TY  - JOUR
AB  - PURPOSE: Occupational asthma is commonly observed in bakers and confectioners. Endogenous and exogenous risk factors contribute to bakers' asthma. A heightened awareness of this and early diagnosis can be helpful in terms of prevention. The aim of the study was to identify a temporal relationship between the years of training, as well as possible technical, procedural, and individual risk factors for the development of flour-exposure related atopic symptoms such as rhinitis, cough, and rash in young professionals. METHODS: 127 bakers and confectioner trainees were observed over a one-year period. Two questionnaires served as test instruments. It was investigated whether the rates of atopic symptoms change over the course of a school year and which conditions in the workplace could be responsible for this. Descriptive statistics were used to answer the research questions concerning flour exposure and symptom rates. The Pearson-Chi-Square test was used for testing statistical differences between different groups (e.g. year of training, working conditions). RESULTS: An increase in rates of self-reported rhinitis, coughing, and rashes throughout the duration of traineeship was shown (e.g. rhinitis of bakers at work: 0% in the first year of training, 20% in the second and 33% in the third year of training). The installation of vapour extraction systems and low-dust transfer of baking agents led to fewer symptoms in the workplace (30% of participants with rhinitis symptoms worked with no installed vapour extraction systems). A medical history of atopy was positively correlated with the occurrence of symptoms. CONCLUSION: To prevent the development of asthma in bakers, methods to improve occupational health and safety should be developed. Creating low dust working conditions e.g., due to the use of vapour extraction systems should be considered.
AU  - Klaut, G.M.*
AU  - Karrasch, S.
AU  - Kutzora, S.*
AU  - Nowak, D.*
AU  - Quartucci, C.*
C1  - 71032
C2  - 55870
CY  - One New York Plaza, Suite 4600, New York, Ny, United States
TI  - The impact of years of training and possible technical, procedural, and individual risk factors for the development of atopic symptoms among bakery and confectionery trainees.
JO  - Int. Arch. Occup. Environ. Health
PB  - Springer
PY  - 2024
SN  - 0340-0131
ER  - 

TY  - JOUR
AB  - Purpose Radon is a risk factor for lung cancer and uranium miners are more exposed than the general population. A genome-wide interaction analysis was carried out to identify genomic loci, genes or gene sets that modify the susceptibility to lung cancer given occupational exposure to the radioactive gas radon.Methods Samples from 28 studies provided by the International Lung Cancer Consortium were pooled with samples of former uranium miners collected by the German Federal Office of Radiation Protection. In total, 15,077 cases and 13,522 controls, all of European ancestries, comprising 463 uranium miners were compared. The DNA of all participants was genotyped with the OncoArray. We fitted single-marker and in multi-marker models and performed an exploratory gene-set analysis to detect cumulative enrichment of significance in sets of genes.Results We discovered a genome-wide significant interaction of the marker rs12440014 within the gene CHRNB4 (OR = 0.26, 95% CI 0.11-0.60, p = 0.0386 corrected for multiple testing). At least suggestive significant interaction of linkage disequilibrium blocks was observed at the chromosomal regions 18q21.23 (p = 1.2 x 10(-6)), 5q23.2 (p = 2.5 x 10(-6)), 1q21.3 (p = 3.2 x 10(-6)), 10p13 (p = 1.3 x 10(-5)) and 12p12.1 (p = 7.1 x 10(-5)). Genes belonging to the Gene Ontology term " DNA dealkylation involved in DNA repair" (GO: 0006307; p = 0.0139) or the gene family HGNC: 476 "microRNAs" (p = 0.0159) were enriched with LD-blockwise significance.Conclusion The well-established association of the genomic region 15q25 to lung cancer might be influenced by exposure to radon among uranium miners. Furthermore, lung cancer susceptibility is related to the functional capability of DNA damage signaling via ubiquitination processes and repair of radiation-induced double-strand breaks by the single-strand annealing mechanism.
AU  - Rosenberger, A.*
AU  - Hung, R.J.*
AU  - Christiani, D.C.*
AU  - Caporaso, N.E.*
AU  - Liu, G.*
AU  - Bojesen, S.E.*
AU  - Le Marchand, L.*
AU  - Haiman, C.A.*
AU  - Albanes, D.*
AU  - Aldrich, M.C.*
AU  - Tardón, A.*
AU  - Fernández-Tardón, G.*
AU  - Rennert, G.*
AU  - Field, J.K.*
AU  - Kiemeney, B.*
AU  - Lazarus, P.*
AU  - Haugen, A.*
AU  - Zienolddiny, S.*
AU  - Lam, S.*
AU  - Schabath, M.B.*
AU  - Andrew, A.S.*
AU  - Brunnsstöm, H.*
AU  - Goodman, G.E.*
AU  - Doherty, J.A.*
AU  - Chen, C.*
AU  - Teare, M.D.*
AU  - Wichmann, H.-E.
AU  - Manz, J.
AU  - Risch, A.*
AU  - Muley, T.R.*
AU  - Johansson, M.*
AU  - Brennan, P.*
AU  - Landi, M.T.*
AU  - Amos, C.I.*
AU  - Pesch, B.*
AU  - Johnen, G.*
AU  - Brüning, T.*
AU  - Bickeböller, H.*
AU  - Gomolka, M.*
C1  - 53925
C2  - 45150
CY  - 233 Spring St, New York, Ny 10013 Usa
SP  - 937-950
TI  - Genetic modifiers of radon-induced lung cancer risk: A genome-wide interaction study in former uranium miners.
JO  - Int. Arch. Occup. Environ. Health
VL  - 91
IS  - 8
PB  - Springer
PY  - 2018
SN  - 0340-0131
ER  - 

TY  - JOUR
AB  - Human adenovirus (HAdV) E1B-55K is a multifunctional regulator of productive viral replication and oncogenic transformation in nonpermissive mammalian cells. These functions depend on E1B-55K's posttranslational modification with the SUMO protein and its binding to HAdV E4orf6. Both early viral proteins recruit specific host factors to form an E3 ubiquitin ligase complex that targets antiviral host substrates for proteasomal degradation. Recently, we reported that the PML-NB associated factor Daxx represses efficient HAdV productive infection and is proteasomally degraded via a SUMO-E1B-55K-dependent, E4orf6-independent pathway, the details of which remained to be established. RNF4, a cellular SUMO-targeted ubiquitin ligase (STUbL), induces ubiquitinylation of specific SUMOy lated proteins and plays an essential role during DNA repair. Here, we show that E1B-55K recruits RNF4 to the insoluble nuclear matrix fraction of the infected cell to support RNF4/Daxx association, promoting Daxx PTM and thus inhibiting this antiviral factor. Removing RNF4 from infected cells using RNA interference resulted in blocking the proper establishment of viral replication centers and significantly diminished viral gene expression. These results provide a model for how HAdV antagonize the antiviral host responses by exploiting the functional capacity of cellular STUbLs. Thus, RNF4 and its STUbL function represent a positive factor during lytic infection and a novel candidate for future therapeutic antiviral intervention strategies.IMPORTANCE Daxx is a PML-NB-associated transcription factor that was recently shown to repress efficient HAdV productive infection. To counteract this antiviral measurement during infection, Daxx is degraded via a novel pathway including viral E1B-55K and host proteasomes. This virus-mediated degradation is independent of the classical HAdV E3 ubiquitin ligase complex, which is essential during viral infection to target other host antiviral substrates. To maintain a productive viral life cycle, HAdV E1B-55K early viral protein inhibits the chromatin-remodeling factor Daxx in a SUMO-dependent manner. In addition, viral E1B-55K protein recruits the STUbL RNF4 and sequesters it into the insoluble fraction of the infected cell. E1B-55K promotes complex formation between RNF4-and E1B-55K-targeted Daxx protein, supporting Daxx posttranslational modification prior to functional inhibition. Hence, RNF4 represents a novel host factor that is beneficial for HAdV gene expression by supporting Daxx counteraction. In this regard, RNF4 and other STUbL proteins might represent novel targets for therapeutic intervention.
AU  - Schmidt, B.*
AU  - Herr, R.M.*
AU  - Jarczok, M.N.*
AU  - Baumert, J.J.
AU  - Lukaschek, K.
AU  - Emeny, R.T.
AU  - Ladwig, K.-H.
C1  - 53448
C2  - 44866
CY  - 1752 N St Nw, Washington, Dc 20036-2904 Usa
SP  - 623-631
TI  - Lack of supportive leadership behavior predicts suboptimal self-rated health independent of job strain after 10 years of follow-up: Findings from the population-based MONICA/KORA study.
JO  - Int. Arch. Occup. Environ. Health
VL  - 91
IS  - 5
PB  - Amer Soc Microbiology
PY  - 2018
SN  - 0340-0131
ER  - 

TY  - JOUR
AB  - Purpose: Research has suggested that psychological stress is associated with reduced lung function and with the development of respiratory disease. Among the major potential sources of stress in adulthood are working conditions. We aimed to examine the relationship of work stress with lung function. Methods: We drew on 4-year prospective data from the Survey of Health, Ageing and Retirement in Europe. The analyzed sample comprised 2627 workers aged 50 years or older who were anamnestically free of respiratory disease. Work stress at baseline was operationalized by abbreviated instruments measuring the well-established effort–reward imbalance model (seven items) and the control component of the job-demand control (two items). Peak expiratory flow (PEF) was determined at baseline and at follow-up. Continuous and categorized (i.e., by the tertile) work stress variables were employed in multivariable linear regression models to predict PEF change. Results: Work stress did not show statistically significant associations with PEF change. For instance, the unstandardized regression coefficient for PEF decline according to high versus low effort–reward imbalance was −1.41 (95% confidence interval = −3.75, 0.94). Conclusions: Our study is the first to examine prospective relationships between work stress and PEF. Overall, we did not observe meaningful associations. Future studies should consider a broader spectrum of spirometric parameters and should expand research to younger and possibly less-selected working populations (i.e., aged <50 years).
AU  - Loerbroks, A.*
AU  - Karrasch, S.
AU  - Lunau, T.*
C1  - 51253
C2  - 42959
CY  - New York
SP  - 695–701
TI  - The longitudinal relationship of work stress with peak expiratory flow: A cohort study.
JO  - Int. Arch. Occup. Environ. Health
VL  - 90
IS  - 7
PB  - Springer
PY  - 2017
SN  - 0340-0131
ER  - 

TY  - JOUR
AB  - An ecologic study on the level of districts was performed to evaluate the possible association between district type and risk of cancer in Bavaria, Southern Germany. Cancer incidence data for the years 2003-2012 were obtained from the population-based cancer registry Bavaria according to sex and cancer site. Data on district type, socio-economic area deprivation, particulate matter exposure, tobacco consumption, and alcohol consumption were obtained from publicly available sources. The possible association between district type and cancer risk adjusted for age, socio-economic area deprivation, particulate matter exposure, tobacco consumption, and alcohol consumption was evaluated using multivariable multi-level negative binomial regression. We found a significantly reduced cancer risk in densely populated districts close to core cities and/or rural districts compared to core cities with respect to the cancer sites mouth and pharynx (women only), liver (both sexes), larynx (both sexes), lung (both sexes), melanoma of the skin (both sexes), mesothelioma (men only), connective and soft tissue (both sexes), corpus uteri, other urinary tract (men only), urinary bladder (both sexes), and non-Hodgkin lymphoma (both sexes). Our findings require further monitoring. Since the apparently increased cancer risk in core cities may be related to lifestyle factors, preventive measures against lifestyle-related cancer could be specifically targeted at populations in deprived core cities.
AU  - Radespiel-Tröger, M.*
AU  - Geiss, K.*
AU  - Twardella, D.*
AU  - Maier, W.
AU  - Meyer, M.*
C1  - 52112
C2  - 43725
CY  - New York
SP  - 155–174
TI  - Cancer incidence in urban, rural, and densely populated districts close to core cities in Bavaria, Germany.
JO  - Int. Arch. Occup. Environ. Health
VL  - 91
IS  - 2
PB  - Springer
PY  - 2017
SN  - 0340-0131
ER  - 

TY  - JOUR
AB  - BACKGROUND: The link between particulate matter (PM) and cardiovascular morbidity has been investigated in numerous studies. Less evidence exists, however, about how age, gender and season may modify this relationship. The aim of this study was to evaluate the association between ambient PM2.5 (PM ≤ 2.5 µm) and daily hospital emergency room visits (ERV) for cardiovascular diseases in Beijing, China. Moreover, potential effect modification by age, gender, season, air mass origin and the specific period with 2008 Beijing Olympic were investigated. Finally, the temporal lag structure of PM2.5 has also been explored. METHODS: Daily counts of cardiovascular ERV were obtained from the Peking University Third Hospital from January 2007 to December 2008. Concurrently, data on PM2.5, PM10 (PM ≤ 10 µm), nitrogen dioxide and sulfur dioxide concentrations were obtained from monitoring networks and a fixed monitoring station. Poisson regression models adjusting for confounders were used to estimate immediate, delayed and cumulative air pollution effects. The temporal lag structure was also estimated using polynomial distributed lag (PDL) models. We calculated the relative risk (RR) for overall cardiovascular disease ERV as well as for specific causes of disease; and also investigated the potential modifying effect of age, gender, season, air mass origin and the period with 2008 Beijing Olympics. RESULTS: We observed adverse effects of PM2.5 on cardiovascular ERV-an IQR increase (68 μg/m(3)) in PM2.5 was associated with an overall RR of 1.022 (95 % CI 0.990-1.057) obtained from PDL model. Strongest effects of PM2.5 on cardiovascular ERV were found for a lag of 7 days; the respective estimate was 1.012 (95 % CI 1.002-1.022). The effects were more pronounced in females and in spring. Arrhythmia and cerebrovascular diseases showed a stronger association with PM2.5. We also found stronger PM-effects for stagnant and southern air masses and the period of Olympics modified the air pollution effects. CONCLUSIONS: We observed a rather delayed effect of PM2.5 on cardiovascular ERV, which was modified by gender and season. Our findings provide new evidence about effect modifications and may have implications to improve policy making for particulate air pollution standards in Beijing, China.
AU  - Su, C.
AU  - Breitner-Busch, S.
AU  - Schneider, A.E.
AU  - Liu, L.*
AU  - Franck, U.*
AU  - Peters, A.
AU  - Pan, X.*
C1  - 47224
C2  - 39180
CY  - New York
SP  - 641-657
TI  - Short-term effects of fine particulate air pollution on cardiovascular hospital emergency room visits: A time-series study in Beijing, China.
JO  - Int. Arch. Occup. Environ. Health
VL  - 89
IS  - 4
PB  - Springer
PY  - 2016
SN  - 0340-0131
ER  - 

TY  - JOUR
AB  - PURPOSE: Human biomonitoring (HBM) implies the assessment of internal exposure to hazardous substances by measuring the substances, their metabolites or reaction products, as well as effect parameters in human body fluids. Along with blood, plasma and urine, saliva is of increasing interest as an alternative matrix for HBM. METHODS: This paper reviews studies that measure salivary background levels of hazardous substances, elevated levels after environmental or occupational exposure, as well as references which deal with physiological and toxicokinetic behaviour of saliva and salivary parameters, respectively. RESULTS: The studies revealed that the determination of biomarkers in saliva is a promising approach for HBM, even if only few substances showed a satisfying correlation with exposure data or established biomonitoring matrices such as blood, plasma and urine. Saliva has been proven to be particularly suitable for substances of low molecular weight such as organic solvents, selected pesticides, cotinine, and for some specific trace elements. Besides several advantages, serious problems and limitations were identified. Above all, the complex interactions between substance properties, sampling procedure, sample preparation, measurement techniques or individual factors, and the salivary analyte level are discussed. CONCLUSIONS: A major conclusion of the review is that more scientific studies are needed in order to systematically collect data on parameters, influencing salivary analyte levels. Crucially required is a harmonisation of the sampling as well as the sample preparation techniques and procedures, which is indispensable to achieve an overall comparability and interpretability of salivary biomarker levels.
AU  - Michalke, B.
AU  - Rossbach, B.*
AU  - Göen, T.*
AU  - Schäferhenrich, A.*
AU  - Scherer, G.*
C1  - 30843
C2  - 33948
CY  - New York
SP  - 1-44
TI  - Saliva as a matrix for human biomonitoring in occupational and environmental medicine.
JO  - Int. Arch. Occup. Environ. Health
VL  - 88
IS  - 1
PB  - Springer
PY  - 2015
SN  - 0340-0131
ER  - 

TY  - JOUR
AB  - The mechanisms of action of arsenic in the development of lung cancer are still not yet elucidated. Considering the relationship between arsenic and squamous cell carcinomas of the skin, we hypothesized that arsenic exposure may be more closely associated with squamous cell carcinoma of the lung. A comprehensive histopathological database and a detailed job-exposure matrix developed for former German uranium miners with exposure to arsenic, radon, and quartz were analyzed to quantitatively assess the effect of arsenic regarding cell type of lung cancer. The distributions of major lung cancer cell types in 1,786 German uranium miners were associated with levels of arsenic exposure under control for the other lung carcinogens. To evaluate the arsenic effects in association with a frequent occupational lung disease in miners stratification by silicosis was performed. There was an arsenic-related increase of the proportion of squamous cell carcinoma of the lung but restricted to miners without silicosis. The increase was found at all levels of co-exposure to radon and quartz dust. In miners with silicosis, the proportion of adenocarcinoma increased with rising arsenic exposure. Arsenic exposure was associated with non-small cell lung cancer. Silicosis turned out as major determinant of the cell type related with arsenic. These results indicate a cell type characteristic effect of arsenic in the development of lung cancer.
AU  - Taeger, D.*
AU  - Johnen, G.*
AU  - Wiethege, T.*
AU  - Tapio, S.
AU  - Möhner, M.*
AU  - Wesch, H.*
AU  - Tannapfel, A.*
AU  - Müller, K.M.*
AU  - Brüning, T*
AU  - Pesch, B.*
C1  - 1230
C2  - 26146
SP  - 867-875
TI  - Major histopathological patterns of lung cancer related to arsenic exposure in German uranium miners.
JO  - Int. Arch. Occup. Environ. Health
VL  - 82
IS  - 7
PB  - Springer
PY  - 2009
SN  - 0340-0131
ER  - 

TY  - JOUR
AB  - Objective We had the opportunity to study the kinetics of metals in blood and urine samples of a flame-sprayer exposed to high accident-prone workplace exposure. We measured over 1 year, the nickel, aluminium, and chromium concentrations in blood and urine specimens after exposure. On this basis, we evaluated the corresponding half-lives.Methods Blood and urine sampling were carried out five times after accidental exposure over a period of 1 year. The metals were analysed by graphite furnace atomic absorption spectrometry and Zeeman compensation with reliable methods. Either a mono-exponential or a bi-exponential function was fitted to the concentration-time courses of selected metals using weighted least squares non-linear regression analysis. The amount excreted in urine was calculated integrating the urinary decay curve and multiplying with the daily creatinine excretion.Results The first examination was carried out 15 days after exposure. The mean aluminium concentration in plasma was 8.2 ?g/l and in urine, 58.4 ?g/g creatinine. The mean nickel concentration in blood was 59.6 ?g/l and the excretion in urine 700 ?g/g creatinine. The mean chromium level in blood was 1.4 ?g/l in urine, 7.4 ?g/g creatinine. For the three elements, the metal concentrations in blood and urine exceeded the reference values at least in the initial phase. For nickel, the German biological threshold limit values (EKA) were exceeded.Conclusions Aluminium showed a mono-exponential decay, whereas the elimination of chromium and nickel was biphasic in biological fluids of the accidentally exposed welder. The half-lives were as follows: for aluminium 140 days (urine) and 160 days (plasma); for chromium 40 and 730 days (urine); for nickel 25 and 610 days (urine) as well as 30 and 240 days (blood). The renal clearance of aluminium and nickel was about 2 l/h estimated for the last monitoring day.
AU  - Schaller, K.H.*
AU  - Csanády, G.A.
AU  - Filser, J.G.
AU  - Jüngert, B.*
AU  - Drexler, H.*
C1  - 5874
C2  - 24493
SP  - 635-641
TI  - Elimination kinetics of metals after an accidental exposure to welding fumes.
JO  - Int. Arch. Occup. Environ. Health
VL  - 80
IS  - 7
PB  - Springer
PY  - 2007
SN  - 0340-0131
ER  - 

TY  - JOUR
AB  - Germ cell mutagens are currently classified into three categories in the German List of MAK and BAT Values. These categories have been revised and extended by analogy with the new categories for carcinogenic chemicals. Germ cell mutagens produce heritable gene mutations, and heritable structural and numerical chromosome aberrations in germ cells. The original categories 1 and 2 for germ cell mutagens remain unchanged. Two new categories 3A and 3B are proposed for chemicals suspected to be germ cell mutagens. A new category 5 is proposed for germ cell mutagens with low potency that contribute negligibly to human genetic risk provided the MAK value is observed.
AU  - Adler, I.-D.
AU  - Andrae, U.
AU  - Kreis, P.*
AU  - Neumann, H.-G.*
AU  - Thier, R.*
AU  - Wild, D.*
C1  - 9646
C2  - 22295
SP  - 428-432
TI  - Recommendations for the categorization of germ cell mutagens.
JO  - Int. Arch. Occup. Environ. Health
VL  - 73
IS  - 6
PY  - 2000
SN  - 0340-0131
ER  -