The effect of enriched versus depleted housing on eucalyptus smoke-induced cardiovascular dysfunction in mice.

Living conditions play a major role in health and well-being, particularly for the cardiovascular and pulmonary systems. Depleted housing contributes to impairment and development of disease, but how it impacts body resiliency during exposure to environmental stressors is unknown. This study examined the effect of depleted (DH) versus enriched housing (EH) on cardiopulmonary function and subsequent responses to wildfire smoke.

A single exposure to eucalyptus smoke sensitizes rats to the postprandial cardiovascular effects of a high carbohydrate oral load.

Objective: Previous studies have shown that air pollution exposure primes the body to heightened responses to everyday stressors of the cardiovascular system. The purpose of this study was to examine the utility of postprandial responses to a high carbohydrate oral load, a cardiometabolic stressor long used to predict cardiovascular risk, in assessing the impacts of exposure to eucalyptus smoke (ES), a contributor to wildland fire air pollution in the Western coast of the United States.

Materials And Methods: Three-month-old male Sprague Dawley rats were exposed once (1 h) to filtered air (FA) or ES (700 µg/m fine particulate matter), generated by burning eucalyptus in a tube furnace.

Vehicular Particulate Matter (PM) Characteristics Impact Vascular Outcomes Following Inhalation.

Roadside proximity and exposure to mixed vehicular emissions (MVE) have been linked to adverse pulmonary and vascular outcomes. However, because of the complex nature of the contribution of particulate matter (PM) versus gases, it is difficult to decipher the precise causative factors regarding PM and the copollutant gaseous fraction. To this end, C57BL/6 and apolipoprotein E knockout mice (ApoE) were exposed to either filtered air (FA), fine particulate (FP), FP+gases (FP+G), ultrafine particulate (UFP), or UFP+gases (UFP+G).

Toxic Effects of Particulate Matter Derived from Dust Samples Near the Dzhidinski Ore Processing Mill, Eastern Siberia, Russia.

Ambient particulate matter (PM) is associated with increased mortality and morbidity, an effect influenced by the metal components of the PM. We characterized five sediment samples obtained near a tungsten-molybdenum ore-processing complex in Zakamensk, Russia for elemental composition and PM toxicity with regard to pulmonary, vascular, and neurological outcomes. Elemental and trace metals analysis of complete sediment and PM (the respirable fraction, < 10 µm mass mean aerodynamic diameter) were performed using inductively coupled plasma optical emission spectrometry (ICP-OES) and mass spectrometry (ICP-MS).

Respirable Uranyl-Vanadate-Containing Particulate Matter Derived From a Legacy Uranium Mine Site Exhibits Potentiated Cardiopulmonary Toxicity.

Exposure to windblown particulate matter (PM) arising from legacy uranium (U) mine sites in the Navajo Nation may pose a human health hazard due to their potentially high metal content, including U and vanadium (V). To assess the toxic impact of PM derived from Claim 28 (a priority U mine) compared with background PM, and consider the putative role of metal species U and V. Two representative sediment samples from Navajo Nation sites (Background PM and Claim 28 PM) were obtained, characterized in terms of chemistry and morphology, and fractioned to the respirable (≤ 10 μm) fraction.

Arsenic association with circulating oxidized low-density lipoprotein in a Native American community.

More than 500 abandoned uranium (U) mines within the Navajo Nation contribute U, arsenic (As) and other metals to groundwater, soil and potentially air through airborne transport. The adverse cardiovascular health effects attributed to cumulative exposure to these metals remains uncertain. The aim of this study was to examine whether environmental exposure to these metals may promote or exacerbate the oxidation of low-density lipoprotein (LDL) cholesterol in this Native American population.

Residential proximity to abandoned uranium mines and serum inflammatory potential in chronically exposed Navajo communities.

Members of the Navajo Nation, who possess a high prevalence of cardiometabolic disease, reside near hundreds of local abandoned uranium mines (AUM), which contribute uranium, arsenic and other metals to the soil, water and air. We recently reported that hypertension is associated with mine waste exposures in this population. Inflammation is a major player in the development of numerous vascular ailments.

Associations of Circulating Oxidized LDL and Conventional Biomarkers of Cardiovascular Disease in a Cross-Sectional Study of the Navajo Population.

The prevalences of cardiovascular disease (CVD) and type 2 diabetes (T2D) have increased among the Navajo Native American community in recent decades. Oxidized low-density lipoprotein (oxLDL) is a novel CVD biomarker that has never been assessed in the Navajo population. We examined the relationship of oxLDL to conventional CVD and T2D risk factors and biomarkers in a cross-sectional population of Navajo participants.

High sputum total adiponectin is associated with low odds for asthma.

Objective: Adipose tissue produces adiponectin, an anti-inflammatory protein. High systemic total adiponectin is associated with a low risk for incident asthma but the association with lung adiponectin is not known. Our objective was to evaluate the association between sputum total adiponectin and asthma.

Identifying plasma glycerol concentration associated with urinary glycerol excretion in trained humans.

Glycerol has been used as a means to legitimately hyperhydrate the body in an attempt to offset the deleterious effects of dehydration. It has the potential to mask blood doping practices and as a result has been added to the WADA prohibited substance list. The purpose of this study was to identify the plasma glycerol concentration coinciding with urinary glycerol excretion.

Formation of vascular S-nitrosothiols and plasma nitrates/nitrites following inhalation of diesel emissions.

Epidemiological studies have associated traffic-related airborne pollution with adverse cardiovascular outcomes. Nitric oxide (NO) is a common component of fresh diesel and gasoline engine emissions that rapidly transforms both in the atmosphere and once inhaled. Because of this rapid transformation, limited information is available in terms of potential human exposures and adverse health effects.

Studies of serum C-reactive protein in systemic lupus erythematosus.

Objective: To examine the relationship of serum C-reactive protein (CRP) levels to other indicators of disease activity during the course of systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE).

Methods: In 124 patients serum CRP was measured retrospectively by ELISA and in some instances by radial immunodiffusion. Serum CRP levels were compared to laboratory, clinical, and radiographic assessments of disease activity.