Work-Related Perceptions, Injuries, and Musculoskeletal Symptoms: Comparison Between U.S.-Educated and Foreign-Educated Nurses.

Immigrants account for a significant proportion of the nursing workforce in the United States (U.S.). Although different cultural backgrounds may affect immigrant nurses' perceptions of work and occupational health risks, little research has been conducted. Defining immigrant nurses as those who received initial nursing education in foreign countries, this study examined the differences in work-related perceptions and experiences of musculoskeletal (MS) symptoms and injuries between U.S.-educated and foreign-educated nurses. We analyzed data from a cross-sectional study using a statewide random sample of 419 California registered nurses. Foreign-educated nurses reported a more positive safety climate (p = .017) and perceived their jobs as less demanding (p = .008) than did U.S.-educated nurses. The prevalence of work-related MS symptoms was significantly lower in foreign-educated nurses than in U.S.-educated nurses (p = .044), but the difference was not significant in the multivariable analyses. Positive safety climate was significantly associated with a decreased risk of work-related MS symptoms and injuries, and this relationship was greater among U.S.-educated nurses than among foreign-educated nurses. Our findings suggest that immigrant nurses may have different perceptions about safety climate and job demand, which may modify their occupational health risks

Effectiveness of Electrical Heating for Improved Thermal Insulation of a Multi-layered Winter Clothing System

This paper investigated the impact of the distance of the heating unit from the body in a multi-layered winter clothing system on effective thermal insulation and heating efficiency. To identify changes in the thermal insulation and heating efficiency of electrical heating in different layers inside a winter clothing ensemble, a series of thermal manikin tests was conducted. A multi-layered winter ensemble with and without activation of a heating unit was tested on the thermal manikin under two different ambient temperature conditions (10°C and 5°C). Results show that the effective thermal insulation of test ensembles increased by 5-7 percent with the activation of the heating unit compared to that without the activation. The closer the heating unit to the body, the higher the effective thermal insulation was in both ambient temperature conditions. This trend was more significant at lower ambient temperature

The diameter of the world wide web

Despite its increasing role in communication, the world wide web remains the least controlled medium: any individual or institution can create websites with unrestricted number of documents and links. While great efforts are made to map and characterize the Internet's infrastructure, little is known about the topology of the web. Here we take a first step to fill this gap: we use local connectivity measurements to construct a topological model of the world wide web, allowing us to explore and characterize its large scale properties.Comment: 5 pages, 1 figure, updated with most recent results on the size of the ww

Evaluation of the pathogenicity of GJB3 and GJB6 variants associated with nonsyndromic hearing loss

AbstractA number of genes responsible for hearing loss are related to ion recycling and homeostasis in the inner ear. Connexins (Cx26 encoded by GJB2, Cx31 encoded by GJB3 and Cx30 encoded by GJB6) are core components of gap junctions in the inner ear. Gap junctions are intercellular communication channels and important factors that are associated with hearing loss. To date, a molecular genetics study of GJB3 and GJB6 as a causative gene for hearing loss has not been performed in Korea. This study was therefore performed to elucidate the genetic characteristics of Korean patients with nonsyndromic sensorineural hearing loss and to determine the pathological mechanism of hearing loss by analyzing the intercellular communication function of Cx30 and Cx31 variants. Sequencing analysis of the GJB3 and GJB6 genes in our population revealed a total of nine variants, including four novel variants in the two genes. Three of the novel variants (Cx31-p.V27M, Cx31-p.V43M and Cx-30-p.I248V) and two previously reported variants (Cx31-p.V84I and Cx30-p.A40V) were selected for functional studies using a pathogenicity prediction program and assessed for whether the mutations were located in a conserved region of the protein. The results of biochemical and ionic coupling tests showed that both the Cx31-p.V27M and Cx31-p.V84I variants did not function normally when each was expressed as a heterozygote with the wild-type Cx31. This study demonstrated that two variants of Cx31 were pathogenic mutations with deleterious effect. This information will be valuable in understanding the pathogenic role of GJB3 and GJB6 mutations associated with hearing loss

Preventive effects of Korean red ginseng on experimentally induced colitis and colon carcinogenesis

© 2020 Center for Food and Biomolecules, National Taiwan UniversityKorean Red Ginseng (KRG) exerts chemopreventive effects on experimentally induced carcinogenesis through multiple mechanisms. In this study, we investigated effects of KRG on dextran sulfate sodium (DSS)-induced colitis and azoxymethane (AOM) plus DSS-induced colon carcinogenesis in mice. Male C57BL/6J mice were fed diet containing 1% KRG or a standard diet throughout the experiment. The mouse colitis was induced by administration of 3% DSS in drinking water for 1 week. DSS caused body weight loss, diarrhea, rectal bleeding and colon length shortening, and all these symptoms were ameliorated by KRG treatment. KRG inhibited DSS-induced expression of cyclooxygenase-2 (COX-2) and inducible nitric oxide synthase (iNOS) by suppressing activation of nuclear factor-kappa B (NF-κB) and signal transducer and activation of transcription 3 (STAT3). In another experiment, colon carcinogenesis was initiated by single intraperitoneal injection of AOM (10 mg/kg) and promoted by 2% DSS in drinking water. KRG administration relieved the symptoms of colitis and reduced the incidence, the multiplicity and the size of colon tumor. The up-regulation of COX-2, iNOS, c-Myc and Cyclin D1 by AOM plus DSS was attenuated in KRG fed mice which was associated with suppression of NF-κB and STAT3 activation. These results suggest that KRG is a potential candidate for chemoprevention of inflammation-associated cancer in the colon.

Retrospective Analysis of Peripheral Blood Stem Cell Transplantation for the Treatment of High-Risk Neuroblastoma

Disease relapse after autologous peripheral blood stem cell transplantation (APBSCT) is the main cause of treatment failure in high-risk neuroblastoma (NBL). To reduce relapse, various efforts have been made such as CD34+ selection and double APBSCT. Here the authors reviewed the clinical features and outcomes of high-risk NBL patients and analyzed their survival. The medical records of 36 patients with stage III or IV NBL who underwent APBSCT at Seoul National University Children's Hospital between May 1996 and May 2004 were reviewed. Total 46 APBSCTs were performed in 36 patients. Disease free survival (DFS) and overall survival of all patients were 47.7% and 68.8%, respectively. The patients were allocated to three groups according to the APBSCT type. The DFS of CD34+ non-selected single APBSCT patients (N=13), CD34+ selected single APBSCT patients (N=14), and CD34+ selected double APBSCT patients (N=9) were 55.6%, 40.6%, and 50.0%, respectively, which were not significantly different. Thus the survival was not found to be affected by CD34+ selection or transplantation number. To improve long-term survival, various efforts should be made such as chemotherapy dose intensification, more effective tumor purging, and control of minimal residual disease via the use of differentiating and immune-modulating agents