A glossary for the social epidemiology of work organization. Part 3: terms from labour markets

This is part 3 of a three-part glossary on the social epidemiology of work organisation. The first two parts deal with the social psychology of work and with organisations. This concluding part presents concepts related to labour markets. These concepts are drawn from economics, business and sociology. They relate both to traditional interests in these disciplines and to contemporary ideas on post-industrialisation and globalisation, particularly the growth of employment in service industries, the development of a 24-h economy, increased participation of the female labour force and the perceived needs of employers in emerging high-tech economies.These changes are of particular interest because they are linked to increasing inequality in earnings and changes in social relationships in employment. These concepts have the potential to elucidate the pathways through which health is affected by conditions of work as an underlying cause

Psychosocial factors and work related sickness absence among permanent and non-permanent employees

Study objective: To examine the association between psychosocial work factors and work related sickness absence among permanent and non-permanent employees by sex.Design: A cross sectional survey conducted in 2000 of a representative sample of the European Union total active population, aged 15 years and older. The independent variables were psychological job demands and job control as measures of psychosocial work environment, and work related sickness absence as the main outcome. Poisson regression models were used to compute sickness absence days' rate ratios.Setting: 15 countries of the European Union.Participants: A sample of permanent (n=12875) and non-permanent (n=1203) workers from the Third European Survey on Working Conditions.Results: High psychological job demands, low job control, and high strain and passive work were associated with higher work related sickness absence. The risks were more pronounced in non-permanent compared with permanent employees and men compared with women.Conclusions: This work extends previous research on employment contracts and sickness absence, suggesting different effects depending on psychosocial working conditions and sex

Organisational and occupational risk factors associated with work related injuries among public hospital employees in Costa Rica

Aims: To explore the relation between occupational and organisational factors and work related injuries (WRI) among public hospital employees in Costa Rica.Methods: A cross-sectional survey was conducted among a stratified random sample of 1000 employees from 10 of the 29 public hospitals in Costa Rica. A previously validated, self-administered questionnaire which included occupational and organisational factors and sociodemographic variables was used. From the final eligible sample ( n = 859), a total of 842 ( response rate 98%) questionnaires were returned; 475 workers were analysed after excluding not-at-risk workers and incomplete questionnaires. WRI were computed for the past six months.Results: Workers exposed to chemicals (RR = 1.36) and physical hazards ( RR = 1.26) had higher WRI rate ratios than non-exposed workers. Employees reporting job tasks that interfered with safety practices ( RR = 1.46), and a lack of safety training ( RR = 1.41) had higher WRI rate ratios than their counterparts. Low levels of safety climate ( RR = 1.51) and safety practices ( RR = 1.27) were individually associated with an increased risk of WRI. Also, when evaluated jointly, low levels of both safety climate and safety practices showed the highest association with WRI ( RR = 1.92).Conclusions: When evaluated independently, most of the occupational exposures and organisational factors investigated were significantly correlated with an increased injury risk. As expected, some of these associations disappeared when evaluated jointly. Exposure to chemical and physical hazards, lack of safety training, and low levels of safety climate and safety practices remained significant risk factors for WRI. These results will be important to consider in developing future prevention interventions in this setting

'Globesization': ecological evidence on the relationship between fast food outlets and obesity among 26 advanced economies

The aim of this study was to investigate the relationship between the density of fast food restaurants and the prevalence of obesity by gender across affluent nations. Data on Subway’s restaurants per 100,000 people and proportions of men and women aged 15 years or older with a body mass index (BMI) higher or equal than 30 Kg/m2 were obtained for 26 of 34 advanced economies. Countries with the highest density of Subway restaurants such as the US (7.52 per 100,000) and Canada (7.43 per 100,000) tend also to have a higher prevalence of obesity in both men (31.3% and 23.2% respectively) and women (33.2% and 22.9% respectively). On the other hand, countries with a relatively low density of Subway restaurants such as Japan (0.13 per 100,000) and Norway (0.19 per 100,000) had a lower prevalence of obesity in both men (2.9% and 6.4% respectively) and women (3.3% and 5.9% respectively). Unadjusted linear regression models showed a significant correlation between the density of Subway’s outlets and the prevalence of adult obesity (β=.46; p=0.02 in men and β=.48; p=0.013 in women). When the data were weighted by population size, the association became substantially stronger in both men and women (β=.85; p=0.0001 and β=.84; p=0.0001, respectively). Covariate adjustment did not reduce the size of the associations. Our study raises serious concerns about that the diffusion of fast food outlets worldwide and calls for coordinated political actions to address what we term ‘globesization’, the ongoing globalization of the obesity epidemic

Osteotomía proximal de tibia con estabilización mediante grapa compresora

Se revisan 60 pacientes con 78 osteotomías proximales de tibia —70 valguizantes y 8 varizantes— estabilizadas con una grapa de nuevo diseño con propiedades compresoras, debido a la elasticidad de su material. El seguimiento de los pacientes osciló entre los 3 y 10 años. De acuerdo con los criterios tradicionales de Coventry (1973), hemos obtenido buenos resultados en 61 osteotomías (78%), regulares en 11 (14%) y malos en 6 (8%). No se detectaron pérdidas de corrección, ni migraciones de la grapa. Las complicaciones fueron: una paresia del extensor largo del primer dedo del pie, 2 infecciones superficiales de partes blandas y 2 edemas postoperatorios persistentes de extremidad inferior. La consolidación se obtuvo en una media de 49 días (rango 30-67). La nueva grapa compresora permite reducir al mínimo o eliminar la inmovilización con yeso, facilita una precoz movilización postoperatoria de la rodilla, y disminuye los riesgos de pérdida de corrección.A total of 78 high tibial osteotomies —70 for valguization and 8 for varization— in 60 patients were reviewed. I all cases, the osteotomy was stabilized by a new staple designed with compressive effect, due to the elasticity of the material used. The follow-up of the patients ranged from 3 to 10 years. According to Coventry's criteria (1973), good results were obtained in 61 osteotomies (78%), fair in 11 (14%) and poor in 6 (8%). Neither loss of correction nor migration of the staple were detected. Complications were found as paresia of the extensor longus of the first toe in one case, infection of the soft tissues in 2 cases and persisting postoperative edema of the lower extremity in other 2 patients. Healing of the osteotomy was achieved in 49 days average (range, 30-67). The new compressive staple permit to reduce or eliminate postoperative plaster inmovilization, facilitate an early knee rehabilitation, and diminish the risk for loss of correccion

Svq: a proposal for still image coding in mpeg 4 - snhc

A technique for efficient coding of homogeneous textures is presented here. The technique is based on the use of Stochastic Vector Quantization and provides very high compression with graceful degradation. To encode the image, a linear prediction filter is computed. Then, the prediction error is encoded using a Stochastic Vector Quantization approach. To decode the image, the prediction error is decoded first and then filtered as a whole using the prediction filter, thus avoiding the block effect found in conventional VQ. The approach has been proposed as a still image coding technique in MPEG 4 SNHC. Comparisons with the Video VM of MPEG 4 are also presentedPeer ReviewedPostprint (published version

New formulations for healthier dry fermented sausages: a review.

An excessive intake of meat products, particularly dryfermented sausages, is not recommended from a health point of view, at least for some population groups, due to their high level of sodium and animal fat. Many efforts of the meat industry are focused on the development of new products with better nutritional properties than traditional ones. KCl, CaCl2, and/or calcium ascorbate, among others, have been assessed as partial substitutes of NaCl, giving products with acceptable sensory quality, smaller amounts of sodium and being sometimes a significant source of potassium or calcium. In relation to fat, recent research has focused on the use of different types of fibres and vegetable oils as partial substitutes of pork backfat. The use of fibres results in low-fat and low-energy products. The use of vegetable oils results in products with healthier fatty acid profiles. Aspects related to improving sensory properties and control of oxidation should be taken into account in future research