Persistent organic pollutants (POPs), and their transformation products, are the most investigated organic environmental contaminants within the past five decades. Organochlorines have been found in virtually all environmental compartments on the globe. Severe environmental implications have been shown to be associated with the presence of the POP group of contaminants in the environment. Howev...

Upon activation Nod-like receptors (NLRs) assemble into multi-protein complexes such as the NODosome and inflammasome. This process relies upon homo domain interactions between the structurally related Pyrin and caspase-recruitment (CARD) domains and adaptor proteins, such as ASC, or effector proteins, such as caspase-1. Although a variety of NLRP and NLRC complexes have been described along wi...

Individuals, typically, are exposed to mixtures of environmental xenobiotics affecting multiple organs and acting through different xenosensors and pathways in species and cell-type specific manners. 2,3,7,8-tetrachlorodibenzo-p-dioxin (TCDD) and α-endosulfan are Persistent Organic Pollutants (POPs) and endocrine disruptors which act through different xenosensors and accumulate in the liver. Ou...

Human hair as a biologic measure of exposure to persistent organic pollutants (POPs) has some advantages over the more commonly used blood and adipose tissue samples. However, one of the primary limitations is the difficulty in distinguishing between exogenous and endogenous contamination. In addition, there are currently no standardized methods for hair sample collection, washing, and chemical...

The passive listening hypothesis proposes that dolphins and whales detect acoustic signals emitted by prey, including sound-producing (soniferous) fishes. Previous work showed that bottlenose dolphins (Tursiops truncatus) behaviorally orient toward the sounds of prey, including the advertisement calls of male Gulf toadfish (Opsanus beta). In addition, soniferous fishes constitute over 80% of Tu...

Persistent organic pollutants (POPs) include lipophilic legacy POPs and the amphiphilic perfluorinated alkyl acids (PFAAs). They have long half-lives and bioaccumulate in the environment, animals and human beings. POPs possess toxic, carcinogenic and endocrine-disrupting potentials. Endocrine-disrupting chemicals (EDCs) are compounds that either mimic or block endogenous hormones and thus disru...

Current knowledge on adverse endocrine disruption effects of persistent organic pollutants (POPs) among newborn infants is limited and often controversial. To investigate the associations between prenatal exposure to major POPs and thyroid hormone levels among newborn infants, both cord serum or maternal serum concentrations of polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs), polybrominated diphenyl ethers (P...