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Increase Exposure (increase + exposure)

Distribution by Scientific Domains

Medical Sciences	50%
Life Sciences	50%

Selected Abstracts

Incidence of Cancer Among Female Flight Attendants: A Meta-Analysis

JOURNAL OF TRAVEL MEDICINE, Issue 3 2006
Osamu Tokumaru MD
Background Airline flight personnel work in a unique environment with exposure to known or suspected carcinogens and mutagens including ionizing cosmic radiation. A meta-analysis was conducted to study whether the occupational exposure of female flight attendants (FA) increased their relative risk of cancer incidence. Methods A bibliographical computer search from 1966 to 2005 of cancer incidence cohort studies of female FA was performed. Combined relative risks (RRc) in cancer incidence were calculated by means of meta-analysis. Results RRc and 95% confidence interval (CI) for malignant melanoma and breast cancer in female FA were 2.13 (95% CI: 1.58,2.88) and 1.41 (1.22,1.62) (p < 0.0001). Excess risk was not significant for all-site cancer with RRc of 1.10 (0.99,1.21). Conclusions The meta-analysis confirmed the significantly increased risks for malignant melanoma and breast cancer in female FA. Increased exposure to cosmic radiation during flight has been suggested as a potential occupational risk factor. Ultraviolet radiation exposure on board seems an unlikely occupational risk, but nonoccupational leisure time sun exposure is a possible risk factor. The etiology of the observed increase in incidence of some cancers remains controversial because assessment of possible confounders, especially nonoccupational exposure factors, has thus far been limited. [source]

Cryptic diversity and patterns of host specificity in trematode flatworms

MOLECULAR ECOLOGY, Issue 13 2010
ALEXANDER HAYWARD
The widespread utilization of molecular markers has revealed that a broad spectrum of taxa contain sets of morphologically cryptic, but genetically distinct lineages (Bickford et al. 2007). The identification of cryptic taxa is important as an accurate appreciation of diversity is crucial for a proper understanding of evolutionary and ecological processes. An example is the study of host specificity in parasitic taxa, where an apparent generalist may be found to contain a complex of several more specific species (Smith et al. 2006). Host specificity is a key life history trait that varies greatly among parasites (Poulin & Keeney 2007). While some can exploit a wide range of hosts, others are confined to just a single species. Access to additional hosts increases the resources available to a parasite. However, physiological or ecological constraints can restrict the extension of host range. Furthermore, there may be a trade-off between relaxed specificity and performance: generalism can decrease a parasites ability to adapt to each individual host species, and increase exposure to competition from other parasites (Poulin 1998). Despite the central role that host specificity plays in parasite life history, relatively little is known about how host range is determined in natural systems, and data from field studies are required to evaluate among competing ideas. In this issue, an exciting paper by Locke et al. (2010) makes a valuable contribution toward the understanding of host specificity in an important group of trematode flatworms. Using molecular methods, Locke et al. reveal an almost four-fold increase in the appreciated diversity of their focal group. In combination with a large and elegant sampling design this allows them to accurately assess host specificity for each taxon, and thus draw key insights into the factors that control host range in a dominant parasite group. [source]

Paleopathology and the origin of agriculture in the Levant

AMERICAN JOURNAL OF PHYSICAL ANTHROPOLOGY, Issue 1 2010
Vered Eshed
Abstract This study addresses changes in health which were consequential to the Neolithic transition in the southern Levant, judged on the basis of the study of specific and nonspecific stress indicators, trauma, and degenerative joint disease in 200 Natufian (hunter-gatherer) skeletons (10,500,8300 BC) and 205 Neolithic (agricultural) skeletons (8300,5500 BC) from the southern Levant. The comparison of the health profiles of pre-Neolithic (Natufian) and Neolithic populations reveals a higher prevalence of lesions indicative of infectious diseases among the Neolithic population, and an overall reduction in the prevalence of skull trauma among males. No change over time was observed in the prevalence of degenerative joint disease. These results indicate that in the southern Levant the Neolithic transition did not simply lead to an overall deterioration in health but rather resulted in a complex health profile which was shaped by 1) an increase exposure to disease agents, 2) changes in diet, 3) population aggregation in larger and denser settlements, 4) changes in activity patterns and the division of labor, and possibly 5) a higher resistant immunological system and response capacity to environmental aggressions (mainly infections). Am J Phys Anthropol 143:121,133, 2010. © 2010 Wiley-Liss, Inc. [source]

A Randomized, Double-Blind, Pharmacokinetic Study of Oral Maribavir with Tacrolimus in Stable Renal Transplant Recipients

AMERICAN JOURNAL OF TRANSPLANTATION, Issue 10 2009
M. D. Pescovitz
Maribavir is being developed as a novel agent for the prevention or treatment of cytomegalovirus infections after stem cell and organ transplantation. This was a randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled study designed to evaluate the potential pharmacokinetic interaction of concomitant administration of maribavir and tacrolimus. Twenty-five adult renal transplant recipients with stable renal function and stable dosing regimens of tacrolimus were randomized (20 maribavir 400 mg p.o. q12 h: 5 placebo). Tacrolimus whole blood concentration profiles were determined before and after 7 days of co-administration with maribavir. When co-administered with maribavir, tacrolimus mean Cmax increased 38%, tacrolimus trough concentrations (12 h post-dose) increased 57% and tacrolimus AUC(0-,) increased 51%. Apparent oral clearance of tacrolimus decreased 34% and Tmax was delayed by 0.5 h. There were no serious adverse events and no subject prematurely discontinued treatment. Because of the limited 7-day dosing course, the adverse event profile could not be adequately assessed. However, as seen with other maribavir studies, dysgeusia was common (90% of maribavir subjects and 20% of placebo subjects). In conclusion, co-administration of maribavir 400 mg twice daily increases exposure to tacrolimus. Routine therapeutic drug monitoring of tacrolimus blood concentrations should be included both at initiation and completion of maribavir treatment. [source]