scholarly journals Application of the urban exposome framework using drinking water and quality of life indicators: a proof-of-concept study in Limassol, Cyprus

PeerJ ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 7 ◽  
pp. e6851
Author(s):  
Xanthi D. Andrianou ◽  
Chava van der Lek ◽  
Pantelis Charisiadis ◽  
Solomon Ioannou ◽  
Kalliopi N. Fotopoulou ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Quality Of Life ◽  
Water Quality ◽  
Drinking Water ◽  
Quantitative Methods ◽  
Health Indicators ◽  
Proof Of Concept ◽  
Concept Study ◽  
Quality Of Life Indicators ◽  
The City

Background Cities face rapid changes leading to increasing inequalities and emerging public health issues that require cost-effective interventions. The urban exposome concept refers to the continuous monitoring of urban environmental and health indicators using the city and smaller intra-city areas as measurement units in an interdisciplinary approach that combines qualitative and quantitative methods from social sciences, to epidemiology and exposure assessment. Methods In this proof of concept study, drinking water and quality of life indicators were described as part of the development of the urban exposome of Limassol (Cyprus) and were combined with agnostic environment-wide association analysis. This study was conducted as a two-part project with a qualitative part assessing the perceptions of city stakeholders, and quantitative part using a cross-sectional study design (an urban population study). We mapped the water quality parameters and participants’ opinions on city life (i.e., neighborhood life, health care, and green space access) using quarters (small administrative areas) as the reference unit of the city. In an exploratory, agnostic, environment-wide association study analysis, we used all variables (questionnaire responses and water quality metrics) to describe correlations between them. Results Overall, urban drinking-water quality using conventional indicators of chemical (disinfection byproducts-trihalomethanes (THM)) and microbial (coliforms, E. coli, and Enterococci) quality did not raise particular concerns. The general health and chronic health status of the urban participants were significantly (false discovery rate corrected p-value < 0.1) associated with different health conditions such as hypertension and asthma, as well as having financial issues in access to dental care. Additionally, correlations between THM exposures and participant behavioral characteristics (e.g., household cleaning, drinking water habits) were documented. Conclusion This proof-of-concept study showed the potential of using integrative approaches to develop urban exposomic profiles and identifying within-city differences in environmental and health indicators. The characterization of the urban exposome of Limassol will be expanded via the inclusion of biomonitoring tools and untargeted metabolomics.

scholarly journals Mapping drinking water and quality of life aspects in urban settings: an application of the urban exposome

2018 ◽  
Author(s):  
Xanthi D. Andrianou ◽  
Chava van der Lek ◽  
Pantelis Charisiadis ◽  
Solomon Ioannou ◽  
Kalliopi N. Fotopoulou ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Quality Of Life ◽  
Water Quality ◽  
Drinking Water ◽  
Health Status ◽  
Quality Parameters ◽  
Drinking Water Quality ◽  
Water Quality Parameters ◽  
Proof Of Concept ◽  
Concept Study

AbstractCities face rapid changes leading to increasing inequalities and emerging public health issues that require cost-effective interventions. The urban exposome framework constitutes a novel approach in tackling city-wide challenges, such as those of drinking water quality and quality of life. In this proof-of-concept study, we presented part of the urban exposome of Limassol (Cyprus) focusing on chemical and microbial drinking water quality parameters and their association with urban neighborhood indicators. A perceptions study and an urban population study was conducted. We mapped the water quality parameters and participants’ opinions on city life (i.e. neighborhood life, health care and green space access) using quarters (small administrative areas) as the reference unit of the city. In an exploratory environment-wide association study analysis, we used all variables (questionnaire responses and water quality metrics) to describe correlations between them accounting, also, for self-reported health status. Overall, urban drinking-water quality using conventional indicators of chemical (disinfection byproducts-trihalomethanes) and microbial (coliforms, E. coli, and Enterococci) quality did not raise particular concerns. The general health and chronic health status of the urban participants were significantly (all >FDR corrected p value of 0.1) associated with different health conditions such as hypertension and asthma, or having financial issues in access to dental care. Additionally, correlations between trihalomethanes and participant characteristics (e.g. household cleaning, drinking water habits) were documented. This proof-of-concept study showed the potential of using integrative approaches to develop urban exposomic profiles and identifying within-city differentiated environmental and health indicators. The characterization of the urban exposome of Limassol will be expanded via the inclusion of biomonitoring tools and untargeted metabolomics platforms.

scholarly journals A prescribed walking regimen plus arginine supplementation improves function and quality of life for patients with pulmonary arterial hypertension: a pilot study

2017 ◽  
Vol 8 (1) ◽  
pp. 204589321774396 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mary Beth Brown ◽  
Attie Kempf ◽  
Catherine M. Collins ◽  
Gary M. Long ◽  
Matthew Owens ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Quality Of Life ◽  
Pulmonary Arterial Hypertension ◽  
Arterial Hypertension ◽  
Current Evidence ◽  
Proof Of Concept ◽  
Concept Study ◽  
Sf 36 ◽  
Pulmonary Arterial ◽  
Arginine Supplementation

Current evidence suggests that exercise training is beneficial in pulmonary arterial hypertension (PAH). Unfortunately, the standard supervised, hospital-based programs limit patient accessibility to this important intervention. Our proof-of-concept study aimed to provide insight into the usefulness of a prescribed walking regimen along with arginine supplementation to improve outcomes for patients with PAH. Twelve PAH patients (all women) in New York Heart Association (NYHA) functional class (FC) II (n = 7) or III (n = 5) and in stable condition for ≥ 3 months were enrolled. Patients performed home- and fitness-center- based walking at 65–75% heart rate (HR) reserve for 45 min, six sessions/week for 12 weeks. Concomitant L-arginine supplementation (6000 mg/day) was provided to maximize beneficial endothelial training adaptations. Cardiopulmonary exercise testing, 6-min walk testing (6MWT), echocardiography, laboratory studies, and quality of life (QoL) survey (SF-36) were performed at baseline and 12 weeks. Eleven patients completed the study (72 session adherence rate = 96 ± 3%). Objective improvement was demonstrated by the 6MWT distance (increased by 40 ± 13 m, P = 0.01), VO2max (increased by 2 ± 0.7 mL/kg/min, P = 0.02), time-to-VO2max (increased by 2.5 ± 0.6 min, P = 0.001), VO2 at anaerobic threshold (increased by 1.3 ± 0.5 mL/kg/min, P = 0.04), HR recovery (reduced by 68 ± 23% in slope, P = 0.01), and SF-36 subscales of Physical Functioning and Energy/Fatigue (increased by 70 ± 34% and 74 ± 34%, respectively, P < 0.05). No adverse events occurred, and right ventricular function and brain natriuretic peptide levels remained stable, suggesting safety of the intervention. This proof-of-concept study indicates that a simple walking regimen with arginine supplementation is a safe and efficacious intervention for clinically stable PAH patients, with gains in objective function and QoL measures. Further investigation in a randomized controlled trial is warranted.

Quality of Life in Glasgow: An Applied Geographical Analysis

1986 ◽  
Vol 18 (11) ◽  
pp. 1499-1520 ◽  
Author(s):  
M Pacione
Keyword(s):  
Quality Of Life ◽  
Urban Areas ◽  
Life Experience ◽  
Life Quality ◽  
The Elderly ◽  
Life Forms ◽  
Quality Of Life Indicators ◽  
The City ◽  
Detailed Work

The structure and distribution of quality of life forms a key area of research in human geography, with particular attention given to conditions at the disadvantaged end of the quality-of-life spectrum. To date, most work has focused on the national, regional, or interurban scale. However, whereas descriptive pattern identification and mapping is of value at the macroscale as a pointer to detailed work, policy-relevant quality-of-life indicators are more likely to be derived at the local scale and to be related to specific life concerns. In the present research, a multiscale multiindicator methodology is used to examine the structure and distribution of life quality in Glasgow. In a series of analyses in which objective and subjective indicators are employed at different geographic scales, the city-wide pattern of life quality is identified and a number of severely disadvantaged subareas isolated. Within one such subarea the quality-of-life experience of a particular social group, the elderly, is examined in detail. Application of the methodology in other cities could facilitate intercity and cross-cultural comparisons of quality-of-life variations within contemporary urban areas. Such investigations can also be of practical utility for decisionmakers seeking to define priorities for social policy.

scholarly journals About the question of the assessment of the drinking water quality in centralized water systems in the current conditions

2020 ◽  
Vol 99 (6) ◽  
pp. 563-568
Author(s):  
Yuliya A. Novikova ◽  
K. B. Friedman ◽  
V. N. Fedorov ◽  
A. A. Kovshov ◽  
N. A. Tikhonova ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Water Quality ◽  
Drinking Water ◽  
Water Supply ◽  
Supply System ◽  
Drinking Water Quality ◽  
Water Supply Systems ◽  
High Quality ◽  
Supply Systems ◽  
The City

Introduction. Regulation of drinking water quality is a very important area of health care and improving the quality of life of the population of the Russian Federation.The aim of this work is the development a model for the assessment of the drinking water quality and calculating the share of the population, including urban, provided with high-quality drinking water from centralized water supply systems, taking into account new methodological approaches to the evaluation of the quality of drinking water using the example of water supply to settlements in the Leningrad Region. Material and methods. The data on the organization of centralized cold water supply systems and monitoring systems for drinking water quality and the results of laboratory studies of drinking water quality in the cities of Volkhov, Svetogorsk, Slantsy, Tosno were studied. Statistical processing of the results was performed, the categories of quality of drinking water supplied to the population were determined, the number of the population provided with high-quality drinking water from the water supply system was calculated in accordance with Guidelines 2.1.4.0143-19.Results. In 2018, 100% of the population was provided with quality drinking water only in the city of Slantsy. In the city of Tosno, this index reached of 83.5%. In the cities of Volkhov and Svetogorsk, drinking water was rated as low-quality. But it is worth noting that in the cities of Volkhov and Slantsy laboratory tests were carried out at 2 points, in the city of Svetogorsk - only at the 1 point, which, given the number of residents, is not enough. For an objective assessment of the state of drinking water and the development of measures aimed at improving its quality, it is necessary to increase the number of monitoring points, as well as to include the results of control and supervision measures and production laboratory control conducted by water supply organizations in the volume of laboratory information.Conclusion. The proposed model allows us to assess the drinking water quality in centralized water supply systems and the proportion of the population, including urban, provided with quality drinking water at the level of the water supply system, settlement, municipal district (urban district), subject of the Russian Federation

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