1,152 research outputs found
Commercial Driver Medical Exams: Relationships Between Body Mass Index and Comorbid Conditions
There are an estimated 5.7 million Commercial Motor Vehicle (CMV) drivers in the United States in 2012. Health and Safety of CMV drivers are of high consequence group because of: occupational risks from the size and speed of their vehicles, frequently poor health status, poor health care utilization, and the large impact of truck crashes on public health and safety. CMV drivers pass a commercial driver medical examination (CDME) to maintain licensure. CDME examiners document multiple potentially disqualifying health conditions. CMV drivers reportedly have poor health status, which may be attributed to lifestyle and occupational factors (e.g., improper diet, inadequate physical activity, poor sleep hygiene, shift work), yet few data are reported analyzing relative importance and relationships of these factors. Methods- CDMEs conducted between 2005 and 2012 among 88,246 commercial drivers were analyzed. Associations between measured Body Mass Index (BMI) categories and CDME findings, as well as driver certification were examined. Results- 53.3% of drivers were obese (BMI\u3e30.0 kg/m2 ) with half of those being morbidly obese (BMI\u3e35.0 kg/m2 ). After adjustment for age and gender, obese drivers were statistically significantly less likely to be certified for the full 2 year period and significantly more likely to report many factors including heart disease, hypertension, diabetes mellitus, nervous disorders, sleep disorders, and chronic low back pain (all p\u3c0.0001). ConclusionsBMI is related to many factors, some of which have been associated with increased crash risk. BMI screening may be a useful tool. Interventions for BMI reduction may have an impact on comorbidities
Essentially English : Sherlock Holmes at the BBC
Sir Arthur Conan Doyleâs Sherlock Holmes stories, currently enjoying renewed popularity on television via the BBCâs Sherlock (2010- ), have been adapted for the screen countless times around the world. Arguably best remembered are Granadaâs long-running strand with Jeremy Brett (1984-94), and the Universal film series of the 1940s, featuring Basil Rathbone and Nigel Bruce. Less frequently cited, however, are the two series produced by the BBC between 1965 and 1968, in which first Douglas Wilmer and later Peter Cushing took on the mantle of the Baker Street detective. Typically for the time â but against the wishes of the Conan Doyle estate - these programmes adopted a multi-camera studio model; a mode of production which made them less attractive to US networks than the single camera 35mm film output of commercial rivals such as ITC. Drawing upon material from the BBCâs Written Archives Centre, this article investigates the motivations underpinning the Corporationâs refusal to accommodate the estateâs exhortations to seek American co-production and utilise single camera filming, not least of which was the BBCâs stated desire to maintain the âessentially Englishâ quality of Sherlock Holmes. This decision would have significant repercussions for the seriesâ overseas saleability, and â despite impressive viewing figures and positive audience reaction at home in the UK â helped contribute to its âforgottenâ status with regard to the television canon
Jingoism, Public Opinion, and the New Imperialism:Newspapers and imperial rivalries at the fin de siĂšcle
A new class of large-amplitude radial-mode hot subdwarf pulsators
Using high-cadence observations from the Zwicky Transient Facility at low Galactic latitudes, we have discovered a new class of pulsating, hot compact stars. We have found four candidates, exhibiting blue colors (g â r †â0.1 mag), pulsation amplitudes of >5%, and pulsation periods of 200â475 s. Fourier transforms of the light curves show only one dominant frequency. Phase-resolved spectroscopy for three objects reveals significant radial velocity, T eff, and log(g) variations over the pulsation cycle, which are consistent with large-amplitude radial oscillations. The mean T eff and log(g) for these stars are consistent with hot subdwarf B (sdB) effective temperatures and surface gravities. We calculate evolutionary tracks using MESA and adiabatic pulsations using GYRE for low-mass, helium-core pre-white dwarfs (pre-WDs) and low-mass helium-burning stars. Comparison of low-order radial oscillation mode periods with the observed pulsation periods show better agreement with the pre-WD models. Therefore, we suggest that these new pulsators and blue large-amplitude pulsators (BLAPs) could be members of the same class of pulsators, composed of young â0.25â0.35 M â helium-core pre-WDs.Published versio
A New Class of Changing-Look LINERs
We report the discovery of six active galactic nuclei (AGN) caught "turning
on" during the first nine months of the Zwicky Transient Facility (ZTF) survey.
The host galaxies were classified as LINERs by weak narrow forbidden line
emission in their archival SDSS spectra, and detected by ZTF as nuclear
transients. In five of the cases, we found via follow-up spectroscopy that they
had transformed into broad-line AGN, reminiscent of the changing-look LINER
iPTF 16bco. In one case, ZTF18aajupnt/AT2018dyk, follow-up HST UV and
ground-based optical spectra revealed the transformation into a narrow-line
Seyfert 1 (NLS1) with strong [Fe VII, X, XIV] and He II 4686 coronal lines.
Swift monitoring observations of this source reveal bright UV emission that
tracks the optical flare, accompanied by a luminous soft X-ray flare that peaks
~60 days later. Spitzer follow-up observations also detect a luminous
mid-infrared flare implying a large covering fraction of dust. Archival light
curves of the entire sample from CRTS, ATLAS, and ASAS-SN constrain the onset
of the optical nuclear flaring from a prolonged quiescent state. Here we
present the systematic selection and follow-up of this new class of
changing-look LINERs, compare their properties to previously reported
changing-look Seyfert galaxies, and conclude that they are a unique class of
transients well-suited to test the uncertain physical processes associated with
the LINER accretion state.Comment: Submitted to ApJ, 31 pages, 17 Figures (excluding Appendix due to
file size constraints but will be available in electronic version
Cytoplasmic dynein nomenclature
A variety of names has been used in the literature for the subunits of cytoplasmic dynein complexes. Thus, there is a strong need for a more definitive consensus statement on nomenclature. This is especially important for mammalian cytoplasmic dyneins, many subunits of which are encoded by multiple genes. We propose names for the mammalian cytoplasmic dynein subunit genes and proteins that reflect the phylogenetic relationships of the genes and the published studies clarifying the functions of the polypeptides. This nomenclature recognizes the two distinct cytoplasmic dynein complexes and has the flexibility to accommodate the discovery of new subunits and isoforms
Building a diverse workforce and thinkforce to reduce health disparities
The Research Centers in Minority Institutions (RCMI) Program was congressionally man-dated in 1985 to build research capacity at institutions that currently and historically recruit, train, and award doctorate degrees in the health professions and health-related sciences, primarily to individuals from underrepresented and minority populations. RCMI grantees share similar infrastructure needs and institutional goals. Of particular importance is the professional development of multidisciplinary teams of academic and community scholars (the âworkforceâ) and the harnessing of the heterogeneity of thought (the âthinkforceâ) to reduce health disparities. The purpose of this report is to summarize the presentations and discussion at the RCMI Investigator Development Core (IDC) Workshop, held in conjunction with the RCMI Program National Conference in Bethesda, Maryland, in December 2019. The RCMI IDC Directors provided information about their professional development activities and Pilot Projects Programs and discussed barriers identified by new and early-stage investigators that limit effective career development, as well as potential solutions to overcome such obstacles. This report also proposes potential alignments of professional development activities, targeted goals and common metrics to track productivity and success
Inference on inspiral signals using LISA MLDC data
In this paper we describe a Bayesian inference framework for analysis of data
obtained by LISA. We set up a model for binary inspiral signals as defined for
the Mock LISA Data Challenge 1.2 (MLDC), and implemented a Markov chain Monte
Carlo (MCMC) algorithm to facilitate exploration and integration of the
posterior distribution over the 9-dimensional parameter space. Here we present
intermediate results showing how, using this method, information about the 9
parameters can be extracted from the data.Comment: Accepted for publication in Classical and Quantum Gravity, GWDAW-11
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