Department of Information Technology, Ghent University, Ghent, Belgium.
Department of Science and Technology, Faculty of Health and Science, University of Suffolk, Ipswich, United Kingdom.
Int J Radiat Biol. 2023;99(9):1439-1455. doi: 10.1080/09553002.2022.2113838. Epub 2022 Aug 24.
Exposure of insects to radio-frequency electromagnetic fields (RF-EMFs) can have developmental effects. However, there is currently no clear understanding of the exposure level that can lead to such effects. Therefore, the goal of this study was to, for the first time, study the development of the Blue Bottle Fly (, CV) under exposure to RF-EMFs at 5.4 GHz, using both numerical RF-EMF dosimetry with anatomically accurate 3 D models of insects and an RF-EMF exposure experiment.
CV was chosen as a model organism in this study because CV's development can be influenced thermally and CV's pupal stage presents a window of several days in which immobile pupae can be exposed to RF-EMFs. The 5.4 GHz frequency was used because it allowed us the license-free operation of the exposure setup. Numerical, EM simulations with 3 D anatomically accurate models of CV, obtained using micro-CT scanning, were used in this study. These simulations enable the estimation of the absorbed power and the whole-body averaged specific absorption rate in CV during RF exposure experiments. An experiment with three exposure conditions was designed and executed in which 400 pupae were split into an exposed group that was placed inside the TEM cell for 48 h and concurrent control. Two exposure conditions used RF-EMF input power into the TEM cell at 5.4 GHz on two different levels. One exposure condition was sham exposure. Electric field strength measurements were used to validate the proper functioning of the exposure setups and to quantify the RF-EMF exposure of the control groups.
All studied groups of pupae - exposed to RF-EMFs, sham, and control groups- showed similar (evolutions of) masses, lengths and diameters during their development. The total rate of pupal emergence was reduced in one of the studied RF-EMF exposures in comparison to its concurrent control, while the other RF-EMF exposure and the sham exposure did not alter the total rate of pupal emergence. The sham exposure and the lowest of the two studied RF-EMF exposure conditions (19.4 V/m) caused a median delay in pupal emergence of 4 and 8 hours, respectively, in comparison to concurrent control groups. The higher studied exposure of 55 V/m caused a median relative acceleration in the development of 8 h.
昆虫暴露于射频电磁场（RF-EMF）下可能会产生发育影响。然而，目前尚不清楚导致这种影响的暴露水平。因此，本研究的目的是首次使用数值射频电磁辐射剂量学和昆虫的解剖精确 3D 模型，研究 5.4GHz 下 RF-EMF 对蓝瓶蝇（Calliphora vicina，CV）发育的影响。
在这项研究中，选择 CV 作为模式生物，因为 CV 的发育可以受到热的影响，并且 CV 的蛹期存在几天的窗口，在此期间可以将不动的蛹暴露于 RF-EMF 下。选择 5.4GHz 频率是因为我们可以在不受限制的情况下操作暴露装置。本研究使用通过微 CT 扫描获得的 CV 的 3D 解剖精确模型进行数值、EM 模拟，以估计 RF 暴露实验中 CV 中的吸收功率和全身平均比吸收率。设计并执行了一个具有三种暴露条件的实验，其中将 400 个蛹分为暴露组，将其置于 TEM 细胞内 48 小时，并设置对照。两种暴露条件在 TEM 细胞中使用 5.4GHz 的 RF-EMF 输入功率，设置了两个不同的水平。一种暴露条件是假暴露。电场强度测量用于验证暴露装置的正常运行，并量化对照组的 RF-EMF 暴露。
在发育过程中，所有研究的蛹组——暴露于 RF-EMF、假暴露和对照组——的体重、长度和直径都表现出相似的（演变）。与同时期的对照组相比，在研究的一种 RF-EMF 暴露中，蛹的总羽化率降低，而另一种 RF-EMF 暴露和假暴露没有改变蛹的总羽化率。假暴露和研究的两种 RF-EMF 暴露条件中的较低水平（19.4V/m）分别导致蛹羽化的中位数延迟了 4 小时和 8 小时，与同时期的对照组相比。较高的研究暴露水平 55V/m 导致发育的中位数相对加速了 8 小时。
