Improving working conditions and job satisfaction in healthcare. A study concept design on a participatory organizational level intervention in psychosocial risks management

This paper contributes to the literature on organizational interventions on occupational health by presenting a concept study design to test the efficacy of a Participatory Organizational level Intervention to improve working conditions and job satisfaction in Healthcare. The Participatory Organizational-level Intervention is developed using the Italian methodology to assess and manage psychosocial risks tailored to Healthcare. We added an additional step; evaluation, aiming to examine how the intervention works, what worked for whom in which circumstances. This ongoing study is conducted in collaboration with two large Italian Hospitals (more than 7,000 employees). The study design comprises a quasi-experimental approach consisting of five phases and surveys distributed pre- and post-intervention aiming to capture improvements in working conditions and job satisfaction. Moreover, to evaluate the efficacy of the Intervention in terms of process and content, we use a realist evaluation to test Context-Mechanisms-Outcome (CMO) configurations. We collect contextual factors at baseline and during and post-intervention process data on the key principles of line manager support and employees participation. This study is expected to provide insights on methods and strategies to improve working conditions and employees’ job satisfaction and on national policies in the occupational health framework

Cooperazione Italia-Indonesia:un sistema per il monitoraggio sismologico del vulcano Marapi (Sumatra)

L’Italia e l’Indonesia hanno avviato nel 2005-2006 un progetto di cooperazione sulle tematiche della mitigazione del rischio vulcanico. Nell’ambito di questo progetto è stata individuata la zona ovest di Sumatra come area di intervento. In particolare è stato preso in considerazione il vulcanoMarapi. Questo vulcano ha avuto frequente attività eruttiva nelle ultime decine di anni. L’ultima eruzione si è verificata nel 2004. La sua attività, sebbene di moderata intensità, pone un problema di protezione civile, poiché dal 1980 ad oggi ha causato diversi feriti e alcune vittime tra i turisti che hanno visitato l’area craterica sommitale. Allo scopo di monitorare lo stato di attività del Marapi, nell’ambito del citato progetto è stata realizzata una rete sismica a larga banda composta da 4 stazioni e basata su sensori Guralp GMG-40T da 60s di periodo e su acquisitori di tipo GAIA2, prodotti presso l’Istituto Nazionale di Geofisica e Vulcanologia. La strumentazione è stata portata dall’Italia ed è stata installata da un gruppo di lavoro formato da italiani ed indonesiani. Oltre all’installazione della strumentazione in campagna è stato necessario allestire un vero e proprio Centro di Monitoraggio presso l’Osservatorio di Bukittinggi, in prossimità delle pendici nordoccidentali del vulcano, dotato di calcolatori per l’acquisizione, l’analisi dei dati e la loro archiviazione. Il sistema per ilmonitoraggio sismologico realizzato alMarapi costituisce un importante strumento di prevenzione del rischio associato all’attività di questo vulcano e sta permettendo di creare un ricco data set utile a caratterizzare la sismicità della struttura vulcanica e dell’area circostante. Da un’analisi preliminare dei dati registrati nel periodo 19/10/2006 - 24/11/2008 si evidenzia che il vulcanomanifesta una sismicità di tipo VT ed LP. Nell’ agosto 2007 sono stati inoltre registrati segnali probabilmente attribuibili a modesta attività esplosiva nell’area sommitale. Italy and Indonesia started a cooperation project in 2005-2006 to cover issues for the mitigation of volcanic risk. In this project, the west area of Sumatra was identified as the area for intervention. In particular, the Marapi volcano was considered. This volcano has shown frequent eruptive activity over recent decades, with the last eruption occurring in 2004. Although its activity is of moderate intensity, it creates a civil protection problem, because since 1980 it has resulted in several injuries and a number of deaths among the tourists who visit the summit crater area. To monitor the activity of Marapi volcano as part of this project, a broadband seismic network has been implemented that consists of four stations based on Guralp GMG 40T sensors with period of 60 s and on GAIA2 data-loggers, which are produced at the INGV. The instrumentation was brought from Italy and was installed by a working group comprising Italians and Indonesians. In addition to the instrumentation in the field, it was necessary to set up a monitoring centre in the Bukittinggi Observatory, which is near the north-western slopes of the Marapi volcano. This is equipped with computers for data acquisition, analysis and archiving. The system for seismological monitoring that has been realized atMarapi volcano is an important tool in the prevention of the risk associated with this volcano, and it is providing a rich dataset that will be of great use for the characterization of the seismicity of the Marapi volcanic structure and the surrounding area. A preliminary analysis of the data recorded during the period 19/10/2006 - 24/11/2008 evidences that the volcano shows VT and LP seismicity. In August 2007 were also recorded signals probably attributable to small explosive activity in the summit area

A quantitative model for estimating risk from multiple interacting natural hazards: an application to northeast Zhejiang, China

Multi-hazard risk assessment is a major concern in risk analysis, but most approaches do not consider all hazard interactions when calculating possible losses. We address this problem by developing an improved quantitative model - Model for multi-hazard Risk assessment with a consideration of Hazard Interaction (MmhRisk-HI). This model calculates the possible loss caused by multiple hazards, with an explicit consideration of interaction between those hazards. There are two main components to the model. In the first, based on the hazard-forming environment, relationships among hazards are classified into four types for calculation of the exceedance probability of multiple hazards occurrence. In the second, a Bayesian network is used to calculate possible loss caused by multiple hazards with different exceedance probabilities. A multi-hazard risk map can then be drawn addressing the probability of multi-hazard occurrence and corresponding loss. This model was applied in northeast Zhejiang, China and validated by comparison against an observed multi-hazard sequence. The validation results show that the model can more effectively represent the real world, and that the modelled outputs, possible loss caused by multiple hazards, are reliable. The outputs can additionally help to identify areas at greatest risk, and allows a determination of the factors that contribute to that risk, and hence the model can provide useful further information for planners and decision-makers concerned with risk mitigation

are drug eluting stents superior to bare metal stents in patients with unprotected non bifurcational left main disease insights from a multicentre registry

Aims To compare long-term clinical outcome following drug-eluting stents (DES) or bare-metal stents (BMS) implantation on lesions located at the ostium or the shaft of the left main in a large real-world population. The advent of DES decreased the risk of unprotected left main coronary artery (ULMCA) restenosis when compared with BMS, but it is unclear if this advantage continues when non-bifurcational lesions are considered. Methods and results The GISE-SICI registry is a retrospective, observational multicentre registry promoted by the Italian Society of Invasive Cardiology in which 19 high-volume participating centres enrolled 1453 consecutive patients who underwent percutaneous coronary intervention on ULMCA between January 2002 and December 2006. From the registry, a total of 479 consecutive patients with ostial and shaft lesions who underwent DES ( n = 334) or BMS ( n = 145) implantation were analysed with extensive multivariable and propensity score adjustments. At 3-year follow-up, risk-adjusted survival rates were higher in patients treated with DES than in those treated with BMS. The adjusted hazard ratio (HR) for the risk of mortality after DES implantation relative to BMS implantation was 0.37 (95% CI: 0.15–0.96, P = 0.04). The adjusted HR for the risk of cardiac mortality was 0.31 (95% CI: 0.09–1.04, P = 0.06). The adjusted 3-year rates of target lesion revascularization (TLR) were not significantly lower in the DES group than in the BMS group ( P = 0.60). Conclusion In a large population of patients with lesions located at the ostium or the shaft of the left main in a real-world setting, DES were associated with favourable clinical outcomes when compared with BMS, although there was no evidence of a significant reduction in TLR with DES vs. BMS

Exploring the impact of CMIP5 model biases on the simulation of North Atlantic decadal variability

Instrumental observations, palaeo-proxies, and climate models suggest significant decadal variability within the North Atlantic subpolar gyre (NASPG). However, a poorly sampled observational record and a diversity of model behaviours mean that the precise nature and mechanisms of this variability are unclear. Here, we analyse an exceptionally large multi-model ensemble of 42 present-generation climate models to test whether NASPG mean state biases systematically affect the representation of decadal variability. Temperature and salinity biases in the Labrador Sea co-vary and influence whether density variability is controlled by temperature or salinity variations. Ocean horizontal resolution is a good predictor of the biases and the location of the dominant dynamical feedbacks within the NASPG. However, we find no link to the spectral characteristics of the variability. Our results suggest that the mean state and mechanisms of variability within the NASPG are not independent. This represents an important caveat for decadal predictions using anomaly-assimilation methods

Constraints on the χ_(c1) versus χ_(c2) polarizations in proton-proton collisions at √s = 8 TeV

The polarizations of promptly produced χ_(c1) and χ_(c2) mesons are studied using data collected by the CMS experiment at the LHC, in proton-proton collisions at √s=8  TeV. The χ_c states are reconstructed via their radiative decays χ_c → J/ψγ, with the photons being measured through conversions to e⁺e⁻, which allows the two states to be well resolved. The polarizations are measured in the helicity frame, through the analysis of the χ_(c2) to χ_(c1) yield ratio as a function of the polar or azimuthal angle of the positive muon emitted in the J/ψ → μ⁺μ⁻ decay, in three bins of J/ψ transverse momentum. While no differences are seen between the two states in terms of azimuthal decay angle distributions, they are observed to have significantly different polar anisotropies. The measurement favors a scenario where at least one of the two states is strongly polarized along the helicity quantization axis, in agreement with nonrelativistic quantum chromodynamics predictions. This is the first measurement of significantly polarized quarkonia produced at high transverse momentum