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Background:A rich body of literature exists that has demonstrated adverse human health effects following exposure to ambient air particulate matter (PM), and there is strong support for an important role of ultrafine (nanosized) particles. At present, relatively few human health or epidemiology data exist for engineered nanomaterials (NMs) despite clear parallels in their physicochemical properties and biological actions in in vitro models.Objectives:NMs are available with a range of physicochemical characteristics, which allows a more systematic toxicological analysis. Therefore, the study of ultrafine particles (UFP, <100 nm in diameter) provides an opportunity to identify plausible health effects for NMs, and the study of NMs provides an opportunity to facilitate the understanding of the mechanism of toxicity of UFP.Methods:A workshop of experts systematically analyzed the available information and identified 19 key lessons that can facilitate knowledge exchange between these discipline areas.Discussion:Key lessons range from the availability of specific techniques and standard protocols for physicochemical characterization and toxicology assessment to understanding and defining dose and the molecular mechanisms of toxicity. This review identifies a number of key areas in which additional research prioritization would facilitate both research fields simultaneously.Conclusion:There is now an opportunity to apply knowledge from NM toxicology and use it to better inform PM health risk research and vice versa. https://doi.org/10.1289/EHP424

Objective: Night-shift work is associated with ischaemic cardiovascular disorders. It is not currently known whether it may be causally linked to metabolic syndrome (MS), a risk condition for ischaemic cardiovascular disorders. The syndrome presents with visceral obesity associated with mild alterations in glucidic and lipidic homeostasis, and in blood pressure. The aim of this study was to assess whether a causal relationship exists between night-shift work and the development of MS. Methods: Male and female nurses performing night shifts, free from any component of MS at baseline, were evaluated annually for the development of the disorder during a 4-year follow-up. Male and female nurses performing daytime work only, visited during the same time period, represented the control group. Results: The cumulative incidence of MS was 9.0% (36/402) among night-shift workers, and 1.8% (6/336) among daytime workers (relative risk (RR) 5.0, 95% CI 2 2.1 to 14.6). The annual rate of incidence of MS was 2.9% in night-shift workers and 0.5% in daytime workers. Kaplan-Meier survival curves of the two groups were significantly different (log-rank test; p,0.001). Multiple Cox regression analysis (forward selection method based on likelihood ratio) showed that among selected variables (age, gender, smoking, alcohol intake, familiar history, physical activity, and work schedule) the only predictors of occurrence of MS were sedentariness (hazard ratio (HR) 2.92; 95% CI 1.64 to 5.18; p = 0.017), and nightshift work (HR 5.10; 95% CI 2.15 to 12.11; p,0.001). Conclusions: The risk of developing MS is strongly associated with night-shift work in nurses. Medical counselling should be promptly instituted in night-shift workers with the syndrome, and in case of persistence or progression, a change in work schedule should be considered.An association between shift work and coronary heart disease has been shown.

These data demonstrate a reversible Helicobacter pylori (HP)-induced interference with l-dopa clinical response related to the impaired drug absorption, probably due to active gastroduodenitis. Therefore, the authors suggest that HP eradication may improve the clinical status of infected patients with Parkinson disease and motor fluctuations by modifying l-dopa pharmacokinetics.

Several in vitro and in vivo studies suggest local and systemic effects following\ud exposure to carbon nanotubes. No data are available, however, on their possible\ud embryotoxicity in mammals. In this study, we tested the effect of pristine and\ud oxidized single-wall carbon nanotubes (SWCNTs) on the development of the mouse\ud embryo. To this end, SWCNTs (from 10 ng to 30 μg/mouse) were administered to\ud female mice soon after implantation (postcoital day 5.5); 10 days later, animals \ud were sacrificed, and uteri, placentas, and fetuses examined. A high percentage of\ud early miscarriages and fetal malformations was observed in females exposed to\ud oxidized SWCNTs, while lower percentages were found in animals exposed to the\ud pristine material. The lowest effective dose was 100 ng/mouse. Extensive vascular\ud lesions and increased production of reactive oxygen species (ROS) were detected\ud in placentas of malformed but not of normally developed fetuses. Increased ROS\ud levels were likewise detected in malformed fetuses. No increased ROS production\ud or evident morphological alterations were observed in maternal tissues. No fetal \ud and placental abnormalities were ever observed in control animals. In parallel,\ud SWCNT embryotoxicity was evaluated using the embryonic stem cell test (EST), a\ud validated in vitro assay developed for predicting embryotoxicity of soluble\ud chemical compounds, but never applied in full to nanoparticles. The EST predicted\ud the in vivo data, identifying oxidized SWCNTs as the more toxic compound