Life Course Exposure to Cyanobacteria and Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis Survival.

Cyanobacterial harmful algal blooms (cyanoHABs) occur worldwide and can cause ingestion and inhalation exposure to microcystin and other potent toxins. This study develops life course exposure measures for cyanobacteria for application in population studies and then associates these measures with the survival of individuals with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS). The exposure measures utilize an individual's residence history, date of disease onset, and satellite data from the Cyanobacteria Assessment Network.

How teacher behaviors and perceptions, air change rates, and portable air purifiers affect indoor air quality in naturally ventilated schools.

Introduction: Many school buildings have inadequate ventilation, rudimentary if any air filtration, and aging and poorly maintained mechanical systems, all of which can lead to poor indoor air quality (IAQ). These issues are especially acute in environmental justice (EJ) communities where schools are located in polluted areas. This community-based participatory research examines how IAQ in naturally ventilated school buildings is affected by the use of air purifiers, air change rates, outdoor pollution levels, and teacher and staff behavior.

Cross-shift changes in pulmonary function and occupational exposure to particulate matter among e-waste workers in Ghana.

Introduction: Little is known on the association between cross-shift changes in pulmonary function and personal inhalation exposure to particulate matter (PM) among informal electronic-waste (e-waste) recovery workers who have substantial occupational exposure to airborne pollutants from burning e-waste.

Methods: Using a cross-shift design, pre- and post-shift pulmonary function assessments and accompanying personal inhalation exposure to PM (sizes <1, <2.5 μm, and the coarse fraction, 2.

Residential exposure associations with ALS risk, survival, and phenotype: a Michigan-based case-control study.

Background: Environmental exposures impact amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) risk and progression, a fatal and progressive neurodegenerative disease. Better characterization of these exposures is needed to decrease disease burden.

Objective: To identify exposures in the residential setting that associate with ALS risk, survival, and onset segment.

Metal mixtures associate with higher amyotrophic lateral sclerosis risk and mortality independent of genetic risk and correlate to self-reported exposures: a case-control study.

Background: The pathogenesis of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) involves both genetic and environmental factors. This study investigates associations between metal measures in plasma and urine, ALS risk and survival, and exposure sources.

Methods: Participants with and without ALS from Michigan provided plasma and urine samples for metal measurement via inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry.

Avocational exposure associations with ALS risk, survival, and phenotype: A Michigan-based case-control study.

Introduction: Environmental exposures strongly influence ALS risk and identification is needed to reduce ALS burden. Participation in hobbies and exercise may alter ALS risk and phenotype, warranting an assessment to understand their contribution to the ALS exposome.

Methods: Participants with ALS and healthy controls were recruited from University of Michigan and self-completed a survey to ascertain hobbies, exercise, and avocational exposures.

Occupational history associates with ALS survival and onset segment.

Objective: To identify associations between occupational settings and self-reported occupational exposures on amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) survival and phenotypes.

Methods: All patients seen in the University of Michigan Pranger ALS Clinic were invited to complete an exposure assessment querying past occupations and exposures. Standard occupational classification (SOC) codes for each job and the severity of various exposure types were derived.

Integrating Interprofessional Collaborative Practice Into Occupational and Environmental Health and Safety Education: Results of a Feasibility Study.

Objective: Although occupational health and safety programs are expected to prepare graduates to function in an interprofessional collaborative environment, research to support training in this area is far less common in this discipline than among clinical programs. We incorporated interprofessional education (IPE) competencies into an occupational health and safety course for graduate students in diverse disciplines (public health, engineering, nursing) and evaluated effectiveness.

Methods: We assessed course offerings for content learning and attitudes toward IPE and analyzed data using a mixed-methods approach.

Associations of self-reported occupational exposures and settings to ALS: a case-control study.

Background: Environmental exposures contribute to the pathogenesis of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), a fatal and progressive neurological disease. Identification of these exposures is important for targeted screening and risk factor modification.

Objective: To identify occupational exposures that are associated with a higher risk of ALS using both survey and standard occupational classification (SOC) coding procedures, and to highlight how exposure surveys can complement SOC coding.

Opportunities and challenges in reducing personal inhalation exposure to air pollution among electronic waste recovery workers in Ghana.

Background: Informal sector electronic waste (e-waste) recovery produces toxic emissions resulting from burning e-waste to recover valuable metals.

Objectives: To identify high-risk worker groups by measuring relative levels of personal inhalation exposure to particulate matter (PM) of fine (≤2.5 µm) and coarse (2.

Urban-scale variation in pollen concentrations: A single station is insufficient to characterize daily exposure.

Epidemiological analyses of airborne allergenic pollen often use concentration measurements from a single station to represent exposure across a city, but this approach does not account for the spatial variation of concentrations within the city. Because there are few descriptions of urban-scale variation, the resulting exposure measurement error is unknown but potentially important for epidemiological studies. This study examines urban scale variation in pollen concentrations by measuring pollen concentrations of 13 taxa over 24-hr periods twice weekly at 25 sites in two seasons in Detroit, Michigan.

Pollen production for 13 urban North American tree species: Allometric equations for tree trunk diameter and crown area.

Estimates of airborne pollen concentrations at the urban scale would be useful for epidemiologists, land managers, and allergy sufferers. Mechanistic models could be well suited for this task, but their development will require data on pollen production across cities, including estimates of pollen production by individual trees. In this study, we developed predictive models for pollen production as a function of trunk size, canopy area, and height, which are commonly recorded in tree surveys or readily extracted from remote sensing data.

Allergenic pollen production across a large city for common ragweed ().

Predictions of airborne allergenic pollen concentrations at fine spatial scales require information on source plant location and pollen production. Such data are lacking at the urban scale, largely because manually mapping allergenic pollen producing plants across large areas is infeasible. However, modest-sized field surveys paired with allometric equations, remote sensing, and habitat distribution models can predict where these plants occur and how much pollen they produce.

Time series analysis of total and direct associations between high temperatures and preterm births in Detroit, Michigan.

Objectives: Preterm births (PTBs) represent significant health risks, and several studies have found associations between high outdoor temperatures and PTB. We estimated both the total and natural direct effects (independent of particulate matter, ozone and nitrogen dioxide air pollutants) of the prior 2-day mean apparent temperature (AT) on PTB. We evaluated effect modification by maternal age, race, education, smoking status and prenatal care.

Environmental impacts of commuting modes in Lisbon: a life-cycle assessment addressing particulate matter impacts on health.

A life-cycle assessment of commuting alternatives is conducted that compares six transportation modes (car, bus, train, subway, motorcycle and bicycle) for eight impact indicators. Fine particulate matter (PM) emissions and health impacts are incorporated in the assessment using intake fractions that differentiate between urban and non-urban emissions, combined with an effect factor. The potential benefits of different strategies for reducing environmental impacts are illustrated.

Evaluation of Changes in Lead Levels in Drinking Water Due to Replacement of Water Mains: A Comprehensive Study in Chicago, Illinois.

Disturbances to water treatment and distribution systems using lead service lines have been reported to increase water lead levels. This study evaluates effects from one type of physical disturbance, namely, water mains replacement. Lead concentrations at 542 homes in Chicago, Illinois were measured using partial profile sampling (1, 4, 6 and 5 min 1-L samples) after 6-h stagnation, both before and after mains replacement; a subset had monthly follow-up sampling for an additional 12 months.

Effect of intra-urban temperature variation on tree flowering phenology, airborne pollen, and measurement error in epidemiological studies of allergenic pollen.

Temperature gradients in cities can cause inter-neighborhood differences in the timing of pollen release. However, most epidemiological studies examining allergenic pollen utilize daily measurements from a single pollen monitoring station with the implicit assumption that the measured time series of airborne pollen concentrations applies across the study areas, and that the temporal mismatch between concentrations at the counting station and elsewhere in the study area is negligible. This assumption is tested by quantifying temperature using satellite imagery, observing flowering times of oak (Quercus) and mulberry (Morus) trees at multiple sites, and collecting airborne pollen.

Absence of PCB Hot Spot Effect in Walleye Sander vitreus from Lower Green Bay of Lake Michigan.

Under certain conditions, polychlorinated biphenyl (PCB) concentration in individuals of one sex of an adult fish population may exceed that of the other sex by more than a factor of two. This phenomenon, known as the PCB hot spot effect, has been postulated to be contingent upon the following two conditions: (1) presence of a PCB hot spot in the bottom sediments of the aquatic ecosystem, such that prey PCB concentrations in the hot spot region are substantially higher than prey PCB concentrations in locations distant from the hot spot, and (2) habitat use varying between the sexes, such that individuals of one sex inhabit the hot spot region to a considerably greater degree than individuals of the other sex. To test whether PCB concentrations in walleye Sander vitreus from lower Green Bay of Lake Michigan displayed a PCB hot spot effect, whole-fish PCB concentrations were determined in ten female and ten male adult walleye from the population spawning in the Fox River, the main tributary to lower Green Bay.

Influence of viral infection on the relationships between airway cytokines and lung function in asthmatic children.

Background: Few longitudinal studies examine inflammation and lung function in asthma. We sought to determine the cytokines that reduce airflow, and the influence of respiratory viral infections on these relationships.

Methods: Children underwent home collections of nasal lavage during scheduled surveillance periods and self-reported respiratory illnesses.

Impact of community respiratory viral infections in urban children with asthma.

Background: Upper respiratory tract viral infections cause asthma exacerbations in children. However, the impact of natural colds on children with asthma in the community, particularly in the high-risk urban environment, is less well defined.

Objective: We hypothesized that children with high-symptom upper respiratory viral infections have reduced airway function and greater respiratory tract inflammation than children with virus-positive low-symptom illnesses or virus-negative upper respiratory tract symptoms.

Air pollutant strategies to reduce adverse health impacts and health inequalities: a quantitative assessment for Detroit, Michigan.

The development of air quality management (AQM) strategies provides opportunities to improve public health and reduce health inequalities. This study evaluates health and inequality impacts of alternate SO control strategies in Detroit, MI, a designated non-attainment area. Control alternatives include uniform reductions across sources, ranking approaches based on total emissions and health impacts per ton of pollutant emitted, and optimizations that meet concentration and health goals.

Effectiveness of Using Enhanced Filters in Schools and Homes to Reduce Indoor Exposures to PM from Outdoor Sources and Subsequent Health Benefits for Children with Asthma.

Filters can reduce indoor concentrations of particulate matter (PM), but their benefits have not been well-characterized. This study investigates exposure, health, and cost impacts of high efficiency filters in homes and schools, focusing on the asthma-related outcomes. Reductions in indoor exposures to PM from outdoor sources with enhanced filters (e.

Operational evaluation of the RLINE dispersion model for studies of traffic-related air pollutants.

Exposure to traffic-related air pollutants (TRAP) remains a key public health issue, and improved exposure measures are needed to support health impact and epidemiologic studies and inform regulatory responses. The recently developed Research LINE source model (RLINE), a Gaussian line source dispersion model, has been used in several epidemiologic studies of TRAP exposure, but evaluations of RLINE's performance in such applications have been limited. This study provides an operational evaluation of RLINE in which predictions of NO, CO and PM are compared to observations at air quality monitoring stations located near high traffic roads in Detroit, MI.