In Italy, the phenomenon of vaccine hesitancy has increased with time and represents a complex problem that requires a continuous monitoring. Misinformation on media and social media seems to be one of the determinants of the vaccine hesitancy since, for instance, 42.8 percent of Italian citizens used the internet to obtain vaccine information in 2016. This article reports a quantitative analysis of 560 YouTube videos related to the link between vaccines and autism or other serious side effects on children. The analysis revealed that most of the videos were negative in tone and that the annual number of uploaded videos has increased during the considered period, that goes from 27 December 2007 to 31 July 2017, with a peak of 224 videos in the first seven months of 2017. These findings suggest that the public institutions should be more engaged in establishing a web presence in order to provide reliable information, answers, stories, and videos so to respond to questions of the public about vaccination. These actions could be useful to allow citizens to make informed decisions about vaccines so to comply with vaccination regulations.

The adverse health effects of exposure to air pollutants, notably to particulate matter (PM), are well-known, as well as the association with measured or estimated concentration levels. The role of perception can be relevant in exploring effects and pollution control actions. The purpose of this study was to explore studies that analyse people’s perception, together with the measurement of air pollution, in order to elucidate the relationship between them. We conducted a systematic review in accordance with the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA) guidelines. In March 2020, PubMed, EMBASE, and Scopus databases were explored in an attempt to search for studies published from 2000 to 2020. The review included 38 studies, most of which were conducted in China (n = 13) and the United States (n = 11) and published over the last four years (n = 26). Three studies were multicenter investigations, while five articles were based on a national-level survey. The air quality (AQ) was assessed by monitoring stations (n = 24) or dispersion models (n = 7). Many studies were population questionnaire-based, air monitoring and time-series studies, and web-based investigations. A direct association between exposure and perception emerged in 20 studies. This systematic review has shown that most of the studies establish a relationship between risk perception measurement. A broad spectrum of concepts and notions related to perception also emerged, which is undoubtedly an indicator of the wealth of available knowledge and is promising for future research.

Biological risk assessment in occupational settings currently is based on either qualitative or semiquantitative analysis. In this study, a quantitative microbial risk assessment (QMRA) has been applied to estimate the human adenovirus (HAdV) health risk due to bioaerosol exposure in a wastewater treatment plant (WWTP). A stochastic QMRA model was developed considering HAdV as the index pathogen, using its concentrations in different areas and published dose–response relationship for inhalation. A sensitivity analysis was employed to examine the impact of input parameters on health risk. The QMRA estimated a higher average risk in sewage influent and biological oxidation tanks (15.64% and 12.73% for an exposure of 3 min). Sensitivity analysis indicated HAdV concentration as a predominant factor in the estimated risk. QMRA results were used to calculate the exposure limits considering four different risk levels (one illness case per 100, 1.000, 10.000, and 100.000 workers): for 3 min exposures, we obtained 565, 170, 54, and 6 GC/m³ of HAdV. We also calculated the maximum time of exposure for each level for different areas. Our findings can be useful to better define the effectiveness of control measures, which would thus reduce the virus concentration or the exposure time.

Tropospheric ozone is a significant air pollutant with severe adverse effects on human health. The complex dynamics of ozone formation, distribution, and health impacts underscore the need for a comprehensive understanding of this pollutant. Despite well-documented health risks, including an estimated 423,100 deaths annually due to ozone exposure, millions of people in major countries continue to be exposed to unhealthy levels. Notably, the epidemiological evidence linking long-term ozone exposure to health outcomes is limited compared to short-term exposure studies, leaving some findings incomplete. Regulatory standards vary globally, with the implementation of the World Health Organization recommendation for an 8-h average limit of 50 ppb to protect public health remaining heterogeneous, leading to significant disparities in adoption across countries, and often significantly higher. Emissions from diesel and gasoline vehicles are major sources of VOCs and NOx in urban areas, and their reduction is a key strategy. Additionally, climate change may exacerbate ozone pollution through increased natural precursor emissions, leading to higher ground-level ozone in polluted regions, like the eastern US, southern Europe, and parts of Asia. Addressing tropospheric ozone effectively requires an integrated approach that considers both natural and anthropogenic sources to reduce concentrations and mitigate health impacts.

Despite the societal and economic impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic, the lockdown measures put in place by the Italian government provided an unprecedented opportunity to increase our knowledge of the effect transportation and industry-related emissions have on the air quality in our cities. This study assessed the effect of reduced emissions during the lockdown period, due to COVID-19, on air quality in three Italian cities, Florence, Pisa, and Lucca. For this study, we compared the concentration of particulate matter PM₁₀, PM_2.5, NO₂, and O₃ measured during the lockdown period, with values obtained in the same period of 2019. Our results show no evidence of a direct relationship between the lockdown measures implemented and PM reduction in urban centers, except in areas with heavy traffic. Consistent with recently published studies, we did, however, observe a significant decrease in NO₂ concentrations among all the air-monitoring stations for each city in this study. Finally, O₃ levels remained unchanged during the lockdown period. Of note, there were slight variations in the meteorological conditions for the same periods of different years. Our results suggest a need for further studies on the impact of vehicular traffic and industrial activities on PM air pollution, including adopting holistic source-control measures for improved air quality in urban environments.