Risk of Childhood Cancers Associated with Residence in Agriculturally Intense Areas in the United States

Background: The potential for widespread exposure to agricultural pesticides through drift during application raises concerns about possible health effects to exposed children living in areas of high agricultural activity. Objectives: We evaluated whether residence in a county with greater agricultural activity was associated with risk of developing cancer in children \u3c 15 years of age. Methods: Incidence data for U.S. children 0–14 years of age diagnosed with cancer between 1995 and 2001 were provided by member registries of the North American Association of Central Cancer Registries. We determined percent cropland for each county using agricultural census data, and used the overall study distribution to classify agriculturally intense counties. We estimated odds ratios and 95% confidence intervals for all ages and 5-year age groups for total cancers and selected cancer sites using logistic regression. Results: Our study results showed statistically significant increased risk estimates for many types of childhood cancers associated with residence at diagnosis in counties having a moderate to high level of agricultural activity, with a remarkably consistent dose–response effect seen for counties having ≥ 60% of the total county acreage devoted to farming. Risk for different cancers varied by type of crop. Conclusions: Although interpretation is limited by the ecologic design, in this study we were able to evaluate rarer childhood cancers across a diverse agricultural topography. The findings of this exploratory study support a continued interest in the possible impact of long-term, low-level pesticide exposure in communities located in agriculturally intense areas

Meeting Report: Application of Genotyping Methods to Assess Risks from Cryptosporidium in Watersheds

A workshop titled “Application of Genotyping Methods to Assess Pathogen Risks from Cryptosporidium in Drinking Water Catchments” was held at the International Water Association biennial conference, Marrakech, Morocco, 23 September 2004. The workshop presented and discussed the findings of an interlaboratory trial that compared methods for genotyping Cryptosporidium oocysts isolated from feces. The primary goal of the trial and workshop was to assess the utility of current Cryptosporidium genotyping methods for determining the public health significance of oocysts isolated from feces in potable-water–supply watersheds. An expert panel of 16 watershed managers, public health practitioners, and molecular parasitologists was assembled for the workshop. A subordinate goal of the workshop was to educate watershed management and public health practitioners. An open invitation was extended to all conference delegates to attend the workshop, which drew approximately 50 interested delegates. In this report we summarize the peer consensus emerging from the workshop. Recommendations on the use of current methods by watershed managers and public health practitioners were proposed. Importantly, all the methods that were reported in the trial were mutually supporting and found to be valuable and worthy of further utility and development. Where there were choices as to which method to apply, the small-subunit ribosomal RNA gene was considered to be the optimum genetic locus to target. The single-strand conformational polymorphism method was considered potentially the most valuable for discriminating to the subtype level and where a large number of samples were to be analyzed. A research agenda for protozoan geneticists was proposed to improve the utility of methods into the future. Standardization of methods and nomenclature was promoted

The Right Place at the Right Time: Creative Spaces in Libraries

Purpose This essay explores the recent trend in libraries: that of the establishment of spaces specifically set aside for creative work. The rise of these dedicated creative spaces is owed to a confluence of factors that happen to be finding their expression together in recent years. This essay examines the history of these spaces and explores the factors that gave rise to them and will fuel them moving forward. Design/Methodology/Approach A viewpoint piece, this essay combines historical research and historical/comparative analyses to examine the ways by which libraries have supported creative work in the past and how they may continue to do so into the 21st century. Findings The key threads brought together include a societal recognition of the value of creativity and related skills and attributes; the philosophies, values, and missions of libraries in both their longstanding forms and in recent evolutions; the rise of participatory culture as a result of inexpensive technologies; improved means to build community and share results of efforts; and library experience and historical practice in matters related to creativity. The chapter concludes with advice for those interested in the establishment of such spaces, grounding those reflections in the author’s experiences in developing a new creative space at Virginia Commonwealth University. Originality/value While a number of pieces have been written that discuss the practicalities of developing certain kinds of creative spaces, very little has been written that situates these spaces in larger social and library professional contexts; this essay begins to fill that gap

Ambient Air Pollution and Cancer Mortality in the Cancer Prevention Study II

BACKGROUND: The International Agency for Research on Cancer classified both outdoor air pollution and airborne particulate matter as carcinogenic to humans (Group 1) for lung cancer. There may be associations with cancer at other sites; however, the epidemiological evidence is limited. OBJECTIVE: The aim of this study was to clarify whether ambient air pollution is associated with specific types of cancer other than lung cancer by examining associations of ambient air pollution with nonlung cancer death in the Cancer Prevention Study II (CPS-II). METHODS: Analysis included 623,048 CPS-II participants who were followed for 22 y (1982-2004). Modeled estimates of particulate matter with aerodynamic diameter <2.5microm (PM2.5) (1999-2004), nitrogen dioxide (NO2) (2006), and ozone (O3) (2002-2004) concentrations were linked to the participant residence at enrollment. Cox proportional hazards models were used to estimate associations per each fifth percentile-mean increment with cancer mortality at 29 anatomic sites, adjusted for individual and ecological covariates. RESULTS: We observed 43,320 nonlung cancer deaths. PM2.5 was significantly positively associated with death from cancers of the kidney {adjusted hazard ratio (HR) per 4.4 mug/m3=1.14 [95% confidence interval (CI): 1.03, 1.27]} and bladder [HR=1.13 (95% CI: 1.03, 1.23)]. NO2 was positively associated with colorectal cancer mortality [HR per 6.5 ppb=1.06 (95% CI: 1.02, 1.10). The results were similar in two-pollutant models including PM2.5 and NO2 and in three-pollutant models with O3. We observed no statistically significant positive associations with death from other types of cancer based on results from adjusted models. CONCLUSIONS: The results from this large prospective study suggest that ambient air pollution was not associated with death from most nonlung cancers, but associations with kidney, bladder, and colorectal cancer death warrant further investigation. https://doi.org/10.1289/EHP1249

Design Features of a Professional Development Program in Digital Literacy

The authors introduce readers to three design features of the University of Rhode Island\u27s Summer Institute in Digital Literacy, a 42‐hour, weeklong professional learning experience in digital literacy for educators, librarians, college faculty, and other adult learners. The program is explicitly designed to promote reflection on one\u27s motivations for advancing digital literacy, deepen appreciation for collaborative inquiry, and focus on how educators and learners (not machines) personalize learning. Evidence of how these themes are developed through practice illustrates the design philosophy that is embedded in the program. Digital media platforms, texts, and technologies enable pedagogical practices that put learners and teachers at the center of an increasingly networked social world, but these approaches also require respect for diverse perspectives, deliberative dialogue, and collaborative inquiry to bring them into the mainstream educational practice of schools, libraries, universities, and communities

Serum Polybrominated Diphenyl Ether (PBDE) Levels Are Higher in Children (2–5 Years of Age) than in Infants and Adults

Background: Polybrominated diphenyl ethers (PBDEs) are used as flame retardants in many products and have been detected in human samples worldwide. Limited data show that concentrations are elevated in young children. Objectives: We investigated the association between PBDEs and age with an emphasis on young children from Australia in 2006–2007. Methods: We collected human blood serum samples (n = 2,420), which we stratified by age and sex and pooled for analysis of PBDEs. Results: The sum of BDE-47, -99, -100, and -153 concentrations (Σ4PBDE) increased from 0–0.5 years (mean ± SD, 14 ± 3.4 ng/g lipid) to peak at 2.6–3 years (51 ± 36 ng/g lipid; p 60 years (p = 0.894). The mean Σ4PBDE concentration in cord blood (24 ± 14 ng/g lipid) did not differ significantly from that in adult serum at ages 15–30 (p = 0.198) or 31–45 years (p = 0.140). We found no temporal trend when we compared the present results with Australian PBDE data from 2002–2005. PBDE concentrations were higher in males than in females; however, this difference reached statistical significance only for BDE-153 (p = 0.05). Conclusions: The observed peak concentration at 2.6–3 years of age is later than the period when breast-feeding is typically ceased. This suggests that in addition to the exposure via human milk, young children have higher exposure to these chemicals and/or a lower capacity to eliminate them. Key words: Australia, children, cord blood, human blood serum, PBDEs, polybrominated diphenyl ethers. Environ Health Perspect 117:1461–1465 (2009). doi:10.1289/ehp.090059

Synergistic Effects of Traffic-Related Air Pollution and Exposure to Violence on Urban Asthma Etiology

Background: Disproportionate life stress and consequent physiologic alteration (i.e., immune dysregulation) has been proposed as a major pathway linking socioeconomic position, environmental exposures, and health disparities. Asthma, for example, disproportionately affects lower-income urban communities, where air pollution and social stressors may be elevated. Objectives: We aimed to examine the role of exposure to violence (ETV), as a chronic stressor, in altering susceptibility to traffic-related air pollution in asthma etiology. Methods: We developed geographic information systems (GIS)–based models to retrospectively estimate residential exposures to traffic-related pollution for 413 children in a community-based pregnancy cohort, recruited in East Boston, Massachusetts, between 1987 and 1993, using monthly nitrogen dioxide measurements for 13 sites over 18 years. We merged pollution estimates with questionnaire data on lifetime ETV and examined the effects of both on childhood asthma etiology. Results: Correcting for potential confounders, we found an elevated risk of asthma with a 1-SD (4.3 ppb) increase in NO2 exposure solely among children with above-median ETV [odds ratio (OR) = 1.63; 95% confidence interval (CI), 1.14–2.33)]. Among children always living in the same community, with lesser exposure measurement error, this association was magnified (OR = 2.40; 95% CI, 1.48–3.88). Of multiple exposure periods, year-of-diagnosis NO$_2$ was most predictive of asthma outcomes. Conclusions: We found an association between traffic-related air pollution and asthma solely among urban children exposed to violence. Future studies should consider socially patterned susceptibility, common spatial distributions of social and physical environmental factors, and potential synergies among these. Prospective assessment of physical and social exposures may help determine causal pathways and critical exposure periods

Assessing the distribution of volatile organic compounds using land use regression in Sarnia, "Chemical Valley", Ontario, Canada

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Land use regression (LUR) modelling is proposed as a promising approach to meet some of the challenges of assessing the intra-urban spatial variability of ambient air pollutants in urban and industrial settings. However, most of the LUR models to date have focused on nitrogen oxides and particulate matter. This study aimed at developing LUR models to predict BTEX (benzene, toluene, ethylbenzene, m/p-xylene and o-xylene) concentrations in Sarnia, 'Chemical Valley', Ontario, and model the intra-urban variability of BTEX compounds in the city for a community health study.</p> <p>Method</p> <p>Using Organic Vapour Monitors, pollutants were monitored at 39 locations across the city of Sarnia for 2 weeks in October 2005. LUR models were developed to generate predictor variables that best estimate BTEX concentrations.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>Industrial area, dwelling counts, and highways adequately explained most of the variability of BTEX concentrations (<it>R</it>²: 0.78 – 0.81). Correlations between measured BTEX compounds were high (> 0.75). Although most of the predictor variables (e.g. land use) were similar in all the models, their individual contributions to the models were different.</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>Yielding potentially different health effects than nitrogen oxides and particulate matter, modelling other air pollutants is essential for a better understanding of the link between air pollution and health. The LUR models developed in these analyses will be used for estimating outdoor exposure to BTEX for a larger community health study aimed at examining the determinants of health in Sarnia.</p

Participation in boys and girls clubs: motivation and stage environment fit

This article presents the results of semi-structured in-depth interviews conducted with 54 youth attending six elementary school-based and middle school-based Boys and Girls Clubs in two low-income communities. The first goal of this study was to examine why youth choose to participate in these clubs. The most commonly reported motives include fun activities, opportunities to be with friends, parent has to work, and getting help with homework. The second goal was to examine youths' perceptions of staff, peers, activities, and the extent to which clubs are organized in a way to support the need for relatedness, competence, and autonomy. Variations in youths' perceptions of the quality of relationships with staff and peers, level of interest and challenge, and opportunities for decision making, by developmental level (elementary versus middle school) are discussed. Implications of our findings for sustaining youths' interest and continued involvement in out-of-school youth development programs are highlighted. © 2010 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.Peer Reviewedhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/69176/1/20369_ftp.pd