1,721,190 research outputs found
Editorial: The impact of exposure to environmental chemicals, pharmaceuticals and particles via human breast milk: a focus on health effects and underlying mechanisms
No full textThe author(s) declare that financial support was received for the research and/or publication of this article. Charlotte Cosemans was financially supported by the Research Foundation Flanders (FWO; 1249025N)
The value of neighborhood greenspace for children
No full textAcross the globe, urbanization is increasing, intensifying the pressure on greenspaces, which affects all its users, including children. This is potentially concerning since exposure to nature enhances children's health and well-being. With regard to well-being, while robust evidence is present on the positive relationship between exposure to nature and well-being of children, currently no monetary valuation of the well-being benefits exists, making them more difficult to appropriately include in public decision-making regarding greenspace development. This study, for the first time, puts a monetary value on neighborhood greenspace exposure for children using the life satisfaction approach (LSA). This approach has been employed for the monetary valuation of environmental goods and issues but has not been extended yet to value the well-being of children. The LSA quantifies the influence of neighborhood greenspace on children's life satisfaction (LS) and compares it to the impact of other determinants of their LS that can be valued in monetary terms. In that way, the LSA calculates the amount of money to offset a change in neighborhood greenspace to keep the child at the same level of LS. As a result, the LSA does not require children or their parents to assign monetary values themselves. Data were gathered from 430 parent-child pairs in 29 different primary schools in Flanders (age range of children 10-12). The monetary value will be determined based on the tradeoff between the impact of the exposure of neighborhood greenspace on children’s LS and the impact of working hours of parents and time children spend with their parents on children’s LS. This time will be valued using the market replacement cost and opportunity cost method. The results of the study reveal the monetary value of neighborhood greenspace in terms of improvements in children's self-reported LS
The value of neighborhood greenspace for children
No full textAcross the globe, urbanization is increasing, intensifying the pressure on greenspaces, which affects all its users, including children. This is potentially concerning since exposure to nature enhances children's health and well-being. With regard to well-being, while robust evidence is present on the positive relationship between exposure to nature and well-being of children, currently no monetary valuation of the well-being benefits exists, making them more difficult to appropriately include in public decision-making regarding greenspace development. This study, for the first time, puts a monetary value on neighborhood greenspace exposure for children using the life satisfaction approach (LSA). This approach has been employed for the monetary valuation of environmental goods and issues but has not been extended yet to value the well-being of children. The LSA quantifies the influence of neighborhood greenspace on children's life satisfaction (LS) and compares it to the impact of other determinants of their LS that can be valued in monetary terms. In that way, the LSA calculates the amount of money to offset a change in neighborhood greenspace to keep the child at the same level of LS. As a result, the LSA does not require children or their parents to assign monetary values themselves. Data were gathered from 430 parent-child pairs in 29 different primary schools in Flanders (age range of children 10-12). The monetary value will be determined based on the tradeoff between the impact of the exposure of neighborhood greenspace on children’s LS and the impact of working hours of parents and time children spend with their parents on children’s LS. This time will be valued using the market replacement cost and opportunity cost method. The results of the study reveal the monetary value of neighborhood greenspace in terms of improvements in children's self-reported LS
In Utero Exposure to Air Pollutants and Mitochondrial Heteroplasmy in Neonates
No full textMitochondria are sensitive to oxidative stress, which can be caused by traffic-related air pollution. Placental mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) mutations have been previously linked with air pollution. However, the relationship between prenatal air pollution and cord-blood mtDNA mutations has been poorly understood. Therefore, we hypothesized that prenatal particulate matter (PM2.5) and NO2 exposures are associated with cord-blood mtDNA heteroplasmy. As part of the ENVIRONAGE cohort, 200 mother-newborn pairs were recruited. Cord-blood mitochondrial single-nucleotide polymorphisms were identified by whole mitochondrial genome sequencing, and heteroplasmy levels were evaluated based on the variant allele frequency (VAF). Outdoor PM2.5 and NO2 concentrations were determined by a high resolution spatial-temporal interpolation method based on the maternal residential address. Distributed lag linear models were used to determine sensitive time windows for the association between NO2 exposure and cord-blood mtDNA heteroplasmy. A 5 mu g/m3 increment in NO2 was linked with MT-D-Loop16311T>C heteroplasmy from gestational weeks 17-25. MT-CYTB14766C>T was negatively associated with NO2 exposure in mid pregnancy, from weeks 14-17, and positively associated in late pregnancy, from weeks 31-36. No significant associations were observed with prenatal PM2.5 exposure. This is the first study to show that prenatal NO2 exposure is associated with cord-blood mitochondrial mutations and suggests two critical windows of exposure in mid-to-late pregnancy.The ENVIRONAGE birth cohort is supported by grants from the European Research Council (ERC-2012-StG310898), the Flemish Scientific Fund (FWO, 1516112 N/G.0873.11.N.10), and Kom op Tegen Kanker. C.C. was financially supported by the Centre for Environmental Sciences of Hasselt University. D.S.M. was financially supported by the FWO (12X9620N). The authors are extremely grateful to the participating women and neonates, as well as the staff of the maternity ward, midwives, the staff of the clinical laboratory of East-Limburg Hospital in Genk, and Martien Peusens and Dominika Tylus for the coordination between Hasselt University and EastLimburg Hospital
Cichlid fishes are promising underutilised models to investigate helminth-microbiome interactions
No full textThe "Old Friends Hypothesis" suggests that insufficient early exposure to symbionts may hinder immune development, contributing to increased immune-related diseases in the Global North. While the microbiome is often the focus, helminths, which may also offer health benefits, receive little attention. The infection and effect of helminths, in turn, are influenced and may be even determined by microorganisms. The mechanisms behind general parasite-microbiome interactions are poorly understood, despite their profound implications on the health of their hosts. Because these interactions are typically studied for single helminth species in laboratory animal models, the important aspect of helminth diversity remains overlooked in this context. A literature search for research on the relationship between host helminth diversity and microbial diversity, resulted in 27 publications; most focused on human or other mammalian hosts, and relied on natural exposure rather than experimental inoculation with helminths. Almost half of these studies did not empirically investigate health outcomes for the host. This understudied potential warrants consideration for additional candidate model systems. In view of the high burden of helminthiasis, and the high species diversity of helminths, we propose to seek these models in the Global South, where a considerable proportion of research on community diversity aspects of helminth-microbiome interactions took place. The low availability of genomic resources for parasitic worms in many regions of the Global South, however, calls for more integrative helminthological research efforts. Given the substantial similarities in immune systems, several fishes are models for human health and disease. More effort could be done to also establish this for cichlids, the representatives of which in the African Great Lakes would provide a well-delineated, closed natural system with relevance to human health in view of fish-borne zoonoses and other water-borne parasites. Moreover, a good baseline exists in terms of these cichlids' genomics, parasitology, and microbiology. We therefore call for the exploration of African Great Lake cichlids as model hosts to understand the interactions between microbial diversity, helminth diversity, and host health
Prenatal particulate matter exposure is linked with neurobehavioral development in early life
No full textIn vivo prediction and discrimination of carcinogenic compounds using Schmidtea mediterranea's stem cell proliferation patterns
No full textAccurate and reliable carcinogenicity assays are imperative, as cancer risks are directly associated with the type and potency of a compound. A challenge for the development of alternative test methods is the prediction of non-genotoxic carcinogens, which entail different assessments of human cancer risk. The variety of non-genotoxic cancer pathways complicates the search for sensitive and reliable parameters expressing their carcinogenicity.
The presented assay enables a simple, rapid and inexpensive prediction and discrimination of both genotoxic and non-genotoxic carcinogens by means of flatworm stem cell dynamics. Our methodology entails an exposure to carcinogenic compounds during the animal's regeneration process, and the most striking differences between non-genotoxic and genotoxic carcinogen-induced proliferative responses were detected during the initial stages of the regeneration process, i.e. at the moment stem cells proliferate. We present a two-step-approach that combines in vivo adult stem cell proliferation patterns and phenotypic appearances. Based on the observed differences in stem cell dynamics we were able to discriminate between genotoxic and non-genotoxic carcinogens in a selected group of compounds (MMS, 4NQO, CsA, S-PB, MPH, CPZ). More specifically, genotoxic carcinogens were characterized by significantly fewer mitotic cells after 3 days exposure in comparison with a 1-day exposure set-up, while, on the contrary, non-genotoxic carcinogens were characterized by significantly more mitotic cells after 3 days exposure in comparison with a 1-day exposure set-up. The ability to discriminate between genotoxic and non-genotoxic compounds makes this approach unique and with significant added value to current research and drug development
Prenatal particulate matter exposure is linked with neurobehavioral development in early life
No full textMaternal pre-pregnancy body mass index and newborn telomere length
No full textNewborn telomere length sets telomere length for later life. At birth, telomere length is highly variable among newborns and the environmental factors during in utero life for this observation remain largely unidentified. Obesity during pregnancy might reflect an adverse nutritional status affecting pregnancy and offspring outcomes, but the association of maternal pre-pregnancy body mass index (BMI) with newborn telomere length, as a mechanism of maternal obesity, on the next generation has not been addressed.sponsorship: The ENVIRONAGE birth cohort is supported by the EU Program "Ideas" (ERC-2012-StG 310898) and by the Flemish Scientific Fund (FWO, G073315N). (EU Program "Ideas"|ERC-2012-StG 310898, Flemish Scientific Fund (FWO)|G073315N)status: Publishe
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