Newsworthy Items
Public Interest
PA-State Legislator team visits CEET to discuss health bill on hydrofracking. From left to right: Mr. Richard Pepino (Deputy Director of CEET COEC); Dr. Trevor Penning (Director of CEET); Mr. Richard Fox (Executive Director Senate Environmental Resources and Energy Committee); Ms. Mary Pat Tomei (Senator Daylin Leach’s Office, Community Outreach Director); and Dr. Rey Panettieri (Director IHSFC, CEET). The visit took place on Friday March 22nd 2013.
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On May 23, the UNC Chapel Hill Center for Environmental Health and Susceptibility hosted the seminar "Hydrofracking: Public Health Issues and Impacts," presented by Dr. Trevor Penning, the Director of the Center of Excellence in Environmental Toxicology at the University of Pennsylvania. Over 110 faculty, staff, students, representatives of federal and state health and environment offices, and community leaders and members attended the hour-long presentation or joined the live webcast. Following his presentation on the process and potential health implications of hydrofracking, Dr. Penning answered questions from the audience. Click here to access the archived webcast of the presentation
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A study conducted by researchers at the University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine and colleagues, and published in Reproductive Toxicology, found that maternal exposure to C8, a chemical used in the manufacture of non-stick surfaces, was not associated with an increased risk of birth defects and pregnancy complications. These findings are based on an examination of the vital records of babies and mothers residing in Little Hocking, Ohio, who were exposed to significant amounts of C8 through residential drinking water. Edward Emmett, MD, MS, Director of the Community Outreach and Engagement Core of the CEET, is co-author of the study.
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Anticancer Activity from Select Herbal Additives Found in Ancient Alcoholic Beverages
Penn Museum and Penn Medicine Research Collaboration Yields First Promising Evidence for Efficacy of Medicinal Compounds Once Employed by Our Ancestors
New biomolecular archaeological evidence backed up by increasingly sophisticated scientific testing techniques are uncovering medicinal remedies discovered, tested, and sometimes lost, throughout millennia of human history—herbs, tree resins, and other organic materials dispensed by ancient fermented beverages like wine and beer. Did those ancient "remedies" work-and if so, is there something we can learn—or re-learn—from our ancestors to help sick people today?
A review of the research undertaken, and early results obtained, is available in the July 2010 issue of International Journal of Oncology (“Anticancer activity of botanical compounds in ancient fermented beverages” authored by Dr. McGovern, with M. Christofidou-Solomidou, W. Wang, F. Dukes, T. Davidson, and W.S. El-Deiry.)
Photo: Patrick McGovern and Melpo Christofidou-Solomidou ( member of CEET Lung and Airway Disease Affinity Group) examine a sherd from Jiahu (China), which provided evidence for the earliest alcoholic beverage in the world to date--ca. 7000 BCE.
BoRit Asbestos Site Added to Superfund List
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency today announced the addition of the BoRit Asbestos Site in Ambler, Pa. to the Superfund National Priorities List (NPL).
The Lung Cancer Enablers
Jong-Heum Park et al. illuminate one of the three pathways by which polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) can be activated, showing for the first time the specific pathway for oxidative damage in human lung cell.
Evidence for the Aldo-Keto Reductase Pathway of Polycyclic Aromatic Trans-dihydrodiol Activation in Human Lung A549 Cells. Park JH, Mangal D, Tacka KA, Quinn AM, Harvey RG, Blair IA, Penning TM. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. 2008 May 13;105(19):6846-51.
Tracking The Chemicals In Us: Monitoring trace chemicals in people has benefited public health, but many challenges lie ahead
LARGE-SCALE MEASUREMENTS of chemicals in human tissues, or biomonitoring, is only about two decades old. But it has already led to a revolution in how chemical exposures are assessed in humans, to new opportunities in disease detection and prevention, and to a recognition that endocrine disrupters—compounds that mimic hormones or interfere with hormonal action—in the environment may cause a variety of adverse effects.
By
Bette Hileman
Chemical and Engineering News, April 23, 2007, Volume 85, Number 17, pp 32-34.
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The Pattern of p53 Mutations Caused by PAH o-quinones is Driven by 8-oxo-dGuo Formation While the Spectrum of Mutations is Determined by Biological Selection for Dominance. Park JH, Gelhaus S, Vedantam S, Oliva AL, Batra A, Blair IA, Troxel AB, Field J, Penning TM. Chem Res Toxicol. 2008 May;21(5):1039-49. |
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Evidence for the Aldo-Keto Reductase Pathway of Polycyclic Aromatic Trans-dihydrodiol Activation in Human Lung A549 Cells. Park JH, Mangal D, Tacka KA, Quinn AM, Harvey RG, Blair IA, Penning TM. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. 2008 May 13;105(19):6846-51. |
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** The 2007 Most Highly Cited Article of Amercan Chemical Society Journals** Metabolism of Benzo[a]pyrene in Human Bronchoalveolar H358 Cells Using Liquid Chromatography-mass Spectrometry. Jiang H, Gelhaus SL, Mangal D, Harvey RG, Blair IA, Penning TM. Chem Res Toxicol. 2007 Sep;20(9):1331-41. Epub 2007 Aug 17. PMID: 17702526 |
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** A 2006 Most-Cited Article of American Chemical Society Journals ** Competing Roles of Aldo-Keto Reductase 1A1 and Cytochrome P4501B1 in Benzo[a]pyrene-7,8-diol Activation in Human Bronchoalveolar H358 Cells: Role of AKRs in P4501B1 Induction (pdf) |
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Proteomic Profiling of Accessory Structures from the Mouse Sperm Flagellum (pdf) Wenlei Cao, George L. Gerton, and Stuart B. Moss Molecular & Cellular Proteomics. 5.5 (2006), 801-810. |
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Reactive Oxygen Species Generated by PAH o-Quinones Cause Change-In-Function Mutations in p53 (pdf) Yu, Deshan, Jesse A. Berlin, Trevor M. Penning, and Jeffrey Field Chemical Research in Toxicology. 15:6 (June, 2002), 832-842. |
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Role of Quinones in Toxicology (pdf) Bolton, Judy L., Michael A. Trush, Trevor M. Penning, Glenn Dryhurst, and Terrence J. Monks. Chemical Research in Toxicology. 13:3 (March, 2000), 135-160. |
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** A Highly Cited Paper of American Chemical Society Journals** Dihydrodiol Dehydrogenases and Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbon Activation: Generation of Reactive and Redox Active o -Quinones |
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Citation Classic: A New Nomenclature for the Aldo-Keto Reductase Superfamily (pdf) |
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