Infectious disease mortality among adults by race and socioeconomic status: metropolitan Ohio, 1989-1991

The data presented here are part of an on-going longitudinal study of the relationship between socioeconomic status and mortality in the major metropolitan centers of Ohio. Using a Standardized Mortality Ratio, we find that mortality in the seven-city urban aggregate exceeds that of the rest of the state by 39 per cent for the nonwhite population and only 1 per cent for the white population. Further, for the nonwhite population, living in a high income area has no discernible health benefit for nonwhites as compared to whites. On the other hand, for the AIDS virus, there is a clear inverse association between economic status and mortality from AIDS. It is clear that the interrelationship among race, economic status, and health continues to be a complex one on which further research is needed.     

High Throughput Primer Walking of cDNA Clones

Primer walking of cloned DNA is a standard research tool. It has been used in the past to determine the sequence of individual clones of interest. With the expansion of DNA sequencing capacity the need to be able to walk larger numbers of clones has become necessary. Our laboratory is a mid-sized genomics facility. In conjunction with the Advanced Biomedical Computing Center (ABCC) we have developed methods for automating the primer selection, DNA sequencing, contig assembly and sequence analysis for clones arrayed in microtiter format. This approach has allowed us to walk 475 clones (five microtiter plates) selected from a cDNA library.     

The Amygdala Modulates Hippocampus-Dependent Context Memory Formation and Stores Cue-Shock Associations.

Preexposing rats to the context facilitates subsequent contextual fear conditioning. This effect depends on the hippocampus (J. W. Rudy, R. M. Barrientos, & R. C. O'Reilly, 2002). The authors report that inactivating the basolateral region of the amygdala (BLA) by injecting muscimol, a GABAA agonist, before or after preexposure reduced this effect. In contrast, bilateral injections of anisomycin, a protein synthesis inhibitor, into BLA did not impair the consolidation of the context memory. However, when injected after fear conditioning, anisomycin impaired consolidation of both contextual and auditory-cue fear conditioning. Results are consistent with 2 ideas about the amygdala's contribution to memory: (a) It modulates memory formation in other regions of the brain, and (b) it is a storage site for cue-shock associations. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Pathway to health: Cluster-randomized trail to increase fruit and vegetable consumption among smokers in public housing.

Objectives: Examine the effectiveness of an intervention to increase fruits and vegetables (FV) consumption among smokers. Design: Cluster-randomized trial of 20 public housing developments; 10 randomly assigned to an FV intervention and 10 to a smoking cessation intervention. Main outcome measures: Usual (past 7 days) and past 30 days change in daily FV intake at 8 weeks and 6 months postbaseline. Results: Greater increases were seen in the FV group. At Week 8 and Month 6, the FV group had consumed 1.58 (p = .001) and 0.78 (p = .04), respectively, more daily FV servings in the past 7 days than the cessation group. At the same time points, the FV group had consumed 3.61 (p = .01) and 3.93 (p = .01), respectively, more FV servings in the past 30 days than the cessation group. Completing more motivational interviewing sessions (p = .02) and trying more recipes (p = .02) led to significantly greater increases at Month 6 among FV participants. Conclusions: Motivational interviewing counseling and lifestyle modification through trying out healthy recipes may be effective in helping a high-risk population increase their FV intake. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Managing Impressions Online: Self-Presentation Processes in the Online Dating Environment

This study investigates self-presentation strategies among online dating participants, exploring how participants manage their online presentation of self in order to accomplish the goal of finding a romantic partner. Thirty-four individuals active on a large online dating site participated in telephone interviews about their online dating experiences and perceptions. Qualitative data analysis suggests that participants attended to small cues online, mediated the tension between impression management pressures and the desire to present an authentic sense of self through tactics such as creating a profile that reflected their "ideal self," and attempted to establish the veracity of their identity claims. This study provides empirical support for Social Information Processing theory in a naturalistic context while offering insight into the complicated way in which "honesty" is enacted online.     

Knowledge transfer in virtual settings: the role of individual virtual competency

Economic forces, competitive pressures and technological advances have created an environment within which firms have developed new ways of organizing (e.g. virtual work settings) and managing their resources (e.g. knowledge management) in order to maintain and improve firm performance. Extant research has highlighted the challenges associated with managing knowledge in virtual settings. However, researchers are still struggling to provide effective guidance to practitioners in this field. We believe that a better understanding of individual virtual competency is a potential avenue for managing the complexity of knowledge transfer in virtual settings. In particular, we suggest that optimal knowledge transfers can be achieved by individuals armed with the right personal capabilities and skills for virtual work, particularly when those knowledge transfers are emergent, bottom-up and cannot be specified a priori. The virtual competency exhibited by individuals can be the key to overcoming the constraints of knowledge transfers with such characteristics because underlying competency can facilitate effective action in unfamiliar and novel situations. In this conceptual research, we develop a theoretical model of individual virtual competence and describe its role in the communication process, which underpins effective knowledge transfer in virtual settings. Additionally, we consider the antecedent role that prior experience in virtual activity plays in aiding workers to develop virtual competence, which in turn engenders effective knowledge transfer. We conclude with implications for future research and for practicing managers.     

Modelling and condition-based control of a flexible and hybrid disassembly system with manual and autonomous workstations using reinforcement learning

Journal of Intelligent Manufacturing - Remanufacturing includes disassembly and reassembly of used products to save natural resources and reduce emissions. While assembly is widely understood in...     

Bonded concrete overlay of asphalt mechanical-empirical design procedure

Bonded concrete overlays of asphalt pavements (BCOAs) are becoming a common rehabilitation technique used for distressed hot mix asphalt (HMA) roadways. The original design procedures were based primarily on data from instrumented pavements and finite element modelling. They were governed by the assumption that the failure mechanism was a function of the overlay thickness. However, field observations have indicated that the actual failure modes are dictated by slab size. The newly developed Bonded Concrete Overlay of Asphalt Mechanistic-Empirical design procedure (BCOA-ME) presented here is valid for overlays that are between 2.5 and 6.5 in (64–154 mm), and includes five primary enhancements to the Portland Cement Association and Colorado Department of Transportation procedures that have been traditionally used: 1.) the failure mode is dictated by the joint spacing; 2.) a new structural model for longitudinal cracking for 6-ft × 6-ft (1.8 m × 1.8 m) concrete overlays has been developed to better predict the critical stresses; 3.) the stress adjustment factors have been calibrated with performance data; 4.) the equivalent temperature gradients used as design input are defined based on the pavement structure and geographical location of the project; and 5.) the effect of temperature change on underlying HMA stiffness is considered. Finally, validation studies were completed on the new procedure and comparisons made between the revised procedure and actual performance data for five separate projects showed reasonable results. A sensitivity analysis also revealed that the predicted thickness obtained using the revised procedure was sensitive to HMA thickness, the modulus of rupture of the Portland cement concrete, and the level of traffic, as would be expected.