Environmental Health Perspectives articles from September 2007

Environmental Health Perspectives archives from September 2007

The forest for the trees: a systems approach to human health research.(Commentary)
September 1, 2007... The current generation of children in many countries have a shorter life expectancy than their parents' generation, mainly due to changing sociopolitical systems and infectious diseases such as AIDS (World Health Organization 2006)....

Environmental exposures and gene regulation in disease etiology.(Review)
September 1, 2007... Over the last 20 years, endocrine disruption research has shown how chemicals in our environment can profoundly affect development, growth, maturation, and reproduction by mimicking hormones or interacting with hormone receptors. One important...

Depuration of polybrominated diphenyl ethers (PBDEs) and polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) in breast milk from California first-time mothers (primiparae).(Research)
September 1, 2007... Polybrominated diphenyl ethers (PBDEs) and polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) are persistent, lipophilic chemicals with different sources, pathways, and patterns of human exposure. Mixtures of PBDEs are present as noncovalently bound...

Lead induces chondrogenesis and alters transforming growth factor-[beta] and bone morphogenetic protein signaling in mesenchymal cell populations.(Research)
September 1, 2007... In spite of effort to reduce human exposure, lead toxicity continues to be a major environmental health concern in the United States and in other industrial countries. Although recent research has focused on understanding its toxic effects in...

Traffic-related atmospheric pollutants levels during pregnancy and offspring's term birth weight: a study relying on a land-use regression exposure model.(Research)
September 1, 2007... Particulate matter (PM) is a major family of atmospheric pollutants (National Center for Environmental Assessment 2004). Fine PM (PM with an aerodynamic diameter < 2.5 [micro]m; [PM.sub.2.5]) and, perhaps to a greater extent, ultrafine...

Life-span exposure to low doses of aspartame beginning during prenatal life increases cancer effects in rats.(Research)
September 1, 2007... Aspartame (APM) is one of the most widely used artificial sweeteners in the world. First approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for limited use in solid food in 1981, its authorization was extended to soft drinks in 1983 and...

Correction.(Correction notice)
September 1, 2007... In the original manuscript published online, Michelina Lauriola's name was spelled incorrectly. It has been corrected here.

Half-Life of serum elimination of perfluorooctanesulfonate, perfluorohexanesulfonate, and perfluorooctanoate in retired fluorochemical production workers.(Research)
September 1, 2007... Perfluorooctanesulfonate [PFOS; [CF.sub.3]([CF.sub.2]).sub.7][SO.sub.3.sup.-]] and its acid salts were derived from perfluorooctanesulfonyl fluoride [POSF; [CF.sub.3]([CF.sub.2]).sub.7][SO.sub.2.sup.F]]. Major product applications were...

Ameliorating the developmental neurotoxicity of chlorpyrifos: a mechanisms-based approach in PC12 cells.(Research)(Clinical report)
September 1, 2007... The nearly ubiquitous exposure of the human population to organophosphate pesticides has raised increasing concern about their propensity to elicit developmental neurotoxicity at exposures that go undetected because of the absence of systemic...

Secondary sex ratio among women exposed to Diethylstilbestrol in utero.(Research)(Clinical report)
September 1, 2007... Diethylstilbestrol (DES) is a synthetic estrogen that was prescribed to > 2 million pregnant women in the mid-1900s. In later years, it was discovered to be associated with the occurrence of vaginal clear cell adenocarcinoma (Herbst et al....

Maternal serum polychlorinated biphenyl concentrations across critical windows of human development.(Research)(Clinical report)
September 1, 2007... The environmental persistence and lipophilicity of polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) in the Great Lakes basin and elsewhere has lead to bioaccumulation within the aquatic food chain and human exposure (Ayotte et al. 1995; Bloom et al. 2005; He...

Differential response of Mono Mac 6, BEAS-2B, and Jurkat cells to indoor dust.(Research)(Clinical report)
September 1, 2007... Indoor dust contributes substantially to individual particle exposure (Butte and Heinzow 2002). Compounds tracked in from outdoors are a relevant source of indoor dust contaminants. Indoor penetration from outdoors has been calculated as 70%...

Impact of smoking and thiocyanate on perchlorate and thyroid hormone associations in the 2001-2002 National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey.(Research)(Clinical report)
September 1, 2007... Perchlorate has been used by the aerospace industry as an oxidizer in solid rocket propellant, slurry explosives, road flares, and air bag inflation systems. Human environmental exposure can occur through food or water after industrial...

Persistent tissue kinetics and redistribution of nanoparticles, quantum Dot 705, in Mice: ICP-MS quantitative assessment.(Research)(Clinical report)
September 1, 2007... Quantum dots (QDs) are semiconductor nanocrystals approximately 2-100 nm in diameter. Structurally, they have a metalloid core and a cap or shell (Dabbousi et al. 1997). Organic coatings can be added to the surface to achieve bioavailability or...

Race, wealth, and solid waste facilities in North Carolina.(Research)(Clinical report)
September 1, 2007... Disposition of solid waste is an ancient public health problem made more pressing in the 21st century by population growth, increases in per capita waste production, scarcity of suitable locations for waste disposal near cities, and changes in...

Workgroup report: National Toxicology Program workshop on Hormonally Induced Reproductive Tumors - Relevance of Rodent Bioassays.(Research)(Clinical report)
September 1, 2007... The National Toxicology Program (NTP) hosted the workshop "Hormonally Induced Reproductive Tumors--Relevance of Rodent Bioassays" on 22-24 May 2006 in Raleigh, North Carolina, to discuss the adequacy of rodent models used in the 2-year bioassay...

Meeting report: the role of environmental lighting and circadian disruption in cancer and other diseases.(Research)(Clinical report)
September 1, 2007... Humans have evolved over millions of years and adapted to a solar day of approximately 12 hr of light and 12 hr of dark, latitude and season permitting. Our ability to artificially light the night began about 250,000 years ago when we...

Error and bias in determining exposure potential of children at school locations using proximity-based GIS techniques.(geographic information systems)(Children's Health)(Clinical report)
September 1, 2007... Advances in geographic information systems (GIS), statistical methodology, and availability of high-resolution georeferenced health and environmental data have created unprecedented opportunities for spatial epidemiology to investigate local...

Arsenic exposure and cognitive performance in Mexican schoolchildren.(Children's Health)(Clinical report)
September 1, 2007... Recent studies indicate that in several regions of the world, arsenic concentration in water is much higher than accepted levels (Smedley and Kinniburgh 2002). The concern with As contamination of drinking water is that consumption and use of...

Workgroup report: developing environmental health indicators for european children: World Health Organization working group.(Children's Health)(Clinical report)
September 1, 2007... Approximately a quarter of the global burden of disease can be attributed to environmental factors (Pruss-Ustun and Corvalan 2006). Children 40% of this burden [Smith et al. 1999; World Health Organization (WHO) 2002a]. Contaminated air, food,...

Mortality from copper smelter emissions circa 1967.(Correspondence)(Clinical report)
September 1, 2007... The correspondence section is a public forum and, as such, is not peer-reviewed. EHP is not responsible for the accuracy, currency, or reliability of personal opinion expressed herein; it is the sole responsibility of the authors. EHP neither...

Mortality from copper smelter emissions: Pope responds.(Correspondence)(Clinical report)
September 1, 2007... Grahame's thoughtful and well-documented letter addresses one of the most important issues regarding our analysis of the mortality effects of a copper smelter strike in the U.S. Southwest (Pope et al. 2007). Grahame's basic contentions are that...

Smelters and mortality.(Correspondence)(Clinical report)
September 1, 2007... Pope et al. (2007) provide results for reduced mortality during the 1967-1968 smelter strike in the U.S. Southwest. They ascribed mortality reduction to a decrease in ambient sulfate from the smelters. Although I found the thesis interesting,...

Smelters and mortality: Pope et al. respond.(Perpectives)(Clinical report)
September 1, 2007... Hidy makes several useful comments regarding our analysis of the mortality effects of a copper smelter strike in the U.S. Southwest (Pope et al. 2007). Regarding issues of atmospheric chemistry, the ambiguities of [SO.sub.4] sampling, and the...

Environmental tobacco smoke: incomplete research or author bias?(Perpectives)(Clinical report)
September 1, 2007... As primary author and co-principal investigator of the 16 Cities Study (Jenkins et al. 1996), I was disappointed to read the article by Barnes et al. (2006). Their methodology, relying solely on Internet-based searching of trial and hearing...

Environmental tobacco smoke: Barnes et al. respond.(Correspondence)(Clinical report)
September 1, 2007... We are gratified that Jenkins does not dispute the central findings of our study (Barnes et al. 2006), namely, that a) the 16 Cities Study grew out of the tobacco industry's plan to block any Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA)...

Erratum.(Correction notice)
September 1, 2007... In the article "Concentrations of Urinary Phthalate Metabolites Are Associated with Increased Waist Circumference and Insulin Resistance in Adult U.S. Males" [Environ Health Perspect 115:876-882 (2007)] by Stahlhut et al., the title of Table 1...

Agriculture-COPD link bolstered.(chronic obstructive pulmonary disease)(OCCUPATIONAL HEALTH)(Clinical report)
September 1, 2007... Smoking is typically considered the cause of 80-90% of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) cases, but another significant known source is occupational exposure. Among the suspect occupations is farming, for which there has long been...

Temperance in green tea.(DIET AND NUTRITION)
September 1, 2007... Throughout China and Japan, green tea is considered a staple beverage. Many epidemiologic studies have linked frequent tea intake with a lower incidence of cancer, cardiovascular disease, and neurodegenerative disorders. Consumer interest in...

EPA testing program raises concerns.(The Best)(Report)(Brief article)
September 1, 2007... In June 2007 the EPA released for public comment a draft list of 73 chemicals to be screened for their potential as endocrine disruptors. With a comment period extending to 17 September 2007, a number of scientists and health advocates already...

Lead swabs miss the mark.(The Best)(Brief article)(Clinical report)
September 1, 2007... Lead can cause significant health effects in children at blood concentrations lower than 10 [micro]g/dL. One significant source of lead in homes is dust created by crumbling lead-based paint. To detect lead in household dust, homeowners,...

Have another cup.(The Best)(Brief article)(Clinical report)
September 1, 2007... Good news for coffee lovers! Researchers from Sweden's Karolinska Institute report in the May 2007 issue of Gastroenterology the results of a meta-analysis of eleven studies over the past two decades. Their findings show an inverse relationship...

Urban grime recycles toxics.(AIR POLLUTION)(Clinical report)
September 1, 2007... Grime clinging to windows and other surfaces in cities may be an unrecognized source of toxic nitrogen oxide ([NO.sub.x]) pollutants that can damage lung tissue, according to research in the 1 June 2007 issue of Environmental Science &...

Ethanol boosts gas engines.(TRANSPORTATION AND FUELS)
September 1, 2007... The gasoline internal combustion engine has more than 100 years of intense development behind it. But now three researchers from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) have modified it in a way that elevates efficiency by a remarkable...

Rethinking sources of perchlorate.(The Beat)(Brief article)(Clinical report)
September 1, 2007... Although best known as a pollutant linked to its use in rocket fuel, perchlorate also made its way into U.S. agricultural soils from Chilean nitrate fertilizers that came into use in the early 1900s. But the chemical, which disrupts thyroid...

New guidance for supplements.(The Beat)(Report)(Brief article)
September 1, 2007... On 22 June 2007, the FDA released its long-awaited final rule on dietary supplement good manufacturing practices. The move was hailed by many in the industry, although some policy makers and consumer advocates believe the regulations don't go...

No link between hair relaxers and breast cancer.(The Beat)(Brief article)(Clinical report)
September 1, 2007... Hair relaxers are used by millions of black women, often over many years. Researchers from Boston University and Howard University studied the use of these products to determine if they may play a part in why breast cancer incidence is higher...

Environmental impact of the clothing industry.(Waste Couture)
September 1, 2007... On a Saturday afternoon, a group of teenage girls leaf through glossy fashion magazines at a New Jersey outlet mall. Shopping bags brimming with new purchases lay at their feet as they talk excitedly about what's in style to wear this summer....

Certified coffee does the premium pay off?(Spheres of Influence)(Report)
September 1, 2007... Coffee bean prices plummeted during the coffee crisis of the late 1990s, the result of a glut in coffee production. Prices sank from around US$1.50 per pound in 1997 to about a third that amount in 2001, according to the International Coffee...

Aspartame cancer risks revisited: prenatal exposure may be greatest concern.(Science Selections)(Clinical report)
September 1, 2007... Aspartame is an artificial sweetener used in more than 6,000 diet products, beverages, and pharmaceuticals. In March 2006, EHP published the first compelling experimental evidence for the carcinogenic effects of aspartame at a dose level within...

The best rodent for the job: NTP workshop compares models.(National Toxicology Program)(Science Selections)(Clinical report)
September 1, 2007... Researchers have long used rats and mice to understand the potential links between environmental exposures and incidences of breast, ovarian, testicular, and prostate tumors. Concern exists, however, that rodent models are not optimal for...

Baring bone's secrets: understanding how lead exposure affects skeletal development.(Science Selections)(Clinical report)
September 1, 2007... Among lead's well-known developmental health effects is stunting of skeletal growth in children. Moreover, lead is known to delay fracture healing and may contribute to osteoporosis. Yet the exact mechanism by which lead affects normal cellular...

In search of a chlorpyrifos antidote: mechanisms offer clues.(Science Selections)(Clinical report)
September 1, 2007... Treatments for acute organophosphate poisoning focus on stopping the buildup of the neurotransmitter acetylcholine at nerve endings. But organophosphates also interfere with neural cell development at much lower doses over a window of time that...

Advancing novel science in women's health research (ANSWHR) [R21].(Fellowships, Grants, & Awards)(Clinical report)
September 1, 2007... The Office of Research on Women's Health (ORWH), established in 1990 within the Office of the Director, National Institutes of Health (NIH), a) advises the NIH Director and staff on matters relating to research on women's health; b) strengthens...

NIAID international research in infectious diseases (IRID) program (R01).(Fellowships, Grants, & Awards)(Report)
September 1, 2007... The National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID) encourages the submission of R01 applications from institutions in eligible foreign countries to conduct studies and establish collaborative infectious diseases research among...

New books.
September 1, 2007... Alternative Pathways in Science and Industry: Activism, Innovation, and the Environment in an Era of Globalization David Hess Cambridge, MA:MIT Press, 2007. 260 pp. ISBN: 978-0-262-58272-8, $25 Assessment of the Continuing Operability...