Maternal Low-Level Lead Exposure and Fetal Growth

Background Limited epidemiologic studies have examined the association between maternal low-level lead exposure [blood lead (PbB) \u3c 10 μg/dL] and fetal growth. Objective We examined whether maternal low-level lead exposure is associated with decreased fetal growth. Methods We linked New York State Heavy Metals Registry records of women who had PbB measurements with birth certificates to identify 43,288 mother–infant pairs in upstate New York in a retrospective cohort study from 2003 through 2005. We used multiple linear regression with fractional polynomials and logistic regression to relate birth weight, preterm delivery, and small for gestational age to PbB levels, adjusting for potential confounders. We used a closed-test procedure to identify the best fractional polynomials for PbB among 44 combinations. Results We found a statistically significant association between PbB (square root transformed) and birth weight. Relative to 0 μg/dL, PbBs of 5 and 10 μg/dL were associated with an average of 61-g and 87-g decrease in birth weight, respectively. The adjusted odds ratio for PbBs between 3.1 and 9.9 μg/dL (highest quartile) was 1.04 [95% confidence interval (CI), 0.89–1.22] for preterm delivery and 1.07 (95% CI, 0.93–1.23) for small for gestational age, relative to PbBs ≤ 1 μg/dL (lowest quartile). No clear dose–response trends were evident when all of the quartiles were assessed. Conclusions Low-level PbB was associated with a small risk of decreased birth weight with a supralinear dose–response relationship, but was not related to preterm birth or small for gestational age. The results have important implications regarding maternal PbB

Potential cost savings with terrestrial rabies control

BACKGROUND: The cost-benefit of raccoon rabies control strategies such as oral rabies vaccination (ORV) are under evaluation. As an initial quantification of the potential cost savings for a control program, the collection of selected rabies cost data was pilot tested for five counties in New York State (NYS) in a three-year period. METHODS: Rabies costs reported to NYS from the study counties were computerized and linked to a human rabies exposure database. Consolidated costs by county and year were averaged and compared. RESULTS: Reported rabies-associated costs for all rabies variants totalled $2.1 million, for human rabies postexposure prophylaxes (PEP) (90.9$784,529). Average costs associated with the raccoon variant varied across counties from $440 to$1,885 per PEP, $14 to$44 per specimen, and $0.33 to$15 per pet vaccinated. CONCLUSION: Rabies costs vary widely by county in New York State, and were associated with human population size and methods used by counties to estimate costs. Rabies cost variability must be considered in developing estimates of possible ORV-related cost savings. Costs of PEPs and specimen preparation/shipments, as well as the costs of pet vaccination provided by this study may be valuable for development of more realistic scenarios in economic modelling of ORV costs versus benefits

Ternary Fission of {sup 249}Cf(n,f) and {sup 250}Cf(SF)

During the last years, several Cm and Cf isotopes have been studied by our research group in the frame of a systematic investigation of gas emission characteristics in ternary fission. Here we report on new results on the energy distribution and the emission probability of {sup 3}H, {sup 4}He and {sup 6}He particles emitted in the spontaneous ternary fission of {sup 250}Cf (E{sub exc} = 0 MeV) and in the neutron induced ternary fission of {sup 249}Cf (E{sub exc} = 6.625 MeV). Both measurements were performed using suited and well-calibrated ΔE-E telescope detectors, at the IRMM (Geel, Belgium) for the spontaneous fission and at the very intense neutron beam PF1b at the Institute Laue-Langevin (Grenoble, France) for the neutron induced fission measurement. In this way, the existing database can be enlarged with new results for Z=98 isotopes, which is important for the systematic investigation. Moreover, the investigation of the 'isotope couple' {sup 249}Cf(n,f) - {sup 250}Cf(SF), together with corresponding data for other isotopes, will yield valuable information on the influence of the excitation energy on the particle emission probabilities