Risk factors of esophageal cancer in Turkmen Sahra of Iran

Present study was carried out in three years' duration (2002-2004) to investigate the risk factors of esophageal cancer in Iranian Turkmens (Northeast of Iran; where the esophageal cancer is the most common world wide). Concerning registered cases of esophageal cancer in the region, 139 cases were selected. Controls matching in terms of age and sex were 500 healthy individuals. Furthermore, a questionnaire was designated with several questions including: personal characteristics, family history of cancer, possible disease background, and addiction to cigarettes or drugs, and presence of any particular dietary habits. The questionnaires filled with free will (voluntarily) by cases and controls. The collected data was analyzed by SPSS 10.0 software. The mean age of people under study was 60 years. The studied cases were significantly correlated with their first line relatives in term of cancer contraction (P=0.001 and OR=7.6). It was also significant in second and third line relatives (P=0.042 and OR=3.38). There was a significant correlation considering the consumption of stale food and butter with esophageal cancer. As a conclusion, in addition to mentioned risk factors, some other factors as mode of nourishment, employment status, special hygienic habits and inheritance were important factors in esophageal cancer etiology among the studied subjects

Arsenic in the Water, Soil Bedrock, and Plants of the Ester Dome Area of Alaska

Concentrations of arsenic as large as 10 ppm (200 times the safe limit for drinking water) occur in the groundwater of a mineralized residential area near Fairbanks. Bedrock of the area contains 750 ppm As, primarily as arsenopyrite and scorodite. The oxygen-poor groundwater is enriched in As(III) and ferrous iron while the surface waters are iron free and contain less than 50 ppb As(V). Arsenic is removed from the water by coprecipitation with ferric hydroxide. Some iron-rich stream sediments contain as much as 1,400 ppm arsenic. The distribution of arsenic in the groundwater is controlled by the distribution of arsenic in the bedrock. The arsenic content of the B soil horizon over mineralized veins is about 150 ppm, while that over barren rock is 30 ppm. The vegetation over the veins is not significantly enriched in arsenic. Lettuce, radishes and tomatoes grown with arsenic-rich water (5 ppm) contain 16, 8 and 1 ppm As, respectively; these amounts are significantly greater than plants not treated with arsenic. Preliminary studies by state and federal health agencies show no detrimental effects on the health of persons drinking these arsenic-rich waters.The work upon which this publication is based was supported in part by funds provided by the Office of Water Research and Technology (Project B-037-ALAS, Agreement No. 14-34-0001-8056), U.S. Department of the Interior, Washington, D.C., as authorized by the Water Research and Development Act of 1978

Response to malaria epidemics in Africa.

Malaria epidemics affect nonimmune populations in many highland and semi-arid areas of Africa. Effective prevention of these epidemics is challenging, particularly in the highlands where predictive accuracy of indicators is not sufficiently high to allow decisions involving expensive measures such as indoor residual spraying of insecticides. Advances in geographic information systems have proved useful in stratification of areas to guide selective targeting of interventions, including barrier application of insecticides in transmission foci to prevent spread of infection. Because rainfall is associated with epidemics in semi-arid areas, early warning methods based on seasonal climate predictions have been proposed. For most areas, response measures should focus on early recognition of anomalies and rapid mass drug administration. Vector control measures are useful if abnormal transmission is highly likely and if they can be selectively implemented at the early stages of an outbreak

Environmental contaminants exposure and preterm birth: a systematic review

Preterm birth is an obstetric condition associated with a high risk of infant mortality and morbidities in both the neonatal period and later in life, which has also a significant public health impact because it carries an important societal economic burden. As in many cases the etiology is unknown, it is important to identify environmental factors that may be involved in the occurrence of this condition. In this review, we report all the studies published in PubMed and Scopus databases from January 1992 to January 2019, accessible as full-text articles, written in English, including clinical studies, original studies, and reviews. We excluded articles not written in English, duplicates, considering inappropriate populations and/or exposures or irrelevant outcomes and patients with known risk factors for preterm birth (PTB). The aim of this article is to identify and summarize the studies that examine environmental toxicants exposure associated with preterm birth. This knowledge will strengthen the possibility to develop strategies to reduce the exposure to these toxicants and apply clinical measures for preterm birth prevention

Exclusion zone phenomena in water -- a critical review of experimental findings and theories

The existence of the exclusion zone (EZ), a layer of water in which plastic microspheres are repelled from hydrophilic surfaces, has now been independently demonstrated by several groups. A better understanding of the mechanisms which generate EZs would help with understanding the possible importance of EZs in biology and in engineering applications such as filtration and microfluidics. Here we review the experimental evidence for EZ phenomena in water and the major theories that have been proposed. We review experimental results from birefringence, neutron radiography, nuclear magnetic resonance, and other studies. Pollack and others have theorized that water in the EZ exists has a different structure than bulk water, and that this accounts for the EZ. We present several alternative explanations for EZs and argue that Schurr's theory based on diffusiophoresis presents a compelling alternative explanation for the core EZ phenomenon. Among other things, Schurr's theory makes predictions about the growth of the EZ with time which have been confirmed by Florea et al. and others. We also touch on several possible confounding factors that make experimentation on EZs difficult, such as charged surface groups, dissolved solutes, and adsorbed nanobubbles.Comment: 14 pg