Home-based exercise is associated with improved cardiac functional performance in patients after acute myocardial infarction.

OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the effects of home-based exercise and physical activity on cardiac functional performance in patients after acute myocardial infarction (MI) during the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic. METHODS: This retrospective study enrolled patients that received treatment of acute ST-segment elevation MI between and were followed-up 6 months later. The patients were divided into physically active and inactive groups based on their levels of home exercise after hospital discharge. RESULTS: A total of 78 patients were enrolled in the study: 32 were physically active and 46 were physically inactive. The baseline characteristics were comparable between the two groups. At the 6-month visit, left ventricular ejection fraction and six-minute walking test (6MWT) were significantly improved while the proportion of patients with a New York Heart Association (NYHA) functional III classification was decreased in the active patients, whereas these parameters were not significantly changed in the inactive patients. In addition, the 6MWT was greater while the proportion of patients with an NYHA III classification was lower in the active group than the inactive group at the 6-month visit. CONCLUSION: Maintaining physical activity at home was associated with improved cardiac functional performance in patients after acute MI during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Brominated flame retardants in house dust from e-waste recycling and urban areas in South China: implications on human exposure.

Brominated flame retardants (BFRs) were examined in house dust from the electronic waste (e-waste) recycling and urban areas of South China. The concentrations of polybrominated diphenyl ethers (PBDEs) were in the range of 227-160,000 ng/g in the e-waste recycling area and 530-44,000 ng/g in the urban area. These values were much higher than other BFRs, except for novel decabromodiphenyl ethane (DBDPE) whose value of 100-47,000 ng/g was dominant in approximately 1/4 of the samples from the urban area. Urban dust PBDE levels were generally higher than those in many European and Asian countries and comparable to the values found in North America. Urban dust DBDPE levels were higher than those of other areas in the world. The distinct dust BFR profiles observed in the two studied areas were reflective of activities in these areas (electronics industry vs. e-waste recycling). The presence of BDE202, as well as the BDE197 to BDE201 and the nona-BDEs to deca-BDE ratios in the dust samples from the studied areas were probably indicative of environmental degradation of deca-BDE. The estimated daily intakes (EDIs) of average adult and toddler via house dust ranged from 37.0 to 304 ng/day for PBDEs and from 3.01 to 87.6 ng/day for all other BFRs in the studied areas. The EDIs via house dust were much higher than those via other indoor pathways (air, fish, human milk, and toys). Despite the potentially low deleterious risk of PBDE exposure via house dust as suggested by the hazard quotients, this exposure pathway should be of great concern because of the higher BFR exposures for children and the presence of other BFRs (such as DBDPE) which have not yet been fully investigated.

[Polybrominated diphenyl ethers (PBDEs) in indoor and outdoor dust from an electronic waste (e-waste) recycling area in South China: contamination and human exposure].

Twenty-four indoor and fifteen outdoor dust samples were collected from an electronic waste (e-waste) area, South China in October 2006 and October 2007 and analyzed for seventeen PBDE congeners. PBDEs were detected in all dust samples. The total PBDE concentrations for indoor dusts ranged from 230-157500 ng/g, with a mean value of 9 400 ng/g, and 212-25 880 ng/g, with a mean value of 3 311 ng/g for outdoor samples, respectively. The PBDE concentrations in the present study were at the high end of the worldwide figures. BDE209 was the predominant congener. Comparison of the PBDE congener patterns in dusts and technical products suggests that the relatively high abundances of octa- to nona-PBDE congeners in the dusts might be originated from the degradation of BDE209. The average exposure estimates of PBDEs via dusts are 470, 329 and 188 ng/d for infants, toddlers and adults, respectively. The highest exposure estimates for infants and toddlers (31 500 and 19 700 ng/d) were 4 and 2.5 fold higher than those for adults. These results indicate that dust may be a very important route of exposure for PBDEs in local residents.

Measurement and human exposure assessment of brominated flame retardants in household products from South China.

Brominated flame retardants (BFRs), polybrominated diphenyl ethers (PBDEs), and decabromodiphenyl ethane (DBDPE) were examined in household products in the Pearl River Delta, South China, including electronic appliances, furniture and upholstery, car interiors, and raw materials for electronics. The concentrations of PBDEs derived from penta-BDE mixture were much lower (<111 ng/g) than those for octa- and deca-BDE commercially derived PBDEs, with maximum values of 15,107 and 1,603,343 ng/g, respectively, in all the household products. Our findings suggest the recycling of old electronic products and their reuse might be also a potential important source of discontinued PBDEs to the environment. DBDPE was found in 20.0% of all the samples, ranging from 311 to 268,230 ng/g. PBDE congener profiles in both the household products and raw materials suggest that some less brominated BDEs in the environment may be derived from the decomposition of higher brominated PBDEs in PBDE-containing products in process of the manufacturing, use and/or recycling. Human exposure to PBDEs from household products via inhalation ranged from 175 to 612 pg/kg bw day, accounting for a small proportion of the total daily exposure via indoor inhalation. Despite the low deleterious risk associated with household products with regard to PBDEs, they are of special concern because of the relatively higher exposures observed for young children and further work is required.

Increasing polybrominated diphenyl ether (PBDE) contamination in sediment cores from the inner Clyde Estuary, UK.

The concentrations of 16 polybrominated diphenyl ether (PBDE) congeners in six short sediment cores from the Clyde Estuary were determined by gas-chromatography mass-spectrometry. Total PBDE concentrations ranged from 1 to 2,645 mug/kg and the average concentration was 287 mug/kg. BDE-209 was the main congener and varied from 1 to 2,337 mug/kg. Elevated total PBDE concentrations were observed close to the sediment surface in the uppermost 10 cm of four of the six sediment cores. Comparison of the down core PBDE profiles revealed that the increase was driven by the accumulation of deca-BDE. Although the deca-BDE mix was dominant, the presence of lower molecular weight congeners BDE-47, BDE-99, BDE-183 and BDE-153 at most sediment intervals suggested additional sources of penta-BDE and octa-BDE pollution. Changing PBDE source input was the major factor in influencing the proportion of nona-brominated congeners, although other explanations such as post burial photo-debromination of BDE-209 cannot be entirely discounted. A clear cascading to lower hepta-, hexa-, and penta-homologues was not found. The increase in total PBDE concentrations and particularly the deca-BDE may possibly be ascribed to the use and subsequent disposal of electrical appliances such as televisions and computers. In the Clyde sediments, the proportion of nona-brominated congeners was higher than that reported for commercial mixtures. This might be due to changing sources of PBDEs or post burial photo-debromination of BDE-209.

Brominated flame retardants in children's toys: concentration, composition, and children's exposure and risk assessment.

Brominated flame retardants (BFRs), including polybrominated diphenyl ethers (PBDEs), 1,2-bis(2,4,6-tribromophenoxy)ethane (BTBPE), decabromodiphenyl ethane (DBDPE), and polybrominated biphenyls (PBBs) were found in children's toys purchased from South China. The median BFR concentrations in the hard plastic toys were 53,000, 5540 ng/g, 101.1 ng/g, and 27.9 ng/g, fortotal PBDEs, DBDPE, BTBPE, and PBBs, respectively,which were notably higher than values in other toys. The PBDE concentrations were below the threshold limit (1000 ppm) required bythe European Commission's Restriction of Hazardous Substances (RoHS) and Waste Electrical and Electronic Equipment (WEEE) directives in all of the toys, except for one hard plastic toy with a total PBDE concentration of 5,344,000 ng/g. The BFR profiles in the toys were consistent with the patterns of their current production and consumption in China, where PBDEs, specifically decaBDE product, were the dominant BFR, followed by the emerging DBDPE. The relatively high concentrations of octa- and nonaBDEs in the foam toys and the results of principal component analysis (PCA) may suggest the decomposition of highly brominated BDEs during the manufacturing processes of the toys. Daily total PBDE exposures associated with toys via inhalation, mouthing, dermal contact, and oral ingestion ranged from 82.6 to 8992 pg/kg bw-day for children of 3 months to 14 years of age. Higher exposures, predominantly contributed through the mouthing pathway, were observed for infants and toddlers than for the other subgroups. In most cases, children's BFR exposure via the toys likely accounts for a small proportion of their daily BFR exposure, and the hazard quotients for noncancer risk evaluation were far below 1. To the author's knowledge, this is the first study to examine the concentrations of BFRs in toys, and the potential exposures to children.

Occurrence of brominated flame retardants other than polybrominated diphenyl ethers in environmental and biota samples from southern China.

The concentrations of three currently used non-polybrominated diphenyl ether (PBDE) brominated flame retardants (BFRs), 1,2-bis(2,4,6-tribromophenoxy)ethane (BTBPE), decabromodiphenyl ethane (DBDPE), and tetrabromobisphenol A bis (2,3-dibromopropyl ether) (TBBPA-DBPE), were examined in environmental and biota samples collected from the Pearl River Delta (PRD) and an electronic waste (e-waste) area in southern China. We also examined deca-BDE (decabromodiphenyl ether) and nine tri- through hepta-BDE congeners for comparison. The results indicate that these non-PBDE BFRs occur widely in the environment of the two study areas. We found a noticeable increase in the levels of TBBPA-DBPE and DBDPE in recent sediments, the concentrations of which even exceed those of BDE209 (deca-BDE) in some samples from the PRD. The BFR profiles of the two study areas are distinct. Relatively high proportions of DBDPE and TBBPA-DBPE were found in the PRD environment, whereas the levels of discontinued BFRs (penta-BDEs and BDE183) and BTBPE were higher in the e-waste area. Our results suggest that the industrial activities in the PRD and the recycling of e-waste have introduced distinct types of BFR contamination to the ambient environment and deca-BDE product has been partly replaced by the TBBPA-DBPE and DBDPE in the PRD. Furthermore, BTBPE and DBDPE were detected in bird tissues and BTBPE in the fish tissues collected from the e-waste area. This is the first report of the occurrence of TBBPA-DBPE in environmental samples worldwide. More studies are needed for reaching a better understanding of the behavior, bioaccumulation, and toxicology of these increasingly used BFRs in the environment.