Feasibility and accuracy of In Vivo and Ex Vivo XRF bone lead assessment wild birds: An example with black vultures, Coragyps atratus.

Background: Lead (Pb) contamination in wildlife remains a critical environmental concern, particularly for scavenger species, which are at high risk due to ingestion of lead-contaminated carrion. Portable XRF (pXRF) systems can be useful to evaluate lead concentration of wild animals in vivo. However, the accuracy of these systems has never been validated for living birds.

Chemical characterization of pellet stove ashes: Elemental fractionation of ashes results in volatile particles with high concentrations of cadmium and lead.

Use of wood-based biomass for home heating has increased as a more sustainable and economical alternative to fossil fuel heating sources. However, concerns remain regarding particulate emissions and potential human health effects. Pellet stoves are very efficient combustion sources but still emit high particle numbers of nanoparticles into the environment and generate ash within the stove that could be an exposure source during cleaning.

Concentrations and Health Implications of As, Hg, and Cd and Micronutrients in Rice and Emissions of CH From Variably Flooded Paddies.

The flooded soil conditions under which rice is typically grown are beneficial for boosting yield and decreasing herbicide inputs but may pose a food safety and environmental health risk. Flooded soils lead to reducing conditions and anaerobic metabolisms of soil microorganisms, which mobilizes arsenic from soil into soil solution, where it can be absorbed by rice roots and transported to grain. These conditions also promote the production and emission of methane (CH)-a potent greenhouse gas.

Heme-mediated selection of encapsulated in the lungs by oxidative stress.

(the pneumococcus) causes cytotoxicity and encapsulates within the lung parenchyma, leading to pneumococcal pneumonia. However, the underlying mechanisms remain unclear and likely involve multiple bacterial and host factors.We investigated the selection process of encapsulated pneumococci, a critical factor in lung damage during pneumococcal pneumonia.

Blood essential trace elements and Alzheimer's disease biomarkers in midlife.

Background: Alzheimer's disease (AD) is a progressive neurodegenerative disorder characterized by cognitive decline, impacting millions globally. Essential trace elements are implicated in key age-related physiologic processes but have not been fully examined with respect to AD etiology. This study investigates associations between serum levels of essential trace elements (manganese, iron, cobalt, copper, zinc, selenium, and molybdenum) and AD biomarkers (Aβ42, Aβ42/Aβ40 ratio, p-tau181, and total tau) in midlife women.

Time-varying exposure to element mixtures and children's cognition at 5 years of age: findings from the New Hampshire Birth Cohort Study.

Background: Exposure to metals and metalloids (hereafter referred to as 'metals') during gestation and early childhood may affect children's neurodevelopment. However, few studies have simultaneously evaluated the impact of exposure to both essential and non-essential metals across specific windows of exposure on children's neurodevelopmental outcomes.

Objective: To investigate whether levels of metals during gestation and the early postnatal period, individually and as a mixture, are related to child cognition at 5 years of age among participants in the New Hampshire Birth Cohort Study (NHBCS).

Association of plasma concentration of trace metals with frontotemporal degeneration.

Objective: Compare the burden of heavy metals in plasma from people with frontotemporal degeneration (FTD) and healthy controls.

Methods: A cross-sectional study of 14 FTD cases and 28 healthy controls recruited from the University of Cincinnati. Plasma samples were sent to the Trace Element Analysis Core at Dartmouth College for assessment of 24 metals or metalloids via inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry (ICP-MS).

Studies of Slc30a10 Deficiency in Mice Reveal That Intestinal Iron Transporters Dmt1 and Ferroportin Transport Manganese.

Background & Aims: SLC11A2 (DMT1) and SLC40A1 (ferroportin) are essential for dietary iron absorption, but their role in manganese transport is debated. SLC30A10 deficiency causes severe manganese excess due to loss of gastrointestinal manganese excretion. Patients are treated with chelators but also respond to oral iron, suggesting that iron can outcompete manganese for absorption in this disease.

Sub-micrometer scale synchrotron x-ray fluorescence measurements of trace elements in teeth compared with laser ablation inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry.

Background: Elemental analysis of teeth allows for exposure assessment during critical windows of development and is increasingly used to link early life exposures and health. The measurement of inorganic elements in teeth is challenging; laser ablation inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry (LA-ICP-MS) is the most widely used technique.

Objective: Both synchrotron x-ray fluorescence (SXRF) and LA-ICP-MS have the capability to measure elemental distributions in teeth with each having distinct advantages and disadvantages.

Accelerated Longitudinal Glycemic Changes in Relation to Urinary Toxic/Essential Metals and Metal Mixtures Among Mexican Americans Living in Starr County, Texas.

Objective: Metal and metalloid exposures (hereafter "metals") are associated with adverse health outcomes, including type 2 diabetes; however, previous studies were largely cross-sectional or underpowered. Furthermore, underserved racial and ethnic groups are underrepresented in environmental health research despite having higher rates of type 2 diabetes and a greater risk of metal exposures. Consequently, we evaluated continuous glycemic traits in relation to baseline urinary toxic metal, essential metal, and metal mixtures in a cohort of Mexican American adults.

Manganese transporter SLC30A10 and iron transporters SLC40A1 and SLC11A2 impact dietary manganese absorption.

SLC30A10 deficiency is a disease of severe manganese excess attributed to loss of SLC30A10-dependent manganese excretion via the gastrointestinal tract. Patients develop dystonia, cirrhosis, and polycythemia. They are treated with chelators but also respond to oral iron, suggesting that iron can outcompete manganese for absorption in this disease.

Exposure to metal mixtures and telomere length in Bangladeshi children.

Telomere length is associated with chronic diseases and, in younger populations, may represent a biomarker of disease susceptibility. As growing evidence suggests that environmental factors, including metals, may impact telomere length. We investigated the association between 17 metals measured in toenail samples and leukocyte relative telomere length (RTL), among 472 5- to 7-year-old children enrolled in the Bangladesh Environmental Research in Children's Health (BiRCH) cohortIn single-exposure linear regression models, a doubling of arsenic (As) and mercury (Hg) (μg/g) were associated with a -0.

Predictors of Toxic Metal/Metalloid Exposures Among Mexican Americans in Starr County, Texas.

Background: Arsenic, cadmium, and lead are toxic elements that widely contaminate our environment. These toxicants are associated with acute and chronic health problems, and evidence suggests that minority communities, including Hispanic/Latino Americans, are disproportionately exposed. Few studies have assessed culturally specific predictors of exposure to understand the potential drivers of racial/ethnic exposure disparities.

Fish intake and mercury exposure in young children.

Fish consumption is one of the main sources of mercury (Hg) exposure, but few studies have examined Hg exposure from fish consumption among children. This study aimed to assess the frequency of fish intake and associations with Hg and other element concentrations among 700 three-year-old children from the New Hampshire Birth Cohort Study. Usual fish intake was derived from a validated food frequency questionnaire (Block Questionnaire for ages 2-7) and toenail element concentrations were determined using ICP-MS.

Deciduous teeth from the New Hampshire birth cohort study: Early life environmental and dietary predictors of dentin elements.

Background: Sparse research exists on predictors of element concentrations measured in deciduous teeth.

Objective: To estimate associations between maternal/child characteristics, elements measured in home tap water during pregnancy and element concentrations in the dentin of shed deciduous teeth.

Methods: Our analysis included 152 pregnant person-infant dyads followed from the second trimester through the end of the first postnatal year from the New Hampshire Birth Cohort Study.

Associations of Perinatal Metal and Metalloid Exposures with Early Child Behavioral Development Over Time in the New Hampshire Birth Cohort Study.

Research on the neurodevelopmental effects of metal(loid)s has focused mainly on outcomes assessed at one time point, even though brain development progresses over time. We investigated biomarkers of perinatal exposure to metals and changes in child behavior over time. We followed 268 participants from the prospective New Hampshire Birth Cohort Study between birth and age 5 years.

Lead exposure across the life course and age at death.

Background: Lead (Pb) exposure has been associated with an increased risk of all-cause mortality, even at low levels. Little is known about how the timing of Pb exposure throughout life may influence these relationships. Quantifying the amount of Pb present in various tissues of the body provides measurements of exposure from different periods of life.

Quantified retrospective biomonitoring of fetal and infant elemental exposure using LA-ICP-MS analysis of deciduous dentin in three contrasting human cohorts.

Background: Spatial elemental analysis of deciduous tooth dentin combined with odontochronological estimates can provide an early life (in utero to ~2 years of age) history of inorganic element exposure and status.

Objective: To demonstrate the importance of data normalization to a certified reference material to enable between-study comparisons, using populations with assumed contrasting elemental exposures.

Methods: We used laser ablation inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry (LA-ICP-MS) of dentin to derive a history of elemental composition from three distinct cohort studies: a present day rural cohort, (the New Hampshire Birth Cohort Study (NHBCS; N = 154)), an historical cohort from an urban area (1958-1970), (the St.

Urinary biomarkers of exposure to toxic and essential elements: A comparison of infants fed with human milk or formula.

Background: Early-life exposure to nonessential (toxic) and essential trace elements can influence child development. Although infant formula powders and the water used to reconstitute them can contain higher concentrations of many elements compared with human milk, the influence of feeding mode on reliable biomarkers of infant exposure has rarely been demonstrated.

Methods: We evaluated associations between urinary biomarkers and feeding mode (exclusively human milk, exclusively formula, or combination-fed) for four toxic (arsenic, cadmium, nickel, and uranium) and three essential elements (cobalt, molybdenum, and selenium) using general linear models.

The contributions of neonatal inhalation of copper to air pollution-induced neurodevelopmental outcomes in mice.

Exposures to ambient ultrafine particle (UFP) air pollution (AP) during the early postnatal period in mice (equivalent to human third trimester brain development) produce male-biased changes in brain structure, including ventriculomegaly, reduced brain myelination, alterations in neurotransmitters and glial activation, as well as impulsive-like behavioral characteristics, all of which are also features characteristic of male-biased neurodevelopmental disorders (NDDs). The purpose of this study was to ascertain the extent to which inhaled Cu, a common contaminant of AP that is also dysregulated across multiple NDDs, might contribute to these phenotypes. For this purpose, C57BL/6J mice were exposed from postnatal days 4-7 and 10-13 for 4 hr/day to inhaled copper oxide (CuO) nanoparticles at an environmentally relevant concentration averaging 171.

Periconceptional and Prenatal Exposure to Metals and Extracellular Vesicle and Particle miRNAs in Human Milk: A Pilot Study.

Human milk is a rich source of microRNAs (miRNAs), which can be transported by extracellular vesicles and particles (EVPs) and are hypothesized to contribute to maternal-offspring communication and child development. Environmental contaminant impacts on EVP miRNAs in human milk are largely unknown. In a pilot study of 54 mother-child pairs from the New Hampshire Birth Cohort Study, we examined relationships between five metals (arsenic, lead, manganese, mercury, and selenium) measured in maternal toenail clippings, reflecting exposures during the periconceptional and prenatal periods, and EVP miRNA levels in human milk.

Heme-Mediated Selection of Encapsulated in the Lungs by Oxidative Stress.

(the pneumococcus) causes cytotoxicity and encapsulates within the lung parenchyma, leading to pneumococcal pneumonia. However, the underlying mechanisms remain unclear and likely involve multiple bacterial and host factors. We investigated the selection process of encapsulated pneumococci, a critical factor in lung damage during pneumococcal pneumonia.