Estrogen inhibits the vascular injury response in estrogen receptor β-deficient female mice

The protective effects of estrogen in the cardiovascular system result from both systemic effects and direct actions of the hormone on the vasculature. Two estrogen receptors have been identified, ERα and ERβ. We demonstrated previously that estrogen inhibits the response to vascular injury in both wild-type and ERα-deficient mice, and that ERβ is expressed in the blood vessels of each, suggesting a role for ERβ in the vascular protective effects of estrogen. In the present study, we examined the effect of estrogen administration on mouse carotid arterial injury in ERβ-deficient mice. Surprisingly, in ovariectomized female wild-type and ERβ knockout mice, 17β-estradiol markedly and equally inhibited the increase in vascular medial area and the proliferation of vascular smooth muscle cells after vascular injury. These data demonstrate that ERβ is not required for estrogen-mediated inhibition of the response to vascular injury, and suggest that either of the two known estrogen receptors is sufficient to protect against vascular injury, or that another unidentified estrogen receptor mediates the vascular protective effects of estrogen.

Neurodegeneration, myocardial injury, and perinatal death in mitochondrial superoxide dismutase-deficient mice.

Manganese superoxide dismutase (SOD2) converts superoxide to oxygen plus hydrogen peroxide and serves as the primary defense against mitochondrial superoxide. Impaired SOD2 activity in humans has been associated with several chronic diseases, including ovarian cancer and type I diabetes, and SOD2 overexpression appears to suppress malignancy in cultured cells. We have produced a line of SOD2 knockout mice (SOD2m1BCM/SOD2m1BCM) that survive up to 3 weeks of age and exhibit several novel pathologic phenotypes including severe anemia, degeneration of neurons in the basal ganglia and brainstem, and progressive motor disturbances characterized by weakness, rapid fatigue, and circling behavior. In addition, SOD2m1BCM/SOD2m1BCM mice older than 7 days exhibit extensive mitochondrial injury within degenerating neurons and cardiac myocytes. Approximately 10% of SOD2m1BCM/SOD2m1BCM mice exhibit markedly enlarged and dilated hearts. These observations indicate that SOD2 deficiency causes increased susceptibility to oxidative mitochondrial injury in central nervous system neurons, cardiac myocytes, and other metabolically active tissues after postnatal exposure to ambient oxygen concentrations. Our SOD2-deficient mice differ from a recently described model in which homozygotes die within the first 5 days of life with severe cardiomyopathy and do not exhibit motor disturbances, central nervous system injury, or ultrastructural evidence of mitochondrial injury.

Oxide Semiconductors For Organic Opto-electronic Devices

Development of transparent oxide semiconductors (TOS) from Earth-abundant materials is of great interest for cost-effective thin film device applications, such as solar cells, light emitting diodes (LEDs), touch-sensitive displays, electronic paper, and transparent thin film transistors. The need of inexpensive or high performance electrode might be even greater for organic photovoltaic (OPV), with the goal to harvest renewable energy with inexpensive, lightweight, and cost competitive materials. The natural abundance of zinc and the wide bandgap ($sim$3.3 eV) of its oxide make it an ideal candidate. In this dissertation, I have introduced various concepts on the modulations of various surface, interface and bulk opto-electronic properties of ZnO based semiconductor for charge transport, charge selectivity and optimal device performance. I have categorized transparent semiconductors into two sub groups depending upon their role in a device. Electrodes, usually 200 to 500 nm thick, optimized for good transparency and transporting the charges to the external circuit. Here, the electrical conductivity in parallel direction to thin film, i.e bulk conductivity is important. And contacts, usually 5 to 50 nm thick, are optimized in case of solar cells for providing charge selectivity and asymmetry to manipulate the built in field inside the device for charge separation and collection. Whereas in Organic LEDs (OLEDs), contacts provide optimum energy level alignment at organic oxide interface for improved charge injections. For an optimal solar cell performance, transparent electrodes are designed with maximum transparency in the region of interest to maximize the light to pass through to the absorber layer for photo-generation, plus they are designed for minimum sheet resistance for efficient charge collection and transport. As such there is need for material with high conductivity and transparency. Doping ZnO with some common elements such as B, Al, Ga, In, Ge, Si, and F result in n-type doping with increase in carriers resulting in high conductivity electrode, with better or comparable opto-electronic properties compared to current industry-standard indium tin oxide (ITO). Furthermore, improvement in mobility due to improvement on crystallographic structure also provide alternative path for high conductivity ZnO TCOs. Implementing these two aspects, various studies were done on gallium doped zinc oxide (GZO) transparent electrode, a very promising indium free electrode. The dynamics of the superimposed RF and DC power sputtering was utilized to improve the microstructure during the thin films growth, resulting in GZO electrode with conductivity greater than 4000 S/cm and transparency greater than 90 %. Similarly, various studies on research and development of Indium Zinc Tin Oxide and Indium Zinc Oxide thin films which can be applied to flexible substrates for next generation solar cells application is presented. In these new TCO systems, understanding the role of crystallographic structure ranging from poly-crystalline to amorphous phase and the influence on the charge transport and optical transparency as well as important surface passivation and surface charge transport properties. Implementation of these electrode based on ZnO on opto-electronics devices such as OLED and OPV is complicated due to chemical interaction over time with the organic layer or with ambient. The problem of inefficient charge collection/injection due to poor understanding of interface and/or bulk property of oxide electrode exists at several oxide-organic interfaces. The surface conductivity, the work function, the formation of dipoles and the band-bending at the interfacial sites can positively or negatively impact the device performance. Detailed characterization of the surface composition both before and after various chemicals treatment of various oxide electrode can therefore provide insight into optimization of device performance. Some of the work related to controlling the interfacial chemistry associated with charge transport of transparent electrodes are discussed. Thus, the role of various pre-treatment on poly-crystalline GZO electrode and amorphous indium zinc oxide (IZO) electrode is compared and contrasted. From the study, we have found that removal of defects and self passivating defects caused by accumulation of hydroxides in the surface of both poly-crystalline GZO and amorphous IZO, are critical for improving the surface conductivity and charge transport. Further insight on how these insulating and self-passivating defects cause charge accumulation and recombination in an device is discussed. With recent rapid development of bulk-heterojunction organic photovoltaics active materials, devices employing ZnO and ZnO based electrode provide air stable and cost-competitive alternatives to traditional inorganic photovoltaics. The organic light emitting diodes (OLEDs) have already been commercialized, thus to follow in the footsteps of this technology, OPV devices need further improvement in power conversion efficiency and stable materials resulting in long device lifetimes. Use of low work function metals such as Ca/Al in standard geometry do provide good electrode for electron collection, but serious problems using low work-function metal electrodes originates from the formation of non-conductive metal oxide due to oxidation resulting in rapid device failure. Hence, using low work-function, air stable, conductive metal oxides such as ZnO as electrons collecting electrode and high work-function, air stable metals such as silver for harvesting holes, has been on the rise. Devices with degenerately doped ZnO functioning as transparent conductive electrode, or as charge selective layer in a polymer/fullerene based heterojunction, present useful device structures for investigating the functional mechanisms within OPV devices and a possible pathway towards improved air-stable high efficiency devices. Furthermore, analysis of the physical properties of the ZnO layers with varying thickness, crystallographic structure, surface chemistry and grain size deposited via various techniques such as atomic layer deposition, sputtering and solution-processed ZnO with their respective OPV device performance is discussed. We find similarity and differences in electrode property for good charge injection in OLEDs and good charge collection in OPV devices very insightful in understanding physics behind device failures and successes. In general, self-passivating surface of amorphous TCOs IZO, ZTO and IZTO forms insulating layer that hinders the charge collection. Similarly, we find modulation of the carrier concentration and the mobility in electron transport layer, namely zinc oxide thin films, very important for optimizing device performance.

Three Dichotomies in Lawyers’ Ethics (With Particular Attention to the Corporation as Client)

Three usually unexpressed, and too often unnoticed, conceptual dichotomies underlie our perception and understanding of lawyers’ ethics. First, the existence of a special body of professional ethics and professional regulation presupposes some special need or risk. Criminal and civil law are apparently insufficient. Ordinary day-to-day morality and ordinary ethics, likewise, are not considered to be enough. What is the risk entailed by the notion of a profession that is special; who needs protection, and from what? Two quite different possible answers to this question provide the first of the three dichotomies examined in this article: one can understand the risk as primarily to a vulnerable client from a powerful professional; or, to the contrary, from a powerful client-lawyer combination toward vulnerable others. Second, what is the foundational orientation of lawyers? Are lawyers serving primarily their particular clients, and those clients’ preferences, choices and autonomy? Or is the primary allegiance of lawyers to some community or collective goal or interest distinct from the particular goals or interests of the client? The third dichotomy concerns not the substance of the risk, or the primary orientation, but the appropriate means of responding to that risk or that fundamental obligation. Should professional ethics be implemented primarily through rules? Or, should we rely on character and the discretion of lawyers to make a thought out, all things considered, decision? Each of these three presents a fundamental difference in how we perceive and address issues of lawyers’ ethics. Each affects our understanding and analysis on multiple levels, from (1) determining the appropriate or requisite conduct in a particular situation, to (2) framing a specific rule or approach for a particular category of situations, to (3) more general or abstract theory or policy. A person’s inclinations in regard to the dichotomies affects the conclusions that person will reach on each of those levels of analysis, yet those inclinations and assumptions are frequently unexamined and unarticulated. One’s position on each of the dichotomies tends to structure the approach and outcome without the issues and choice having been explicitly addressed or possibly even noticed. This article is an effort to ameliorate that problem. Part I addresses the question of what is the risk in the work of lawyers, or the function of lawyers, for which professional ethics is the answer. The concluding section focuses on the particular problem of the corporation as client. Part II then asks the related and possibly consequent question of what is the foundational orientation or allegiance of the lawyer? Is it to the individual client? Or is it to some larger community interest? Again, the concluding section focuses on the corporation. Part III turns to the means or method for addressing the obligations and possible problems of the professional ethics of lawyers. Should lawyers’ ethics guide and confine the conduct of lawyers primarily through rules? Or should it function primarily through reliance on the knowledge, judgment and character of lawyers? If the latter were the guide, ethical decisions would be made on a situation by situation basis under the discretion of each lawyer. Toward the end of each discussion possibilities for bridging the dichotomy are considered (and with such bridges each dichotomy may come to look more like a spectrum or continuum.). At several points after its introduction in Parts I and II, the special problem of the corporation as client is revisited and possible solutions suggested. Illustrating the usefulness of keeping the dichotomies in view, Part IV applies them to several exemplary situations of ethical difficulty in actual lawyer practice. For readers finding it difficult to envision the consequences of these distinctions, turning ahead to Part IV may be useful in making the discussion more concrete. Some commonalities across the dichotomies and connections among them are then developed in the concluding section, Part V.

Epidemiologia da oclusão dentária na infância e os sistemas de saúde

O propósito deste estudo foi contribuir para a análise da epidemiologia da oclusão dentária na infância e discutir a implicação para os sistemas de saúde, examinando dados de prevalência de uma amostra probabilística (n=985) da população de 5 e 12 anos de idade na cidade de São Paulo, Brasil (1996); e estudos epidemiológicos transversais publicados nos últimos 70 anos. A prevalência na cidade, cresceu de 49,0 ± 4,5 por cento na dentição decídua para 71,3 ± 3,9 por cento na dentição permanente (p<0,001), sendo que a chance de ocorrência de oclusopatia moderada/severa foi quase duas vezes maior na segunda dentição (OR=1,87; IC95 por cento =1,43-2,45; pOR=1,51; IC95s por cento =1,15-1,99; p<0,003). Análise de regressão logística múltipla mostrou que o risco estimado da população portadora de dentição permanente e com experiência de cárie acima dessas metas apresentar oclusopatia moderada/severa se elevou de 22 por cento para 50 por cento . Sexo, tipo de escola (pública e privada) e diferenças étnicas entre brancos e pardos não influenciaram essa distribuição. O exame da literatura através de meta-análise indicou que a prevalência dos problemas oclusais foi duas vezes maior na dentição permanente quando comparada às dentições decídua/mista. Tanto a realização de estudos longitudinais quanto de levantamentos e triagens para a identificação e o tratamento dos casos mais severos, não apenas no período da dentição permanente, mas também nas dentições decídua/mista, combinado à introdução de ações de proteção específica em programas materno-infantis direcionadas ao desenvolvimento oro-facial dos zero aos 6 anos são medidas que devem ser consideradas no planejamento estratégico e normativo dos sistemas de saúde. Métodos de intervenção em saúde pública devem ser pesquisados e implementados o mais precocemente possível para aumentar a proporção da população com oclusão normal e reduzir o percentual de oclusopatia moderada/severa.

Three Dichotomies in Lawyers’ Ethics (With Particular Attention to the Corporation as Client)

Three usually unexpressed, and too often unnoticed, conceptual dichotomies underlie our perception and understanding of lawyers’ ethics. First, the existence of a special body of professional ethics and professional regulation presupposes some special need or risk. Criminal and civil law are apparently insufficient. Ordinary day-to-day morality and ordinary ethics, likewise, are not considered to be enough. What is the risk entailed by the notion of a profession that is special; who needs protection, and from what? Two quite different possible answers to this question provide the first of the three dichotomies examined in this article: one can understand the risk as primarily to a vulnerable client from a powerful professional; or, to the contrary, from a powerful client-lawyer combination toward vulnerable others. Second, what is the foundational orientation of lawyers? Are lawyers serving primarily their particular clients, and those clients’ preferences, choices and autonomy? Or is the primary allegiance of lawyers to some community or collective goal or interest distinct from the particular goals or interests of the client? The third dichotomy concerns not the substance of therisk, or the primary orientation, but the appropriate means of responding to that risk or that fundamental obligation. Should professional ethics be implemented primarily through rules? Or, should we rely on character and the discretion of lawyers to make a thought out, all things considered, decision? Each of these three presents a fundamental difference in how we perceive and address issues of lawyers’ ethics. Each affects our understanding and analysis on multiple levels, from (1) determining the appropriate or requisite conduct in aparticular situation, to (2) framing a specific rule or approach for a particular category of situations, to (3) more general or abstract theory or policy. A person’s inclinations in regard to the dichotomies affects the conclusions that person will reach on each of those levels of analysis, yet those inclinations and assumptions are frequently unexamined and unarticulated. One’s position on each of the dichotomies tends to structure the approach and outcome without the issues and choice having been explicitly addressed or possibly even noticed. This article is an effort to ameliorate that problem. Part I addresses the question of what is the risk in the work of lawyers, or the function of lawyers, for which professional ethics is the answer. The concluding section focuses on the particular problem of the corporation as client. Part II then asks the related and possibly consequent question of what is the foundational orientation or allegiance of the lawyer? Is it to the individual client? Or is it to some larger community interest? Again, the concluding section focuses on thecorporation. Part III turns to the means or method for addressing the obligations and possible problems of the professional ethics of lawyers. Should lawyers’ ethics guide and confine the conduct of lawyers primarily through rules? Or should it function primarily through reliance on the knowledge, judgment and character of lawyers? If the latter were the guide, ethical decisions would be made on a situation by situation basis under the discretion of each lawyer. Toward the end of each discussion possibilities for bridging the dichotomy are considered (and with such bridges each dichotomy may come to look more like a spectrum or continuum.). At several points after its introduction in Parts I and II, the special problem of the corporation as client is revisited and possible solutions suggested. Illustrating the usefulness of keeping the dichotomies in view, Part IV applies them to several exemplary situations of ethical difficulty in actual lawyer practice. For readers finding it difficult to envision the consequences of these distinctions, turning ahead to Part IV may be useful in making the discussion more concrete. Some commonalities across the dichotomies and connections among them are then developed in the concluding section, Part V.

How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bits: Archival Motivation in the Digital Age

Why do people become archivists? Historically (and anecdotally) it was a deep love of musty, old records that drew people to the profession. While there have been many other motivating forces that inspired would-be archivists, it is most often that one hears of people seeking jobs in archives for love of “the stuff,” as evidenced in Kate Thiemer’s blog post, Honest tips for wannabe archivists (2012). As a result of the continually advancing presence of digitized and born digital archival collections, the physical nature of archival “stuff” is changing. While there remains the physical imprint of digital information on floppy disks, CDs, DVDs, hard drives, and old computers; the aspects of these physical artifacts might not evoke the same visceral pull to the profession as musty, raspy, paper-based documents. In light of this shift in physical presentation of information, we are faced with the question: how does love of archival “stuff” translate to work in digital archives? What is and/or will be the pull to become a digital archivist? To answer these questions, we will perform a survey-based study where we will invite archivists who work with both traditional and digital archival material to answer questions related to the aspects of their work that inspired or motivated them to join the profession. What motivates people to become archivists? What aspects of digital archives do or can potentially motivate people to seek out a career as an archivist? What, if any, motivational factors for becoming a traditional archivist are the same as those for becoming a digital archivist? What, if any, motivational factors for becoming a traditional archivist are different from those for becoming a digital archivist? By answering these questions, we hope to expand the archival discussion on what it means to be an archivist in the digital age. What compelling intrinsic, evidential, or informational values are present in digital archival content that will draw professionals to the field? Are there other values inherent in digital content that are currently unexplored? In our poster, we will present our discussion of the topic, our survey design, and results we have at the time of the Institute. Thiemer, K. (2012). Honest tips for wannabe archivists. Archivesnext blog. Retrieved from http://www.archivesnext.com/?p=2849

Desigualdades de género en salud laboral en España

Objetivos: Analizar las desigualdades de género en las condiciones de empleo, trabajo, conciliación de la vida laboral y familiar, y en los problemas de salud relacionados con el trabajo en una muestra de la población ocupada en España en el año 2007 teniendo en cuenta la clase social y el sector de actividad. Métodos: Las desigualdades de género se analizaron mediante 25 indicadores en los 11.054 trabajadores entrevistados en la VI Encuesta Nacional de Condiciones de Trabajo. Se calcularon las odds ratio (OR) y sus intervalos de confianza del 95% (IC95%) mediante modelos de regresión logística multivariados, estratificando por clase social ocupacional y sector de actividad. Resultados: Más mujeres que hombres trabajaban sin contrato (OR = 1,83; IC95%: 1,51-2,21), con alto esfuerzo o baja recompensa (1,14:1,05-1,25) y sufriendo acoso sexual (2,85:1,75-4,62), discriminación (1,60:1,26-2,03) y más dolores osteomusculares (1,38:1,19-1,59). Más hombres que mujeres trabajaban a turnos (0,86:0,79-0,94), con altos niveles de ruido (0,34:0,30-0,40), altas exigencias físicas (0,58:0,54-0,63) y sufriendo más lesiones por accidentes de trabajo (0,67:0,59-0,76). Las trabajadoras no manuales mostraron trabajar con un contrato temporal (1,34:1,09-1,63), expuestas a más riesgos psicosociales y sufriendo mayor discriminación (2,47:1,49-4,09) y enfermedades profesionales (1,91:1,28-2,83). En el sector de la industria las desigualdades de género fueron más marcadas. Conclusiones: En España existen importantes desigualdades de género en las condiciones de empleo, trabajo y en los problemas de salud relacionados con el trabajo, que se ven influenciadas por la clase social y el sector de actividad, y que sería necesario tener en consideración en las políticas públicas de salud laboral.

La presencia de mobbing y sus determinantes laborales en profesores universitarios

En este artículo se analiza la presencia de mobbing en el profesorado universitario como parte de un estudio trasversal más amplio sobre su calidad de vida, trabajo y salud. Los objetivos del estudio son tres: 1) conocer la frecuencia del mobbing en un contexto universitario, 2) examinar la asociación existente entre mobbing y la edad, el género y la categoría académica de los profesores, y 3) estudiar los mejores predictores del mobbing. Respondieron el cuestionario 252 profesores a tiempo completo, lo que ha significado una tasa de respuesta del 61,6%. Nuestros resultados muestran que casi el veintitrés por ciento (22,6%) de los profesores se sintieron víctimas de mobbing. No hemos encontrado diferencias estadísticamente significativas en mobbing debidas a la edad, género o categoría académica de los profesores. Según diversos análisis de regresión logística jerárquica por bloques que hemos realizado, los mejores predictores del mobbing han resultado ser: el grado de autonomía en el trabajo y la satisfacción experimentada en las relaciones con los supervisores. Estas 2 variables han explicado, en nuestro estudio, casi un 37% de la variabilidad del mobbing. Serían necesarios estudios longitudinales o experimentales para poder establecer relaciones de causalidad entre mobbing y contexto laboral.

Gender inequalities in occupational health related to the unequal distribution of working and employment conditions: a systematic review

Introduction: Gender inequalities exist in work life, but little is known about their presence in relation to factors examined in occupation health settings. The aim of this study was to identify and summarize the working and employment conditions described as determinants of gender inequalities in occupational health in studies related to occupational health published between 1999 and 2010. Methods: A systematic literature review was undertaken of studies available in MEDLINE, EMBASE, Sociological Abstracts, LILACS, EconLit and CINAHL between 1999 and 2010. Epidemiologic studies were selected by applying a set of inclusion criteria to the title, abstract, and complete text. The quality of the studies was also assessed. Selected studies were qualitatively analysed, resulting in a compilation of all differences between women and men in the prevalence of exposure to working and employment conditions and work-related health problems as outcomes. Results: Most of the 30 studies included were conducted in Europe (n=19) and had a cross-sectional design (n=24). The most common topic analysed was related to the exposure to work-related psychosocial hazards (n=8). Employed women had more job insecurity, lower control, worse contractual working conditions and poorer self-perceived physical and mental health than men did. Conversely, employed men had a higher degree of physically demanding work, lower support, higher levels of effort-reward imbalance, higher job status, were more exposed to noise and worked longer hours than women did. Conclusions: This systematic review has identified a set of working and employment conditions as determinants of gender inequalities in occupational health from the occupational health literature. These results may be useful to policy makers seeking to reduce gender inequalities in occupational health, and to researchers wishing to analyse these determinants in greater depth.

Avaliação da incidência de acidentes ocupacionais com potencial perigo biológico e implementação de medidas comportamentais corretivas em profissionais da veterinária

Nos dias de hoje, continua a assistir-se a elevados níveis de sinistralidade, no eventual reflexo de deficientes ou inexistentes estruturas de prevenção de riscos profissionais em muitos locais de trabalho. A necessidade de segurança, higiene, prevenção e formação no trabalho é, simultaneamente, uma reflexão sobre nós mesmos e as nossas atitudes, intervenientes prioritários, cada vez mais dependentes e exigentes com o trabalho e com tudo o que ele implica. Todavia, nos locais de trabalho são frequentemente criadas situações de perigo para a saúde e para a integridade física dos trabalhadores. A nível mundial, fontes ligadas à OMS (Organização Mundial da Saúde) e à OIT (Organização Internacional do Trabalho) referem que as condições de trabalho de cerca de 2/3 da população ativa estão abaixo dos padrões mínimos de qualidade, ou seja representam um risco real para a saúde e integridade física dos indivíduos. As estatísticas mundiais apontam para a existência de cerca de 157 milhões de novos casos de doenças profissionais por ano e de 120 milhões de acidentes de trabalho, dos quais 220 mil acidentes são fatais.

Papyro-plastics, or The art of modelling in paper; being an instructive amusement for persons of both sexes. From the German,

Translated from the German of B.H. Blasche by D. Boileau.--Cf. British Museum Catalogue.

Handbook on workers' compensation and occupational diseases.

This handbook is designed to serve as a general guide to the rights and obligations of employees who have experienced work-related injuries on diseases, as well as the rights and obligations of their employers, under the Illinois Workers' Compensation and Occupational Diseases Act.

Manual sobre compensacio n laboral y enfermedades ocupacionales.

This handbook is designed to serve as a general guide to the rights and obligations of employees who have experienced work-related injuries on diseases, as well as the rights and obligations of their employers, under the Illinois Workers' Compensation and Occupational Diseases Act.

Examining the Relationship Between Secondary Traumatic Stress and Sickness Absenteeism within 9-1-1 Emergency Call Centers

Thesis (Master's)--University of Washington, 2016-06