Melissa Furlong

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• Nematollahi, A. J., Fisher, J. M., Furlong, M. A., Beamer, P. I., Goodrich, J. M., Graber, J. M., Calafat, A. M., Botelho, J. C., Beitel, S. C., Littau, S. R., Gulotta, J. J., Wallentine, D. D., & Burgess, J. L. (2024). Comparison of Serum Per- and Polyfluoroalkyl Substances Concentrations in Incumbent and Recruit Firefighters and Longitudinal Assessment in Recruits. Journal of occupational and environmental medicine, 66(3), 202-211.
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  Firefighters are occupationally exposed to per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS). This study objective was to compare serum PFAS concentrations in incumbent and recruit firefighters and evaluate temporal trends among recruits.
• Yuan, S., Arellano, A. F., Knickrehm, L., Chang, H. I., Castro, C. L., & Furlong, M. (2024). Towards quantifying atmospheric dispersion of pesticide spray drift in Yuma County Arizona. Atmospheric environment (Oxford, England : 1994), 319.
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  While pesticide vapor and particles from agricultural spray drift have been reported to pose a risk to public health, limited baseline ambient measurements exist to warrant an accurate assessment of their impacts at community-to-county-wide scale. Here, we present an initial modeling investigation of the transport and deposition of applied pesticides in an agricultural county in Arizona (Yuma County), to provide initial estimates on the corresponding enhancements in ambient levels of these spray drifts downwind of application sites. With a 50 × 50 km domain, we use the dispersion model CALPUFF with meteorology from the Weather Research and Forecasting (WRF) to investigate the spatiotemporal distribution of pesticide abundance due to spray drift from a representative sample of nine application sites. Data records for nine application days in September and October 2011, which are the peak months of pesticide application, were retroactively simulated for 48-h for all nine application sites using an active ingredient lambda-cyhalothrin, which is a commonly-used pesticide in the county. Twenty-one WRF/CALPUFF simulations were conducted with varying emissions, chemical lifetime, deposition rate, application height, and meteorology inputs, allowing for an ensemble-based analysis on the possible ranges in modeled abundance. Our results show that dispersion of vapors released at time of application heavily depends on prevailing meteorology, particularly wind speed and direction. Dispersion is limited to thin plumes that are easily transported out of the domain. The ensemble-mean vapor concentrations of the 48-h average (> 90 percentile domain-wide) range from 0.2 nanograms (ng)/m to 200 ng/m, and the peak can be as high as 1000 ng/m near the application sites. Pesticide particles are mainly deposited within 1-2 km from the application sites at an average rate of 10 ng/km/h but vary with particle mean diameter and standard deviation. While these findings are generally consistent with reported ambient levels in the literature, the associated ensemble-spread on these estimates are in the same order of magnitude as their ensemble-mean. At the two nearby communities downwind of these sites, we find that peak vapor concentrations are less than 50 ng/m with exposure times of less than an hour, as approximately 99.4% of the vapors are advected out and 99.5% of the particles deposit within the domain. Results of this study indicate pesticide spray drift from a sample of application sites and representative days in Fall may have a limited impact on neighboring communities. However, we strongly suggest that field measurements should be collected for model validation and more rigorous investigation of the actual scale of these impacts when the bulk of pesticide applications across the county, variation in active pesticide ingredients, and potential resuspension of deposited particles are considered.
• Bowers, E. C., Stephenson, J., Furlong, M., & Ramos, K. S. (2023). Scope and financial impact of unpublished data and unused samples among U.S. academic and government researchers. iScience, 26(7), 107166.
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  Unpublished data and unused samples are common byproducts of research activity, but little is known about the scope and economic impact of their disuse. To fill this knowledge gap, we collected self-reported anonymous survey responses from 301 academic and government scientists from randomly selected institutions. Respondents estimated that they published ∼60% of their data and 95% had unpublished data. Of those collecting specimens, 60% stored unused samples. Systemic and logistical issues were identified as major contributory factors. The median cumulative self-reported estimated value of unused resources per researcher was $28,857, with life science ($36k) and government ($109k) researchers reporting the costliest assets. Using NSF headcounts, we estimated that the current cumulative value of unused resources at universities is approximately $6.2 billion, about 7% of the current annual R&D budget. These findings provide actionable information that can be used by decision makers to reduce obstacles that undermine scientific progress and productivity.
• Furlong, M. A., Liu, T., Snider, J. M., Tfaily, M. M., Itson, C., Beitel, S., Parsawar, K., Keck, K., Galligan, J., Walker, D. I., Gulotta, J. J., & Burgess, J. L. (2023). Evaluating changes in firefighter urinary metabolomes after structural fires: an untargeted, high resolution approach. Scientific reports, 13(1), 20872.
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  Firefighters have elevated rates of urinary tract cancers and other adverse health outcomes, which may be attributable to environmental occupational exposures. Untargeted metabolomics was applied to characterize this suite of environmental exposures and biological changes in response to occupational firefighting. 200 urine samples from 100 firefighters collected at baseline and two to four hours post-fire were analyzed using untargeted liquid-chromatography and high-resolution mass spectrometry. Changes in metabolite abundance after a fire were estimated with fixed effects linear regression, with false discovery rate (FDR) adjustment. Partial least squares discriminant analysis (PLS-DA) was also used, and variable important projection (VIP) scores were extracted. Systemic changes were evaluated using pathway enrichment for highly discriminating metabolites. Metabolome-wide-association-study (MWAS) identified 268 metabolites associated with firefighting activity at FDR q 
• Furlong, M. F. (2023). Epigenetic clocks and microRNAs among U.S. firefighters. Epigenetic Insights.
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  This system sucks the full citation is: Jung AM, Furlong MA, Goodrich JM, Cardenas A, Beitel SC, Littau SR, Caban-Martinez AJ, Gulotta JJ, Wallentine DD, Urwin D, Gabriel J, Hughes J, Graber JM, Grant C, Burgess JL. Epigenetic clocks and microRNAs among U.S. firefighters. Epigenetics Insights Nov 8 2023
• Furlong, M. F. (2023). Evaluating Changes in Firefighter Urinary Metabolomes After Structural Fires: An Untargeted, High Resolution Approach. Scientific Reports.
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  Furlong MA, Liu T, Snider JM, Tfaily MM, Itson C, Beitel S, Parsawar K, Keck K, Galligan J, Walker DI, Gulotta JJ, Burgess JL. Evaluating Changes in Firefighter Urinary Metabolomes After Structural Fires: An Untargeted, High Resolution Approach, Scientific Reports, 10.1038/s41598-023-47799-x (Nov 27 2023) 13:20872
• Jung, A. M., Furlong, M. A., Goodrich, J. M., Cardenas, A., Beitel, S. C., Littau, S. R., Caban-Martinez, A. J., Gulotta, J. J., Wallentine, D. D., Urwin, D., Gabriel, J., Hughes, J., Graber, J. M., Grant, C., & Burgess, J. L. (2023). Associations Between Epigenetic Age Acceleration and microRNA Expression Among U.S. Firefighters. Epigenetics insights, 16, 25168657231206301.
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  Epigenetic changes may be biomarkers of health. Epigenetic age acceleration (EAA), the discrepancy between epigenetic age measured via epigenetic clocks and chronological age, is associated with morbidity and mortality. However, the intersection of epigenetic clocks with microRNAs (miRNAs) and corresponding miRNA-based health implications have not been evaluated. We analyzed DNA methylation and miRNA profiles from blood sampled among 332 individuals enrolled across 2 U.S.-based firefighter occupational studies (2015-2018 and 2018-2020). We considered 7 measures of EAA in leukocytes (PhenoAge, GrimAge, Horvath, skin-blood, and Hannum epigenetic clocks, and extrinsic and intrinsic epigenetic age acceleration). We identified miRNAs associated with EAA using individual linear regression models, adjusted for sex, race/ethnicity, chronological age, and cell type estimates, and investigated downstream effects of associated miRNAs with miRNA enrichment analyses and genomic annotations. On average, participants were 38 years old, 88% male, and 75% non-Hispanic white. We identified 183 of 798 miRNAs associated with EAA (FDR  
• Nwanaji-Enwerem, J. C., Cardenas, A., Goodrich, J. M., Furlong, M. A., Jung, A. M., Collender, P. A., Caban-Martinez, A. J., Grant, C., Beitel, S. C., Littau, S., Urwin, D. J., Gabriel, J. J., Hughes, J., Gulotta, J., Wallentine, D., & Burgess, J. L. (2023). Occupational Years of Service and Leukocyte Epigenetic Aging: Relationships in United States Firefighters. Journal of occupational and environmental medicine, 65(5), e312-e318.
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  The aim of the study is to examine associations between years of firefighting service and eight chronological age-adjusted measures of blood leukocyte epigenetic age acceleration: Horvath, Hannum, SkinBloodClock, Intrinsic, Extrinsic, PhenoAge, GrimAge, and DNAm telomere length.
• Parra, K. L., Harris, R. B., Farland, L. V., Beamer, P., & Furlong, M. (2023). Associations of Prenatal Agricultural Farm Work with Fetal Overgrowth and Pregnancy Complications in State of Arizona Birth Records. Journal of occupational and environmental medicine, 65(8), 635-642.
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  The purpose of this study is to examine fetal growth outcomes from agricultural worker households.
• Paul, K. C., Krolewski, R. C., Lucumi Moreno, E., Blank, J., Holton, K. M., Ahfeldt, T., Furlong, M., Yu, Y., Cockburn, M., Thompson, L. K., Kreymerman, A., Ricci-Blair, E. M., Li, Y. J., Patel, H. B., Lee, R. T., Bronstein, J., Rubin, L. L., Khurana, V., & Ritz, B. (2023). A pesticide and iPSC dopaminergic neuron screen identifies and classifies Parkinson-relevant pesticides. Nature communications, 14(1), 2803.
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  Parkinson's disease (PD) is a complex neurodegenerative disease with etiology rooted in genetic vulnerability and environmental factors. Here we combine quantitative epidemiologic study of pesticide exposures and PD with toxicity screening in dopaminergic neurons derived from PD patient induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSCs) to identify Parkinson's-relevant pesticides. Agricultural records enable investigation of 288 specific pesticides and PD risk in a comprehensive, pesticide-wide association study. We associate long-term exposure to 53 pesticides with PD and identify co-exposure profiles. We then employ a live-cell imaging screening paradigm exposing dopaminergic neurons to 39 PD-associated pesticides. We find that 10 pesticides are directly toxic to these neurons. Further, we analyze pesticides typically used in combinations in cotton farming, demonstrating that co-exposures result in greater toxicity than any single pesticide. We find trifluralin is a driver of toxicity to dopaminergic neurons and leads to mitochondrial dysfunction. Our paradigm may prove useful to mechanistically dissect pesticide exposures implicated in PD risk and guide agricultural policy.
• Furlong, M. A., Alexander, G. E., Klimentidis, Y. C., & Raichlen, D. A. (2022). Association of Air Pollution and Physical Activity With Brain Volumes. Neurology.
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  In high pollution areas, physical activity may have a paradoxical effect on brain health by increasing particulate deposition in the lungs. We examined whether physical activity modifies associations of air pollution with brain volumes in an epidemiological framework.
• Goodrich, J. M., Jung, A. M., Furlong, M. A., Beitel, S., Littau, S., Gulotta, J., Wallentine, D., & Burgess, J. L. (2022). Repeat measures of DNA methylation in an inception cohort of firefighters. Occupational and environmental medicine, 79(10), 656-663.
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  Firefighters face exposures associated with adverse health outcomes including risk for multiple cancers. DNA methylation, one type of epigenetic regulation, provides a potential mechanism linking occupational hazards to adverse health outcomes. We hypothesised that DNA methylation profiles would change in firefighters after starting their service and that these patterns would be associated with occupational exposures (cumulative fire-hours and fire-runs).
• Harber, P., Furlong, M., Stern, D. A., Morgan, W. J., Wright, A. L., Guerra, S., & Martinez, F. D. (2023). Association of Childhood Respiratory Status with Adult Occupational Exposures in a Birth Cohort. Annals of the American Thoracic Society.
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  People with better early life respiratory health may be more likely to work in occupations with high workplace exposures in adult life, compared to people with poor respiratory health. This may manifest as a healthy worker effect bias potentially confounding the analysis of environmental exposure studies.
• Parra, K. L., Alexander, G. E., Raichlen, D. A., Klimentidis, Y. C., & Furlong, M. A. (2022). Exposure to air pollution and risk of incident dementia in the UK Biobank. Environmental research, 112895.
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  Air pollution may cause inflammatory and oxidative stress damage to the brain, leading to neurodegenerative disease. The association between air pollution and dementia, and modification by apolipoprotein E genotype 4 (APOE-ε4) has yet to be fully investigated.
• Paul, K. C., Kusters, C., Furlong, M., Zhang, K., Yu, Y., Folle, A. D., Del Rosario, I., Keener, A., Bronstein, J., Sinsheimer, J. S., Horvath, S., & Ritz, B. (2022). Immune system disruptions implicated in whole blood epigenome-wide association study of depression among Parkinson's disease patients. Brain, behavior, & immunity - health, 26, 100530.
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  Although Parkinson's Disease (PD) is typically described in terms of motor symptoms, depression is a common feature. We explored whether depression influences blood-based genome-wide DNA methylation (DNAm) in 692 subjects from a population-based PD case-control study, using both a history of clinically diagnosed depression and current depressive symptoms measured by the geriatric depression scale (GDS). While PD patients in general had more immune activation and more accelerated epigenetic immune system aging than controls, the patients experiencing current depressive symptoms (GDS≥5) showed even higher levels of both markers than patients without current depressive symptoms (GDS
• Raichlen, D. A., Furlong, M., Klimentidis, Y. C., Sayre, M. K., Parra, K. L., Bharadwaj, P. K., Wilcox, R. R., & Alexander, G. E. (2022). Association of Physical Activity with Incidence of Dementia Is Attenuated by Air Pollution. Medicine and science in sports and exercise, 54(7), 1131-1138.
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  Physical activity (PA) is recognized as one of the key lifestyle behaviors that reduces risk of developing dementia late in life. However, PA also leads to increased respiration, and in areas with high levels of air pollution, PA may increase exposure to pollutants linked with higher risk of developing dementia. Here, we investigate whether air pollution attenuates the association between PA and dementia risk.
• Chen, G. K., Yan, Q., Paul, K. C., Kusters, C. D., Folle, A. D., Furlong, M., Keener, A., Bronstein, J., Horvath, S., & Ritz, B. (2021). Stochastic Epigenetic Mutations Influence Parkinson's Disease Risk, Progression, and Mortality. Journal of Parkinson's disease.
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  Stochastic epigenetic mutations (SEM) reflect a deviation from normal site-specific methylation patterns. Epigenetic mutation load (EML) captures the accumulation of SEMs across an individual's genome and may reflect dysfunction of the epigenetic maintenance system in response to epigenetic challenges.
• Goodrich, J. M., Furlong, M. A., Caban-Martinez, A. J., Jung, A. M., Batai, K., Jenkins, T., Beitel, S., Littau, S., Gulotta, J., Wallentine, D., Hughes, J., Popp, C., Calkins, M. M., & Burgess, J. L. (2021). Differential DNA Methylation by Hispanic Ethnicity Among Firefighters in the United States. Epigenetics insights, 14, 25168657211006159.
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  Firefighters are exposed to a variety of environmental hazards and are at increased risk for multiple cancers. There is evidence that risks differ by ethnicity, yet the biological or environmental differences underlying these differences are not known. DNA methylation is one type of epigenetic regulation that is altered in cancers. In this pilot study, we profiled DNA methylation with the Infinium MethylationEPIC in blood leukocytes from 31 Hispanic white and 163 non-Hispanic white firefighters. We compared DNA methylation (1) at 12 xenobiotic metabolizing genes and (2) at all loci on the array (>740 000), adjusting for confounders. Five of the xenobiotic metabolizing genes were differentially methylated at a raw -value
• Vega-Millán, C. B., Dévora-Figueroa, A. G., Burgess, J. L., Beamer, P. I., Furlong, M., Lantz, R. C., Meza-Figueroa, D., O Rourke, M. K., García-Rico, L., Meza-Escalante, E. R., Balderas-Cortés, J. J., & Meza-Montenegro, M. M. (2021). Inflammation biomarkers associated with arsenic exposure by drinking water and respiratory outcomes in indigenous children from three Yaqui villages in southern Sonora, México. Environmental science and pollution research international, 28(26), 34355-34366.
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  Environmental arsenic exposure in adults and children has been associated with a reduction in the expression of club cell secretory protein (CC16) and an increase in the expression of matrix metalloproteinase-9 (MMP-9), both biomarkers of lung inflammation and negative respiratory outcomes. The objectives of this study were to determine if the levels of serum CC16 and MMP-9 and subsequent respiratory infections in children are associated with the ingestion of arsenic by drinking water. This cross-sectional study included 216 children from three Yaqui villages, Potam, Vicam, and Cocorit, with levels of arsenic in their ground water of 70.01 ± 21.85, 23.3 ± 9.99, and 11.8 ± 4.42 μg/L respectively. Total arsenic in water and urine samples was determined by inductively coupled plasma/optical emission spectrometry. Serum was analyzed for CC16 and MMP-9 using ELISA. The children had an average urinary arsenic of 79.39 μg/L and 46.8 % had levels above of the national concern value of 50 μg/L. Increased arsenic concentrations in drinking water and average daily arsenic intake by water were associated with decreased serum CC16 levels (β = - 0.12, 95% CI - 0.20, - 0.04 and β = - 0.10, 95% CI - 0.18, - 0.03), and increased serum MMP-9 levels (β = 0.35, 95% CI 0.22, 0.48 and β = 0.29, 95% CI 0.18, 0.40) at significant levels (P < 0.05). However, no association was found between levels of these serum biomarkers and urinary arsenic concentrations. In these children, reduced serum CC16 levels were significantly associated with increased risk of respiratory infections (OR = 0.34, 95% CI 0.13, 0.90). In conclusion, altered levels of serum CC16 and MMP-9 in the children may be due to the toxic effects of arsenic exposure through drinking water.
• Yan, Q., Paul, K. C., Walker, D. I., Furlong, M. A., Del Rosario, I., Yu, Y., Zhang, K., Cockburn, M. G., Jones, D. P., & Ritz, B. R. (2021). High-Resolution Metabolomic Assessment of Pesticide Exposure in Central Valley, California. Chemical research in toxicology, 34(5), 1337-1347.
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  Pesticides are widely used in the agricultural Central Valley region of California. Historically, this has included organophosphates (OPs), organochlorines (OCs), and pyrethroids (PYRs). This study aimed to identify perturbations of the serum metabolome in response to each class of pesticide and mutual associations between groups of metabolites and multiple pesticides. We conducted high-resolution metabolomic profiling of serum samples from 176 older adults living in the California Central Valley using liquid chromatography with high-resolution mass spectrometry. We estimated chronic pesticide exposure (from 1974 to year of blood draw) to OPs, OCs, and PYRs from ambient sources at homes and workplaces with a geographic information system (GIS)-based model. Based on partial least-squares regression and pathway enrichment analysis, we identified metabolites and metabolic pathways associated with one or multiple pesticide classes, including mitochondrial energy metabolism, fatty acid and lipid metabolism, and amino acid metabolism. Utilizing an integrative network approach, we found that the fatty acid β-oxidation pathway is a common pathway shared across all three pesticide classes. The disruptions of the serum metabolome suggested that chronic pesticide exposure might result in oxidative stress, inflammatory reactions, and mitochondrial dysfunction, all of which have been previously implicated in a wide variety of diseases. Overall, our findings provided a comprehensive view of the molecular mechanisms of chronic pesticide toxicity, and, for the first time, our approach informs exposome research by moving from macrolevel population exposures to microlevel biologic responses.
• Furlong, M. A., & Klimentidis, Y. C. (2020). Associations of air pollution with obesity and body fat percentage, and modification by polygenic risk score for BMI in the UK Biobank. Environmental research, 185, 109364.
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  Air pollution has consistently been associated with cardiometabolic outcomes, although associations with obesity have only been recently reported. Studies of air pollution and adiposity have mostly relied on body mass index (BMI) rather than body fat percentage (BF%), and most have not accounted for noise as a possible confounder. Additionally, it is unknown whether genetic predisposition for obesity increases susceptibility to the obesogenic effects of air pollution. To help fill these gaps, we used the UK Biobank, a large, prospective cohort study in the United Kingdom, to explore the relationship between air pollution and adiposity, and modification by a polygenic risk score for BMI. We used 2010 annual averages of air pollution estimates from land use regression (NO, NO, PM, PM, PM, PM), traffic intensity (TI), inverse distance to road (IDTR), along with examiner-measured BMI, waist-hip-ratio (WHR), and impedance measures of BF%, which were collected at enrollment (2006-2010, n = 473,026) and at follow-up (2012-2013, n = 19,518). We estimated associations of air pollution with BMI, WHR, and BF% at enrollment and follow-up, and with obesity, abdominal obesity, and BF%-obesity at enrollment and follow-up. We used linear and logistic regression and controlled for noise and other covariates. We also assessed interactions of air pollution with a polygenic risk score for BMI. On average, participants at enrollment were 56 years of age, 54% were female, and 32% had completed college or a higher degree. Almost all participants (~95%) were white. All air pollution measures except IDTR were positively associated with at least one continuous measure of adiposity at enrollment. However, NO was negatively associated with BMI but positively associated with WHR at enrollment, and IDTR was also negatively associated with BMI. At follow-up (controlling for enrollment adiposity), we observed positive associations for PM with BMI, PM with BF%, and TI with BF% and BMI. Associations were similar for binary measures of adiposity, with minor differences for some pollutants. Associations of NO, NO, PM, PM and PM, with BMI at enrollment, but not at follow-up, were stronger among individuals with higher BMI polygenic risk scores (interaction p
• Furlong, M. A., Paul, K. C., Cockburn, M., Bronstein, J., Keener, A., Rosario, I. D., Folle, A. D., & Ritz, B. (2020). Ambient Pyrethroid Pesticide Exposures in Adult Life and Depression in Older Residents of California's Central Valley. Environmental epidemiology (Philadelphia, Pa.), 4(6), e123.
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  Pyrethroid pesticide exposures may be associated with the onset of depression in later life via disruption of dopaminergic, serotonergic, and neurological functioning. We sought to investigate the association between living near agricultural pyrethroid pesticide applications and depression measures in central California, using two waves (PEG 1&2, total N = 1,654) of a case control study of Parkinson's disease (PD). At enrollment, participants self-reported history of use of depression medications and dates of MD-diagnosed depression and anxiety. Participants also completed a Geriatric Depression Scale-Short Form upon enrollment. We used the California Pesticide Use Registry to assign estimated ambient pyrethroid pesticide exposures at participant's home addresses over the 5 years before the index date (date of outcome, or an age-matched year for participants without the outcome). We used logistic and linear regression to evaluate associations between living near any pyrethroid applications over the 5-year index period and measures of depression and anxiety. We also evaluated modification by study wave and PD status. We observed associations of pyrethroids with depression, depression medications, and anxiety (adjusted odds ratio [aOR] depression = 1.54, 95% confidence interval [CI] 1.14, 2.07; aOR depression medications = 1.68, 95% CI 1.25, 2.25; aOR anxiety = 1.60, 95% CI 1.17, 2.18). However, we observed no associations with mild/moderate depressive symptoms according to the GDS score at enrollment (aOR = 1.04, 95% CI 0.77, 1.42). We did not observe a consistent modification of the pyrethroid-depression associations by study wave and PD status. Ambient pyrethroid pesticide exposures may be associated with measures of depression in later life.
• Furlong, M. A., Paul, K. C., Yan, Q., Chuang, Y. H., Cockburn, M. G., Bronstein, J. M., Horvath, S., & Ritz, B. (2020). An epigenome-wide association study of ambient pyrethroid pesticide exposures in California's central valley. International journal of hygiene and environmental health, 229, 113569.
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  Pyrethroid pesticide use is increasing worldwide, although the full extent of associated health effects is unknown. An epigenome-wide association study (EWAS) with exploratory pathway analysis may help identify potential pyrethroid-related health effects.
• García-Rico, L., Meza-Figueroa, D., Beamer, P. I., Burgess, J. L., O'Rourke, M. K., Lantz, C. R., Furlong, M., Martinez-Cinco, M., Mondaca-Fernandez, I., Balderas-Cortes, J. J., & Meza-Montenegro, M. M. (2020). Serum matrix metalloproteinase-9 in children exposed to arsenic from playground dust at elementary schools in Hermosillo, Sonora, Mexico. Environmental geochemistry and health, 42(2), 499-511.
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  Arsenic exposure in adults has been associated with increased serum matrix metalloproteinase-9 (MMP-9), a biomarker which is associated with chronic respiratory disease, lung inflammation, cardiovascular disease and cancer. The objective of this study was to evaluate the association between serum MMP-9 levels in children, urinary arsenic, arsenic chronic daily intake (CDI) and arsenic exposure from playground dust. This cross-sectional study examined 127 children from five elementary schools, in Hermosillo, Sonora, Mexico. Arsenic was analyzed in the dust using a portable X-ray fluorescence (XRF) analyzer. Total urinary arsenic was determined by inductively coupled plasma/optical emission spectrometry. Serum was analyzed for MMP-9 using ELISA. Arsenic levels in playground dust averaged 16.9 ± 4.6 mg/kg. Urinary arsenic averaged 34.9 ± 17.1 µg/L. Arsenic concentration in playground dust was positively associated with serum MMP-9 levels in crude analyses and after adjustment (P 
• Beamer, P. I., Furlong, M., Lothrop, N., Guerra, S., Billheimer, D., Stern, D. A., Zhai, J., Halonen, M., Wright, A. L., & Martinez, F. D. (2019). CC16 Levels into Adult Life Are Associated with Nitrogen Dioxide Exposure at Birth. American journal of respiratory and critical care medicine, 200(5), 600-607.
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  Lung function and growth are adversely associated with nitrogen dioxide (NO) exposure. Lower levels of circulating club cell secretory protein (CC16) in childhood are also associated with subsequent decreased lung function. NO exposure may induce epithelial damage in lungs and alter club cell proliferation and morphology. To determine if increased ambient NO levels at participants' home addresses in early life were associated with decreased levels of CC16 from age 6 to 32 years. Participants were enrolled at birth in the Tucson Children's Respiratory Study and had circulating CC16 measured at least once between age 6 and 32. Linear mixed models were used to determine the association between estimated ambient NO exposure at participants' home address at birth or age 6 with CC16 levels from age 6 to 32. NO exposures at birth or age 6 were available for 777 children with one or more CC16 measurement. We found a negative association between NO exposure and CC16 levels, with a 4.7% (95% confidence interval, -8.6 to -0.7) decrease in CC16 levels from age 6 to 32 per interquartile range increase in NO exposure (6.0 ppb) at the participants' birth address. We observed modification by race (p interaction = 0.04), with stronger associations among participants with at least one black parent (-29.6% [95% confidence interval, -42.9% to -13.2%] per interquartile range). NO at participant's age 6 address was not significantly associated with CC16 levels (-1.9%; 95% confidence interval, -6.3 to 2.6). Higher exposure to NO at birth is associated with persistently low levels of CC16 from 6 to 32 years.
• Furlong, M., Deming-Halverson, S., & Sandler, D. P. (2019). Chronic antibiotic use during adulthood and weight change in the Sister Study. PloS one, 14(5), e0216959.
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  Antibiotic use in early life has been associated with weight gain in several populations. However, associations between chronic antibiotic use and weight among adults in the general population are unknown.
• López-Gálvez, N., Wagoner, R., Quirós-Alcalá, L., Ornelas Van Horne, Y., Furlong, M., Avila, E., & Beamer, P. (2019). Systematic Literature Review of the Take-Home Route of Pesticide Exposure via Biomonitoring and Environmental Monitoring. International journal of environmental research and public health, 16(12).
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  Exposure to pesticides via take-home can be an important pathway for farmworkers' families.
• Furlong, M., Herring, A. H., Goldman, B. D., Daniels, J. L., Wolff, M. S., Engel, L. S., & Engel, S. M. (2018). Early Life Characteristics and Neurodevelopmental Phenotypes in the Mount Sinai Children's Environmental Health Center. Child psychiatry and human development, 49(4), 534-550.
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  Neurodevelopmental outcomes including behavior, executive functioning, and IQ exhibit complex correlational structures, although they are often treated as independent in etiologic studies. We performed a principal components analysis of the behavioral assessment system for children, the behavior rating inventory of executive functioning, and the Wechsler scales of intelligence in a prospective birth cohort, and estimated associations with early life characteristics. We identified seven factors: (1) impulsivity and externalizing, (2) executive functioning, (3) internalizing, (4) perceptual reasoning, (5) adaptability, (6) processing speed, and (7) verbal intelligence. Prenatal fish consumption, maternal education, preterm birth, and the home environment were important predictors of various neurodevelopmental factors. Although maternal smoking was associated with more adverse externalizing, executive functioning, and adaptive composite scores in our sample, of the orthogonally-rotated factors, smoking was only associated with the impulsivity and externalizing factor ([Formula: see text] - 0.82, 95% CI - 1.42, - 0.23). These differences may be due to correlations among outcomes that were accounted for by using a phenotypic approach. Dimension reduction may improve upon traditional approaches by accounting for correlations among neurodevelopmental traits.
• Furlong, M. A., Barr, D. B., Wolff, M. S., & Engel, S. M. (2017). Prenatal exposure to pyrethroid pesticides and childhood behavior and executive functioning. Neurotoxicology, 62, 231-238.
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  Several previous studies of pyrethroid biomarkers and behavior have reported associations between concurrent pyrethroid levels and adverse behavioral problems in children. One geospatial study reported associations between prenatal exposure to pyrethroids and autism. However, the association between prenatal pyrethroid biomarkers and childhood behavior is unknown. The Mount Sinai Children's Environmental Health Center is a prospective birth cohort with urinary pyrethroid biomarkers during pregnancy and behavioral measurements at 4, 6, and 7-9 years of age. Primiparous women were enrolled between 1998 and 2002. 162 mother/child pairs with complete exposure and behavioral outcomes data were used to investigate associations between detectable levels of prenatal pyrethroid metabolites and scores on the Behavioral Assessment System for Children and the Behavior Rating Inventory of Executive Function. Overall, detection frequencies of pyrethroid metabolites were low (
• Furlong, M. A., Herring, A., Buckley, J. P., Goldman, B. D., Daniels, J. L., Engel, L. S., Wolff, M. S., Chen, J., Wetmur, J., Barr, D. B., & Engel, S. M. (2017). Prenatal exposure to organophosphorus pesticides and childhood neurodevelopmental phenotypes. Environmental research, 158, 737-747.
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  Prenatal exposure to organophosphorus pesticides (OPs) has been associated with different neurodevelopmental outcomes across different cohorts. A phenotypic approach may address some of these differences by incorporating information across scales and accounting for the complex correlational structure of neurodevelopmental outcomes. Additionally, Bayesian hierarchical modeling can account for confounding by collinear co-exposures. We use this framework to examine associations between prenatal exposure to OPs and behavior, executive functioning, and IQ assessed at age 6-9 years in a cohort of 404 mother/infant pairs recruited during pregnancy. We derived phenotypes of neurodevelopment with a factor analysis, and estimated associations between OP metabolites and these phenotypes in Bayesian hierarchical models for exposure mixtures. We report seven factors: 1) Impulsivity and Externalizing, 2) Executive Functioning, 3) Internalizing, 4) Perceptual Reasoning, 5) Adaptability, 6) Processing Speed, and 7) Verbal Intelligence. These, along with the Working Memory Index, were standardized and scaled so that positive values reflected positive attributes and negative values represented adverse outcomes. Standardized dimethylphosphate metabolites were negatively associated with Internalizing factor scores (β^ - 0.13, 95% CI - 0.26, 0.00) but positively associated with Executive Functioning factor scores (β^ 0.18, 95% CI 0.04, 0.31). Standardized diethylphosphate metabolites were negatively associated with the Working Memory Index (β^ - 0.17, 95% CI - 0.33, - 0.03). Associations with factor scores were generally stronger and more precise than associations with individual instrument-specific items. Factor analysis of outcomes may provide some advantages in etiological studies of childhood neurodevelopment by incorporating information across scales to reduce dimensionality and improve precision.
• Ausderau, K. K., Sideris, J., Little, L. M., Furlong, M., Bulluck, J. C., & Baranek, G. T. (2016). Sensory subtypes and associated outcomes in children with autism spectrum disorders. Autism research : official journal of the International Society for Autism Research, 9(12), 1316-1327.
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  Sensory features are prevalent and heterogeneous across children with ASD and these features have been associated with child outcomes. Identification of clinically defined sensory subtypes may enhance our understanding of unique phenotypes that have implications for etiology, prognosis, and intervention. This longitudinal study used a national online survey aimed to identify associations of previously validated sensory subtypes to specific child and family characteristics and functional outcomes [vineland adaptive behavior scale-II (VABS) and parenting stress index short form (PSI)]. The sensory experiences questionnaire-3.0 was collected from caregivers with children with ASD, ages 2-12, at two time points (Time 1, n = 1307, Time 2, n = 884), 1 year apart. Functional outcomes assessments were collected at the second time point. A latent profile transition analysis (LPTA) was used to test associations, and results indicated that the attenuated-preoccupied subtype presented with the significantly lowest levels of VABS adaptive behavior composite scores compared to the other three sensory subtypes. Both the VABS maladaptive behavior index and the total PSI score were significantly highest in the extreme-mixed subtype. These results underscore the clinical utility of this subtyping approach for differentiating characteristics and functional outcomes associated with clinically defined sensory phenotypes. These findings may have implications for better understanding etiology, prognosis, and more precise targets for interventions designed to ameliorate sensory difficulties, and ultimately mitigate negative developmental consequences and parenting stress. Autism Res 2016, 9: 1316-1327. © 2016 International Society for Autism Research, Wiley Periodicals, Inc.
• Furlong, M., Tanner, C. M., Goldman, S. M., Bhudhikanok, G. S., Blair, A., Chade, A., Comyns, K., Hoppin, J. A., Kasten, M., Korell, M., Langston, J. W., Marras, C., Meng, C., Richards, M., Ross, G. W., Umbach, D. M., Sandler, D. P., & Kamel, F. (2015). Protective glove use and hygiene habits modify the associations of specific pesticides with Parkinson's disease. Environment international, 75, 144-50.
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  Pesticides have been associated with Parkinson's disease (PD), and protective gloves and workplace hygiene can reduce pesticide exposure. We assessed whether use of gloves and workplace hygiene modified associations between pesticides and PD. The Farming and Movement Evaluation (FAME) study is a nested case-control study within the Agricultural Health Study. Use of protective gloves, other PPE, and hygiene practices were determined by questionnaire (69 cases and 237 controls were included). We considered interactions of gloves and hygiene with ever-use of pesticides for all pesticides with ≥5 exposed and unexposed cases and controls in each glove-use stratum (paraquat, permethrin, rotenone, and trifluralin). 61% of respondents consistently used protective gloves and 87% consistently used ≥2 hygiene practices. Protective glove use modified the associations of paraquat and permethrin with PD: neither pesticide was associated with PD among protective glove users, while both pesticides were associated with PD among non-users (paraquat OR 3.9 [95% CI 1.3, 11.7], interaction p=0.15; permethrin OR 4.3 [95% CI 1.2, 15.6] interaction p=0.05). Rotenone was associated with PD regardless of glove use. Trifluralin was associated with PD among participants who used
• Ausderau, K. K., Furlong, M., Sideris, J., Bulluck, J., Little, L. M., Watson, L. R., Boyd, B. A., Belger, A., Dickie, V. A., & Baranek, G. T. (2014). Sensory subtypes in children with autism spectrum disorder: latent profile transition analysis using a national survey of sensory features. Journal of child psychology and psychiatry, and allied disciplines, 55(8), 935-44.
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  Sensory features are highly prevalent and heterogeneous among children with ASD. There is a need to identify homogenous groups of children with ASD based on sensory features (i.e., sensory subtypes) to inform research and treatment.
• Ausderau, K., Sideris, J., Furlong, M., Little, L. M., Bulluck, J., & Baranek, G. T. (2014). National survey of sensory features in children with ASD: factor structure of the sensory experience questionnaire (3.0). Journal of autism and developmental disorders, 44(4), 915-25.
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  This national online survey study characterized sensory features in 1,307 children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) ages 2-12 years using the Sensory Experiences Questionnaire Version 3.0 (SEQ-3.0). Using the SEQ-3.0, a confirmatory factor analytic model with four substantive factors of hypothesized sensory response patterns (i.e., hyporesponsiveness; hyperresponsiveness; sensory interests, repetitions and seeking behaviors; enhanced perception), five method factors of sensory modalities (i.e., auditory, visual, tactile, gustatory/olfactory, vestibular/proprioceptive), and one of social context were tested with good model fit. Child and family characteristics associated with the sensory response patterns were explored. The effect of sensory response patterns on autism severity was tested, controlling for key child and family characteristics. The SEQ-3.0 demonstrates an empirically valid factor structure specific to ASD that considers sensory response patterns, modalities, and social context.
• Furlong, M. A., Engel, S. M., Barr, D. B., & Wolff, M. S. (2014). Prenatal exposure to organophosphate pesticides and reciprocal social behavior in childhood. Environment international, 70, 125-31.
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  Prenatal exposure to organophosphate pesticides (OPs) has been associated with adverse neurodevelopmental outcomes in childhood, including low IQ, pervasive developmental disorder (PDD), attention problems and ADHD. Many of these disorders involve impairments in social functioning. Thus, we investigated the relationship between biomarkers of prenatal OP exposure and impaired reciprocal social behavior in childhood, as measured by the Social Responsiveness Scale (SRS). Using a multi-ethnic urban prospective cohort of mother-infant pairs in New York City recruited between 1998 and 2002 (n=404) we examined the relation between third trimester maternal urinary levels of dialkylphosphate (ΣDAP) OP metabolites and SRS scores among 136 children who returned for the 7-9year visit. Overall, there was no association between OPs and SRS scores, although in multivariate adjusted models, associations were heterogeneous by race and by sex. Among blacks, each 10-fold increase in total diethylphosphates (ΣDEP) was associated with poorer social responsiveness (β=5.1 points, 95% confidence interval (CI) 0.8, 9.4). There was no association among whites or Hispanics, or for total ΣDAP or total dimethylphosphate (ΣDMP) biomarker levels. Additionally, stratum-specific models supported a stronger negative association among boys for ΣDEPs (β=3.5 points, 95% CI 0.2, 6.8), with no notable association among girls. Our results support an association of prenatal OP exposure with deficits in social functioning among blacks and among boys, although this may be in part reflective of differences in exposure patterns.
• Watson, K. K., Ghodasra, J. H., Furlong, M. A., & Platt, M. L. (2012). Visual preferences for sex and status in female rhesus macaques. Animal cognition, 15(3), 401-7.
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  Most primates are both highly visual and highly social. These qualities predict that visual cues to social variables, such as identity, sex, social status, and reproductive quality, would be intrinsically valuable and systematically attract attention. Supporting this idea, thirsty male rhesus macaques (Macaca mulatta) will forego fluid reward to view images of the faces of high-ranking males and the sexual skin of females. Whether female rhesus macaques, who experience dramatically different social pressures and reproductive costs than male macaques, also systematically and spontaneously value visual cues to social information remains untested experimentally. We probed the preferences of female rhesus macaques, given the opportunity to display an image from a known class of social stimuli or touch a second target to display a blank screen. We found that females preferred faces of high-status males and also images of the perinea of both males and females, but were not motivated to display images of subordinate males or control stimuli. These findings endorse the view that both male and female rhesus macaques-and presumably other highly social primates-seek information about other individuals in a way that matches the adaptive value of that information for guiding social behavior.
• So, A., Furlong, M., & Heddini, A. (2010). Globalisation and antibiotic resistance. BMJ (Clinical research ed.), 341, c5116.