Environmental Epidemiology Research Papers - Academia.edu (original) (raw)

2025, Environmental Epidemiology

2025, Iranian Journal of Health and Environment

6یبیعش مارهش ،5هداز لیلج رایدنفسا ،4یملاغ ارتیم ،2،1یرصان نیمیس ،2،1این یقادصم اضریلع ،*،3،2نایسنوی دوعسم ،1ییازریم ایور ناریا ،نارهت ،نارهت یکشزپ مولع هاگشناد ،تسیز طیحم هدکشهوژپ ،بآ تیفیک تاقیقحت زکرم -1 ناریا ،نارهت ،نارهت یکشزپ مولع هاگشناد ،تشادهب هدکشناد ،طیحم تشادهب یسدنهم هورگ -2 ناریا ،نارهت ،نارهت یکشزپ مولع هاگشناد ،تسیز طیحم هدکشهوژپ ،تاعلاطا لیلحت و یسانش شور هورگ -3 ناریا ،نارهت ،ناریا یکشزپ مولع هاگشناد ،تشادهب هدکشناد ،طیحم تشادهب یسدنهم هورگ -4 ناریا ،نارهت ،نارهت ناتسا بلاضاف و بآ تکرش ،تیفیک لرتنک هاگشیامزآ -5 ناریا ،نارهت ،تشادهب ترازو وراد و اذغ نامزاس ،وراد و اذغ تیفیک لرتنک هاگشیامزآ -6

2025

Background & Objectives: Cationic dyes such as basic violet have many applications in different industries. The degradation of basic violet by means of UV, UV/H2O2, US, and US/H2O2 processes was investigated. Materials and Methods: Photolysis process was accomplished in a laboratory-scale batch photoreactor equipped with a 55 W immersed-type low-pressure mercury vapor lamp (UVC) and sonolysis process was investigated in a sonoreactor with high frequency (130 KHZ) Plate Type transducer at 100 W of acoustic power with emphasis on the effect of various parameters and addition of Na2SO4 on discoloration and degradation efficiency. Results: Complete decolonization of cationic BV 16 was achieved in 8 minutes using UV/H2O2 process. In addition, it was found that sonochemical decolorization is a less efficient process, comparing with photochemical process, as the decolorization proceeds to only 65% within 120 min. Low concentration of dye and natural pH resulting from dissolution of salt favors the degradation rate of dye. The results showed that sodium sulfate enhances the rate of sonochemical degradation of dye. In addition, kinetic parameters were obtained by application of first order equations. The results showed that UV/H2O2 and US/H2O2 processes can be effective in the removal of BV16 from aqueous solutions. Considering dye removal efficiency and availability, photochemical process combined with hydrogen peroxide can be recommended as a fast effective method for removal of dyes from aqueous solutions.

2025, Environment International

Background: Recently emerging evidence suggests an association between particulate matter less than 2.5 µm in diameter (PM 2.5 ) exposure and diabetes risk. However, evidence from Asia is limited. Here, we evaluated the association between PM 2.5 exposure and the prevalence of diabetes mellitus in one of the most populated countries in Asia, Indonesia. Methods: We used the 2013 Indonesia Basic Health Research, which surveyed households in 487 regencies/ municipalities in all 33 provinces in Indonesia (n = 647,947). We assigned individual exposure to PM 2.5 using QGIS software. Multilevel logistic regression with a random intercept based on village and cubic spline analysis were used to assess the association between PM 2.5 exposure and the prevalence of diabetes mellitus. We also assessed the lower exposure at which PM 2.5 has potential adverse effects. Results: We included 647,947 subjects with a mean age of 41.9 years in our study. Exposure to PM 2.5 levels was associated with a 10-unit increase in PM 2.5 (fully adjusted odds ratio: 1.09; 95% confidence interval: 1.05-1.14). The findings were consistent for quartile increases in PM 2.5 levels and the cubic spline function. Even when we restricted to those exposed to PM 2.5 concentrations of less than 10.0 µg/m 3 in accordance with the recommended guidelines for annual exposure to PM 2.5 made by the World Health Organization, the association remained elevated, especially among subjects living in the urban areas. Hence, we were unable to establish a safe threshold for PM 2.5 and the risk of diabetes. Conclusions: Our findings suggest a positive association between PM 2.5 exposure and prevalence of diabetes mellitus, which is possibly below the current recommended guidelines. Further studies are needed to ascertain the causal association of this finding.

2025, Environmental Epidemiology

Background/Aim: The health effects of Asian dust (AD) originating from drylands, such as the Gobi Desert and Taklamakan Desert, have been a concern in Asia. To overcome the mineral dust phenomenon and global issue of air pollution, wearing masks is recommended. However, the protective effect of wearing masks are unclear. We assessed the health impact of AD and protective effect of masks. Methods: We administered diary-style web-based questionnaires to 104 volunteers who lived in Yonago City in Japan between 2013 and 2015. The results were evaluated using a 4-level subjective symptom score (29 variables include respiratory, nasal, ocular, and skin symptoms), history of the disease, and preventive behaviors (e.g., mask use). Association between the symptom scores and AD were assessed using a linear mixed model. We used light detection and ranging observations as AD indicators. Data regarding climate (temperature, humidity, and atmospheric pressure) and environmental factors (e.g., NO2, SO2, Ox) were used as covariates. Regarding symptom prevention measures, we measured particle leakage rates of participants' masks. Results: The differences in scores of nasal symptoms (sneezing and blockage) on the AD and non-AD days were 0.054 (95% confidence interval (CI): 0.03-0.08, p < 0.001) and 0.053 (95% CI: 0.02-0.08, p < 0.001), respectively. A strong association was also observed for cough and throat-related symptoms. The relationship between symptoms and AD was also significant in the mask-wearing groups. Even with N95 or virus filtration efficiency masks, the leakage rate was high, suggesting that fitting is more important in addition to mask filter quality. Conclusions: We found that exposure to AD increased the risk of adverse subjective symptoms. We also found that it is essential to wear a mask that fits the facial features without a gap between the face and mask.

2025, Environmental Epidemiology

In developed countries, prenatal maternal stress has been associated with impaired fetal growth, however this has not been evaluated in rural sub-Saharan Africa. We evaluated the effect of prenatal maternal stress on fetal growth and birth outcomes in rural Ghana. Methods Leveraging a prospective, rural Ghanaian birth cohort, we ascertained prenatal maternal negative life events, categorized scores as 0-2 (low stress; referent), 3-5 (moderate), and >5 (high) among 353 pregnant women in the Kintampo North Municipality and Kintampo South District located within the middle belt of Ghana. We employed linear regression to determine associations between prenatal maternal stress and infant birth weight, head circumference, and length measured within 24 hours of birth. We additionally examined associations between prenatal maternal stress and adverse birth outcomes, including low birth weight, small for gestational age, and stillbirth using logistic regression. Models were adjusted for maternal age, weight, height, socioeconomic status, marital status, ethnicity, infant sex, and intervention cluster. . Effect modification by infant sex was examined. Compared with low prenatal maternal stress, high stress was associated with reduced birth length (β=-0.91 cm, p=0.04; p-value for trend=0.04) for all infants. Among female infants, moderate and high prenatal maternal stress were both associated with reduced birth weight (β=-0.16 kg, p=0.02; β=-0.18, p=0.04 respectively; p-value for trend=0.04) and head circumference (β =-0.66 cm, p=0.05; β=-1.02, p=0.01 respectively; p-value for trend=0.01). In female infants, high prenatal stress increased odds of a composite of adverse birth outcomes (OR 2.41, 95% CI 1.01-5.75; p for interaction=0.04). In this rural Ghanaian cohort, our data suggests that prenatal maternal stress may negatively impact fetal growth and pregnancy outcomes in all infants, especially for female infants. Understanding risk factors for impaired fetal growth may help develop preventative health strategies for future public health interventions

2025, Environmental Epidemiology

PDS 72: Environmental health issues in LMIC, Exhibition Hall (PDS), Ground floor, August 28, 2019, 10:30 AM -12:00 PM Background/Aim: E-waste recycling at Agbogbloshie consists mainly of collection, dismantling and burning of electronic waste. Processes involved are highly informal and physically demanding, consisting of varying levels of lifting, torso bending and twisting, prolonged sitting and standing. These activities are likely to cause musculoskeletal disorders (MSDs). Thus far, studies on adverse health effects of e-waste recycling have focused ostensibly on chemicals and/or particulate matter. This study investigated the prevalence of MSDs among e-waste workers at Agbogbloshie, Accra Ghana; one of the world's largest e-waste recycling sites. Methods: The Cornell musculoskeletal discomfort questionnaire was used to obtain information on the occurrence of MSDs in 11 specific body regions of 163 e-waste workers. Descriptive statistics was used to summarize information on MSD prevalence. Chi-squared and regression analyses were used to examine relationships between e-waste recycling job categories and MSD frequency and severity. Results: The study sample consisted of 70 collectors, 73 dismantlers and 20 burners working an average of 6 days per week, for an average duration of 9.95 ± 2.43 hours per day. Analysis indicated an overall MSD prevalence of 90% among e-waste workers. The 6 body regions where MSDs were most commonly reported included the lower back (65%), knee (39%), shoulder (37%), upper arm (30%), lower leg (27%) and neck (26%) respectively. Significant associations between e-waste job category and the frequency (p = 0.032) and severity (p = 0.005) of MSDs were found. For collectors the odds of developing knee and lower leg MSDs were 0.08(0.01-0.67) and 0.17(0.07-0.43) respectively compared to dismantlers. For dismantlers, the odds of developing MSD in the upper arm was 0.08(0.01-0.67) compared to burners. Conclusions: E-waste workers in Agbogbloshie experience an alarmingly high prevalence of MSDs. Reducing the occurrence of MSDs among e-waste workers will require effecting change through contextually and locally adapted ergonomic interventions.

2025, Toxicological Sciences

2025, PLOS ONE

Background Air pollution contains a mixture of different pollutants from multiple sources. However, the interaction of these pollutants with other environmental exposures, as well as their harmful effects on children under five in tropical countries, is not well known. Objective This study aims to characterize the external exposome (ambient and indoor exposures) and its contribution to clinical respiratory and early biological effects in children. Materials and methods A cohort study will be conducted on children under five (n = 500) with a one-year follow-up. Enrolled children will be followed monthly (phone call) and at months 6 and 12 (in person) post-enrolment with upper and lower Acute Respiratory Infections (ARI) examinations, asthma development, asthma control, and genotoxic damage. The asthma diagnosis will be pediatric pulmonologist-based and a standardized protocol will be used. Exposure, effect, and susceptibility biomarkers will be measured on buccal cells samples. For e...

2025, Exposome

Environmental factors affecting health and vulnerability far outweigh genetics in accounting for disparities in health status and longevity in US communities. The concept of the exposome, the totality of exposure from conception onwards, provides a paradigm for researchers to investigate the complex role of the environment on the health of individuals. We propose a complementary framework, community-level exposomics, for population-level exposome assessment. The goal is to bring the exposome paradigm to research and practice on the health of populations, defined by various axes including geographic, social, and occupational. This framework includes the integration of community-level measures of the built, natural and social environments, environmental pollution-derived from conventional and community science approaches, internal markers of exposure that can be measured at the population-level and early responses associated with health status that can be tracked using population-base...

2025, BMJ Public Health

Background The COVID-19 pandemic has had unprecedented impacts on mortality worldwide. This study aimed to estimate excess all-cause mortality in Japan from 2020 to 2023, stratified by age, sex and prefecture, to assess the evolving... more

2025, Environmental Epidemiology

What this study adds This study enhances our understanding of the impact of tropical cyclones on diarrheal diseases by analyzing existing literature. We identified critical inconsistencies, such as varying definitions of tropical cyclone exposure and diverse study designs. The lack of standardized definitions and simplified methods that overlook time-varying confounders can lead to biased results. We advocate for a unified definition and more sophisticated study designs to improve the understanding of the multihazard effects of tropical cyclones on diarrheal diseases. Moreover, specific transmission pathways between tropical cyclones and diarrheal diseases remain inadequately understood.

2025, Frontiers in Aging Neuroscience

Despite significant overlaps in mission, the fields of environmental health sciences and aging biology are just beginning to intersect. It is increasingly clear that genetics alone does not predict an individual’s neurological aging and sensitivity to disease. Accordingly, aging neuroscience is a growing area of mutual interest within environmental health sciences. The impetus for this review came from a workshop hosted by the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine in June of 2020, which focused on integrating the science of aging and environmental health research. It is critical to bridge disciplines with multidisciplinary collaborations across toxicology, comparative biology, epidemiology to understand the impacts of environmental toxicant exposures and age-related outcomes. This scoping review aims to highlight overlaps and gaps in existing knowledge and identify essential research initiatives. It begins with an overview of aging biology and biomarkers, followe...

2025, Environmental Epidemiology

Background: Cross-sectional studies suggest tungsten (W) exposure may be associated with diabetes. We assessed longitudinal associations between urinary W and fasting glucose, 2-hour glucose, insulin resistance (HOMA-IR), β-cell function (HOMA-β), and incident type 2 diabetes. Methods: We used data from 1,609 Hispanic and non-Hispanic White adults with 20 to 74 years of age residing in rural Colorado and participating in the San Luis Valley Diabetes Study. Urinary metal exposure values were measured at baseline and natural log-transformed. We assessed longitudinal associations between urinary W and continuous outcome measures using linear-mixed effect models and associations with incident diabetes using Fine and Gray competing risks regression models (competing event = all-cause mortality). The main adjustment set of covariates included: age, sex, ethnicity, education, smoking status, hypertension, body mass index, caloric intake, alcohol intake, and urinary creatinine levels. Secondary models were further adjusted for arsenic, cadmium, and lead exposures. We assessed whether sex or ethnicity were effect modifiers. Results: At baseline, the median W concentration was 0.22 μg/L (interquartile range = 0.20, 0.59). In the main cross-sectional analyses, lnW levels were significantly associated with 3% higher lnHOMA-IR (95% CI = 1 to 5). In the main longitudinal models, lnW was significantly associated with 1% higher natural log-transformed fasting glucose (95% CI = <1 to 1), 3% higher natural log-transformed HOMA-IR (95% CI = 2 to 5), and 28% higher incident diabetes (subdistribution hazard ratio=1.28, 95% CI = 1.09 to 1.50). Results remained significant when further adjusting for other metals. We observed evidence for effect modification by sex and ethnicity. Conclusion: Urinary W was longitudinally associated with adverse metabolic health indicators.

2025, International Journal of Hygiene and Environmental Health

Environmental health problems are among the world's most significant health concerns. Although environmental risks are experienced disproportionately by people in developing countries, environmental health research (EHR) is conducted primarily in developed countries. Human subjects participate in five main types of EHR: (1) documentation and quantification of exposure to potentially hazardous substances; (2) elucidation of biological responses to these materials; (3) characterization and measurement of susceptibility to harmful effects of hazardous materials; (4) trials involving environmental interventions to reduce risk; and (5) documentation and measurement of various manifestations of disease putatively linked to environmental exposures. Although existing frameworks for the ethics of international clinical research are generally relevant to EHR, they currently lack the specificity necessary to confront three inherent problems in EHR, namely under-determination in EHR findings, the unavoidable nature of some environmental hazards, and environmental justice implications. We examine these issues as they relate to community partnership, risk assessment, and the assessment and management of economic and political interests in EHR. We believe that there are 3 general features of ethical EHR, it has health promoting value, the populations studied are not restricted in their ability to avoid environmental hazards by economic or political repression, and the justification for conducting EHR on populations with known exposure to environmental hazards gets stronger as the limits on populations to reduce the hazards or remove themselves from them becomes greater, as long as the first and second conditions are also met.

2025

Background: As public awareness of consequences of environmental exposures has grown, estimating the adverse health effects due to simultaneous exposure to multiple pollutants is an important topic to explore. The challenges of evaluating the health impacts of environmental factors in a multipollutant model include, but are not limited to: identification of the most critical components of the pollutant mixture, examination of potential interaction effects, and attribution of health effects to individual pollutants in the presence of multicollinearity. Methods: In this paper, we reviewed five methods available in the statistical literature that are potentially helpful for constructing multipollutant models. We conducted a simulation study and presented two data examples to assess the performance of these methods on feature selection, effect estimation and interaction identification using both cross-sectional and time-series designs. We also proposed and evaluated a two-step strategy employing an initial screening by a tree-based method followed by further dimension reduction/variable selection by the aforementioned five approaches at the second step. Results: Among the five methods, least absolute shrinkage and selection operator regression performs well in general for identifying important exposures, but will yield biased estimates and slightly larger model dimension given many correlated candidate exposures and modest sample size. Bayesian model averaging, and supervised principal component analysis are also useful in variable selection when there is a moderately strong exposureresponse association. Substantial improvements on reducing model dimension and identifying important variables have been observed for all the five statistical methods using the two-step modeling strategy when the number of candidate variables is large. Conclusions: There is no uniform dominance of one method across all simulation scenarios and all criteria. The performances differ according to the nature of the response variable, the sample size, the number of pollutants involved, and the strength of exposure-response association/interaction. However, the two-step modeling strategy proposed here is potentially applicable under a multipollutant framework with many covariates by taking advantage of both the screening feature of an initial tree-based method and dimension reduction/variable selection property of the subsequent method. The choice of the method should also depend on the goal of the study: risk prediction, effect estimation or screening for important predictors and their interactions.

2025, Journal of Exposure Science & Environmental Epidemiology

Residence location has long been used to indicate environmental exposure in many epidemiological studies. This indicator is easy to establish, requires little exposure or monitoring data, and is potentially applicable to many types of investigations. The validity, accuracy and utility of residence location as an exposure indicator, however, is challenged by current concerns regarding multiple exposure pathways, persistent and toxic contaminants, and cumulative exposures from non -point, mobile and point sources. This paper reviews 45 epidemiological studies that use residence location to identify study populations and estimate air pollution exposures. Thirteen ( 29% ) of the studies determined environmental exposures based on ``proximity'' measures, usually the distance from a subject's residence to a pollutant source. Other studies used ``zones'' presumed to have equal pollutant levels. Several studies combined zone and proximity approaches. Exposures were quantified using monitoring data in 27 ( 60% ) studies and dispersion modeling in two ( 4% ) studies. Sixteen ( 36% ) studies did not use any environmental data to quantify exposure. A total of 31 ( 69% ) of the studies reported significant associations between health endpoints and the pollutant exposures represented by residence location. In general, comprehensive and systematic approaches to identify and estimate population exposures were not used, and the exposure estimates were therefore deemed likely to have great uncertainty. Unless exposure levels among groups are verified, it cannot be determined whether nonsignificant associations between exposures and health endpoints indicate a lack of measurable health effects, or are merely a result of exposure misclassification. Site -specific and quantitative exposure assessments are needed to better quantify and confirm exposures within such studies, as well as to permit interpretations and comparisons across studies.

2025, Salud …

The diagnostic criteria for the Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) have been changing according to international classifications. It is currently included in the ICD-10 as an hyperkinetic disorder and in the DSM-IV as a disorder having its onset during childhood and adolescence. The reported prevalence for ADHD is between 3% and 6%; up to 60% of the patients remain symptomatic through adolescence and adulthood. Population-based surveys of physicians who treat children and adolescents reveal that the rate and the proportion of office visits associated with ADHD are high and have increased over the past decade. This fact points to the need of elaborating clinical guidelines for the treatment of this disorder. Evidence from controlled clinical trials confirms the superiority of medication management for ADHD over behavioral therapy and the combination of medication and behavioral treatment. Stimulants are the most studied drugs for ADHD and constitute the first treatment of choice. Methylphenidate (MPH) is the only stimulant available in Mexico. Its mechanism of action is based on the blocking of the dopamine reuptake, which increases the availability of this neurotransmitter in the synaptic cleft. Based on the dopaminergic theories of ADHD, dopamine genes have been the initial candidates for molecular studies regarding response to MPH. Variations of the dopamine D4 receptor gene (DRD4) and the dopamine transporter gene (DAT1) have been related with the response to MPH. The short half life of this drug (less than three hours) supports the shift from once-a-day to twice-aday or thrice-a-day dosing. The Osmotic Release Oral System (OROS) of MPH allows to maintain therapeutic plasmatic doses with once-a-day dose. Its efficacy and tolerability have been shown in clinical trials. Regarding the long-term effects of MPH, this drug has demonstrated efficacy in a two-year follow-up controlled study. In addition, animal models have shown that the chronic exposure to MPH during developmental periods produces changes in the function of brain dopaminergic cells, as well as changes in behavior. The association between MPH and substance abuse has also been explored. The pharmacokinetic and pharmacodinamic differences between MPH and cocaine, which also acts by blocking the dopamine transporter, were examined: When administered intravenously, MPH, like cocaine, has a reinforcing effects at doses that exceed a 60% dopamine transporter blockade threshold. When administered orally at clinical doses, the pharmacological effects of MPH also exceed this threshold, but reinforcing effects rarely occur. So, the pharmacokinetic properties of MPH in brain differ for oral and intravenous routes of administration, suggesting that the oral administration of MPH mimics the tonic dopamine cell firing, which may be a critical factor associated with clinical effects. In addition, therapeutic doses of MPH do not act at the nucleus accumbens, a brain structure highly associated with reinforcing. These data suggest that oral administration of MPH does not lead to abuse. Follow-up studies have also shown that stimulant therapy is not associated with increased risk of substance abuse. Since 30% of the patients do not respond to stimulant treatment, the efficacy and safety of other drugs have been evaluated. Among them, tricyclic antidepressants (TCAs) are considered a good choice for the management of ADHD and conduct disorders. Their half life is longer than that of MPH, which allows a once-a-day or twice-a-day dosing. It has also been described that TCAs are effective for the treatment of comorbid tics. The main disadvantage of these drugs is their effect on cardiac conduction, which has been associated with sudden death. Bupropion is another antidepressant having an effect on dopamine activity. It has shown efficacy for the treatment of ADHD in children, adolescents, and adults, particularly in patients with nicotine dependence, patients with comorbid conduct disorder, or depression. Bupropion is available in a extendedrelease, once-daily formulation (XL). The main side effects of this antidepressant are the increased risk of seizure development, rash and mild elevation of blood pressure. This drug is not recommended for the treatment of patients with comorbid eating disorders. Venlafaxine (a serotonin and norepinephrine reuptake inhibitor) and reboxetine (a norepinephrine reuptake inhibitor) are recently introduced antidepressants which have shown efficacy in open label trials on patients with and without comorbid depressive disorder.

2025, Environmental Epidemiology

Several anthropometry measures were associated with the development of BCL, DLBCL, MM, and CLL. We found significant associations between consumption of dairy products and calcium and BCL and DLBCL, between fat and lower risk of CLL, between sugar and confectionary and FL, and between Mediterranean diet score, fish/shellfish, and Vit D and lower risk of DLBCL. Current smoking>25/day was related to CLL, DLBCL. Moreover, manual work activity and high physical activity were associated with incidence of BCL and DLBCL. Conclusions Using a novel EWAS approach, several exposures were found to be associated with BCL and its subtypes. Some of these were previously unknown, providing new insight in the development of BCL and highlighting the value of exposome-wide association studies.

2025

Purpose: To provide an overview of the types of adverse events reported to the US Food and Drug Administration (US FDA) for magnetic resonance (MR) systems over a 10-yr period. Methods: Two reviewers independently reviewed adverse events reported to FDA for MR systems from 1 January 2008 to 31 December 2017 and manually categorized events into eight event types. Thermal events were further subcategorized by probable cause. Objects that became projectiles were also categorized. Results: FDA received 1568 adverse event reports for MR systems between 1 January 2008 and 31 December 2017. This analysis included 1548 reports. Thermal events were the most commonly reported serious injury (59% of analyzed reports). Mechanical eventsdefined as slips, falls, crush injuries, broken bones, and cuts; musculoskeletal injuries from lifting or movement of the device-(11%), projectile events (9%), and acoustic events (6%) were also observed. Conclusions: Adverse events related to MR systems consistent with the known hazards of the MR environment continue to be reported to FDA. Increased awareness of the types of adverse events occurring for MR imaging systems is important for prevention.

2025, PLOS ONE

Air pollution has been associated with increased systemic inflammation markers. We developed a new pathway analysis approach to investigate whether gene variants within relevant pathways (oxidative stress, endothelial function, and metal processing) modified the association between particulate air pollution and fibrinogen, C-reactive protein (CRP), intercellular adhesion molecule-1 (ICAM-1), and vascular cell adhesion molecule-1 (VCAM-1). Our study population consisted of 822 elderly participants of the Normative Aging Study (1999Study ( -2011)). To investigate the role of biological mechanisms and to reduce the number of comparisons in the analysis, we created pathway-specific scores using gene variants related to each pathway. To select the most appropriate gene variants, we used the least absolute shrinkage and selection operator (Lasso) to relate independent outcomes representative of each pathway (8-hydroxydeoxyguanosine for oxidative stress, augmentation index for endothelial function, and patella lead for metal processing) to gene variants. A high genetic score corresponds to a higher allelic risk profile. We fit mixed-effects models to examine modification by the genetic score of the weekly air pollution association with the outcome. Among participants with higher genetic scores within the oxidative stress pathway, we observed significant associations between particle number and fibrinogen, while we did not find any association among participants with lower scores (p interaction = 0.04). Compared to individuals with low genetic scores of metal processing gene variants, participants with higher scores had greater effects of particle number on fibrinogen (p interaction = 0.12), CRP (p interaction = 0.02), and ICAM-1 (p interaction = 0.08). This two-stage penalization method is easy to implement and can be used for large-scale genetic applications.

2025, Journal of Agricultural Machinery

Introduction
Energy analysis offers significant benefits by establishing a foundation for resource conservation, quantifying the energy consumed at each stage of production, identifying processes that require minimal energy input, and supporting sustainable management practices. In sustainable agricultural systems, maximizing the productivity of input energies is a key objective. This study aims to assess energy consumption patterns within the sugar industry and to compare the optimization of energy consumption indicators using two meta-heuristic algorithms, ultimately seeking to enhance resource efficiency and promote sustainable production methods.
Materials and Methods
This study evaluated energy efficiency and environmental impacts in sugarcane-based sugar production at Dehkhoda Sugarcane Agro-Industry Company (in Khuzestan Province, Iran), during the 2019-2020 agricultural cycle. Data collection integrated field questionnaires, expert interviews, operational records from the facility, and national agricultural databases (Ministry of Agriculture Jihad statistics and energy balance sheet). Energy flow were analyzed using MATLAB statistical software and the Equinonet database, with comparative optimization through genetic algorithms and imperialist competitive algorithms to identify efficiency improvements.
Results and Discussion
The results showed that, for the majority of indicators evaluated, the imperialist competitive algorithm outperformed the genetic algorithm in optimizing energy consumption. In addition to reducing the environmental impacts of this profitable industry in the country, it has a high potential for energy savings. The total energy input reduction with the genetic algorithm was 17.05%, while the imperialist competitive algorithm achieved a higher reduction of 26.40%. Natural gas consumption decreased by 3.82% using the genetic algorithm, and by 27.60% with the imperialist competitive algorithm. Direct energy savings were 16.97% for the genetic algorithm and 27.48% for the imperialist competitive algorithm. Soil acidification reduction was 23.03% with the imperialist competitive algorithm and 19.19% with the genetic algorithm, compared to conditions before optimization.
Conclusion
In general, it can be concluded that, given the growing demand for sugar production and related industries, as well as the high efficiency of the sugar production sector, it is advisable to utilize expert knowledge and apply meta-heuristics methods to optimize energy consumption and available inputs with the aim of reducing harmful environmental impacts.

2025, Toxicological Sciences

The development of the exposome concept has been one of the hallmarks of environmental and health research for the last decade. The exposome encompasses the life course environmental exposures including lifestyle factors from the prenatal period onwards. It has inspired many research programs and is expected to influence environmental and health research, practices, and policies. Yet, the links bridging toxicology and the exposome concept have not been well developed. In this review, we describe how the exposome framework can interface with and influence the field of toxicology, as well as how the field of toxicology can help advance the exposome field by providing the needed mechanistic understanding of the exposome impacts on health. Indeed, exposome-informed toxicology is expected to emphasize several orientations including (1) developing approaches integrating multiple stressors, in particular chemical mixtures, as well as the interaction of chemicals with other stressors, (2) using mechanistic frameworks such as the adverse outcome pathways to link the different stressors with toxicity outcomes, (3) characterizing the mechanistic basis of long-term effects by distinguishing different patterns of exposures and further exploring the environment-DNA interface through genetic and epigenetic studies, and (4) improving the links between environmental and human health, in particular through a stronger connection between alterations in our ecosystems and human toxicology. The exposome concept provides the linkage between the complex environment and contemporary mechanistic toxicology. What toxicology can bring to exposome characterization is a needed framework for mechanistic understanding and regulatory outcomes in risk assessment.

2025, Iranian Journal of Health and Environment

Background and Objectives: Doogh is considered as one of the traditional drink in iran and other nations like Eastern Europe, Middle East and Asia. in the past the "doogh" was applied to a product which remained after dilution of full fat yoghurt with water and fat separation using the musk. Nowadays Doogh has have physical, chemical, physico-chemical, microbial and sensory characteristics and standards. in this study the microbial quality of four famous brands produced in iran was assessed. Materials and Methods: This is a cross-sectional study. Totally, 126 samples were selected from the foodstuff suppliers using random sampling .in order to determine Staphylococcus aureus, Baird Parker Agar (recognition test) and coagulase test (confirmation test) were used. Results: The results were analyzed using SPSS, and T-Test and one way ANOVA were performed. The results showed that in view of contamination there is Significant differences between the months, the brands and the types of doogh (p<0.05). Conclusion: According to the results and due to probable presence Entrotoxin, the analyzed brands can be potent risk to consumer's health.

2025, Environmental Epidemiology

Background: Infant consumption of formula reconstituted with fluoridated water can lead to excessive fluoride intake. We examined the association between fluoride exposure in infancy and intellectual ability in children who lived in fluoridated or non-fluoridated cities in Canada. Methods: We examined 398 mother-child dyads in the Maternal-Infant Research on Environmental Chemicals cohort who reported drinking tap water. We estimated water fluoride concentration using municipal water reports. We used linear regression to analyze the association between fluoride exposure and IQ scores, measured by the Wechsler Primary and Preschool Scale of Intelligence-III at 3-4 years. We examined whether feeding status (breast-fed versus formula-fed) modified the impact of water fluoride and if fluoride exposure during fetal development attenuated this effect. A second model estimated the association between fluoride intake from formula and child IQ. Results: Thirty-eight percent of mother-child dyads lived in fluoridated communities. An increase of 0.5 mg/L in water fluoride concentration (approximately equaling the difference between fluoridated and non-fluoridated regions) corresponded to a 9.3-and 6.2-point decrement in Performance IQ among formula-fed (95% CI: -13.77, -4.76) and breast-fed children (95% CI: -10.45, -1.94). The association between water fluoride concentration and Performance IQ remained significant after controlling for fetal fluoride exposure among formula-fed (B = -7.93, 95% CI: -12.84, -3.01) and breastfed children (B = -6.30, 95% CI: -10.92, -1.68). A 0.5 mg increase in fluoride intake from infant formula corresponded to an 8.8-point decrement in Performance IQ (95% CI: -14.18, -3.34) and this association remained significant after controlling for fetal fluoride exposure (B = -7.62, 95% CI: -13.64, -1.60). Conclusions: Exposure to increasing levels of fluoride in tap water was associated with diminished non-verbal intellectual abilities; the effect was more pronounced among formula-fed children.

2025, WHO Bulletin Board

Objective To examine trends in the incidence of carbon monoxide poisoning before and after a ban on domestic use of raw coal in Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia. Methods Using injury surveillance data and population estimates, we calculated the incidence per 100 000 person-years of fatal and nonfatal domestic carbon monoxide poisoning before (May 2017 to April 2019) and after (May 2019 to April 2022) the ban in May 2019. We analysed data by age and sex, and compared areas not subjected to the ban with districts where domestic use of raw coal was banned and replaced with refined coal briquettes. Findings We obtained complete data on 2247 people with carbon monoxide poisoning during the study period in a population of around 3 million people. In districts with the ban, there were 33 fatal and 151 non-fatal carbon monoxide poisonings before the ban, and 91 fatal and 1633 non-fatal carbon monoxide poisonings after the ban. The annual incidence of poisoning increased in districts with the ban, from 7.2 and 6.4 per 100 000 person-years in the two 12-month periods before the ban to 38.9, 42.0 and 40.1 per 100 000 in the three 12-month periods after the ban. The incidence of poisoning remained high after the ban, despite efforts to educate the public about the correct use of briquettes and the importance of ventilation. The incidence of carbon monoxide poisoning also increased slightly in areas without the ban. Conclusion Efforts are needed to investigate heating practices among households using briquettes, and to determine factors causing high carbon monoxide concentrations at home.

2025, Atmosphere

Ambient air pollution is a risk factor for both acute and chronic diseases and poses serious health threats to the world population. We aim to study the relationship between air pollution and all-cause mortality in the context of a city-state exposed to the Southeast Asian haze problem. The primary exposure was ambient air pollution, as measured by the Pollutants Standards Index (PSI). The outcome of interest was all-cause mortality from 2010-2015. A time-stratified case-crossover design was performed. A conditional Poisson regression model, including environmental variables such as PSI, temperature, wind speed, and rainfall, was fitted to the daily count of deaths to estimate the incidence rate ratio (IRR) of mortality per unit increase in PSI, accounting for overdispersion and autocorrelation. To account for intermediate exposure effects (maximum lag of 10 days), a distributed lag non-linear model was used. There were 105,504 deaths during the study period. Increment in PSI was significantly associated with an increased risk of mortality. The adjusted IRR of mortality per the 10-unit increase in PSI was 1.01 (95%CI = 1.00-1.01). The lag effect was stronger when PSI was in the unhealthy range compared to the good and moderate ranges. At lag = 7 days, PSI appeared to have an adverse effect on mortality, although the effect was not significant. These findings provide evidence on the general health hazard of exposure to air pollution and can potentially guide public health policies in the region.

2025, Bias in public health research

There is bias in every research which cannot be avoided. The aim of this research is reduce the influence of bias inorder to access a near accurate data for statistical evaluation.

2025, BMJ Open

Introduction: Genotoxic biomarkers have been studied largely in adult population, but few studies so far have investigated them in children exposed to air pollution. Children are a high-risk group as regards the health effects of air pollution and some studies suggest that early exposure during childhood can play an important role in the development of chronic diseases in adulthood. The objective of the project is to evaluate the associations between the concentration of urban air pollutants and biomarkers of early biological effect in children, and to propose a model for estimating the global risk of early biological effects due to air pollutants and other factors in children. Methods and analysis: Two biomarkers of early biological effects, DNA damage by the comet assay and the micronuclei (MN) test, will be investigated in oral mucosa cells of 6-8-year-old children. Concurrently, some toxic airborne pollutants (polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon (PAH) and nitro-PAH) and in vitro air mutagenicity and toxicity in ultra-fine air particulates (PM0.5) will be evaluated. Furthermore, demographic and socioeconomic variables, other sources of exposures to air pollutants and lifestyle variables will be assessed by a structured questionnaire. The associations between sociodemographic, environmental and other exposure variables and biomarkers of early biological effect using univariate and multivariate models will be analysed. A tentative model for calculating the global absolute risk of having early biological effects caused by air pollution and other variables will be proposed. The project has been approved by the Ethics Committees of the local Health Authorities. The results will be communicated to local Public Health Agencies, for supporting educational programmes and health policy strategies. LIFE+2012 Environment Policy and Governance. LIFE12 ENV/IT/ 000614.

2025, Journal of Agricultural Machinery

Agricultural mechanization goal is to maximize the utility. Establishment of subsidies systemization and Iran incorporation with World Target Organization (WTO), choosing an appropriate technology will be more important. Agricultural development is due to correct mechanization and choosing an appropriate tractor is one of mechanization implementation bases. In the paper, criteria involved in choosing an appropriate tractor were considered according to Hamedan province conditions and the best choice between 11 tractor models was selected regarding to 9 criteria which were analyzed by Technique for Order-Preference by Similarity to Ideal Solution (TOPSIS). The criteria are: drawbar power, hydraulic power, power take off (PTO) power, PTO shaft, specific fuel consumption (SFC), speed range, engine standard round per minute, gearbox, and manufacturer. Between the choices, U453 was preferred and recommended as appropriate tractor.

2025, Iranian Agricultural Extension and Education Journal

Natural disasters have far-reaching and enduring impacts on all aspects of human life. Accurate assessment of vulnerability to natural hazards in different regions is crucial for effective natural hazard management. This shift from crisis management to risk management helps farmers better cope with the impacts of natural disasters. This study aimed to evaluate the vulnerability of farmers in the Sistan Plain to natural hazards such as drought, floods, and dust storms. Data was collected through a questionnaire based on Me-bar and Valdez's study, with a sample size of 382 farmers determined using the Krejcie and Morgan table. The findings indicated that vulnerability to drought in the Sistan Plain was very high, dust storms were at a severe level, and flooding posed a moderate risk. Notably, farmers in Nimruz County experienced the highest vulnerability to natural hazards. The results further suggested that the intensification of drought exacerbates farmers' vulnerability to other natural hazards. Consequently, it is recommended that policymakers prioritize the allocation of resources for natural hazard mitigation, focusing first on drought, followed by dust storms, and lastly flooding. These insights can significantly inform natural disaster management strategies for policymakers.

2025, Environmental epidemiology

2025, The Islamic Journal of Women and the Family

TWomen play an important role in determining family consumption pattern and decreasing environmental pollutions. They can prevent risky actions that damage the environment by their function. This descriptive-documentary research was conducted with the purpose of investigating the Islamic view on environment protection, the relationship between humans and nature, and the solutions for increasing women's participation in environment activities. According to the results, respecting the Islamic teachings, including the spirit of contentment and the avoidance of overconsumption which is emphasized in Islam, can be effective in protecting the environment and preventing the destruction of natural resources.

2025, PLoS ONE

Pesticide poisoning has been recognized as an important public health issue around the world. The objectives of this study were to report nationally representative figures on mortality from and the incidence of pesticide poisoning in South Korea and to describe their epidemiologic characteristics. We calculated the age-standardized rates of mortality from and the incidence of pesticide poisoning in South Korea by gender and region from 2006 through 2010 using registered death data obtained from Statistics Korea and national healthcare utilization data obtained from the National Health Insurance Review and Assessment Service of South Korea. During the study period of 2006 through 2010, a total of 16,161 deaths and 45,291 patients related to pesticide poisoning were identified, marking respective mortality and incidence rates of 5.35 and 15.37 per 100,000 population. Intentional self-poisoning was identified as the major cause of death due to pesticides (85.9%) and accounted for 20.8% of all recorded suicides. The rates of mortality due to and incidence of pesticide poisoning were higher in rural than in urban areas, and this rural-urban discrepancy was more pronounced for mortality than for incidence. Both the rate of mortality due to pesticide poisoning and its incidence rate increased with age and were higher among men than women. This study provides the magnitude and epidemiologic characteristics for mortality from and the incidence of pesticide poisoning at the national level, and strongly suggests the need for further efforts to prevent pesticide selfpoisonings, especially in rural areas in South Korea.

2025, Environmental Epidemiology

The geographical variation of the MMTs is mainly driven by the temperature distribution and might affect differently according to the climatic zone. Our findings suggest that locations in arid climates are more adapted to heat than those in tropical and temperate climates. Locations in continental climates might not be yet adapted, indicating the need for the implementation of public health policies under climate change.

2025, Environmental Epidemiology

Background: In order for clean household energy interventions to improve health, the must reduce air pollution exposures. Methods: The Ghana Randomized Air Pollution and Health Study randomized 1,414 households with pregnant women into a control (N = 515) and intervention arms providing either a fan-assisted efficient biomass cookstove (N = 519) or a liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) stove and a supply of free LPG (N = 355). Women received baseline and six post-intervention 72-hour personal exposure assessments. Exposure was primarily assessed using personal CO monitors, but two sessions included personal PM2.5 monitors. Data were truncated at 48 hours. Results: We obtained 5,747 48-hour maternal CO exposure estimates and 1,422 48-hour maternal PM2.5 exposure estimates. At baseline, 1.7% of 24-hour maternal CO exposure estimates exceeded the World Health Organization (WHO) CO 24-hour guideline (6.11 ppm) with a mean value of 1.50 ± 1.19 ppm. Mean maternal CO exposure in the LPG arm fell 46% in the post-intervention period (Mean ± SD: 0.89 ± 2.01) and the biomass stove largely did not reduce exposure in comparison to changes in the control arm. Mean maternal PM2.5 exposure in the LPG arm was 32% lower than the control arm in the post-intervention period (52 μg/m3 ± 28 μg/m3 vs 77 μg/m3 ± 44 μg/ m3); exposures in the biomass arm (73 μg/m3 ± 41 μg/m3) were not different than the control arm. Two-thirds of post-intervention mean 48-hour maternal PM2.5 LPG arm exposure estimates exceeded the WHO Annual Interim-I guideline (35 µg/m 3 ). Conclusions: We provide evidence on the potential for LPG stove adoption to yield health benefits through reduced household air pollution exposure using results from the largest randomized clean cooking intervention trial to report air pollution exposure results to date.

2025, Environmental Epidemiology

The strength of associations between PM2.5 and mortality decreased as greenness increased. This pattern persisted in models restricted to urban residents, in models that considered the combined oxidant capacity of ozone and nitrogen dioxide, and within neighbourhoods characterised by high or low deprivation. We found no increased risk of mortality associated with PM2.5 among those living in the greenest areas. Conclusions: Our findings suggest that residential greenness modifies the association between exposure to PM2.5 and mortality. The magnitude of association between PM2.5 and mortality was attenuated in greener areas, and studies that do not account for greenness may overstate the air pollution impacts on mortality.

2025, Green Audit Occasional Papers

The paper gives a cross examination of Meta AI on the question of Google's choice of Chris Busby the referee over Chris Busby the scientist. The conclusion points to significant bias in the choice of the refereee over the scientist for the top Google page over the scientist when AI was foreced to concede a 10-fold excess ratio of the scientist relative to the referee.

2025, Abstracts

compounds that can interfere with sex hormone signalling and cause adverse health effects, including cancer. Exposure to EDCs is ubiquitous, but exposure in some workplaces occurs at much higher levels than in the general population. Objective To determine whether occupational exposure to EDCs is associated with colorectal cancer risk. Material and Methods A case-cohort study was nested in the Alberta's Tomorrow Project (ATP) and in the Ontario Health Study (OHS). Incident cases of colorectal cancer were identified (NATP=202, NOHS=605); a sub-cohort of 3,464 participants was selected at baseline (NATP=565, NOHS=2,899). Occupational exposure to 17 EDCs was estimated via linkage to CANJEM, a job-exposure matrix, for participants' longestheld job. Specifically, CANJEM provides a frequency-weighted intensity metric of exposure and it was used to categorize participants into never exposed, exposed and substantially exposed to each individual EDC. Multivariable logistic regression models were used to estimate odds ratios (OR) and 95% confidence intervals (CI) for colorectal cancer associated with occupational exposure to EDCs while controlling for confounders identified using a directed acyclic graph.

2025

سخنی با خواننده:
دل به خیابان های تهران که می سپاریم، متوجه می شویم که در گوشه و کنار آن، بازار فست فود، پیتزاهای جورواجور، و همبرگرهای مختلف، حسابی داغ است؛ اما کافی است کمی در تاریخ، سفر کنیم و ببینیم پیش از پیدایش این‌گونه غذاها، بازار غذاهای داغ، از آن چه غذایی بوده است؟
چلوکباب، نام غذایی است که همۀ ما ایرانیان و حتّا خارجیانی که به ایران سفر کرده‌اند، به خوبی آن را می‌شناسد؛ و خاطرات خوشمزّه ای از آن را به یاد دارند. غذایی که در روزگاری نه چندان دور، به عنوان وعده ای شاهانه شناخته می‌شد؛ و طبقات مختلف جامعه، برای آن ارزش زیادی قائل بودند.

2025, Rev Salud Publica

Objetivo Explorar la relación entre niveles de PM 10 intra y extradomiciliario y la función pulmonar de los habitantes, corregimiento La Sierra, Puerto Nare, Antioquia-Colombia. Materiales y Métodos Mediante encuesta y observación, se determinaron condiciones ambientales y del entorno inmediato de viviendas correspondientes a 124 habitantes a los cuales se había realizado el examen espirométrico; se monitorearon condiciones meteorológicas: temperatura, humedad relativa, precipitación, velocidad del viento y PM 10 (24 horas) al interior y exterior de las casas. Resultados En el 50 % de las viviendas el PM 10 interior (0,05mg/m3) fue <PM 10 exterior (0,06 mg/m3), humedad relativa 79,08 %, pluviosidad 33,03 mm, temperatura 28,75˚C y velocidad del viento 0,91 m/s. El 25 % del VEF1 fue <74 %. La correlación PM 10 interior y exterior fue positiva, 0,197 (p=0,029) y entre PM 10 interior y velocidad del viento negativa -0,215 (p=0,017). Se encontró débil relación positiva entre el volumen espiratorio forzado y el PM 10 interior y exterior. Discusión Los resultados sugieren que la contaminación interior de las viviendas proviene de las emisiones de automotores, combustión industrial, y vías destapadas. El PM 10 disminuyó con el aumento de la lluvia, la humedad relativa y el viento. Palabras Clave: Material particulado, contaminación ambiental, contaminación del aire y enfermedad pulmonar obstructiva crónica (fuente: DeCS, BIREME).

2025, Ahmad Ikhsan

Pengendalian vektor merupakan adalah salah satu upaya yang sangat penting untuk mencegah dan mengatur penyebaran penyakit yang ditularkan oleh vektor, seperti malaria, demam berdarah dengue (DBD), chikungunya, dan filariasis. Vektor adalah makhluk hidup,terutama serangga seperti nyamuk, lalat, dan kutu, yang bisa menularkan mikroorganisme yang menyebabkan penyakit pada manusia. Di

2025, AHMAD IKHSAN

2025, by farhan awal

Vektor merupakan organisme yang tidak secara langsung menyebabkan penyakit, namun berperan dalam penyebarannya dengan membawa patogen dari satu inang ke inang lainnya. Peningkatan kasus penyakit

2025, Literatur Riview

Kajian ini berfokus pada penggunaan bakteri Wolbachia sebagai strategi inovatif dalam pengendalian vektor nyamuk Aedes aegypti yang merupakan penyebab demam berdarah dengue (DBD). Dengan meningkatnya insiden DBD di Indonesia, penelitian ini menunjukkan bahwa penerapan Wolbachia dapat secara signifikan mengurangi kapasitas vektor untuk menularkan virus dengue. Metode biologis ini memberikan pendekatan berkelanjutan dalam pengendalian vektor jika dibandingkan dengan pendekatan kimia yang lebih tradisional. Meskipun terdapat tantangan dalam implementasinya, seperti kelemahan kepemimpinan, regulasi yang tidak jelas, dan minimnya partisipasi masyarakat, kerjasama antara pemerintah dan sektor swasta diharapkan dapat meningkatkan efektivitas program ini. Melalui kajian literatur ini, diharapkan dapat memperkuat pemahaman tentang potensi dan tantangan penggunaan Wolbachia dalam pengendalian penyakit menular.

2025, Environmental Health

In response to the recent review by Gillezeau et al., The evidence of human exposure to glyphosate: A review, Environmental Health 1/19/19, here we report additional glyphosate biomonitoring data from a repository of urine samples collected from United States farmers in 1997-98. To determine if glyphosate exposure could be identified historically, we examined urine samples from a biorepository of specimens collected from US dairy farmers between 1997 and 98. We compared samples from farmers who self-reported glyphosate application in the 8 h prior to sample collection to samples from farm applicators who did not report using glyphosate. Of 18 applicator samples tested, 39% showed detectable levels of glyphosate (mean concentration 4.04 μg/kg; range:1.3-12) compared to 0% detections among 17 non glyphosate applicator samples (p-value < 0.01). One of the applicator samples that tested positive for glyphosate also tested positive for AMPA. Concentrations of glyphosate were consistent with levels reported in the prior occupational biomonitoring studies reviewed by Gillezeau et al. Accurately detecting both glyphosate and AMPA in this small sample of Wisconsin farmers demonstrates a) glyphosate exposures among farmers were occurring 20 years ago, which was prior to the widespread planting of genetically engineered glyphosate tolerant crops first approved in 1996; and b) liquid chromatography tandem mass spectrometry (LC-MS/MS) can be used for sensitive characterization in cryopreserved urine samples. These data offer an important historical benchmark to which urinary levels from current and future biomonitoring studies can be compared.

2025, Environmental Epidemiology

2025, Environmental Research

Biomarkers of exposure can be measured at lower and lower levels due to advances in analytical chemistry. Using these sensitive methods, some epidemiology studies report associations between biomarkers and health outcomes at biomarker levels much below those associated with effects in animal studies. While some of these low exposure associations may arise from increased sensitivity of humans compared with animals or from species-specific responses, toxicology studies with drugs, commodity chemicals and consumer products have not generally indicated significantly greater sensitivity of humans compared with test animals for most health outcomes. In some cases, these associations may be indicative of pharmacokinetic (PK) bias, i.e., a situation where a confounding factor or the health outcome itself alters pharmacokinetic processes affecting biomarker levels. Quantitative assessment of PK bias combines PK modeling and statistical methods describing outcomes across large numbers of individuals in simulated populations. Here, we first provide background on the types of PK models that can be used for assessing biomarker levels in human population and then outline a process for considering PK bias in studies intended to assess associations between biomarkers and health outcomes at low levels of exposure. After providing this background, we work through published examples where these PK methods have been applied with several chemicals/ chemical classes -polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs), perfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS), polybrominated biphenyl ethers (PBDE) and phthalates -to assess the possibility of PK bias. Studies of the health effects of low levels of exposure will be improved by developing some confidence that PK bias did not play significant roles in the observed associations.

2025

Water contamination is one of the biggest problems threatening human life and environment by the growth of various industries. For this reason, it is necessary to remove pollutants such as iodine from contaminated water. The aim of this study is to adsorb iodine from aqueous solution using adsorbents prepared from walnut shell (WS) and polystyrene waste (PS). In this study, simultaneous utilization of WS and PS resulted in the production of biosorbents such as WS, WS biochar (WAC), and WAC co-pyrolyzed with polystyrene waste (WACPS). Adsorption capacity, adsorption percentage, and the effect of initial concentration of iodine aqueous solution were investigated. WAC and WACPS showed a better performance as compared to WS with the adsorption percentage of 80 and 65%, and the adsorption capacity of 508 and 413 mg/g, respectively, in the initial concentration of 12700 mg/L. The reusability of WAC was demonstrated by a performance reduction of about 15% after five regeneration cycles. Freundlich and Langmuir isotherms were able to accurately predict iodine adsorption. Adsorption thermodynamics proved that the iodine adsorption was spontaneous and endothermic. SEM showed that the more the porous surface and holes of adsorbent, the higher the adsorption percentage. As BET, the diameter of pores and adsorption surface of WAC were obtained as 36.06 nm and 2.99 m 2 /g, respectively. FTIR proved adsorbent production and iodine adsorption on it as changes in bonds. The use of agricultural and plastic waste to produce porous carbon adsorbents leads to solid waste management, and environmental health by wastewaters treatment.

2025