515 research outputs found
Disinfection by-products in drinking water and bladder cancer: evaluation of risk modification by common genetic polymorphisms in two case–control studies
No full textBeane Freeman LE, Kogevinas M, Cantor KP, Villanueva CM, Prokunina-Olsson L, Florez-Vargas O, Figueroa JD, Ward MH, Koutros S, Baris D, Garcia-Closas M, Schwenn M, Johnson A, Serra C, Tardon A, Garcia-Closas R, Carrato A, Malats N, Karagas MR, Rothman N, Silverman D
Environ Health Perspect
No full textBackgroundWomen living in agricultural areas may experience high pesticide exposures compared with women in urban or suburban areas because of their proximity to farm activities.ObjectiveOur objective was to review the evidence in the published literature for the contribution of nonoccupational pathways of pesticide exposure in women living in North American agricultural areas.MethodsWe evaluated the following nonoccupational exposure pathways: paraoccupational (i.e., take-home or bystander exposure), agricultural drift, residential pesticide use, and dietary ingestion. We also evaluated the role of hygiene factors (e.g., house cleaning, shoe removal).ResultsAmong 35 publications identified (published 1995\ue2\u20ac\u201c2013), several reported significant or suggestive (p < 0.1) associations between paraoccupational (n = 19) and agricultural drift (n = 10) pathways and pesticide dust or biomarker levels, and 3 observed that residential use was associated with pesticide concentrations in dust. The 4 studies related to ingestion reported low detection rates of most pesticides in water; additional studies are needed to draw conclusions about the importance of this pathway. Hygiene factors were not consistently linked to exposure among the 18 relevant publications identified.ConclusionsEvidence supported the importance of paraoccupational, drift, and residential use pathways. Disentangling exposure pathways was difficult because agricultural populations are concurrently exposed to pesticides via multiple pathways. Most evidence was based on measurements of pesticides in residential dust, which are applicable to any household member and are not specific to women. An improved understanding of nonoccupational pesticide exposure pathways in women living in agricultural areas is critical for studying health effects in women and for designing effective exposure-reduction strategies.CitationDeziel NC, Friesen MC, Hoppin JA, Hines CJ, Thomas K, Beane Freeman LE. 2015. A review of nonoccupational pathways for pesticide exposure in women living in agricultural areas. Environ Health Perspect 123:515\ue2\u20ac\u201c524;\ue2\u20ac\u201ahttp://dx.doi.org/10.1289/ehp.140827
Environ Health Perspect
No full textBackground:Occupational pesticide use is associated with lung cancer in some, but not all, epidemiologic studies. In the Agricultural Health Study (AHS), we previously reported positive associations between several pesticides and lung cancer incidence.Objective:We evaluated use of 43 pesticides and 654 lung cancer cases after 10 years of additional follow-up in the AHS, a prospective cohort study comprising 57,310 pesticide applicators from Iowa and North Carolina.Methods:Information about lifetime pesticide use and other factors was ascertained at enrollment (1993\ue2\u20ac\u201c1997) and updated with a follow-up questionnaire (1999\ue2\u20ac\u201c2005). Cox proportional hazards models were used to calculate hazard ratios (HRs) and 95% confidence intervals (CIs), adjusting for smoking (smoking status and pack-years), sex, and lifetime days of use of any pesticides.Results:Hazard ratios were elevated in the highest exposure category of lifetime days of use for pendimethalin (1.50; 95% CI: 0.98, 2.31), dieldrin (1.93; 95% CI: 0.70, 5.30), and chlorimuron ethyl (1.74; 95% CI: 1.02, 2.96), although monotonic exposure\ue2\u20ac\u201cresponse gradients were not evident. The HRs for intensity-weighted lifetime days of use of these pesticides were similar. For parathion, the trend was statistically significant for intensity-weighted lifetime days (p = 0.049) and borderline for lifetime days (p = 0.073). None of the remaining pesticides evaluated was associated with lung cancer incidence.Conclusions:These analyses provide additional evidence for an association between pendimethalin, dieldrin, and parathion use and lung cancer risk. We found an association between chlorimuron ethyl, a herbicide introduced in 1986, and lung cancer that has not been previously reported. Continued follow-up is warranted.Citation:Bonner MR, Beane Freeman LE, Hoppin JA, Koutros S, Sandler DP, Lynch CF, Hines CJ, Thomas K, Blair A, Alavanja MCR. 2017. Occupational exposure to pesticides and the incidence of lung cancer in the Agricultural Health Study. Environ Health Perspect 125:544\ue2\u20ac\u201c551;\ue2\u20ac\u201ahttp://dx.doi.org/10.1289/EHP456P30 CA086862/CA/NCI NIH HHS/United StatesZ01 CP010119/CP/NCI NIH HHS/United StatesZ01 ES049030/ES/NIEHS NIH HHS/United States27384818PMC538199
Environ Health Perspect
No full textBackground:Growing evidence suggests that pesticide use may contribute to respiratory symptoms.Objective:We evaluated the association of currently used pesticides with allergic and non-allergic wheeze among male farmers.Methods:Using the 2005\ue2\u20ac\u201c2010 interview data of the Agricultural Health Study, a prospective study of farmers in North Carolina and Iowa, we evaluated the association between allergic and non-allergic wheeze and self-reported use of 78 specific pesticides, reported by \ue2\u2030\ua5 1% of the 22,134 men interviewed. We used polytomous regression models adjusted for age, BMI, state, smoking, and current asthma, as well as for days applying pesticides and days driving diesel tractors. We defined allergic wheeze as reporting both wheeze and doctor-diagnosed hay fever (n = 1,310, 6%) and non-allergic wheeze as reporting wheeze but not hay fever (n = 3,939, 18%); men without wheeze were the referent.Results:In models evaluating current use of specific pesticides, 19 pesticides were significantly associated (p < 0.05) with allergic wheeze (18 positive, 1 negative) and 21 pesticides with non-allergic wheeze (19 positive, 2 negative); 11 pesticides were associated with both. Seven pesticides (herbicides: 2,4-D and simazine; insecticides: carbaryl, dimethoate, disulfoton, and zeta-cypermethrin; and fungicide pyraclostrobin) had significantly different associations for allergic and non-allergic wheeze. In exposure\ue2\u20ac\u201cresponse models with up to five exposure categories, we saw evidence of an exposure\ue2\u20ac\u201cresponse relationship for several pesticides including the commonly used herbicides 2,4-D and glyphosate, the insecticides permethrin and carbaryl, and the rodenticide warfarin.Conclusions:These results for farmers implicate several pesticides that are commonly used in agricultural and residential settings with adverse respiratory effects.Citation:Hoppin JA, Umbach DM, Long S, London SJ, Henneberger PK, Blair A, Alavanja M, Beane Freeman LE, Sandler DP. 2017. Pesticides are associated with allergic and non-allergic wheeze among male farmers. Environ Health Perspect 125:535\ue2\u20ac\u201c543;\ue2\u20ac\u201ahttp://dx.doi.org/10.1289/EHP315Z01 CP010119/CP/NCI NIH HHS/United StatesZ01 ES025041/ES/NIEHS NIH HHS/United States27384423PMC538198
Atrazine and cancer incidence among pesticide applicators in the agricultural health study (1994-2007).
No full textAtrazine is a triazine herbicide used widely in the United States. Although it is an animal carcinogen, the mechanism in rodents does not appear to operate in humans. Few epidemiologic studies have provided evidence for an association
Methyl bromide exposure and cancer risk in the Agricultural Health Study.
No full textMethyl bromide is a genotoxic soil fumigant with high acute toxicity, but unknown human carcinogenicity. Although many countries have reduced methyl bromide use because of its ozone depleting properties, some uses remain in the United States and other countries, warranting further investigation of human health effects
A comparative analysts of Diderot's Jacques le fataliste and Sterne's Tristram Shandy, 1972
No full textThe principal aim of the paper is to point out the similarities and contrasts In the novels Jacques le fataliste and The Life and Opinions of Tristram Shandy. Gentlemen. The author wishes to show that Denis Diderot, brilliant man of letters in France as well as a philosopher, and Laurence Sterne, English writer, expressed many similar thoughts and ideas in the forementioned novels. If the goal is achieved, it will be seen to what extent Diderot borrowed from Sterne. The paper consists of four chapters. Chapter one is entitled Background of the Eighteenth Century with subtitles of (a) "Background of the Century," (b) "The Life of Denis Diderot" and (c) �The Life of Laurence Sterne." The second and third chapters fora the principal part of the study. The second chapter is a detailed analysis of Diderot's Jacques le fataliste. The discussion of Jacques le fataliste consists of three points! (1) a summary of the novel, (2) the novel broken down into divisions and (3) an examination of Diderot�s objectives, themes, characters and style of writing. The third chapter le divided in a similar manner. The analysis includes three parts (1) a summary of the novel, (2) the divisions of the novel end (3) e discussion of Sterne's objectives, themes, characters and techniques. In both chapters an effort Is made to show the authors* criticisms of the existing Institutions of the eighteenth century. The last chapter is devoted to a comparison of the two novels based upon the analyses presented la the previous chapters. Products of the same century, both Sterne and Diderot treat the same themes differently. Sterne employs humor and sentiment and Diderot uses a heavy moralizing tone
À quoi rêvent les vieilles filles? Eros au féminin ou la débandade du roman domestique en Amérique (M. Wilkins Freeman).
No full textInternational audienceWhen Harper's Bazaar editor Elizabeth Jordan asked Mary Wilkins Freeman to write the chapter devoted to “The Old-Maid Aunt” in the collective novel The Whole Family in 1906, she did not quite measure the impact of her choice. By turning Aunt Elizabeth into the provocative Lily Talbert, Freeman not only refused to conform her character to the stereotype of the frigid old maid; she also questioned the place she had been assigned as an author within the domestic and romantic economy of the collective novel under contract. Eroticizing the old maid jeopardizes the traditional plot because it endangers the inevitable denouement of the domestic novel. The ambivalence of an un-domesticated Eros, both a principle of life and a disruptive force, proves a threat to the genre itself. The turbulences of the erotic old maid, this essay argues, compels the domestic novel, if not to redefine itself, at least to amend itself.Quand en 1906 Elizabeth Jordan, éditeur de Harper’s Bazar, demanda à Mary Wilkins Freeman d’écrire le chapitre intitulé « The Old-Maid Aunt » dans le roman collectif The Whole Family, nul ne se doutait, parmi les contributeurs, que c’était là faire entrer le serpent dans le jardin de cette famille de Nouvelle-Angleterre. En faisant d’Aunt Elizabeth la provocante Lily Talbert, Freeman ne refusait pas seulement de se conformer au stéréotype de la vieille fille frigide et austère ; elle remettait également en cause la place qui lui avait été assignée à l’intérieur de la « famille » des auteurs du roman, à l’intérieur de l’économie domestique et romanesque.Érotiser la vieille fille, qui ainsi menace de prendre la place de l’héroïne attendue (en séduisant son amant), c’est remettre en question, ou du moins, mettre en danger l’inévitable dénouement du roman domestique. Faire de la vieille fille une intrigante, c’est mettre en péril l’intrigue traditionnelle. Si certains, peu nombreux, osent admirer cette contribution audacieuse, la plupart la condamnent vigoureusement. Qu’y a-t-il donc dans ces quelque trente pages pour échauffer ainsi les esprits ? Dans quel soufre Freeman a-t-elle plongé sa plume ? À la fois impulsion et menace de désagrégation, ces pages dérangent parce qu’elles portent en elles-mêmes l’ambivalence d’un Éros non domestiqué, à la fois force génératrice, principe de vie et force disruptive qui menace de tout faire s’écrouler. En fait, ce chapitre ne met en branle la machine romanesque qu’au risque d’en ébranler sérieusement les mécanismes, de provoquer la débandade du roman domestique : quand la vieille fille s’érotise et commence à jouer un jeu qui lui est propre, quand elle manque à la place qu’on lui avait assignée, le roman, pris de turbulences, se voit contraint, sinon de se redéfinir, du moins de s’amender
Viewpoint : new partnership for African development
No full textFrench version available in IDRC Digital Library: Point de vue : nouveau partenariat pour le développment de l'AfriqueThe article discusses the New Partnership for Africa’s Development (NEPAD) in light of Africans increasingly assuming responsibility for their own destiny. One provision in NEPAD promotes the idea of peer review of African governments and leaders by other leaders. Unlike previous development plans, NEPAD places an emphasis not on aid but on mobilizing Africa's own resources. The author is Dr Constance Freeman, Regional Director of the International Development Research Centre’s (IDRC) office in Nairobi, Kenya
Environ Health Perspect
No full textBackground:Increased pesticide concentrations in house dust in agricultural areas have been attributed to several exposure pathways, including agricultural drift, para-occupational, and residential use.Objective:To guide future exposure assessment efforts, we quantified relative contributions of these pathways using meta-regression models of published data on dust pesticide concentrations.Methods:From studies in North American agricultural areas published from 1995 to 2015, we abstracted dust pesticide concentrations reported as summary statistics [e.g., geometric means (GM)]. We analyzed these data using mixed-effects meta-regression models that weighted each summary statistic by its inverse variance. Dependent variables were either the log-transformed GM (drift) or the log-transformed ratio of GMs from two groups (para-occupational, residential use).Results:For the drift pathway, predicted GMs decreased sharply and nonlinearly, with GMs 64% lower in homes 250 m versus 23 m from fields (interquartile range of published data) based on 52 statistics from seven studies. For the para-occupational pathway, GMs were 2.3 times higher [95% confidence interval (CI): 1.5, 3.3; 15 statistics, five studies] in homes of farmers who applied pesticides more recently or frequently versus less recently or frequently. For the residential use pathway, GMs were 1.3 (95% CI: 1.1, 1.4) and 1.5 (95% CI: 1.2, 1.9) times higher in treated versus untreated homes, when the probability that a pesticide was used for the pest treatment was 1\ue2\u20ac\u201c19% and \ue2\u2030\ua5 20%, respectively (88 statistics, five studies).Conclusion:Our quantification of the relative contributions of pesticide exposure pathways in agricultural populations could improve exposure assessments in epidemiologic studies. The meta-regression models can be updated when additional data become available.Citation:Deziel NC, Beane Freeman LE, Graubard BI, Jones RR, Hoppin JA, Thomas K, Hines CJ, Blair A, Sandler DP, Chen H, Lubin JH, Andreotti G, Alavanja MC, Friesen MC. 2017. Relative contributions of agricultural drift, para-occupational, and residential use exposure pathways to house dust pesticide concentrations: meta-regression of published data. Environ Health Perspect 125:296\ue2\u20ac\u201c305;\ue2\u20ac\u201ahttp://dx.doi.org/10.1289/EHP426Z01 CP010119/CP/NCI NIH HHS/United StatesZ01 ES049030/ES/NIEHS NIH HHS/United States27458779PMC533219
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