Monthly Updates - April 2012

UPCOMING EVENTS

Risk Science Unplugged presents Just Unplug and Drive, May 18 2012
2pm - 3pm Live at UM School of Public Health 1415 Washington Heights, Rm 3755 Ann Arbor and also webcast. Further details on Risk Science Unplugged events at:
http://www.sph.umich.edu/riskcenter/unplugged/transportation/index.htm

University of Michigan Risk Science Center Annual Meeting
10:00 a.m. - 3:00 p.m., May 30 2012
University of Michigan School of Public Health, 1415 Washington Heights, Rm 1680 Ann Arbor, MI
Open to all, but registration required.
For further details and to register please visit our website

RECENT ACTIVITIES

Andrew Maynard and Di Bowman are co-authors with Steffan Foss Hansen, Anders Baun and John Tickner on a chapter in the just-released "Late Lessons from Early Warnings 2012". This is a follow up to a 2002 report which was extremely influential and it is likely that the 2012 edition, which has been expanded and updated, will be similarly influential as we move forward. The chapter addresses the safe development and use of nanotechnology-enabled products. More details of the report, which is to be published shortly, can be found at:
http://www.eea.europa.eu/publications/late-lessons-2012

Nil Basu, Howard Hu and Jerome Nriagu were amongst 117 scientists and researchers who were signatories to a letter calling on Michigan's congressional delegation to support the Mercury and Air Toxics Standard (MATS) recently filed by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. [link]

Dr. Dong-Ha Nam, Postdoctoral Fellow in Nil Basu's lab, accepted a tenure-track Faculty position at Chonnam National University in S. Korea

PUBLICATIONS

Steffen Foss Hansen, Andrew Maynard, Anders Baun, Joel A. Tickner and Diana M. Bowman. Nanotechnology - Early Lessons from Late Warnings. In: Late Lessons 2012, published by the European Environment Agency [to be published soon at http://www.eea.europa.eu/publications/late-lessons-2012]

Wang Y, Goodrich JM, Werner R, Gillespie B, Basu N, Franzblau A., "Agreement between clinical screening procedures for neuropathy in the feet."
Muscle Nerve. 2012 May;45(5):653-8. doi: 10.1002/mus.23238.
PMID:22499091[PubMed - in process] [link]

Goodrich JM, Wang Y, Gillespie B, Werner R, Franzblau A, Basu N., "Methylmercury and elemental mercury differentially associate with blood pressure among dental professionals."
Int J Hyg Environ Health. 2012 Apr 9. [Epub ahead of print]
PMID:22494934 [link]

Goodrich, J., Basu, N. 2012. "Variants of glutathione s-transferase pi 1 exhibit differential enzymatic activity and heavy metal inhibition." In Press (Toxicol In Vitro). [link]

Depew, D., Basu, N., Burgess, N.M., Campbell, L.M., Devlin, E.W., Drevnick, P., Hammerschmidt, C., Murphy, C.A., Sandheinrich, M.B., Wiener, J.G. 2012. "Toxicity of dietary methylmercury to fish: Derivation of ecologically meaningful threshold concentrations." In Press (Environ Toxiocol Chem).

Sonne, C., Letcher, R.J., Bechshoft, T.O., Riget, F., Muir, D.C.G., Leifsson, P.S., Born, E.W., Hyldstrup, L., Basu, N., Kirkegaard, M., Dietz, R. 2012. "Biomonitoring polar bear health in Greenland: A messenger for global pollution and climate warning." Acta Veterinaria Scandinavica. 54(Suppl 1): S15. [link]

Zanobetti A, O'Neill MS, Gronlund CJ, Schwartz JD., "Summer temperature variability and long-term survival among elderly people with chronic disease."
Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. 2012 Apr 9. [Epub ahead of print]
PMID:22493259 [link]

Gidengil C, Lieu TA, Payne K, Rusinak D, Messonnier M, Prosser LA., "Parental and societal values for the risks and benefits of childhood combination vaccines."
Vaccine. 2012 Mar 23. [Epub ahead of print]
PMID:22449423 [link]

Prosser LA, Grosse SD, Kemper AR, Tarini BA, Perrin JM.,"Decision analysis, economic evaluation, and newborn screening: challenges and opportunities."
Genet Med. 2012 Apr 5. doi: 10.1038/gim.2012.24. [Epub ahead of print]
PMID:22481131 [link]

Saenz GC, Rao D, Underwood A, Belapure SA, Campagna SR, Sun Z, Tammariello S, Rickard AH., "Autoinducer-2 Influences Interactions amongst Pioneer Colonizing Streptococci in Oral Biofilms."
Microbiology. 2012 Apr 5. [Epub ahead of print]
PMID:22493304 [link]

Gidengil CA, Parker AM, Zikmund-Fisher BJ., "Trends in risk perceptions and vaccination intentions: a longitudinal study of the first year of the H1N1 pandemic."
Am J Public Health. 2012 Apr;102(4):672-9. Epub 2012 Feb 16.
PMID:22397349 [link]

PRESENTATIONS

Rick Neitzel gave a talk on exposures and hearing loss risk associated with urban life "Recreational Noise Exposure: When Fun is Hazardous to Your Hearing!" at a session during the annual AudiologyNow! conference.
Boston, MA Mar 29

Andrew Maynard presented "The New Science of Sophisticated Materials: Nanomaterials and Beyond" as part of Harvard Environmental Health Nano lecture series
Boston, MA Apr 13

Brian Zikmund-Fisher gave a one day short course on risk communication to the "Pro*Doc Adaptivity in Communication & Health" doctoral program participants in Neuchâtel, Switzerland.
Neuchâtel, Switzerland, Apr 23

Brian Zikmund-Fisher gave a seminar at ETH Zurich's Intitute for Environmental Decisions entitled " A Taxonomy of Appropriate Levels of Precision in Risk Communication"
Zurich, Switzerland, Apr 24

Brian Zikmund-Fisher is giving a keynote speech at this year's Donaghue Foundation Conference: Evaluating Risk: How perception shapes our health.
Farmington, CT, May 3

Diana Bowman is presenting at the 2nd Annual Collaborative Conference Addressing the Developments and Advancements of Nanotechnology and Nanomanufacturing in New England and the United States: "Destination Nano: Concept to Commercialization".
Boston, MA, May 15-16

RSC IN THE MEDIA

Pink Slime
Chemical and Engineering News

Michigan scientists support federal rules limiting mercury emissions
NPR Radio

Noise pollution takes a toll on health
Minnesota Public Radio

10 foods with more ammonia than pink slime
Grist

THE RISK SCIENCE BLOG

Risk Science Center Fellows 2012: Introducing Lindsay Weir

Pink Slime and ammonia consumption - the numbers

Mind the Science Gap: Using banana peels to remove metals from polluted water: an aPEELING option

HazCom 2012: The new system for communicating about workplace chemicals

Swedish pancakes and Nordic risks - Rick Neitzel settles into a Summer in Sweden

Risk Science Center goes European

Risk Science Center updates are emailed on the last Thursday of each month.
Follow the Center on Twitter at @umrsc, and on the web at umriskcenter.org and umrscblogs.org.