Environmental Health Perspectives articles from May 2007

Environmental Health Perspectives archives from May 2007

The Chernobyl nuclear catastrophe: unacknowledged health detriment.
May 1, 2007... Baverstock and Williams (2006) rightly recommended international long-term studies of all potential health effects among the populations exposed to Chernobyl fallout. In the meanwhile, data on post-Chernobyl health detriment in the former...

The Chernobyl nuclear catastrophe: Baverstock and Williams respond.
May 1, 2007... Nussbaum makes three points, namely that on the basis of the "source term" for the Chernobyl accident population, doses are underestimated by a factor up to 26, that Chernobyl dose estimates ignore exposure to alpha emissions, and that excess...

Chlorinated pools and the risk of asthma.
May 1, 2007... In a recent article, Bernard et al. (2006) presented data that led them to conclude that the use of chlorinated pools, especially by young children, interacts with atopic status to promote the development of childhood asthma. I question these...

Chlorinated pools: Bernard et al. respond.
May 1, 2007... We are pleased to respond to Eggleston because this offers us the opportunity to respond to some of the criticisms that have been formulated since we originally proposed the pool chlorine hypothesis (Bernard et al. 2003). First, the...

Erratum.(Correction notice)
May 1, 2007... Demchuk et al. have reported two errors in their article [Environ Health Perspect 115:231-234 (2007)]. First, in the legend to Figure 1, the authors stated that the figure presented frequencies and odds ratios of "16 gene variants listed in...

Exploring Developmental Origins of obesity.(CHEMICAL EXPOSURES)
May 1, 2007... In the past 20 years, obesity rates across the developed world have skyrocketed. About one-third of U.S. adults are overweight and another third are obese, according to the National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases....

Where space and ocean meet.(MARINE AND COASTAL SCIENCE)(Clinical report)
May 1, 2007... A variety of oceanborne microbes can sicken humans via seafood, drinking water, and swimming. At the February 2007 annual meeting of the American Association for the Advancement of Science, experts described new technologies for predicting...

Satellites for health.(The Beat)(Report)(Brief article)
May 1, 2007... A two-year National Research Council study released in January 2007 states that 17 new Earth-observing satellite missions need to be funded over the next decade if important data on climate change, hurricanes, and shifting drought and rainfall...

Asia buys in to clean energy.(The Beat)(Report)(Brief article)
May 1, 2007... Two initiatives are under way to boost renewable energy sources in Asia. The first, in Nepal, calls for research into small-scale hydropower, biogas, and solar and wind power in an effort to reduce dependence on firewood, which negatively...

Unsustainable sustenance?(The Beat)(Brief article)(Clinical report)
May 1, 2007... Low-birthweight babies are often fed a formula with extra nutrients and protein to help them catch up weight-wise and ensure they have adequate fat stores. A study in the 16 January 2007 issue of Circulation looked at newborns fed either...

Tortillas take a tumble in Mexico.(The Beat)(Report)(Brief article)
May 1, 2007... Demand for the grain-based fuel ethanol is dramatically increasing international prices for corn, leading to a food crunch in Mexico, where tortilla prices have tripled or quadrupled since last summer. The 27 January 2007 Washington Post...

Decline in testosterone levels.(The Beat)(Brief article)(Clinical report)
May 1, 2007... In a study notable for its large sample size and long duration, researchers from the New England Research Institutes report a substantial populationwide decline in testosterone levels over the past 20 years. The report on the Massachusetts Male...

Amphibian Ark.(The Beat)(Report)(Brief article)
May 1, 2007... Over the past decade, up to 170 species of frogs have become extinct due to the spread of Chytrid fungus, which affects amphibian respiratory and nervous systems. Close to 2,000 other species are threatened. In February 2007, the international...

Safety net for malaria?(INFECTIOUS DISEASE)(Clinical report)
May 1, 2007... Pyrethroid-treated nets may be losing their effectiveness in preventing malaria, says a study in the February 2007 issue of Emerging Infectious Diseases. Mark Rowland, a senior lecturer at the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, and...

NRT in pregnancy.(nicotine replacement therapy)(SMOKING)(Clinical report)
May 1, 2007... Despite health warnings, at least 11% of U.S. women smoke during pregnancy. Smoking doubles the risk for low-birthweight babies and raises the risk for preterm delivery and sudden infant death syndrome; premature and low-birthweight infants...

Green Chemistry Institute.(ehpnet)(Company overview)(Website overview)
May 1, 2007... The Green Chemistry Institute (GCI) was formed in 1997 and became part of the American Chemical Society (ACS) in 2001. The institute works to advance the growth of green chemistry and green engineering, a movement to develop and implement...

Society builds sustainability in Africa.(NIEHS News)(Report)
May 1, 2007... With the speed of industrialization in today's global community, the costs of disparities in environmental health and risk assessment can be dangerously high in developing countries without broad, stable regulatory and protective measures in...

Mali Medical goes global.(Report)
May 1, 2007... Since 2005, EHP and other members of the African Medical Journal Editors Partnership Program (AMJEPP) have worked with counterpart African journals to increase the latter journals' capacity and reach. Now Mali Medical, the African partner...

Lead, paraquat, and methylmercury disrupt neuronal stem cells by a common mechanism.(Molecular Biology)(Clinical report)
May 1, 2007... Li Z, Dong T, Proschel C, Noble M. 2007. Chemically diverse toxicants converge on Fyn and c-Cbl to disrupt precursor cell function. PLoS Biol 5(2):e35. The quest to establish general principles of mechanism for both known and potential...

Of mice and women.(BEYOND THE BENCH)(Clinical report)
May 1, 2007... Scientists are making strides every day in breast cancer research through the use of mouse models in the lab. These investigations offer a better understanding of the cell processes that lead to development of the disease. Translating the...

Perfluoroalkyl acids: what is the evidence telling us?(Focus)(Clinical report)
May 1, 2007... It was 2000 when the scientific community first became widely aware that perfluorooctanyl sulfonate (PFOS), then the key ingredient in 3M Company's popular Scotchgard stain repellent, was being found at extremely low levels throughout the...

Radical departure: polymerization does more with less.(Innovations)(Clinical report)
May 1, 2007... At its most basic level, a polymer is a molecule consisting of a long, repeating chain of smaller monomers typically four to ten atoms in size. Polymers can be straight chains of regular repeating monomers, chains of varying length, or chains...

Arsenic upsets heartbeat: possible early warning for cardiovascular risk.(Science Selections)(Clinical report)
May 1, 2007... Acute arsenic exposure can cause severe heartbeat abnormalities, and chronic exposure has been linked to coronary disease and cancer. Now researchers from Inner Mongolia, China, and the United States have begun to analyze the effects of chronic...

Short-term particulate threat: pollution standard may not protect health.(Science Selections)(Clinical report)
May 1, 2007... Many studies have shown that particulate matter (PM) poses health risks, yet the attributes of PM that cause these effects remain uncertain. To address some of those critical nuances, especially the short-term effects of specific emissions,...

Toxic neighbors? Fetal death risk near hazardous waste sites.(Science Selections)(Clinical report)
May 1, 2007... The health effects associated with residential proximity to hazardous waste sites are uncertain, and findings on potential links between prenatal exposure to environmental toxicants and outcomes such as miscarriage are mixed. A recent...

Cottonwood clues in Fallon: tree rings reflect tungsten, cobalt exposure.(Science Selections)(Clinical report)
May 1, 2007... The cause of a childhood leukemia cluster in Fallon, Nevada (population 8,000) has mystified investigators since it was first discovered in 2000. Sixteen children have been diagnosed with acute lymphocytic leukemia and one with acute myelocytic...

Global Research Initiative Program, behavioral/social sciences (R01).(Fellowships, Grants, & Awards)(Report)
May 1, 2007... This program is intended to promote productive development of foreign investigators from low- to middle-income countries, trained in the United States or in their home countries through specific Fogarty International Center D43 or U2R training...

Non-biodefense emerging infectious diseases research opportunities (R01).(Fellowships, Grants, & Awards)(Clinical report)
May 1, 2007... The goal of this FOA is to increase understanding of the transition of microbes from a nonpathogenic state to a state pathogenic for humans. One area of interest is to promote research in emerging zoonotic viruses, which will provide...

Extramural research updates move online.(NIEHS Extramural Update)
May 1, 2007... For the past 10 years, the NIEHS Division of Extramural Research and Training (DERT) has used the Extramural Update page in Environmental Health Perspectives (EHP) as a vehicle to communicate with the scientific community about new program...

New books.(Announcements)
May 1, 2007... Advances in Data Analysis Reinhold Decker, Hans-Joachim Lenz, eds. New York:Springer, 2007. 687 pp. ISBN: 3-540-70980-0, $169 Agricultural Water Management Laura Holliday, ed. Washington, DC:National Academies Press,...

What do we feed to food-production animals? A review of animal feed ingredients and their potential impacts on human health.(Review)(Clinical report)
May 1, 2007... OBJECTIVE: Animal feeding practices in the United States have changed considerably over the past century. As large-scale, concentrated production methods have become the predominant model for animal husbandry, animal feeds have been modified to...

The OECD program to validate the rat Hershberger bioassay to screen compounds for in vivo androgen and antiandrogen responses: phase 2 dose-response studies.(Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development)(Research)(Clinical report)
May 1, 2007... OBJECTIVE: The Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) has completed phase 2 of an international program to validate the rodent Hershberger bioassay. DESIGN: The Hershberger bioassay is designed to identify suspected...

Mortality effects of a copper smelter strike and reduced ambient sulfate particulate matter air pollution.(Research)(Case study)(Clinical report)
May 1, 2007... BACKGROUND: Numerous studies have reported associations between fine particulate and sulfur oxide air pollution and human mortality. Yet there continues to be concern that public policy efforts to improve air quality may not produce actual...

Linkage of the California Pesticide Use Reporting database with spatial land use data for exposure assessment.(Research)(Case study)(Clinical report)
May 1, 2007... BACKGROUND: The State of California maintains a comprehensive Pesticide Use Reporting Database (CPUR). The California Department of Water Resources (CDWR) maps all crops in agricultural counties in California about once every 5 years. ...

Chronic arsenic exposure and cardiac repolarization abnormalities with QT interval prolongation in a population-based study.(Research)(Case study)(Clinical report)
May 1, 2007... BACKGROUND: Chronic arsenic exposure is associated with cardiovascular abnormalities. Prolongation of the QT (time between initial deflection of QRS complex to the end of T wave) interval and profound repolarization changes on electrocardiogram...

Elevated lead in drinking water in Washington, DC, 2003-2004: the public health response.(Research)(Case study)(Clinical report)
May 1, 2007... BACKGROUND: In 2003, residents of the District of Columbia (DC) experienced an abrupt rise in lead levels in drinking water, which followed a change in water-disinfection treatment in 2001 and which was attributed to consequent changes in water...

Tetrahydrofurandiols (THF-diols), leukotoxindiols (LTX-diols), and endocrine disruption in rats.(Research)(Case study)(Clinical report)
May 1, 2007... BACKGROUND: Ground corncob animal bedding and corn food products contain substances that disrupt endocrine function in rats. The disruptors were identified as isomeric mixtures of tetra-hydrofurandiols (THF-diols;...

Coarse particulate matter (P[M.sub.2.5-10]) affects heart rate variability, blood lipids, and circulating eosinophils in adults with asthma.(Research)(Case study)(Clinical report)
May 1, 2007... INTRODUCTION: We investigated whether markers of airway and systemic inflammation, as well as heart rate variability (HRV) in asthmatics, change in response to fluctuations in ambient particulate matter (PM) in the coarse [PM with aerodynamic...

Temporal variability of tungsten and cobalt in Fallon, Nevada.(Research)(Case study)(Clinical report)
May 1, 2007... BACKGROUND: Since 1997, Fallon, Nevada, has experienced a cluster of childhood leukemia that has been declared "one of the most unique clusters of childhood cancer ever reported." Multiple environmental studies have shown airborne tungsten and...

Atrazine-induced aromatase expression is SF-1 dependent: implications for endocrine disruption in wildlife and reproductive cancers in humans.(Research)(Case study)(Clinical report)
May 1, 2007... BACKGROUND: Atrazine is a potent endocrine disruptor that increases aromatase expression in some human cancer cell lines. The mechanism involves the inhibition of phosphodiesterase and subsequent elevation of cAMP. METHODS: We compared...

Efficient elimination of inhaled nanoparticles from the alveolar region: evidence for interstitial uptake and subsequent reentrainment onto airways epithelium.(Research)(Case study)(Clinical report)
May 1, 2007... BACKGROUND: There is ongoing discussion that inhaled nanoparticles (NPs, OBJECTIVES AND METHODS: We studied the disappearance of NPs from the epithelium by sequential lung retention and clearance and bronchoalveolar lavage (BAL)...

Molecular mechanisms of the diabetogenic effects of arsenic: inhibition of insulin signaling by arsenite and methylarsonous acid.(Research)(Case study)(Clinical report)
May 1, 2007... BACKGROUND: Increased prevalences of diabetes mellitus have been reported among individuals chronically exposed to inorganic arsenic (iAs). However, the mechanisms underlying the diabetogenic effects of iAs have not been characterized. We have...

Quantifying the efficiency and equity implications of power plant air pollution control strategies in the United States.(Research)(Clinical report)
May 1, 2007... BACKGROUND: In deciding among competing approaches for emissions control, debates often hinge on the potential tradeoffs between efficiency and equity. However, previous health benefits analyses have not formally addressed both dimensions. ...

Mortality risk associated with short-term exposure to traffic particles and sulfates.(Research)(Clinical report)
May 1, 2007... BACKGROUND: Many studies have shown that airborne particles are associated with increased risk of death, but attention has more recently focused on the differential toxicity of particles from different sources. Geographic information system...

Proteomic analysis of bronchoalveolar lavage fluid: effect of acute exposure to diesel exhaust particles in rats.(Research)(Clinical report)
May 1, 2007... BACKGROUND: Inhalation of diesel exhaust particles (DEPs) is characterized by lung injury and inflammation, with significant increases in the numbers of polymorphonuclear leukocytes and alveolar macrophages. This influx of cellular infiltrates...

Meeting report: alternatives for developmental neurotoxicity testing.(Research)(Clinical report)
May 1, 2007... Developmental neurotoxicity testing (DNT) is perceived by many stakeholders to be an area in critical need of alternatives to current animal testing protocols and guidelines. To address this need, the Johns Hopkins Center for Alternatives to...

Particulate air pollution, progression, and survival after myocardial infarction.(Environmental Medicine)(Clinical report)
May 1, 2007... OBJECTIVE: Several studies have examined the effect of particulate pollution (PM) on survival in general populations, but less is known about susceptible groups. Moreover, previous cohort studies have been cross-sectional and subject to...

Fetal deaths and proximity to hazardous waste sites in Washington state.(Children's Health)(Case study)(Clinical report)
May 1, 2007... BACKGROUND: The in utero period is one of increased susceptibility to environmental effects. The effects of prenatal exposure to environmental toxicants on various adverse pregnancy outcomes, including fetal death, are not well understood. ...

The SHEDS-Wood model: incorporation of observational data to estimate exposure to arsenic for children playing on CCA-treated wood structures.(Children's Health)(Clinical report)
May 1, 2007... BACKGROUND: Lumber treated with chromated copper arsenate (CCA) compounds has been used in residential outdoor wood structures and public playgrounds. The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has conducted a probabilistic assessment of...

Case report: three farmworkers who gave birth to infants with birth defects closely grouped in time and place-Florida and North Carolina, 2004-2005.(Children's Health)(Case study)(Clinical report)
May 1, 2007... CONTEXT: There is little evidence linking adverse reproductive effects to exposure to specific pesticides during pregnancy. CASE PRESENTATION: In February 2005, three infants with congenital anomalies were identified in Collier County,...

Organophosphate pesticide exposure and neurodevelopment in young Mexican-American children.(Children's Health)(Clinical report)
May 1, 2007... BACKGROUND: Organophosphate (OP) pesticides are widely used in agriculture and homes. Animal studies suggest that even moderate doses are neurodevelopmental toxicants, but there are few studies in humans. OBJECTIVES: We investigated the...

If cumulative risk assessment is the answer, what is the question?(Mini-Monograph)(Clinical report)
May 1, 2007... Cumulative risk refers to the combined threats from exposure via all relevant routes to multiple stressors including biological, chemical, physical, and psychosocial entities. Cumulative risk assessment is a tool for organizing and analyzing...

A phased approach for assessing combined effects from multiple stressors.(Mini-Monograph)(Clinical report)
May 1, 2007... We present a phased approach for evaluating the effects of physical, biological, chemical, and psychosocial stressors that may act in combination. Although a phased concept is common to many risk-based approaches, it has not been explicitly...

Vulnerability as a function of individual and group resources in cumulative risk assessment.(Mini-Monograph)(Clinical report)
May 1, 2007... BACKGROUND: The field of risk assessment has focused on protecting the health of individual people or populations of wildlife from single risks, mostly from chemical exposure. The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency recently began to address...

Assessing cumulative health risks from exposure to environmental mixtures - three fundamental questions.(Mini-Monograph)(Clinical report)
May 1, 2007... Differential exposure to mixtures of environmental agents, including biological, chemical, physical, and psychosocial stressors, can contribute to increased vulnerability of human populations and ecologic systems. Cumulative risk assessment is...

Using biomarkers to inform cumulative risk assessment.(Mini-Monograph)(Clinical report)
May 1, 2007... BACKGROUND: Biomarkers are considered the method of choice for determining exposure to environmental contaminants and relating such exposures to health outcomes. However, the association between many biomarkers and outcome is not direct because...