Trends in reproductive health in Israel: implications for environmental health policy

ABSTRACT: Nearly two decades ago, researchers first reported that endocrine disrupting chemicals in the environment were affecting reproductive health in the general population. The purpose of this article is to examine the evidence of adverse reproductive health trends in Israel and to explore implications for environmental health policy in Israel. We reviewed studies and data in Israel regarding trends in reproductive health indices, specifically: breast and testis cancer, hypospadias, sperm quality, male factor infertility, and age at menarche. The data provide some evidence of adverse reproductive trends in the Israeli population: an increase in testicular cancer from 1990 to 2007, a decrease in age at menarche from 1986 to 2000, an increase in the prevalence of male factor infertility, and some evidence of decreasing sperm counts. However, we note that much of the evidence is limited.The policy implications of reported adverse reproductive health trends possibly related to environmental exposure have been radically different in Europe and the United States. In Europe, such reports led the Parliament of the European Community to adopt a resolution on endocrine disruptors, which emphasizes the application of the Precautionary Principle. U.S. Environmental Protection Agency policy is focused on screening chemicals for endocrine disrupting properties and does not specifically refer to the Precautionary Principle. To date, there has been no formal governmental policy or strategy in Israel regarding endocrine disrupting chemicals. Environmental health policy on endocrine disruptors requires integrating evidence on human reproductive health trends, evidence on adverse reproductive outcomes in wildlife and experimental systems, and data from biomonitoring studies. Despite gaps in evidence and current data, we support a precautionary approach to regulating potential endocrine disrupting chemicals and reducing public exposures, especially in sensitive groups such as children and pregnant women.     

Seroepidemiology of Epstein−Barr virus and cytomegalovirus among Israeli male young adults

PurposeTo assess the seroprevalence and seroconversion of Epstein?Barr virus (EBV) and cytomegalovirus (CMV) Immunoglobulin G (IgG) antibodies and identify associated socioeconomic and smoking variables among male young adults in Israel, to explore health disparities and aid prevention efforts.MethodsA population-based seroprevalence study of EBV and CMV IgG antibodies in a systematic sample of Israeli males upon recruitment to mandatory military service during 1994–2004. Associations between socioeconomic and smoking variables and the seroprevalence of EBV/CMV were evaluated, controlling for possible confounders. A subset of seronegative subjects was assessed for seroconversion upon discharge from military service.ResultsOverall seroprevalence rates were 87% for EBV and 59% for CMV. An association between the seroprevalence of EBV and CMV was observed. Seroconversion was 56% for EBV as compared with 31% for CMV. Lower paternal education was found to be associated with both EBV and CMV seroprevalence. Lower socioeconomic status, North African origin, and urban residence were found to be associated with CMV seropositivity, as was smoking for EBV seropositivity.ConclusionsSocioeconomic disparities exist in the seroprevalence rates of CMV and EBV among Israeli male young adults. The results of the study could aid public health efforts and determine target populations when a vaccine becomes available.     

A probabilistic algorithm for robust interference suppression in bioelectromagnetic sensor data

Magnetoencephalography (MEG) and electroencephalography (EEG) sensor measurements are often contaminated by several interferences such as background activity from outside the regions of interest, by biological and non-biological artifacts, and by sensor noise. Here, we introduce a probabilistic graphical model and inference algorithm based on variational-Bayes expectation-maximization for estimation of activity of interest through interference suppression. The algorithm exploits the fact that electromagnetic recording data can often be partitioned into baseline periods, when only interferences are present, and active time periods, when activity of interest is present in addition to interferences. This algorithm is found to be robust and efficient and significantly superior to many other existing approaches on real and simulated data.     

Role of cortical cannabinoid CB1 receptor in conditioned taste aversion memory

The brain endocannabinoid system has been shown to play a role in memory, though the extent to which this role generalizes over different types and processes of memory is not yet determined. Here we show that the cannabinoid receptor 1 (CB1) plays differential roles in acquisition, extinction and reconsolidation of conditioned taste aversion (CTA) memory in the rat insular cortex, which contains the taste cortex. Activation of the CB1 receptor in the insular cortex inhibits acquisition and reconsolidation but not extinction, whereas blockade of the CB1 receptor promotes memory and blocks extinction of CTA, while having no apparent effect on reconsolidation. The CB1 ligands used in this study were incapable of substituting the unconditioned stimulus in CTA training. All in all, the data raise the possibility that the state of activity of the CB1 receptor in the insular cortex contributes to the encoding of hedonic valence that enters into association with taste items.     

Analyzing the Patient's First Name in the Search for Identity

A first name captures indispensable information about its bearer, including aspects of the individual's inner world and approach to the environment, the aspirations and attributions of the name-givers for the individual, and the transferences and countertransferences involving the feelings that a first name evokes. A name is therefore a code waiting to be deciphered that, when explored, can reveal its significance to its bearer. A name can impart multiple meanings; the process of interpreting a name is akin to peeling an onion layered in infinite sequences. This article proposes that an examination of the analysand's first name can be a useful clinical tool in psychoanalytic therapy. An exploration into the origin and meaning of a patient's first name through detailed inquiry and association can serve as a rich source of insight regarding relationships between name and self-identity, and can quickly expand the analytic process.     

The hydration state of human red blood cells and their susceptibility to invasion by Plasmodium falciparum

In most inherited red blood cell (RBC) disorders with high gene frequencies in malaria-endemic regions, the distribution of RBC hydration states is much wider than normal. The relationship between the hydration state of circulating RBCs and protection against severe falciparum malaria remains unexplored. The present investigation was prompted by a casual observation suggesting that falciparum merozoites were unable to invade isotonically dehydrated normal RBCs. We designed an experimental model to induce uniform and stable isotonic volume changes in RBC populations from healthy donors by increasing or decreasing their KCl contents through a reversible K(+) permeabilization pulse. Swollen and mildly dehydrated RBCs were able to sustain Plasmodium falciparum cultures with similar efficiency to untreated RBCs. However, parasite invasion and growth were progressively reduced in dehydrated RBCs. In a parallel study, P falciparum invasion was investigated in density-fractionated RBCs from healthy subjects and from individuals with inherited RBC abnormalities affecting primarily hemoglobin (Hb) or the RBC membrane (thalassemias, hereditary ovalocytosis, xerocytosis, Hb CC, and Hb CS). Invasion was invariably reduced in the dense cell fractions in all conditions. These results suggest that the presence of dense RBCs is a protective factor, additional to any other protection mechanism prevailing in each of the different pathologies.     

Oxidative stress causes telomere damage in Fanconi anaemia cells - a possible predisposition for malignant transformation

Fanconi anaemia (FA) is an autosomal recessive and X-linked disease characterized by severe genetic instability and increased incidence of cancer. One explanation for this instability may be the cellular hypersensitivity to oxidative stress leading to chromosomal breaks. This study explored the possible oxidative damage to telomeres of FA lymphocyte cell line, HSC536/N, and its possible effect on telomere function. We postulated that combination of oxidative damage with overexpression of telomerase may provide a possible model for malignant transformation in FA. The cells were grown in the presence of telomerase inhibitor and exposed for 1 month to H₂O₂ combined with various antioxidants. This exposure caused shortening of telomere length and damage to the telomere single stranded overhang, which was prevented by several oxidants. This shortening was associated with development of severe telomere dysfunction. Control cells did not exhibit this sensitivity to H₂O₂. Telomere dysfunction did not evoke damage response in FA cells, in contrast to normal P53 upregulation in control cells. Reconstitution of telomerase activity protected FA telomeres from further oxidative damage. These results suggest a scenario in which oxidative stress causes telomere shortening and ensuing telomere dysfunction may form the basis for malignant transformation in FA cells. Upregulation of telomerase activity in sporadic FA cells may perpetuate that process, thus explaining the malignant character of FA cells in vivo .     

Simulation method for calculating the entropy and free energy of peptides and proteins

A method called complete hypothetical scanning Monte Carlo has been introduced for calculating the absolute entropy, S, and free energy, F, of fluids. Here, the method is extended to peptide chains in vacuum. Thus, S is calculated from a given sample by reconstructing each conformation step-by-step by using transition probabilities (TPs); at each step, part of the chain coordinates have already been determined (the "frozen past"), and the TP is obtained from a Monte Carlo simulation of the (future) part of the chain whose TPs as yet have not been calculated. Very accurate results for S and F are obtained for the helix, extended, and hairpin microstates of a simplified model of decaglycine (Gly)(10) and (Gly)(16). These results agree well with results obtained by the quasiharmonic approximation and the local states method. The complete HSMC method can be applied to a macromolecule with any degree of flexibility, ranging from local fluctuations to a random coil. Also, the difference in stability, Delta F(mn) = F(m) - F(n) between significantly different microstates m and n can be obtained from two simulations only without the need to resort to thermodynamic integration. Our long-term goal is to extend this method to any peptide and apply it to a peptide immersed in a box with explicit water.     

Coevolution of exceptional longevity, exceptionally high metabolic rates, and mitochondrial DNA-coded proteins in mammals

Mammals' longevity is inversely related to mass-specific basal metabolic rate because the generation of reactive oxygen species constrains lifespan. Longevity increases with body mass because the latter is inversely related to mass-specific basal metabolic rates. In placental mammals the longevity residuals from the power laws that describe longevity as a function of mass-specific basal metabolic rates, or body mass, are positively correlated with the relative rates of evolution of cytochrome b, a generator of reactive oxygen species. Therefore, longevity is more accurately described as a function of both mass-specific basal metabolic rate and the relative rate of cytochrome b evolution. The longevity residuals from the power law that describe longevity as a function of body mass are positively correlated with the relative rate of evolution of most other mtDNA-coded proteins. In taxa with very high rate of cytochrome b evolution exceptional longevity is associated with an increase, rather than the predicted decrease, of basal metabolic rates. These finding are compatible with the hypothesis that, in placental mammals, the accelerated evolution of mtDNA-coded proteins, allowed the extension of lifespan by selecting mutations that reduce the generation of reactive oxygen species, mostly by increasing internal proton leak, that accelerates mitochondrial electron transport.     

The course of acquired von Willebrand syndrome during pregnancy among patients with essential thrombocytosis

To investigate the course of acquired type 2A von Willebrand syndrome (AVWS) in relation to patient management and outcomes among pregnant patients with essential thrombocytosis (ET). A review of pregnant women with ET evaluated for AVWS at the beginning of pregnancy and at the third trimester. Eighteen women with 24 pregnancies were included in this study. A history of bleeding was noted in 8 (44%) patients. In 20 (83%) pregnancies AVWS was evident at the initial testing. Following initial testing, antithrombotic therapy was administered in 22 (92%) pregnancies (aspirin, n?=?20 and low-molecular-weight heparin, n?=?2). In the remaining two pregnancies, VWF:RCo levels were below 30%; thus, aspirin was given only after repeat testing at 14–16 weeks. At third trimester testing, median VWF:RCo levels were significantly higher than at the initial testing (86 vs. 48%, P?<?0.001), with no evidence of AVWS in any of the patients. Significant increases were also observed in the VWF:Ag level (127 vs. 84%, P?<?0.001), the VWF:RCo/VWF:Ag ratio (0.75 vs. 0.54, P?<?0.001) and the FVIII level (103 vs. 68%, P?<?0.001); while platelet count (359 vs. 701?×?10⁹/l, P?<?0.001) and hemoglobin level (11.6 vs. 13.4 g/dl, P?<?0.001) decreased. Neuraxial anesthesia was safely performed in 17 (71%) pregnancies. No significant bleeding events occurred during pregnancy and delivery. AVWS-related abnormalities in women with ET mostly improved during pregnancy, with favorable maternal and fetal outcomes. VWF parameters should be tested at early pregnancy and repeated at the third trimester, to guide pregnancy and delivery management.