Occupational Firefighting: A Detriment to Good Health.

Objective: The purpose of the study is to evaluate the effect of an online educational module in increasing awareness of depression, substance use disorder, and sleep deprivation among firefighters in Monroe County, New York.

Method: Firefighters were recruited via work e-mail and the snowball technique. A quantitative preintervention and postintervention study was used.

The role of hydrophobic silane coating on Si stamps in nanoimprint lithography.

Hydrophobic silane coatings have been successfully applied to the surface of Si stamps to improve demolding in nanoimprint lithography (NIL). However, the role of the silane coating has only been studied either indirectly, by measuring adhesion or friction coefficients for Si and substrate surfaces without patterns, or collectively, by measuring the overall demolding force that does not differentiate contributions of friction dissipation, stored elastic energy, and adhesion. Here, for the first time, we present experimental evidence on the role of the silane coating in improving demolding in UV-NIL by using different silane coatings.

Low cost fabrication of a superhydrophobic V-grooved polymer surface.

Engineering of polymer surfaces to control their wetting properties has shown a wide range of potential applications. In this paper we show low cost fabrication of a superhydrophobic polymer surface via a hierarchical combination of hot embossing, O2 reactive ion etching (RIE) and deposition of a hydrophobic silane. The hot embossing and O2 RIE were used to produce respective micro and nanoscale surface roughness which is a requirement for obtaining superhydrophobic surfaces, while the deposition of a hydrophobic silane modified surface chemistry.

Protein profiling of mouse livers with peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor alpha activation.

Peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor alpha (PPARalpha) is important in the induction of cell-specific pleiotropic responses, including the development of liver tumors, when it is chronically activated by structurally diverse synthetic ligands such as Wy-14,643 or by unmetabolized endogenous ligands resulting from the disruption of the gene encoding acyl coenzyme A (CoA) oxidase (AOX). Alterations in gene expression patterns in livers with PPARalpha activation were delineated by using a proteomic approach to analyze liver proteins of Wy-14,643-treated and AOX(-/-) mice. We identified 46 differentially expressed proteins in mouse livers with PPARalpha activation.

Profiling of acyl-CoA oxidase-deficient and peroxisome proliferator Wy14,643-treated mouse liver protein by surface-enhanced laser desorption/ionization ProteinChip Biology System.

Peroxisome proliferators induce hepatic peroxisome proliferation and hepatocellular carcinomas in rodents. These chemicals increase the expression of the peroxisomal beta-oxidation pathway and the cytochrome P-450 4A family, which metabolizes lipids, including fatty acids. Mice lacking fatty acyl-CoA oxidase (AOX-/-), the first enzyme of the peroxisomal beta-oxidation system, exhibit extensive microvesicular steatohepatitis, leading to hepatocellular regeneration and massive peroxisome proliferation.

Enzyme replacement therapy in a feline model of MPS VI: modification of enzyme structure and dose frequency.

Enzyme replacement therapy (ERT) in the MPS VI cat is effective at reducing or eliminating pathology in most connective tissues. One exception is that cartilage and chondrocytes remained distended with extensive lysosomal vacuolation after long-term, high-dose ERT. In this study, we demonstrate that recombinant human N-acetylgalactosamine-4-sulphatase (4S) is taken up by chondrocytes via a mannose-6-phosphate-dependent mechanism and is effective at removing MPS storage.

Histomorphometric analysis of the tibial growth plate in a feline model of mucopolysaccharidosis type VI.

Mucopolysaccharidosis type VI (MPS VI) is a genetically inherited lysosomal storage disorder. Severely affected children exhibit a range of skeletal abnormalities including short stature, facial dysmorphia, and dysostosis multiplex. Naturally occurring and transgenic animal models of MPS VI are also found which exhibit pathology similar to the human disorder.

Recombinant caprine 3H-[N-acetylglucosamine-6-sulfatase] and human 3H-[N-acetylgalactosamine-4-sulfatase]: plasma clearance, tissue distribution, and cellular uptake in the rat.

The use of recombinant lysosomal enzymes for enzyme replacement therapy (ERT) is likely to be a necessary component of effective treatment regimens for lysosomal storage diseases (LSDs). The mechanism and rate of uptake into target cells, rate of disappearance of the enzyme from plasma, and its tissue distribution are important factors to assess the need for possible modifications to the enzyme, particularly for LSDs that affect the central nervous system (CNS). Two recombinant lysosomal enzymes, caprine N-acetylglucosamine-6-sulfatase (rc6S) and human N-acetylgalactosamine-4-sulfatase (rh4S), deficient in MPS IIID and MPS VI, respectively, were radiolabeled and purified.

Glycosaminoglycan accumulation and excretion in the mucopolysaccharidoses: characterization and basis of a diagnostic test for MPS.

A combination of anion-exchange chromatography and 30-40% gradient polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis (gradient-PAGE) was used to purify and characterize urinary glycosaminoglycans from various mucopolysaccharidoses (MPS). The urinary glycosaminoglycans from the different MPS displayed distinct patterns on gradient-PAGE and further confirmation of MPS types and subtypes was demonstrated by an electrophoretic shift in the banding pattern after digestion with the appropriate MPS enzyme. Thus each of the MPS accumulates a unique spectrum of glycosaminoglycans with a nonreducing terminal consisting of the substrate specific for the deficient enzyme in that particular MPS disorder.