Inhalation anaesthetics and climate change Sulbaek Andersen, M. P.; Sander, S. P.; Nielsen, O. J. ...
British journal of anaesthesia : BJA,
12/2010, Volume:
105, Issue:
6
Journal Article
Peer reviewed
Open access
Background Although the increasing abundance of CO2 in our atmosphere is the main driver of the observed climate change, it is the cumulative effect of all forcing agents that dictate the direction ...and magnitude of the change, and many smaller contributors are also at play. Isoflurane, desflurane, and sevoflurane are widely used inhalation anaesthetics. Emissions of these compounds contribute to radiative forcing of climate change. To quantitatively assess the impact of the anaesthetics on the forcing of climate, detailed information on their properties of heat (infrared, IR) absorption and atmospheric lifetimes are required. Methods We have measured the IR spectra of these anaesthetics and conducted calculations of their contribution to radiative forcing of climate change recognizing the important fact that radiative forcing is strongly dependent on the wavelength of the absorption features. Results Radiative efficiencies of 0.453, 0.469, and 0.351 W m−2 ppb−1 and global warming potentials (GWPs) of 510, 1620, and 210 (100 yr time horizon) were established for isoflurane, desflurane, and sevoflurane, respectively. Conclusions On the basis of the derived 100 yr GWPs, the average climate impact per anaesthetic procedure at the University of Michigan is the same as the emission of ∼22 kg CO2. We estimate that the global emissions of inhalation anaesthetics have a climate impact which is comparable with that from the CO2 emissions from one coal-fired power plant or 1 million passenger cars.
Background
The lifetime prevalence of androgenic anabolic steroid abuse is estimated to be around 6% for men, but there is limited knowledge about the side effects of these drugs.
Objective
To ...investigate mortality and morbidity amongst users of androgenic anabolic steroids (AAS).
Methods
In this retrospective matched cohort study, 545 male subjects tested positive for AAS in Danish fitness centres during the period 3 January 2006 to 1 March 2018. Subjects were matched with 5450 male controls. In addition, 644 men who were sanctioned because they refused to submit to a doping test and 6440 controls were included as a replication cohort.
Results
Mortality was three times higher amongst users of AAS than amongst nonuser controls (hazard ratio 3.0, 95% CI 1.3–7.0). The median annual number of hospital contacts was 0.81 in the cohort of AAS users and 0.36 in the control cohort (P < 0.0001). Acne, gynaecomastia and erectile dysfunction affected more than 10% of the androgenic anabolic steroid users, and the prevalence of these disorders was significantly higher than in the control group (P < 0.0001). The results could be replicated in a similar cohort.
Conclusion
Androgenic anabolic steroid users have an increased risk of dying and significantly more hospital admissions than their nonuser peers. Side effects of AAS and their metabolites were highly prevalent. Given the high rate of androgenic anabolic steroid abuse, these side effects are of public health concern.
•Commercially relevant short-chain haloolefins will be released into the atmosphere.•Haloolefins have short atmospheric lifetimes (a few days or weeks).•Short-chain haloolefins degrade in the ...atmosphere giving HF, HCl, CO2 and CF3C(O)OH.•The degradation products do not pose a significant risk to ecosystems.
Short-chain haloolefins are being introduced as replacements for saturated halocarbons. The unifying chemical feature of haloolefins is the presence of a CC double bond which causes the atmospheric lifetimes to be significantly shorter than for the analogous saturated compounds. We discuss the atmospheric lifetimes, photochemical ozone creation potentials (POCPs), global warming potentials (GWPs), and ozone depletion potentials (ODPs) of haloolefins. The commercially relevant short-chain haloolefins CF3CFCH2 (1234yf), trans-CF3CHCHF (1234ze(Z)), CF3CFCF2 (1216), cis-CF3CHCHCl (1233zd(Z)), and trans-CF3CHCHCl (1233zd(E)) have short atmospheric lifetimes (days to weeks), negligible POCPs, negligible GWPs, and ODPs which do not differ materially from zero. In the concentrations expected in the environment their atmospheric degradation products will have a negligible impact on ecosystems. CF3CFCH2 (1234yf), trans-CF3CHCHF (1234ze(Z)), CF3CFCF2 (1216), cis-CF3CHCHCl (1233zd(Z)), and trans-CF3CHCHCl (1233zd(E)) are environmentally acceptable.
Copy number variants (CNVs) are risk factors in neurodevelopmental disorders, including autism, epilepsy, intellectual disability (ID) and schizophrenia. Childhood onset schizophrenia (COS), defined ...as onset before the age of 13 years, is a rare and severe form of the disorder, with more striking array of prepsychotic developmental disorders and abnormalities in brain development. Because of the well-known phenotypic variability associated with pathogenic CNVs, we conducted whole genome genotyping to detect CNVs and then focused on a group of 46 rare CNVs that had well-documented risk for adult onset schizophrenia (AOS), autism, epilepsy and/or ID. We evaluated 126 COS probands, 69 of which also had a healthy full sibling. When COS probands were compared with their matched related controls, significantly more affected individuals carried disease-related CNVs (P=0.017). Moreover, COS probands showed a higher rate than that found in AOS probands (P<0.0001). A total of 15 (11.9%) subjects exhibited at least one such CNV and four of these subjects (26.7%) had two. Five of 15 (4.0% of the sample) had a 2.5-3 Mb deletion mapping to 22q11.2, a rate higher than that reported for adult onset (0.3-1%) (P<0.001) or autism spectrum disorder and, indeed, the highest rate reported for any clinical population to date. For one COS subject, a duplication found at 22q13.3 had previously only been associated with autism, and for four patients CNVs at 8q11.2, 10q22.3, 16p11.2 and 17q21.3 had only previously been associated with ID. Taken together, these findings support the well-known pleiotropic effects of these CNVs suggesting shared abnormalities early in brain development. Clinically, broad CNV-based population screening is needed to assess their overall clinical burden.
Calculations using a three-dimensional global atmospheric chemistry model (IMPACT) indicate that n-C8F17CH2CH2OH (widely used in industrial and consumer products) degrades in the atmosphere to give ...perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA) and other perfluorocarboxylic acids (PFCAs). PFOA is persistent, bioaccumulative, and potentially toxic. Molar yields of PFOA depend on location and season, are in the range of 1−10%, and are of the correct order of magnitude to explain the observed levels in Arctic fauna. Fluorotelomer alcohols such as n-C8F17CH2CH2OH appear to be a significant global source of persistent bioaccumulative perfluorocarboxylic acid pollution. This is the first modeling study of the atmospheric chemistry of a fluorotelomer alcohol.
We argue that there is a need for a more precise of PFAS in a way that avoids including compounds with single CF
-, -CF
-, or CF- groups and excludes TFA and compounds that degrade to just give TFA. ...An example that meets this need is the definition by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency of PFAS as "per- and polyfluorinated substances that structurally contain the unit R-(CF
)-C(F)(R
)R
. Both the CF
and CF moieties are saturated carbons and none of the R groups (R, R
, or R
) can be hydrogen". Adoption of this definition, or one like it, would place future technical and regulatory discussions of the environmental impacts of organo-fluorine compounds on a sounder technical footing by focusing PFAS discussions and regulation on long-chain perfluoroalkyl sulfonic acids and perfluoroalkyl carboxylic acids.
Markerless motion capture has improved physical screening efficiency in sport and occupational settings; however, reliability of kinematic measurements from commercial systems must be established. ...Further, the impact of torso-borne equipment on these measurements is unclear. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the reliability of HumanTrak, a markerless motion capture system, for estimating peak trunk flexion in squat movements with and without a weighted vest. Eighteen participants completed body weight squats (BWSQ) and overhead squats (OHSQ) to their maximum depth (unrestricted-range) and to a plyometric box (fixed-range) while wearing no body armour (NBA) or 9 kg body armour (BA9). Peak trunk flexion was measured using HumanTrak. Testing was performed in two sessions on one day (intra-day) and one session on a separate day (inter-day) to assess reliability. HumanTrak had a standard error of measurement < 3.74° across all movements and conditions. Reliability was good to excellent (ICC = 0.82–0.96) with very large to nearly perfect Pearson correlations (r > 0.80) for all comparisons except unrestricted-range BWSQ with BA9 (ICC = 0.60–0.71, r = 0.71). HumanTrak was more reliable for intra- than inter-day, but reliability was still excellent for almost all inter-day comparisons (ICC > 0.82). HumanTrak is reliable for detecting differences in peak trunk flexion > 8.5° when body armour is not worn and > 10.5° when body armour is worn. Practitioners can assess meaningful changes in sagittal plane trunk motion when screening squat movements regardless of whether body armour is worn.
The microplastic (MP) contamination of oceans, freshwaters, and soils has become one of the major challenges within the Anthropocene. MP is transported in large quantities through river systems from ...land to sea and is deposited in river sediments and floodplains. As part of the river system, floodplains and their soils are known for their sink function with respect to sediments, nutrients, and pollutants. However, the questions remain: To what extend does this deposition occur in floodplain soils? Which spatial distribution of MP accumulations, resulting from possible environmental drivers, can be found? The present study analyzes the spatial distribution of large (L-MP, 2000–1000 μm) and medium (M-MP, 1000–500 μm) MP particles in floodplain soils of the Lahn River (Germany). Based on a geospatial sampling concept, the MP contents in floodplain soils are investigated down to a depth of 2 m through a combined method approach, including MP analyses, soil surveys, properties, and sediment dating. The analysis of the plastic particles was carried out by density separation, visual fluorescence identification, and ATR-FTIR analysis. In addition, grain-size analyses and 210Pb and 137Cs dating were performed to reconstruct the MP deposition conditions. The results prove a more frequent accumulation of MP in upper floodplain soils (0–50 cm) deposited by flood dynamics since the 1960s than in subsoils. The first MP detection to a depth of 2 m and below recent (>1960) sediment accumulation indicates in-situ vertical transfer of mobile MP particles through natural processes (e.g., preferential flow, bioturbation). Furthermore, the role of MP as a potential marker of the Anthropocene is assessed. This study advances our understanding of the deposition and relocation of MP at the aquatic-terrestrial interface.
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•Combination of MP analysis, soil standard analysis and sediment dating•Plastic deposition understandable through geospatial sampling approach•Microplastics found in up to 2 m soil depth must have been translocated vertically.•Microplastics accumulated since the 1960 in young sediments by flooding•Anthropogenic and natural processes could lead to MP relocation.
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