David Sing and Charles F. Sing
Review: Impact of Direct Soil Exposures from Airborne Dust and Geophagy on Human Health
Int. J. Environ. Res. Public Health 2010, 7(3), 1205-1223; doi:10.3390/ijerph7031205 - published online 19 March 2010
Show/Hide AbstractAbstract: Over evolutionary time humans have developed a complex biological relationship with soils. Here we describe modes of soil exposure and their biological implications. We consider two types of soil exposure, the first being the continuous exposure to airborne soil, and the second being dietary ingestion of soils, or geophagy. It may be assumed that airborne dust and ingestion of soil have influenced the evolution of particular DNA sequences which control biological systems that enable individual organisms to take advantage of, adapt to and/or protect against exposures to soil materials. We review the potential for soil exposure as an environmental source of epigenetic signals which may influence the function of our genome in determining health and disease.

Christine Jacob
Article: Branching Processes: Their Role in Epidemiology
Int. J. Environ. Res. Public Health 2010, 7(3), 1186-1204; doi:10.3390/ijerph7031204 - published online 19 March 2010
Show/Hide AbstractAbstract: Branching processes are stochastic individual-based processes leading consequently to a bottom-up approach. In addition, since the state variables are random integer variables (representing population sizes), the extinction occurs at random finite time on the extinction set, thus leading to fine and realistic predictions. Starting from the simplest and well-known single-type Bienaymé-Galton-Watson branching process that was used by several authors for approximating the beginning of an epidemic, we then present a general branching model with age and population dependent individual transitions. However contrary to the classical Bienaymé-Galton-Watson or asymptotically Bienaymé-Galton-Watson setting, where the asymptotic behavior of the process, as time tends to infinity, is well understood, the asymptotic behavior of this general process is a new question. Here we give some solutions for dealing with this problem depending on whether the initial population size is large or small, and whether the disease is rare or non-rare when the initial population size is large.

Jaime H. Kapur, Victoria Rajamanickam and Michael F. Fleming
Article: Can the Blood Alcohol Concentration Be a Predictor for Increased Hospital Complications in Trauma Patients Involved in Motor Vehicle Crashes?
Int. J. Environ. Res. Public Health 2010, 7(3), 1174-1185; doi:10.3390/ijerph7031174 - published online 18 March 2010
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Alex G. Stewart, Paolo Luria, John Reid, Mary Lyons and Richard Jarvis
Article: Real or Illusory? Case Studies on the Public Perception of Environmental Health Risks in the North West of England
Int. J. Environ. Res. Public Health 2010, 7(3), 1153-1173; doi:10.3390/ijerph7031153 - published online 18 March 2010
Show/Hide AbstractAbstract: Applied research in a public health setting seeks to provide professionals with insights and knowledge into complex environmental issues to guide actions that reduce inequalities and improve health. We describe ten environmental case studies that explore the public perception of health risk. We employed logical analysis of components of each case study and comparative information to generate new evidence. The findings highlight how concerns about environmental issues measurably affect people’s wellbeing and led to the development of new understanding about the benefits of taking an earlier and more inclusive approach to risk communication that can now be tested further.

Vincent Seaman, Steve M. Dearwent, Debra Gable, Brian Lewis, Susan Metcalf, Ken Orloff, Bruce Tierney, Jane Zhu, James Logue, David Marchetto, Stephen Ostroff, Ronald Hoffman, Mingjiang Xu, David Carey, Porat Erlich, Glenn Gerhard, Paul Roda, Joseph Iannuzzo, Robert Lewis, John Mellow, Linda Mulvihill, Zachary Myles, Manxia Wu, Arthur Frank, Carol Ann Gross-Davis, Judith Klotz, Adam Lynch, Joel Weissfeld, Rona Weinberg and Henry Cole
Communication: A Multidisciplinary Investigation of a Polycythemia Vera Cancer Cluster of Unknown Origin
Int. J. Environ. Res. Public Health 2010, 7(3), 1139-1152; doi:10.3390/ijerph7031139 - published online 17 March 2010
Show/Hide AbstractAbstract: Cancer cluster investigations rarely receive significant public health resource allocations due to numerous inherent challenges and the limited success of past efforts. In 2008, a cluster of polycythemia vera, a rare blood cancer with unknown etiology, was identified in northeast Pennsylvania. A multidisciplinary group of federal and state agencies, academic institutions, and local healthcare providers subsequently developed a multifaceted research portfolio designed to better understand the cause of the cluster. This research agenda represents a unique and important opportunity to demonstrate that cancer cluster investigations can produce desirable public health and scientific outcomes when necessary resources are available.

Pedro Moreira, Susana Santos, Patrícia Padrão, Tânia Cordeiro, Mariana Bessa, Hugo Valente, Renata Barros, Vitor Teixeira, Vanessa Mitchell, Carla Lopes and André Moreira
Article: Food Patterns According to Sociodemographics, Physical Activity, Sleeping and Obesity in Portuguese Children
Int. J. Environ. Res. Public Health 2010, 7(3), 1121-1138; doi:10.3390/ijerph7031121 - published online 17 March 2010
Show/Hide AbstractAbstract: Our study aimed to describe the association between food patterns and gender, parental education, physical activity, sleeping and obesity in 1976 children aged 5−10 years old. Dietary intake was measured by a semi quantitative food frequency questionnaire; body mass index was calculated and categorized according to the IOTF classification. Factor analysis and generalized linear models were applied to identify food patterns and their associations. TV viewing and male gender were significant positive predictors for fast-food, sugar sweetened beverages and pastry pattern, while a higher level of maternal education and longer sleeping duration were positively associated with a dietary patterns that included fruit and vegetables.