Sickness presenteeism in Spanish-born and immigrant workers in Spain

<p>Abstract</p> <p><b>Background</b></p> <p>Previous studies have shown that immigrant workers face relatively worse working and employment conditions, as well as lower rates of sickness absence than native-born workers. This study aims to assess rates of sickness presenteeism in a sample of Spanish-born and foreign-born workers according to different characteristics.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>A cross-sectional survey was conducted amongst a convenience sample of workers (Spanish-born and foreign-born), living in four Spanish cities: Barcelona, Huelva, Madrid and Valencia (2008-2009). Sickness presenteeism information was collected through two items in the questionnaire ("Have you had health problems in the last year?" and "Have you ever had to miss work for any health problem?") and was defined as worker who had a health problem (answered yes, first item) and had not missed work (answered no, second item). For the analysis, the sample of 2,059 workers (1,617 foreign-born) who answered yes to health problems was included. After descriptives, logistic regressions were used to establish the association between origin country and sickness presenteeism (adjusted odds ratios aOR; 95% confidence interval 95%CI). Analyses were stratified per time spent in Spain among foreign-born workers.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>All of the results refer to the comparison between foreign-born and Spanish-born workers as a whole, and in some categories relating to personal and occupational conditions. Foreign-born workers were more likely to report sickness presenteeism compared with their Spanish-born counterparts, especially those living in Spain for under 2 years [Prevalence: 42% in Spanish-born and 56.3% in Foreign-born; aOR 1.77 95%CI 1.24-2.53]. In case of foreign-born workers (with time in Spain < 2 years), men [aOR 2.31 95%CI 1.40-3.80], those with university studies [aOR 3.01 95%CI 1.04-8.69], temporary contracts [aOR 2.26 95%CI 1.29-3.98] and salaries between 751-1,200€ per month [aOR 1.74 95% CI 1.04-2.92] were more likely to report sickness presenteeism. Also, recent immigrants with good self-perceived health and good mental health were more likely to report presenteeism than Spanish-born workers with the same good health indicators.</p> <p>Conclusions</p> <p>Immigrant workers report more sickness presenteeism than their Spanish-born counterparts. These results could be related to precarious work and employment conditions of immigrants. Immigrant workers should benefit from the same standards of social security, and of health and safety in the workplace that are enjoyed by Spanish workers.</p

Identifying key predictors of recidivism among offenders attending a batterer intervention program: A survival analysis

Strategies to reduce intimate partner violence against women (IPVAW) can be targeted at different levels. Batterer intervention programs (BIPs) are among the main treatment approaches for IPVAW offenders. The most common outcome used in the evaluation of BIP effectiveness is recidivism. Efforts to increase BIP effectiveness in reducing recidivism should focus on key predictive variables of this outcome. The aim of this study was to identify key predictors of official recidivism from a large set of variables drawn from a sample of IPVAW offenders court-mandated to a community-based BIP (N = 393), with a follow-up period of between 0 and 69 months. To this end, a survival analysis was conducted using four sets of variables: individual-level, relational- and contextual-level, violence-related, and intervention process-related variables. To include all variables in the analysis simultaneously, a Cox regression model was estimated with the adaptive least absolute shrinkage and selection operator (ALASSO). From a pool of eighty-nine variables, six were selected as key predictors of recidivism: dropout, risk of future violence against non-partners, family violence exposure, immigrant status, accumulation of stressful life events, and trait anger. The area under the receiving operator characteristic (ROC) curve was .808, indicating good prediction of the model. The key predictors of recidivism found in this study should be considered by professionals and researchers in the BIP field to improve their evaluation and intervention strategies. Practical implications for future research are also discussed

From the selfish gene to selfish metabolism: revisiting the central dogma

The standard representation of the Central Dogma (CD) of Molecular Biology conspicuously ignores metabolism. However, both the metabolites and the biochemical fluxes behind any biological phenomenon are encrypted in the DNA sequence. Metabolism constrains and even changes the information flow when the DNA-encoded instructions conflict with the homeostasis of the biochemical network. Inspection of adaptive virulence programs and emergence of xenobiotic-biodegradation pathways in environmental bacteria suggest that their main evolutionary drive is the expansion of their metabolic networks towards new chemical landscapes rather than perpetuation and spreading of their DNA sequences. Faulty enzymatic reactions on suboptimal substrates produce reactive oxygen species (ROS), which fosters DNA diversification and eventually couples catabolism of the new chemicals to growth. All this calls for a revision of the CD in which metabolism (rather than DNA) has the leading role.The work in Author’s laboratory is supported by generous grants of the Spanish Ministry of Science and Innovation (CONSOLIDER), by contracts of the Framework Program of the EU (MICROME, ST-FLOW), the European Research Council (ARISYS) and by Funds of the Autonomous Community of Madrid (PROMT Program).Peer reviewe

A GFP-lacZ Bicistronic Reporter System for Promoter Analysis in Environmental Gram-Negative Bacteria

Here, we describe a bicistronic reporter system for the analysis of promoter activity in a variety of Gram-negative bacteria at both the population and single-cell levels. This synthetic genetic tool utilizes an artificial operon comprising the gfp and lacZ genes that are assembled in a suicide vector, which is integrated at specific sites within the chromosome of the target bacterium, thereby creating a monocopy reporter system. This tool was instrumental for the complete in vivo characterization of two promoters, Pb and Pc, that drive the expression of the benzoate and catechol degradation pathways, respectively, of the soil bacterium Pseudomonas putida KT2440. The parameterization of these promoters in a population (using β-galactosidase assays) and in single cells (using flow cytometry) was necessary to examine the basic numerical features of these systems, such as the basal and maximal levels and the induction kinetics in response to an inducer (benzoate). Remarkably, GFP afforded a view of the process at a much higher resolution compared with standard lacZ tests; changes in fluorescence faithfully reflected variations in the transcriptional regimes of individual bacteria. The broad host range of the vector/reporter platform is an asset for the characterization of promoters in different bacteria, thereby expanding the diversity of genomic chasses amenable to Synthetic Biology methods

The Standard European Vector Architecture (SEVA): a coherent platform for the analysis and deployment of complex prokaryotic phenotypes

The 'Standard European Vector Architecture' database (SEVA-DB, http://seva.cnb.csic.es) was conceived as a user-friendly, web-based resource and a material clone repository to assist in the choice of optimal plasmid vectors for de-constructing and re-constructing complex prokaryotic phenotypes. The SEVA-DB adopts simple design concepts that facilitate the swapping of functional modules and the extension of genome engineering options to microorganisms beyond typical laboratory strains. Under the SEVA standard, every DNA portion of the plasmid vectors is minimized, edited for flaws in their sequence and/or functionality, and endowed with physical connectivity through three inter-segment insulators that are flanked by fixed, rare restriction sites. Such a scaffold enables the exchangeability of multiple origins of replication and diverse antibiotic selection markers to shape a frame for their further combination with a large variety of cargo modules that can be used for varied end-applications. The core collection of constructs that are available at the SEVA-DB has been produced as a starting point for the further expansion of the formatted vector platform. We argue that adoption of the SEVA format can become a shortcut to fill the phenomenal gap between the existing power of DNA synthesis and the actual engineering of predictable and efficacious bacteria

The Concile National of 1811: Napoleon, Gallicanism and the Failure of Neo-Conciliarism

The concile national of 1811 was, among, the greatest flashpoints in the struggle that pitted the Napoleonic Empire against the papacy. The concile deserves to be situated within more recent historiographical trends. This incident reveals much about the nature of Napoleonic imperialism and the Church’s distrust for the power of the state. This article puts forward the view that the failure of the concile national was not strategic but tactical. Several bishops were frustrated with the pope’s recalcitrance over episcopal investiture and fearful of schism. Their initial openness to neo-conciliarism turned to hostility when confronted with the state’s intolerance

Introduction: Nietzsche's Life and Works

An introduction to Nietzsche's life and works

Nietzsche's Ethics of Affirmation

This chapter looks at Nietzsche's notion of the affirmation of life. It begins with the origins of the concept in Schopenhauer and in the Schopenhauerian philosophy known to Nietzsche. It then examines affirmation in three phases of Nietzsche's writing: early, middle and late. It relates affirmation to other key Nietzschean concepts like the Apollonian and the Dionysian, eternal recurrence, amor fati and will to power

Kaarle XII:n sotaretket Suuren Pohjan sodan aikana

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