Relationship between occupational social class and exposure to organochlorine pesticides during pregnancy

Background

Little evidence is available on the influence of socioeconomic factors on exposure to persistent organic pollutants, especially during vulnerable periods such as pregnancy and early life.

Objective

To investigate the relationship of maternal social class with placental concentrations of organochlorine pesticides (OCPs) and their combined estrogenic activity measured with a biomarker of exposure.

Methods

Exposure to 16 OCPs (DDTs, endosulfans, and seven other compounds) and the total effective xenoestrogenic burden (TEXB) were analyzed in placentas from a mother-child cohort. OCP concentrations were quantified by gas chromatography and mass spectrometry, and TEXB was assessed with the E-Screen bioassay. Social class was classified according to maternal occupation. Multivariate regression analysis was conducted to examine variations in pesticide exposure and TEXB as a function of maternal social class in 257 subjects.

Results

Placental p,p′-DDT concentrations were higher in social classes III and IV than in classes I-II (the most affluent); concentrations of the sum of DDTs were higher in class IV; and exposure to the sum of endosulfans was greater in class III. HCB concentrations were higher among women in class IV than in classes I-II and among manual (classes III-V) than non-manual workers. However, the trend across social classes was only statistically significant for HCB. Social class significantly explained 10% of the variability in concentrations of the sum of endosulfans.

Conclusion

There is a need to explore whether more disadvantaged populations suffer higher levels of exposure to pesticides or other environmental chemicals and how different social processes contribute to this exposure.     

Listeria monocytogenes batch culture growth response to metabolic inhibitors

In certain environments nutrient and energy sources available to microorganisms can be limited. Foodborne pathogens must efficiently adapt in order to be successfully transmitted through the food chain to their hosts. For the intracellular foodborne pathogen Listeria monocytogenes, little is known regarding its response to nutrient/energy-limiting conditions. The alternative stress responsive sigma factor σ^B has been reported to contribute to survival under specific stresses. Therefore, the effects of several metabolic inhibitors on growth of L. monocytogenes wild-type and a ΔsigB mutant were examined. In the absence of inhibitors, both strains reached stationary phase after 18 h at 23°C and 10 h at 37°C. All of the metabolic inhibitors slowed growth of either strain, with few differences observed among the different inhibitors.     

土壤和底质中砷形态分析前处理技术

利用可溶性砷（包括有机砷、砷的无机含氧化合物）和硫化砷的特性进行砷的形态分析。在２ｍｏｌ／Ｌ盐酸中提取可溶性砷,与硫化砷进行分离,分别测定总砷和可溶性砷后差值为硫化砷,在９ｍｏｌ／Ｌ硫酸－碘化钾溶液中用苯萃取砷的无机含氧化合物与有机砷进行分离,可分别测定有机砷的砷的无机含氧化合物。     

大气气溶胶中重金属元素痕量分析及形态分析研究进展

重金属是大气气溶胶的重要组成部分,由于重金属的气候效应、环境效应和健康效应,其痕量分析和形态分析越来越受重视.综述了大气气溶胶的采集、重金属的总量分析及形态分析技术,指出了当前研究工作中存在的问题及今后的发展方向.     

过硫酸钾溶液对测定总氮的影响

通过对过硫酸钾的配制方法,加热时的水浴温度,反应介质条件及其纯度等因素对总氮测定结果影响的讨论,提出了过硫酸钾有效的配制方法及其纯度要求,以进一步提高总氮测定的准确度.     

运用线性拟合法评定水中总磷的测量不确定度

采用Top—Down不确定度评定理念，利用实验室日常质控数据，结合标准样品的线性校准方法（线性拟合法），评定水中总磷的测量不确定度，并将评定结果与GUM评定法相比较，相对偏差≤20％。指出线性拟合法适用于测量系统校准函数成线性，且实验总残差符合常数剩余标准差假定情况下的不确定度评定。