Chronic Autoimmune Thyroiditis in Industrial Areas in Brazil: A 15-Year Survey

To investigate whether there is an increased incidence of chronic autoimmune thyroiditis (CAT) in individuals living in the vicinity of industrial plants that manufacture petroleum byproducts in the state of So Paulo, Brazil. Between 1989 and 2004, 6,306 patients of both sexes, from 5 to 78 years old were divided in two groups according to their home location: Group 1: 3,356 residents living near industrial plants that manufacture petroleum byproducts (Region A), and Group 2: 2,950 residents living far from Region A in an area with predominantly steel industries (Region B). For all patients, we measured the serum levels of antithyroglobulin antibody, antithyroperoxidase antibody, triiodothyronine, thyroxine, free thyroxine and thyrostimulating hormone. Sonographic scans of the thyroid gland were also conducted. The proportion of patients with CAT coming from Region A increased from 2.5 % (5 patients with CAT/200 total patients) in 1992 to 57.6 % (106 patients with CAT/184 total patients) in 2001. This striking increase was highly significant (p < 0.001). Similar findings were not observed in Region B. The difference in the number of patients with CAT between 1989 and 2004 coming from Region A and Region B was highly significant (p < 0.001), with 905 CAT patients (83.95 %) in Region A and 173 CAT patients (16.05 %) in Region B. Our results showed a striking increase in the incidence of CAT in residents in the vicinity of large industrial plants that manufacture petroleum byproducts compared with residents living near steel industries, which opens the field to new areas of research.

Case Study of an Ergonomics Training Program for Nursing Home Workers

This paper describes a case study of a labor-based ergonomics-training program that makes use of some effective worker training methods. The program focus was on ergonomics awareness and back injury prevention for nursing home workers. It was developed and conducted by a not-for-profit organization affiliated with the Service Employees International Union. Training methods included the train-the-trainer model and the small group activity method. The investigation also compared the program components with those identified by the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) as being key elements in effective safety training.

Aerobic exercise but not resistance exercise reduces intrahepatic lipid content and visceral fat and improves insulin sensitivity in obese adolescent girls: a randomized controlled trial

It is unclear whether regular exercise alone (no caloric restriction) is a useful strategy to reduce adiposity and obesity-related metabolic risk factors in obese girls. We examined the effects of aerobic (AE) vs. resistance exercise (RE) alone on visceral adipose tissue (VAT), intrahepatic lipid, and insulin sensitivity in obese girls. Forty-four obese adolescent girls (BMI ≥95th percentile, 12-18 yr) with abdominal obesity (waist circumference 106.5 ± 11.1 cm) were randomized to 3 mo of 180 min/wk AE (n = 16) or RE (n = 16) or a nonexercising control group (n = 12). Total fat and VAT were assessed by MRI and intrahepatic lipid by proton magnetic resonance spectroscopy. Intermuscular AT (IMAT) was measured by CT. Insulin sensitivity was evaluated by a 3-h hyperinsulinemic (80 mU·m(2)·min(-1)) euglycemic clamp. Compared with controls (0.13 ± 1.10 kg), body weight did not change (P > 0.1) in the AE (-1.31 ± 1.43 kg) and RE (-0.31 ± 1.38 kg) groups. Despite the absence of weight loss, total body fat (%) and IMAT decreased (P < 0.05) in both exercise groups compared with control. Compared with control, significant (P < 0.05) reductions in VAT (Δ-15.68 ± 7.64 cm(2)) and intrahepatic lipid (Δ-1.70 ± 0.74%) and improvement in insulin sensitivity (Δ0.92 ± 0.27 mg·kg(-1)·min(-1) per μU/ml) were observed in the AE group but not the RE group. Improvements in insulin sensitivity in the AE group were associated with the reductions in total AT mass (r = -0.65, P = 0.02). In obese adolescent girls, AE but not RE is effective in reducing liver fat and visceral adiposity and improving insulin sensitivity independent of weight loss or calorie restriction.

Psychosocial and environmental predictors of calcium intake, physical activity and bone health among adolescent girls

Objectives. The purpose of this study was to identify the psychosocial and environmental predictors and the pathways they use to influence calcium intake, physical activity and bone health among adolescent girls. Methods. A secondary data analysis using a cross-sectional and longitudinal study design was implemented to examine the associations of interest. Data from the Incorporating More Physical Activity and Calcium in Teens (IMPACT) study collected in 2001-2003 were utilized for the analyses. IMPACT was a 1½ year nutrition and physical activity intervention study conducted among 718 middle-school girls in central Texas. Hierarchical regression modeling and Structural Equation Modeling (SEM) were used to determine the psychosocial predictors of calcium intake, physical activity and bone health at baseline. Hierarchical regression was used to determine if psychosocial factors at baseline were significant predictors of calcium intake and physical activity at follow-up. Data was adjusted for included BMI, lactose intolerance, ethnicity, menarchal status, intervention and participation in 7th grade PE/athletics. Results. Results of the baseline regression analysis revealed that calcium self-efficacy and milk availability at home were the strongest predictors of calcium intake. Friend engagement in physical activity, physical activity self-efficacy and participation in sports teams were the strongest predictors of physical activity. Finally, physical activity outcome expectations, social support and participation in sports teams were significant predictors of stiffness index at baseline. Results of the baseline SEM path analysis found that outcome expectations and milk availability at home directly influenced calcium intake. Knowledge and calcium self-efficacy indirectly influenced calcium intake with outcome expectations as the mediator. Physical activity self-efficacy and social support had significant direct and indirect influence on physical activity with participation in sports teams as the mediator. Participation in sports teams had a direct effect on both physical activity and stiffness index. Results of regression analysis for baseline predicting follow-up showed that participation in sports teams, self-efficacy, outcome expectations and social support at baseline were significant predictors of physical activity at follow-up. Conclusion. Results of this study reinforce the relevance of addressing both, psychosocial and environmental factors which are critical when developing interventions to improve bone health among adolescent girls. ^

Industrial benzene emissions in Houston: Legal barriers to reducing a public health threat

Decades of research show that environmental exposure to the chemical benzene is associated with severe carcinogenic, hematoxic and genotoxic effects on the human body. As such, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has designated the chemical as a Hazardous Air Pollutant and prescribed benzene air concentration guidelines that provide cities with an ideal ambient level to protect human health. However, in Houston, Texas, a city home to the top industrial benzene emitters in the US who undoubtedly contribute greatly to the potentially unsafe levels of ambient benzene, regulations beyond the EPA’s unenforceable guidelines are critical to protecting public health. Despite this, the EPA has failed to establish National Ambient Air Quality Standards (NAAQS) for benzene. States are thus left to regulate air benzene levels on their own; in the case of Texas, the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality (TCEQ) and state legislature have failed to proactively develop legally enforceable policies to reduce major source benzene emissions. This inaction continues to exacerbate a public health problem, which may only be solved through a legal framework that restricts preventable benzene emissions to protect human health and holds industrial companies accountable for violations of such regulations and standards. This analysis explores legal barriers that the City of Houston and other relevant agencies currently face in their attempt to demand and bring about such change. ^

Caracterización de germoplasma de topinambur (Helianthus tuberosus L.) por aptitud agronómica e industrial

El topinambur pertenece a la familia de las Asteráceas, es una especie originaria de América del Norte, de la que fundamentalmente se aprovechan sus tubérculos; tiene gran potencial como alimento, materia prima para productos industriales y producción de biocombustibles. En Argentina no hay cultivares de topinambur registrados. Sin embargo hay documentación y testimonios del ingreso de distintas variedades al país a principios del siglo XX. El objetivo de esta tesis fue caracterizar el germoplasma de topinambur que se cultiva, a pequeña escala, en distintas regiones de la Argentina. Se formó una colección de trabajo con introducciones provenientes de 5 provincias del país (Río Negro, Chubut, Buenos Aires, Mendoza y Córdoba), y se condujeron ensayos experimentales en dos ambientes de la provincia de Mendoza. Se evaluaron caracteres morfológicos (altura de plantas, dimensiones y ángulo de inserción de hojas, tamaño de tubérculos), fenológicos (emergencia, inicio, fin y duración de floración, senescencia del cultivo) y rendimiento. Se detectaron diferencias morfológicas que permitieron agrupar a las introducciones en dos grupos, correspondiendo uno a introducciones de tubérculos rojos y el otro a introducciones de tubérculos blancos. Se valoró la aptitud hortícola de las introducciones mediante evaluación sensorial; se realizó una prueba de preferencia y percepción de distintos aspectos de la hortaliza (color, olor, sabor y textura), consumida cruda. El nivel de aceptación general de la hortaliza fue bueno. Se evaluó el potencial industrial (obtención de inulina y producción de etanol). Se determinó por HPLC el contenido de inulina de cada introducción, que varió de 18.07 a 22.95 % y se estimó el potencial para producir etanol a partir de los hidratos de carbono fermentables de los tubérculos, que llegó a 4.934 litros por ha, aunque sin diferencias entre introducciones.

Plan de manejo de la costa de Río Negro : observatorio del ecosistema litoral y monitoreo de la biodiversidad

La Provincia de Río Negro, a través de su Constitución y de leyes específicas, adhiere “a los principios que sustentan el desarrollo sustentable de conformidad con la Carta de Naciones Unidas." En la costa marítima de Río Negro existen poblaciones relativamente densas y en aumento básicamente por la inmigración en busca de nuevos horizontes laborales. Los conflictos ambientales que se presentan son comunes a otras zonas costeras: contaminación de las aguas costeras por insuficiente o falta de servicios de tratamiento de aguas residuales, modificación, para desarrollo urbano, industrial y comercial, de hábitats críticos para el sostenimiento de pesquerías, vida silvestre, desarrollo de infraestructura costera inapropiada o mal diseñada que favorece procesos erosivos acelerados y/o interrumpen procesos ecológicos básicos, ocupación espacial desordenada que impide el acceso público a playas y otros terrenos públicos, manejo inapropiado de desechos sólidos, incumplimiento de la legislación en la zona costera; generación de conflictos intersectoriales, desarrollo desordenado de infraestructura con altos costos socioeconómicos, crecimiento de la frontera agropecuaria, deterioro de los suelos (sobrepastoreo, desertificación), introducción de especies exóticas, etc. En Río Negro se han relevado, aunque a diferente escala y muchas veces en forma discontinua, la mayor parte de los ambientes costeros considerados de mayor interés desde el punto de vista ecológico y/o productivo. Ejemplo de productos de estos estudios son las Areas Naturales Protegidas de Punta Bermeja, Caleta de Loros, Bahía de San Antonio, Complejo Islote Lobos y Puerto Lobos, así como la Reserva Pesquera Golfo San Matías. Sin embargo, la información se halla dispersa, por lo que la mayor parte de las veces no se puede contar con un panorama actualizado y globalizador que permita la toma de decisión en forma ágil y un real manejo de las especies y/o de su ambiente. Por ello se considera necesario g enerar un Plan de Manejo de la Costa Marítima de Río Negro, esto es, una clasificación del territorio de acuerdo a su grado de sensibilidad ecológica, expresado en unidades cartográficas ambientales, y estableciendo pautas de manejo para las mismas. Se optó por un Sistema de Inventario y Planificación de Recursos, adaptado a un método de Planificación Participativa en el que se involucra en forma directa, a través de encuentros y talleres, a los diferentes estamentos provinciales, municipales, centros de investigación, organizaciones no gubernamentales ambientalistas, organizaciones intermedias, especialistas. Para la Evaluación de los Elementos e identificación de Zonas de Mayor Sensibilidad Ecológica se utilizó un Método de Evaluación de Riesgos que permite cartografiar grado de Amenazas, Vulnerabilidad y Riesgo.

The role of home and host country characteristics in FDI: firm-level evidence from Japan, Korea and Taiwan

There is a large and growing empirical literature that investigates the determinants of outward foreign direct investment (FDI). This literature examines primarily the effect of host country characteristics on FDI even though home country characteristics also influence the decision of firms to invest abroad. In this paper, we examine the role of both host and home country characteristics in FDI. To do so, we constructed a firm-level database of outward FDI from Japan, Korea, and Taiwan. Our empirical analysis yields two main findings. First, host countries with better environment for FDI, in terms of larger market size, smaller fixed entry costs, and lower wages, attract more foreign investors. Second, firms from home countries with higher wages are more likely to invest abroad. An interesting and significant policy implication of our empirical evidence is that policymakers seeking to promote FDI inflows should prioritize countries with higher wages.

A two-dimensional analysis of the impact of outward FDI on performance at home: evidence from Japanese manufacturing firms

This paper empirically investigates two areas of changes in firm behavior and performance at home before and after investing abroad. The first change is dependent upon the type of foreign direct investment (FDI): horizontal FDI or vertical FDI. The second change is dependent upon the firm’s domestic activities: production activities or non-production activities. From a theoretical standpoint, the impact of outward FDIs differs not only by type, but according to the firm’s activities. By exploiting two types of firm-level data that enable us to distinguish between production and non-production activities, our paper provides a detailed picture of the intra-firm changes in behavior and performance that occur as a result of production globalization.

Competition of the mechanisms : how Chinese home appliance firms coped with default risk of trade credit?

During the transition period from a planned economy to a market economy in 1990s of China, there was a considerable accrual of deferred payment, and default due to inferior enforcement institutions. This is a very common phenomenon in the transition economies at that time. Interviews with home electronics appliance firms revealed that firms coped with this problem by adjusting their sales mechanisms (found four types), and the benefit of institutions was limited. A theoretical analysis claim that spot and integration are inferior to contracts, a contract with a rebate on volume and prepayment against an exclusive agent can realize the lowest cost and price. The empirical part showed that mechanisms converged into a mechanism with the rebate on volume an against exclusive agent and its price level is the lowest. The competition is the driving force of the convergence of mechanisms and improvement risk management capacity.

Fabrication process of Mo/Au TES at RT

We report on the fabrication details of TES based on Mo/Au bilayers. The Mo layer is deposited by radio frequency (RF) sputtering and capped with a sputter deposited thin Au protection layer. Afterwards, a second Au layer of suitable (lower) resistivity is deposited ex‐situ by e‐beam evaporation, until completion of the total desired Au thickness. The deposition was performed at room temperature (RT) on LPCVD Si3 N4 membranes. Such a deposition procedure is very reproducible and allow controlling the critical temperature (Tc) and normal electrical resistance (RN ) of the Mo/Au bilayer. The process is optimized to achieve low stress bilayers, thus avoiding the undesirable curvature of the membranes. Bilayers are patterned using photolithographic techniques and wet etching procedures. Mo superconducting paths are used to contact the Mo/Au bilayers, thus ensuring good electrical conductivity and thermal isolation. The entire fabrication process let to stable and reproducible sensors with required and tunable functional properties

Lessons learned on home energy monitoring and management: Smartcity Málaga

The Smartcity Málaga project is one of Europe?s largest ecoefficient city initiatives. The project has implemented a field trial in 50 households to study the effects of energy monitoring and management technologies on the residential electricity consumption. This poster presents some lessons learned on energy consumption trends, smart clamps reliability and the suitability of power contracted by users, obtained after six months of data analysis.

2007 Sonia Kovalevsky Math for Girls Day Program

2nd Annual Lincoln University Sonia Kovalevsky Math for Girls Day program on April 20, 2007

2007 Sonia Kovalevsky Math for Girls Day Featured Workshop: Knot Theory

2nd Annual Lincoln University Sonia Kovalevsky Math for Girls Day featured workshop by Mrs. Bernadette Turner on the topic of knot theory.