| 1. |
- Merid, Simon Kebede, et al.
(författare)
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Integration of gene expression and DNA methylation identifies epigenetically controlled modules related to PM2.5 exposure
- 2020
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Ingår i: Environment International. - Stockholm : Karolinska Institutet, Dept of Clinical Science and Education, Södersjukhuset. - 0160-4120 .- 1873-6750.
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Air pollution has been associated with adverse health effects across the life-course. Although underlying mechanisms are unclear, several studies suggested pollutant-induced changes in transcriptomic profiles. In this meta-analysis of transcriptome-wide association studies of 656 children and adolescents from three European cohorts participating in the MeDALL Consortium, we found two differentially expressed transcript clusters (FDR p < 0.05) associated with exposure to particulate matter < 2.5 µm in diameter (PM2.5) at birth, one of them mapping to the MIR1296 gene. Further, by integrating gene expression with DNA methylation using Functional Epigenetic Modules algorithms, we identified 9 and 6 modules in relation to PM2.5 exposure at birth and at current address, respectively (including NR1I2, MAPK6, TAF8 and SCARA3). In conclusion, PM2.5 exposure at birth was linked to differential gene expression in children and adolescents. Importantly, we identified several significant interactome hotspots of gene modules of relevance for complex diseases in relation to PM2.5 exposure.
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| 2. |
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| 3. |
- Pettersson, Catharina, et al.
(författare)
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Changes in molecular weight of humic substances in the Gulf of Bothnia
- 1996
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Ingår i: Environment International. - : Elsevier BV. - 0160-4120 .- 1873-6750. ; 22:5, s. 551-558
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Humic substances were isolated in the brackish Gulf of Bothnia utilizing two techniques: ion exchange on DEAE-cellulose and hydrophobic interaction on XAD-8 resin. The salinity of the water resulted in different yields for the two adsorbents. With XAD-8 resin, 30–80% of the organic carbon was isolated, whereas 5–20% was isolated on the DEAE-cellulose. The concentration of total organic carbon was rather constant but the concentration of humic substances decreased with increasing salinity. Gel filtration was used to measure the homogeneity of the humic fraction. Humic substances isolated in December were more homogeneous than those isolated in June, which indicates a degradation during the summer period which might be caused by photolysis or increased microbial degradation during the warm season.
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| 4. |
- Abramova, Anna, 1990, et al.
(författare)
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A global baseline for qPCR-determined antimicrobial resistance gene prevalence across environments
- 2023
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Ingår i: Environment International. - 0160-4120 .- 1873-6750. ; 178
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- The environment is an important component in the emergence and transmission of antimicrobial resistance (AMR). Despite that, little effort has been made to monitor AMR outside of clinical and veterinary settings. Partially, this is caused by a lack of comprehensive reference data for the vast majority of environments. To enable monitoring to detect deviations from the normal background resistance levels in the environment, it is necessary to establish a baseline of AMR in a variety of settings. In an attempt to establish this baseline level, we here performed a comprehensive literature survey, identifying 150 scientific papers containing relevant qPCR data on antimicrobial resistance genes (ARGs) in environments associated with potential routes for AMR dissemination. The collected data included 1594 samples distributed across 30 different countries and 12 sample types, in a time span from 2001 to 2020. We found that for most ARGs, the typically reported abundances in human impacted environments fell in an interval from 10-5 to 10-3 copies per 16S rRNA, roughly corresponding to one ARG copy in a thousand bacteria. Altogether these data represent a comprehensive overview of the occurrence and levels of ARGs in different environments, providing background data for risk assessment models within current and future AMR monitoring frameworks.
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| 5. |
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| 6. |
- Akesson, Agneta, et al.
(författare)
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Dietary exposure to polychlorinated biphenyls and risk of heart failure - A population-based prospective cohort study
- 2019
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Ingår i: Environment International. - : PERGAMON-ELSEVIER SCIENCE LTD. - 0160-4120 .- 1873-6750. ; 126, s. 1-6
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Background: Beneficial effects of fish consumption on heart failure (HF) may be modified by contaminants in fish. Polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) are of particular concern as they have been associated with well-established risk factors of HF, but current data are limited. Objectives: We aimed to assess the association between dietary PCB exposure and risk of HF, accounting for dietary intake of long-chain omega-3 fish fatty acids. Design: We used the prospective population-based research structure SIMPLER (previously the Swedish Mammography Cohort and Cohort of Swedish Men) comprising 32,952 women and 36,546 men, free from cancer, cardiovascular disease and diabetes at baseline in 1997. Validated estimates of dietary PCBs and long-chain omega-3 fish fatty acids [eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA), and docosahexaenoic acid (DHA)] were obtained via a food frequency questionnaire at baseline. Incident cases of HF were ascertained through register linkage. Results: During an average of 12 years of follow-up, we ascertained 2736 and 3128 incident cases of HF in women and men, respectively. In multivariable-adjusted models, mutually adjusted for PCBs and EPA-DHA, the relative risk (RR) for dietary PCB exposure was 1.48 (95% CI 1.12-1.96) in women and 1.42 (95% CI 1.08-1.86) in men, comparing extreme quintiles. Corresponding RRs for EPA-DHA intake were 0.71 (95% CI 0.54-0.93) and 0.82 (95% CI 0.63-1.07), respectively. Conclusions: Dietary exposure to PCBs was associated with an increased risk of HF in both women and men. EPA-DHA intake was associated with a lower risk of HF in women, with a similar tendency in men.
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| 7. |
- Alijagic, Andi, 1992-, et al.
(författare)
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Immunotoxic, genotoxic, and endocrine disrupting impacts of polyamide microplastic particles and chemicals
- 2024
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Ingår i: Environment International. - : Elsevier. - 0160-4120 .- 1873-6750. ; 183
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Due to their exceptional properties and cost effectiveness, polyamides or nylons have emerged as widely used materials, revolutionizing diverse industries, including industrial 3D printing or additive manufacturing (AM). Powder-based AM technologies employ tonnes of polyamide microplastics to produce complex components every year. However, the lack of comprehensive toxicity assessment of particulate polyamides and polyamide-associated chemicals, especially in the light of the global microplastics crisis, calls for urgent action. This study investigated the physicochemical properties of polyamide-12 microplastics used in AM, and assessed a number of toxicity endpoints focusing on inflammation, immunometabolism, genotoxicity, aryl hydrocarbon receptor (AhR) activation, endocrine disruption, and cell morphology. Specifically, microplastics examination by means of field emission scanning electron microscopy revealed that work flow reuse of material created a fraction of smaller particles with an average size of 1-5 µm, a size range readily available for uptake by human cells. Moreover, chemical analysis by means of gas chromatography high-resolution mass spectrometry detected several polyamide-associated chemicals including starting material, plasticizer, thermal stabilizer/antioxidant, and migrating slip additive. Even if polyamide particles and chemicals did not induce an acute inflammatory response, repeated and prolonged exposure of human primary macrophages disclosed a steady increase in the levels of proinflammatory chemokine Interleukin-8 (IL-8/CXCL-8). Moreover, targeted metabolomics disclosed that polyamide particles modulated the kynurenine pathway and some of its key metabolites. The p53-responsive luciferase reporter gene assay showed that particles per se were able to activate p53, being indicative of a genotoxic stress. Polyamide-associated chemicals triggered moderate activation of AhR and elicited anti-androgenic activity. Finally, a high-throughput and non-targeted morphological profiling by Cell Painting assay outlined major sites of bioactivity of polyamide-associated chemicals and indicated putative mechanisms of toxicity in the cells. These findings reveal that the increasing use of polyamide microplastics may pose a potential health risk for the exposed individuals, and it merits more attention.
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| 8. |
- Amir Heidari, Payam, 1989, et al.
(författare)
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A state-of-the-art model for spatial and stochastic oil spill risk assessment: A case study of oil spill from a shipwreck
- 2019
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Ingår i: Environment International. - : Elsevier BV. - 0160-4120 .- 1873-6750. ; 126, s. 309-320
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Oil spills are serious environmental issues that potentially can cause adverse effects on marine ecosystems. In some marine areas, like the Baltic Sea, there is a large number of wrecks from the first half of the 20th century, and recent monitoring and field work have revealed release of oil from some of these wrecks. The risk posed by a wreck is governed by its condition, hazardous substances contained in the wreck and the state of the surrounding environment. Therefore, there is a need for a common standard method for estimating the risks associated with different wrecks. In this work a state-of-the-art model is presented for spatial and stochastic risk assessment of oil spills from wrecks, enabling a structured approach to include the complex factors affecting the risk values. A unique feature of this model is its specific focus on uncertainty, facilitating probabilistic calculation of the total risk as the integral expected sum of many possible consequences. A case study is performed in Kattegat at the entrance region to the Baltic Sea to map the risk from a wreck near Sweden. The developed model can be used for oil spill risk assessment in the marine environment all over the world.
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| 9. |
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| 10. |
- Aro, Rudolf, 1992-, et al.
(författare)
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Extractable organofluorine analysis: A way to screen for elevated per- and polyfluoroalkyl substance contamination in humans?
- 2022
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Ingår i: Environment International. - : Elsevier BV. - 0160-4120 .- 1873-6750. ; 159
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- The ubiquitous occurrence of a few per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) in humans and the environment has been previously reported. However, the number of PFAS humans and the environment are potentially exposed to is much higher, making it difficult to investigate every sample in detail. More importantly, recent studies have shown an increasing fraction of potentially unknown PFAS in human samples. A screening tool for identifying samples of concern that may contain high PFAS levels, to be studied more thoroughly, is needed. This study presents a simplified workflow to detect elevated PFAS levels using extractable organofluorine (EOF) analysis. A fluorine mass balance analysis on samples with high EOF, targeting 63 PFAS, can then confirm the PFAS contamination. Whole blood samples from a cohort of individuals with historical drinking water contamination from firefighting foams (n = 20) in Ronneby (Sweden) and a control group (n = 9) with background exposure were used as a case study. The average EOF concentration in the Ronneby group was 234 ng/ mL F (<107-592 ng/mL F) vs 24.8 ng/mL F (17.6-37.8 ng/mL F) in the control group. The large difference (statistically significant, p < 0.05) in the EOF levels between the exposed and control groups would have made it possible to identify samples with high PFAS exposure only using EOF data. This was confirmed by target analysis, which found an average n-ary sumation PFAS concentration of 346 ng/mL in the exposed group and 7.9 ng/mL in the control group. The limit of quantification for EOF analysis (up to 107 ng/mL F using 0.5 mL whole blood) did not allow for the detection of PFAS levels in low or sub parts per billion (ng/mL) concentrations, but the results indicate that EOF analysis is a suitable screening method sensitive enough to detect elevated/significant/exposure above background levels by known or unknown PFAS.
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