Contexte : L’organisme en développement est très sensible à son environnement. Plusieurs études épidémiologiques ont suggéré la toxicité développementale d’une dizaine de polluants suite à des expositions prénatales. L’objectif général de cette thèse est d’évaluer les conséquences des expositions à des polluants chimiques (consommation de produits de la mer comme vecteur de contamination, solvants organiques et insecticides organophosphorés) pendant la grossesse sur le développement de l’enfant à 2 ans en se focalisant sur le développement neuro-comportemental, le développement respiratoire et immunitaire et le développement staturo-pondéral. Matériel et méthodes : Ce travail s’est appuyé sur la cohorte mère-enfant PELAGIE, mise en place en Bretagne entre 2002 et 2006. Près de 3500 femmes ont été incluses en début de grossesse et environ 1500 couples mère-enfant ont été suivis à 2 ans. Les expositions ont été évaluées en début de grossesse à partir de questionnaires, de matrices emplois-expositions ou de dosage de biomarqueurs d’exposition. Les indicateurs de santé ont été mesurés lors du suivi à 2 ans par questionnaire permettant de recueillir des éléments sur le comportement, les manifestations respiratoires à type de sifflement, les maladies allergiques et la croissance entre la naissance et 2 ans. Résultats : L’exposition professionnelle prénatale aux solvants organiques était associée à des déficits de l’attention/hyperactivité et des niveaux d’agressivité plus importants chez l’enfant à 2 ans. Cette exposition n’était pas associée avec les manifestations respiratoires et allergiques. Nous avons aussi montré que la consommation maternelle de coquillages et crustacés pendant la grossesse était associée à une augmentation du risque d’allergie alimentaire chez l’enfant. Enfin, l’exposition prénatale aux insecticides organophosphorés a été associée à une diminution de la vitesse de croissance en taille à 2 ans. Conclusion : Ce travail renforce l’hypothèse de l’implication de l’exposition prénatale aux polluants chimiques de l’environnement, y compris à faible dose, dans l’origine développementale de la santé et des maladies. / Background: The organism is very sensitive to environment during its developmental period. Number of epidemiological studies has suggested the developmental toxicity of about ten chemical pollutants after prenatal exposure. The general objective of the thesis is to explore the effect of prenatal exposure to certain chemical pollutants (organic solvents, organophosphates pesticides and maternal consumption of fish and shellfish (vectors of pollutants)) on child development at age 2. Methods: This thesis is based on the PELAGIE mother-child cohort that was set up in 2002, in Brittany (FRANCE). In total, 3421 women were included in this cohort at the beginning of pregnancy and 1500 mother- child pairs were followed when the child was 2 years old. Exposures were evaluated at the beginning of pregnancy from questionnaires, job-exposure matrices or measurement of biomarkers of exposure. Health indicators were measured at the 2 years follow-up. At follow-up, questionnaires allowed to obtain information on child behaviour, respiratory manifestations like wheezing, allergies (eczema and food allergy) and growth between birth and the age of two. Results: Prenatal occupational exposure to solvents was associated with higher level of hyperactivity and attention deficit at age 2. This exposure was not associated neither with respiratory nor with allergic manifestations. We also observed that maternal shellfish consumption during pregnancy was associated with a higher risk of food allergy in preschoolers. Finally, higher prenatal exposure to organophosphate pesticides was associated with a decrease height growth velocity at age 2. Conclusion: The present thesis based on the PELAGIE study supported for the hypothesis that prenatal exposure to environmental chemicals may be implicated in the developmental origin of health and diseases.

L'activation catalytique d'alcools vers la formation déshydrative de liaisons chimiques sans pré-activation est devenue un intérêt de recherche majeur au cours des deux dernières décennies. Dans cette thèse, l’effet synergique particulier des acides forts en tant que catalyseurs dans l’hexafluoroisopropanol (HFIP) comme solvant de diverses classes de carbocations instables dans la chimie de Friedel-Crafts a été étudié. Il a été constaté que pour la première fois, les réactions de Friedel-Crafts d'alcools benzyliques primaires fortement désactivés, catalysées par un acide, se déroulaient facilement, en raison des phénomènes d'agrégation induits par l'acide dans HFIP. Une stratégie similaire a été utilisée pour l'activation d'alcools propargyliques, comme nouvelle voie d'accès sélectif aux allènes et indènes portant la fonction CF3, à partir des mêmes composés de départ. De plus, ce système catalytique a été appliqué avec succès pour les réactions de Friedel-Crafts de cyclopropanes de type non activés et donneur-accepteur. Enfin, il a été découvert que le HFIP pouvait atténuer le réarrangement de carbocation classique dans les alkylations de Friedel-Crafts, permettant l’accès aux produits avec chaînes alkyle linéaires en une seule étape à partir d’alcools aliphatiques linéaires. / The catalytic activation of alcohols towards dehydrative bond formation in the absence of pre-activation has become a major research interest over the past two decades. In this thesis, the peculiar synergistic effect of strong acids as catalysts in hexafluoroisopropanol (HFIP) as solvent on various classes of unstable carbocations in Friedel-Crafts chemistry was investigated. It was found that for the first time, Brønsted acid catalyzed Friedel-Crafts reactions of highly electronically deactivated primary benzylic alcohols proceeded smoothly due to the acid-induced aggregation phenomena in HFIP. A similar strategy was used for the activation of propargylic alcohols as a new route to selectively access CF3-substituted allenes and indenes from the same starting compounds. Furthermore, this catalytic system was succesfully applied for Friedel-Crafts reactions of unactivated and donor-acceptor cyclopropanes. Finally, it was discovered that HFIP can mitigate against classical carbocation rearrangement in Friedel-Crafts alkylations, allowing access to linear alkyl chain products in a single step from linear alkyl alcohols.

Este trabalho visou compreensão da solvatação em solventes puros e misturas binárias, e aplicar as informações obtidas para analisar o efeito de solventes na síntese de líquido iônico, e na dependência das propriedades de filmes de acetatos de celulose, AC, sobre o grau de substituição do éster. Para a compreensão da solvatação utilizou-se compostos (sondas solvatocrômicas) cujos espectros Uv-Vis são sensíveis às propriedades do meio. Juntamente com tais sondas, foram usadas outras duas ferramentas: (i) Modelo de solvatação preferencial; proposto por nosso grupo e que descreve a composição da camada de solvatação da sonda, considerando a existência de um \"agregado\" água - solvente orgânico. (ii)Correlações multi-paramêtricas de energia livre de solvatação; que correlacionam uma propriedade dependente do meio com as propriedades dos solventes e suas misturas. Primeiramente, estudamos a solvatação de pares de sondas que possuíam pKas semelhantes e lipofilicidades diferentes em solventes próticos. Concluiu-se que a acidez e a dipolaridade/polarizabilidade dos solventes são as propriedades mais importantes. As conclusões foram corroboradas por cálculos teóricos, que mostraram a relação entre as características estruturais da sonda e suas susceptibilidades às propriedades do meio. O mesmo conjunto de sondas foi usado no estudo de misturas água-solventes próticos. Neste, aplicou-se com sucesso o modelo de solvatação acima mencionado e, de forma inédita, conseguimos racionalizar as constantes de equilíbrio para a troca das espécies presentes (água, solvente e água-solvente) na camada de solvatação com as propriedades dos solventes puros e/ou das misturas binárias. Os resultados revelaram que a composição da camada de solvatação é regida pelas propriedades de solventes, em particular a lipofilicidade e basicidade. As sondas RB e WB foram estudadas em misturas de água com alcoóis e com solventes apróticos. O intuito era ampliar a aplicabilidade do modelo de solvatação, para o qual precisávamos conhecer o volume molar do agregado, VSolv-A, e a constante de dissociação, Kdissoc, do agregado água-solvente. Estas duas grandezas eram obtidas de forma simultânea, através de dados de densidade. Desta vez, fizemos uso de cálculos teóricos para obter, de forma independente, o volume molar e depois utilizá-lo, como parâmetro constante (não ajustável) na cálculo de Kdissoc. A comparação dos resultados mostrou que, por ambas as abordagens, o desvio entre os valores de Kdissoc era mínimo. Por outro lado, em nenhum caso a ordem de Kdissoc se alterava. Esta observação deve-se ao fato de que o cálculo simultâneo de Kdissoc e VSolv-A foi sempre baseado em número grande de dados de densidade (18) de forma que os ajustes por interação não convergissem para um falso mínimo; o nível de teoria usado nos cálculos teóricos foi adequado. Quanto às aplicações, ficou evidente como a escolha do solvente afeta a velocidade da síntese do líquido iônico. Em relação aos filmes de AC, tentamos reproduzir as propriedades dos mesmos, através de uso de dois modelos etanol-acetato de etila e celulose-triacetato de celulose. Os dados da mistura líquida mostraram solvatação preferencial; foram tratados com sucesso pelo mesmo modelo aplicado para misturas binárias aquosas. O modelo sólido reproduziu os dados da AC qualitativamente. / This work is aimed at understanding solvation in pure solvents and binary mixtures and, the application of the information obtained in order to analyze the solvents effects on the synthesis of an ionic liquid, and on the dependence of the properties of cellulose acetate films, CA, on the degree of substitution of the ester. To understand salvation, was have used compounds (solvatchromic probes), whose UV-vis spectra are susceptible to the environment properties. In addition to these probes, were used more two tools: (i) Preferential solvation model; it was proposed by our research group and describes the composition of the probe solvation shell, considering the existence of an aggregate between water and organic solvent. (ii) Multi-parameter solvation free energy equations that correlate the solvent dependent properties with solvents properties and their mixtures. At first, we have studied pairs of probes that have similar pKa values and different lipophilicity in protic solvents. We have concluded that solvent acidity and dipolarity/polarizability are the most important properties. These conclusions are supported by theoretical calculations, that have shown the relationship between structural features of the probe and its susceptibility to environment properties. The same set of probes was used in order to study water - protic solvents mixtures. In this, we have applied the above cited solvation model successfully and rationalized the equilibrium constants of the exchange of species present (water, solvent and water -solvent) in the solvation shell with the properties of pure solvents and / or binary mixtures. These results revealed that the composition of solvation shell is controlled by the properties of solvents, in special, lipophilicity and basicity. The probes RB and WB were studied in mixtures of water with alcohols and with aprotic solvents. The intention was to broaden the applicability of the solvation model, for which, we needed to know the molar volume of the aggregate VSolv-W, and the dissociation constant, Kdissoc, of the same. Previously, these two quantities were obtained, simultaneously, by iteration of density data. We have used theoretical calculations in order to obtain VSolv-W and then use it as constant parameter (not adjustable one) in the calculation of Kdissoc. Comparison of the results showed that, in both approaches, the differences between Kdissoc values were minimal. Moreover, the order of Kdissoc has not changed. This observation is due to the fact that the simultaneous calculation of Kdissoc and VSolv-W was always based on a large number of density data (18) so that the interation did not converge to a false minimum; the level of theory used in the theoretic calculations was appropriate. Regarding applications, our results showed the importance of the choice of solvent to the synthesis of an ionic liquid. We have attempted to reproduce the properties of CA by the use of two models, ethanol-ethyl acetate and cellulose triacetate-cellulose. The data of the liquid mixture showed preferential solvation; were successfully treated by the same model applied to aqueous binary mixtures. The solid model reproduces the CA data qualitatively.

Este trabalho teve como objetivo principal propor procedimentos de avaliação de metodologia de coleta e análise de solventes no ar em ambiente de trabalho. Utilizou-se o metanol em mistura MEG (Metanol 33%, Etanol 60% e Gasolina 7%) como exemplo. Na época, a mistura MEG estava sendo indicada para substituir o etanol combustível, devido a sua falta no mercado. Foi montada uma atmosfera controlada dinâmica por injeção, para gerar concentrações conhecidas de vapor metanol em mistura MEG. Essa atmosfera permaneceu estável ao redor de 7,5 horas. O limite de detecção método analítico do CG-DIC, utilizado para o acompanhamento das concentrações geradas, foi de 18mg/m3 para um volume amostrado de 2mL coletado por uma válvula de coleta. Estando a atmosfera controlada apta para os testes de validação, foram realizados estudos de volume de \"breakthrough\" para coleta de metanol em tubos de sílica gel, com a finalidade de se conhecer o volume a ser amostrado em campo. Esses estudos foram realizados levando em conta as possíveis interferências de etanol, gasolina e elevada umidade relativatotal . O tempo de coleta de amostra para a mistura com umidade relativa recomendado para uma vazão de 200mL/min foi de 15 minutos. O método analítico utilizado, para a determinação de metanol coletado em tubos de sílica gel e analisado por CG-DIC. foi uma adaptação de métodos encontrados na literatura do NIOSH, para as condições da mistura. Após encontrar a melhor seletividade para o menor tempo de retenção do metanol em mistura MEG, foi determinado o limite de detecção de 9,7x 10-3µg. A precisão do método analítico encontrada foi de 2,1% e a exatidão esteve entre 89% e 97%. Estabelecida a metodologia analítica, as melhores condições de atmosfera controlada e o volume de coleta de amostra, foram realizados estudos que integram a coleta e análise ou seja, precisão e exatidão de coleta e análise e estabilidade de armazenamento. Para estudos de precisão e exatidão de coleta e análise, foram geradas concentrações de metanol em mistura MEG, com umidade ao redor de 0,5, 1 e 2 vezes o limite de tolerância brasileiro(156ppm); dessorção em água e análise por CGDIC. O coeficiente de variação total calculado para o método de coleta e análise de metanol em mistura MEG foi de 7,3% (precisão) e wazzu exatidão esteve entre 90% e 101%. As concentrações de metanol foram estáveis, em tubos adsorventes armazenados em geladeira, durante o período de estudo de 14 dias. Porém, foi constatada uma migração de metanol através da camada analítica para a camada controle de forma gradativa com o passar do tempo. As soluções, a partir da dessorção dos tubos armazenadas em geladeira, foram estáveis durante o período de estudo de 45 dias. Além desses experimentos foram também realizados estudos de capacidade de adsorção da sílica gel para metanol levando em conta os interferentes, e verificado se eram capazes de dessorver totalmente o metanol, após um certo período de coleta. Constatou-se que após 30 minutos de coleta, os interferentes (etanol, umidade e gasolina) entravam em equilíbrio com o adsorvente e o metanol. / The main objective of this work is to propose procedures for the evaluation of the methodology of the sampling and analysis of solvents in the air in the workplace. Methanol in a MEG mixture (Methanol 33%, Ethanol 60%, and Gasoline 7%) was used as an example. At that time the MEG mixture was being proposed to substitute ethanol fuel due to its shortages on the Brazilian market. An atmosphere, dynamically controlled by injection, was produced to generate the known concentrations of methanol vapour in MEG mixtures. This atmosphere remained stable for about 450 minutes. The detection Iimit, using the GC-FID analytical method to monitor the concentrations produced, was 18mg/m3 for a sample volume of 2mL sampled from a sampling valve. The controlled atmosphere being suitable for the validation tests, studies of the breakthrough volume for the sampling of methanol in silica gel tubes were carried out, with the aim of discovering the total volume to be sampled in the field. These studies were carried out taking into account the possible interference of ethanol, gasoline and the high relative humidity. The sampling time for the mixture with the recommended relative humidity with a flow rate of 200mL/min was fifteen minutes. The analytical method used for the determination of methanol sampled in silica gel tubes and analyzed by GC-FID, was based on the methods found in the NIOSH and OSHA literature, adapted to the mixture conditions. After finding the best selectivity for the lowest retention time for the methanol in the MEG mixture, the detection Iimit of 9.7 x 10-3µg was determined. The precision of the analytical method was 2.1% and the accuracy was between 89% and 97%. Having established the analytical methodology. the best conditions for the controlled atmosphere and the sampling volume, studies were carried out which integrated the sampling and the analysis, that is, the precision and the accuracy of the sampling and the analysis and the storage stability. To study the precision and the accuracy of the sampling and analysis, concentrations 1 or 2 times that of the Brazilian tolerance Iimit of methanol (156 ppm) in MEG mixture, with humidity around 0.5, were generated, using dessorption in water and analysis by GC-FID. The total coefficient of variation calculated for the method of sampling and analysis of methanol in MEG mixture was 7.3% (precision) and the accuracy was between 90% and 101% . The concentrations of methanol were stable, in adsorption tubes stored in the refrigerator, throughout the study period of fifteen days. However, a gradual migration of methanol through the analytical layer to the control layer with the passage of time was noted. The solutions from the dessorption of the tubes, stored in the refrigerator, were stable throughout the study period of 45 days. Besides these experiments, studies of the adsorption capacity of silica gel for methanol, taking into account the interferents, were also carried out, and it was verified whether these were capable of the total dessorption of the methanol, after a certain sampling period. It was noted that after thirty minutes of sampling, the interferents came into equilibrium with the adsorbent and the methanol.

O trabalho foi desenvolvido com o objetivo de caracterizar e estudar formas de tratamento de águas residuárias de indústrias de refino de óleo lubrificante e de recuperação de solventes. A fase preliminar teve por objetivo avaliar a biodegradabilidade do despejo combinado dessas duas indústrias. A segunda foi realizada em instalação piloto composta, basicamente, de uma unidade de arraste com ar/tanque de equalização, tanques de correção de pH e de aeração com tempos de detenção distintos, seguidos de tanques de sedimentação. Foram executados testes para avaliar a remoção de material solúvel em n-hexano do despejo da indústria de refino de óleo lubrificante e do efluente final. A unidade de arraste com ar difuso operando com subpressão de 15 mmhg a saída dos gases, vazão específica de ar de 20 ml/l min. E tempo de detenção de 5 dias foi eficiente na remoção de acetona, piridina, benzeno, tolueno, hexano, metil etil cetona e provavelmente solventes clorados. Não apresentou remoção significativa de álcoois, que foram eficientemente degradados no sistema biológico subsequente. Obteve-se remoções superiores a 90%, em termos de dbo e dqo, no processo biológico com tempos de detenção de 20 e 30 dias, e em torno de 80% para os demais. Os sistemas biológicos responderam bem as cargas transientes de solventes, exceto para o tolueno e o álcool isopropílico. / Traditionally, raw materials from solvent recovery and from reclaimed lubricating oil industries are considered hazardous solid waste. Consequently, the best control technology is incineration. This work was developed in order to characterize and to study ways of treating wastewaters from lubricating oil refinery and solvent recovery industries. The experimental part was divided in two phases. The preliminar step aimed to evaluate the biodegradability of combined wastewater from both industries. The second phase was basically carried out in a pilot plant composed by an air stripping unit/equalization tank, pH correction tanks and bioreactors with different retention times, followed by sedimentation tanks. Other than these assays, tests were performed to evaluate the removal of soluble material in n-hexane of the wastewater of the lubricating oil refinery industry and of the supernatant of the sedimentation tank after the bioreactor of 20 days retention.The buble aeration unit operating with a 15 mmHg suppresion to the gas exit, with a specific air flow of 20 mL/L.min. and with a retention time of 5 days was efficient to remove acetone, pyridine, benzene, toluene, hexane, methyl ethyl ketone and probably chlorinated solvents. There was no significative removal of alcohols, that were efficiently degraded in the subsequent biological system. BOD and COD removal efficiencies were better than 90% in the biological process with retention times of 20 and 30 days, and about 80% for the rest. The responses of biological systems to the transient inputs of solvents were well, except for toluene and isopropilic alcohol. Several physico-chemical processes for soluble material in n-hexane removal were studied. The only one to present effluent concentration under the legal limit was the addition of the sodium xylene-sulphonate base demulsifier to the supernatant of the sedimentation tank the bioreactor of 20 days retention.

Drug administration through the pulmonary route is an ancient technique that evolved from inhaling the smoke of certain leaves as a medicine. The optimum droplet diameter for the pulmonary system deposition has been identified to be in the range from 2 to 3.5 μm, with potential deposition rates of up to 80% of this size range. Currently, the most used aerosol generator methods are the pressurized metered dose inhalers. However, they generally exhibit low deposition efficiency with less than 20 % of the spray reaching the target area of the lungs as most of the drug deposited in the upper airways. This is for the most part due to the droplet size polydispersity that is inherent in these systems. The droplets of the biggest diameter will deposit in the upper airways, and then the deposited medicine will be swallowed and absorbed in the gastrointestinal tract. This can produce adverse medical side effects. Electrospray (ES) or electrohydrodynamic atomization (EHDA) is a promising atomization process due to its ability to produce a spray with monodisperse droplet size. The current study will investigate the feasibility of using electrospray in a pulmonary drug delivery system. Assessments, selection and characterization of suitable biocompatible solvents that can be used as a lung obstruction relief drug were carried out. Tests to identify the electrospray setup necessary to produce droplet sizes in the appropriate range for deposition in the lungs were carried out. The study found that both stable and pulsating cone jet modes can produce the required droplet size and the pulsating mode can produce at least four times higher flow than stable cone jet mode. A low-cost image analysis technique developed for this work gave satisfactory results that could be compared to droplet size scaling laws from the literature. However, it proved to be relatively time consuming and further automation of this technique would make it more suitable for large-scale studies. The image analysis results show a correlation between the cone length, cone angle and the applied voltage. The droplet scaling laws discrepancies such as the solution flow rate exponent and the constant that is used by some scaling laws may be attributed to the droplet evaporation time which is quite short for the water/ ethanol solutions. The emitter diameter and the conductivity effect on the I(Q) power law and the sensitivity of the onset voltage (Vonset) to the liquid flow rate (Q), were demonstrated for solutions of triethylene-glycol (TEG), and for an ethanol-water mixture solution.

Ionic liquids (ILs) have made a great impact on materials science and are being explored for potential applications in several disciplines. In this article, we briefly highlight the current state-of-the-art techniques employing ILs as new crystallisation media, working as neutral solvent, template or charge compensating species. The use of an IL as environmental friendly solvent offers many advantages over traditional crystallisation methods. The change from molecular to ionic reaction media leads to new types of materials being accessible. Room temperature ILs have been found to be excellent solvent systems for the crystallisation of a wide range of substances and morphologies ranging from nanoscopic crystals to micro- and even to macroscopic crystals. Moreover, high temperature routes, such as crystallisation from melts or gas phase deposition, have been replaced by convenient room or low temperature syntheses, employing ILs as reaction media. / Dieser Beitrag ist mit Zustimmung des Rechteinhabers aufgrund einer (DFG-geförderten) Allianz- bzw. Nationallizenz frei zugänglich.

MOF-5 ist der Archetyp einer neuartigen Klasse hochporöser Materialien, den Metal Organic Frameworks, die unter anderem zur Anwendung als effektive Gasspeicher geeignet sind. Im Rahmen dieser Arbeit werden die seiner Bildung zugrunde liegenden Reaktionen untersucht. Aus den Erkenntnissen dieser Untersuchungen wurden zwei neue Syntheseverfahren entwickelt. Eines der Verfahren beruht auf der Phasenumwandlung von Zinkterephthalaten und ermöglichte die Laborsynthese von MOF-5 in 100 g-Mengen. Ein zweites Verfahren bedient sich des Strukturaufbaus mit Hilfe vorgefertigter anorganischer Cluster, wodurch erstmals die Synthese von MOF-5-Homologen anderer Metalle als Zink gelang.

Parkinson's disease (PD) is a progressive, degenerative, neurological disease. The progressive disability associated with PD results in substantial burdens for those with the condition, their families and society in terms of increased health resource use, earnings loss of affected individuals and family caregivers, poorer quality of life, caregiver burden, disrupted family relationships, decreased social and leisure activities, and deteriorating emotional well-being. Currently, no cure is available and the efficacy of available treatments, such as medication and surgical interventions, decreases with longer duration of the disease. Whilst the cause of PD is unknown, genetic and environmental factors are believed to contribute to its aetiology. Descriptive and analytical epidemiological studies have been conducted in a number of countries in an effort to elucidate the cause, or causes, of PD. Rural residency, farming, well water consumption, pesticide exposure, metals and solvents have been implicated as potential risk factors for PD in some previous epidemiological studies. However, there is substantial disagreement between the results of existing studies. Therefore, the role of environmental exposures in the aetiology of PD remains unclear. The main component of this thesis consists of a case-control study that assessed the contribution of environmental exposures to the risk of developing PD. An existing, previously unanalysed, dataset from a local case-control study was analysed to inform the design of the new case-control study. The analysis results suggested that regular exposure to pesticides and head injury were important risk factors for PD. However, due to the substantial limitations of this existing study, further confirmation of these results was desirable with a more robustly designed epidemiological study. A new exposure measurement instrument (a structured interviewer-delivered questionnaire) was developed for the new case-control study to obtain data on demographic, lifestyle, environmental and medical factors. Prior to its use in the case-control study, the questionnaire was assessed for test-retest repeatability in a series of 32 PD cases and 29 healthy sex-, age- and residential suburb-matched electoral roll controls. High repeatability was demonstrated for lifestyle exposures, such as smoking and coffee/tea consumption (kappas 0.70-1.00). The majority of environmental exposures, including use of pesticides, solvents and exposure to metal dusts and fumes, also showed high repeatability (kappas &gt0.78). A consecutive series of 163 PD case participants was recruited from a neurology clinic in Brisbane. One hundred and fifty-one (151) control participants were randomly selected from the Australian Commonwealth Electoral Roll and individually matched to the PD cases on age (± 2 years), sex and current residential suburb. Participants ranged in age from 40-89 years (mean age 67 years). Exposure data were collected in face-to-face interviews. Odds ratios and 95% confidence intervals were calculated using conditional logistic regression for matched sets in SAS version 9.1. Consistent with previous studies, ever having been a regular smoker or coffee drinker was inversely associated with PD with dose-response relationships evident for packyears smoked and number of cups of coffee drunk per day. Passive smoking from ever having lived with a smoker or worked in a smoky workplace was also inversely related to PD. Ever having been a regular tea drinker was associated with decreased odds of PD. Hobby gardening was inversely associated with PD. However, use of fungicides in the home garden or occupationally was associated with increased odds of PD. Exposure to welding fumes, cleaning solvents, or thinners occupationally was associated with increased odds of PD. Ever having resided in a rural or remote area was inversely associated with PD. Ever having resided on a farm was only associated with moderately increased odds of PD. Whilst the current study's results suggest that environmental exposures on their own are only modest contributors to overall PD risk, the possibility that interaction with genetic factors may additively or synergistically increase risk should be considered. The results of this research support the theory that PD has a multifactorial aetiology and that environmental exposures are some of a number of factors to contribute to PD risk. There was also evidence of interaction between some factors (eg smoking and welding) to moderate PD risk.

Diss. (sammanfattning) Stockholm : Karol. inst., 2006. / Härtill 5 uppsatser.