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PURPOSE In patients with adult spinal deformity, it was previously shown that 16 of the non-management items of the SRS-instrument showed a better fit to the theoretical four-factor model (pain, function, self-image, mental health) than did all 20 items. Whether the same phenomenon is observed in data from younger (

Purpose To evaluate the protein expression characteristics of genes employed in a recently introduced prognostic gene expression assay for patients with cutaneous melanoma (CM). Methods We studied 37 patients with CM and 10 with benign (melanocytic) nevi (BN). Immunohistochemistry of primary tumor tissue was performed for eight proteins: COL6A6, DCD, GBP4, KLHL41, KRT9, PIP, SCGB1D2, SCGB2A2. Results The protein expression of most markers investigated was relatively low (e.g., DCD, KRT9, SCGB1D2) and predominantly cytoplasmatic in melanocytes and keratinocytes. COL6A6, GBP4, and KLHL41 expression was significantly enhanced in CM when compared to BN. DCD protein expression was significantly correlated with COL6A6, GBP4, and KLHL41. GBP4 was positively correlated with KLHL41 and inversely correlated with SCGB2B2. The latter was also inversely correlated with serum S100B levels at time of initial diagnosis. The presence of SCGB1D2 expression was significantly associated with ulceration of the primary tumor. KRT9 protein expression was significantly more likely found in acral lentiginous melanoma. The presence of DCD expression was less likely associated with superficial spreading melanoma subtype but significantly associated with non-progressive disease. The absence of SCGB2A2 expression was significantly more often observed in patients who did not progress to stage III or IV. Conclusions The expression levels observed were relatively low but differed in part with those found in BN. Even though we detected some significant correlations between the protein expression levels and clinical parameters (e.g., CM subtype, course of disease), there was no major concordance with the protective or risk-associated functions of the corresponding genes included in a recently introduced prognostic gene expression assay.

Purpose This field study investigated the effects of background social stress at work on the weekly course of evening fatigue. Methods Male employees of a Swiss organisation reported their fatigue after work and at 9 pm in the evening over three weeks. A total of 482 evening fatigue measurements from 34 male participants were subjected to multilevel analysis. Results Sleep quality in the previous night and fatigue after work predicted evening fatigue. Evening fatigue was not associated with the time spent on daily housework or child care. There was a linear increase in evening fatigue across weekdays and a main effect of workplace social stressors on evening fatigue. Sleep quality during the previous night mediated the link between background social stressors and evening fatigue. Moreover, an interaction between workplace social stressors and working days indicated that fatigue accumulated faster during the working week in those reporting a high level of social stress at work. Conclusion Social stress at work seems to accelerate the loss of resources over consecutive workdays. The analysis of workplace social stressors and other potential moderators of resource dynamics contributes to our understanding of work-related stress, including the role of background stressors and the temporal dynamics of resource loss.

Reconciling work and private life is difficult in leadership positions. A representative sample of 1070 Swiss leaders reported work stressors, private stressors, and work resources. For each domain, scales were aggregated to indices to allow for an adequate domain-related comparison. Compared to males, females reported higher levels of private stressors (Hedges’ g = −0.66) and somewhat lower levels of work stressors (g = 0.16). Work stressors, but not private stressors, predicted affective commitment, job satisfaction, and turnover intention. Both work and private stressors predicted emotional exhaustion, health status and psychosomatic complaints, but for exhaustion and health status work stressors explained a larger proportion of the variance. Work resources predicted both attitudes and health indicators. A two-way interaction indicated a stronger association between private stressors and emotional exhaustion in men than in women; there were no three-way interactions between work stressors, private stressors, and sex. Privacy-work conflict (PWC) was confirmed as a mediator of the links between private stressors and job satisfaction, emotional exhaustion, psychosomatic complaints and health status. Contrary to expectations, the path between private demands and PWC was stronger in men than women. Practical Relevance Preventative efforts should decrease work stressors and support achieving a balance between work and family demands. The latter must be embedded in an accepting and supporting organizational culture, so that both men and women are encouraged to use these options.

In many countries, the majority of employees work in SMEs, but research on prevention and interventions with regard to occupational health rarely addresses SMEs. The aim is to give an overview of the evidence on person- and work-related interventions. We conducted a systematic literature search. Fifteen studies on health promotion in SMEs are summarized in a systematic meta-analytic review. Interventions that addressed health-related behaviour such as physical exercise or mixed approaches were shown to have a small to moderate effect. Work redesign and other interventions to improve work conditions showed mixed results. Our findings point to the importance of a precise implementation and the consideration of possible side effects. The combination of person- and task-related interventions seems to be promising. To improve health promotion in SMEs, more research on interventions in this context is necessary. Practical Relevance Because of SMEs’ constraints on finances and human resources, the planning and implementation of health-related interventions seems to be harder compared to larger organizations. Research on prevention and interventions in regard to occupational health rarely addresses SMEs. To our knowledge, this is the first systematic review on SMEs addressing a variety of person- and work-related interventions and their health- and work-related outcomes. The findings could help in the design and evaluation of health promotion efforts in SMEs.

Technological change, economic pressure and the need for concentration increase work stress in the printing business. It is well known that stress in the workplace is associated with impaired cognitive functioning, such as headaches and concentration problems. Accordingly, daily recovery—especially restful and healthy sleep—is essential for human functioning. This study tested whether the quality of the previous night’s sleep predicts headaches and concentration problems independent of current-day time pressure, work interruptions and concentration requirements. Twenty-seven out of 28 printing plant employees contributed daily data over five consecutive workdays. Self-reported data on working conditions and cognitive functions and actigraphy-based indicators of sleep quality were subjected to multi-level analysis. Multilevel regression analysis of 125 days confirmed that longer sleep-onset latency, more fragmented sleep and lower sleep efficiency were antecedents of headache intensity the following day. Headaches were also predicted by the current work interruptions. Concentration problems were predicted by the previous night’s sleep latency and the current day’s concentration requirements. Poor recovery in the sense of low sleep quality may impair cognitive function beyond the effects of the current-day’s work stress. Work redesign and person-oriented training should be used to promote sleep and cognitive function in printers.

The current study tested whether physical activity during a school teachers’ vacation is associated with health improvement. A second research question addressed whether recovery experiences (detachment, mastery, relaxation, and control) mediate between physical activity and health improvement. Forty-eight elementary school teachers filled out a questionnaire before and after vacation. Self-reported health status was assessed prior to vacation and during vacation and recovery experiences were assessed during vacation. Mean levels of self-reported general health increased during vacation. Health improvement was restricted to those teachers who were physically active during their vacation (p = .013). Analysis of covariance showed activity related group differences in recovery experiences during vacation. Those who did sports during their vacation reported significantly higher levels of detachment and mastery. The percentage of days with sports during vacation was positively related to experience of mastery and detachment during vacation. The mediation hypothesis was however not empirically supported. Physical activity during vacation corresponded with elementary teachers’ recovery and health improvement during vacation.

By Norbert K. Semmer & Franziska Tschan & Nicola Jacobshagen & Terry A. Beehr & Achim Elfering & Wolfgang Kalin & Laurenz L. Meier was originally published Online First without Open Access.

Het aantal Nederlandse vrouwen met een migratieachtergrond stijgt en zij kunnen huisartsen confronteren met verzoeken om een maagdelijkheidsverklaring of hymenreconstructie. Dat stelt de arts voor een dilemma: een valse verklaring of onnodige ingreep weigeren is medisch juist, maar kan de vrouw blootstellen aan geweld of verstoting. Deze nascholing geeft handvatten om met dit dilemma om te gaan. Met counseling en voorlichting kan men de vrouw helpen een passende oplossing te vinden. Als de vrouw gevaar loopt, kan de huisarts overwegen toch een maagdelijkheidsverklaring te formuleren. Als de wens tot hymencorrectie aanhoudt, moet de huisarts deze respecteren en de vrouw verwijzen.

Recent research on the mechanical properties of hot-compacted polypropylene composites is reported. It is shown that incorporation of new high performance polypropylene tapes leads to significant improvements in tensile and flexural properties. The high temperature properties of these new composites are outstanding, showing higher stiffness and very low creep under permanent load. Comparisons are presented with both chopped glass-reinforced and continuous glass-reinforced polypropylene composites.

Most studies on occupational stress concentrate on chronic condi- tions, whereas research on stressful situations is rather sparse. Using an event- sampling approach, 80 young workers reported stressful events over 7 days (409 work-related and 127 private events). Content analysis showed the newcomers' work experiences to be similar to what is typically found in older samples (e.g., social stressors, quantitative overload, problems of cooperation). At work and in private life, social stressors were dominant. In multilevel-analyses active coping predicted higher success in calming down and problem solving, particularly in controllable situations. Palliation was positively related to successful calming down and negatively to event-related well-being. With regard to the relationship between chronic conditions and situational variables, (stable) job control was associated with successful calming down in stressful situations, and it buffered the effect of chronic job stressors on successful situational calming down, yielding a specific variant of the demands-control model. Number of work-related stressful events, weighted by significance, was moderately associated with chronic job stressors. However, while chronic job stressors predicted momentary well-being over and above the weighted number of events, events did not predict momen- tary well-being, and its prediction of stable well-being disappeared once chronic stressors were controlled. These results show how chronic conditions represent background variables that not only have a stronger influence on well-being but also influence the immediate reaction to stressful encounters.

Spinal canal dimensions are assumed to play a significant role with regard to the development of symptoms in individuals with disc herniations. The literature is inconclusive on the significance of spinal canal size as a risk factor for sciatica, mainly because of study design problems. The objective of this study, therefore, was to test the hypothesis that spinal canal dimensions are a significant risk factor for the development of sciatica, comparing symptomatic and asymptomatic individuals. Thirty symptomatic patients undergoing lumbar discectomy and 45 asymptomatic volunteers were investigated by clinical and MRI examination. The size of the spinal canal and thecal sac as well as the midsagittal spinal canal diameter were measured using a point counting method and scanner software, respectively. Differences between the groups were compared separately for each level L3/4 to L5/S1. The intra- and inter-observer error ranged between 0.95 and 0.99 for all measurements. In symptomatic patients, the dimensions of the spinal canal and thecal sac as well as the midsagittal spinal canal diameter were smaller at all disc levels. Unpaired t-test demonstrated a significant difference, ranging from P