Category: anapneism

Episode 5: Sheffield, UK – Professional Opinion

Sotirios PapathanasiouLeave a comment

Episode 5: Sheffield, UK – Professional Opinion – See The Air | Real Life Stories

In this episode, James Heydon, who lives in Sheffield UK, will share with us his professional thoughts on air pollution.
James is an Assistant Professor in Criminology.
You may think, how can a criminologist shed light on air pollution!
Well, James is currently researching air pollution regulations, and his academic studies in human behavior could help us understand better why most people neglect to think about the air they breathe.

Twitter: @Jwheydon

Please share and rate this episode with 5 stars.

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Episode 4: Murcia, Spain – Agricultural Burning

Sotirios PapathanasiouLeave a comment

Episode 4: Murcia, Spain – Agricultural Burning – See The Air | Real Life Stories

[EN]This is a dual-language episode. If you want to listen to the Spanish version please go to minute 18.In this episode, Luis, who lives in Murcia Spain, will share with us his everyday experience with air pollution. The main source of air pollution in his city and the general region is agricultural burning as citizens face the political unwillingness to address the issue. There is a law that prohibits the practice but it is not enforced.Please share and rate this episode with 5 stars.[ES]Este es un episodio de doble lenguaje. Si desea escuchar la versión en español, por favor, vaya al minuto 18.En este episodio, Luis, que vive en Murcia España, compartirá con nosotros su experiencia cotidiana con la contaminación del aire.La principal fuente de contaminación del aire en su ciudad y la región general es la quema agrícola, ya que los ciudadanos enfrentan la falta de voluntad política para controlar el problema. Hay una ley que prohíbe la práctica de quemas, pero no se hace cumplir.Por favor, comparte y califica este episodio con 5 estrellas.

[EN]
This is a dual-language episode. If you want to listen to the Spanish version please go to minute 18.

In this episode, Luis, who lives in Murcia Spain, will share with us his everyday experience with air pollution.
The main source of air pollution in his city and the general region is agricultural burning as citizens face the political unwillingness to address the issue. There is a law that prohibits the practice but it is not enforced.

[ES]
Este es un episodio de doble lenguaje. Si desea escuchar la versión en español, por favor, vaya al minuto 18.

En este episodio, Luis, que vive en Murcia España, compartirá con nosotros su experiencia cotidiana con la contaminación del aire.
La principal fuente de contaminación del aire en su ciudad y la región general es la quema agrícola, ya que los ciudadanos enfrentan la falta de voluntad política para controlar el problema. Hay una ley que prohíbe la práctica de quemas, pero no se hace cumplir.

Por favor, comparte y califica este episodio con 5 estrellas.

Please share and rate this episode with 5 stars.

Review: Aranet4 HOME – CO2 Monitor [EN/ES/GR]

Sotirios Papathanasiou8 Comments

(Scroll down for the Spanish or Greek version of the review/Desplácese hacia abajo para la versión en español o Griega/ Μετακινηθείτε προς τα κάτω για την ισπανική ή την ελληνική έκδοση της αξιολόγησης)

English
Español
Ελληνικά

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It is not a coincidence that everywhere you look nowadays you see a small, square, and white monitor with a screen in the middle that displays some numbers! Well, this is Aranet4 which was developed by a Latvian company.

Aranet4 is a small and mighty CO2 monitor that surprise people for two reasons. First of all, it is very comprehensive, and secondly, most people are intrigued by the technology of the display as it uses an e-ink display and, to the untrained eye, looks like a simple sticker.

The commonly found AA batteries can operate the monitor for up to 2 years so you don’t have to worry about them. It uses a single channel non-dispersive infrared (NDIR) sensor technology for accurate CO₂ measurements, read more here.

Specifications

  • Carbon Dioxide (CO2) NDIR
  • Temperature (ºC/ºF)
  • Relative Humidity
  • Atmospheric Pressure
  • e-ink Display
  • Bluetooth
  • Buzzer (Alarm)
  • AA Battery Operated (up to 2 years)
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Podcast Ep1: See The Air | Real Life Stories

Sotirios PapathanasiouLeave a comment

I am very happy to announce that I am launching a new series of Podcast episodes where people from all around the world will be able to share their experience with air pollution and how it affects their lives.

The episodes will be available in all big Podcast distributional channels like Apple Podcast, Google Podcast, Spotify, and Spreaker.

Episode 1 : London, UK – Traffic Pollution and LTNs

In the first episode, we will hear Ediz from London, UK. Ediz is a clean air campaigner and he and his family members have to breathe lots of traffic-related air pollution as his neighborhood is jammed by hundreds of cars every day.

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Poll: Results Discussion – Air Pollution

Sotirios Papathanasiou5 Comments

Last week I started a brief poll on Twitter because I wanted to obtain feedback from the community. The subject was simple “Which source of #AirPollution affects you the most?”

263 people responded and unfortunately, I can’t say that the results surprise me. Vehicle traffic was voted as number #1 source of air pollution with a massive 53% and it was followed by 32% wood burning for heating like wood-burning stoves, fireplaces, etc. 7% of the users voted that agriculture is the source of air pollution in their communities and an 8% voted other.

I would like to comment about each category individually, but first of all, I would like to make something clear. All sources are equally important, I don’t rank them from most to least important but I classify them based on what people think is the source in their community, and it varies a lot.

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Review: KAMU Spirometer (Asthma)

Sotirios Papathanasiou2 Comments

I have been talking about air quality monitors and air purifiers in this blog for a long time. They help us see the air we breathe and mitigate pollution. However, is there a way to measure the impact of pollution on our lungs?

Well yes, thanks to technological advances and spirometry, which measures lung function, doctors can use these data in assessing breathing patterns that identify conditions such as asthma, pulmonary fibrosis, cystic fibrosis, and COPD.

In this review, I am going to present to you the KAMU Spiro. It is a handheld bluetooth device that helps us test our lung function at home with a hospital-grade mobile spirometer.

With a single test, we can get FEV1, FEV1/FEV6, FVC, and PEF values. The spirometry results are saved in KAMU Spiro’s memory until we upload them to our KAMU Asthma app, where we can view them at any time.

What is FEV1, FEV1/FEV6, FVC, and PEF?

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Review: BRISE C360 Air Purifier

Sotirios Papathanasiou3 Comments

There are a few things you can do to reduce air pollution indoors like keeping things tight and clean, not smoking, using exhaust fans when you cook, and ventilating the rooms, but at the end of the day if the air pollution comes from outside sources then you need to take drastic measures and there is only one solution, investing in an air purifier.

There are many air purifiers on the market for all types of budgets but you shouldn’t expect a cheap air purifier to offer the same features and purification results as a high-end purifier. By the way, air cleaners and air purifiers are the same things.

BRISE C360 is a high-end purifier capable of purifying up to 95 m2 or 1022 ft2 room and rated CADR at 390 m3/hr or 230CFM. It is recommended for medium size rooms and it packs a ton of features.

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Fitness Air Quality Monitor, is that possible?

Sotirios Papathanasiou5 Comments

Over the years, I have spoken with many companies in the field of air quality and once in a while, companies will tell me that they want athletes to purchase their devices in order to improve performance. I am always skeptical about this because I haven’t seen any integration of fitness data with the AQ monitors so far that could give some possible adverts or ways for the athlete to improve their performance. You don’t expect people to make assumptions you have to give them results and guide them in the right direction.

During covid-19 lockdown, I worked out at home and as I have access to a lot of data (fitness and air quality) I decided to make some experiments and see how my body reacts to poor indoor air quality and good indoor air quality and if the whole hypothesis works.

Smartwatches are very common these day and all of them feature a heart rate monitor and many more sensors. Recently, Apple and Fitbit released pulse oximeter sensors in their latest wearables. These new sensors in the smartwatches could unlock many more potentials and provide us with data that could save lives.

Let’s continue with the argument of what current AQMs could do if they combine fitness data. First of all, there is a possible problem. In case the monitor is stationary then it won’t be able to tell if the user was near the device or not during the workout session but this could be addressed as most times fitness data come along with GPS coordinates. By allowing the device to access the location data only when the user is in the same location as the AQM (home, gym, etc.) we solve the issue. Another possible solution is if the monitor comes with a Bluetooth/Ultra Wideband chip then it can easily sense the presence of the athlete/individual.Read More »

When is the best time to Exercise Outdoors in Athens, Greece?

Sotirios Papathanasiou1 Comment

Well, in winter and early spring never, period! If you are thinking of running or even walking in the center of Athens in Aristotelous street and around then prepare yourself to breathe a lot of pollution.

There is an official air quality station there and I pulled all available data for local statistical analysis from the European server (GR0003A). Unfortunately, 2019 nor 2020 measurements are available to the public yet, maybe in a decade, they will share the data for the Greeks to read. (Τι κάνεις έλληνα και δεν παραπονιέσαι για τον αέρα που αναπνέεις;).

Air Quality Station on top of the building Aristotelous street, Athens
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