Do return to work interventions for workers with disabilities and health conditions achieve employment outcomes and are they cost effective? A systematic narrative review

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to evaluate existing evidence on whether return to work interventions achieve employment outcomes and are cost effective in order to better inform those needing accommodations at work, as well as their line managers and trade union representatives, occupational health specialists and HR managers. Design/methodology/approach The paper uses a systematic narrative review to evaluate the evidence on the employment outcomes and cost effectiveness of return to work initiatives. Findings Evidence on interventions for musculoskeletal conditions such as lower back pain indicates that certain forms of intervention such as vocational rehabilitation and workplace-based rehabilitation facilitate outcomes such as employment, reduced sick leave and effective return to work. However, there is very little evidence on whether these interventions are cost effective. More generally there are glaring gaps in evidence on cardio-respiratory (heart and breathing) and mental health conditions with regard to both employment outcomes and the cost of interventions. Research limitations/implications This systematic review has critical and timely implications for both knowledge development and practice. While highlighting methodological limitations in the existing research base, it also presents avenues for further research on return work strategies and the factors inhibiting and facilitating their adoption and effective operation. Originality/value Although there is much existent literature on the return to work process, far less attention has been paid to the employment outcomes and cost effectiveness of interventions. This paper highlights the interventions for musculoskeletal conditions such as lower back conditions that may result in positive employment outcomes, with implications for practice. However, it also highlights gaps in evidence on the employment outcomes and cost effectiveness of interventions for cardio-respiratory (heart and breathing) and mental health conditions.Full Tex

Evolutionary Relationships and Range Evolution of Greenhood Orchids (Subtribe Pterostylidinae): Insights From Plastid Phylogenomics

Australia harbours a rich and highly endemic orchid flora with over 90% of native species found nowhere else. However, little is known about the assembly and evolution of Australia’s orchid flora. Here, we used a phylogenomic approach to infer evolutionary relationships, divergence times and range evolution in Pterostylidinae (Orchidoideae), the second largest subtribe in the Australian orchid flora, comprising the genera Pterostylis and Achlydosa. Phylogenetic analysis of 75 plastid genes provided well-resolved and supported phylogenies. Intrageneric relationships in Pterostylis were clarified and monophyly of eight of 10 sections supported. Achlydosa was found to not form part of Pterostylidinae and instead merits recognition at subtribal level, as Achlydosinae. Pterostylidinae were inferred to have originated in eastern Australia in the early Oligocene, coinciding with the complete separation of Australia from Antarctica and the onset of the Antarctic Circumpolar Current, which led to profound changes in the world’s climate. Divergence of all major lineages occurred during the Miocene, accompanied by increased aridification and seasonality of the Australian continent, resulting in strong vegetational changes from rainforest to more open sclerophyllous vegetation. The majority of extant species were inferred to have originated in the Quaternary, from the Pleistocene onwards. The rapid climatic oscillations during the Pleistocene may have acted as important driver of speciation in Pterostylidinae. The subtribe underwent lineage diversification mainly within its ancestral range, in eastern Australia. Long-distance dispersals to southwest Australia commenced from the late Miocene onwards, after the establishment of the Nullarbor Plain, which constitutes a strong edaphic barrier to mesic plants. Range expansions from the mesic into the arid zone of eastern Australia (Eremaean region) commenced from the early Pleistocene onwards. Extant distributions of Pterostylidinae in other Australasian regions, such as New Zealand and New Caledonia, are of more recent origin, resulting from long-distance dispersals from the Pliocene onwards. Temperate eastern Australia was identified as key source area for dispersals to other Australasian regions

TRY plant trait database – enhanced coverage and open access

Plant traits—the morphological, anatomical, physiological, biochemical and phenological characteristics of plants—determine how plants respond to environmental factors, affect other trophic levels, and influence ecosystem properties and their benefits and detriments to people. Plant trait data thus represent the basis for a vast area of research spanning from evolutionary biology, community and functional ecology, to biodiversity conservation, ecosystem and landscape management, restoration, biogeography and earth system modelling. Since its foundation in 2007, the TRY database of plant traits has grown continuously. It now provides unprecedented data coverage under an open access data policy and is the main plant trait database used by the research community worldwide. Increasingly, the TRY database also supports new frontiers of trait‐based plant research, including the identification of data gaps and the subsequent mobilization or measurement of new data. To support this development, in this article we evaluate the extent of the trait data compiled in TRY and analyse emerging patterns of data coverage and representativeness. Best species coverage is achieved for categorical traits—almost complete coverage for ‘plant growth form’. However, most traits relevant for ecology and vegetation modelling are characterized by continuous intraspecific variation and trait–environmental relationships. These traits have to be measured on individual plants in their respective environment. Despite unprecedented data coverage, we observe a humbling lack of completeness and representativeness of these continuous traits in many aspects. We, therefore, conclude that reducing data gaps and biases in the TRY database remains a key challenge and requires a coordinated approach to data mobilization and trait measurements. This can only be achieved in collaboration with other initiatives

Successful management of histiocytic ulcerative colitis with enrofloxacin in two Boxer dogs

Two Boxer dogs with histologically confirmed histiocytic ulcera-tive colitis were treated with enrofloxacin, one as sole therapy and one in conjunction with prednisolone, after failure of standard therapy. Clinical remission occurred rapidly in both dogs after commencement of enrofloxacin and in one case where repeat colonoscopy was performed the endoscopic appearance of the mucosa was normal within 2 weeks. Histological examination of the colonic mucosa in this dog after 7 months showed resolution of the cellular infiltration characteristic of histiocytic ulcerative colitis. Histological improvement following therapy in Boxer dogs with histiocytic ulcerative colitis has not been reported previously

Spontaneous coffee senna poisoning in cattle: report on 16 outbreaks

Sixteen outbreaks of Senna occidentalis (coffee senna) that occurred in cattle in the state of Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil, were reviewed. The great majority (75%) of the outbreaks occurred in adult cattle at pasture during the autumn and winter months with 50% in May, evidencing a striking seasonality. Mortality rates varied from 4.2% to 55.2% and cattle died 2 days up to 2 weeks after showing clinical signs that included dry feces (occasionally diarrhea), muscle weakness, reluctance to move, tachypnea, instability of the hind limbs with dragging of the toes, tremors in muscles of the thighs, neck, and head, ear dropping, sternal recumbency, lateral recumbency and death. Myoglobinuria characterized by a dark red or black discolored urine was a consistent finding in cattle affected at pasture but not in those poisoned by ration contaminated with coffee senna beans. Creatine phosphokinase serum activity was marked ly elevated. Main gross changes observed in 23 necropsies involved skeletal muscles of the hind limbs. These changes consisted of varying degrees of paleness of muscle groups. Subepicardial and subendocardial hemorrhages were present in the hearts of all affected cattle. Histologically a segmental degenerative myopathy of striated muscles was present in every case and had a multifocal polyphasic or monophasic character. Myocardial (3/23), hepatic (3/13), renal (3/10), and splenic (1/6) microscopic lesions were observed occasionally. Myocardial lesions were mild and consisted of vacuolation of cardiomyocytes or focal fibrosis. Hepatic changes consisted of diffuse hepatocelular vacuolation, cytosegrosomes within hepatocytes, and individual hepatocellular necrosis. Kidneys had vacuolar degeneration of tubular epithelium associated with acidophilic casts (proteinosis) within tubular lumina. In the spleen there was marked necrosis of lymphocytes of the white pulp. No histological changes were found in the brains of 13 affected cattle. The data of this study suggest that coffee senna poisoning is an important cause of death in cattle in southern Brazil