A Disease Register for ME/CFS: Report of a Pilot Study.

BACKGROUND: The ME/CFS Disease Register is one of six subprojects within the National ME/CFS Observatory, a research programme funded by the Big Lottery Fund and sponsored by Action for ME. A pilot study in East Anglia, East Yorkshire, and London aimed to address the problem of identifying representative groups of subjects for research, in order to be able to draw conclusions applicable to the whole ME/CFS population.While not aiming for comprehensive population coverage, this pilot register sought to recruit participants with ME/CFS in an unbiased way from a large population base. Those recruited are constituting a cohort for long-term follow-up to shed light on prognosis, and a sampling frame for other studies. FINDINGS: Patients with unidentified chronic fatigue were identified in GP databases using a READ-code based algorithm, and conformity to certain case definitions for ME/CFS determined. 29 practices, covering a population aged 18 to 64 of 143,153, participated.510 patients with unexplained chronic fatigue were identified. 265 of these conformed to one or more case definitions. 216 were invited to join the register; 160 agreed. 96.9% of participants conformed to the CDC 1994 (Fukuda) definition; the Canadian definition defined more precisely a subset of these. The addition of an epidemiological case definition increased case ascertainment by approximately 4%. A small-scale study in a specialist referral service in East Anglia was also undertaken.There was little difference in pattern of conformity to case definitions, age or sex among disease register participants compared with subjects in a parallel epidemiological study who declined to participate.One-year follow-up of 50 subjects showed little change in pain or fatigue scores. There were some changes in conformity to case definitions. CONCLUSIONS: Objective evaluation indicated that the aim of recruiting participants with ME/CFS to a Disease Register had been fulfilled, and confirmed the feasibility of our approach to case identification, data processing, transmission, storage, and analysis. Future developments should include expansion of the ME/CFS Register and its linkage to a tissue sample bank and post mortem tissue archive, to facilitate support for further research studies

Understanding the process of workplace psychological harassment: differences between organizational and interpersonal psychological harassment

Objectives: understand workplace harassment process based on the perceptions of 64 patients examined at Occupational Health Service, Hospital das Clínicas, School of Medicine, University of São Paulo and compare organizational practices and policies and socio-demographic data associated with interpersonal and organizational psychological harassment. Method: integrated qualitative and quantitative methods, data collection between 2007 and 2012. Psychological protocol: four interviews for data collection and one consultation for orientation. Descriptive statistical analysis complemented by contingency tables between variables of interest, verifying the existence of associations by means of tests (significance level of 10%). Results: Associations with organizational psychological harassment: aged 40-50 years, working in private companies, works overtime, no control over work pace, insufficient employees, work overload, high levels of time pressure, subjected to deadlines, inexistence of reward system, greater cognitive effort, forms of harassment - humiliation, pressure for production, discrimination/lack of equity, related to salaries and benefits. Associations with interpersonal psychological harassment: good relationship with colleagues, lack of recognition by the company, worst workstation, job layout, and tools, diagnosis unrelated to family circumstances, predominance of other forms of bullying. Conclusion: Workplace bullying is a complex and multifaceted process. The existence of two distinct phenomena was revealed: interpersonal and organizational bullying.Objetivos: compreender o processo de assédio moral no trabalho com base nas percepções de 64 pacientes avaliados no Serviço de Saúde Ocupacional do Hospital das Clínicas, Faculdade de Medicina, Universidade de São Paulo e comparar as práticas e políticas organizacionais e os dados sócio-demográficos associados ao assédio moral interpessoal e ao assédio moral organizacional. Método: integração de métodos qualitativos e quantitativos; dados coletados entre 2007 e 2012. O protocolo psicológico constituiu-se de 4 entrevistas para coleta de dados e uma consulta para orientação. Foi realizada análise estatística descritiva complementada por tabelas de contingência entre variáveis de interesse, verificando a existência de associações por meio de testes (com nível de significância de 10%). Resultados: as associações com assédio moral organizacional foram: idade entre 40 e 50 anos, trabalho em empresas privadas, realizar horas extras, falta de controle sobre o ritmo de trabalho, número insuficiente de funcionários, sobrecarga de trabalho, altos níveis de pressão temporal, sujeito a deadlines, inexistência de um sistema de recompensas, maior exigência cognitiva, formas de assédio – humilhação, pressão por produção, discriminação/falta de equidade e relacionado a salários e benefícios. As associações com o assédio moral interpessoal foram: bom relacionamento com colegas, falta de reconhecimento pela empresa, inadequação do posto de trabalho, layout e ferramentas de trabalho, diagnostico não relacionado a circunstâncias familiares e predominância de outras formas de assédio. Conclusão: O assédio moral no trabalho é um processo complexo e multifacetado. A existência de dois fenômenos distintos – o assédio moral interpessoal e o assédio moral organizacional foi revelado

Unweighted regression models perform better than weighted regression techniques for respondent-driven sampling data: results from a simulation study

Background: It is unclear whether weighted or unweighted regression is preferred in the analysis of data derived from respondent driven sampling. Our objective was to evaluate the validity of various regression models, with and without weights and with various controls for clustering in the estimation of the risk of group membership from data collected using respondent-driven sampling (RDS). Methods: Twelve networked populations, with varying levels of homophily and prevalence, based on a known distribution of a continuous predictor were simulated using 1000 RDS samples from each population. Weighted and unweighted binomial and Poisson general linear models, with and without various clustering controls and standard error adjustments were modelled for each sample and evaluated with respect to validity, bias and coverage rate. Population prevalence was also estimated. Results: In the regression analysis, the unweighted log-link (Poisson) models maintained the nominal type-I error rate across all populations. Bias was substantial and type-I error rates unacceptably high for weighted binomial regression. Coverage rates for the estimation of prevalence were highest using RDS-weighted logistic regression, except at low prevalence (10%) where unweighted models are recommended. Conclusions: Caution is warranted when undertaking regression analysis of RDS data. Even when reported degree is accurate, low reported degree can unduly influence regression estimates. Unweighted Poisson regression is therefore recommended.York University Librarie

Band gap tuning of layered III-Te materials

Gallium telluride is a layered material with high photoresponse and is very promising for applications in optoelectronic devices such as photovoltaic cells or radiation detectors. We analyze how the properties of thin films of this material scale with its thickness and also study two other proposed materials with the same crystalline structure whose room-temperature stability we verify. We show that electronic band gaps up to 2.16 eV can be obtained by stacking up and/or applying perpendicular electric field to these III-Te monolayers. This form of band gap engineering may be promising for several technological applications.Fil: Olmos Asar, Jimena Anahí. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - Córdoba. Instituto de Investigaciones en Físico-química de Córdoba. Universidad Nacional de Córdoba. Facultad de Ciencias Químicas. Instituto de Investigaciones en Físico-química de Córdoba; ArgentinaFil: Rocha Leão, Cedric. Universidade Federal Do Abc; BrasilFil: Fazzio, Adalberto. Centro Brasileiro de Pesquisas Físicas; Brasi

Evaluation of a Participatory Ergonomics Intervention in Small Commercial Construction Firms

BACKGROUND: Work-related musculoskeletal disorders (WMSD) among construction workers remain high. Participatory ergonomics (PE) interventions that engage workers and employers in reducing work injury risks have shown mixed results. METHODS: Eight-six workers from seven contractors participated in a PE program. A logic model guided the process evaluation and summative evaluation of short term and intermediate impacts and long term outcomes from surveys and field records. RESULTS: Process measures showed good delivery of training, high worker engagement, and low contractor participation. Workers’ knowledge improved and workers reported changes to work practices and tools used; contractor provision of appropriate equipment was low (33%). No changes were seen in symptoms or reported physical effort. CONCLUSIONS: The PE program produced many worker-identified ergonomic solutions, but lacked needed support from contractors. Future interventions should engage higher levels of the construction organizational system to improve contractor involvement for reducing WMSD

Complex network analysis and nonlinear dynamics

This chapter aims at reviewing complex network and nonlinear dynamical models and methods that were either developed for or applied to socioeconomic issues, and pertinent to the theme of New Economic Geography. After an introduction to the foundations of the field of complex networks, the present summary introduces some applications of complex networks to economics, finance, epidemic spreading of innovations, and regional trade and developments. The chapter also reviews results involving applications of complex networks to other relevant socioeconomic issue

Influence of the mannoproteins of different strains of Starmerella bacillaris used in single and sequential fermentations on foamability, tartaric and protein stabilities of wines

Aim: In this work, seven strains of Starmerella bacillaris were analysed for their ability to release polysaccharides during alcoholic fermentation (AF), both in single-strain and in sequential AF together with Saccharomyces cerevisiae. Methods and results: A synthetic polysaccharide-free must was used to characterise the mannoproteins (MPs) released. The MPs were quantified, characterised in terms of carbohydrate composition, and tested to assess their ability to reduce protein and tartrate instabilities and their ability to affect the foaming properties of wine. Conclusions: All the tested strains in sequential AF increased the total MPs production. Moreover, the strains affected the MPs properties in different ways regarding tartaric and protein stabilities. The MPs released in sequential AF by some S. bacillaris strains showed a significant effect on protein stabilisation and tartaric stability. An effect on the foamability was found for MPs obtained in single-strain AFs of S. bacillaris