the proposed methodology is a step toward a better assessment of PM impact on pupil's health and learning skills.

Variación de la temperatura intradiscal por efecto de la terapia térmica con radiofrecuencia: Estudio en cadáveres / Intradiscal temperature variation resulting from radiofrequency thermal therapy: Cadaver study

Introducción: La discopatía es una de las causas más comunes del dolor lumbar. La nueva era de tratamientos para la degeneración discal implica el uso de tecnologías térmicas mínimamente invasivas, que permiten la remodelación del colágeno y la destrucción de nociceptores anulares. Sin embargo, es necesaria una mejor comprensión de la fisiopatología del tratamiento. El propósito de este estudio fue medir la variación de la temperatura intradiscal luego del procedimiento de termodiscoplastía. Material y métodos: Se tomó un espécimen de columna vertebral de cadáver humano, y se dividió en bloques formados por dos placas intervertebrales y un disco intacto. Se aplicó radiofrecuencia en cinco puntos y con tres intervalos de tiempo diferentes. Se midió la temperatura en cada una de las combinaciones. Las unidades se pesaron antes y después del tratamiento. Por último se expuso el disco y se midió el tensamiento alcanzado con cada aplicación de temperatura. Los datos se analizaron con el programa SPSS. Resultados: Se obtuvo una disminución del peso en promedio de 1.4 g (SD 0.599), con valores entre 0.5 y 2.6 gramos. Se encontraron temperaturas medias de 37.6 ºC en el reborde posterior del anillo y una variación de temperatura en promedio de 3.0 ºC (SD 6.407). En promedio se logró un tensamiento de 1.4 mm para todos los bloques en conjunto. Discusión: Los resultados obtenidos muestran la efectividad de la termodiscoplastía con radiofrecuencia dentro de los parámetros de seguridad. Los valores de temperatura con radiofrecuencia fueron más bajos que los encontrados en estudios comparables. El peso y el tensamiento permiten verificar el efecto de encogimiento y deshidratación del disco; este reporte constituye una eficaz herramienta para definir parámetros de tiempos para la aplicación de la tecnología.

Introduction: Disc disease is one of the most common causes of lumbar pain. The new era of treatments for degenerative disc disease involves the use of minimally-invasive thermal technologies allowing for collagen remodeling and destruction of nociceptors in the annulus. However, a better understanding of the treatment pathophysiology is needed. The purpose of this study was to measure intradiscal temperature variation after thermodiscoplasty. Material and methods: A human cadaver spine specimen was obtained and divided into blocks, each composed of two intervertebral plates and an intact disc. Radiofrequency was applied at five spots with three different time intervals. Temperature was measured in each of the combinations. Units were weighed before and after treatment. Finally, the disc was exposed and the tightening achieved with each radiofrequency application was measured. Data were analyzed with the SPSS software. Results: The mean weight reduction obtained was 1.4 g on average (SD 0.599), with values between 0.5 and 2.6 grams. Mean temperature in the posterior rim of the annulus was 37.6 ºC and mean temperature variation was 3.0 ºC (SD 6.407). Mean tightening achieved in all blocks overall was 1.4 mm. Discussion: The results obtained show the effectiveness of radiofrequency thermodiscoplasty when performed within the safety parameters. Temperature values with radiofrequency were lower than those found in comparable studies. The weight and the tightening show the effect of disc shrinking and dehydration. This report is an effective tool to define time parameters for the application of this technology.

Five year trends on total and abdominal adiposity in Spanish adolescents / Tendencias durante cinco años en la grasa total y abdominal en adolescentes españoles

Objective: To assess five years trends in total and abdominal fat in Spanish adolescents. Design: Two cross-sectional studies: adolescents from the city of Zaragoza (Spain) assessed during 2001-2002 and 2006-2007. Subjects: 399 adolescents in 2001-02 and 392 adolescents in 2006-07. Main outcome measurements: Socio-economic status was assessed using the education level of both parents. A complete anthropometric assessment was performed in both surveys using the same methodology: weight, height, skinfold thickness (biceps, triceps, subscapular, suprailiac, thigh and calf) and circumferences (waist and hip). The body mass index (BMI) and the sum of 6 skinfold thicknesses were calculated. Body fat percentage (BF%) was also calculated by the formulas described by Slaughter et al. Results: After adjusting for age and pubertal status, only females showed a significantly decrease in weight, BMI and waist circumference, and a significant increase in the sum of 6 skinfolds (all P < 0.05 and Cohen's d ≥ 0.25) in 2006-2007, when compared to values obtained in 2001-2002. Males did not show any significant change between the two surveys. Concerning centile values, a slight general reduction was observed in weight, BMI and waist circumference for both males and females. On the contrary, the sum of 6 skinfolds and the BF% were higher in 2006-2007 than in 2001-2002. Conclusion: According to these results, there might be a levelling-off in the trends of BMI, BF% and waist circumference in male adolescents from Zaragoza. In females, despite a trend towards higher body fat mass, there was a trend towards lower BMI and waist circumference values (AU)

Objetivo: Evaluar las tendencias de cinco años de la grasa total y abdominal de adolescentes españoles. Diseño: Dos estudios transversales: adolescentes de la ciudad de Zaragoza (España) evaluados durante 2001-2002 y 2006-2007. Sujetos: 399 adolescentes en 2001-02 y 392 adolescentes en 2006-07. Principales variables estudiadas: El estado socioeconómico se evaluó usando el nivel educativo de ambos progenitores. Se realizó una evaluación antropométrica completa en ambos estudios con la misma metodología: peso, talla, grosor del pliegue (bíceps, tríceps, subescapular, suprailíaco, muslo y pantorrilla) y circunferencias (cintura y cadera). Se calcularon el índice de masa corporal (IMC) y la suma del grosor de 6 pliegues. También se calculó el porcentaje de grasa corporal (%GC) con las fórmulas descritas por Slaughter et al. Resultados: tras ajustar por edad y estado puberal, sólo las chicas mostraron un descenso significativo del peso, IMC y la circunferencia de la cintura, y un aumento significativo en la suma de los 6 pliegues cutáneos (todos ellos P < 0,05 y d de Cohen ≥ 0,25) en 2006-2007, en comparación con los valores obtenidos en 2001-2002. Los chicos no mostraron cambios significativos entre ambos estudios. Con respecto a los percentiles, se observó una reducción leve del peso, IMC y circunferencia de la cintura en chicos y chicas. Por el contrario, la suma de los 6 pliegues cutáneos y el %GC fueron mayores en 2006-2007 que en 2001-2002. Conclusión: de acuerdo con estos resultados, podría haber un resultado neutro en las tendencias del IMC, %GC y circunferencia de la cintura en los adolescentes varones de Zaragoza. En las chicas, a pesar de una mayor tendencia a una mayor grasa corporal, hubo una tendencia a unos menores valores de IMC y de circunferencia de la cintura (AU)

Analysis of the spectral and angular response of the vegetated surface polarization for the purpose of aerosol remote sensing over land.

A precise estimate of the polarization induced by the surface in reflected radiation is crucial for remote sensing applications dedicated to monitoring the atmosphere. Here we present airborne observations acquired during a field campaign in the North of France over vegetated surfaces. Polarized reflectances were measured in four spectral bands in the range between 0.67 and 2.2 µm and for scattering angles between 75° and 145°. Our results confirm that the polarization generated by the reflection of vegetated surfaces can be understood as being primarily a specular reflection process. It is not possible from our measurements to see any spectral dependence of the surface polarization in the given spectral channels. The surface polarization is well fitted by existing surface models which have two degrees of freedom that allow the magnitude and angular behavior of the surface-polarized reflectance to be adjusted.

Body fat distribution reference standards in Spanish adolescents: the AVENA Study.

OBJECTIVE: To present body fat patterning reference standards to identify children with a predominant distribution of body fat in the abdominal or truncal region of the body. DESIGN: Cross-sectional study in a representative sample of Spanish adolescents aged 13-18 years. SUBJECTS: A total of 2160 adolescents with a complete set of anthropometric measurements (1109 males and 1051 females). MEASUREMENTS: Weight, height, body mass index, skinfold thickness (biceps, triceps, subscapular, suprailiac, thigh, calf) and waist and hip circumferences. RESULTS: In the majority of the age groups, subscapular/triceps skinfolds ratio, trunk-to-total skinfolds percent (TTS%)and waist circumference values were significantly higher in males than in females; hip circumference was higher in females than in males, except at 15.5 years. In males, age showed a significant effect for all the body fat distribution indices; however, in females, the effect was only significant for triceps skinfold, waist and hip circumferences and waist-to-hip ratio. Smoothed age- and sex-specific triceps skinfold, subscapular skinfold, subscapular/triceps skinfolds ratio, TTS%, waist circumference and hip circumference, waist-to-hip and waist-to-height ratio percentile values for male and female adolescents have been established. CONCLUSION: These reference data for waist circumference and the other fat patterning indices, together with data from other countries, will help to establish international central obesity criteria for adolescents. The presented percentile values will give the possibility to estimate the proportion of adolescents with high or low regional adiposity amounts.