Exploring the mediation role of employees' well-being in the relationship between psychosocial factors and musculoskeletal pain during the COVID-19 pandemic.

BACKGROUND: The COVID-19 pandemic has increased some psychosocial risks which may aggravate the development of musculoskeletal disorders (MSDs) and reduced psychological well-being, two leading global occupational health problems. OBJECTIVE: This study aims to investigate whether an employee's psychological well-being mediates the relationship between the psychosocial factors (job strain, work-life balance, and job security) and the prevalence of musculoskeletal pain in the Indonesian general working population during the pandemic. METHODS: A cross-sectional study design was employed using an online questionnaire. A total of 406 from 465 respondents were included in the final analysis. RESULTS: It was found that 73.9% of respondents suffered from upper body part pain, 25.15% from low back pain, and 39.7% reported pain in the lower limb. Process Macro Model 4 analysis showed the significant role of well-being as a mediator in the association between work-life balance and the odds of experiencing the upper body and low back pains. However, neither the direct nor mediating effect on the relationship between job strain or job security and any musculoskeletal pains were observed. These findings suggest that specific psychosocial factors may be more relevant to be investigated in the particular context. CONCLUSION: The use of a mediation model was able to link work-life balance to musculoskeletal complaints through well-being states in the context of the pandemic. Organizations need to mitigate poor well-being triggered by psychosocial stressors which could affect physical complaints to maintain employee's health and productivity.

Sugarcane Bagasse as the Source of Nanocrystalline Cellulose for Gelatin-Free Capsule Shell.

Gelatin-free capsules are possibly produced through an innovation which involves utilizing environmentally friendly materials derived from plants such as bagasse which are produced into nanocrystalline cellulose (NCC). This research was conducted to report the extraction and characterization of NCC from the abundant industrial plantation waste of sugarcane and its application as the base material for gelatin-free capsule shell material. The process involved using different concentrations of NCC at 1%, 2%, 4%, and 7% (in wt. %) with the addition of 1% hydroxypropyl methylcellulose (HPMC) (in wt. %) and 1% carbopol (in wt. %). Moreover, the NCC capsules obtained from sugarcane bagasse were tested for moisture content, tensile strength, elongation, solubility, and pH. The results showed that sugarcane bagasse contains 40-50% cellulose, 6.15%-9.5% moisture content which indicates they are potentially better in terms of storage, 7.25-7.85 pH, and 0.05-0.136 MPa gel strength, and the elongation value ranges from 7.19 to 87.51%. These values were discovered to have satisfied the standard requirements as indicated by the optimal concentration of 4% NCC +1% HPMC, which is in line with the Japanese Industrial Standard (JIS), thereby leading to the consideration of the material safe to be used as raw material in making capsule shells.

Oil Palm Empty Fruit Bunches as Raw Material of Dissolving Pulp for Viscose Rayon Fiber in Making Textile Products.

The creative fashion industry produces several textile products that play an important role in the national economy. In various countries, this industry has continued to grow along with the strong flow of information technology and e-commerce. The development of textile products for fashion is very dynamic and competitive. Competition is not only about price, but also the quality of organic/synthetic materials, the comfort provided, and designs that change every 4−6 months. Recently, creative fashion not only relies on natural and synthetic polymer-made fibers but also biomass-based waste materials. Therefore, this study aims to manufacture textile products from biomass-based waste materials that can be applied to the creative fashion industry. Two types of raw materials from oil palm empty fruit bunches (EFB), namely, whole-empty fruit bunches (WEFB) and stalk-empty fruit bunches (SEFB), are used as an excellent innovation of rayon viscose fiber (RVF), a noncotton organic yarn capable of providing a solution to the 99% import of global cotton needs. This is expected to increase competitiveness, as well as the added value of palm oil products and their derivatives. The process of manufacturing DP chemically includes prehydrolysis, cooking, bleaching to dissolve the lignin and noncellulosic materials as well as isolation to purify POEFB fiber. Furthermore, DP testing is carried out to determine product quality and compare it with the national product standards. The results show that the alpha-cellulose content reaches >94% with variations in the active alkali of 18%, 20% and 24%. This implies that the WEFB and SEFB are used to fulfill the first requirements of the national standard (SNI 938:2017). The WEFB with an active alkali variation of 24% meets the SNI standard for rayon pulp with a value of S10 = 3.07 and S18 = 7.14%, while all variations of SEFB show opposite results. The use of active alkali at 24% had a brighter color than between 18% and 20%. Additionally, the fiber density of WEFB appears to be higher than that of SEFB. These results correlate positively with DP prepared using 24% alkali as the optimum treatment for all products, as well as the morphological observations performed with scanning electron microscopy (SEM), which shows that WEFB fixated fiber had a larger diameter than SEFB.

An exploratory investigation of changes in gait parameters with age in elderly Japanese women.

BACKGROUND: The aim of the present study was to identify gait parameters in elderly Japanese women. 30 elderly women (65-74.9 years old) and 19 very elderly women (≥75 years old) participated in this study. A 3-dimensional (3D) motion analysis system was used to collect kinematic data, and a total of 70 gait parameters were analysed. Gait parameters included basic gait parameters, gait cycle parameters, and joints angle parameters, as well as angular velocity parameters, such as peak velocity and timing at the hip, knee, and ankle joints. RESULTS: Our results indicated that basic gait parameters, such as the gait cycle, peak joint angle timing, and angular velocity parameters, significantly differ between elderly and very elderly women. Delayed peak joint angle timing and angular velocity parameters occurred during critical phases throughout the gait cycle: pre-swing, initial swing, and terminal swing phases. CONCLUSIONS: Several gait parameters exhibited significant differences between elderly and very elderly women. The timing of the peak joint angle and angular velocity parameters are primary characteristics defining gait changes in the elderly.