Mining of Consumer Product Ingredient and Purchasing Data to Identify Potential Chemical Coexposures.

Background: Chemicals in consumer products are a major contributor to human chemical coexposures. Consumers purchase and use a wide variety of products containing potentially thousands of chemicals. There is a need to identify potential real-world chemical coexposures to prioritize toxicity screening.

Evaluation of PM air pollution sources and cardiovascular health.

Long-term air pollution exposure, notably fine particulate matter, is a global contributor to morbidity and mortality and a known risk factor for coronary artery disease (CAD) and myocardial infarctions (MI). Knowledge of impacts related to source-apportioned PM is limited. New modeling methods allow researchers to estimate source-specific long-term impacts on the prevalence of CAD and MI.

Cross-national comparison of psychosocial well-being and diabetes outcomes in adults with type 1 diabetes during the COVID-19 pandemic in US, Brazil, and Iran.

Background: The COVID-19 pandemic is a global public health emergency, which presents wide-ranging negative impacts on individuals with diabetes. To examine psychosocial well-being and diabetes outcomes in individuals with type 1 diabetes during the COVID-19 pandemic, and investigate how these factors vary in different countries.

Methods: Between April and June 2020 we employed a cross national comparative research study in the United States (US), Brazil, and Iran to collect data from 1788 adults with type 1 diabetes using web-based survey.

A critical look at the prediction of the temperature field around a laser-induced melt pool on metallic substrates.

The study of microstructure evolution in additive manufacturing of metals would be aided by knowing the thermal history. Since temperature measurements beneath the surface are difficult, estimates are obtained from computational thermo-mechanical models calibrated against traces left in the sample revealed after etching, such as the trace of the melt pool boundary. Here we examine the question of how reliable thermal histories computed from a model that reproduces the melt pool trace are.

Effectiveness of point-of-use and pitcher filters at removing lead phosphate nanoparticles from drinking water.

Orthophosphate (PO) addition is a common corrosion control treatment used to lower lead (Pb) concentrations at the consumer's tap by forming relatively insoluble Pb-phosphate (Pb-PO) minerals. However, some Pb-PO particles that can form in drinking water are mobile nanoparticles (i.e.

Utilizing literature-based rodent toxicology data to derive potency estimates for quantitative risk assessment.

Evaluating the potential occupational health risk of engineered nanomaterials is an ongoing need. The objective of this meta-analysis, which consisted of 36 studies containing 86 materials, was to assess the availability of published rodent pulmonary toxicity data for a variety of nanoscale and microscale materials and to derive potency estimates via benchmark dose modeling. Additionally, the potency estimates based on particle mass lung dose associated with acute pulmonary inflammation were used to group materials based on toxicity.

Ammonia Dry Deposition in an Alpine Ecosystem Traced to Agricultural Emission Hotpots.

Elevated reactive nitrogen (N) deposition is a concern for alpine ecosystems, and dry NH deposition is a key contributor. Understanding how emission hotspots impact downwind ecosystems through dry NH deposition provides opportunities for effective mitigation. However, direct NH flux measurements with sufficient temporal resolution to quantify such events are rare.

Advancing Translational Research in Environmental Science: The Role and Impact of Social Sciences.

Increasing recognition of the complexity of environmental problems and the need to understand social processes and human values is leading environmental management agencies in many nations, including the USA, to integrate more research from the social sciences through the inclusion of social scientists on interdisciplinary teams. For this study we conducted focus groups at three research laboratories within the U.S.

Mortality among workers at the Los Alamos National Laboratory, 1943-2017.

Background: During World War II (WWII), the Manhattan Engineering District established a secret laboratory in the mountains of northern New Mexico. The mission was to design, construct and test the first atomic weapon, nicknamed 'The Gadget' that was detonated at the TRINITY site in Alamogordo, NM. After WWII, nuclear weapons research continued, and the laboratory became the Los Alamos National Laboratory (LANL).

Drugs and Drug Classes Involved in Overdose Deaths Among Females, United States: 1999-2017.

Drug overdose deaths among U.S. women have risen steadily from 1999 to 2017, especially among certain ages.

A systematic scoping review of the methodological approaches and effects of pesticide exposure on solitary bees.

Background: Pollination services provided by solitary bees, the largest group of bees worldwide, are critical to the vitality of ecosystems and agricultural systems alike. Disconcertingly, bee populations are in decline, and while no single causative factor has been identified, pesticides are believed to play a role in downward population trends. The effects of pesticides on solitary bee species have not been previously systematically cataloged and reviewed.

Cohort profile: four early uranium processing facilities in the US and Canada.

Purpose: Pooling of individual-level data for workers involved in uranium refining and processing (excluding enrichment) may provide valuable insights into risks from occupational uranium and external ionizing radiation exposures.

Methods: Data were pooled for workers from four uranium processing facilities (Fernald, Mallinckrodt and Middlesex from the U.S.

Ab initio molecular dynamics on quantum computers.

Ab initio molecular dynamics (AIMD) is a valuable technique for studying molecules and materials at finite temperatures where the nuclei evolve on potential energy surfaces obtained from accurate electronic structure calculations. In this work, we present an approach to running AIMD simulations on noisy intermediate-scale quantum (NISQ)-era quantum computers. The electronic energies are calculated on a quantum computer using the variational quantum eigensolver (VQE) method.

The imaging fast ion D-alpha diagnostic (IFIDA) on DIII-D.

An Imaging Fast Ion D-alpha (IFIDA) diagnostic, characterized by a high optical spatial resolution of ≤2 mm for accurate validation of energetic particle (EP) transport models, has been developed on DIII-D. The diagnostic provides a 2D image in the radial-poloidal plane of the FIDA signal generated by EP emission after charge exchange with an injected neutral beam. A narrow passband filter integrates the FIDA signal in the spectral region of 650-652 nm (blue-shifted FIDA tail), which is mostly generated by co-passing EPs of energies E ≃ 40-80 keV.

The impact of sampling approach and daily water usage on lead levels measured at the tap.

There are many sampling approaches available for lead (Pb) in drinking water. Selecting the best approach for its intended use is critical. The objective of this work was to compare water Pb levels collected by multiple sampling approaches from a model home plumbing system (HPS) that included an old Pb service line (LSL), as a function of daily water usage.

An Examination of National Cancer Risk Based on Monitored Hazardous Air Pollutants.

Background: Hazardous air pollutants, or air toxics, are pollutants known to cause cancer or other serious health effects. Nationwide cancer risk from these pollutants is estimated by the U.S.

Preventing the cross-border spread of zoonotic diseases: Multisectoral community engagement to characterize animal mobility-Uganda, 2020.

In Uganda, the borders are highly porous to animal movement, which may contribute to zoonotic disease spread. We piloted an animal adaptation of an existing human-focused toolkit to collect data on animal movement patterns and interactions to inform One Health programs. During January 2020, we conducted focus group discussions and key informant interviews with participatory mapping of 2 national-level One Health stakeholders and 2 local-level abattoir representatives from Kampala.

Xenopus laevis and human type 3 iodothyronine deiodinase enzyme cross-species sensitivity to inhibition by ToxCast chemicals.

Deiodinase enzymes are critical for tissue-specific and temporal control of activation or inactivation of thyroid hormones during vertebrate development, including amphibian metamorphosis. We previously screened ToxCast chemicals for inhibitory activity toward human recombinant Type 3 iodothyronine deiodinase enzyme (hDIO3) and subsequently produced Xenopus laevis recombinant dio3 enzyme (Xldio3) with the goals to identify specific chemical inhibitors of Xldio3, to evaluate cross-species sensitivity and explore whether the human assay results are predictive of the amphibian. We identified a subset of 356 chemicals screened against hDIO3 to test against Xldio3, initially at a single concentration (200 μM), and further tested 79 in concentration-response mode.

Aggregated cumulative county arsenic in drinking water and associations with bladder, colorectal, and kidney cancers, accounting for population served.

Background: Many studies neglect to account for variation in population served by community water systems (CWSs) when aggregating CWS-level contaminant concentrations to county level.

Objective: In an ecological epidemiologic analysis, we explored two methods-unweighted and weighted (proportion of CWS population served by county population)-to account for population served by CWS in association between arsenic and three cancers to determine the impact of population served on aggregated measures of exposure.

Methods: CWS arsenic concentration data for 19 states were obtained from Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) National Environmental Public Health Tracking Network for 2000-10, aggregated to county level, and linked to county-level cancer data for 2011-5 from National Cancer Institute and CDC State Cancer Profiles.

Cumulative protective factors are associated with decreased risk for prescription opioid misuse among high school students.

Background: Multiple protective factors at the individual and environmental levels have been associated with prescription opioid misuse (POM) among adolescents. The literature may benefit by extending this research to consider the association between cumulative protective factors and current (ie, within the past 30 days) POM.

Methods: The 2017 Virginia Youth Survey (part of the Youth Risk Behaviour Surveillance System) (N=3697) was used to investigate recent POM and the presence of individual and cumulative protective factors among high school students.

RNF8 ubiquitinates RecQL4 and promotes its dissociation from DNA double strand breaks.

Ubiquitination-dependent DNA damage response (DDR) signals play a critical role in the cellular choice of DNA damage repair pathways. Human DNA helicase RecQL4 participates in DNA replication and repair, and loss of RecQL4 is associated with autosomal recessive genetic disorders characterized by genomic instability features. In an earlier study, RecQL4 was isolated as a stable complex that contained two ubiquitin ligases of the N-end rule (UBR1 and UBR2).

Development and validation of a scale to measure diabetes burnout.

Introduction: The aim of this study is to establish reliability and validity of the Diabetes Burnout Scale (DBS) among adults with type 1 diabetes (T1D).

Methods: We used a multi-stage, mixed methods approach to developing the DBS. First, the research team identified twenty-eight candidate items through a review of the literature and 117 qualitative narratives from adults living with T1D.

Integration of full divertor detachment with improved core confinement for tokamak fusion plasmas.

Divertor detachment offers a promising solution to the challenge of plasma-wall interactions for steady-state operation of fusion reactors. Here, we demonstrate the excellent compatibility of actively controlled full divertor detachment with a high-performance (β ~ 3, H ~ 1.5) core plasma, using high-β (poloidal beta, β > 2) scenario characterized by a sustained core internal transport barrier (ITB) and a modest edge transport barrier (ETB) in DIII-D tokamak.

Framework for Modeling Lead in Premise Plumbing Systems Using EPANET.

The lead contamination of drinking water in homes and buildings remains an important public health concern. In order to assess strategies to measure and reduce exposure to lead from drinking water, models are needed that incorporate the multiple factors affecting lead concentrations in premise plumbing systems (PPS). In this study, the use of EPANET, a commonly used hydraulic and water quality model for water distribution systems, was assessed for its ability to predict lead concentrations in PPS.

Gene Annotation in High Schools: Successful Student Pipeline and Teacher Professional Development in Bioscience Using GENI-ACT.

Knowledge of genomics is an essential component of science for high school student health literacy. However, few high school teachers have received genomics training or any guidance on how to teach the subject to their students. This project explored the impact of a genomics and bioinformatics research pipeline for high school teachers and students using an introduction to genome annotation research as the catalyst.