Selected Aspects of Transformation of Textile Elements of Firemen's Personal Protection

Aim: The purpose of the article is to present selected problems related to the directions of changes in the clothing that is the equipment of the rescuer firefighter and that is part of standard personal protective equipment. Introduction: Development in technology and the economy is resulting in products with increasingly complex structures in our environment. In the event of a fire, substances can be emitted that threaten the health and life of the firefighter. Therefore, personal protective equipment used by firefighters (including clothing) must be constantly adapted to the changing environment. Both the fibres and the structure or layering of the garment are modified. Increasingly, users of these products expect adequate resistance to biological and chemical agents. This is a result of the increasing number of factors that pose a risk when firefighters are working. Despite the clothing modifications used to date, it is still not possible to exclude the risk of toxic substanc- es, such as polyaromatic hydrocarbons, which are products of combustion in a fire environment, and acid gases penetrating the firefighter’s skin. The simultaneous exposure to radiant heat in the fire environment and the physical work performed by the firefighter significantly intensify the heat and mass exchange in the personal protection. Therefore, the interaction of protective structures with the rescuer’s body is playing an increasingly important role. Modifications based on nanotechnology are being used to make garments more resistant while maintaining or even reducing their weight. However, it should be pointed out that sometimes the changes concern one aspect, such as humidity, to the exclusion of other hazards arising from the physical and chemical characteristics of the substances emitted during the event. Methodology: The article is based on a review of selected literature on the topic covered. Conclusions: Modifications made to the fibres or to the structure and composition of the garment make it possible to obtain a product with improved performance in terms of protecting the firefighter. It is important to note, however, that they should consider all possible exposure pathways and not focus on one selected parameter. Therefore, further work is needed to adapt clothing to the emerging risks. Keywords: innovations, firefighter’s personal protective equipment, firefighter’s special clothin

Polish 2010 growth references for school-aged children and adolescents

Growth references are useful in monitoring a child's growth, which is an essential part of child care. The aim of this paper was to provide updated growth references for Polish school-aged children and adolescents and show the prevalence of overweight and obesity among them. Growth references for height, weight, and body mass index (BMI) were constructed with the lambda, mu, sigma (LMS) method using data from a recent, large, population-representative sample of school-aged children and adolescents in Poland (n = 17,573). The prevalence of overweight and obesity according to the International Obesity Taskforce definition was determined with the use of LMSGrowth software. Updated growth references for Polish school-aged children and adolescents were compared with Polish growth references from the 1980s, the Warsaw 1996–1999 reference, German, and 2000 CDC references. A positive secular trend in height was observed in children and adolescents from 7 to 15 years of age. A significant shift of the upper tail of the BMI distribution occurred, especially in Polish boys at younger ages. The prevalence of overweight or obesity was 18.7% and 14.1% in school-aged boys and girls, respectively. The presented height, weight, and BMI references are based on a current, nationally representative sample of Polish children and adolescents without known disorders affecting growth. Changes in the body size of children and adolescents over the last three decades suggest an influence of the changing economical situation on anthropometric indices

Technology research of tactical personal protection clothing based on firefighters - rescuers

The paper presents examples of protective clothing technology research in the context of maintaining an optimal level of safety of firefighters under the influence of the thermal environment. Attention was drawn to the essence of measurement parameters determining the effectiveness of protection. The article includes diagrams, photos and explanations of the methods covered by the copyright measurement technologies accomplished by a number of centers around the world. It has been shown the ability to evaluate the material and constructive personal protection adopted in developing safety technologies regardless of normative systems in force in different parts of the world

The local threats specification in the context of environment factors having an influence on a rescue worker during rescue actions

The main task of a professional firefighter's relief activities is interference with all sorts of events requiring intervention: fires, construction and chemical disasters, accidents and other situations which carry a risk for the health and life of humans. The basic duties of a firefighter are organizing, directing and conducting direct rescue efforts in order to protect the life, health and property, as well as liquidation the source of fire, natural disaster or other local danger (technical, chemical and environmental disaster, road traffic accidents, airline, etc.). In the course of professional activities firefighters are exposed to all the possible risk factors from the environment resulting from the real potential occurrence of the event requiring rescue interventions (industry, infrastructure, traffic, transport). Moreover, they often do not realize the actual risk they are exposed to especially in situations that do not require putting out fire (traffic accidents, natural and industrial disasters). These emergency situations are not easy to predict or control, what means that firefighters put their lives on the line every time they attempt to do so. As a result they work under extremely stressful situations, day and night, including the responsibility for remaining calm and carrying out all duties with the recognition of the threat to life and property. The special characteristics of service, including work shift system, continuous risk of danger and dealing with a lot of personal loss can make it an emotionally difficult job and may become a potential root of stress and personal problems. However, for some people this kind of work can be very rewarding, others may have a hard time dealing with the physical and emotional challenges that the occupation brings. That’s why it is very important to examine and limit the influence of the hazardous environment factors on firefighters work

AfsK-Mediated Site-Specific Phosphorylation Regulates DnaA Initiator Protein Activity in Streptomyces coelicolor

In all organisms, chromosome replication is regulated mainly at the initiation step. Most of the knowledge about the mechanisms that regulate replication initiation in bacteria has come from studies on rod-shaped bacteria, such as Escherichia coli and Bacillus subtilisStreptomyces is a bacterial genus that is characterized by distinctive features and a complex life cycle that shares some properties with the developmental cycle of filamentous fungi. The unusual lifestyle of streptomycetes suggests that these bacteria use various mechanisms to control key cellular processes. Here, we provide the first insights into the phosphorylation of the bacterial replication initiator protein, DnaA, from Streptomyces coelicolor We suggest that phosphorylation of DnaA triggers a conformational change that increases its ATPase activity and decreases its affinity for the replication origin, thereby blocking the formation of a functional orisome. We suggest that the phosphorylation of DnaA is catalyzed by Ser/Thr kinase AfsK, which was shown to regulate the polar growth of S. coelicolor Together, our results reveal that phosphorylation of the DnaA initiator protein functions as a negative regulatory mechanism to control the initiation of chromosome replication in a manner that presumably depends on the cellular localization of the protein.IMPORTANCE This work provides insights into the phosphorylation of the DnaA initiator protein in Streptomyces coelicolor and suggests a novel bacterial regulatory mechanism for initiation of chromosome replication. Although phosphorylation of DnaA has been reported earlier, its biological role was unknown. This work shows that upon phosphorylation, the cooperative binding of the replication origin by DnaA may be disturbed. We found that AfsK kinase is responsible for phosphorylation of DnaA. Upon upregulation of AfsK, chromosome replication occurred further from the hyphal tip. Orthologs of AfsK are exclusively found in mycelial actinomycetes that are related to Streptomyces and exhibit a complex life cycle. We propose that the AfsK-mediated regulatory pathway serves as a nonessential, energy-saving mechanism in S. coelicolor

Correction: A Novel Role of the PrpR as a Transcription Factor Involved in the Regulation of Methylcitrate Pathway in Mycobacterium tuberculosis.

[This corrects the article DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0043651.]

A Novel Role of the PrpR as a Transcription Factor Involved in the Regulation of Methylcitrate Pathway in <em>Mycobacterium tuberculosis</em>

<div><p><em>Mycobacterium tuberculosis</em>, the pathogen that causes tuberculosis, presumably utilizes fatty acids as a major carbon source during infection within the host. Metabolism of even-chain-length fatty acids yields acetyl-CoA, whereas metabolism of odd-chain-length fatty acids additionally yields propionyl-CoA. Utilization of these compounds by tubercle bacilli requires functional glyoxylate and methylcitrate cycles, respectively. Enzymes involved in both pathways are essential for <em>M. tuberculosis</em> viability and persistence during growth on fatty acids. However, little is known about regulatory factors responsible for adjusting the expression of genes encoding these enzymes to particular growth conditions. Here, we characterized the novel role of PrpR as a transcription factor that is directly involved in regulating genes encoding the key enzymes of methylcitrate (methylcitrate dehydratase [PrpD] and methylcitrate synthase [PrpC]) and glyoxylate (isocitrate lyase [Icl1]) cycles. Using cell-free systems and intact cells, we demonstrated an interaction of PrpR protein with <em>prpDC</em> and <em>icl1</em> promoter regions and identified a consensus sequence recognized by PrpR. Moreover, we showed that an <em>M. tuberculosis prpR</em>-deletion strain exhibits impaired growth <em>in vitro</em> on propionate as the sole carbon source. Real-time quantitative reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction confirmed that PrpR acts as a transcriptional activator of <em>prpDC</em> and <em>icl1</em> genes when propionate is the main carbon source. Similar results were also obtained for a non-pathogenic <em>Mycobacterium smegmatis</em> strain. Additionally, we found that <em>ramB</em>, a <em>prpR</em> paralog that controls the glyoxylate cycle, is negatively regulated by PrpR. Our data demonstrate that PrpR is essential for the utilization of odd-chain-length fatty acids by tubercle bacilli. Since PrpR also acts as a <em>ramB</em> repressor, our findings suggest that it plays a key role in regulating expression of enzymes involved in both glyoxylate and methylcitrate pathways.</p> </div