Hispanics and worksite health promotion: review of the past, demands for the future

During the last 15 years, reports, books, and published papers have demonstrated the positive health benefits of comprehensive health promotion and disease prevention interventions at the worksite. Although the progress made in worksite health promotion should not be understated, experts agree that it is time to step forward and address the new demands of the changing labor force. One area of intervention that needs to be more aggressively addressed is that of minority populations. Because work force projections show the high participation rate that Hispanics will have in the future labor force, the Hispanic population should be one of the targets of worksite health promotion. This paper reviews how employee health promotion programs have addressed Hispanic workers in the past and establishes directions for the future.     

Oral mucositis with features of psoriasis: report of a case and review of the literature

There complete 18S ribosomal RNA gene sequences from the rumen ciliates, Entodinium caudatum (1,639 bp), Epidinium caudatum (1,638 bp), and Polyplastron multivesiculatum (1,640 bp) were determined and confirmed in the opposite direction. Trees produced using maximum parsimony and distance-matrix methods (least squares and neighbour-joining), with strong bootstrap support, depict the rumen ciliates as a monophyletic group. Entodinium caudatum is the earliest branching rumen ciliate. However, Entodinium simplex does not pair with En. caudatum, but rather with Polyplastron multivesiculatum. Signature sequences for these rumen ciliates reveal that the published SSrRNA gene sequence from En. simplex is in fact a Polyplastron species. The free-living haptorian ciliates, The Loxophyllum, Homalozoon and Spathidium (Subclass Haptoria), are monophyletic and are the sister group to the rumen ciliates. The litostomes (Class Litostomatea), consisting of the haptorians and the rumen ciliates, are also a monophyletic group.     

Autoimmune polyglandular syndrome type I. A case report

Calcineurin is a Ca2+ calmodulin dependent protein phosphatase which has an important role in the control of intracellular Ca2+ signalling. The protein is a heterodimer of one catalytic (CnA) subunit and one regulatory (CnB) subunit. As suggested by the protein sequence and confirmed by the crystallographic structure, the catalytic subunit of calcineurin (CnA) has high homologies with other protein phosphatases. The regulatory subunit (CnB) belongs to the EF-hand Ca2+ binding protein family. Despite its similarity with calmodulin, it has a different tertiary structure. Calcineurin is the target of two important immunosuppressant drugs: cyclosporin A and FK506. Subsequently, a detailed clarification of the role of calcineurin in the cytokine mediated activation of the T-cells has been possible. The understanding of the role of calcineurin in other cells, in particular neurons, is also progressing rapidly.     

Gastrin and its role in the development of ulcer disease

Helicobacter pylori infected patients have increased gastrin release which shows a marked fall after cure of the infection. Recent studies indicate that inflammatory cells and cytokines play an important role in the pathogenesis of Helicobacter-associated hypergastrinemia. Views differ regarding the impact of gastrin on acid secretion. Current evidence suggests that gastrin is responsible for at least some of the increased acid secretion seen in duodenal ulcer patients.     

Higher order models on the eigenfrequency analysis and optimal design of laminated composite structures

This paper deals with the structural optimization of multilaminated composite plate structures of arbitrary geometry and lay up, using single layer higher order shear deformation theory discrete models. The structural and sensitivity analysis formulation is developed for a family of C⁰ Lagrangian elements. The design sensitivities of free vibration response for objective and/or constraint functions with respect to ply angles and ply thickness are presented. The objectives of the design are the maximization of natural frequencies of specified modes and/or the minimization of the structure weight or volume. The accuracy and relative performance of the proposed discrete models are compared and discussed among developed elements and alternative models. Several test designs are optimized to show the applicability of the proposed refined discrete models.     

Distortion of Palmaz-Schatz stent geometry following side-branch balloon dilation through the stent in a rabbit model

In this prospective study, we have compared women undergoing laparoscopic cholecystectomy, laparoscopic gynaecological surgery and laparoscopic minor gynaecological procedures (diagnostic, tubal, ligation) (n = 10 in each group) to determine if lower abdominal laparoscopy results in less postoperative pulmonary dysfunction than upper abdominal laparoscopy. Pulmonary testing was performed before operation, and 3 and 6 h after operation, on the first and second days after surgery. After operation, a significant reduction in forced vital capacity, forced expiratory volume in 1 s and peak expiratory flow rate occurred after laparoscopic cholecystectomy at each time. There were no significant changes after minor gynaecologic laparoscopy, whereas laparoscopic gynaecological surgery resulted in minor pulmonary dysfunction on the day of surgery only. We conclude that postoperative pulmonary function was less impaired after gynaecological laparoscopy than after laparoscopic cholecystectomy. This study suggests that the site of surgery is an important determinant of lung dysfunction after laparoscopy.     

Surface chemistry of wood‐based phosphoric acid‐activated carbons and its effects on adsorptivity

The surface oxygen content of selected wood‐based phosphoric acid‐activated carbons was quantified using X‐ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) and correlated with the residual bulk phosphate levels of the carbons and their adsorptivity in solution. The adsorption of Al³⁺, Cu²⁺, and para‐chlorophenol, respectively, from water decreased as a function of increasing surface oxygen content of the carbons. When the carbon of lowest surface oxygen content was oxidized with ozone to impart a surface oxygen content comparable to that of a carbon with a much higher phosphate level, adsorption of Al³⁺, Cu²⁺, and para‐chlorophenol from water decreased proportionally. The increase in polarity of the carbon surface was accompanied by a decrease in pH and appeared to be the dominant factor with respect to the adsorption of the target species from water. Copyright © 2005 Society of Chemical Industry     

A variational,finite‐deformation constitutive model for piezoelectric materials

We present a constitutive model for piezoelectric materials. The model is fully variational and supports finite kinematics. The postulated free energy depends on the deformation mapping and an electric vector potential, from which the strain and the electric displacement are derived, respectively. The divergence‐free condition of the electric vector potential is enforced by means of a penalty method, which leads to a positive definite tangent for the system of equations that represent the problem. The performance of the formulation is demonstrated by several examples. Published in 2010 by John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Mixed elements in the optimal design of plates

The theory of design sensitivity analysis of structures, based on mixed finite element models, is developed for static, dynamic and stability constraints. The theory is applied to the optimal design of plates with minimum weight, subject to displacement, stress, natural frequencies and buckling stresses constraints. The finite element model is based on an eight node mixed isoparametric quadratic plate element, whose degrees of freedom are the transversal displacement and three moments per node. The corresponding nonlinear programming problem is solved using the commercially available ADS (Automated Design Synthesis) program. The sensitivities are calculated by analytical, semi-analytical and finite difference techniques. The advantages and disadvantages of mixed elements in design optimization of plates are discussed with reference to applications.     

Genomic characterization of the coding region of the human type II 5''-deiodinase gene

The conserved residue Asp477 in yeast transketolase is located in the substrate channel of the enzyme and forms a hydrogen bond with the C2-hydroxyl group of the acceptor substrate. The significance of this interaction for the recognition of the preferred acceptor substrates, D-alpha-hydroxyaldehydes was investigated by site-directed mutagenesis. In the wild-type enzyme the kcat/KM values are by three to four orders of magnitude lower for 2-deoxyaldoses or substrates with L-configuration at the C2-atom. In the Asp477 Ala mutant, the kcat/KM values for D-alpha-hydroxyaldehydes are decreased by a thousandfold, while the kcat/KM values for substrates with L-configuration or 2-deoxyaldoses are similar to wild-type enzyme. These results indicate that Asp477 is involved in determining the enantioselectivity of transketolase.