Publications by authors named "Brianna N Rivera"
Article Synopsis
- - Recent studies highlight the need to understand how chemical and non-chemical stressors, like pollution and inflammation, affect public health, particularly regarding lung toxicity from inhaled pollutants such as polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs).
- - In this research, primary human bronchial epithelial cells (HBEC) were cultivated to study the effects of inflammation induced by IL-13 on the toxicity of the pollutant benzo[a]pyrene (BAP), revealing that inflamed cells had poorer barrier integrity and more significant inflammatory responses.
- - RNA sequencing indicated that IL-13-treated HBEC might have a higher risk of uncontrolled cell growth and a diminished immune response following exposure to BAP, providing new insights into how environmental factors
Article Synopsis
- Evaluating the hazards of environmental chemical mixtures, specifically polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs), is a major challenge in human health risk assessment, especially regarding their effects on lung cells.* -
- The study created two synthetic PAH mixtures based on samples from a legacy creosote site and tested their impact on human bronchial epithelial cells, focusing on various toxicological biomarkers.* -
- Results indicated that existing models underestimated toxicity and suggested that PAH interactions might be non-additive, highlighting the need for improved methods in assessing mixture toxicity in environmental samples.*
Consumer use of hemp-derived products continues to rise, underscoring the need to establish evidence-based safety guidance. The present study sought to develop recommendations for oral upper intake limits of cannabidiol (CBD) isolate. Sufficiently robust and reliable data for this purpose were identified from published human clinical trials and guideline-compliant toxicity studies in animal models.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFAspartame has been studied extensively and evaluated for its safety in foods and beverages yet concerns for its potential carcinogenicity have persisted, driven primarily by animal studies conducted at the Ramazzini Institute (RI). To address this controversy, an updated systematic review of available human, animal, and mechanistic data was conducted leveraging critical assessment tools to consider the quality and reliability of data. The evidence base includes 12 animal studies and >40 epidemiological studies reviewed by the World Health Organization which collectively demonstrate a lack of carcinogenic effect.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFArticle Synopsis
- There is an increasing necessity for new methods to assess the safety of mixtures containing polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs), as current methods are limited and often inadequate.
- This study explores creating similarly structured mixtures by utilizing various data streams, such as environmental concentrations and toxicity data, to prioritize PAH components for mixture formulation.
- The research identified that the combination approach, which considers both toxicity and chemical abundance, yielded the best results for predicting hazards, with the toxicity-based method proving to be the most potent in testing models.
A Comparative Multi-System Approach to Characterizing Bioactivity of Commonly Occurring Chemicals.
Int J Environ Res Public Health
March 2022
Article Synopsis
- A 2019 study examined wristband samplers from 14 communities worldwide to identify commonly exposed organic chemicals, finding 14 chemicals (G14) present in over 50% of samples, most linked to consumer products like plastics and pesticides.
- The study raises concerns about potential health impacts from these chemicals, especially since they often occur in mixtures, leading to the need for further research on their combined effects.
- A novel multi-system approach was used to evaluate the bioactivity of these chemicals, testing them on human bronchial cells and zebrafish, which revealed variations in bioactivity and interactions between chemicals when combined.
Vaping is the process of inhaling and exhaling an aerosol produced by an e-cigarette, vape pen, or personal aerosolizer. When the device contains nicotine, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) lists the product as an electronic nicotine delivery system or ENDS device. Similar electronic devices can be used to vape cannabis extracts.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFArticle Synopsis
- Evaluating the risks of chemicals in mixtures, particularly polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs), poses major challenges for risk assessment due to their complex behaviors.
- A classification model using systems biology data from mice was applied to a human in vitro model using 3D bronchial epithelial cells, effectively categorizing PAHs based on their carcinogenic potential.
- Findings revealed that the best gene sets for identifying PAH carcinogenicity differed significantly from those responsive to benzo[a]pyrene (BAP), prompting a reevaluation of existing assumptions about PAH toxicity and highlighting the benefits of systems toxicology in hazard assessment.
Studies of neonatal health risks of unconventional natural gas development (UNGD) have not included comprehensive assessments of environmental chemical exposures. We investigated a clustering of dysphagic cases in neonatal foals born between 2014 and 2016 in an area of active UNGD in Pennsylvania (PA),USA. We evaluated equine biological data and environmental exposures on the affected PA farm and an unaffected New York (NY) farm owned by the same proprietor.
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