Environmental Health Perspectives articles from December 2008

Environmental Health Perspectives archives from December 2008

Enhancing the quality and visibility of African medical and health journals.(Editorial)
December 1, 2008... Are most journals published in Africa too weak to be useful to local practitioners, researchers, and policy makers? Might a new method for scholarly communication on the African continent improve the utility of these journals? According to a...

Public safety and faulty flood statistics.(Correspondence)
December 1, 2008... We thank Black (2008) for his thoughtful assembly of diverse perspectives including ours on why another disastrous Mississippi River flood occurred so soon after 1993. We have an update that elucidates and quantifies several key points of his...

Longer rodent bioassay fails to address 2-year bioassay's flaws.(Correspondence)
December 1, 2008... In their commentary, Huff et al. (2008) proposed that exposing experimental animals to test substances in utero and for 30 months or until their natural deaths increases the sensitivity of bioassays, avoids false negative results, and...

Longer rodent bioassay: Huff et al. respond.(Correspondence)
December 1, 2008... We appreciate and sympathize with Manuppello and Wiliett s concerns about the inappropriate use of animals in research. Significant advances in animal protection have been secured in the United States through standards that have been...

Errata.(Correction notice)
December 1, 2008... A typographical error on page A480 of the November Focus article ["Linking TB and the Environment: An Overlooked Mitigation Strategy," Environ Health Perspect 116: A478-A485 (2008)] misidentified DOTS as a 66-month treatment regimen. DOTS is...

Childhood BMI rises with prenatal exposure to hexachlorobenzene.(OBESITY)(Body mass index)
December 1, 2008... A prospective study published in the October 2008 issue of Acta Paediatrica has found an association between prenatal exposure to hexachlorobenzene (HCB) and being overweight or obese in childhood. The study was the first prospective look at...

Telomerase tells on lifestyle.(MOLECULAR BIOLOGY)
December 1, 2008... Being overweight, stressed, and sedentary have all been shown to accelerate the shortening of telomeres, DNA-protein complexes at the end of chromosomes that protect the genetic material and promote chromosomal stability. A new pilot study now...

Soil in the city: a prime source of lead.(CHILDREN'S HEALTH)
December 1, 2008... Leaded gas was phased out in 1986, lead-based house paint a decade earlier. As a result, the percentage of U.S. children aged 5 years and younger exceeding the 10-[mu]g/dL blood lead level of concern established by the Centers for Disease...

Entre for toxic entrees?(The Beat)(Brief article)
December 1, 2008... When you eat red meat or cow's milk, you also consume N-glycolylneuraminic acid (Neu5Gc), a sugar molecule found in those foods, researchers reported 5 years ago. New work by the same group, published online 29 October 2008 ahead of print in...

Little fish add up.(The Beat)(Brief article)
December 1, 2008... A study in the 2008 edition of the Annual Review of Environment and Resources finds that "forage fish" such as anchovies and sardines make up 37% of all fish harvested each year and that 90% of this highly nutritious catch is used in animal...

New measures for worker health.(The Beat)(Brief article)
December 1, 2008... In November 2008, the American College of Occupational and Environmental Medicine and the Integrated Benefits Institute sponsored a national summit to promote health and productivity management (HPM), a practice in which employers measure the...

Island nation's insurance policy.(The Beat)(Brief article)
December 1, 2008... The Intergovernment Panel on Climate Changes estimated in 2007 the global average sea level could rise as much as 2 feet by 2100. President-elect Mohamed Nasheed of the Maldives has taken that warning to heart. On 10 November 2008 he announced...

Pregnancy hypertension risks higher for rural women.(The Beat)(Brief article)
December 1, 2008... There are several well-known risk factors for preeclampsia, in which pregnant women experience high blood pressure and proteinuria. At the November 2008 annual meeting of the American Society of Nephrology, researchers announced one more. In a...

Open invitation to oysters.(The Beat)(Brief article)
December 1, 2008... Oysters purify water as they filter it through their bodies to obtain nutrition, with a single adult oyster filtering up to 60 gallons per day. Before the growth of the commercial shellfish industry in the last century, oyster beds along the...

New chapter on the next generation of aerosols.(PARTICULATE MATTER)
December 1, 2008... Scientists have known for decades that carbonaceous molecules emitted by cars, factories, and ships can react chemically to form new pollutants called secondary organic aerosols (SOA). Unit recently they thought these offspring constituted only...

The yuck factor: when disgust meets discovery.(Focus)
December 1, 2008... Imagine you lived in a drought-stricken area and were would come from "recycled sewage." Might the word "yuck" describe your gut response? If your answer is yes, then you've got lots of company. Most people instinctively reject fear-some or...

Does one size fit all? Small farms and U.S. meat regulations.(Spheres of Influence)
December 1, 2008... Nationwide, the demand for locally produced food is growing dramatically. The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) estimates the number of active farmers' markets to have more than doubled since 1994, to almost 4,700. Community-supported...

Angling for thyroid answers: study links PBDEs to hormone disruption in male sport-fish consumers.(Science Selections)(polybrominated diphenyl ethers)(Report)
December 1, 2008... Levels of polybrominated diphenyl ethers (PBDEs) measured in human samples have increased in recent years, but the health effects of these compounds are not well studied. A group of persistent pollutants similar in structure to polychlorinated...

A measure for mothers: model predicts lactational transfer of PCB-153.(Science Selections)(polychlorinated biphenyls)
December 1, 2008... Breastfed infants sit at the top of the food chain for the simple reason that their nourishment comes from other humans. Through biomagnification, environmental chemicals such as polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) are passed up the food chain to...

Bisphenol a suppresses release of adipose hormone: exposure may contribute to metabolic syndrome.(Science Selections)
December 1, 2008... Bisphenol A (BPA), a chemical used in the manufacture of numerous consumer products, is ubiquitous throughout the environment, and its widespread presence in human serum has been well documented. Although animal research indicates that BPA can...

New pesticides, old problems: despite warnings, use during pregnancy persists.(Science Selections)
December 1, 2008... The sight of scurrying cockroaches trumps warnings against using pesticides during pregnancy. That's one insight from a study of pesticide use before and after the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's 2001 and 2002 retail sales restrictions...

Climate variability, social and environmental factors, and Ross River virus transmission: research development and future research needs.(Review)
December 1, 2008... BACKGROUND: Arbovirus disease have emerged as a global public health concern. However, the impact of climatic, social, and environmental variability on the transmission of arbovirus disease remains to be determined. OBJECTIVE: Our goal for...

Comparative analysis of state fish consumption advisories targeting sensitive populations.(REVIEW)
December 1, 2008... OBJECTIVE: Fish consumption advisories are issued to warn the public of possible toxicologial threats from consuming certain fish species. Although developing fetuses and children are particularly susceptible to toxicants in fish, fish also...

Acute toxicity and prothrombotic effects of quantum dots: impact of surface charge.(Research)(Clinical report)
December 1, 2008... BACKGROUND: Quantum dots (QDs) have numerous possible applications for in vivo imaging. However, toxicity data are scarce. OBJECTIVES: To determine the acute in vivo toxicity of QDs with carboxyl surface coating (carboxyl-QDs) and QDs with...

Mortality in the Medicare population and chronic exposure to fine particulate air pollution in urban centers (2000-2005).(Research)
December 1, 2008... BACKGROUND: Prospective cohort studies constitute the major source of evidence about the mortality effects of chronic exposure to particulate air pollution. Additional studies are needed to provide evidence on the health effects of chronic...

Cadmium-related mortality and long-term secular trends in the cadmium body burden of an environmentally exposed population.(Research)(Clinical report)
December 1, 2008... BACKGROUND: Few population studies have reported on the long-term changes in the internal cadmium dose and simultaneously occurring mortality. OBJECTIVE: We monitored blood cadmium (BCd), 24-hr urinary cadmium (UCd), and mortality in an...

Population physiologically based pharmacokinetic modeling for the human lactational transfer of PCB-153 with consideration of worldwide human biomonitoring RESULTS.(Research)(polychlorinated biphenyls)
December 1, 2008... BACKGROUND: One of the most serious human health concerns related to environmental contamination with polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) is the presence of these chemicals in breast milk. OBJECTIVES: We developed a physiologically based...

Hormone disruption by PBDEs in adult male sport fish consumers.(Research)(polybrominated diphenyl ethers)(Clinical report)
December 1, 2008... BACKGROUND: Persistent pollutants, such as polychlorinated biphenlys (PCBs), affect endocrine function. Human exposure to polybrominated diphenyl ethers (PBDEs), which are similar in structure to PCBs, has increased recently, but health effects...

Bisphenol a at environmentally relevant doses inhibits adiponectin release from human adipose tissue explants and adipocytes.(Research)
December 1, 2008... BACKGROUND: The incidence of obesity has risen dramatically over the last few decades. This epidemic may be affected by exposure to xenobiotic chemicals. Bisphenol A (BPA), and endocrine disruptor, is detectable at nanomolar levels in human...

G-protein-coupled receptor 30 and estrogen receptor-[alpha] are involved in the proliferative effects induced by atrazine in ovarian cancer cells.(Research)
December 1, 2008... BACKGROUND: Atrazine, one of the most common pesticide contaminants, has been shown to up-regulate aromatase activity in certain estrogen-sensitive tumors without binding or activating the estrogen receptor (ER). Recent investigations have...

Speciation of arsenic in exfoliated urinary bladder epithelial cells from individuals exposed to arsenic in drinking water.(Research)(Clinical report)
December 1, 2008... BACKGROUND: The concentration of arsenic in urine has been used as a marker of exposure to inorganic As (iAs). Relative proportions of urinary metabolites of iAs have been identified as potential biomarkers of susceptibility to iAs toxicity....

Respiratory cancer and inhaled inorganic arsenic in copper smelters workers: a linear relationship with cumulative exposure that increases with concentration.(Research)(Clinical report)
December 1, 2008... BACKGROUND: Inhalation of high levels of airborne inorganic arsenic is a recognized cause of respiratory cancer. Although multiple epidemiologic studies have demonstrated this association, there have been few analyses of the mathematical...

Endothelial dysfunction: associations with exposure to ambient fine particles in diabetic individuals.(Research)(Clinical report)
December 1, 2008... BACKGROUND: Exposure to fine airborne particulate matter [[less than or equal to] 2.5 [micro]m in aerodynamic diameter ([PM.sub.2.5])] has been associated with cardiovascular and hematologic effects, especially in older people with...

Recent mortality from pleural mesothelioma, historical patterns of asbestos use, and adoption of bans: a global assessment.(Research)
December 1, 2008... BACKGROUND: In response to the health risks posed by asbestos exposure, some countries have imposed strict regulations and adopted bans, whereas other countries have intervened less and continue to use varying quantities of asbestos. ...

Changes in pest infestation levels, self-reported pesticide use, and permethrin exposure during pregnancy after the 2000-2001 U.S. environmental protection agency restriction of organophosphates.(Research)
December 1, 2008... BACKGROUND: Widespread residential pesticide use throughout the United States has resulted in ubiquitous, low-level pesticide exposure. The mix of active pesticide ingredients is changing in response to 2000-2001 regulations restricting use of...

Inhalative exposure to vanadium pentoxide causes DNA damage in workers: results of a multiple end point study.(Research)(Clinical report)
December 1, 2008... BACKGROUND: Inhalative exposure to vanadium pentoxide ([V.sub.2][O.sub.5]) causes lung cancer in rodents. OBJECTIVE: The aim of the study was to investigate the impact of ([V.sub.2][O.sub.5]) on DNA stability in workers from a...

Dietary exposure to 2, 2', 4, 4' -tetrabromodiphenyl ether (PBDE-47) alters thyroid status and thyroid hormone-regulated gene transcription in the pituitary and brain.(Research)(Clinical report)
December 1, 2008... BACKGROUND: Polybrominated diphenyl ether (PBDE) flame retardants have been implicated as disruptors of the hypothalamic-pituitary-thyroid axis. Animals exposed to PBDEs impact TH-regulated pathways in target tissues. OBJECTIVE: We...

Guidelines to evaluate human observational studies for quantitative risk assessment.(Research)
December 1, 2008... BACKGROUND: Careful evaluation of the quality of human observational studies (HOS) is required to assess the suitability of HOS for quantitative risk assessment (QRA). In particular, the quality of quantitative exposure assessment is a crucial...

Meeting report: methylmercury in marine ecosystems--from sources to seafood consumers.(Research)(Conference notes)
December 1, 2008... Mercury and other contaminants in coastal and open-ocean ecosystems are an issue of great concern globally and in the United States, where consumption of marine fish and shellfish is a major rout of human exposure to methylmercury (MeHg). A...

Depression and pesticide exposures among private pesticide applicators enrolled in the agricultural health study.(Research)(Clinical report)
December 1, 2008... BACKGROUND: We evaluated the relationship between diagnosed depression and pesticide exposure using information from private pesticide applicators enrolled in the Agricultural Health Study between 1993 and 1997 in lowa and North Carolina. ...

Ten years of addressing children's health through regulatory policy at the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency.(Children's Health)
December 1, 2008... BACKGROUND: Executive Order (EO) 13045, Protection of Children From Environmental Health Risks and Safety Risks, directs each federal agency to ensure that its policies, program, activities, and standards address disproportionate environmental...

Chronic exposure to ambient ozone and asthma hospital admissions among children.(Children's Health)
December 1, 2008... BACKGROUND: The association between chronic exposure to air pollution and adverse health outcomes has not been well studied. OBJECTIVE: This project investigated the impact of chronic exposure to high ozone levels on childhood asthma...

Plutonium from above-ground nuclear tests in milk teeth: investigation of placental transfer in children born between 1951 and 1995 in Switzerland.(Children's Health)
December 1, 2008... BACKGROUND: Occupational risks, the present nuclear threat, and the potential danger associated with nuclear power have raised concerns regarding the metabolism of plutonium in pregnant women. OBJECTIVE: We measured plutonium levels in the...

A framework for widespread replication of a highly spatially resolved childhood lead exposure risk model.(Children's Health)
December 1, 2008... BACKGROUND: Preventive approaches to childhood lead poisoning are critical for addressing this longstanding environmental health concern. Moreover, increasing evidence of cognitive effects of blood lead levels OBJECTIVES: Geographic...

Calendar.(Calendar)
December 1, 2008... 2008 December 10-12 December, Wed-Fri. 14th Annual Maternal and Child Health Epidemiology Conference: Making Methods and Practice Matter for Women, Children and Families. Atlanta, Georgia. Information: Centers for Disease Control and...

Risk Assessment for Environmental Health.(Book review)
December 1, 2008... Risk Assessment for Environmental Health Edited by Mark G. Robson and William A. Toscano. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass, 2007. 628 pp. ISBN: 978-0-7879-8319-2, $85. This comprehensive and easy-to-read treatment of the various...

New books.(Announcements)(List)
December 1, 2008... Advances in Bioactivation Research Adrian .4. Elfarra, ed New York;Springer, 2009. 504 pp. ISBN: 978-0-387-77299-8, $189 Bioinformatics and Functional Genomics, 2nd ed. Jonathan Pevsner Hoboken, NJ:John Wiley & Sons,...