to CPF-oxon, a potent cholinesterase (ChE) inhibitor, and trichloro-2-pyridinol (TCPy). Urinary T... more to CPF-oxon, a potent cholinesterase (ChE) inhibitor, and trichloro-2-pyridinol (TCPy). Urinary TCPy is often used as a biomarker for CPF exposure, whereas blood ChE activity is considered an indicator of CPF toxicity. However, whether these biomarkers are dose related has not been studied extensively in populations with repeated daily OP exposures. Objective: We sought to determine the relationship between blood ChE and urinary TCPy during repeated occupational exposures to CPF. Met h o d s: Daily urine samples and weekly blood samples were collected from pesticide workers (n = 38) in Menoufia Governorate, Egypt, before, during, and after 9–17 consecutive days of CPF application to cotton fields. We compared blood butyrylcholinesterase (BuChE) and acetylcholinesterase (AChE) activities with the respective urinary TCPy concentrations in each worker. Res u l t s: Average TCPy levels during the middle of a 1- to 2-week CPF application period were significantly higher in pesticide appl...
Epidemiologic studies conducted at hazardous waste sites present a number of methodologic difficu... more Epidemiologic studies conducted at hazardous waste sites present a number of methodologic difficulties in addition to those generally associated with observational studies in human populations (Marsh and Caplan, 1987). First, the populations studied are relatively small, making the identification of rare outcomes, such as cancer, difficult. Second, the latent period required for many clinical outcomes to be expressed may be long and the duration of residence for many members of the population inadequate for disease expression. Migration into and out of the study area may make precise ascertainment of duration of exposure difficult. Third, there may be a lack of specificity for many potential outcomes. Fourth, confounding bias exerted by other exposures (e.g., smoking, alcohol consumption, occupational exposures to chemicals) may make it difficult to determine whether associations detected are related to exposure to the waste site.
Outcomes Observable and measurable Observable, measurable, or self-reported Key challenges Extrap... more Outcomes Observable and measurable Observable, measurable, or self-reported Key challenges Extrapolation: species, high to low dose, duration Attribution to chemical(s) of interest a Adapted from Boyes et al., 2007.
Application flows naturally from good science, and behavioral toxicology is no exception. Phenome... more Application flows naturally from good science, and behavioral toxicology is no exception. Phenomena discovered and procedures developed in behavioral laboratories are being applied on a wide scale in commercial, industrial, and governmental settings. In behavioral toxicology, this transfer of technology has occurred in an ad hoc manner, albeit with a degree of sophistication. The development of technology transfer in other disciplines is instructive. A symposium at the May 2001 meeting of the Behavioral Toxicology Society examined this issue, and some participants provide their contributions here. Henry Pennypacker examines the issue of whether behavioral procedures can meet the demanding standards required to transfer technology to commercial endeavors and concludes that, under some conditions, they can. He notes that the shortage of well-developed and transferred behavioral technologies results from a lack of understanding of the process of technology transfer on the part of behavior analysts. In the field of engineering, the results of basic research are transformed to candidate technologies that meet standardized criteria with respect to three properties: quantification, repetition, and verification. Kent Anger describes the challenging steps in the trail from the laboratory to wide-scale application-steps that are essential for the scaling up of any behavioral technique. Finally, Paul Mele describes the legal background to patenting and copyrighting ideas, a process that behaviorists have rarely used. Together, these topics identify the requirements and warn of the challenges and intricacies that await those who seek to transfer behavioral technology beyond the laboratory.
Farmworkers are exposed to numerous hazards in the course of their work, including injury and exp... more Farmworkers are exposed to numerous hazards in the course of their work, including injury and exposure to pesticides and other toxicants (Moses et al. 1993; Villarejo and Baron 1999). Farmworkers are a vulnerable occupational group: They are often foreign-born and may not speak English; they may lack formal education; and they and their families often live in poverty. The agricultural industry is exempt from many federal regulations governing the workplace, and farmworkers are rarely represented by labor unions. Potential adverse health effects of farm work include traumatic injury, musculoskeletal disorders, respiratory conditions, dermatitis, cancer, and neurologic disorders. Some of these conditions may be related to pesticide exposure (Das et al. 2001; Keifer and Mahurin 1997; Moses et al. 1993). The health effects of farm work are compounded by the relative lack of access of this group to medical information and care. Farmworkers in several settings have been reported to experience elevated rates of neurologic dysfunction. For example, they had increased frequency of neurologic symptoms (Ciesielski et al. 1994; Gomes et al. 1999) and decreased performance on some neurobehavioral tests (Bazylewicz-Walczak et al. 1999; Gomes et al. 1999; Rohlman et al. 2001) compared with unexposed workers. Farmworkers with a history of pesticide poisoning experienced more symptoms and had impaired neurobehavioral performance relative to nonpoisoned controls (McConnell et al. 1994; Rosenstock et al. 1991; Wesseling et al. 2002). We report here the results of a large, population-based study of farmworkers in central Florida. The focus of the study was the relationship of long-term experience of farm work to neurobehavioral performance and potential differences related to type of farm work. We took into account important confounders, including education and acculturation. Materials and Methods Population. We conducted a cross-sectional study in central Florida in 1996-1997. Study participants were recruited in collaboration with the Farmworkers Association of Florida, a farmworker advocacy group (Kamel et al. 2001). Our target population was members of the Community Trust Federal Credit Union and their spouses. The Credit Union is a small savings institution with branches in several Florida communities. It is affiliated with several community organizations, including the Farmworkers Association; many but not all of its members are farmworkers. Credit Union members were typical members of the local communities (Kamel et al. 2001). We randomly selected names from the membership lists of the Credit Union in two communities, Apopka and Pierson.
to CPF-oxon, a potent cholinesterase (ChE) inhibitor, and trichloro-2-pyridinol (TCPy). Urinary T... more to CPF-oxon, a potent cholinesterase (ChE) inhibitor, and trichloro-2-pyridinol (TCPy). Urinary TCPy is often used as a biomarker for CPF exposure, whereas blood ChE activity is considered an indicator of CPF toxicity. However, whether these biomarkers are dose related has not been studied extensively in populations with repeated daily OP exposures. Objective: We sought to determine the relationship between blood ChE and urinary TCPy during repeated occupational exposures to CPF. Met h o d s: Daily urine samples and weekly blood samples were collected from pesticide workers (n = 38) in Menoufia Governorate, Egypt, before, during, and after 9–17 consecutive days of CPF application to cotton fields. We compared blood butyrylcholinesterase (BuChE) and acetylcholinesterase (AChE) activities with the respective urinary TCPy concentrations in each worker. Res u l t s: Average TCPy levels during the middle of a 1- to 2-week CPF application period were significantly higher in pesticide appl...
Epidemiologic studies conducted at hazardous waste sites present a number of methodologic difficu... more Epidemiologic studies conducted at hazardous waste sites present a number of methodologic difficulties in addition to those generally associated with observational studies in human populations (Marsh and Caplan, 1987). First, the populations studied are relatively small, making the identification of rare outcomes, such as cancer, difficult. Second, the latent period required for many clinical outcomes to be expressed may be long and the duration of residence for many members of the population inadequate for disease expression. Migration into and out of the study area may make precise ascertainment of duration of exposure difficult. Third, there may be a lack of specificity for many potential outcomes. Fourth, confounding bias exerted by other exposures (e.g., smoking, alcohol consumption, occupational exposures to chemicals) may make it difficult to determine whether associations detected are related to exposure to the waste site.
Outcomes Observable and measurable Observable, measurable, or self-reported Key challenges Extrap... more Outcomes Observable and measurable Observable, measurable, or self-reported Key challenges Extrapolation: species, high to low dose, duration Attribution to chemical(s) of interest a Adapted from Boyes et al., 2007.
Application flows naturally from good science, and behavioral toxicology is no exception. Phenome... more Application flows naturally from good science, and behavioral toxicology is no exception. Phenomena discovered and procedures developed in behavioral laboratories are being applied on a wide scale in commercial, industrial, and governmental settings. In behavioral toxicology, this transfer of technology has occurred in an ad hoc manner, albeit with a degree of sophistication. The development of technology transfer in other disciplines is instructive. A symposium at the May 2001 meeting of the Behavioral Toxicology Society examined this issue, and some participants provide their contributions here. Henry Pennypacker examines the issue of whether behavioral procedures can meet the demanding standards required to transfer technology to commercial endeavors and concludes that, under some conditions, they can. He notes that the shortage of well-developed and transferred behavioral technologies results from a lack of understanding of the process of technology transfer on the part of behavior analysts. In the field of engineering, the results of basic research are transformed to candidate technologies that meet standardized criteria with respect to three properties: quantification, repetition, and verification. Kent Anger describes the challenging steps in the trail from the laboratory to wide-scale application-steps that are essential for the scaling up of any behavioral technique. Finally, Paul Mele describes the legal background to patenting and copyrighting ideas, a process that behaviorists have rarely used. Together, these topics identify the requirements and warn of the challenges and intricacies that await those who seek to transfer behavioral technology beyond the laboratory.
Farmworkers are exposed to numerous hazards in the course of their work, including injury and exp... more Farmworkers are exposed to numerous hazards in the course of their work, including injury and exposure to pesticides and other toxicants (Moses et al. 1993; Villarejo and Baron 1999). Farmworkers are a vulnerable occupational group: They are often foreign-born and may not speak English; they may lack formal education; and they and their families often live in poverty. The agricultural industry is exempt from many federal regulations governing the workplace, and farmworkers are rarely represented by labor unions. Potential adverse health effects of farm work include traumatic injury, musculoskeletal disorders, respiratory conditions, dermatitis, cancer, and neurologic disorders. Some of these conditions may be related to pesticide exposure (Das et al. 2001; Keifer and Mahurin 1997; Moses et al. 1993). The health effects of farm work are compounded by the relative lack of access of this group to medical information and care. Farmworkers in several settings have been reported to experience elevated rates of neurologic dysfunction. For example, they had increased frequency of neurologic symptoms (Ciesielski et al. 1994; Gomes et al. 1999) and decreased performance on some neurobehavioral tests (Bazylewicz-Walczak et al. 1999; Gomes et al. 1999; Rohlman et al. 2001) compared with unexposed workers. Farmworkers with a history of pesticide poisoning experienced more symptoms and had impaired neurobehavioral performance relative to nonpoisoned controls (McConnell et al. 1994; Rosenstock et al. 1991; Wesseling et al. 2002). We report here the results of a large, population-based study of farmworkers in central Florida. The focus of the study was the relationship of long-term experience of farm work to neurobehavioral performance and potential differences related to type of farm work. We took into account important confounders, including education and acculturation. Materials and Methods Population. We conducted a cross-sectional study in central Florida in 1996-1997. Study participants were recruited in collaboration with the Farmworkers Association of Florida, a farmworker advocacy group (Kamel et al. 2001). Our target population was members of the Community Trust Federal Credit Union and their spouses. The Credit Union is a small savings institution with branches in several Florida communities. It is affiliated with several community organizations, including the Farmworkers Association; many but not all of its members are farmworkers. Credit Union members were typical members of the local communities (Kamel et al. 2001). We randomly selected names from the membership lists of the Credit Union in two communities, Apopka and Pierson.
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Papers by W. Kent Anger