Wardrobe expenditures of women employed full-time in five occupational categories

The purpose of this study was to examine and compare annual work wardrobe expenditures, work wardrobe expenditure influences, and selected demographic characteristics of women employed full-time in five occupational categories: professional and technical, managerial and administrative, sales, clerical, and other. The survey questionnaire included an itemized list of 37 wardrobe items in five groups representative of clothing and accessories women might wear for work and work-related activities. Respondents indicated the total number of each item purchased and total dollar expenditure per item. Respondents also indicated annual expenditures for dry cleaning, alteration and repair; expenditure influences; and selected demographic characteristics. Following pretesting of the survey instrument, the mail questionnaire was sent to 825 women randomly selected from the city directory for neighboring cities Lewiston, Idaho and Clarkston, Washington, who had been employed full-time during the previous year (1985) and who agreed by introductory phone call to participate in the study. Data from a total of 259 returned, usable questionnaires were included. The sample included an uneven distribution of respondents: 24.3% Professional-Technical, 20.5% Managerial-Administrative, 8.5% Sales, 29.7% Clerical, and 17.0% Other. One-way analysis of variance, post hoc Tukey's test, Kruskal-Wallis One-Way Analysis of Variance, and chi-square test of independence were used to test for significance of differences among occupational categories. Multiple Classification Analysis was used to test for significance of expenditure differences among occupational categories after controlling for the influence of significant demographic characteristics. The Scheffe's test using adjusted mean expenditures was used to reduce the probability of a Type I error. Significant differences among occupational categories were found for educational level, job income before taxes, and total family income before taxes. Significant differences among occupational categories were not found for marital status, age, presence in the home of children 18 years of age and under, years of employment at present job, and total years of employment. Significant differences among occupational categories were found for total work wardrobe, footwear and annual dry-cleaning expenditures. However, after controlling for the influence of significant demographic characteristics, significant differences in total work wardrobe expenditures among occupational categories were not found. The average annual 1985 work wardrobe expenditure of study respondents was $886; average expenditures ranged from$11 to $5925. Average annual work wardrobe expenditures by occupational category were: Management-Administrative ($1019), Professional-Technical ($967), Sales ($943), Clerical ($912), and Other ($535). Survey respondents spent about half (50.3%) of the total work wardrobe expenditure on outerwear, 14.5% on footwear, 14.3% on lingerie, 12.5% on accessories, and 8.4% on protective outerwear. The mean expenditure for outerwear was $460; for footwear,$132. About half of the survey respondents reported annual work wardrobe dry - cleaning expenditures under $25, about one-fourth reported spending from$25 to $50, and one-fourth reported spending$51 or more. Professional-Technical and Managerial-Administrative respondents tended to report higher annual dry - cleaning expenditures, and the Other respondents reported annual dry-cleaning expenditures under $25. Significant differences among occupational categories for expected wear life of work wardrobe garments and for work uniform requirements were found. Most survey respondents reported wearing work wardrobe garments for 2 to 3 years or 4 to 5 years. Professional-Technical and Managerial-Administrative respondents tended to wear work wardrobe garments longer, while the Other respondents reported the least years of wear life. Most survey respondents did not wear a uniform for work; however, about one-half of the Other occupational category respondents and one-fifth of the Professional-Technical respondents reported wearing a work uniform most of the time

Short communication: Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus detection in US bulk tank milk

Staphylococcus aureus is a major cause of mastitis in dairy cattle. This study estimated the herd prevalence of methicillin-resistant Staph. aureus (MRSA) among US dairy herds by testing bulk tank milk (BTM) samples using genotypic and phenotypic methods. A nationally representative sample of 542 operations had BTM cultured for Staph. aureus, and 218 BTM samples were positive upon initial culture. After 4 wk to 4 mo of frozen storage, 87% of 218 samples (n = 190) were still culture positive for Staph. aureus on blood agar, but none were positive for MRSA on the selective indicator medium CHROMagar MRSA. A duplex PCR was used to detect the Staph. aureus-specific nuc gene and the methicillin resistance gene, mecA, in mixed staphylococcal isolates from the 190 BTM samples that were positive for Staph. aureus after storage. Seven samples tested positive for nuc and mecA, and 2 samples tested positive for mecA only. MecA-positive Staphylococcus spp., but not MRSA, were subsequently isolated from 5 samples, whereas neither mecA-positive Staphylococcus spp. nor MRSA was isolated from the remaining 4 samples. Presence of methicillin-resistant, coagulase-negative Staphylococcus spp. may complicate the detection of MRSA by means of PCR on BTM. Bulk tank milk in the United States is not a common source of MRSA

The effect of targeting Tie2 on hemorrhagic shock-induced renal perfusion disturbances in rats

Background: Hemorrhagic shock is associated with acute kidney injury and increased mortality. Targeting the endothelial angiopoietin/Tie2 system, which regulates endothelial permeability, previously reduced hemorrhagic shock-induced vascular leakage. We hypothesized that as a consequence of vascular leakage, renal perfusion and function is impaired and that activating Tie2 restores renal perfusion and function. Methods: Rats underwent 1 h of hemorrhagic shock and were treated with either vasculotide or PBS as control, followed by fluid resuscitation for 4 h. Microcirculatory perfusion was measured in the renal cortex and cremaster muscle using contrast echography and intravital microscopy, respectively. Changes in the angiopoietin/Tie2 system and renal injury markers were measured in plasma and on protein and mRNA level in renal tissue. Renal edema formation was determined by wet/dry weight ratios and renal structure by histological analysis. Results: Hemorrhagic shock significantly decreased renal perfusion (240 +/- 138 to 51 +/- 40, p 0.9 at all time points) or reduce renal injury (NGAL p = 0.26, KIM-1 p = 0.78, creatinine p > 0.9, renal edema p = 0.08), but temporarily improved cremaster perfusion at 3 h following start of fluid resuscitation compared to untreated rats (resuscitation + 3 h: 11 +/- 3 vs 8 +/- 3 perfused vessels, p < 0.05). Conclusion: Hemorrhagic shock-induced renal impairment cannot be restored by standard fluid resuscitation, nor by activation of Tie2. Future treatment strategies should focus on reducing angiopoietin-2 levels or on activating Tie2 via an alternative strategy

Automated generation of gene summaries at the Alliance of Genome Resources

Short paragraphs that describe gene function, referred to as gene summaries, are valued by users of biological knowledgebases for the ease with which they convey key aspects of gene function. Manual curation of gene summaries, while desirable, is difficult for knowledgebases to sustain. We developed an algorithm that uses curated, structured gene data at the Alliance of Genome Resources (Alliance; www.alliancegenome.org) to automatically generate gene summaries that simulate natural language. The gene data used for this purpose include curated associations (annotations) to ontology terms from the Gene Ontology, Disease Ontology, model organism knowledgebase (MOK)-specific anatomy ontologies and Alliance orthology data. The method uses sentence templates for each data category included in the gene summary in order to build a natural language sentence from the list of terms associated with each gene. To improve readability of the summaries when numerous gene annotations are present, we developed a new algorithm that traverses ontology graphs in order to group terms by their common ancestors. The algorithm optimizes the coverage of the initial set of terms and limits the length of the final summary, using measures of information content of each ontology term as a criterion for inclusion in the summary. The automated gene summaries are generated with each Alliance release, ensuring that they reflect current data at the Alliance. Our method effectively leverages category-specific curation efforts of the Alliance member databases to create modular, structured and standardized gene summaries for seven member species of the Alliance. These automatically generated gene summaries make cross-species gene function comparisons tenable and increase discoverability of potential models of human disease. In addition to being displayed on Alliance gene pages, these summaries are also included on several MOK gene pages

Republican personality cults in wartime China: contradistinction and collaboration

This paper explores the development of the Wang Jingwei personality cult during the Japanese occupation of China (1937–1945). It examines how the collaborationist Chinese state led by Wang sought to distinguish its figurehead from the person he had replaced, Nationalist leader Chiang Kai-shek. Drawing on visual, archival, and published sources, it traces the development of the Wang cult from the early years of the war, and argues that the unusual context in which the cult evolved ultimately undermined its coherence. The case of Wang Jingwei illustrates how the Chinese case more broadly can enhance our understandings of personality cults that develop under occupation. To this end, I compare the Wang regime with various European “collaborationist” governments that sought to promote their leaders in similar ways

Automated generation of gene summaries at the Alliance of Genome Resources.

Short paragraphs that describe gene function, referred to as gene summaries, are valued by users of biological knowledgebases for the ease with which they convey key aspects of gene function. Manual curation of gene summaries, while desirable, is difficult for knowledgebases to sustain. We developed an algorithm that uses curated, structured gene data at the Alliance of Genome Resources (Alliance; www.alliancegenome.org) to automatically generate gene summaries that simulate natural language. The gene data used for this purpose include curated associations (annotations) to ontology terms from the Gene Ontology, Disease Ontology, model organism knowledgebase (MOK)-specific anatomy ontologies and Alliance orthology data. The method uses sentence templates for each data category included in the gene summary in order to build a natural language sentence from the list of terms associated with each gene. To improve readability of the summaries when numerous gene annotations are present, we developed a new algorithm that traverses ontology graphs in order to group terms by their common ancestors. The algorithm optimizes the coverage of the initial set of terms and limits the length of the final summary, using measures of information content of each ontology term as a criterion for inclusion in the summary. The automated gene summaries are generated with each Alliance release, ensuring that they reflect current data at the Alliance. Our method effectively leverages category-specific curation efforts of the Alliance member databases to create modular, structured and standardized gene summaries for seven member species of the Alliance. These automatically generated gene summaries make cross-species gene function comparisons tenable and increase discoverability of potential models of human disease. In addition to being displayed on Alliance gene pages, these summaries are also included on several MOK gene pages

The Zebrafish Information Network: the zebrafish model organism database

The Zebrafish Information Network (ZFIN; ) is a web based community resource that implements the curation of zebrafish genetic, genomic and developmental data. ZFIN provides an integrated representation of mutants, genes, genetic markers, mapping panels, publications and community resources such as meeting announcements and contact information. Recent enhancements to ZFIN include (i) comprehensive curation of gene expression data from the literature and from directly submitted data, (ii) increased support and annotation of the genome sequence, (iii) expanded use of ontologies to support curation and query forms, (iv) curation of morpholino data from the literature, and (v) increased versatility of gene pages, with new data types, links and analysis tools