Review of regulatory reference values and background levels for heavy metals in the human diet.

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (US FDA) has identified dietary exposure to heavy metals as a public health concern, focusing particularly on arsenic, cadmium, lead, and mercury.

Who wins or loses matters: Strongly interacting consumers drive seagrass resistance under ocean acidification.

Global stressors are increasingly altering ecosystem resistance, resilience, and functioning by reorganizing vital species interactions. However, our predictive understanding of these changes is hindered by failures to consider species-specific functional roles and stress responses within communities. Stressor-driven loss or reduced performance of strongly interacting species may generate abrupt shifts in ecosystem states and functions.

Effects of concentrated ambient ultrafine particulate matter on hallmarks of Alzheimer's disease in the 3xTgAD mouse model.

Background: Exposure to air pollution has been identified as a possible environmental contributor to Alzheimer's Disease (AD) risk. As the number of people with AD worldwide continues to rise, it becomes vital to understand the nature of this potential gene-environment interaction. This study assessed the effects of short-term exposures to concentrated ambient ultrafine particulates (UFP, <100 nm) on measurements of amyloid-β, tau, and microglial morphology.

Selective memory and behavioral alterations after ambient ultrafine particulate matter exposure in aged 3xTgAD Alzheimer's disease mice.

Background: A growing body of epidemiological literature indicates that particulate matter (PM) air pollution exposure is associated with elevated Alzheimer's disease (AD) risk and may exacerbate AD-related cognitive decline. Of concern is exposure to the ultrafine PM (UFP) fraction (≤100 nm), which deposits efficiently throughout the respiratory tract, has higher rates of translocation to secondary organs, like brain, and may induce inflammatory changes. We, therefore, hypothesize that exposure to UFPs will exacerbate cognitive deficits in a mouse model of AD.

Effects of neonatal inhalation exposure to ultrafine carbon particles on pathology and behavioral outcomes in C57BL/6J mice.

Background: Recent epidemiological studies indicate early-life exposure to air pollution is associated with adverse neurodevelopmental outcomes. Previous studies investigating neonatal exposure to ambient fine and ultrafine particles have shown sex specific inflammation-linked pathological changes and protracted learning deficits. A potential contributor to the adverse phenotypes from developmental exposure to particulate matter observed in previous studies may be elemental carbon, a well-known contributor to pollution particulate.

Limited developmental neurotoxicity from neonatal inhalation exposure to diesel exhaust particles in C57BL/6 mice.

Background: Recent epidemiological studies indicate early-life exposure to pollution particulate is associated with adverse neurodevelopmental outcomes. The need is arising to evaluate the risks conferred by individual components and sources of air pollution to provide a framework for the regulation of the most relevant components for public health protection. Previous studies in rodent models have shown diesel particulate matter has neurotoxic potential and could be a health concern for neurodevelopment.