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Additional file 1: Table S1. Levels of air pollutants monitored by Regional Agencies for Environmental Protection in the 3 weeks preceding the biological samplings in winter and spring. Mean (± standard deviation, SD), minimum and maximum levels of exposure are reported. Table S2. Analysis of the associations between MN frequency and children’s features. Incidence Rate Ratio (IRR), 95% Confidence Intervals (95% CIs) and p value are reported. Table S3. Analysis of the associations between MN frequency and air pollutant levels. For each compound, the complete set of pollutant measures included in the model are specified. The Incidence Rate Ratio (IRR), 95% Confidence Intervals (95% CIs) and p value are reported. Table S4. Analysis of the associations between MN frequency and dichotomized air pollutant variables. Number of samples (N) and mean MN frequency ± SD (MN/1000) are reported for children exposed to levels lower () than the EU Ambient Air Quality Directive limits. The associations are expressed as IRR and 95%CIs. Table S5. Analysis of the associations between MN frequency and dichotomized air pollutant variables. Number of samples (N) and mean MN frequency ± SD (MN/1000) are reported for children exposed to levels lower () than the WHO Air Quality Guidelines (AQG). The associations are expressed as IRR and 95%CIs.

Additional file 1: Table S1. Levels of air pollutants monitored by Regional Agencies for Environmental Protection in the 3 weeks preceding the biological samplings in winter and spring. Mean (± standard deviation, SD), minimum and maximum levels of exposure are reported. Table S2. Analysis of the associations between MN frequency and children’s features. Incidence Rate Ratio (IRR), 95% Confidence Intervals (95% CIs) and p value are reported. Table S3. Analysis of the associations between MN frequency and air pollutant levels. For each compound, the complete set of pollutant measures included in the model are specified. The Incidence Rate Ratio (IRR), 95% Confidence Intervals (95% CIs) and p value are reported. Table S4. Analysis of the associations between MN frequency and dichotomized air pollutant variables. Number of samples (N) and mean MN frequency ± SD (MN/1000) are reported for children exposed to levels lower () than the EU Ambient Air Quality Directive limits. The associations are expressed as IRR and 95%CIs. Table S5. Analysis of the associations between MN frequency and dichotomized air pollutant variables. Number of samples (N) and mean MN frequency ± SD (MN/1000) are reported for children exposed to levels lower () than the WHO Air Quality Guidelines (AQG). The associations are expressed as IRR and 95% CIs.

Background Lifestyles profoundly determine the quality of an individual’s health and life since his childhood. Many diseases in adulthood are avoidable if health-risk behaviors are identified and improved at an early stage of life. The aim of the present research was to characterize a cohort of children aged 6–8 years selected in order to perform an epidemiological molecular study (the MAPEC_LIFE study), investigate lifestyles of the children that could have effect on their health status, and assess possible association between lifestyles and socio-cultural factors. Methods A questionnaire composed of 148 questions was administered in two different seasons to parents of children attending 18 primary schools in five Italian cities (Torino, Brescia, Pisa, Perugia and Lecce) to obtain information regarding the criteria for exclusion from the study, demographic, anthropometric and health information on the children, as well as some aspects on their lifestyles and parental characteristics. The results were analyzed in order to assess the frequency of specific conditions among the different seasons and cities and the association between lifestyles and socio-economic factors. Results The final cohort was composed of 1,164 children (50.9 boys, 95.4% born in Italy). Frequency of some factors appeared different in terms of the survey season (physical activity in the open air, the ways of cooking certain foods) and among the various cities (parents’ level of education and rate of employment, sport, traffic near the home, type of heating, exposure to passive smoking, ways of cooking certain foods). Exposure to passive smoking and cooking fumes, obesity, residence in areas with heavy traffic, frequency of outdoor play and consumption of barbecued and fried foods were higher among children living in families with low educational and/or occupational level while children doing sports and consuming toasted bread were more frequent in families with high socio-economic level. Conclusions The socio-economic level seems to affect the lifestyles of children enrolled in the study including those that could cause health effects. Many factors are linked to the geographical area and may depend on environmental, cultural and social aspects of the city of residence.

Background – Air pollution is one of the most important worldwide health concern (WHO_Europe, 2013). In the last years, in both the US and Europe, new directives and regulations supporting more restrictive pollution limits were published (Krzyzanowski, 2008). However, the early effects of air pollution cannot be avoided, especially for the urban population (EEA, 2012). Several epidemiological and toxicological studies have documented the remarkable effect of particulate matter (PM) in increasing morbidity and mortality for cardiovascular disease, lung cancer and natural cause mortality. The finest fractions of PM (PM with aerodynamic diameter 13) with and without Fpg enzyme according to standard protocol. A medium-throughput approach (Shaposhnikov et al., 2010) was applied to the comet assay by using 12-gel units (Severn Biotech Ltd., UK). Results - The 12-gel slides were stained with ethidium bromide and examined under a fluorescence microscope; 100 cells per sample (two spots/sample dilution), random selected, were analysed using the Comet Assay IV (Perceptive Instruments, UK). The tail intensity (% DNA) was selected as the parameter to estimate DNA damage and oxidative stress. Results were expressed as genotoxic parameter per cubic meter of air equivalent. The analysis of PM0.5 samples collected in winter and spring seasons (2014-2015) in the 5 Italian towns is still ongoing. Preliminary data will be presented at the workshop. Conclusions - Results obtained with the comet assay in human cells (A549) will be used to evaluate the role of the PM0.5 on genotoxic and oxidative damage in oral mucosa cells of Italian children and will highlight the variability in genotoxic and oxidative stress of PM0.5 samples collected in urban site with different levels of airborne pollutants. Components of the MAPEC_LIFE Study Group: University of Brescia: Loredana Covolo, Francesco Donato, Donatella Feretti, Andrea Festa, Rosa Maria Limina, Gaia Claudia Viviana Viola, Claudia Zani, Ilaria Zerbini. University of Perugia: Cristina Fatigoni, Sara Levorato, Silvano Monarca, Valentina Petrosi, Tania Salvatori, Samuele Vannini, Milena Villarini. University of Pisa: Annalaura Carducci, Beatrice Casini, Gabriele Donzelli, Beatrice Bruni. University of Salento: Adele Idolo, Francesco Bagordo, Davide Calcagnile, Tiziana Grassi, Francesca Serio, Marcello Guido, Maria Rosaria Tumolo Comune di Brescia: Silvia Bonizzoni, Camilla Furia. CSMT Gestione S.c.a.r.l.3: Alberto Bonetti, Roberta Codenotti, Paolo Colombi, Stefano Crottini, Evelyn Mario.

Background - Air pollution is a global problem: airborne or deposited pollutants are present everywhere on the planet, from highly polluted to remote areas. Twenty per cent of the EU urban population lives in areas where the EU air quality 24-hour limit value for particulate matter (PM10) is exceeded. At present, PM is Europe's most problematic pollutant in terms of harm to health, as reported by European Environmental Agency (EEA) in the EEA Technical Report on Air quality in Europe, 2011. Among the top 30 most polluted cities in Europe, more than half are Italian; in particular, the Po Valley is the most polluted area in Europe, with the concentrations of PM10, PM2,5 and NOx being well above the EU reference values for many days of the year. Epidemiological studies have found a consistent association between exposure to air pollution, especially to PM, and the incidence and mortality for several chronic diseases such as lung cancer, cardiovascular diseases and diabetes (Lanki et al., 2015). Among the mechanisms responsible for these adverse effects, genotoxic damage is of particular concern. Children are a high risk group with respect to the short- and long-term effects of air pollution. Indeed recent data suggest that genetic damage occurring early in childhood can increase the risk of chronic diseases, including cancer, in adulthood. The aim of the MAPEC (Monitoring Air Pollution Effects on Children for supporting public health policy) study is to evaluate the associations between air pollution and biomarkers of early biological effects in children, and to propose a model for estimating the global risk of early biological effects due to air pollutants and other factors in children (Feretti et al., 2013). Methods and analysis – Enrollment of children was performed in five Italian towns characterized by different concentrations of air polluntants: Brescia and Torino, in the Po Valley, in the Northern Italy, Pisa and Perugia located in Central Italy, and Lecce, in Southern Italy. The towns in Central and Southern Italy show lower PM values than towns in Northern Italy allowing us to make valuable comparisons between areas with higher and lower air pollution. About 1,000 children (200 children per town) aged 6-8 years were recruited in the study from first grade schools. The sample size of the study was determined in order to detect statistically significant differences in the studied parameters (i.e., primary DNA damage in lymphocytes from saliva and MN in buccal mucosa cells) among children living in towns with high air pollution and those living in less polluted towns. Biological samples were collected (1,000 × 2 = 2,000 samples) at two separate times, in winter and in late spring. In order to collect the cells for the comet assay, the children were asked to rinse their mouths twice with mineral water and the mouthwashes were then collected in tubes containing 25 ml of saline solution (NaCl 0.9%) to obtain leukocytes (Osswald et al., 2003). Leukocytes were processed in order to evaluate primary and oxidative (FPG) DNA damage caused by exposure to air pollutants. The comet assay in alkaline conditions (pH>13) was performed according to the standard protocol as well as to detect oxidative damage using FPG incubation (Azqueta et al., 2013). A medium-throughput approach (Shaposhnikov et al., 2010) was applied to the comet assay by using 12-gel units (Severn Biotech Ltd., UK). The slides (coded) were sent to the University of Parma for microscope analysis (blind). Results - The 12-gel slides were stained with ethidium bromide and examined under a fluorescence microscope; 50 randomly selected comets per spot (two spots/subject) were analysed. DNA damage was measured using the tail intensity (% DNA) parameter (Comet Assay IV, Perceptive Instruments, UK. Microscope analysis of cells sampled on winter 2014 is still ongoing. Preliminary data will be presented at the conference. Conclusions - The main objective of the MAPEC study is to evaluate the associations in children between air pollutants and early biological effects, and to propose a model for estimating the global genotoxic risk.

Made available in DSpace on 2014-08-20T13:44:44Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 dissertacao_alberto_dos_santos_bonetti.pdf: 632323 bytes, checksum: 5b0e19098405c857a8d1671afab07e50 (MD5) Previous issue date: 2007-12-28 The present work had how I aim to obtain informations on current situation of producers irrigated rice (orizum sativum l.), suppliers-partners of the Agroindústria Pirahy Food, in Saint western Borja-frontier of the Rio Grande do Sul, carried out through pesquiza carried out with producers of irrigated rice located in the local authorities of Saint Borja, Itaqui, Bed, in the western frontier of the Rio Grande do Sul, harvest 2006-2007. These informations were analysed as for productivity, use of the land, area of cultivation, access, system of cultivation, dimenssion machines, type of sowing, equipment of pulverizizacao, it plots of harvest, type, dimenssion and of energy of the system of irrigation, system of evaluation of the of the fertility and correction of the acidity of the ground, use, use, you cultivate, density and time of sowing, realization of Integrated Handling of Nuisances, control of nuisances and diseases, time of harvest, I handle powders-harvests, drying and storage, and realization and control of costs of production and realization of qualification of colabroradores in the lavouras. They allowed the obtained results to end that the middle productivity from 7 to 8 tons per hectare; 66 % of the producers uses leased lands and or partnerships; 84 % of the producers cultivates even 400ha; 88 % of the producers happens least cultivation and in 9 % they associate the least cultivation to a conventional one; the access roads of 80 % of the producers it has easy access itself when haste is taking place in the harvest time; 72 % carries out the dimensionamentos of machines in accordance with the area of cultivation; 98 % uses machines of movement and preparation of the ground, 87 % of the producers uses sowing in line; the totality they used land equipment and he was seeing 76 % carries out repression of the water of irrigation; they used techniques of dimension of the system of irrigation; 78 % used only electric energy as energetic fountain of the system of irrigation; 87 % carries out analysis of ground for each productive cycle; 71 % carries out analysis and correction of the ground for each productive cycle; 82 % when 13 % was supervised, 5 % registered, basic. In Bed 100 % of the producers uses certified seeds; 89 % carries out analysis of germination and energy of seeds for each productive cycle; 40 % to cultivate BRIrga 409 and 8 % BRIrga 409 and 14 % uses others you cultivate; 93 % of the producers carries out the sowing in October and November; 84 % does not carry out MIP; 41 % carries out the control of nuisances in powders-emergences the remainder in daily pay and powdersemergences; 21 % uses the cultural and chemical control of diseases and the remainder uses only chemical control; 87 % carries out control in the maturing of Field or after the maturing of field; 100 % carries out handling powders-harvests in the property or in in third; 25 intermittent % and 14%silos, the remainder uses handling powders-harvests in third; 41 % carries out handling powders-harvests in the property uses brick warehouses, the wooden remainder or mixture; 77 % carries out the control of costs in the rural property; 91 % of the producers of irrigated rice carries out courses of training, qualification and requalificacao for the owner and collaborators. O presente trabalho teve como objetivo caracterizar o perfil dos produtores arroz irrigado (Oryza sativa L.), fornecedores da Agroindústria Pirahy Alimentos, sediada na cidade de São Borja - fronteira oeste do RS. Para tal foi aplicado, para cada um dos parceiros, um questionário contendo perguntas dirigidas a obtenção de informações sobre a atual situação do sistema de produção de arroz irrigado por eles adotado. Este questionário foi aplicado aos produtores localizados nos municípios de São Borja, Itaqui, Alegrete, na safra 2006-2007. As informações obtidas permitiram caracterizar o uso da terra, área de cultivo, acesso a área de cultivo, sistema de cultivo, dimensionamento de máquinas, tipo de semeadura, equipamento de pulverização, máquinas de colheita, tipo de energia do sistema de irrigação, sistema de avaliação e de correção da fertilidade do solo, cultivares, densidade e época de semeadura, forma de controle de pragas e doenças, época de colheita, manejo pós-colheita, secagem, armazenamento e produção de cada um dos produtores. Os resultados obtidos permitiram concluir que a produtividade média é de 7 a 8 toneladas de arroz por hectare; mais de 80% dos produtores utilizam áreas arrendadas de até 400 ha e de fácil acesso; o cultivo mínimo é empregado por 88% dos produtores; apenas 72% dos produtores realizam dimensionamentos de máquinas de acordo com a área de cultivo; 87% dos produtores utilizam semeadura em linha; somente 27% utilizam exclusivamente máquinas próprias para colheita; a principal fonte de energia é a elétrica (78 %); mais de 10% dos produtores não realizam análise de solo em cada ciclo produtivo; 82% dos produtores utilizam sementes fiscalizadas, 89% realizam análise de germinação e vigor de sementes para cada ciclo produtivo; a cultivar mais empregada é a BR Irga 409 com 40% de utilização; a semeadura é realizada por 93% dos produtores durante os meses de outubro e novembro; o controle integrado de pragas é realizado por apenas 16% dos produtores; o controle químico de doenças e pragas é realizado por 81% dos produtores; dois terços dos produtores colhem o arroz com umidade entre 20 e 24%; aproximadamente 50% dos produtores realizam secagem própria, sendo esta realizada principalmente em secadores intermitentes; 77% avaliam o custo de produção; 91% dos produtores investem em qualificação própria e de seus colaboradores e apenas 5% dos produtores não contam com assistência técnica profissional.

Particulate matter (PM) is considered an atmospheric pollutant that mostly affects human health. The finest fractions of PM (PM2.5 or less) play a major role in causing chronic diseases. The aim of this study was to investigate the genotoxic effects of PM0.5 collected in five Italian towns using different bioassays. The role of chemical composition on the genotoxicity induced was also evaluated. The present study was included in the multicentre MAPEC_LIFE project, which aimed to evaluate the associations between air pollution exposure and early biological effects in Italian children. PM10 samples were collected in 2 seasons (winter and spring) using a high-volume multistage cascade impactor. The results showed that PM0.5 represents a very high proportion of PM10 (range 10–63%). PM0.5 organic extracts were chemically analysed (PAHs, nitro-PAHs) and tested by the comet assay (A549 and BEAS-2B cells), MN test (A549 cells) and Ames test on Salmonella strains (TA100, TA98, TA98NR and YG1021). The highest concentrations of PAHs and nitro-PAHs in PM0.5 were observed in the Torino, Brescia and Pisa samples in winter. The Ames test showed low mutagenic activity. The highest net revertants/m3 were observed in the Torino and Brescia samples (winter), and the mutagenic effect was associated with PM0.5 (p < 0.01), PAH and nitro-PAH (p < 0.05) concentrations. The YG1021 strain showed the highest sensitivity to PM0.5 samples. No genotoxic effect of PM0.5 extracts was observed using A549 cells except for some samples in winter (comet assay), while BEAS-2B cells showed light DNA damage in the Torino, Brescia and Pisa samples in winter, highlighting the higher sensitivity of BEAS-2B cells, which was consistent with the Ames test (p < 0.01). The results obtained showed that it is important to further investigate the finest fractions of PM, which represent a relevant percentage of PM10, taking into account the chemical composition and the biological effects induced. Results highlighted the importance to further investigate the finest fractions of PM, which represent a relevant percentage of PM10, taking into account its chemical composition and the biological effects induced.

The prevalence of obesity among Italian children has reached such alarming levels as to require detailed studies of the causes of the phenomenon. A cross-sectional study was carried out in order to assess the weight status of 1164 Italian children aged 6–8 years (the Monitoring Air Pollution Effects on Children for Supporting Public Health Policy (MAPEC_LIFE) cohort) and to identify any associations between selected socio-economic and environmental factors and overweight/obesity. The data were obtained by means of a questionnaire given to parents, and any associations were examined by binomial logistic regression analyses. Overweight was found to be positively associated with male gender, parents of non-Italian origin, and parents who smoke, and negatively associated with the parents’ level of education and employment. In addition, the frequency of overweight varied in relation to the geographical area of residence, with a greater prevalence of overweight children in the cities of central-southern Italy. This study highlights the need to implement appropriate obesity prevention programs in Italy, which should include educational measures concerning lifestyle for parents from the earliest stages of their child’s life.