High-Resolution Monitoring of Atmospheric Pollutants Using a System of Low-Cost Sensors

2014 ◽  
Vol 52 (7) ◽  
pp. 3823-3832 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sutharshan Rajasegarar ◽  
Timothy C. Havens ◽  
Shanika Karunasekera ◽  
Christopher Leckie ◽  
James C. Bezdek ◽  
...  
Toxics ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 9 (6) ◽  
pp. 140
Author(s):  
Francesca Borghi ◽  
Andrea Spinazzè ◽  
Simone Mandaglio ◽  
Giacomo Fanti ◽  
Davide Campagnolo ◽  
...  

Recently, the need to assess personal exposure in different micro-environments has been highlighted. Further, estimating the inhaled dose of pollutants is considerably one of the most interesting parameters to be explored to complete the fundamental information obtained through exposure assessment, especially if associated with a dose-response approach. To analyze the main results obtained from the studies related to the estimation of the inhaled dose of pollutants in different micro-environments (environments in which an individual spends a part of his day), and to identify the influence of different parameters on it, a systematic review of the literature was performed. The principal outcomes from the considered studies outlined that (i) exposure concentration and residence time are among the most important parameters to be evaluated in the estimation of the inhaled dose, especially in transport environments. Further, (ii) the pulmonary ventilation rate can be of particular interest during active commuting because of its increase, which increases the inhalation of pollutants. From a methodological point of view, the advent of increasingly miniaturized, portable and low-cost technologies could favor these kinds of studies, both for the measurement of atmospheric pollutants and the real-time evaluation of physiological parameters used for estimation of the inhaled dose. The main results of this review also show some knowledge gaps. In particular, numerous studies have been conducted for the evaluation (in terms of personal exposure and estimation of the inhaled dose) of different PM fractions: other airborne pollutants, although harmful to human health, are less represented in studies of this type: for this reason, future studies should be conducted, also considering other air pollutants, not neglecting the assessment of exposure to PM. Moreover, many studies have been conducted indoors, where the population spends most of their daily time. However, it has been highlighted how particular environments, even if characterized by a shorter residence time, can contribute significantly to the dose of inhaled pollutants. These environments are, therefore, of particular importance and should be better evaluated in future studies, as well as occupational environments, where the work results in a high pulmonary ventilation rate. The attention of future studies should also be focused on these categories of subjects and occupational studies.


Polymers ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 13 (5) ◽  
pp. 785
Author(s):  
Chow Shing Shin ◽  
Yu Chia Chang

Lattice structures are superior to stochastic foams in mechanical properties and are finding increasing applications. Their properties can be tailored in a wide range through adjusting the design and dimensions of the unit cell, changing the constituent materials as well as forming into hierarchical structures. In order to achieve more levels of hierarchy, the dimensions of the fundamental lattice have to be small enough. Although lattice size of several microns can be fabricated using the two-photon polymerization technique, sophisticated and costly equipment is required. To balance cost and performance, a low-cost high resolution micro-stereolithographic system has been developed in this work based on a commercial digital light processing (DLP) projector. Unit cell lengths as small as 100 μm have been successfully fabricated. Decreasing the unit cell size from 150 to 100 μm increased the compressive stiffness by 26%. Different pretreatments to facilitate the electroless plating of nickel on the lattice structure have been attempted. A pretreatment of dip coating in a graphene suspension is the most successful and increased the strength and stiffness by 5.3 and 3.6 times, respectively. Even a very light and incomplete nickel plating in the interior has increase the structural stiffness and strength by more than twofold.


2012 ◽  
Vol 2012 ◽  
pp. 1-15 ◽  
Author(s):  
P. Goswami ◽  
J. Baruah

Concentrations of atmospheric pollutants are strongly influenced by meteorological parameters like rainfall, relative humidity and wind advection. Thus accurate specifications of the meteorological fields, and their effects on pollutants, are critical requirements for successful modelling of air pollution. In terms of their applications, pollutant concentration models can be used in different ways; in one, short term high resolution forecasts are generated to predict and manage urban pollution. Another application of dynamical pollution models is to generate outlook for a given airbasin, such as over a large city. An important question is application-specific model configuration for the meteorological simulations. While a meso-scale model provides a high-resolution configuration, a global model allows better simulation of large-sale fields through its global environment. Our objective is to comparatively evaluate a meso-scale atmospheric model (MM5) and atmospheric global circulation model (AGCM) in simulating different species of pollutants over different airbasins. In this study we consider four locations: ITO (Central Delhi), Sirifort (South Delhi), Bandra (Mumbai) and Karve Road (Pune). The results show that both the model configurations provide comparable skills in simulation of monthly and annual loads, although the skill of the meso-scale model is somewhat higher, especially at shorter time scales.


2008 ◽  
Vol 18 (02) ◽  
pp. 393-400 ◽  
Author(s):  
ROBERT J. GRASSO ◽  
JOHN C. WIKMAN ◽  
DAVID P. DROUIN ◽  
GEORGE F. DIPPEL ◽  
PAUL I. EGBERT

BAE SYSTEMS has developed a Low Cost Targeting System (LCTS) consisting of a FLIR for target detection, laser-illuminated, gated imaging for target identification, laser rangefinder and designator, GPS positioning, and auto-tracking capability within a small compact system size. The system is based upon BAE Systems proven micro-bolometer passive LWIR camera coupled with Intevac's new EBAPS camera. A dual wavelength diode pumped laser provides eyesafe ranging and target illumination, as well as designation; a custom detector module senses the return pulse for target ranging and to set the range gates for the gated camera. Trials show that the current detectors offer complete extinction of signals outside of the gated range, thus, providing high resolution within the gated region. The images have shown high spatial resolution arising from the use of solid state focal plane array technology. Imagery has been collected in both the laboratory and the field to verify system performance during a variety of operating conditions.


2013 ◽  
Vol 30 (10) ◽  
pp. 2352-2366 ◽  
Author(s):  
Dale A. Lawrence ◽  
Ben B. Balsley

Abstract The DataHawk small airborne measurement system provides in situ atmospheric measurement capabilities for documenting scales as small as 1 m and can access reasonably large volumes in and above the atmospheric boundary layer at low cost. The design of the DataHawk system is described, beginning with the atmospheric measurement requirements, and articulating five key challenges that any practical measurement system must overcome. The resulting characteristics of the airborne and ground support components of the DataHawk system are outlined, along with its deployment, operating, and recovery modes. Typical results are presented to illustrate the types and quality of data provided by the current system, as well as the need for more of these finescale measurements. Particular focus is given to the DataHawk's ability to make very-high-resolution measurements of a variety of atmospheric variables simultaneously, with emphasis given to the measurement of two important finescale turbulence parameters, (the temperature turbulence structure constant) and ɛ (the turbulent energy dissipation rate). Future sensing possibilities and limitations using this approach are also discussed.


Author(s):  
Daniele Giordan ◽  
Davide Notti ◽  
Alfredo Villa ◽  
Francesco Zucca ◽  
Fabiana Calò ◽  
...  

Abstract. Flood mapping and estimation of maximum water depth are essential elements for a first damages evaluation, civil protection interventions planning and detection of areas where remedial are more needed. In this work, we present and discuss a methodology for mapping and quantifying flood severity over plain areas. The proposed methodology considers a multiscale and multi-sensor approach using free or low-cost data/sensors. We applied this method to November 2016 Piemonte (NW Italy) flood. We first mapped flooded areas at basin scale using free satellite data from low to medium-high resolution using both SAR (Sentinel-1, Cosmo-Skymed) and multispectral sensors (MODIS, Sentinel-2). Using very- and ultra- high-resolution images from the low-cost aerial platform and Remotely Piloted Aerial System, we refined the flooded zone, and we detected the most damaged sector. The presented method considers both urbanized and not urbanized areas. Nadiral images have several limitations in particular in urbanized areas, where the use of terrestrial images solved this limitation. Very- and ultra-high resolution images have been processed with Structure from Motion (SfM) for the realization of 3-D models. These data, combined with available digital elevation model, allowed us to obtain maps of flooded area, maximum water high and damaged infrastructures.


2012 ◽  
Vol 10 (3) ◽  
pp. 329-334 ◽  
Author(s):  
D.M. Valero-Hervás ◽  
P. Morales ◽  
M.J. Castro ◽  
P. Varela ◽  
M. Castillo-Rama ◽  
...  

“Slow” and “Fast” C3 complement variants (C3S and C3F) result from a g.304C>G polymorphism that changes arginine to glycine at position 102. C3 variants are associated with complement-mediated diseases and outcome in transplantation. In this work C3 genotyping is achieved by a Real Time PCR - High Resolution Melting (RT-PCR-HRM) optimized method. In an analysis of 49 subjects, 10.2% were C3FF, 36.7% were C3SF and 53.1% were C3SS. Allelic frequencies (70% for C3S and 30% for C3F) were in Hardy-Weinberg equilibrium and similar to those published previously. When comparing RT-PCR-HRM with the currently used Tetraprimer-Amplification Refractory Mutation System PCR (T-ARMS-PCR), coincidence was 93.8%. The procedure shown here includes a single primer pair and low DNA amount per reaction. Detection of C3 variants by RT-PCR-HRM is accurate, easy, fast and low cost, and it may be the method of choice for C3 genotyping.


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