Publications by authors named "R Pieters"
Background: Human exposure to micro- and nanoplastic particles (MNPs) is inevitable but human health risk assessment remains challenging for several reasons. MNPs are complex mixtures of particles derived from different polymer types, which may contain plenty of additives and/or contaminants. MNPs cover broad size distributions and often have irregular shapes and morphologies.
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- A study was conducted to investigate the presence of mineralocorticoids and glucocorticoids, particularly focusing on aldosterone and 18-hydroxycorticosterone, in hair follicles, which has not been reported before.
- Hair samples from 15 healthy volunteers were analyzed using advanced extraction and mass spectrometry techniques, allowing for the detection of various steroids without significant differences between genders.
- Notable findings included the detection of deoxycortisol, deoxycorticosterone, and 18-hydroxycorticosterone for the first time in hair, showing variability in levels for some steroids but stability in others across individuals.
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- The VHP4Safety project aims to create a Virtual Human Platform (VHP) that shifts safety assessments of chemicals and pharmaceuticals from animal testing to human-based methods, enhancing human health protection.
- The project involves collaboration among academic, regulatory, industrial, and societal partners and focuses on three main research areas: building the VHP, incorporating human data, and implementing the platform through real-world case studies.
- By combining innovative technology and stakeholder engagement through events like designathons, the project seeks to develop new methodologies for safety assessments while eliminating the need for animal testing.
KMT2A-rearranged acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL) is characterized by deregulation of the epigenome and shows susceptibility towards histone deacetylase (HDAC) inhibition. Most broad-spectrum HDAC inhibitors simultaneously target multiple human HDAC isoforms. Consequently, they often induce toxicity and especially in combination with other therapeutic agents.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFDioxins, PFOS, and 20 other Persistent Organic Pollutants in Eggs of Nine Wild Bird Species from the Vaal River, South Africa.
Arch Environ Contam Toxicol
October 2024
The Vaal River catchment drains the largest and most populated industrial and mining region in Southern Africa. Heron, ibis, cormorant, egrets, and darter eggs, representing three habitats and four feeding guilds, were collected at four locations in 2009/10 to identify hotspots and hazards associated with persistent organic pollutants (POPs). The POPs included 21 organochlorine pesticides, five polybrominated diphenyl ether (PBDE) classes, 18 polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs including six non-dioxin-like PCBs; NDL-PCB), and 12 dioxin-like PCBs (DL-PCBs), 17 polychlorinated dibenzo-p-dioxins and dibenzo-p-furans (PCDD/Fs), and perfluorooctane sulfonate (PFOS).
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