Evidence map›Paper›PMID 42197278›Full record

ArticleMolecules (Basel, Switzerland)2026

Integrating Self-Organizing Maps, Positive Matrix Factorization and Time-Series Decomposition for Urban Air Pollution Source Apportionment: A Comparative Study of Bulgarian Cities.

Stefano Fornasaro, Pierluigi Barbieri, Reneta Dimitrova, Sabina Licen, Stefan Tsakovski

Abstract read
In one paragraph

Article in Molecules (Basel, Switzerland), 2026. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Not yet cited in PubMed.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
0citing papers in PubMed
–field-weighted citation impact
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

0 citing papers in PubMed.

No citing paper in PubMed yet.

4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

5 authors.

Stefano FornasaroDepartment of Chemical and Pharmaceutical Sciences, University of Trieste, Via Giorgieri 1, 34127 Trieste, Italy.ORCID 0000-0003-3057-7559
Pierluigi BarbieriDepartment of Chemical and Pharmaceutical Sciences, University of Trieste, Via Giorgieri 1, 34127 Trieste, Italy.ORCID 0000-0001-8847-6916
Reneta DimitrovaDepartment of Meteorology and Geophysics, Faculty of Physics, Sofia University "St. Kliment Ohridski", 1164 Sofia, Bulgaria.ORCID 0000-0002-5931-8713
Sabina LicenDepartment of Chemical and Pharmaceutical Sciences, University of Trieste, Via Giorgieri 1, 34127 Trieste, Italy.ORCID 0000-0002-8895-396X
Stefan TsakovskiChair of Analytical Chemistry, Faculty of Chemistry and Pharmacy, Sofia University "St. Kliment Ohridski", 1164 Sofia, Bulgaria.ORCID 0000-0001-5278-8109

Funding

National Recovery and Resilience Plan of the Republic of Bulgaria BG-RRP-2.004-0008NextGenerationEU PNRR iNEST CUP J43C22000320006
6 · The paper itself

Abstract

Receptor modeling of ambient pollutant concentrations plays a central role in urban air quality assessments. This study proposes an integrated framework combining Self-Organizing Maps (SOM), Positive Matrix Factorization (PMF), and Time-Series Analysis (TSA) for a comprehensive evaluation of urban air pollution patterns and source dynamics. The methodology was applied to multi-annual air quality and meteorological datasets (2009-2018) from two major Bulgarian cities, Plovdiv and Varna. The SOM was used for assessing the overall parameter patterns of the cities, leading to a clear clustering of the site samples on the map. Thus, PMF was run separately for the two sites, identifying a different number of sources (three and four, respectively). Traffic-related and sulfur-rich combustion sources were identified in both cities, while a crustal/resuspended dust factor was observed only in Varna. TSA revealed distinct temporal behaviors among source types. Traffic-related aerosol contributions decreased in both cities (-5.14% yr

Indexed as

air pollutionPMFSOMTSA

Identifiers

PMID42197278
PMCPMC13209328

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Registered trials

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Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.