d-Hexachlorocyclohexane (d-HCH), a lipophilic neurodepressant agent, has been shown to inhibit neurotransmitter release and stimulate ryanodine-sensitive Ca channels. However, the effect of d-HCH on neuronal activity remains unclear, although it may enhance the g-aminobutyric acid-induced current. Its effects on ionic currents were investigated in rat pituitary GH3 cells and human neuroblastoma...

Harbour seals and grey seals from Faxaflói (Western Iceland) were analyzed for contamination with organochlorines (HCB, PCBs, p,p'-DDT,p,p'-DDE, chlordanes and the enantiomers of alpha-HCH). Although the values strongly varied, both harbour seals and grey seals on averaged showed comparable levels of PCBs, p,p'-DDT, p,p'-DDE and alpha-HCH, as well as chlordanes (sigma CD). Differences were meas...

Little is known about the association between the single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) and haplotypes of the dedicator of cytokinesis 7 (DOCK7), pro-protein convertase subtilisin/kexin type 9 (PCSK9) and polypeptide N-acetylgalactosaminyltransferase 2 (GALNT2) and serum lipid traits in the Chinese populations. This study was to determine the association between nine SNPs in the three genes an...

As part of the Global Atmospheric Passive Sampling (GAPS) study, XAD-resin based passive samplers are being deployed for consecutive one-year periods at numerous sites on all seven continents to determine annually averaged concentrations of persistent organic pollutants. Concentrations of banned organochlorine pesticides as well as a number of current-use pesticides in samples from the first fo...

Remediation of pesticide-polluted soil is particularly challenging when pesticides in soil are aged and a mixture of pesticides is present. Application of zerovalent iron (Fe(0)) was investigated to accelerate the degradation of HCHs (alpha-, beta-, gamma- and delta-hexachlorocyclohexane) and DDX (DDT, DDE and DDD) in the soil from a former organochlorine pesticide manufacturing plant. Ultrason...

OBJECTIVES To assess the Gene-Environmental interaction between maternal organochlorine pesticides (OCPs) level and CYP17 gene polymorphism with the risk of preterm delivery (PTD). MATERIALS AND METHODS Maternal blood samples of hundred cases (n = 100) of PTD and of equal number of healthy controls were collected at the time of delivery. OCPs levels were estimated by Gas chromatography system...

Secreted ferritin in the mosquito, Aedes aegypti, has several subunits that are the products of at least two genes, one encoding a homologue of the vertebrate heavy chain (HCH) and the other the light chain homologue (LCH). Here we report the developmental and organ specific pattern of expression of the ferritin HCH messages and of both subunit types in control sugar-fed mosquitoes, in those ex...

This study was conducted to determine the types and levels of Organochlorine pesticide residues in the breast milk of 21 primiparae mothers in La, a suburb of Accra an urban community in the Greater Accra region of Ghana. Liquid-liquid extraction procedure was employed and extract clean-up was done using silica gel solid phase extraction. Fourteen (14) different organochlorine pesticides residu...

Changes in the enantiomer ratios (ERs) of chiral pollutants in the environment are often considered evidence of biological alteration despite the lack of data on causal or mechanistic relationships between microbial parameters and ER values. Enantiomer ratios that deviate from 1:1 in the environment provide evidence for the preferential microbial degradation of one enantiomer, whereas ER values...