https://nova.newcastle.edu.au/vital/access/ /manager/Index ${session.getAttribute("locale")} 5 Respiratory health effects of exposure to low-NOx unflued gas heaters in the classroom: a double-blind, cluster-randomized, crossover study https://nova.newcastle.edu.au/vital/access/ /manager/Repository/uon:10514 Wed 11 Apr 2018 11:31:23 AEST ]]> The effect of arsenic mitigation interventions on disease burden in Bangladesh https://nova.newcastle.edu.au/vital/access/ /manager/Repository/uon:1950 50 µg/L. This constitutes 0.3% of the total disease burden in Bangladesh in terms of undiscounted DALYs. We found intervention to be of overall benefit in reducing disease burden in most scenarios examined, but the concomitant increase in water-related infectious disease significantly reduced the potential benefits gained from intervention. A minimum reduction in arsenic-related DALYs of 77% was necessary before intervention achieved any reduction in net disease burden. This is assuming that interventions were provided to those exposed to > 50 µg/L and would concomitantly result in a 20% increase in water-related infectious disease in those without access to adequate sanitation. Intervention appears to be justified for those populations exposed to high levels of arsenic, but it must be based on exposure levels and on the effectiveness of interventions not only in reducing arsenic but in minimizing risk of water-related infections.]]> Sat 24 Mar 2018 08:33:20 AEDT ]]> Machine learning-based DNA methylation score for fetal exposure to maternal smoking: development and validation in samples collected from adolescents and adults https://nova.newcastle.edu.au/vital/access/ /manager/Repository/uon:40086 in utero cigarette smoke exposure. Methods: We used machine learning methods to create a score reflecting exposure to maternal smoking during pregnancy. This score is based on peripheral blood measurements of DNA methylation (Illumina’s Infinium HumanMethylation450K BeadChip). The score was developed and tested in the Raine Study with data from 995 white 17-y-old participants using 10-fold cross-validation. The score was further tested and validated in independent data from the Northern Finland Birth Cohort 1986 (NFBC1986) (16-y-olds) and 1966 (NFBC1966) (31-y-olds). Further, three previously proposed DNA methylation scores were applied for comparison. The final score was developed with 204 CpGs using elastic net regression. Results: Sensitivity and specificity values for the best performing previously developed classifier (“Reese Score”) were 88% and 72% for Raine, 87% and 61% for NFBC1986 and 72% and 70% for NFBC1966, respectively; corresponding figures using the elastic net regression approach were 91% and 76% (Raine), 87% and 75% (NFBC1986), and 72% and 78% for NFBC1966. Conclusion: We have developed a DNA methylation score for exposure to maternal smoking during pregnancy, outperforming the three previously developed scores. One possible application of the current score could be for model adjustment purposes or to assess its association with distal health outcomes where part of the effect can be attributed to maternal smoking. Further, it may provide a biomarker for fetal exposure to maternal smoking.]]> Fri 22 Jul 2022 13:24:59 AEST ]]>