Environmental Health Perspectives Research Articles

Diet Impacts on Climate and Health: New Zealand's Experience.

Diet Impacts on Climate and Health: New Zealand's Experience.

帮助社会从开放科学运动中受益

Vol. 128, No. 3 论文导读Open Access帮助社会从开放科学运动中受益 Janet L. Pelley Janet L. Pelley Search for more papers by this author Published:26 June 2020CID: 034001https://doi.org/10.1289/EHP6179-zhView Article in:EnglishAboutSectionsPDF ToolsDownload CitationsTrack Citations ShareShare onFacebookTwitterLinked InRedditEmail 开放科学运动的目标是使数据和结论更加透明和易于获取，这将有可能改变科学和社会的潜力。1 尽管开放数据可能对科学家有益，但如果不加以解释，这些信息对负责制定以科学为基础的政策决策者几乎毫无帮助，更不用说对于公众了。2,3 最近发表在《环境与健康展望》（Environmental Health Perspectives）上的一篇评论表示，要使开放科学对社会有用，需要在科学家和公众、期刊、研究机构以及政府机构之间建立伙伴关系来共享知识。4许多民众想要了解科学信息的局限性，但缺乏技术专长或科学背景，无法自己辨别其中的细微差别。因此，如果开放科学要对社会产生积极影响，研究人员必须准备好以易懂的方式解释、综合和呈现信息。Image: © iStockphoto/monkeybusinessimages.作者在回顾了来自著名科学组织的呼吁之后启动了他们的研究，旨在促进对科学发现的了解。5,6 “我们在开放科学的文献中寻找如何实现这一目标的方法，但我们没有看到如何为公众服务的细节，” 密歇根州立大学的科学哲学家、该评论的第一作者 Kevin Elliott 说道。事实上，一项先前对系统生物学、合成生物学和生物信息学领域的 22 位首席研究员的调查显示，大多数专家将开放科学定义为服务于科学界的实践，如期刊文章和数据的开放获取。7 然而 “大多数非专业人士无法理解科技文章和数据，” Elliott 说道。Elliott 和合著者、美国国立环境健康科学研究所（National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences）的生物伦理学家 David Resnik 希望找到促进开放科学获取的策略，他们把重点放在了透明度这个核心概念上。他们区分了两种不同形式的透明度：一种旨在帮助科学家分享发现和提高再现性，另一种侧重于使决策者和公众能够有效地利用科学信息。每一种形式都需要一套不同的策略使其受众受益于开放科学。“对于非专业人士来说，最重要的可能是能够理解这项研究的重要性、它的弱点或不足、与之相关联的价值判断、它如何适应更广泛的背景，以及它的含意是什么。” Elliott 说道。为了实现这些目标，他和 Resnik 编制了一份向其受众传播科学的策略清单。科学家自己也可以使用社交媒体和科学交流网站，如 https://theconversation.com，以通俗易懂的方式分享他们的研究成果。期刊可以为每一篇文章提供摘要或要点，并开设博客让作者讨论关键结果。而政府机构可以制定计划来帮助决策者利用数据。其中一个例子就是 SERVIR ( https://servirglobal.net/)，它是由美国国家航空航天局（National Aeronautics and Space Administration，NASA）和美国国际开发署（U.S. Agency for International Development）联合开发的。该项目帮助发展中国家的决策者利用地球观测数据应对粮食安全、水资源和自然灾害方面的挑战。Elliott 和 Resnik 指出，需要作出有意识地努力，制定使公众能够充分受益于科学研究的机制。尽管许多科学家希望回馈社会，但也有人担心参与这些公众项目会占用他们发表研究成果的时间，从而阻碍他们事业的发展，威斯康星大学麦迪逊分校的空气质量科学家 Tracey Holloway 说道。她目前是 NASA 健康和空气质量应用科学团队（Health and Air Quality Applied Sciences Team）的负责人，该团队致力于促进科学家、卫生组织和公众之间的合作。8 “大学、科学团体和资助机构可以通过奖励推广活动来帮助改变这种文化观，” Holloway 说道，例如，资助推广工具。“这篇评论为我们提供了一个讨论开放科学如何改变科学与社会互动方式的框架，” 美国地球物理学会（American Geophysical Union）的繁荣地球交流中心（Thriving Earth Exchange）主任 Raj Pandya 说道。9 “这是科学变革时代的一部分，它有潜力以各种方式开放科学，使其能够建立一个更美好的未来，并以一种比以前更公平、更易懂的方式参与进来。”Janet L. Pelley，硕士，居住在加拿大 BC 省维多利亚市，她还为《化学工程新闻》（Chemical & Engineering News）和《生态与环境前沿》（Frontiers in Ecology and the Environment）撰稿。

Land-Use Changes and Heart Disease Risk: Evidence That Rapid Development Plays a Role.

Open in a separate window Hyderabad, a city in the South Indian state of Telangana, is known for its iconic bazaars and 16th century architecture1 as well as a booming tech industry that is fueling massive growth.2 Undeveloped landscapes and farmland in the area are being rapidly lost to development, and the city’s traffic congestion ranks among the worst in India.3 Now a recent study in Environmental Health Perspectives reports that heart disease risk among Hyderabad’s local population is increasing as the pace of land-use changes accelerates.4 Open in a separate window The outskirts of Hyderabad are mostly farm fields and large expanses of undeveloped lands. But much of this landscape is being rapidly built up as the city becomes a leader in the Indian tech industry. Image: © Achintya Dixit/Shutterstock.

Notes from the NICU: Analyzing the Chemical Content of Commonly Used Medical Products

Notes from the NICU: Analyzing the Chemical Content of Commonly Used Medical Products

DESIGN AND IMPLEMENTATION OF THE MASTER'S PROGRAM «PSYCHOLOGY OF HEALTH» IN THE MEDICAL UNIVERSITY

The aim of the study was the methodological substantiation and systematization of the areas of training for graduates in the Master's program "Psychology of Health" on the basis of a medical university. The experience of designing and implementing a master's program within the framework of the paradigm of mental ecology is presented. During the implementation of the program, a number of issues were solved with the study of its relevance, the identification of the types of professional activities of undergraduates, the list of competencies formed, the curriculum development, the development of educational and methodological support, the examination and review of the program. The main activities of future specialists are highlighted, and a six-module principle of drawing up the curriculum is proposed, including adaptive, pedagogical, scientific, practical modules, language training and health psychology from the modern perspective of environmental health. The practice-oriented interdepartmental nature of training is emphasized in close collaboration with psychiatric departments, psychological and socially-oriented centers. The role of the international component of professional training based on interaction with scientific and educational centers of the Barents Euro-Arctic Region and Germany is outlined. Moreover, the main scientific areas of the program that are significant for the Arctic territories of the European part of Russia are considered.

Backyard Bacterial Exchange: A One Health Approach to Studying Antibiotic Resistance Transmission.

Vol. 128, No. 7 Science SelectionOpen AccessBackyard Bacterial Exchange: A One Health Approach to Studying Antibiotic Resistance Transmissionis accompanied byInter-host Transmission of Carbapenemase-Producing Escherichia coli among Humans and Backyard Animals Janet L. Pelley Janet L. Pelley Search for more papers by this author Published:15 July 2020CID: 074002https://doi.org/10.1289/EHP6585View Article in:中文版AboutSectionsPDF ToolsDownload CitationsTrack Citations ShareShare onFacebookTwitterLinked InReddit AbstractThe ability of bacteria to develop resistance to multiple antibiotics poses a serious threat to human health.1 Scientists are especially alarmed by the increasing failure of antibiotics known as carbapenems, which are considered the drug of last resort for treating multiple drug–resistant infections.2 Researchers have identified carbapenem-resistant Enterobacteriaceae (CRE), including Escherichia coli, in multiple species.3,4 However, there has been scant evidence of direct microbial transfer between humans and animals. Research published in Environmental Health Perspectives now provides such evidence.5“In earlier research,6 we discovered the spread of carbapenem-resistant Enterobacteriaceae in farm animals in China,” says study author Yang Wang, a molecular biologist at the College of Veterinary Medicine, China Agricultural University. Resistant E. coli isolated from the farm animals and humans had similar genotypes, indicating the potential for transmission between the two.7A study of farmers, backyard livestock, and the flies that bother them all revealed that carbapenem-resistant E. coli can circulate among species. Images (left to right): © XiXinXing/Shutterstock; © Gadelshina Dina/Shutterstock; © Lesia Povkh/Shutterstock; © yazirmzm/Shutterstock; © Davdeka/Shutterstock; © Johnathan21/Shutterstock.In some areas of China, large percentages of households raise livestock in their backyards, bringing humans into close contact with animals.8 As part of the Sino-Swedish Integrated Multisectoral Partnership for Antibiotic Resistance Containment project, Wang and his colleagues thus decided to use a One Health approach to investigate CRE transmission in people, their backyard animals, and their environment.The researchers visited 746 rural households across 12 villages surrounding a central city in Shandong Province, China. They collected fecal samples from residents and livestock. At some households, they also captured flies. Household members answered surveys about risk factors for bacterial transmission, such as the variety of animals they raised and whether they used manure as fertilizer. In addition, the researchers took samples from workers and pigs at the two commercial farms closest to the villages.The researchers found carbapenem-resistant E. coli at about 9% of the households but none at the commercial farms. Households were more likely to have resistant bacteria if they used manure (human and/or animal) as fertilizer or raised a variety of animals. The researchers sequenced the DNA of the resistant E. coli and screened for the presence of genes that confer resistance. More than 35% of the resistant E. coli collected from humans shared core genomes with the bacteria from animals, and the resistance genes in E. coli collected from humans were almost identical to those in samples from animals.To determine the direction of transfer between people and livestock, the researchers used a modeling approach called discriminant analysis of principal components to identify the original host of bacterial isolates. Modeling estimated that most of the resistant bacteria cultured from humans originated in dogs, chickens, pigs, or cattle. Likewise, humans, cattle, dogs, and chickens contributed most of the resistant bacteria cultured from pigs. Resistant bacteria isolated from flies came mostly from humans and dogs, chicken isolates came mostly from pigs and dogs, and the single cattle-derived isolate appeared to come from chickens.The study’s unique strength was its comprehensive simultaneous sampling of individual households, their backyard animals, and their immediate environment—represented by flies—says Qijing Zhang, a microbiologist at Iowa State University who was not involved in the study. “By analyzing a close genetic association between bacteria isolated from animals and humans in the same household, the researchers provided very good evidence that people and animals directly exchange carbapenem-resistant bacteria,” he says.The commercial farms were free of carbapenem resistance, perhaps due to better regulation of hygiene and antibiotic use, the authors suggest. But firm conclusions cannot be drawn because the scientists sampled only two commercial farms, and carbapenem resistance has been reported in other industrial livestock settings.9,10The study is notable for its large scale and the way it highlights the fact that backyard farms may be an underestimated source of carbapenem resistance, says Séamus Fanning, a molecular biologist at University College Dublin who also was not involved in the study. “However,” he says, “we don’t really know if the resistant bacteria are coming from hospital settings to farms via the householders or whether carbapenem resistance in the farm animals’ bacteria has arisen due to coselection for resistance to other, more common antibiotics.”Janet L. Pelley, MS, based in Victoria, BC, Canada, writes for Chemical & Engineering News and Frontiers in Ecology and the Environment.

Bisphenol Exposure and Type 2 Diabetes: New Evidence for a Potential Risk Factor

Bisphenol Exposure and Type 2 Diabetes: New Evidence for a Potential Risk Factor

Tracking Zearalenone: Placental Transfer of a Fungal Toxin.

Vol. 128, No. 7 Science SelectionOpen AccessTracking Zearalenone: Placental Transfer of a Fungal Toxinis accompanied byTransfer and Metabolism of the Xenoestrogen Zearalenone in Human Perfused Placenta Carrie Arnold Carrie Arnold Search for more papers by this author Published:10 July 2020CID: 074001https://doi.org/10.1289/EHP6540View Article in:中文版AboutSectionsPDF ToolsDownload CitationsTrack Citations ShareShare onFacebookTwitterLinked InRedditEmail AbstractFor a developing fetus, the role of the placenta is simultaneously simple and complex. This ephemeral organ must allow nutrients and oxygen from the maternal bloodstream to reach the fetus but keep out pathogens and other harmful compounds. The placenta also secretes sex hormones, including estrogen and progesterone, to help direct fetal growth and development.1 Certain chemicals, including endocrine-disrupting chemicals (EDCs), can disrupt this delicate process. A recent article in Environmental Health Perspectives suggests that one such EDC, the fungal toxin zearalenone (ZEN),2 can readily cross the placenta and enter the fetal bloodstream.3Fusarium culmorum, shown here, is one of several fungal species that produce ZEN. This micrograph shows the fungus’s fibrous white hyphae and globular orange sporodochia grown on pink medium. The sporodochia, which form from the hyphae, may comprise thousands of spores each. Image: © Lesny Ludek/Shutterstock.The potential impact of disrupting the delicate balance of hormones during pregnancy is one of the major reasons that scientists are concerned about EDCs. “This work showed, in principle, that the transfer and metabolism of zearalenone across the placenta is possible,” says senior author Tina Buerki-Thurnherr, a toxicologist at the Swiss Federal Laboratories for Materials Science and Technology.ZEN, produced by multiple Fusarium species, is found in a broad range of foods, including cereal- and legume-based products.2 It mimics natural estrogens, says Buerki-Thurnherr, but it is not easily absorbed by the human body, and it is undetectable in the plasma of the majority of the population. A 2019 study found ZEN in the plasma of only 6.5% of participants, with concentrations of 0.063–0.418μg/L.4 This work is important in the context of the hypothesis that environmental exposures early in life can have an outsized impact on adult health.5 Importantly, however, the study did not assess potential health effects of ZEN exposure and is not intended as guidance for people to make dietary decisions. “We know the fetus is sensitive to xenoestrogens,” says University of Michigan environmental health scientist Rita Loch-Caruso, who was not involved in the study, “but we know very little about [the effects of] this particular mycotoxin.”Nutrient, gas, and waste exchange between mother and fetus is both rapid and voluminous, with uterine blood flow reaching 700mL/min in late pregnancy.6 This allows low-molecular-weight compounds, those without an electric charge, and fat-soluble substances to cross the placental barrier more readily.7 ZEN has been shown to cross the placenta in rats.8 What the authors did not know was whether it could cross this barrier in humans, and if so, how quickly.Buerki-Thurnherr had previous experience studying the placenta in human cell and tissue models. For this study, her team used a dually perfused ex vivo human placenta9 to model the transfer of ZEN and its nine key metabolites from mother to fetus. In this model, cannulae are inserted into blood vessels on both the maternal and fetal sides of the placenta. Investigators can then introduce compounds of interest on either side to observe how they transfer between mother and fetus. The process is labor-intensive and often fails due to placental leakage and other issues. “It’s definitely not high throughput,” Buerki-Thurnherr says.The authors successfully perfused six placentas. The maternal circulation of three placentas received a control solution, and three were perfused with 1μM (318μg/L) ZEN for 6 hours. Both solutions were collected on the fetal side and analyzed using a new ultra-high-performance liquid chromatography–tandem mass spectrometry method developed by members of the team in a previous study.10 This method allowed the researchers to analyze up to 75 metabolites simultaneously instead of individually.The new findings showed that two ZEN metabolites, including a highly estrogenically active form, were detected in fetal circulation within 15 minutes of being introduced on the maternal side. After 6 hours of ZEN perfusion, approximately 15% of the compound was present in the fetal circulation, 31% was present in the maternal circulation, and the rest was metabolized or present elsewhere in the placenta.The results indicate that ZEN transfer was both fast and efficient, according to Loch-Caruso. She points out that the study is limited by its small sample size and the lack of demographic data about the mothers who donated their placentas. Still, she praised the work as “an important, early first study” in understanding how endocrine disruptors cross the placenta, with potential to impact fetal development.Carrie Arnold is a freelance science writer living in Virginia. Her work has appeared in Scientific American, Discover, New Scientist, Smithsonian, and more.

“We Are Seneca Lake”: Defining the Substances of Sustainable and Extractive Economics Through Anti-Fracking Activism

Scholars of environmental communication have had difficulty discerning whether and how nature should be considered as an economic resource for humans. This article examines how strategic definitions of environmental substance can forward a rhetorical vision of sustainable economics. Turning to a successful anti-fracking campaign, it illustrates the definitional means through which activists challenge fossil fuel dependence with an ecological perspective of economic and environmental health. Contextual, nutritive, and directional substance in New York’s “We Are Seneca Lake” campaign together constitute the Finger Lakes’ local economy as a blueprint for a sustainable future. This article contributes to scholarship and advocacy at the intersections of environmental activism and industry rhetoric.

Bibliometric analysis of peer-reviewed literature on climate change and human health with an emphasis on infectious diseases

BackgroundAssessing research activity is important for planning future protective and adaptive policies. The objective of the current study was to assess research activity on climate change and health with an emphasis on infectious diseases.MethodA bibliometric method was applied using SciVerse Scopus. Documents on climate change and human health were called “health-related literature” while documents on climate change and infectious diseases were called “infection-related literature”. The study period was from 1980 to 2019.ResultsThe search query found 4247 documents in the health-related literature and 1207 in the infection-related literature. The growth of publications showed a steep increase after 2007. There were four research themes in the health-related literature: (1) climate change and infectious diseases; (2) climate change, public health and food security; (3) heat waves, mortality, and non-communicable diseases; and (4) climate change, air pollution, allergy, and respiratory health. The most frequently encountered pathogens/infectious diseases in the infection-related literature were malaria and dengue. Documents in infection-related literature had a higher h-index than documents in the health-related literature. The top-cited documents in the health-related literature focused on food security, public health, and infectious diseases while those in infection-related literature focused on water-, vector-, and mosquito-borne diseases. The European region had the highest contribution in health-related literature (n = 1626; 38.3%) and infection-related literature (n = 497; 41.2%). The USA led with 1235 (29.1%) documents in health-related literature and 365 (30.2%) documents in infection-related literature. The Australian National University ranked first in the health-related literature while the London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine ranked first in the infection-related literature. International research collaboration was inadequate. Documents published in the Environmental Health Perspectives journal received the highest citations per document. A total of 1416 (33.3%) documents in the health-related literature were funded while 419 (34.7%) documents in the infection-related literature were funded.ConclusionResearch on climate change and human health is on the rise with research on infection-related issues making a good share. International research collaboration should be funded and supported. Future research needs to focus on the impact of climate change on psychosocial, mental, innovations, policies, and preparedness of health systems.

A simple approach with scale-up potential towards intrinsically flame-retardant bio-based co-plasticizer for PVC artificial materials

As an imitation of genuine leather, polyvinyl chloride (PVC) artificial materials are versatile, but suffers from being flammable due to the presence of large amounts of combustible plasticizers. Under such circumstance, intrinsically flame-retardant plasticizers displaying dual functions have been a subject of intensive research interest. However, previous strategies attempting to covalently attach flame-retardant moiety to plasticizers invariably required either expensive starting materials or laborious and tedious procedures, ultimately limiting their scale-up application in industry. In addition, driven by escalating demand of halogen-free flame retardants worldwide from an environmental health perspective, previously reported intrinsically flame-retardant plasticizers were mainly halogen-free, less attractive in PVC artificial material industry simply because PVC itself is a halogen-containing polymer. Here, we report an approach to introduce chlorine moieties into unsaturated fatty acid methyl ester by a simple addition reaction occurring on carbon-carbon double bonds, yielding a chlorine-containing, intrinsically flame-retardant bio-plasticizer. When combined with di-(2-ethylhexyl) phthalate (DOP) in PVC formulations, the chlorinated fatty acid methyl ester is qualified as a co-plasticizer while conferring flame retardancy upon the PVC coatings. This approach involves only a one-step procedure that employs renewable fatty acid methyl esters and cheap chlorine gas as raw materials, thus being of great potential to enable intrinsically flame-retardant bio-plasticizers on a large scale to manufacture functional PVC artificial materials for application in fire-prone scenarios.Graphical abstract

控制手工和小规模金矿开采中的汞污染

Vol. 128, No. 1 聚焦Open Access控制手工和小规模金矿开采中的汞污染 Lindsey Konkel Lindsey Konkel Search for more papers by this author Published:20 January 2020CID: 012002https://doi.org/10.1289/EHP6417-zhView Article in:EnglishAboutSectionsPDF ToolsDownload CitationsTrack Citations ShareShare onFacebookTwitterLinked InRedditEmail 在尼日尔的科马班古（Komabangou）村庄，成千上万的矿工用原始工具挖掘黄金。1 这些矿工是一个混杂的群体，有疲于生计的农民、来自西非邻国的移民劳工、未充分就业的公共部门的工人以及大学生—包括男性、女性以及儿童。有些人出生在这里；还有一些人远道而来寻找工作。在科马班古村庄，所有的生计都围绕着小规模的黄金开采—从采掘者到给他们提供食物的人，还有那些为他们供应设备，将他们从一个地点运送到另一个地点的人。矿工们从事的黄金开采已有数百年历史，其中需要大量使用汞。 “汞支撑着整个系统运转，” 英国萨里大学 (University of Surrey) 环境政策研究员 Gavin Hilson 说道。Hilson 的研究专注于手工和小规模金矿开采（artisanal and small-scale gold mining，ASGM）对科马班古村庄以及其他地区的环境和社会影响。黄金的实际开采规模比这个位于撒哈拉以南的非洲村庄要大得多。随着近几十年金价的飙升，利用汞开采黄金已成为全球数百万穷人生存的主要手段。对 ASGM 工人人数的估计差异很大；一项 2018 年的统计显示，有 1600 万矿工分布在 70 多个国家，主要在亚洲、非洲和南美洲。2 他们大多在所谓的非正规行业工作，这意味着他们既不受政府监管，也不受政府保护。据估计，ASGM 贡献了全球 17–20% 的黄金。2 这是一个主要由贫困驱动的现代淘金热，ASGM 工人代表了社会上最脆弱的个体。据估算，在这项领域工作的妇女和儿童多达 500 万。3截至 2019 年 11 月，已有 113 个国家和欧盟成为《水俣公约》缔约国，这意味着它们同意受公约义务的约束。另有 41 个国家签署了该公约，这意味着它们有意向最终成为缔约方。31 个国家正在实施应对 ASGM 排放的《国家行动计划》（National Action Plans）。(另外 4 个国家—刚果民主共和国、厄立特里亚、吉尔吉斯斯坦和缅甸，也在解决 ASGM 排放问题，尽管它们既不是缔约国，也不是签约方。) Map: © MapChart.net; country listings: UNEP (2019).11缔约国阿富汗安提瓜和巴布达阿根廷亚美尼亚奥地利比利时贝宁玻利维亚博茨瓦纳巴西保加利亚布基纳法索*加拿大乍得智利中国哥伦比亚刚果共和国*哥斯达黎加科特迪瓦克罗地亚古巴捷克丹麦吉布提多米尼加共和国厄瓜多尔*萨尔瓦多爱沙尼亚埃斯瓦蒂尼*欧盟芬兰法国加蓬*冈比亚德国加纳*几内亚*几内亚比绍圭亚那*洪都拉斯*匈牙利冰岛印度印度尼西亚*伊朗爱尔兰牙买加日本约旦基里巴斯科威特老挝人民民主共和国*拉脱维亚黎巴嫩莱索托列支敦士登立陶宛卢森堡马达加斯加*马里*马耳他马绍尔群岛毛里求斯墨西哥摩尔多瓦摩纳哥蒙古*黑山纳米比亚荷兰尼加拉瓜尼日尔*尼日利亚*挪威帕劳巴勒斯坦巴拿马巴拉圭*秘鲁*葡萄牙罗马尼亚卢旺达*圣基茨和尼维斯圣卢西亚萨摩亚圣多美普林西比沙特阿拉伯塞内加尔*塞舌尔塞拉利昂*新加坡斯洛伐克斯洛文尼亚南非斯里兰卡苏里南*瑞典瑞士阿拉伯叙利亚共和国泰国多哥汤加图瓦卢乌干达*阿拉伯联合酋长国联合王国美国乌拉圭瓦努阿图越南赞比亚*签约国阿尔巴尼亚安哥拉*澳大利亚孟加拉国白俄罗斯布隆迪*柬埔寨喀麦隆中非共和国*塞浦路斯埃塞俄比亚格鲁吉亚希腊危地马拉伊拉克以色列意大利肯尼亚*韩国利比里亚利比亚马拉维马来西亚摩洛哥莫桑比克*尼泊尔新西兰北马其顿巴基斯坦菲律宾波兰俄罗斯塞尔维亚西班牙苏丹坦桑尼亚*突尼斯土耳其委内瑞拉也门津巴布韦**有参与《国家行动计划》解决ASGM问题的国家ASGM 也是全球最大的汞污染源，据估计，它占全球大气汞排放量的近三分之一。4 “这是一个巨大的汞来源，也是一个巨大的健康问题。但对于那些没有太多其他工作机会的农村贫困人口来说，这也是一个巨大的经济机会，” 自然资源保护协会（Natural Resources Defense Council）高级环境分析师、联合国环境规划署全球汞伙伴关系（United Nations Environment Programme’s Global Mercury Partnership）ASGM 地区联合负责人 Susan Keane 说道。根据《水俣公约》（Minamata Convention）关于汞的规定（一项减少全球汞使用的国际条约），参与国必须制定《国家行动计划》，减少和消除本国境内的汞源。5 对一些国家来说，这包括 ASGM。Keane 和其他卫生以及政策专家认为，在发展中国家减少 ASGM 中汞的使用将是一项挑战。然而，如果处理得当，可能会对环境、人类健康和解决全球贫困问题产生积极影响。一种全球性污染物几个世纪以来，医生和科学家都知道汞对健康的危害。例如，欧洲制帽工人早在 17 世纪就出现颤抖和谵妄等神经症状，因为他们将兔皮浸入装有硝酸汞的大桶中，以使兔毛变硬。6 当时汞中毒被视为一种职业危害。后来，20 世纪中叶的一个历史性事件引起了人们对汞这一公共卫生问题的关注。1956 年，调查人员确定，日本的水俣湾（Minamata Bay）因工业倾倒造成了高水平甲基汞污染，导致数千人出现严重的身体畸形和神经问题，其中包括母亲食用了水俣湾鱼类的婴儿。7 在水俣事故发生后近 40 年， “人们认为，只有暴露于高剂量的汞才会遭受其不利影响。” 南丹麦大学流行病学家、哈佛大学环境健康兼职教授 Philippe Grandjean 说道。研究人员后来证明，这一主流观点是错误的。Grandjean 本人在法罗群岛（the Faroe Islands，一个介于挪威和冰岛之间的群岛）的研究是最早将甲基汞暴露与据信安全剂量下的大脑功能轻微衰退联系起来的研究之一。8 更重要的是，在法罗群岛没有主要的污染工业可以解释鲸鱼肉中的甲基汞污染的原因，鲸鱼肉是法罗村民的主要暴露来源。研究人员开始研究汞是如何在环境中移动的。释放到空气中的汞元素几乎可以传播到世界各地，最终散落在土壤或水中。一旦着陆，或者通过工业活动直接释放到土壤或水中，汞可以被微生物转化为甲基汞，甲基汞在水生生物中累积，并沿着海洋食物链向上移动。9 这意味着在地球的某一个地方排放的汞有可能毒害数千英里以外的野生动物和人类。“意识到 [汞] 污染了全球的海鲜供应引发了国际间开始讨论如何应对这一问题。” Grandjean 说道。汞污染不再被视为任何一个国家可以单独解决的地方性或区域性问题。10这一认识最终促使在 2013 年通过的《水俣公约》中落实了一项国际协议，即缔约方承诺控制或消除汞排放和从各种工业来源（包括燃煤电厂和垃圾焚烧）的释放，并逐步淘汰含有毒金属的某些产品（如电池、灯泡、化妆品和杀虫剂）。5 截至 2019 年 11 月，该公约共有 114 个缔约方，其规则于 2017 年生效。11在全矿石汞齐化过程中，含金岩石被压碎，然后与汞元素结合，从而 将金颗粒与其它矿物分离。由此产生的汞-金汞合金球被加热使汞蒸发。蒸发后会留下一块多孔的半纯 “海绵金”，之后会被提炼成纯金。Images, left to right: © Kemal Jufri/Panos Pictures; © Kemal Jufri/Panos Pictures; © Artisanal Gold Council.与以往的国际环境条约侧重于污染物不同—如 2001 年限制使用持久性有机污染物的《斯德哥尔摩公约》（Stockholm Convention）或 1997 年减少 6 种不同温室气体排放的《京都议定书》（Kyoto Protocol）—《水俣公约》偏重于一种夕阳化学物质。这些化学物质被认为对人类健康和环境极其有害，国际社会认为 “这些化学品应该被淘汰，” Grandjean 解释说。ASGM 中汞的使用2013 年，当谈判代表们在水俣市会面时，所有人都在关注燃煤发电厂，因为它是汞排放的主要来源。然而，大多数代表后来惊讶地发现，ASGM 实际上是世界上最大的汞污染源，Keane 说道。此外，ASGM 造成的汞污染持续上升，与贫困加剧和经济发展停滞密切相关。4对于矿工们来说汞既便宜又很容易得到。它在 ASGM 中使用的数量和用途多种多样，这取决于区域地质、文化偏好和操作规模等因素。3 最危险和广泛使用的做法之一是一种称为全矿石汞齐化的技术。在此过程中，岩石和矿石被手工碾碎成粗砂，然后加入电动磨机与液态汞混合数小时。汞通过形成汞和金的汞合金（合金），从碾碎的矿石中提取金粒。汞合金会形成致密的实心球体，汞的百分比通常为 40–80%，3 可以很容易地用手从碎石中分离出来。为了从汞合金中回收黄金，矿工们会加热金属球使水银蒸发—通常是在室内，通风条件很差。在一些地方，矿工可能会将其汞合金送到村庄的集中处理中心，在那里进行汞蒸馏是收费的。3在某些情况下，蒸发的汞会被回收，南澳大利亚弗林德斯大学 (Flinders University) 研究 ASGM 技术的合成化学科学家 Justin Chalker 表示。然而，在这一阶段，ASGM 中的大部分汞直接流失到环境中。 “即使它被回收，” Chalker说， “也只能用于少量次数的黄金提取，因为它被氧化了，不能有效地捕获黄金。”蒸馏过程会导致异常高浓度的汞蒸汽，Chalker 说道。通常情况下，如果没有采取任何措施防止汞吸入，会对矿工和居住在加工设施周围居民造成大脑和神经损伤、肾脏损伤以及其他一些健康问题。12 除了吸入的危害外，蒸发的汞还会沉积在地表水和土壤中，继而转化为甲基汞，形成不同的暴露途径。与此同时，从混合物中取出汞合金球后留下的剩余尾矿（即碎矿、水和汞）通常直接排放到水道中。在某些情况下，尾矿被放在装有氰化物溶液的大槽中进一步处理，以便在释放到环境之前提取更多的未回收的黄金。3《水俣公约》的第一步《水俣公约》在减少 ASGM 中汞使用方面没有具体的时间表。那些认为在本国境内 ASGM 的活动已超过 “微不足道” 水平的国家（公约中没有具体的界定）13 必须通知秘书处，他们将有3年时间制定《国家行动计划》。据信拥有ASGM 的国家多达 70 多个，波士顿大学国际关系副教授、《水俣公约》汞效力评估委员会（Mercury Effectiveness Evaluation Committee）的专家观察员 Henrik Selin 表示。《水俣公约》鼓励各国考虑将 ASGM 合法化或正规化。正规化有许多潜在的好处，包括更好地监督工人和环境条件，为矿工提供更多的工作保障，以及提高行业以可持续方式发展的可能性。在这张照片里，贝克山矿业金属公司（Mt. Baker Mining and Metals）的 Jason Gaber 正在为一群肯尼亚的政府官员和矿业代表演示如何使用摇床来实现 ASGM 的正规化。Image: © Mt. Baker Mining and Metals.在《水俣公约》之前，许多国家已完全禁止了ASGM，或者至少在该行业中禁止使用汞。这些努力在很大程度上被证明是无效的，部分原因是黄金价格上涨。14 “相反，我们看到的是在过去 20 年里 ASGM 活动在非正规行业出现爆炸式增长，矿工基本上是在违法经营。” Selik 解释说。在某些情况下，一些国家正试图将矿工转移到其他行业。但是，《水俣公约》鼓励有 ASGM 活动的国家考虑将该领域合法化或正规化。15 理论上，正规化将使各国政府和国际社会能够更好的监控 ASGM 对环境的影响，同时为矿工提供 “保有权保障” ，或者在法律的层面上是合法的， “他们因而可以蓬勃发展常规业务，不必担心遭到起诉，” Hilson 解释道。科学和政策专家推论，融资是矿商从汞转向更清洁技术的主要障碍。16 正规化是能够获得许多资金来源的先决条件，Keane 解释说。 “如果你想从银行贷款[例如，购买新设备]，你需要拥有一个银行账户，你需要成为一个正式的实体。” 她说道。然而，将 ASGM 纳入正规经济体系也面临着挑战。政府对非正规行业的监管措施可能会导致动乱，特别是在那些对政府动机极度不信任的国家，Hilson 称。要成功地将ASGM 纳入正规经济体系，需要做的不仅仅是让小规模矿工们更容易获得许可证或购买设备。“正规化的有效性取决于政府同时处理相关发展问题的能力，如青年失业和对农业的支持，” Selin 说。他补充道，一些发展中国家可能缺乏财政和人力资源，或者缺乏政治意愿来处理这样一个复杂的问题，因为其中夹杂着环境和社会因素。变革策略公约还敦促采用能够减少 ASGM 中汞的使用和排放的技术，并取代全矿石汞齐化。如果实施得当，这些技术和方法不仅可以减少汞的释放和排放，还可以提高黄金提取过程的效率，从而带来利润。 “改变手工采矿区做法的唯一方法是确保矿工能看到明显的短期经济效益，” Chalker 说。例如，可以增加蒸馏器或冷凝装置，以帮助回收液态汞，以便在汞蒸馏过程中重复使用，同时还可以降低人们在采矿区中暴露于汞蒸气。高效和低成本的磨矿设备、水闸、摇床和其他重力分离技术可以帮助矿工浓缩黄金和提高产量，同时使用较少的汞。3 使用汞的手工采矿方法通常能从矿石中获得 30–40% 的可采黄金，17 而重量测量设备提供的黄金是这种方法的两到三倍，贝克山矿业金属公司（Mt. Baker Mining and Metals）的共同共有人、联合创始人Jason Gaber 说道。这家总部位于美国的设备制造商与非政府组织（NGOs）合作，致力于在整个非洲引进摇床。小规模的能力建设项目提供了一个良好的开端，联合国环境规划署（UNEP）化学品和废物部项目官员 Kenneth Davis 说道。例如，在 2015 年和 2016 年，UNEP 与印度尼西亚非政府组织合作，建立了一个培训中心，在东爪哇（East Java）培训矿工使用无汞技术。18 在布基纳法索（Burkina Faso）和塞内加尔，加拿大的非营利机构手工黄金协会（Artisanal Gold Council）组织了一项名为2公斤模型（2 Kilogram Model）的试点项目。这个项目演示了小规模矿工的有组织的合作社如何用大约 2 公斤黄金的成本来偿还新的重量测量设备和培训的费用（价值 7 万-20 万美元），这是他们预计在 40 个工作日内使用改进技术能提取的数量。17然而，让矿工们意识到汞的危害以及还有更好的开采方法仍然是关键的挑战。例如，在秘鲁亚马逊地区的马德雷德迪奥斯（Madre de Dios）矿区，自 16 世纪西班牙殖民者引入汞齐化技术以来，这一直是提取贵金属的流行方法。19 汞与文化有着强烈而正面的联系，加州大学欧文分校的人类学家、在马德雷德迪奥斯的 ASGM 社区工作的 Ruth Goldstein 解释道。 “在人们的概念中汞富有魔力。他们根本不相信如此美丽的东西会有危险或有毒，” 她说。即使矿工们了解甲基汞对健康和环境的影响，对贫困工人而言，思考未来不是他们能享受的奢侈品，Hilson 说道。 “这些人在寻求最基本的生存空间。如果你是一个贫穷的农民，一天下来靠这 2 克黄金来购买食物或送孩子上学，你就不太可能尝试使用摇床或新的重力技术，” 他说。UNEP 和手工黄金协会（Artisanal Gold Council）等组织正在教导矿工如何将相对廉价的技术和简单的方法融入到他们的工作中，以便在减少汞暴露的同时，他们仍可以继续谋生，甚至过上更好的生活。Image: © Artisanal Gold Council.减少 ASGM 的汞排放是一个需要数年时间的过程，在印度尼西亚这样的大国（估计有 25 万 ASGM 经营者2）和在圭亚那这样的小国（估计有 2.8 万名矿工2），这个过程可能会非常不同，Keane 说道。每 3 年，《水俣公约》缔约方必须报告其实现目标的进展情况。遵守《国家行动计划》是公约跟踪进展的一种方式，尽管目前还不清楚如何判断其有效性。例如，2018 年发表在《环境与健康展望》（Environmental Health Perspectives）上的一篇综述的作者认为，全球所有人口都暴露于一定数量的汞，但许多地区的数据有限，妨碍了循证的决策。9效能评估预计将成为 2019 年 11 月在瑞士日内瓦举行的《水俣公约》第三次缔约方会议的主要讨论议题。如果这些国家未能在规定的时限内实现其目标，国际社会可能会介入监督活动并执行最后期限，Keane 说道。这并不意味着要让那些没有达标的国家感到羞愧，她说： “重点应该是确定援助机制，以支持这些国家更好地开展工作。”Lindsey Konkel，居住在新泽西，记者，专门撰写科学、健康和环境相关的文章。

Subchronic Noise and Metabolism: Rodent Model Identifies Potential Mechanistic Links.

Vol. 128, No. 3 Science SelectionOpen AccessSubchronic Noise and Metabolism: Rodent Model Identifies Potential Mechanistic Linksis accompanied byImpacts of Subchronic, High-Level Noise Exposure on Sleep and Metabolic Parameters: A Juvenile Rodent Model Silke Schmidt Silke Schmidt Search for more papers by this author Published:13 March 2020CID: 034004https://doi.org/10.1289/EHP6304View Article in:中文版AboutSectionsPDF ToolsDownload CitationsTrack Citations ShareShare onFacebookTwitterLinked InRedditEmail AbstractMultiple epidemiologic studies1,2,3 have linked chronic exposure to environmental noise with an increased risk of metabolic disorders, including obesity and diabetes. An experimental study published recently in Environmental Health Perspectives found consistent results in rodents, with gene expression and tissue analyses suggesting potential underlying mechanisms.4Epidemiological evidence has associated chronic noise exposure with metabolic changes, potentially stemming from sleep disturbances. A rat study of noise exposures during regular sleeping hours sought to tease out a mechanism that might explain these observations. Image: © iStockphoto/unoL.Researchers at Université de Picardie Jules Verne in Amiens, France, exposed 12 male Wistar rats to subchronic noise, meaning intermittent noisy periods of relatively long duration. For 37 days, starting at 3 weeks of age, the rats were exposed during their 12-hour sleep period to different sounds at levels comparable to the threshold commonly used in human studies of urban traffic noise. The noise exposure was followed by a noise-free 12-hour active period. Another 12 rats made up the control group.In the two groups of rats, the researchers compared physiologic parameters, sleep patterns, sleep apnea symptoms, post-sacrifice organ weights, and tissue mRNA expression levels of genes that regulate food intake and appetite. The noise-exposed rats consumed more food and water and gained 6% more body weight than the control animals. They also had heavier thymus and adrenal glands. Forebrain (hypothalamus) mRNA expression levels were higher for one gene (the cocaine- and amphetamine-regulated transcript gene, or CART) and lower for another (leptin receptor). Differences in sleep parameters between exposed and nonexposed animals, such as the duration of REM and non-REM sleep, were subtle, and there was no evidence of an effect on apnea during sleep.“Our study’s main finding is that noise exposure during the rest period increased food and water consumption, resulting in body and organ weight gain,” says senior author Amandine Pelletier, a lecturer in physiology. “Similar effects have been observed in human studies.”1,2,3An association between chronic noise exposure and greater thymus weight was previously reported in female adult rats.5 That finding suggested that noise-induced stress may influence metabolic function.6 Another study found that noise exposure increased the adrenal gland production of corticosterone in rats,7 which may lead to hypertrophy of the organ.8 Measuring blood levels of corticosterone and other hormones under a similar exposure protocol would be an interesting next step, says Pelletier.The noise-associated changes in mRNA expression levels may partially explain the observed body weight gain. Leptin is a hormone that inhibits hunger.9,10 The CART gene codes for neuropeptides involved in stress and reward pathways, whose expression is partially regulated by leptin.11 It is plausible that the leptin receptor and CART mRNAs may jointly influence circulating levels of leptin and other hormones, contributing to an increased appetite.Jennifer Teske, an associate professor of nutritional sciences at the University of Arizona in Tucson, who was not involved in the project, notes that an earlier study of rodents12 reported similar associations between noise exposure and weight gain. Recent work in Teske’s lab using female rats also found similar results.13 The current study’s gene expression analysis adds to the body of evidence by suggesting potential underlying mechanisms, she says.Zorana Jovanovic Andersen, a professor of environmental epidemiology at the University of Copenhagen, notes that, given the rat’s life span, the 36-day exposure period mimics long-term exposures that are relevant for human chronic disease development. For Andersen, who also was not involved in the study, the rodent findings are consistent with associations between chronic noise, sleep disturbances, and human diabetes. “The researchers also identified interesting and plausible explanations for these associations,” she says, “pointing at noise-related increased appetite and weight gain as the most relevant pathway.”Silke Schmidt, PhD, writes about science, health, and the environment from Madison, Wisconsin.

Hot Temperatures during Pregnancy: Evidence for an Impact on Fetal Growth.

Hot Temperatures during Pregnancy: Evidence for an Impact on Fetal Growth.

Microplastics in Sea Turtles, Marine Mammals and Humans: A One Environmental Health Perspective.

Microplastics are ubiquitous pollutants in the marine environment and a health concern. They are generated directly for commercial purposes or indirectly from the breakdown of larger plastics. Examining a toxicological profile for microplastics is a challenge due to their large variety of physico-chemical properties and toxicological behavior. In addition to their concentration, other parameters such as polymer type, size, shape and color are important to consider in their potential toxicity. Microplastics can adsorb pollutants such as polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) or metals on their surface and are likely to contain plastic additives that add to their toxicity. The observations of microplastics in seafood increased concern for potential human exposure. Since literature considering microplastics in humans is scarce, using a One Environmental Health approach can help better inform about potential human exposures. Marine mammals and sea turtles are long-lived sentinel species regularly used for biomonitoring the health status of the ocean and share trophic chain and habitat with humans. This review considers the available research regarding microplastic and plastic fiber exposures in humans, marine mammals and turtles. Overall, across the literature, the concentration of microplastics, size, color, shape and polymer types found in GI tract and feces from sea turtles, marine mammals and humans are similar, showing that they might be exposed to the same microplastics profile. Additionally, even if ingestion is a major route of exposure due to contaminated food and water, dermal and inhalation studies in humans have provided data showing that these exposures are also health concerns and more effort on these routes of exposures is needed. In vitro studies looked at a variety of endpoints showing that microplastics can induce immune response, oxidative stress, cytotoxicity, alter membrane integrity and cause differential expression of genes. However, these studies only considered three polymer types and short-term exposures, whereas, due to physiological relevance, prolonged exposures might be more informative.

Spatialized composite indices to evaluate environmental health inequalities: Meeting the challenge of selecting relevant variables

Abstract The wide range of factors involved in environmental health and the complexity of interactions between all environmental determinants require the validation of multidimensional approaches. While the development of composite indices is receiving growing attention by scientists and public authorities, the concept continues to lack transposability and robustness partly due to varying conceptualizations and/or methodologies. This review aims to promote harmonizing practices governing the first step of development of composite index, namely identification and characterization of the dimensions and variables that are included in environmental health indices. A review of available literature (more than 1500 studies) was conducted to identify the composite indices developed to assess territorial determinants from an environmental health perspective. This process made it possible to identify 23 spatialized composite indices and to assess a total of 329 variables. This diversity highlights that the absence of a common framework can lead to a strong subjectivity and limit comparisons between different environmental health indices. The specificity and the availability of certain variables would limit the transposability of indices. In light of current knowledge, this review proposes a consolidated methodological framework based on a categorization of variables into dimensions and sub-dimensions related to heath, environment, social, economics, services and policy. To characterize the sub-dimensions, several variables are possible and can be chosen according to the availability and/or accessibility of the data. The adaptation of a composite index to a specific territory or to a specific issue would then be effective through the included variables. This also aims to be transposable to any spatial unit (country, region, census tract). This work is a first step towards a proposal of guidelines designed to provide a consensual framework that could facilitate the exploitation of environmental health indices. This transparency could also increase the understanding and adoption of these tools by public authorities and general public.

Outdoor air pollution and respiratory health: a bibliometric analysis of publications in peer-reviewed journals (1900 – 2017)

Background: Outdoor air pollution is a major threat to global public health that needs responsible participation of researchers at all levels. Assessing research output is an important step in highlighting national and international contribution and collaboration in a certain field. Therefore, the aim of this study was to analyze globally-published literature in outdoor air pollution – related respiratory health.
 Method: Outdoor air pollution documents related to respiratory health were retrieved from Scopus database. The study period was up to 2017. Mapping of author keywords was carried out using VOSviewer 1.6.6.
 Results: Search query yielded 3635 documents with an h-index of 137. There was a dramatic increase in the number of publications in the last decade of the study period. The most frequently encountered author keywords were: air pollution (835 occurrences), asthma (502 occurrences), particulate matter (198 occurrences), and children (203 occurrences). The United States of America ranked first (1082; 29.8%) followed by the United Kingdom (279; 7. 7%) and Italy (198; 5.4%). Annual research productivity stratified by income and population size indicated that China ranked first (22.2) followed by the USA (18.8). Analysis of regional distribution of publications indicated that the Mediterranean, African, and South-East Asia regions had the least contribution. Harvard University (92; 2.5%) was the most active institution/organization followed the US Environmental Protection Agency (89; 2.4%). International collaboration was restricted to three regions: Northern America, Europe, and Asia. The top ten preferred journals were in the field of environmental health and respiratory health. Environmental Health Perspective was the most preferred journal for publishing documents in outdoor pollution in relation to respiratory health.
 Conclusion: Research on the impact of outdoor air pollution on respiratory health had accelerated lately and is receiving a lot of interest. Global research networks that include countries with high level of pollution and limited resources are highly needed to create public opinion in favor of minimizing outdoor air pollution and investing in green technologies.

Expression of CYP2E1 gene in paint workers occupationally exposed to organic solvents

Benzene (B), toluene (T), ethylbenzene (E) and xylene (X) are used commonly in paint industry, so workers who are a high risk of exposure to organic solvent (VOCs). CYP2E1 gene encodes CYP2E1 which plays an important role in the metabolism and bio-activation of volatile organic compounds. When workers expose to VOCs, their body will have a mechanism to metabolize the toxic. The enhancement of mRNA expression of CYP2E1 is a very sensitive and accurate biological marker, which is the basis for the next study to propose the level of mRNA expression of CYP2E1 gene as a human biological indicator to monitor to workers occupationally exposed to VOCs. In this study, we studied the level of mRNA expression of CYP2E1 gene from 118 participants that including 73 workers of exposed group from the paint factories and 45 workers of non-exposed group from garment factories by using Realtime-PCR with SYBR Green – an asymmetrical cyanine dye used as a nucleic acid stain in molecular biology. The initial results, showed that the exposed group had a higher mRNA expression level of CYP2E1 than the non-exposed group approximately 10.47 times, and this difference was statistically significant (P value < 0.05). And the age and the duration of exposure to organic solvents do not affect the expression level of CYP2E1.
 Keywords
 CYP2E1, the metabolisms of volatile organic compounds, mRNA expression of CYP2E1.
 References
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Assessing Potential Health Impacts of Wind Turbine Noise: A Longitudinal Look at Multiple End Points.

Assessing Potential Health Impacts of Wind Turbine Noise: A Longitudinal Look at Multiple End Points.

探寻城市暴露的社会经济模式

Vol. 127, No. 3 论文导读Open Access探寻城市暴露的社会经济模式 Jori Lewis Jori Lewis Search for more papers by this author Published:15 July 2019CID: 034004https://doi.org/10.1289/EHP4807-zhView Article in:EnglishAboutSectionsPDF ToolsDownload CitationsTrack CitationsCopy LTI LinkHTMLPDF ShareShare onFacebookTwitterLinked InRedditEmail 与其他环境相比，城市的室外环境具有独特的条件。例如，它通常声音更大、空气污染水平更高、绿地更少。1 而且，城市暴露和相关风险在城市内部和城市之间并不是均匀分布，它们可能由家庭的社会或经济地位决定。最近发表在《环境与健康展望》(Environmental Health Perspectives)的一项研究评估了社会经济地位对城市暴露组的影响，包含了 6 个欧洲国家的孕妇在城市环境中经历的暴露总量。2“暴露组（exposome）”一词是由研究员 Christopher Wild 于 2005 年提出的，他将其定义为从胎儿期开始整个生命过程中的环境暴露，包括生活方式因素。3 暴露组概念相对较新，并提出了几种对它评估的方法。该概念旨在激励在流行病学研究中进行更全面的暴露评估，并投资开发新的暴露评估工具和方法。其中包括“组学”方法。4一篇新的论文阐述了在不同国家和城市环境暴露中，其风险因素和预测因子是如何变化的。例如，在美国地区的报告中较低的社会经济地位和较高的空气污染之间的关系一致，而与之相反的是，在欧洲的一些地方富裕群体中暴露率更高。Image: © LeoPatrizi/iStockphoto.该研究的第一作者、伦敦帝国理工学院（Imperial College London）MRC-PHE 环境与健康中心（Centre for Environment and Health）的研究员 Oliver Robinson 认为，这篇文章展示了一个新的城市环境流行病学框架。他说：“我们不再逐个察看[暴露]，而是同时察看多个暴露。” 这使得研究人员能够研究多次暴露的影响，并提高我们对疾病病因的理解。Robinson 说，这些室外因素中有许多是高度相关的，例如，空气污染水平与绿地的可用性和交通密度等因素有关。所以把它们放在一起考虑是很重要的。本文来源于人类早期生活暴露（Human Early Life Exposome，HELIX）项目，这是一项为期5年的合作，该项目汇集了欧洲9个城市的6项基于人群的出生队列研究，以研究暴露与儿童健康、福祉和早期发育之间的关系。5 它使用地理信息系统方法，通过获取家庭和学校的坐标，挖掘可用的市政数据，并使用建模来构建人们经历的暴露概况。他们追踪了近3万名孕妇的28项指标。布法罗大学公共卫生与健康专业学院（University at Buffalo School of Public Health and Health Professions）全球卫生倡议办公室主任 Lina Mu 表示，有了这么多的数据，本文可以帮助研究人员提高对多重环境暴露集体效应的视角。“我们开始讨论暴露组，但实际上要描述整个暴露的特征并不容易，” Mu 说，她没有参与这项研究。“本文提供了一个暴露组和健康结局分析的范例。”分析表明不同城市和社区的暴露程度不同，但很难找到一致的模式。Robinson 说：“这是环境特定的情况，每个国家的模式各不相同。”作者期望找到支持三重危险假说的结果，即贫困社区的人们更容易暴露于环境危害中、更容易生病，从而导致与环境因素有关的健康差异。在许多城市，研究结果确实支持这一假设。但在其他地方，如挪威的奥斯陆，情况恰恰相反，原因尚不清楚。希腊塞萨洛尼基亚里士多德大学（Aristotle University of Thessaloniki）化学工程副教授、多国暴露组项目—基于大规模人口调查的健康和环境协会（Health and Environment-wide Associations Based on Large Population Surveys，HEALS）的协调员 Denis Sarigiannis 表示：“还有更多的环境特定的情况需要考虑。”他说，对每个城市的不同社会和经济背景进行更深入、更多学科的研究可能会有所帮助，并能更好地解释为什么一些城市会遵循三重危险模式，而另一些城市则不会。“如果你在数据分析中没有把环境特定的因素考虑进去，那么你最终会得出相互矛盾的结论，” Sarigiannis 说。这一结论与英国布拉德福德市 (Bradford) 的三重危险相一致，该城市的数据显示，社会经济地位较低的孕妇更容易受到空气污染和噪音的影响，更不容易进入绿地空间。该研究的合著者、布拉德福德出生队列（Born in Bradford，BiB）的负责人 Rosie McEachan 说，BiB 的研究者们正在运用他们所学到的知识来改善受暴露相关不平等影响最大的社区。McEachan 说：“因为我们能够真正表明城市环境与健康和福祉之间的明确联系，这使我们能够与地方当局合作，试着去努力吸引投资，改变城市内部的状况。” BiB 团队正在研究改造公交车的举措，并在需要的地方设计更多的绿地。她说，这一切都是为了改善下一代生活面临的问题。Jori Lewis，居住在塞内加尔的达喀尔，撰写关于环境、农业和国际发展的文章。她目前正在编写一本关于西非花生早期历史的书。