A comparison of concentrations of polycyclic aromatic compounds detected in dust samples from various regions of the world.

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A comparison of concentrations of polycyclic aromatic compounds detected in dust samples from various regions of the world.

Environ Int. 2008 Apr 29;

Authors: Naspinski C, Lingenfelter R, Cizmas L, Naufal Z, He LY, Islamzadeh A, Li Z, Li Z, McDonald T, Donnelly KC

Settled house dust can be a source of human exposure to toxic polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) through non-dietary ingestion and dermal contact. Information regarding the concentrations of various contaminants in house dust would be useful in estimating the risk associated with exposure to these compounds. This study reports on the surface loading, variability and distribution of PAHs in settled house dust collected from homes in three locations: Sumgayit, Azerbaijan; Shanxi Province, China; and southern Texas, United States. The highest PAH floor surface loadings were observed in China, followed by Azerbaijan and Texas. Median concentrations of high molecular weight (four ring and larger) PAHs ranged from a low of 0.11 microg/m(2) in Texas, to 2.9 microg/m(2) in Azerbaijan and 162 microg/m(2) in China. These trends in total surface loading and relative carcinogenicity indicate that the risk of health effects from exposure to PAHs in house dust is highest in the Chinese population and lowest in the Texas population. As anticipated, variability among dust samples from different houses within the same region was high, with coefficients of variation greater than 100%. Alkylated PAHs comprised 30-50% of the total mass of PAHs. Based on a comparison of the composition of specific components, PAHs in China and Azerbaijan were determined to be derived mainly from combustion sources rather than from unburned fossil fuels such as petroleum. These results, coupled with ongoing investigation of appropriate PAH exposure biomarkers in humans, will guide future efforts to identify ways to reduce exposures in the study areas.

PMID: 18452990 [PubMed - as supplied by publisher]

May 5, 2008 | Filed Under Public Health | Leave a Comment 

A randomized, double-blind, multicenter clinical trial on the efficacy of ivermectin against intestinal nematode infections in China.

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A randomized, double-blind, multicenter clinical trial on the efficacy of ivermectin against intestinal nematode infections in China.

Acta Trop. 2008 Mar 27;

Authors: Wen LY, Yan XL, Sun FH, Fang YY, Yang MJ, Lou LJ

To assess the efficacy of ivermectin against intestinal nematode infections, a randomized, double-blind, multicenter clinical trial was carried out in a total of 816 human individuals infected with different nematodes from three counties in China. The subjects were randomly assigned into experimental and control groups and orally given a single dose of 0.1, 0.2, 0.2 and 0.2mg/kg ivermectin against Ascaris lumbricoides, hookworm, Trichuris trichiura and Enterobius vermicularis, respectively. Parallel control groups to each of the ivermectin groups were given a single oral dose of 6.7mg/kg albendazole. The cure rates with ivermectin and albendazole were 100% (102/102) and 99.0% (101/102) for Ascaris, and 66.7% (68/102) and 67.7% (69/102) for Trichuris, respectively, with no significant difference (P>0.05) between the two treatments. The parasitological cure rates of albendazole were 69.6% (71/102) for hookworm and 94.1% (96/102) for Enterobius, which were significantly higher than ivermectin (33.3% and 52.9%, respectively, P<0.0001). The expulsion of worm in the feces reached its peak 1-2 days after ivermectin treatment. The study showed that ivermectin, with few side effects, could be used as an additional treatment tool for intestinal nematodes, especially for the treatment of Ascaris and Trichuris infections in China.

PMID: 18452885 [PubMed - as supplied by publisher]

May 5, 2008 | Filed Under Public Health | Leave a Comment 

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