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Lead and its compounds are hazardous chemical agents; some lead compounds, are classified as carcinogens in humans. In Romania, the occupational exposure to inorganic lead and its compounds occurs in many sectors: production of lead, manufacture of batteries, manufacture of thermal ceramic products (terracotta), production of electric and electronic components, manufacture of articles of metal wire, production of dyes and additives for plastics, recovery of lead from waste batteries, waste collection and treatment of electrical and electronic equipment, etc. The binding occupational limit value for inorganic lead compounds established under the national regulations is 0.15 mg/m3 in the air (measured in relation to a reference period of eight hours, time-weighted average, TWA). The binding biological limit value is 70 μg Pb/100 ml blood. We have summarized lead occupational exposure data collected from the regional public health authorities in Romania, for the period 2011-2019. The concentrations of lead recorded in the workplaces air varied between “not detected” and 0.22 mg/m3. The lead concentrations in the blood had high values (over the alert value of 40 μg/100 ml blood) in several activities (production of lead, recovery-recycling of lead from waste batteries, manufacture of batteries, and manufacture of articles of metal wire) leading to the need of continuous surveillance of health status for the exposed workers.

Several occupational carcinogens (arsenic, cadmium) and industries (rubber production) have been associated with prostate cancer risk but most of the data are from studies conducted on screened populations. Here we explored this association in Romanian men, a population with low PSA screening test coverage. We have analyzed 468 prostate cancer cases pathologically confirmed and 495 non-cancer hospital controls, recruited in the ROMCAN project. Personal information, including occupational activity, was collected through interview. Two experts classified jobs and activities into 15 economic sectors with similar patterns of exposure. Logistic regression was used to calculate odds ratios (ORs) and 95% confidence intervals (CIs) for the association between ever employed in each economic sector and prostate cancer risk. We observed a higher non adjusted risk for employment in electricity, gas, steam and air conditioning supply activities (OR=3.95, p=0.029), manufacturing–light industry (OR=1.88, p=0.039), financial, insurance and gambling (OR=1.44, p=0.046) and a lower risk for employment in construction industry (OR=0.62, p=0.010). After adjusting for potential confounders, only the low risk in construction workers was maintained (OR=0.55, p=0.004). Our study provides some evidence on the role of occupational factors on the prostate cancer risk but further assessments are needed. Healthy lifestyle promotion and prevention should be reinforced at workplaces.

Publisher's version (útgefin grein), Two familial forms of colorectal cancer (CRC), Lynch syndrome (LS) and familial adenomatous polyposis (FAP), are caused by rare mutations in DNA mismatch repair genes (MLH1, MSH2, MSH6, PMS2) and the genes APC and MUTYH, respectively. No information is available on the presence of high‐risk CRC mutations in the Romanian population. We performed whole‐genome sequencing of 61 Romanian CRC cases with a family history of cancer and/or early onset of disease, focusing the analysis on candidate variants in the LS and FAP genes. The frequencies of all candidate variants were assessed in a cohort of 688 CRC cases and 4567 controls. Immunohistochemical (IHC) staining for MLH1, MSH2, MSH6, and PMS2 was performed on tumour tissue. We identified 11 candidate variants in 11 cases; six variants in MLH1, one in MSH6, one in PMS2, and three in APC. Combining information on the predicted impact of the variants on the proteins, IHC results and previous reports, we found three novel pathogenic variants (MLH1:p.Lys84ThrfsTer4, MLH1:p.Ala586CysfsTer7, PMS2:p.Arg211ThrfsTer38), and two novel variants that are unlikely to be pathogenic. Also, we confirmed three previously published pathogenic LS variants and suggest to reclassify a previously reported variant of uncertain significance to pathogenic (MLH1:c.1559‐1G>C)., This study was funded in part by the European Union FP7 Program (ProMark project 202059) and by the EEA grant (ROMCAN project RO14‐0017; EEAJRP‐RO‐NO‐20131‐10191). We thank the study participants, the staff at deCODE Genetics Iceland and Landspitali University Hospital.

To find sequence variants affecting prostate cancer (PCA) susceptibility in an unscreened Romanian population we use a genome‐wide association study (GWAS). The study population included 990 unrelated pathologically confirmed PCA cases and 1034 male controls. DNA was genotyped using Illumina SNP arrays, and 24.295.558 variants were imputed using the 1000 Genomes data set. An association test was performed between the imputed markers and PCA. A systematic literature review for variants associated with PCA risk identified 115 unique variants that were tested in the Romanian sample set. Thirty of the previously reported SNPs replicated (P‐value < 0.05), with the strongest associations observed at: 8q24.21, 11q13.3, 6q25.3, 5p15.33, 22q13.2, 17q12 and 3q13.2. The replicated variants showing the most significant association in Romania are rs1016343 at 8q24.21 (P = 2.2 × 10−4), rs7929962 at 11q13.3 (P = 2.7 × 10−4) and rs9364554 at 6q25.2 (P = 4.7 × 10−4). None of the variants tested in the Romanian GWAS reached genome‐wide significance (P‐value, This study was funded in part by the European Union FP7 Program (ProMark project 202059) and by the EEA grant (ROMCAN project RO14-0017; EEAJRPRO-NO-20131-10191).

Due to the extensive use of electromagnetic fields in everyday life, more information is required for the detection of mechanisms of interaction and the possible side effects of electromagnetic radiation on the structure and function of the organism. In this paper, we study the effects of low-power microwaves (2.45 GHz) on the membrane fluidity of rod photoreceptor cells. The retina is expected to be very sensitive to microwave irradiation due to the polar character of the photoreceptor cells [Biochim. Biophys. Acta 1273 (1995) 217] as well as to its high water content [Stud. Biophys. 81 (1981) 39].

The purpose of this article is to evaluate magnetic field effects (50 Hz, different magnetic intensities) on the chemiluminescence intensity of human serum. We find that 1 and 2 h of exposure increased the chemiluminescence emission. The addition to the serum of prooxidants FeCl(2) and H(2)O(2) in different concentrations increased the chemiluminescence intensity even more.

The chemiluminescence of luminol, after 1 and 2 h in vitro exposure of human serum to 50 Hz electric fields of different intensities, decreases as compared to the controls. This indicates a field-induced decrease in the concentration of the free radicals. The report is limited to the key kinetic and field data, inviting independent kinetic analysis of the data in terms of reaction moments or reaction susceptibilities for the various normal modes indicated by the data.

Even if electromagnetic pollution (EP) is still a rarely approached subject, its magnitude in the last decades is great, mainly due to the massive proliferation of electromagnetic field (EMF) technologies. Present paper aims to analyze the environmental field level from various sources in the high frequency range of the spectrum, by applying procedures that allow accurate assessments. This approach constitutes a first step in approaching the complex phenomenon of EP and its impact on the biosphere. Spot measurements around various radiofrequency (RF) sources/antennas were conducted in two urban areas, to assess the order of magnitude of the EP. The results show that generally, in the population accessed areas, the RF field levels are much lower than the maximum admitted levels in the human’s safety standards. However, this may not be the general rule, because there may be locations where superposition of a multiplicity of electromagnetic signals from the lower frequency part could increase EP consistently. Lack of specific EP environmental regulations disables the researcher to having a clear reference for establishing effective environmental management approaches for this type of pollutant, mainly because human protection standards are just thermally based and living organisms do not always obey the rules of cause and effect.