European and multi-ancestry genome-wide association meta-analysis of atopic dermatitis highlights importance of systemic immune regulation.

Atopic dermatitis (AD) is a common inflammatory skin condition and prior genome-wide association studies (GWAS) have identified 71 associated loci. In the current study we conducted the largest AD GWAS to date (discovery N = 1,086,394, replication N = 3,604,027), combining previously reported cohorts with additional available data. We identified 81 loci (29 novel) in the European-only analysis (which all replicated in a separate European analysis) and 10 additional loci in the multi-ancestry analysis (3 novel).

Epigenome-Wide Meta-analysis Reveals Associations Between Dietary Glycemic Index and Glycemic Load and DNA Methylation in Children and Adolescents of Different Body Sizes.

Objective: Dietary glycemic index (GI) and glycemic load (GL) are associated with cardiometabolic health in children and adolescents, with potential distinct effects in people with increased BMI. DNA methylation (DNAm) may mediate these effects. Thus, we conducted meta-analyses of epigenome-wide association studies (EWAS) between dietary GI and GL and blood DNAm of children and adolescents.

Editor's Choice - Estimated Radiation Dose to the Operator During Endovascular Aneurysm Repair.

Objective: To estimate operator organ doses from fluoroscopically guided infrarenal endovascular aneurysm repair (EVAR) procedures, using the detailed exposure information contained in radiation dose structured reports.

Methods: Conversion factors relating kerma area product (P) to primary operator organ doses were calculated using Monte Carlo methods for 91 beam angles and seven x-ray spectra typical of clinical practice. A computer program was written, which selects the appropriate conversion factor for each exposure listed in a structured report and multiplies it by the respective P.

Workplace interventions to reduce the risk of SARS-CoV-2 infection outside of healthcare settings.

Background: Although many people infected with SARS-CoV-2 (severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus-2) experience no or mild symptoms, some individuals can develop severe illness and may die, particularly older people and those with underlying medical problems. Providing evidence-based interventions to prevent SARS-CoV-2 infection has become more urgent with the spread of more infectious SARS-CoV-2 variants of concern (VoC), and the potential psychological toll imposed by the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic.   Controlling exposures to occupational hazards is the fundamental method of protecting workers.

Association of neighbourhood disadvantage and individual socioeconomic position with all-cause mortality: a longitudinal multicohort analysis.

Background: Few studies have examined the interactions between individual socioeconomic position and neighbourhood deprivation and the findings so far are heterogeneous. Using a large sample of diverse cohorts, we investigated the interaction effect of neighbourhood socioeconomic deprivation and individual socioeconomic position, assessed using education, on mortality.

Methods: We did a longitudinal multicohort analysis that included six cohort studies participating in the European LIFEPATH consortium: the CoLaus (Lausanne, Switzerland), E3N (France), EPIC-Turin (Turin, Italy), EPIPorto (Porto, Portugal), Melbourne Collaborative Cohort Study (Melbourne, VIC, Australia), and Whitehall II (London, UK) cohorts.

Bounding uncertainties around the conceptual representation of species in radiological assessment in the context of routine atmospheric release.

Wildlife protection has become of regulatory interest since the International Commission on Radiological Protection (ICRP) developed an approach to assess the level of radiological protection specifically for animals and plants. For the purpose of demonstrating compliance with regulation to protect the environment against routine authorised discharges from nuclear facilities, the wide variety of biota inhabiting an ecosystem needs to be condensed to a limited set of representative organisms, as proposed by the ICRP with a set of 'reference animals and plants' which can be considered representative of many other species. It is now recommended in the International Atomic Energy Agency Safety Standards, and internationally accepted, that the use of such a limited number of organisms to represent a pool of species is adequate for radiation protection purposes, particularly in planned exposure situations.

Signatures of TSPAN8 variants associated with human metabolic regulation and diseases.

Here, with the example of common copy number variation (CNV) in the gene, we present an important piece of work in the field of CNV detection, that is, CNV association with complex human traits such as H NMR metabolomic phenotypes and an example of functional characterization of CNVs among human induced pluripotent stem cells (HipSci). We report exon 11 (ENSE00003720745) as a pleiotropic locus associated with metabolomic regulation and show that its biology is associated with several metabolic diseases such as type 2 diabetes (T2D) and cancer. Our results further demonstrate the power of multivariate association models over univariate methods and define metabolomic signatures for variants in .

EFFECTIVE DOSE COEFFICIENTS FOR RADON AND PROGENY: A REVIEW OF ICRP AND UNSCEAR VALUES.

The International Commission on Radiological Protection (ICRP) publishes guidance on protection against radon exposure in homes and workplaces. ICRP Publication 137 recommends a dose coefficient of 3 mSv per mJ h m-3 (~10 mSv WLM-1) to be used in most circumstances of radon exposure, for workers in buildings and in underground mines. Recently, United Nations Scientific Committee on the Effects of Atomic Radiation (UNSCEAR) reviewed radon epidemiology and dosimetry and concluded that its established dose coefficient of 1.

Epigenome-Wide Association Study Reveals Methylation Loci Associated With Offspring Gestational Diabetes Mellitus Exposure and Maternal Methylome.

Objective: Gestational diabetes mellitus (GDM) is associated with an increased risk of obesity and insulin resistance in offspring later in life, which might be explained by epigenetic changes in response to maternal hyperglycemic exposure.

Research Design And Methods: We explored the association between GDM exposure and maternal blood and newborn cord blood methylation in 536 mother-offspring pairs from the prospective FinnGeDi cohort using Illumina MethylationEPIC 850K BeadChip arrays. We assessed two hypotheses.

A cluster of Shiga Toxin-producing O157:H7 highlights raw pet food as an emerging potential source of infection in humans.

In August 2017, a cluster of four persons infected with genetically related strains of Shiga toxin-producing Escherichia coli (STEC) O157:H7 was identified. These strains possessed the Shiga toxin (stx) subtype stx2a, a toxin type known to be associated with severe clinical outcome. One person died after developing haemolytic uraemic syndrome.

Relationship Between Blood Pressure and Incident Cardiovascular Disease: Linear and Nonlinear Mendelian Randomization Analyses.

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Risk of cancer associated with low-dose radiation exposure: comparison of results between the INWORKS nuclear workers study and the A-bomb survivors study.

The Life Span Study (LSS) of Japanese atomic bomb survivors has served as the primary basis for estimates of radiation-related disease risks that inform radiation protection standards. The long-term follow-up of radiation-monitored nuclear workers provides estimates of radiation-cancer associations that complement findings from the LSS. Here, a comparison of radiation-cancer mortality risk estimates derived from the LSS and INWORKS, a large international nuclear worker study, is presented.

Accidental neutron exposure in a medical setting: a case study.

In May 2016, a new linear accelerator (Linac) was installed at a hospital oncology department. A team of individuals supervised the installation, including a Radiation Oncologist who acted as an independent observer to the installation, calibration, beam data collection and shielding measurements. In order to ensure the shielding was correct, a licensed representative of the Turkish Atomic Energy Authority carried out formal measurements of the gamma and neutron dose rates at a variety of locations in and around the Linac facility.

Fine Particulate Matter Exposure and Cancer Incidence: Analysis of SEER Cancer Registry Data from 1992-2016.

Background: Previous research has identified an association between fine particulate matter () air pollution and lung cancer. Most of the evidence for this association, however, is based on research using lung cancer mortality, not incidence. Research that examines potential associations between and incidence of non-lung cancers is limited.

The 2019 Bo Lindell Laureate Lecture: On the use of interdisciplinary, stakeholder-driven, radiation protection research in support of medical uses of ionising radiation.

Medical exposures form the largest manmade contributor to total ionising radiation exposure of the UK population. In recent years, new technologies have been developed to improve treatment and prognosis of individuals treated with radiation for diseases such as cancer. However, there is evidence of public, patient, and medical professional concern that radiation protection regulations and practices, as well as understanding of potential long-term adverse health effects of radiation exposure (in the context of other health risks), have not always 'kept pace' with technological developments in this field.

Trans-ethnic and Ancestry-Specific Blood-Cell Genetics in 746,667 Individuals from 5 Global Populations.

Most loci identified by GWASs have been found in populations of European ancestry (EUR). In trans-ethnic meta-analyses for 15 hematological traits in 746,667 participants, including 184,535 non-EUR individuals, we identified 5,552 trait-variant associations at p < 5 × 10, including 71 novel associations not found in EUR populations. We also identified 28 additional novel variants in ancestry-specific, non-EUR meta-analyses, including an IL7 missense variant in South Asians associated with lymphocyte count in vivo and IL-7 secretion levels in vitro.

Working towards a Co-Ordinated Approach to Invasive Mosquito Detection, Response and Control in the UK.

The United Kingdom (UK) has reported a single detection of the eggs of the invasive mosquito vector in each of the three years from 2016 to 2018, all in southeast England. Here, we report the detection of mosquito eggs on three occasions at two sites in London and southeast England in September 2019. Mosquito traps were deployed at 56 sites, in England, Scotland, Wales, and Northern Ireland, as part of a coordinated surveillance programme with local authorities, Edge Hill University, and government departments.

Is there any supportive evidence for low dose radiotherapy for COVID-19 pneumonia?

Since early April 2020, there has been intense debate over proposed clinical use of ionizing radiation to treat life-threatening pneumonia in Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) patients. At least twelve relevant papers appeared by 20 May 2020. The radiation dose proposed for clinical trials are a single dose (0.

Eurados review of retrospective dosimetry techniques for internal exposures to ionising radiation and their applications.

This work presents an overview of the applications of retrospective dosimetry techniques in case of incorporation of radionuclides. The fact that internal exposures are characterized by a spatially inhomogeneous irradiation of the body, which is potentially prolonged over large periods and variable over time, is particularly problematic for biological and electron paramagnetic resonance (EPR) dosimetry methods when compared with external exposures. The paper gives initially specific information about internal dosimetry methods, the most common cytogenetic techniques used in biological dosimetry and EPR dosimetry applied to tooth enamel.