The presence of erionite in North American geologies and the estimated mesothelioma potency by region.

OBJECTIVE: Erionite is a naturally occurring fibrous mineral found in soils in some geographical regions. Known for its potency for causing mesothelioma in the Cappadocia region of Turkey, the erionite fiber has attracted interest in the United States due to its presence in a band of rock that extends from Mexico to Montana. There are few toxicology studies of erionite, but all show it to have unusually high chronic toxicity. Despite its high potency compared to asbestos fibers, erionite has no occupational or environmental exposure limits. This paper takes what has been learned about the chemical and physical characteristics of the various forms of asbestos (chrysotile, amosite, anthophyllite, and crocidolite) and predicts the potency of North American erionite fibers. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Based on the fiber potency model in Korchevskiy et al. (2019) and the available published information on erionite, the estimated mesothelioma potency factors (the proportion of mesothelioma mortality per unit cumulative exposure (f/cc-year)) for erionites in the western United States were determined. RESULTS AND DISCUSSION: The model predicted potency factors ranged from 0.19 to 11.25 (average ∼3.5), depending on the region. For reference, crocidolite (the most potent commercial form of asbestos) is assigned a potency factor ∼0.5. CONCLUSION: The model predicted mesothelioma potency of Turkish erionite (4.53) falls in this same range of potencies as erionite found in North America. Although it can vary by region, a reasonable ratio of average mesothelioma potency based on this model is 3,000:500:100:1 comparing North American erionite, crocidolite, amosite, and chrysotile (from most potent to least potent).

[Is the epidemiological surveillance of malignant mesothelioma implemented in Italy still valid and necessary?] / La sorveglianza epidemiologica del mesotelioma maligno attuata in Italia è ancora valida e necessaria?

The register of malignant mesotheliomas can still play an informative role in the context of both remediation activities and the health surveillance of former asbestos-exposed persons, and become an epidemiological surveillance system on the harmful effects of exposure to asbestos. It must, however, maintain and improve the level of quality achieved, resolve the problems that have emerged in the interaction between the local level (where cases and their exposure histories are identified, registered, assessed, and medical insurance procedures activated) and the central insurance body that also manages the national register, and become an active participant in research, including clinical research. All this is important to meet the social and welfare justice needs of individual cases.

Complex Genomic Rearrangement Patterns in Malignant Pleural Mesothelioma due to Environmental Asbestos Exposure.

Malignant pleural mesothelioma (MPM) is a rare type of cancer, and its main risk factor is exposure to asbestos. Accordingly, our knowledge of the genomic structure of an MPM tumor is limited when compared to other cancers. In this study, we aimed to characterize complex genomic rearrangement patterns and variations to better understand the genomics of MPM tumors. We comparatively scanned 3 MPM tumor genomes by Whole-Genome Sequencing and High-Resolution SNP array. We also used various computational algorithms to detect both CNAs and complex chromosomal rearrangements. Genomic data obtained from each bioinformatics tool are interpreted comparatively to better understand CNAs and cancer-related Nucleotide variations in MPM tumors. In patients 1 and 2, we found pathogenic nucleotide variants of BAP1, RB1, and TP53. These two MPM genomes exhibited a highly rearranged chromosomal rearrangement pattern resembling Chromomanagesis particularly in the form of Chromoanasynthesis. In patient 3, we found nucleotide variants of important cancer-related genes, including TGFBR1, KMT2C, and PALLD, to have lower chromosomal rearrangement complexity compared with patients 1 and 2. We also detected several actionable nucleotide variants including XRCC1, ERCC2. We also discovered the SKA3-DDX10 fusion in two MPM genomes, which is a novel finding for MPM. We found that MPM genomes are very complex, suggesting that this highly rearranged pattern is strongly related to driver mutational status like BAP1, TP53 and RB1.

Impact of climate change on temperature variations and extrinsic incubation period of malaria parasites in Chennai, India: implications for its disease transmission potential.

BACKGROUND: The global temperature has significantly risen in the past century. Studies have indicated that higher temperature intensifies malaria transmission in tropical and temperate countries. Temperature fluctuations will have a potential impact on parasite development in the vector Anopheles mosquito. METHODS: Year-long microclimate temperatures were recorded from a malaria-endemic area, Chennai, India, from September 2021 to August 2022. HOBO data loggers were placed in different vector resting sites including indoor and outdoor roof types. Downloaded temperatures were categorised by season, and the mean temperature was compared with data from the same study area recorded from November 2012 to October 2013. The extrinsic incubation period for Plasmodium falciparum and P. vivax was calculated from longitudinal temperatures recorded during both periods. Vector surveillance was also carried out in the area during the summer season. RESULTS: In general, temperature and daily temperature range (DTR) have increased significantly compared to the 2012-2013 data, especially the DTR of indoor asbestos structures, from 4.30 â„ƒ to 12.62 â„ƒ in 2021-2022, unlike the marginal increase observed in thatched and concrete structures. Likewise, the average DTR of outdoor asbestos structures increased from 5.02 â„ƒ (2012-2013) to 8.76 â„ƒ (2021-2022) although the increase was marginal in thatched structures and, surprisingly, showed no such changes in concrete structures. The key finding of the extrinsic incubation period (EIP) is that a decreasing trend was observed in 2021-2022 compared to 2012-2013, mainly in indoor asbestos structures from 7.01 to 6.35 days, which negatively correlated with the current observation of an increase in temperature. Vector surveillance undertaken in the summer season revealed the presence of Anopheles breeding in various habitats. Anopheles stephensi could be collected using CDC light traps along with other mosquito species. CONCLUSION: The microclimate temperature has increased significantly over the years, and mosquitoes are gradually adapting to this rising temperature. Temperature negatively correlates with the extrinsic incubation period of the parasite. As the temperature increases, the development of the parasite in An. stephensi will be faster because of a decrease in EIP, thus requiring relatively fewer days, posing a risk for disease transmission and a hindrance to malaria elimination efforts.

Iron nuclearity in mineral fibres: Unravelling the catalytic activity for predictive modelling of toxicity.

Chronic inflammation induced in vivo by mineral fibres, such as asbestos, is sustained by the cyclic formation of cytotoxic/genotoxic oxidant species that are catalysed by iron. High catalytic activity is observed when iron atoms are isolated in the crystal lattice (nuclearity=1), whereas the catalytic activity is expected to be reduced or null when iron forms clusters of higher nuclearity. This study presents a novel approach for systematically measuring iron nuclearity across a large range of iron-containing standards and mineral fibres of social and economic importance, and for quantitatively assessing the relation between nuclearity and toxicity. The multivariate curve resolution (MCR) empirical approach and density functional theory (DFT) calculations were applied to the analysis of UV-Vis spectra to obtain information on the nature of iron and nuclearity. This approach led to the determination of the nuclearity of selected mineral fibres which was subsequently used to calculate a toxicity-related index. High nuclearity-related toxicity was estimated for chrysotile samples, fibrous glaucophane, asbestos tremolite, and fibrous wollastonite. Intermediate values of toxicity, corresponding to a mean nuclearity of 2, were assigned to actinolite asbestos, amosite, and crocidolite. Finally, a low nuclearity-related toxicity parameter, corresponding to an iron-cluster with a lower catalytic power to produce oxidants, was assigned to asbestos anthophyllite.

Classification of asbestos and their nonasbestiform analogues using FTIR and multivariate data analysis.

This study presents a possible application of Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) spectrometry and multivariate data analysis, principal component analysis (PCA), and partial least squares-discriminant analysis (PLS-DA) for classifying asbestos and their nonasbestiform analogues. The objectives of the study are: 1) to classify six regulated asbestos types and 2) to classify between asbestos types and their nonasbestiform analogues. The respirable fraction of six regulated asbestos types and their nonasbestiform analogues were prepared in potassium bromide pellets and collected on polyvinyl chloride membrane filters for FTIR measurement. Both PCA and PLS-DA classified asbestos types and their nonasbestiform analogues on the score plots showed a very distinct clustering of samples between the serpentine (chrysotile) and amphibole groups. The PLS-DA model provided ∼95% correct prediction with a single asbestos type in the sample, although it did not provide all correct predictions for all the challenge samples due to their inherent complexity and the limited sample number. Further studies are necessary for a better prediction level in real samples and standardization of sampling and analysis procedures.

Pleural mesothelioma (PMe): The evolving molecular knowledge of a rare and aggressive cancer.

Mesothelioma is a type of late-onset cancer that develops in cells covering the outer surface of organs. Although it can affect the peritoneum, heart, or testicles, it mainly targets the lining of the lungs, making pleural mesothelioma (PMe) the most common and widely studied mesothelioma type. PMe is caused by exposure to fibres of asbestos, which when inhaled leads to inflammation and scarring of the pleura. Despite the ban on asbestos by most Western countries, the incidence of PMe is on the rise, also facilitated by a lack of specific symptomatology and diagnostic methods. Therapeutic options are also limited to mainly palliative care, making this disease untreatable. Here we present an overview of biological aspects underlying PMe by listing genetic and molecular mechanisms behind its onset, aggressive nature, and fast-paced progression. To this end, we report on the role of deubiquitinase BRCA1-associated protein-1 (BAP1), a tumour suppressor gene with a widely acknowledged role in the corrupted signalling and metabolism of PMe. This review aims to enhance our understanding of this devastating malignancy and propel efforts for its investigation.

Elongated particulate burden in an individual who died of mesothelioma and had an occupational history as a talc "mucker".

INTRODUCTION: Tissue from a 77-year-old man diagnosed with mesothelioma was referred with a request for identification of the presence of fibrous structures in tissue samples. The individual's work history including working as a "mucker" at a specific "industrial" talc mine. METHODS: Ferruginous bodies in the tissue digests as well as asbestos fibers were found. A bulk sample of a talc containing product from that mine was also analyzed. DISCUSSIONS/CONCLUSIONS: The correlation between the unique asbestos mineral/fibrous content of the talc to which he was exposed and findings of the same type of asbestos found in his lung is discussed. The type of asbestos found (tremolite) is a "non-commercial" type of asbestos that has been identified in some talc deposits. Tremolite, like all forms of asbestos is a causative agent for mesothelioma-the disease from which this individual suffered.

Risk assessment and source analysis of heavy metals in soil around an asbestos mine in an arid plateau region, China.

Asbestos is widely used in construction, manufacturing, and other common industrial fields. Human activities such as mining, processing, and transportation can release heavy metals from asbestos into the surrounding soil environment, posing a health hazard to the mining area's environment and its surrounding residents. The purpose of the present study was to determine the extent of ecological and human health damage caused by asbestos pollution, as well as the primary contributors to the contamination, by examining a large asbestos mine and the surrounding soil in China. The level of heavy metal pollution in soil and sources were analyzed using methods such as the geo-accumulation index (Igeo), potential ecological risk index (RI), and positive matrix factorization (PMF) model. A Monte Carlo simulation-based health risk model was employed to assess the health risks of heavy metals in the study area's soil to human beings. The results showed that the concentrations of As, Pb, Cr, Cu, and Ni in the soil were 1.74, 0.13, 13.31, 0.33, and 33.37 times higher than the local soil background values, respectively. The Igeo assessment indicated significant accumulation effects for Ni, Cr, and As. The RI evaluation revealed extremely high comprehensive ecological risks (RI ≥ 444) in the vicinity of the waste residue heap and beneficiation area, with Ni exhibiting strong individual potential ecological risk (Eir ≥ 320). The soil health risk assessment demonstrated that As and Cr posed carcinogenic risks to adults, with mean carcinogenic indices (CR) of 1.56E - 05 and 4.14E - 06, respectively. As, Cr, and Cd posed carcinogenic risks to children, with mean CRs of 1.08E - 04, 1.61E - 05, and 2.68E - 06, respectively. Cr also posed certain non-carcinogenic risks to both adults and children. The PMF model identified asbestos contamination as the primary source of heavy metals in the soil surrounding the asbestos mining area, contributing to 79.0%. According to this study, it is recommended that management exercise oversight and regulation over the concentrations of Ni, Cr, Cd, and As in the soil adjacent to asbestos mines, establish a designated control zone to restrict population activities, and locate residential zones at a safe distance from the asbestos mine production zone.

Pictorial Review of Pleural Disease: Multimodality Imaging and Differential Diagnosis.

The pleura is a thin, smooth, soft-tissue structure that lines the pleural cavity and separates the lungs from the chest wall, consisting of the visceral and parietal pleurae and physiologic pleural fluid. There is a broad spectrum of normal variations and abnormalities in the pleura, including pneumothorax, pleural effusion, and pleural thickening. Pneumothorax is associated with pulmonary diseases and is caused by iatrogenic or traumatic factors. Chest radiography and US help detect pneumothorax with various signs, and CT can also help assess the causes. Pleural effusion occurs in a wide spectrum of diseases, such as heart failure, cirrhosis, asbestos-related diseases, infections, chylothorax, and malignancies. Chest US allows detection of a small pleural effusion and evaluation of echogenicity or septa in pleural effusion. Pleural thickening may manifest as unilateral or bilateral and as focal, multifocal, or diffuse. Various diseases can demonstrate pleural thickening, such as asbestos-related diseases, neoplasms, and systemic diseases. CT, MRI, and fluorodeoxyglucose (FDG) PET/CT can help differentiate between benign and malignant lesions. Knowledge of these features can aid radiologists in suggesting diagnoses and recommending further examinations with other imaging modalities. The authors provide a comprehensive review of the clinical and multimodality imaging findings of pleural diseases and their differential diagnoses. ©RSNA, 2024 Test Your Knowledge questions for this article are available in the supplemental material.

Recycling thermally deactivated asbestos cement in mortar: A possible route towards a rapid conclusion of the "asbestos problem".

The "asbestos problem" arises from the fact that asbestos is still abundant in many buildings and represents a hazard for human health. Current strategies adopted by law aiming at mitigating this hazard are far from being ideal. A smarter solution would be an energy sustainable detoxification treatment followed by recycling. If adopted, it would preserve the environment from pollution, natural resources from depletion and human health from hazard. Asbestos-cement slates were thermally deactivated through a sustainable process and reused in mortar for plaster applications. We found that the addition up to 7 wt% of the deactivated product does not affect significantly the water demand; does not affect thixotropy, stickiness and spreadability of the plastic mixture; slightly increases the strength of the mortar; does not compromise mechanical properties after aging. Considering the huge amount of traditional mortar employed worldwide, a rapid end of the "asbestos problem" is envisaged.

Global, regional, and national burden of non-communicable diseases attributable to occupational asbestos exposure 1990-2019 and prediction to 2035: worsening or improving?

Understanding the burden associated with occupational asbestos exposure on a global and regional scale is necessary to implement coordinated prevention and control strategies. By the GBD Study 2019, we conducted a comprehensive assessment of the non-communicable diseases burden attributable to occupational asbestos exposure. In 2019, 239,330 deaths and 4,189,000 disability-adjusted life years (DALYs) worldwide due to occupational asbestos exposure occurred. 1990-2019, deaths and DALYs attributed to occupational asbestos exposure increased by 65.65% and 43.66%, respectively. Age-standardized mortality rate (ASMR) and age-standardized DALYs rate (ASDR) decreased, with the most rapid declines in high Socio-Demographic Index (SDI) regions, with average annual percent change (AAPC) of - 1.05(95%CI: -1.2, -0.89) and -1.53(95%CI: -1.71, -1.36), respectively. Lung cancer, mesothelioma and ovarian cancer were the top three contributors to the increase in deaths and DALYs, accounting for more than 96%. AAPCs of ASMR and ASDR were positively associated with SDI. Global deaths from occupational asbestos exposure were predicted to increase and ASMR to decrease by 2035, mostly in males. Due consideration should be given to the susceptibility of the elderly, the lag of asbestos onset, and the regional differences, and constantly improve the prevention and control measures of occupational asbestos exposure and related diseases.

[Research progress on pathogenesis of malignant mesothelioma].

The occurrence of malignant mesothelioma is related to exposure of asbestos. And many researchers have conducted in-depth analysis of the molecular changes of mesothelioma, showed that its molecular characteristics were chromosome changes, including chromosome rearrangement, gene mutation and gene deletion. Recent studies have strengthened our understanding of molecular characterization of mesothelioma, such as targeted mutations of tumor suppressor genes, differential gene expression, changes of miRNA and signal pathways. It is of great significance for the early diagnosis, clinical treatment and prognosis of malignant mesothelioma to explore the pathogenesis and development of malignant mesothelioma. This article reviews the research progress on the pathogenesis and carcinogenesis-related molecules of malignant mesothelioma.

Mechanisms of action of mineral fibres in a placental syncytiotrophoblast model: An in vitro toxicology study.

Asbestos has been widely used due to its unique characteristics. It is known that exposure to asbestos causes serious damage to health but one species, chrysolite, is still used because it is considered less toxic and not biopersistent in some countries. The aim of our study was to investigate if cellular process underlying the proliferation, differentiation and cell death of placental tissues could be modify in presence of asbestos fibres (50 µg/ml final concentration), long chrysolite fibres (CHR-L) and short chrysolite fibres (CHR-S), using BeWo cell line, an in vitro model that mimics the syncytiotrophoblast (STB), the outer layer of placental villi. Our data demonstrated that none of the fibres analysed alter syncytiotrophoblast formation but all of them induce ROS formation and reduced cell proliferation. Moreover, we showed that only CHR-L fibre induced was able to induce irreversible DNA alterations that carried cells to apoptosis. In fact, BeWo cells exposed to CHR-L fibre showed a significant increase in cleaved CASP3 protein, a marker of apoptosis. These data suggest that CHR-L may induce death of the placental villi leading to impaired placental development. The impairment of placental development is the basis of many gestational pathologies such as preeclampsia and intrauterine growth retardation. Since these pathologies are very dangerous for foetal and maternal life, we suggest to the gynaecologists to carefully evaluate the area of maternal residence, the working environment, the food used, and the materials used daily to avoid contact with these fibres as much as possible.

Resolving asbestos and ultrafine particulate definitions with carcinogenicity.

As asbestos fibers and other fine particles have been studied extensively to correlate physical and chemical properties with their potential for negative human health impact on inhalation, there remains no concise definitions for the individual particle types nor collective considerations of combined variabilities. Extensive studies relating negative health to asbestos morphology, chemistry, surface effects, and biodurability form general qualitative bins of what is more likely causative or less, but do not provide enough information to quantitatively dismiss particles with parameters outside any given range. Further, natural mineral species and accessory mineralization makes standardization of universally applicable reference materials nearly unobtainable. With modern advent of engineered nanoparticles, we are adding even more unknowns to the universe of the microscopic size fraction and its potential for human disease, and our paradigm is challenged.

CHST4 Gene as a Potential Predictor of Clinical Outcome in Malignant Pleural Mesothelioma.

Malignant pleural mesothelioma (MPM) develops primarily from asbestos exposures and has a poor prognosis. In this study, The Cancer Genome Atlas was used to perform a comprehensive survival analysis, which identified the CHST4 gene as a potential predictor of favorable overall survival for patients with MPM. An enrichment analysis of favorable prognostic genes, including CHST4, showed immune-related ontological terms, whereas an analysis of unfavorable prognostic genes indicated cell-cycle-related terms. CHST4 mRNA expression in MPM was significantly correlated with Bindea immune-gene signatures. To validate the relationship between CHST4 expression and prognosis, we performed an immunohistochemical analysis of CHST4 protein expression in 23 surgical specimens from surgically treated patients with MPM who achieved macroscopic complete resection. The score calculated from the proportion and intensity staining was used to compare the intensity of CHST4 gene expression, which showed that CHST4 expression was stronger in patients with a better postoperative prognosis. The median overall postoperative survival was 107.8 months in the high-expression-score group and 38.0 months in the low-score group (p = 0.044, log-rank test). Survival after recurrence was also significantly improved by CHST4 expression. These results suggest that CHST4 is useful as a prognostic biomarker in MPM.

Detailed clinical course of a patient with rapidly progressing sarcomatoid pleural mesothelioma without p16 deletion with systemic haematogenous metastasis to soft tissues.

Sarcomatoid mesothelioma is difficult to differentiate from other mesotheliomas. Here, we describe the case of a man in his early 80s with sarcomatoid mesothelioma and a history of asbestos exposure. He initially presented with right-sided chest pain and was examined. Right-sided pleural effusion was detected; therefore, he was hospitalised. Based on the observed pleural effusion and biopsy result, the presence of a malignant tumour was excluded; hence, he was diagnosed with benign asbestos pleurisy. He subsequently developed left-sided pleural effusion, masses and lung nodules, and died 9.5 months after the initial examination. A definitive diagnosis of sarcomatoid mesothelioma with rapid systemic progression was established after detailed investigations using autopsy specimens. This rare case of mesothelioma-without p16 deletion (detected using fluorescence in situ hybridisation)-presented differently from the usual sarcomatoid mesothelioma.