Exposure to mobile telecommunication networks assessed using personal dosimetry and well-being in children and adolescents: the German MobilEe-study

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Despite the increase of mobile phone use in the last decade and the growing concern whether mobile telecommunication networks adversely affect health and well-being, only few studies have been published that focussed on children and adolescents. Especially children and adolescents are important in the discussion of adverse health effects because of their possibly higher vulnerability to radio frequency electromagnetic fields.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>We investigated a possible association between exposure to mobile telecommunication networks and well-being in children and adolescents using personal dosimetry. A population-based sample of 1.498 children and 1.524 adolescents was assembled for the study (response 52%). Participants were randomly selected from the population registries of four Bavarian (South of Germany) cities and towns with different population sizes. During a Computer Assisted Personal Interview data on participants' well-being, socio-demographic characteristics and potential confounder were collected. Acute symptoms were assessed three times during the study day (morning, noon, evening).</p> <p>Using a dosimeter (ESM-140 Maschek Electronics), we obtained an exposure profile over 24 hours for three mobile phone frequency ranges (measurement interval 1 second, limit of determination 0.05 V/m) for each of the participants. Exposure levels over waking hours were summed up and expressed as mean percentage of the ICNIRP (International Commission on Non-Ionizing Radiation Protection) reference level.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>In comparison to non-participants, parents and adolescents with a higher level of education who possessed a mobile phone and were interested in the topic of possible adverse health effects caused by mobile telecommunication network frequencies were more willing to participate in the study. The median exposure to radio frequency electromagnetic fields of children and adolescents was 0.18% and 0.19% of the ICNIRP reference level respectively.</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>In comparison to previous studies this is one of the first to assess the individual level of exposure to mobile telecommunication networks using personal dosimetry, enabling objective assessment of exposure from all sources and longer measurement periods. In total, personal dosimetry was proofed to be a well accepted tool to study exposure to mobile phone frequencies in epidemiologic studies including health effects on children and adolescents.</p

A comprehensive assessment of somatic mutation detection in cancer using whole-genome sequencing.

As whole-genome sequencing for cancer genome analysis becomes a clinical tool, a full understanding of the variables affecting sequencing analysis output is required. Here using tumour-normal sample pairs from two different types of cancer, chronic lymphocytic leukaemia and medulloblastoma, we conduct a benchmarking exercise within the context of the International Cancer Genome Consortium. We compare sequencing methods, analysis pipelines and validation methods. We show that using PCR-free methods and increasing sequencing depth to ∼ 100 × shows benefits, as long as the tumour:control coverage ratio remains balanced. We observe widely varying mutation call rates and low concordance among analysis pipelines, reflecting the artefact-prone nature of the raw data and lack of standards for dealing with the artefacts. However, we show that, using the benchmark mutation set we have created, many issues are in fact easy to remedy and have an immediate positive impact on mutation detection accuracy.We thank the DKFZ Genomics and Proteomics Core Facility and the OICR Genome Technologies Platform for provision of sequencing services. Financial support was provided by the consortium projects READNA under grant agreement FP7 Health-F4-2008-201418, ESGI under grant agreement 262055, GEUVADIS under grant agreement 261123 of the European Commission Framework Programme 7, ICGC-CLL through the Spanish Ministry of Science and Innovation (MICINN), the Instituto de Salud Carlos III (ISCIII) and the Generalitat de Catalunya. Additional financial support was provided by the PedBrain Tumor Project contributing to the International Cancer Genome Consortium, funded by German Cancer Aid (109252) and by the German Federal Ministry of Education and Research (BMBF, grants #01KU1201A, MedSys #0315416C and NGFNplus #01GS0883; the Ontario Institute for Cancer Research to PCB and JDM through funding provided by the Government of Ontario, Ministry of Research and Innovation; Genome Canada; the Canada Foundation for Innovation and Prostate Cancer Canada with funding from the Movember Foundation (PCB). PCB was also supported by a Terry Fox Research Institute New Investigator Award, a CIHR New Investigator Award and a Genome Canada Large-Scale Applied Project Contract. The Synergie Lyon Cancer platform has received support from the French National Institute of Cancer (INCa) and from the ABS4NGS ANR project (ANR-11-BINF-0001-06). The ICGC RIKEN study was supported partially by RIKEN President’s Fund 2011, and the supercomputing resource for the RIKEN study was provided by the Human Genome Center, University of Tokyo. MDE, LB, AGL and CLA were supported by Cancer Research UK, the University of Cambridge and Hutchison-Whampoa Limited. SD is supported by the Torres Quevedo subprogram (MI CINN) under grant agreement PTQ-12-05391. EH is supported by the Research Council of Norway under grant agreements 221580 and 218241 and by the Norwegian Cancer Society under grant agreement 71220-PR-2006-0433. Very special thanks go to Jennifer Jennings for administrating the activity of the ICGC Verification Working Group and Anna Borrell for administrative support.This is the final version of the article. It first appeared from Nature Publishing Group via http://dx.doi.org/10.1038/ncomms1000

Genome Sequencing of SHH Medulloblastoma Predicts Genotype-Related Response to Smoothened Inhibition

SummarySmoothened (SMO) inhibitors recently entered clinical trials for sonic-hedgehog-driven medulloblastoma (SHH-MB). Clinical response is highly variable. To understand the mechanism(s) of primary resistance and identify pathways cooperating with aberrant SHH signaling, we sequenced and profiled a large cohort of SHH-MBs (n = 133). SHH pathway mutations involved PTCH1 (across all age groups), SUFU (infants, including germline), and SMO (adults). Children >3 years old harbored an excess of downstream MYCN and GLI2 amplifications and frequent TP53 mutations, often in the germline, all of which were rare in infants and adults. Functional assays in different SHH-MB xenograft models demonstrated that SHH-MBs harboring a PTCH1 mutation were responsive to SMO inhibition, whereas tumors harboring an SUFU mutation or MYCN amplification were primarily resistant

Participación de los veterinarios oficiales y privados en la vigilancia epidemiológica

Aumento en los últimos años en muchos países; Costa Rica: Miembro de la OMC desde 1995 y Acuerdo sobre la aplicación de medidas sanitarias y fitosanitarias (SPS agreement)Increase in recent years in many countries; Costa Rica: Member of WTO since 1995 and Agreement on the Application of Sanitary and Phytosanitary Measures (SPS agreement)Universidad Nacional de Costa RicaEscuela de Medicina Veterinari

Seroprevalencia y factores de riesgo de las infecciones arbovirales infecciones arbovirales (Encefalomielitis Equina Encefalomielitis, Encefalomielitis Equina Occidental Encefalomielitis, Encefalomielitis Equina Venezolana Encefalomielitis Equina Venezolana y Fiebre del Nilo Occidental) en Costa Rica

To gain a better understanding of the epidemio- logical situation of arboviral infections in horses in Costa Rica, a national IgG seroprevalence study was performed in 2013. In Costa Rica, equine arboviral infections are caused by Alphaviruses such as Eastern equine encephalomyelitis virus (EEV), Western equine encephalomyelitis virus (WEV) and Venezuelan equine encephalomyelitis virus (VEV), as well as a Flavivirus: West Nile Virus (WNV). This study was carried out in response to a number of lethal disease outbreaks in horses, which were primarily caused by VEV, but also WNV and EEV. Arboviruses, which are transmitted to horses and humans through blood-sucking mosquitoes, may cause pyrexia, neurological disease and even death in both animals and humans.Para conocer mejor la situación epidemiológica de las situación epidemiológica de las infecciones arbovirales en caballos en Costa Rica, se realizó un estudio nacional de seroprevalencia de IgG en 2013. En Costa Rica, las infecciones arbovirales equinas son causadas por alfavirus como el virus de la encefalomielitis equina oriental (VEE), el virus de la encefalomielitis equina occidental y el virus de la encefalomielitis equina venezolana. encefalomielitis equina venezolana (VEV), así como un Flavivirus: Virus del Nilo Occidental (WNV). Este estudio se llevó a cabo en respuesta a una serie de brotes letales de brotes de enfermedades en caballos, que fueron causados principalmente por el VEV pero también el VNO y el VEE. Los arbovirus, que se transmiten a a los caballos y a los humanos a través de mosquitos hematófagos, pueden causar pirexia, enfermedades neurológicas e incluso la muerte, tanto en animales como en humanos.Universidad Nacional, Costa RicaEscuela de Medicina Veterinari

Baylisascaris procyonis Parasites in Raccoons, Costa Rica, 2014

To the Editor: Baylisascaris procyonis (Ascaridoi- dea: Ascarididae) parasites are facultatively heteroxenous nematodes that are widely distributed in the United States and Canada, where prevalence rates reach 70%–90%. They colonize the small intestine of their final host, the northern raccoon (Procyon lotor), whose feces can contain up to 25 × 103 eggs/g. Under ideal environmental conditions (100% humidity and 24°C), eggs become infective in soil (1,2). When ingested by other mammalian hosts, third-stage lar- vae can produce pathologic changes called larva migrans, which can lead to chronic neurologic disorders and even death (1,3). B. procyonis parasite infection of humans oc- curs by the fecal–oral route (ingestion of eggs in contami- nated food) (1). Small children are particularly vulnerable through accidental geophagia. Public health concerns arise where raccoon and human populations overlap.Al editor: Baylisascaris procyonis (Ascaridoi- dea: Ascarididae) son nematodos facultativamente heteroxenos nematodos facultativos que están ampliamente distribuidos en y Canadá, donde las tasas de prevalencia alcanzan el 70%-90%. Se colonizan el intestino delgado de su huésped final, el mapache (Procyon lotor), cuyas heces pueden contener hasta 25 × 103 huevos/g. En condiciones ambientales ideales (100% de humedad y 24°C), los huevos se vuelven infecciosos en el suelo (1,2). Cuando son ingeridos por otros huéspedes mamíferos, las larvas de tercer estadio pueden producir cambios patológicos. vae pueden producir cambios patológicos denominados larva migrans que pueden dar lugar a trastornos neurológicos crónicos e incluso muerte (1,3). La infección por el parásito B. procyonis en humanos se produce por vía fecal-oral. por la vía fecal-oral (ingestión de huevos en alimentos contaminados) (1). nado) (1). Los niños pequeños son especialmente vulnerables por geofagia accidental. Los problemas de salud pública surgen de los mapaches y las poblaciones humanas.Universidad Nacional, Costa RicaEscuela de Medicina Veterinari

National Seroprevalence and Risk Factors for Eastern Equine Encephalitis and Venezuelan Equine Encephalitis in Costa Rica

Se seleccionó la licencia Creative Commons para este envío. El documento trae lo siguiente: © 2020 The Author(s). Published by Elsevier Inc. This is an open access article under the CC BY-NC-ND license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/). (En caso de duda consultar a Meilyn Garro).Eastern equine encephalitis and Venezuelan equine encephalitis are endemic neglected tropical diseases in the Americas, causing encephalitis in both horses and humans. In 2013, a cross-sectional study was performed in 243 horses located in the highlands and lowlands throughout Costa Rica. Serum samples were analyzed with an IgG ELISA and confirmed by the plaque-reduction neutralization test (PRNT80). Venezuelan equine encephalitis virus (VEEV) and Eastern equine encephalitis virus (EEEV) overall seroprevalences by the PRNT80 were 36% (95% confidence interval [CI]: 29.9e42.5; 78/217 horses) and 3% (95% CI: 1.3e5.9; 6/217 horses), respectively. Both the viruses occurred in the lowlands and highlands. Rainfall and altitude were associated with VEEV seropositivity in the univariate analysis, but only altitude <100 meters above sea level was considered a risk factor in the multivariate analysis. No risk factors could be identified for the EEEV in the multivariate analysis. This is the first study that estimates the seroprevalence of the EEEV and VEEV in Costa Rican horses. The VEEV is widely distributed, whereas the EEEV occurs at a much lower frequency and only in specific areas. Clinical cases and occasional outbreaks of both viruses are to be expected.La encefalitis equina oriental y la encefalitis equina venezolana son enfermedades tropicales desatendidas endémicas en América, que causan encefalitis tanto en caballos como en humanos. En 2013, se realizó un estudio transversal realizado en 243 caballos ubicados en las tierras altas y bajas de Costa Rica. Las muestras de suero se analizaron con un ELISA de IgG y se confirmaron mediante la prueba de neutralización por reducción de placas (PRNT80). Las seroprevalencias globales del virus de la encefalitis equina venezolana (VEEV) y del virus de la encefalitis equina oriental (EEEV) Las seroprevalencias globales del PRNT80 fueron del 36% (intervalo de confianza [IC] del 95%: 29,9e42,5; 78/217 caballos) y del 3% (IC 95%: 1,3e5,9; 6/217 caballos), respectivamente. Ambos virus se presentaron en las tierras bajas y altas. La pluviometría y la altitud se asociaron con la seropositividad al VEEV en el análisis univariante, pero sólo la altitud <100 metros sobre el nivel del mar se consideró un factor de riesgo en el análisis multivariante. Ningún factor de riesgo para el VEE en el análisis multivariante. Este es el primer estudio que estima la seroprevalencia del EEEV y del VEEV en caballos costarricenses. El VEEV está ampliamente distribuido, mientras que el El VEEV está ampliamente distribuido, mientras que el VEEV se presenta con una frecuencia mucho menor y sólo en áreas específicas. Los casos clínicos y los brotes ocasionales de ambos virus.Servicio Nacional de Salud Animal, Costa RicaUniversidad de Medicina Veterinaria, AustriaUniversidad Nacional, Costa RicaEscuela de Medicina Veterinari