6,374 research outputs found

    Iowa farm and people characteristics and agricultural accident occurrence

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    One of the factors limiting the effectiveness of agricultural accident prevention programs has been a lack of knowledge about the nature and true causes of farm accidents;In order to gain further knowledge about the characteristics of farms and people involved in agricultural accidents, several variables from the 1981 Iowa Agricultural Accident and Illness Study were examined. Among these variables were: farm size, farm type, farm work exposure, sex, age, individual exposure to agricultural work and level of formal education. The data were obtained from a random sample, stratified by county, of 2,578 Iowa farms;Farm size was related to accident occurrence, as was farm type. The differences in accident frequencies between farms of different sizes and types can be largely explained by the varying degree of exposure to agricultural hazards. Beef farms, however, had a significantly higher accident frequency rate than other types of farms;Age, sex and exposure to agricultural hazards were related to accident occurrence. Differences in accident frequencies between most age groups can be explained by differences in exposure levels. Persons between ages 5 and 14 had a significantly higher accident frequency rate than other age groups. Females had a significantly lower accident frequency rate than males. This may be because females generally perform less hazardous jobs than males;The level of formal education attained by and completion of tractor and machinery safety programs by tractor and machine operators were found to be unrelated to accident occurrence;The results indicate a need to examine in more detail the effectiveness of certain agricultural safety programs for youth. They also indicate a need for more in-depth study of beef farms to determine the reasons for the high accident frequency rates found to exist;Of the variables examined, exposure to agricultural hazards best accounts for accident involvement. Since it is not practical to reduce the amount of exposure, educational programs and engineering efforts designed to eliminate or reduce hazards associated with farm machinery and livestock should be given a high priority

    Diagnosis and management of oral candidosis

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    Candida is a fungus (yeast) that is generally regarded as a normal and harmless member of the oral microbiome in humans. Should host defences against these commensals be compromised in any way then Candida can cause clinical signs and symptoms, which manifest as distinct forms of oral candidosis (candidiasis). Candida albicans is the most frequently isolated candidal species from the oral cavity, although a range of non-C. albicans Candida species are being increasingly encountered. The basic principle of the management of candidosis is to identify and eliminate any underlying host predisposing factor. However, in many cases, antifungal therapy will also be required as part of initial management. This article will provide an overview of the isolation, identification and pathogenicity of Candida species encountered within the mouth and relate these to clinical management of oral candidosis. Word count

    Rock art and ritual: Southern Africa and beyond

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    Impact of bidirectional relationships between streptococcus anginosus group and host tissue matrix components on cellular activity: Role in establishment of infection

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    This paper investigates pathogenic mechanisms of the Streptococcus anginosus group (SAG) of bacteria which influence the biological activity of periodontal ligament (PDL) cells, endothelial cells and also how matrix proteins produced by these host cells influence bacterial virulence factors. Isolates of SAG species, designated S. anginosus, S. constellatus and S. intermedius, were derived from healthy commensal and clinical pathogenic infection sites. SAG culture supernatants contained multiple protein components which differed between isolates. All SAG supernatants increased cellular proliferation and decreased decorin synthesis and collagen assembly by PDL cells and reduced endothelial cell migration. SAG isolates responded differently to extracellular matrix (ECM) components synthesised by PDL cells, but there was an overall notable increase in hydrolytic enzyme activity and in the production of the cytotoxin intermedilysin by S. intermedius. Collectively, the results indicate that both commensal and pathogenic SAG isolates were capable of impairing the ability of PDL cells and endothelial cells to make functional vascularised tissue. Reduced decorin synthesis is likely to have a major impact on cell signalling, angiogenesis and matrix assembly. Furthermore, ECM components produced by PDL cells were differentially capable of moderately increasing SAG enzymic activity, leading to subtle ECM modifications. The impact this bidirectional effect has on the tissue remodelling process is discussed

    Illusions of gunk

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    The possibility of gunk has been used to argue against mereological nihilism. This paper explores two responses on the part of the microphysical mereological nihilist: (1) the contingency defence, which maintains that nihilism is true of the actual world; but that at other worlds, composition occurs; (2) the impossibility defence, which maintains that nihilism is necessary true, and so gunk worlds are impossible. The former is argued to be ultimately unstable; the latter faces the explanatorily burden of explaining the illusion that gunk is possible. It is argued that we can discharge this burden by focussing on the contingency of the microphysicalist aspect of microphysical mereological nihilism. The upshot is that gunk-based arguments against microphysical mereological nihilism can be resisted

    Diversity of thermal responses of lipid composition in the membranes of the dominant culturable members of an Antarctic fellfield soil bacterial community

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    The eight dominant culturable members of an Antarctic fellfield soil bacterial community were four Arthrobacter species, Sanguibacter suarezii, Aureobacterium testaceum, a Bacillus sp., and a Pseudomonas sp.. All of the isolates grew at 2°C, but two of the Arthrobacter spp. were psychrophilic, while the other six bacterial species were psychrotolerant. However, the fastest growing organisms at low temperatures were not the psychrophiles, and the psychrotolerant Bacillus sp. grew fastest at temperatures up to 25°C. When the growth temperature of cultures was altered, the phospholipid content of the two psychrophilic Arthrobacter spp. decreased, whereas the phospholipid contents of the psychrotolerant spp. either increased or did not change. Only one psychrophilic and one psychrotolerant Arthrobacter sp. modified its polar lipid head-group composition in response to a lowering of growth temperature. The change in Arthrobacter sp. CL2-1 was particularly marked and novel in that at low temperatures phosphatidylethanolamine was replaced completely by a phosphoglycolipid and phosphatidylserine, neither of which was present at higher growth temperatures. All eight isolates altered the fatty acyl compositions of their membrane lipids in a manner that was only partially dependent on taxonomic status. In Bacillus sp. C2-1 the changes were opposite to that predicted on the basis of membrane fluidity considerations. The isolates used different combinations of changes in fatty acid branching, unsaturation and chain length. There was no single strategy of thermal adaptation that was employed and the variety of strategies used did not follow phylogenetic boundaries
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