Evidence map›Paper›PMID 34211112›Full record

ArticleJournal of exposure science & environmental epidemiology2022

Validation of in vivo toenail measurements of manganese and mercury using a portable X-ray fluorescence device.

Aaron J Specht, Xinxin Zhang, Anna Young, Vy T Nguyen, David C Christiani, Diana M Ceballos, Joseph G Allen, Jennifer Weuve, Linda H Nie, Marc G Weisskopf

Open access · greenAbstract read
In one paragraph

Article in Journal of exposure science & environmental epidemiology, 2022. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 7 papers.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
7citing papers in PubMed
0.7field-weighted citation impact, top 32% of its field
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

7 citing papers in PubMed, 10 citations in OpenAlex.

  1. Article
  2. Article
  3. Ways to Measure Metals: From ICP-MS to XRF.Current environmental health reports · 2025
    Review
  4. Article
  5. Article
  6. Review
  7. Article
4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

10 authors at 3 institutions in 1 country.

Aaron J SpechtHarvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health, Boston, MA, USA. aspecht@hsph.harvard.edu.ORCID 0000-0002-3342-1229
Xinxin ZhangPurdue University, School of Health Sciences, West Lafayette, IN, USA.
Anna YoungHarvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health, Boston, MA, USA.
Vy T NguyenHarvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health, Boston, MA, USA.
David C ChristianiHarvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health, Boston, MA, USA.
Diana M CeballosDepartment of Environmental Health, Boston University, Boston, MA, USA.
Joseph G AllenHarvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health, Boston, MA, USA.
Jennifer Weuve *Department of Epidemiology, Boston University School of Public Health, Boston, MA, USA.
Linda H Nie *Purdue University, School of Health Sciences, West Lafayette, IN, USA.
Marc G Weisskopf *Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health, Boston, MA, USA.
Harvard University · USBoston University · USPurdue University West Lafayette · US

Funding

Harvard Clinical and Translational Science CenterUL1TR001102 · NCATS · HARVARD MEDICAL SCHOOL · PI NADLER, LEE MARSHALL · 2013 to 2017
$106.2M
Translational Engineering in Cancer (TEC)P30CA023108 · NCI · DARTMOUTH COLLEGE · PI Fred W Kolling IV · 1985 to 2026
$91.3M
VARIATION IN BIOACCUMULATION AND BIOMAGNIFICATION OF METALS IN NORTHERN US LAKESP42ES007373 · NIEHS · DARTMOUTH COLLEGE · PI KARAGAS, MARGARET RITA · 1995 to 2019
$52.0M
Translational Research Support CoreP30ES000002 · NIEHS · HARVARD UNIVERSITY (SCH OF PUBLIC HLTH) · PI JAIME ELIZABETH HART · 1985 to 2026
$44.6M
Safety and Health Management of Hazards Associated with Emerging Technologies.R25ES023635 · NIEHS · HARVARD SCHOOL OF PUBLIC HEALTH · PI ADAMKIEWICZ, GARY · 2013 to 2019
$1.3M
Validation of Portable XRF for In Vivo Measurement of Heavy Metal ExposuresR21ES024700 · NIEHS · RUSH UNIVERSITY MEDICAL CENTER · PI NIE, LINDA H, WEISSKOPF, MARC G · 2015 to 2018
$712k
A novel portable KXRF measurement system for in vivo metal measurementsK01OH011648 · OH · HARVARD SCHOOL OF PUBLIC HEALTH · PI SPECHT, AARON JAMES · 2019 to 2021
$311k
ACL HHS K01OH011648ACL HHS T42OH008416NCATS NIH HHS UL1 TR001102NCI NIH HHS P30 CA023108NIEHS NIH HHS P30 ES000002NIEHS NIH HHS P42 ES007373NIEHS NIH HHS R21 ES024700NIEHS NIH HHS R25 ES023635NIOSH CDC HHS K01 OH011648NIOSH CDC HHS T42 OH008416
6 · The paper itself

Abstract

BACKGROUND AND

objectiveToenail metal concentrations can be used as an effective biomarker for exposure to environmental toxicants. Typically toenail clippings are measured ex vivo using inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry (ICP-MS). X-ray fluorescence (XRF) toenail metal measurements done on intact toenails in vivo could be used as an alternative to alleviate some of the disadvantages of ICP-MS. In this study, we assessed the ability to use XRF to measure toenail metal concentrations in real-time without having to clip the toenails (i.e., in vivo) in two occupational settings for exposure assessment of manganese and mercury. MATERIALS AND

methodsThe portable XRF method used a 3-min in vivo measurement of toenails prior to clipping and was assessed against ICP-MS measurement of toenail clippings taken immediately after the XRF measurement and work history for a group of welders (n = 16) assessed for manganese exposure and nail salon workers (n = 10) assessed for mercury exposure. RESULTS AND

conclusionsWe identified that in vivo XRF metal measurements were able to discern exposure to manganese in welders and mercury in nail salon workers. We identified significant positive correlations between ICP-MS of clippings and in vivo XRF measures of both toenail manganese (R = 0.59, p = 0.02) and mercury (R = 0.74, p < 0.001), as well as between in vivo XRF toenail manganese and work history among the welders (R = 0.55, p = 0.03). We identified in vivo XRF detection limits to be 0.5 µg/g for mercury and 2.6 µg/g for manganese. Further work should elucidate differences in the timing of exposure using the in vivo XRF method over toenail clippings and modification of measurement time and x-ray setting to further decrease the detection limit. In vivo portable, XRF measurements can be used to effectively measure toenail Mn and Hg in occupational participants in real-time during study visits and at a fraction of the cost.

Indexed as

MercuryNailsFluorescenceHumansManganeseMetalsSpectrometry, X-Ray EmissionX-RaysManganeseMercuryMetals

Identifiers

PMID34211112
PMCPMC8720103
OpenAlexW3174114056

What OpenQuestion holds

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Registered trials

None linked

Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.