Fluoride Exposure and Children's IQ Scores: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis.

Importance: Previous meta-analyses suggest that fluoride exposure is adversely associated with children's IQ scores. An individual's total fluoride exposure comes primarily from fluoride in drinking water, food, and beverages.

Objective: To perform a systematic review and meta-analysis of epidemiological studies investigating children's IQ scores and prenatal or postnatal fluoride exposure.

A multi-omic atlas of human embryonic skeletal development.

Human embryonic bone and joint formation is determined by coordinated differentiation of progenitors in the nascent skeleton. The cell states, epigenetic processes and key regulatory factors that underlie lineage commitment of these cells remain elusive. Here we applied paired transcriptional and epigenetic profiling of approximately 336,000 nucleus droplets and spatial transcriptomics to establish a multi-omic atlas of human embryonic joint and cranium development between 5 and 11 weeks after conception.

Identifying assessment criteria for in vitro studies: a method and item bank.

To support the development of appraisal tools for assessing the quality of in vitro studies, we developed a method for literature-based discovery of study assessment criteria, used the method to create an item bank of assessment criteria of potential relevance to in vitro studies, and analyzed the item bank to discern and critique current approaches for appraisal of in vitro studies. We searched four research indexes and included any document that identified itself as an appraisal tool for in vitro studies, was a systematic review that included a critical appraisal step, or was a reporting checklist for in vitro studies. We abstracted, normalized, and categorized all criteria applied by the included appraisal tools to create an "item bank" database of issues relevant to the assessment of in vitro studies.

A 3D atlas of the human developing pancreas to explore progenitor proliferation and differentiation.

Aims/hypothesis: Rodent pancreas development has been described in great detail. On the other hand, there are still gaps in our understanding of the developmental trajectories of pancreatic cells during human ontogenesis. Here, our aim was to map the spatial and chronological dynamics of human pancreatic cell differentiation and proliferation by using 3D imaging of cleared human embryonic and fetal pancreases.

Expanded Systematic Evidence Map for Hundreds of Per- and Polyfluoroalkyl Substances (PFAS) and Comprehensive PFAS Human Health Dashboard.

Background: Per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) encompass a class of chemically and structurally diverse compounds that are extensively used in industry and detected in the environment. The US Environmental Protection Agency (US EPA) 2021 PFAS Strategic Roadmap describes national research plans to address the challenge of PFAS.

Objectives: Systematic Evidence Map (SEM) methods were used to survey and summarize available epidemiological and mammalian bioassay evidence that could inform human health hazard identification for a set of 345 PFAS that were identified by the US EPA's Center for Computational Toxicology and Exposure (CCTE) for toxicity and toxicokinetic assay testing and through interagency discussions on PFAS of interest.

A tridimensional atlas of the developing human head.

The evolution and development of the head have long captivated researchers due to the crucial role of the head as the gateway for sensory stimuli and the intricate structural complexity of the head. Although significant progress has been made in understanding head development in various vertebrate species, our knowledge of early human head ontogeny remains limited. Here, we used advanced whole-mount immunostaining and 3D imaging techniques to generate a comprehensive 3D cellular atlas of human head embryogenesis.

A human embryonic limb cell atlas resolved in space and time.

Human limbs emerge during the fourth post-conception week as mesenchymal buds, which develop into fully formed limbs over the subsequent months. This process is orchestrated by numerous temporally and spatially restricted gene expression programmes, making congenital alterations in phenotype common. Decades of work with model organisms have defined the fundamental mechanisms underlying vertebrate limb development, but an in-depth characterization of this process in humans has yet to be performed.

Systematic evidence mapping informs a class-based approach to assessing personal care products and pubertal timing.

Background: Personal care products (PCPs) contain many different compounds and are a source of exposure to endocrine disrupting chemicals (EDCs), including phthalates and phenols. Early-life exposure to EDCs commonly found in PCPs has been linked to earlier onset of puberty.

Objective: To characterize the human and animal evidence on the association between puberty-related outcomes and exposure to PCPs and their chemical constituents and, if there is sufficient evidence, identify groups of chemicals and outcomes to support a systematic review for a class-based hazard or risk assessment.

A systematic evidence map for the evaluation of noncancer health effects and exposures to polychlorinated biphenyl mixtures.

Assessing health outcomes associated with exposure to polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) is important given their persistent and ubiquitous nature. PCBs are classified as a Group 1 carcinogen, but the full range of potential noncancer health effects from exposure to PCBs has not been systematically summarized and evaluated. We used systematic review methods to identify and screen the literature using combined manual review and machine learning approaches.

Systematic evidence map (SEM) template: Report format and methods used for the US EPA Integrated Risk Information System (IRIS) program, Provisional Peer Reviewed Toxicity Value (PPRTV) program, and other "fit for purpose" literature-based human health analyses.

Background: Systematic evidence maps (SEMs) are gaining visibility in environmental health for their utility to serve as problem formulation tools and assist in decision-making, especially for priority setting. SEMs are now routinely prepared as part of the assessment development process for the US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Integrated Risk Information System (IRIS) and Provisional Peer Reviewed Toxicity Value (PPRTV) assessments. SEMs can also be prepared to explore the available literature for an individual chemical or groups of chemicals of emerging interest.

Systematic Evidence Map for Over One Hundred and Fifty Per- and Polyfluoroalkyl Substances (PFAS).

Background: Per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) are a large class of synthetic (man-made) chemicals widely used in consumer products and industrial processes. Thousands of distinct PFAS exist in commerce. The 2019 U.

Comparing Veterans with Posttraumatic Stress Disorder Related to Military Sexual Trauma or Other Trauma Types: Baseline Characteristics and Residential Cognitive Processing Therapy Outcomes.

The Veterans Health Administration (VHA) has called for improved assessment and intervention for survivors of military sexual trauma (MST) to mitigate deleterious sequalae, including posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD). Research on the impact of MST-related PTSD (MST-IT) on men is limited, and few studies have examined the differential effects of treatment across genders and MST-IT. Additionally, studies have utilized varying definitions of MST (e.

A national toxicology program systematic review of the evidence for long-term effects after acute exposure to sarin nerve agent.

Sarin is a highly toxic nerve agent that was developed for chemical warfare during World War II and is used in present conflicts. Immediate effects of acute sarin exposure are established; however, whether effects persist after initial signs have subsided is debated. The National Toxicology Program (NTP) conducted a systematic review to evaluate the evidence for long-term neurological effects following acute (<24 hour) exposure to sarin.

A scoping review of the health and toxicological activity of bisphenol A (BPA) structural analogues and functional alternatives.

Recent studies report widespread usage or exposure to a variety of chemicals with structural or functional similarity to bisphenol A (BPA), referred to as BPA analogues or derivatives. These have been detected in foodstuffs, house dust, environmental samples, human urine or blood, and consumer products. Compared to BPA, relatively little is known about potential toxicity of these compounds.

Characterization of 4-hydroxyphenylpyruvate dioxygenases, inhibition by herbicides and engineering for herbicide tolerance in crops.

4-Hydroxyphenylpyruvate dioxgenase (HPPD) enzymes from rat and from several plants contained only about a single inhibitor-binding active site per dimer which matched the content of iron in the purified Arabidopsis thaliana and Avena sativa enzymes. The dimeric HPPDs were about 10 fold more catalytically active than the tetrameric P. fluorescens enzyme with k/K values ranging from 0.

A risk of bias instrument for non-randomized studies of exposures: A users' guide to its application in the context of GRADE.

The objective of this paper is to explain how to apply, interpret, and present the results of a new instrument to assess the risk of bias (RoB) in non-randomized studies (NRS) dealing with effects of environmental exposures on health outcomes. This instrument is modeled on the Risk Of Bias In Non-randomized Studies of Interventions (ROBINS-I) instrument. The RoB instrument for NRS of exposures assesses RoB along a standardized comparison to a randomized target experiment, instead of the study-design directed RoB approach.