Personal Aerosol Sensor Platform to Link Children's Exposures to Asthma Severity

描述（改编自应用程序）： 这项研究的长期目标包括：（1）开发一个多功能的低负荷个人肺部疾病气溶胶暴露平台，以采样和感应大小和种类的气溶胶，并将其与选定的疾病严重程度的生物标志物联系起来;（2）在两种暴露类型均适用的情况下，为结果添加平行的急性和慢性指标;（3）计划如何在平台上增加平行暴露评估能力，以最终解决已知和潜在的吸入辅助因素，包括臭氧、超细粉、挥发性有机化合物（VOC）和羰基化合物，以及混杂因素，环境烟草烟雾（ETS）;以及（4）开发程序和组件，使个人平台能够在大规模暴露生物学病因学研究中部署，包括相关数据采集和验证的方法。该提案的重点领域包括：个人接触：（1）开发一种极小且轻便的实时气溶胶传感器，该传感器具有足够的特异性和灵敏度，以表征儿童呼吸区气溶胶的大小;（2）修改当前RTI MicroPEM（tm）个人接触平台的设计，以通过用于急性接触的通用传感器接口包括新的气溶胶传感器;（3）包括气溶胶质量和内毒素的集成（慢性）收集，同时保留低负荷设计;（4）将气溶胶传感器集成到平台中，并允许实时质量和内毒素浓度估计;（5）包括全球定位系统（GPS）、活动水平和佩戴顺应性传感器;（6）纳入平行的综合收集，以评估臭氧暴露（作为辅助因素）和ETS（作为混杂因素）。暴露生物学：（1）在有限规模的努力中，通过暴露生物学模型证明哮喘儿童或成人试点队列的尿LTE 4水平如何与实时和综合气溶胶质量和内毒素个人暴露水平相关;（2）对于确定被动暴露于ETS的试点队列参与者，将尿可替宁水平与综合收集中升高的ETS水平相关;（3）将臭氧作为一个潜在的辅助因素纳入模型。在美国，成人和儿童的肺部疾病，特别是哮喘的患病率，以及个人暴露于已知的压力源（如气溶胶）与由此产生的生物学恶化之间的联系的现有不确定性，完全支持这项研究。

DESCRIPTION (adapted from application): The long-term objectives of this research include (1) develop a versatile low-burden personal aerosol exposure platform for pulmonary diseases to sample and sense sized and speciated aerosols and link them with selected biological markers of disease severity; (2) add parallel acute and chronic metrics for outcomes where both exposure types apply; (3) plan how to add parallel exposure assessment capabilities to the platform to eventually address known and potential inhalation co-factors, including ozone, ultrafines, volatile organic compounds (VOCs), and carbonyls, as well as the confounder, environmental tobacco smoke (ETS); and (4) develop procedures and components that enable deployment of the personal platform in large-scale exposure biology etiology studies, including the methods for the associated data capture and validation. Focus areas of this proposal include the following: Personal Exposure: (1) develop an extremely small and lightweight real-time aerosol sensor with adequate specificity and sensitivity to characterize sized, breathing zone aerosol for children; (2) modify the design of the current RTI MicroPEM(tm) personal exposure platform to include the new aerosol sensor via a universal sensor interface for acute exposures; (3) include integrated (chronic) collections for aerosol mass and endotoxin while retaining the low-burden design; (4) integrate the aerosol sensor into the platform and allow real-time mass and endotoxin concentration estimates; (5) include global positioning system (GPS), activity level, and wearing compliance sensors; and (6) incorporate parallel integrated collections to assess ozone exposure (as a co-factor) and ETS (as a confounder). Exposure Biology: (1) in a limited-scale effort, demonstrate how urinary LTE4 levels for a pilot cohort of asthmatic children or adults can be related to real-time and integrated aerosol mass and endotoxin personal exposure levels through exposure biology models; (2) for participants in the pilot cohort determined to be passively exposed to ETS, relate urinary cotinine levels to elevated ETS levels in the integrated collection; and (3) include ozone as a potential co-factor in the models. The prevalence of pulmonary diseases, and especially asthma, in the United States for adults and children, combined with the existing uncertainties in linkages between personal exposures to known stressors such as aerosols and the resultant biological exacerbations, fully supports this research.