Iodine Status of Mother-Infant Dyads from Montréal, Canada: Secondary Analyses of a Vitamin D Supplementation Trial in Breastfed Infants.

Background: Most pregnant or lactating women in Canada will not meet iodine requirements without iodine supplementation.

Objectives: To assess the iodine status of 132 mother-infant pairs based on secondary analyses of a vitamin D supplementation trial in breastfed infants from Montréal, Canada.

Methods: Maternal iodine status was assessed using the breastmilk iodine concentration (BMIC).

Addressing the Challenge of Potentially Hazardous Elements in the Reduction of Hypertension, Diabetes and Chronic Kidney Disease in the Caribbean.

Background: Environmental surveys have characterized trace elements such as lead (Pb), cadmium (Cd) and arsenic (As) as potential risk factors for non-communicable diseases. There have been few studies conducted in the Caribbean region to explore, define or clarify such findings locally. Furthermore, local pollution control efforts are often juxtaposed against more seemingly immediate economic concerns in poor communities.

Determination of Tc in fresh water using TRU resin by ICP-MS.

Technetium-99 (Tc) determination at trace level by inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry (ICP-MS) is challenging because there is no readily available appropriate Tc isotopic tracer. A new method using Re as a recovery tracer to determine Tc in fresh water samples, which does not require any evaporation step, was developed. Tc(VII) and Re(VII) were pre-concentrated on a small anion exchange resin (AER) cartridge from one litre of water sample.

Differential cytotoxic and inflammatory potency of amorphous silicon dioxide nanoparticles of similar size in multiple cell lines.

The likelihood of environmental and health impacts of silicon dioxide nanoparticles (SiNPs) has risen, due to their increased use in products and applications. The biological potency of a set of similarly-sized amorphous SiNPs was investigated in a variety of cells to examine the influence of physico-chemical and biological factors on their toxicity. Cellular LDH and ATP, BrdU incorporation, resazurin reduction and cytokine release were measured in human epithelial A549, human THP-1 and mouse J774A.

Efficacy of Allium cepa test system for screening cytotoxicity and genotoxicity of industrial effluents originated from different industrial activities.

Efficacy of Allium cepa test system for screening cytotoxicity and genotoxicity of treated effluents originated from four types of industrial activities (two textile industries, three rubber based industries, two common treatment plants of industrial zones, and two water treatment plants) was assessed. Physico-chemical parameters including the heavy metal/metalloid levels of the effluents varied depending on the industry profile, but most of the measured parameters in the effluents were within the specified tolerance limits of Sri Lankan environmental regulations for discharge of industrial effluents into inland surface waters. In the A.

Cytotoxicity of carbon nanotube variants: a comparative in vitro exposure study with A549 epithelial and J774 macrophage cells.

While production of engineered carbon nanotubes (CNTs) has escalated in recent years, knowledge of risk associated with exposure to these materials remains unclear. We report on the cytotoxicity of four CNT variants in human lung epithelial cells (A549) and murine macrophages (J774). Morphology, metal content, aggregation/agglomeration state, pore volume, surface area and modifications were determined for the pristine and oxidized single-walled (SW) and multi-walled (MW) CNTs.