Sexual harassment in the dental work place ... a student''s experience

Helicobacter pylori has been recognized as a major cause of most of the diseases of the stomach. These diseases are preceded by lesions of gastritis induced by H. pylori. This long-standing infection gives us a very good model of interaction between a bacterium and its host. We will review the direct and indirect effects of H. pylori.     

地质工作中的地质实验测试技术研究

要保证地质工作的顺利开展,首先要做好地质实验的测试工作。地质实验的好坏影响着地质工程的持续发展,也影响着地质工程的经济效益。此外,地质测试对建筑工程也具有很重要的意义。地质测试在油田开采、房屋建设和化学探矿方面均有着普遍的运用。地质测试实验因为技术上的优势,其工作的环境也得到了很好的改善。但是地质实验测试在实际的运用中还是存在着一些问题。针对当下存在的问题,本文对地质实验测试技术进行了深入的研究,从而提出了一些意见和建议,以便为今后的地质实验技术发展提供参考方向和数据。     

Athletic drug testing

A drug-control program requires testing to ensure compliance and to deter use. In the athletic drug testing area, measurement of performance-enhancing substances is complex partly because of the large number of prohibited substances. A number of sophisticated analytical techniques, such as high-resolution mass spectrometry, are increasingly used to provide the maximum detection time window. Endogenous steroids pose an increasing challenge because of their availability in "nutritional supplements". Continued vigilance is required to prevent the pharmacologic enhancement of performance.     

Patch testing in systemic drug eruptions

CrossLaps peptide [Glu-Lys-Ala-His-Asp-Gly-Gly-Arg], a part of the C-telopeptide of the alpha 1-chain of type I collagen of bone, is a recently developed biochemical marker of bone turnover. In this study, the clinical utility of measurement of urinary CrossLaps was investigated in eleven premenopausal women who received a gonadotropin-releasing hormone (GnRH) agonist for 6 months for treatment of adenomyosis (n = 1) or leiomyomas (n = 10). Along with urinary CrossLaps, the levels of various biochemical markers, and serum estradiol, calcitonin and intact parathyroid hormone (i-PTH) were measured, and lumbar spine bone mineral density (BMD) was also monitored before, during, and at the end of the course of GnRH agonist therapy. Apart from CrossLaps, markers of bone resorption tested were urinary pyridinoline, deoxypyridinoline and hydroxyproline. Markers of bone formation tested were serum osteocalcin and bone-specific alkaline phosphatase (B-ALP). Serum estradiol levels decreased to undetectable levels at 2 months of GnRH agonist therapy. The values for all biochemical markers increased significantly throughout the therapy. The degree of an increase in CrossLaps levels was greater than that in all other markers. Mean lumbar spine (L2-L4) BMD was decreased by 7.2% at 6 months of treatment. The percent change in BMD at 6 months of treatment correlated inversely with the percent change in CrossLaps levels from the baseline to 1, 2, and 5 months of treatment. These results indicate that measurement of urinary CrossLaps might be a useful tool to predict the risk of bone loss caused by hypoestrogenism including GnRH agonist therapy.     

Substitution laws, insurance coverage, and generic drug use

This study examined the role of various policies (drug product substitution laws) that are usually motivated by cost containment objectives of insurers in facilitating entry by generic firms. Using data for six Canadian provinces over the years 1981-1988, we evaluated the impact of specific aspects of substitution laws on the level of generic use. We find that formularies and the passage of time are not significant determinants of substitution levels. Legal liability, mandatory product selection, deductible and co-payment schemes, and consumer awareness were found to be important variables. Price responsiveness of generic drugs is indicated but the evidence is not strong.     

False-positive and false-negative rates in meconium drug testing

To determine the number of false-negative results produced by inefficient extraction of drugs from meconium, three published procedures were compared by using previously confirmed positive and negative meconium specimens. The methods were not equivalent in their ability to extract drugs from the matrix. To determine the number of false positives reported by the use of screen-only (unconfirmed) results, 535 screen-positive meconium specimens were subjects to confirmation by gas chromatography-mass spectrometry. Fifty-seven percent of the samples were confirmed positive for one or more of the drugs under investigation, showing that a false-positive rate as high as 43% may exist when unconfirmed screening results are used.     

When people with pre-existing disabilities age in place: implications for social work practice

Dental implants are subject to large and highly complex loads of varying magnitude, duration and vector. Bridge performance is closely related to load transmission both at the bone to implant interface and between components within the implant-abutment-bridge cylinder complex. The design of the interface between components within this complex may have a profound influence on the long term function of the implant supported prosthesis. An in vitro evaluation of implants 3.5 mm in diameter, utilizing an internal conical interface has demonstrated increased resistance to bending moments at the fixture-abutment interface (P = 0.00010) and at the abutment-bridge cylinder interface (P < 0.01), when compared to a standard 3.75 mm implant with a hex mediated, butt joint interface. The relatively small values for coefficient of variance measured in both systems would confirm that whilst the size of data is small, it is nonetheless a reliable indication of the relative strength of these implant designs.     

Organizational adoption of preemployment drug testing.

This study explored the adoption of preemployment drug testing by 360 organizations. Survival models were developed that included internal organizational and labor market factors hypothesized to affect the likelihood of adoption of drug testing. Also considered was another set of variables that included social and political variables based on institutional theory. An event history analysis using Cox regressions indicated that both internal organizational and environmental variables predicted adoption of drug testing. Results indicate that the higher the proportion of drug testers in the worksite's industry, the more likely it would be to adopt drug testing. Also, the extent to which an organization uses an internal labor market, voluntary turnover rate, and the extent to which management perceives drugs to be a problem were related to likelihood of adoption of drug testing. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

An evaluation of preemployment drug testing.

As part of a blind longitudinal study, 5,465 job applicants were tested for use of illicit drugs, and the relationships between these drug-test results and absenteeism, turnover, injuries, and accidents on the job were evaluated. After an average 1.3 yrs of employment, employees who had tested positive for illicit drugs had an absenteeism rate 59.3% higher than employees who had tested negative (6.63% vs 4.16% of scheduled work hours, respectively). Employees who had tested positive also had a 47% higher rate of involuntary turnover than employees who had tested negative (15.41% vs 10.51%, respectively). No significant associations were detected between drug-test results and measures of injury and accident occurrence. The practical implications of these results, in terms of economic utility and prediction errors, are discussed. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)