Radionuclides in cigarettes may lead to carcinogenesis via p16 inactivation

It is widely accepted that tobacco smoke is responsible for the vast majority of lung cancers worldwide. There are many known and suspected carcinogens present in cigarette smoke, including α-emitting radioisotopes. Epidemiologic studies have shown that increased lung cancer risk is associated with exposure to ionizing radiation, and it is estimated that the majority of smoking-induced lung cancers may be at least partly attributable to the inhaled and deposited radiation dose from radioisotopes in the cigarette smoke itself. Recent research shows that silencing of the tumor suppressor gene p16^INK4a (p16) by promoter methylation plays a role in smoking-related lung cancer. Inactivation of p16 has also been associated with lung cancer incidence in radiation-exposed workers, suggesting that radionuclides in cigarette smoke may be acting with other compounds to cause smoking-induced lung cancer. We evaluated the mechanism of ionizing radiation as an accepted cause of lung cancer in terms of its dose from tobacco smoke and silencing of p16. Because both radiation and cigarette smoking are associated with inactivation of p16, and p16 inactivation has been shown to play a major role in carcinogenesis, ionizing radiation from cigarette smoke likely plays a role in lung cancer risk. How large a role it plays, relative to chemical carcinogens and other modes of action, remains to be elucidated.     

Potential source of asbestos in non-asbestos textile manufacturing company

Recently, a worker with lung carcinoma and a metastatic brain tumor was diagnosed as having a work-related disease. He had been employed in a non-asbestos textile company for 25 years. Consequently, to identify and explore possible causative agents for lung cancer in a non-asbestos textile manufacturing company and establish a causal relationship between exposure and lung cancer, an epidemiological investigative study was conducted and the work processes the worker was engaged in were examined. Air samples were taken from the workplace and during the drilling processes, and a suspected causative material was analyzed. The study revealed that the subject had been employed in the non-asbestos textile manufacturing company for 25 years from 1973 and his responsibilities included repairing spinning machines. In particular, the subject was involved in drilling B-bushings that were used to protect against gear abrasion in the spinning machines. An analysis of the B-bushings using a transmission electron microscope equipped with an energy dispersive X-ray analyzer indicated that they contained crocidolite asbestos fibers. Air samples obtained when drilling the B-bushings clearly indicated that the subject had most likely been exposed to crocidolite fibers when installing the B-bushings in the spinning machines. The frequency and duration of the work suggested that there would be a sufficient degree of exposure to crocidolite fibers to cause lung cancer. Except for smoking and asbestos exposure, no other chemical exposure was suspected for developing lung cancer in the workplace. Smoking appeared to be more of a potentiating risk factor in conjunction with the asbestos exposure. Accordingly, this case may provide significant evidence in identifying the cause of the mesothelioma or lung carcinoma found among workers in non-asbestos textile manufacturing companies elsewhere.     

Inferring the 1985–2014 impact of mobile phone use on selected brain cancer subtypes using Bayesian structural time series and synthetic controls

BackgroundMobile phone use has been increasing rapidly in the past decades and, in parallel, so has the annual incidence of certain types of brain cancers. However, it remains unclear whether this correlation is coincidental or whether use of mobile phones may cause the development, promotion or progression of specific cancers. The 1985–2014 incidence of selected brain cancer subtypes in England were analyzed and compared to counterfactual ‘synthetic control’ timeseries.MethodsAnnual 1985–2014 incidence of malignant glioma, glioblastoma multiforme, and malignant neoplasms of the temporal and parietal lobes in England were modelled based on population-level covariates using Bayesian structural time series models assuming 5,10 and 15 year minimal latency periods. Post-latency counterfactual ‘synthetic England’ timeseries were nowcast based on covariate trends. The impact of mobile phone use was inferred from differences between measured and modelled time series.ResultsThere is no evidence of an increase in malignant glioma, glioblastoma multiforme, or malignant neoplasms of the parietal lobe not predicted in the ‘synthetic England’ time series. Malignant neoplasms of the temporal lobe however, have increased faster than expected. A latency period of 10 years reflected the earliest latency period when this was measurable and related to mobile phone penetration rates, and indicated an additional increase of 35% (95% Credible Interval 9%:59%) during 2005–2014; corresponding to an additional 188 (95%CI 48–324) cases annually.ConclusionsA causal factor, of which mobile phone use (and possibly other wireless equipment) is in agreement with the hypothesized temporal association, is related to an increased risk of developing malignant neoplasms in the temporal lobe.     

Pesticide exposure and cancer among rural workers from Bariri, Sao Paulo State, Brazil

This article reports an environmental health study on risk identification. It discusses risk factors linked to rural work and pesticide contact in a restricted geographic area and shows the necessity of improving rural workers' health in the central part of Sao Paulo State. The municipality of Bariri, which is the case studied in this research, typifies this agriculturally based region. The study focuses on environmental problems engendered by modern agriculture that may have human-health repercussions such as cancer, as indicated by hard statistical association on an extended cause-effect time scale. For specific cases, the research used a database containing records of Amaral Carvalho Hospital, located in the city of Jau and a highly respected regional reference unit for over 85 years as one of the best in the Brazilian public health system for treating cancer. Statistics for age and gender were analyzed; relative risk was calculated for a group of cases registered from 2000 to 2002, as well as for a randomly selected control group from the same hospital. A map indicating the residences of cases (68) and non-cases (60) was made by geoprocessing techniques. For the period of time and the group studied, the authors concluded that the cancers of the skin and digestive system were the most prevalent. Bariri presented 24 cases representing all cancer types for each group of 10,000 citizens. The study indicated an almost two times higher probability of cancer development among rural workers, with a calculated relative risk between those exposed (agriculture workers) and the non-exposed (other occupations) of 1.6. No patterns of geographical distribution of cancer in that time period were recorded among rural workers of Bariri. However, the higher number of positive occurrences in the southwestern outskirts of the city indicated an area that must be prioritized in distributing environmental health information and conducting preventive education campaigns.     

Indoor radon source fluxes: Experimental tests of a two-chamber model

Modeling houses as two coupled chambers, namely, the living area and basement, predicts more accurately the total indoor radon source flux from building materials and geology than a one-chamber model in houses with disparate radon concentrations. Three regional surveys found mean radon concentration ratios between basement and living area to range from 1.4 to 4.2, implying weak interchamber coupling in most cases. The invariability of second-order system parameters under steady infiltration but different initial conditions confirms the adequacy of the two-chamber model. The presence of a characteristic radon source flux was detected within the basements of two houses, in one case across different infiltration, coupling, and initial conditions. One-chamber models fit to two-chamber tracer gas data in one house show a source flux variation of a factor of 6 across changing coupling, while the two-chamber source flux variation was only a factor of 1.5. A substantial fraction of the apparent one-chamber living area source flux in these cases is the variable convective radon flux from the basement. The technique is not sensitive enough to detect living area source fluxes if either the interchamber coupling is strong or if the basement source flux is substantially larger.     

黄壤坡面土壤分离速率研究

黄壤坡面侵蚀是长江中上游泥沙的主要原因之一,因此对该地区的土壤分离过程的量化研究对土壤侵蚀机理研究的深入和水土流失防治具有一定的理论和实践意义。通过变坡水槽冲刷实验,研究了黄壤坡面土壤分离速率与坡度、流量及主要水动力参数间的关系,探寻模拟土壤分离过程的最优参数。试验结果表明：土壤分离速率与流量、坡度和多个水动力学参数都呈正相关关系。坡度和流量的幂指数均＞1,表明二者在实验测定范围内对土壤分离速率有叠加增大作用。水流功率（R2=0.93）与土壤分离速率拟合方程的决定系数最高,表明用水流功率来描述土壤分离速率能获得更多有效信息。当单位水流功率＞0.281 m/s后,土壤分离速率随其增大而剧烈增加。但是径流剪切力（与土壤分离速率的决定系数为R2=0.83）值的计算只需获得坡度和水深等数据,水流功率值的计算不仅要采集坡度和水深等数据,还要获得流速等获取难度相对较大的数据。因此,采用径流剪切力来描述土壤分离较水流功率更为方便,而采用水流功率来估算土壤分离速率更为精确。     

基于情景分析法的中国馆碳减排效益评估

建筑部门的低碳发展已成为推进我国低碳经济至关重要的一个组成部分,因此正确客观地评价建筑的低碳水平具有重要的指导意义。本文以2010年上海世博会中国馆为研究对象,采用碳排放情景分析法,针对中国馆的基准建筑与实际建筑,计算其世博结束后正常运行条件下的碳排放水平,评估中国馆实际建筑的碳减排效益。使用建筑能耗模拟软件DesignBuilder对建筑全年能源消耗水平进行了模拟,并通过相应能源品种的碳排放因子分别计算了实际建筑和基准建筑的碳排放水平;同时应用全生命周期方法(LCA)分析了中国馆实际建筑应用太阳能光伏、LED照明技术相比于基准建筑所带来的减排效益。结果表明:世博结束后正常运行条件下,中国馆实际建筑年碳排放量为18 969 t CO2e,基准建筑年碳排放量为25 770 t CO2e,因此,相比基准建筑,中国馆实际建筑一年减排6 801 t CO2e,年碳减排率为26.4%;减排效益主要由节能设计及绿色技术贡献,分别占96.3%和3.7%。本文通过综合评估中国馆的碳减排效益,以期为我国公共建筑低碳工作的开展进行有益的探索。     

Analysis of health or systemic effects caused by two toxicants

A method is presented for the analysis of the risk to man or other systems by effects caused by a combination of two insults. The approach is purely phenomenological and has no built-in restrictions other than those required by logic and those imposed by the limited set of trial functions. The analysis attempts to isolate the dominant contributions to the risks from either agent alone and from both agents in combination. To demonstrate the viability of the method, it is applied to the analysis of human health data on oral and esophageal cancer correlated with alcohol and tobacco consumption. For both cancers, it is found that the most probable form of the relative risk is separable into a factor related to tobacco and one related to alcohol. Both have the same algebraic form and the values of the risk coefficients are practically equal. An analysis of analogous but limited data on laryngeal cancer cannot assign an algebraic form of the risk function but still yields comparable risk coefficients. Thus it is possible that all three cancers have the same risk function as a function of alcohol and tobacco consumption.     

Radon in the spas of Croatia

Radon concentrations in air and geothermal water of the spa pools in Croatia were measured and the average values of 40.3 and 4.5 kBq/m3 were obtained, respectively. Great difference between radon concentrations in pool and spring water was considered as a result of mixing normal and geothermal water in the pool as well as the radon decay. Estimation of an effective dose, received by the personnel in the Bizovac spa, gave the value of 0.27 mSv/y. At the location Stubica, the transfer factor of the radon for air and thermal water in the pool was calculated, and the value of 4.9+/-0.7 x 10(-3) was obtained.     

Cancer mortality in the meat and delicatessen departments of supermarkets (1950–2006)

Meat cutters and meat wrappers in the meat department of supermarkets are exposed to oncogenic viruses present in raw meat from cattle, pigs, sheep, and poultry, and their products (unpasteurized milk and raw eggs). Up to the mid 1970s, meat wrappers were also exposed to carcinogens present in fumes emitted from the machine used to wrap meat. Because of this we studied cancer mortality in a cohort of 10,701 workers in the meat and delicatessen departments of supermarkets, and we report here the findings after the third follow-up. Standardized mortality ratios (SMR) were estimated in the cohort as a whole and in race/sex subgroups, using the US population for comparison. Study subjects were followed up from January 1950 to December 2006.Significantly increased SMRs of 1.3 (95% CI, 1.2–1.5), and 2.7 (95% CI, 1.2–5.3) were recorded for cancers of the lung, and tonsils/oropharynx, respectively, in the entire cohort, affecting nearly all race/sex subgroups. SMRs of 4.6 (95% CI, 1.0–13.6) for cancer of the floor of the mouth, and 2.8 (95% CI, 1.3–5.3) for cancer of the gall bladder and biliary tract were recorded only in White male meatcutters. Significantly decreased SMRs were observed for a few cancers.It is not known if the observed excess of cancers is a result of occupational exposures. However, substantial evidence points to fumes from the wrapping machine as a possible candidate for explaining the excess in female meat wrappers. Nested case–control studies that can examine risks from occupational exposures in greater detail, and adequately control for confounding factors are now needed, to permit specifically investigate the role of the oncogenic viruses, fumes and non-occupational risk factors in the occurrence of these cancers. The findings are important, not only occupationally but also because the general population may also experience these exposures, albeit to a lesser degree.     

Soil radioactivity and incidence of cancer in Nigeria

The significance of exposure from natural radioactivity in soil and the potential risk for causing health detriment have not received adequate attention in Nigeria. Cancer has become a major cause of mortality in the recent times and now the public interest in the long-term effects of radiation on humans has assumed great prominence following the establishment of a nuclear regulatory body in Nigeria. This study is an effort to investigate a possible relationship between reported cancer incidence and external terrestrial radiation dose level across the six geo-political zones of the country. Data from the national cancer registries across the zones were compared with expected cancer incidences due to soil radioactivity based on the linear no-threshold model (LNT). A regression equation that best describe the reported cancer incidence and the expected cancer incidence was developed. It was observed that cancer cases attributable to radiation exposure due to soil radioactivity is low, constituting only between 1.3% and 9.2% of the total reported cases.     

Global and local cancer risks after the Fukushima Nuclear Power Plant accident as seen from Chernobyl: A modeling study for radiocaesium (134Cs & 137Cs)

The accident at the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant (NPP) in Japan resulted in the release of a large number of fission products that were transported worldwide. We study the effects of two of the most dangerous radionuclides emitted, ¹³⁷Cs (half-life: 30.2 years) and ¹³⁴Cs (half-life: 2.06 years), which were transported across the world constituting the global fallout (together with iodine isotopes and noble gasses) after nuclear releases. The main purpose is to provide preliminary cancer risk estimates after the Fukushima NPP accident, in terms of excess lifetime incident and death risks, prior to epidemiology, and compare them with those occurred after the Chernobyl accident. Moreover, cancer risks are presented for the local population in the form of high-resolution risk maps for 3 population classes and for both sexes. The atmospheric transport model LMDZORINCA was used to simulate the global dispersion of radiocaesium after the accident. Air and ground activity concentrations have been incorporated with monitoring data as input to the LNT-model (Linear Non-Threshold) frequently used in risk assessments of all solid cancers. Cancer risks were estimated to be small for the global population in regions outside Japan. Women are more sensitive to radiation than men, although the largest risks were recorded for infants; the risk is not depended on the sex at the age-at-exposure. Radiation risks from Fukushima were more enhanced near the plant, while the evacuation measures were crucial for its reduction. According to our estimations, 730–1700 excess cancer incidents are expected of which around 65% may be fatal, which are very close to what has been already published (see references therein). Finally, we applied the same calculations using the DDREF (Dose and Dose Rate Effectiveness Factor), which is recommended by the ICRP, UNSCEAR and EPA as an alternative reduction factor instead of using a threshold value (which is still unknown). Excess lifetime cancer incidents were estimated to be between 360 and 850, whereas 220–520 of them will be fatal. Nevertheless, these numbers are expected to be even smaller, as the response of the Japanese official authorities to the accident was rapid. The projected cancer incidents are much lower than the casualties occurred from the earthquake itself (> 20,000) and also smaller than the accident of Chernobyl.     

不同滩涂促淤围垦方式对大型底栖动物群落的影响

滩涂促淤围垦会对大型底栖动物造成一定程度的影响,但关于不同促淤方式对大型底栖动物的影响未见有报道。以长江口浦东机场外侧滩涂促淤区为研究对象,分析吹沙促淤区域和抛坝促淤区域中大型底栖动物的分布特点。结果显示:大型底栖动物在抛坝促淤区和吹沙促淤区年均密度分别为(835.98±572.41)ind./m~2和(52.85±12.04)ind./m~2,年均生物量分别为(135.25±63.99)g/m~2和(40.82±6.84)g/m~2,单因素方差分析显示,两者存在显著性差异(P0.05),进而表明不同促淤方式对大型底栖动物的密度和生物量影响不同。CLUSTER聚类和MDS排序图说明吹沙促淤区和抛坝促淤区断面之间的大型底栖动物群落组成存在差异性。对各断面间群落相似性矩阵进行SIMPER分析表明河蚬、光滑狭口螺和谭氏泥蟹为两种区域共有优势种,其贡献度分别为56.10%、10.81%、9.62%,且三者在吹沙促淤区中的密度分布少于抛坝促淤区。研究表明泥沙淤积的快慢程度是影响促淤围垦区内大型底栖动物分布的重要因素。     

考虑能源、环境影响的住宅建筑节能CGE模型构建

中国承诺将于2030年左右使单位国内生产总值二氧化碳排放比2005年下降60%—65%,排放总量达到峰值并争取尽早实现。我国目前的碳排放主要来自工业、交通运输业和建筑业,其中建筑业碳排放约40%,所占比重最大,而高达550亿m2的存量住宅能耗和排放是建筑业碳排放的主力。住宅建筑节能是关系到我国建筑业节能减排目标能否顺利实现的重要因素,是我国节能减排工作的重要领域。构建一个可用于衡量住宅建筑节能对资源环境及经济发展影响的可计算模型是推动住宅建筑节能工作的重要基础。本文尝试以CGE标准模型为基础,依次对住宅建筑生产模块、污染排放模块、节能住宅建筑模块、动态模块和环境福利模块进行详细构建说明。在四方面对标准模型进行扩展:第一,将生产要素扩展为资本、劳动和能源要素束,能源要素束被深化分解为清洁能源与非清洁能源束,然后再予深化细化;第二,依据差异的贸易伙伴将进出口细化为差异的国家和地区;第三,将建筑污染排放作为一个特殊部门,建立建筑污染排放模块,纳入到CGE模型中,并将污染要素纳入到效应函数中;第四,依据资本增长模型,建立动态模块。通过将住宅建筑节能作为变量扩展到标准CGE模型的方法,构建了住宅建筑节能CGE扩展模型。借助该扩展模型,可以研究非节能建筑约束、外部节能建筑与经济增长之间的内在关系,进而破解非节能建筑约束、外部节能建筑与住宅建筑节能快速发展之间难以协调的矛盾。在本文研究成果的基础上,可进一步建立相应的社会核算矩阵(SAM),并对各种函数的参数估计和敏感性检验进行实证分析。     

Nitrate in drinking water and risk of death from colon cancer in Taiwan

The relationship between nitrate levels in drinking water and colon cancer has been inconclusive. A matched case-control and a nitrate ecology study were used to investigate the association between colon cancer mortality and nitrate exposure from Taiwan's drinking water. All colon cancer deaths of Taiwan residents from 1999 through 2003 were obtained from the Bureau of Vital Statistics of the Taiwan Provincial Department of Health. Controls were deaths from other causes and were pair matched to the cases by sex, year-of-birth, and year-of-death. Each matched control was selected randomly from the set of possible controls for each case. Data on nitrate-nitrogen (NO3-N) level of drinking water throughout Taiwan have been collected from Taiwan Water Supply Corporation (TWSC). The municipality of residence for cases and controls was assumed to be the source of the subject's nitrate exposure via drinking water. The adjusted odds ratios for colon cancer death for those with high NO3-N levels in their drinking water, as compared to the lowest tertile, were 0.98 (0.84-1.14) and 0.98 (0.83-1.16), respectively. The results of the present study show that there was no statistically significant association between NO3-N in drinking water at levels in this study and risk of death from colon cancer.     

Monitoring the State of the Immune System of Persons Working in the Potassium Salt Industry

The immune status of basically healthy personnel of OAO Uralkalii and OAO Sil'vinit was studied for three years (1998–2000) to assess the effect of the workplace environment on the parameters of the immune system. All probands were divided into groups depending on their exposure to salts or halite waste. Annual examination did not reveal any statistically significant differences between the parameters of immunograms in the groups studied. The parameters of the humoral component of the immune system of potassium-industry workers manifested a stable tendency toward normalization, irrespective of whether or not these persons were exposed to salts, and the annual contents of T and B lymphocytes and phagocytizing cells were stable within the regional standards.     

Health effects and exposure to polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) and metals in a contaminated community

Environmental measurements carried out by local authorities during the 1970s, 80s and 90s in an area contaminated by hundreds of years of industrial activities have revealed high levels of zinc (Zn), copper (Cu), lead (Pb) and cadmium (Cd) in soil, vegetables, root crops, berries and mushrooms. In 1972, a large quantity of oil contaminated with polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) was accidentally spilled into the river running through the village. To investigate the possible health effects of exposure from local sources, all cancer diagnoses, registered in 1960–2003 for individuals living in the study area, were collected from the regional cancer register of southeast Sweden. The total cancer incidence was non-significantly decreased both among males and females as compared to national rates (SIR = 0.91) for each gender. Among males, increased risks, of border-line significance, were seen for testicular cancer and lymphomas as well as significantly decreased risks for cancer in the rectum, respiratory system and brain. Information on lifetime residence, occupation, smoking habits, diseases, childbirth and food consumption, was collected via questionnaires from cancer cases and randomly selected controls. In both genders combined, significant associations were found for total cancer and high consumption of local perch, and for lymphomas and high consumption of both perch and pikeperch. Female breast cancer was significantly associated with high consumption of local perch and pike as well as with work in metal production. Mothers residing in the parish before the age of five reported significantly more preterm child deliveries. In spite of study limitations, the results indicate that residing in a rural contaminated area may contribute to the development of certain cancers and reproductive effects. In females, high consumption of local fish was shown to be the strongest determinant for total cancer, while in males, the strongest determinant was residing in the study area the first five years of life. Further research including validation of exposure using biomarkers is required to verify the findings as well as future studies in other polluted areas in Sweden with larger population bases.     

坡面冲刷过程中红壤分离速率定量研究

土壤分离是土壤坡面侵蚀产沙的必要途径和重要过程,准确预测土壤分离过程对完善土壤侵蚀物理模型具有重要意义。利用钢制变坡冲刷水槽,在不同坡度（8.8%～46.6%）和流量（0.2～1.0 L/s）组合下,研究了第四纪粘土发育红壤分离速率与流量、坡度以及水流剪切力、水流功率、单位水流功率3种水动力参数的关系。研究结果表明红壤分离速率是流量、坡度的幂函数,且坡度和单宽流量的多元回归方程能准确预测土壤分离速率（R²=0.966）;水流剪切力、水流功率和单位水流功率3个水动力参数指标与土壤分离率均呈线性关系,相关系数R²分别为0.950、0.965和0.849,水流功率是描述土壤分离速率最为确切的水动力参数;描述红壤分离速率的相关水蚀因子方程类型和前人研究结果相同,但表征土壤可蚀性的系数值相差较大。〖     

Selenium geochemistry of paddy soils in Yangtze River Delta

Selenium (Se) content both in total and bioavailable forms were very low (25-35 and 9.5 micrograms/kg, respectively) in waterlogged paddy soils in the central Yangtze River Delta. This was due to changes in geochemistry and the inherent properties of the parent materials of these lowland paddy soils. The very low Se content (23 micrograms/kg) in the parent material resulted in low total Se content in the soil. The main chemical changes under long-term waterlogged conditions are depletion of molecular oxygen, decrease of redox potential, and reduction of Fe (III) to Fe (II) and SeO3(2-) to Se0. This led to low availability of Se in soils, and subsequently low Se content (29 micrograms/kg) in brown rice grain produced in this region. It has been suspected that low Se content in staple food might be one of the major reasons for a high infection rate of the intestine and stomach cancers and the higher death rate caused by these diseases in the region. Foliage spray of Na2SeO3 at early heading stage of rice plant growth improved the Se content of brown rice grain, hull, and straw, and would improve human and animal health.     

Indigenous African building techniques and the prospects for sustainable housing and environmental development

In this paper, sustainability is examined as one of the objectives of enabling man in a preserved, efficient and enduring world environment. Thus, sustainable housing and environmental development is conceptualized as a building or shelter provided through judicious, selective sourcing, processing and use of building materials to satisfy current shelter needs while ensuring quality environment and adequate resources for the future generations in satisfying theirs. To stimulate orderly academic debate, the paper proposes five major factors of sustainability. They include climatic sustainability factor, ecological sustainability factor, economics and affordability sustainability factor, social sustainability factor and cultural sustainability factor. The sustainability attributes of each factor are highlighted, and the criteria for the selection of building materials to satisfy the attributes are commended.