Interaction of Physical Exposures and Occupational Factors on Sickness Absence in Automotive Industry Workers

INTRODUCTION: Increased sickness absence in recent years has been a trouble making issue in industrial society. Identify the causes of sickness absence and its influencing factors, is an important step to control and reduce its associated complications and costs. The aim of this study was to evaluate main factors associated with the incidence of sickness absence. PROCEDURE: In 2012, a cross-sectional study on 758 employees of a car accessories producing company was applied and relevant information about the number of days and episodes of sickness absence, Disease resulting in absence from work, personal features, occupational factors and physical exposures were collected. To determine risk factors associated with sickness absence, Logistic regression analysis was used. RESULTS: The most common diseases leading to sickness absence in order of frequency were Respiratory diseases, musculoskeletal disorders, gastrointestinal diseases and injuries at work. Musculoskeletal disorders increased the danger of long term absence by 4/33 times. Blue collar and shift works were the most important occupational factors associated with the incidence of sickness absence. The main physical factors that affect incidence of sickness absence were frequent bending-twisting and heavy lifting. CONCLUSION: Identifying controllable factors of sickness absence and trying to prevent and modify them such as compliance of ergonomic principals to decrease physical can be effective in reducing sickness absence

Low‐Temperature Processing Methods for Tin Oxide as Electron Transporting Layer in Scalable Perovskite Solar Cells

Perovskite solar cell (PSC) technology experiences a remarkably rapid growth toward commercialization with certified efficiency of over 25%, along with the outstanding breakthrough in the development of SnO2. Owing to the wide bandgap, high electron mobility, chemical stability, and low photocatalytic activity, SnO2 has been the rising star to serve as electron transporting layer (ETL). More importantly, the low-temperature fabrication process (<200 °C) enables SnO2 a promising candidate for the industry, making it compatible with the plastic substrates and large-scale production, which is crucial for the flexible and scalable devices fabrication. In this review, the processing methods (solution-based, vacuum-based, and vapor-based deposition) of low-temperature SnO2 (LT-SnO2) and the pros and cons of them with a focus on their scalability are discussed. Additionally, the morphologies of obtained LT-SnO2 are investigated to guide the design and performance improvement of devices. The modification strategies to reduce undesired nonradiative recombination and passivate the defects in the bulk or at the interface of LT-SnO2, influencing the quality of perovskite films, together with the efficiency and stability of cells are summarized. This review is a comprehensive overview of the studies on low-temperature SnO2 ETL and provides detailed instructions for scalable PSCs

Assessment of the relationship between physical working conditions and different levels of work ability

Early leaving of workplace by work forces is one of the fundamental problems worldwide. Maintenance and enhancement of employees work ability are important for raising productivity. This study investigated the relationship between work ability index and physical working conditions and was carried out in 2013 on 641 workers at a manufacturing plant in Tehran. Work ability was assessed by the questionnaire of work ability index and the participants were classified into four work ability groups of poor, moderate, good, and excellent. Physical working conditions were evaluated by the MUSIC-Norrtalje questionnaire and the participants were classified into two groups with proper and poor physical working conditions. The mean score of work ability questionnaire was 42.40; and 2.5 (16 persons), 9.2 (59 persons), 38.2 (245 persons), and 50.1 (321 persons) of the participants were in poor, moderate, good, and excellent work ability groups, respectively. The mean score of physical working conditions questionnaire was 20.06. The results of logistic regression analysis showed that even after adjusting the confounding variables, a significant correlation existed between work ability and physical working conditions (p < 0.05). According to the results of this study, there may be a correlation between physical working conditions such as awkward postures, repetitive movements, load lifting, exposure to whole body vibration and so on with work ability. Therefore it seems that enhancement of the quality of physical working conditions may increase work ability

A retrospective analysis of ezrin protein and mRNA expression in breast cancer: Ezrin expression is associated with patient survival and survival of patients with receptor‐positive disease

Introduction: The cytoskeletal protein ezrin is upregulated in many cancer types and is strongly associated with poor patient outcome. While the clinical and prognostic value of ezrin has been previously evaluated in breast cancer, most studies to date have been conducted in smaller cohorts (less than 500 cases) or have focused on specific disease characteristics. The current study is the largest of its kind to evaluate ezrin both at the protein and mRNA levels in early‐stage breast cancer patients using the Nottingham (n = 1094) and METABRIC (n = 1980) cohorts, respectively. Results: High expression of ezrin was significantly associated with larger tumour size (p = 0.027), higher tumour grade (p < 0.001), worse Nottingham Prognostic Index prognostic group (p = 0.011) and HER2‐positive status (p = 0.001). High ezrin expression was significantly associated with adverse survival of breast cancer patients (p < 0.001) and remained associated with survival in multivariate Cox‐regression analysis (p = 0.018, hazard ratio (HR) = 1.343, 95% confidence interval (CI) = 1.051–1.716) when potentially confounding factors were included. High ezrin expression was significantly associated with adverse survival of patients whose tumours were categorised as receptor (oestrogen receptor (ER), progesterone receptor (PgR) or HER2) positive (p < 0.001) in comparison to those categorised as triple‐negative breast cancer (p = 0.889). High expression of ezrin mRNA (VIL2) in the METABRIC cohort was also significantly associated with adverse survival of breast cancer patients (p < 0.001). Conclusion: Retrospective analyses show that ezrin is an independent prognostic marker, with higher expression associated with shortened survival in receptor‐positive (ER, PgR or HER2) patients. Ezrin expression is associated with more aggressive disease and may have clinical utility as a biomarker of patient prognosis in early‐stage breast cancer

Effect of angiotensin-converting enzyme inhibitor and angiotensin receptor blocker initiation on organ support-free days in patients hospitalized with COVID-19

IMPORTANCE Overactivation of the renin-angiotensin system (RAS) may contribute to poor clinical outcomes in patients with COVID-19. Objective To determine whether angiotensin-converting enzyme (ACE) inhibitor or angiotensin receptor blocker (ARB) initiation improves outcomes in patients hospitalized for COVID-19. DESIGN, SETTING, AND PARTICIPANTS In an ongoing, adaptive platform randomized clinical trial, 721 critically ill and 58 non–critically ill hospitalized adults were randomized to receive an RAS inhibitor or control between March 16, 2021, and February 25, 2022, at 69 sites in 7 countries (final follow-up on June 1, 2022). INTERVENTIONS Patients were randomized to receive open-label initiation of an ACE inhibitor (n = 257), ARB (n = 248), ARB in combination with DMX-200 (a chemokine receptor-2 inhibitor; n = 10), or no RAS inhibitor (control; n = 264) for up to 10 days. MAIN OUTCOMES AND MEASURES The primary outcome was organ support–free days, a composite of hospital survival and days alive without cardiovascular or respiratory organ support through 21 days. The primary analysis was a bayesian cumulative logistic model. Odds ratios (ORs) greater than 1 represent improved outcomes. RESULTS On February 25, 2022, enrollment was discontinued due to safety concerns. Among 679 critically ill patients with available primary outcome data, the median age was 56 years and 239 participants (35.2%) were women. Median (IQR) organ support–free days among critically ill patients was 10 (–1 to 16) in the ACE inhibitor group (n = 231), 8 (–1 to 17) in the ARB group (n = 217), and 12 (0 to 17) in the control group (n = 231) (median adjusted odds ratios of 0.77 [95% bayesian credible interval, 0.58-1.06] for improvement for ACE inhibitor and 0.76 [95% credible interval, 0.56-1.05] for ARB compared with control). The posterior probabilities that ACE inhibitors and ARBs worsened organ support–free days compared with control were 94.9% and 95.4%, respectively. Hospital survival occurred in 166 of 231 critically ill participants (71.9%) in the ACE inhibitor group, 152 of 217 (70.0%) in the ARB group, and 182 of 231 (78.8%) in the control group (posterior probabilities that ACE inhibitor and ARB worsened hospital survival compared with control were 95.3% and 98.1%, respectively). CONCLUSIONS AND RELEVANCE In this trial, among critically ill adults with COVID-19, initiation of an ACE inhibitor or ARB did not improve, and likely worsened, clinical outcomes. TRIAL REGISTRATION ClinicalTrials.gov Identifier: NCT0273570

Identification and mechanism of action of keratinocyte-releasable factors in regulation of extracellular matrix expression

The complexity of multi-cellular organisms demands a dynamic reciprocity between neighboring cells in any given tissue. The disruption in keratinocytes and fibroblasts cross-talk in skin has been linked to an imbalance in extracellular matrix (ECM) expression leading to the onset of fibrosis such as hypertrophic scarring. Our group has recently identified 14-3-3σ or stratifin (SFN) as a potent MMP-1 stimulatory factor in fibroblasts. In this doctoral research project, we hypothesized that SFN can modulate other ECM components and execute its transmembrane signaling through interaction with a receptor on the surface of fibroblasts. Three specific objectives were accomplished in this project. Under objective 1, ECM gene expression profile of fibroblasts treated with SFN or co-cultured with keratinocytes was characterized by an ECM-pathway specific gene array and revealed that SFN upregulates a wider range of MMPs such as MMP-3, 8, 10, and 24 other than MMP-1. As SFN was not responsible for the keratinocyte-mediated decrease in collagen expression, under objective 2 attempts were made to characterize the nature of a collagen inhibitory factor in keratinocyte-conditioned medium (KCM). Analysis of keratinocyte/fibroblast co-culture and KCM revealed a 30-50 kDa keratinocyte-derived collagen inhibitory factor with stable activity at high temperature (56 ºC) and acidic environment (pH=2, 30 min). Under objective 3, SFN’s transmembrane signaling mechanism was investigated by utilizing a combination of receptor ectodomain biotin labeling, serial affinity purification, and MS/MS to identify aminopeptidase N or CD13 (APN) as a potential SFN receptor in fibroblasts. APN/SFN binding was further confirmed by immunoprecipitation, cross-linking, and co-distribution studies. Expression of APN and SFN increased after wound closure in a rabbit ear fibrotic model as well as a longitudinal study in rats. The transient knockdown of APN blocked SFN-mediated p38 MAPK activation and MMP-1 expression. Collectively, the findings presented in this thesis provide further support for the importance of keratinocyte-releasable factors in the regulation of ECM and MMP expression in fibroblasts. We also identify APN as a novel cell surface receptor for SFN. Therefore, our findings may provide additional therapeutic tools for the regulation of MMP expression in dermal fibrosis and chronic wound healing disorders.Medicine, Faculty ofMedicine, Department ofExperimental Medicine, Division ofGraduat

COVID-19 Serological Tests: How Well Do They Actually Perform?

In only a few months after initial discovery in Wuhan, China, SARS-CoV-2 and the associated coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) have become a global pandemic causing significant mortality and morbidity and implementation of strict isolation measures. In the absence of vaccines and effective therapeutics, reliable serological testing must be a key element of public health policy to control further spread of the disease and gradually remove quarantine measures. Serological diagnostic tests are being increasingly used to provide a broader understanding of COVID-19 incidence and to assess immunity status in the population. However, there are discrepancies between claimed and actual performance data for serological diagnostic tests on the market. In this study, we conducted a review of independent studies evaluating the performance of SARS-CoV-2 serological tests. We found significant variability in the accuracy of marketed tests and highlight several lab-based and point-of-care rapid serological tests with high levels of performance. The findings of this review highlight the need for ongoing independent evaluations of commercialized COVID-19 diagnostic tests

COVID-19 Point-of-Care Diagnostics That Satisfy Global Target Product Profiles

COVID-19 pandemic will continue to pose a major public health threat until vaccination-mediated herd immunity is achieved. Most projections predict vaccines will reach a large subset of the population late in 2021 or early 2022. In the meantime, countries are exploring options to remove strict lockdown measures and allow society and the economy to return to normal function. One possibility is to expand on existing COVID-19 testing strategies by including large-scale rapid point-of-care diagnostic tests (POCTs). Currently, there is significant variability in performance and features of available POCTs, making selection and procurement of an appropriate test for specific use case difficult. In this review, we have used the World Health Organization’s (WHO) recently published target product profiles (TPPs) for specific use cases of COVID-19 diagnostic tests to screen for top-performing POCTs on the market. Several POCTs, based on clinical sensitivity/specificity, the limit of detection, and time to results, which meet WHO TPP criteria for direct detection of SARS-CoV-2 (acute infection) or indirect diagnosis of past infection (host antibodies), are highlighted here

COVID-19 Point-of-Care Diagnostics That Satisfy Global Target Product Profiles

COVID-19 pandemic will continue to pose a major public health threat until vaccination-mediated herd immunity is achieved. Most projections predict vaccines will reach a large subset of the population late in 2021 or early 2022. In the meantime, countries are exploring options to remove strict lockdown measures and allow society and the economy to return to normal function. One possibility is to expand on existing COVID-19 testing strategies by including large-scale rapid point-of-care diagnostic tests (POCTs). Currently, there is significant variability in performance and features of available POCTs, making selection and procurement of an appropriate test for specific use case difficult. In this review, we have used the World Health Organization&rsquo;s (WHO) recently published target product profiles (TPPs) for specific use cases of COVID-19 diagnostic tests to screen for top-performing POCTs on the market. Several POCTs, based on clinical sensitivity/specificity, the limit of detection, and time to results, which meet WHO TPP criteria for direct detection of SARS-CoV-2 (acute infection) or indirect diagnosis of past infection (host antibodies), are highlighted here