Plos One
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The reversal of the natural cycle of wakefulness and sleep may cause damage to the health of workers. However, there are few studies evaluating sleep, fatigue and quality of life of night shift workers considering the influence of small children on these variables. ⋯ In this research, workers without children had higher sleep time during the working days. These workers also were less likely to feel fatigued during night work than workers with children, regardless of age these children.
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The STarT Back Tool uses prognostic indicators to classify patients with low back pain into three risk groups to guide early secondary prevention in primary care. The present study aimed to evaluate the psychometric properties of the Japanese version of the tool (STarT-J). ⋯ The overall STarT-J scale was internally consistent and had acceptable concurrent, discriminant, and known-groups validity. The STarT-J can be used with Japanese patients with low back pain.
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Increased sensitivity to cold may be a predictor of persistent pain, but cold pain threshold is often viewed as unreliable. This study aimed to determine the within-subject reliability and between-subject variance of cold response, measured comprehensively as cold pain threshold plus pain intensity and sensation quality at threshold. A test-retest design was used over three sessions, one day apart. ⋯ Females were also more reliable and showed lower variance for all measures. Thus, although there was clear population variation, response to cold for healthy individuals was found to be highly reliable, whether measured as pain threshold, pain intensity or sensation quality. A comprehensive approach to cold response testing therefore may add validity and improve acceptance of this potentially important pain measure.
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Comparative Study
Comparison of Cervical Spine Anatomy in Calves, Pigs and Humans.
Animals are commonly used to model the human spine for in vitro and in vivo experiments. Many studies have investigated similarities and differences between animals and humans in the lumbar and thoracic vertebrae. However, a quantitative anatomic comparison of calf, pig, and human cervical spines has not been reported. ⋯ Pig cervical vertebrae were more suitable human substitutions than calf cervical vertebrae, especially with respect to C1, C2, and C7. The biomechanical properties of nerve vascular anatomy and various segment functions in pig and calf cervical vertebrae must be considered when selecting an animal model for research on the spine.
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Hypertension often occurs after tracheal intubation using a Macintosh laryngoscope and may lead to rare but serious complications. The Macintosh laryngoscope may increase the incidence of hypertension because it requires forced alignment of the oral and pharyngeal axes in order to view the glottis. In contrast, the McGRATH MAC video laryngoscope does not require this manipulation. The objective of this study was to evaluate the incidence of hypertension after tracheal intubation using a McGRATH laryngoscope compared with a Macintosh laryngoscope. ⋯ The use of a McGRATH laryngoscope may reduce the incidence of hypertension after tracheal intubation compared to the Macintosh laryngoscope.