Orchestra chairs as a significant factors of applied ergonomics

Obavljajući svoj posao profesionalni su glazbenici izloženi pojačanim tjelesnim naprezanjima koji ugrožavaju njihovo zdravlje. Često su izloženi nefiziološkim položajima, a posebice prekomjernom i nepravilnom sjedenju. Potaknuti upitima samih glazbenika, istraživači su proveli anketu među glazbenicima i prikupili podatke o njihovu mišljenju glede primjerenosti njihovih radnih sjedalica. Cilj istraživanja bio je procijeniti primjerenost radnih sjedalica profesionalnih glazbenika, kao važan čimbenik uvjeta u kojima rade. Ispitanici: U istraživanju je sudjelovalo je 50 od 77 (65 %) stalnih glazbenika simfonijskog orkestra, koji su potaknuli istraživanje. Pretežito su sudjelovale žene (33 ili 66 % ispitanih), dobi od 24 do 62 godine, ukupnog staža od 1 do 38 godina. Metode: Procjena primjerenosti sjedalica za glazbenike načinjena je upitnikom od 8 pitanja: ukupna ocjena sjedalica, ocjena naslona, površine sjedne plohe, nagib sjedne plohe, materijal izrade, stabilnost sjedalice. Rezultati obrade podataka prikazani su deskriptivno. Rezultati: Samo je 6 (12 %) ispitanika relativno zadovoljno sjedalicama, a lošima ih je ocijenilo 8 (16 %), dok ih čak 35 (70 %) smatra vrlo lošim. Najčešće su se primjedbe odnosile na loš nagib sjedne plohe (84 %). Slijede primjedbe na naslon (82 %), površinu sjedne plohe (80 %), materijal izrade (76 %) i stabilnost sjedalice (68%). Stariji glazbenici su učestalije iznosili primjedbe na sjedalice, dok su mlađi bili suradljiviji glede prijedloga o poboljšanju uvjeta rada. Zaključak: Rezultati ovog istraživanja ukazuju na korisnu suradnju znanstvenika i glazbenika koja bi se trebala nastaviti slijedeći ergonomska pitanja radnog mjesta profesionalnih glazbenika primjenom multidisciplinarnog pristupa.Professional musicians are subjected to intense physical stress during their playing, which endangers their health, often in non- physiological positions, but also to the unwanted consequences of excessive and irregular sitting. The aim of the research was to evaluate the appropriateness of professional musicians\u27 working chairs as an important factor in the conditions in which they work. Participants: There were 50 of 77 (65%) permanent musicians of the symphony orchestra, which encouraged this research, predominantly women (33 or 66% of respondents), aged 24 to 62, with a total duration of 1 to 38 years. Methods: The assessment of the suitability of the orchestra chairs was made by a questionnaire of 8 questions: total chair rating, rating of the backrest, sill surface, slip slope, fabrication material, and chair stability. Results: Only 6 (12%) of the respondents were satisfied with the chair, and the bad ones were rated by 8 (16%), while 35 (70%) considered them very poor. The most frequent comments were on the sloping slope of the sitting surface (84%), followed by the remarks on the backrest (82%), seat surface (80%) and fabrication material (76%), chair stability (68%). The younger musicians were more likely to comment on the chair, while the older were less cooperative. Conclusion: The results of this research point to the useful collaboration of scientists and musicians which should be continued by following the ergonomic issues of the workplace of professional musicians, and by applying a multidisciplinary approach

PREVALENCE AND CORRELATION OF DEPRESSIVE SYMPTOMS WITH FUNCTIONAL SCORES, THERAPY AND DISEASE ACTIVITY AMONG CROATIAN PATIENTS WITH RHEUMATOID ARTHRITIS: A PRELIMINARY STUDY

Background: Rheumatoid arthritis (RA) is a chronic, autoimmune and disabling disease that significantly affects the quality of life. Additionally, significant number of patients with RA suffer from depressive disorders, which are commonly underrecognised and undertreated. We aimed to estimate the prevalence of depressive symptoms in Croatian RA patients and to assess the relationship between them and clinical correlates. Subjects and methods: Fifty-four RA patients treated at the Clinic for Rheumatic Diseases and Rehabilitation at the University Hospital Centre Zagreb were prospectively enrolled in the study and evaluated for functional status using the Disease Activity Score 28 (DAS-28), Health Assessment Questionnaire (HAQ), Functional Assessment of Chronic Illness Therapy-Fatigue (FACIT-F) and Visual Analogue Scale (VAS) for pain and health related quality of life (HRQL) measurement. The depressive symptoms were assessed using the Beck Depression Inventory-II (BDI-II) questionnaire. Results: Thirty RA patients (55.6%) had some sort of mood disorder, with 10 (18.5%) patients accounting as depressed. Positive correlation was found between depressive symptoms, higher disease activity and disablity during daily activities (????b=0.385, p=0.001 and ????b=0.282, p=0.024 respectively). We found no significant association between depression and disease activity in the whole sample of RA patients, but for postmenopausal patients, the disease activity correlated with postmenopausal patients accounting as depressed (BDI-II score moderate or severe; ????b=0.363, p=0.021). The use of biologic therapy correlated negatively with the disease acitivity, pain intensity and worse health related quality of life score (????b=-0.360, p=0.06; ????b=-0.310, p=0.07; ????b=-0.380, p=0.01 respectively). Conclusion: Considering the high prevalence of depressive sympoms in RA patients and the effect on functional disability and quality of life, we wanted to emphasize the importance of recognizing and optimizing depression treatment through multidisciplinary approach in RA patients

Indolentni ekstranodalni B-NHL CD20 pozitivni limfom tipa MALT u bolesnic e s primarnim Sjögrenovim sindromom uz dobar odgovor na liječenje rituksimabom

Sjögren’s syndrome (SS) is a chronic autoimmune disease in which chronic lymphocytic infiltration leads to progressive destruction of the exocrine glands and consequently causes the dry syndrome. The most commonly affected are the lacrimal and salivary glands. Less often, SS presents with the symptoms of exocrine glands of other localisation, arthritis, myositis, vasculitis involving the skin and the nervous system, interstitial lung disease, and kidney disease. The most serious complication is the development of lymphoproliferative disease, primarily non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma (NHL). We present the case of a patient who developed indolent extranodal B-NHL CD20-positive MALT -type lymphoma after 23 years of primary SS duration, with a good response to rituximab treatment.Sjögrenov sindrom (SS) kronična je autoimuna bolest u kojoj limfocitna infiltracija dovodi do progresivnog oštećenja egzokrinih žlijezda i sljedstvenoga suhog sindroma. Najčešće zahvaća suzne i slinovne žlijezde, a manje često se javljaju simptomi egzokrinih žlijezda druge lokalizacije, artritis, miozitis, vaskulitis sa zahvaćanjem kože i živčanog sustava, intersticijska bolest pluća i bubrežna bolest. Najteža komplikacija je razvoj limfoproliferativne bolesti, u prvom redu ne-Hodgkinovog limfoma (NHL-a). U radu prikazujemo bolesnicu koja je nakon 23 godine trajanja primarnog SS-a razvila indolentni ekstranodalni B-NHL CD20 pozitivni limfom tipa MALT uz dobar odgovor na liječenje rituksimabom

Urological Diseases among 50 Composers

Exploring more than thousand composers′ pathographies we have found 50 cases of urological and renal diseases among composers. The most important cases are presented in the form of short pathographies and the others were briefly mentioned in the following list