Irregular Shifts Research Articles

Prevalence and predictors of near misses and road traffic crashes among long-distance bus drivers in Ghana

IntroductionDespite the critical role of bus drivers in the Ghanaian economy, research on their safety is limited, hindering progress towards reducing road traffic crashes (RTCs) in line with Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) 3.6. This study aimed to investigate the rate of RTCs and near misses among long-distance bus drivers, identifying key predictors.MethodThis cross-sectionl survey sampled 7,315 long-distance bus drivers operating from Accra and Tema to other parts of Ghana and sub-region. Descriptive and binary logistic regression analyses were condcuted using Jamovi software version 2.5.3.ResultsThe study found that 53.7% and 96.9% of bus drivers had at least one RTC and one near-miss two years prior to data collection respectively. Older age, higher education, and extensive driving experience (≥ 21 years) reduced RTC risk, while factors like 6–20 years of experience, individual bus ownership, irregular shifts, long driving hours, sleepiness, job security, low decision authority, and skill discretion increased RTC risk. Near-misses were more likely with public bus ownership, not driving alone, low decision authority, skill discretion, and supervisor support, while high work-family conflict reduced near-miss likelihood.ConclusionConcerted efforts are needed to implement targeted interventions aimed at regulating working hours, enhancing job security and integrating occupationl health and safety standards in the Ghanaian bus transport industry. By prioritizing evidence-based policies and practices, stakeholders can work towards creating safer roads and healthier work environments for bus drivers.

Night Shift Work Associates with All-Cause and Cause-Specific Mortality: A Large Prospective Cohort Study.

Health problems associated with shift work and night shift work are gaining increasing public attention. To investigate the association between night shift work and the hazard of mortality. Prospective cohort study. A total of 283,579 individuals with paid employment or self-employment aged 37-73years were included from the UK Biobank with a median follow-up period of 14.0years. Participants were divided into day workers and shift workers, including the frequency of night shifts, to evaluate the association between baseline work schedules and all-cause and cause-specific mortality using the Cox proportional hazards model. Additionally, 75,760 participants with work histories were assessed for the association between average frequency and cumulative years of exposure to night shift work and all-cause and cause-specific mortality. Compared with that of day workers, the adjusted hazard of all-cause mortality was increased by 12.0% (hazard ratio [HR], 1.12; 95% confidence interval [CI], 1.07-1.18) in shift workers, particularly in those with no or rare night shifts (approximately 16.1%; HR, 1.16; 95% CI, 1.08-1.25) and those with irregular night shifts (approximately 9.2%; HR, 1.09; 95% CI, 1.00-1.19). Moreover, a non-linear relationship was identified between cumulative night shift years and all-cause and cause-specific mortality. Only individuals who worked night shifts for 20-30years exhibited a substantially increased hazard of all-cause (HR, 1.52; 95% CI, 1.15-2.00) and cardiovascular disease (CVD; HR, 2.08; 95% CI, 1.16-3.71) mortality. Shift workers, particularly those with rare or irregular night shifts, exhibited an increased hazard of mortality. Additionally, participants who worked night shifts for 20-30years exhibited a substantially increased hazard of all-cause and CVD mortality.

Sleep quality and the need for recovery among nurses working irregular shifts: A cross-sectional study

Sleep quality and the need for recovery among nurses working irregular shifts: A cross-sectional study

Night shift work, genetic risk, and the risk of depression: A prospective cohort study

BackgroundGenetic factors and night shift work both contribute to the risk of depression, but whether the association of night shift work with depression varies by genetic predisposition remains unclear. ObjectivesTo assess whether night shift work is associated with a higher risk of depression regardless of genetic predisposition. MethodsWe used data from the UK biobank of 247,828 adults aged 38–71 free of depression at baseline from March 13, 2006, to October 1, 2010. Genetic predisposition to depression was assessed using polygenic risk scores (PRS) weighted sums of genetic variant indicator variables and classified as low (lowest tertile), intermediate (tertile 2), and high (highest tertile). Night shift work exposures were collected using a touchscreen questionnaire and were divided into four categories. ResultsAfter a median follow-up of 12.7 years, 7315 participants developed depression. Compared with day workers, HRs (95 % CIs) of depression were 1.28 (1.19–1.38) for shift work, but never or rarely night shifts, 1.32 (1.20–1.45) for irregular night shifts, and 1.20 (1.07–1.34) for permanent night shifts. Considering lifetime employment and compared with never shift workers, >8 nights/month (HR: 1.40; 95 % CI: 1.19–1.66) and <10 years (HR: 1.30; 95 % CI: 1.09–1.54) of night shift work were associated with a higher risk of depression. In joint effect analyses, compared to participants with low genetic predisposition and day workers, the HRs (95 % CIs) of depression were 1.49 (1.32–1.69) in those with high genetic predisposition and shift work, but never or rarely night shifts, and 1.36 (1.20–1.55) for those with high genetic predisposition and irregular/permanent night shifts. In addition, there was neither multiplicative nor additive interaction between genetic predisposition and night shift work on the risk of depression. ConclusionsNight shift work was associated with an increased risk of depression regardless of genetic risk.

The analysis of the spatio-temporal changes and prediction of built-up lands and urban heat islands using multi-temporal satellite imagery

Irregular and rapid shifts in built-up lands are among the prime causes of increased Land Surface Temperature (LST) and the subsequent formation of Urban Heat Islands (UHIs). Timely and accurate delineation of built-up lands is fundamental to the understanding of LST variation and environmental changes; however, most of the built-up land maps have coarse resolutions. The present study attempts to develop a combinational index representing the biophysical characteristics of the land surface using exponential functions and Landsat time-series images for accurate built-up land maps on a fine scale. The developed index was used along with the Otsu threshold to categorize different built-up from 2001 to 2021 and then utilized as an input to the CA-Markov model to predict built-up lands in 2031. The corresponding relations between changes in built-up lands and its effects on LST and UHI were also analyzed via partial correlation analysis and bivariate LISA. The accuracy assessments of the proposed model for 2001–2021 revealed an accuracy value of 78 for the period (2001–2021) and a value of 77 when the CA-Markov model was utilized for 2021. The correlation values connecting the built-up land status and LST were also significantly strong and positive (0.86–0.89). The apparent similarities and patterns of clusters linking the built-up lands to UHI were also verified by global bivariate Moran's I index of greater than 0.328, showing how an increase in built-up lands leads to increasing the UHI. These findings are helpful for urban construction planning to minimize the negative environmental impacts of urbanization.

Associations between long-term night shift work and incidence of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease: a prospective cohort study of 277,059 UK Biobank participants

BackgroundLittle is known about the effects of night shifts and their interactions with genetic factors on chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD). In this study, we aim to investigate relationships between long-term night shift work exposure and COPD risk, and assess modification effects of genetic predisposition.MethodsA total of 277,059 subjects who were in paid employment or self-employed were included in the UK Biobank. Information on current and lifetime employment was obtained, and a weighted COPD-specific genetic risk score (GRS) was constructed. We used Cox proportional hazard models to investigate associations between night shift work and COPD risk, and their interaction with COPD-specific GRS.ResultsThe cohort study included 277,059 participants (133,063 men [48.03%]; mean [SD] age, 52.71 [7.08] years). During a median follow-up of 12.87 years, we documented 6558 incidents of COPD. From day work, irregular night shifts to regular night shifts, there was an increased trend in COPD incidence (P for trend < 0.001). Compared with day workers, the hazard ratio (HR) and 95% confidence interval (CI) of COPD was 1.28 (1.20, 1.37) for subjects with rarely/sometimes night shifts and 1.49 (1.35, 1.66) for those with permanent night shifts. Besides, the longer durations (especially in subjects with night shifts ≥ 10 years) and increasing monthly frequency of night shifts (in workers with > 8 nights/month) were associated with a higher COPD risk. Additionally, there was an additive interaction between night shifts and genetic susceptibility on the COPD risk. Subjects with permanent night shifts and high genetic risk had the highest risk of COPD (HR: 1.90 [95% CI: 1.63, 2.22]), with day workers with low genetic risk as a reference.ConclusionsLong-term night shift exposure is associated with a higher risk of COPD. Our findings suggest that decreasing the frequency and duration of night shifts may offer a promising approach to mitigating respiratory disease incidence in night shift workers, particularly in light of individual susceptibility.

Research on multi-dimensional micro-motion feature extraction of moving targets

The micro-Doppler effect is a physical phenomenon generated by the micro-motion of objects and their components, which have a significant influence on improving radar detection and resolution capability and also enhancing the radar imaging and target recognition performance. The extraction of micro-Doppler frequency, as a commonly used time-frequency analysis tool, is of great significance in extracting and reconstructing the signal with micro-motion targets. The micro-motion characteristics for moving targets can be verified by using simulation through combining the theory of micro-Doppler effect with the frequency domain model of electromagnetic waves. The simulation research on the micro-motion characteristics of a three-dimensional target is conducted by using the finite element method. The influences of environmental conditions such as relative humidity, visibility, and the presence or absence of turbulence on echo intensity and time-frequency relationship are investigated theoretically. The simulation results indicate that parameters such as relative humidity and visibility, which affect the atmospheric attenuation coefficient, can reduce echo intensity and the period of time-frequency curve. By triggering off beam drift in the transmission path, turbulence can lead to “frequency shift deformation” of the time-frequency curve, degrading the extraction of target motion attitude. A motion attitude classification method is proposed in order to study the micro-Doppler effect better. According to whether the frequency shift changes with time, the motion attitude can be divided into frequency shift time-invariant motion and time-variant motion. Frequency shift time-variant motion includes translation, rolling and vibration. Vibration and rolling are motions that periodically change with time, requiring the comparison of instantaneous frequency shifts at any three times within a cycle. Translation is a time-variant motion with irregular frequency shifts over time, which involves studying instantaneous frequency shifts at any three times. Transient frequency shifts should be analyzed and compared at different times for these motions. The frequency shift time-invariant motion is mainly rotation obtained experimental results indicate that the amplitude, plus-minus, and spectral width of frequency shift at different positions are aimed at inverting the target shape, attitude, direction and velocity. Demodulating one-dimensional data obtained from the FFTshift function can obtain the time-frequency-intensity relationship. This multi-parameter analysis method is a multi-dimensional processing method widely used in the fields of radar, sonar, and communication. The above research is conductive to the measurement of target macroscopic shape properties and the extraction of microscopic motion information, which lays the foundation for radar detection and recognition.

Modeling Seasonality of Emotional Tension in Social Media

Social media has become an almost unlimited resource for studying social processes. Seasonality is a phenomenon that significantly affects many physical and mental states. Modeling collective emotional seasonal changes is a challenging task for the technical, social, and humanities sciences. This is due to the laboriousness and complexity of obtaining a sufficient amount of data, processing and evaluating them, and presenting the results. At the same time, understanding the annual dynamics of collective sentiment provides us with important insights into collective behavior, especially in various crises or disasters. In our study, we propose a scheme for identifying and evaluating signs of the seasonal rise and fall of emotional tension based on social media texts. The analysis is based on Russian-language comments in VKontakte social network communities devoted to city news and the events of a small town in the Nizhny Novgorod region, Russia. Workflow steps include a statistical method for categorizing data, exploratory analysis to identify common patterns, data aggregation for modeling seasonal changes, the identification of typical data properties through clustering, and the formulation and validation of seasonality criteria. As a result of seasonality modeling, it is shown that the calendar seasonal model corresponds to the data, and the dynamics of emotional tension correlate with the seasons. The proposed methodology is useful for a wide range of social practice issues, such as monitoring public opinion or assessing irregular shifts in mass emotions.

Bi3+ doping-enhanced optical and photocatalytic activity with stability of cobalt nickel zinc ferrites for wastewater treatment applications

In this paper, the spinel ferrite nanoparticles Co0.5Ni0.25Zn0.25BixFe2−xO4 (CNZBF) were prepared by citrate-nitrate auto combustion method. Although the substitution process involves a large ion at the expense of a small one, the lattice constant didn't introduce a regular increment behavior with irregular shifts for the peak position at 34.62°, which is related to the (311) plane. Two hypotheses were introduced to justify this behavior. The crystallite size introduced a peculiar behavior in the span of 20.88–14.78 nm with increasing the Bi3+ content. Morphological study via FE-SEM manifested that the CNZBF nanoferrites have agglomerated spherical shapes. Kubelka-Munk function and Tauc's plot for direct allowed transitions were utilized to determine the band gap of all the CNZBF nanoferrites. The doping of Bi tuned the band gap (within 1.55 to 1.25 eV), boosted the light absorption, induced efficient e/h separation, and ensuing charge migration to the Co0.5Ni0.25Zn0.25BixFe2−xO4 surfaces. On account of the CNZBF advantages, a superb removal efficiency (∼96.41 %) of the sample Co0.5Ni0.25Zn0.25Bi0.08Fe1.92O4 via photocatalytic degradation was achieved. After five reusability cycles the nanocatalyst Co0.5Ni0.25Zn0.25Bi0.08Fe1.92O4 introduced 95.08% degradation which demonstrates a trivial efficiency decline of 1.33 % in the photocatalytic activities. These outcomes of excellent photocatalytic activity with the outstanding stability candidate the novel Co0.5Ni0.25Zn0.25Bi0.08Fe1.92O4 for wastewater treatment applications.

Insomnia among Intensive Care Unit Nurses in the United Arab Emirates and its Association to Work Productivity and Quality of Life

Background: A healthy workforce is essential for sustainable healthcare systems, disease control, and the provision of quality and safe healthcare services. Insomnia is a common problem among critical care nurses attributed to the hard nature of their work, long and irregular shifts, high levels of stress and tension, and exposure to traumatic situations associated with critical care environments. These issues compromise their professional and personal lives, have financial consequences for health organizations, and may reduce the quality of care provided to patients. Aim: To assess the prevalence of insomnia among ICU nurses and determine its impact on their Quality of Life (QoL) and work productivity. Methods: This cross-sectional study involved 430 ICU nurses working in three major governmental hospitals in the United Arab Emirates. Nurses were selected via convenient sampling. Data collected included nurses’ demographic characteristics, insomnia levels using the Athens Insomnia Scale, work productivity using the workability index, and QoL using the World Health Organization Quality of Life Scale-Brief questionnaire Results: Approximately 237 (55%) of participants reported moderate to severe levels of insomnia, and 195 (45.3%) had moderate productivity levels. However, the majority of participants reported low QoL levels in physical, psychological, social, and environmental QoL domains (61.4%, 60.2%, 47.2%, and 70.5%), respectively. Bivariate correlations demonstrated a significant negative relationship; correlation coefficient of -0.517, between participants' insomnia levels and work productivity levels. Additionally, significant negative relationships were found between insomnia levels and the QoL domains, with correlation coefficients of -0.629, -0.568, -0.469, and -0.485, respectively. Conclusion: This study found that insomnia has a negative relationship with ICU nurses’ work productivity and QoL. This may impact care delivery patient care and safety.Regular counseling sessions, better working hours, less overtime, and a better work-life balance may contribute to increased productivity and improved QoL among ICU nurses in the UAE.

Strategies that nurses working irregular night shifts use to improve sleep quality: A qualitative study among good and poor sleepers.

To assess the sleep strategies that nurses working irregular night shifts use to improve their sleep quality, and to compare the strategies of good and poor sleepers to determine whether the differences between the two groups could provide insights into possible effective strategies. A qualitative descriptive study. The study was conducted from September 2019 to January 2020. Thirty-four nurses working irregular night shifts participated; 17 were classified as good sleepers and 17 as poor sleepers based on the Sleep-Wake Experience List, a validated self-report instrument that measures one's sleep quality. Interviews were conducted using open questions to explore strategies around the night-shift set. The interviews were analysed using thematic analysis. Both groups described similar and different strategies that help them work and sleep well during and after night shifts. However, good sleepers mentioned a greater number of strategies and seemed to have thought about them more than poor sleepers. The most common strategies were having a clear structure, being organized-especially regarding sleeping time-maintaining a daily routine and adjusting their sleep environment. Healthcare institutions should consider offering education and training programs aimed at empowering nurses who work irregular night shifts. These programs should provide nurses with various sleep strategies to enhance their sleep quality and overall well-being. Nurses working irregular night shifts can possibly enhance their sleep quality by making personalized plans, for example, including a clear day structure, or an optimized sleep environment. The study focused on how nurses working night shifts could possibly enhance their sleep quality. The findings highlight the importance of providing nurses with diverse sleep strategies to improve sleep quality, helping them to identify what works best for them and consistently apply these strategies. The Consolidated Criteria for Reporting Qualitative Research guidelines were followed. Nurses working irregular night shifts at Maastricht University Medical Center in Maastricht, the Netherlands, who agreed to participate in the study, engaged in a discussion to assess the relevance of sleep quality to their work. They were also encouraged to share their perspectives during the interviews.

Sex difference in cardiac performance in individuals with irregular shift work

Background: sex differences existed in animal behavioral adaption and activity rhythms when exposed to chronic disruption of the circadian rhythm. Whether these differences extend to cardiac performance has not been fully investigated by cardiac imaging technology. MethodsOne hundred and thirty patients enrolled in this study. Patients were divided into the day shift (DS) group and the irregular shift (IRS) group based on whether involved in the night shift and the frequency of the night shift. Comparisons of clinical data and cardiac imaging parameters were performed to identify the sex difference in cardiac function in the participants with day shift work or irregular shifts. ResultsThe absolute value of GLS was significantly lower in male IRS group than in male DS group. In females, no significant difference was tested in left ventricular function between the two groups. In male participants, Weekly work hours (WWH) was positively correlated with HR (r = 0.51, p = 0.02) and QTc duration (r = 0.68, p < 0.00), and weakly negatively correlated with the GLS (r = -0.38, p = 0.05). Amongst patients, there was a 2.67-fold higher relative risk (RR) for impaired GLS in males than in females, with a 95 % confidence interval (CI) of 1.20–5.61. Moreover, there was an increased risk in the male IRS group compared to the female IRS group to develop impaired GLS (RR:3.14, 95 % CI 1.20–7.84). ConclusionsThe present study suggests that chronic circadian disruption brings cardiac dysfunction in people with night-shift work. Gender differences exist in the impact of circadian rhythmicity on cardiac function and may help to guide the work schedule and breaks in shift workers and bring forward prevention strategies in response to chronic circadian disruption.

Job burnout among workers with different shift regularity: interactive factors between sleep, depression, and work environment.

We investigated burnout and associated factors in non-shift workers (NSWs), shift workers with regular rotating shifts (RRSWs), and shift workers with irregular or unpredictable rotating shifts (IRSWs). In total, 5,125 adult workers (1,966 NSWs, 1,936 RRSWs, and 1,223 IRSWs) participated in an online self-reported survey. Job burnout and three dimensions thereof (exhaustion, cynicism, and professional efficacy) were assessed using the Maslach Burnout Inventory-General Survey (MBI-GS). The Center for Epidemiological Studies Depression Scale (CES-D) (depressive symptoms), Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index (PSQI) (subjective sleep quality), and Korean Occupational Stress Scale (KOSS) (stressful job environment) were also used. Both types of shift workers scored higher in terms of exhaustion, cynicism, and poor professional efficacy on the MBI-GS compared with NSWs after controlling for age and gender. IRSWs exhibited higher scores on the exhaustion and professional efficacy dimensions of the MBI-GS compared with RRSWs. After controlling for the CES-D and PSQI scores, we found no significant difference in cynicism among the groups. After controlling for the KOSS score, we found no significant difference in professional efficacy. All MBI-GS dimensional scores were correlated significantly with the CES-D, PSQI, and KOSS scores in all three groups. The job burnout level of rotating shift workers, especially those with irregular shifts, was higher than that of other workers. Cynicism in shift workers may be largely attributable to poor sleep or depression; the poor efficacy of shift workers may be explained by their stressful work environment.

Factors affecting shift work sleep disorder in female shift work nurses: Integrating shift workers' coping with stress and transactional stress coping theory.

Nurses have to work different and often irregular shifts to provide care. This puts nurses at health risks, such as sleep impairment. The aim of this study was to test the comprehensive conceptual framework for predicting shift work sleep disorder of female nurses, we used a structural equation model analysis based on shift worker's coping and transactional stress coping theory. This study used a cross-sectional design. We collected the data from three public hospitals and three private hospitals in South Kalimantan, Indonesia, with a total sample of 201 female shift work nurses. Data were collected from February to April 2020. We were also granted permission by the director and the head nurse of these hospitals. After obtaining the informed consent forms, we distributed the online self-report questionnaire using Google Forms. Demographic data were evaluated using descriptive statistical analysis. We used a structural equation model analysis to test the comprehensive conceptual framework for predicting shift work sleep disorder of female shift work nurses. The model's effectiveness in predicting factors contributing to shift work sleep disorder was confirmed by the good statistical fit indicated by the comparative fit index, root-mean-square error of approximation, incremental fit index, and Tucker Lewis Index. This study provides evidences that workload and interpersonal conflict contribute to occupational stress. Workload, interpersonal conflict, and the biological sleep clock influences shift work sleep disorder through mediators of coping strategies and stress.

Sleep disturbances and depressive symptoms of shift workers: Effects of shift schedules

This study explored sleep disturbances and depression among various types of shift workers (SWs) and non-SWs, focusing on work schedule diversity. We enrolled 6,654 adults (4,561 SWs, 2,093 non-SWs). Based on self-report questionnaires on work schedules, the participants were classified according to shift work type: non-shift work; and fixed evening, fixed night, regularly rotating, irregularly rotating, casual, and flexible shift work. All completed the Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index (PSQI), Epworth Sleepiness Scale (ESS), Insomnia Severity Index (ISI), and short-term Center for Epidemiologic Studies-Depression scale (CES-D). SWs reported higher PSQI, ESS, ISI, and CES-D than non-SWs. Fixed SWs (fixed evenings and fixed nights) and true SWs (regularly and irregularly rotating SWs) scored higher on the PSQI, ISI, and CES-D than non-SWs. True SWs scored higher on the ESS than fixed SWs and non-SWs. Among fixed SWs, fixed night SWs scored higher on the PSQI and ISI than fixed evening SWs. Among true SWs, irregular SWs (irregularly rotating and casual SWs) scored higher on the PSQI, ISI, and CES-D compared to regularly rotating SWs. The PSQI, ESS, and ISI independently were associated with the CES-D of all SWs. We found an interaction between the ESS and the work schedule on the one hand, and the CES-D on the other, which was stronger in SWs than non-SWs. Fixed night and irregular shifts were linked with sleep disturbances. The depressive symptoms of SWs are associated with sleep problems. The effects of sleepiness on depression were more prominent in SWs than non-SWs.

Working Around the Clock: The Association between Shift Work, Sleep Health, and Depressive Symptoms among Midlife Adults.

Shift work is an integral part of living in a 24-hour society. However, shift work can disrupt circadian rhythms, negatively impacting health. Guided by the Stress Process Model (SPM), this study examines the association between shift work and depressive symptoms and investigates whether sleep health (duration, quality, and latency) mediates this relationship among midlife adults. Utilizing data from the National Longitudinal Survey of Youth 1979 cohort (N = 6,372), findings show that working evening, night, and irregular shifts is associated with increased depressive symptoms. The results also show that part of the association between shift work and depressive symptoms among night and irregular shift workers, is indirect, operating through short sleep during the week and on the weekend. Although shift work can negatively affect mental health, getting more restorative sleep may mitigate part of the harmful mental health consequences of non-standard work schedules.

Pregnant nurses' experiences of working shifts: a qualitative systematic review protocol.

The proposed systematic review will synthesize the experiences of nurses working in any shifts during pregnancy. Nurses are among the most burdened health care workers and are at risk of diseases of the circulatory system due to prolonged standing. For pregnant nurses, this could reduce blood circulation and blood flow to the uterus and placenta. Contributing factors include long working hours and frequent heavy lifting, which may induce uterine contractions and premature birth; irregular shifts, which exacerbate fatigue; and high levels of psychosocial stress. There is no qualitative evidence as to what nurses are experiencing while working shifts when pregnant. This review will evaluate and integrate the current available findings related to the experience of shift-working nurses who are pregnant. This review will include qualitative studies focusing on the experience of shift work among pregnant nurses. No language or date limits will be applied. All types of pregnancy among nurses will be included. The databases to be searched will include CINAHL (EBSCOhost), MEDLINE (EBSCOhost), PsycINFO (EBSCOhost), and Igaku Chuo Zasshi (the Japan Medical Abstracts Society). Sources of gray literature will include MedNar and DANS, as well as the websites of the American Nurses Association and the Japanese Nursing Association. Study selection, critical appraisal, data extraction, and data synthesis will be performed independently by 2 reviewers. The synthesized findings will be graded according to the ConQual approach for establishing confidence in findings. PROSPERO CRD42022309674.

Shift work schedule and sleep patterns in relation to incident depression: Evidence from a prospective cohort study

This study aims to explore the joint associations of shift work and sleep patterns with incident depression. The present prospective cohort using data from UK biobank, included 220,651 participants aged 38 to 71 years recruited between 2006 and 2010. Every participant finished a self-completed touch-screen questionnaire. Hazards ratios (HRs) with corresponding 95% confidence intervals (CIs) of incident depression were reported for shift work and sleep patterns by Cox-proportional hazard models. The average follow-up time was 12.13±1.94 years and the incidence rate of depression was 2.95 (2.89–3.02) per 1000 person-years. After fully adjustment, the participants with irregular and permanent night shifts companied by any sleep pattern were significantly associated with increased risk of incident depression compared with no shift work companied by favorable sleep patterns. The females seemed to be more vulnerable when having night shifts and unfavorable sleep patterns compared with the males. The increased risk of incident depression associated with shift work regardless of night shifts and evening/weekend shifts was not able to offset by favorable sleep patterns. The workers with unhealthy sleep patterns, especially inappropriate sleep duration and insomnia companied by shift work schedule should be paid more attention considering higher risk of depression.

US Labour Law and the Right to Strike

US Labour Law and the Right to Strike Lance Compa (bio) The prospect of a nationwide rail strike in late 2022 focused attention on a rarely-used legal mechanism infringing workers' right to strike in the United States. Invoking an "emergency" clause in the specialised labour law governing collective bargaining in the railroad industry, the Biden administration and Congress imposed a legislated collective agreement in December that blocked unions from freely negotiating an agreement, and using strike leverage to achieve it. The imposed agreement was not back-to-work legislation breaking a strike, but a pre-emptive move to prevent a strike from happening. It was the first time in more than 30 years that Congress imposed an agreement on national rail unions and employers, and only the sixth time since passage of the Railway Labor Act in 1926 (more numerous interventions addressed local bargaining disputes, often in commuter rail transit systems). In a coordinated communications offensive, railroad employers and business associations had warned throughout 2022 of "disastrous," "devastating," "catastrophic" and other doomsday effects on the nation's economy if railroad workers struck. Many in the media, the academy, think tanks, and the political class parroted these claims. A herd mentality took shape, bellowing that "the Administration and Congress must act!" to avert a strike. And so they did1. The structure of labour relations in the American railroad industry is an important backdrop to the 2022 story. After mergers and acquisitions, what were a dozen rail freight companies thirty years ago are now just four major carriers. Each is the single dominant force in a major geographic region of the United States. Empowered by this oligopolistic structure, rail freight employers moved to drastic cost-cutting. By not replacing workers who retired, they reduced the size of the workforce from 200,000 to 125,000 in the past decade. And they imposed intense work systems to extract more productivity from those who remained. Corporate profits and shareholders' return on investment surged to record levels. Railroads are the most highly-unionised industry in the United States, with virtually all non-management workers represented by unions. In the freight sector, the four major carriers bargain as a group with a coalition of twelve unions for a master contract to standardise pay and conditions. Each of the unions represents traditional "craft or class" employees in all the companies – locomotive engineers, conductors and brakemen, dispatchers, maintenance-of-way employees, communications employees, electricians, machinists and others. The key issue in 2022 negotiations was not pay or benefits. It was time – the issue at the heart of labour-management conflict since the earliest days of trade unionism. When does the employer control workers' time? And when do workers control their own time? Although railroad workers were first to win the 8-hour day, US law does not prohibit employers from imposing mandatory overtime, compulsory work schedules, and other demands on workers' time. In rail negotiations in 2022, a key issue was employers' practice of forcing workers to use vacation time for sickness and for medical appointments related to sickness. On top of that, employers adopted what they termed Precision Scheduled Railroading (PSR), a kind of "just-intime" scheduling system requiring mandatory irregular work shifts and increased workloads. The PSR system allowed no leeway for workers to deal with medical issues, and left no other staff in position to fill in for sick or injured workers. Employers enforced the PSR system with harsh disciplinary action against workers who ran afoul of attendance requirements, even if absences were due to illness. Workers and their unions sought a modest number of paid sick days to cover such events. They wanted to stop using vacation time for sick pay, and to avert absenteeism "points" leading to discipline or discharge. They also sought limits on scheduling abuses that had them working for long stretches beyond the normal work week, often far from their families. But for rail freight management, controlling workers' time and maintaining their cut-to-the-bone scheduling system were key to continued high profits2. In mid-November, in tripartite talks brokered by the Secretary of Labor, employers and unions tentatively agreed on a contract that would have...

Hybrid Deep Learning-Based Adaptive Multiple Access Schemes Underwater Wireless Networks

Achieving sound communication systems in Under Water Acoustic (UWA) environment remains challenging for researchers. The communication scheme is complex since these acoustic channels exhibit uneven characteristics such as long propagation delay and irregular Doppler shifts. The development of machine and deep learning algorithms has reduced the burden of achieving reliable and good communication schemes in the underwater acoustic environment. This paper proposes a novel intelligent selection method between the different modulation schemes such as Code Division Multiple Access(CDMA), Time Division Multiple Access(TDMA), and Orthogonal Frequency Division Multiplexing(OFDM) techniques using the hybrid combination of the convolutional neural networks(CNN) and ensemble single feedforward layers(SFL). The convolutional neural networks are used for channel feature extraction, and boosted ensembled feedforward layers are used for modulation selection based on the CNN outputs. The extensive experimentation is carried out and compared with other hybrid learning models and conventional methods. Simulation results demonstrate that the performance of the proposed hybrid learning model has achieved nearly 98% accuracy and a 30% increase in BER performance which outperformed the other learning models in achieving the communication schemes under dynamic underwater environments.