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Prevalence, antibiotic resistance patterns and molecular characterization of Escherichia coli from Austrian sandpits
2014
Badura, Alexandra | Luxner, Josefa | Feierl, Gebhard | Reinthaler, Franz F. | Zarfel, Gernot | Galler, Herbert | Pregartner, Gudrun | Riedl, Regina | Grisold, Andrea J.
The aim was to determine the prevalence of E. coli and coliform bacteria in playground sand of all public children's sandpits in Graz (n = 45), Austria, and to assess the frequency of antimicrobial resistance in E. coli. Molecular characterization included the discrimination of O-serotypes and H-antigens and the determination of virulence and resistance genes, using a microarray technology. E. coli isolates were tested for susceptibility to a set of antibiotics by VITEK2 system and disk diffusion method. In total, 22 (49%) and 44 (98%) sandpits were positive for E. coli and coliform bacteria. Median concentrations of E. coli and coliform bacteria in the sand samples were: 2.6 × 104 CFU/100 g and 3.0 × 105 CFU/100 g. Resistance rates were: ampicillin, 12.5%; piperacillin, 10.4%; amoxicillin/clavulanic acid, 9.4%; cotrimoxazole, 6.3%; tetracycline, 6.3%; piperacillin/tazobactam, 5.2%. No ESBL- or carbapenemase-producing isolates were found. The most prevalent serogroups were O15, O6 and O4. Isolates harbored 0 up to 16 different virulence genes.
Show more [+] Less [-]Air pollution effects on fetal and child development: A cohort comparison in China
2014
Tang, Deliang | Li, Ting Yu | Chow, Judith C. | Kulkarni, Sanasi U. | Watson, John G. | Ho, Steven Sai Hang | Quan, Zhang Y. | Qu, L.R. | Perera, Frederica
In Tongliang, China, a coal-fired power plant was the major pollution source until its shutdown in 2004. We enrolled two cohorts of nonsmoking women and their newborns before and after the shutdown to examine the relationship between prenatal exposure to polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) and fetal and child growth and development. PAHs were used to measure exposure to air pollution generated by the power plant. Using PAH–DNA adduct levels as biomarkers for the biologically effective dose of PAH exposure, we examined whether PAH–DNA adduct levels were associated with birth outcome, growth rate, and neurodevelopment. Head circumference was greater in children of the second cohort, compared with the first (p = 0.001), consistent with significantly reduced levels of cord blood PAH–DNA adducts in cohort II (p < 0.001) and reduced levels of ambient PAHs (p = 0.01).
Show more [+] Less [-]Lead and other elements in house dust of Japanese residences – Source of lead and health risks due to metal exposure
2014
Yoshinaga, Jun | Yamasaki, Kumiko | Yonemura, Ayumi | Ishibashi, Yuri | Kaido, Takaya | Mizuno, Kodai | Takagi, Mai | Tanaka, Atsushi
The levels of 25 elements in house dust collected from 100 general Japanese residences were measured. Factor analysis was applied on the multi-element data to explore source of Pb (median concentration 49.1 mg/kg) in house dust. Six factors were extracted and Pb was found to have great loading on the fifth factor with Sb and Sn, suggesting solder (Sn), and plastic and metals (Sb) may be the sources of Pb in the house dust of Japanese residences. No significant loading was found on soil-related factors indicating non-significant contribution of Pb in track-in soil. Seven heavy metals (Cd, Cu, Mo, Pb, Sb, Sn, and Zn) were found in house dust at >10 times more condensed than crustal abundance. Health risk of these elements to children via the ingestion of house dust was estimated based on the comparison with tolerable daily intake and found to be non-significant for most of the elements.
Show more [+] Less [-]Serum biomarkers of polyfluoroalkyl compound exposure in young girls in Greater Cincinnati and the San Francisco Bay Area, USA
2014
Pinney, Susan M. | Biro, Frank M. | Windham, Gayle C. | Herrick, Robert L. | Yaghjyan, Lusine | Calafat, Antonia M. | Succop, Paul | Sucharew, Heidi | Ball, Kathleen M. | Kato, Kayoko | Kushi, Lawrence H. | Bornschein, Robert
PFC serum concentrations were measured in 6–8 year-old girls in Greater Cincinnati (GC) (N = 353) and the San Francisco Bay Area (SFBA) (N = 351). PFOA median concentration was lower in the SFBA than GC (5.8 vs. 7.3 ng/mL). In GC, 48/51 girls living in one area had PFOA concentrations above the NHANES 95th percentile for children 12–19 years (8.4 ng/mL), median 22.0 ng/mL. The duration of being breast fed was associated with higher serum PFOA at both sites and with higher PFOS, PFHxS and Me-PFOSA-AcOH concentrations in GC. Correlations of the PFC analytes with each other suggest that a source upriver from GC may have contributed to exposures through drinking water, and water treatment with granular activated carbon filtration resulted in less exposure for SWO girls compared to those in NKY. PFOA has been characterized as a drinking water contaminant, and water treatment systems effective in removing PFCs will reduce body burdens.
Show more [+] Less [-]Pathways of Pb and Mn observed in a 5-year longitudinal investigation in young children and environmental measures from an urban setting
2014
Gulson, Brian | Mizon, Karen | Taylor, Alan | Korsch, Michael | Davis, J Michael | Louie, Honway | Wu, Michael | Gómez, Laura | Antin, Luminita
We monitored 108 children ≤5 years on a 6-month basis for up to 5 years in a major urban setting. Samples (n ∼ 7000) included blood, urine, handwipes (interior, and after exterior playing), 6-day duplicate diet, drinking water, interior house and day care dust-fall accumulation using petri dishes, exterior dust-fall accumulation, exterior dust sweepings, paint, soil and urban air. The geometric mean blood Pb (PbB) was 2.1 μg/dL and blood Mn (MnB) was 10.0 μg/L. Following a path modelling approach, mixed model analyses for a fully adjusted model showed the strongest associations for PbB were with interior house dust and soil; for MnB there were no significant associations with any predictors. Predictor variables only explained 9% of the variance for Pb and 0.7% for Mn. Relationships between environmental measures and PbB in children are not straightforward; soil and dust sweepings contribute only about 1/5th of the amounts to PbB found in other studies.
Show more [+] Less [-]Perfluorinated compounds in serum and urine samples from children aged 5–13 years in South Korea
2014
Kim, Da-Hye | Lee, Mi-Young | Oh, Jeong-Eun
Serum and urine samples from 120 children aged 5–13 years from Dae-gu, Korea, were analyzed for 16 perfluorinated compounds (PFCs). The total PFC concentrations in the serum were 4.26–29.70 ng/mL, and perfluorohexanesulfonate (PFHxS), perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA), perfluorooctanesulfonate (PFOS, which was dominant overall, at 6.58 ng/mL), and perfluoroundecanoic acid (PFUndA) were detected in all serum samples. The total PFC concentrations in the urine ranged from below the detection limit to 14.9 ng/mL, and perfluoropentanoic acid (PFPeA) was predominant. The PFOS (p < 0.005) concentration was higher in the serum of children than that of Korean adults aged 20–29. Some of the PFC concentrations in the serum correlated negatively with body mass index and tended to increase with the duration of breastfeeding. However, there were no gender-specific differences in the PFC concentrations and no correlations between PFC concentrations in serum and urine.
Show more [+] Less [-]Perinatal multiple exposure to neurotoxic (lead, methylmercury, ethylmercury, and aluminum) substances and neurodevelopment at six and 24 months of age
2014
Marques, Rejane C. | Bernardi, José V.E. | Dórea, José G. | de Fatima R Moreira, Maria | Malm, Olaf
We studied neurodevelopment in infants from two communities. Children living in the vicinity of tin-ore kilns and smelters – TOKS; n = 51) were compared to children from a fishing village (Itapuã; n = 45). Mean hair-Hg (HHg) concentrations were significantly higher in Itapuã children which received significantly (p = 0.0000001) less mean ethylmercury (88.6 μg) from Thimerosal-containing vaccines (TCV) than the TOKS children (120 μg). Breast-milk Pb concentrations were significantly higher in the TOKS mothers (p = 0.000017; 10.04 vs. 3.9 μg L−1). Bayley mental development index (MDI) and psychomotor development index (PDI) were statistically significant (respectively p < 0.0000001, p = 0.000007) lower for the TOKS children only at 24 months of age. Multivariate regression analysis showed that MDI was negatively affected by breast-milk Pb and by HHg. PDI was positively affected by breastfeeding and negatively affected by ethylmercury. Milestone achievements were negatively affected by breast-milk Pb (age of walking) and by HHg (age of talking).
Show more [+] Less [-]Cumulative risk assessment for plasticizer-contaminated food using the hazard index approach
2014
Chang, J.W. | Yan, B.R. | Chang, M.H. | Tseng, S.H. | Kao, Y.M. | Chen, J.C. | Lee, C.C.
Phthalates strongly and adversely affect reproduction, development and liver function. We did a cumulative risk assessment for simultaneous exposure to nine phthalates using the hazard index (HI) and the levels of nine phthalates in 1200 foodstuff samples. DEHP (di-2-ethylhexyl phthalate) present the highest level (mean: 0.443 mg/kg) in 1200 samples, and the highest average daily dose (ADD) was found in DEHP, ΣDBP(i + n) (the sum of dibutyl phthalate [DBP] isomers [DnBP + DiBP]) posed the highest risk potential of all the phthalates. In seven phthalates, the 95th percentiles of the ADDs for ΣDBP(i + n) in 0–6-yr-old children accounted for 91% (79–107%) of the tolerable daily intake, and the 95th percentiles of the HIs for the anti-androgenic effects of five phthalates in 0–3-yr-old children and 4–6-yr-old girls were >1. We conclude that the health of younger Taiwanese may be adversely affected by overexposure of phthalate-contaminated foods.
Show more [+] Less [-]Environmental externality and inequality in China: Current Status and future choices
2014
Zhao, Xiaoli | Zhang, Sufang | Fan, Chunyang
Along with China's rapid economic growth, the environmental externality in the country is getting more and more serious. China's environmental externality is accompanied by environmental inequality, which presents two characteristics: First, the health loss caused by environmental externality is concentrated in the elderly and children. We take Beijing as an empirical analysis to conclude that children (0–4 years old) are the largest group suffered from respiratory disease; while the seniors are the largest group suffered from cardiovascular disease. Second, China's environmental inequality is mainly caused by the transfer of industries from urban to rural areas/suburbs. The villagers in poor rural areas are the biggest victims. China's environmental inequality is reflected particularly by the phenomenon of “cancer villages” which has existed ever since the end of 1970s. Finally, policy recommendations are provided for reducing China's environmental externality and inequality.
Show more [+] Less [-]PCBs levels and indicator congeners in children's and adolescents' hair
2014
Liang, Baocui | Liu, Xinhui | Hou, Jing | Liang, Gang | Gong, Wenwen | Xu, Diandou | Zhang, Li
Thirty polychlorinated biphenyl (PCB) congeners were determined in the hair samples collected from children (4–12) and adolescents (13–18) of Changchun city, Northeastern China. The mean concentrations of total PCBs and dioxin-like PCBs (dl-PCBs) in the adolescents' hair samples were 161.0 ng g−1 and 61.7 ng g−1, which were relatively higher than 43.7 ng g−1 and 14.6 ng g−1 in the children's ones. Considering gender difference, the mean concentrations in the girls' hair samples were approximately two times higher than those in the boys' ones for most PCB congeners. The pentachlorinated biphenyl was the dominant homologue. It was found that the levels of total PCBs and dl-PCBs were highly correlated with PCB 118 level in the children's hair samples, and with PCB 114 level in the adolescents' ones. The result demonstrated that the two PCB congeners could be applied as the indicators to evaluate the concentrations of total PCBs and dl-PCBs in children's and adolescents' hair, respectively.
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