423 research outputs found
Three Worlds of Cleaning: Women's Experiences of Precarious Labor in the Public Sector, Cleaning Companies and Private Households of West Germany, 1973-1998
No full textShould the low-pay and low-skill sector of the labor market be expanded through political intervention? This question is hotly debated in presentday Germany. In the cleaning trade, precarious employment is especially widespread, with precariousness defined as the undermining of material and legal standards as well as the exclusion from the solidarity of colleagues and from institutional forms of articulating interest in works council and trade union. This article discusses the transfer of cleaners’ jobs from the public sector to cleaning companies and private households since 1973. Drawing upon rare and scattered evidence contained in official statistics as well as upon journals of employers’ associations and of trade unions, the author argues that cleaners experienced increasing precariousness in each of these organizational arrangements, but especially when affected by the process of “double privatization.” For those who discuss future labor market strategies, the history of professional cleaning is of interest because it is paradigmatic for the whole low-skill service sector in many respects
Protein tyrosine phosphatases: structure, signaling and drug discovery/ Lalima G. Ahuja.
No full textIncludes bibliographical references and index.Protein tyrosine phosphatases remove phosphates from the phosphotyrosine residues of target proteins and reverse the action of various protein tyrosine kinases. This essential interplay between the opposing actions of protein tyrosine phosphatases and protein tyrosine kinases forms the basis of signaling networks that underlie the cellular workings of human physiology. Initially passed-off as housekeeping genes; these proteins were only acknowledged to maintain a steady background of phosphotyrosine levels in the cell. However, recent progress in studying their role in embryonic development and human disease has established their importance as regulators of signal regulation. Convincing evidence shows the role of mutations in these proteins to cause and/or intensify the severity of various diseases including metabolic and neurological disorders and also cancer. Protein tyrosine phosphatases have slowly, yet convincingly become crucial targets for therapeutic intervention of various human pathophysiologies. This book describes these signaling enzymes using the molecular details of their structure and mechanistic function. Various subtypes of cysteine-based Class I, II, III and the Haloacid dehalogenase related Class IV protein tyrosine phosphatases have been illustrated and explained. The superfamily of proteins is also described vis-a-vis its complimentary protein phosphoserine/phosphoserine phosphatases. Membrane bound receptor forms and the cytosolic non-receptor protein tyrosine phosphatases have been described for their biological function. This book serves as a reference for any reader looking to understand the sequence features, structural elements, molecular mechanism and cellular function of this superfamily of signaling enzymes.Frontmatter -- Preface -- About The Author -- Contents -- 1.Tyrosine Phosphorylation In Cell Signaling: Discovery And Beyond -- 2.Protein Phosphatases: Classification And Domain Architecture -- 3.Protein Tyrosine Phosphatases: Molecular Structure And Mechanism -- 4.The Receptor Protein Tyrosine Phosphatases: Structure And Function -- 5.The Double-Domain Receptor Protein Tyrosine Phosphatases -- 6 The Non-Receptor Protein Tyrosine Phosphatases: Part I -- 7.The Non-Receptor Protein Tyrosine Phosphatases: Part Ii -- 8.Protein Tyrosine Phosphatases: Strategies For Drug Development -- Index1 online resource (xiv, 282 pages
Gender differences in substance use and depression among caregivers
No full textTITLE: Gender differences in substance use and depression among caregivers
AUTHOR INFO
Memunat Ogunmefun
Manik Ahuja
Author Affiliations:
College of Public Health, East Tennessee State University, Johnson City, TN 37614, United States
Background: Around 20% of adults in the United States provide care for a loved one, with approximately 61% of these caregivers identifying as women. Typically, a caregiver is defined as someone who provides help and support to a family member or friend who is facing illness or disability as a result of a medical condition. Caregiving may be rewarding, but it can also cause significant psychological strain, leading to adverse consequences, such as turning to substance use to cope with stress. Increased levels of stress in caregivers can make them more susceptible to various health problems, such as depression and anxiety disorders, sleep disturbances, compromised physical health, cardiovascular disease, and substance use disorders. The aim of this study is to examine the gender differences in substance use and depression among caregivers using a nationally representative sample.
Methods: We used cross-sectional data from the 2021 Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System a nationally representative U.S. telephone-based survey of adults aged 18 years and extracted data for non-metropolitan/rural counties. Logistic regression analyses were conducted separately to test the association between self-identified caregiver status and three outcomes, including depression and current alcohol use. We controlled for past month’s income, race, educational status, and age. Caregiver status was identified based on providing care or assistance to a friend or family member over the last 30 days.
Results: Overall, 21.7% (n=13,653) of our participants self-identified as a caregiver, while 19.5% reported depression, past month alcohol use (48.2%), past month smoking (13.5%), and past month marijuana use (4.2%). Significant interactions were found between caregiver status and gender (p=.0001). We then stratified by gender. Among males, self-identified caregiver status was associated with higher odds of depression (OR=1.48, 95% CI, 1.41,1.55). Among females, caregiver status was associated with higher odds of depression (OR=1.48, 95% CI, 1.29, 1.39). Caregiver status did not predict alcohol use.
Conclusion: Caregiving has been known to cause psychological strain which may be associated with alcohol use and depression. According to this study, being a caregiver may contribute to depression regardless of gender, but it does not necessarily affect alcohol consumption. The gender differences observed in this study highlight the need for interventions and support programs that are tailored to meet the unique needs and challenges faced by male and female caregivers. It is important for healthcare professionals to consider caregiver status and gender when assessing mental health risk factors
Race, Gender and Mental Health Outcomes in Tennessee
No full textTITLE: Race, gender, and mental health outcomes in Tennessee
AUTHOR INFO
Eugene Annor
Manik Ahuja PhD, MA1
Author Affiliations:
1College of Public Health, East Tennessee State University, Johnson City, TN 37614, United States
Background: Tennessee has been disproportionally burdened with high levels of mental health disorders. Over the last decade, Tennessee has consistently ranked in the bottom 10 U.S. states in prevalence of mental health disorders. While it is known that Tennessee ranks lower in mental health status, less is known of how these differences vary across race.
Methods: We used cross-sectional data from the 2019 Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System, a nationally representative U.S. telephone-based survey of adults aged 18 years or older for the State of Tennessee (n=6,242). Chi-square tests were conducted to assess differences across race. Logistic regression analyses were conducted to test the association between gender and past month mentally unhealthy days, stratified by race. We coded mentally unhealthy days binary, at 15 or more mentally unhealthy days in the past month, and less than 15 days. We controlled for income, educational attainment, health insurance, and age.
Results: Overall, 22.9% of American Indian/Alaska Natives, followed by White (14.8%), Black (13.6%) and Hispanic (12.0%) reported 15 or more mentally unhealthy days in the past month. Among Blacks, there were no significant differences between males (13.2%) and females (13.9%) for 15 or more past month mentally unhealthy days (p=.76), as well as among Hispanics (p=.17) Among Whites, females (16.6) reported a significantly higher (p
Conclusions: Our findings reveal that among Blacks and Hispanics in Tennessee, there were no significant gender differences in mental health outcomes. White among Whites and American Indian/Alaska Natives, females reported a significantly higher rate of past month mentally unhealthy days. The current study reports that the gap among males and females in report of poorer mental health has narrowed, particularly among Blacks and Hispanics in Tennessee. Further efforts towards providing equitable access to mental health services across race and gender in Tennessee, is essential
Racial Disparities Associated With Colon Cancer Screening in a Nationally Representative Sample; A Cross-sectional Study
No full textTITLE: Racial disparities associated with colon cancer screening in a nationally representative sample; A cross-sectional study
AUTHOR INFO
Yorandos Tafesse MD1
Manik Ahuja PhD, MA1
Author Affiliations:
1College of Public Health, East Tennessee State University, Johnson City, TN 37614, United States
Colon cancer impacts nearly 2 million individuals in the U.S. each year. Early detection of colon cancer using colonoscopy can reduce the risk of mortality. The United States Preventive Services Task Force (USPSTF) recommends routine screening for colon cancer for all adults 50 to 75 years of age. Colon cancer screening behavior is different across a variety of predictor variables. Previous studies have identified older age, male gender, higher education, higher income, marriage, and the presence of chronic diseases to be associated with increased odds of colon cancer screening. However, less is known about the role of racial differences in screening. This study aims to determine if colon cancer screening rates are different between Whites and racial minorities in the United States controlling for potential confounders. This research can help bridge the existing gap on this topic and aid in identifying high-risk racial groups that could be targeted by future intervention strategies. We used cross-sectional data from the 2019 Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System, a nationally representative U.S. telephone-based survey of adults aged 18 years or older. We extracted data for adults age 50 or older (n=10,972). Logistic regression analyses were conducted to test the association between race and colon cancer screening. We also included chronic disease status, alcohol use, smoking, gender, and age in our model. Chronic disease status was coded as self-report 2 or more, 1 and 0 chronic diseases (referent), which included the summation of heart disease, hypertension, COPD, and diabetes. Overall, colon cancer screening is as follows among Whites (77.2%), Blacks (72.4%), Asian (60.1%), American Indian/Alaska Native (69.7%), and Hispanic (68.6%). Logistic regression results revealed that having 2 or more chronic diseases (OR=1.73; 95% CI 1.53,1.96), 1 chronic disease (OR=1.45; 95% CI 1.31,1.65), and female gender (OR=1.14; 95% CI 1.04,1.23) were associated with higher odds of screening. Race/ethnic minority status (OR=0.72; 95% CI 0.65, 0.81), low income (OR=0.64; 95% CI 0.57,0.70), and less than high school education (OR=0.71; 95% CI 0.59,0.84) were associated with lower odds of screening. Our research showed that racial minorities have lower odds of colon cancer screening after adjusting for gender, age, chronic diseases, income, and education status. Preventive practices should focus on increasing awareness on and availability of colon cancer screening means to racial minorities in the United States. Further research on the association between race and other screening modalities will help maximize the impacts of targeted interventions
Path planning using the Newtonian potential
No full textPotential functions are used to represent the topological structure of free space in solving path planning problems because of the simplicity in the free space representation and the guidance provided by the negative gradient of the potential field in the form of repulsive forces. In this thesis, a Newtonian potential function is used to represent planar polygonal objects and obstacles. The closed-form expression of this potential field as well as some other gradient-related quantities are derived. Such results not only eliminate the problems associated with the discretization of the object and obstacles in evaluating the likelihood of collision, but also make the search for the optimal object configurations efficient. The object path is constrained geometrically according to a simple topological plan which is specified in terms of object skeleton and free space bottlenecks. It is shown that the planned path is safe and smooth. The corresponding planning algorithms for three-dimensional space and for articulated objects are also given. The skeleton of an object can also be obtained by using potential functions in place of the distance function. The skeleton thus defined has been generalized easily to three dimensions.Made available in DSpace on 2011-05-07T13:54:48Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 2
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Estimation of shape, lighting, and reflectivity from stereo and shading information
No full textThis thesis is concerned with the combined use of stereo and shading information for the purpose of three-dimensional surface shape estimation. The applicability, resolution, and accuracy of each individual method is examined and compared with that attainable in a combined approach. Integration is examined from standard and stochastic perspectives. The standard approach involves use of stereo information as an initial estimate of the surface shape from which parameters of the shading method such as the light source direction can be estimated. Issues of lighting and reflectivity estimation are addressed and solutions are advanced. In particular, general methods for estimation of the light source distribution and reflectance map are proposed and tested. Colored lighting and color variant reflectance functions are examined as possible sources of additional shape information. A statistical approach to surface shape estimation called 'shape from appearance' is also advanced. In this approach, stereo information is used indirectly as a source of statistical information. It is shown that through a scale change the resulting statistical model can be used to achieve higher resolution than is achievable through the direct use of stereo information.Made available in DSpace on 2011-05-07T14:09:37Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 2
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Association of Alcohol Use, Depression, and Pain among Cancer Patients
No full textTITLE: Association of Alcohol Use, Depression, and Pain among Cancer Patients
AUTHOR INFO
Nneoma Ubah
Manik Ahuja
Eugene Annor
Author(s) Affiliations:
College of Public Health, East Tennessee State University, Johnson City, TN 37614, United States
Background: Cancer is often a chronic illness that evolves with pain. Studies have shown that 60% of patients with cancer are burdened with pain, and 25% to 30% have severe pain. Uncontrolled pain has been recognized as one of the significant causes of depression among cancer patients. Depression is a comorbid syndrome that affects 25% of cancer patients, but only 5% see a mental health professional. Major depressive disorders have very high rates of comorbidity, with substance use disorders ranging from 12% to 80%. However, there is limited data on the association of depression, alcohol use disorders, and pain among cancer patients. This study aims to identify this association.
Methods: We used cross-sectional data from the 2021 Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System, a nationally representative U.S. telephone-based survey of adults aged 18 and above. We also extracted data for cancer patients (n=8,963). Logistic regression analysis was conducted to test the association between pain associated with cancer and two outcomes, depression, and alcohol use. We controlled for income, race, educational status, health insurance status, race/ethnic minority status, and age.
Results: Overall, 8.6% (n=843) of patients reported pain from their cancer, while 20.2% reported depression and 44.4% reported alcohol use. Pain from cancer was associated with significantly higher odds of depression (OR=1.75, 95% CI, 1.49, 2.05) along with low income (OR=1.93, 95% CI, 1.73, 2.16) and less than high school education (OR=1.30, 95% CI, 1.02, 1.65). Pain from cancer was not significantly associated with alcohol use, while male gender (OR=1.46, 95% CI, 1.34, 1.58) among cancer patients predicted higher odds of alcohol use.
Conclusion:
Depression and alcohol use have been identified as significant problems among cancer patients with pain. Among the cancer patients studied, pain from cancer was not significantly associated with alcohol use. However, cancer patients burdened with pain were more likely to suffer depression. This indicates a need to invest more effort in identifying cancer patients with depression and managing their pain appropriately to improve their outcomes. Proper pain management should also be prioritized in cancer care to prevent depression.
Keywords: Pain management, Cancer Pain, Alcohol, Depression
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