Work-Related Psychosocial Risk and Protective Factors Influencing Workplace Sickness Absence: A Systematic Literature Review.

Purpose: Employee sickness absence (SA) is a significant issue facing organizations and individuals worldwide, leading to multiple negative consequences, such as increased costs, early retirement, decreased productivity, and reduced quality of work. Therefore, within the occupational health and safety (OHS) framework, it is crucial to explore the factors that help workforces stay at work sustainably. This study investigates the role of work-related psychosocial factors (WRPFs) as predictors of SA and suggests proactive measures to prevent its occurrence.

Accounting for the impact of genotype and environment on variation in leaf respiration of wheat in Mexico and Australia.

An approach to improving radiation use efficiency (RUE) in wheat is to screen for variability in rates of leaf respiration in darkness (Rdark). We used a high-throughput system to quantify variation in Rdark among a diverse range of spring wheat genotypes (301 lines) grown in two countries (Mexico and Australia) and two seasons (2017 and 2018), and in doing so quantify the relative importance of genotype (G) and environment (E) in influencing variations in leaf Rdark. Through careful design, residual (unexplained) variation represented less than 10% of the total observed.

Puberty changes the natural history of idiopathic scoliosis: three prediction models for future radiographic curve severity from 1563 consecutive patients.

Purpose: Understanding idiopathic scoliosis (IS) natural history during growth is essential for shared decision-making between patients and physicians. We developed a retrospective model with the largest available sample in the literature and we aimed to investigate if using three peri-pubertal growth periods provides better prediction than a unique model.

Methods: Secondary analysis of a previous study on IS natural history data from radiographs before and at the first consult.

Assessing the multidimensional comfort of earplugs in virtual industrial noise environments.

Earplugs' comfort is primarily evaluated through cost-effective laboratory evaluations, yet these evaluations often inadequately capture the multidimensional comfort aspects due to design limitations that do not replicate real-world conditions. This paper introduces a novel laboratory method for comprehensive assessment of the multidimensional comfort aspects of earplugs, combining questionnaire-based evaluations and objective perceptual tests within virtual industrial sound environments replicating in-situ noise exposure. Objective perceptual results confirm that the sound environment affect participants' ability to detect alarms in a noisy environment and comprehend speech-in-noise while wearing earplugs.