Using job-title-based physical exposures from O*NET in an epidemiological study of carpal tunnel syndrome

OBJECTIVE: We studied associations between job title based measures of force and repetition and incident carpal tunnel syndrome (CTS). BACKGROUND: Job exposure matrices (JEMs) are not commonly used in studies of work-related upper extremity disorders. METHODS: We enrolled newly-hired workers into a prospective cohort study. We assigned a Standard Occupational Classification (SOC) code to each job held and extracted physical work exposure variables from the Occupational Information Network (O*NET). CTS case definition required both characteristic symptoms and abnormal median nerve conduction. RESULTS: 751 (67.8%) of 1107 workers completed follow-up evaluations. 31 subjects (4.4%) developed CTS during an average of 3.3 years of follow-up. Repetitive Motion, Static Strength, and Dynamic Strength from the most recent job held were all significant predictors of CTS when included individually as physical exposures in models adjusting for age, gender, and BMI. Similar results were found using time-weighted exposure across all jobs held during the study. Repetitive Motion, Static Strength, and Dynamic Strength were correlated, precluding meaningful analysis of their independent effects. CONCLUSION: This study found strong relationships between workplace physical exposures assessed via a JEM and CTS, after adjusting for age, gender, and BMI. Though job title based exposures are likely to result in significant exposure misclassification, they can be useful for large population studies where more precise exposure data are not available. APPLICATION: JEMs can be used as a measure of workplace physical exposures for some studies of musculoskeletal disorders

Development of an observational instrument for measuring role behavior in social work groups.

Thesis (M.S.)--Boston Universit

KINEMATIC COMPARISON OF THE BEST AND WORST THROWS OF THE TOP MEN’S DISCUS PERFORMERS AT THE 1996 ATLANTA OLYMPIC GAMES

INTRODUCTION: Kinematic comparisons were made of the best and worst discus throws by the top four male performers at the 1996 Atlanta Olympic Games. METHODS: The discus throws of the qualifying and final rounds were filmed by three video cameras at distances from 50 to 80m. One camera was situated at the back of the circle, camera 2 was to the side, and camera 3 was positioned at 45 degrees to the left-front of the circle. Dimensions of the circle and anatomical locations served as 9 calibration points used in the DLT conversion of 21 data points to real coordinates which were smoothed at 10 Hz with a digital lowpass filter. Kinematic variables of the discus throwing technique were calculated for each performer’s best and worst throws. RESULTS: The medalist throws were 69.4 m (OR) by Riedel, 66.6, 65.8, and 65.4 m for Dubrovshchik, Kaptyukh, and Washington. The performers’ poorest throws were 6.3, 6.9, 2.0, and 4.1 m shorter, respectively. 1. The resultant release velocities calculated for the best (worst) throws were 3118 (3008), 2725 (3343), 2567 (2269), and 2500 (2440) cm/s for Riedel, Dubrovshchik, Kaptyukh, and Washington, respectively. 2. The projection angles for best (worst) throws were 32.4 (30.2), 30.0 (36.4), 35.4 (30.8) and 29.9 (59.9) degrees for Riedel, Dubrovshchik, Kaptyukh, and Washington. 3. The horizontal velocity due to body torsion showed that Riedel and Washington used less twisting action in their poor throws and Dubrovshchik used substantially more torsion. 4. The changes between trials in the horizontal velocities due to arm action were – 4.5%, +.9%, -10%, and –43.3% for Riedel, Dubrovshchik, Kaptyukh, and Washington, respectively. CONCLUSIONS: An examination of selected kinematic variables of discus throwing techniques showed that poor throwing trials by the top performers at the 1996 Olympic Games were caused by improper projection angles, faulty plant foot blocking action, and poor transfer of velocities from the torso to the arm and then the discus

Interview with Al and Ruth Joseph by Andrea L’Hommedieu

Biographical NoteAlfred “Al” Joseph was born on March 23, 1933, in Waterville, Maine, where he grew up and attended Colby College. He worked his way through college, paying the $500 tuition by working at the municipal pool during the summer and teaching swimming at the Boys Club during the school year. He and Ruth married while he was still in college, and their first child was born right before Al’s graduation. After college, he went into the military for two years and took a job at Hathaway Shirt, where he worked for thirty-seven years. He served as the chair of the School Board in Calais, Maine, when they lived there briefly, and upon returning to Waterville he also served as School Board chairman in Waterville for a time. Ruth Ann (Donovan) Joseph was born on October 9, 1933, in Melrose, Massachusetts. She was raised in Waterville, Maine, married Al Joseph, and took classes at Colby College. Governor Joseph Brennan appointed her to chair the Maine Commission for Women, and she also served seven terms as a state representative and two terms as mayor of Waterville. She also works with the Arab American Institute. SummaryInterview includes discussion of: growing up in Waterville, Maine, and being friends with George Mitchell; the Joseph family’s military service; attending school and playing sports with Mitchell; Al working his way through college; selling shirts to Mitchell and Cohen at Hathaway Shirt company; Ruth’s uncle Wally Donovan’s gatherings at his home in Waterville; Ruth Joseph’s experience growing up in Waterville; seeing George Mitchell due to her presence in the political world; her political career; U.S. Senate appointment (1980); calling Mitchell about Muskie’s Senate seat vacancy and sending her recommendation to Governor Brennan; staying in contact with Mitchell’s staff; Ruth Joseph Waterville HS basketball team press pictures; Mitchell’s experience of losing the governor’s race in 1974 and his campaigning style; Mitchell’s high school English teacher, Mrs. Whitten; get-togethers with Colby College alumni; Mitchell’s being well liked; Mitchell’s office helping them get Red Sox tickets for Al and their youngest son; and seeing Mitchell after the game

BIOMECHANICAL ANALYSIS OF THE SHOT-PUT EVENT AT THE 2004 ATHENS OLYMPIC GAMES

The purpose of this study was to analyze the best shot put performances in the Athens 2004 Olympic Games. Multiple high speed digital video cameras were placed in specific locations on the field at proper angles in order to capture the performance of the athletes in the preliminaries and finals. Two stationary cameras were placed at 45 degrees to each other. In addition 3 more cameras used by the NBC broadcasting were used to assist the other 2 cameras. Temporal and kinematics variables were calculated from the videos records and were analyzed yielding three-dimensional biomechanical results. Patterns of the segmental movements were used rather than absolute values, to assist the athletes and the coaches in the analysis of the performances. Kinematics parameters for the best 3 fina'l performers were presented in this study

The effect of censorship on American film adaptations of Shakespearean plays

From July 1, 1934, to November 1, 1968, the Production Code Administration (PCA) oversaw the creation of American motion pictures, in order to improve Hollywood’s moral standing. To assist in this endeavor, the studios produced film adaptations of classic literature, such as the plays of William Shakespeare. In the first two years of the Code’s inception, two Shakespearean films were produced by major studios: A Midsummer Night’s Dream (1935) and Romeo and Juliet (1936). But were these classic adaptations able to avoid the censorship that other films endured? With the use of archived collections, film viewings, and an in-depth analysis of the plays, multiple versions of the scripts, and other available surviving documents, I was able to see how these productions were affected by the enforcement of film censorship and what it said about the position of Shakespeare’s work in society. A Midsummer Night’s Dream tended to use self-regulation, so as to avoid the censorship of the PCA. However, the film did not escape without some required changes. In spite of the filmmakers’ efforts, there were a few textual changes and the fairy costumes required revisions to meet the PCA’s standards. In the case of Romeo and Juliet, the PCA was far more involved in all stages of the film’s production. There were many documented text changes and even a case in which the censors objected to how the actors and director executed a scene on film. The motion picture was created as if it were of the greatest importance by all involved. And, as it were, the existing archives paint a picture of a production that was a sort of battleground in a sociopolitical war between the censors and the filmmakers. As both films arrived on the international stage, this sociopolitical campaigning did not end. During international distribution, the films were each accepted, rejected, and forced to endure further censorship, in order to become acceptable for public screening. This censorship often relayed a message about the location’s societal views and its contrast to American society

The Ursinus Weekly, September 26, 1932

New library accessions ready for circulation • Million and a half bricks used in new science building • Nineteen men students are out for cross country team • Student activities council discusses current topics • Bears inaugurate grid season with 26-2 loss to Villanova • Rev. Groton of Whitemarsh addresses Y meeting • Enthusiastic audience attends pep meeting • Frosh football candidates drilling in fundamentals • Band letter requirements • Frosh-soph tug-of-war • Recreation hall notice • Big and little sisters attend theater party • Soccer candidates to vie for varsity berths • Women\u27s athletic council elects representatives • Levin elected to council • Y.W. to sponsor sing • Large group of students enlist in college band • Varsity Club elects athletic representative • Coach Snell\u27s hockey team awaits prosperous season • New cheer leaders • Weekly candidates to meethttps://digitalcommons.ursinus.edu/weekly/2029/thumbnail.jp

Placental Malaria and Mother-to-Child Transmission of Human Immunodeficiency Virus-1 in Rural Rwanda

We conducted a nested case-control study of placental malaria (PM) and mother-to-child transmission (MTCT) of human immunodeficiency virus-1 (HIV-1) within a prospective cohort of 627 mother-infant pairs followed from October 1989 until April 1994 in rural Rwanda. Sixty stored placentas were examined for PM and other placental pathology, comparing 20 HIV-infected mother-infant (perinatal transmitter) pairs, 20 HIV-uninfected pairs, and 20 HIV-infected mothers who did not transmit to their infant perinatally. Of 60 placentas examined, 45% showed evidence of PM. Placental malaria was associated with increased risk of MTCT of HIV-1 (adjusted odds ratio [aOR] = 6.3; 95% confidence interval [CI] = 1.4–29.1), especially among primigravidae (aOR = 12.0; 95% CI = 1.0–150; P < 0.05). Before antiretroviral therapy or prophylaxis, PM was associated with early infant HIV infection among rural Rwandan women living in a hyper-endemic malaria region. Primigravidae, among whom malaria tends to be most severe, may be at higher risk