Validity and reliability of Japanese version of the MAPO index for assessing manual patient handling in nursing homes.

Objectives: Low back pain (LBP) among caregivers in Japanese nursing homes has long been considered an occupational health issue. This study aimed to verify the reliability and validity of our developed Japanese version of the Movement and Assistance for Hospitalized Patients (J-MAPO) index, a risk assessment tool for LBP, in nursing homes.

Methods: Two inspectors assessed 15 nursing homes using J-MAPO, and deduced 3 LBP risk levels as follows: low, moderate, and high risk.

Lifestyle and subjective musculoskeletal symptoms in young male Japanese workers: A 16-year retrospective cohort study.

This longitudinal study was conducted from 2002 to 2018 and aimed to investigate predictive lifestyle factors for the occurrence of subjective musculoskeletal symptoms. The participants came from several employers in Japan. Setting 2002 as the baseline, we performed logistic regression analyses using lifestyle questionnaire items as explanatory variables and Stiff neck/shoulders (SN/S) and Lower back pain (LBP) as objective variables (n = 16,748).

[A case study of tailor-made exercise for preventing decrease in physical function: Analyzing the effect of tailor-made exercise from a motion study, motor function test, and questionnaire].

Objective: This study aimed to verify the effect of tailor-made exercise depending on the characteristics of a certain food manufacturing industry on the physical function and subjective symptoms of employees.

Methods: For the development of tailor-made exercise, work analysis was carried out at each factory to comprehend the physical burden due to work load. The motor function test and questionnaire survey for subjective symptoms were conducted before and after exercise during 3 months.

Decrease in Work Ability Index and sickness absence during the following year: a two-year follow-up study.

Purpose: Using a 2-year follow-up design, we examined whether changes in work ability during 1 year predicted sickness absence in the following year.

Methods: Workers (N = 1408) from the Japanese information technology sector each completed the Work Ability Index (WAI), the Brief Job Stress Questionnaire (BJSQ), and the General Health Questionnaire (GHQ) in 2011 and 2012. Absence data during 2013 was obtained from employees' computerized attendance records.

Effects of bench step exercise intervention on work ability in terms of cardiovascular risk factors and oxidative stress: a randomized controlled study.

Work ability is partly determined by physical and mental fitness. Bench step exercise can be practiced anywhere at any time. The aim of this study was to determine the effects of a bench step exercise on work ability by examining cardiovascular risk factors and oxidative stress.

Work improvement factors for the amelioration of work ability, with a focus on individual capacity to deal with stress in an IT company.

The aim of this study was to explore factors that ameliorate work ability by focusing on workers' capacity to deal with stress.The subjects were 1,330 workers from the Japanese information technology (IT) sector. Each subject completed questionnaires in 2011 and 2012 that consisted of the work ability index (WAI), the three-item sense of coherence (SOC), and the Mental Health Improvement and Reinforcement Research of Recognition (MIRROR).

Sense of coherence modifies the effect of overtime work on mental health.

Objectives: In the occupational health field, it is important to know how workload influences mental health. Overtime work and job strain appear to affect the mental health status of workers. Sense of coherence (SOC) may mediate the relationship between work stress and mental health.

Visual recognition memory test performance was improved in older adults by extending encoding time and repeating test trials.

Objectives: The aim of this study was to investigate whether the combination of extension of the encoding time and repetition of a test trial would improve the visual recognition memory performance in older adults.

Methods: We evaluated visual memory performance in young and older adults on a Yes-No recognition memory test under four different conditions. The conditions consisted of combinations of encoding times of two and four seconds (E2 and E4) and first and second retrieval practice test trials (T1 and T2): E2T1, E2T2, E4T1 and E4T2.

The relationship between work ability and oxidative stress in Japanese workers.

Work ability is based on the balance between personal resources and work demand. This study focused on the personal resources component of work ability. The aims of this study were to elucidate the association between work ability and cardiovascular (CV) risk factors, particularly oxidative stress, and to estimate the effect of a community-implemented lifestyle modification programme on work ability and CV risk factors.

The effects of static trunk flexion on oxygenation and electromyographic activity of erector spinae muscles.

In the workplace, localized muscle fatigue can be a limiting factor for prolonged static work. It is important to study the etiology of fatigue in the muscle to prevent discomfort and potential muscle injury. The purpose of this study was to investigate the effect of sustained trunk flexion and loading on the erector spinae muscles (ESM) fatigue using electromyography (EMG) and muscle oxygenation (Mox) changes.

Kaizen: ergonomics approach to occupational health and safety.

Kaizen (work improvement) is the forte of Japanese industry. Kaizen activities were born in the early 20th century under the name efficiency research. These activities were the beginning of industrial engineering (IE).

Effects of menopausal hot flashes on mental workload.

This study examined the differences in psychophysiological responses during mental task performance between women with (Group S) and without (Group A) menopausal hot flashes. Twelve women who reported experiencing daily moderate or severe menopausal hot flashes (Group S) and twelve women who reported having no hot flashes (Group A) participated in a mental arithmetic (Task) and a control (Non-task) experiment that occurred twice during 30 min. Although Group S experienced frequent hot flashes during mental arithmetic task, no significant differences between the two groups emerged for the percentage of correct responses and reaction time, and cardiovascular and thermoregulatory responses.

Fatigue sensation, electromyographical and hemodynamic changes of low back muscles during repeated static contraction.

The effects of work strategy and a rest condition on the physiological changes of the erector spinae muscle were studied. Eleven volunteers repeated fatiguing static contractions of holding an industrial box in 30° trunk flexion for a repetition of 12 times interrupted by rests for which the duration was equal to the duration of each preceding contraction. Each contraction was stopped at two fatigue sensation levels; moderate or strong, which corresponded to Borg's CR-10 3 and 5, as the work strategy conditions.

Perceived demands and musculoskeletal disorders in operating room nurses of Shiraz city hospitals.

Excessive demands on Operation Room (OR) nurses may result in high rates of Musculoskeletal Disorders (MSDs). This study was conducted among Shiraz city hospital OR nurses to determine the prevalence of MSDs and to examine the relationship between perceived demands and reported MSDs. In this cross-sectional study, 375 OR nurses participated (response rate: 80%).

[Influence of physical workload patterns and breaks on heart rate recovery].

It is necessary to try to achieve quick recovery from work strain by setting adequate breaks and shortening continuous working hours to prevent the accumulation of fatigue. However, there has been no research investigating the influence of the timing and lengths of breaks on individual aerobic capacities in recovery from work strain. In this study, we set three load patterns based on the length and timing of breaks: "no breaks", "one break" and "regular small breaks".

Effects of the menstrual cycle on language and visual working memory: a pilot study.

This study aimed to examine the effects on language and visual working memory of the follicle, luteal, and menstruation phases. The subjects were 12 female students. We added visual information and the assignment of experimental tasks, which requires the faculty of sight, to the previous study; therefore, this study has an index of visual and linguistic working memory.

Quantitative overload: a source of stress in data-entry VDT work induced by time pressure and work difficulty.

It is hypothesized that quantitative overload impacts psycho-physiological attributes of data-entry operators, although previous research has focused primarily on different aspects of VDT work, such as working time and environment, work station, keyboards and so forth. The objective of this study was to examine the influence on psycho-physiological responses of time pressure, task demand and their combined effect as underlying causes of quantitative overload while typing. A total of 12 subjects completed four 1-h typing tasks representing two levels of time pressure and task demand.

Mental workload under time pressure can trigger frequent hot flashes in menopausal women.

The aim of this study is to examine the relationship between mental workload and occurrence of hot flashes. Twelve women with moderate to severe menopausal hot flashes participated in the study. Subjects participated in both a mental arithmetic task (Task) and control (Non-task) experiments.

Effects of the menstrual cycle on working memory: comparison of postmenstrual and premenstrual phases.

This study aimed to examine the effects on working memory of the postmenstrual and premenstrual phases. The subjects were 12 female students. Computer-based tasks formulated by the authors, using the working memory that actively retains the information as the index, were used for experiments of 60 min during the premenstrual and postmenstrual phases.

Evaluating work ability and quality of life for clinical nurses in Taiwan.

This study investigated the work ability and its relationship with quality of life for the clinical nurses in Taiwan. The survey was of 1534 nursing professionals from 8 different hospitals. Work ability of nursing professionals varied by age, work experience, working departments and hospital types.

Effect of the balance between operators' processing abilities and required operating speed on operators' task performance and psycho-physiological state during simple repetitive work under time constraints.

The aim of this study is to reveal the effect of the balance between operators' processing abilities and the time constraints imposed upon them in simple repetitive work. In the present study, three experimental conditions for the same tasks which are original pattern recognition ones, but with different ways of setting time limits, were prepared: one time limit was adjusted to each subjects' ability, the second was a uniform and relatively strict time limit, and the third was a uniform and relatively lax time limit. For these three experimental conditions, comparisons were made of task performance indices, subjective indices (NASA-TLX: NASA-Task Load Index, SACL: Stress-Arousal Checklist), and physiological indices (frontal midline theta activity at Fz and the fast a activity at Pz in EEG, and heart rate in ECG).

Prevalence of respiratory symptoms among workers in industries of south Tehran, Iran.

Objective: The aim of the present study was to determine the prevalence of respiratory symptoms from occupational lung hazards among workers in industries of south Tehran, IRAN.

Methodology: This was a cross-sectional study in which by multistage random sampling items on demographic characteristics, cigarette smoking, occupational history and respiratory symptoms were collected of workers.

Results: The mean age of the workers was 38.

Occupational low back pain among workers in some small-sized factories in Ardabil, Iran.

The main purpose of this study was to assess some of the individual and occupational risk factors contributing to induction or intensification of LBP among the employees suffering from this problem in four small size factories in Ardabil, Iran. This study was a cross-sectional study that was conducted among the personnel of four industrial companies. Interview, questionnaire survey, medical examination (Lasegue test), radiographic evaluation, and ergonomic survey (using the NIOSH checklist) were the methods to collect data.

[Intermodal timing cues for audio-visual speech recognition].

The purpose of this study was to investigate the limitations of lip-reading advantages for Japanese young adults by desynchronizing visual and auditory information in speech. In the experiment, audio-visual speech stimuli were presented under the six test conditions: audio-alone, and audio-visually with either 0, 60, 120, 240 or 480 ms of audio delay. The stimuli were the video recordings of a face of a female Japanese speaking long and short Japanese sentences.

[Association of working postures and some lifestyles with low back pain in a manufactory].

The aim of this study was to determine the relationship between work and low back pain (LBP) by examining both working postures and the workers' everyday lifestyle. Subjects were 118 male workers in a small-to-medium-sized factory having three kinds of workplaces: the slit line, the packing line, and the crane unit. Working posture analysis with OWAS and interviews were carried out.