Objectives: To investigate mortality and the rates of incident cancer among a cohort of aluminium industry workers.
Methods: Among 4507 male employees who worked in either of two Australian prebake smelters for at least 3 months, data linkage was undertaken with the Australian National Death Index and Australian Cancer Database. Standardised Mortality Ratios (SMRs) and Standardised Incidence Rates (SIRs) were estimated for the whole cohort and for: production; maintenance and office workers.
Reading and writing are crucial life skills but roughly one in ten children are affected by dyslexia, which can persist into adulthood. Family studies of dyslexia suggest heritability up to 70%, yet few convincing genetic markers have been found. Here we performed a genome-wide association study of 51,800 adults self-reporting a dyslexia diagnosis and 1,087,070 controls and identified 42 independent genome-wide significant loci: 15 in genes linked to cognitive ability/educational attainment, and 27 new and potentially more specific to dyslexia.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFDevelopmental dyslexia is a common neurodevelopmental disorder characterized by difficulties in reading and writing. Although underlying biological and genetic mechanisms remain unclear, anomalies in phonological processing and auditory processing have been associated with dyslexia. Several candidate risk genes have also been identified, with KIAA0319 as a main candidate.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFThroughout evolution, there has been interaction and exchange between RNA pools in the environment, and DNA and RNA pools of eukaryotic organisms. Metagenomic and metatranscriptomic sequencing of invertebrate hosts and their microbiota has revealed a rich evolutionary history of RNA virus shuttling between species. Horizontal transfer adapted the RNA pool for successful future interactions which lead to zoonotic transmission and detrimental RNA viral pandemics like SARS-CoV2.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFRepeated testing of a population is critical for limiting the spread of the SARS-CoV-2 virus and for the safe reopening of educational institutions such as kindergarten-grade 12 (K-12) schools and colleges. Many screening efforts utilize the CDC RT-PCR based assay which targets two regions of the novel Coronavirus nucleocapsid gene. The standard approach of testing each person individually, however, poses a financial burden to these institutions and is therefore a barrier to using testing for re-opening.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFNo studies have investigated the cancer outcomes from high level medium duration coal mine fire fine particulate matter ⩽2.5 µm in diameter (PM) exposure. We included 2208 Morwell residents (exposed) and 646 Sale residents (unexposed) who participated in the Hazelwood Health Study Adult Survey.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFBackground: Little is known about the long-term health effects of coalmine fire smoke exposure. The 2014 Hazelwood coalmine fire event in southeast Australia released smoke into surrounding areas for 6 weeks.
Objectives: We aimed to investigate whether individual-level exposure to coalmine fire-related PM was associated with a long-term increase in ambulance attendances following a coalmine fire event.
We investigated the association between respiratory symptoms and psychological distress in the context of a prolonged smoke event, and evaluated whether smoke exposure, or pre-existing respiratory and mental health conditions, influenced the association. Three thousand ninety-six residents of a rural town heavily exposed to smoke from the 6-week Hazelwood coal mine fire, and 960 residents of a nearby unexposed town, completed Kessler's psychological distress questionnaire (K10) and a modified European Community Respiratory Health Survey. Logistic regression models evaluated associations between distress and respiratory symptoms, with interactions fitted to evaluate effect modification.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFA common chemical exposure in alumina refining is caustic mist. Although recognized as a strong airways irritant, little is known of the chronic respiratory effects of caustic mist in alumina refining. A suitable metric for caustic mist exposure assessment in alumina refining for epidemiological purposes has not been identified.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFPrevalence rates of mental health disorders in children and adolescents have increased two to threefold from the 1990s to 2016. Some increase in prevalence may stem from changing environmental conditions in the current generation which interact with genes and inherited genetic variants. Current measured genetic variant effects do not explain fully the familial clustering and high heritability estimates in the population.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFBackground: Information is scarce about the occupational health effects of exposure to alumina dust. This study examines the respiratory effects of inspirable alumina dust exposure in alumina refineries.
Methods: An inception cohort study at three alumina refineries in Western Australia recruited 416 participants (351 males, 65 females) between 1995 and 2000 who were followed up annually until 2008 or until exit from study.
Objective: To assess the predictive value of bronchial hyper-responsiveness (BHR) for the subsequent development of respiratory symptoms, airflow limitation and decline in lung function among aluminium smelter workers.
Methods: An inception cohort study of new employees at two Australian aluminium smelters was conducted. Participants completed a modified British Medical Research Council respiratory questionnaire, spirometry and a methacholine bronchial challenge test at baseline and at annual follow-up reviews.
In 2014, wildfires ignited a fire in the Morwell open cut coal mine, Australia, which burned for six weeks. This study examined associations between self-reported respiratory outcomes in adults and mine fire-related PM smoke exposure. Self-reported data were collected as part of the Hazelwood Health Study Adult Survey.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFDevelopmental dyslexia (DD) is one of the most prevalent learning disorders, with high impact on school and psychosocial development and high comorbidity with conditions like attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), depression, and anxiety. DD is characterized by deficits in different cognitive skills, including word reading, spelling, rapid naming, and phonology. To investigate the genetic basis of DD, we conducted a genome-wide association study (GWAS) of these skills within one of the largest studies available, including nine cohorts of reading-impaired and typically developing children of European ancestry (N = 2562-3468).
View Article and Find Full Text PDFThe gene is associated with the neurodegenerative disorder Chorea Acanthocytosis. It is unknown what the consequences are of impaired function of VPS13A at the subcellular level. We demonstrate that VPS13A is a peripheral membrane protein, associated with mitochondria, the endoplasmic reticulum and lipid droplets.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFObjectives: To investigate the mortality and cancer incidence of female firefighters, a group where there are limited published findings.
Methods: Participating fire agencies supplied records of individual firefighters including the number and type of incidents attended. The cohort was linked to the Australian National Death Index and Australian Cancer Database.
The capacity for language is one of the key features underlying the complexity of human cognition and its evolution. However, little is known about the neurobiological mechanisms that mediate normal or impaired linguistic ability. For developmental dyslexia, early postmortem studies conducted in the 1980s linked the disorder to subtle defects in the migration of neurons in the developing neocortex.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFStudy of knockout (KO) mice has helped understand the link between many genes/proteins and human diseases. Identification of infertile KO mice provides valuable tools to characterize the molecular mechanisms underlying gamete formation. The KIAA0319L gene has been described to have a putative association with dyslexia; surprisingly, we observed that homozygous KO males for AU040320, KIAA0319L ortholog, are infertile and present a globozoospermia-like phenotype.
View Article and Find Full Text PDF