Examination of xylene exposure in the U.S. Population through biomonitoring: NHANES 2005-2006, 2011-2016.

Xylenes are aromatic hydrocarbons used for industrial applications such as the production of petrochemicals and plastics. Acute xylene exposures can negatively impact health through neurotoxicity and irritation of respiratory and dermal tissues. We quantified urinary biomarkers of xylene exposure [2-methylhippuric acid (2MHA) and a mixture of 3- and 4-methylhippuric acids (34MH)] in a representative sample of the U.

Urinary Acrylonitrile Metabolite Concentrations Before and after Smoked, Vaporized, and Oral Cannabis in Frequent and Occasional Cannabis Users.

Cannabis use through smoking, vaping, or ingestion is increasing, but only limited studies have investigated the resulting exposure to harmful chemicals. N-acetyl-S-(2-cyanoethyl)-L-cysteine (2CYEMA), a urinary metabolite of acrylonitrile, a possible carcinogen, is elevated in the urine of past-30-day cannabis users compared to non-cannabis users. Five frequent and five occasional cannabis users smoked and vaped cannabis on separate days; one also consumed cannabis orally.

Correlation of creatinine- and specific gravity-normalized free and glucuronidated urine cannabinoid concentrations following smoked, vaporized, and oral cannabis in frequent and occasional cannabis users.

Variability in urine dilution complicates urine cannabinoid test interpretation. Normalizing urine cannabinoid concentrations to specific gravity (SG) or creatinine was proposed to account for donors' hydration states. In this study, all urine voids were individually collected from eight frequent and eight occasional cannabis users for up to 85 hours after each received on separate occasions 50.

Increased Relative Risk of Tick-Borne Encephalitis in Warmer Weather.

Tick-borne encephalitis (TBE) is a serious acute neuroinfection of humans caused by a tick-borne flavivirus. The disease is typically seasonal, linked to the host-seeking activity of (predominantly nymphs), the principal European tick vector species. To address the need for accurate risk predictions of contracting TBE, data on 4,044 TBE cases reported in the Czech Republic during 2001-2006 were compared with questing activity of nymphs monitored weekly at a defined location for the same 6-year period.

A serological study of antibodies to Anaplasma phagocytophilum and Borrelia burgdorferi sensu lato in the sera of healthy individuals collected two decades apart.

Sera collected from healthy individuals from the general population in the Czech Republic during repeated cross-sectional surveys were analyzed. Samples collected in the same six districts in two time periods, 1978-1989 and 2001, were compared. The study subjects were divided into six age categories between 10 and 59 years.

Abiotic predictors and annual seasonal dynamics of Ixodes ricinus, the major disease vector of Central Europe.

Background: Abiotic conditions provide cues that drive tick questing activity. Defining these cues is critical in predicting biting risk, and in forecasting climate change impacts on tick populations. This is particularly important for Ixodes ricinus nymphs, the vector of numerous pathogens affecting humans.

Results of the Screening of Tick-Borne Encephalitis Virus Antibodies in Human Sera from Eight Districts Collected Two Decades Apart.

The sera from healthy individuals aged 10-59 years randomly selected from the general population during repeated cross-sectional surveys were stored at -20°C at the serum bank of the National Institute of Public Health in Prague. The sera included in the present study were collected in the 1980s and in 2001 in eight districts of the Czech Republic. The proportional representation of the study localities was similar in both periods.

The role of game (wild boar and roe deer) in the spread of tick-borne encephalitis in the Czech Republic.

In the Czech Republic, the incidence of human tick-borne encephalitis (TBE) has been increasing over the last two decades. At the same time, populations of game have also shown an upward trend. In this country, the ungulate game is the main host group of hosts for Ixodes ricinus female ticks.

[Incidence of tick-borne encephalitis in the czech republic in 2001-2011 in different administrative regions and municipalities with extended power].

Aim: Analysis of the incidence of tick-borne encephalitis (TBE) in the Czech Republic (CR) in 2001-2011 in different administrative regions and municipalities with extended power (MEPs).

Material And Methods: Each TBE case reported to the EPIDAT system was matched to the respective MEP or Prague according to the place of residence. The annual TBE incidence was calculated per 100 000 permanent residents (mean) of each administrative region and MEP.

Epidemiology of tick-borne encephalitis in the Czech Republic 1970-2008.

This article presents major epidemiologic features of tick-borne encephalitis (TBE) in the Czech Republic, using data of laboratory-confirmed cases since 1970. A total of 17,053 cases of TBE were reported in the Czech Republic (population 10 million) in 1970-2008. The data show several important features.

The TICKPRO computer program for predicting Ixodes ricinus host-seeking activity and the warning system published on websites.

The computer program with the acronym TICKPRO (tick prognosis) facilitates medium-range forecasts of the level of host-seeking activity in ticks within a 1-4 day horizon. The program is based on the medium-range weather forecast routinely produced at the Czech Hydrometeorological Institute (CHMI), as well as on previously developed mathematical models describing the correlation of meteorological factors with the host-seeking activity of Ixodes ricinus. These models are based on a 6-year whole-season monitoring of I.

Chigger mites (Acari, Trombiculidae) parasitizing small mammals in the Eastern Hindu Kush and some other Afghan areas.

Chigger mites of Afghanistan were studied on the base of collections made in Eastern and Central Hindu Kush, Kabul, and some other localities. Fifteen chigger species parasitizing nine species of Rodentia, two species of Lagomorpha, and one species of Soricomorpha were found, including 13 species which were not previously recorded in Afghanistan. Eco-geographical variability is observed in Shunsennia oudemansi: Individuals of this species from high-mountain localities of Eastern Hindu Kush are characterized by larger values of most morphometric characters than the specimens collected in Kabul.

Vertical distribution of the tick Ixodes ricinus and tick-borne pathogens in the northern Moravian mountains correlated with climate warming (Jeseníky Mts., Czech Republic).

A study of the vertical distribution of the common tick Ixodes ricinus and tick-borne pathogens--tick-borne encephalitis virus (TBEV) and genospecies of Borrelia burgdorferi s.l.--was performed in the highest part of the Jeseniky mountain area (the Hrubý Jesenik Mts.

Integration of a tick-borne encephalitis virus and Borrelia burgdorferi sensu lato into mountain ecosystems, following a shift in the altitudinal limit of distribution of their vector, Ixodes ricinus (Krkonose mountains, Czech Republic).

The altitudinal shift in the limit of Ixodes ricinus occurrence above the previously established altitude of 750 m above sea level has been monitored over the long-term (2002-2008) in the Krkonose Mts. (Giant Mts.), the highest in the Czech Republic, along two vertical transects in their eastern and central parts (600-1020 and 600-1270 m).

Influence of climate warming on tickborne encephalitis expansion to higher altitudes over the last decade (1997-2006) in the Highland Region (Czech Republic).

The steep rise in the incidence of tick-borne encephalitis (TBE) in the 1990s and its subsequent high level in the Czech Republic are not even over the whole territory. It is manifested markedly in the Czech-Moravian Highland region. In the decades of 1971 through 1992, TBE incidence in the Highland Region did not reach the countrywide average.

Risk assessment and prediction of Ixodes ricinus tick questing activity and human tick-borne encephalitis infection in space and time in the Czech Republic.

Present risk assessment and prediction of future risk of humans exposed to Ixodes (I.) ricinus tick attacks and, consequently, to tick-borne encephalitis (TBE) virus infection as one of the basic preconditions for successful TBE prevention has been intensively studied in the Czech Republic. An atlas of TBE in the Czech Republic containing predictive maps of I.

Extension of Ixodes ricinus ticks and agents of tick-borne diseases to mountain areas in the Czech Republic.

Along with the shift of the hard tick Ixodes ricinus to higher altitudes observed in the Czech Republic a corresponding shift of tick-borne infections to higher altitudes has been expected. Therefore, I. ricinus ticks, mainly nymphs, were investigated for the presence of tick-borne viruses, tick-borne encephalitis (TBE), Tribec and Eyach, and the spirochaete Borrelia burgdorferi sensu lato in the Sumava and Krkonose Mountains (Czech Republic).

Chigger mites of the genus Eutrombicula ewing, 1938 (Acari: Trombiculidae) from Cuba, with the description of three new species.

Three new species of chigger mites, Eutrombicula cubensis sp. n. and E.

An attempt to elucidate the increased incidence of tick-borne encephalitis and its spread to higher altitudes in the Czech Republic.

In 1993 the incidence of tick-borne encephalitis (TBE) showed a sharp rise in Central Europe and has remained high since--with some slight fluctuation. This increase is clearly evident in the Czech Republic and it could be roughly characterised as twofold in 1993-2001 in comparison with 1984-1992 (5,240:2,441 human cases). As yet in the Czech Republic the TBE increase has been manifested by: a) higher number of cases in areas well known for TBE occurrence in humans; b) re-emergence in areas where TBE human cases were not observed, or only sporadically, for a long time; c) emergence of TBE in places unknown previously (including highly elevated areas).

Chigger mites (Acari: Trombiculidae) new to the fauna of Cuba, with the description of two new species.

Two new species of chigger mites, Hyponeoculta monocoxalae sp. n. from bats and reptiles, and Perares nudosetosus sp.