Occupational prestige and future sickness absence and disability pension in women and men: a Swedish nationwide prospective cohort study.

BACKGROUND: Little is known about associations between occupational prestige, that is, the symbolic evaluation and social positioning of occupations, and sickness absence (SA) or disability pension (DP). We explored whether occupational prestige was associated with future SA or DP among women and men. METHODS: A Swedish 4-year prospective cohort study of all those in paid work and aged 25-59 in 2010 (N = 2,605,227; 47% women), using linked microdata from three nationwide registers and Standard International Occupational Prestige Scale values, categorised as 'very low', 'low', 'medium', 'high', or 'very high'. Odds ratios (ORs), 95% confidence intervals (CIs), crude and adjusted for several sociodemographic factors, were calculated for three outcomes: at least one SA spell (>14 days), >90 SA days, or DP occurrence, during follow-up (2011-2013). RESULTS: The mean number of SA days in 2010 varied by occupational prestige group, for example, 'very high': 3.0, 'very low': 6.5. Compared to those in occupations with 'very high' prestige, all other groups had higher adjusted ORs for all three outcomes. Among men, those with 'very low' occupational prestige had the highest OR for at least one SA spell: OR 1.51 (95% CI 1.47-1.56); among women, the 'medium' group had the highest OR: 1.30 (1.27-1.32). The results were similar for SA >90 days. OR for DP among women with 'very low' occupational prestige was 2.01 (1.84-2.19), and 3.55 (3.15-4.01) for men. CONCLUSIONS: Working in lower occupational prestige occupations was generally associated with higher odds of future SA/DP than working in higher prestige occupations; these associations were stronger for men than for women.

Synthesis of Pyrroles via Consecutive 6π-Electrocyclization/Ring-Contraction of Sulfilimines.

We present a modular, synthetic entry to polysubstituted pyrroles employing readily available 2,5-dihydrothiophenes. Ring-opening of the heterocycle provides access to a panel of 1,3-dienes which undergo pyrrole formation in the presence of inexpensive chloramine-T trihydrate. The transformation is conducted in an open flask and proceeds at ambient temperatures (23 °C) in nondry solvents. A careful adjustment of the electronics and sterics of the 1,3-diene precursor allows for the isolation of key intermediates. DFT studies identified a reaction mechanism that features a 6π-electrocyclization of a sulfilimine intermediate followed by spontaneous ring-contraction to reveal the pyrrole skeleton.

Non-participation in initial and repeated health risk appraisals - a drop-out analysis based on a health project.

BACKGROUND: Health risk assessment (HRAs) are commonly used by occupational health services (OHS) to aid workplaces in keeping their employees healthy, but for unknown reasons, many employees choose not to participate in the HRAs. The aim of the study was to explore whether demographic, lifestyle and health-related factors in employees are associated with non-participation in initial and repeated HRAs. METHODS: In an OHS-based health project, 2022 municipal employees were asked to participate in three repeated HRAs. Multiple logistic regression analyses were used so as to determine associations between non-participating and demographic, lifestyle and health-related factors (e.g. biomarkers). RESULTS: Among the employees who were asked to participate in the health project, more than half did not participate in any HRA and among those who did, more than one third did not participate in repeated HRAs. Young age, male sex and being employed in the Technical department or Health and Social Care department in comparison with being employed in the department for Childcare and Education were factors significantly associated with non-participation in the initial HRA. These factors, together with being on sick leave and having unhealthy dietary habits, were factors associated with non-participation in repeated HRAs. CONCLUSIONS: Among the non-participators in initial HRAs and in repeated HRAs younger men and those already related to ill-health were overrepresented. This implicates that health care providers to a higher extent should focus on "those most needed" and that employers should be more engaged in results of repeated HRA's. Future studies should focus on modifiable variables that could make the HRAs more attractive and inclusive.

Evaluation of right ventricular function with multidetector computed tomography: comparison with magnetic resonance imaging and analysis of inter- and intraobserver variability.

This study was performed to prospectively compare multidetector computed tomography (MDCT) with 16 simultaneous sections and magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) for the assessment of global right ventricular function in 50 patients. MDCT using a semiautomatic analysis tool showed good correlation with MRI for end-diastolic volume (EDV, r=0.83, p<0.001), end-systolic volume (ESV, r=0.86, p<0.001) and stroke volume (SV, r=0.74, p<0.001), but only a moderate correlation for the ejection fraction (EF, r=0.67, p<0.001). Bland Altman analysis revealed a slight, but insignificant overestimation of EDV (4.0 ml, p=0.08) and ESV (2.4 ml, p=0.07), and underestimation of EF (0.1%, p=0.92) with MDCT compared with MRI. All limits of agreement between both modalities (EF: +/-15.7%, EDV: +/-31.0 ml, ESV: +/-18.0 ml) were in a moderate but acceptable range. Interobserver variability of MDCT was not significantly different from that of MRI. For MDCT software, the post-processing time was significantly longer (19.6+/-5.8 min) than for MRI (11.8+/-2.6 min, p<0.001). Accurate assessment of right ventricular volumes by 16-detector CT is feasible but still rather time-consuming.

Multisegment and halfscan reconstruction of 16-slice computed tomography for assessment of regional and global left ventricular myocardial function.

RATIONALE AND OBJECTIVES: We sought to prospectively compare multisegment and halfscan reconstruction of 16-slice computed tomography (CT) for the assessment of regional and global left ventricular myocardial function with magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) as the reference standard. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Forty-two patients underwent CT with 16 x 0.5-mm detector collimation. Electrocardiogram-gated reconstructions were generated with multisegment reconstruction (using up to 4 segments correlated with the raw data of up to 4 heartbeats) and standard halfscan reconstruction. Steady-state free-precession cine MRI was acquired within 24 hours. RESULTS: More normal myocardial segments were identified correctly with multisegment (95%, 620/656) compared with halfscan reconstruction (88%, 582/656) of CT (P < 0.001). Also, the accuracy (92% [657/714] vs. 87% [620/714]) and rate of nondiagnostic segments (0% vs. 5% [33/714]) were significantly better when using multisegment reconstruction (P < 0.001). The image quality with multisegment reconstruction was significantly superior to that achieved with halfscan reconstruction (P < 0.001). In the assessment of global left ventricular function, multisegment and halfscan reconstruction of CT showed high correlations for all parameters with MRI, whereas Bland-Altman analysis revealed smaller limits of agreement for assessment of myocardial mass with multisegment reconstruction (P = 0.025), but no significant differences between both reconstruction techniques in the measurement of left ventricular volumes as compared with MRI. CONCLUSIONS: Multisegment reconstruction of 16-detector row CT improves image quality and assessment of regional wall motion compared with standard halfscan reconstruction.

Health risk appraisals in Swedish occupational health services.

BACKGROUND: Health risk appraisals (HRAs) in occupational health services (OHS) in Sweden are very commonly used for health promotion issues, but not much research has explored the extent and nature of individual feedback that is provided. OBJECTIVES: This study aimed to describe and explore HRAs in OHS regarding the content of the feedback in relation to the individual status and overall employee satisfaction. METHODS: Feedback (evaluation and advice) and employee satisfaction with HRA were studied in employees that participated in health risk appraisals with a specific feedback session (HRA-F) (n = 272) and employees that participated in a single session (HRA-S) (n = 104). Associations between feedback and individual status concerning life style were assessed with Cohen's kappa (k). RESULTS: The employees received mainly information and advice for improvement on health and lifestyle issues (89-100%), while advice for improvement of working conditions was less common (15-59%). The feedback provided on life style was not based on individual status (k < 0.4), except for smoking and risky alcohol consumption (k > 0.55). A great majority of employees reported good overall satisfaction with their HRAs. CONCLUSIONS: The evaluation and feedback given to employees after HRAs should be based more on HRA-results and advice could be focused more on work-related factors.

Aesthetic judgments of music in experts and laypersons--an ERP study.

We investigated whether music experts and laypersons differ with regard to aesthetic evaluation of musical sequences. 16 music experts and 16 music laypersons judged the aesthetic value (beauty judgment task) as well as the harmonic correctness (correctness judgment task) of chord sequences. The sequences consisted of five chords with the final chord sounding congruous, ambiguous or incongruous relative to the harmonic context established by the preceding four chords. On behavioural measures, few differences were observed between experts and laypersons. However, several differences in event-related potential (ERP) parameters were observed in auditory, cognitive and aesthetic processing of chord cadences between experts and laypersons. First, established ERP effects known to reflect the processing of harmonic rule violation were investigated. Here, differences between the groups were observed in the processing of the mild violation - experts and laypersons differed in their early brain responses to the beginning of the chord sequence. Furthermore, ERP data indicated distinctions between experts and laypersons in aesthetic evaluation at three different stages. Firstly, during the interval of task-cue presentation, a stronger contingent negative variation (CNV) to the beauty judgment task was observed for experts, indicating that experts invest more effort into preparation for aesthetic processes than into correctness judgments. Secondly, during the first four chords, preparation for the correctness judgment required more exertion on the laypersons' side. Thirdly, during the last chord, laypersons showed a larger late and widespread positivity for the beauty compared to the correctness judgment, indicating a stronger reliance on internal affective states while forming a judgment.

Electrophysiological correlates of aesthetic music processing: comparing experts with laypersons.

We analyzed the processes of making aesthetic judgments of music, focusing on the differences between music experts and laypersons. Sixteen students of musicology and 16 control subjects (also students) judged the aesthetic value as well as the harmonic correctness of chord sequences. Event-related potential (ERP) data indicate differences between experts and laypersons in making aesthetic judgments at three different processing stages. Additionally, effects of expertise on ERP components that have previously been proven to be sensitive to musical training were replicated. The study thus provides insights into the effects of musical expertise on neural correlates of aesthetic music processing.

Evaluation of a semiautomatic software tool for left ventricular function analysis with 16-slice computed tomography.

The purpose of the study was to evaluate a semiautomatic analysis tool for assessing global left ventricular myocardial function with multislice computed tomography (MSCT). We examined 33 patients with MSCT using 16x0.5 mm detector collimation and magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) on a 1.5-T scanner. MSCT data were analyzed using semiautomatic volumetric analysis software (ANET, CSCF-001A, Toshiba). This software tool automatically creates endo- and epicardial contours that can be manually corrected on all short-axis slices at all reconstructed time points within the cardiac cycle, based on a contour-detection and density-threshold algorithm. All global left ventricular function parameters assessed with the semiautomatic MSCT software were highly correlated with the results of MRI. Bland-Altman analysis showed minor systematic overestimation of end-diastolic (10.7 ml) and end-systolic volumes (5.6 ml) and underestimation of ejection fraction (2.1%) with MSCT as compared with MRI. The post-processing time was moderately but significantly longer with the MSCT software (15.9+/-2.8 min) than necessary for MRI (14.0+/-2.5 min, P<0.01), mainly as a result of the longer time required for uploading of the MSCT datasets, which were on average 54 times larger (1.3 GByte). In conclusion, it appears feasible to accurately assess global left ventricular function with MSCT in a reasonable post-processing time using a semiautomatic software tool.

Evaluation of global and regional left ventricular function with 16-slice computed tomography, biplane cineventriculography, and two-dimensional transthoracic echocardiography: comparison with magnetic resonance imaging.

OBJECTIVES: We sought to compare left ventricular (LV) function assessed with multislice computed tomography (MSCT), biplane cineventriculography (CVG), and transthoracic echocardiography (Echo), with magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) as the reference standard. BACKGROUND: With the same data as acquired for noninvasive coronary angiography, MSCT enables registration of myocardial function. METHODS: A total of 88 patients (64 men and 24 women) underwent MSCT with 16 x 0.5 mm detector collimation, CVG, and MRI, whereas Echo was retrospectively analyzed in a subset of 30 patients. RESULTS: Regarding the ejection fraction, the agreement was significantly superior for MSCT than for CVG (+/- 10.2% vs. +/- 16.8%; p < 0.001) and Echo (+/- 11.0% vs. +/- 21.2%; p < 0.001). For the end-diastolic and end-systolic volumes, the limits of agreement with CVG (p < 0.001) and Echo (p < 0.001 and p < 0.02, respectively) were also significantly larger than with MSCT. In comparison with MSCT, CVG significantly overestimated the end-diastolic and end-systolic volumes (p < 0.001). Intraobserver analysis of MSCT yielded limits of agreement for ejection fraction (+/- 4.8%), end-diastolic volume (+/- 15.6 ml) and end-systolic volume (+/- 8.0 ml), and myocardial mass (+/- 18.2 g). The accuracy in identifying patients and myocardial segments with abnormal regional function was significantly higher with MSCT (84% and 95%) than with CVG (63% and 90%; p < 0.002 and p < 0.001), whereas MSCT and Echo were not significantly different in identifying patients with abnormal regional function. CONCLUSIONS: Our results indicate that the assessment of global and regional LV function with MSCT is more accurate than with CVG, whereas MSCT is superior to Echo for global function. This suggests that MSCT allows reliable evaluation of global and regional LV function.