This study reviewed the literature on the relations between exposure to chemicals with endocrine-disrupting abilities and obesity in humans. The studies generally indicated that exposure to some of ...the endocrine-disrupting chemicals was associated with an increase in body size in humans. The results depended on the type of chemical, exposure level, timing of exposure and gender. Nearly all the studies investigating dichlorodiphenyldichloroethylene (DDE) found that exposure was associated with an increase in body size, whereas the results of the studies investigating polychlorinated biphenyl (PCB) exposure were depending on dose, timing and gender. Hexachlorobenzene, polybrominated biphenyls, beta-hexachlorocyclohexane, oxychlordane and phthalates were likewise generally associated with an increase in body size. Studies investigating polychlorinated dibenzodioxins and polychlorinated dibenzofurans found either associations with weight gain or an increase in waist circumference, or no association. The one study investigating relations with bisphenol A found no association. Studies investigating prenatal exposure indicated that exposure in utero may cause permanent physiological changes predisposing to later weight gain. The study findings suggest that some endocrine disruptors may play a role for the development of the obesity epidemic, in addition to the more commonly perceived putative contributors.
► Wastewater effluents containing APIs were treated with chlorine dioxide. ► More than half of the APIs oxidized in low COD effluent after 5mg/L ClO2 dose. ► Significant API removal in high COD ...effluent after treatment with 8mg/L ClO2. ► Successful degradation of several APIs with ClO2 treatment.
Biologically treated wastewater spiked with a mixture of 56 active pharmaceutical ingredients (APIs) was treated with 0–20mg/L chlorine dioxide (ClO2) solution in laboratory-scale experiments. Wastewater effluents were collected from two wastewater treatment plants in Sweden, one with extended nitrogen removal (low COD) and one without (high COD). About one third of the tested APIs resisted degradation even at the highest ClO2 dose (20mg/L), while others were reduced by more than 90% at the lowest ClO2 level (0.5mg/L). In the low COD effluent, more than half of the APIs were oxidized at 5mg/L ClO2, while in high COD effluent a significant increase in API oxidation was observed after treatment with 8mg/L ClO2. This study illustrates the successful degradation of several APIs during treatment of wastewater effluents with chlorine dioxide.
Numerous animal and clinical studies have described memory deficits following sleep deprivation. There is also evidence that the absence of sleep increases brain oxidative stress. The present study ...investigates the role of hippocampal oxidative stress in memory deficits induced by sleep deprivation in mice. Mice were sleep deprived for 72 h by the multiple platform method—groups of 4–6 animals were placed in water tanks, containing 12 platforms (3 cm in diameter) surrounded by water up to 1 cm beneath the surface. Mice kept in their home cage or placed onto larger platforms were used as control groups. The results showed that hippocampal oxidized/reduced glutathione ratio as well as lipid peroxidation of sleep-deprived mice was significantly increased compared to control groups. The same procedure of sleep deprivation led to a passive avoidance retention deficit. Both passive avoidance retention deficit and increased hippocampal lipid peroxidation were prevented by repeated treatment (15 consecutive days, i.p.) with the antioxidant agents melatonin (5 mg/kg),
N-tert-butyl-α-phenylnitrone (200 mg/kg) or vitamin E (40 mg/kg). The results indicate an important role of hippocampal oxidative stress in passive avoidance memory deficits induced by sleep deprivation in mice.
Smoking is associated with numerous inflammatory and autoimmune conditions. The goal of this study was to examine whether increased expression of G-protein-coupled receptor 15 (GPR15) on helper T ...cells in smokers could predispose to these conditions through its relationship with inflammatory biomarkers.
We used flow cytometric measurement of GPR15+CD3+CD4+ helper T cells and serum assays for C-reactive protein (CRP) and 17 cytokines drawn from peripheral blood samples from a cohort of n = 62 primarily African American young adults (aged 27–35 years). These variables were examined cross-sectionally in conjunction with serum biomarkers of tobacco (cotinine) and cannabis (tetrahydrocannabinol) use and lifestyle factors potentially impacting immune function in correlational analyses and linear regression models.
Tobacco and cannabis smoking were strongly associated with increased GPR15 expression on helper T cells (p < 0.001), which was in turn was strongly associated with the ratio of pro-inflammatory to anti-inflammatory cytokines (p < 0.001). Mediation analyses indicated increased GPR15 expression accounted for roughly half of the relationship between smoking variables and pro-inflammatory to anti-inflammatory cytokine balance. CRP was not associated with cannabis or tobacco use or GPR15+ expression, but was associated with body mass index (p < 0.001). These relationships persisted after controlling for lifestyle and medical factors impacting immune function.
Increased expression of GPR15 by helper T cells in smokers may mediate some of the relationship between smoking and a pro-inflammatory cytokine milieu. Better understanding of this relationship may help uncover how smoking increases the risk of inflammatory diseases.
•GPR15 expression on helper T cells associated with smoking habits and inflammatory cytokines•GPR15 expression mediates relationship between smoking habits and inflammatory cytokine milieu•C-reactive protein associated with BMI but not smoking or GPR15 expression on helper T cells
Smad ubiquitin regulatory factor 1 (SMURF1) is a HECT-type E3 ubiquitin ligase that plays a critical role in vertebrate development by regulating planar cell polarity (PCP) signaling and convergent ...extension (CE). Here we show that SMURF1 is involved in mammalian heart development. We find that SMURF1 is highly expressed in outflow tract cushion mesenchyme and Smurf1
mouse embryos show delayed outflow tract septation. SMURF1 is expressed in smooth muscle cells of the coronary arteries and great vessels. Thickness of the aortic smooth muscle cell layer is reduced in Smurf1
mouse embryos. We show that SMURF1 is a negative regulator of cardiomyogenesis and a positive regulator of smooth muscle cell and cardiac fibroblast differentiation, indicating that SMURF1 is important for cell-type specification during heart development. Finally, we provide evidence that SMURF1 localizes at the primary cilium where it may regulate bone morphogenetic protein (BMP) signaling, which controls the initial phase of cardiomyocyte differentiation. In summary, our results demonstrate that SMURF1 is a critical regulator of outflow tract septation and cell-type specification during heart development, and that these effects may in part be mediated via control of cilium-associated BMP signaling.
Distribution coefficients (
K
d) between water and activated sludge particles (
f
oc
=
27.7
±
0.1%) were measured for the steroid estrogens (SE), estrone (E1), 17β-estradiol (E2) and ...17α-ethinylestradiol (EE2) in batch experiments. Experimental concentration levels ranged from environmentally realistic low ng/l to the high μg/l. In this range
K
ds were independent of their water concentration. The experimentally obtained
K
ds (with 95% confidence intervals) were 402
±
126
l/kg, 476
±
192
l/kg and 584
±
136
l/kg for E1, E2 and EE2, respectively.
K
ds were used to estimate the fraction of the total SE concentration that is expected to be sorbed in the activated sludge treatment tanks of a typical STP assuming equilibrium conditions. Assuming a suspended solids concentration of 4
g/l dissolved solids (ds), it was estimated that 61
±
9%, 66
±
13% and 70
±
6% of the total concentration of E1, E2 and EE2, respectively, would be sorbed during activated sludge treatment.
The fraction of the SEs that was expected to be sorbed to suspended sludge particles in the effluents from a typical Danish STP was estimated to be only 0.20
±
0.06%, 0.24
±
0.10% and 0.29
±
0.07% of the total concentration of E1, E2 and EE2, respectively, at a suspended solids concentration of 5
mg/l
ds.
For a typical STP the removal of steroid estrogens with excess sludge was estimated to be only 1.5–1.8% of the total loading if equilibrium conditions exists. Sorption is therefore not important for the fate of SEs in STPs compared to biodegradation.
Substance abuse has an enormous impact on economic and quality of life measures throughout the world. In more developed countries, overutilization of the most common forms of substances of abuse, ...alcohol and tobacco, is addressed primarily through prevention of substance use initiation and secondarily through the treatment of those with substance abuse or dependence. In general, these therapeutic approaches to substance abuse are deemed effective. However, there is a broad consensus that the development of additional tools to aid diagnosis, prioritize treatment selection and monitor treatment response could have substantial impact on the effectiveness of both substance use prevention and treatment. The recent demonstrations by a number of groups that substance use exposure is associated with robust changes in DNA methylation signatures of peripheral blood cells suggests the possibility that methylation assessments of blood or saliva could find broad clinical applications. In this article, we review recent progress in epigenetic approaches to substance use assessment with a particular emphasis on smoking (and alcohol) related applications. In addition, we highlight areas, such as the epigenetics of psychostimulant, opioid and cannabis abuse, which are markedly understudied and could benefit from intensified collaborative efforts to define epigenetic biomarkers of abuse and dependence.
Removal of six active pharmaceutical ingredients in wastewater was investigated using chlorine dioxide (ClO₂) or peracetic acid (PAA) as chemical oxidants. Four non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs ...(ibuprofen, naproxen, diclofenac and mefenamic acid) and two lipid-regulating agents (gemfibrozil and clofibric acid, a metabolite of clofibrate) were used as target substances at 40 μg/L initial concentration. Three different wastewaters types originating from two wastewater treatment plants (WWTPs) were used. One wastewater was collected after extended nitrogen removal in activated sludge, one after treatment with high-loaded activated sludge without nitrification, and one from the final effluent from the same plant where nitrogen removal was made in trickling filters for nitrification and moving-bed biofilm reactors for denitrification following the high-loaded plant. Of the six investigated compounds, only clofibric acid and ibuprofen were not removed when treated with ClO₂ up to 20 mg/L. With increasing PAA dose up to 50 mg/L, significant removal of most of the pharmaceuticals was observed except for the wastewater with the highest chemical oxygen demand (COD). This indicates that chemical oxidation with ClO₂ could be used for tertiary treatment at WWTPs for active pharmaceutical ingredients, whereas PAA was not sufficiently efficient.
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