Cumulative exposure to air pollution and long term outcomes after first acute myocardial infarction: A population-based cohort study. Objectives and methodology

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Cardiovascular disease is a leading cause of morbidity and mortality worldwide and epidemiological studies have consistently shown an increased risk for cardiovascular events in relation to exposure to air pollution. The Israel Study of First Acute Myocardial Infarction was designed to longitudinally assess clinical outcomes, psychosocial adjustment and quality of life in patients hospitalized with myocardial infarction. The current study, by introducing retrospective air pollution data, will examine the association between exposure to air pollution and outcome in myocardial infarction survivors. This report will describe the methods implemented and measures employed. The study specifically aims to examine the relationship between residential exposure to air pollution and long-term risk of recurrent coronary event, heart failure, stroke, cardiac and all-cause death in a geographically defined cohort of patients with myocardial infarction.</p> <p>Methods/Design</p> <p>All 1521 patients aged ≤65 years, admitted with first myocardial infarction between February 1992 and February 1993 to the 8 hospitals serving the population of central Israel, were followed for a median of 13 years. Data were collected on sociodemographic, clinical and environmental factors. Data from air quality monitoring stations will be incorporated retrospectively. Daily measures of air pollution will be summarised, allowing detailed maps to be developed in order to reflect chronic exposure for each participant.</p> <p>Discussion</p> <p>This study addresses some of the gaps in understanding of the prognostic importance of air pollution exposure after myocardial infarction, by allowing a sufficient follow-up period, using a well-defined community cohort, adequately controlling for multiple and multilevel confounding factors and providing extensive data on various outcomes.</p

Stratification of asthma phenotypes by airway proteomic signatures

© 2019 Background: Stratification by eosinophil and neutrophil counts increases our understanding of asthma and helps target therapy, but there is room for improvement in our accuracy in prediction of treatment responses and a need for better understanding of the underlying mechanisms. Objective: We sought to identify molecular subphenotypes of asthma defined by proteomic signatures for improved stratification. Methods: Unbiased label-free quantitative mass spectrometry and topological data analysis were used to analyze the proteomes of sputum supernatants from 246 participants (206 asthmatic patients) as a novel means of asthma stratification. Microarray analysis of sputum cells provided transcriptomics data additionally to inform on underlying mechanisms. Results: Analysis of the sputum proteome resulted in 10 clusters (ie, proteotypes) based on similarity in proteomic features, representing discrete molecular subphenotypes of asthma. Overlaying granulocyte counts onto the 10 clusters as metadata further defined 3 of these as highly eosinophilic, 3 as highly neutrophilic, and 2 as highly atopic with relatively low granulocytic inflammation. For each of these 3 phenotypes, logistic regression analysis identified candidate protein biomarkers, and matched transcriptomic data pointed to differentially activated underlying mechanisms. Conclusion: This study provides further stratification of asthma currently classified based on quantification of granulocytic inflammation and provided additional insight into their underlying mechanisms, which could become targets for novel therapies

Molecular benchmarks of a SARS-CoV-2 epidemic.

To access publisher's full text version of this article, please click on the hyperlink in Additional Links field or click on the hyperlink at the top of the page marked DownloadA pressing concern in the SARS-CoV-2 epidemic and other viral outbreaks, is the extent to which the containment measures are halting the viral spread. A straightforward way to assess this is to tally the active cases and the recovered ones throughout the epidemic. Here, we show how epidemic control can be assessed with molecular information during a well characterized epidemic in Iceland. We demonstrate how the viral concentration decreased in those newly diagnosed as the epidemic transitioned from exponential growth phase to containment phase. The viral concentration in the cases identified in population screening decreased faster than in those symptomatic and considered at high risk and that were targeted by the healthcare system. The viral concentration persists in recovering individuals as we found that half of the cases are still positive after two weeks. We demonstrate that accumulation of mutations in SARS-CoV-2 genome can be exploited to track the rate of new viral generations throughout the different phases of the epidemic, where the accumulation of mutations decreases as the transmission rate decreases in the containment phase. Overall, the molecular signatures of SARS-CoV-2 infections contain valuable epidemiological information that can be used to assess the effectiveness of containment measures

Undersøkelse av miljøgifter i organismer fra Ranfjorden 1992

I 1992 ble det registrert at blåskjell og o-skjell fra indre Ranfjorden fremdeles var markert forurenset med PAH dvs. med et innhold opp til 40/80 ganger "høyt normalnivå". Tilstanden syntes i hovedsak uforandret fra 1990 da det ble observert en radikal forbedring fra året før. Skrubbe og torsk fanget i indre fjord hadde lavt PAH innhold. Det ble funnet generelt forhøyet jerninnhold i blåskjell, opptil 5 ganger "høyt normalnivå" innerst i fjorden, men avtagende utover. Med ett unntak var annet metallinnhold i blåskjell og blæretang moderat/lavt. Unntaket gjaldt bly i blåskjell fra Mo, som innholdt 4 ganger "høyt normalnivå"

Undersøkelse av miljøgifter i sediment og organismer fra Ranafjorden 1989-90

Fra 1989 til 1990 ble det registrert omkring 95% reduksjon av PAH-innholdet i blåskjell og o-skjell fra indre Ranafjorden. Reduksjonen må ses som en effekt av stopp i utslippene fra produksjon av råjern og koks. Imidlertid er skjellene fra innerst i fjorden fremdeles betydelig forurenset med PAH. Fisk hadde stort sett lavt miljøgiftinnhold, mens det delvis ble observert høyt PAH-innhold i reker. Sistnevnte inneholdt også mye arsen. På enkelte prøvesteder i indre fjord ble det påvist moderat/markert forhøyet innhold av bly, kobber og sink. Sedimentprøvene fra 1989 viste sterk PAH-foruresning i indre Ranafjord, klart avtagende utover, men sporbart størrelsesorden 5 mil fra de tidligere utslipp.Statens forurensningstilsyn (SFT

Overvåking i Ranfjorden - Undersøkelse av miljøgifter i organismer 21994 og planteplanktons respons på forurensede ferskvannstilførsler 1993

I 1994 ble det registrert at blåskjell og o-skjell fra indre Ranfjorden fremdeles var markert forurenset med PAH, dvs. med et innhold opp til 20 ganger "høyt normalnivå". Tilstanden syntes i hovedsak uforandret fra 1990 og 1992. Det ble funnet generelt forhøyet jerninnhold i blåskjell, opp til 5 ganger "høyt normalnivå" innerst i fjorden, men avtagende utover. Med ett unntak var annet metallinnhold i blåskjell og blæretang moderat/lavt. Unntaket gjaldt bly i blåskjell fra Mo, som inneholdt 5 ganger "høyt normalnivå". Forsøkene med en planteplanktonart viser at Ranfjorden tilføres både vekstfremmende og veksthemmende forbindelser