Long-Term Exposure to Primary Traffic Pollutants and Lung Function in Children: Cross-Sectional Study and Meta-Analysis

Background

There is widespread concern about the possible health effects of traffic-related air pollution. Nitrogen dioxide (NO₂) is a convenient marker of primary pollution. We investigated the associations between lung function and current residential exposure to a range of air pollutants (particularly NO₂, NO, NOx and particulate matter) in London children. Moreover, we placed the results for NO₂ in context with a meta-analysis of published estimates of the association.

Methods and Findings

Associations between primary traffic pollutants and lung function were investigated in 4884 children aged 9–10 years who participated in the Child Heart and Health Study in England (CHASE). A systematic literature search identified 13 studies eligible for inclusion in a meta-analysis. We combined results from the meta-analysis with the distribution of the values of FEV₁ in CHASE to estimate the prevalence of children with abnormal lung function (FEV₁<80% of predicted value) expected under different scenarios of NO₂ exposure. In CHASE, there were non-significant inverse associations between all pollutants except ozone and both FEV1 and FVC. In the meta-analysis, a 10 μg/m³ increase in NO₂ was associated with an 8 ml lower FEV₁ (95% CI: -14 to -1 ml; p: 0.016). The observed effect was not modified by a reported asthma diagnosis. On the basis of these results, a 10 μg/m³ increase in NO₂ level would translate into a 7% (95% CI: 4% to 12%) increase of the prevalence of children with abnormal lung function.

Conclusions

Exposure to traffic pollution may cause a small overall reduction in lung function and increase the prevalence of children with clinically relevant declines in lung function.     

A Link between Arabinose Utilization and Oxalotrophy in Bradyrhizobium japonicum

Rhizobia have a versatile catabolism that allows them to compete successfully with other microorganisms for nutrients in the soil and in the rhizosphere of their respective host plants. In this study, Bradyrhizobium japonicum USDA 110 was found to be able to utilize oxalate as the sole carbon source. A proteome analysis of cells grown in minimal medium containing arabinose suggested that oxalate oxidation extends the arabinose degradation branch via glycolaldehyde. A mutant of the key pathway genes oxc (for oxalyl-coenzyme A decarboxylase) and frc (for formyl-coenzyme A transferase) was constructed and shown to be (i) impaired in growth on arabinose and (ii) unable to grow on oxalate. Oxalate was detected in roots and, at elevated levels, in root nodules of four different B. japonicum host plants. Mixed-inoculation experiments with wild-type and oxc-frc mutant cells revealed that oxalotrophy might be a beneficial trait of B. japonicum at some stage during legume root nodule colonization.     

Ecological patterns strongly impact the biogeography of western Palaearctic longhorn beetles (Coleoptera: Cerambycoidea)

We aim to unravel the biogeographic structuring of western Palaearctic longhorn beetles with focus on the location of different refugia, barriers to dispersal and postglacial range expansions with their particular filters. The interaction of different ecological features with these structures is analysed. The western Palaearctic was divided into 95 geographic entities. We produced presence-only matrices for all 955 Cerambycoidea species autochthonous to this area and derived species richness distributions and extracted faunal regions and faunal elements by cluster analyses and principal component analyses. Similar analyses were performed for sub-families and ecological groups. Longhorn beetles show a strong biogeographic structuring in the western Palaearctic. Species numbers strongly decrease to the north and west. Less mobile species and root feeders mostly contribute to the fauna of the Mediterranean region, whilst mobile species are more widespread. Feeders on broad-leaved trees dominate in western Europe, whilst feeders on coniferous trees are most important in northern Europe. Our results support multiple refugia in the Mediterranean region and underline the importance of Provence, Crimea and Crete as such refugia. Crete even might be an area of old endemism. The Atlanto- and the Ponto-Mediterranean regions are more strongly structured than assumed in classical biogeography. Mediterranean assemblages are mostly composed of non-flying species, root feeders and species with small distributions not found outside their glacial refugia. Tree feeders left their glacial retreats with their host plants. These range dynamics result in biogeographic structures with several dispersal barriers and filters composed of mountains, sea straits and climatic conditions.     

Growth Factors and Steroid Mediated Regulation of Cytoskeletal Protein Expression in Serum-Deprived Primary Astrocyte Cultures

In this research we aimed to investigate the interactions between growth factors (GFs) and dexamethasone (DEX) on cytoskeletal proteins GFAP and vimentin (VIM) expression under different experimental conditions. Condition I: 24 h pretreatment with bFGF, subsequent 72 h switching in serum-free medium (SFM) and final addition of GFs, alone or by two in the last 24 h, after a prolonged (60 h) DEX treatment. Condition II: 36 h pretreatment with DEX (with bFGF in the last 24 h), followed by SFM for 60 h and final addition for 24 h with growth factors alone or two of them togheter. Western blot analysis data showed a marked GFAP expression in cultures submitted to Condition I comparing results to untreated or treated controls. VIM expression was instead significantly reduced after GFs addition in the last 24 h of 60 h DEX treatment, respect to control DEX-pretreated ones. Referring data to untreated controls, VIM expression was significantly enhanced after GFs addition. GFAP showed also a significant increase in astrocytes submitted to Condition II, respect to untreated or treated control cultures. VIM expression was up and down regulated under Condition II. Collectively, our findings evidence an interactive dialogue between GFs and DEX in astroglial cultures, co-pretreated with DEX and bFGF, regulating cytoskeletal network under stressfull conditions. Special issue article in honor of Dr. Anna Maria Giuffrida-Stella.     

[Ni(L)(MeCN)]complex cation as a template for the assembly of extended I3 · I5 and I5 · I7 polyiodide networks {L=2,5,8-trithia[9](2,9)-1,10-phenanthrolinophane}. Synthesis and structures of [Ni(L)(MeCN)]I8 and [Ni(L)(MeCN)]I12

The compounds [Ni(L)(MeCN)]I₈ (1) and [Ni(L)(MeCN)]I₁₂ (2) have been obtained from the reactions of the complexes [Ni(L)(L^′)][BF₄]_(2 + n) {L=2,5,8-trithia[9](2,9)-1,10-phenanthrolinophane; L^′=MeCN, Cl⁻, Br⁻, I⁻; n=charge of L^′} with an excess of I₂ (molar ratios of 6, 10 and 20 have been used), in the presence of the stoichiometric amount of I⁻ (as Bu₄ⁿNI) necessary to balance the charge of the complex cation [Ni(L)(L^′)]^(2 + n)+. An X-ray diffraction analysis shows that, independently of the nature of L^′, both 1 and 2 contain the complex cation [Ni(L)(MeCN)]²⁺, which is therefore capable of templating two different polyiodide networks based on interacting I₃⁻/I₅⁻ and I₅⁻/I₇ units, respectively. The solid state FT-Raman spectra of 1 and 2 are discussed based on their structural features.     

Human recombinant domain antibodies against multiple sclerosis antigenic peptide CSF114(Glc)

Multiple sclerosis (MS) is a chronic auto‐immune disease characterized by a damage to the myelin component of the central nervous system. Self‐antigens created by aberrant glycosylation have been described to be a key component in the formation of auto‐antibodies. CSF114(Glc) is a synthetic glucopeptide detecting in vitro MS‐specific auto‐antibodies, and it is actively used in diagnostics and research to monitor and quantify MS‐associated Ig levels. We reasoned that antibodies raised against this probe could have been relevant for MS. We therefore screened a human Domain Antibody library against CSF114(Glc) using magnetic separation as a panning method. We obtained and described several clones, and the one with the highest signals was produced as a 6×His‐tagged protein to properly study the binding properties as a soluble antibody. By surface plasmon resonance measurements, we evidenced that our clone recognized CSF114(Glc) with high affinity and specific for the glucosylated peptide. Kinetic parameters of peptide–clone interaction were calculated obtaining a value of K_D in the nanomolar range. Harboring a human framework, this antibody should be very well tolerated by human immune system and may represent a valuable tool for MS diagnosis and therapy, paving the way to new research strategies. Copyright © 2014 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.