The Worksite Health Promotion Capacity Instrument (WHPCI): development, validation and approaches for determining companies' levels of health promotion capacity

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>The Worksite Health Promotion Capacity Instrument (WHPCI) was developed to assess two key factors for effective worksite health promotion: collective willingness and the systematic implementation of health promotion activities in companies. This study evaluates the diagnostic qualities of the WHPCI based on its subscales Health Promotion Willingness and Health Promotion Management, which can be used to place companies into four different categories based on their level of health promotion capacity.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>Psychometric evaluation was conducted using exploratory factor and reliability analyses with data taken from a random sample of managers from n = 522 German information and communication technology (ICT) companies. Receiver operating characteristic (ROC) analyses were conducted to determine further diagnostic qualities of the instrument and to establish the cut-off scores used to determine each company's level of health promotion capacity.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>The instrument's subscales, Health Promotion Willingness and Health Promotion Management, are based on one-dimensional constructs, each with very good reliability (Cronbach's alpha = 0.83/0.91). ROC analyses demonstrated satisfactory diagnostic accuracy with an area under the curve (AUC) of 0.76 (SE = 0.021; 95% CI 0.72-0.80) for the Health Promotion Willingness scale and 0.81 (SE = 0.021; 95% CI 0.77-0.86) for the Health Promotion Management scale. A cut-off score with good sensitivity (71%/76%) and specificity (69%/75%) was determined for each scale. Both scales were found to have good predictive power and exhibited good efficiency.</p> <p>Conclusions</p> <p>Our findings indicate preliminary evidence for the validity and reliability of both subscales of the WHPCI. The goodness of each cut-off score suggests that the scales are appropriate for determining companies' levels of health promotion capacity. Support in implementing (systematic) worksite health promotion can then be tailored to each company's needs based on their current capacity level.</p

Performance and nutrient utilisation of dairy cows offered silages produced from three successive harvests of either a red clover–perennial ryegrass sward or a perennial ryegrass sward

The need to reduce reliance on imported protein feeds within the UK and Ireland has stimulated interest in locally grown forage legume crops, including red clover (Trifolium pratense L.). This 13-wk study examined the performance of 28 dairy cows offered silages produced from three successive harvests (H) of either a pure grass sward (GS) receiving 315 kg N/ha per annum or a red clover–perennial ryegrass sward (RCGS) receiving 22 kg N/ha per annum. The crops of H1, H2 and H3 were wilted for 48, 72 and 72 h, respectively. Silages from H1, H2 and H3 were offered for 5, 5 and 3 wk, respectively, with cows supplemented with 8.0 kg concentrate/d throughout the experiment. Digestibility of DM and the effectively degradable protein content were lower, while protein degradability was higher, for RCGS than for GS. Silage DM intakes (DMIs) were higher for RCGS than for GS at H1 and H2, with no differences at H3. Milk yield was higher with RCGS than with GS at H3, with no differences at H1 and H2. Milk fat and milk protein contents were lower with RCGS than with GS at H3 but did not differ at H1 and H2. Faecal N/N intake was higher in the RCGS group than in the GS group at H1, with no differences at H2 and H3. Gross energy digestibility was lower for RCGS than for GS at H2. Although cow performance was higher with RCGS treatment, the responses were variable between harvests, largely reflecting the changing proportion of RC in the swards as the season progresse

Outcome of implant-supported overdenture treatment

Abstract The retention of a complete denture and the patient’s adaptation varies considerably among different individuals. Resorption of the edentulous alveolar ridge differs greatly and some patients need implant-retained overdentures to enable adequate retention of their prostheses. In some extreme cases it is necessary to increase the volume of the alveolar ridge with bone grafts. The aim of this study was to examine the outcome of implant-supported overdenture treatment conducted in Oulu University Hospital. The aim was also to assess the impact of treatment on oral health-related quality of life and patient satisfaction. The study group was comprised of patients treated with a mandibular or maxillary implant overdenture and a group of patients with extreme mandibular bone resorption treated with extraoral bone grafts and implants. The treatments were performed in 1985–2013 thus also providing long-term results. The results of this study showed predictable and successful treatment outcomes also among elderly patients and in severe situations with bone deficiency. The most frequent complication in the clinical follow-up was loosening of the retention mechanism, commonly noted in other previous studies. Despite some minor mechanical defects in prosthetic structures or mild mucosal inflammation around the implants, they did not hinder everyday use of the prostheses. Neither the number of supporting implants nor the connection type seemed to have a great impact on patient satisfaction. Older patients with a mandibular overdenture seemed to be most satisfied. In conclusion, treatment with implant overdentures seems to be successful also in the long-term.Tiivistelmä Kokoproteesin pysyvyys ja potilaan sopeutuminen proteesiin vaihtelee huomattavasti eri yksilöiden välillä. Hampaattoman luuharjanteen resorptiossa on eroja, ja osalle potilaista implanttikiinnitteinen peittoproteesi on välttämätön riittävän proteesin pysymisen mahdollistamiseksi. Hyvin pitkälle edenneissä luuharjanteen resorptioissa voi leukaluun lisääminen luusiirteillä olla tarpeellista. Tutkimuksen tarkoituksena oli selvittää Oulun yliopistollisessa sairaalassa tehtyjen implanttikiinnitteisten peittoproteesihoitojen tuloksia. Tavoitteena oli myös arvioida hoidon vaikutusta suunterveyteen liittyvään elämänlaatuun ja potilastyytyväisyyteen. Tutkittava ryhmä koostui potilaista, joille oli valmistettu alaleukaan tai yläleukaan implanttikiinnitteinen peittoproteesi, ja potilasjoukosta, jolle hyvin pitkälle edenneen luuresorption vuoksi implanttihoito oli tehty luusiirteiden avulla. Hoidot tehtiin vuosina 1985–2013, ja tutkimuksissa voitiin arvioida myös peittoproteesihoidon pitkäaikaistuloksia. Tutkimus osoitti, että hoitotulokset olivat ennustettavia ja onnistuneita myös iäkkäillä potilailla sekä potilailla, joilla luupuutos oli kaikkein vaikein. Yleisin todettu komplikaatio kliinisessä tutkimuksessa oli proteesin kiinnitysmekanismin löystyminen. Pienet proteesirakenteiden rikkoutumiset tai lievät limakalvon tulehdusreaktiot implanttien ympärillä eivät kuitenkaan haitanneet proteesin toimintaa ja päivittäistä käyttöä. Peittoproteesia tukevien implanttien määrällä tai kiinnitystyypillä ei todettu olevan suurta vaikutusta potilastyytyväisyyteen. Kaikkein tyytyväisimpiä vaikuttivat olevan iäkkäät potilaat, joille oli tehty alaleuan peittoproteesi. Tutkimus osoittaa, että implanttikiinnitteinen peittoproteesihoito on menestyksellistä myös pitkällä aikavälillä

Characterization of hydrotreated fast pyrolysis liquids

This paper focuses on analytical methods to determine the composition of hydrotreated fast pyrolysis liquids. With this information, it is possible to gain insights in the chemical transformations taking place during catalytic hydrotreatment (hydrogenation and/or hydrodeoxygenation, HDO) of pyrolysis liquids. Three different samples, produced at different hydrotreatment severity levels (defined by temperature and residence time) using Ru/C as the catalyst, were analyzed in detail. The composition of the products was determined by solvent fractionation followed by detailed analysis of the various fractions by gas cheromatography/mass selective detector (GC/MSD), capillary electrophoresis (CE), and NMR (1H NMR, 13C NMR, and 31P NMR). The decrease in the carbohydrate fraction was easily followed by the Brix method after solvent fractionation.