Shoulder girdle muscle activity and fatigue in traditional and improved design carpet weaving workstations

Objectives: Work-related musculoskeletal disorders in the neck and shoulder regions are common among carpet weavers. Working for prolonged hours in a static and awkward posture could result in an increased muscle activity and may lead to musculoskeletal disorders. Ergonomic workstation improvements can reduce muscle fatigue and the risk of musculoskeletal disorders. Material and Methods: The aim of this study is to assess and to compare upper trapezius and middle deltoid muscle activity in 2 traditional and improved design carpet weaving workstations. These 2 workstations were simulated in a laboratory and 12 women carpet weavers worked for 3 h. Electromyography (EMG) signals were recorded during work in bilateral upper trapezius and bilateral middle deltoid. The root mean square (RMS) and median frequency (MF) values were calculated and used to assess muscle load and fatigue. Repeated measure ANOVA was performed to assess the effect of independent variables on muscular activity and fatigue. The participants were asked to report shoulder region fatigue on the Borg�s Category-Ratio scale (Borg CR-10). Results: Root mean square values in workstation A are significantly higher than in workstation B. Furthermore, EMG amplitude was higher in bilateral trapezius than in bilateral deltoid. However, muscle fatigue was not observed in any of the workstations. Conclusions: The results of the study revealed that muscle load in a traditional workstation was high, but fatigue was not observed. Further studies investigating other muscles involved in carpet weaving tasks are recommended. © 2016, Nofer Institute of Occupational Medicine. All rights reserved

Ten Years� Survival in Patients with Cervical Cancer and Related Factors in West Azerbaijan Province: Using of Cox Proportion Hazard Model

Objective: There are two basic ways to analyze survival data including nonparametric and parametric methods. Considering that cervical cancer is the fourth most common cancer among women, this study was conducted using a suitable regression model for survival data for patients with cervical cancer in Urmia. Material and Methods: In this historical retrospective study, all patients with cervical cancer who referred to Motahhari Hospital of Urmia during 2004 and 2015 were included in the study and consisted of 109 women with cervical cancer. The data were collected using checklist which filled with records of patients. The data were described with percent, mean and standard deviation. The survival function was computed with the Kaplan-Meier method. The adjusted Hazard Ratio for variables were estimated after fitting the Cox proportion hazard model using Forward Stepwise Likelihood Ratio method with PE=0.1, PR=0.15. Results: Of the 109 patients, the mean (SD) time of diagnosis was 50.1 (11.7) years. The mean (SD) and median of follow-up time was 38.23 (32.50) and 27.1 months (Mim:2 months and Max:132 months). Ninty-Three of patients (88.7) were in urban area. Using Log-Rank test, the mean score of survival in patients with recurrence of 38.8 months was significantly lower than those without recurrence (102.5 months) (P <0.001). The results of the COX model showed that the adjusted relative risk of mortality with a diagnostic age of 50 years or more compared to those under 50 years of age was 1.978. The risk for marriage under age 20 was 3.189 compared to the marriage age of 20 years or more. Conclusion: According to results, the low age of marriage increases the occurrence of advanced stages of cancer in older ages and as a social and cultural factor has a significant effect on the survival of patients with cervical cancer. Creative Commons Attribution Licens