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Abstract
While chronic forearm pain is a common and debilitating condition among cleaners, the most physically demanding tasks remain unidentified. The present field study examines forearm muscle activity during 9 common cleaning tasks in a real working environment. Seven healthy cleaners participated in this study (age: 35.17 ± 9.62 yr; height: 168.17 ± 8.06 cm; weight: 77.14 ± 13.78 kg; experience: 5.60 ± 3.29 yr). Surface wireless electromyography (EMG) was recorded from 2 muscles on both sides of the upper limb, flexor carpi ulnaris (FCU), and extensor carpi radialis (ECR), and normalized to maximal voluntary isometric contractions (MVIC). Top-3 demanding high-force tasks (90th percentile EMG) were the rough floor, dirty rough floor, and office floor mopping for the FCU, and mopping high walls, ceiling mopping, and baize cleaning for the ECR. Top-3 static work tasks (10th percentile EMG) were mopping low walls, ceiling mopping, and dirty rough floors mopping for the FCU and mopping of high walls, low walls, and ceiling for the ECR. The study identified the forearm muscles' most physically demanding work tasks during cleaning tasks. The development of better working tools is recommended to avoid high-force overload as well as prolonged static overload of these muscles in cleaners.

Introduction: Complexity, Resilience and the 'Local Turn' in Counterinsurgency / Moe, Louise Wiuff (et al.) 1-27. - A Struggle for Control and Influence': Western Counterinsurgency and the Problematic of Autonomy / Kienscherf, Markus 29-50. - Ethnographic Intelligence: The Human Terrain System and Its Enduring Legacy / González, Roberto J. 51-73. - Grey's Anatomy Goes South: Biometrics, Racism, and Counterinsurgency in the Colonial Present / Bell, Colleen 75-95. - The Peacebuilding-Counterinsurgency Nexus in the Occupied Palestinian Territory / Turner, Mandy 97-118. - Counterinsurgent Warfare and the Decentering of Sovereignty in Somalia / Moe, Louise Wiuff 119-140. - The 'New Path' to Peace: Cultivating Masculinities in Southern Thai Counterinsurgency / Streicher, Ruth 141-162. - Countering Criminal Insurgencies: Fighting Gangs and Building Resilient Communities in Post-War Guatemala / Hochmüller, Markus (et al.) 163-186. - The Locals Strike Back: The Anbar Awakening in Iraq and the Rise of Islamic State / Andersen, Lars Erslev 187-205. - Western Strategic Thought and the Devaluation of Counterinsurgency / Jones, David Martin 207-223

OBJECTIVE: In most European countries, political reforms gradually increase the statutory retirement age to counter the economic costs of a growing elderly population. However, working to a high age may be difficult for people with hard physical labour. We aim to study the impact of high physical work demands on working life expectancy (WLE). METHODS: We combined physical work demands assessed by job exposure matrix (JEM) and longitudinal high-quality national registers (outcome) in 1.6 million Danish workers to estimate WLE and years of sickness absence, unemployment and disability pension. The JEM value for physical work demand is a summarised score of eight ergonomic exposures for 317 occupations groups, sex and age. The WLE was estimated using a multistate proportional hazards model in a 4-year follow-up period. RESULTS: Individuals with high physical work demands had a significantly lower WLE, than those with low physical work demands, with largest differences seen among women. At age 30 years, women with high physical work demands can expect 3.1 years less working, 11 months more of sickness absence and 16 months more of unemployment than low-exposed women. For 30-year-old men, the corresponding results were 2.0 years, 12 months and 8 months, respectively. CONCLUSION: Our findings show that high physical work demands are a marked risk factor for a shortened working life and increased years of sickness absence and unemployment. The results are important when selecting high-risk occupations, and expand the knowledge base for informed political decision making concerning statutory retirement age.

Austerity policies coupled with rising inequality in Europe have resulted in a prolonged stagnation and a vicious circle of chronically low demand, slow down in investment and productivity, and economic, social and political instability. In order to end this vicious cycle, Europe needs directed public investment policies accompanied by industrial policy, higher equality, stimulated demand, and regulation of finance and corporate governance. Our research presents strong empirical evidence that expansionary fiscal policy is sustainable when wage and public investment policies are combined with progressive tax policy; the impact is stronger when these policies are implemented in a coordinated fashion across Europe due to strong positive spill over effects on demand. A strong investment performance also requires a process of de-financialization of the economy and a new approach to corporate governance.

New technologies are perceived as a solution to the rising proportion of people requiring elderly care across the Nordic countries. Implementing technologies has unforeseen consequences for the content of work and the working environment. This interview-based study within Danish elderly care investigates the consequences of physical exertion for the work and occupational identities of care workers. Through analytical framework integrating positioning theory and agential realism, the study shows that new technologies in certain constellations may further synergies between the reduction of physical exertion and occupational identities, and in others may harm this relation. The study contributes to empirical knowledge about implementing technologies and to discussions of moral literacy and workarounds within care work by suggesting that the ability to openly judge and question physical and ethical consequences of employing technologies is a valuable competence for care workers and, in addition, that furthering these competences is a challenge for managers and legislators.

BACKGROUND: Work-related musculoskeletal pain is a major cause of work disability and sickness absence. While pain is a multifactorial phenomenon being influenced by work as well as lifestyle, less is known about the association between specific lifestyle factors and the type of musculoskeletal pain. The aim of the study was to investigate if a dose-response association existed between lifestyle factors and musculoskeletal pain intensity in the low back and neck-shoulder. METHODS: Currently employed wage earners (N = 10,427) replied in 2010 to questions about work environment, lifestyle and health. Logistic regression analyses adjusted for various confounders tested the association of alcohol intake, physical activity, fruit and vegetable intake, and smoking (explanatory variables) with low back pain and neck-shoulder pain intensity (outcomes variables, scale 0-9, where ≥4 is high pain). RESULTS: The minimally adjusted model found that physical activity and fruit and vegetable intake were associated with lower risk of musculoskeletal pain, while smoking was associated with higher risk of musculoskeletal pain. In the fully adjusted model, physical activity ≥5 h per week was associated with lower risk of low back pain and neck-shoulder pain with risk ratios (RR) of 0.95 (95% CI 0.90-1.00) and 0.90 (95% CI 0.82-0.99), respectively. No association was found between alcohol intake and pain. CONCLUSION: Being physically active associated with lower risk of having musculoskeletal pain, while smoking habits and healthy eating were associated with higher pain when adjusting for age and gender. Considering the continuously increasing retirement age in many societies, initiatives to promote healthy habits should still be a political priority to help the workers to stay healthy and cope to their work.

INTRODUCTION: Police officers are frequently exposed to potentially traumatic events at work that increases risk of developing mental health problems, in particular post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). Individual and organisational factors may influence the detrimental effects of cumulative exposure to traumatic events. Occupational stress and lack of organisational support are associated with increased risk of PTSD among police officers. The Are You All right? (AYA) project is a prospective cohort study investigating the cumulative effect of traumatic events at work on mental health problems and absenteeism among police officers. The study also investigates whether potential risk and protective factors modify the association of traumatic events at work with mental health problems and absenteeism. METHOD AND ANALYSIS: The AYA-study includes the entire Danish police force. Prospective survey data are collected over a 3-year period beginning in the spring of 2021. Electronic surveys are sent out at baseline with 1-year, 2-year and 3-year follow-up. Further, short surveys are sent out every third month, covering exposure to traumatic events and current mental health status. The survey data are paired with workplace register data on sickness absence. Register data on sickness absence cover the period from 2020 to 2025. ETHICS AND DISSEMINATION: This study was presented for evaluation at the National Ethics Committee in Denmark (reference number: 20202000-216), but according to Danish legislation, survey studies do not require approval by official Danish scientific or ethical committees. Participation in the project is based on informed consent, and data are handled in accordance with the Danish data legislation (journal number: 20/41457). Results are published in scientific journals and disseminated at international conferences.

Background During the SARS-CoV-2 pandemic all educational activities in Denmark were suspended by the Danish Government. Department of Clinical Medicine at Aalborg University Denmark chose an approach allowing the medical students to take part in the preparations for the emerging pandemic crisis. The purpose of the study was to report the recruitment of the students. Experiment A course program was set up within 48 hours to train students to be able to work as nursing assistants and ventilator therapy assistants, and to employ final year students as temporary residents. We shifted teaching to a digital platform allowing students to follow planned learning activities while participating in the clinical work. 454 Medical bachelor students, and 257 Medical Master Students participated. Within two weeks, 95% of master's students volunteered, and 62 % were active in the pandemic emergency as temporary residents (50 %), ventilator therapy assistants (30 %), or nursing assistants (20 %). More than 72 % of bachelor students volunteered within one week, and 31 % were temporary nursing assistants in the pandemic emergency. Conclusion The majority of medical students could be recruited with very short notice to meet the critical shortage and call for healthcare workers during the COVID-19 pandemic. This was supported by alignment with and reflection on the undergraduate medical curriculum, which prevented suspending education when delayed medical education may be detrimental.

The inter-relationship between physical activity, sedentary behaviour and sleep (collectively defined as physical behaviours) is of interest to researchers from different fields. Each of these physical behaviours has been investigated in epidemiological studies, yet their codependency and interactions need to be further explored and accounted for in data analysis. Modern accelerometers capture continuous movement through the day, which presents the challenge of how to best use the richness of these data. In recent years, analytical approaches first applied in other scientific fields have been applied to physical behaviour epidemiology (eg, isotemporal substitution models, compositional data analysis, multivariate pattern analysis, functional data analysis and machine learning). A comprehensive description, discussion, and consensus on the strengths and limitations of these analytical approaches will help researchers decide which approach to use in different situations. In this context, a scientific workshop and meeting were held in Granada to discuss: (1) analytical approaches currently used in the scientific literature on physical behaviour, highlighting strengths and limitations, providing practical recommendations on their use and including a decision tree for assisting researchers decision-making; and (2) current gaps and future research directions around the analysis and use of accelerometer data. Advances in analytical approaches to accelerometer-determined physical behaviours in epidemiological studies are expected to influence the interpretation of current and future evidence, and ultimately impact on future physical behaviour guidelines. ; Funding Agencies|MINECO/FEDERSpanish Government [DEP2013-47540, DEP2016-79512-R, RYC-2011-09011]; CoCA project - European Unions 2020 research and innovation programme [667302]; Spanish Ministry of Education, Culture and SportSpanish Government [FPU15/02645]; NIHR Leicester Biomedical Research Centre; Collaboration for leadership in Applied Health Research and Care (CLAHRC) East Midlands; French National Research AgencyFrench National Research Agency (ANR) [ANR-19-CE36-0004-01]; Medical Research Council Industrial Strategy Studentship [MR/S502509/1]; Andalusian Operational Programme; European Regional Development Funds (ERDF in English, FEDER in Spanish) [B-CTS-355-UGR18]; University of Granada, Plan Propio de Investigacion 2016, Excellence actions: Units of Excellence; Scientific Excellence Unit on Exercise and Health (UCEES), Junta de Andalucia,Consejeria de Conocimiento, Investigacion y Universidades; European Regional Development FundsEuropean Commission [SOMM17/6107/UGR]; SAMID III network, RETICS - PN I+D+I 2017-2021 (Spain); EXERNET Research Network on Exercise and Health in Special Populations [DEP2005-00046/ACTI]; ISCIIISub-Directorate General for Research Assessment and Promotion; European Regional Development Fund (ERDF)European Commission [RD16/0022]

BACKGROUND: Birth weight is an early correlate of disease later in life, and animal studies suggest that low birth weight is associated with reduced activity and increased sedentary time. Whether birth weight predicts later sedentary time in humans is uncertain. OBJECTIVES: We examined the relation between birth weight and sedentary time in youth and examined whether this association was mediated by central adiposity. DESIGN: We used pooled cross-sectional data from 8 observational studies conducted between 1997 and 2007 that consisted of 10,793 youth (boys: 47%) aged 6-18 y from the International Children's Accelerometry Database. Birth weight was measured in hospitals or maternally reported, sedentary time was assessed by using accelerometry (<100 counts/min), and abdominal adiposity (waist circumference) was measured according to WHO procedures. A mediation analysis with bootstrapping was used to analyze data. RESULTS: The mean (±SD) time spent sedentary was 370 ± 91 min/d. Birth weight was positively associated with sedentary time (B = 4.04, P = 0.006) and waist circumference (B = 1.59, P < 0.001), whereas waist circumference was positively associated with sedentary time (B = 0.82, P < 0.001). Results of the mediation analysis showed a significant indirect effect of birth weight on sedentary time through waist circumference (B: 1.30; 95% bias-corrected CI: 0.94, 1.72), and when waist circumference was controlled for, the effect of birth weight on sedentary time was attenuated by 32% (B = 2.74, P = 0.06). CONCLUSION: The association between birth weight and sedentary time appears partially mediated by central adiposity, suggesting that both birth weight and abdominal adiposity may be correlates of sedentary time in youth. ; The pooling of data was funded through grant G0701877 from the United Kingdom National Prevention Research Initiative (http://www.mrc.ac.uk/ Ourresearch/Resourceservices/NPRI/index.htm). Funding partners relevant to this award are as follows: the British Heart Foundation, Cancer Research UK, the Department of Health, Diabetes UK, the Economic and Social Research Council, the Medical Research Council, the Research and Development Office for the Northern Ireland Health and Social Services, the Chief Scientist Office, the Scottish Executive Health Department, The Stroke Association, and the Welsh Assembly Government and World Cancer Research Fund. This work was further supported by the Medical Research Council [MC_UU_12015/4; MC_UU_12015/7], Bristol University, Loughborough University, and the Norwegian School of Sport Sciences. This is an open access article distributed under the CC-BY license (http://creativecommons. org/licenses/by/3.0/). ; This is the final published version. It first appeared at http://ajcn.nutrition.org/content/101/5/983.full#ack-1.

The economic, financial and institutional crisis which started in 2008 looks like it is never going to end. Nearly 9 years after the meltdown of the financial system of developed countries, after a violent recession followed by the euro debt crisis in 2012, a recovery finally started in late 2014. It has been pushed by a mix of fair winds, such as low oil prices, low interest rates, a lower effective exchange rate of the euro, a less negative fiscal stance in the euro area and unconventional monetary policies. Adding to those fair winds, the Juncker commission took stock of the worrying situation in 2015 and proposed the Juncker Plan to boost (mostly private) investment in the EU.