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PubMed2006

Violence-Related Attitudes and Beliefs: scale construction and psychometrics.

The 50-item Violence-Related Attitudes and Beliefs Scale (V-RABS) includes three subscales measuring possible causes of violent behavior (environmental influences, biological influences, and mental illness) and four subscales assessing possible controls of violent behavior (death penalty, punishment, prevention, and catharsis). Each subscale demonstrates good internal consistency and test-retest reliability. Thus, the V-RABS and its component subscales can be valuable research tools for understanding people's beliefs about the causes and controls of violent crime.

Adult↗

PubMed1984

Behavioral, psychological, and environmental predictors of obesity and success at weight reduction.

Several behavioral, psychological, and environmental factors are related to the likelihood that an individual will be obese and to that person's chances of success at weight reduction. This paper identifies ten such factors and proposes that this combination of factors will explain as much of the nonphysiological variance in weight change as current knowledge will permit.

Behavior Therapy↗

PubMed1975

Environmental fate and biodegradability of benzene derivatives as studied in a model aquatic ecosystem.

A model aquatic ecosystem is devised for studying relatively volatile organic compounds and simulating direct discharge of chemical wastes into aquatic ecosystems. Six simple benzene derivatives (aniline, anisole, benzoic acid, chlorobenzene, nitrobenzene, and phthalic anhydride) and other important specialty chemicals: hexachlorobenzene, pentachlorophenol, 2,6-diethylaniline, and 3,5,6-trichloro-2-pyridinol were also chosen for study of environmental behavior and fate in the model aquatic ecosystem. Quantitative relationships of the intrinsic molecular properties of the environmental micropollutants with biological responses are established, e.g., water solubility, partition coefficient, pi constant, sigma constant, ecological magnification, biodegradability index, and comparative detoxication mechanisms, respectively. Water solubility, pi constant, and sigma constant are the most significant factors and control the biological responses of the food chain members. Water solubility and pi constant control the degree of bioaccumulation, and sigma constant limits the metabolism of the xenobiotics via microsomal detoxication enzymes. These highly significant correlations should be useful for predicting environmental fate of organic chemicals.

Animals↗

PubMed2005

A review of tungsten: from environmental obscurity to scrutiny.

Since its discovery, tungsten, a transition element of Group VIb of the Periodic Table of Elements, and its compounds have been considered environmentally benign. Its presence in biological and drinking water samples in Fallon, Nevada, an acute lymphocytic leukemia cluster struck community has alarmed public health, environmental and regulatory agencies. Tungsten, a metal of extraordinary properties that make it hardly substitutable, is considered an essential commodity with a wide variety of uses stretching from household necessities to highly specialized applications. This work is undertaken in order to explore aspects of environmental behavior of tungsten and its compounds. Occurrence data in terrestrial, atmospheric, aquatic and biotic systems are presented. Various aspects of environmental chemistry, fate transport across environmental interfaces and toxicology are discussed with the objective of identifying knowledge gaps and outlining directions for future research.

Animals↗

PubMed2003

Is there hope for the global environment? A discussion of prospective parent corporation liability for a subsidiary's environmental practices abroad.

U.S. parent corporations should be held liable for environmental pollution caused by their foreign subsidiaries. The Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation and Liability Act (CERCLA) already holds parent corporations liable in some ways for pollution caused by domestic subsidiaries. Regulations similar to CERCLA's could be applied extraterritorially and would be facilitated by abrogation of two common law principles: limited liability and forum non conveniens. Extraterritorial application of U.S. environmental regulations would greatly enhance transnational corporations' environmental behavior and facilitate just adjudication of plaintiffs' claims against irresponsible companies. Establishing the corporate parent's liability and upholding U.S. environmental standards in such cases would end many current hazardous practices that create pollution in developing countries.

Journal Article↗

PubMed2003

[Molecules used for therapeutic or diagnostic purposes are micro water polluants].

Molecules used for therapeutic or diagnostic purposes have been identified and quantified in Europe and North America in surface and ground waters used for production of drinking water. When mixed with other organic compounds such as pesticides, hydrocarbons, or plasticizers which may present endocrine-disturbing or genotoxic effects, such molecules may, even in low concentrations, present an ecotoxicological or public health hazard. For this reason, healthcare professionals involved in drug production as well as drug users must take care to limit release of such molecules into the environment. Work on environmental behavior of marketed products and on health hazard assessment must be favored in order to acquire appropriate knowledge of the environmental and health risks.

Pharmaceutical Preparations↗

PubMed2003

[Progress on industrial ecological studies of dry-cleaning process].

The safety assurance of dry cleaning solvent and rational residue criteria of volatile hazardous organic compounds in clothes are vital to clean production and green service in dry cleaning industry. Therefore, the environmental behavior of the enterprises should be regulated and assurance to the human health and the environment through the combination of environmental technologies and economic instruments. Progress on industrial ecological studies of dry-cleaning process was reviewed and the protective strategies and approaches of environmental safety technologies to the sustainable development of dry cleaning were put forward in this paper.

Environmental Health↗

PubMed2006

Predicting the partitioning behavior of various highly fluorinated compounds.

Due to their high degree of fluorination, highly fluorinated compounds (HFCs) have unique substance properties that differ from many other organic contaminants. To predict the environmental behavior of HFCs, models that predict both absorptive and adsorptive partitioning are needed; however, the accuracy of existing models has not heretofore been thoroughly investigated for these compounds. This report has two parts: first we show that a well-established polyparameter linear free energy relationship used to predict experimental adsorption constants underestimates values for HFCs by several orders of magnitude. We found a mechanistic explanation for the model's inaccuracy and adjusted it accordingly. In the second part of this report, we evaluate various models that predict saturated subcooled liquid vapor pressure (pL*), air-water partition constant (Kaw), and the octanol-water partition constant (Kow) based on molecular structure. These parameters are typically required for general environmental fate and transport models. Here, we found that SPARC and COSMOtherm make predictions usually within 1 order of magnitude of the experimental value, while the commonly used EPI SUITE and ClogP perform more inaccurately. The least accurate predictions occurred with ClogP for the fluorotelomer alcohols, where the estimated values were off by 2 to almost 5 orders of magnitude.

Absorption↗

PubMed2004

Identification of the flame retardant decabromodiphenyl ethane in the environment.

The brominated flame retardant decabromodiphenyl ethane, DeBDethane, is marketed as an alternative to decabromodiphenyl ether, BDE209. There are currently no data available about the presence of DeBDethane in the environment. In this study, DeBDethane was positively identified by high-resolution mass spectrometry and quantified by low-resolution mass spectrometry with electron capture negative ionization in sewage sludge, sediment, and indoor air. It was found in 25 of the 50 Swedish sewage treatment plants investigated, with estimated levels up to about 100 ng/g dry weight. The concentration of DeBDethane in sediment from Western Scheldt in The Netherlands was 24 ng/g dry weight, and in an air sample from a Swedish electronics dismantling facility it was 0.6 ng/m3. DeBDethane was also found together with nonabromodiphenyl ethanes in water piping insulation. All samples contained BDE209 in higher concentrations as compared to DeBDethane (DeBDethane/BDE209 ratios ranging from 0.02 to 0.7), probably reflecting the higher and longer usage of BDE209. There is an ongoing risk assessment within the European Union regarding BDE209. Since DeBDethane has similar applications, it is important to investigate its environmental behavior before using it to replace BDE209.

Bromobenzenes↗

PubMed2004

Cognitive-behavioral group therapy for insomnia in individuals with serious mental illnesses: a preliminary evaluation.

Chronic insomnia is a problem among individuals with serious mental illnesses. In an effort to expand treatment options, we examined whether well-established cognitive-behavioral treatments for insomnia developed for individuals in the general population generalize to those for people with serious mental illnesses. Individuals participated in comprehensive sleep evaluations and cognitive-behavioral therapy. Results suggest that sleep problems often began during periods of distress and/or exacerbation of illness but were maintained by environmental, behavioral, and cognitive factors. With the treatment, participants reported improvement in many sleep parameters. Initial indication is that cognitive-behavioral therapy does generalize. More rigorous research seems warranted.

Chronic Disease↗

PubMed1998

Why do women have rheumatic disease?

If gonadal hormones are responsible for the female predominance (gender discrepancy, sexual dimorphism) that characterizes most autoimmune rheumatic diseases, pregnancy should be a particularly vulnerable period for onset of new disease as well as for exacerbation of established disease. Currently available data support neither the contention: that pregnancy increases incidence nor that it worsens severity of the common illnesses. Moreover, many illnesses pathogenetically similar to rheumatic diseases have the same hormonal background but are not characterized by sexual dimorphism. In nonrheumatic sexually dimorphic illnesses an environmental, behavioral, or genetic reason for gender discrepancy is usually present. To explain sexual dimorphism in the autoimmune rheumatic diseases, the fields of environmental, genetic, chromosomal, and in utero sex differentiation need further exploration.

Female↗

PubMed2026

Harnessing survey data across multiple demographic groups in Illinois to assess survey questions and reveal insights about ticks and tick-borne disease risk: a meta-comparison study.

BACKGROUND: Ticks and tick-borne diseases (TTBDs) are major public and veterinary health issues, existing at the intersection of behavioral, environmental, ecological, climatic, and entomological factors. Knowledge, attitudes, and practices (KAP) surveys have become an insightful tool to yield information regarding the behavioral factors that can predispose individuals to TTBDs. Here we present a unique meta-comparison study of six KAP surveys on TTBDs conducted in Illinois among various demographics: farmers, Extension workers, general public, veterinary, human medicine, and public health professionals. Our goals were multi-fold: (a) to develop an approach to compare KAP surveys used across several stakeholders on a subject of public health concern (i.e., TTBD risk), (b) to analyze the usefulness of questions for revealing information on TTBDs across varied demographic groups in Illinois, and (c) to reveal qualitative insights from the open text survey responses across these surveyed groups. METHODS: We conducted comparative and item response theory (IRT) analysis of all the surveyed questions, which yielded a final set of 39 questions on knowledge and practices, most of them with discriminatory power. Independent textual analysis of the survey responses led to the development of eight separate sub-categories across three main super categories: ticks and tick-borne disease (TBD) risk, TBD treatment and management, and TBD prevention. RESULTS: This study not only introduces a novel approach for comparing multiple KAP surveys on the topic of TTBDs, but also highlights gaps regarding TTBD knowledge, perceptions, and prevention measures among a variety of stakeholders and calls for tailored training and awareness campaigns to reduce the burden of TBDs in the Midwestern US. This meta-comparison approach unveils additional insights from the combined analyses of the KAP surveys. We also discuss perspectives of the surveyed demographics, their experiences with TTBDs, and provide recommendations for future public health efforts. CONCLUSION: These results can guide public health campaigns around TBDs in the United States and help reduce the increasing burden of TBDs on humans and animals.

Animals↗

PubMed1990

Environmental and health risks of hydroquinone.

Hazard assessment of hydroquinone has been evaluated from bibliographical and original data on the physicochemical properties, the environmental behavior, and the biological effects of this aromatic compound. Hydroquinone, which is produced in large amounts and widely used, must be considered as an environmental contaminant. However, it is not persistent. The ecotoxicity of this molecule, which must be linked to its physicochemical properties, varies from species to species. Its acute and chronic toxicity toward higher terrestrial organisms is moderate. Hydroquinone is estimated to be nonmutagenic by the Ames test but induces chromosome aberrations or karyotypic effects in eucaryotic cells. Carcinogenic and teratogenic potentials have been at present inadequately studied. The study underlines the complementarity of QSAR models and experimental approaches when an attempt is made to obtain ecotoxicological profiles of pollutants.

Animals↗

PubMed2000

The development of the Cultural Health Attributions Questionnaire (CHAQ).

Current general health belief measures that are used to assess health behaviors do not capture the full range of health beliefs present among Latinos. The purpose of this study was to develop a reliable and valid measure of Latino health beliefs, the Cultural Health Attributions Questionnaire (CHAQ). Three hundred forty participants were recruited in 2 metropolitan areas with large Latino populations. Exploratory factor analysis revealed 2 highly interpretable 12-item subscales: the Equity Attribution and the Behavioral-Environmental Attribution scales. Examination of the relationships between the subscales and measures of acculturation provided evidence of construct validity. Moreover, the prediction of health care behavior by the CHAQ also indicated initial criterion validity.

Acculturation↗

PubMed2004

Degradation of RPA 202248 [U-14C-phenyl]alpha(-(cyclopropylcarbonyl)-2-(methylsulfonyl)-beta-oxo-4-(trifluromethyl)benzenepropanenitrile), the primary degradation product of isoxaflutole, in an outdoor aquatic microcosm system.

Isoxaflutole, the active ingredient in BALANCE WDG and BALANCE PRO corn herbicides and a co-formulant with the herbicide flufenacet in the product EPIC, is readily degraded in soil and water to RPA 202248 alpha(-(cyclopropylcarbonyl)-2-(methyvlsulfonyl)-beta-oxo-4-(trifluromethyl)benzenepropanenitrile). Because RPA 202248 is responsible at the molecular level for isoxaflutole's herbicidal activity it is important to understand the environmental behavior of the degradation product. Laboratory studies suggest that RPA 202248 is stable to hydrolysis and photolysis in aqueous systems and hence poses a possible environmental concern. As part of a program of work towards understanding the actual field situation, an outdoor microcosm study was carried out. Over the course of the 29-day study, residues remained predominantly in the aqueous phase. A slow but steady degradation of RPA 202248 was observed leading to the formation of RPA 203328 (2-methylsulfonyl-4-trifluoromethylbenzoic acid), which has no herbicidal activity. The half-life of RPA 202248 was calculated to be 103 days. These findings indicate that aqueous degradation should be considered as a potential route of dissipation when assessing the fate of RPA 202248 in large scale impounded water bodies, such as ponds, lakes, or reservoirs in the Mid-West Corn Belt.

Carbon Radioisotopes↗

PubMed1998

Why women?

This article examines common suppositions about the reasons for female predominance (gender discrepancy, sexual dimorphism) in the autoimmune rheumatic diseases. It suggests that estrogenic hormones are an insufficient explanation. Many illnesses similar to rheumatic diseases are not characterized by sexual dimorphism, nor by evident autoimmunity, yet the populations affected have the same hormonal background. In most other illnesses that are sexually dimorphic, an environmental, behavioral, or genetic reason is present. It is likely that rheumatic illnesses will have similar explanations. For the autoimmune rheumatic diseases, further work in the fields of environmental, genetic, chromosomal, and in utero sex differentiation is indicated.

Autoimmune Diseases↗

PubMed1987

Sources and behavior of technetium in the environment.

Technetium is a man-made element produced in increasing amounts during the last decades. The chemical and physical properties of some technetium compounds are considered, and a discussion of possible source terms is included. Literature on the environmental behavior of technetium is reviewed to evaluate its transfer and equilibrium distribution in aquatic and terrestrial ecosystems. Considerable effort has been expended in the last years in order to understand the biogeochemical processes responsible for the long-term behavior of technetium in the environment and its transfer through food chains as well as to identify critical pathways of the long-lived radioisotope Tc-99 from the environment to man.

Environmental Pollution↗

PubMed2003

Behavior of the polycyclic musks HHCB and AHTN in lakes, two potential anthropogenic markers for domestic wastewater in surface waters.

The synthetic polycyclic musks HHCB and AHTN are potential chemical markers for domestic wastewater contamination of surface waters. Understanding their environmental behavior is important to evaluate their suitability as markers. This study focuses on the quantification of the processes that lead to an elimination in lakes. Rate constants for all relevant processes were estimated based on laboratory studies and models previously described. In lake Zurich, during winter time, both compounds are eliminated primarily by outflowing water and due to losses to the atmosphere. In summer, direct photolysis represents the predominant elimination process for AHTN in the epilimnion of lake Zurich (quantum yield, 0.12), whereas for HHCB, photochemical degradation is still negligible. HHCB and AHTN were then measured in effluents of Swiss wastewater treatment plants (WWTPs), in remote and anthropogenically influenced Swiss surface waters, and in Mediterranean seawater using an analytical procedure based on SPE and GC-MS-SIM with D6-HHCB as internal standard (LODs for natural waters, 2 and 1 ng/L, respectively). In winter, concentrations of HHCB and AHTN in lakes (<2-47 and <1-18 ng/L, respectively) correlated with the anthropogenic burden by domestic wastewater (ratio population per water throughflow), demonstrating the suitability of these compounds as quantitative, source-specific markers. In summer, however, no such correlations were observed. Vertical concentration profiles in lake Zurich indicated significant losses in the epilimnion during summer, mainly for AHTN, and could be rationalized with a lake modeling program (MASASlight), considering measured, average loads from WWTP effluents (0.80 +/- 0.22 and 0.32 +/- 0.11 mg person(-1) d(-1) for HHCB and AHTN, respectively) and the estimated rate constants for elimination processes.

Benzopyrans↗