This comprehensive and easy-to-readtreatment of the various facets, history,and criticisms involved in risk assess-ment for environmental health focuseson tools and approaches used forhumans in an environment involvingpotential chemical hazards. The first part introduces the underlyingprinciples and techniques of the field,and the second examines case studies interms of different risk assessment scenarios. Iwould have preferred a finer division of the book (withchapters in a different sequence). The first three chapters introduce risk assessment and place it in thebroader context of how risk is managed and how risk characterizationsmust be communicated effectively to different stakeholders. Chapter 14describes the history of managing risk by acts passed by the federal andstate governments, as well as the U.S. government system that allows forthese enforcements. Chapter 16 presents the various steps and issuesinvolved in risk communication. The notion of involving the broadercommunity in the process of prioritizing risks from different sources in theenvironment is explained in the chapter on comparative risk assessment(Chapter 8) and illustrated with the help of the Ohio comparative riskproject case study (Chapter 26). The authors of Chapter 15 argue that thecurrent paradigm of risk assessment/management must be revised to mini-mize harm as quickly as possible. Using the precautionary principle a com-pletely proven causal link to risk would be replaced by a search foralternatives when there is a somewhat dependable hint of substantial risk.Chapter 4 describes the principles of toxicokinetics and toxicodynamicsand justifies the steps defined for risk assessment from a toxicologic view-point. In light of the bias of chemical testing for carcinogenicity potential, asection in this chapter is devoted to the current theories of carcinogenesis. Various computational and experimental tools are described inChapters 5, 6, 7, and 13, and their application is demonstrated in thecase studies described in Chapters 17, 20, and 33. Physiologically basedpharmacokinetic (PBPK) models used to model the absorption,distribution, metabolism, and excretion of the chemical of interest aredescribed in Chapter 5, including the models’ uncertainty and variabil-ity. Basic mathematical equations that capture risk assessment notionsare introduced in Chapter 6, along with ways of considering multipleexposures and different routes for the same exposure and Monte Carlomethods to quantify uncertainties in the model predicted responses.Modern molecular measurements involving genes, proteins, andmetabolites are described in Chapter 7. The variability between individ-uals is illustrated by the presence of single nucleotide polymorphismsfor genes governing the metabolism of xenobiotic chemicals. Chapter13 describes the various issues and techniques involved in collectingbiological samples for monitoring the presence of chemicals. Other chapters describe risk assessments that differ from the stan-dard approach: assessment involving microbial or radiological sources,susceptible populations such as children, and chemicals that have anoptimum range of no effect. The history and the current state of regulat-ing the working conditions of workers are also presented, including dis-parities in standards between the workforce and the general community. The book emphasizes the need for risk assessment, the inherentuncertainties in arriving at a quantitative estimate of risk, and the valuejudgments, technology, commerce, and politics that play importantroles in the final enforced risk standard. Also emphasized are multipleroutes of exposure and the need for special attention to risk assessmentsfor susceptible populations such as children.Overall, the book reads less like a standard textbook and more like areference source. Material discussed in one part of the book is again dis-cussed in another part without the addition of anything new. For example,the PBPK model of methylene chloride is discussed in at least three partsof the book in different contexts but the descriptions do not reference theothers. Each chapter, helpfully, begins with a list of summary points andends with questions that require the student to think beyond and to accessresources outside the book. The figure captions could have been moredescriptive, and color would have made some of the figures easier to deci-pher. Finally, for the curious student, some portions of the book are notself-contained and would require reading from additional references. R

INTRODUCTION Direct emissions of nicotine and harmful chemicals from electronic cigarettes (e-cigarettes) have been intensively studied, but secondhand and thirdhand e-cigarette aerosol exposures in indoor environments are understudied. METHODS Indoor CO2, NO2, PM2.5, aldehydes, and airborne nicotine were measured in five vape-shops to assess secondhand exposures. Nicotine and tobacco specific nitrosamines (TSNAs) were measured on vape-shop surfaces and materials (glass, paper, clothing, rubber and fur ball) placed in the vape-shops (14 days) to study thirdhand exposures. RESULTS Airborne PM2.5, formaldehyde, acetaldehyde, and nicotine concentrations during shop opening hours were 21, 3.3, 4.0, and 3.8 times higher than the levels during shop closing hours, respectively. PM2.5 concentrations were correlated with the number of e-cigarette users present in vape-shops (ρ=0.366-0.761, p<0.001). Surface nicotine, 4-(N-methyl-N-nitrosamino)-4-(3-pyridyl)butanal (NNA), and 4-(Methylnitrosamino)-1-(3-pyridyl)-1-butanone (NNK) were also detected at levels of 223.6±313.2 μg/m2, 4.78±11.8 ng/m2, and 44.8±102.3 ng/m2, respectively. Substantial amounts of nicotine (0-2073 μg/m2) deposited on the materials placed within the vape-shops, and NNA (0-474.4 ng/m2) and NNK (0-184.0 ng/m2) were also formed on these materials. The deposited nicotine concentrations were strongly correlated with the median number of active vapers present in a vape-shop per hour (ρ=0.894-0.949, p=0.04-0.051). NNK levels on the material surfaces were significantly associated with surface nicotine levels (ρ=0.645, p=0.037). CONCLUSIONS Indoor vaping leads to secondhand and thirdhand e-cigarette aerosol exposures. Thirdhand exposures induced by e-cigarette vaping are comparable or higher than that induced by cigarette smoking. Long-term studies in various microenvironments are needed to improve our understanding of secondhand and thirdhand e-cigarette aerosol exposures.

Health impacts of electronic cigarette (e-cigarette) vaping are associated with the harmful chemicals emitted from e-cigarettes such as carbonyls. However, the levels of various carbonyl compounds under real-world vaping conditions have been understudied. This study evaluated the levels of carbonyl compounds (e.g., formaldehyde, acetaldehyde, glyoxal, and diacetyl, etc.) under various device settings (i.e., power output), vaping topographies, and e-liquid compositions (i.e., base liquid, flavor types). The results showed that e-vapor carbonyl levels were the highest under higher power outputs. The propylene glycol (PG)-based e-liquids generated higher formaldehyde and acetaldehyde than vegetable glycerin (VG)-based e-liquids. In addition, fruit flavored e-liquids (i.e., strawberry and dragon fruit) generated higher formaldehyde emissions than mint/menthol and creamy/sweet flavored e-liquids. While single-top coils formed 3.5-fold more formaldehyde per puff than conventional cigarette smoking, bottom coils generated 10–10,000 times less formaldehyde per puff. In general, increases in puff volume and longer puff durations generated significantly higher amounts of formaldehyde. While e-cigarettes emitted much lower levels of carbonyl compounds compared to conventional cigarettes, the presence of several toxic carbonyl compounds in e-cigarette vapor may still pose potential health risks for users without smoking history, including youth. Therefore, the public health administrations need to consider the vaping conditions which generated higher carbonyls, such as higher power output with PG e-liquid, when developing e-cigarette product standards.

Exposure to air pollution particulate matter (PM) and tuberculosis (TB) are two of the leading global public health challenges affecting low and middle income countries. An estimated 4.26 million premature deaths are attributable to household air pollution and an additional 4.1 million to outdoor air pollution annually. Mycobacterium tuberculosis (M.tb) infects a large proportion of the world’s population with the risk for TB development increasing during immunosuppressing conditions. There is strong evidence that such immunosuppressive conditions develop during household air pollution exposure, which increases rates of TB development. Exposure to urban air pollution has been shown to alter the outcome of TB therapy. Here we examined whether in vitro exposure to urban air pollution PM alters human immune responses to M.tb. PM2.5 and PM10 (aerodynamic diameters <2.5μm, <10μm) were collected monthly from rainy, cold-dry and warm-dry seasons in Iztapalapa, a highly populated TB-endemic municipality of Mexico City with elevated outdoor air pollution levels. We evaluated the effects of seasonality and size of PM on cytotoxicity and antimycobacterial host immunity in human peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMC) from interferon gamma (IFN-γ) release assay (IGRA)+ and IGRA- healthy study subjects. PM10 from cold-dry and warm-dry seasons induced the highest cytotoxicity in PBMC. With the exception of PM2.5 from the cold-dry season, pre-exposure to all seasonal PM reduced M.tb phagocytosis by PBMC. Furthermore, M.tb-induced IFN-γ production was suppressed in PM2.5 and PM10-pre-exposed PBMC from IGRA+ subjects. This observation coincides with the reduced expression of M.tb-induced T-bet, a transcription factor regulating IFN-γ expression in T cells. Pre-exposure to PM10 compared to PM2.5 led to greater loss of M.tb growth control. Exposure to PM2.5 and PM10 collected in different seasons differentially impairs M.tb-induced human host immunity, suggesting biological mechanisms underlying altered M.tb infection and TB treatment outcomes during air pollution exposures.

Long-term particulate matter (PM10) measurements were conducted during the period January 2016 to September 2017 at three sites in Uganda (Mbarara, Kyebando, and Rubindi) representing a wide range of urbanization. Spatial, temporal and diurnal variations are assessed in this paper. Particulate matter (PM10) samples were collected for 24-h periods on PTFE filters using a calibrated pump and analyzed gravimetrically to determine the average density. Particulate levels were monitored simultaneously using a light scattering instrument to acquire real time data from which diurnal variations were assessed. The PM10 levels averaged over the sampling period at Mbarara, Kyebando, and Rubindi were 5.8, 8.4, and 6.5 times higher than the WHO annual air quality guideline of 20 µg·m−3, and values exceeded the 24-h mean PM10 guideline of 50 µg·m−3 on 83, 100, and 86% of the sampling days. Higher concentrations were observed during dry seasons at all sites. Seasonal differences were statistically significant at Rubindi and Kyebando. Bimodal peaks were observed in the diurnal analysis with higher morning peaks at Mbarara and Kyebando, which points to the impact of traffic sources, while the higher evening peak at Rubindi points to the influence of dust suspension, roadside cooking and open-air waste burning. Long-term measurement showed unhealthy ambient air in all three locations tested in Uganda, with significant spatial and seasonal differences.

E-cigarette use is dramatically increasing, particularly with adolescents. While the chemical composition of e-liquids and e-vapor is well characterized, the particle size distribution and the human airways deposition patterns of e-cigarette particles are understudied and poorly understood despite their likely contribution to adverse health effects from e-cigarette usage. In this study, we examined the impacts of e-cigarette device power, e-liquid composition, and vaping topography on e-cigarette particle sizes and their deposition in human airways. In addition, we observed that particle measurement conditions (dilution ratio, temperature, and humidity) significantly affect measured e-cigarette particle sizes. E-cigarette power output significantly increased particle count median diameters (CMD) from 174 ± 13 (particles generated under 6.4 W) to 236 ± 14 nm (particles generated under 31.1 W). E-cigarette particles generated from propylene glycol-based e-liquids (CMD = 145 ± 8 nm and mass median diameter [MMD] = 3.06 ± 0.17 μm) were smaller than those generated from vegetable glycerin-based e-liquids (CMD = 182 ± 9 nm and MMD = 3.37 ± 0.21 μm). Puff volume also impacted vapor particle size: CMD and MMD were 154 ± 11 nm and 3.50 ± 0.27 μm, 163 ± 6 nm and 3.35 ± 0.24 μm, and 146 ± 12 nm and 2.95 ± 0.14 μm, respectively, for 35, 90, and 170 mL puffs. Estimated e-cigarette particle mass deposition fractions in tracheobronchial and bronchoalveolar regions were 0.504-0.541 and 0.073-0.306, respectively. Interestingly, e-cigarette particles are smaller than the particles generated from cigarette smoking but have similar human airway deposition patterns.

Portable air cleaners are commonly used to reduce indoor air particles in China, but few studies have evaluated the treatment efficiency under real living conditions. We aimed to evaluate the efficiency of a portable air cleaner in common residences under normal living conditions. A single-blind cross-over field study was conducted in 20 urban residences in Chongqing, China. In each residence, one portable air cleaner was operated without a high-efficiency particulate air (HEPA) filter (sham filtration) for the first 48 h and with a HEPA filter (true filtration) for the next 48 h in the living room. Concentrations of PM1.0, PM2.5, respirable suspended particulate matter (RESP), PM10, and total suspended particulate matter (TSP) were measured simultaneously in indoor and ambient outdoor air. Compared to sham filtration, the average concentrations of indoor air particles were significantly lower when true filtration was used according to paired-sample t-tests (all p-values <0.05). However, indoor concentrations of PM2.5 in 16 (80%) residences were still higher than the World Health Organization's (WHO) air quality guideline during true filtration. The removal efficiencies of the portable air cleaners with HEPA filters for these particles were about 40%. The removal efficiencies for PM1.0, PM2.5, and RESP had significant associations with the room volume, but not with the residence district, season, age of the building, floor level of the apartment, or ambient weather. Our results indicate that a portable air cleaner is effective in improving household air quality, but is not enough to ensure the air quality meeting WHO guideline in all real-world residences in polluted areas. (C) 2019 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

单色点光源经梅斯林透镜可实现多种干涉现象,为更好地展现单色点光源经梅斯林透镜产生的干涉现象,将此干涉分为4类,分别为聚球面波与发散球面波的干涉、发散球面波与平面波的干涉、两发散球面波的干涉、两平面波的干涉.本文对各类干涉产生的干涉现象进行了理论分析,并采用Matlab软件模拟了4类干涉产生的干涉条纹分布.研究结果为师生的后续学习与研究提供了理论支持和方法借鉴.

Available studies, while limited in number, suggest that e-cigarette vaping induces oxidative stress, with one potential mechanism being the direct formation of reactive oxygen species (ROS) in e-vapor. In the present studies, we measured the formation of hydroxyl radical ((OH)-O-center dot), the most destructive ROS, in e-vapor under a range of vaping patterns (i.e., power settings, solvent concentrations, flavorings). Study results show that increased power output and puff volume correspond with the formation of significantly higher amounts of (OH)-O-center dot in e-vapor because of elevated coil temperature and oxygen supply. Vegetable glycerin (VG) e-liquids generated higher (OH)-O-center dot levels than propylene glycol (PG) e-liquids, as did flavored e-liquids relative to nonflavored e-liquids. E-vapor in combination with ascorbic acid, which is an abundant biological molecule in human epithelial lining fluid, can also induce (OH)-O-center dot formation. The dose of radical per puff associated with e-cigarette vaping was 10-1000 times lower than the reported dose generated by cigarette smoking. However, the daily average (OH)-O-center dot dose can be comparable to that from cigarette smoking depending on vaping patterns. Overall, e-cigarette users who use VG-based flavored e-cigarettes at higher power output settings may be at increased risk for (OH)-O-center dot exposures and related health consequences such as asthma and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease.

Rationale Associations between urban (outdoor) airborne particulate matter (PM) exposure and TB and potential biological mechanisms are poorly explored. Objectives To examine whether in vivo exposure to urban outdoor PM in Mexico City and in vitro exposure to urban outdoor PM2.5 (< 2.5 µm median aerodynamic diameter) alters human host immune cell responses to Mycobacterium tuberculosis. Methods Cellular toxicity (flow cytometry, proliferation assay (MTS assay)), M. tuberculosis and PM2.5 phagocytosis (microscopy), cytokine-producing cells (Enzyme-linked immune absorbent spot (ELISPOT)), and signalling pathway markers (western blot) were examined in bronchoalveolar cells (BAC) and peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMC) from healthy, non-smoking, residents of Mexico City (n=35; 13 female, 22 male). In vivo-acquired PM burden in alveolar macrophages (AM) was measured by digital image analysis. Measurements and main results In vitro exposure of AM to PM2.5 did not affect M. tuberculosis phagocytosis. High in vivo-acquired AM PM burden reduced constitutive, M. tuberculosis and PM-induced interleukin-1β production in freshly isolated BAC but not in autologous PBMC while it reduced constitutive production of tumour necrosis factor-alpha in both BAC and PBMC. Further, PM burden was positively correlated with constitutive, PM, M. tuberculosis and purified protein derivative (PPD)-induced interferon gamma (IFN-γ) in BAC, and negatively correlated with PPD-induced IFN-γ in PBMC. Conclusions Inhalation exposure to urban air pollution PM impairs important components of the protective human lung and systemic immune response against M. tuberculosis. PM load in AM is correlated with altered M. tuberculosis-induced cytokine production in the lung and systemic compartments. Chronic PM exposure with high constitutive expression of proinflammatory cytokines results in relative cellular unresponsiveness.

The traditional Chinese painting has great cultural and historic value for us. Because of that, the research on the paintings has never stopped. During the current research stage, we would like to design a system which can rapidly construct a 3D scene according to a traditional Chinese painting. In the previous article [1], we designed a convolutional neural network referenced to VGG-16 [2] to classify traditional Chinese paintings into figure painting, landscape painting, and flower-and-bird painting according to the content of the paintings. However, it is not enough to be able to classify a painting. If we can quickly extract the main elements of a painting, it will greatly facilitate the construction of a 3D scene. To this end, we have studied the object detection algorithm based on deep learning which achieves amazing accuracy on a natural image dataset and tried to migrate it to the traditional Chinese painting dataset. Considering that our construction system may be applied on the mobile side like a smartphone, we used two algorithms which are faster and less computationally intensive: YOLOv3 and RetinaNet. According to the characteristics of traditional Chinese painting dataset, the network structure and some hyper-parameters were modified. Finally, we experimentally proved the effectiveness of such algorithms in the traditional Chinese painting application scenarios.

This Letter demonstrates tunable Nb5N6 microbolometers operating in the terahertz frequency range. An asymmetric-coupled Fabry-Perot cavity is constituted by simply placing a movable metallic planar mirror in the back of the silicon substrate. The incident THz radiation onto the Nb(5)N(6 )microbolometer is effectively manipulated by changing the air spacer gap to modulate the phase relation between the reflected wave and incident wave. The experimental measurements reveal that the detailed evolution of the resonance bands as a function of spacing is in excellent agreement with the analysis by using interference theory and simulation. The results detail the design of THz detectors wherein a wide degree of tunability or a variable number of detection bands is desirable. (C) 2019 Optical Society of America

Accurate measurements of personal exposure to atmospheric pollutants such as ozone are important for understanding health risks. We tested a new personal ozone monitor (POM; 2B Technologies) for accuracy, precision, and ease of use. The POM's measurements were compared to simultaneous ozone measurements from a 2B Model 205 monitor and a ThermoScientific 49i monitor, and multiple POMs were placed side-by-side to check precision. Tests were undertaken in a controlled environmental facility, outdoors, and in a private residence. Additionally, ten volunteers wore a POM for five days and answered a questionnaire about its ease of use. The POM measured ozone accurately compared to the 49i ozone monitor, with average relative differences of less than 8%. In the controlled environment tests, the POM's ozone measurements did not change in the presence of additional atmospheric constituents with similar absorption lines to ozone, though there may have been a small decrease in precision and accuracy. Precision between POMs varied by environment (r2 = 0.98 outdoors; r2 = 0.3 to 0.9 in controlled lab conditions). Volunteers reported that the POM was reasonably comfortable to wear, although all reported that they felt that it was too noisy. Overall, the POM is a viable option for personal ozone monitoring.

The performances of a portable X-Ray Fluorescence (XRF) lead paint analyzer (RMD LPA-1, Protec Instrument Corp., Waltham, MA) and a commercially available colorimetric lead test kit (First Alert Lead Test Kit, eAccess Solutions, Inc., Palatine, IL) were evaluated for use by local or state health departments as potential cost-effective rapid analysis or “spot test” field techniques for tentative identification of lead content in sindoor powders. For both field-sampling methods, sensitivity, specificity and predictive values varied widely for samples containing <300,000 µg/g lead. For samples containing ≥300,000 µg/g lead, the aforementioned metrics were 100% (however, the CIs had a wide range). In addition, both field sampling methods showed clear, consistent positive readings only for samples containing ≥300,000 µg/g lead. Even samples with lead content as high as 5,110 µg/g were not positively identified by either field analysis technique. The results of this study suggest the XRF analyzer and colorimetric lead test kit cannot be used as a rapid field test for sindoor by health department inspectors.

Arsenic, a known human carcinogen, occurs naturally in groundwater in New Jersey and many other states and countries. A number of municipalities in the Piedmont, Highlands, and Valley and Ridge Physiographic Provinces of New Jersey have a high proportion of wells that exceed the New Jersey maximum contaminant level (MCL) of 5 µg/L. Hopewell Township, located in Mercer County and the Piedmont Province, has a progressive local ordinance which requires the installation of dual-tank, point-of-entry treatment systems on affected wells.Thisprovided a unique study opportunity. Of the 55 homes with dual-tank POE treatment systems recruited into this study, 51 homes (93%) had arsenic levels under the MCL at the kitchen sink, regardless of years in service and/or maintenance schedule adherence. Based on the study participants' water consumption and arsenic concentrations, we estimate that Hopewell's arsenic water treatment ordinance, requiring POE dual-tank arsenic treatment, reduced the incidence of excess lifetime (70-year) bladder and lung cancers from 121 (1.7 cancer cases/year) to 16 (0.2 cancer cases/year) preventing 105 lifetime cancer cases (1.5 cases/year). Because the high risk of cancer from arsenic can be mitigated with effective arsenic water treatment systems, this ordinance should be considered a model for other municipalities.

Nicotine is one of the major components of electronic cigarette (e-cigarette) emissions. Nicotyrine is a product of nicotine dehydrogenation in e-vapor and is a known inhibitor of human cytochrome P450 enzyme, which mediates nicotine metabolism. However, the emission of nicotine and especially nicotyrine from e-cigarettes has not been studied under real-world vaping patterns. This study examined the impact of e-liquid composition, e-cigarette device power output, and vaping topography on nicotine and nicotyrine concentrations under real-world vaping patterns. The amount of nicotine emitted from e-cigarettes vaped at high e-liquid nicotine levels, high device power, and large puff volumes ranged from 0.365 μg/puff to 236 μg/puff and was comparable to the amount of nicotine emitted from regular cigarettes. E-cigarette coil temperatures (200-300 °C) favored the formation of nicotyrine: E-cigarette vaping generated 2- to 63-fold more nicotyrine per unit nicotine emission than conventional cigarette smoking. High nicotyrine emission from e-cigarettes indicates that nicotine metabolism could be potentially interrupted, which could lead to reduced e-cigarette usage, and result in lower exposures to toxic chemicals (e.g., formaldehyde and acetaldehyde). However, higher serum nicotine levels might increase cancer risks by stimulating nicotinic acetylcholine receptors (nAchRs).

Traditional Chinese painting has an extremely long and uninterrupted history, which makes it valuable for people to study and analyze it. Meanwhile, the convolutional neural network has achieved a great success in the field of image processing. However, there are relatively less research in applying the convolutional neural network to traditional Chinese painting images. Based on the content of the painting, traditional Chinese paintings are categorized into three types-figure painting, flower-and-bird painting and landscape painting. In this article, we use serval classical convolutional neural network to classify traditional Chinese painting images according to the content of the painting. Although some networks achieve an ideal classification accuracy, they still cost a large amount of time and memory. To address this problem, we modify the architecture of VGG-16 network-deleting a convolutional layer and adding dropout to the network. Finally, the VGG-15 (with dropout) achieves a classification accuracy with 93.8%, while still maintaining a relatively low time and memory consumption.

The Mexico City Metropolitan Area (MCMA) is one of the largest and most populated urban environments in the world and experiences high air pollution levels. To develop models that estimate pollutant concentrations at fine spatiotemporal scales and provide improved air pollution exposure assessments for health studies in Mexico City. We developed finer spatiotemporal land use regression (LUR) models for PM2.5, PM10, O3, NO2, CO and SO2 using mixed effect models with the Least Absolute Shrinkage and Selection Operator (LASSO). Hourly traffic density was included as a temporal variable besides meteorological and holiday variables. Models of hourly, daily, monthly, 6-monthly and annual averages were developed and evaluated using traditional and novel indices. The developed spatiotemporal LUR models yielded predicted concentrations with good spatial and temporal agreements with measured pollutant levels except for the hourly PM2.5, PM10 and SO2. Most of the LUR models met performance goals based on the standardized indices. LUR models with temporal scales greater than one hour were successfully developed using mixed effect models with LASSO and showed superior model performance compared to earlier LUR models, especially for time scales of a day or longer. The newly developed LUR models will be further refined with ongoing Mexico City air pollution sampling campaigns to improve personal exposure assessments.

Air pollution is a major cause of sub-optimal lung function and lung diseases in childhood and adulthood. In this study we compared the lung function (measured by spirometry) of 537 Ugandan children, mean age 11.1 years in sites with high (Kampala and Jinja) and low (Buwenge) ambient air pollution levels, based on the concentrations of particulate matter smaller than 2.5 micrometres in diameter (PM2.5). Factors associated with lung function were explored in a multiple linear regression model. PM2.5 level in Kampala, Jinja and Buwenge were 177.5 µg/m3, 96.3 µg/m3 and 31.4 µg/m3 respectively (p = 0.0000). Respectively mean forced vital capacity as % of predicted (FVC%), forced expiratory volume in one second as % of predicted (FEV1%) and forced expiratory flow 25–75% as % of predicted (FEF25–75%) of children in high ambient air pollution sites (Kampala and Jinja) vs. those in the low ambient air pollution site (Buwenge subcounty) were: FVC% (101.4%, vs. 104.0%, p = 0.043), FEV1% (93.9% vs. 98.0, p = 0.001) and FEF25–75% (87.8 vs. 94.0, p = 0.002). The proportions of children whose %predicted parameters were less than 80% predicted (abnormal) were higher among children living in high ambient air pollution than those living in lower low ambient air pollutions areas with the exception of FVC%; high vs. low: FEV1 < 80%, %predicted (12.0% vs. 5.3%, p = 0.021) and FEF25–75 < 80%, %predicted (37.7% vs. 29.3%, p = 0.052) Factors associated with lung function were (coefficient, p-value): FVC% urban residence (−3.87, p = 0.004), current cough (−2.65, p = 0.048), underweight (−6.62, p = 0.000), and overweight (11.15, p = 0.000); FEV1% underweight (−6.54, p = 0.000) and FEF25–75% urban residence (−8.67, p = 0.030) and exposure to biomass smoke (−7.48, p = 0.027). Children in study sites with high ambient air pollution had lower lung function than those in sites with low ambient air pollution. Urban residence, underweight, exposure to biomass smoke and cough were associated with lower lung function.

ABSTRACT The presence of synthetic glucocorticosteroids (GCs) in surface water and their potential endocrine disruption (ED) activity at environmental concentrations has not been fully investigated. Synthetic GCs may interfere with endogenous receptors within the hypothalamic-pituitary-gonadal (HPG) axis and disruptions of this pathway can result in decreased reproduction and/or adverse developmental effects. Betamethasone, a synthetic GC, has been on the market in the United States since the 1980's. The Pharmaceutical Assessment and Transport Evaluation model estimated betamethasone concentrations to be <0.6 ng/L in 95% of all U.S. surface waters. Concentrations of 0.01, 0.1, and 1.0 µg betamethasone/L were used in a two-generation fish full life cycle study with Japanese medaka. Gross endpoints, secondary sexual characteristics, and vitellogenin expression were evaluated. The highest concentration at which ED outcomes are not anticipated was determined to be 0.1 µg/L. The ratio of the predicted environmental concentration to the no effect concentration for ED is less than one, indicating no risk to aquatic life from environmentally relevant concentrations of betamethasone.