| 1. |
- Wang, Bin, et al.
(author)
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A primary estimate of global PCDD/F release based on the quantity and quality of national economic and social activities
- 2016
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In: Chemosphere. - Oxford, United Kingdom : Elsevier. - 0045-6535 .- 1879-1298. ; 151, s. 303-309
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- The correlations between polychlorinated dibenzo-p-dioxins and dibenzofurans (PCDD/Fs) releases and factors relevant to human social-economic activities (HSEAs) were analyzed. The multiple linear regression model was successfully developed to estimate the total global PCDD/F release. The PCDD/F releases significantly correlated with population, area, GDP and GNI, suggesting that "quantity" of HSEAs have significantly contributed to the PCDD/F releases. On another aspect, advanced technologies are usually adopted in developed countries/regions, and hence reduce the PCDD/F release. The significant correlation between PCDD/F release and CO2 emission implies the potential of simultaneous reduction of CO2 emission and PCDD/F release. The total global PCDD/F release from 196 countries/regions was estimated to be 100.4 kg-TEQ yr(-1). The estimated annual PCDD/F release per unit area ranged from 0.007 to 28 mg-TEQ km(-2). Asia is estimated to have the highest PCDD/F release of 47.1 kg-TEQ yr(-1), almost half of the total world release. Oceania is estimated to have the smallest total release but the largest per-capita release. For the developed areas, such as Europe and North America, the PCDD/F release per unit GDP is lower, while for Africa, it is much higher.
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| 2. |
- Yu, Jun-Chao, et al.
(author)
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Levels and distribution of short chain chlorinated paraffins in seafood from Dalian, China
- 2014
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In: Huan jing ke xue= Huanjing kexue / [bian ji, Zhongguo ke xue yuan huan jing ke xue wei yuan hui "Huan jing ke xue" bian ji wei yuan hui.]. - Beijing : Ke xue zhu ban she. - 0250-3301. ; 35:5, s. 1955-1961
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Seafood samples were collected from Dalian, China to study the accumulation and distribution characteristics of short chain chlorinated paraffins (SCCPs) by GC/ECNI-LRMS. Sum of SCCPs (dry weight) were in the range of 77-8 250 ng.g-1, with the lowest value in Scapharca subcrenata and highest concentration in Neptunea cumingi. The concentrations of sum of SCCPs (dry weight) in fish, shrimp/crab and shellfish were in the ranges of 100-3 510, 394-5 440, and 77-8 250 ng.g-1 , respectively. Overall, the C10 and C11 homologues were the most predominant carbon groups of SCCPs in seafood from this area,and a relatively higher proportion of C12-13 was observed in seafood with higher concentrations of sum of SCCPs . With regard to chlorine content, Cl1,, CI8 and CI6 were the major groups. Significant correlations were found among concentrations of different SCCP homologues (except C1, vs. Cl10 ) , which indicated that they might share the same sources and/or have similar accumulation, migration and transformation processes.
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| 3. |
- Baker, Laura, et al.
(author)
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The Relationship between IQ and PM2.5 : Findings from the University of Southern California Twin Study
- 2016
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In: Behavior Genetics. - : Springer. - 0001-8244 .- 1573-3297. ; 46:6, s. 772-773
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- We examined the longitudinal relationship between IQ and fine particulate matter (\2.5lm aerodynamic diameters; PM2.5) exposure in urban-dwelling children, using prospective longitudinal data from the USC Twin Study of Risk Factors for Antisocial Behavior (RFAB; Baker et al. 2013). Residential addresses were collected via selfreports. Verbal and Performance IQ during childhood (age 9–10) and young adulthood (age 19–20) were evaluated by the Wechsler Abbreviated Intelligence Scale (Wechsler, 1999) using four subtests: VIQ=Vocabulary Similarities; PIQ=Block Design Matrices. Based on residential addresses and spatiotemporal generalized additive model of local monitoring data for PM2.5, we estimated 1-year average exposure before each assessment. A three-level mixed effects model regressing IQ scores at each assessment on time-varying air pollution exposures, accounting for both within-family (random intercepts) and within-individual (random slopes) was used. PM2.5 exposure had significant adverse effects on PIQ (95 % CI of b:-7.29 to-1.01, p\.05) but not VIQ (95 % CI of b:-4.50 to-1.96). Adverse effects of PM2.5 exposure remained significant after adjusting for age, family SES, sex, race/ethnicity, parental cognitive abilities, neighborhood SES, neighborhood quality and neighborhood greenness; the association was still significant after further adjusting for traffic distance (300 m), temperature, humidity and annual NOx. PM2.5 exposure confers stronger adverse effects on PIQ in low SES families, males, and during pre-adolescence. Our findings reveal social disparities and sexual dimorphism in the adverse PM2.5 exposure effects on PIQ. Baker, L., Tuvblad, C., Wang, P., Gomez, K., Bezdjian, S., Niv, S., & Raine, A. (2013). The Southern California Twin Register at the University of Southern California: III. Twin Research and Human Genetics, 16(1), 336–343; Wechsler, D. (1999). Wechsler Abbreviated Scale of Intelligence (WASI). San Antonio, Texas: Harcourt Assessment.
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| 4. |
- Cao, Zhiguo, et al.
(author)
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Economic status as a determinant of national PCDD/PCDF releases and implications for PCDD/PCDF reduction
- 2013
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In: Chemosphere. - : Elsevier. - 0045-6535 .- 1879-1298. ; 91:3, s. 328-335
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- The annual releases of polychlorinated dibenzo-para-dioxins and polychlorinated dibenzofurans (PCDD/PCDF) from 68 countries/regions were investigated by correlating quantitative emissions with economic status of the nations. The national dioxin/furan inventories were developed using the PCDD/PCDF Standardized Toolldt, which presents the quantitative releases from ten major source groups to five release vectors. The correlation between intensity of PCDDIPCDF release and economic status was discussed and the influence of economic status on composition of five release vectors and ten source groups was studied. As PCDD/PCDF are mainly released from human activities to environmental matrices, release per person (RpP) and release per unit area (RpA) are defined to reflect release burden (Donor) and contamination burden (Receptor), respectively. Based on these two concepts, International PCDD/PCDF Reduction Burden is characterized by burden quotient (BQ) and a calculation model is established. The numbers of countries/regions with high, moderate and low International PCDD/PCDF Reduction Burden were 19,31 and 18, respectively. The information in this paper can be used for politicians to develop legislations to improve International PCDD/PCDF Reduction.
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| 5. |
- Cao, Zhi-Guo, et al.
(author)
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Particle size : A missing factor in risk assessment of human exposure to toxic chemicals in settled indoor dust
- 2012
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In: Environment International. - : Elsevier. - 0160-4120 .- 1873-6750. ; 49, s. 24-30
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- For researches on toxic chemicals in settled indoor dust, selection of dust fraction is a critical influencing factor to the accuracy of human exposure risk assessment results. However, analysis of the selection of dust fraction in recent studies revealed that there is no consensus. This study classified and presented researches on distribution of toxic chemicals according to dust particle size and on relationship between dust particle size and human exposure possibility. According to the literature, beyond the fact that there were no consistent conclusions on particle size distribution of adherent fraction, dust with particle size less than 100 mu m should be paid more attention and that larger than 250 mu m is neither adherent nor proper for human exposure risk assessment. Calculation results based on literature data show that with different selections of dust fractions, analytical results of toxic chemicals would vary up to 10-fold, which means that selecting dust fractions arbitrarily will lead to large errors in risk assessment of human exposure to toxic chemicals in settled dust. Taking into account the influence of dust particle size on risk assessment of human exposure to toxic chemicals, a new methodology for risk assessment of human exposure to toxic chemicals in settled indoor dust is proposed and human exposure parameter systems to settled indoor dust are advised to be established at national and regional scales all over the world.
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| 6. |
- Consiglio, Camila, et al.
(author)
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Immune system adaptation during gender-affirming testosterone treatment
- 2023
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In: Journal of Reproductive Immunology. - : Elsevier. - 0165-0378 .- 1872-7603. ; 159, s. 29-30
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Journal article (other academic/artistic)abstract
- Biological sex impacts human immune responses, modulating susceptibility and severity to immune-related diseases. Female generally mount more robust immune responses than males, resulting in lower infection severity and greater autoimmunity incidence. Here, we addressed the contribution of testosterone to human immune function by analyzing a cohort of subjects undergoing gender-affirming testosterone treatment. We performed systems-level immunomonitoring through mass cytometry, scRNA and scA-TAC-Sequencing, and proteome profiling of blood samples at baseline and following 3 and 12 months of treatment. Testosterone treatment was associated with a low-grade inflammatory profile, evidenced by upregulation of proinflammatory plasma proteome (e.g., EN-RAGE, OSM, TNF), and induction of an inflammatory transcriptional program associated with NFkB signaling, and TNF signaling. Following testosterone treatment, higher NFkB activity was revealed in CD4 T, CD8 T, and NK cells in scATACseq analyses. Further, testosterone increased monocytic inflammatory responses upon bacterial stimulation in vitro. Although testosterone was associated with this inflammatory profile, it also exerted negative effects on antiviral immunity. Firstly, the percentage of plasmacytoid dendritic cells (pDC) decreased over transition, with pDC also displaying phenotypic changes associated with lower IFN responses. Secondly, bulk transcriptomics analyses show an overall reduction of IFNa responses. Thirdly, testosterone treatment led to reduced IFNa production upon PBMCs stimulation with a viral agonist. Our results show that testosterone has broad effects on the human immune system, and significantly modulates important players in antiviral immunity and inflammatory response. Identifying pathways involved in immune sexual dimorphism will help define novel targets for effective prevention and treatment of immune-mediated diseases.
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| 7. |
- Ellinghaus, David, et al.
(author)
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Association between variants of PRDM1 and NDP52 and Crohn's disease, based on exome sequencing and functional studies
- 2013
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In: Gastroenterology. - : Elsevier BV. - 0016-5085 .- 1528-0012. ; 145:2, s. 339-347
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- BACKGROUND & AIMS: Genome-wide association studies (GWAS) have identified 140 Crohn's disease (CD) susceptibility loci. For most loci, the variants that cause disease are not known and the genes affected by these variants have not been identified. We aimed to identify variants that cause CD through detailed sequencing, genetic association, expression, and functional studies.METHODS: We sequenced whole exomes of 42 unrelated subjects with CD and 5 healthy subjects (controls) and then filtered single nucleotide variants by incorporating association results from meta-analyses of CD GWAS and in silico mutation effect prediction algorithms. We then genotyped 9348 subjects with CD, 2868 subjects with ulcerative colitis, and 14,567 control subjects and associated variants analyzed in functional studies using materials from subjects and controls and in vitro model systems.RESULTS: We identified rare missense mutations in PR domain-containing 1 (PRDM1) and associated these with CD. These mutations increased proliferation of T cells and secretion of cytokines on activation and increased expression of the adhesion molecule L-selectin. A common CD risk allele, identified in GWAS, correlated with reduced expression of PRDM1 in ileal biopsy specimens and peripheral blood mononuclear cells (combined P = 1.6 x 10(-8)). We identified an association between CD and a common missense variant, Val248Ala, in nuclear domain 10 protein 52 (NDP52) (P = 4.83 x 10(-9)). We found that this variant impairs the regulatory functions of NDP52 to inhibit nuclear factor kappa B activation of genes that regulate inflammation and affect the stability of proteins in Toll-like receptor pathways.CONCLUSIONS: We have extended the results of GWAS and provide evidence that variants in PRDM1 and NDP52 determine susceptibility to CD. PRDM1 maps adjacent to a CD interval identified in GWAS and encodes a transcription factor expressed by T and B cells. NDP52 is an adaptor protein that functions in selective autophagy of intracellular bacteria and signaling molecules, supporting the role of autophagy in the pathogenesis of CD.
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| 8. |
- Geng, Jianping, et al.
(author)
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A Silent Infection Pandemic of COVID-19 : Epidemiological Investigation and Hypothetical Models
- 2020
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In: Canadian Journal of Infectious Diseases and Medical Microbiology. - : HINDAWI LTD. - 1712-9532 .- 1918-1493. ; 2020
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- To explore the epidemic mode of COVID-19, we made an epidemiological investigation, set up hypothetical models, and compared them with hepatitis A virus (HAV) age-specific epidemic characteristic. In the epidemiological investigation, we reported the first familial COVID-19 silent infection in the world. A 19-year-old healthy female COVID-19 virus carrier without any symptoms caused two mild and one severe pneumonia. In hypothetical models, the silent infection rate ranges from 60% to 80% based on 3 sources: China mainland, evacuation of 4 nationals, and the ship "Diamond Princess," respectively. In comparison with HAV, COVID-19 shows the same infection mode in children (aged 0-9 years), but significant difference in young adults (aged 10-44 years) and the elderly (aged 45 years or older). Therefore, we prejudged that COVID-19 is a silent infection pandemic mainly in young adults but threatens the elderly.
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| 9. |
- Hu, Jinhong, et al.
(author)
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Safety and immunogenicity of a malaria vaccine, Plasmodium falciparum AMA-1/MSP-1 chimeric protein formulated in montanide ISA 720 in healthy adults
- 2008
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In: PLOS ONE. - : PLOS. - 1932-6203. ; 3:4
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- BACKGROUND: The P. falciparum chimeric protein 2.9 (PfCP-2.9) consisting of the sequences of MSP1-19 and AMA-1 (III) is a malaria vaccine candidate that was found to induce inhibitory antibodies in rabbits and monkeys. This was a phase I randomized, single-blind, placebo-controlled, dose-escalation study to evaluate the safety and immunogenicity of the PfCP-2.9 formulated with a novel adjuvant Montanide ISA720. Fifty-two subjects were randomly assigned to 4 dose groups of 10 participants, each receiving the test vaccine of 20, 50, 100, or 200 microg respectively, and 1 placebo group of 12 participants receiving the adjuvant only.METHODS AND FINDINGS: The vaccine formulation was shown to be safe and well-tolerated, and none of the participants withdrew. The total incidence of local adverse events (AEs) was 75%, distributed among 58% of the placebo group and 80% of those vaccinated. Among the vaccinated, 65% had events that were mild and 15% experienced moderate AEs. Almost all systemic adverse reactions observed in this study were graded as mild and required no therapy. The participants receiving the test vaccine developed detectable antibody responses which were boosted by the repeated vaccinations. Sixty percent of the vaccinated participants had high ELISA titers (>1:10,000) of antigen-specific antibodies which could also recognize native parasite proteins in an immunofluorescence assay (IFA).CONCLUSION: This study is the first clinical trial for this candidate and builds on previous investigations supporting PfCP-2.9/ISA720 as a promising blood-stage malaria vaccine. Results demonstrate safety, tolerability (particularly at the lower doses tested) and immunogenicity of the formulation. Further clinical development is ongoing to explore optimizing the dose and schedule of the formulation to decrease reactogenicity without compromising immunogenicity.TRIAL REGISTRATION: Chinese State Food and Drug Administration (SFDA) 2002SL0046; Controlled-Trials.com ISRCTN66850051 [66850051].
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| 10. |
- Lakshmikanth, Tadepally, et al.
(author)
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Immune system adaptation during gender-affirming testosterone treatment
- 2024
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In: Nature. - : Nature Publishing Group. - 0028-0836 .- 1476-4687. ; 633:8028, s. 155-164
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Infectious, inflammatory and autoimmune conditions present differently in males and females. SARS-CoV-2 infection in naive males is associated with increased risk of death, whereas females are at increased risk of long COVID, similar to observations in other infections. Females respond more strongly to vaccines, and adverse reactions are more frequent, like most autoimmune diseases. Immunological sex differences stem from genetic, hormonal and behavioural factors but their relative importance is only partially understood. In individuals assigned female sex at birth and undergoing gender-affirming testosterone therapy (trans men), hormone concentrations change markedly but the immunological consequences are poorly understood. Here we performed longitudinal systems-level analyses in 23 trans men and found that testosterone modulates a cross-regulated axis between type-I interferon and tumour necrosis factor. This is mediated by functional attenuation of type-I interferon responses in both plasmacytoid dendritic cells and monocytes. Conversely, testosterone potentiates monocyte responses leading to increased tumour necrosis factor, interleukin-6 and interleukin-15 production and downstream activation of nuclear factor kappa B-regulated genes and potentiation of interferon-γ responses, primarily in natural killer cells. These findings in trans men are corroborated by sex-divergent responses in public datasets and illustrate the dynamic regulation of human immunity by sex hormones, with implications for the health of individuals undergoing hormone therapy and our understanding of sex-divergent immune responses in cisgender individuals.
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