Anke Huss

While relevant for public health policy‐making, little information is currently available about children's usage of mobile devices and on the activities performed with these devices. This paper presents results of two surveys conducted in the Netherlands and one in Spain about the activities children perform on mobile devices (Netherlands: 0–11 years, Spain: 3–11 years). Parents reported in questionnaires the type and duration of activities performed by children with different device types (smartphone, tablet, laptop). Descriptive analyses stratified by different socio‐demographic variables are reported. Cluster analyses were conducted to explore patterns of usage. Results show that even young children (0–2 years old) perform some activity, usually calling or video streaming. The number and the duration of activities were highest among the older children (9–11 years). The kind of activities children perform changes with age, with some activities emerging early, such as video streaming, and others later, like videogaming. Cluster analysis shows that gender differences may already exist in the 0–2 years old range, with girls performing more calling activities than boys. These results can inform future studies and policy making on long‐term effects of mobile devices exposure and on psychological and mental health. Bioelectromagnetics. 00:00–00, 2026. © 2026 Bioelectromagnetics Society.

Smartphones track indicators of a reference signal to maintain network connectivity. These can serve as proxies for a subset of environmental radiofrequency electromagnetic field (RF‐EMF) exposure from mobile networks. In this multi‐country study, we developed conversion functions linking signal indicators collected with the ETAIN 5G‐Scientist app to measured RF‐EMF exposure. Parallel measurements were conducted across six European countries and Australia using frequency‐selective exposimeters and the app. Associations of signal strength and quality indicators with exposure were analysed using log‐linear regression models: (1) serving‐cell level, relating exposure in the serving frequency band to indicators of the connected cell (Europe n = 2960; Australia n = 747); and (2) location level, relating indicators aggregated across network providers to environmental exposure from 4G‐LTE and 5G‐NR networks (Europe n = 61; Australia n = 48). At the serving‐cell level, 4G‐LTE signal strength was positively associated with exposure, while signal quality was inversely associated. For 5G‐NR, only signal strength was associated with exposure, with weaker and less consistent relationships than for 4G‐LTE. At location level, aggregation across providers reduced model error, suggesting residual variability operates at short temporal and spatial scales. These findings support using smartphone signal indicators to estimate components of environmental RF‐EMF exposure, although further validation is needed, particularly for 5G‐NR. Bioelectromagnetics. 00:00–00, 2026. © 2026 Bioelectromagnetics Society.

Background This study investigated actigraphy-measured pre-sleep artificial light at night (ALAN) exposure patterns on non-workdays and their associations with sleep parameters among Hong Kong shift-working nurses and daytime office workers. Methods Using a 7-day actigraphy-measured longitudinal study design, we recruited 136 shift nurses and 66 matched daytime office workers (July 2022–February 2023). ALAN exposure metrics and sleep parameters were derived from actigraphy data, supplemented by sociodemographic surveys and sleep-activity diaries. Principal component analysis (PCA) was performed on log-transformed light values to identify ALAN exposure patterns; mixed-effect models analysed associations with total sleep time (TST), sleep onset latency, wake after sleep onset (WASO) and sleep timing. Results Shift nurses were younger (34.8 vs 36.0 years), showing no significant difference in TST (6.6 vs 6.8 hours, p=0.447) compared with daytime office workers. PCA identified Light PC1 (overall intensity) and Light PC2 (temporal pattern) patterns. In the adjusted models, wrist-worn Light PC1 showed strong associations with shorter TST (β=−0.59, SE=0.08, pConclusion Our findings suggest sleep interventions should prioritise reducing personal light exposure before bed. Future studies could clarify the roles of specific light properties.

Data from the Plant Protection Product (PPP) authorization process in Europe are stored by national institutions and comprise comprehensive datasets on permitted application schemes over time. These datasets provide enormous potential to inform policy and governance. The aim of our study was to inventorize the data from the national PPP-registers across Europe and to appraise the quality of PPP-register data in terms of availability, accessibility, resolution in content, and harmonization. To our knowledge, this is the first attempt to appraise systematically the quality of such PPP-related data. Our analyses show that data quality was better in terms of resolution and availability than in terms of accessibility and harmonization. Accessibility was quite variable, and, in general, harmonization was lacking. Four PPP-registers representing different European pedoclimatic conditions and regulatory zones were selected following a decision-tree approach. The database from Czechia was used as a prototype showcasing what valuable tools can be derived from the PPP-register data that are of high quality. Then, the Austrian, Portuguese, and Estonian databases were processed in a similar way. The data processing revealed limitations associated with a lack of harmonization across databases and resources. The selected data were extracted and converted into Generalized Application Patterns of PPPs in each country, i.e., databases containing all possible authorized uses (substance-specific and crop-specific application rates, time, and number of applications per year). Using existing large data of high quality, new tools can be derived to assist PPP-related assessments and decision making. This contributes to achieving the pesticide sustainable use goals embedded in the European Farm to Fork Strategy.