Environmental Health Perspectives articles from January 2003

Environmental Health Perspectives archives from January 2003

Priorities for development of research methods in occupational cancer. (Commentaries).
January 1, 2003... Occupational cancer research methods was identified in 1996 as 1 of 21 priority research areas in the National Occupational Research Agenda (NORA). To implement NORA, teams of experts from various sectors were formed and given the charge to...

Restructuring nuclear regulations. (Commentaries).
January 1, 2003... Nuclear regulations are a subset of social regulations (laws to control activities that may negatively impact the environment, health, and safety) that concern control of ionizing radiation from radiation-producing equipment and from...

Pathogen survival trajectories: an eco-environmental approach to the modeling of human campylobacteriosis ecology.
January 1, 2003... Campylobacteriosis, like many human diseases, has its own ecology in which the propagation of human infection and disease depends on pathogen survival and finding new hosts in order to replicate and sustain the pathogen population. The...

In ovo exposure to o,p'-DDE affects sexual development but not sexual differentiation in Japanese medaka (Oryzias latipes). (Research).
January 1, 2003... Despite being banned in many countries, dichlorodiphenyltrichloroethane (DDT) and its metabolites dichlorodiphenyldichloroethylene (DDE) and dichlorodiphenyldichloroethane (DDD) continue to be found in fish tissues at concentrations of...

Polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon-induced cytotoxicity in cultured rat Sertoli cells involves differential apoptotic response. (Research).
January 1, 2003... Polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) are ubiquitous and persistent environmental contaminants. Some PAHs are carcinogens and may affect the male reproductive system. Therefore, we exposed cultured rat Sertoli cells to a variety of PAHs to...

National maps of the effects of particulate matter on mortality: exploring geographical variation. (Research).
January 1, 2003... In this paper, we present national maps of relative rates of mortality associated with short-term exposure to particulate matter < 10 [micro]m in aerodynamic diameter (P[M.sub.10]). We report results for 88 of the largest metropolitan areas in...

Air pollution and daily mortality in a city with low levels of pollution. (Research).
January 1, 2003... The concentration-response relationship between daily ambient inhalable particle (particulate matter [less than or equal to] 10 [micro]m; P[M.sub.10]) concentrations and daily mortality typically shows no evidence of a threshold concentration...

A 2-year dose-response study of lesion sequences during hepatocellular carcinogenesis in the male B6C3[F.sub.1] mouse given the drinking water chemical dichloroacetic acid. (Research).
January 1, 2003... Dichloroacetic acid (DCA) is carcinogenic to the B6C3[F.sub.1] mouse and the F344 rat. Given the carcinogenic potential of DCA in rodent liver and the known concentrations of this compound in drinking water, reliable biologically based models...

Comparison of polychlorinated biphenyl levels across studies of human neurodevelopment. (Research).
January 1, 2003... Polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) are persistent pollutants that are ubiquitous in the food chain, and detectable amounts are in the blood of almost every person in most populations that have been examined. Extensive evidence from animal studies...

Effect of indoor air pollution from biomass combustion on prevalence of asthma in the elderly. (Research).
January 1, 2003... In this study I examined the effect of cooking smoke on the reported prevalence of asthma among elderly men and women ([greater than or equal to] 60 years old). The analysis is based on 38,595 elderly persons included in India's second National...

Exposure to indoor pesticides during pregnancy in a multiethnic, urban cohort. (Research).
January 1, 2003... Evidence is growing that indoor pesticide exposure is of considerable magnitude in the United States and that pesticide concentrations may be especially high in urban areas. Of particular concern is exposure of pregnant women because animal...

Production of proinflammatory mediators by indoor air bacteria and fungal spores in mouse and human cell lines. (Research).
January 1, 2003... We compared the inflammatory and cytotoxic responses caused by household mold and bacteria in human and mouse cell lines. We studied the fungi Aspergillus versicolor, Penicillium spinulosum, and Stachybotrys chartarum and the bacteria Bacillus...

Relationship between reproductive success and male plasma vitellogenin concentrations in cunner, Tautogolabrus adspersus. (Research).
January 1, 2003... The gene for vitellogenin, an egg yolk protein precursor, is usually silent in male fish but can be induced by estrogen exposure. For this reason, vitellogenin production in male fish has become a widely used indicator of exposure to exogenous...

Bisphenol A levels in human urine. (Research).
January 1, 2003... The estrogenic effects of bisphenol A (BPA) have been reported in human cells (E-screen assays) and in in vivo studies of rodents, although the latter reports remain controversial, as do the exposure levels and adverse health effects of BPA in...

Workshop report: environmental exposures and cancer prevention. (Workshop Report).
January 1, 2003... The Workshop on Environmental Exposures and Cancer was held by Cancer Care Ontario (CCO) 25-26 April 2001. An expert panel convened to achieve consensus on a list of important environmental exposures, priority environmental exposures in...

Lessons from the polybrominated diphenyl ethers (PBDEs): precautionary principle, primary prevention, and the value of community-based body-burden monitoring using breast milk. (Commentary).
January 1, 2003... Levels of chemicals in humans (body burdens) are useful indicators of environmental quality and of community health. Chemical body burdens are easily monitored using breast milk samples collected from first-time mothers (primiparae) with...

Time-location analysis for exposure assessment studies of children using a novel global positioning system instrument. (Children's Health / Articles).
January 1, 2003... Global positioning system (GPS) technology is used widely for business and leisure activities and offers promise for human time-location studies to evaluate potential exposure to environmental contaminants. In this article we describe the...

Predicting children's short-term exposure to pesticides: results of a questionnaire screening approach. (Children's Health).
January 1, 2003... The ability of questionnaires to predict children's exposure to pesticides was examined as part of the Minnesota Children's Pesticide Exposure Study (MNCPES). The MNCPES focused on a probability sample of 102 children between the ages of 3 and...

Temporal trends in orchidopexy, Great Britain, 1992-1998. (Children's Health).
January 1, 2003... Concern has been expressed in recent years about worsening male reproductive health, possibly mediated by increasing exposures to environmental endocrine-disrupting agents. Trends suggested large increases in cryptorchidism in Britain and the...

Environmental health science and the legacy of popular literature. (Guest Editorial).
January 1, 2003... There is an extensive and powerful body of American literature that focuses on the relationship of humans with our natural surroundings. We marvel at the natural beauty around us, finding nourishment in what we think of as its unspoiled beauty....

A new look for a dynamic journal. (Editorial).
January 1, 2003... As Environmental Health Perspectives begins publishing its 111th volume, perhaps the word that best describes us is "dynamic." As we try to continually meet the wants and needs of our readership we stretch, we expand, and sometimes we outgrow,...

The prooxidant state and psychologic stress. (Correspondence).
January 1, 2003... We have read with interest the work by Lesgards et al. (1) on the effect of different lifestyle factors on their test system, which measures the resistance of red blood cells to an oxidative challenge. Their study showed that psychologic stress...

The prooxidant state and psychologic stress: response to Chalmers et al. (Perspectives / Correspondence).
January 1, 2003... We thank Chalmers et al. for their interest in our paper punished in EHP (1). We also thank them for sharing their earlier studies on free radical-mediated reduction of lymphocytic 5'-ectonucleotidase (NT) activity during psychologic stress...

Neuropsychologic testing versus visual contrast sensitivity in diagnosing PEAS. (Correspondence).
January 1, 2003... I would like to comment on Hudnell and Shoemaker's response (Hudnell and Shoemaker 2002) to our letter (Swinker and Burke 2002), both published in the March 2002 issue of EHP. In their letter Hudnell and Shoemaker (2002) asserted that...

Neuropsychologic testing versus visual contrast sensitivity: response. (Correspondence).
January 1, 2003... We appreciate the opportunity to respond to Swinker's letter regarding our response (Hudnell and Shoemaker 2002) to her previous letter (Swinker and Burke 2002). Her previous letter concerned our first EHP article (Shoemaker and Hudnell 2001)...

The Women's Tent. (Women's Health).
January 1, 2003... All people suffer from exposure to unsafe levels of pollution, but men and women may experience substantially different effects. Female sensitivity to pollutants can be heightened by both physiological and socioeconomic factors. For example,...

The ABCs of haze. (Air Pollution).
January 1, 2003... Haze and airborne dust--the visible portions of air pollution--were once seen as minor irritants, but they are gathering force like a coming storm. In August 2002, the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) released The Asian Brown Cloud:...

Japan's babies at risk. (The Beat).
January 1, 2003... Some 62% of pregnant women in Japan are at a higher risk of miscarriage and of giving birth to babies with low birth weights due to environmental tobacco smoke exposure, according to a nationwide survey conducted by the Japanese National...

India acts for ozone. (The Beat).
January 1, 2003... Four of India's largest chlorofluorocarbon (CFC) manufacturers voluntarily agreed on 2 May 2002 to use cleaner production technologies to help reduce "rogue" CFC emissions--those emitted during manufacturing--as well as emissions of other...

Better battery recycling. (The Beat).
January 1, 2003... The Basel Convention on Hazardous Wastes adopted new guidelines in December 2002 for recycling lead-acid batteries, the world's main source of secondary lead. The guidelines will reduce the global risk of lead exposure, which is linked with...

Long-awaited results from Long Island study. (Cancer).
January 1, 2003... Exposure to polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs; combustion by-products) raises women's risk of breast cancer by only a statistically insignificant amount, whereas exposure to several organochlorine chemicals has no link to breast cancer,...

Kill the cancer, save the eggs. (Reproductive Health).
January 1, 2003... When young women are diagnosed with cancer and undergo radiation or chemotherapy to save their lives, they must contend with the devastating knowledge that the anticancer therapy could leave them infertile. Now researchers say their experiments...

Society for Women's Health Research. (ehpnet).
January 1, 2003... Women's health activists, researchers, and practitioners formed what is now known as the Society for Women's Health Research (SWHR) in the late 1980s to advocate for women's inclusion as subjects in clinical drug trials. Today, with the help of...

Toxicology por favor. (The Beat).
January 1, 2003... Spanish-speaking environmental activists and educators have a new online resource for science-based toxicology information: Toxicologia Ambiental: Evaluacion de Riesgos y Restauracion Ambiental, by Carlos E. Pena, Dean E. Carter, and Felix...

EISs for Southeast Asia. (The Beat).
January 1, 2003... A Vietnamese pilot program on public disclosure of industrial wastewater discharge data concluded in July 2002. The Hanoi-based program monitored effluent releases at 50 factories, trained and developed environmental information systems for...

Improving air on tribal lands. (The Beat).
January 1, 2003... Two new projects coordinated by the U.S. EPA Office of Indoor Air Quality seek to reduce the risk of asthma episodes for children on tribal lands. The projects will teach American Indian tribal leaders and health care providers about the risks...

Sex matters: exploring differences in responses to exposures. (NIEHS News).
January 1, 2003... Leading researchers across the spectrum of toxicology gathered at the NIEHS on 15 October 2002 for an in-depth roundtable discussion on the biology of sex differences in environmental health. Cosponsored by the NIEHS and the Society for Women's...

New thyroid theory: how maternal hormone affects developing brains. (NIEHS News).
January 1, 2003... When does a fetus's developing brain become sensitive to thyroid hormone? What developmental processes are affected by thyroid hormone, and how do these effects occur? How can toxicologists use these insights to evaluate environmental...

More workouts for women may mean less risk of breast cancer. (Women's Health).
January 1, 2003... Sternfield B, Jacobs MK, Quesenberry CP, Gold EB, Sowers M. 2002. Physical activity and menstrual cycle characteristics in two prospective cohorts. Am J Epidemiol 156(5):402-409. Numerous studies have shown that women who exercise regularly...

The quest for fire: hazards of a daily struggle. (Focus).
January 1, 2003... Ever since humans first nursed embers into flames with a pile of sticks, biomass fuels have played a key part in our survival. Biofuels delivered light, heat, and a means to cook food that was otherwise eaten raw. But the first whiff of smoke...

Speaking up: women's voices in environmental decision making. (Spheres of Influence).
January 1, 2003... When it comes to interacting with the environment, women are often closest to the front line. Although both sexes may work outside of the home, women usually have additional domestic responsibilities, including food preparation, child and...

Making the best of biomass: hydrogen for fuel cells. (Innovations).
January 1, 2003... Environmentalists have high hopes for hydrogen as a fuel. Hydrogen burns cleanly, with water its only combustion by-product--a marked contrast to traditional fossil fuels, which produce all manner of pollutants, including carcinogenic toxicants...

Positioning through play clothes: wearable GPS devices track exposures. (Science Selections).
January 1, 2003... Capturing children's exposure to pesticides is a complex and difficult task. It's especially difficult in an area where crops are sprayed, because the spray causes a one-time spike in pesticide concentrations at discrete locations. Yet getting...

Bacterial bad guys: ranking the threat of six common microbes. (Science Selections).
January 1, 2003... Studies have shown that occupants of moldy buildings can suffer from adverse health effects ranging from eye irritation to severe respiratory problems to (rarely) death. Only a fraction of the microorganisms found in living spaces have been...

Prevalent risk to pregnant women: studying household pesticide exposures. (Science Selections).
January 1, 2003... Traditionally, risk assessment of pesticide exposure has focused on agricultural and occupational use of pesticides. However, there is growing evidence that pesticide concentrations may be even higher in urban areas--especially within...

Partnerships to address ethical challenges in environmental health. (NIEHS Extramural Update).
January 1, 2003... Research endeavors that lead to methods for prevention and treatment of disease are a primary goal of the NIEHS. With the increased impact of genetic research on human health comes a growing awareness of the ethical, legal, and social issues...

Fellowships, Grants, & Awards. (Announcements).
January 1, 2003... Brain Disorders in the Developing World: Research across the Lifespan This RFA solicits applications to plan and develop collaborative research and capacity-building projects on brain disorders throughout life relevant to low- and...

Calendar. (Announcements).
January 1, 2003... January 2-5 January, Thu-Sun. Pediatrics for Emergency Medicine and Primary Care. Sarasota, Florida. Information: American Medical Seminars, PO Box 6129, Sarasota, FL 34278 USA, 1-866-267-4263, fax: 941-365-7073, e-mail: mail@ams4cme.com,...

When Smoke Ran Like Water: Tales of Environmental Deception and the Battle Against Pollution.
January 1, 2003... Devra Davis New York:Basic Books, 2002. 316 pp. ISBN: 0-465-01521-2, US$26.00/Can$39.50/18.99 [pounds sterling]. Devra Davis argues that industry has blocked, delayed, and otherwise obfuscated public health policies and public health...

New books. (Announcements).
January 1, 2003... Battling Resistance to Antibiotics and Pesticides: An Economic Approach Ramanan Laxminarayan, ed. Washington, DC: Resources for the Future, 2002. 400 pp. ISBN: 1-891853-51-1, $65 Chemical Food Safety: A Scientist's Perspective...