211 research outputs found

    Are objective measures of sleep and sedentary behaviours related to low back pain flares?

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    Final peer-reviewed manuscript[Abstract] Risk factors for low back pain (LBP) flares have been considered about self-reported measures. This case–crossover study aimed to investigate whether (1) objective measures of physical activity and sleep were associated with the risk of experiencing LBP flares and (2) these associations differed for flares defined as pain 2 or more points greater than average pain over the period using an 11-point Numerical rating scale (0-no pain and 10-worst pain imaginable) (pain-defined flare: PDF) and flares identified by participants according to a broader definition that considered emotions or coping (self-reported flare [SRF]). We included 126 participants who had experienced LBP for >3 months. Physical activity and sleep were monitored for 28 days using wearable sensors. Occurrence of flares (PDF or SRF) was assessed daily using a smartphone application. Data on exposure to risk factors 1, 2, and 3 days preceding PDF or SRF were compared with nonflare control periods. Conditional logistic regression determined association between each factor and flares. Data show that day-to-day variation in physical activity and in-bed time are associated with the risk of LBP flares, but associations differ depending on how flare is defined. Longer in-bed time increased the risk of PDF but not SRF. Although physical activity was not associated with the risk of PDF, greater sedentary behaviour increased the risk of SRF and being more physically active decreased the risk for SRF. These results highlight the potential role of targeting sleep and physical activity in interventions to prevent LBP flares and indicate that risk factors differ depending on how LBP flares are defined.Centre of Research Excellence (Australia); APP1091302Centre of Research Excellence (Australia); APP1079078National Health and Medical Research Council (NHMRC) of Australia; PH—APP1102905National Health and Medical Research Council (NHMRC) of Australia; MF—APP114359

    Cultural audit as a tool to increase employee involvement in small firms: A case study

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    Employee involvement is a common goal for most companies. This research started when managers of a familyrun horticultural firm decided to increase employee commitment and improve organizational climate. To help them, we considered the possibility of developing a cultural audit, adapting the tool to the fact that it was a small family business. Therefore, this paper will firstly review the existing literature concerning organizational culture, specially which cultural characteristics should be more valuable to achieve employee commitment and involvement and how to run a cultural audit. Secondly, it will expose the design and implementation of a cultural audit at this company, through an explicative case study that aims to compare the existing culture with the characteristics described theoretically. The study discusses the lack of trust, of a creative atmosphere, and of a shared vission, and suggests some recommendations to develop these characteristics, in order to gain the desired level of employee involvement. Key words: Employee involvement, organizationalO envolvimento dos empregados é um objectivo frequente nas organizações. A presente investigação surgiu de uma oportunidade criada no seio de uma empresa familiar no sector da horticultura, quando se decidiu aumentar o envolvimento dos empregados e melhorar o clima organizacional. Os investigadores desenvolveram um instrumento de auditoria cultural, adaptado a pequenas empresas familiares. Este artigo revê a literatura sobre cultura organizacional, com particular destaque para os trabalhos em que se relaciona a cultura e o envolvimento dos empregados, e auditoria cultural. Em segundo lugar, é exposto o desenho e a implementação da auditoria cultural na empresa, para o que se recorre a um estudo de caso. Por fim, são discutidos sucessivamente a falta de confiança, a atmosfera criativa, e a visão partilhada, e sugeridas algumas recomendações sobre como desenvolver estes atributos

    Decreased incidence of pressure ulcers in intensive care: a program goal of improving care

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    INTRODUCCIÓN. En sanidad, la aparición de úlceras por presión (upp), es considerado un fracaso asistencial y un gran reto al que se enfrenta el profesional de Enfermería. En cuidados intensivos, objetivamos una serie de factores que aumentan el riesgo de aparición y desarrollo de upp. Como enfermeros, tomamos conciencia de nuestro papel en la prevención y tratamiento de las upp en nuestra unidad de cuidados intensivos (UCI-1, Hospital Universitario Central de Asturias) y emprendimos medidas para disminuirlas y mejorar la calidad asistencial proporcionada. OBJETIVOS. Aumentar la calidad asistencial Disminuir las tasas de úlceras por presión MATERIAL Y MÉTODO. Estudio descriptivo, prospectivo. Muestra, N: 1265 enfermos. Realizándose seguimiento diario de enfermos a través de hoja de valoración específica. Los enfermos valorados presentaban riesgo medio- alto de padecer upp por escala Braden y riesgo bajo por dicha escala pero con condiciones particulares de riesgo objetivables. Se introducen medidas preventivas consensuadas por el equipo investigador (descritas en el trabajo de investigación). RESULTADOS. Bajada significativa de las tasas de incidencia a los cuatro meses de introducir medidas estandarizadas de prevención y mejora asistencial. CONCLUSIONES. La concienciación y unificación de criterios preventivos y de tratamiento resultó ser decisiva en la bajada significativa de la incidencia de upp y en el logro de aumento de la calidad asistencial real percibida por todo el equipo interdisciplinar.INTRODUCTION. In health, the occurrence of pressure ulcers (PU) is considered a failure of care and major challenge facing the nursing professional. In intensive care, objectify a series of factors that increase the risk of occurrence and development of PU. As nurses, we realize our role in the prevention and treatment of pressure ulcers in our intensive care unit (ICU-1, Hospital Universitario Central de Asturias) and we took measures to reduce and improve quality of care provided. OBJECTIVES. To augment quality of care To diminish rates of pressure ulcers MATERIALS AND METHODS. Prospective descriptive study. Sample, n = 1265 patients. Performing daily monitoring of patients through specific assessment sheet. The patients had rated medium-high risk of developing upp by Braden scale and low risk for this scale but with risk conditions to measure. Agreed preventive measures are introduced by the research team (described in the research). RESULTS. Llower incidence rates for four months to introduce standardized measures of prevention and improved care. CONCLUSIONS. The unification of awareness and prevention and treatment criteria proved to be instrumental in the significant decline in the incidence of PU and the achievement of increased quality of care received by all real interdisciplinary team

    Conociendo el medio natural, social y cultural de La Siberia

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    De las tierras de la provincia de Badajoz, La Siberia es una de las más hermosas y menos conocidas. Su historia ha estado fuertemente marcada por su naturaleza y su posición dentro de la península y en Extremadura. Desde la prehistoria hasta nuestros días, los ríos Guadiana y Zújar, junto a las sierras y llanos que los acompañan han sido protagonistas principales en el transcurso de los acontecimientos. Estos ríos y la riqueza de sus montes proporcionaban ya a los pobladores prehistóricos todo lo necesario para que estos decidieran asentarse aquí: agua, pesca, caza y un bosque repleto de frutos hacían de La Siberia un lugar idóneo donde vivir. Es una región con una gran variedad de paisajes, en su horizonte se entremezclan el azul de los cielos y las aguas junto a las tonalidades verdes de sus sierras. La variedad del paisaje alterna las sierras accidentadas, con los frondosos bosques de encinas, alcornoques, dehesas y áreas de cultivos. Destacan además los campos donde abundan las jaras, el tomillo y las flores silvestres. La orografía de la comarca está marcada por la cuenca de los embalses construidos en los tramos de los dos grandes ríos que cruzan la zona, el río Guadiana y el río Zújar. La construcción de estos embalses ha transformado la zona y la fauna se ha adaptado a estas nuevas condiciones ambientales.Of the lands of the province of Badajoz, La Siberia is one of the most beautiful and least known. Its history has been strongly marked by its nature and its position within the peninsula and in Extremadura. From prehistory to the present day, the Guadiana and Zújar rivers, together with the mountains and plains that accompany them, have been main protagonists in the course of events. These rivers and the richness of their mountains already provided the prehistoric settlers with everything they needed to settle here: water, fishing, hunting and a forest full of fruits made La Siberia an ideal place to live. It is a region with a great variety of landscapes, in its horizon the blue of the skies and the waters are mixed together with the green tonalities of its mountains. The variety of the landscape alternates the rugged mountain ranges, with the leafy forests of oaks, cork oaks, meadows and areas of crops. They also emphasize the fields where the rockrose, the thyme and the wild flowers abound. The orography of the region is marked by the basin of the reservoirs built on the stretches of the two great rivers that cross the area, the Guadiana River and the Zújar River. The construction of these reservoirs has transformed the area and the fauna has adapted to these new environmental conditions

    Estimation of the Mass Concentration of Volcanic Ash Using Ceilometers: Study of Fresh and Transported Plumes from La Palma Volcano

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    This study presents a synergistic approach to the study of the aerosol optical and microphysical properties measured in La Palma, Spain, during the 2021 eruption of the Cumbre Vieja volcano (from 19 September to 13 December 2021). This study aims to characterize the different phases of the volcanic eruption using the spatio-temporal evolution of the event together with the mass concentration quantification of four different atmospheric layers. The impact of the plume’s pathway that reached the South of France is analyzed. Here, passive and active remote sensors were used, namely CL51 and CL61 ceilometers and AERONET sunphotometers. The attenuated backscattering ranged from 0.8 to 9.1 × 10−6 (msr)−1 and the volume depolarization ratio measured nearby the volcano was up to 0.3. The ash plume remained within the first 4 km agl, with intense episodes that reached mean aerosol optical depth values of up to 0.4. Thirteen study cases were selected where coarse mode was dominant over fine mode. For the data selection, the fine and coarse lidar ratios found were 3.9 ± 0.8 and 21.0 ± 3.8 sr in the north and 6.9 ± 1.8 and 30.1 ± 10.3 sr in the south. The ash mass concentration reached moderate levels with maximum values of up to 313.7 μgm−3.This work was financially supported by ONERA within the framework of the PROMETE project 2017–2021; the Spanish Ministry of Science and Innovation (PID2019-103886RB-I00\AEI\10.13039\501100011033); and the H2020 program from the European Union (GA no. 654109, 778349, 871115, 101008004 and 101086690)

    Simultaneous inhibition of pan-phosphatidylinositol-3-kinases and MEK as a potential therapeutic strategy in peripheral T-cell lymphomas

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    Obtained from Haematologica/the Hematology Journal website http://www.haematologica.orgPeripheral T-cell lymphomas are very aggressive hematologic malignancies for which there is no targeted therapy. New, rational approaches are necessary to improve the very poor outcome in these patients. Phosphatidylinositol- 3-kinase is one of the most important pathways in cell survival and proliferation. We hypothesized that phosphatidylinositol- 3-kinase inhibitors could be rationally selected drugs for treating peripheral T-cell lymphomas. Several phosphatidylinositol-3-kinase isoforms were inhibited genetically (using small interfering RNA) and pharmacologically (with CAL-101 and GDC-0941 compounds) in a panel of six peripheral and cutaneous T-cell lymphoma cell lines. Cell viability was measured by intracellular ATP content; apoptosis and cell cycle changes were checked by flow cytometry. Pharmacodynamic biomarkers were assessed by western blot. The PIK3CD gene, which encodes the δ isoform of phosphatidylinositol-3-kinase, was overexpressed in cell lines and primary samples, and correlated with survival pathways. However, neither genetic nor specific pharmacological inhibition of phosphatidylinositol-3-kinase δ affected cell survival. In contrast, the pan-phosphatidylinositol-3-kinase inhibitor GDC-0941 arrested all T-cell lymphoma cell lines in the G1 phase and induced apoptosis in a subset of them. We identified phospho-GSK3b and phospho-p70S6K as potential biomarkers of phosphatidylinositol-3-kinase inhibitors. Interestingly, an increase in ERK phosphorylation was observed in some GDC-0941-treated T-cell lymphoma cell lines, suggesting the presence of a combination of phosphatidylinositol-3-kinase and MEK inhibitors. A highly synergistic effect was found between the two inhibitors, with the combination enhancing cell cycle arrest at G0/G1 in all T-cell lymphoma cell lines, and reducing cell viability in primary tumor T cells ex vivo. These results suggest that the combined treatment of pan-phosphatidylinositol-3-kinase + MEK inhibitors could be more effective than single phosphatidylinositol-3-kinase inhibitor treatment, and therefore, that this combination could be of therapeutic value for treating peripheral and cutaneous T-cell lymphomas.This work was supported by grants from the Asociación Española Contra el Cáncer, Fondo de Investigaciones Sanitarias (PI051623, PI052800 and PI080856), RTICC (RD06/0020/0107) and Ministerio de Ciencia e Innovación (SAF2008-0387-1). EMS is supported by a grant from the Department of Education, Universities and Research of the Basque Government (BFI08.207). MSB is supported by a Contract Miguel Servet from Fondo de Investigaciones Sanitarias (CP11/00018

    Protagonismo del mentor en una actividad tutorial de carácter multidisciplinar en Ingeniería

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    XIX Congreso Universitario de Innovación Educativa en las Enseñanzas Técnicas : Barcelona, 6 a 8 de julio de 2011En la Escuela Politécnica Superior (EPS) de la Universidad de Sevilla se ha trabajado, por tercer curso consecutivo, en un Plan de Acción Tutorial desarrollado por 16 profesores tutores y 20 alumnos mentores de 5 titulaciones de Ingeniería Técnica. El objetivo perseguido en este curso ha sido potenciar actividades que han surgido del propio albedrío de los alumnos mentores, lo que ha dado como resultado la realización de una serie de actividades de mentoría motivadas y dirigidas desde el principio por los alumnos mentores. La actividad conjunta de todos ellos ha llevado a organizar unos subgrupos de mentorías en función de determinadas características del alumnado de primer curso (deportistas, trabajadores, becarios de otras universidades…), a realizar reuniones presenciales de mentores para puesta a punto de estas actividades así como de puesta al día de los resultados que se iban consiguiendo, además de organizar una segunda captación de mentorizados tras las notas del primer cuatrimestre, y la protagonización de una Jornada de Mentoría al final del curso.A third edition with 16 tutorial lecturers and 20 tutorial students from five different degrees (Technical Engineering of the Polytechnical School, EPS, at University of Seville) in a Tutorial Plan development, has been prepared. During the present year, the main characteristic has been a serial of mentoring actions motivated and directed by these mentors. This activity has been organized considering several subgroups of mentoring depending on special characteristics in first year students (sportsplayers, workers, grant holders from other universities…), moreover the organization of a second recruiting of new students after the first term marks, updating meetings for mentors only, and to be main figures in a Congress on Mentoring at the end of the academic year

    La mentoría en la Escuela Universitaria Politécnica de la Universidad de Sevilla

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    XVIII Congreso Universitario de Innovación Educativa en las Enseñanzas Técnicas. Escuela Técnica Superior de Ingenieros Industriales y de Telecomunicación. Universidad de Cantabria : Santander, 6 a 9 de julio de 2010Con el fin de integrar a los alumnos de nuevo ingreso, la Escuela Universitaria Politécnica de la Universidad de Sevilla ha puesto en marcha en el curso 2008-09 un Plan de Acción Tutorial (EUPAT) basado en una red en la que participan el profesorado tutor, alumnado mentor y alumnado tutorizado. En el presente trabajo se resumirá el proceso de formación del alumnado mentor y el trabajo desarrollado por el mismo dentro del Plan de Acción Tutorial. Así mismo, se analizarán las dificultades encontradas durante el transcurso de su formación y realización de la labor de mentoría y el nivel de satisfacción alcanzado. Finalmente, se hará una reflexión sobre las debilidades y los puntos de mejora que se pueden deducir del desarrollo hasta el momento de esta acción tutorialIn order to integrate new students, the Polytechnic School of the University of Seville has launched in the year 2008-09 an Tutorial Action Plan (EUPAT) based on a network involving teachers, mentor students and tutored students. In this paper we resume the formation of mentor students and work developed by the same within the Tutorial Action Plan. Also, analyzing the difficulties encountered during the course of their training and carrying out the work of mentoring and the satisfaction level achieved. Finally, we will reflect on the weaknesses and areas for improvement that can be deducted from the development until the time of this action tutorial

    Cost-benefit analysis method for building solutions

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    The building sector is responsible for consuming approximately 40% of the final energy in Europe. However, more than 50% of this consumption can be reduced through energy-efficient measures. Our society is facing not only a severe and unprecedented environmental crisis but also an economic crisis of similar magnitude. In light of this, EU has developed legislation promoting the use of the Cost-Optimal (CO) method in order to improve building energy efficiency, in which selection criteria is based on life cycle costs. Nevertheless, studies show that the implementation of energy-efficient solutions is far from ideal. Therefore, it is very important to analyse the reasons for this gap between theory and implementation as well as improve selection methods. This study aims to develop a methodology based on a cost-effectiveness analysis, which can be seen as an improvement to the CO method as it considers the investment willingness of stakeholders in the selection process of energy-efficient solutions. The method uses a simple graphical display in which the stakeholdersâ investment willingness is identified as the slope of a reference line, allowing easy selection between building solutions. This method will lead to the selection of more desired â from stakeholdersâ point of view â and more energy-efficient solutions than those selected through the CO method
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