Productivity in older versus younger workers: A systematic literature review.

BACKGROUND: Worldwide ageing and thus, workforce ageing, is a concern for both developed and developing nations. OBJECTIVE: The aim of the current research was to determine, through a systematic literature review, the effects of age in three dimensions that are often used to define or assess productivity at work. METHODS: PICO framework was used to generate search strategies, inclusion criteria and terms. Scopus and PubMed databases were used. Peer-reviewed journal papers written in English and published (or in press) between January 2014 and December 2018 were included. RESULTS: After filtering through inclusion criteria, 74 papers were included in the review. Considering productivity, 41%of the findings showed no differences between younger and older workers, 31%report better productivity of younger workers and 28%reported that older workers had better productivity than younger workers. Performance was better in older workers (58%), presenteeism generally showed no significant differences between age groups (61%). Absenteeism was the only outcome where younger workers outperformed older workers (43%). CONCLUSION: Overall, there was no difference in productivity between older and younger workers. Older workers performed better than younger workers, but had more absenteeism, while presenteeism showed no differences. As ageing has come to workplaces, holistic approaches addressing total health are suggested to overcome the worldwide workforce ageing phenomenon.

Secular changes in the anthropometrics of Chilean workers and its implication in design.

BACKGROUND: Anthropometrics is very important when ensuring a physical match between end users and product or workstations. OBJECTIVES: The purpose of this study are twofold, to provide anthropometric data for the design of products and to examine the secular changes in the adult Chilean workers in a period of more than 20 years. METHODS: Nineteen anthropometric measurements from two samples from 1995 and 2016 were compared using independent t-test (95% confidence interval), where additionally absolute and relative differences were calculated. RESULTS: The secular trend observed for Stature is characterized by an increase average of 20mm and 10.5mm per decade for females and males, respectively. There is a positive secular trend for both genders, which is observed for most of the selected body measurements. The most pronounced increases were onWeight, Shoulder breadth, Body mass index, Popliteal height; Buttock-popliteal length and Hip width. CONCLUSIONS: Segmental dimensions that experienced a positive secular trend, together with Weight and Stature, are highly correlated with seating design, addressing the need to review products targeting Chilean adult workers, such as public transport seats, office furniture or industrial workplaces.

Anthropometric characteristics of Chilean workers for ergonomic and design purposes.

Obtaining an appropriate match between a product and its end-users requires anthropometric data, which are typically outdated and show variations among different countries. Chile had its anthropometric data taken nearly 20 years ago, thus they are probably outdated. The purpose of this article is to describe some anthropometric characteristics of Chilean workers. An anthropometric survey involving 27 measures and five calculated body dimensions was conducted in 2016. The measurements were based on ISO 7250 and ISO 15535 to ensure the highest standards possible, and a total of 2946 workers, aged from 18 to 76 years old, participated in the survey. The results showed that Chilean workers have smaller dimensions than Dutch and US workers but have larger dimensions than South Koreans. The data presented in this article constitute the most up-to-date anthropometric dataset describing the dimensions of Chilean workers. Practitioner Summary: In Chile, women are smaller and weigh less than men, and both of these populations have high body mass index (BMIs). In addition, the Chilean population exhibits substantial differences compared with other international adult populations. The data presented in this article should be used as a reference when designing for Chilean workers.

The influence of school furniture on students' performance and physical responses: results of a systematic review.

The purpose of this study was to determine, using a systematic review, whether the design and/or dimensions of school furniture affect the students' physical responses and/or their performance. Of the review studies, 64% presented positive results, i.e. proven effects; 24% presented negative effects or no change/effect; and the remaining 12% showed an unclear effect. The compatibility between school furniture dimensions and students' anthropometric characteristics was identified as a key factor for improving some students' physical responses. Design characteristics such as high furniture, sit-stand furniture, and tilt tables and seats also present positive effects. Finally, we concluded that further research should be conducted exploring various aspects of those variables, particularly focusing on more objective measures complemented by controlled and prospective design. Practitioner Summary: A systematic review of the literature presents a clearly positive effect of school furniture dimensions on students' performance and physical responses. Similar results appeared when school furniture design was tested. However, studying the effects of design and dimensions together produced an unclear positive effect.

The effect of secular trends in the classroom furniture mismatch: support for continuous update of school furniture standards.

In order to create safer schools, the Chilean authorities published a Standard regarding school furniture dimensions. The aims of this study are twofold: to verify the existence of positive secular trend within the Chilean student population and to evaluate the potential mismatch between the anthropometric characteristics and the school furniture dimensions defined by the mentioned standard. The sample consists of 3078 subjects. Eight anthropometric measures were gathered, together with six furniture dimensions from the mentioned standard. There is an average increase for some dimensions within the Chilean student population over the past two decades. Accordingly, almost 18% of the students will find the seat height to be too high. Seat depth will be considered as being too shallow for 42.8% of the students. It can be concluded that the Chilean student population has increased in stature, which supports the need to revise and update the data from the mentioned Standard. PRACTITIONER SUMMARY: Positive secular trend resulted in high levels of mismatch if furniture is selected according to the current Chilean Standard which uses data collected more than 20 years ago. This study shows that school furniture standards need to be updated over time.

FCGR3B*03 allele inheritance pattern in Brazilian families and some new variants of gene FCGR3B.

BACKGROUND: The FCGR3B gene encoding the FcyRIIIb receptor for immunoglobulin G has three polymorphic forms known as HNA-1a, HNA-1b, and HNA-1c, encoded by the alleles FCGR3B*01, FCGR3B*02, and FCGR3B*03, respectively. It is not clear whether the inheritance of the FCGR3B*03 allele, which encodes the HNA-1c, is linked or not to the other two alleles. The objective of this study was to identify the inheritance pattern of the FCGR3B*03 allele in Brazilians. STUDY DESIGN AND METHODS: Blood samples from nine families with at least one FCGR3B*03(+) member, totalizing 47 individuals, were studied. The presence of the FCGR3B*01, FCGR3B*02, and FCGR3B*03 alleles was detected by the polymerase chain reaction with sequence-specific priming method, and all DNA samples were sequenced. RESULTS: In three of the nine studied families, the FCGR3B*03 was passed down with the FCGR3B*02, while in one family the FCGR3B*03 was inherited in linkage with FCGR3B*01. The other families were not informative regarding FCGR3B*03 inheritance. Sequencing showed for the first time one single-nucleotide polymorphism at Position 264 resulting from a simple substitution C→T; three other different substitutions at Position 230, T→A, T→G; and the presence of three nucleotides at Position 230 (T, G, and A). The previously reported variants FCGR3B*01A227G and FCGR3BG330T were also found. CONCLUSION: In this Brazilian FCGR3B*03(+) group we found that the inheritance of FCGR3B*03 took place by a linkage to FCGR3B*02 or to FCGR3B*01. Linkage of FCGR3B*03 to FCGR3B*02 was the most common. Additionally, we report SNPs that have not been described, suggesting that they might be more common than previously thought.

Mismatch between classroom furniture and anthropometric measures in Chilean schools.

Children spend about five hours per day sitting down while doing their school work. Considering this as well as the potential inadequate use of school furniture, it is likely that some anatomical-functional changes and problems in the learning process may occur. The aim of this study was to compare furniture sizes within three different schools with the anthropometric characteristics of Chilean students in the Valparaíso region, in order to evaluate the potential mismatch between them. The sample consisted of 195 volunteer students (94 male, 101 female) of the 8th grade, ranging from 12.5 to 14.5 years of age from 3 different schools. Regarding the methodology, 6 anthropometric measures (Stature, Popliteal height, Buttock-popliteal length, Elbow height while sitting, Hip width, Thigh thickness and Subscapular height) were gathered, as well as 8 dimensions from the school furniture. For the evaluation of classroom furniture a match criterion equation was defined. After considering the existing classroom furniture dimensions in each match criterion equation, the anthropometric characteristics of the considered population were compared in order to determine the mismatch between them. Results indicated that seat height, which should be considered as the starting point for the design of classroom furniture, was appropriate for students' popliteal height in only 14% of the 2 out of the 3 schools, and 28% in the third. Seat to desk height was too high and mismatched 99% of the students in one school and 100% in the others. Therefore, it was possible to conclude that the classroom's furniture was inadequate in almost all the analyzed cases and subjects. It is possible that the high mismatch percentage found between furniture and students' anthropometry can be associated to the fact that the acquisition and selection of the furniture was made without any ergonomic concern or criteria.

[Odontogenic chronic maxillary sinusitis: regenerative possibilities of oro-antral defect]. / La sinusite cronica mascellare di origine odontogena: possibilità rigenerative del difetto osseo antrale.

Odontogenic maxillary sinusitis often develops into a chronic picture of unilateral inflammation, progressively interesting the whole antrum mucosa. The only decisive therapy of this pathology is a surgical one that, by completely removing pathologic tissues, starts sinus restoration by a healthy respiratory mucous membrane. This tissue grows from the nasal cavity after the radical surgery (according to Caldwell-Luc), presupposing an antrum drainage through that same cavity. Nevertheless, if the inflamed area is just limited in the central and posterior recesses, and the hiatus semilunaris of the medial wall remains open, it is possible to avoid a surgical access to the nasal cavity. In this way, an alternative surgery is proposed for chronic sinusitis which, using principles of Guided Bone Regeneration, permits to completely remove pathologic tissues and to start bone reformation in the damaged alveolar.

A safe blood transfusion procedure for immunization against major histocompatibility complex determinants in man.

A standardized procedure is proposed for deliberate immunizations against human major histocompatibility complex determinants. The data presented demonstrate its effectiveness and, by using a number of necessary precautions, this procedure has proven to be very safe. The following points are especially important: (1) exclusive utilization of regular blood donors as immunizers; (3) use of whole blood as an immunizing agent; and (3) use of small immunizing stimuli rather than large transfusions. This procedure can be recommended for the production of monospecific anti-HLA antisera and it may be useful if and when a deliberate transfusion policy for prospective kidney recipients is adopted.

"Silent" alleles at the HLA-C locus.

Defined specificities of the HLA-C locus possess a significantly lower immunogenicity as compared with the HLA-A and HLA-B specificities. HLA-C "blanks" are not immunogenic at all. Among the possible explanations, the most likely one appears to be a low phenotypic expression of these alleles. C locus antigens as a whole are thus likely to be of minor relevance in donor/recipient matching for transplantation.