Engaging Occupational Safety and Health Professionals in Bridging Research and Practice:Evaluation of a Participatory Workshop Program in the Danish Construction Industry

Engaging occupational safety and health (OSH) professionals has scarcely been evaluated as a means for transferring knowledge to practice about physical workload in the construction industry. The aim of this work was to examine how participants used and incorporate research-based knowledge from a three-day training course into practice. Twenty OSH professionals from the Danish construction industry participated in a workshop-training course. Researchers presented new knowledge and results about physically demanding work. The participants selected which themes they wanted to work with and developed an action plan. Evaluation was done using surveys and phone interviews. Analysis was based on how the OSH-professionals describe themselves, organizations, and the construction industry. Participant’s average scores on the level of implementation of their chosen action plans were 3 (on a response scale from 1–5, where 1 is ‘to a very low degree’ and 5 is ‘to a very high degree’) immediately after the workshop program and 2.5 at follow-up. Qualitative evaluations showed that actions had been initiated, and some progress had been made. The participants were satisfied with the workshop course and the possibility to increase their knowledge through inputs from researchers and colleges and strongly believe that they would succeed with implementing their action plans in the future

Giant magnetic enhancement in Fe/Pd films and its influence on the magnetic interlayer coupling

The magnetic properties of thin Pd fcc(001) films with embedded monolayers of Fe are investigated by means of first principles density functional theory. The induced spin polarization in Pd is calculated and analyzed in terms of quantum interference within the Fe/Pd/Fe bilayer system. An investigation of the magnetic enhancement effects on the spin polarization is carried out and its consequences for the magnetic interlayer coupling are discussed. In contrast to {\it e.g.} the Co/Cu fcc(001) system we find a large effect on the magnetic interlayer coupling due to magnetic enhancement in the spacer material. In the case of a single embedded Fe monolayer we find aninduced Pd magnetization decaying with distance $n$ from the magnetic layer as ~$n^{-\alpha}$ with $\alpha \approx 2.4$. For the bilayer system we find a giant magnetic enhancement (GME) that oscillates strongly due to interference effects. This results in a strongly modified magnetic interlayer coupling, both in phase and magnitude, which may not be described in the pure Ruderman-Kittel-Kasuya-Yoshida (RKKY) picture. No anti-ferromagnetic coupling was found and by comparison with magnetically constrained calculations we show that the overall ferromagnetic coupling can be understood from the strong polarization of the Pd spacer

Humanized NOG Mice for Intravaginal HIV Exposure and Treatment of HIV Infection

Humanized mice provide a sophisticated platform to study human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) virology and to test antiviral drugs. This protocol describes the establishment of a human immune system in adult NOG mice. Here, we explain all the practical steps from isolation of umbilical cord blood derived human CD34+ cells and their subsequent intravenous transplantation into the mice, to the manipulation of the model through HIV infection, combination antiretroviral therapy (cART), and blood sampling. Approximately 75,000 hCD34+ cells are injected intravenously into the mice and the level of human chimerism, also known as humanization, in the peripheral blood is estimated longitudinally for months by flow cytometry. A total of 75,000 hCD34+ cells yields 20%–50% human CD45+ cells in the peripheral blood. The mice are susceptible to intravaginal infection with HIV and blood can be sampled once weekly for analysis, and twice monthly for extended periods. This protocol describes an assay for quantification of plasma viral load using droplet digital PCR (ddPCR). We show how the mice can be effectively treated with a standard-of- care cART regimen in the diet. The delivery of cART in the form of regular mouse chow is a significant refinement of the experimental model. This model can be used for preclinical analysis of both systemic and topical pre-exposure prophylaxis compounds as well as for testing of novel treatments and HIV cure strategies

New‐Onset Atrial Fibrillation is Associated With Cardiovascular Events Leading to Death in a First Time Myocardial Infarction Population of 89 703 Patients With Long‐Term Follow‐Up:A Nationwide Study

BACKGROUND: New‐onset atrial fibrillation (AF) is reported to increase the risk of death in myocardial infarction (MI) patients. However, previous studies have reported conflicting results and no data exist to explain the underlying cause of higher death rates in these patients. METHODS AND RESULTS: All patients with first acute MI between 1997 and 2009 in Denmark, without prior AF, were identified from Danish nationwide administrative registers. The impact of new‐onset AF on all‐cause mortality, cardiovascular death, fatal/nonfatal stroke, fatal/nonfatal re‐infarction and noncardiovascular death, were analyzed by multiple time‐dependent Cox models and additionally in propensity score matched analysis. In 89 703 patients with an average follow‐up of 5.0±3.5 years event rates were higher in patients developing AF (n=10 708) versus those staying in sinus‐rhythm (n=78 992): all‐cause mortality 173.9 versus 69.4 per 1000 person‐years, cardiovascular death 137.2 versus 50.0 per 1000 person‐years, fatal/nonfatal stroke 19.6/19.9 versus 6.2/5.6 per 1000 person‐years, fatal/nonfatal re‐infarction 29.0/60.7 versus 14.2/37.9 per 1000 person‐years. In time‐dependent multiple Cox analyses, new‐onset AF remained predictive of increased all‐cause mortality (HR: 1.9 [95% CI: 1.8 to 2.0]), cardiovascular death (HR: 2.1 [2.0 to 2.2]), fatal/nonfatal stroke (HR: 2.3 [2.1 to 2.6]/HR: 2.5 [2.2 to 2.7]), fatal/nonfatal re‐infarction (HR: 1.7 [1.6 to 1.8]/HR: 1.8 [1.7 to 1.9]), and non‐ cardiovascular death (HR: 1.4 [1.3 to 1.5]) all P<0.001). Propensity‐score matched analyses yielded nearly identical results (all P<0.001). CONCLUSIONS: New‐onset AF after first‐time MI is associated with increased mortality, which is largely explained by more cardiovascular deaths. Focus on the prognostic impact of post‐infarct AF is warranted