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Inflammatory cytokines cooperate to maintain normal immune homeostasis, performing both a protective and a pro-inflammatory action in different body districts. However, their excessive persistence or deregulated expression may degenerate into tissue chronic inflammatory status. Advanced therapies should be designed to deploy selective cytokine neutralizers in the affected tissues. Magnetoelectric nanoparticles (MENPs) possess unexploited potentialities, conjugating their ferromagnetic nature, which enables confinement in a specific tissue by directed positioning when subjected to low-intensity magnetic fields, with the capability to generate high electric fields with elevated spatial resolution when subjected to higher magnetic fields. This work proposes to exploit the extremely localized heat generated by Joule's effect around MENPs under an external magnetic field to denature a harmful cytokine in a hypothetical tissue site. An interdisciplinary and multiphysics in silico study was conducted to provide comprehensive modeling of the temperature distribution generated by MENPs decorated with a membrane-derived microvesicle (MV) coating designed to allocate a specific antibody to bind a target cytokine. A damage model was also implemented to provide an estimation of the influence of several design parameters on the cytokine denaturation efficacy, with the final goal of guiding the future development of effective MENPs-based therapeutic applications and strategies.

This study investigates the radio-frequency electromagnetic field exposure (RF-EMF) levels in pedestrians generated by vehicular communication technology. We specifically investigated exposure levels in children of different ages and both genders. This study also compares the children's exposure levels generated by such technology with those of an adult investigated in our previous study. The exposure scenario consisted of a 3D-CAD model of a vehicle equipped with two vehicular antennas operating at 5.9 GHz, each fed with 1 W power. Four child models were analyzed near the front and back of the car. The RF-EMF exposure levels were expressed as the Specific Absorption Rate (SAR) calculated over the whole body and 10 g mass (SAR 10g ) of the skin and 1 g mass (SAR 1g ) of the eyes. The maximum SAR 10g value of 9 mW/kg was found in the skin of the head of the tallest child. The maximum whole-body SAR was 0.18 mW/kg and was found in the tallest child. As a general result, it was found that children's exposure levels are lower than those of adults. All the SAR values are well below the limits recommended by the International Commission on Non-Ionizing Radiation Protection (ICNIRP) in the general population.

(1) Background: This work aims to assess human exposure to EMF due to two different wearable antennas tuned to two 5G bands. (2) Methods: The first one was centered in the lower 5G band, around f = 3.5 GHz, whereas the second one was tuned to the upper 5G band, at 26.5 GHz. Both antennas were positioned on the trunk of four simulated human models. The exposure assessment was performed by electromagnetic numerical simulations. Exposure levels were assessed by quantifying the specific absorption rate averaged on 10 g of tissue (SAR 10g ) and the absorbed power density (S ab ), depending on the frequency of the wearable antenna. (3) Results: the higher exposure values that resulted were always mainly concentrated in a superficial area just below the antenna itself. In addition, these resulting distributions were narrowed around their peak values and tended to flatten toward lower values in farther anatomical body regions. All the exposure levels complied with ICNIRP guidelines when considering realistic input power. (4) Conclusions: This work highlights the importance of performing an exposure assessment when the antenna is placed on the human wearer, considering the growth of wearable technology and its wide variety of application, particularly regarding future 5G networks.

This study addressed an important but not yet thoroughly investigated topic regarding human exposure to radio-frequency electromagnetic fields (RF-EMF) generated by vehicular connectivity. In particular, the study assessed, by means of computational dosimetry, the RF-EMF exposure in road users near a car equipped with vehicle-to-vehicle (V2V) communication antennas. The exposure scenario consisted of a 3D numerical model of a car with two V2V antennas, each fed with 1 W, operating at 5.9 GHz and an adult human model to simulate the road user near the car. The RF-EMF dose absorbed by the human model was calculated as the specific absorption rate (SAR), that is, the RF-EMF power absorbed per unit of mass. The highest SAR was observed in the skin of the head (34.7 mW/kg) and in the eyes (15 mW/kg); the SAR at the torso (including the genitals) and limbs was negligible or much lower than in the head and eyes. The SAR over the whole body was 0.19 mW/kg. The SAR was always well below the limits of human exposure in the 100 kHz-6 GHz band established by the International Commission on Non-Ionizing Radiation Protection (ICNIRP). The proposed approach can be generalized to assess RF-EMF exposure in different conditions by varying the montage/number of V2V antennas and considering human models of different ages.

(1) Background: Cooperative Intelligent Transportation Systems (C-ITS) will soon operate using 5G New-Radio (NR) wireless communication, overcoming the limitations of the current V2X (Vehicle-to-Everything) wireless communication technologies and increasing road-safety and driving efficiency. These innovations will also change the RF exposure levels of pedestrians and road-users in general. These people, in fact, will be exposed to additional RF sources coming from nearby cars and from the infrastructure. Therefore, an exposure assessment of people in the proximity of a connected car is necessary and urgent. (2) Methods: Two array antennas for 5G-V2X communication at 3.5 GHz were modelled and mounted on a realistic 3D car model for evaluating the exposure levels of a human model representing people on the road near the car. Computational simulations were conducted using the FDTD solver implemented in the Sim4Life platform; different positions and orientations between the car and the human model were assessed. The analyzed quantities were the Specific Absorption Rate on the whole body (SAR wb ), averaged over 10 g (SAR 10g ) in specific tissues, as indicated in the ICNIRP guidelines. (3) Results: the data showed that the highest exposure levels were obtained mostly in the head area of the human model, with the highest peak obtained in the configuration where the main beam of the 5G-V2X antennas was more direct towards the human model. Moreover, in all configurations, the dose absorbed by a pedestrian was well below the ICNIRP guidelines to avoid harmful effects. (4) Conclusions: This work is the first study on human exposure assessment in a 5G-V2X scenario, and it expands the knowledge about the exposure levels for the forthcoming use of 5G in connected vehicles.

(1) Background: This work aims to assess the human exposure to the RF-EMFs emitted by a wearable antenna. (2) Methods: a wearable antenna tuned at f = 2.45 GHz was tested by placing it in six realistic configurations relative to a male and female human model. The exposure assessment was performed by means of computational methods to estimate the SAR 10g distributions at 1W of input power. (3) Results: (i) for all the configurations the SAR 10g distributions resulted always mainly concentrated on a superficial area immediately below the antenna itself; (ii) the obtained values have shown that the configuration with the highest exposure value was when the antenna was posed on the arm; (iii) the exposure tends to be higher for male model. (4) Discussion and Conclusions: This work highlights the importance of performing an exposure assessment when the antenna is placed on the human wearer considering the growth of the wearable technology and its wide variety of fields of application, e.g., medical and military.

(1) Background: Radiofrequency radiations are used in most devices in current use and, consequently, the assessment of the human exposure to the radiofrequency radiations has become an issue of strong interest. Even if in the military field there is wide use of radiofrequency devices, a clear picture on the exposure assessment to the electromagnetic field of the human beings in the military scenario is still missing. (2) Methods: a review of the scientific literature regarding the assessment of the exposure of the military personnel to the RF specific to the military environment, was performed. (3) Results: the review has been performed grouping the scientific literature by the typology of military devices to which the military personnel can be exposed to. The military devices have been classified in four main classes, according to their intended use: communication devices, localization/surveillance devices, jammers and EM directed-energy weapons. (4) Discussion and Conclusions: The review showed that in the exposure conditions here evaluated, there were only occasional situations of overexposure, whereas in the majority of the conditions the exposure was below the worker exposure limits. Nevertheless, the limited number of studies and the lack of exposure assessment studies for some devices prevent us to draw definitive conclusions and encourage further studies on military exposure assessment.

Personal exposure to Extremely Low Frequency Magnetic Fields (ELF MF) in children is a very timely topic. We applied cluster analysis to 24 h indoor personal exposures of 884 children in France to identify possible common patterns of exposures. We investigated how electric networks near child home and other variables potentially affecting residential exposure, such as indoor sources of ELF MF, the age and type of the residence and family size, characterized the magnetic field exposure patterns. We identified three indoor personal exposure patterns: children living near overhead lines of high (63-150 kV), extra-high (225 kV) and ultra-high voltage (400 kV) were characterized by the highest exposures; children living near underground networks of low (400 V) and mid voltage (20 kV) and substations (20 kV/400 V) were characterized by mid exposures; children living far from electric networks had the lowest level of exposure. The harmonic component was not relevant in discriminating the exposure patterns, unlike the 50 Hz or broadband (40-800 Hz) component. Children using electric heating appliances, or living in big buildings or in larger families had generally a higher level of personal indoor exposure. Instead, the age of the residence was not relevant in differentiating the exposure patterns.

Characterization of children exposure to extremely low frequency (ELF) magnetic fields is an important issue because of the possible correlation of leukemia onset with ELF exposure. Cluster analysis-a Machine Learning approach-was applied on personal exposure measurements from 977 children in France to characterize real-life ELF exposure scenarios. Electric networks near the child's home or school were considered as environmental factors characterizing the exposure scenarios. The following clusters were identified: children with the highest exposure living 120⁻200 m from 225 kV/400 kV overhead lines; children with mid-to-high exposure living 70⁻100 m from 63 kV/150 kV overhead lines; children with mid-to-low exposure living 40 m from 400 V/20 kV substations and underground networks; children with the lowest exposure and the lowest number of electric networks in the vicinity. 63⁻225 kV underground networks within 20 m and 400 V/20 kV overhead lines within 40 m played a marginal role in differentiating exposure clusters. Cluster analysis is a viable approach to discovering variables best characterizing the exposure scenarios and thus it might be potentially useful to better tailor epidemiological studies. The present study did not assess the impact of indoor sources of exposure, which should be addressed in a further study.

Exposure to radiofrequency (RF) electromagnetic fields (EMFs) in indoor environments depends on both outdoor sources such as radio, television and mobile phone antennas and indoor sources, such as mobile phones and wireless communications applications. Establishing the levels of exposure could be challenging due to differences in the approaches used in different studies. The goal of this study is to present an overview of the last ten years research efforts about RF EMF exposure in indoor environments, considering different RF-EMF sources found to cause exposure in indoor environments, different indoor environments and different approaches used to assess the exposure. The highest maximum mean levels of the exposure considering the whole RF-EMF frequency band was found in offices (1.14 V/m) and in public transports (0.97 V/m), while the lowest levels of exposure were observed in homes and apartments, with mean values in the range 0.13⁻0.43 V/m. The contribution of different RF-EMF sources to the total level of exposure was found to show slightly different patterns among the indoor environments, but this finding has to be considered as a time-dependent picture of the continuous evolving exposure to RF-EMF.

In this study, children's exposure to extremely low frequency magnetic fields (ELF-MF, 40⁻800 Hz) is investigated. The interest in this thematic has grown due to a possible correlation between the increased risk of childhood leukemia and a daily average exposure above 0.4 µT, although the causal relationship is still uncertain. The aim of this paper was to present a new method of characterizing the children's exposure to ELF-MF starting from personal measurements using a stochastic approach based on segmentation (and to apply it to the personal measurements themselves) of two previous projects: the ARIMMORA project and the EXPERS project. The stochastic model consisted in (i) splitting the 24 h recordings into stationary events and (ii) characterizing each event with four parameters that are easily interpretable: the duration of the event, the mean value, the dispersion of the magnetic field over the event, and a final parameter characterizing the variation speed. Afterward, the data from the two databases were divided in subgroups based on a characteristic (i.e., children's age, number of inhabitants in the area, etc.). For every subgroup, the kernel density estimation (KDE) of each parameter was calculated and the p -value histogram of the parameters together was obtained, in order to compare the subgroups and to extract information about the children's exposure. In conclusion, this new stochastic approach allows for the identification of the parameters that most affect the level of children's exposure.

Extremely low frequency magnetic fields (ELF-MFs) exposure is still a topic of concern due to their possible impact on children's health. Although epidemiological studies claimed an evidence of a possible association between ELF-MF above 0.4 μT and childhood leukemia, biological mechanisms able to support a causal relationship between ELF-MF and this disease were not found yet. To provide further knowledge about children's ELF-MF exposure correlated to children's daily activities, a measurement study was conducted in Milan (Italy). Eighty-six children were recruited, 52 of whom were specifically chosen with respect to the distance to power lines and built-in transformers to oversample potentially highly exposed children. Personal and bedroom measurements were performed for each child in two different seasons. The major outcomes of this study are: (1) median values over 24-h personal and bedroom measurements were <3 μT established by the Italian law as the quality target; (2) geometric mean values over 24-h bedroom measurements were mostly <0.4 μT; (3) seasonal variations did not significantly influence personal and bedroom measurements; (4) the highest average MF levels were mostly found at home during the day and outdoors; (5) no significant differences were found in the median and geometric mean values between personal and bedroom measurements, but were found in the arithmetic mean.

Human exposure modelling is a complex topic, because in a realistic exposure scenario, several parameters (e.g., the source, the orientation of incident fields, the morphology of subjects) vary and influence the dose. Deterministic dosimetry, so far used to analyze human exposure to electromagnetic fields (EMF), is highly time consuming if the previously-mentioned variations are considered. Stochastic dosimetry is an alternative method to build analytical approximations of exposure at a lower computational cost. In this study, it was used to assess the influence of magnetic flux density (B) orientation on fetal exposure at 50 Hz by polynomial chaos (PC). A PC expansion of induced electric field (E) in each fetal tissue at different gestational ages (GA) was built as a function of B orientation. Maximum E in each fetal tissue and at each GA was estimated for different exposure configurations and compared with the limits of the International Commission of Non-Ionising Radiation Protection (ICNIRP) Guidelines 2010. PC theory resulted in an efficient tool to build accurate approximations of E in each fetal tissue. B orientation strongly influenced E, with a variability across tissues from 10% to 43% with respect to the mean value. However, varying B orientation, maximum E in each fetal tissue was below the limits of ICNIRP 2010 at all GAs.

During the last decades studies addressing the effects of exposure to Extremely Low Frequency Electromagnetic Fields (ELF-EMF) have pointed out a possible link between those fields emitted by power lines and childhood leukaemia. They have also stressed the importance of also including in the assessment the contribution of frequency components, namely harmonics, other than the fundamental one. Based on the spectrum of supply voltage networks allowed by the European standard for electricity quality assessment, in this study the exposure of high-resolution three-dimensional models of foetuses to the whole harmonic content of a uniform magnetic field with a fundamental frequency of 50 Hz, was assessed. The results show that the main contribution in terms of induced electric fields to the foetal exposure is given by the fundamental frequency component. The harmonic components add some contributions to the overall level of electric fields, however, due to the extremely low permitted amplitude of the harmonic components with respect to the fundamental, their amplitudes are low. The level of the induced electric field is also much lower than the limits suggested by the guidelines for general public exposure, when the amplitude of the incident magnetic field is set at the maximum permitted level.