Oral application of L-menthol in the heat: From pleasure to performance

When menthol is applied to the oral cavity it presents with a familiar refreshing sensation and cooling mint flavour. This may be deemed hedonic in some individuals, but may cause irritation in others. This variation in response is likely dependent upon trigeminal sensitivity toward cold stimuli, suggesting a need for a menthol solution that can be easily personalised. Menthol’s characteristics can also be enhanced by matching colour to qualitative outcomes; a factor which can easily be manipulated by practitioners working in athletic or occupational settings to potentially enhance intervention efficacy. This presentation will outline the efficacy of oral menthol application for improving time trial performance to date, either via swilling or via co-ingestion with other cooling strategies, with an emphasis upon how menthol can be applied in ecologically valid scenarios. Situations in which performance is not expected to be enhanced will also be discussed. An updated model by which menthol may prove hedonic, satiate thirst and affect ventilation will also be presented, with the potential performance implications of these findings discussed and modelled. Qualitative reflections from athletes that have implemented menthol mouth swilling in competition, training and maximal exercise will also be included

Low Back Pain (LBP)

Low back pain (LBP) is a major public health problem, being the most commonly reported musculoskeletal disorder (MSD) and the leading cause of compromised quality of life and work absenteeism. Indeed, LBP is the leading worldwide cause of years lost to disability, and its burden is growing alongside the increasing and aging population. The etiology, pathogenesis, and occupational risk factors of LBP are still not fully understood. It is crucial to give a stronger focus to reducing the consequences of LBP, as well as preventing its onset. Primary prevention at the occupational level remains important for highly exposed groups. Therefore, it is essential to identify which treatment options and workplace-based intervention strategies are effective in increasing participation at work and encouraging early return-to-work to reduce the consequences of LBP. The present Special Issue offers a unique opportunity to update many of the recent advances and perspectives of this health problem. A number of topics will be covered in order to attract high-quality research papers, including the following major areas: prevalence and epidemiological data, etiology, prevention, assessment and treatment approaches, and health promotion strategies for LBP. We have received a wide range of submissions, including research on the physical, psychosocial, environmental, and occupational perspectives, also focused on workplace interventions

Modelo matemático para tempo de transformação de prioridades no deslocamento intra-hospitalar

Orientador: Prof. Dr. José Eduardo Pécora JúniorCoorientador: Prof. Dr. Gustavo Valentim LochDissertação (mestrado) - Universidade Federal do Paraná, Setor de Tecnologia, Programa de Pós-Graduação em Engenharia de Produção. Defesa : Curitiba, 26/05/2021Inclui referências: p. 75-79Área de concentração: Pesquisa OperacionalResumo: O transporte intra-hospitalar de pacientes realizado em macas é um processo importante e que requer atenção pois o tempo desse deslocamento pode influenciar no agravamento do estado de saúde dos pacientes. Existe um número de funcionários (maqueiros) para realizar o deslocamento e cada paciente tem um nível de prioridade para ser deslocado. Cada nível de prioridade tem um tempo máximo em que o paciente deve ser deslocado e quando esse tempo é ultrapassado o paciente recebe uma prioridade mais urgente. Esse tempo se trata do tempo de transformação de prioridades. Baseado na solicitação de um hospital canadense e em um artigo inicial do tema, foi realizada uma expansão do modelo para, após esse tempo limite, o paciente receber um nível de prioridade mais urgente para ser atendido mais rapidamente. O problema abordado será o tempo de espera para deslocamento e foi resolvido como sendo um sistema clássico de máquinas paralelas (parallel machine). Apesar do tema ter algumas abordagens, nenhuma toma como base a transformação de níveis de prioridade na fila de atendimento. Portanto, neste trabalho foi proposto um modelo de programação linear inteira mista para a transformação de prioridades no deslocamento intra-hospitalar utilizando as instâncias propostas de um artigo inicial sobre o tema. Foi realizada a comparação entre 3 tipos de testes (do modelo original, modelo com transformação de prioridades e o modelo desenvolvido nesse trabalho com transformação e melhoria de tempo) e para análise dos resultados vários aspectos foram levados em consideração: maior tempo de término entre as atividades, função objetivo, tempo de atraso médio por prioridade, tempo de resposta por prioridade, tempo ocioso dos maqueiros e atraso por prioridade. Sabe-se que o modelo aqui desenvolvido apresentou melhoras em alguns aspectos e a maior contribuição do estudo foi a sugestão de modificação dos tempos de prioridade, principalmente na prioridade 4 que é a mais urgente, reduzindo assim os atrasos recorrentes. O estudo desses tempos é um dos pontos fundamentais para a tomada de decisão do atendimento do hospital em questão, bem como a busca de um deslocamento sem demoras e atrasos, respeitando a necessidade hospitalar de cada paciente.Abstract: Intra-hospital patient transport on stretchers is an important process that requires attention because the time of this displacement can influence the worsening of the patients' health status. There are a number of employees (stretcher bearers) to perform the displacement and each patient has a priority level to be moved. Each priority level has a maximum time in which the patient must be moved, and when this time is exceeded, the patient receives a more urgent priority. This time is the priority transformation time. Based on a request from a Canadian hospital and an early article on the subject, an expansion of the model was made so that after this time limit, the patient would receive a more urgent priority level to be seen more quickly. The problem addressed will be the displacement waiting time and was solved as a classic parallel machine system. Although the subject has some approaches, none of them is based on the transformation of priority levels in the queue. Therefore, in this work, a mixed integer linear programming model was proposed for the transformation of priorities in intra-hospital displacement using the proposed instances from an initial paper on the subject. A comparison between 3 types of tests (the original model, the model with priority transformation and the model developed in this work with transformation and time improvement) was performed and to analyze the results several aspects were taken into consideration: longest completion time between activities, objective function, average delay time per priority, response time per priority, idle time of waiters and delay per priority. It is known that the model developed here presented improvements in some aspects and the greatest contribution of the study was the suggestion to modify the priority times, especially in priority 4 which is the most urgent, thus reducing recurring delays. The study of these times is one of the fundamental points for decision making in the care of the hospital in question, as well as the search for a displacement without delays and delays, respecting the hospital needs of each patient

Design and Development of a Training System for Manual Handling Tasks in Masonry

The construction industry is one of the industries with the highest rates of musculoskeletal disorders (MSDs). Masons are particularly susceptible to overexertion and back injuries due to the physical demands of their jobs. In the past, optoelectronic motion capture has been considered the ‘gold standard’ for motion capture in biomechanics; however, it is often not feasible for onsite data collection. Therefore, most onsite assessment tools in the industry rely on observational techniques of postures to estimate risk that cannot accurately estimate internal joint demands. Advancements in inertial measurement unit (IMU) technology have led to the development of data collection systems comparable to that of the aforementioned ‘gold standard’, thereby enabling the quantification of joint loads and forces on masons in the working environment. Previous research has reported that “technique” during manual handling tasks, such as lifting, can have a large impact on spinal loads. The comparison of expert and novice working techniques reveals that experts use distinct working strategies, which can lead to both lower joint forces and increased productivity. Furthermore, training based on expert work strategies has been shown to reduce exposures to biomechanical risks. Despite frequency of injuries, MSD risks are often under-prioritized in terms of safety training. Researchers emphasize a need to integrate ergonomics training within apprentices’ skill training classes. This thesis focuses on the development of an enhanced training tool and program to reduce MSD risk in apprentice masons. A novel quantitative scoring system was developed to estimate MSD risk based on the peak joint loads of expert masons. This scoring system was integrated into the enhanced training tool to better assess risk based on onsite measurement of joint loads. Furthermore, the movement patterns of novice, apprentice and expert masons were analysed to determine key characteristics of inexpert and expert techniques. These characteristics were compared to high-risk postures in the literature to establish clear postural guidelines, which were then implemented into the enhanced training tool. The tool was designed to provide evidence-based recommendations to improve posture and technique based on kinematic analyses of masons’ movements. User interviews were conducted with masonry instructors to evaluate challenges, needs, and values for the training program. These insights directed the design of the accompanying educational module and overall training program. The training program and tool has the capacity to reduce biomechanical exposures of apprentice masons and increase productivity

Spirometric Evaluation of Occupational Respiratory Dysfunction among Hospital Sanitary Workers in a Tertiary Care Centre

BACKGROUND: Working in dusty environment face the risk of inhaling particulate materials that may lead to adverse respiratory effects. Sanitary workers are exposed to a number of pathogens, toxic substances, chemicals that come from the waste itself and from its decomposition. As a result of their exposure to multiple risk factors, they suffer high rates of occupational health problems, which would definitely alter the pulmonary functions and respiratory endurances. Individuals who breathe through their mouth have higher pulmonary ventilation rates when comparing to those who breathe through their nose. This is likely to be attributed to the occupational exposure of this group to workplace contaminants, particularly bio aerosols. So this study was done to evaluate the respiratory dysfunction among sanitary workers who are exposed to environmental and occupational hazards. AIM OF THE STUDY: To evaluate the occupational respiratory dysfunction among sanitary workers. OBJECTIVES: 1. To evaluate the respiratory functions in sanitary workers and normal healthy individuals. 2. To compare the effect of duration of exposure on respiratory functions in sanitary workers. MATERIALS AND METHODS: A cross sectional study was done after IEC approval, with written informed consent on 120 individuals of age group 20-45 years. Group I- 60 sanitary workers involved in waste collection and disposal of both gender. GROUP II- 60 healthy non exposed candidates, age and gender matched. Detailed history and clinical examination was carried out to rule out any acute or chronic illness. Information regarding respiratory illness, frequency and symptoms noted. The pulmonary function parameters; Forced Vital Capacity [FVC], Forced Expiratory Volume in 1 second [FEV1], Forced Expiratory Flow [FEF25–75] Peak Expiratory Flow [PEF] were recorded using spirometer, according to the American Thoracic Society criteria. Parameters were compared using SPSS16.0 version. RESULTS: All pulmonary function parameters were reduced in sanitary workers compared to control group. FVC%, FEV1 was reduced significantly. CONCLUSION: The lung functions are commonly affected due to occupational exposure in sanitary workers

The effect of work-hardening on the physical work capacity of manual labourers within South African industry

South Africa is a labour-intensive industrially developing country. As a result, in excess of 200 000 workers suffer from musculoskeletal injuries in a year. Research is thus essential to develop more effective strategies in the reduction and rehabilitation of occupational musculoskeletal disorders within industry. It was the hypothesis of this study that by improving the physical work capacity of manual labourers, through participation in an occupation specific work-hardening programme, that the ergonomic stress index and therefore the occurrence of musculoskeletal injuries within industry, may be reduced. Twenty-five male Black and Coloured manual labourers volunteered to participate in this study. In addition to in situ task analyses, the subjects participated in cardiovascular and strength assessments in the laboratory, both pre- and post-participation in the ten-week work-hardening programme. The data were statistically analyzed in order to identify any significant • improvements in the workers' physical work capacity, as measured by cardiovascular, strength and perceptual responses, following the period of work-hardening. Two significant reductions were noted in measures of working heart rate together with significant improvements in grip strength and trunk strength tested at a velocity of 60°.sec·1 at the post-conditioning assessments. In conclusion, the ten-week work-hardening programme resulted in nominal improvements in all the cardiovascular measures and significant improvements in the subjects' strength performance. However, industrialists must recognise that this study dealt with only one aspect of reducing the ergonomic stress index at the workplace and realise that, in addition to this focus, it remains essential to design the task to fit the human operator

Aneurysmal Disease of the Thoracic and Abdominal Aorta

The first successful open surgical repair of an abdominal aortic aneurysm was in 1951 by Dubost and represented a tremendous milestone in the care of this challenging disease. The introduction of endovascular repair in 1991 by Parodi furthered the care of these patients by allowing for lower morbidity and mortality rates and also, enabling surgeons to extend surgical treatment to patients traditionally deemed too high of a surgical risk. This new book on Aortic Disease covers many interesting and vital topics necessary for both the practicing surgeon as well as a student of vascular disease. The book starts with background information on the evolution of aortic management from traditional open surgical repair to modern endovascular therapies. There is also a chapter covering the data supporting current treatment modalities and how these data have supported modern management. Also, the use of endovascular means for care of the challenging situation of ruptured aneurysms is discussed. In addition to management of abdominal aneurysm, there is a chapter on treatment of aneurysms of the ascending aorta. Along with surgical treatment, one must also understand the molecular basis for how blood vessels remodel and thus, the role of cathepsins in aortic disease is elucidated. Lastly, chapters discussing the perioperative management of radiation exposure and ultrasound-guided nerve blocks as well as the need for high-quality postoperative nutrition will lend well to a full understanding of how to management patients from presentation to hospital discharge. We hope you enjoy this book, its variety of topics, and gain a fuller knowledge of Aneurysmal Disease of the Thoracic and Abdominal Aorta