How can the work activity point of view inform territorial development projects?

BACKGROUND: The heuristic potential of work activity-focused territory analyses has yet to be explored in depth. Instead of viewing territories as a product of their actors, the prevailing approaches rely on statistical indicators to view them "from above". OBJECTIVE: To understand how work activity acts upon a territory and transforms it, and to discuss what the main indicators used to characterize territories reveal and conceal. METHODS: Case studies led on two territories, each in a different industry. One on transportation in a sparsely populated "low density" area; the other in an industrial district, focusing on its "high activity rate" cork industry. In the first case, work activity analyses were led with drivers and mobility designers, including systematic observations and interviews, in the context of an endeavour to redesign a local transport network. In the second case, work activity analyses led among cork stopper choosers were followed with an integrative literature review of indicators about the cork industry and its health impacts. RESULTS: This territory analysis highlights: (i) traces of bus drivers' work activity on the mitigation of inequalities in access to public transportation; (ii) "absent indicators" regarding cork choosers' work activity and its health impacts, stressing the existence of a development agenda for this territory focused on cork processing rather than on those who perform it. CONCLUSION: Our analysis of territorialization processes through the lens of work activity signposts a path for research-action seeking to associate territorial development with improvements in the working conditions of citizen workers.

Qualitative data collection to identify truck drivers' attitudes toward a transition to platooning systems.

The platooning technology allows for two or more trucks running in convoy at a pre-defined distance between each other, being virtually connected using connectivity technology and automated driving support systems. It is recognized that truck platooning systems bring economical and environmental advantages. Thus, it is time for a transition from the existing truck freight activity towards truck platooning systems. This requires an important improvement in terms of in-vehicle technology, together with infrastructure improvement and truck drivers' acquisition of new technology-related skills. A holistic approach is previewed to identify both the requirements for the development of truck platooning services and the requests for their safe deployment in the real world. Then, qualitative data were collected from truck drivers working for two different Portuguese freight companies using Focus Groups (FG). Thus, three FG sessions were organized and carried out with a total of 22 truck drivers. Considering that age and experience on the job are important factors to take into consideration for technological changes on the job, their potential impact on truck drivers' activity was addressed on the focus group discussions. Anyway, the potential users' attitudes regarding any innovation on the job were addressed as a prevention of further negative attitudes or misuse. Having safety in mind as a permanent attitude toward on job innovation is actually the most important factor toward success.

Under-Recognized Pathogens in Peritoneal Dialysis Associated-Peritonitis: The Importance of Early Detection.

Peritoneal dialysis-associated-peritonitis remains a major concern, increasing patient morbidity and mortality. Empirical antibiotics should be quickly started to allow a rapid resolution of symptoms and preservation of the peritoneal membrane. We report a case of peritoneal dialysis-associated-peritonitis due to Prevotella salivae and Corynebacterium jeikeium, in a 51-year-old male. Suspected peritonitis led to an immediate prescription of vancomycin and ceftazidime, with no clinical improvement. Prevotella is difficult to identify in culture since it's a gram-negative anaerobic bacterium, so metronidazole administration was delayed over days. New diagnostic techniques have been explored for the early diagnosis of peritonitis, including polymerase chain reaction (PCR) for bacterial DNA fragments. A multiplex PCR panel that includes Prevotella, already available for other applications, could be an advantage in cases like this.

Exploring the status of the human operator in Industry 4.0: A systematic review.

Industry 4.0 (I4.0) promises to transform jobs and working conditions through the implementation of unprecedented human-machine interaction modes. As the operator working in these new settings, known as the Operator 4.0, is a relatively recent concept, and although technological developments are expected to support workers and require higher labor skills, the risks and health impacts resulting from these changes remain underexplored. This systematic review aims to (i) systematize literature findings on how workers are perceived and participate in I4.0 work systems; (ii) identify the main technological changes driven by I4.0; and (iii) instigate discussion regarding the impacts these changes may have for workers and the sustainability of work systems. Following a systematic review approach using the PRISMA protocol, the articles were organized into two main analysis axes: the technical changes brought about by I4.0, and the representation of the human worker within these new work settings. The findings reveal that a techno-centered approach still seems to be dominant in guiding the implementation of I4.0 models; secondly, as a consequence, the social dimensions of work tend to remain as residual issues, overshadowed by the promises related with technology (e.g., productivity, efficiency); finally, the representation of the Operator 4.0 remains blurry, as he/she is perceived as gender neutral, skillful, and perfectly fit for work, assuring the functioning (and compensating for the limits) of these systems. While I4.0 promises safer and more productive workplaces, issues related to employment conditions, emerging risks and health impacts become more prominent when analyzed from an activity-centered perspective. In terms of future research, a more heuristic analysis could be achieved through a participatory and work-centered approach and following a gender perspective. This way, visibility could be conferred to another side of I4.0, thus guaranteeing conditions for the sustainable development of these work situations.

"Looking for the defect": The emerging frontiers between the work activity and automation in a cork industrial district.

BACKGROUND: The division of labour between workers and machines is the motto for the current debate on the future of work, as the number of tasks that can potentially be automated increases. Despite receiving significant interest, to date, this debate has focused on forecasts that estimate the potential for machine substitution and thus overshadow the activity perspective. OBJECTIVE: This study aims to address the frontiers between human operators and automation in a Portuguese industrial district and to understand how the embodied know-how of expert workers is used when they face the requirements of automated machines. METHODS: A qualitative approach to ergonomic analysis was employed in two cork companies, including exploratory interviews with managerial staff; work activity observations (combining observations with video recordings); collective interviews with the workers; and collective meetings to validate our results and conclusions. RESULTS: The workers revealed operating modes related to sensory aspects to face the cork-related variability and the limits of automated machines. The human-machine configurations call for the experience of the senses, at the material-corporeal level, and for the preservation of reference points of the activity, mostly in the operation of seeing the cork stoppers. CONCLUSIONS: The competent act of seeing the cork stoppers, as an operational expertise layer, enriches the theoretical allocation of tasks between workers and machines. Future challenges for activity-centred ergonomics and work psychology fields are identified, drawing attention to the sustainable development of work, i.e., work activities where people may learn from experience and remain healthy within automated work environments.

'My whole body is at work': the silence of gendered body techniques in cork industry in an era of automation.

Discourses about technological transformation tend to focus on technology, as if its introduction was neutral regarding local variabilities, and the men and women that make it effective. This paper focuses on the technical act. The body is where the technical acts are inscribed and it is through the body that they are exteriorised. The purpose of this paper is to analyse the operative modes associated with the technical acts, from a gender perspective, in the context of the technological transformation in cork industry. The analysis of the work activity performed by men (punching operators) and women (choosers) was supported by observations, collective interviews, and group sessions to validate the results. The findings show male- and female-specific body techniques; how the efficacy of the technical acts contributes to the debate about the limits of technology; and how body techniques and effects on health tend to remain in silence due to automation.Practitioner summary: The reconfiguration of the human-machine relationships hardly leaves room for the analysis of how the body techniques evolve. This paper shows how the efficacy of men and women body techniques contributes to the debate about the limits of technology, even if these uses of one's body entail health costs.

Work intensification in the road transport industry: An approach to new working scenarios with automated vehicles.

BACKGROUND: The deployment of automated vehicles is causing transport systems to undergo a transition period. Notwithstanding such technology advancements, the work activity in road transport remains severe in terms of working conditions, given an ever-increasing work intensification scenario. OBJECTIVE: To analyze the drivers' point of view over factors that determine the intensification of their work, to take preventive measures for future working conditions with automated vehicles. METHODS: A sample of 336 Portuguese professional drivers answered the Health and Work Survey. RESULTS: Work at an intense pace (70.6%) or working beyond the assigned timetable (68.5%) were reported as conditions that may induce work intensification. The need to follow production norms/meet strict deadlines or feeling exploited at work doubles the risk of musculoskeletal disorders. Moreover, dealing with tense situations with the public, exposure to constant interruptions, and once again feeling exploited at work, are risk factors that increase, at least, four times as much the perception of generalized discouragement, anxiety, or irritability. CONCLUSIONS: The recommendations that emerge from our findings aim at ensuring that automation does not end up becoming a new source of work intensification.

Does Cystatin C have a role as metabolic surrogate in peritoneal dialysis beyond its association with residual renal function? / Teria a Cistatina C um papel como substituto metabólico na diálise peritoneal além de sua associação com a função renal residual?

ABSTRACT Introduction: It has been suggested that cystatin C levels are modified by obesity and inflammation. Furthermore, cystatin C has been associated with cardiovascular events and mortality outcomes. Aim: To study the association of cystatin C with the metabolic profile and cardiovascular disease of peritoneal dialysis patients. Methods: Data collected included clinical, laboratorial, and multifrequency bioimpedance assessment of 52 stable peritoneal dialysis patients. Minimal residual renal function was defined as > 2mL/min/1.73m2. Results: Serum cystatin C was not significantly associated with peritoneal or urinary cystatin C excretion. Negative correlation of cystatin C with normalized protein catabolic rate (rho -0.33, p = 0.02) and a trend towards positive correlation with relative body fat (rho 0.27, p = 0.05) were not independent from residual renal function. Cystatin C was not significantly associated with cardiovascular disease (p = 0.28), nor with glycated hemoglobin (p = 0.19) or c-reactive protein (p = 0.56). In the multivariate model, both age and diabetes were the strongest predictors of cardiovascular disease (odds ratio 1.09, p = 0.029 and odds ratio 29.95, p = 0.016, respectively), while relative body fat was negatively associated with cardiovascular disease (p = 0.038); neither cystatin C (p = 0.096) nor minimal residual renal function (p = 0.756) reached a significant association with cardiovascular disease. Conclusions: In this group of peritoneal dialysis patients, cystatin C did not correlate with the metabolic or inflammatory status, nor cardiovascular disease, after adjustment for residual renal function.

RESUMO Introdução: Tem sido sugerido que os níveis de cistatina C são modificados pela obesidade e inflamação. Além disso, a cistatina C tem sido associada a eventos cardiovasculares e desfechos de mortalidade. Objetivo: Estudar a associação da cistatina C com o perfil metabólico e doença cardiovascular de pacientes em diálise peritoneal. Métodos: Os dados coletados incluíram avaliação clínica, laboratorial e de bioimpedância múltipla de 52 pacientes estáveis em diálise peritoneal. A função renal residual mínima foi definida como > 2mL/min/1,73m2. Resultados: A cistatina C sérica não esteve significativamente associada à excreção peritoneal ou urinária. A correlação negativa da cistatina C com a taxa catabólica protéica normalizada (rho -0,33, p = 0,02) e uma tendência de correlação positiva com a gordura corporal relativa (rho 0,27, p = 0,05) não foram independentes da função renal residual. A cistatina C não se associou significativamente à doença cardiovascular (p = 0,28), nem com hemoglobina glicada (p = 0,19) ou proteína C reativa (p = 0,56). No modelo multivariado, idade e diabetes foram os mais fortes preditores de doença cardiovascular (razões de probabilidade 1,09, p = 0,029 e 29,95, p = 0,016, respectivamente) enquanto a gordura corporal relativa se associou negativamente à doença cardiovascular (p = 0,038). A cistatina C não se associou significativamente com doença cardiovascular (p = 0,096), tampouco a função residual mínima (p = 0,756). Conclusão: Neste grupo de pacientes em diálise peritoneal, a cistatina C não se correlacionou com o estado metabólico ou inflamatório, nem com doença cardiovascular, após ajuste para função renal residual.

Does Cystatin C have a role as metabolic surrogate in peritoneal dialysis beyond its association with residual renal function?

INTRODUCTION: It has been suggested that cystatin C levels are modified by obesity and inflammation. Furthermore, cystatin C has been associated with cardiovascular events and mortality outcomes. AIM: To study the association of cystatin C with the metabolic profile and cardiovascular disease of peritoneal dialysis patients. METHODS: Data collected included clinical, laboratorial, and multifrequency bioimpedance assessment of 52 stable peritoneal dialysis patients. Minimal residual renal function was defined as > 2mL/min/1.73m2. RESULTS: Serum cystatin C was not significantly associated with peritoneal or urinary cystatin C excretion. Negative correlation of cystatin C with normalized protein catabolic rate (rho -0.33, p = 0.02) and a trend towards positive correlation with relative body fat (rho 0.27, p = 0.05) were not independent from residual renal function. Cystatin C was not significantly associated with cardiovascular disease (p = 0.28), nor with glycated hemoglobin (p = 0.19) or c-reactive protein (p = 0.56). In the multivariate model, both age and diabetes were the strongest predictors of cardiovascular disease (odds ratio 1.09, p = 0.029 and odds ratio 29.95, p = 0.016, respectively), while relative body fat was negatively associated with cardiovascular disease (p = 0.038); neither cystatin C (p = 0.096) nor minimal residual renal function (p = 0.756) reached a significant association with cardiovascular disease. CONCLUSIONS: In this group of peritoneal dialysis patients, cystatin C did not correlate with the metabolic or inflammatory status, nor cardiovascular disease, after adjustment for residual renal function.

Reconfiguração do horário de trabalho para turnos de 12h: que impactos na saúde? / Redefining work schedules for 12-hour shifts: which health impacts? / Reconfiguración de la jornada laboral para turnos de 12 horas: ¿qué impactos en la salud?

Num contexto normativo que amplia a margem para configuração de horários de trabalho ao abrigo de um "regime de adaptabilidade", acentua-se o debate sobre os turnos de 12h, em virtude de uma conjuntura que mobiliza mais trabalhadores para tais horários, bem como das evidências de impactos na saúde. A partir da análise da mudança de um horário 3x8h para 2x12h numa empresa portuguesa, este estudo explora os fatores e condições considerados de risco agravado em jornadas de 12h. Os resultados revelam que os trabalhadores, no confronto com os constrangimentos do trabalho nestes horários, constroem estratégias de preservação de si e do coletivo, ainda que estas estratégias comportem custos para a saúde. A ponderação (no imediato e a longo prazo) que cada trabalhador faz sobre a sustentabilidade do trabalho em 12h convoca, simultaneamente, para debate: as especificidades do conteúdo de trabalho, a fase do percurso profissional e as suas exigências concretas, e os imperativos de conciliação com a vida fora do trabalho. (AU)

The normative context that enlarges the scope to shape work schedules under an "adaptability regime" has sharpened the debate about 12-hour shifts, given a conjuncture that leads more workers into such schedules and given the evidence of the impacts on health. Based on the analysis of the change from a 3x8h schedule into a 2x12h schedule in a Portuguese company, this study explores the factors and conditions considered to be aggravated risks in 12-hour journeys. The findings indicate that the workers, when confronted with the constraints of the work in these schedules, build preservation strategies for themselves and for the group, though such strategies entail health costs. The deliberation each worker does (immediately and in the long term) about the sustainability of the work in 12 hours calls simultaneously for debate: the specificities of the work content, the stage of the professional path and its specific demands, and the imperatives of reconciliation with life outside work. (AU)

En un contexto normativo que amplía el margen para el ajuste de la jornada laboral en virtud de un "régimen de adaptabilidad", se intensifica el debate sobre los turnos de 12 horas, debido a una coyuntura que moviliza más trabajadores para esos horarios, así como a las evidencias de los impactos en la salud. A partir del análisis del cambio de un horario de 3 x 8 horas para 2 x 12 horas en una empresa portuguesa, este estudio explora los factores y condiciones que se consideran de riesgo agravado en jornadas de 12 horas. Los resultados revelan que los trabajadores, al enfrentarse con las limitaciones del trabajo en estos horarios, construyen estrategias de autopreservación y de preservación del colectivo, aunque estas estrategias conlleven costes para la salud. La ponderación (en lo inmediato y en el largo plazo) que cada trabajador hace sobre la sostenibilidad de trabajar 12 horas llama al mismo tiempo para el debate: los detalles del contenido del trabajo, la fase de la carrera y sus requisitos específicos, y los requisitos de reconciliación con la vida fuera del trabajo. (AU)

Development and Validation of a Health and Work Survey Based on the Rasch Model among Portuguese Workers.

The purpose of this study was to develop the Health and Work Survey (INSAT) and examine the validity of the discomfort rating scale. Data were collected from 706 Portuguese workers from six economic sectors with the support of the Health and Work Survey (INSAT - Inquérito Saúde e Trabalho). The INSAT is a self-administered questionnaire to assessing working conditions, health and wellbeing, and to provide information to the occupational health systems in the organisations. For the survey instrument validation, the Rasch Partial Credit Model (PCM) was used to analyse item fit statistics. From the application of PCM, Person Separation Reliability was obtained (0.8761) and the value can be considered very good (>0.8). From the statistical analysis, the Overall Model fit information, given by Outfit Mean square/Infit Mean square, is between 0.5 and 1.5, meaning "Productive for measurement" and "acceptable fit overall". The INSAT items can generate predictable response patterns. We recommend that the INSAT discomfort rating scale and some other items should be reviewed in future works. In any event, this tool proves to be useful in assessing the relationship between work and health and in evaluating key main risk factors, helping to prevent problems and improving occupational health systems.

Prevalence and Determinants of Bullying Among Health Care Workers in Portugal.

Bullying is defined as systematic exposure to humiliation as well as hostile and violent behaviors against one or more individuals. These behaviors are a serious, growing problem, which affects a significant proportion of health care professionals. To support the hospital's risk management policy, a cross-sectional study was undertaken to determine the prevalence of bullying in this institution and identify the determinants of bullying. Bullying was measured using the Negative Acts Questionnaire-Revised, Portuguese version (NAQ-R), a self-administered tool. The questionnaire was made available in digital format on the hospital's internal network (Intranet) and in hard copy; questionnaires were returned via nonidentified internal mail addressed to the occupational health unit or deposited in suggestion boxes located throughout the hospital. Multiple questionnaire delivery methods guaranteed data anonymity and confidentiality. The prevalence of bullying in this hospital was 8% (95% confidence interval [CI] = [6.2, 10.2]). Reported bullying was predominantly vertical and more frequently occurring among nurses, clerical staff, and health care assistants (12.5%, 7.6%, 6.4%, respectively; p = .005). After adjusting for gender, age, occupation, type of contract, and work schedule, only type of contract was significantly associated with bullying in the workplace; the risk of bullying was twice as high among government employees compared to workers with indefinite duration employment contracts ( p = .038). This study identified a high prevalence of bullying among health professionals; hence a program to prevent and control this phenomenon was implemented in this institution.

Will I be able to do my work at 60? An analysis of working conditions that hinder active ageing.

BACKGROUND: Most developed countries have considered population ageing as one of the economic challenges that need to be overcome. Managing ageing has led to consideration of a number of policies where it is essential to increase the employment rate for older workers. OBJECTIVE: This study aims to analyze the working conditions which tend to be perceived as hindering continuity in the workplace at the age of 60. PARTICIPANTS: 1234 workers from different sectors and socio-professional categories (52% men and 48% women; 64.5% younger than 45 years old). METHODS: A quantitative overview was adopted with the use of logistic regression models. The INSAT was used (Work and Health Questionnaire). RESULTS: Apart from factors of great physical constraint, other less visible aspects play a role in the idea of workers not being able to continue to work by the age of 60, namely factors linked to work organizational options and relationships with others. CONCLUSIONS: Working conditions have a great influence in the idea of inability to perform the same type of work at 60. This notion does not only apply to older workers. In fact, even younger workers under certain working conditions hold the same view, thus raising social concerns that should be taken into account by public policies.

Beyond a man's world: contributions from considering gender in the study of bus drivers' work activity.

BACKGROUND: Bus driving is a typically male occupation undergoing a process of feminization. Although men remain a majority, women's integration has raised some questions, namely, related to work organization or its impact on health. OBJECTIVE: This paper focuses on the contributions of assuming a gender perspective in the analysis of the bus driving occupation and the conditions under which it is performed. PARTICIPANTS: Twenty female and 158 male bus drivers. METHODS: Qualitative and quantitative approaches were combined. Ergonomic work analysis and individual interviews were used, as well as INSAT (Work and Health Questionnaire). RESULTS: Difficulties inherent to the work activity were highlighted, in terms of working hours and management of "peripheral tasks", with implications for the balance between professional and personal life. These difficulties were reported differently by men and women, although both made themselves clear about the impact on their career and health. CONCLUSIONS: Taking gender into consideration has enabled an enrichment of the questions that guide the analysis of this work activity, and contributed to a new perspective on the work performed by this occupational group as well as a new approach to study the history of the transport industry by proposing as focus of analysis issues related to "gender mobility".

Vivência conjugal na transição para o diagnóstico de diabetes mellitus tipo 2 / Marital experience in the transition to the diagnosis of type 2 diabetes mellitus

Pretendeu-se compreender a forma como os casais vivenciam e se adaptam a um recente anúncio de diagnóstico de DM2, num dos seus elementos, e neste sentido a nossa grande questão de investigação foi: Como os casais vivenciam a transição para o diagnóstico de DM2? O seu desenvolvimento baseou-se num paradigma de investigação qualitativa, orientado por uma metodologia fenomenológica e descritiva onde, através de entrevistas realizadas a 6 casais participantes, selecionados por conveniência num serviço de diabetologia do Hospital Distrital de Águeda, se analisou o processo de transição saúde/doença a que estiveram sujeitos e se tentou perceber quais foram as mudanças percecionadas e as estratégias que passaram a adotar, após o referido acontecimento de vida. Os principais achados evidenciam alguns temas e subtemas em torno dos quais se estruturaram as vivências do sistema conjugal, relacionados com os sentimentos do casal no processo de transição saúde/doença, as dificuldades sentidas pelo casal no processo de transição saúde/doença e os recursos mobilizados pelo sistema conjugal na transição saúde/doença. Salientam-se, ainda, alguns significados atribuídos às vivências e à forma como se adaptaram à DM2 em que, se para alguns casais a doença pouco modificou a sua dinâmica familiar, para outros, esse diagnóstico alterou de forma significativa a vivência do sistema conjugal. Quando questionados acerca do que aconselhariam a casais com a mesma vivência, os participantes do estudo referiram a calma, a inter-ajuda, a união, o auto-controle e a preocupação com a dieta e o exercício físico como sendo fundamentais no processo de transição saúde/doença. Se pudessem voltar atrás, alguns mudariam os hábitos alimentares que foram adotando ao longo da vida e outros, se possível, ?anulariam? a própria doença.

Thinking about gender, thinking about a common space of observation and discussion of the work activity of the other: the case of bus drivers.

The work activity of urban bus drivers is held in the public space and characterized by a constant vigilance, but the moments of observation the colleagues' work are scarce. This fact results in a paradox--it is a work activity that is more visible to "outsiders" than to "insiders"--which has an important impact on the debate of the work activity from a perspective of gender and the women's work in a predominantly male context. Ergonomic analysis of work and semi-structured interviews were conducted with 32 urban public transport drivers, 16 women and 16 men. The results reveal the lack of conditions for the drivers' knowledge of the activity of another, especially when that other is a woman--while men attribute characteristics to women based on gender stereotypes and an extension of their role in the private sphere, women relate them with the need to prove their competence and be recognized. It is proposed the development, in the context of training, of a space for debate and knowledge of the activity of the other and for the creation of conditions for another integration of women in the profession and for another visibility of their work.

The entry of women in predominantly male professions: when training supports the search of alternative ways of organizing work time.

Following a research carried out on the integration of women in professional areas predominantly for men, this paper intends to present and debate the project of a training course which aims the transformation of the organization of work schedules in order to improve the well-being of the workers involved. The conception of training courses with this type of objective involves the confrontation and debate between the "invested skills" of the trainers and the "constituted skills" of the trainees. But will this paradigm remain intact when applied to training courses permeated by the gender dimension? That is what one will try to realize with the effective implementation of a training course, whose reflection will allow, ultimately, to enrich our understanding on gender, work, health and training.

From the "terrain" to "territory": which contributions from mobility and bus drivers' activity towards local development?

The focus of the present analysis is on the work of drivers in the public road passenger transportation sector in Portugal and on its specific contribution to local development. This approach dissociates itself from the one that places mobility as a "paradigm" of the contemporary societies and considers that the increase in mobility registered in the latter years is, in itself, revealing of development. For field work, a public transportation line, in an urban context, and a network of lines, in a rural context were chosen. In each of these contexts, the drivers' work was analyzed in real situations and semi-structured interviews were held with 16 of them: ten drivers in an urban context and six in a rural context. Considering the point of view of the work activity, enabled us to abandon the dominant perspectives that tend to highlight the social inequality of the mobility conditions (between those who use a private vehicle and those who need to use public transportation), to reflect on the characteristics of the mobility spaces which benefit or limit it, contributing to other inequalities. What is the importance of the space for mobility besides its support? How is it considered in the drivers' work?

The effect of the cell death suppressor vMIA on the production of a recombinant protein in the adenovirus-293 expression system.

Apoptosis is a major problem in animal cell cultures during production of biopharmaceuticals, such as recombinant proteins or viral vectors. A 293 cell line constitutively expressing vMIA (viral mitochondria-localized inhibitor of apoptosis) was constructed and examined on production of a model recombinant protein, green fluorescent protein (GFP) in the adenovirus-293 expression system, and on production of a model infectious adenoviral vector. vMIA-293 cells were more resistant than the parental 293 cells to apoptosis induced by either oxidative stress, or by adenovirus infection. The yield of GFP produced in vMIA-293 cell cultures was consistently higher (approximately 140%) compared to that in the parental cells. vMIA reduced production of adenovirus infectious particles, which was not due to a decline of adenovirus replication, since adenoviral DNA replication rate in vMIA-293 cells was higher than that in the parental cells. In conclusion, introduction of the vMIA gene into the 293 cell line is a promising strategy to improve recombinant protein production in the adenovirus-293 expression system.