Environmental Health Perspectives articles from April 2006

Environmental Health Perspectives archives from April 2006

Ships, trucks, and trains: effects of goods movement on environmental health.(Guest Editorial)
April 1, 2006... Globalization is changing the world in ways that we may not yet fully comprehend. For the United States, the enactment of new free trade agreements, the downsizing of our manufacturing base, and consumer demand for inexpensive products are all...

Translating translational biomedicine for environmental health.(NIEHS DIRECTOR'S PERSPECTIVE)
April 1, 2006... "What's in a name?" Shakespeare famously wrote. During our recent experience in conceptualizing and creating a new Office of Translational Biomedicine at the NIEHS, we have learned that the answer, often, is "quite a lot," and perhaps...

Coal tar and paving products.(Perspectives: Correspondence)
April 1, 2006... The National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) has a partnership relationship with the asphalt paving and roofing industries and their associated unions. Our partners saw in the EHP Focus article "Paving Paradise: The Peril...

Organic diets and children's health.(Perspectives: Correspondence)
April 1, 2006... In their article "Organic Diets Significantly Lower Children's Dietary Exposure to Organophosphorus Pesticides," Lu et al. (2006) used language that is likely to be misused by organic food marketers to promote high-priced foods and could...

Organic diets: Lu et al. respond.(Perspectives: Correspondence)
April 1, 2006... Avery is concerned that the language used in our recent article (Lu et al. 2005), as well as in an earlier article (Curl et al. 2003), may be used to mislead the public regarding the relative safety of organic foods compared with foods derived...

Translocation of ultrafine particles.(Perspectives: Correspondence)
April 1, 2006... We read with great interest the article by Geiser et al. (2005) on the mechanism of translocation of ultrafine particles (UFPs) across cellular membranes in viva in rats following inhalation and in vitro using porcine pulmonary macrophages and...

Ultrafine particles: Geiser et al. respond.(Perspectives: Correspondence)
April 1, 2006... Nemmar et al. were surprised that we did not cite their study in our article (Geiser et al. 2005) when we referenced state-of-the-art experiments about the translocation of ultrafine particles into secondary organs. We did not cite their human...

Evaluating beryllium exposure data.(Perspectives: Correspondence)
April 1, 2006... We read with great interest "Chronic Beryllium Disease and Sensitization at a Beryllium Processing Facility" (Rosenman et al. 2005). We wish to offer some observations that will broaden the context in which this article is understood. I...

Beryllium exposure data: Rosenman et al. respond.(Perspectives: Correspondence)
April 1, 2006... We thank Kolanz for his careful reading of our article (Rosenman et al. 2005). An erratum correcting the problem he noted appears on page A214. How do these corrected numbers change our results? More chronic beryllium disease (CBD) and...

Erratum.(Perspectives: Correcpondence)(Correction notice)
April 1, 2006... Table 8. Development of definite/probable CBD and sensitization by average cumulative, average mean, and peak exposure ([+ or -] SE). Disease No. of outcome individuals Definite/ Probable CBD ...

U.S. Ocean Policy Report Card.(Marine and Coastal Science)
April 1, 2006... If the U.S. government were a student, it would be on the verge of flunking Ocean Policy 101, to judge by the U.S. Ocean Policy Report Card issued 3 February 2006 by the Joint Ocean Commission Initiative. The United States has accomplished far...

Bisphenol A and the brain.(Endocrine Disruptors)
April 1, 2006... Estrogens are known to trigger rapid cellular responses, including hormone secretion and cell permeability changes, in tissues as diverse as the pancreas, the pituitary gland, and the brain. Two studies published in the December 2005 issue of...

PFOA to be eliminated.(The Beat)
April 1, 2006... In January 2006, eight companies agreed to an EPA agreement to eliminate perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA) from consumer products within the next decade. PFOA, used to make nonstick and stain-resistant materials, has been linked with cancer and...

Mold genomics.(The Beat)
April 1, 2006... The 22 December 2005 issue of Nature featured information on the latest genomes to be cracked: Aspergillus fumigatus, the most common infection-causing mold; A. oryzae, a nonpathogenic mold that has been used for 2,000 years to make sake, miso,...

Ahoy there, EPA!(The Beat)
April 1, 2006... In December 2005, the EPA formally introduced its new Ocean Survey Vessel Bold. A converted Navy vessel, the 224-foot ship is a floating scientific laboratory stocked with state-of-the-art equipment to support the EPA's ocean monitoring and...

The plaque of the matter.(Air Pollution)
April 1, 2006... Particulate matter measuring less than 2.5 microns (P[M.sub.2.5]) has been widely linked to heart disease. These tiny particles of dust, soot, and smoke accompany emissions from power plants and vehicle exhaust, and lead to an estimated 60,000...

Adding up to no good?(Food Safety)
April 1, 2006... The safety of food additives is usually examined by varying the dose of a single additive administered to animal models or cell cultures. However, British researchers at the University of Liverpool and the University of Ulster report in the...

Zayed Prize winners.(The Beat)
April 1, 2006... In December the Zayed Prize Higher Committee announced the 2005 winners of this recently established international prize for environmental work. UN Secretary General Kofi Annan was honored for his efforts to catalyze global support for...

Testing new mothers for toxicants.(The Beat)
April 1, 2006... In fall 2005, the North American Commission for Environmental Cooperation began a continentwide testing program to analyze the blood of 500 first-time mothers for environmental contaminants including dioxins, furans, PCBs, DDT, chlordane,...

Breathing easier at school.(The Beat)
April 1, 2006... Now that many state laws allow students to carry asthma and anaphylaxis medications to school and administer these drugs to themselves, the Allergy & Asthma Network Mothers of Asthmatics has launched a campaign to educate students, parents,...

International Maritime Organization.(ehp net)
April 1, 2006... In 1948 an international conference in Geneva adopted a convention formally establishing what is today called the International Maritime Organization (IMO). The IMO initially worked mainly to ensure maritime safety, but after a 1967 spill of...

NIH launches genes and environment initiative.(Environews: NIEHS News)
April 1, 2006... The NIEHS and its fellow NIH institutes and centers have joined forces to reveal still more connections between genes, the environment, and human health. On 6 February 2006 Health and Human Services Secretary Mike Leavitt announced that the...

Keeping kids' environments safe.(BEYOND the BENCH)
April 1, 2006... A safe home environment is the first line of defense in protecting children's health. And since many kids spend a great amount of time in schools and child care facilities, safeguarding their health in those places is also essential. The...

Taking better care of kids.(Environews: NIEHS News)
April 1, 2006... The Healthy Homes = Healthy Kids Train-the-Trainer Program was developed to introduce parents and caregivers to environmental hazards in children's indoor environments and provide them with information on how to avoid such hazards and improve...

Genetic susceptibility, respiratory effects, and school absences.(Headliners: NIEHS-Supported Research: Environmental Tobacco Smoke)
April 1, 2006... Wenten M, Berhane K, Rappaport EB, Avol E, Tsai W-W, Gauderman WJ, et al. 2005. TNF-308 Modifies the Effect of Second-Hand Smoke on Respiratory Illness-Related School Absences. Am J Respir Crit Care Med 172:1563-1568. Children are at...

Ports in a storm.(Environews: Focus)
April 1, 2006... The volume of global trade has been rising steadily in the past few years, fueled by free trade agreements and migration of manufacturing to destinations in Asia, particularly China. Nearly 90% of global trade is by sea, involving a fleet of...

Unfair trade e-waste in Africa.(Environews: Spheres of Influence)
April 1, 2006... The bright and dark sides of Africa's information technology sector are both evident at the Ikeja Computer Village, near Lagos, Nigeria. Thousands of vendors pack this bustling market, one of three major hubs where imported used electronics are...

Safe harbor: protecting ports with shipboard fuel cells.(Environews: Innovations)
April 1, 2006... In September 2005, the city of Los Angeles announced a mandate to cut the air pollution from its harbor. The head of the city's harbor commission, S. David Freeman, gave the port managers a sobering directive: "Start acting like our lives are...

Ozone overload: current standards may not protect health.(Environews: Science Selections)
April 1, 2006... Ozone is a common urban pollutant that has been linked to health effects such as reduced lung function, increases in respiratory symptoms, and development of asthma. Now a team of researchers reports that ozone may pose a danger to human health...

Color by soy: genistein linked to epigenetic effects.(Environews: Science Selections)
April 1, 2006... There is substantial evidence that a pregnant mother's exposure to environmental substances can affect her young. Now researchers have uncovered the first direct evidence that maternal exposure to a phytoestrogen in soy can cause lifelong...

Hogging the air: CAFO emissions reach into schools.(Environews: Science Selections)
April 1, 2006... Confined animal feeding operations (CAFOs) can pollute the surrounding air with malodorous compounds, bacteria, fungi, and endotoxin. CAFO-related health impacts have been investigated primarily in adults, but children may be at greater risk...

One less lead link? Exposure-hypertension association not replicated in young children.(Environews: Science Selections)
April 1, 2006... For two decades, scientists have known that lead exposure can induce hypertension in lab animals. More recent studies suggest it might also promote hypertension in adults. But little was known about the metal's effects on blood pressure in...

Perinatal immunotoxicity: why adult exposure assessment fails to predict risk.
April 1, 2006... Recent research has pointed to the developing immune system as a remarkably sensitive toxicologic target for environmental chemicals and drugs. In fact, the perinatal period before and just after birth is replete with dynamic immune changes,...

Monensin improves the effectiveness of meso-dimercaptosuccinate when used to treat lead intoxication in rats.(Research)
April 1, 2006... Among divalent cations, the ionophore monensin shows high activity and selectivity for the transport of lead ions ([Pb.sup.2+]) across phuspholipid membranes. When coadministered to rats that were receiving meso-dimercaptosuccinate for...

Occupational toluene exposure induces cytochrome P450 2E1 mRNA expression in peripheral lymphocytes.(Research)
April 1, 2006... Print workers are exposed to organic solvents, of which the systemic toxicant toluene is a main component. Toluene induces expression of cytochrome P450 2E1 (CYP2EI), an enzyme involved in its own metabolism and that of other protoxicants,...

Antiestrogens inhibit xenoestrogen-induced brain aromatase activity but do not prevent xenoestrogen-induced feminization in Japanese medaka (Oryzias latipes).(Research)
April 1, 2006... In fish, exposure to estrogen or estrogen-mimicking chemicals (xenoestrogens) during a critical period of development can irreversibly invert sex differentiation. In medaka, a male-to-female reversal upon exposure to a xenoestrogen is...

Lead increases lipopolysaccharide-induced liver injury through tumor necrosis factor-[alpha] overexpression by monocytes/macrophages: role of protein kinase C and p42/44 mitogen-activated protein kinase.(Research)
April 1, 2006... Although lead and lipopolysaccharide (LPS), both important environmental pollutants, activate cells through different receptors and participate in distinct upstream signaling pathways, Pb increases the amount of LPS-induced tumor necrosis...

Changes in breath trihalomethane levels resulting from household water-use activities.(Research)
April 1, 2006... Common household water-use activities such as showering, bathing, drinking, and washing clothes or dishes are potentially important contributors to individual exposure to trihalomethanes (THMs), the major class of disinfection by-products of...

National prevalence and exposure risk for cockroach allergen in U.S. households.(Research)
April 1, 2006... We characterized the prevalence of cockroach allergen exposure in a nationally representative sample of U.S. homes and assessed risk factors for elevated concentrations. DESIGN: We used data from the National Survey of Lead and Allergens...

Methylarsonous acid transport by aquaglyceroporins.(Research)
April 1, 2006... Many mammals methylate trivalent inorganic arsenic in liver to species that are released into the bloodstream and excreted in urine and feces. This study addresses how methylated arsenicals pass through cell membranes. We have previously shown...

The exposure-response curve for ozone and risk of mortality and the adequacy of current ozone regulations.(Research)
April 1, 2006... Time-series analyses have shown that ozone is associated with increased risk of premature mortality, but little is known about how [O.sub.3] affects health at low concentrations. A critical scientific and policy question is whether a threshold...

A survival-adjusted quantal-response test for analysis of tumor incidence rates in animal carcinogenicity studies.(Research)
April 1, 2006... In rodent cancer bioassays, groups of animals are exposed to different doses of a chemical of interest and followed for tumor occurrence. The resulting tumor rates are commonly analyzed using a survival-adjusted Cochran-Armitage (CA) trend...

The effect of inhaled chromium on different exhaled breath condensate biomarkers among chrome-plating workers.(Research)
April 1, 2006... Chromium is corrosive, cytotoxic, and carcinogenic for humans and can induce acute and chronic lung tissue toxicity. The aim of this study was to investigate Cr levels in exhaled breath condensate (EBC) of workers exposed to Cr(VI) and to...

Evolutionary toxicology: population-level effects of chronic contaminant exposure on the marsh frogs (Rana ridibunda) of Azerbaijan.(Research)
April 1, 2006... We used molecular methods and population genetic analyses to study the effects of chronic contaminant exposure in marsh frogs from Sumgayit, Azerbaijan. Marsh frogs inhabiting wetlands in Sumgayit are exposed to complex mixtures of chemical...

Profiles of global gene expression in ionizing-radiation--damaged human diploid fibroblasts reveal synchronization behind the [G.sub.1] checkpoint in a [G.sub.0]-like state of quiescence.(Research)
April 1, 2006... Cell cycle arrest and stereotypic transcriptional responses to DNA damage induced by ionizing radiation (IR) were quantified in telomerase-expressing human diploid fibroblasts. Analysis of cytotoxicity demonstrated that 1.5 Gy IR inactivated...

The relationship between ambient air pollution and heart rate variability differs for individuals with heart and pulmonary disease.(Research)
April 1, 2006... Associations between concentrations of ambient fine particles [particulate matter < 2.5 [micro]m aerodynamic diameter ([PM.sub.2.5])] and heart rate variability (HRV) have differed by study population. We examined the effects of ambient...

Maternal genistein alters coat color and protects [A.sup.vy] mouse offspring from obesity by modifying the fetal epigenome.(Research)
April 1, 2006... Genistein, the major phytoestrogen in soy, is linked to diminished female reproductive performance and to cancer chemoprevention and decreased adipose deposition. Dietary genistein may also play a role in the decreased incidence of cancer in...

Workgroup report: review of genomics data based on experience with mock submissions--view of the CDER pharmacology toxicology Nonclinical Pharmacogenomics Subcommittee.(Research)
April 1, 2006... Over the past few years, both the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and the pharmaceutical industry have recognized the potential importance of pharmacogenomics and toxicogenomics to drug development. To resolve the uncertainties...

The effect of chelation on blood pressure in lead-exposed children: a randomized study.(Research: Children's Health)(Clinical report)
April 1, 2006... Studies in children suggest a weak association between blood lead concentration and blood pressure. To understand this better, we tested the strength of the association in children with elevated blood lead concentrations and whether succimer...

Renal and neurologic effects of cadmium, lead, mercury, and arsenic in children: evidence of early effects and multiple interactions at environmental exposure levels.(Research: Children's Health)
April 1, 2006... Lead, cadmium, mercury, and arsenic are common environmental pollutants in industrialized countries, but their combined impact on children's health is little known. We studied their effects on two main targets, the renal and dopaminergic...

Race, poverty, and potential exposure of middle-school students to air emissions from confined swine feeding operations.(Research: Children's Health)
April 1, 2006... Previous studies suggest that airborne effluent from swine confined animal feeding operations (CAFOs) may affect the health and quality of life of adults and the prevalence of asthma symptoms among children. To investigate the extent to which...

Association of in utero organochlorine pesticide exposure and fetal growth and length of gestation in an agricultural population.(Research: Children's Health)
April 1, 2006... From 1940 through the 1970s, organochlorine compounds were widely used as insecticides in the United States. Thereafter, their use was severely restricted after recognition of their persistence in the environment, their toxicity in animals, and...

Urinary 1-hydroxypyrene as a biomarker of PAH exposure in 3-year-old Ukrainian children.(Research: Children's Health)
April 1, 2006... Urinary 1-hydroxypyrene (1-OHP) is a biomarker of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon (PAH) exposure. We measured urinary 1-OHP in 48 children 3 years of age in Mariupol, Ukraine, who lived near a steel mill and coking facility and compared these...

Airborne endotoxin is associated with respiratory illness in the first 2 years of life.(Research: Children's Health)
April 1, 2006... To determine the influence of endotoxin on the incidence of acute respiratory illness during the first 2 years of life, we carried out a longitudinal follow-up study, beginning at birth, of 332 children born in Prince Edward Island, Canada. We...

Induction of asthma and the environment: what we know and need to know.(Research: Mini-Monograph)(Disease/Disorder overview)
April 1, 2006... The prevalence of asthma has increased dramatically over the last 25 years in the United States and in other nations as a result of ill-defined changes in living conditions in modern society. On 18 and 19 October 2004 the U.S. Environmental...

How exposures to biologics influence the induction and incidence of asthma.(Research: Mini-Monograph)
April 1, 2006... A number of environmental factors can affect the development and severity of allergy and asthma; however, it can be argued that the most significant inhaled agents that modulate the development of these conditions are biologics. Sensitization...

How exposure to environmental tobacco smoke, outdoor air pollutants, and increased pollen burdens influences the incidence of asthma.(Research: Mini-Monograph)
April 1, 2006... Asthma is a multifactorial airway disease that arises from a relatively common genetic background interphased with exposures to allergens and airborne irritants. The rapid rise in asthma over the past three decades in Western societies has been...

A brief targeted review of susceptibility factors, environmental exposures, asthma incidence, and recommendations for future asthma incidence research.(Research: Mini-Monograph)
April 1, 2006... Relative to research on effects of environmental exposures on exacerbation of existing asthma, little research on incident asthma and environmental exposures has been conducted. However, this research is needed to better devise strategies for...

DERT science retreat 2005 report.(Announcements: NIEHS Extramural Update)
April 1, 2006... The 2005 NIEHS Division of Extramural Research and Training's annual scientific retreat was tided "Practical and Potential Clinical and Public Health Outcomes Derived from Basic Environmental Health Sciences Research." The retreat focused on...

Disease investigation through specialized clinically oriented ventures in environmental research (DISCOVER) [P50].(Announcement: Fellowships, Grants, & Awards)(Disease/Disorder overview)
April 1, 2006... The National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences (NIEHS) invites qualified investigators from academic institutions or nonprofit research institutions to submit an application for a Disease Investigation through Specialized Clinically...

Calendar.(Announcements)(Calendar)
April 1, 2006... 2006 April 18-20 April, Tue-Thu. National Occupational Research Agenda (NORA) Symposium 2006: Research Makes A Difference. Washington, DC. Information: Sidney C. Soderholm, NORA Coordinator, NIOSH/OD, Room 733G, 200 Independence...

Precautionary Tools for Reshaping Environmental Policy.
April 1, 2006... Precautionary Tools for Reshaping Environmental Policy Edited by Nancy. J. Myers and Carolyn Raffensberger Cambridge, MA:MIT Press, 2006. 400 pp. ISBN: 0-262-13458-6, $62 cloth; ISBN: 0-262-63323-X, $25 paper. Opponents of the...

New books.(Announcements)
April 1, 2006... Advances in the Geological Storage of Carbon Dioxide S. Lombardi, L.K Altunina, S.E Beaubien, eds. New York:Springer, 2006. 362 pp. ISBN: 1-4020-4470-4, $79.95 Carbon and Its Domestication A.M. Mannion New York:Springer, 2006. 319 pp....