Incidence and prevalence of upper-extremity musculoskeletal disorders. A systematic appraisal of the literature

BACKGROUND: A systematic appraisal of the worldwide incidence and prevalence rates of UEDs available in scientific literature was executed to gauge the range of these estimates in various countries and to determine whether the rates are increasing in time. METHODS: Studies that recruited at least 500 people, collected data by using questionnaires, interviews and/or physical examinations, and reported incidence or prevalence rates of the whole upper-extremity including neck, were included. RESULTS: No studies were found with regard to the incidence of UEDs and 13 studies that reported prevalence rates of UEDs were included. The point prevalence ranged from 1.6–53%; the 12-months prevalence ranged from 2.3–41%. One study reported on the lifetime prevalence (29%). We did not find evidence of a clear increasing or decreasing pattern over time. The case definitions for UEDs used in the studies, differed enormously. Therefore, it was not possible to pool the data. CONCLUSION: There are substantial differences in reported prevalence rates on UEDs. Main reason for this is the absence of a universally accepted way of labelling or defining UEDs. If we want to make progress in this field, the first requirement is to agree on unambiguous terminology and classification of EUDs

Extravasation of leukocytes in comparison to tumor cells

The multi-step process of the emigration of cells from the blood stream through the vascular endothelium into the tissue has been termed extravasation. The extravasation of leukocytes is fairly well characterized down to the molecular level, and has been reviewed in several aspects. Comparatively little is known about the extravasation of tumor cells, which is part of the hematogenic metastasis formation. Although the steps of the process are basically the same in leukocytes and tumor cells, i.e. rolling, adhesion, transmigration (diapedesis), the molecules that are involved are different. A further important difference is that leukocyte interaction with the endothelium changes the endothelial integrity only temporarily, whereas tumor cell interaction leads to an irreversible damage of the endothelial architecture. Moreover, tumor cells utilize leukocytes for their extravasation as linkers to the endothelium. Thus, metastasis formation is indirectly susceptible to localization signals that are literally specific for the immune system. We herein compare the extravasation of leukocytes and tumor cells with regard to the involved receptors and the localization signals that direct the cells to certain organs and sites of the body

Comment on the obesity issue

ISSN:0303-840

Course of low back pain among nurses: a longitudinal study across eight years

Aims: To describe the course of low back pain (LBP) among nurses across eight years. Methods: A longitudinal study was performed with a follow up at 1 and 8 years among nurses employed by a large university hospital in Switzerland. A modified version of the Nordic Questionnaire was distributed to obtain information about demographic data, occupational activities, and various aspects of LBP. A clinical examination and several functional tests were used to overcome the problems associated with subjective pain reporting. Nurses having answered the questionnaire on all three occasions (n = 269) were classified into subgroups according to their pain intensity. For each subgroup the course of LBP was recorded. Results: LBP was highly prevalent with an annual prevalence varying from 73% to 76%. A large percentage (38%) indicated the same intensity of LBP on all three occasions. The proportion of nurses reporting repeated increase of LBP (19%) was approximately as large as the proportion who complained about repeated decrease of LBP (17%). Conclusion: It became evident that LBP poses a persistent problem among nurses. Over an eight year period almost half of the nurses indicated the same intensity of LBP, thus supporting a recurrent rather than a progressive nature of LBP

Correlates of short- and long-term absence due to musculoskeletal disorders

BACKGROUND: Musculoskeletal disorders (MSD) are a common cause of disability and absence from work. There is no consistent evidence in the literature regarding predictors for short- and long-term absences due to these disorders. AIMS: To investigate work-related factors influencing short- and long-term absences due to MSD in German-speaking countries. METHODS: The study is based on data from the Fourth European Working Conditions Survey. The study population included 2849 workers in German-speaking countries who participated in face-to-face interviews. Logistic regression models were used to determine the associations between possible risk factors and the occurrence of short- or long-term absence due to MSD. RESULTS: A tiring or painful working position was positively correlated with short- and long-term absenteeism due to MSD, whereas the freedom to decide when to take holidays was negatively associated with this phenomenon. Some psychosocial factors, such as the ability to apply one's own ideas at work, the ability to choose or change the speed or rate of work and the emotional demands of the job, had contradictory impacts on short- and long-term absenteeism due to MSD. CONCLUSIONS: The results of this investigation show that it is important to distinguish between predictors of short- and long-term absenteeism due to MSD

A Microrobotic System for Simultaneous Measurement of Turgor Pressure and Cell-Wall Elasticity of Individual Growing Plant Cells

Plant growth and morphogenesis is directed by cell division and the expansion of individual cells. How the tightly controlled process of cell expansion is regulated is poorly understood. We introduce a microrobotic platform able to separately measure the turgor pressure and cell wall elasticity of individual growing, turgid cells by combining microindentation with cell compression experiments. The system independently controls two indenters with geometries at different scales. Indentation measurements are performed automatically by deforming the cells with indenters with a spatial resolution in the nanometer range while recording force and displacement. The dual-indentation technique offers a noninvasive, high-throughput method to characterize the cytomechanics of single turgid cells by separately measuring elasticity and turgor pressure. In this way, the expansion regulation of growing cells can be investigated, as demonstrated here using Lilium longiflorum pollen tubes as an example