搜索结果：JEMS

Occupational exposures are critical yet often overlooked contributors to chronic respiratory disease. Job exposure matrices (JEMs) are widely used to assign occupational exposures where direct measurement is not feasible, particularly in large epidemiological studies. However, their applicability in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs) is limited by contextual, structural, and methodological challenges. Drawing on insights from a focus group of occupational respiratory health and exposure assessment experts, this commentary examines key limitations in applying existing JEMs to LMIC contexts, including high prevalence of informal employment, job variability, and higher exposure levels. The group identified priority areas for future refinement, including temporal and geographical calibration, and integration of mixed-role employment. While JEMs remain the most practical approach for large-scale exposure assessment, their contextual adaptation is essential to ensure valid exposure-response estimation, improve disease burden attribution, and promote greater equity in global occupational health research.

This article outlines the history and development of Genes and Environment, the official journal of the Japanese Environmental Mutagen and Genome Society (JEMS). In the 1970s, there was growing concern about the mutagenicity of chemical substances, leading to the establishment of JEMS. The society began publishing its journal, Environmental Mutagen Research, and renamed Genes and Environment in 2006 to focus on gene-environment interactions and promote international collaboration. The journal transitioned to free-access and started publishing in English to expand its reach globally.From 2012, the journal partnered with BioMed Central (BMC) to become an open-access publication, leading to its inclusion in Scopus, PubMed, and SCIE, and an improvement in its CiteScore and Impact Factor. JEMS also sought funding from Japan's Grants-in-Aid for Scientific Research (KAKENHI) to support international dissemination of research.Despite progress, challenges remain, such as limited submissions from certain regions and a need for greater global recognition. To further internationalize JEMS, efforts are being made to elevate the quality of research and broaden membership diversity, with a focus on making JEMS' activities and publications more accessible to the global scientific community.

Job exposure matrices (JEMs) are widely used in occupational epidemiology to estimate biomechanical exposures in a trade. However, JEMs are insensitive to variability among workers within the same job, potentially leading to less accurate exposures and increased uncertainty of exposure-outcome associations. Task-based exposure assessment, in which individual exposures are derived from task-specific exposures weighted by the time spent on each task, has been suggested to improve accuracy. To examine and compare the accuracy of task-based and job-based assessment of physical behaviors-sitting, standing, and moving-in grocery retail. The study was conducted in 2 Swedish medium-sized grocery stores. Accelerometry was used to measure "true" physical behaviors continuously over 3 full working days for all participating employees (n = 36; 16 women, 20 men). Job-based exposure estimates were derived by averaging sitting, standing, and moving across all workers, representing a JEM. Nine discrete tasks were defined in collaboration with employees and owners in the stores. For 35 of the workers, task timelines were videotaped for 4 h and linked to accelerometry to construct a gender-neutral (unisex) task exposure matrix (TEM). All 36 participants completed diaries for the 3 d, reporting time spent on each task, and task-based estimates of "true" exposures through the 3 d were calculated for each worker as the weighted average of task exposures based on the diary-reported task distribution. Physical behaviors were analyzed using procedures from compositional data analysis (CoDA), including describing and comparing the performance of job-based and task-based approaches using Aitchison distances to the measured, "true" exposures. The prerequisites for successful task-based assessment were satisfied, including physical behavior contrasts between tasks and heterogeneity in task composition between workers. task-based estimates were on average closer to "true" exposures than job-based estimates, but the magnitude of improvement was modest (23%) and varied between women (35%) and men (12%). Thirty-three percent of the 36 "true" job exposures were better predicted by the job-based approach, and substantial variability in exposure persisted even within tasks. Task-based assessment offered only modest improvement in accuracy over job-based estimates and the cost-efficiency of the task-based approach compared to the less costly job-based strategy can be questioned. Task-based assessment may therefore be most useful when task information is needed for documentation or interventions, rather than solely for improving exposure estimation.

Job-exposure matrices (JEMs) are being used to assign (quantitative levels of) exposure to individuals based on their job history. In human observational studies, a group-based approach in which every individual with a similar job will be assigned similar exposure will not bias exposure-response associations but will result in loss of precision. However, since JEMs do not consider between-worker differences in average exposure, some individual workers' cumulative exposures will be underestimated. This may affect their chances of compensation when a minimal (cumulative) exposure threshold is applied. We analysed more than 80 000 repeated exposure measurements from a variety of industries and consequently combined variance components of location and worker (within a location within a job) to estimate the bandwidth of individual average exposures within a job. This allowed estimating percentiles one and two standard deviations (SD) above the median of workers' exposure distribution within a job (across locations/companies). The bandwidth factor appeared to be larger for exposures to particulates than for gases. It was also larger for biological agents. For exposure to particulate matter, the bandwidth factor varied slightly between industries (84BWfactor range 1-4) with a median 2.5. By applying a default bandwidth factor to an average exposure estimate resulting from a quantitative JEM, the Dutch occupational disease compensation scheme has chosen for an approach that recognises between-worker differences in exposure. This approach, in addition to considering uncertainty in exposure-response associations, addresses another important factor of uncertainty in ascertaining occupational disease based on the 'presumably plausible' principle.

JEMS® (Joanne Elphinston Movement Systems) described as a systematic, holistic approach to analyze and create sound foundations for movement, is increasing in popularity among physiotherapists. The aim of this study was to investigate and capture the experiences and narratives of physiotherapists (PTs) using JEMS® for rehabilitation with patients in primary healthcare. In this qualitative description study, we invited 13 PTs to focus group discussions (FGD). Four groups were conducted, three FGD at different locations in Region Västra Götaland, Sweden, and one FGD using Skype. The groups met on one occasion. The FGD method has a qualitative semi-structured research design based on a social constructivist tradition of research. Data were analyzed using the Kreuger method, considering the content of the discussion in a collective understanding of the subject and the interaction taking place among participants. Three themes were identified: how the PTs describe their practical and emotional experiences, and how JEMS® has changed their clinical work. Most clearly emerged subjects considering the interaction and communication with the patient, about finding a structure in clinical practice and about the development the informants experience in their role as a physiotherapist and as an individual. The FGD was chosen to capture the variety and width of experiences of the PTs using JEMS®. The opportunity for learning and reflecting in the FGDs was appreciated by the PTs. The interaction between the patient and the PT was described as fundamental in establishing foundations for movement. Opportunities to meet and treat patients regardless of functional limitations elaborated and were in that way applicable in primary healthcare where patients seek a physiotherapist for a variety of reasons. JEMS® was found as a holistic approach where different sciences are linked together.Reflective awareness evolves both the individual and the clinical work.JEMS® is a well-suited rehabilitation method to use in primary healthcare.

To assess the association between parental occupational pesticide exposures at birth and adult testicular germ cell tumour (TGCT) by histological subtype and the agreement between two pesticide job-exposure matrices (JEM). TGCT cases (n=454) and matched controls (n=670) aged 18-45 years were recruited from 20 French university hospitals into the TESTIS national case-control study. Paternal and maternal jobs at birth were obtained from interviews of participants and their mothers/relatives and coded into official nomenclatures (International Standard Classification of Occupations, French nomenclature of activity-1999). Two complementary JEMs, ALOHA+ and FRIJEM, assessed occupational exposure to all pesticides, herbicides, insecticides, fungicides with ALOHA+ for each parent by linking job titles to JEM-derived probability and intensity estimates (no/low/high). Cohen's Kappa coefficient (κ) assessed their agreement. ORs and 95% CIs comparing exposure and levels of exposure with no exposure were estimated using conditional logistic regression adjusted for literature-based covariates statistically associated with TGCT and stratified by histological subtypes. Agreement between ALOHA+and FRIJEM was moderate to substantial (κ 0.52-0.80). A statistically non-significant higher TGCT risk was observed for high paternal occupational pesticide exposure with ALOHA+ (OR 1.95, CI 0.98 to 3.84) and FRIJEM (OR 1.70, CI 0.88 to 3.28). With ALOHA+, statistically significant positive associations were seen for high paternal occupational exposure to herbicides (overall: OR 4.23, CI 1.75 to 10.22; seminomas: OR 4.78, CI 1.79 to 12.77; non-seminomas: OR 3.53, CI 1.21 to 10.3) and fungicides (overall: OR 2.09, CI 1.05 to 4.18; seminomas: OR 2.31, CI 1.02 to 5.23). No statistically significant associations were observed for other levels of paternal exposure or pesticide groups nor for maternal exposure. Only high paternal occupational exposure to pesticides at birth, especially herbicides and fungicides, was positively associated with TGCT.

Although studies have suggested an association between organic solvent exposure and small-for-gestational age (SGA), conclusions remain inconsistent due to variations in sample size and study design, with insufficient epidemiological evidence. We investigated the association between organic solvent exposure and SGA. Following the PRISMA guidelines, searched PubMed, MEDLINE, Embase, and Science Direct databases for cohort and case-control studies. Exposure was classified based on job-exposure matrices (JEMs), expert assessment, or self-reported history. SGA was defined as birth weight <10th centile for gestational age based on a national reference. This systematic review included a total of 11 eligible articles, comprising 15 independent observational studies, of which 10 were cohort studies and 5 were case-control studies. The quality of included studies was assessed using the Newcastle-Ottawa Scale (NOS). Statistical analyses were performed using STATA 14.0 software to calculate the pooled odds ratio (OR) and 95% confidence interval (CI). Heterogeneity was evaluated via Cochran's Q test and I&#xb2; statistic, with subgroup analysis, sensitivity analysis, and publication bias testing conducted. Pooled analysis showed that organic solvent exposure was associated with a slight increase in the risk of SGA (OR&#x2009;=&#x2009;1.15, 95% CI: 1.04-1.26), with moderate heterogeneity (I&#xb2;&#x2009;=&#x2009;40.5%, P&#x2009;=&#x2009;0.052). Subgroup analyses indicated that studies conducted in European and American regions, cohort studies, occupational exposure studies, and high-quality studies (NOS&#x2009;&#x2265;&#x2009;7 points) all showed a significant positive association with low heterogeneity (I&#xb2;&#x2009;=&#x2009;0), among which the association intensity of occupational exposure was the highest (OR&#x2009;=&#x2009;1.33). Sensitivity analyses showed that after sequentially excluding each individual study, the pooled OR ranged from 1.12 (95% CI: 1.03-1.22) to 1.19 (95% CI: 1.09-1.29), indicating stable results. Publication bias tests suggested the presence of overall bias (Egger's test P&#x2009;<&#x2009;0.05), which implies that the pooled effect size might be an overestimation due to the potential absence of small, null-result studies. However, notably, no significant bias was found in the occupational exposure subgroup (Begg's test P&#x2009;=&#x2009;0.592, Egger's test P&#x2009;=&#x2009;0.464). Therefore, while the main findings should be interpreted with caution, the results for the occupational exposure subgroup appear to be more robust against publication bias. Maternal occupational/environmental exposure to selected organic solvents may increase the risk of small-for-gestational age, especially in occupationally exposed populations. This systematic review and meta-analysis, which synthesizes evidence from 15 high-quality studies (10 cohort studies and 5 case-control studies) across Europe and the USA, confirms that maternal occupational/environmental exposure to organic solvents is associated with a 15% increased risk of small-for-gestational-age (SGA) births, with the risk being even higher (33% increase) in occupationally exposed populations. This finding carries substantial implications for public health practice, workplace safety policy, and clinical prenatal care, as outlined below.

This study investigated occupational exposure to radiofrequency electromagnetic fields (RF EMF) using two job-exposure matrices (JEMs) and risk of glioma. Population-based family case-control study. Cases were recruited from participating hospitals in the Australian states of New South Wales, Queensland, Tasmania, Western Australia and Victoria between January 2013 and November 2017. The study population consisted of 467 cases of glioma and 367 family controls recruited for the Australian Genomics and Clinical Outcomes of Glioma case-control study between 2013 and 2017. Participants completed questionnaires on demographic and other information, including a detailed occupational history. Exposure to RF EMF was estimated using both the multicountry case-control study INTEROCC JEM and the Canadian JEM (CANJEM). ORs and 95% CIs were calculated from logistic regression models adjusted for relatedness between cases and controls, sex, age, ethnicity, education level, smoking status and alcohol consumption. There was no statistically significant positive association overall for risk of glioma when applying either JEM. For the highest compared with the lowest quartile of lifetime exposure, results using the INTEROCC JEM showed an OR of 0.74 (95% CI 0.47 to 1.15) for electric fields and 0.92 (95% CI 0.58 to 1.45) for magnetic fields, while the CANJEM showed an OR of 0.85 (95% CI 0.54 to 1.32). We also did not observe associations when applying different assumptions regarding latency or time windows or with glioma grade. Overall, this study found no evidence of an association between occupational RF EMF exposure and glioma. Future research should focus on refining occupational RF EMF exposure assessment.

While work plays a crucial role in our well-being, it also exposes us to various health risks. By linking subjects' job histories to exposure assessment tools (i.e., Job-Exposure Matrices, JEMs), large-scale cohort and case-control studies assess risks associated with jobs. Before JEMs can be applied, free-text job descriptions must be standardized, using occupational classification systems. This process, usually performed manually, is time-consuming, expensive, and requires specialized knowledge. To address these limitations, (semi-)automatic coding and Decision Support Systems (DSS) have been developed. These systems utilize string-similarity-based, machine-learning or hybrid architectures. Although some fully automatic coding systems approach or even match expert performance, their classification accuracy does not generalize well: it decreases when applied to out-of-distribution data, limiting their real-world applicability. To enable expert correction, which crucially improves the coding process' reliability, DSS are used. Pre-trained on vast amounts of text data, Large Language Models (LLM) could improve the (semi-)automatic or DSS' coding process, improving accuracy and generalizability. However, LLM's application in automatic occupational coding is unexplored. This chapter provides a comprehensive overview of occupational health assessment, focusing on the development and use of JEMs, the challenges of standardizing occupational information, and the current state-of-the-art in Automatic Occupational Coding (AOC). Subsequently, we explore the background of LLM and their potential applications in this field. We conclude with highlighting challenges and give an outlook for AOC.

In this study, the determination of the structure of the tertiary phase which forms following heat treatment in an alloy based on Ti-Zr-Mo-Nb-Ta-Al is reported. Positive identification of the structure was accomplished using convergent beam electron diffraction (CBED) techniques to deduce the point and the space groups. Analyses of the zone axis symmetries showed that the point group of the phase was 6/mmm. Further analyses of dynamic absences resulted in the identification of the space group P6/mcc (no. 192). Structure models were created based on the experimental findings which were utilized to simulate the zone axis CBED patterns using the JEMS software package. The simulated patterns showed good agreement with the experimental findings.

Currently, no licensed vaccine is available against chikungunya virus (CHIKV) in children aged less than 12 years. In this phase 2, observer-blind, randomized, dose-response trial we evaluated the tolerability (solicited adverse events (AEs)), safety (unsolicited AEs) and immunogenicity of a live-attenuated CHIKV vaccine (VLA1553) in healthy children aged 1-11 years in endemic countries. Here we provide a prespecified interim analysis to 28 days after vaccination. Participants (n&#x2009;=&#x2009;304) received either a half dose (n&#x2009;=&#x2009;119) or a full dose (n&#x2009;=&#x2009;124) of VLA1553, or active control meningococcal vaccine (Nimenrix) (n&#x2009;=&#x2009;61). The primary endpoint was the incidence and severity of solicited AEs within 14 days after vaccination. Secondary endpoints included unsolicited AEs, medically attended AEs, serious AEs, AEs of special interest and immunogenicity through 28 days after vaccination. For the primary endpoint, there were no statistically significant differences between the VLA1553 groups and control for each age group nor between age groups (1-2, 3-6 and 7-11 years). Overall, the most frequently reported solicited injection site AEs were tenderness (10.9%) and pain (8.6% of participants); the most frequently reported solicited systemic AEs were fever (12.5%) and headache (11.5%; participants aged 7-11 years and 3-6 years only, (headache was not solicited in participants aged 1-2 years)). For the secondary safety endpoints, the most common unsolicited AEs were infections and infestations (10.0-20.5%) and the most common medically attended AE overall was fever (2.6%), with no differences for unsolicited AEs or medically attended AEs regardless of vaccine and age group (serious AEs and AEs of special interest were too infrequent for meaningful comparisons). Anti-CHIKV neutralizing antibody titers were higher in the full-dose than the half-dose group at days 14 and 28 after vaccination. The trial met its prespecified endpoints and supported the selection of full-dose VLA1553 in future clinical trials in this population, addressing a critical unmet medical need. ClinicalTrials.gov registration: NCT06106581 .

Background/Objectives: The family constitutes a primary ecological system shaping infant emotional and mental health. Parent responsiveness in particular shapes early regulatory capacities in the developing child. Added contextual stress such as that associated with natural disasters may strain caregiving relationships. Brief, universally accessible parenting interventions offer scalable support for strengthening early relational health and may be useful in contexts of natural disaster-related stress as well as in the general population. This qualitative study examined the perceived impact and contextual relevance of MERTIL (My Early Relational Trust-Informed Learning) for Parents, a brief digital psychoeducational parenting program targeting early relational health, among families raising young children in disaster-affected communities. Methods: Fourteen parents residing in the Hunter New England and Central Coast region of New South Wales, Australia, with young children aged 0-5 years, participated in semi-structured interviews conducted approximately 6 months after completing MERTIL for Parents. Interviews explored lived experiences of parenting in the context of natural disaster (analysed via applied phenomenological methods) and parents' perceptions of program components that supported everyday caregiving (analysed via reflexive thematic analysis and content analysis). Results: Parents described interconnected personal, relational, and environmental stressors that influenced aspects of the parent-infant relationship. Key retained knowledge from the program included a normalisation of parenting challenges, a strengthened understanding of attachment, trust, safety and repair, and attuned, emotion-focused parenting practices. Conclusions: This pilot study illuminates the lived experience of parenting in disaster prone regions and highlights the potential for this brief, universal digital parenting program to provide support for early relational health in such contexts.

Janus electrospun membranes (JEMs) exhibit irreplaceable advantages in advanced functional nanofiber materials. However, as an emerging concept, their profound connotations and academic value have not yet been fully recognized by the scientific community. Herein, the broad scope and relevant categories of JEM are first defined. Subsequently, the construction methods of JEMs with different layers and structures become the focus of summarization and discussion. The enhancement of interlayer bonding forces through various chemical and physical strategies, considered as the core challenge in this field, is classified and compared. Furthermore, according to different asymmetric properties, the applications of JEM in fields such as functional clothing, clean energy, and intelligent sensing are systematically reviewed. The construction methods, functional principles, and key mechanisms of JEM in various application scenarios are deeply analyzed. Finally, the practical challenges and technical bottlenecks JEM faces in large-scale preparation, performance optimization, cross-disciplinary applications, and other aspects are explored in detail, providing inspiration and guidance for promoting the technological breakthroughs and industrial transformation of JEM technology.

Quantitative job-exposure matrices (JEMs) have been developed to assign exposure using International Standard Classification of Occupations (ISCO)-68 coded job information. For extended compatibility with the less detailed ISCO-88 coding, a quantitative JEM using the same underlying model was developed. We compared exposure-response relationships between cumulative respirable crystalline silica (RCS) and lung cancer risk using a quantitative JEM based on ISCO-88 (88-JEM) and ISCO-68 (68-JEM). Based on a common set of approximately 15 000 RCS measurements, job-specific, region-specific and time-specific exposure levels were estimated for the 88-JEM and the 68-JEM and linked to participants' job histories. Exposure-response relationships in an international lung cancer case-control study were analysed by logistic regression and generalised additive models. The 88-JEM and the 68-JEM yielded similar RCS-lung cancer associations, with elevated lung cancer risks across each cumulative exposure quartile. The 88-JEM exhibited a minor not statistically significant upward bend in the exposure-response curve at higher exposures. To accurately detect associations between disease risk and occupational exposure, quantitative JEMs can be applied in community-based studies that provide job histories in either ISCO-88 or ISCO-68.

Previous studies have indicated that maternal occupational psychosocial stressors may affect the risk of asthma in the offspring, but their results are inconsistent. Maternal occupational ergonomic strain is associated with predictors of fetal lung development, including preterm birth and low birthweight; however, it is not known, whether ergonomic strain during pregnancy is a risk factor for asthma in offspring. The aim was to investigate maternal psychosocial stressors and ergonomic strain during pregnancy relative to the risk of offspring asthma. Live- and firstborn singletons (1996-2018) and their mothers were identified from Danish nationwide registers. Job code at time of conception was assigned to each mother and linked with exposure estimates from job exposure matrices (JEMs) of psychosocial stressors and ergonomic strain. Diagnoses of childhood asthma were retrieved from the Danish National Patient Register. Incidence rate ratios (IRR) of asthma were estimated using Poisson regression; adjusted for maternal asthma, age at conception, socioeconomic position, and body mass index, and calendar year. Maternal employment in occupations with low decision authority (IRR: 1.08, 95% CI 1.00-1.16) and high ergonomic strain (IRR: 1.09, 95% CI 1.02-1.16) was associated with increased risk of asthma among male offspring. Largely similar, but less consistent, associations were observed among female offspring due to low decision authority. We found a minor increased risk of asthma among offspring whose mothers worked in an occupation with low decision authority or high ergonomic strain, most pronounced among male offspring.