Jochumsenreed6556

We show that cells exposed to PM2.5-1 produced higher levels of pro-inflammatory cytokines following stimulation with bacterial TLR4 ligand than cells exposed to PM2.5-1 or bacterial ligand alone. On the contrary, PM2.5-1 exposure reduced pro-inflammatory responses to viral ligands TLR3 and TLR7/8. Cell cycle analysis indicated that viral ligands induced cell cycle arrest at the G2-M phase. In PM-primed co-cultures, however, they failed to induce the G2-M phase arrest. Contrarily, bacterial stimulation caused a slight increase in cells in the sub-G1 phase but in PM2.5-1 primed co-cultures the effect of bacterial stimulation was masked by PM2.5-1. These findings indicate that PM2.5-1 may alter responses of immune defense differently against bacterial and viral infections. Further studies are required to explain the mechanism of immune modulation caused by PM in altering the susceptibility to respiratory infections.Obesity rates are increasing globally, and recent theories suggest that phthalates may contribute to obesity development. This longitudinal study aimed to investigate associations between environmental phthalate exposure during childhood and obesity, utilizing data from 100 participants from a Swedish birth cohort. The participants were followed repeatedly from birth and provided spot urine samples at 4 years. Weight and height were measured at ages 4, 8, 16 and 24 years, as well as additional anthropometric indices at 24 years. Urine samples were analysed for 10 phthalate metabolites using liquid chromatography tandem mass spectrometry. Generalized estimating equation models were performed to assess overall and age-specific associations between urinary phthalate concentrations and BMI groups; thin/normal weight vs overweight/obese. After adjustment for potential confounders, overall associations were observed for diisononyl phthalate (DiNP) metabolites mono(oxo-isononyl) phthalate (MOiNP) (OR per increase ng/ml 1.18; 95% CI 1.05, 1.33), mono(carboxy-isooctyl) phthalate (MCiOP) (OR 1.06; 95% CI 1.01, 1.11) and ∑DiNP (OR 1.02; 95% CI1.00, 1.04) and development of overweight/obesity up to age 24 years. Age-specific associations were observed for the same metabolites at 8, 16 and 24 years. Furthermore, linear regression analysis revealed associations between increased body fat % at age 24 years and MHiNP (β 2.42; 95% CI 0.44, 4.39), MOiNP (β 2.32; 95% CI 0.46, 4.18), MCiOP (β 2.65; 95% CI 0.41, 4.89) and ∑DiNP (β 2.65; 95% CI 0.52, 4.77). These findings suggest that DiNP exposure during preschool age may be associated with subsequent obesity, however these findings need to be corroborated by further research.Magnetic-clay (MtMag) and magnetic-organoclay (O100MtMag) nanocomposites were synthesized, characterized and evaluated for arsenic adsorption. Batch arsenic adsorption experiments were performed varying pH conditions and initial As(V) concentration, while successive adsorption cycles were made in order to evaluate the materials reuse. The highest As(V) removal efficiency (9 ± 1 mg g-1 and 7.8 ± 0.8 mg g-1 for MtMag and O100MtMag, respectively) was found at pH 4.0, decreasing at neutral and alkaline conditions. From As(V) adsorption isotherm, two adsorption processes or two different surface sites were distinguished. Nanocomposites resulted composed by montmorillonite or organo-montmorillonite and magnetite as the principal iron oxide, with saturation magnetization of 8.5 ± 0.5 Am2 Kg-1 (MtMag) and 20.3 ± 0.5 Am2 Kg-1 (O100MtMag). Thus, both materials could be separated and recovered from aqueous solutions using external magnetic fields. Both materials allowed achieving arsenic concentrations lower than the World Health Organization (WHO) recommended concentration limit after two consecutive adsorption cycles (2.25 and 4.5 μg L-1 for MtMag and O100MtMag, respectively).Mangrove ecosystems are particularly important for small island developing states of the Pacific, such as Fiji, which are at the forefront of the impacts of climate change. This is because of the ability of mangroves to mitigate storm surges and floods as well as their high carbon sequestration and storage capacity. However, there are few detailed studies on the spatial variation in mangrove structure and carbon stocks in Fiji, and this information is essential to support decision making by government and communities, enabling the development of effective mitigation and adaptation responses. We assessed mangrove forest structure in contrasting regions around Fiji's largest island, Viti Levu, within sites managed by indigenous (iTaukei) Fijians. Mangroves of the Ba, Nadroga-Navosa, and Rewa and Tailevu regions showed high variance in both structural complexity and ecosystem carbon stocks. Levels of variation were similar to that observed globally due to variable geomorphological and biophysical settings related to orographic rainfall, freshwater influx, tidal amplitude and cyclonic disturbances. High biomass, structurally complex forests occur on the wetter south-east coast (e.g. SW-100 inhibitor the Rewa Delta), while structurally uniform scrub mangroves dominate large areas of mangroves along the north-west (e.g. the Ba Delta) and west coast (e.g. the Tuva Delta). Mangroves of the Ba region displayed considerable damage from tropical cyclones, particularly in taller vegetation. All mangrove sites assessed were important reservoirs of carbon, with results when scaled to the spatial extent of mangroves in Fiji revealing that ecosystem carbon storage is disproportionate to area and equates to 73.3% of the carbon held within terrestrial rainforests, despite occupying just 7.3% of the total area. This underscores the importance of mangroves as valuable carbon sinks in Fiji and the need to develop incentives for improved conservation and restoration.

Climate change is a severe public health challenge. Understanding to what extent fatal and non-fatal consequences of specific diseases are associated with temperature may help to improve the effectiveness of preventive public health efforts. This study examines the effects of temperature on deaths and hospital admissions by cardiovascular and respiratory diseases, empathizing the difference between mortality and morbidity.

Daily counts for mortality and hospital admissions by cardiovascular and respiratory diseases were collected for the 52 provincial capital cities in Spain, between 1990 and 2014. The association with temperature in each city was investigated by means of distributed lag non-linear models using quasi-Poisson regression. City-specific exposure-response curves were pooled by multivariate random-effects meta-analysis to obtain countrywide risk estimates of mortality and hospitalizations due to heat and cold, and attributable fractions were computed.

Heat and cold exposure were identified to be associated with increased risk of cardiovascular and respiratory mortality.