Examination of Multiple Air Pollutant Exposure, the Food Environment, and Low Birth Weight in Los Angeles, County

Exposure to urban outdoor air pollution is ubiquitous and low birth weight represents an important health disparity in the United States. While previous research suggests that exposure to outdoor air pollutants are associated with term low birth weight, few studies have evaluated the effects of multipollutant outdoor air exposures or whether there is a spatial patterning to such associations. In addition, populations living in neighborhoods with poor air quality and high neighborhood deprivation may be more likely to reside in neighborhoods that are also characterized by adverse food environments. The first study investigated the overall association between fine particulate matter (PM₂.₅) air pollution with term low birth weight (TLBW) in urban Los Angeles County. This first study also applies spatial multilevel modeling to explore spatial patterns in the exposure response relationship between PM₂.₅ and TLBW. The results from the first study indicates that higher exposure to PM₂.₅ is associated with a higher odds of TLBW and that the exposure response exhibits spatial dependence. The second study examines joint exposure to multiple outdoor air pollutants in Los Angeles County, including PM₂.₅, nitrogen dioxide [NO₂], and nitrogen oxide [NO]. The second study showed that multipollutant profiles with elevated exposure to NO₂, NO, and PM₂.₅ are associated with increased log odds of TLBW, and that multipollutant profiles characteristic of primary traffic emissions impart the greatest increased odds of TLBW. In the third study I examine the association between the neighborhood food environment and TLBW, and explore whether this relationship may be modified by air pollution exposure. In this study I also explore how the food environment clusters with other area-level TLBW risk factors, including income and greenness, and how exposure profiles for these area-level factors combine to impart risk of TLBW. This study found a higher odds of TLBW among mothers who resided in neighborhoods with reduced availability of more healthy food stores and increased availability of less healthy food stores. This study did not find that the food environment works as an effect modifier of PM₂.₅, however, the data provided evidence to suggest that the food environment may influence the magnitude of the association between PM₂.₅ and TLBW (but not the strength of the relationship). Furthermore, I identify neighborhoods with clustering of poor food environments, low socioeconomic status, and low greenness, which are associated with an elevated prevalence of TLBW

A cross-sectional study of the association between ventilation of gas stoves and chronic respiratory illness in U.S. children enrolled in NHANESIII

BACKGROUND: Gas stoves emit pollutants that are respiratory irritants. U.S. children under age 6 who live in homes where gas stoves are used for cooking or heating have an increased risk of asthma, wheeze and reduced lung function. Yet few studies have examined whether using ventilation when operating gas stoves is associated with a decrease in the prevalence of respiratory illnesses in this population. METHODS: The Third National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey was used to identify U.S. children aged 2–16 years with information on respiratory outcomes (asthma, wheeze, and bronchitis) who lived in homes where gas stoves were used in the previous 12 months and whose parents provided information on ventilation. Logistic regression models evaluated the association between prevalent respiratory outcomes and ventilation in homes that used gas stoves for cooking and/or heating. Linear regression models assessed the association between spirometry measurements and ventilation use in children aged 8–16 years. RESULTS: The adjusted odds of asthma (Odds Ratio [OR] = 0.64; 95% confidence intervals [CI]: 0.43, 0.97), wheeze (OR = 0.60, 95% CI: 0.42, 0.86), and bronchitis (OR = 0.60, 95% CI: 0.37, 0.95) were lower among children whose parents reported using ventilation compared to children whose parents reported not using ventilation when operating gas stoves. One-second forced expiratory volume (FEV₁) and FEV₁/FVC ratio was also higher in girls who lived in households that used gas stoves with ventilation compared to households that used gas stoves without ventilation. CONCLUSIONS: In homes that used gas stoves, children whose parents reported using ventilation when operating their stove had higher lung function and lower odds of asthma, wheeze, and bronchitis compared to homes that never used ventilation or did not have ventilation available after adjusting for other risk factors. Additional research on the efficacy of ventilation as an intervention for ameliorating respiratory symptoms in children with asthma is warranted.Keywords: Spirometry, NHANES, Wheeze, Gas stoves, Ventilation, Bronchitis, Asthma, Childre

Association between prenatal exposure to multiple insecticides and child body weight and body composition in the VHEMBE South African birth cohort

BACKGROUND : Pregnant women may be co-exposed to multiple insecticides in regions where both pyrethroids and dichlorodiphenyltrichloroethane (DDT) are used for indoor residual spraying (IRS) for malaria control. Despite the potential for adverse effects on offspring, there are few studies in areas where IRS is currently used and little is known about the effects of pyrethroids on children's health. METHODS : We investigated the relationship between concentrations of four urinary pyrethroid metabolites in urine and organochlorine pesticide concentrations in maternal blood collected near delivery on body weight and body composition among children ≤2 years old participating in the prospective South Africa VHEMBE birth cohort (N = 708). We used measurements of length/height and weight collected at 1 and 2 years of age to calculate body mass index (BMI)-for-age, weight-for-age, and weight-for-height z-scores based on World Health Organization standards. We fit separate single-pollutant mixed effects models for each exposure of interest and also stratified by sex. We also fit all analyte concentrations jointly by using a Bayesian kernel machine regression (BKMR) statistical method to assess variable importance of each analyte and to explore the potential for joint effects of the multiple exposures. RESULTS : Single-pollutant linear mixed effects models showed that, among girls only, p,p′-DDT was associated with higher BMI-for-age (adjusted [a]β = 0.22 [95% CI: 0.10, 0.35]; sex interaction p-value = 0.001), weight-for-height (aβ = 0.22 [95% CI: 0.09, 0.34]; sex interaction p-value = 0.002), and weight-for-age (aβ = 0.17 [95% CI: 0.05, 0.29], sex interaction p-value = 0.01). Although single-pollutant models suggested that p,p′-DDT and dichlorodiphenyldichloroethylene (p,p′-DDE) were also associated with these outcomes in girls, p,p′-DDE was no longer associated in multi-pollutant models with BKMR. The pyrethroid metabolites cis-(2,2-dibromovinyl)-2,2-dimethylcyclopropane-1-carboxylicacid (cis-DBCA) and trans-3-(2,2-dichlorovinyl)-2,2-dimethylcyclopropane carboxylic acid (trans-DCCA) were inversely related to BMI-for-age and weight-for-height overall; however, results suggested that weight-for-age and weight-for-height associations for trans-DCCA (sex interaction p-valueweight-for-age = 0.02; p-valueweight-for-height = 0.13) and cis-DCCA (sex interaction p-valueweight-for-age = 0.02; p-valueweight-for-height = 0.08) were strongest and most consistent in boys relative to girls. BKMR also revealed joint effects from the chemical mixture. For instance, with increased concentrations of p,p′-DDE, the negative exposure-response relationship for cis-DBCA on BMI-for-age became steeper. CONCLUSIONS : Our single-pollutant and multi-pollutant model results show that maternal serum p,p′-DDT concentration was consistently and positively associated with body composition and body weight in young girls and that maternal urinary pyrethroid metabolite concentrations (particularly cis-DBCA and trans-DCCA) were negatively associated with body weight and body composition in young boys. Joint effects of the insecticide exposure mixture were also apparent, underscoring the importance of using advanced statistical methods to examine the health effects of chemical mixtures.The National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences (Award ID: 1R01ES020360), the Health Resources and Services Administration, Maternal and Child Health Bureau (Award ID: T76MC00002), and the Global Health Equity Scholars Program, Fogarty International CenterTW009338.http://www.elsevier.com/locate/envint2019-04-30hj2018School of Health Systems and Public Health (SHSPH

KELT-12b: A P ~ 5 day, Highly Inflated Hot Jupiter Transiting A Mildly Evolved Hot Star

We announce the discovery of KELT-12b, a highly inflated Jupiter-mass planet transiting the mildly evolved, V = 10.64 host star TYC 2619-1057-1. We followed up the initial transit signal in the KELT-North survey data with precise ground-based photometry, high-resolution spectroscopy, precise radial velocity measurements, and high-resolution adaptive optics imaging. Our preferred best-fit model indicates that the host star has = 6279 ± 51 K, = 3.89 ± 0.05,[Fe/H] = , = , and = 2.37 ± 0.17 . The planetary companion has = 0.95 ± 0.14 , = , = , and density = g cm −3 , making it one of the most inflated giant planets known. Furthermore, for future follow-up, we report a high-precision time of inferior conjunction in of 2,457,083.660459 ± 0.000894 and period of days. Despite the relatively large separation of ∼0.07 au implied by its ∼5.03-day orbital period, KELT-12b receives significant flux of erg s −1 cm −2 from its host. We compare the radii and insolations of transiting gas giant planets around hot ( K) and cool stars, noting that the observed paucity of known transiting giants around hot stars with low insolation is likely due to selection effects. We underscore the significance of long-term ground-based monitoring of hot stars and space-based targeting of hot stars with the Transiting Exoplanet Survey Satellite to search for inflated gas giants in longer-period orbits

Communications Biophysics

Contains research objectives and reports on six research projects split into three sections.National Institutes of Health (Grant 5 P01 NS13126-07)National Institutes of Health (Training Grant 5 T32 NS07047-05)National Institutes of Health (Training Grant 2 T32 NS07047-06)National Science Foundation (Grant BNS 77-16861)National Institutes of Health (Grant 5 R01 NS1284606)National Institutes of Health (Grant 5 T32 NS07099)National Science Foundation (Grant BNS77-21751)National Institutes of Health (Grant 5 R01 NS14092-04)Gallaudet College SubcontractKarmazin Foundation through the Council for the Arts at M.I.T.National Institutes of Health (Grant 1 R01 NS1691701A1)National Institutes of Health (Grant 5 R01 NS11080-06)National Institutes of Health (Grant GM-21189

Quantitative Proteomics of Intracellular Campylobacter jejuni Reveals Metabolic Reprogramming

Campylobacter jejuni is the major cause of bacterial food-borne illness in the USA and Europe. An important virulence attribute of this bacterial pathogen is its ability to enter and survive within host cells. Here we show through a quantitative proteomic analysis that upon entry into host cells, C. jejuni undergoes a significant metabolic downshift. Furthermore, our results indicate that intracellular C. jejuni reprograms its respiration, favoring the respiration of fumarate. These results explain the poor ability of C. jejuni obtained from infected cells to grow under standard laboratory conditions and provide the bases for the development of novel anti microbial strategies that would target relevant metabolic pathways

Screening for latent tuberculosis infection among undocumented immigrants in Swiss healthcare centres; a descriptive exploratory study

BACKGROUND: Migration is one of the major causes of tuberculosis in developed countries. Undocumented patients are usually not screened at the border and are not covered by a health insurance increasing their risk of developing the disease unnoticed. Urban health centres could help identify this population at risk. The objective of this study is to assess the prevalence of latent tuberculosis infection (LTBI) and adherence to preventive treatment in a population of undocumented immigrant patients. METHODS: All consecutive undocumented patients that visited two urban healthcare centres for vulnerable populations in Lausanne, Switzerland for the first time were offered tuberculosis screening with an interferon-gamma assay. Preventive treatment was offered if indicated. Adherence to treatment was evaluated monthly over a nine month period. RESULTS: Of the 161 participants, 131 (81.4%) agreed to screening and 125 had complete examinations. Twenty-four of the 125 patients (19.2%; CI95% 12.7;27.2) had positive interferon-gamma assay results, two of which had active tuberculosis. Only five patients with LTBI completed full preventive treatments. Five others initiated the treatment but did not follow through. CONCLUSION: Screening for tuberculosis infection in this hard-to-reach population is feasible in dedicated urban clinics, and the prevalence of LTBI is high in this vulnerable population. However, the low adherence to treatment is an important public health concern, and new strategies are needed to address this problem

Communications Biophysics

Contains reports on seven research projects split into three sections.National Institutes of Health (Grant 5 PO1 NS13126)National Institutes of Health (Grant 1 RO1 NS18682)National Institutes of Health (Training Grant 5 T32 NS07047)National Science Foundation (Grant BNS77-16861)National Institutes of Health (Grant 1 F33 NS07202-01)National Institutes of Health (Grant 5 RO1 NS10916)National Institutes of Health (Grant 5 RO1 NS12846)National Institutes of Health (Grant 1 RO1 NS16917)National Institutes of Health (Grant 1 RO1 NS14092-05)National Science Foundation (Grant BNS 77 21751)National Institutes of Health (Grant 5 R01 NS11080)National Institutes of Health (Grant GM-21189