Search

Objective: Evaluation of effects of native language-native (L1) versus nonnative (L2)-on procedure performance.Background: Written procedures are used by global industries to facilitate accurate and safe performance of hazardous tasks. Often companies require that all employees be sufficiently literate in English and to use only English versions.Method: Industrial tasks were tested using a virtual reality industrial environment (Second Life®) to explore effects on procedural performance and safety statement adherence. Fifty-four engineering students (27 L2) participated in the study to explore the native language variable. The participants completed the procedures under time pressure and were scored according to procedure performance and hazard comprehension.Results: Analysis of eight procedures showed significant differences between L1 and L2 for procedure performance (specifically for L2 females). There were no language fluency or hazard comprehension differences found between the two groups.Conclusion: The results suggest that (a) the lower procedure performance of L2 readers was not due to English proficiency but more likely to time pressure; (b) implications regarding single language procedures are not fully understood, particularly with regard to gender differences.Application: This research is applicable to high-risk industries providing single language, time critical procedures to multilingual workforces. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The synthetic retinoic acid analog, 9-cis-UAB30 [(2E,4E,6Z,8E)-8-(3',4'-dihydro-1'(2'H)-naphthalen-1'-ylidene)-3,7-dimethyl-2, 4,6-octatrienoic acid], is a specific ligand for the retinoid X receptor. Murine oncogenicity and pharmacokinetics studies were performed as part of the preclinical development of 9-cis-UAB30 for breast cancer chemoprevention. In the oncogenicity study, TSG-p53(+/-) (p53 knockout) mice (25 per sex per group) received daily gavage exposure to 9-cis-UAB30 doses of 0 (control), 30, 100, or 300 mg/kg/d for 6 months. Positive controls received p-cresidine (400 mg/kg/d) for 6 months. 9-cis-UAB30 had no biologically significant effects on survival, body weight, body weight gain, clinical signs, hematology, or clinical chemistry but induced dose-related hepatomegaly in both sexes and decreased thymus weights in high-dose females. Gross and microscopic pathology provided no evidence of 9-cis-UAB30 toxicity or oncogenicity; by contrast, p-cresidine induced urinary bladder neoplasms in more than 60% of male and female mice. It was concluded that 9-cis-UAB30 is not oncogenic in p53(+/-) mice. In the pharmacokinetics study, C57BL/6 mice received daily gavage exposure to 9-cis-UAB30 (100 or 300 mg/kg/d) for 1 or 7 days. Pharmacokinetic parameters were similar after 1 and 7 days of dosing. Dose-related peak plasma levels of 9-cis-UAB30 were seen between 0.25 and 3 hours; volume of distribution was comparable at both dose levels. Increases in area under the curve were less than proportional to dose and were associated with an increased rate of apparent clearance and decreased elimination half-life. These results suggest decreased absorption and/or possible induction of clearance mechanisms. Enzyme induction may underlie the hepatomegaly seen in mice treated with 9-cis-UAB30 for 6 months in the oncogenicity study. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Although studies indicate that public policy can influence the decrease in smoking behaviors, these policies have not necessarily transferred to home environments at the same rate. The authors surveyed 4,296 students in a southern urban area. African American students were 76.3% of the respondents and Caucasians accounted for 23.7%. African American homes are less likely to have full bans on smoking inside the home. Home smoking bans impact smoking behaviors, acceptance of smoking, susceptibility to smoking, smoking beliefs, and motivation to quit smoking. Along with home smoking bans, there are differences among African American and Caucasian youth in smoking exposure, behaviors, beliefs, and motivation to quit smoking. This study suggests that particularly in African American youth, educational efforts should be directed toward more restrictive home smoking policies to thwart the initiation of smoking in adolescents and to encourage positive attitudes toward smoking behaviors. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Spunbond, nonwoven fabrics consisting of polyethylene and polyethylene terephthalate, which meet food contact requirements, may be used as pouch materials for products containing food and/or flavor ingredients that are held in the mouth. In these situations ingestion may occur, resulting in exposure to the fabric and potentially antimony, a catalyst used in polyethylene terephthalate. To assess potential adverse effects when such a material is ingested, a 13 week dietary study in Sprague-Dawley CD rats and a Salmonella reverse mutation assay were conducted. Ground fabric was dosed at target concentrations of 0.5%, 2.5%, and 5% in the dietary study. Antimony trioxide in the polyethylene terephthalate was used to determine the test material concentration in the diet and was also assessed for bioavailability. Detectable levels of antimony were found in 2/20 blood samples of control rats, and in 20/20 high-dose group rats. No toxicologically relevant treatment related effects were observed in any of end points evaluated in the feeding study. In the mutagenicity assay, ground fabric was extracted in phosphate buffered saline or dimethysulfoxide and tested in Salmonella strains TA98, TA100, TA102, TA1535, and TA1537 with and without S9 activation. No mutagenic response was observed at any dose level tested. These results demonstrate that repeated daily ingestion of a spunbond, nonwoven polymer fabric consisting of polyethylene and polyethylene terephthalate for up to 13 weeks is well tolerated in rats, with no apparent target-organ toxicity at dietary levels up to 5%, and that fabric extracts are not mutagenic in a bacterial reverse mutation assay. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

Epidemiologic data suggest that soy consumption may protect against cancer induction in several tissues in humans. Although the soy components responsible for this activity remain unidentified, isoflavones (e.g., genistein) and protease inhibitors (e.g., Bowman-Birk inhibitor complex [BBIC]) demonstrate chemopreventive activity in several animal cancer models. As part of their preclinical development for cancer prevention, PTI G-2535 (a soy isoflavone mixture containing 45%genistein,23%daidzein, and 4%glycitein) and BBIC were evaluated for oncogenicity in p 53(+/-) mice. In separate studies, groups of 25 p53(+/-) mice/sex received daily gavage exposure to PTI G-2535 (0, 250, 1000, or 2500 mg/kg/day) or BBIC (0, 500, 1000, or 2000 mg/kg/day) for 6 months. The high doses of both PTI G-2535 and BBIC were limited by viscosity. p -Cresidine (400 mg/kg/day) served as a positive-control article in both studies. PTI G-2535 induced no gross toxicity in any animal, but did induce a dose-related suppression of body weight gain in male mice. Modest hematologic alterations and increased liver and spleen weights were seen in both sexes exposed to the isoflavone mixture. BBIC had no significant effect on body weight, food consumption, clinical pathology, or organ weights in either sex. Histopathologic evaluations demonstrated no increases in the incidence of either benign or malignant tumors in any group of p53(+/-) mice exposed to PTI G-2535 or to BBIC. By contrast, the positive-control article, p -cresidine, induced urinary bladder cancers in both studies. Neither PTI G-2535 nor BBIC demonstrates any evidence of oncogenicity in the p53(+/-) mouse model. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

Wistar rats (25/ sex • group) and CD-1 mice (30/sex • group) were fed either a control diet or diet supplemented with N,N-dimethylformamide at the levels of 215, 750, and 2500 ppm for rats and 160,540, and 1850 ppm for mice. The duration of feeding was 104 days for rats and 119 days for mice. Body weight gain, food consumption, hematological and clinical chemical data, ophthalmic, gross, and microscopic examinations were used to study possible toxic or pathologic effects.A significant reduction in body weight gain was noted for male and female rats at the high dosage level. Food consumption in male rats at the high-dosage level and female rats at both the middle- and high-dosage levels was decreased. A significant dose-related increase in relative liver weights was noted in male and female rats. Absolute liver weights of male rats were comparable among groups, however, a dose-related increase was noted in female rats.No significant differences among groups were noted in body weight and food consumption data for mice. A significant dose-related increase in relative and absolute liver weights was noted in male and female mice.Histopathological evaluation revealed no evidence of a toxic effect related to feeding of N.N-dimethylformamide to Wistar rats and CD-1 mice.The increase in liver weight is considered to be a normal phenomenon (physiological adaptation) required for the biotransformation of N,N-dimethylformamide. The lack of hepatotoxicity in the present study may be the result of feeding N,N-dimethylf ormamide over waking hours versus bolus dosing (in other studies) in which hepatotoxicity was noted. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

The article investigates the expectations of student teachers from their microteaching supervisors. In this study, researchers have administered the Supervisor Role Analysis Form to 123 pre-practicum counselor trainees enrolled at Arizona State University. They found out that most of trainees expect their supervisors to be instructors. In conclusion, the expectations of teacher education students to their microteaching supervisors include the qualification of these supervisors to render technical assistance in planning for, conducting and evaluating instruction, and that he give them unhampered opportunity to find their own teaching style. The author of this article also outlines the results of various studies related to this topic.

Purpose. The financial impact o f intensive medical interventions for weight loss has not been fully studied. Design. A randomized pragmatic clinical trial. Setting. Seven primary care clinics and one research center in Louisiana. Subjects. Severely obese individuals (body mass index 40-60 kg/m2) randomized to usual care (n = 190) or intensive medical management (n = 200). Forty-seven percent of participants completed year 2 follow-up and were included in the analyses. Intervention. Physician-monitored intervention with recommendations for 12 weeks of liquid diet followed by 4 months of group behavioral therapy, structured diet, and option of pharmacotherapy, and an additional 16 months of maintenance strategies. Measures. Two-year preintervention and 5-year postintervention measures were computed from claims data and included (1) medical costs excluding pharmacy, (2) pharmacy costs only, (3) total medical and pharmacy costs, and (4) medical and pharmacy subcategory costs. Analysis. Differential categories for preintervention and postintervention were created using total sample 75th percentiles. Chi-square tests were employed to compare the intervention groups both preintervention and postintervention with respect to the proportion o f subjects above the 75th percentile for each of the cost categories. Results. Medical costs excluding pharmacy did not differ between groups. The intensive medical intervention group had a significantly smaller percentage of subjects above the 75th percentile for pharmacy costs only (p = .0125), and for antidiabetic agents (p = .0464), antihypertensives (p = .0075), and dyslipidemic subcategories (p = .0197). Conclusion. An intensive medical intervention may reduce pharmaceutical expenditures in severely obese individuals. These results must be viewed with caution given the high attrition o f study participants. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: Descriptive physical activity epidemiology of the U.S. population is critical for program development and resource allocation. The purpose of this project was to describe step-defined categories (as measured by accelerometer) of U.S. adults and to determine predictors of sedentary classification (<5000 steps/d).Design: The National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES) is an annual, nationally representative survey used to determine the health status of the U.S. populace.Setting: In-home interviews and physical examination components of NHANES.Participants: Overall, 4372 eligible adults wore accelerometers in the 2005-2006 NHANES; 628 were excluded, which yielded 3744 adults (of which 46.8% were men).Measures: Steps per day; body mass index (BMI); demographic, household and behavioral variables.Analysis: Means and frequencies were calculated. Logistic regression was utilized to determine predictors of sedentary classification.Results: Overall, 36.1% were sedentary (i.e., <5000 steps/d); 47.6% were low to somewhat active (5000-9999 steps/d); 16.3% were active to highly active (≥10,000 steps/d). Advancing age (odds ratio [OR], 1.95; confidence intervals [CIs], 1.78, 2.13), higher BMI (OR, 1.40; CIs, 1.23, 1.59), female sex (OR, 1.86; CIs, 1.46, 2.36), African-American versus European-American ethnicity (OR, 1.36; CIs, 1.13, 1.65), household income versus ≥$45,000 (<$25,000: OR, 1.94; CIs, 1.40, 2.69; $25,000-$44,000: OR, 1.51; CIs, 1.23, 1.85), and current versus never smoker (OR, 1.53; CIs, 1.26, 1.86) variables had higher odds of sedentary classification. Usual daily occupational/domestic physical activity categories of standing/walking (OR, .51; CIs, .38, .69); lifting/climbing (OR, .26; CIs, .17, .38); and heavy loads/labor (OR, .16; CIs, .10, .26) had lower odds of sedentary classification than sitting.Conclusions: Over one-third of the U.S. population was classified as sedentary by accelerometer-determined steps per day, and several characteristics predicted sedentary classification. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]