Useful Numbers : Reaching out with pandemic data

Canada First Research Excellence FundWorking with government partners, a research project adapts to societal need to provide epidemiological data

Hazard posed by metals and As in PM2.5 in air of five megacities in the Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei region of China during APEC

Airborne fine particulate matter (PM2.5) from five megacities including Beijing, Tianjin, Shijiazhuang, Baoding, and Jinan were collected during November 2014 and compared with similar periods in 2012 and 2013. The November 2014 period coincided with the Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) Leaders Meeting during which measures to control pollution of the air were introduced. Concentrations of 11 elements in PM2.5 were quantified by inductively coupled plasma–mass spectrometry (ICP-MS) after microwave-assisted digestion. Potential effects of five toxic trace metals including Mn, Ni, Cu, Zn, Pb, and the metalloid As on health were assessed. In 2014, concentrations of PM2.5 were significantly less than during the same period in 2012 and 2013. Mean concentrations of six elements ranked in decreasing order, Zn > Pb > Cu ≈ Mn > As > Ni, and spatial concentrations ranked in decreasing order, Shijiazhuang > Baoding > Tianjin > Jinan > Beijing. Risks of the five metals and the metalloid As to health of humans were small, except for Mn in Shijiazhuang. Risks to health posed by other elements were less during the period of study. Risks posed by the five metals and As in Beijing were greater to varying degrees after the APEC meeting. Risks to health of humans during the APEC were overall lesser than the same period in 2012 and 2013, mostly due to lesser emissions due to the short-term control measures

Spatio-Temporal Distributions and Environmental Safety Threshold of Cropland Fertilization of Jiangsu

Abstract: Correlations and non-linear regression analyses were used to determine the optimal rate of fertilization that would maximize production of grain while minimizing effects on the environment in Jiangsu Province, China. Correlation coefficients between the amounts of cereal grain produced and rates of fertilization were 0.880, 0.606, and 0.212 for the period

Spatio-Temporal Distributions and Environmental Safety Threshold of Cropland Fertilization of Jiangsu

Abstract: Correlations and non-linear regression analyses were used to determine the optimal rate of fertilization that would maximize production of grain while minimizing effects on the environment in Jiangsu Province, China. Correlation coefficients between the amounts of cereal grain produced and rates of fertilization were 0.880, 0.606, and 0.212 for the period

Global Biomonitoring of Perfluorinated Organics

The environmental distribution of fluorinated organic compounds (FOCs) has been less well described than the other halogenated hydrocarbons such as chlorinated and brominated compounds. This is despite the fact that FOCs have been used in a wide variety of products and applications for more than 50 years. FOCs are resistant to hydrolysis, photolysis, microbial degradation, or metabolism by vertebrates due to the high energy of carbon–fluorine bond. In particular, perfluorinated (fully fluorinated) compounds (PFCs) have the potential to persist in the environment. But, until recently, the extent and magnitude of environmental distribution of PFCs was unknown. Recent development of an analytical technique for PFCs using high performance liquid chromatography-negative ion electrospray tandem mass spectrometry (HPLC-ESMSMS)[1] permitted the survey of PFCs in livers and blood plasma of wildlife on a global scale[2]

Organochloride pesticides in California sea lions revisited

BACKGROUND: Dichlorodiphenyltrichloroethane (DDT) and polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) are ubiquitous environmental contaminants that have been banned in most countries, but considerable amounts continue to cycle the ecosphere. Top trophic level predators, like sea birds and marine mammals, bioaccumulate these lipophilic compounds, reflecting their presence in the environment. RESULTS: We measured concentrations of tDDT (p,p' - DDT + p,p' - DDD + p,p' - DDE) and PCBs in the blubber of dead California sea lions stranded along the California coast. tDDT and PCB concentrations were 150 ± 257 ug/g lipid weight (mean ± SD) and 44 ± 78 ug/g lipid weight, respectively. There were no differences in tDDT or PCB concentrations between animal categories varying in sex or age. There was a trend towards a decrease in tDDT and PCB concentrations from northern to southern California. The lipid content of the blubber was negatively correlated with levels of tDDT and PCBs. tDDT concentrations were approximately 3 times higher than PCB concentrations. CONCLUSIONS: tDDT levels in the blubber of California sea lions decreased by over one order of magnitude from 1970 to 2000. PCB level changes over time were unclear owing to a paucity of data and analytical differences over the years. Current levels of these pollutants in California sea lions are among the highest among marine mammals and exceed those reported to cause immunotoxicity or endocrine disruption

Organochloride pesticides in California sea lions revisited: Correction

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Species-specific relative ahr1 binding affinities of 2,3,4,7,8-pentachlorodibenzofuran explain avian species differences in its relative potency

Author Posting. © The Author(s), 2013. This is the author's version of the work. It is posted here by permission of Elsevier for personal use, not for redistribution. The definitive version was published in Comparative Biochemistry and Physiology Part C: Toxicology & Pharmacology 161 (2014): 21-25, doi:10.1016/j.cbpc.2013.12.005.Results of recent studies showed that 2,3,4,7,8-pentachlorodibenzofuran (PeCDF) and 2,3,7,8-tetrachlorodibenzo-p-dioxin (TCDD) are equipotent in domestic chicken (Gallus gallus domesticus) while PeCDF is more potent than TCDD in ring-necked pheasant (Phasianus colchicus) and Japanese quail (Coturnix japonica). To elucidate the mechanism(s) underlying these differences in relative potency of PeCDF among avian species, we tested the hypothesis that this is due to species-specific differential binding affinity of PeCDF to the aryl hydrocarbon receptor 1 (AHR1). Here, we modified a cell-based binding assay that allowed us to measure the binding affinity of dioxin-like compounds (DLCs) to avian AHR1 expressed in COS-7 (fibroblast-like cells). The results of the binding assay show that PeCDF and TCDD bind with equal affinity to chicken AHR1, but PeCDF binds with greater affinity than TCDD to pheasant (3-fold) and Japanese quail (5-fold) AHR1. The current report introduces a COS-7 whole-cell binding assay and provides a mechanistic explanation for differential relative potencies of PeCDF among species of birds.This research was supported by an unrestricted grant from the Dow Chemical Company to the University of Ottawa, Environment Canada’s Wildlife Toxicology and Disease and STAGE programs and, in part, by a Discovery Grant from the National Science and Engineering Research Council of Canada (Project # 326415-07). The authors wish to acknowledge the support of an instrumentation grant from the Canada Foundation for Infrastructure. Professor Giesy was supported by the Canada Research Chair program and an at large Chair Professorship at the Department of Biology and Chemistry and State Key Laboratory in Marine Pollution, City University of Hong Kong, and the Einstein Professor Program of the Chinese Academy of Sciences. M. Hahn was supported by NOAA Sea Grant (grant number NA06OAR4170021 (R/B-179))

Perfluorinated compounds and organochlorine pesticides in soils around Huaihe River: a heavily contaminated watershed in Central China

Abstract Perfluorinated compounds (PFCs) and organochlorine pesticides (OCPs) were analyzed in surface soils along the Huaihe River. Sixteen target PFCs and nine OCPs were quantified in soils from a region of intensive industrial and agricultural development. Concentrations of PFCs and OCPs ranged from less than the limit of detection (LOD) to 1.22 ng/g and 3.63 to 227 ng/g, respectively. Contamination by OCPs was more serious than that of PFCs, which was consistent with the fact that OCPs were widely used in agriculture of the district while there was no known production or application of PFCs in the study area. The predominant PFCs in soils were PFOA and PFOS with concentrations that ranged from &lt;LOD to 0.20 ng/g and &lt;LOD to 0.21 ng/g, respectively. Among the three groups of OCPs, average concentrations of HCHs, DDTs, and HCB were 4.7, 23.7, and 1.4 ng/g, respectively. Results of principal component analysis revealed relatively weak associations between concentrations of PFCs and those of OCPs, while concentrations of OCPs exhibited similar patterns of distributions. Among the mainstream and five tributaries, the highest concentrations of PFCs were observed along the Pihe River, while the highest concentrations of OCPs occurred along the Xifeihe River. In general, concentrations of PFCs were evenly distributed, while those of OCPs exhibited relatively greater spatial differences