Interplay of Obesity, Ethanol, and Contaminant Mixture on Clinical Profiles of Cardiovascular and Metabolic Diseases: Evidence from an Animal Study.

Obesity, ethanol, and contaminants are known risk factors of cardiovascular and metabolic diseases (CMD). However, their interplay on clinical profiles of these diseases remains unclear, and thus were investigated in this study. Male lean or obese JCR rats were given water or 10% ethanol and orally treated with or without a contaminant mixture (CM) dissolved in corn oil and loaded on two cookies at 0, 1.

Paleotoxicity of petrogenic and pyrogenic hydrocarbon mixtures in sediment cores from the Athabasca oil sands region, Alberta (Canada).

Despite the economic benefits of the oil and gas industry in Northern Alberta, significant concerns exist regarding the impacts of increased oil production on the environment and human health. Several studies have highlighted increases in the concentrations of polycyclic aromatic compounds (PACs) and other hydrocarbons in the atmosphere, water, soil and sediments, plants, wildlife and fish in the Athabasca Oil Sands Region (AOSR) as a result of oil sands industrial activity. Sediment cores can provide information on the temporal trends of contaminants to the environment and provide important baseline information when monitoring data are absent.

Circulating Selenium Concentration Is Inversely Associated With the Prevalence of Stroke: Results From the Canadian Health Measures Survey and the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey.

Background Observational studies have suggested that selenium (Se) may have beneficial effects against certain cardiovascular outcomes, with a possible U-shaped association. We assessed the hypothesis that blood Se concentration might be inversely associated with the prevalence of stroke and the relationship would be nonlinear. Methods and Results Data collected from adult participants (aged ≥20 years) in the Canadian Health Measures Survey ( CHMS 2007-2011, n=7065) and the US National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey ( NHANES 2011-2012, n=5030) were analyzed.

Groundwater Irrigation and Arsenic Speciation in Rice in Cambodia.

Background: Arsenic bioaccumulation in rice is a global concern affecting food security and public health.

Objective: The present study examined arsenic species in rice in Cambodia to characterize health risks with rice consumption and to clarify uncertainties with Codex guidelines.

Methods: The present study collected 61 well water samples, 105 rice samples, 70 soil samples, and conducted interviews with 44 families in Preak Russey near the Bassac River and Kandal Province along the Mekong River in Cambodia.

Effects of Arsenic, Iron and Fertilizers in Soil on Rice in Cambodia.

Background: In parts of Cambodia, irrigation with groundwater results in arsenic accumulation in soils and rice, leading to health concerns associated with rice consumption. A high concentration of iron in groundwater can precipitate arsenic and reduce its bioavailability, however high concentrations of arsenic and iron can also reduce rice production. Furthermore, concerns have been raised about chemical contamination from inorganic fertilizers used to grow rice.

Genetic polymorphisms are associated with exposure biomarkers for metals and persistent organic pollutants among Inuit from the Inuvialuit Settlement Region, Canada.

Background: Inuit are exposed to some of the highest levels of contaminants worldwide. Studies suggest that several genes that mediate the metabolism of these contaminants are polymorphic. We hypothesize that single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) in such genes may underline differences in biomarker concentrations and/or modify exposure-biomarker associations.

The reduction of birth weight by fine particulate matter and its modification by maternal and neighbourhood-level factors: a multilevel analysis in British Columbia, Canada.

Background: The purpose of this research was to determine the relationship between modeled particulate matter (PM2.5) exposure and birth weight, including the potential modification by maternal risk factors and indicators of socioeconomic status (SES).

Methods: Birth records from 2001 to 2006 (N = 231,929) were linked to modeled PM2.

In vitro and whole animal evidence that methylmercury disrupts GABAergic systems in discrete brain regions in captive mink.

The effects of mercury (Hg) on key components of the GABAergic system were evaluated in discrete brain regions of captive juvenile male American mink (Neovison vison) using in vitro and in vivo (whole animal) experimental approaches. In vitro studies on cortical brain tissues revealed that inorganic Hg (HgCl(2); IC50=0.5+/-0.

The effects of mercury on muscarinic cholinergic receptor subtypes (M1 and M2) in captive mink.

A combination of in vitro (competitive binding assays) and in vivo (tissues from animals exposed to dietary methyl mercury, MeHg) experimental procedures was employed to assess the effects of mercury (MeHg, HgCl(2)) on the two-key muscarinic cholinergic (mACh) receptor subtypes (M1, M2) in two brain regions (occipital cortex, brain stem) of captive mink (Mustela vison). In vitro, HgCl(2) and MeHg were equipotent in inhibiting [(3)H]-pirenzipine binding to the M1 receptor in the occipital cortex, but in the brain stem, MeHg was about 65x more potent than HgCl(2). For the M2 receptor, both HgCl(2) and MeHg were more potent at inhibiting [(3)H]-AFDX-384 binding in the occipital cortex than in the brain stem.

Methylmercury exposure and health effects in humans: a worldwide concern.

The paper builds on existing literature, highlighting current understanding and identifying unresolved issues about MeHg exposure, health effects, and risk assessment, and concludes with a consensus statement. Methylmercury is a potent toxin, bioaccumulated and concentrated through the aquatic food chain, placing at risk people, throughout the globe and across the socioeconomic spectrum, who consume predatory fish or for whom fish is a dietary mainstay. Methylmercury developmental neurotoxicity has constituted the basis for risk assessments and public health policies.

Dietary and in utero exposure to a pentabrominated diphenyl ether mixture did not affect cholinergic parameters in the cerebral cortex of ranch mink (Mustela vison).

Polybrominated diphenyl ethers (PBDEs) are a class of brominated flame retardants that are recognized as global environmental contaminants and a potential health risk. They have been shown to elicit neurodevelopmental toxicity through disruption of the cholinergic neurotransmitter system in rodent models, but the effects of environmentally relevant exposures in wildlife species are unknown. The objective of this study was to assess the effects of the commercial pentabrominated diphenyl ether mixture DE-71 on cholinergic parameters in ranch mink (Mustela vison) following dietary exposure of adult females and in utero, lactational, and dietary exposure of their offspring.