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Papers by Grace Lemasters

Environmental epidemiology, Jun 19, 2020

WIT Transactions on the Built Environment, May 29, 2013

$Research paper thumbnail of Mortality of workers employed in refractory ceramic fiber manufacturing: An update$

Journal of Applied Toxicology, 2022

This study evaluates the possible association between refractory ceramic fiber (RCF) exposure and... more This study evaluates the possible association between refractory ceramic fiber (RCF) exposure and all causes of death. Current and former employees (n = 1,119) hired from 1952 to 1999 at manufacturing facilities in New York (NY) state and Indiana were included. Work histories and quarterly plant‐wide sampling from 1987 to 2015 provided cumulative fiber exposure (CFE) estimates. The full cohort was evaluated as well as individuals with lower and higher exposure, <45 and ≥45 fiber‐months/cc. The Life‐Table‐Analysis‐System was used for all standardized mortality rates (SMRs). Person‐years at risk were accumulated from start of employment until 12/31/2019 or date of death. There was no significant association with all causes, all cancers, or lung cancer in any group. In the higher exposed, there was a significant elevation in both malignancies of the “urinary organs” (SMR = 3.59, 95% confidence interval [CI] 1.44, 7.40) and “bladder or other urinary site” (SMR = 4.04, 95% CI 1.10, 10...

American Journal of Epidemiology, Jun 1, 2006

Journal of Gerontological Nursing, Nov 1, 1978

Prostate-specific antigen (PSA) screening significantly increases the early diagnosis of prostate... more Prostate-specific antigen (PSA) screening significantly increases the early diagnosis of prostate cancer; however, the specificity of PSA screening is fairly low (20%), leading to many unnecessary biopsies and overtreatment. Hence, the identification of a circulating biomarker with high specificity to complement the traditional PSA test is greatly needed. CpG island promoter hypermethylation may be one of the earliest somatic genome alterations in the development of several types of cancers. Studies have shown that glutathione-s-transferase-π (GST-P1) promoter hypermethylation is the most common somatic genome alteration during prostate cancer development. We have retrieved 22 studies that measured GST-P1 in plasma, urine, buffy coat, ejaculate, or whole blood. In our random effect model, the pooled specificity of measurement of GST-P1 hypermethylation was 89% (95%CI, 71-95%), indicating that GST-P1 has a much stronger specificity than the PSA test. When we stratify the studies by biospecimen type and PCR method, high specificity remains within each stratum. Unlike the PSA test, the pooled sensitivity of the GST-P1 methylation test was 47% (95%CI, 33-61%), relatively low. However, low sensitivity does not downgrade its potential application as a complement to the PSA test, which has a high sensitivity but a poor specificity. Moreover, we have found that the likelihood of GST-P1 methylation tends to increase with prostate cancer pathological stage (stages 3-4 versus 1-2), with an odds ratio of 1.21 (95%CI, 0.99-1.48). However, due to limited sample size (10 studies), this did not reach statistical significance. The current study has several advantages. This is the first study to systemically review GST-P1 methylation as measured in body fluids, and to compare the specificity of GST-P1 to the traditional PSA test; second, this review has rigorously examined specificity by excluding healthy controls, who cannot represent individuals with elevated PSA levels or urological symptoms. Citation Format: {Authors}. {Abstract title} [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the 101st Annual Meeting of the American Association for Cancer Research; 2010 Apr 17-21; Washington, DC. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Cancer Res 2010;70(8 Suppl):Abstract nr 2797.

by exposures or other concomitant factors that may vary from pregnancy to pregnancy. Moreover, wh... more by exposures or other concomitant factors that may vary from pregnancy to pregnancy. Moreover, when exposures are to complex mixtures of chemicals, varying with time in number of components, doses of individual components, and constancy of exposure, the picture becomes even more complicated. A pilot study of risk of adverse reproductive outcomes among male wastewater treatment workers and their wives is described here. The wives of 231 workers were interviewed to evaluate retrospectively the outcomes of spontaneous early fetal loss and infertility. In addition, 87 workers participated in a cross-sectional evaluation of sperm/semen parameters. Due to the ever-changing nature of the exposure and the lack of quantification of specific exposures, six dichotomous variables were used for each specific job description to give a surrogate measure of exposure. Hence, no quantitative exposure-response relationships could be modeled. These six variables were independently assigned by two envir...

Journal of pediatric nursing, 1993

A survey was undertaken to determine the nature and prevalence of ribavirin aerosol administratio... more A survey was undertaken to determine the nature and prevalence of ribavirin aerosol administration in pediatric hospitals. Ribavirin was administered in 79.4% of the respondents' hospitals. The majority used head hoods for aerosol administration. Ventilators were the primary method used by 6% of the respondents. This study demonstrates typical types of ribavirin exposure and the need to evaluate effects of chronic exposure.

Environmental Research, Aug 1, 2019

Environmental Health, May 12, 2022

Reproductive Toxicology, Jun 1, 1997

Environmental health perspectives, Aug 17, 2016

Background Growing evidence suggests that exposure to greenspace—or space with natural green plan... more Background Growing evidence suggests that exposure to greenspace—or space with natural green plant life—is associated with improved health outcomes for children including improved attention, lower ...