Environmental Health Perspectives articles from October 2008

Environmental Health Perspectives archives from October 2008

The "environment" for autism research: signs of improvement?(Editorial)
October 1, 2008... Once thought to be rare, autism spectrum disorders (ASD) have gained increasing public attention as prevalence studies have revealed sharp increases over the past two decades. ASD now represents the second most common category of...

Effects of prenatal exposure to pollutants on children's development: additional issues.(Correspondence)
October 1, 2008... Tang et al. (2008) made a significant contribution to understanding the effects of prenatal exposure to coal-burning pollutants: Decrements in DQs [developmental quotients, measured by the Gesell Developmental Schedules] were...

Effects of prenatal exposure to pollutants on children's development: Tang and Perera respond.(Correspondence)
October 1, 2008... The study we reported in our article "Effects of Prenatal Exposure to Coal-burning Pollutants on Children's Development in China" (Tang et al. 2008) was conducted in the Tongliang County of Chongqing City, an area in western China. In his...

Reduction in measurement error confounds cumulative pollution exposure.(Correspondence)
October 1, 2008... Barraza-Villarreal et al. (2008) showed a convincing link between increased air pollution and reduced forced expiratory volume in 1 sec ([FEV.sub.1]). However, the apparent stronger association between reduced [FEV.sub.1] and cumulative...

Reduction in measurement error: Barraza-Villarreal et al. respond.(Correspondence)
October 1, 2008... doi: 10.1289/ehp.1180R We thank Barnett for his comments on our article (Barraza-Villarreal et al. 2008), in which we reported associations between ambient air pollution and adverse lung function outcomes in a cohort of schoolchildren in...

Risk of Birth Defects in Australian Communities.(ERRATA)(Correction notice)
October 1, 2008... Chisholm et al. have reported an error in their article "Risk of Birth Defects in Australian Communities with High Brominated Disinfection By-product Levels" [Environ Health Perspect 116:1267-1273 (2008)]. In Table 1, the study design,...

"Conclusion" of the Commentary.(ERRATA)(Correction notice)
October 1, 2008... In the "Conclusion" of the Commentary by Vanderstraeten and Verschaeve [Environ Health Perspecr 116:1131-1135 (2008)], "health," the last wotd in the first sentence, should be "exposure." The corrected sentence is as follows: Because the...

Environ Health Perspect.(ERRATA)(Correction notice)
October 1, 2008... In the article by Zablotska et al. [Environ Health Perspect 116:1056-1062 (2008)], the units for vitamin A (mg/day) were incorrect in Tables 2-4; the units should be "IU/day." Also, the units for retinol equivalents in the Appendix should be...

Strong signal for cell phone effects: nothing you do for children is ever wasted.(CANCER)
October 1, 2008... Garrison Keillor With 3 billion cell phone users worldwide and more than 260 million in the United States alone--among them 46% of U.S. children aged 8-12, according to Nielsen Mobile figures released 10 September 2008--human exposure to...

Lunar lung disease.(OCCUPATIONAL HEALTH)
October 1, 2008... With the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) finalizing plans to begin construction on a manned lunar outpost by 2020, the sun is rising on a whole new world of environmental and occupational health. Could longer space...

Stormy outlook for asthma.(RESPIRATORY DISEASE)
October 1, 2008... Conventional wisdom holds that rainy days aid asthmatics by washing away pollen pollutants that trigger attacks. But a new study shows that in some cases just the opposite is true--in a report published in the July 2008 issue of Thorax, the...

Carbofuran under review.(PESTICIDES)
October 1, 2008... In the 31 July 2008 Federal Register, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) published a proposal to revoke all food "tolerances" of the insecticide carbofuran--residue allowances that are allowed to appear on food--on both domestic and...

Green Halloween.(ehpnet)(Brief article)
October 1, 2008... Halloween--what would it be without all the candy children pick up door to door? But much of the candy that's typically distributed at Halloween contains high amounts of trans fats, high-fructose corn syrup, sodium, and dyes. Green Halloween,...

Toy safety bill signed.(The Beat)(Brief article)
October 1, 2008... In 2007, millions of toys were pulled from U.S. shelves due to high levels of lead. Legislation passed 14 August 2008 sharply limits the lead allowed in children's products to 100 ppm, bans the use of phthalates (3 types will be permanently...

Arctic split.(The Beat)(Brief article)
October 1, 2008... Researchers announced in September 2008 that Canada's Markham Ice Shelf and two other large tongues of ice had split off Ellesmere Island into the Arctic Ocean, a rate of calving the researchers say highlights the-rapidity of climate-related...

Wastewater for urban gardens?(The Beat)(Brief article)
October 1, 2008... Amid rising scarcity of food and clean water alike, urban farms are an important source of fresh produce in developing countries. But the untreated wastewater used to irrigate many of these farm plots can contain heavy metals and raw sewage,...

Body shops go green.(The Beat)(Brief article)
October 1, 2008... Automobile body shop owners investing in new water-based paint systems and dust removal technologies are seeing such benefits as lower operating costs, improved air quality, and better worker health. The new paints, which consume fewer solvents...

Concrete data on Hg emissions.(The Beat)(Brief article)
October 1, 2008... Cement manufacturing often uses fuels and raw materials with high mercury content, which is vaporized and emitted through smokestacks. In July 2008, the advocacy groups Earthjustice and the Environmental Integrity Project released a report...

High-flying energy source.(The Beat)(Brief article)
October 1, 2008... Research teams around the world are working to tap the energy potential of high-altitude winds, a more abundant and reliable energy source than the ground-level winds upon which conventional turbines rely. In an August 2008 proof of concept...

Contaminants in human milk: weighing the risks against the benefits of breastfeeding.(Focus)
October 1, 2008... When it comes to feeding the newborn, human milk is, from an evolutionary perspective, the biological norm, the time-tested standard of care. The health benefits to the infant of breastfeeding have been amply documented; numerous studies...

Wild child: guiding the young back to nature.(Spheres of Influence)
October 1, 2008... Having already tested his parents' indulgence by adopting snakes as companions, young Ed Wilson pressed his luck even further by raising black widow spiders, which he hand-fed with live insects. By the time he took up farming ants, it must have...

Asthma among WTC children: registry yields first child health report.(Science Selections)(World Trade Center )
October 1, 2008... The World Trade Center Health Registry (WTCHR), comprising persons most likely to have been heavily exposed to traumatic events and air pollution related to the World Trade Center attacks of 11 September 2001, includes 3, 184 children under age...

Sometimes less is more: perinatal bacterial exposure may be more important than hepatitis for liver tumor development.(Science Selections)
October 1, 2008... Helicobacter hepaticus, a bacterium discovered in 1994 and widespread in many experimental mouse populations, is associated with a high incidence of liver tumors in aging mice. A new mouse study shows that perinatal exposure to this pathogen,...

Developing story: no link observed between prenatal PFOA/PFOS exposure and milestone achievement.(Science Selections)(Perfluorooctanoate)(perfluorooctanesulfonate )
October 1, 2008... Perfluorooctanoate (PFOA; also known as perfluorooctanoic acid) and perfluorooctanesulfonate (PFOS), chemicals used in waterproofing fabrics and greaseproofing fast-food containers, among other applications, have been detected at low...

Clear shot at better outcomes? closure of coal-burning plants could improve neurodevelopment.(Science Selections)
October 1, 2008... Coal burning, which provides up to 75% of China's electricity, is the main environmental source of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) in that country. Research in Europe, the United States, and Asia indicates that prenatal exposure to PAHs...

Community-based participatory research: a vehicle to promote public engagement for environmental health in China.(Commentary)
October 1, 2008... BACKGROUND: In the past 25 years, China has experienced remarkable economic growth and rapid agricultural-to-industrial and rural-to-urban transitions. As a consequence, China now faces many daunting environmental challenges that are...

Lead exposures in U.S. children, 2008: implications for prevention.
October 1, 2008... OBJECTIVE: We reviewed the sources of lead in the environments of U.S. children, contributions to children's blood lead levels, source elimination and control efforts, and existing federal authorities. Our context is the U.S. public health goal...

Correction.(Correction notice)
October 1, 2008... In "Sources of Lead Exposure," the percentages given for types of sources were incorrect in the manuscript originally published online. They have been corrected here.

Impairment of NO-dependent relaxation in intralobar pulmonary arteries: comparison of urban particulate matter and manufactured nanoparticles.(Research)(nitric oxide)
October 1, 2008... BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES: Because pulmonary circulation is the primary vascular target of inhaled particulate matter (PM), and nitric oxide is a major vasculoprotective agent, in this study we investigated the effect of various particles on...

Built environment and physical functioning in hispanic elders: the role of "eyes on the street".(Research)
October 1, 2008... BACKGROUND: Research on neighborhood effects increasingly includes the influences of the built environment on health and social well-being. OBJECTIVES: In this population-based study in a low-socioeconomic-status (SES), Hispanic...

Exposure of neonatal rats to parathion elicits sex-selective impairment of acetylcholine systems in brain regions during adolescence and adulthood.(Research)(Clinical report)
October 1, 2008... BACKGROUND: Organophosphates elicit developmental neurotoxicity through multiple mechanisms other than their shared property as cholinesterase inhibitors. Accordingly, these agents may differ in their effects on specific brain circuits. ...

Hydroxylated metabolites of the polybrominated diphenyl ether mixture de-71 are weak estrogen receptor-[alpha] ligands.(Research)
October 1, 2008... BACKGROUND: Polybrominated diphenyl ethers (PBDEs) are widely found in the environment and are suspected endocrine disruptors. We previously identified six hydroxylated metabolites of PBDE (OH-PBDEs) in treated mice. OBJECTIVE: We tested...

Developmental lead exposure induces tactile defensiveness in rhesus monkeys (Macaca mulatta).(Research)(Clinical report)
October 1, 2008... BACKGROUND: Tactile defensiveness in children is associated with difficult social relations, emotional dysregulation, and inattention. However, there are no studies of lead exposure and tactile defensiveness in children or animals in spite of...

Lung cancer and vehicle exhaust in trucking industry workers.(Research)(Clinical report)
October 1, 2008... BACKGROUND: An elevated risk of lung cancer in truck drivers has been attributed to diesel exhaust exposure. Interpretation of these studies specifically implicating diesel exhaust as a carcinogen has been limited because of limited exposure...

Association between traffic-related black carbon exposure and lung function among urban women.(Research)(Clinical report)
October 1, 2008... BACKGROUND: Although a number of studies have documented the relationship between lung function and traffic-related pollution among children, few have focused on adult lung function or examined community-based populations. OBJECTIVE: We...

Urinary cadmium and osteoporosis in U.S. women [greater than or equal to] 50 years of age: NHANES 1988-1994 and 1999-2004.(Research)
October 1, 2008... BACKGROUND: Urinary cadmium (U-Cd) has been associated with decreased peripheral bone mineral density (BMD) and osteoporosis. This association, however, has not been confirmed using femoral BMD, the international standard for diagnosing...

A Margin-of-exposure approach to assessment of noncancer risks of dioxins based on human exposure and response data.(Research)
October 1, 2008... BACKGROUND: Risk assessment of human environmental exposure to polychlorinated dibenzo-p-dioxins and dibenzofurans (PCDD/PCDFs) and other dioxin-like compounds is complicated by several factors, including limitations in measuring intakes...

Marked liver tumorigenesis by Helicobacter hepaticus requires perinatal exposure.(Research)(Clinical report)
October 1, 2008... BACKGROUND: Although severe hepatitis and liver tumors occur in a high percentage of A/J male mice naturally infected with Helicobacter hepaticus, these effects have not been observed after injection of adult mice with the bacteria. ...

Differences in heart rate variability associated with long-term exposure to [NO.sub.2].(Research)(Clinical report)
October 1, 2008... BACKGROUND: Heart rate variability (HRV), a measure of cardiac autonomic tone, has been associated with cardiovascular morbidity and mortality. Short-term studies have shown that subjects exposed to higher traffic-associated air pollutant...

Air pollution and odor in communities near industrial swine operations.(Research)(Clinical report)
October 1, 2008... BACKGROUND: Odors can affect health and quality of life. Industrialized animal agriculture creates odorant compounds that are components of a mixture of agents that could trigger symptoms reported by neighbors of livestock operations. ...

The effect of heat waves on mental health in a temperate Australian city.(Environmental Medicine)
October 1, 2008... OBJECTIVE: The goal of this study was to identify mental, behavioral, and cognitive disorders that may be triggered or exacerbated during heat waves, predisposing individuals to heat-related morbidity and mortality. DESIGN: Using health...

Birth delivery mode modifies the associations between prenatal polychlorinated biphenyl (PCB) and polybrominated diphenyl ether (PDBE) and neonatal thyroid hormone levels.(Children's Health)(Clinical report)
October 1, 2008... BACKGROUND: Developing infants may be especially sensitive to hormone disruption from chemicals including polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) and polybrominated diphenyl ethers (PBDEs). OBJECTIVE: We investigated relationships between cord...

Respiratory and other health effects reported in children exposed to the World Trade Center disaster of 11 September 2001.(Children's Health)(Clinical report)
October 1, 2008... BACKGROUND: Effects of the World Trade Center (WTC) disaster on children's respiratory health have not been definitively established. OBJECTIVE: This report describes respiratory health findings among children who were METHODS:...

Prenatal exposure to perfluorooctanoate (PFOA) and perfluorooctanesulfonate (PFOS) and maternally reported developmental milestones in infancy.(Children's Health)(Clinical report)
October 1, 2008... BACKGROUND: Perfluorooctanesulfonate (PFOS) and perfluorooctanoate (PFOA) are fluorinated organic compounds present in the general population at low concentrations. Animal studies have shown that they may affect neuromuscular development at...

Benefits of reducing prenatal exposure to coal-burning pollutants to children's neurodevelopment in China.(Children's Health)(Clinical report)
October 1, 2008... BACKGROUND: Coal burning provides 70% of the energy for China's industry and power, but releases large quantities of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) and other pollutants. PAHs are reproductive and developmental toxicants, mutagens, and...

Case-control study of blood lead levels and attention deficit hyperactivity disorder in Chinese children.(Children's Health)(Clinical report)
October 1, 2008... BACKGROUND: Attention deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) and lead exposure are high-prevalence conditions among children. OBJECTIVE: Our goal was to investigate the association between ADHD and blood lead levels (BLLs) in Chinese...

Urinary porphyrin excretion in children is associated with exposure to organochlorine compounds.(Children's Health)(Clinical report)
October 1, 2008... BACKGROUND: Hexachlorobenzene (HCB) and other organochlorines induce porphyria cutanea tarda (PCT) in animal studies. Evidence in humans, however, is contradictory. In neonates and adults from a population historically highly exposed to HCB...

Ozone and other air pollutants and the risk of oral clefts.(Children's Health)(Clinical report)
October 1, 2008... BACKGROUND: Air pollution influences the development of oral clefts in animals. There are few epidemiologic data on the relation of prenatal air pollution exposure and the risk of oral clefts. OBJECTIVES: Our goal in this study was to assess...

The relationship between prenatal PCB exposure and intelligence (IQ) in 9-year-old children.(Children's Health)(Polychlorinated biphenyls)(Clinical report)
October 1, 2008... BACKGROUND: Several epidemiologic studies have demonstrated relationships between prenatal exposure to polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) and modest cognitive impairments in infancy and early childhood. However, few studies have followed cohorts...

The influence of living near roadways on spirometry and exhaled nitric oxide in elementary schoolchildren.(Children's Health)(Clinical report)
October 1, 2008... BACKGROUND: Living near major roadways has been associated with an increase in respiratory symptoms, but little is known about how this relates to airway inflammation. OBJECTIVE: We assessed the effects of living near local residential...

A longitudinal study of indoor nitrogen dioxide levels and respiratory symptoms in inner-city children with asthma.(Children's Health)(Clinical report)
October 1, 2008... BACKGROUND: The effect of indoor nitrogen dioxide concentrations on asthma morbidity among inner-city preschool children is uncertain. OBJECTIVES: Our goal was to estimate the effect of indoor [NO.sub.2] concentrations on asthma morbidity...

Traffic-related air pollution and asthma onset in children: a prospective cohort study with individual exposure measurement.(Children's Health)
October 1, 2008... BACKGROUND: The question of whether air pollution contributes to asthma onset remains unresolved. OBJECTIVES: In this study, we assessed the association between asthma onset in children and traffic-related air pollution. METHODS: We...

Calendar.(Announcements)(Calendar)
October 1, 2008... October 21-24 October, Tue-Fri. 20th EORTC-NCI-AACR Symposium on Molecular Targets and Cancer Therapeutics. Geneva, Switzerland. Information: 20th EORTC - NCI-AACR Symposium Secretariat, ECCO the European CanCer Organisation, Avenue E....

Poisoned Profits: The Toxic Assault on Our Children.(Book review)
October 1, 2008... Philip Shabecoff and Alice Shabecoff New York: Random House, 2008. 344 pp. ISBN: 978-1-4000-6430-4, $26.00 An increasingly vast body of evidence shows that some chronic conditions such as birch defects, cancers, and developmental...

New books.(List)
October 1, 2008... Crop Biosecurity: Assuring our Global Food Supply M.L. Gullino, J. Fletcher, A. Gamliel, J.P. Stack, eds. New York: Springer, 2008, 148 pp. ISBN: 978-77-5, $74,95 Economics and Management of Climate Change: Risks, Mitigation...