Robert S. Young

Proteomic analysis of simulated occupational jet fuel exposure in the lung.

We analyzed protein expression in the cytosolic fraction prepared from whole lung tissue in male Swiss‐Webster mice exposed 1 h/day for seven days to aerosolized JP‐8 jet fuel at concentrations of 1000 and 2500 mg/m3, simulating military occupational exposure. Lung cytosol samples were solubilized and separated via large scale, high resolution two‐dimensional electrophoresis (2‐DE) and gel patterns scanned, digitized and processed for statistical analysis. Significant quantitative and qualitative changes in tissue cytosol proteins resulted from jet fuel exposure. Several of the altered proteins were identified by peptide mass fingerprinting, confirmed by sequence tag analysis, and related to impaired protein synthetic machinery, toxic/metabolic stress and detoxification systems, ultrastructural damage, and functional responses to CO2 handling, acid‐base homeostasis and fluid secretion. These results demonstrate a significant but comparatively moderate JP‐8 effect on protein expression and corroborate previous morphological and biochemical evidence. Further molecular marker development and mechanistic inferences from these observations await proteomic analysis of whole tissue homogenates and other cell compartment, i.e., mitochondria, microsomes, and nuclei of lung and other targets.

Proteomic analysis of the renal effects of simulated occupational jet fuel exposure

We analyzed protein expression in the cytosolic fraction prepared from whole kidneys in male Swiss‐Webster mice exposed 1 h/day for five days to aerosolized JP‐8 jet fuel at a concentration of 1000 mg/m3, simulating military occupational exposure. Kidney cytosol samples were solubilized and separated via large‐scale, high‐resolution two‐dimensional electrophoresis (2‐DE) and gel patterns scanned, digitized and processed for statistical analysis. Significant changes in soluble kidney proteins resulted from jet fuel exposure. Several of the altered proteins were identified by peptide mass fingerprinting and related to ultrastructural abnormalities, altered protein processing, metabolic effects, and paradoxical stress protein/detoxification system responses. These results demonstrate a significant but comparatively moderate JP‐8 effect on protein expression in the kidney and provide novel molecular evidence of JP‐8 nephrotoxicity. Human risk is suggested by these data but conclusive assessment awaits a noninvasive search for biomarkers in JP‐8 exposed humans.

Some Thoughts About the Epidemiology of Alcohol and Drug Use Among American Indian/Alaska Native Populations

Researchers have established that rates of alcohol and illicit drug use among American Indians/Alaska Natives vary by tribe, gender, and age group, making it difficult to get an accurate estimate of the actual extent of the problem of substance abuse within this population group. Although percentage rates of alcohol consumption are higher in non-Hispanic Whites, American Indians/Alaska Natives nevertheless have the highest alcohol-related mortality rates and rates of substance use and dependence of all ethnic groups. Alcohol-related motor vehicle accidents are especially high for American Indian/Alaska Natives. Similarly, illicit drug use is higher among American Indians/Alaska Natives across all age groups compared to non-Indians. Data indicate that American Indians/Alaska Natives have the highest rates of use for marijuana, cocaine, inhalants, hallucinogens, and non-medical use of psychotherapeutics compared to other ethnic groups. Anecdotally, use of amphetamine appears to be high within some American Indian/Alaska Native tribes and has become a serious concern for most American Indian/Alaska Native communities. The percentage of American Indian/Alaska Native women using illicit drugs is lower than that found in men, except in younger age groups, in which percentage rates of illicit drug use by women in some tribes are comparable to rates for men.

Type 2 (Non-Insulin Dependent) Diabetes in Minority Youth: Conference Report

&dquo;NIDDM in Minority Children&dquo; held December 6-7, 1996, in Tucson, Arizona, hosted by the Native American Research and Training Center (NARTC), Department of Family and Community Medicine, University of Arizona College of Medicine. This conference was the first to address the problem of non-insulin dependent diabetes mellitus (NIDDM) in the pediatric population. The need for this conference

Culturally Based Substance Abuse Treatment for American Indians/Alaska Natives and Latinos

Although it is generally accepted that substance abuse treatment programs and approaches for minority clients that are not culturally based would have limited effectiveness, there is great variance in what constitutes cultural relevance. For example, many extant treatment models are limited by more surface or superficial cultural mismatches between the program, providers, and clients (e.g., language/translation problems; not being able to establish a basic rapport with a client from a different cultural background). In addition, the larger paradigm of the treatment approaches (e.g., 12 Steps, etc.)--which is largely guided by Western assumptions--may be limited in more fundamental ways (e.g., not reaching “deep structure” changes; Resnicow, et al., 2000) if applied to certain ethnic minority clients. As a result, there has been increasing interest in incorporating into mental health and substance abuse-specific treatments culturally relevant interventions for US minority clients whose lifestyle and cultural orientation are strongly anchored to non-Western perspectives. Descriptions of some of these unique, culturally-based intervention modalities have been presented, but few studies have examined how these interventions have been adapted as promising or as evidence-based forms of “best practice.” The following selected papers in this collection are from presentations given at the conference, Culturally Based Substance Abuse Treatment for American Indians/Alaska Natives and Latinos, which was held April 17 – 19, 2006, in Tucson, Arizona. The purpose of this conference was to provide a forum for therapists, researchers, policy makers and community leaders to discuss the kinds of culturally relevant interventions that are promising or best practices in the treatment of substance abuse for many American Indians, Alaska Natives, and Latinos. Because of the geography of the conference, major emphasis was placed on southwestern tribal and Chicano/a and Mexican responsive programs and approaches, although we contend that many of the programs and approaches would have much broader relevance to other indigenous peoples, including Latino subgroups (e.g., Puerto Rican, Cuban, Dominican, Central American, South American decent) and other groups where the impact of colonization by a more dominant group has had lasting cultural and socioeconomic effects. The conference objectives, based on the questions raised by the conference planning committee, were as follows: To discuss the problem of addiction in a cultural context; To share information about the use of different cultural interventions by American Indian/Alaska Native counselors and by Latino counselors in the treatment of substance abuse in their respective populations; To discuss historical trauma as a factor in alcohol abuse and as a basis for the use of cultural interventions in the treatment of alcohol abuse/polysubstance abuse; To discuss gender issues in the treatment of alcohol abuse with specific emphasis on the use of cultural interventions; To discuss the policy implications (e.g., reimbursement issues) of the use of culturally based interventions in the treatment of substance abuse; and To provide epidemiological information about current rates of alcohol abuse among American Indian and Latino populations. The conference planning committee also suggested that a Proceedings of the conference be prepared for publication, and eight seminal papers were requested and submitted. The following discussion presents a context for these papers by providing a brief overview of the history and development of some of the culturally-based substance abuse treatment approaches incorporated into treatment plans for American Indian/Alaska Native and Latino clients in recovery.

CHANGES IN ORGAN PERFUSION AND WEIGHT RATIOS IN POST-SIMULATED MICROGRAVITY RECOVERY☆

Head-down tilt models have been used as ground-based simulations of microgravity. Our previous animal research has demonstrated that there are significant changes in fluid distribution within 2 h after placement in a 45 degrees head-down tilt (45HDT) position and these changes in fluid distribution were still present after 14 days of 45HDT. Consequently, we investigated changes in fluid distribution during recovery from 16 days of 45HDT. Changes in radioactive tracer distribution and organ/body weight ratio were examined in rats randomly assigned to a 45HDT or prone control group. The 45HDT rats were suspended for 16 days and then allowed to recover at the prone position 0, 77, 101, or 125 h post-suspension. Animals were injected with technetium-labeled diethylenetriamine pentaacetate (99mTcDTPA, MW=492 amu, physical half-life of 6.02 h) and then killed 30 min post-injection. Lungs, heart, liver, spleen, kidneys, and brain were harvested, weighed, and measured for radioactive counts. Statistical analyses included two-way analysis of variance (ANOVA) that compared 45HDT versus controls at the four experimental time points. The organ weight divided by the body weight ratio for the brain, heart, kidneys and liver in the 45HDT rats was significantly different than the control rats, regardless of time (treatment). There was no difference between the different time points (time). The average 99mTcDTPA count divided by the organ weight ratio values for the heart, liver, and spleen were significantly higher in the 45HDT group than the control group. The average counts for the heart and spleen were significantly higher at 77, 101, and 125 h than at time zero. We conclude that the major organs have different recovery patterns after 45HDT for 16 days in the rat.

Stuck inside the federal-indian funding relationship: A tale of two evaluations

Two case studies are presented to compare and contrast the challenges encountered when attempting to conduct participatory evaluations (P-Es) with tribal programs that represented two extremes of collaboration between the programs and evaluators. In one case, the P-E was successful because the principals were invested in the program, whereas in the second case, the absence of a shared program vision hampered the ability to adequately evaluate the program. The authors contend that governmental funding agencies have responsibilities to ensure that their expectations are appropriate, the proposed program is feasible, and that technical assistance should be provided before the grant is written, not after it has been funded.