TY  - JOUR
A1  - Weismann, Dirk
A1  - Möckel, Martin
A1  - Paeth, Heiko
A1  - Slagman, Anna
T1  - Modelling variations of emergency attendances using data on community mobility, climate and air pollution
JF  - Scientific Reports
N2  - Air pollution is associated with morbidity and mortality worldwide. We investigated the impact of improved air quality during the economic lockdown during the SARS-Cov2 pandemic on emergency room (ER) admissions in Germany. Weekly aggregated clinical data from 33 hospitals were collected in 2019 and 2020. Hourly concentrations of nitrogen and sulfur dioxide (NO2, SO2), carbon and nitrogen monoxide (CO, NO), ozone (O3) and particulate matter (PM10, PM2.5) measured by ground stations and meteorological data (ERA5) were selected from a 30 km radius around the corresponding ED. Mobility was assessed using aggregated cell phone data. A linear stepwise multiple regression model was used to predict ER admissions. The average weekly emergency numbers vary from 200 to over 1600 cases (total n = 2,216,217). The mean maximum decrease in caseload was 5 standard deviations. With the enforcement of the shutdown in March, the mobility index dropped by almost 40%. Of all air pollutants, NO2 has the strongest correlation with ER visits when averaged across all departments. Using a linear stepwise multiple regression model, 63% of the variation in ER visits is explained by the mobility index, but still 6% of the variation is explained by air quality and climate change.
KW  - cardiovascular diseases
KW  - environmental health
KW  - environmental impact
KW  - preclinical research
KW  - preventive medicine
KW  - reproductive disorders
KW  - respiratory signs and symptoms
Y1  - 2023
U6  - http://nbn-resolving.de/urn/resolver.pl?urn:nbn:de:bvb:20-opus-357578
VL  - 13
ER  - 
TY  - JOUR
A1  - Duque, Laura
A1  - Poelman, Erik H.
A1  - Steffan-Dewenter, Ingolf
T1  - Plant age at the time of ozone exposure affects flowering patterns, biotic interactions and reproduction of wild mustard
JF  - Scientific Reports
N2  - Exposure of plants to environmental stressors can modify their metabolism, interactions with other organisms and reproductive success. Tropospheric ozone is a source of plant stress. We investigated how an acute exposure to ozone at different times of plant development affects reproductive performance, as well as the flowering patterns and the interactions with pollinators and herbivores, of wild mustard plants. The number of open flowers was higher on plants exposed to ozone at earlier ages than on the respective controls, while plants exposed at later ages showed a tendency for decreased number of open flowers. The changes in the number of flowers provided a good explanation for the ozone-induced effects on reproductive performance and on pollinator visitation. Ozone exposure at earlier ages also led to either earlier or extended flowering periods. Moreover, ozone tended to increase herbivore abundance, with responses depending on herbivore taxa and the plant age at the time of ozone exposure. These results suggest that the effects of ozone exposure depend on the developmental stage of the plant, affecting the flowering patterns in different directions, with consequences for pollination and reproduction of annual crops and wild species.
KW  - abiotic
KW  - environmental impact
KW  - plant ecology
Y1  - 2021
U6  - http://nbn-resolving.de/urn/resolver.pl?urn:nbn:de:bvb:20-opus-265742
VL  - 11
IS  - 1
ER  -