Sickness presenteeism: measurement and management challenges

Since work can be restorative to health, attending work when unwell should not be viewed as an inherently negative phenomenon. However, the functional benefits are likely to depend on the health condition, and the psychosocial quality of the work provided. The current study used a workforce survey to explore differences in the pattern of presenteeism and absenteeism by health condition, the association of psychosocial work factors with presenteeism compared to absenteeism, and their interaction to predict health. Findings indicate that instead of substituting absenteeism for presenteeism, the two tend to coincide, but the balance differs by health condition. Presenteeism is more likely to occur in poorer psychosocial environments, reinforcing the importance of ensuring work is designed and managed in ways that are beneficial rather than detrimental to health. The findings also highlight the methodological importance of differentiating between the act and impact of presenteeism in future research and practice

The biomechanical analysis of three plating fixation systems for periprosthetic femoral fracture near the tip of a total hip arthroplasty

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>A variety of techniques are available for fixation of femoral shaft fractures following total hip arthroplasty. The optimal surgical repair method still remains a point of controversy in the literature. However, few studies have quantified the performance of such repair constructs. This study biomechanically examined 3 different screw-plate and cable-plate systems for fixation of periprosthetic femoral fractures near the tip of a total hip arthroplasty.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>Twelve pairs of human cadaveric femurs were utilized. Each left femur was prepared for the cemented insertion of the femoral component of a total hip implant. Femoral fractures were created in the femurs and subsequently repaired with Construct A (Zimmer Cable Ready System), Construct B (AO Cable-Plate System), or Construct C (Dall-Miles Cable Grip System). Right femora served as matched intact controls. Axial, torsional, and four-point bending tests were performed to obtain stiffness values.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>All repair systems showed 3.08 to 5.33 times greater axial stiffness over intact control specimens. Four-point normalized bending (0.69 to 0.85) and normalized torsional (0.55 to 0.69) stiffnesses were lower than intact controls for most comparisons. Screw-plates provided either greater or equal stiffness compared to cable-plates in almost all cases. There were no statistical differences between plating systems A, B, or C when compared to each other (p > 0.05).</p> <p>Conclusions</p> <p>Screw-plate systems provide more optimal mechanical stability than cable-plate systems for periprosthetic femur fractures near the tip of a total hip arthroplasty.</p

A Large-Scale Fifteen-Year Minimum Survivorship of a Cementless Triple Tapered Femoral Stem

© 2020 Elsevier Inc. Background: This study reports the long-term outcomes of a metaphyseal fit-and-fill cementless femoral component in total hip arthroplasty (THA) with a follow-up of 15-19 years. Methods: We conducted a retrospective review of 376 consecutive THAs (345 patients), using a triple tapered stem performed between 2000 and 2003 with a view to assessing survivorship and radiological and functional outcomes. Images were assessed for initial alignment, terminal osteolysis, or subsidence, while clinical outcomes were assessed using the St Michael\u27s Hip Score. Results: Forty-five (11.9%) hips were lost to follow-up, 20 (5.31%) had died before our 15-year cutoff follow-up, and 4 (1.06%) had declined follow-up early on, leaving 307 hips (81.64%, 276 patients) available for both clinical and radiological follow-up at a minimum of 15 years (range 15-19). The mean age at the time of operation was 49.6 years (range 19-71) and the cohort included 131 (42.67%) male and 145 (47.23%) female patients. Seven stems (2.28%) were revised: 4 due to periprosthetic fractures, 2 for periprosthetic joint infection, and 1 for adverse reaction to metal debris at the trunnion. The St Michael\u27s Hip Score improved from 14.2 (range 9-23) preoperatively to 22.3 (range 13 to 25) at the last documented follow-up (P = .000). Kaplan-Meier survivorship with stem revision for any reason as the end point was 97.70%. Worst-case scenario Kaplan-Meier survivorship, where all lost to follow-up are considered as failures, was 85.3%. No stem was revised for aseptic loosening. Conclusion: This triple tapered stem in THA shows excellent survivorship beyond a minimum of 15 years

A comparison of registration errors with imageless computer navigation during MIS total knee arthroplasty versus standard incision total knee arthroplasty: A cadaveric study

© 2015 The Authors. Optimal component alignment in total knee arthroplasty has been associated with better functional outcome as well as improved implant longevity. The ability to align components optimally during minimally invasive (MIS) total knee replacement (TKR) has been a cause of concern. Computer navigation is a useful aid in achieving the desired alignment although it is limited by the error during the manual registration of landmarks. Our study aims to compare the registration process error between a standard and a MIS surgical approach. We hypothesized that performing the registration error via an MIS approach would increase the registration process error. Five fresh frozen lower limbs were routinely prepared and draped. The registration process was performed through an MIS approach. This was then extended to the standard approach and the registration was performed again. Two surgeons performed the registration process five times with each approach. Performing the registration process through the MIS approach was not associated with higher error compared to the standard approach in the alignment parameters of interest. This rejects our hypothesis. Image-free navigated MIS TKR does not appear to carry higher risk of component malalignment due to the registration process error. Navigation can be used during MIS TKR to improve alignment without reduced accuracy due to the approac

Local Population Structure and Patterns of Western Hemisphere Dispersal for Coccidioides spp., the Fungal Cause of Valley Fever.

UnlabelledCoccidioidomycosis (or valley fever) is a fungal disease with high morbidity and mortality that affects tens of thousands of people each year. This infection is caused by two sibling species, Coccidioides immitis and C. posadasii, which are endemic to specific arid locales throughout the Western Hemisphere, particularly the desert southwest of the United States. Recent epidemiological and population genetic data suggest that the geographic range of coccidioidomycosis is expanding, as new endemic clusters have been identified in the state of Washington, well outside the established endemic range. The genetic mechanisms and epidemiological consequences of this expansion are unknown and require better understanding of the population structure and evolutionary history of these pathogens. Here we performed multiple phylogenetic inference and population genomics analyses of 68 new and 18 previously published genomes. The results provide evidence of substantial population structure in C. posadasii and demonstrate the presence of distinct geographic clades in central and southern Arizona as well as dispersed populations in Texas, Mexico, South America, and Central America. Although a smaller number of C. immitis strains were included in the analyses, some evidence of phylogeographic structure was also detected in this species, which has been historically limited to California and Baja, Mexico. Bayesian analyses indicated that C. posadasii is the more ancient of the two species and that Arizona contains the most diverse subpopulations. We propose a southern Arizona-northern Mexico origin for C. posadasii and describe a pathway for dispersal and distribution out of this region.ImportanceCoccidioidomycosis, or valley fever, is caused by the pathogenic fungi Coccidioides posadasii and C. immitis The fungal species and disease are primarily found in the American desert southwest, with spotted distribution throughout the Western Hemisphere. Initial molecular studies suggested a likely anthropogenic movement of C. posadasii from North America to South America. Here we comparatively analyze eighty-six genomes of the two Coccidioides species and establish local and species-wide population structures to not only clarify the earlier dispersal hypothesis but also provide evidence of likely ancestral populations and patterns of dispersal for the known subpopulations of C. posadasii

WALLABY Early Science - I. The NGC 7162 Galaxy Group

We present Widefield ASKAP L-band Legacy All-sky Blind Survey (WALLABY) early science results from the Australian Square Kilometre Array Pathfinder (ASKAP) observations of the NGC 7162 galaxy group. We use archival HIPASS and Australia Telescope Compact Array (ATCA) observations of this group to validate the new ASKAP data and the data reduction pipeline ASKAPsoft. We detect six galaxies in the neutral hydrogen (HI) 21-cm line, expanding the NGC 7162 group membership from four to seven galaxies. Two of the new detections are also the first HI detections of the dwarf galaxies, AM 2159-434 and GALEXASC J220338.65-431128.7, for which we have measured velocities of $cz=2558$ and $cz=2727$ km s$^{-1}$, respectively. We confirm that there is extended HI emission around NGC 7162 possibly due to past interactions in the group as indicated by the $40^{\circ}$ offset between the kinematic and morphological major axes for NGC 7162A, and its HI richness. Taking advantage of the increased resolution (factor of $\sim1.5$) of the ASKAP data over archival ATCA observations, we fit a tilted ring model and use envelope tracing to determine the galaxies' rotation curves. Using these we estimate the dynamical masses and find, as expected, high dark matter fractions of $f_{\mathrm{DM}}\sim0.81-0.95$ for all group members. The ASKAP data are publicly available.Comment: 20 pages, 11 figures, accepted for publication in MNRA

Cold gas outflows from the Small Magellanic Cloud traced with ASKAP

Feedback from massive stars plays a critical role in the evolution of the Universe by driving powerful outflows from galaxies that enrich the intergalactic medium and regulate star formation. An important source of outflows may be the most numerous galaxies in the Universe: dwarf galaxies. With small gravitational potential wells, these galaxies easily lose their star-forming material in the presence of intense stellar feedback. Here, we show that the nearby dwarf galaxy, the Small Magellanic Cloud (SMC), has atomic hydrogen outflows extending at least 2 kiloparsecs (kpc) from the star-forming bar of the galaxy. The outflows are cold, $T<400~{\rm K}$, and may have formed during a period of active star formation $25 - 60$ million years (Myr) ago. The total mass of atomic gas in the outflow is $\sim 10^7$ solar masses, ${\rm M_{\odot}}$, or $\sim 3$% of the total atomic gas of the galaxy. The inferred mass flux in atomic gas alone, $\dot{M}_{HI}\sim 0.2 - 1.0~{\rm M_{\odot}~yr^{-1}}$, is up to an order of magnitude greater than the star formation rate. We suggest that most of the observed outflow will be stripped from the SMC through its interaction with its companion, the Large Magellanic Cloud (LMC), and the Milky Way, feeding the Magellanic Stream of hydrogen encircling the Milky Way.Comment: Published in Nature Astronomy, 29 October 2018, http://dx.doi.org/10.1038/s41550-018-0608-

High-Redshift Quasars Found in Sloan Digital Sky Survey Commissioning Data II: The Spring Equatorial Stripe

This is the second paper in a series aimed at finding high-redshift quasars from five-color (u'g'r'i'z') imaging data taken along the Celestial Equator by the Sloan Digital Sky Survey (SDSS) during its commissioning phase. In this paper, we present 22 high-redshift quasars (z>3.6) discovered from ~250 deg^2 of data in the spring Equatorial Stripe, plus photometry for two previously known high-redshift quasars in the same region of sky. Our success rate of identifying high-redshift quasars is 68%. Five of the newly discovered quasars have redshifts higher than 4.6 (z=4.62, 4.69, 4.70, 4.92 and 5.03). All the quasars have i* < 20.2 with absolute magnitude -28.8 < M_B < -26.1 (h=0.5, q_0=0.5). Several of the quasars show unusual emission and absorption features in their spectra, including an object at z=4.62 without detectable emission lines, and a Broad Absorption Line (BAL) quasar at z=4.92.Comment: 28 pages, AJ in press (Jan 2000), final version with minor changes; high resolution finding charts available at http://www.astro.princeton.edu/~fan/paper/qso2.htm

The Discovery of a Second Field Methane Brown Dwarf from Sloan Digital Sky Survey Commissioning Data

We report the discovery of a second field methane brown dwarf from the commissioning data of the Sloan Digital Sky Survey (SDSS). The object, SDSS J134646.45-003150.4 (SDSS 1346-00), was selected because of its very red color and stellar appearance. Its spectrum between 0.8-2.5 mic is dominated by strong absorption bands of H_2O and CH_4 and closely mimics those of Gliese 229B and SDSS 162414.37+002915.6 (SDSS 1624+00), two other known methane brown dwarfs. SDSS 1346-00 is approximately 1.5 mag fainter than Gliese 229B, suggesting that it lies about 11 pc from the sun. The ratio of flux at 2.1 mic to that at 1.27 mic is larger for SDSS 1346-00 than for Gliese 229B and SDSS 1624+00, which suggests that SDSS 1346-00 has a slightly higher effective temperature than the others. Based on a search area of 130 sq. deg. and a detection limit of z* = 19.8, we estimate a space density of 0.05 pc^-3 for methane brown dwarfs with T_eff ~ 1000 K in the 40 pc^3 volume of our search. This estimate is based on small-sample statistics and should be treated with appropriate caution.Comment: 9 pages, 3 figures, AASTeX, to appear in ApJ Letters, authors list update

Does Conservation Planning Matter in a Dynamic and Uncertain World?

We show that while comprehensive reserve network design is best when the entire network can be implemented immediately, when conservation investments must be staged over years, such solutions actually may be sub-optimal in the context of biodiversity loss and uncertainty