Environmental Health Perspectives articles from November 2006

Environmental Health Perspectives archives from November 2006

Focusing on global environmental health.(DIRECTOR'S PERSPECTIVE)
November 1, 2006... From the problems of arsenic in drinking water, to indoor air pollution from burning of biomass as fuel, to lead's effects in children, global environmental health problems are enormous and daunting. Some of these same or equally menacing...

Hormesis: a new religion?(Correspondence)
November 1, 2006... Cook and Calabrese (2006) make inaccurate claims about our perspective on hormesis (Thayer et al. 2005). They define hormesis as "low-dose stimulation and high-dose inhibition," declaring "beneficial/harmful effects should not be part of the...

Suggested corrections to the Farm Family Exposure Study.(Correspondence)
November 1, 2006... Acquavella et al. (2004) reported glyphosate exposure analyses from the Farm Family Exposure Study (FFES) using biomonitoring. The authors "analyzed urine samples for creatinine to assess the completeness of daily samples," but inadvertently...

The Farm Family Exposure Study: Acquavella et al. respond.(Correspondence)
November 1, 2006... We thank Mage for his comments. In our article on glyphosate in the Farm Family Exposure Study (FFES) (Acquavella et al. 2004), we used 24-hr urinary creatinine to assess the completeness of daily samples over 5 days for the 48 participating...

Risk assessment and epidemiologic evidence in environmental health science.(Correspondence)
November 1, 2006... There appears to be a serious conceptual error about the role of the various environmental health sciences in Kundi's otherwise interesting and informative commentary on "Causality and the Interpretation of Epidemiologic Evidence" (Kundi 2006)....

Risk assessment and epidemiologic evidence: Kundi responds.(Correspondence)
November 1, 2006... I appreciate Goldstein's remarks about the role of epidemiology in risk assessment of environmental hazards and the opportunity to clarify my standpoint. With reference to the International Agency for Research on Cancer's classification...

Will DEA findings wash?(CHEMICAL EXPOSURES)
November 1, 2006... A common soap and shampoo ingredient restricted in Europe for its suspected link to cancer is raising new concerns as study results suggest it can thwart brain development in mice. Researchers at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill...

New take on perchlorate effects.(REPRODUCTIVE TOXICITY)
November 1, 2006... Perchlorate, an ingredient in solid rocket fuel, is known to affect thyroid function by blocking iodine uptake, disrupting physical growth and neurological development. A new fish study in the August 2006 issue of Environmental Toxicology and...

A question of balance.(RESEARCH ISSUES)
November 1, 2006... Expert committees convened by the National Academy of Sciences (NAS) have long advised the U.S. government and the public on challenging technical issues. But are those committees fair and balanced in their views? Perhaps not, according to the...

Clinton Climate Initiative heats up.(GLOBAL WARMING)
November 1, 2006... Given that metropolitan areas account for more than 75% of the world's greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, it is only right that cities should lead the effort to stem such emissions. To this end, the William J. Clinton Foundation has partnered with...

Lower prevalence of breast cancer gene mutations.(The Beat)
November 1, 2006... Approximately 200,000 women are diagnosed with breast cancer each year. A paper in the 15 August 2006 issue of Cancer Research now gives the clearest picture to date of how many people in the United States carry mutations in the two dominant...

The end of "asthma"?(The Beat)
November 1, 2006... The term "asthma," probably first used medically by Hippocrates, comes from the Greek for "panting." Now an editorial in the 16 August 2006 issue of The Lancet has called for the scientific community to abandon this term, stating that asthma is...

Got kenaf?(The Beat)
November 1, 2006... The market for recyclable materials in Europe is growing, with this year seeing the enaction of a law requiring that all new cars be 85% recyclable. One project that looks to capitalize on this trend is a new manufacturing complex in Spain...

EU rules tough on toys.(The Beat)
November 1, 2006... The European Union's Restriction of Hazardous Substances directive, which took effect 1 July 2006, bans lead, mercury, cadmium, hexavalent chromium, polybrominated biphenyls, and polybrominated diphenyl ethers in a wide range of electrical and...

Clean Air Institute takes flight in Latin America.(The Beat)
November 1, 2006... Latin America has 133 cities with populations of more than 500,000. In these cities, transportation is the leading cause of air pollution, which is linked with significant health impacts. In Santiago, Chile, alone, 4,000 premature deaths are...

Overweight people now outnumber the hungry.(The Beat)
November 1, 2006... With the WHO characterizing obesity as one of the greatest public health challenges of the 21st century, it was announced at the August 2006 meeting of the International Association of Agricultural Economists that the number of overweight...

CHE fertility online abstracts library.(ehpnet)
November 1, 2006... A great deal of research is now being published on the effect of environmental chemicals on reproductive health and declines in fertility. The Fertility/Early Pregnancy Compromise Work Group of the Collaborative on Health and the Environment...

The feed factor: estrogenic variability in lab animal diets.(NIEHS News)
November 1, 2006... Animal studies have long been a cornerstone of biomedical and environmental health research, and scientists need assurance that animals used in these studies are being cared for in ways that will not unknowingly influence experimental outcomes....

Polymorphisms modify breast cancer risk in smokers.(Genetic Research)
November 1, 2006... Previous research has established cigarette smoking as a risk factor for a number of cancers, including those of the lung, pancreas, and head and neck. A link between cigarette smoking and breast cancer is not as clear; however, scientists do...

Fertile grounds for inquiry: environmental effects on human reproduction.(Focus)
November 1, 2006... In a world whose population exceeds 6.5 billion, declining human fertility might not seem to be a critical problem. After all, overpopulation has been a global concern for decades. Declining fertility rates in more advanced nations largely...

Setting a baseline for biomonitoring.(Spheres of Influence)
November 1, 2006... Biomonitoring of tissues such as blood, urine, and breast milk is an extremely valuable tool for identifying population exposure to harmful chemicals. The data gathered through biomonitoring can provide guidance on how to prioritize...

Fe-TAML: catalyst for cleanup.(Innovations)
November 1, 2006... HORMONES OCCUR NATURALLY IN HUMANS, animals, and plants, but estrogens in contraceptives and hormone replacement therapy, those given to agricultural animals, and industrial chemicals that mimic estrogen add to the enormous volume of...

Man's worst friend? TCDD and male reproductive effects.(Science Selections)
November 1, 2006... Animal studies indicate that 2,3,7,8-tetrachlorodibenzo-p-dioxin (TCDD) and related compounds are reproductive and developmental toxicants, but effects of human exposures are unclear. Five months after the January 1999 accidental contamination...

Health on the factory floor: occupational phthalate exposure reduces testosterone.(Science Selections)
November 1, 2006... Human studies have shown widespread exposure to phthalates, compounds used in the manufacture of household, consumer, and medical products. The metabolites mono-2-ethylhexyl phthalate (MEHP) and mono-n-butyl phthalate (MBP) have shown...

Fetal lead exposure: timing is everything for effects.(Science Selections)
November 1, 2006... Many countries have set guidelines for levels of environmental lead exposure that are considered safe for children. However, relatively few studies have focused exclusively on the role of prenatal lead exposure on infant neurodevelopment....

New neurons at risk: genotoxicants and brain development.(Science Selections)
November 1, 2006... Neurodevelopmental disorders such as learning disabilities, mental retardation, and autism spectrum disorders affect an estimated 5-10% of the 4 million babies born in the United States annually. In a report released in 2000, the National...

Anne Sassaman's farewell to the NIEHS extramural community.(NIEHS Extramural Update)
November 1, 2006... Twenty years ago I arrived at NIEHS to direct what was then the Extramural Research Program. The staff was small and the portfolio consisted primarily of a collection of R01 grants and the Environmental Health Science and the Marine and...

Environmental Health: From Global to Local.
November 1, 2006... Environmental Health: From Global to Local Edited by Howard Frumkin San Francisco:Jossey-Bass, 2005. 1,108 pp. ISBN: 0-7879-7383-1, $75.00 Howard Frumkin has been a leader in expanding the definition of environmental health...

New books.(Announcements)
November 1, 2006... Air Pollution and Health Jon Ayres, Robert Maynard, Roy Richards Hackensack, NJ:World Scientific Publishing, 2006. 264 pp. ISBN: 1-86094-191-5, $66 An Introduction to Molecular Biotechnology: Molecular Fundamentals, Methods...

The importance of hormesis to public health.(Commentary)
November 1, 2006... BACKGROUND: Hormesis is a specific type of nonmonotonic dose response whose occurrence has been documented across a broad range of biological models, diverse types of exposure, and a variety of outcomes. The effects that occur at various points...

Exposures to airborne particulate matter and adverse perinatal outcomes: a biologically plausible mechanistic framework for exploring potential effect modification by nutrition.(Review)
November 1, 2006... OBJECTIVES: The specific objectives are threefold: to describe the biologically plausible mechanistic pathways by which exposure to particulate matter (PM) may lead to the adverse perinatal outcomes of low birth weight (LBW), intrauterine...

Decreased serum free testosterone in workers exposed to high levels of di-n-butyl phthalate (DBP) and di-2-ethylhexyl phthalate (DEHP): a cross-sectional study in China.(Research)
November 1, 2006... BACKGROUND: Observations of adverse developmental and reproductive effects in laboratory animals and wildlife have fueled increasing public concern regarding the potential for various chemicals to impair human fertility. OBJECTIVE: Our...

Correction.(Correction notice)
November 1, 2006... In the the description of the MS/MS procedure for MEHP and MEHP-[d.sub.4] in "Materials and Methods" of the article published online, the molecular transitions used in multiple reaction monitoring were incorrect; they have been corrected here.

Serum dioxin, testosterone, and subsequent risk of benign prostatic hyperplasia: a prospective cohort study of Air Force veterans.(Research)(Clinical report)
November 1, 2006... BACKGROUND: Operation Ranch Hand veterans were involved in spraying herbicides, including Agent Orange, during the Vietnam War in 1962-1971; Agent Orange was contaminated with 2,3,7,8-tetrachlorodibenzo-p-dioxin (TCDD). It has been hypothesized...

Correction.(Correction notice)
November 1, 2006... In the original manuscript published online, "BMI at the start of the Southeast Asia tour" was incorrect. It has been corrected here (in the text and in Tables 1, 4, and 5). "BM[I.sub.tour]" is now defined as the BMI at the end of the Southeast...

Expression of xenobiotic metabolizing enzymes in different lung compartments of smokers and nonsmokers.(Research)
November 1, 2006... BACKGROUND: Cytochrome P450 monooxygenases (CYP) play an important role in the defense against inhaled toxicants, and expression of CYP enzymes may differ among various lung cells and tissue compartments. METHODS: We studied the effects of...

Cardiovascular effects of nickel in ambient air.(Research)
November 1, 2006... BACKGROUND: Fine particulate matter (FPM) in ambient air causes premature mortality due to cardiac disease in susceptible populations. OBJECTIVE: Our objective in this study was to determine the most influential FPM components. ...

Serum dioxin-like activity is associated with reproductive parameters in young men from the general Flemish population.(Research)
November 1, 2006... BACKGROUND: 2,3,7,8-Tetrachlorodibenzo-p-dioxin (TCDD) and some related environmental contaminants are aryl hydrocarbon receptor (AhR) ligands that exert reproductive and developmental toxicity in laboratory animals. In humans,...

Molecular epidemiologic evidence for diabetogenic effects of dioxin exposure in U.S. Air Force veterans of the Vietnam war.(Research)
November 1, 2006... BACKGROUND: One of the outcomes positively associated with dioxin exposure in humans is type 2 diabetes. OBJECTIVES: This study was conducted in order to find the molecular biological evidence for the diabetogenic action of dioxin in...

An intervention to reduce residential insecticide exposure during pregnancy among an inner-city cohort.(Research)
November 1, 2006... BACKGROUND: We previously reported widespread insecticide exposure during pregnancy among inner-city women from New York City. Here we report on a pilot intervention using integrated pest management (IPM) to reduce pest infestations and...

Does particulate matter modify the association between temperature and cardiorespiratory diseases?(Research)
November 1, 2006... BACKGROUND: A number of studies have shown that both temperature and air pollution are associated with health outcomes. In assessing air pollution effects, temperature is usually considered a confounder. However, only a few recent studies...

Distribution of nanoparticles in the see-through medaka (Oryzias latipes).(Research)
November 1, 2006... OBJECTIVE: Because the environmental fate of manufactured nanoparticles is considered an emerging environmental concern, I used water-suspended fluorescent nanoparticles (solid latex solution) to investigate the distribution of nanoparticles in...

Genotoxicants target distinct molecular networks in neonatal neurons.(Research)
November 1, 2006... BACKGROUND: Exposure of the brain to environmental agents during critical periods of neuronal development is considered a key factor underlying many neurologic disorders. OBJECTIVES: In this study we examined the influence of genotoxicants...

Grand rounds: outbreak of hematologic abnormalities in a community of people exposed to leakage of fire extinguisher gas.(Environmental Medicine)
November 1, 2006... CONTEXT: Although there are ample data on the respiratory effects of exposure to fire extinguisher gas, the potential hematologic effects have not been fully documented. We conducted this study to determine the possible etiologic agent(s) for a...

Low-level lead exposure, metabolic syndrome, and heart rate variability: the VA Normative Aging Study.(Environmental Medicine)
November 1, 2006... BACKGROUND: Altered heart rate variability (HRV), a marker of poor cardiac autonomic function, has been associated with sudden cardiac death and heart failure. OBJECTIVE: We examined the association of low-level lead exposure measured in...

Changes induced by exposure of the human lung to glass fiber-reinforced plastic.(Environmental Medicine)
November 1, 2006... The inhalation of glass dusts mixed in resin, generally known as glass fiber-reinforced plastic (GRP), represents a little-studied occupational hazard. The few studies performed have highlighted nonspecific lung disorders in animals and in...

Fetal lead exposure at each stage of pregnancy as a predictor of infant mental development.(Children's Health)
November 1, 2006... BACKGROUND: The impact of prenatal lead exposure on neurodevelopment remains unclear in terms of consistency, the trimester of greatest vulnerability, and the best method for estimating fetal lead exposure. OBJECTIVE: We studied prenatal...

Personal and ambient air pollution is associated with increased exhaled nitric oxide in children with asthma.(Children's Health)
November 1, 2006... BACKGROUND: Research has shown associations between pediatric asthma outcomes and airborne particulate matter (PM). The importance of particle components remains to be determined. METHODS: We followed a panel of 45 schoolchildren with...

International studies of prenatal exposure to polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons and fetal growth.(Children's Health)
November 1, 2006... OBJECTIVES: Polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) are ubiquitously distributed human mutagens and carcinogens. However, lack of adequate air monitoring data has limited understanding of the effects of airborne PAHs on fetal growth. To address...

Gaseous air pollutants and hospitalization for respiratory disease in the neonatal period.(Children's Health)
November 1, 2006... OBJECTIVE: Current levels of ambient air pollution are associated with morbidity and mortality in the general population. To determine the influence of gaseous air pollutants on neonatal respiratory morbidity, we tested the association between...

The use of biomonitoring data in exposure and human health risk assessments.(Mini-Monograph)
November 1, 2006... Biomonitoring uses analytic methods that permit the accurate measurement of low levels of environmental chemicals in human tissues. However, depending on the intended use, biomonitoring, like all exposure tools, may not be a stand-alone...

Potential uses of biomonitoring data: a case study using the organophosphorus pesticides chlorpyrifos and malathion.(Mini-Monograph)
November 1, 2006... BACKGROUND: Organophosphorus pesticides such as chlorpyrifos and malathion are widely used insecticides. They do not bioaccumulate appreciably in humans and are rapidly metabolized and excreted in the urine. In nonoccupational settings,...

Polybrominated diphenyl ethers: a case study for using biomonitoring data to address risk assessment questions.(Mini-Monograph)
November 1, 2006... The use of biomonitoring data holds promise for characterizing exposure and informing risk assessment. Biomonitoring data have been used successfully to track population trends, identify susceptible populations, and provide indications of...

The applicability of biomonitoring data for perfluorooctanesulfonate to the environmental public health continuum.(Mini-Monograph)
November 1, 2006... Perfluorooctanesulfonate and its salts (PFOS) are derived from perfluorooctanesulfonyl fluoride, the basic chemical building block for many sulfonyl-based fluorochemicals used as surfactants and for their repellent properties. PFOS is highly...

Correction.(Correction notice)
November 1, 2006... This article has been modified from the original manuscript published online. In the section "Exposure Assessment," the number of pooled samples has been changed from 50 to 54, and the number of participants [greater than or equal to] 12 years...

Integrating biomonitoring exposure data into the risk assessment process: phthalates [diethyl phthalate and di(2-ethylhexyl) phthalate] as a case study.(Mini-Monograph)
November 1, 2006... The probability of nonoccupational exposure to phthalates is high given their use in a vast range of consumables, including personal care products (e.g., perfumes, lotions, cosmetics), paints, industrial plastics, and certain medical devices...

Biomarkers of exposure: a case study with inorganic arsenic.(Mini-Monograph)
November 1, 2006... The environmental contaminant inorganic arsenic (iAs) is a human toxicant and carcinogen. Most mammals metabolize iAs by reducing it to trivalency, followed by oxidative methylation to pentavalency. iAs and its methylated metabolites are...

Use of biomonitoring data to evaluate methyl eugenol exposure.(Mini-Monograph)
November 1, 2006... Methyl eugenol is a naturally occurring material found in a variety of food sources, including spices, oils, and nutritionally important foods such as bananas and oranges. Given its natural occurrence, a broad cross-section of the population is...