| 1. |
- Bennett, Deborah, et al.
(författare)
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Project TENDR : Targeting Environmental Neuro-Developmental Risks. The TENDR Consensus Statement
- 2016
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Ingår i: Journal of Environmental Health Perspectives. - : National Institute of Environmental Health Science. - 0091-6765 .- 1552-9924. ; 124:7, s. A118-A122
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Children in America today are at an unacceptably high risk of developing neurodevelopmental disorders that affect the brain and nervous system including autism, attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, intellectual disabilities, and other learning and behavioral disabilities. These are complex disorders with multiple causes-genetic, social, and environmental. The contribution of toxic chemicals to these disorders can be prevented. Approach: Leading scientific and medical experts, along with children's health advocates, came together in 2015 under the auspices of Project TENDR: Targeting Environmental Neuro-Developmental Risks to issue a call to action to reduce widespread exposures to chemicals that interfere with fetal and children's brain development. Based on the available scientific evidence, the TENDR authors have identified prime examples of toxic chemicals and pollutants that increase children's risks for neurodevelopmental disorders. These include chemicals that are used extensively in consumer products and that have become widespread in the environment. Some are chemicals to which children and pregnant women are regularly exposed, and they are detected in the bodies of virtually all Americans in national surveys conducted by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The vast majority of chemicals in industrial and consumer products undergo almost no testing for developmental neurotoxicity or other health effects. Conclusion: Based on these findings, we assert that the current system in the United States for evaluating scientific evidence and making health-based decisions about environmental chemicals is fundamentally broken. To help reduce the unacceptably high prevalence of neurodevelopmental disorders in our children, we must eliminate or significantly reduce exposures to chemicals that contribute to these conditions. We must adopt a new framework for assessing chemicals that have the potential to disrupt brain development and prevent the use of those that may pose a risk. This consensus statement lays the foundation for developing recommendations to monitor, assess, and reduce exposures to neurotoxic chemicals. These measures are urgently needed if we are to protect healthy brain development so that current and future generations can reach their fullest potential.
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| 2. |
- de Boer, J., et al.
(författare)
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United Nations Environment Programme Capacity Building Pilot Project : training and interlaboratory study on persistent organic pollutant analysis under the Stockholm Convention
- 2008
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Ingår i: Analytica Chimica Acta. - : Elsevier BV. - 0003-2670 .- 1873-4324. ; 617:1-2, s. 208-215
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Within the framework of a United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) Capacity Building Project for training of laboratory staff in developing countries on persistent organic pollutant (POP) analysis, an interlaboratory study was organised following an initial evaluation of the performance of laboratories (reality check) and a series of training sessions. The target compounds were polychlorinated biphenyls (PCB) and organochlorine pesticides (OCP). Seven laboratories from five countries (Ecuador, Uruguay, Kenya, Moldova, and Fiji) participated. Most of the laboratories had no experience in determining PCBs. Although chromatograms improved considerably after the training and installation of new gas chromatographic (GC) columns at participating laboratories, the level of performance in the interlaboratory study was essentially on par with the moderate performance level achieved by European POP laboratories in the 1980s. Only some individual results were within +/-20% of the target values. The relative standard deviations (R.S.D.s) in POP concentrations determined by laboratories in a sediment sample were >200% in a number of cases. The results for a certified herring sample were better with at least some R.S.D. values below 50% and most below 100%. Clean up was as one of the main sources of error. After inspection it was ascertained that training of laboratory staff and investments in simple consumables such as glassware and GC columns would help to improve the quality of the analysis more than major investments in expensive instrumentation. Creating an effective network of POP laboratories at different continents together with a series of interlaboratory studies and workshops is suggested to improve the measurements of POPs in these countries.
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| 3. |
- Gornall, B. F., et al.
(författare)
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Measurement of quality of recovery using the QoR-40:a quantitative systematic review
- 2013
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Ingår i: British Journal of Anaesthesia. - : Elsevier BV. - 0007-0912 .- 1471-6771. ; 111:2, s. 161-169
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Forskningsöversikt (refereegranskat)abstract
- Background.Several rating scales have been developed to measure quality of recovery aftersurgery and anaesthesia, but the most extensively used is the QoR-40, a 40-itemquestionnaire that provides a global score and subscores across five dimensions: patientsupport, comfort, emotions, physical independence, and pain. It has been evaluated in avariety of settings, but its overall psychometric properties (validity, reliability, ease of use,and interpretation) and clinical utility are uncertain.Methods.We undertook a quantitative systematic review of studies evaluatingpsychometric properties of the QoR-40. Data were combined in meta-analyses usingrandom effects models. This resulted in a total sample of 3459 patients from 17 studiesoriginating in nine countries.Results.We confirmed content, construct, and convergent [pooled r¼0.58, 95% confidenceinterval (CI): 0.51–0.65] validity. Reliability was confirmed by excellent intraclass correlation(pooleda¼0.91, 95% CI: 0.88–0.93), test–retest reliability (pooled r¼0.90, 95% CI: 0.86–0.92), and inter-rater reliability (intraclass correlation¼0.86). The clinical utility of theQoR-40 instrument was supported by high patient recruitment into evaluation studies(97%), and an excellent completion and return rate (97%). The mean time to completethe QoR-40 was 5.1 (95% CI: 4.4–5.7) min.Conclusions.The QoR-40 is a widely used and extensively validated measure of quality ofrecovery. The QoR-40 is a suitable measure of postoperative quality of recovery in arange of clinical and research situations.Keywords:health status; meta-analysis; outcomes
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| 4. |
- Goyette, Philippe, et al.
(författare)
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High-density mapping of the MHC identifies a shared role for HLA-DRB1*01 : 03 in inflammatory bowel diseases and heterozygous advantage in ulcerative colitis
- 2015
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Ingår i: Nature Genetics. - New York, USA : Nature Publishing Group. - 1061-4036 .- 1546-1718. ; 47:2, s. 172-179
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Genome-wide association studies of the related chronic inflammatory bowel diseases (IBD) known as Crohn's disease and ulcerative colitis have shown strong evidence of association to the major histocompatibility complex (MHC). This region encodes a large number of immunological candidates, including the antigen-presenting classical human leukocyte antigen (HLA) molecules. Studies in IBD have indicated that multiple independent associations exist at HLA and non-HLA genes, but they have lacked the statistical power to define the architecture of association and causal alleles. To address this, we performed high-density SNP typing of the MHC in >32,000 individuals with IBD, implicating multiple HLA alleles, with a primary role for HLA-DRB1*01:03 in both Crohn's disease and ulcerative colitis. Noteworthy differences were observed between these diseases, including a predominant role for class II HLA variants and heterozygous advantage observed in ulcerative colitis, suggesting an important role of the adaptive immune response in the colonic environment in the pathogenesis of IBD.
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| 5. |
- Van Leeuwen, S. P. J., et al.
(författare)
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POPs analysis reveals issues in bringing laboratories in developing countries to a higher quality level
- 2013
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Ingår i: TrAC. Trends in analytical chemistry. - : Elsevier BV. - 0165-9936 .- 1879-3142. ; 46, s. 198-206
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- We assessed the performance of laboratories in 18 developing countries in analyzing persistent organic pollutants (POPs) in environmental and human samples, as part of a capacity-building program with the goal of helping laboratories increase proficiency in the types of analyses required for the POPs Global Monitoring Program (GMP) under the Stockholm Convention. We identified several issues that need improvement before the laboratories can contribute to the GMP, including technical aspects of POPs analysis, QA/QC issues and laboratory-management problems.
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