21 research outputs found
Return to work after a workplace-oriented intervention for patients on sick-leave for burnout - a prospective controlled study
<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>In the present study the effect of a workplace-oriented intervention for persons on long-term sick leave for clinical burnout, aimed at facilitating return to work (RTW) by job-person match through patient-supervisor communication, was evaluated. We hypothesised that the intervention group would show a more successful RTW than a control group.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>In a prospective controlled study, subjects were identified by the regional social insurance office 2-6 months after the first day on sick leave. The intervention group (n = 74) was compared to a control group who had declined participation, being matched by length of sick leave (n = 74). The RTW was followed up, using sick-listing register data, until 1.5 years after the time of intervention.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>There was a linear increase of RTW in the intervention group during the 1.5-year follow-up period, and 89% of subjects had returned to work to some extent at the end of the follow-up period. The increase in RTW in the control group came to a halt after six months, and only 73% had returned to work to some extent at the end of the 1.5-year follow-up.</p> <p>Conclusions</p> <p>We conclude that the present study demonstrated an improvement of long-term RTW after a workplace-oriented intervention for patients on long-term sick leave due to burnout.</p> <p>Trial registration</p> <p>Current Controlled Trials NCT01039168.</p
Alarm Pheromones and Chemical Communication in Nymphs of the Tropical Bed Bug Cimex hemipterus (Hemiptera: Cimicidae)
The recent resurge of bed bug infestations (Cimex spp.; Cimicidae) and their resistance to commonly used pesticides calls for alternative methods of control. Pheromones play an important role in environmentally sustainable methods for the management of many pest insects and may therefore be applicable for the control of bed bugs. The tropical bed bug, Cimex hemipterus, is a temporary ectoparasite on humans and causes severe discomfort. Compared to the common bed bug, Cimex lectularius, little is known about the chemical signalling and pheromone-based behaviour of the tropical species. Here, we show that the antennal morphology and volatile emission of C. hemipterus closely resembles those of C. lectularius and we test their behavioural responses to conspecific odour emissions. Two major volatiles are emitted by male, female and nymph C. hemipterus under stress, (E)-2-hexenal and (E)-2-octenal. Notably, nymph emissions show contrasting ratios of these compounds to adults and are further characterized by the addition of 4-oxo-(E)-2-hexenal and 4-oxo-(E)-2-octenal. The discovery of this nymph pheromone in C. hemipterus is potentially the cause of a repellent effect observed in the bio-tests, where nymph odours induce a significantly stronger repellent reaction in conspecifics than adult odours. Our results suggest that pheromone-based pest control methods developed for C. lectularius could be applicable to C. hemipterus, with the unique nymph blend showing promising practical properties
Flexible prey handling, preference and a novel capture technique in invasive, sub-adult Chinese mitten crabs
This article is distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/), which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided you give appropriate credit to the original author(s) and the source, provide a link to the Creative Commons license, and indicate if changes were made. The attached file is the published version of the article
Effects of Degraded Optical Conditions on Behavioural Responses to Alarm Cues in a Freshwater Fish
Prey organisms often use multiple sensory cues to gain reliable information about imminent predation threat. In this study we test if a freshwater fish increases the reliance on supplementary cues when the reliability of the primary cue is reduced. Fish commonly use vision to evaluate predation threat, but may also use chemical cues from predators or injured conspecifics. Environmental changes, such as increasing turbidity or water colour, may compromise the use of vision through changes in the optical properties of water. In an experiment we tested if changes in optical conditions have any effects on how crucian carp respond to chemical predator cues. In turbidity treatments we added either clay or algae, and in a brown water colour treatment we added water with a high humic content. We found that carp reduced activity in response to predator cues, but only in the turbidity treatments (clay, algae), whereas the response in the brown water treatment was intermediate, and not significantly different from, clear and turbid water treatments. The increased reliance on chemical cues indicates that crucian carp can compensate for the reduced information content from vision in waters where optical conditions are degraded. The lower effect in brown water may be due to the reduction in light intensity, changes in the spectral composition (reduction of UV light) or to a change in chemical properties of the cue in humic waters
Predator faunas past and present: quantifying the influence of waterborne cues in divergent ecotypes of the isopod Asellus aquaticus
The influence of insecticide exposure and environmental stimuli on the movement behaviour and dispersal of a freshwater isopod
Stream Ecosystem Functioning in an Agricultural Landscape. The Importance of Terrestrial-Aquatic Linkages
The loss of native riparian vegetation and its replacement with non-native
species or grazing land for agriculture is a worldwide phenomenon, but one
that is prevalent in Europe, reflecting the heavily-modified nature of the
continent’s landscape. The consequences of these riparian alterations for
freshwater ecosystems remain largely unknown, largely because bioassessment has traditionally focused on the impacts of organic pollution on community structure. We addressed the need for a broader perspective, which
encompasses changes at the catchment scale, by comparing ecosystem processes in woodland reference sites with those with altered riparian zones. We
assessed a range of riparian modifications, including clearance for pasture
and replacement of woodland with a range of low diversity plantations, in
100 streams to obtain a continental-scale perspective of the major types of
alterations across Europe. Subsequently, we focused on pasture streams, as
an especially prevalent widespread riparian alteration, by characterising their
structural (e.g. invertebrate and fish communities) and functional (e.g. litter
decomposition, algal production, herbivory) attributes in a country (Ireland)
dominated by this type of landscape modification, via field and laboratory
experiments. We found that microbes became increasingly important as
agents of decomposition relative to macrofauna (invertebrates) in impacted
sites in general and in pasture streams in particular. Resource quality of
grass litter (e.g., carbon : nutrient ratios, lignin and cellulose content) was a
key driver of decomposition rates in pasture streams. These systems also
relied more heavily on autochthonous algal production than was the case in
woodland streams, which were more detrital based. These findings suggest
that these pasture streams might be fundamentally different from their native, ancestral woodland state, with a shift towards greater reliance on
autochthonous-based processes. This could have a destabilizing effect on the
dynamics of the food web relative to the slower, detrital-based pathways that
dominate in woodland streams.3F10-AC72-52D0 | Verónica Ferreirainfo:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio