Hormesis: A Highly Generalizable and Reproducible Phenomenon With Important Implications for Risk Assessment

From a comprehensive search of the literature, the hormesis phenomenon was found to occur over a wide range of chemicals, taxonomic groups, and endpoints. By use of computer searches and extensive cross-referencing, nearly 3000 potentially relevant articles were identified. Evidence of chemical and radiation hormesis was judged to have occurred in approximately 1000 of these by use of a priori criteria. These criteria included study design features (e.g., number of doses, dose range), dose–response relationship, statistical analysis, and reproducibility of results. Numerous biological endpoints were assessed, with growth responses the most prevalent, followed by metabolic effects, reproductive responses, longevity, and cancer. Hormetic responses were generally observed to be of limited magnitude with an average maximum stimulation of 30 to 60 percent over that of the controls. This maximum usually occurred 4- to 5-fold below the NOAEL for a particular endpoint. The present analysis suggests that hormesis is a reproducible and generalizable biological phenomenon and is a fundamental component of many, if not most, dose–response relationships. The relatively infrequent observation of hormesis in the literature is believed to be due primarily to experimental design considerations, especially with respect to the number and range of doses and endpoint selection. Because of regulatory considerations, most toxicologic studies have been carried out at high doses above the low-dose region where the hormesis phenomenon occurs.     

Hospitalists: who they are and what they do

The hospitalist movement is spreading like wildfire. Find out the latest statistics on hospitalists.     

Understanding the Economic Costs and Benefits of Catastrophes and Their Aftermath: A Review and Suggestions for the U.S. Federal Government

The number and magnitude of devastating natural and human events make it imperative that we actively and systematically estimate the costs and benefits of policy decisions in affected localities, regions, states, and nations. Such strategic risk management preparedness efforts should forecast well into the future and include scenarios with and without enhanced engineered structures; with reduced vulnerability through land-use planning and design; with the impact of resiliency and mitigation; with evacuation and relocation; and with the costs and benefits of recovery and restoration. We describe different kinds of regional economic models that can be used in these preparedness planning efforts, explore critical data needs, and advocate a shared federal-state-local strategic planning effort to accomplish the objective.     

Tandem Configuration Automated Guided Vehicle Systems: A Comparative Study*

Automated guided vehicle (AGV) systems provide the flexibility and integration required for flexible manufacturing systems. Previous AGV system studies have attempted to reduce the controlling complexities commonly encountered in these systems. However, this has not been accomplished without additional resources (e.g., automated guided vehicles) and lower system flexibility. The primary objective of this study is to compare the performance of AGV system configurations that reduce controlling and modification complexities (i.e., tandem configurations) to traditional AGV system configuration. Three AGV system configurations were tested under 16 experimental conditions. Performance metrics considered were AGV utilization, mean flowtime, mean tardiness, and percent tardy. The results of this study extend the findings of the previous studies in demonstrating the viability of tandem configurations, in that the tandem configurations match the performance of traditional configuration across all performance metrics, without sacrificing ease of control and system flexibility. Finally, the cost tradeoffs inherent in selecting a particular configuration are discussed.     

Can one TV show make a difference? Will & Grace and the Parasocial Contact Hypothesis

Television has an opportunity to influence beliefs about groups with which individuals typically may have little direct social contact. This study describes a synthesis of the Contact Hypothesis and the concept of Parasocial Interaction to pose what we call the Parasocial Contact Hypothesis to test whether exposure to gay men on Will & Grace can influence attitudes toward gay men in general. Based on a study of 245 university students, this study examines the relationships among number and intimacy of gay social contacts, parasocial interaction, viewing frequency of Will & Grace, and scores on Herek's Attitudes Toward Gay Men and Lesbians scale. Increased viewing frequency and parasocial interaction were found to correlate with lower levels of sexual prejudice-a relationship that was most pronounced for those with the least amount of social contact with lesbians and gay men.     

Using psychodynamic interventions to engage in trauma-informed practice

In recent years, trauma-informed practice has received increased attention in the social work literature. Although the adoption of trauma-informed practice is necessary for preparing social workers to practice effectively with clients, these frameworks do not necessarily provide social workers with the specific skills for doing so. Therefore, we argue that using interventions grounded in contemporary psychodynamic theory can help transform them into trauma-informed practitioners. Psychodynamic psychotherapy interventions, especially from object relations and self psychology, align with many of the principles of trauma-informed practice (e.g. establishing an atmosphere of safety and acceptance, relying upon relational collaboration). We begin by discussing trauma-informed practice and then discuss how the use of psychodynamic psychotherapy interventions (holding environment, containment, and selfobject transferences) can facilitate the application of trauma-informed principles. We conclude with a case illustration of how to incorporate psychodynamic interventions into trauma-informed practice.     

Household wealth and the measurement of economic well-being in the United States

We analyze the level and distribution of economic well-being in the United States during the 1980s and 1990s based on the standard measure of money income and a measure in which income from wealth is calculated as the sum of lifetime annuity from nonhome wealth and imputed rental-equivalent for owner-occupied homes. Over the 1982–2000 period, median well-being increases faster when these adjustments are made than when standard money income is used. This adjustment also widens the income gap between African-Americans and whites but increases the relative well-being of the elderly. Adding imputed rent and annuities from household wealth to household income considerably increases measured inequality and the share of income from wealth in inequality. However, both measures show about the same rise in inequality over the period. We also find an increasing share of wage and salary income in our expanded definition of income among the richest 1% over the period but do not find that the “working rich” have largely replaced rentiers at the top of the economic ladder.