Hearing Loss and Noise Exposure Among Commercial Fishermen in the Gulf Coast.

Objective: Noise is a hazard in commercial fishing. This cross-sectional study associates occupational noise exposure with hearing loss in commercial fishermen.

Methods: A comprehensive survey and audiometric testing were administered to 227 participants in the Gulf Coast.

Glutamic Acid Selective Chemical Cleavage of Peptide Bonds.

Site-specific hydrolysis of peptide bonds at glutamic acid under neutral aqueous conditions is reported. The method relies on the activation of the backbone amide chain at glutamic acid by the formation of a pyroglutamyl (pGlu) imide moiety. This activation increases the susceptibility of a peptide bond toward hydrolysis.

Factors influencing safety among a group of commercial fishermen along the Texas Gulf Coast.

The commercial fishing trades are among the most dangerous jobs in the world. Little published information exists regarding some populations of commercial fishermen such as along the United States Gulf Coast. Studying these unique and often vulnerable groups is important to characterize potential influences on or barriers to safety in anticipation of designing interventions that can change safety behaviors.

Pesticide/environmental exposures and Parkinson's disease in East Texas.

Epidemiological evidence suggests that pesticides and other environmental exposures may have a role in the etiology of idiopathic Parkinson's disease (PD). However, there is little human data on risk associated with specific pesticide products, including organic pesticides such as rotenone with PD. Using a case-control design, this study examined self-reports of exposure to pesticide products, organic pesticides such as rotenone, and other occupational and environmental exposures on the risk of PD in an East Texas population.

A feasibility study of the use of dust wipe samples to assess pesticide exposures in migrant farmworker families.

While documentation of pesticide exposure among agricultural workers is increasing, similar data describing exposure in migrant farmworkers is lacking. Exposure assessment in migrant farmworker populations is difficult since this population travels seasonally for employment in temporary work environments. The present feasibility study addressed these obstacles by teaching participants to obtain dust samples that could be used to measure pesticide exposure at the time of exposure during the migration season.