Human health impacts of exposure to phthalate plasticizers: An overview of reviews

This is the final version. Available on open access from Elsevier via the DOI in this recordIn this review of reviews, we overview the current global body of available evidence from structured reviews of epidemiological studies that explore human health outcomes associated with exposure to phthalates (chemical plasticisers commonly found in plastics). We found robust evidence for an association with lower semen quality, neurodevelopment and risk of childhood asthma, and moderate to robust evidence for impact on anogenital distance in boys. We identified moderate evidence for an association between phthalates/metabolites and low birthweight, endometriosis, decreased testosterone, ADHD, Type 2 diabetes and breast/uterine cancer. There was some evidence for other outcomes including anofourchette distance, fetal sex hormones, pre-term birth, lower antral follicle count, reduced oestrodiol, autism, obesity, thyroid function and hearing disorders. We found no reviews of epidemiological human studies on the impact of phthalates from recycled plastics on human health. We recommend that future research should use urine samples as exposure measures, consider confounders in analyses and measure impacts on female reproductive systems. Our findings align with emerging research indicating that health risks can occur at exposure levels below the "safe dose" levels set out by regulators, and are of particular concern given potential additive or synergistic "cocktail effects" of chemicals. This raises important policy and regulatory issues for identifying and controlling plastics and health related impacts and highlights a need for more research into substances of concern entering plastics waste streams via recycling.Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC

Denitrification and nitrous oxide emissions from riparian forests soils exposed to prolonged nitrogen runoff

Compared to upland forests, riparian forest soils have greater potential to remove nitrate (NO3) from agricultural run-off through denitrification. It is unclear, however, whether prolonged exposure of riparian soils to nitrogen (N) loading will affect the rate of denitrification and its end products. This research assesses the rate of denitrification and nitrous oxide (N2O) emissions from riparian forest soils exposed to prolonged nutrient run-off from plant nurseries and compares these to similar forest soils not exposed to nutrient run-off. Nursery run-off also contains high levels of phosphate (PO4). Since there are conflicting reports on the impact of PO4 on the activity of denitrifying microbes, the impact of PO4 on such activity was also investigated. Bulk and intact soil cores were collected from N-exposed and non-exposed forests to determine denitrification and N2O emission rates, whereas denitrification potential was determined using soil slurries. Compared to the non-amended treatment, denitrification rate increased 2.7- and 3.4-fold when soil cores collected from both N-exposed and non-exposed sites were amended with 30 and 60 μg NO3-N g-1 soil, respectively. Net N2O emissions were 1.5 and 1.7 times higher from the N-exposed sites compared to the non-exposed sites at 30 and 60 μg NO3-N g-1 soil amendment rates, respectively. Similarly, denitrification potential increased 17 times in response to addition of 15 μg NO3-N g-1 in soil slurries. The addition of PO4 (5 μg PO4–P g-1) to soil slurries and intact cores did not affect denitrification rates. These observations suggest that prolonged N loading did not affect the denitrification potential of the riparian forest soils; however, it did result in higher N2O emissions compared to emission rates from non-exposed forests

The thing about pain: The remaking of illness narratives in chronic pain expressions on social media

In this article, we analyse chronic pain narratives on Flickr and Tumblr. We focus on how, by incorporating visual and multimodal elements, chronic pain expressions in social media significantly extend and challenge the logic, function and effects of traditional ‘illness narratives’. We examine a sample of images and blogs related to chronic pain and formulate a typology of chronic pain expressions on these sites. Flickr brings a form of narrative immediacy, making the pain experience visible, eliciting empathy and marking chronicity. Tumblr lends itself to more networked forms of interaction through the circulation of multimodal memes, and support communities are built through humour and social criticism. We argue that new forms of mediation and social media dynamics transform pain narratives. This has implications for our understandings of the forms and formats of pain communication and offers new possibilities for communicating pain within and beyond clinical contexts

Genomic and SNP Analyses Demonstrate a Distant Separation of the Hospital and Community-Associated Clades of Enterococcus faecium

Recent studies have pointed to the existence of two subpopulations of Enterococcus faecium, one containing primarily commensal/community-associated (CA) strains and one that contains most clinical or hospital-associated (HA) strains, including those classified by multi-locus sequence typing (MLST) as belonging to the CC17 group. The HA subpopulation more frequently has IS16, pathogenicity island(s), and plasmids or genes associated with antibiotic resistance, colonization, and/or virulence. Supporting the two clades concept, we previously found a 3–10% difference between four genes from HA-clade strains vs. CA-clade strains, including 5% difference between pbp5-R of ampicillin-resistant, HA strains and pbp5-S of ampicillin-sensitive, CA strains. To further investigate the core genome of these subpopulations, we studied 100 genes from 21 E. faecium genome sequences; our analyses of concatenated sequences, SNPs, and individual genes all identified two distinct groups. With the concatenated sequence, HA-clade strains differed by 0–1% from one another while CA clade strains differed from each other by 0–1.1%, with 3.5–4.2% difference between the two clades. While many strains had a few genes that grouped in one clade with most of their genes in the other clade, one strain had 28% of its genes in the CA clade and 72% in the HA clade, consistent with the predicted role of recombination in the evolution of E. faecium. Using estimates for Escherichia coli, molecular clock calculations using sSNP analysis indicate that these two clades may have diverged ≥1 million years ago or, using the higher mutation rate for Bacillus anthracis, ∼300,000 years ago. These data confirm the existence of two clades of E. faecium and show that the differences between the HA and CA clades occur at the core genomic level and long preceded the modern antibiotic era

Application and Validation of PFGE for Serovar Identification of Leptospira Clinical Isolates

Serovar identification of clinical isolates of Leptospira is generally not performed on a routine basis, yet the identity of an infecting serovar is valuable from both epidemiologic and public health standpoints. Only a small number of reference laboratories worldwide have the capability to perform the cross agglutinin absorption test (CAAT), the reference method for serovar identification. Pulsed-field gel electrophoresis (PFGE) is an alternative method to CAAT that facilitates rapid identification of leptospires to the serovar level. We employed PFGE to evaluate 175 isolates obtained from humans and animals submitted to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) between 1993 and 2007. PFGE patterns for each isolate were generated using the NotI restriction enzyme and compared to a reference database consisting of more than 200 reference strains. Of the 175 clinical isolates evaluated, 136 (78%) were identified to the serovar level by the database, and an additional 27 isolates (15%) have been identified as probable new serovars. The remaining isolates yet to be identified are either not represented in the database or require further study to determine whether or not they also represent new serovars. PFGE proved to be a useful tool for serovar identification of clinical isolates of known serovars from different geographic regions and a variety of different hosts and for recognizing potential new serovars

Physicochemical and antioxidant properties of non-refined sugarcane alternatives to white sugar

[EN] Antioxidant properties of commercial sugarcane-derived products were analysed to study their suitability for being used as functional ingredients. Cane honey, several jaggeries and several brown sugars were selected from the market and analysed in terms of physicochemical characteristics and antioxidant properties, and compared with white refined sugar (twelve products in total). Moisture, water activity, total soluble solids, pH, colour and sugar profile are reported. As for antioxidant properties, total phenols and flavonoid content, as well as antiradical ability (DPPH. and the TEAC-ABTS methods), are given. All sugarcane products contained phenols and flavonoids and exhibited in vitro antioxidant activity, determined by degree of refining. Among the alternatives analysed, jaggeries and cane honey showed the best antioxidant properties. Thermal treatment did not significantly affect the antioxidant capacity of sugarcane products, especially jaggeries. As sugar-rich products are widely consumed worldwide, the use of non-refined sugarcane derivatives in food formulation is encouraged.The authors would like to acknowledge the Universitat Politecnica de Valencia (Project PAID2010-2420) and Generalitat Valenciana Government (GV/2013/047) for financial support.Seguí Gil, L.; Calabuig Jimenez, L.; Betoret Valls, N.; Fito Maupoey, P. (2015). Physicochemical and antioxidant properties of non-refined sugarcane alternatives to white sugar. International Journal of Food Science and Technology. 50(12):2579-2588. doi:10.1111/ijfs.12926S257925885012Abbas, S. R., Sabir, S. M., Ahmad, S. D., Boligon, A. A., & Athayde, M. L. (2014). Phenolic profile, antioxidant potential and DNA damage protecting activity of sugarcane (Saccharum officinarum). Food Chemistry, 147, 10-16. doi:10.1016/j.foodchem.2013.09.113Amer, S., Na, K.-J., El-Abasy, M., Motobu, M., Koyama, Y., Koge, K., & Hirota, Y. (2004). Immunostimulating effects of sugar cane extract on X-ray radiation induced immunosuppression in the chicken. International Immunopharmacology, 4(1), 71-77. doi:10.1016/j.intimp.2003.10.006Bahorun, T., Luximon-Ramma, A., Crozier, A., & Aruoma, O. I. (2004). Total phenol, flavonoid, proanthocyanidin and vitamin C levels and antioxidant activities of Mauritian vegetables. Journal of the Science of Food and Agriculture, 84(12), 1553-1561. doi:10.1002/jsfa.1820Brand-Williams, W., Cuvelier, M. E., & Berset, C. (1995). Use of a free radical method to evaluate antioxidant activity. LWT - Food Science and Technology, 28(1), 25-30. doi:10.1016/s0023-6438(95)80008-5Cataldi, T. R. I., Margiotta, G., Iasi, L., Di Chio, B., Xiloyannis, C., & Bufo, S. A. (2000). Determination of Sugar Compounds in Olive Plant Extracts by Anion-Exchange Chromatography with Pulsed Amperometric Detection. Analytical Chemistry, 72(16), 3902-3907. doi:10.1021/ac000266oChan, E. W. C., Lim, Y. Y., Wong, S. K., Lim, K. K., Tan, S. P., Lianto, F. S., & Yong, M. Y. (2009). Effects of different drying methods on the antioxidant properties of leaves and tea of ginger species. Food Chemistry, 113(1), 166-172. doi:10.1016/j.foodchem.2008.07.090Dawidowicz, A. L., Wianowska, D., & Olszowy, M. (2012). On practical problems in estimation of antioxidant activity of compounds by DPPH method (Problems in estimation of antioxidant activity). Food Chemistry, 131(3), 1037-1043. doi:10.1016/j.foodchem.2011.09.067Del Caro, A., Piga, A., Vacca, V., & Agabbio, M. (2004). Changes of flavonoids, vitamin C and antioxidant capacity in minimally processed citrus segments and juices during storage. Food Chemistry, 84(1), 99-105. doi:10.1016/s0308-8146(03)00180-8Dittrich, R., El-massry, F., Kunz, K., Rinaldi, F., Peich, C. C., Beckmann, M. W., & Pischetsrieder, M. (2003). Maillard Reaction Products Inhibit Oxidation of Human Low-Density Lipoproteins in Vitro. Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry, 51(13), 3900-3904. doi:10.1021/jf026172sDowd, L. E. (1959). Spectrophotometric Determination of Quercetin. Analytical Chemistry, 31(7), 1184-1187. doi:10.1021/ac60151a033Maurício Duarte-Almeida, J., Novoa, A. V., Linares, A. F., Lajolo, F. M., & Inés Genovese, M. (2006). Antioxidant Activity of Phenolics Compounds From Sugar Cane (Saccharum officinarum L.) Juice. Plant Foods for Human Nutrition, 61(4), 187-192. doi:10.1007/s11130-006-0032-6Duarte-Almeida, J. M., Negri, G., Salatino, A., de Carvalho, J. E., & Lajolo, F. M. (2007). Antiproliferative and antioxidant activities of a tricin acylated glycoside from sugarcane (Saccharum officinarum) juice. Phytochemistry, 68(8), 1165-1171. doi:10.1016/j.phytochem.2007.01.015EL-ABASY, M., MOTOBU, M., NA, K.-J., SHIMURA, K., NAKAMURA, K., KOGE, K., … HIROTA, Y. (2003). Protective Effects of Sugar Cane Extracts (SCE) on Eimeria tenella Infection in Chickens. Journal of Veterinary Medical Science, 65(8), 865-871. doi:10.1292/jvms.65.865El-Abasy, M., Motobu, M., Nakamura, K., Koge, K., Onodera, T., Vainio, O., … Hirota, Y. (2004). Preventive and therapeutic effects of sugar cane extract on cyclophosphamide-induced immunosuppression in chickens. International Immunopharmacology, 4(8), 983-990. doi:10.1016/j.intimp.2004.01.019Feng, S., Luo, Z., Zhang, Y., Zhong, Z., & Lu, B. (2014). Phytochemical contents and antioxidant capacities of different parts of two sugarcane (Saccharum officinarum L.) cultivars. Food Chemistry, 151, 452-458. doi:10.1016/j.foodchem.2013.11.057Harish Nayaka, M. A., Sathisha, U. V., Manohar, M. P., Chandrashekar, K. B., & Dharmesh, S. M. (2009). Cytoprotective and antioxidant activity studies of jaggery sugar. Food Chemistry, 115(1), 113-118. doi:10.1016/j.foodchem.2008.11.067Kadam, U. S., Ghosh, S. B., De, S., Suprasanna, P., Devasagayam, T. P. A., & Bapat, V. A. (2008). Antioxidant activity in sugarcane juice and its protective role against radiation induced DNA damage. Food Chemistry, 106(3), 1154-1160. doi:10.1016/j.foodchem.2007.07.066KOGE, K., NAGAI, Y., MIZUTANI, T., SUZUKI, M., & ARAKI, S. (2001). Inhibitory Effects of Sugar Cane Extracts on Liver Injuries in Mice. NIPPON SHOKUHIN KAGAKU KOGAKU KAISHI, 48(4), 231-237. doi:10.3136/nskkk.48.231Kumazawa, S., Hamasaka, T., & Nakayama, T. (2004). Antioxidant activity of propolis of various geographic origins. Food Chemistry, 84(3), 329-339. doi:10.1016/s0308-8146(03)00216-4Lin, J.-Y., & Tang, C.-Y. (2007). Determination of total phenolic and flavonoid contents in selected fruits and vegetables, as well as their stimulatory effects on mouse splenocyte proliferation. Food Chemistry, 101(1), 140-147. doi:10.1016/j.foodchem.2006.01.014LO, D.-Y., CHEN, T.-H., CHIEN, M.-S., KOGE, K., HOSONO, A., KAMINOGAWA, S., & LEE, W.-C. (2005). Effects of Sugar Cane Extract on the Modulation of Immunity in Pigs. Journal of Veterinary Medical Science, 67(6), 591-597. doi:10.1292/jvms.67.591Luximon-Ramma, A., Bahorun, T., Soobrattee, M. A., & Aruoma, O. I. (2002). Antioxidant Activities of Phenolic, Proanthocyanidin, and Flavonoid Components in Extracts ofCassia fistula. Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry, 50(18), 5042-5047. doi:10.1021/jf0201172Motobu, M., Amer, S., Koyama, Y., Hikosaka, K., Sameshima, T., Yamada, M., … Hirota, Y. (2006). Protective effects of sugar cane extract on endotoxic shock in mice. Phytotherapy Research, 20(5), 359-363. doi:10.1002/ptr.1860Ozgen, M., Reese, R. N., Tulio, A. Z., Scheerens, J. C., & Miller, A. R. (2006). Modified 2,2-Azino-bis-3-ethylbenzothiazoline-6-sulfonic Acid (ABTS) Method to Measure Antioxidant Capacity of Selected Small Fruits and Comparison to Ferric Reducing Antioxidant Power (FRAP) and 2,2‘-Diphenyl-1-picrylhydrazyl (DPPH) Methods. 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Physics of Neutron Star Crusts

The physics of neutron star crusts is vast, involving many different research fields, from nuclear and condensed matter physics to general relativity. This review summarizes the progress, which has been achieved over the last few years, in modeling neutron star crusts, both at the microscopic and macroscopic levels. The confrontation of these theoretical models with observations is also briefly discussed.Comment: 182 pages, published version available at <http://www.livingreviews.org/lrr-2008-10

Determining Higgs couplings with a model-independent analysis of h ->gamma gamma

Discovering a Higgs boson at the LHC will address a major outstanding issue in particle physics but will also raise many new questions. A concerted effort to determine the couplings of this new state to other Standard Model fields will be of critical importance. Precise knowledge of these couplings can serve as a powerful probe of new physics, and will be needed in attempts to accommodate such a new boson within specific models. In this paper, we present a method for constraining these couplings in a model-independent way, focusing primarily on an exclusive analysis of the gamma gamma final state. We demonstrate the discriminating power of fully exclusive analyses, and discuss ways in which information can be shared between experimentalists and theorists in order to facilitate collaboration in the task of establishing the true origins of any new physics discovered at the LHC.Comment: 24 pages, 4 figure

Repeatability of short-duration transient visual evoked potentials in normal subjects

To evaluate the within-session and inter-session repeatability of a new, short-duration transient visual evoked potential (SD-tVEP) device on normal individuals, we tested 30 normal subjects (20/20 visual acuity, normal 24-2 SITA Standard VF) with SD-tVEP. Ten of these subjects had their tests repeated within 1–2 months from the initial visit. Synchronized single-channel EEG was recorded using a modified Diopsys Enfant™ System (Diopsys, Inc., Pine Brook, New Jersey, USA). A checkerboard stimulus was modulated at two reversals per second. Two different contrasts of checkerboard reversal patterns were used: 85% Michelson contrast with a mean luminance of 66.25 cd/m2 and 10% Michelson contrast with a mean luminance of 112 cd/m2. Each test lasted 20 s. Both eyes, independently and together, were tested 10 times (5 times at each contrast level). The following information was identified from the filtered N75-P100-N135 complex: N75 amplitude, N75 latency, P100 amplitude, P100 latency, and Delta Amplitude (N75-P100). The median values for each eye’s five SD-tVEP parameters were calculated and grouped into two data sets based on contrast level. Mean age was 27.3 ± 5.2 years. For OD only, the median (95% confidence intervals) of Delta Amplitude (N75-P100) amplitudes at 10% and 85% contrast were 4.6 uV (4.1–5.9) and 7.1 uV (5.15–9.31). The median P100 latencies were 115.2 ms (112.0–117.7) and 104.0 ms (99.9–106.0). There was little within-session variability for any of these parameters. Intraclass correlation coefficients ranged between 0.64 and 0.98, and within subject coefficients of variation were 3–5% (P100 latency) and 15–30% (Delta Amplitude (N75-P100) amplitude). Bland–Altman plots showed good agreement between the first and fifth test sessions (85% contrast Delta Amplitude (N75-P100) delta amplitude, mean difference, 0.48 mV, 95% CI, −0.18–1.12; 85% contrast P100 latency delay, −0.82 ms, 95% CI, −3.12–1.46; 10% contrast Delta Amplitude (N75-P100) amplitude, 0.58 mV, 95% CI, −0.27–1.45; 10% contrast P100 latency delay, −2.05 mV, 95% CI, −5.12–1.01). The inter-eye correlation and agreement were significant for both SD-tVEP amplitude and P100 latency measurements. For the subset of eyes in which the inter-session repeatability was tested, the intraclass correlation coefficients ranged between 0.71 and 0.86 with good agreement shown on Bland–Altman plots. Short-duration transient VEP technology showed good within-session, inter-session repeatability, and good inter-eye correlation and agreement

Nitrogen limitation constrains sustainability of ecosystem response to CO2

Enhanced plant biomass accumulation in response to elevated atmospheric CO2 concentration could dampen the future rate of increase in CO2 levels and associated climate warming. However, it is unknown whether CO2-induced stimulation of plant growth and biomass accumulation will be sustained or whether limited nitrogen (N) availability constrains greater plant growth in a CO2-enriched world(1-9). Here we show, after a six-year field study of perennial grassland species grown under ambient and elevated levels of CO2 and N, that low availability of N progressively suppresses the positive response of plant biomass to elevated CO2. Initially, the stimulation of total plant biomass by elevated CO2 was no greater at enriched than at ambient N supply. After four to six years, however, elevated CO2 stimulated plant biomass much less under ambient than enriched N supply. This response was consistent with the temporally divergent effects of elevated CO2 on soil and plant N dynamics at differing levels of N supply. Our results indicate that variability in availability of soil N and deposition of atmospheric N are both likely to influence the response of plant biomass accumulation to elevated atmospheric CO2. Given that limitations to productivity resulting from the insufficient availability of N are widespread in both unmanaged and managed vegetation(5,7-9), soil N supply is probably an important constraint on global terrestrial responses to elevated CO2.Peer Reviewedhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/62769/1/nature04486.pd