Kinetics of 15 per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) after single oral application as a mixture - A pilot investigation in a male volunteer.

Per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) are ubiquitous environmental contaminants with half-lives in humans in the range of years in case of the long-chain compounds, leading to accumulation and measurable levels in plasma. In contrast, short-chain and "alternative" PFAS have lower levels or are not detectable in humans with background exposure. This may be due to lower exposure, but also due to much shorter half-lives compared to long-chain compounds.

One in Four US Households Likely Exceed New Soil Lead Guidance Levels.

Lead exposure has blighted communities across the United States (and the globe), with much of the burden resting on lower income communities, and communities of color. On 17 January 2024, the US Environmental Protection Agency (USEPA) lowered the recommended screening level of lead in residential soils from 400 to 200 parts per million. Our analysis of tens of thousands of citizen-science collected soil samples from cities and communities around the US indicates that nearly one quarter of households may contain soil lead that exceed the new screening level.

PBTK model-based analysis of CYP3A4 induction and the toxicokinetics of the pyrrolizidine alkaloid retrorsine in man.

Cytochrome P450 (CYP)3A4 induction by drugs and pesticides plays a critical role in the enhancement of pyrrolizidine alkaloid (PA) toxicity as it leads to increased formation of hepatotoxic dehydro-PA metabolites. Addressing the need for a quantitative analysis of this interaction, we developed a physiologically-based toxicokinetic (PBTK) model. Specifically, the model describes the impact of the well-characterized CYP3A4 inducer rifampicin on the kinetics of retrorsine, which is a prototypic PA and contaminant in herbal teas.

Assessing Unequal Airborne Exposure to Lead Associated With Race in the USA.

Recent research applied the United States Environmental Protection Agency's Chemical Speciation Network and Interagency Monitoring of Protected Visual Environments monitoring stations and observed that mean concentrations of atmospheric lead (Pb) in highly segregated counties are a factor of 5 higher than in well-integrated counties and argument is made that regulation of existing airborne Pb emissions will reduce children's Pb exposure. We argue that one of the main sources of children's current Pb exposure is from resuspension of legacy Pb in soil dust and that the racial disparity of Pb exposure is associated with Pb-contaminated community soils.

Peat and disinfectant powder used in swine husbandry systems - quantification of oral intake using toxic metals as potential markers.

The use of enrichment and bedding materials in pig husbandry intends to comply with the animals' behavioural needs to perform natural exploratory behaviour, which is strongly connected to foraging behaviour. It can thus be assumed that pigs will ingest a certain material quantity possibly posing a risk to animal health and food safety as previous studies identified contaminants in enrichment and bedding materials. However, risk assessment requires knowledge about the effective amount of ingested material.

PBTK modeling of the pyrrolizidine alkaloid retrorsine to predict liver toxicity in mouse and rat.

Retrorsine is a hepatotoxic pyrrolizidine alkaloid (PA) found in herbal supplements and medicines, food and livestock feed. Dose-response studies enabling the derivation of a point of departure including a benchmark dose for risk assessment of retrorsine in humans and animals are not available. Addressing this need, a physiologically based toxicokinetic (PBTK) model of retrorsine was developed for mouse and rat.

Proportionality principle revisited - relationship between application rates and pesticide residue concentrations in food commodities.

Background: The proportionality principle has been broadly used for over 10 years in regulatory assessments of pesticide residues. It allows extrapolation of supervised field trial data conducted at lower or higher application rates compared to the use pattern under evaluation by adjustment of measured concentrations, assuming direct proportionality between the rates applied and the resulting residues. This work revisits the principle idea by using supervised residue trials sets conducted under identical conditions but with deviating application rates.

Lead in Air, Soil, and Blood: Pb Poisoning in a Changing World.

(1) Background: Leaded petrol became a worldwide vehicle fuel during the 20th century. While leaded petrol was totally banned on 30 August 2021, its lead (Pb) dust legacy remains in the environment as soil Pb. The health impacts of Pb are well known and risks occur when exposures are above zero.

- Extrapolation by Physiologically Based Kinetic Modeling: Experience With Three Case Studies and Lessons Learned.

Physiologically based kinetic (PBK) modeling has been increasingly used since the beginning of the 21st century to support dose selection to be used in preclinical and clinical safety studies in the pharmaceutical sector. For chemical safety assessment, the use of PBK has also found interest, however, to a smaller extent, although an internationally agreed document was published already in 2010 (IPCS/WHO), but at that time, PBK modeling was based mostly on data as the example in the IPCS/WHO document indicates. Recently, the OECD has published a guidance document which set standards on how to characterize, validate, and report PBK models for regulatory purposes.

Preference and possible consumption of provided enrichment and bedding materials and disinfectant powder by growing pigs.

Background: Domestic pigs have an evolutionary conserved exploratory behaviour. To comply with this requirement, the European Union aims at setting standards for appropriate enrichment materials for pigs (Council Directive 2008/120/EC). As recommended characteristics include 'chewable' and 'edible', pigs might also consume these materials (Commission Recommendation (EU) 2016/336), which are often additionally advertised to enhance lying comfort and hygienic conditions in stables.

Agreement ℜ of Four Analytical Methods Applied to Pb in Soils from the Small City of St. John's, Newfoundland, Canada.

In the small city of St. John's, NL (2020 population ~114,000), 100% of the soils of the pre-1926 properties exceeded the Canadian soil Pb standard, 140 mg/kg. The Pb was traced to high-Pb coal ash used for heating and disposed on the soils outside.

COVID-19 and children's health in the United States: Consideration of physical and social environments during the pandemic.

Public health measures necessary to counteract the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic have resulted in dramatic changes in the physical and social environments within which children grow and develop. As our understanding of the pathways for viral exposure and associated health outcomes in children evolves, it is critical to consider how changes in the social, cultural, economic, and physical environments resulting from the pandemic could affect the development of children. This review article considers the environments and settings that create the backdrop for children's health in the United States during the COVID-19 pandemic, including current threats to child development that stem from: A) change in exposures to environmental contaminants such as heavy metals, pesticides, disinfectants, air pollution and the built environment; B) changes in food environments resulting from adverse economic repercussion of the pandemic and limited reach of existing safety nets; C) limited access to children's educational and developmental resources; D) changes in the social environments at the individual and household levels, and their interplay with family stressors and mental health; E) social injustice and racism.

Soil Lead (Pb) in New Orleans: A Spatiotemporal and Racial Analysis.

Spatialized racial injustices drive morbidity and mortality inequalities. While many factors contribute to environmental injustices, Pb is particularly insidious, and is associated with cardio-vascular, kidney, and immune dysfunctions and is a leading cause of premature death worldwide. Here, we present a revised analysis from the New Orleans dataset of soil lead (SPb) and children's blood Pb (BPb), which was systematically assembled for 2000-2005 and 2011-2016.

Comprehensive Urumqi screening for potentially toxic metals in soil-dust-plant total environment and evaluation of children's (0-6 years) risk-based blood lead levels prediction.

Environmental contaminations by potentially toxic metals (PTMs) are associated with energy exploitation and present a significant problem in urban areas due to their impacts on human health. The PTMs status in Urumqi total environment inevitably impacted by extensive development of coal and oil industries has been lack of understanding comprehensively. A series of PTMs (As, Ba, Ce, Co, Cr, Cu, Ga, La, Mn, Ni, Pb, Rb, Sr, Th, U, V, Y, Zn, Zr) in the soil-dust-plant (foliage of Ulmus pumila L.

Spatial-temporal association of soil Pb and children's blood Pb in the Detroit Tri-County Area of Michigan (USA).

Lead is a well-known toxicant associated with numerous chronic diseases. Curtailing industrial emissions, leaded paint, lead in food, and banning highway use of leaded gasoline effectively decreased children's exposure. In New Orleans, irrespective of Hurricane Katrina flooding, lead declined concurrently in topsoil and children's blood.

Snack foods and lead ingestion risks for school aged children: A comparative evaluation of potentially toxic metals and children's exposure response of blood lead, copper and zinc levels.

Snack foods are common and highly advertised to children and serve their natural predispositions for sweet and salty tastes. However, the risk issues of low-cost snacks eaten by 0-6 aged children are lack of more concern. To better understand the issue of low-cost snacks this study considered potentially toxic metals (PTMs) impact on children's health risk, measured PTMs in a collection of 570 collected low-cost snacks contributed by 1342 voluntary participants children aged 0-6 years involved in Xi'an city are conducted.

Which seizure elements do patients memorize? A comparison of history and seizure documentation.

Objective: People with epilepsy (PWE) are frequently unable to recall the core manifestation of their disease, epileptic seizures. This means that seizure frequency is often underestimated by practitioners and that seizure classification based on reports of patients or their relatives is difficult because seizure semiology remains unclear. The purpose of this study, therefore, was to prospectively explore patients' memory regarding seizure elements and to assess the role of seizure types.

In vivo phytotoxicity, uptake, and translocation of PbS nanoparticles in maize (Zea mays L.) plants.

PbS nanomaterials are of great concern because of their potential toxicity and unavoidable releases of multiple commercial applications of nanoparticles (NPs). Commercial NPs act as mediators of damage to plant cells and pose potential toxicity to plants and human health. The mechanisms involved in the toxicity, uptake, and biotranslocation of PbS NPs in plants are poorly understood.

Quantitative allergenicity risk assessment of food products containing yellow mealworm (Tenebrio molitor).

Insect-based foods are starting to enter the EU market, raising concerns about their safety. Allergic consumers might be exposed to even a greater risk, since insects have proven to trigger allergic symptoms, particularly in patients sensitised to crustaceans. Current legislation does not enforce producers to include insects in the list of allergenic ingredients.

Internal exposure to perfluoroalkyl substances (PFASs) and biological markers in 101 healthy 1-year-old children: associations between levels of perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA) and vaccine response.

Perfluoroalkyl substances (PFASs) are a complex group of man-made chemicals with high stability and mobility leading to ubiquitous environmental contamination and accumulation in the food chain. In human serum/plasma samples, perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA) and perfluorooctane sulfonate (PFOS) are the lead compounds. They are immunotoxic in experimental animals, and epidemiological studies provided evidence of a diminished production of vaccine antibodies in young children.

Quantifying soil contamination and identifying interventions to limit health risks.

Numerous toxicants contaminate soil and negatively affect the environments that children explore. Accurately measuring these toxicants and characterizing the level of soil contamination may be difficult and must include measurements of both the environmental concentrations and the exposure responses of human populations. This article reviews the current methods and technologies available for quantifying soil contamination.

Air, water, soil and environmental signaling.

Within a remarkably short timespan the world population doubled and transitioned from an agrarian to an urban-industrial society. The transition was accompanied by the major expansion of industries that releases enormous amounts of toxicants into the air, water, and soil. Naturally occurring and synthetic chemicals compounds utilized the same signaling system as vertebrate internal cell signaling systems.

Mechanisms of children's soil exposure.

Pollution is a concerning and highly studied area, especially in the arena of children's health. The focus of this concern, however, is typically limited to air and water pollution, leaving an important source under-studied and out of the concern of the general public. Soil pollution provides a unique threat to children's health, due to their increased exposure and susceptibility to its contaminants.

Soil toxicants that potentially affect children's health.

Soil pollution is a global phenomenon, and children are uniquely susceptible to the wide range of toxicants that persist in topsoil. Given their increased exposure through mouthing activities, increased body surface area, likelihood of breathing air closer to soil, and immature immune and elimination systems, it is essential to understand the mechanisms of children's exposure and the potential health effects of toxicants found in soil. Here we describe the sources and toxicological profiles of a range of inorganic and organic soil contaminants, including arsenic (As), cadmium (Cd), lead (Pb), mercury (Hg), benzene, toluene, ethylbenzene and xylenes, chlorinated dibenzo-p-dioxins, polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs), polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs), per and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS), as well as agricultural and domestic sources of pollution.

The International Society for Children's Health and the Environment Commits to Reduce Its Carbon Footprint to Safeguard Children's Health.

The Lancet Countdown and the 2018 Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change declared that the worst impacts of climate change are and will continue to be felt disproportionately by children. Children are uniquely vulnerable to the consequences of climate change, including heat stress, food scarcity, increases in pollution and vector-borne diseases, lost family income, displacement, and the trauma of living through a climate-related disaster. These stressors can result in long-lasting physical and mental health sequelae.