1,720,983 research outputs found
A longitudinal study of neck and upper limb musculoskeletal disorders and alternative measures of vibration exposure
Full text linkObjective – To investigate the exposure-response relationships between alternative frequency weightings of hand-transmitted vibration (HTV) and neck and upper limb musculoskeletal disorders (MSDs) in a cohort of HTV workers.
Methods – In a 3-year longitudinal study, the occurrence of neck and upper limb MSDs were investigated in 249 HTV workers and 138 control men. In the HTV workers, MSDs were related to measures of daily vibration exposure expressed in terms of 8-hour energy-equivalent frequency-weighted acceleration magnitude [A(8)]. To calculate A(8), the acceleration magnitudes of vibration were weighted by means of four alternative frequency weightings of HTV. The associations between MSDs, individual characteristics, physical work load other than vibration and psychological strain were also investigated.
Results – The occurrence of upper limb MSDs was greater in the HTV workers than in the controls. After adjustment for potential confounders, the occurrence of elbow/forearm and wrist/hand MSDs increased with the increase of vibration exposure. A measure of model selection did not reveal any substantial difference in the performance of the alternative frequency weightings of HTV for the prediction of neck and upper limb MSDs. In the study population, age, hard physical work load and poor psychological well-being were associated with both neck and upper limb MSDs.
Conclusions – In this study there was evidence for significant exposure-response relationships between HTV exposure and MSDs in the distal sites of the upper limbs. There were no differences in the prediction of neck and upper limb MSDs between measures of daily vibration exposure calculated with alternative frequency weightings of acceleration magnitude
Relationships of neurosensory disorders and reduced work ability to alternative frequency weightings of hand-transmitted vibration
Full text linkObjective This cohort study aims to compare the performance of alternative frequency weightings of handtransmitted
vibration (HTV) for the assessment of the exposure–response relationships for neurosensory disorders
and reduced work ability among HTV-exposed workers.
Methods In a 3-year follow up study, the occurrence of neurosensory symptoms and reduced work ability, and
the response to quantitative sensory testing (grip force, manipulative dexterity, touch sensation) were investigated
in 249 HTV-exposed workers and 138 healthy controls. Among the HTV-exposed workers, the sensory
outcomes were related to measures of daily vibration exposure expressed in terms of 8-hour energy-equivalent
frequency-weighted acceleration magnitude [A(8)]. To calculate A(8), the acceleration magnitudes of vibration
were weighted by means of four alternative frequency weightings of HTV.
Results The occurrence of neurosensory symptoms, reduced work ability, and abnormalities of sensory tests was
greater among the HTV-exposed workers than the controls. Among the HTV-exposed workers, the deterioration of
neurosensory outcomes and the reduction of work ability increased on par with the measures of vibration exposure.
Exposure–response models revealed that the four alternative frequency weightings of HTV provided the same predictions
for the probability of finger numbness among the exposed workers (observed 36% versus predicted 32%).
Conclusions The findings of this study revealed significant dose–response relationships between measures of
vibration exposure, sensory disorders, and reduced work ability among the HTV-exposed workers. There were
no differences in the prediction of finger numbness between measures of vibration exposure calculated with
alternative frequency weightings of HTV
The gender gap in italian academic medicine from 2005 to 2015: Still a glass ceiling
No full textBACKGROUND:
Although women make up half of the population of medical students and residents, they are still under-represented in prominent leadership positions in academia. The disparity is greatest at the highest levels and represents a loss of talent for academic health centers, showing that women must choose between career advancement and personal life.
OBJECTIVES:
The aim of this study was to analyze gender distribution in Italian medical academia in all hierarchical roles (researchers in tenure track positions, associate and full professors) in different disciplinary scientific fields (SSD) in 2015 compared to 2005.
METHODS:
Medical faculties were considered at 31/12/2005 and 30/09/2015, and analyzed using Excel data sheet (Office for Windows 2007). Database was analyzed using STATA software (Texas, Inc. 2014).
RESULTS:
Women are under-represented in all careers: in 2005 they made up 36.2% of researchers, 21.7% of associate professors and only 9.4% of full professors. The percentage of women researchers increased significantly (p<0.0001) in 2015 to 41.9%, but the percentages of female associate professors (25.3%) and full professors (14.2%) were still extremely low.
DISCUSSION:
Our study shows that women are under-represented in Italian academia, with only a slight increase in presence in 2015 compared to ten years before. More action is needed to create a supportive environment, increase awareness and monitor potential discriminatio
Relationships of low back outcomes to internal spinal load: a prospective cohort study of professional drivers
Full text linkPurpose – To investigate the relationships between low back symptoms and alternative measures of external dose and internal spinal dose in professional drivers exposed to whole body vibration (WBV).
Methods – The occurrence of low back symptoms were investigated in a cohort of 537 drivers over a two-year follow up period. Low back pain (LBP), individual characteristics, and work-related risk factors were investigated with a structured questionnaire. Exposure to WBV was evaluated by means of measures of external dose (daily vibration exposure in terms of either equivalent continuous acceleration over an eight-hour period (A(8)) or vibration dose value according to the EU Directive on mechanical vibration) and measures of internal lumbar load (daily compressive dose Sed and risk factor R according to ISO/CD 2631-5 2014).
Results – In the drivers’ cohort, the cumulative incidence of 12-month low back outcomes was 16.8% for LBP, 9.3% for chronic LBP, and 21.8% for sciatic pain. The measures of internal spinal load were better predictors of the occurrence of low back symptoms than the measures of daily vibration exposure. A two-fold increase in the risk estimates for low back outcomes was found in the upper quartile of the R factor (0.41-0.72 units) compared to the lower one (0.07-0.19 units).
Conclusions – In this prospective cohort study, measures of internal spinal dose performed better than measures of daily vibration exposure (external dose) for the prediction of low back outcomes in professional drivers. The ISO boundary values of the risk factor R for low and high probabilities of adverse health effects on the lumbar spine tend to underestimate the health risk in professional drivers
Going Beyond Counting First Authors in Author Co-citation Analysis
Full text linkThe present study examines one of the fundamental aspects of author co-citation analysis (ACA) - the way co-citation
counts are defined. Co-citation counting provides the data on which all subsequent statistical analyses and mappings
are based, and we compare ACA results based on two different types of co-citation counting - the traditional type that
only counts the first one among a cited work's authors on the one hand and a non-traditional type that takes into
account the first 5 authors of a cited work on the other hand. Results indicate that the picture produced through this non-traditional author co-citation counting contains more coherent author groups and is therefore considerably clearer. However, this picture represents fewer specialties in the research field being studied than that produced through the traditional first-author co-citation counting when the same number of top-ranked authors is selected and analyzed. Reasons for these effects are discussed
Variations on the Author
Full text link“Variations on the Author” discusses two of Eduardo Coutinho’s recent films (Um Dia na Vida, from 2010, and Últimas Conversas, posthumously released in 2015) and their contribution to the general question of documentary authorship. The director’s filmography is characterized by a consistent yet self-effacing form of authorial self-inscription: Coutinho often features as an interviewer that rather than express opinions propels discourses; an interviewer that is good at listening. This mode of self-inscription characterizes him as an author who is not expressive but who is nonetheless markedly present on the screen. In Um Dia na Vida, however, Coutinho is completely absent form the image, while Últimas Conversas, on the contrary, includes a confessional prologue that moves the director from the margins to the center of his films. This article examines the ways in which these works stand out in the filmography of a director who offers new insights into the notion of cinematic authorship
Appropriate Similarity Measures for Author Cocitation Analysis
Full text linkWe provide a number of new insights into the methodological discussion about author cocitation analysis. We first argue that the use of the Pearson correlation for measuring the similarity between authors’ cocitation profiles is not very satisfactory. We then discuss what kind of similarity measures may be used as an alternative to the Pearson correlation. We consider three similarity measures in particular. One is the well-known cosine. The other two similarity measures have not been used before in the bibliometric literature. Finally, we show by means of an example that our findings have a high practical relevance.information science;Pearson correlation;cosine;similarity measure;author cocitation analysis
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