Assessment of sick building syndrome using visual analog scales.

Background: Despite there is no recommendations for assessing symptoms of sick building syndrome, the use of visual analog scales (VAS) seems attractive and appropriate. We aimed to demonstrate the benefits of using VAS for evaluating subjective symptoms of sick building syndrome.

Method: We compared an exposed group to a control group with a one-year follow-up.

The Negative Impact of Night Shifts on Diet in Emergency Healthcare Workers.

Despite the consequences of night-shift work, the diet of night-shift workers has not been widely studied. To date, there are no studies related to food intake among emergency healthcare workers (HCWs). We performed a prospective observational study to assess the influence of night work on the diet of emergency HCWs.

Experience of General Practice Residents Caring for Dependent Elderly during the First COVID-19 Lockdown-A Qualitative Study.

Background: Understanding the experiences of general practice (GP) residents caring for dependent elderly people during the first lockdown as part of the countries COVID-19 pandemic strategy. The aim was to explore themes that could explain the gap between the missions and values at the heart of GP practice during this period of strict isolation.

Method: Qualitative study using an iterative approach.

Stress management in obesity during a thermal spa residential programme (ObesiStress): protocol for a randomised controlled trial study.

Introduction: Stress and obesity are two public health issues. The relationship between obesity and stress is biological through the actions of stress on the major hormones that regulate appetite (leptin and ghrelin). Many spa resorts in France specialise in the treatment of obesity, but no thermal spa currently proposes a specific programme to manage stress in obesity.

Effects of a short residential thermal spa program to prevent work-related stress/burnout on stress biomarkers: the ThermStress proof of concept study.

Objective: Work-related stress is a public health issue. Stress has multiple physical and psychological consequences, the most serious of which are increased mortality and cardiovascular morbidity. The ThermStress protocol was designed to offer a short residential thermal spa program for work-related stress prevention that is compatible with a professional context.

How to Measure Sedentary Behavior at Work?

Prolonged sedentary behavior (SB) is associated with increased risk for chronic conditions. A growing number of the workforce is employed in office setting with high occupational exposure to SB. There is a new focus in assessing, understanding and reducing SB in the workplace.

Maximal tachycardia and high cardiac strain during night shifts of emergency physicians.

Purpose: To compare tachycardia and cardiac strain between 24-hour shifts (24hS) and 14-hour night shifts (14hS) in emergency physicians (EPs), and to investigate key factors influencing tachycardia and cardiac strain.

Methods: We monitored heart rate (HR) with Holter-ECG in a shift-randomized trial comparing a 24hS, a 14hS, and a control day, within a potential for 19 EPs. We also measured 24-h HR the third day (D3) after both shifts.

Paradoxical dissociation between heart rate and heart rate variability following different modalities of exercise in individuals with metabolic syndrome: The RESOLVE study.

Aims To analyse the effects of different modalities of exercise training on heart rate variability (HRV) in individuals with metabolic syndrome (MetS). Methods and results Eighty MetS participants (aged 50-70 years) were housed and managed in an inpatient medical centre for 21 days, including weekends. Physical activity and food intake/diet were intensively monitored.

A Dimensionally Reduced Clustering Methodology for Heterogeneous Occupational Medicine Data Mining.

Clustering is a set of techniques of the statistical learning aimed at finding structures of heterogeneous partitions grouping homogenous data called clusters. There are several fields in which clustering was successfully applied, such as medicine, biology, finance, economics, etc. In this paper, we introduce the notion of clustering in multifactorial data analysis problems.

'Do Well B.': Design Of WELL Being monitoring systems. A study protocol for the application in autism.

Introduction: Individuals with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) have difficulties in communication and social interaction resulting from atypical perceptual and cognitive information processing, leading to an accumulation of anxiety. Extreme overloading experienced internally may not be externally visible. Identifying stressful situations at an early stage may avoid socially problematic behaviour from occurring, such as self-injurious behaviour.

Heart rate regulation processed through wavelet analysis and change detection: some case studies.

Heart rate variability (HRV) is an indicator of the regulation of the heart, see Task Force (Circulation 93(5):1043-1065, 1996). This study compares the regulation of the heart in two cases of healthy subjects within real life situations: Marathon runners and shift workers. After an update on the state of the art on HRV processing, we specify our probabilistic model: We choose modeling heartbeat series by locally stationary Gaussian process (Dahlhaus in Ann Stat 25, 1997).

[The experience of the ARPEGES unit at the university hospital in Clermont-Ferrand: evaluation and management of hospital staff's occupational health].

In 2003, the university hospital in Clermont-Ferrand, France, established an Analysis Unit for Occupational Hazards and Health Status Evaluation and Management (Analyses des Risques Professionels et Evaluation et Gestion de l'Etat de Santé-ARPEGES) in order to make better use of occupational health data. The unit's analyses are mostly based on a standardised questionnaire that is systematically completed during the annual occupational medical examinations, which collects information on 23 indicators of occupational and health risks. The annual analysis of the indicators contributes to a comprehensive, collective vision of health problems, and a better definition of the target areas and means for action.

[Cost/effectiveness comparison of the vaccine campaign and reduction of sick leave, after vaccination against influenza among the Clermont-Ferrand University Hospital staff].

Objective: The aim of this study was to compare the cost of vaccination for the Clermont-Ferrand University hospital (CHU) personnel and the cost of sick leave among vaccinated and non-vaccinated employees in 2003, 2004, and 2005.

Design: The study included 7256 CHU staff (medical and non-medical personnel). The cost of sick leave was calculated on the basis of short-term disease (four to nine days) over the three months of the epidemic season in 2004, 2005, and 2006.

[Analysis of motivations for antiflu vaccination of the Clermont-Ferrand University Hospital staff].

Objective: The vaccination of hospital staff decreases patient mortality and disorganization of services due to sick leave. The main aim of our study was to determine the Clermont-Ferrand University hospital (CHU) personnel's motivations for or against antiflu vaccination to increase the effectiveness of prevention campaigns.

Design: An autoquestionnaire with multiple choices was given to the 7601 CHU staff in May 2005.

Heart rate running speed relationships-during exhaustive bouts in the laboratory.

The present study was designed to investigate the heart rate-running speed (HR-RS) relationship while exercising continuously, at high intensities, on a treadmill. The purpose was to precisely measure the magnitude of drop in RS necessary to maintain HR during intense exhaustive exercises, and to determine whether the magnitude of drop in RS is directly dependent on exercise intensity. Sixteen male endurance athletes performed five treadmill tests: an incremental test for maximal O2 uptake and maximum aerobic velocity (VMA), and four exhaustive tests: at 82, 86, 89, and 92 % VMA.

Estimating relative physical workload using heart rate monitoring: a validation by whole-body indirect calorimetry.

Measuring physical workload in occupational medicine is fundamental for risk prevention. An indirect measurement of total and relative energy expenditure (EE) from heart rate (HR) is widely used but it has never been validated. The aim of this study was to validate this HR-estimated energy expenditure (HREEE) method against whole-body indirect calorimetry.

Median maximal heart rate for heart rate calibration in different conditions: laboratory, field and competition.

The objective of this study was to evaluate the variability of maximal heart rate in three different conditions: laboratory tests, field tests, and competitions. Sixteen male endurance volunteers were tested in five exhaustive tests for each condition. All exhaustive events were heart rate monitored (Accurex plus, Polar Electro, Finland) and true maximal heart rates were assessed and compared with each other and with predicted maximal heart rates.

Ability of new heart rate monitors to measure normal and abnormal heart rate.

Background: The extended use of heart rate monitors to non sportive people, and older ones increases the risk to be facing heart rate troubles. Questions exist upon the ability of this devices to detect such abnormalities. The purpose of the investigation was to evaluate the accuracy of two third generation heart rate monitors, Accurex Plus and Vantage NV and to compared these data with those of an older one, PE 4000.

Heart rate monitors and abnormal heart rhythm detection.

We test the accuracy of two third generation heart rate monitors (HRM), Accurex Plus and Vantage NV and compare these data with those of an older monitor, PE 4000. Then we investigate responses of the HRM's to abnormal heart rhythms (HR). Accurex Plus and Vantage NV, and PE 4000 were tested in the laboratory under both stable and transient conditions.

Inter-relationships between pituitary-adrenal hormones and catecholamines during a 6-day Nordic ski race.

The aim of the study was to investigate the inter-relationships between pituitary-adrenal hormones and catecholamines during a prolonged competition over 6 days. Plasma adrenocorticotropic hormone (ACTH), cortisol (C), beta-endorphin (beta EP), free and sulphated adrenaline (A) and noradrenaline (NA) were measured in 11 volunteer male subjects during a national Nordic-ski race (323 km). Blood samples were obtained before the competition in the evening as control (D0), and before and after each day's racing (D1-D6).

Change in the physical state of platelet plasma membranes upon ionophore A23187 activation. A fluorescence polarization study.

Human platelets were isolated and fluorescence-labelled by 1,6-diphenylhexatriene. Diphenylhexatriene was essentially localized in the plasma membrane, as indicated by trinitrobenzenesulfonate-quenching experiments. A decrease of the fluorescence polarization of diphenylhexatriene was observed upon ionophore A23187 addition in the absence of aggregation.

Excitation energy transfer from tryptophan residues of peptides and intrinsic proteins to diphenylhexatriene in phospholipid vesicles and biological membranes.

An efficient excitation energy transfer from tryptophan residues of intrinsic membrane proteins to an extrinsic fluorescent probe (diphenylhexatriene) has been demonstrated in rat erythrocyte ghosts. To correlate this transfer with the localization of the probe, a model system has been investigated. It consists of peptides containing lysine and tryptophan residues bound to negatively charged phosphatidylserine vesicles.

Interaction between phospholipid bilayer membranes and the polyene antibiotic amphotericin B: lipid state and cholesterol content dependence.

The interaction between amphotericin B and egg yolk phosphatidylcholine, dimyristoyl (DMPC) and dipalmitoyl phosphatidylcholine (DPPC) phospholipid bilayer vesicles has been monitored by the circular dichroism (CD) spectra of amphotericin B at a 1 . 10(-5) M concentration. This method has revealed that amphotericin B may be present in a number of different forms depending on the time elapsed after the mixing, the cholesterol content of the vesicles and the vesicles' physical state.