Objectives: Risk associated with needlestick injuries (NSI) in health care workers (HCWs) in Taiwan has not been characterized. We conducted this investigation to study 1) the prevalence and yearly incidence of NSI in HCWs in Taiwan, and the risk factors associated with NSIs; 2) reporting behavior when a NSI was sustained; and 3) seroprevalence of blood-borne pathogens among inpatients. Combination of the above information allowed for risk estimation for contracting hepatitis B virus (HBV), hepatitis C virus (HCV) and human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) in HCWs. Methodology: A cross-sectional questionnaire survey for life-time experience and frequency of NSI was conducted in a random sample from four strata of accredited hospitals according to the number of employees, from July 1996 to June 1997 in Taiwan. All full time employees, including physicians, nurses, technicians, and supporting personnel were recruited. Seroprevalence was examined for HBV, HCV and HIV among inpatients six years in age or older in one teaching hospital during July 1997 to June 1998. Results: A total of 10,469 health care workers were recruited from 16 out of 132 accredited hospitals and 82.6% (8,645) completed the survey, including nurses (61.0%), physicians (16.1%), medical technicians (14.9%), supporting personnel (7.9%). The prevalence of NSI were 93.1%, 86.6%, 78.3%, 61.0% in nurses, physicians, technicians, and supporting personnel respectively. The reported incidence of needlestick and other sharps injuries was 1.30 and 1.21 times per person in the past 12 months. Of the most recent episodes of NSIs, ordinary syringe needles accounted for 80.3% (95% CI, 79.4% - 81.2%) of hollow-bore needles associated incidents, and 74.1% (95% CI, 72.8% - 75.4%) of them were contaminated. The most frequently reported circumstance was the "Breakdown of Universal Precautions", recapping-related behaviors (81.6%, 95% CI 80.3% - 82.9%) of HCWs. More than a quarter (27.8%, 2,399) of HCWs were unprotected (either not vaccinated or having an unknown serological status) against HBV. Seroconversion in stuck HCWs was reported 1.8% for HBV (135), 0.2% (18) for HCV, 0.2% (15) for both HBV and HCV, 0.1% (5) for syphilis and less than 0.1% (2) for HIV. ^M A total of 81.8% of NSIs were unreported. Similarly, high incidence of NSI and low reporting rate were also found in student nurses. Seroprevalence of HBV, HCV, and HIV among inpatients were found higher than the reported rate in source patients of this survey. Seroprevalence of HBsAg was 16.7% in hospitalized patients, 1.7% positive for HBeAg, 12.7% for Anti-HCV, and 0.8% for Anti-HIV. Different seroprevalence rates of HBsAb (+), HBsAg (+), Anti-HCV (+), Anti-HIV (+) in different seasons were also found significant (p<0.001). The risk of seroconversion to HBV was thus estimated to be 0.003 ~ 0.008 time per person-year, HCV 0.003 ~ 0.007 per person-year, and HIV 0.4 ~ 1.2 /100, 000 person-year. Considering the number of HCWs in Taiwan, a total of 330 ~ 917 HCWs will seroconvert to HBV (+) in a year, 330 ~ 880 HCWs seroconvert to HCV (+), and less than one to two HCWs seroconvert to HIV (+). Conclusions: Needlestick and sharps injuries were highly prevalent among Taiwanese HCW and across job categories. Risk of seroconversion is real and significant. Preventive measures are warranted for reduction of contracting blood-borne pathogens in HCWs in Taiwan.

Nectarines suffer low temperature disorders (LTD)when stored for more than 2 - 3 weeks at temperatures below 8 degrees C. LTD take the form of flesh bleeding and browning, loss of juiciness, development of mealiness and failure to ripen normally.It has been shown previously that adding about 15% CO2 to the storage atmosphere at 0 degrees C can delay the development of LTD in some cvv. of peaches and nectarines. The initial aim of this research was to explore the genetic basis of the differences among cultivars in the responses to high CO2.After much investigation, it was shown that both genetic and seasonal factors are involved in the development of LTD in nectarines. The development of LTD is a form of chilling injury since they only occur at temperatures below 8 degrees C. but there was no evidence of of a direct role for ethylene in either causing or delaying LTD. It was proposed that storage at low temperatures causes a metabolic imbalance resulting from changes in the amounts or activities of proteins associated with normal ripening. Proposals were presented to further examine protein expression using storage conditions that affect the rate of development of LTD. / Doctor of Philosophy (PhD)

Although already known that Maori were over-represented in terms of Work-Related Fatal Injury, because of flawed identification processes, both in numerator and denominator data, little progress has been made in understanding the true extent, nature and distribution of work-related fatal injury among Maori. The present study aimed to more accurately describe the problem, identifying specific circumstances associated with Maori deaths that will assist in developing preventive strategies for Maori. Coronial files with an ICD 9-CM E-Code between E800 and E989 and a decedent aged 15-84, were reviewed as part of the study of all New Zealand work-related fatal injuries occurring between 1985 and 1994. Basic descriptive and causal information concerning each incident were abstracted and coded. Maori were identified within this dataset by either the classification recorded upon death certificates or if they were identified as Maori within Coroners files. In all, 91 Maori deaths were identified within the 817 work-related fatalities. Notably, agreement between the data sources used to identify ethnic status was only around 52%. Crude rates were significantly higher for Maori and did not show the significant linear decline across years, compared with the non-Maori rates. Rates adjusted for employment patterns based on ethnicity did not differ. Specific event sequences leading to death were examined by age industry and occupational group for both Maori and non-Maori workers. This study is the first to specifically investigate work-related injury for Maori. It confirms that overall inequities exist, and that they are largely due to differing employment patterns between Maori and non-Maori.

Within the framework of the Story Model of juror decision making, using an actual personal injury automobile accident case, this thesis investigated the influence of mock jurors??? emotional response to an injured plaintiff on decisions about defendant liability and the plaintiff???s contributory negligence as well as the efficacy of procedural legal safeguards to control any such biases. Study One validated the Story Model of juror decision making in individual decisions, and revealed that mock jurors failed to consider the requisite legal elements in rendering a verdict. Study Two ascertained participants??? affective response to a mock trial in which evidence relevant to liability was held constant and the severity of the plaintiff???s injuries differed. A multiple mediator model revealed that sympathy for the plaintiff and anger toward the defendant mediated the relation between injury severity and determinations of the relative culpability of the parties. Study Three demonstrated that mock jurors exposed to emotionally evocative damages evidence constructed stories about the defendant???s liability and the plaintiff???s contributory negligence that differed from those constructed in response to emotionally neutral evidence. Study Four showed that the process of group deliberation failed to correct the misuse of evidence relevant to damages in liability decisions. However, Study Five demonstrated that judicial admonitions both acknowledging mock jurors??? emotional response to the evidence and explaining why this response was irrelevant to judgments of liability moderated the influence of emotional states on decisions about liability and contributory negligence. Study Six indicated that jury-eligible citizens??? conceptions of negligence law closely matched the normative model of negligence law, and that their mental models of negligence cases that ended successfully for the plaintiff featured more severely injured plaintiffs than those that ended unsuccessfully for the plaintiff. These studies addressed analytical and methodological weaknesses in previous research, resolved conflicting findings on fusion of liability and damages, provided direct empirical support for the central premise of the Story Model of juror decision making, and advanced knowledge on the influence of emotion on decisions in civil legal cases.

Thesis (M.D.) -- University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center at Dallas, 2007. / Vita. Bibliography: pp. 42-45.

<p>Ultraviolet radiation (UV-R) is an environmental factor known to increase the risk of developing an irreversible opacification of the lens (cataract). Increased irradiance of UV-R to the earth because of depletion of stratospheric ozone is of current concern considering cataract formation. Detailed metabolic information from the cornea, lens and aqueous humour might give valuable knowledge on the biochcemical processes occurring in the eye after exposure to UV-R, and thereby a better understanding of the mechanisms by which UV-R induces cataractogenesis. The purpose of this thesis was to study metabolic effects of exposure to UV-R on the anterior part of the eye. Effects of UV-B (280-315 nm) and UV-A (315-400 nm) on the aqueous humour, cornea and the lens from animal models were investigated by ¹H nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) spectroscopy. Since the lens is composed of functionally distinct anatomical compartments, with different metabolic activity, biochemical changes in various compartments of the lens were analyzed.</p><p>Application of NMR-based metabonomics was effective to analyze metabolic changes in the anterior part of the eye after exposure to UV-R. High-resolution (HR) magic angle spinning (MAS)¹H NMR spectroscopy provided high quality spectra from intact tissue of cornea and lens, and provided important information about metabolic alteration occurring in these tissues after exposure to UV-R. The results from this thesis show that in vivo UV-B radiation affects metabolism of the anterior compartments of the eye. Metabolic changes were observed in aqueous humour, cornea, lens and in the different compartments of the lens. The antioxidants, glutathione and ascorbate, several amino acids, high energetic phosphates, and compounds important for membrane building and osmoregulation were substantially altered after exposure to UV-B radiation. Several biochemical effects such as oxidation, membrane disruption, osmoregulatory problems, lipid peroxidation, problems with cellular signalling and impairment of growth and protein synthesis were suggested. After UV-A exposure, no observable metabolic alterations were found in the anterior part of the eye in the present animal models.</p>

Yeast biocontrol agents that were applied to 'Bose' and 'Anjou' pears in the field up to three weeks prior to harvest were found to survive on the fruit at high population levels on both pear varieties. Cryptococcus infirmo-miniatus, Cryptococcus laurentii, and Rhodotorula glutinis maintained populations averaging 5 x 10��� cfu/fruit for three weeks. Candida oleophila had high initial populations, but the population size quickly declined to levels similar to the total yeast populations on untreated fruit. After a storage period of 2-4 months, fruit that were treated with C. infirmo-miniatus three weeks before harvest showed significantly lower incidence of decay at wounds than did untreated fruit. Combinations of biocontrol agents with reduced rates of the postharvest fungicides captan and thiabendazole were effective in reducing incidence and severity of blue mold decay caused by Penicillium expansum on 'Bosc' pears. Calcium chloride was also effective in combination with some biocontrol agents. Chitosan caused reductions in decay when used alone, but not when combined with most biocontrol agents. The compounds L-asparagine, L-proline, and 2-deoxy-D-glucose were not consistently effective either alone or combined with biocontrol agents. Storage of 'Bosc' and 'Anjou' pears in atmospheres with carbon dioxide concentrations of 12% or 20% for up to six weeks significantly reduced incidence and severity of gray mold decay caused by Botrytis cinerea, but decay was not reduced when the atmospheres was only 3% CO���. In contrast, the 12% or 20% CO��� atmospheres did not have significant effects on decay caused by P. expansum. Use of the biocontrol agents C. infirmo-miniatus, C. laurentii, or R. glutinis led to reductions in decay in all atmospheres, with C. infirmo-miniatus being the most consistently effective. The biocontrol products BioSave-110 (EcoScience Corp.) and Aspire (Ecogen Corp.) were less effective than the yeasts C. laurentii, R. glutinis, and C. infirmo-miniatus which were grown in the lab. / Graduation date: 1999

Blood vessel injury was found to release intracellular pools of protein D-aspartyl/L-isoaspartyl carboxyl methyltransferase (PIMT) into the extracellular milieu, where it became trapped. Trapped PIMT was able to utilize radiolabeled S-adenosyl-L-methionine (AdoMet) introduced into the circulation to methylate blood vessel proteins containing altered aspartyl residues specifically at the site of injury. In vitro studies more fully characterized this endogenous PIMT activity in thoracic aorta and inferior vena cava. At least 50% of the PIMT activity released during injury, was resistant to non-ionic detergent extraction, suggesting that the enzyme activity can become trapped within or behind the extracellular matrix (ECM). Analysis of inferior vena cava, found that 90% of the altered aspartyl residues in blood vessels are inaccessible to methylation by intracellular PIMT under physiological conditions. Subfractionation of inferior vena cava on the basis of solubility found that at least 40% of the altered aspartyl containing proteins in blood vessels are insoluble in non-ionic detergent containing buffers and are highly resistant to extraction by protein denaturants. Analysis of peptides revealed that the majority of the altered aspartyl groups in blood vessels are located extracellularly. Digestion of these extracellular matrix proteins with cyanogen bromide (CNBr), followed by methylation with (PIMT), found that about 60% of the altered aspartyl residues in the ECM are solubilized by this treatment. The presence of hydroxyproline in amino acid hydrosolates of this fraction and acidic pH gel electrophoresis of methylated peptides, allowed the identification of collagen as the major PIMT substrate in the CNBr-soluble material. CNBr peptides derived from both type I and type III collagen were found to methylated. It is estimated that one centimeter of blood vessel contains on the order of 5 x 10����� altered aspartyl residues involving 1% to 5% of the total extracellular protein. / Graduation date: 1997

This investigation was conducted to determine the effectiveness of Personal Achievement Skills (PAS), a structured group psychotherapy approach, on the productivity, social functioning, self-esteem, locus of control, and life satisfaction of individuals with traumatic spinal cord injury. Subjects for the study were recruited through disability advocacy organizations, state disability service agencies, and local colleges, universities, and rehabilitation centers. The research design utilized was a randomized, pretest, posttest control group design with 15 experimental and 14 control group subjects. A behavioral Activity Questionnaire was specially designed for the study to assess productivity. It included activities such as employment, educational pursuits, social and community involvement, volunteer work, and family responsibilities. Other measures included: (a) the Affiliative Tendency Scale, (b) the Rosenberg Self-Esteem Scale, (c) the Nowicki-Strickland Locus of Control Scale, and (d) the Life Satisfaction Index. The results of the investigation indicated that PAS group participants, in comparison to the control group, improved significantly on the self-esteem measure. No such improvement was found on the other measures in the study. With regard to the self-esteem finding, male subjects responded more favorably to the PAS approach than female subjects. The issues and concerns of using the PAS approach with individuals with physical limitations were discussed along with recommendations and modifications for future research. / Graduation date: 1992

Thesis (M. Soc. Sc.)--University of Hong Kong, 2005.