Serum polychlorinated biphenyl and organochlorine insecticide concentrations in a Faroese birth cohort.

A prospective birth cohort of 1022 participants was established in the Faroe Islands over a 21-month period during 1986-1987. We collected questionnaire data on potential persistent organic pollutant (POP) concentration predictors, such as duration of breastfeeding and blubber consumption. To assess the participants' exposure from in utero to 14 years of age to polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) and the insecticide p,p'-DDT and its primary degradate p,p'-DDE, we measured 37 PCB congeners and pesticides in 316 umbilical cord samples taken from participants at birth, in 124 serum samples collected from participants at approximately 7 years of age, and in 795 serum samples collected from participants at 14 years of age.

Healthcare in the New Vietnam: comparing patients' satisfaction with outpatient care in a traditional neighborhood clinic and a new, western-style clinic in Ho Chi Minh City.

As Vietnam opens its economy to privatization, its system of healthcare will face a series of crucial tests. Vietnam's system of private healthcare--once comprised only of individual physicians holding clinic hours in their homes--has come to also include larger customer-oriented clinics based on an American business model. As the two models compete in the expanding private market, it becomes increasingly important to understand patients' perceptions of the alternative models of care.

A summary of recent findings on birth outcomes and developmental effects of prenatal ETS, PAH, and pesticide exposures.

Inner-city minority populations are high-risk groups for adverse birth outcomes and also more likely to be exposed to environmental contaminants, including environmental tobacco smoke (ETS), benzo[a]pyrene B[a]P, other ambient polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (global PAHs), and residential pesticides. The Columbia Center for Children's Environmental Health (CCCEH) is conducting a prospective cohort study of 700 northern Manhattan pregnant women and newborns to examine the effects of prenatal exposure to these common toxicants on fetal growth, early neurodevelopment, and respiratory health. This paper summarizes results of three published studies demonstrating the effects of prenatal ETS, PAH, and pesticides on birth outcomes and/or neurocognitive development [Perera FP, Rauh V, Whyatt RM, Tsai WY, Bernert JT, Tu YH, et al.

Characterizing children's exposures: beyond NHANES.

Biomonitoring programs, such as those being conducted at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in conjunction with the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES), are of benefit to all disciplines of environmental public health. However, all programs have limitations, and like most things in science, "One size does not fit all." We point out some of these limitations, particularly those dealing with the amount of biological sample available from various age groups and the specificity of the exposure assessment.

Concentrations of environmental chemicals associated with neurodevelopmental effects in U.S. population.

Humans are exposed to many environmental chemicals, some of which can potentially affect neurodevelopment. Fetuses, infants, and young children are the most susceptible to the effects of these chemicals. As part of the National Health and Examination Survey, 1999-2000, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention analyzed biological samples for many of these chemicals in a representative sampling of the U.

Effects of environmental agents on the attainment of puberty: considerations when assessing exposure to environmental chemicals in the National Children's Study.

The apparent decline in the age at puberty in the United States raises a general level of concern because of the potential clinical and social consequences of such an event. Nutritional status, genetic predisposition (race/ethnicity), and environmental chemicals are associated with altered age at puberty. The Exposure to Chemical Agents Working Group of the National Children's Study (NCS) presents an approach to assess exposure for chemicals that may affect the age of maturity in children.

Biologic monitoring of exposure to environmental chemicals throughout the life stages: requirements and issues for consideration for the National Children's Study.

Biomonitoring of exposure is a useful tool for assessing environmental exposures. The matrices available for analyses include blood, urine, breast milk, adipose tissue, and saliva, among others. The sampling can be staged to represent the particular time period of concern: preconceptionally from both parents, from a pregnant woman during each of the three trimesters, during and immediately after childbirth, from the mother postnatally, and from the child as it develops to 21 years of age.

Exposure assessment in the National Children's Study: introduction.

The science of exposure assessment is relatively new and evolving rapidly with the advancement of sophisticated methods for specific measurements at the picogram per gram level or lower in a variety of environmental and biologic matrices. Without this measurement capability, environmental health studies rely on questionnaires or other indirect means as the primary method to assess individual exposures. Although we use indirect methods, they are seldom used as stand-alone tools.

Impact of urine preservation methods and duration of storage on measured levels of environmental contaminants.

Collection of urine samples in human studies involves choices regarding shipping, sample preservation, and storage that may ultimately influence future analysis. As more studies collect and archive urine samples to evaluate environmental exposures in the future, we were interested in assessing the impact of urine preservative, storage temperature, and time since collection on nonpersistent contaminants in urine samples. In spiked urine samples stored in three types of urine vacutainers (no preservative, boric acid, and chlorhexidine), we measured five groups of contaminants to assess the levels of these analytes at five time points (0, 24, 48, and 72 h, and 1 week) and at two temperatures (room temperature and 4 degrees C).

Biomarkers in assessing residential insecticide exposures during pregnancy and effects on fetal growth.

The Columbia Center for Children's Environmental Health is using a combination of environmental and biologic measures to evaluate the effects of prenatal insecticide exposures among urban minorities in New York City. Of the 571 women enrolled, 85% report using some form of pest control during pregnancy and 46% report using exterminators, can sprays, and/or pest bombs. Chlorpyrifos, diazinon, and propoxur were detected in 99.

Urinary phytoestrogen concentrations in the U.S. population (1999-2000).

We report population-based urinary concentrations of phytoestrogens stratified by age, sex, and composite racial/ethnic variables. We measured the isoflavones - genistein, daidzein, equol, and O-desmethylangolensin (O-DMA) - and the lignans - enterolactone and enterodiol - in approximately 2500 urine samples from individuals aged 6 years and older who participated in the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES) in 1999 and 2000. We detected all phytoestrogens in over 70% of the samples analyzed; enterolactone was detected in the highest concentrations, and daidzein was detected with the highest frequency.

Quantification of phenolic metabolites of environmental chemicals in human urine using gas chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry and isotope dilution quantification.

We have developed a method to measure 12 urinary phenolic metabolites of pesticides or related chemicals. The target chemicals for our method are 2-isopropoxyphenol; 2,4-dichlorophenol; 2,5-dichlorophenol; carbofuranphenol; 2,4,5-trichlorophenol; 2,4,6-trichlorophenol; 3,5,6-trichloro-2-pyridinol; para-nitrophenol, ortho-phenylphenol, pentachlorophenol, 1-naphthol and 2-naphthol. The sample preparation involves enzyme hydrolysis, isolation of the target chemicals using solid phase extraction cartridges, a phase-transfer catalyzed derivatization, cleanup using sorbent-immobilized liquid/liquid extraction cartridges, and concentration of the sample.

Urinary and hand wipe pesticide levels among farmers and nonfarmers in Iowa.

In the spring and summer of 2001, as part of a larger study investigating farm family pesticide exposure and home contamination in Iowa, urine and hand wipe samples were collected from 24 male farmers and 23 male nonfarmer controls. On two occasions approximately 1 month apart, one hand wipe sample and an evening and morning urine sample were collected from each participant. The samples were analyzed for the parent compound or metabolites of six commonly used agricultural pesticides: alachlor, atrazine, acetochlor, metolachlor, 2,4-dichlorophenoxyacetic acid (2,4-D) and chlorpyrifos.

Na+-K+-ATPase properties in rat heart and skeletal muscle 3 mo after coronary artery ligation.

This study was designed to determine whether chronic heart failure (CHF) results in changes in Na(+)-K(+)-ATPase properties in heart and skeletal muscles of different fiber-type composition. Adult rats were randomly assigned to a control (Con; n = 8) or CHF (n = 8) group. CHF was induced by ligation of the left main coronary artery.

Organophosphate Pesticide Exposure in Farmworker Family Members in Western North Carolina and Virginia: Case Comparisons.

Farmworkers and their family members are exposed to pesticides in their homes as well as at work. Using a sample of nine farmworker households in western North Carolina and Virginia, this analysis describes the organophosphate (OP) pesticide urinary metabolite levels of adults and children in these households, and compares these farmworker household OP metabolite levels to the national reference data. Data from survey and in-depth interviews are analyzed to find dwelling, household, and work characteristics related to OP metabolite levels.

The presence of dialkylphosphates in fresh fruit juices: implication for organophosphorus pesticide exposure and risk assessments.

This study was designed to determine whether dialkylphosphates (DAPs) are present in fresh fruit juices, as a result of organophosphorus (OP) pesticides degradation. Fresh conventional and organic fruit (apple and orange) juices were purchased from local grocery stores. DAPs were found in both conventional and organic juices, and the original levels were higher, for both apple and orange juices, in conventional than in organic juices.

Palmitoylation and intracellular domain interactions both contribute to raft targeting of linker for activation of T cells.

Some transmembrane proteins must associate with lipid rafts to function. However, even if acylated, transmembrane proteins should not pack well with ordered raft lipids, and raft targeting is puzzling. Acylation is necessary for raft targeting of linker for activation of T cells (LAT).

Listening to patients: cultural and linguistic barriers to health care access.

Background And Objectives: Full access to medical care includes cultural and linguistic access as well as financial access. We sought to identify cultural and linguistic characteristics of low-income, ethnic minority patients' recent encounters with health care organizations that impede, and those that increase, health care access.

Methods: We conducted four focus groups with ethnically homogeneous African American, Latino, Native American, and Pacific Islander patients.

Association between in utero organophosphate pesticide exposure and abnormal reflexes in neonates.

The detrimental effects of organophosphate pesticide (OP) exposure on neurodevelopment have been shown in animals. The present study aimed to assess the relationship between in utero and early postnatal OP exposure and neonatal neurobehavior in humans, as measured by seven clusters (habituation, orientation, motor performance, range of state, regulation of state, autonomic stability, and reflex) on the Brazelton Neonatal Behavioral Assessment Scale (BNBAS). We assessed 381 infants < or = 2 months old and born to women participating in the Center for the Health Assessment of Mothers and Children of Salinas (CHAMACOS) study, a longitudinal, birth cohort study of low-income, Latina women living in the agricultural community of the Salinas Valley, California.

Chlorpyrifos accumulation patterns for child-accessible surfaces and objects and urinary metabolite excretion by children for 2 weeks after crack-and-crevice application.

The Children's Post-Pesticide Application Exposure Study (CPPAES) was conducted to look at the distribution of chlorpyrifos within a home environment for 2 weeks after a routine professional crack-and-crevice application and to determine the amount of the chlorpyrifos that is absorbed by a child living within the home. Ten residential homes with a 2- to 5-year-old child in each were selected for study, and the homes were treated with chlorpyrifos. Pesticide measurements were made from the indoor air, indoor surfaces, and plush toys.

Urinary creatinine concentrations in the U.S. population: implications for urinary biologic monitoring measurements.

Biologic monitoring (i.e., biomonitoring) is used to assess human exposures to environmental and workplace chemicals.

Uses of speciation techniques in biomonitoring for assessing human exposure to organic environmental chemicals.

Speciation analysis has been used for many years to identify and measure different forms of a given chemical in environmental and human samples. Although the term "speciation" is generally applied to the measurement of inorganic chemicals, the term can also be applied to many measurements of organic chemicals in complex samples, such as environmental media and biological matrices. We present several examples of achieving speciation analysis by selecting the appropriate biological matrix in which to measure a specific chemical(s), by a given analytical method, for the most accurate assessment of human exposure to the environmental chemical.

Prenatal DDT exposure in relation to anthropometric and pubertal measures in adolescent males.

DDT (dichlorodiphenyltrichloroethane), a pesticide once used widely in agriculture and now limited to public health use, remains a controversial chemical because of a combination of benefits and risks. DDT or its breakdown products are ubiquitous in the environment and in humans. Compounds in the DDT family have endocrine actions and have been associated with reproductive toxicity.

The relationship of urinary metabolites of carbaryl/naphthalene and chlorpyrifos with human semen quality.

Most of the general population is exposed to carbaryl and other contemporary-use insecticides at low levels. Studies of laboratory animals, in addition to limited human data, show an association between carbaryl exposure and decreased semen quality. In the present study we explored whether environmental exposures to 1-naphthol (1N), a metabolite of carbaryl and naphthalene, and 3,5,6-trichloro-2-pyridinol (TCPY), a metabolite of chlorpyrifos and chlorpyrifos-methyl, are associated with decreased semen quality in humans.

Estimating pesticide dose from urinary pesticide concentration data by creatinine correction in the Third National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES-III).

The Third National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES-III) of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) recorded data on the urinary concentrations of 12 chemicals (analytes), which were either pesticides or their metabolites, that represent exposure to certain pesticides, in urine samples collected from 1988 to 1994 from a cohort of 978 volunteer subjects, aged 20-59 years. We have used each subject's urinary creatinine concentration and their individual daily creatinine excretion rate (g/day) computed from their age, gender, height and weight, to estimate their daily excretion rate in microg analyte/kg/day. We discuss the mechanisms of excretion of the analytes and certain assumptions needed to compute the equivalent daily dietary intake (microg/kg/day) of the most likely parent pesticide compounds for each excreted analyte.