Effects of work ability and health promoting interventions for women with musculoskeletal symptoms: A 9-month prospective study

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Women working in the public human service sector in 'overstrained' situations run the risk of musculoskeletal symptoms and long-term sick leave. In order to maintain the level of health and work ability and strengthen the potential resources for health, it is important that employees gain greater control over decisions and actions affecting their health – a process associated with the concept of self-efficacy. The aim of this study was to describe the effects of a self-efficacy intervention and an ergonomic education intervention for women with musculoskeletal symptoms, employed in the public sector.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>The design of the study was a 9-month prospective study describing the effects of two interventions, a comprehensive self-efficacy intervention (<it>n </it>= 21) and an ergonomic education intervention (<it>n </it>= 21). Data were obtained by a self-report questionnaire on health- and work ability-related factors at baseline, and at ten weeks and nine months follow-up. Within-group differences over time were analysed.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>Over the time period studied there were small magnitudes of improvements within each group. Within the self-efficacy intervention group positive effects in perceived work ability were shown. The ergonomic education group showed increased positive beliefs about future work ability and a more frequent use of pain coping strategies.</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>Both interventions showed positive effects on women with musculoskeletal symptoms, but in different ways. Future research in this area should tailor interventions to participants' motivation and readiness to change.</p

The effectiveness of physical activity monitoring and distance counselling in an occupational health setting - a research protocol for a randomised controlled trial (CoAct)

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>The CoAct (Cocreating Activity) study is investigating a novel lifestyle intervention, aimed at the working population, with daily activity monitoring and distance counselling via telephone and secure web messages. The main purpose of this study is to evaluate the effectiveness of lifestyle counselling on the level of physical activity in an occupational health setting. The purposes include also analysing the potential effects of changes in physical activity on productivity at work and sickness absence, and healthcare costs. This article describes the design of the study and the participant flow until and including randomization.</p> <p>Methods/Design</p> <p>CoAct is a randomised controlled trial with two arms: a control group and intervention group with daily activity monitoring and distance counselling. The intervention focuses on lifestyle modification and takes 12 months. The study population consists of volunteers from 1100 eligible employees of a Finnish insurance company. The primary outcomes of this study are change in physical activity measured in MET minutes per week, work productivity and sickness absence, and healthcare utilisation. Secondary outcomes include various physiological measures. Cost-effectiveness analysis will also be performed. The outcomes will be measured by questionnaires at baseline, after 6, 12, and 24 months, and sickness absence will be obtained from the employer's registers.</p> <p>Discussion</p> <p>No trials are yet available that have evaluated the effectiveness of daily physical activity monitoring and distance counselling in an occupational health setting over a 12 month period and no data on cost-effectiveness of such intervention are available.</p> <p>Trial Registration</p> <p>ClinicalTrials.gov identifier: NCT00994565</p

Global patterns in endemicity and vulnerability of soil fungi

Fungi are highly diverse organisms, which provide multiple ecosystem services. However, compared with charismatic animals and plants, the distribution patterns and conservation needs of fungi have been little explored. Here, we examined endemicity patterns, global change vulnerability and conservation priority areas for functional groups of soil fungi based on six global surveys using a high-resolution, long-read metabarcoding approach. We found that the endemicity of all fungi and most functional groups peaks in tropical habitats, including Amazonia, Yucatan, West-Central Africa, Sri Lanka, and New Caledonia, with a negligible island effect compared with plants and animals. We also found that fungi are predominantly vulnerable to drought, heat and land-cover change, particularly in dry tropical regions with high human population density. Fungal conservation areas of highest priority include herbaceous wetlands, tropical forests, and woodlands. We stress that more attention should be focused on the conservation of fungi, especially root symbiotic arbuscular mycorrhizal and ectomycorrhizal fungi in tropical regions as well as unicellular early-diverging groups and macrofungi in general. Given the low overlap between the endemicity of fungi and macroorganisms, but high conservation needs in both groups, detailed analyses on distribution and conservation requirements are warranted for other microorganisms and soil organisms

Monitoring of stress reduction in shallow trenchisolation CMOS structures via synchrotron X-ray topography, electrical data and raman spectroscopy

Local oxidation of silicon (LOCOS) isolation technology is becoming increasingly unusable for critical dimensions of 0.25 μm and below, due to the intolerably large dimension of the oxide “bird'sbeak”. Therefore, this technique has been replaced by a process called shallow trench isolation (STI) which uses deposited dielectrics to fill trenches etched in the silicon between the active areas. One of the chief drawbacks to STI is the tendency of such structures to be highly stressed, especially after the oxide/dielectric backfill, which can have a deleterious impact on the electrical performance of fabricated devices. It is essential to monitor the stress/strain fields generated by shallow trench isolation structures. Synchrotron X-ray topography (SXRT), a genuinely non-destructive technique, has been employed to provide in situ stress evaluation during the development of an STI-based complimentary metal oxide semiconductor (CMOS) integrated circuit process. Various process options were evaluated and the data was compared with electrical n+/p diode leakage and micro-Raman spectroscopy data

Human IL-25- and IL-33-responsive type 2 innate lymphoid cells are defined by expression of CRTH2 and CD161

International audienceInnate lymphoid cells (ILCs) are emerging as a family of effectors and regulators of innate immunity and tissue remodeling. Interleukin 22 (IL-22) and IL-17−producing ILCs, which depend on RORγt, express CD127 and CD161. We describe another Lin− CD127+CD161+ ILC population found in humans that express the chemoattractant receptor CRTH2. These cells responded in vitro to IL-2 plus IL-25 and IL-33 by producing IL-13. CRTH2+ ILCs were found in fetal and adult lung and gut. In fetal gut these cells expressed IL-13 but not IL-17 or IL-22. CRTH2+ ILCs were enriched in nasal polyps of chronic rhinosinusitis, a typical type 2 inflammatory disease. These data identify a unique human ILC type, which provides an innate source of TH2 cytokines

Promoting walking among office employees - evaluation of a randomized controlled intervention with pedometers and e-mail messages

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>The purpose of the study was to evaluate a 6-month intervention to promote office-employees’ walking with pedometers and e-mail messages.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>Participants were recruited by 10 occupational health care units (OHC) from 20 worksites with 2,230 employees. Voluntary and insufficiently physically active employees (N = 241) were randomized to a pedometer (STEP, N = 123) and a comparison group (COMP, N = 118). STEP included one group meeting, log-monitored pedometer-use and six e-mail messages from OHC. COMP participated in data collection. Reach, effectiveness, adoption, implementation, maintenance (RE-AIM) and costs were assessed with questionnaires (0, 2, 6, 12 months), process evaluation and interviews (12 months).</p> <p>Results</p> <p>The intervention <it>reached</it> 29% (N = 646) of employees in terms of participation willingness. Logistic regression showed that the proportion of walkers tended to increase more in STEP than in COMP at 2 months in “walking for transportation” (Odds ratio 2.12, 95%CI 0.94 to 4.81) and at 6 months in “walking for leisure” (1.86, 95%CI 0.94 to 3.69). Linear model revealed a modest increase in the mean duration of “walking stairs” at 2 and 6 months (Geometric mean ratio 1.26, 95%CI 0.98 to 1.61; 1.27, 0.98 to 1.64). <it>Adoption</it> and <it>implementation</it> succeeded as intended. At 12 months, some traces of the intervention were sustained in 15 worksites, and a slightly higher number of walkers in STEP in comparison with COMP was observed in “walking stairs” (OR 2.24, 95%CI 0.94 to 5.31) and in “walking for leisure” (2.07, 95%CI 0.99 to 4.34). The direct <it>costs</it> of the intervention were 43 Euros per participant.</p> <p>Conclusions</p> <p>The findings indicate only modest impact on some indicators of walking. Future studies should invest in reaching the employees, minimizing attrition rate and using objective walking assessment.</p> <p>Trial registeration</p> <p>ISRCTN79432107</p