The Heavy Vehicle Study: a case-control study investigating risk factors for crash in long distance heavy vehicle drivers in Australia

Background Heavy vehicle transportation continues to grow internationally; yet crash rates are high, and the risk of injury and death extends to all road users. The work environment for the heavy vehicle driver poses many challenges; conditions such as scheduling and payment are proposed risk factors for crash, yet the precise measure of these needs quantifying. Other risk factors such as sleep disorders including obstructive sleep apnoea have been shown to increase crash risk in motor vehicle drivers however the risk of heavy vehicle crash from this and related health conditions needs detailed investigation. Methods and Design The proposed case control study will recruit 1034 long distance heavy vehicle drivers: 517 who have crashed and 517 who have not. All participants will be interviewed at length, regarding their driving and crash history, typical workloads, scheduling and payment, trip history over several days, sleep patterns, health, and substance use. All participants will have administered a nasal flow monitor for the detection of obstructive sleep apnoea. Discussion Significant attention has been paid to the enforcement of legislation aiming to deter problems such as excess loading, speeding and substance use; however, there is inconclusive evidence as to the direction and strength of associations of many other postulated risk factors for heavy vehicle crashes. The influence of factors such as remuneration and scheduling on crash risk is unclear; so too the association between sleep apnoea and the risk of heavy vehicle driver crash. Contributory factors such as sleep quality and quantity, body mass and health status will be investigated. Quantifying the measure of effect of these factors on the heavy vehicle driver will inform policy development that aims toward safer driving practices and reduction in heavy vehicle crash; protecting the lives of many on the road network

A school-based physical activity promotion intervention in children: rationale and study protocol for the PREVIENE Project

The lack of physical activity and increasing time spent in sedentary behaviours during childhood place importance on developing low cost, easy-toimplement school-based interventions to increase physical activity among children. The PREVIENE Project will evaluate the effectiveness of five innovative, simple, and feasible interventions (active commuting to/from school, active Physical Education lessons, active school recess, sleep health promotion, and an integrated program incorporating all 4 interventions) to improve physical activity, fitness, anthropometry, sleep health, academic achievement, and health-related quality of life in primary school children. The PREVIENE Project will provide the information about the effectiveness and implementation of different school-based interventions for physical activity promotion in primary school children.The PREVIENE Project was funded by the Spanish Ministry of Economy and Competitiveness (DEP2015-63988-R, MINECO-FEDER). MAG is supported by grants from the Spanish Ministry of Economy and Competitivenes

Cardiorespiratory effects of an inspiratory hold and continuous positive pressure ventilation in goats

The cardiorespiratory effects of three different patterns of mechanical ventilation were compared in sixteen anaesthetized goats. Intermittent positive pressure ventilation (IPPV), with an inspiratory: expiratory (I:E) time ratio of 1:3, was compared with an inspiratory hold pattern (IPPVH), with an I:E ratio of 3:1, and with continuous positive pressure ventilation (CPPV) adjusted to produce the same mean airway pressure. In eight animals with normal lungs, IPPVH reduced VD/VT and PaCO2, but produced no changes in oxygenation. CPPV did not significantly alter the efficiency of gas exchange. In a further eight animals, with oleic acid-induced lung damage, both IPPVH and CPPV produced a decrease in both VD/VT and PaCO2. Qs/Qt was significantly reduced by both CPPV and IPPVH, but the effect was more marked with CPPV, and the PaO2 was significantly increased only by CPPV. The increased effectiveness of CPPV in increasing PaO2 in this model may have been due to the greater increase in end-expiratory lung volume produced by this pattern of ventilation