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Pesticides and Chronic Diseases
Published in William J. Rea, Kalpana D. Patel, Reversibility of Chronic Disease and Hypersensitivity, Volume 4, 2017
William J. Rea, Kalpana D. Patel
Mirex: Mirex (Figure 7.14) has been used in the southeast United States to control fire ants. The chronicity factor of mirex is greater than DDT.134,135 Mice develop tumors, and rats develop megalocytosis, with an increase in hepatocellular carcinoma in males.136,137 We are not certain about the effects in humans, but we have found this substance in the blood of some of the chemically sensitive we have treated. Mirex stimulates the hepatic microsomal system and causes proliferation of the smooth endoplasmic reticulum. There is evidence of a natural change in mirex to kepone.
Halogenated insecticides
Published in Bev-Lorraine True, Robert H. Dreisbach, Dreisbach’s HANDBOOK of POISONING, 2001
Bev-Lorraine True, Robert H. Dreisbach
Prolonged exposure to chlordecone has caused neurologic symptoms. Both chlordecone and mirex have been shown to be carcinogenic in animal experiments. Occasional epileptiform convulsions of the grand mal or petit mal type have occurred in workers from dermal absorption of endosulfan in powder form. Electroencephalographic findings in poisoning have been suggestive of epilepsy but have reverted to normal when exposure was discontinued. Symptoms may persist for more than 1 week after exposure is discontinued or after acute poisoning.
The environment and reproduction
Published in David K. Gardner, Ariel Weissman, Colin M. Howles, Zeev Shoham, Textbook of Assisted Reproductive Techniques, 2017
One by-product of in vitro fertilization (IVF) has been access to follicular fluid for studies demonstrating the presence of toxicants (76–79). The pesticides DDE, mirex, hexachloroethane, and 1,2,4-trichlorobenzene, along with PCBs, BPA, and phthalates, have been implicated in infertility, but have not consistently demonstrated adverse IVF or pregnancy outcomes. Variables examined include number of oocytes retrieved, recovered, and fertilized, cleavage rates, and pregnancy rates. In a Canadian study of 21 IVF couples, higher DDE levels correlated with failed fertilization, but higher follicular PCB levels correlated with pregnancy success (76). A study of IVF patients in 1984 showed that oocyte recovery and embryo cleavage rates were inversely related to chlorinated hydrocarbon concentrations (79), although a subsequent study showed a positive relationship (78). Most remarkable, however, is the fact that in all of these studies, pesticides are present in follicular fluid at the time of resumption of meiosis when chromosome susceptibility is at its highest. For the most part, follicular toxicant concentrations are lower than serum levels (68,76). Knowing the relationship between serum and follicle concentrations has allowed speculation on the fertility outcomes of non-IVF patients based on serum levels. Law et al. (80) pulled frozen third-trimester blood samples from 380 planned pregnancies recruited for the 1959–1965 Collaborate Perinatal Project and compared serum levels of PCBs and DDE with TTP and fecundability. Dose–response curves with proportional hazards suggested that as PCB and DDE levels increase, the probability of pregnancy decreases. Since DDE and PCBs are lipophilic, the serum levels obtained in this study were adjusted for maternal lipid volume (an appropriate adjustment not done in most published reports). Once adjusted, the increased TTP attributed to DDE disappeared and the PCB effect became considerably weaker, leaving no significant difference in TTP or fecundability based on either substance’s concentration (80). These results echo the findings of a cohort of Swedish fishermen from which multiple papers have been published showing no relationship between fish consumption (including persistent organochlorine and PCB exposure) and TTP, miscarriage rate, stillbirths, or subfertility (81). In the end, there is little evidence to support the association between DDE, PCBs, and subfertility. Once again, however, the presence of such toxic substances bathing the preovulatory oocyte is worrisome given the protective barrier the reproductive organs pose to the passage of most substances. More studies will be required in order to understand whether there is any adverse impact of these substances on oocyte DNA. However, a more recent study has shown that PCBs can reduce the number of antral follicles and increase follicular atresia with an end result of earlier menopause (82).
Veterinary utility of dried blood spots for detailed analysis of chlorinated pesticides and polychlorinated biphenyls by gas chromatography tandem mass spectrometry
Published in Toxicology Mechanisms and Methods, 2020
Andreas F. Lehner, Lauren Stensen, Alan Zimmerman, Adam Bush, John Buchweitz
Organochlorine pesticides such as aldrin, dieldrin, DDT and its derivatives (4,4′-dichlorodiphenyldichloroethane [4,4′-DDD] and 4,4′-dichlorodiphenyldichloroethylene [4,4′-DDE]), lindane, hexachlorobenzene, and polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) are of particular concern due to their highly bioaccumulative properties and toxicities (Chopra, et al 2011). These chemicals persist in nature, biomagnify in the food web, and impose toxic effects in marine and other organisms (El-Shahawi et al. 2010). The Stockholm Convention on Persistent Organic Pollutants (POPs) has issued recommendations aimed at restricting and eliminating highly dangerous, long-lasting chemicals, and of 21 listed chemicals, 14 are chlorinated pesticides (aldrin, chlordane, chlordecone, DDT, dieldrin, endrin, heptachlor, hexachlorobenzene, lindane and its alpha- and beta-isomers, mirex, pentachlorobenzene and toxaphene), with the remainder including PCBs, polychlorinated dibenzo-p-dioxins, polychlorinated dibenzofurans, polybrominated diphenyl ethers (PBDEs), perfluorooctane sulfonic acid (PFOS) and perfluorooctane sulfonyl fluoride (PFOS-F) (Stockholm Convention Factsheet 2011).
A new method of onset and offset detection in ensemble singing
Published in Logopedics Phoniatrics Vocology, 2019
Sara D’Amario, Helena Daffern, Freya Bailes
The evaluation procedure followed that described in MIREX 2016 for onset detection. A tolerance value was set to ±50 ms and the detected times were compared with ground-truth values manually detected by the experts. This is a standard procedure for the evaluation of onset detection algorithms, although the comparison of values detected by the algorithm with those manually detected by experts, and commonly referred to as ‘ground-truth’ values, remains ambiguous and subjective as there can be no true objective value. A large time displacement of 50ms is a well-known criterion in the field of onset detection that takes into account inaccuracy of the hand labelling process (6). In addition, a small-time window of 10 ms was also chosen to detect small asynchronies in the synchronization during professional ensemble performances. The mean of the standard deviations for the manual annotations computed across the three experts was 59 ms.
Veterinary utility of dried blood spots for analysis of toxic chlorinated hydrocarbons
Published in Toxicology Mechanisms and Methods, 2018
Andreas F. Lehner, Margaret Johnson, John Buchweitz
With regards to the environment, organochlorine pesticides such as aldrin, dieldrin, DDT and its derivatives (4,4′-dichlorodiphenyldichloroethane [4,4′-DDD] and 4,4′-DDE), lindane, hexachlorobenzene and PCBs are of great concern due to their highly bioaccumulative properties and toxicities (Chopra et al. 2011). These chemicals persist in nature, biomagnify in the food web, and impose toxic effects in marine and other organisms (El-Shahawi et al. 2010). As of 2011, the Stockholm Convention on Persistent Organic Pollutants (POPs) has endeavored to restrict and eliminate highly dangerous, long-lasting chemicals from the environment, and of 21 chemicals listed by the agency, 14 are chlorinated pesticides (aldrin, chlordane, chlordecone, DDT, dieldrin, endrin, heptachlor, hexachlorobenzene, lindane and its alpha- and beta-isomers, mirex, pentachlorobenzene and toxaphene), with the remainder including PCBs, polychlorinated dibenzo-p-dioxins, polychlorinated dibenzofurans, brominated diphenyl ethers, perfluorooctane sulfonic acid (PFOS) and perfluorooctane sulfonyl fluoride (PFOS-F) (Stockholm Convention Factsheet 2011).