Self-reported injuries among seafarers. Questionnaire validity and results from an international study

International surveys of occupational injuries among seafarers have so far been missing. It was the aim to test the method of self-report of injuries and length of time at risk during the latest duty period and second to study the injury incidence rate among seafarers by use of the method. A pilot study was conducted (n = 1068) in Finland, Denmark, the Philippines, Croatia and Spain using self-completed questionnaires with questions about the person, the ship, the duration of latest duty period and injuries. The duration of the self-reporting duty period was in the Danish part compared with information from the crew register of the Maritime Authority. For seafarers from merchant ships in the Danish sub-study there was acceptable correspondence between the information from the seafarers and the Maritime Authority, but not when referring to ferries and non-specified types of ship. Unadjusted and adjusted injury incidence rates-ratios (IRRs) based on number of injuries per number of work hours were calculated. Adjusted IRRs for ordinary seamen/officers: IRR = 2.43 (95% CI: 1.25-4.72); for age < 35/35+ years: IRR = 1.97 (1.02-3.81); length of tour: 117 days or longer compared with < 117 days: IRR = 0.46 (95% CI: 0.22-0.95); 57-70 working hours per week compared with < 57 h: IRR = 1.26 (0.48-3.29), 71+h compared with < 57 h: IRR = 2.12 (0.84-5.36). Non-significant IRRs >1.00 were found for ships under 10,000 GT compared with larger ships and for own flagged ships compared with ships under flag of convenience. In conclusion, more than 70 h of work per week was related to a higher rate of injuries for seafarers on merchant ships, but the result was not statistically significant. Self-report of the duration of the latest tour of duty is useful for seafarers from merchant ships with short-term employments, but not for ferries and other, non-specified types of ship with other or permanent employment.     

Effects of fiber-optic probe design and probe-to-target distance on diffuse reflectance measurements of turbid media: an experimental and computational study at 337 nm

Fiber-optic probes are widely used in optical spectroscopy of biological tissues and other turbid media. Only limited information exists, however, on the ways in which the illumination-collection geometry and the overall probe design influence the interrogation of media. We have investigated both experimentally and computationally the effect of probe-to-target distance (PTD) on the diffuse reflectance collected from an isotropically (Lambertian) scattering target and an agar-based tissue phantom. Studies were conducted with three probes characterized by either common (single-fiber) or separate (two bifurcated multifiber probes) illumination and collection channels. This study demonstrates that PTD, probe design, and tissue scattering anisotropy influence the extent of the transport of light into the medium, the light-collection efficiency, and the sampling volume of collected light. The findings can be applied toward optimization of fiber-optic probe designs for quantitative optical spectroscopy of turbid media including biological tissues.     

Preparation and etherification reaction of fatty dichlorocyclopropanes

Dichlorocarbene was added tocis-9-octadecene, methyl oleate, methyl elaidate, and methyl linoleate to form the corresponding mono- or bis-dichlorocyclopropanes in yields of 75–88%. The dichlorocyclopropanes underwent ring-opening substitution on heating with alcohols (or water) to form β-chlorallylic ethers (or alcohols). The ethers were obtained in yields of 46 to 84%. Tetraethylene glycol and methyl lactate, as hydroxyl compounds, gave a polyethenoxy ester and an ether-linked diester, respectively. Presented at AOCS meeting, Toronto, October, 1962. F. Utiliz. Res. & Dev. Div. ARS, U.S.D.A.     

Cytology,Ultrastructure, Taxonomy,and Phylogenetic Relationships of Great Lakes Filamentous Algae

Recent cytological and ultrastructural work has required revision of previous ideas concerning the taxonomy and phylogenetic relationships of Great Lakes filamentous algae. Characters found to be of phylogenetic importance include the fine structure of dividing cells and reproductive cells, as well as certain biochemical features. A number of modern cellular and evolutionary studies are described which collectively suggest that the Laurentian Great Lakes have been invaded by marine littoral algae several times, by Ulothrix zonata, Cladophora glomerata, and most recently, by Bangia atropurpurea. In each case, physiological adaptation to freshwater has occurred, often accompanied by apparent loss of sexual reproductive cycles     

Minors' consent to treatment: A developmental perspective.

Discusses the cognitive and behavioral characteristics of minors in relation to the question of competence to consent to treatment. The legal standard (knowing, intelligent, and voluntary) used to judge the effectiveness of consent is translated into psychological concepts, especially cognitive abilities. A review of developmental psychological research is presented, which examines these concepts as they relate to minors' abilities to satisfy the legal standard. It is suggested that cognitive developmental stages associated with ages below 11–23 yrs might exclude such minors from meaningful consent. In addition to cognitive considerations, certain results suggest that the tendency toward deference in early adolescence is so normative that capacity for voluntary consent is questionable through age 14, but existing evidence provides no psychological grounds for maintaining the general legal assumption that minors at age 15 and above cannot provide competent consent. (63 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

The role of 3' UTRs in the mechanisms for segregating mitochondrial proteins

The mitochondrial proteome, meant as the collection of proteins localized in the mitochondrion, whose fundamental function is the energy production for the life of the cell, is estimated to be constituted by at least 1000 proteins. Since the mitochondrial genome codes only for 13 polypeptides, in practice all of them are coded by nuclear genes and are imported in the mitochondrion by means of a sophisticated mechanism of sorting that is not completely known. Most classified mitochondrial proteins are synthesized as precursors with an amino-terminal extension (leader peptide), provided with peculiar physical and structural characteristics that are responsible for the recognition and import system. However, there is experimental evidence that complementary or alternative import systems exist. In particular, the 3' UnTranslated Regions (UTRs) of the mRNAs may be involved, through their secondary structure, in the mechanisms of recognition and localization. In this paper, the information content of different human mRNA sequences has been analyzed, and the results show that a significative short-term correlation exists in the 3' UTR sequences of the mRNA's coding for the proteins provided with leader peptides, probably representing the structural constraints that are necessary to the sorting machinery.