University of South Florida

About: University of South Florida is a education organization based out in Tampa, Florida, United States. It is known for research contribution in the topics: Population & Poison control. The organization has 34231 authors who have published 72644 publications receiving 2538044 citations. The organization is also known as: USF.

Family-Supportive Work Environments: The Role of Organizational Perceptions

Abstract: The present study examines global employee perceptions regarding the extent their work organization is family-supportive (FSOP). Data gathered from 522 participants employed in a variety of occupations and organizations indicated that FSOP responses related significantly to the number of family-friendly benefits offered by the organization, benefit usage, and perceived family support from supervisors. FSOP responses also explained a significant amount of unique variance associated with work–family conflict, job satisfaction, organizational commitment, and turnover intentions above and beyond the variance explained by the number of family-friendly benefits available by the organization and supervisor support. Results indicated that FSOP mediates the relationship between family-friendly benefits available and the dependent variables of work–family conflict, affective commitment, and job satisfaction. FSOP also mediated the relationship between supervisor support and work–family conflict. The results underscore the important role that perceptions of the overall work environment play in determining employee reactions to family-friendly benefit policies.

Updated national birth prevalence estimates for selected birth defects in the United States, 2004–2006†

Abstract: BACKGROUND: The National Birth Defects Prevention Network collects state-specific birth defects surveillance data for annual publication of prevalence estimates and collaborative research projects. In 2006, data for 21 birth defects from 1999 through 2001 were presented as national birth prevalence estimates. The purpose of this report was to update these estimates using data from 2004 through 2006. METHODS: Population-based data from 11 active case-finding programs, 6 passive case-finding programs with case confirmation, and 7 passive programs without case confirmation were used in this analysis. Pooled birth prevalence estimates for 21 birth defects, stratified by case ascertainment approach, were calculated. National prevalence estimates, adjusted for maternal race/ethnicity and maternal age (trisomy 13, trisomy 18, and Down syndrome only) were determined using data from 14 programs. The impact of pregnancy outcomes on prevalence estimates was also assessed for five specific defects. RESULTS: National birth defects prevalence estimates ranged from 0.72 per 10,000 live births for common truncus to 14.47 per 10,000 live births for Down syndrome. Stratification by type of surveillance system showed that active programs had a higher prevalence of anencephaly, anophthalmia/microphthalmia, cleft lip with or without cleft palate, reduction defect of upper limbs, and trisomy 18. The birth prevalence of anencephaly, trisomy 13, and trisomy 18 also varied substantially with inclusion of elective terminations. CONCLUSION: Accurate and timely national estimates of the prevalence of birth defects are needed for monitoring trends, assessing prevention efforts, determining service planning, and understanding the burden of disease due to birth defects in the United States. Birth Defects Research (Part A) 88:1008–1016, 2010. 2010 Wiley-Liss, Inc.

The draft genome of Ciona intestinalis : insights into chordate and vertebrate origins

Abstract: The first chordates appear in the fossil record at the time of the Cambrian explosion, nearly 550 million years ago. The modern ascidian tadpole represents a plausible approximation to these ancestral chordates. To illuminate the origins of chordate and vertebrates, we generated a draft of the protein-coding portion of the genome of the most studied ascidian, Ciona intestinalis. The Ciona genome contains approximately 16,000 protein-coding genes, similar to the number in other invertebrates, but only half that found in vertebrates. Vertebrate gene families are typically found in simplified form in Ciona, suggesting that ascidians contain the basic ancestral complement of genes involved in cell signaling and development. The ascidian genome has also acquired a number of lineage-specific innovations, including a group of genes engaged in cellulose metabolism that are related to those in bacteria and fungi.

A beta peptide vaccination prevents memory loss in an animal model of Alzheimer's disease.

Abstract: Vaccinations with amyloid-beta peptide (A beta) can dramatically reduce amyloid deposition in a transgenic mouse model of Alzheimer's disease. To determine if the vaccinations had deleterious or beneficial functional consequences, we tested eight months of A beta vaccination in a different transgenic model for Alzheimer's disease in which mice develop learning deficits as amyloid accumulates. Here we show that vaccination with A beta protects transgenic mice from the learning and age-related memory deficits that normally occur in this mouse model for Alzheimer's disease. During testing for potential deleterious effects of the vaccine, all mice performed superbly on the radial-arm water-maze test of working memory. Later, at an age when untreated transgenic mice show memory deficits, the A beta-vaccinated transgenic mice showed cognitive performance superior to that of the control transgenic mice and, ultimately, performed as well as nontransgenic mice. The A beta-vaccinated mice also had a partial reduction in amyloid burden at the end of the study. This therapeutic approach may thus prevent and, possibly, treat Alzheimer's dementia.