Validating Particulate Matter Monitors for Multiple Parameters

描述(由申请人提供)：项目摘要/摘要这项拟议研究的总体目标是现场测试和验证最近开发的颗粒物监测仪的多个参数，包括它们作为二手烟烟雾(SHS)个人暴露工具的可用性。成人和儿童的一系列症状和疾病都与SHS暴露有关，并且已经得出结论，暴露于SHS是一种应激源和混杂因素，没有安全水平。美国人口吸烟率的历史下降与目前估计43%的美国人口暴露在严重水平的SHS持平，这表明了解SHS的暴露模式仍然至关重要，特别是对贫困儿童。标准的暴露工具都有问题；迫切需要客观的、定量的、可以评估个人暴露水平和途径的额外方法。这项建议侧重于评估个人暴露于SHS的新方法，这些方法已内置于哥伦比亚大学和RTI领导的团队最近开发的微型颗粒物监测器中。两个团队都专注于提供关键PM组件的实时数据、合规性和活动数据的方法，以及收集可在实验室通过非破坏性光学方法评估SHS的大小PM过滤器的方法。先前的工作表明，集成到RTI和Columbia监护仪中的活动监视器可以预测通气率作为时间的函数，从而可以作为另一种方法估计潜在的吸入量。我们的前提是，使用这两个新开发的空气监测器的优势将是，它们将提供对复杂的PM混合物的评估，同时还可以提供比传统方法更可靠的SHS曝光分布和更少的曝光误分类。这项建议汇集了GEI化学传感器计划的两个小组和在纽约和巴尔的摩进行市中心哮喘队列研究的调查人员。这两个小组开发的微型颗粒监测器的早期版本已在实验室和现场测试中成功部署，并在本年度继续进行开发，重点是缩小尺寸和改进易用性，以降低现场成本并提高合规性。有了这个团队，我们的目标将通过以下具体目标实现：目标1)评估用于队列研究的微型个人空气监测器的可用性和可接受性。目的2)评估基于实时和综合过滤器的方法评估二手烟和其他颗粒物来源暴露的敏感性和特异性。

DESCRIPTION (provided by applicant): Project Summary/Abstract The overall goal of this proposed study is to field test and validate recently developed particulate matter monitors for multiple parameters, including their usability as personal exposure tool for second hand tobacco smoke (SHS). A wide array of symptoms and diseases in both adults and children are associated with SHS exposure, and it has been concluded that there is no safe level of exposure to SHS, a stressor and confounder. The historical decline in smoking rates in the US population has leveled with an estimated 43% of the US population currently exposed to significant levels of SHS, suggesting that understanding the patterns of exposure for SHS, especially for poor children is still critically important. Standard exposure tools all have problems; additional methods, which are objective, quantitative and can assess personal exposure levels and pathways are critically needed. This proposal focuses on novel approaches for assessing personal exposure to SHS that have been built into the miniaturized particulate matter monitors recently developed by teams headed at Columbia University and RTI. Both teams have focused on approaches that provide both real-time data of key PM components, compliance and activity data, as well as collecting filters of sized PM that can be assessed in the lab for SHS by non-destructive optical methods. Prior work has shown that the activity monitors integrated into the RTI and Columbia monitors can predict ventilation rate as a function of time, allowing estimation of potential inhaled dose as an additional method. Our premise is that the advantages of using these two newly-developed air monitors will be that they will provide assessment of complex mixtures of PM while also providing more robust SHS exposure distributions with less exposure misclassification than traditional methods. This proposal brings together two groups from the GEI Chemical Sensor Program and investigators running inner city asthma cohort studies in NYC and Baltimore. Early versions of miniaturized particulate monitors developed by the two groups have been successfully deployed in lab and field tests and development is continuing in the current year, focusing on reductions in size and improvements in ease of use so as to decrease field costs and increase compliance. With this team, our goals will be accomplished via the following specific aims: Aim 1) Assess the usability and acceptability of the miniaturized personal air monitors for cohort studies. Aim 2) Assess the sensitivity and specificity of real time and integrative filter based methods for assessing exposure to second hand smoke and other sources of particulate matter.