Journal of environment and health sciences最新文献

Several studies have implicated immune system disruption in the pathophysiology of GWI. In addition, alterations in brain structure and functioning have been associated with specific exposures in theater, including pyridostigmine bromide and nerve gas agents. Recent studies conducted up to 25 years after the 1991 conflict have examined factors associated with the continuation or worsening of GWI. Drawing upon published studies of neural and immune system abnormalities in veterans with GWI, this paper proposes a model of GWI that takes into account neurologic and immunologic pathways, neuroimmune mechanisms of disease pathophysiology, individual predisposition due to sex and genetic background, and comorbid factors including neurological conditions such as neuritis/neuralgia and epilepsy that may occur along a continuum with GWI. The proposed neuroimmune model of GWI is likely to be useful for designing new research studies, clarifying factors involved in the continuation or worsening of GWI, and identifying biomarker screening algorithms for the illness. The proposed model goes beyond previously proposed frameworks for GWI by taking into account potential differences in risk based upon female vs. male sex, time elapsed since exposure to neurotoxicants, duration and severity of illness, comorbid conditions, and genotype.

Introduction: In the 25 years since the 1990-1991 Gulf War (GW), studies have evaluated Gulf War Illness (GWI), sometimes referred to as medically unexplained multi symptom illness, and other medical and neurological conditions in women GW veterans.

Materials and methods: In this article, we review epidemiologic studies of the health of women who served in the 1990-1991 GW based upon bibliographic searches in PubMed and CINAHL with relevant search terms through September 2015.

Results: A total of 56 articles were identified in the bibliographic searches. By screening abstracts or full-text articles, a total of 21 relevant studies were identified. Results from some studies, but not all, suggest that GWI is more common in women GW veterans than their male counterparts. Few studies of GW veterans focused on women's health. A small number of studies suggested excess rates of woman's health problems, e.g., breast cysts, abnormal Papanicolaou (Pap) smears, yeast infections, and bladder infections. Several studies have identified significantly elevated rates of birth defects and adverse reproductive outcomes among GW veterans. However, findings have varied with different study designs and sample sizes, with some studies showing elevated risks of stillbirths, miscarriages, and/or birth defects and others have not. In some studies, participants reported increased risks of ectopic pregnancies and spontaneous abortions.

Conclusion: Further research is needed to provide a comprehensive picture of the health of women GW veterans and to examine a broad range of women's health issues including adverse reproductive outcomes. Some deployment-related health problems only become apparent decades later and other conditions may worsen or improve over time. Assessments are needed of current health status, changes in health symptoms and conditions over time, and possible differences in health outcomes associated with specific experiences and exposures during the war. Future studies would be strengthened by assessing GWI symptom patterns that may be specific to women veterans, examine diagnosed medical conditions among women veterans, and evaluate changes in women's health over time, including changes potentially associated with menopause and age.

According to Mine Safety and Health Administration (MSHA) data, during 2008-2012 in the U.S., there were, on average, 65 lost-time accidents per year during routine mining and maintenance activities involving remote-controlled continuous mining machines (CMMs). To address this problem, the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) is currently investigating the implementation and integration of existing and emerging technologies in underground mines to provide automated, intelligent proximity detection (iPD) devices on CMMs. One research goal of NIOSH is to enhance the proximity detection system by improving its capability to track and determine identity, position, and posture of multiple workers, and to selectively disable machine functions to keep workers and machine operators safe. Posture of the miner can determine the safe working distance from a CMM by way of the variation in the proximity detection magnetic field. NIOSH collected and analyzed motion capture data and calculated joint angles of the back, hips, and knees from various postures on 12 human subjects. The results of the analysis suggests that lower body postures can be identified by observing the changes in joint angles of the right hip, left hip, right knee, and left knee.

Background: Although many wearable devices for monitoring and tracking physical activity are available to consumers, relatively few research studies have been conducted to determine their efficacy in promoting health.

Methods: In this article, data on the use of consumer wearable devices in promoting healthy behaviors are summarized based upon bibliographic searches in PubMed and Psychology and Behavioral Sciences Collection with relevant search terms through September 2016.

Results: A total of 274 articles were identified in the bibliographic searches. By screening abstracts or full-text articles, six pre/post test trials and seven randomized controlled trials were identified. In initial trials, consumer wearable devices have been shown to increase physical activity and help users lose weight. However, the number of studies completed to date is small and limited by small sample sizes, short study durations, and uncertain generalizability of the findings.

Conclusions: Future studies should utilize randomized controlled trial research designs, larger sample sizes, and longer study periods to better establish the efficacy of wearable devices in promoting physical activity. Additional research is needed to determine the feasibility and effectiveness of wearable devices in promoting physical activity and weight loss in community settings including communities affected by health disparities. Studies focusing on children and adolescents are also needed.

Rates of lymphoma are rising rapidly and lymphoma is now the ninth most common cancer among Chinese males. The China Lymphoma Project was founded to increase awareness of lymphoma in China, including the survivability of the disease and the availability of potentially life-saving treatments, and to provide social support for men, women, and children in China who are living with the disease. The project is working with China government officials, several of the top cancer hospitals in China and the U.S., internationally known oncologists and cancer researchers, pharmaceutical and biotech companies in China and the U.S., healthcare and environmental companies, the Confucius Institute at San Diego State University, and the Asian Heritage Society. Advances in e-Health are being utilized to provide patient education and social support. The project will provide free e-books that profile lymphoma survivors (e.g., Kai-Fu Lee, creator of Google China), new videos, websites, pamphlets, blogs, video logs (vlogs), peer-to-peer counseling and support, and information about the latest treatments and oncology clinical trials.

This is a comprehensive review about the role of direct and second hand cigarette smoke exposure in the development of childhood asthma. Smoking, both during pregnancy and postnatal have an adverse impact on the infant's chances of developing respiratory illness. Second hand smoke exposure has also known to cause worsening of childhood asthma with an impact on hospital admissions. Correlation between maternal second hand smoke exposure during pregnancy and development of childhood asthma has also been investigated. It is, thus essential to address this prenatally as well as post-natal by reducing smoking as well as smoke exposure.