Chemicals that are intentionally added to achieve specific functionality in plastics. For example, colorants are additives that give color to the plastic product.
Stressor
A chemical that acts at molecular level causing a perturbation in the biology of the organism exposed to it.
Key Event (KE)
A measurable change in the biological or physiological state of the organism which eventually leads to an adverse effect.
Adverse Outcome (AO)
The terminal KE that corresponds to the stressor-induced adverse effect.
Molecular Initiating Event (MIE)
The originating KE that corresponds to the stressor-induced molecular event.
Adverse Outcome Pathway (AOP)
A linear sequence of events that captures information on a biological target perturbed by a stressor (MIE), and the cascade of KEs following this perturbation that culminates into one or more AOs.
Stressor-AOP network
A bipartite graph that links stressors to different AOPs.
Priority Use Sectors
Use sectors where plastic products have a high likelihood of chemical exposure in vulnerable populations and ecosystem.
Disease categories
Standardized terminology from Disease Ontology for the adverse outcomes.
PRIORITY USE SECTORS
Priority Use Sector
Description
Packaging, including food contact materials
Includes plastic additives that are found in packaging of non-food items as well as products that come in contact with food items.
Agriculture, aquaculture and fisheries
Includes plastic additives found products used for agricultural purposes (such as fertilizer sacks or containers) or used in fisheries and aquaculture (such as fishing nets).
Personal care and household products
Includes plastic additives found in household cleaning products, cosmetics or personal hygiene products.
Building materials
Includes plastic additives found in products such as paints, coatings or pipes used in buildings and other constructions.
Transport
Includes plastic additives found in automobile cabin materials or tires.
Electrical and electronic equipment
Includes plastic additives found in products such as batteries, electronics or large and small consumer appliances.
Toys and other children's products
Includes additives found in plastic toys or other children's art/craft supplies.
Furniture
Includes additives in plastic or polymer products used in furniture or furnishing such as chairs, mattresses, sofa covers, etc.
Medical devices
Includes plastic additives found in medical or dental supplies and equipment.
Synthetic textiles
Includes additives associated with synthetic fibers used in clothing or in textiles.
Users can navigate to the BROWSE page to browse all chemicals or browse chemicals by their 'Priority Use Sectors'. Clicking on a button in the BROWSE page leads to the page tabulating the corresponding chemicals along with the links to the networks and downloadable files.
VISUALIZE OR DOWNLOAD NETWORKS
Users can navigate to any of the tabulated pages containing corresponding list of chemicals to either visualize the network by clicking 'Visualize Network' or download the network in Cytoscape file format by clicking on 'Download'. This downloaded file can be viewed using a local Cytoscape software. Once the user clicks on the 'Visualize Network' option they can click on the 'Back to Browse' button on top-left of the screen to navigate back to BROWSE section. Further, the users can navigate to the corresponding chemical information page in CAS Common Chemistry or in PubChem by clicking on the corresponding chemical identifier.
SELECTION OF NODES
The network visualization page for a chemical is interactive. Users can select and drag any of the nodes. Also, they can select a group of nodes by holding the cursor and choosing the nodes with a rectangular selection box. Once selected, users can move the group around by clicking and holding one of the nodes in the group.
ZOOM IN/OUT
Users can zoom in and out by using the scroll gesture on their touchpad or by using the scroll button on their mouse. Users can click on 'Fit to window' option on the right panel to fit the network to the screen size.
DRAG NETWORK CANVAS
Sometimes the networks are too large to fit the screen. In such cases, users can click and hold (in MacOS) or double-click and hold (in Windows) to activate the drag canvas option and continue holding and move the cursor around the screen to navigate through the canvas.
GETTING THE EDGE ATTRIBUTES IN THE NETWORK VISUALIZATION PAGE
To retrieve the edge attributes of an edge of interest in the network visualization page, users can select the edge of interest, then select the 'Show/Hide Table' option on the right panel and navigate to the Edge information tab at the bottom of the screen. Here, users can scroll left or right to get all edge attributes including 'Level of Relevance' and 'Coverage Score'.
DISCLAIMER
This website, Stressor-AOP Network for Plastic Additives, contains information on the Adverse Outcome Pathways (AOPs) associated with plastic additives. The authors are not liable for any inaccuracies or omissions of any chemicals or associations with AOPs in this website. Users are advised to exercise their own discretion while judging the weight of evidence for plastic additive and AOP associations in this website. Importantly, our sole goal to build this website is to enable future basic research on this topic and it does not necessarily reflect the views or objectives of our employers or funders.
