The contribution of employer characteristics to continued employment of employees with residual work capacity: evidence from register data in The Netherlands

Objectives:This study aimed to examine the contribution of employer characteristics to continued employment of employees with residual work capacity. Moreover, we examined whether the contribution of employer characteristics differs across types of employers and employees’ types of diseases.Methods:Register data on disability assessments and employment status of N=84 394 long-term sick-listed employees with residual work capacity were obtained from the Dutch Employee Insurance Agency between 2010 and 2017. The dependent variable was continued employment four months after the assessment. We linked employees to their (former) employer to measure sector, firm size, and workforce composition. The average employment outcome of all employees assessed in the same firm and year served as a proxy measure for the extent of implemented disability-related policies and practices. Using multilevel multiple regression analysis, we compared the relative contribution of employer characteristics with employees’ characteristics.Results:Employer characteristics accounted for 10% of the variability in employment outcomes. In comparison, employees’ socio-demographic and disease characteristics accounted for 13% of the variability. The prevalence of continued employment was lowest in smaller firms and construction and low-wage service-orientated sectors. Furthermore, there were sizeable differences in employment outcomes between similar employers in terms of size, sector and workforce-composition, particularly between larger firms and among employees with mental or musculoskeletal disorders compared to other diseases.Conclusions:This study shows substantial differences between employers in facilitating continued employment of employees with residual work capacity. Encouraging firms to invest more in disability-related policies and practices may result in better employment opportunities for these employees.     

Comparison of the validity of direct pediatric developmental evaluation versus developmental screening by parent report

To compare the validity of direct pediatric developmental evaluation with developmental screening by parent report, parents completed a developmental screen (the Child Development Review), a pediatrician performed a direct developmental evaluation (Capute Scales), and a psychologist administered the Bayley Scales of Infant Development to a group of 30-month-old children. The agreement between these instruments was tested. All developmental quotient scores derived from the Capute Scales were more highly correlated with concurrent Bayley Mental Development Index scores than developmental quotient scores derived from the Child Development Review. Differences between developmental quotient scores derived from the Capute Scales and corresponding Bayley Mental Development Index scores were significantly smaller than those derived from the Child Development Review. Thus, direct pediatric developmental evaluation more reliably predicted concurrent Mental Development Index scores at 30 months of age than developmental screening by parent report. Increased emphasis on training of pediatric health care providers in direct developmental evaluation should be considered.     

Biennial survey of physician clinical nutrition training programs

A survey was conducted of 50 medical centers providing postgraduate clinical training in nutrition. Each program director completed a questionnaire that requested information on major program affiliations and interests, available positions, number of trainees, sources and level of funding, and general aspects of the curriculum. The results are assembled into a geographic listing of the 50 centers, and the tabulated data provides a current profile of postgraduate clinical training in nutrition.     

Radiogenic leukemia revisited

Radiation-induced leukemia is considered to be similar to the de novo disease. However, following an analysis of clinical and hematological findings in leukemia occurring in irradiated cervical cancer patients, adult Japanese atomic-bomb survivors, and spondylitics treated with x- ray, striking differences were noted. Acute leukemias in cervical cancer patients and Japanese survivors were similar in type to acute de novo leukemias in adults. Cell types among spondylitics were very dissimilar; rare forms, eg, acute erythromyelocytic leukemia (AEL) and acute megakaryocytic leukemia, were increased. Pancytopenia occurred in 25 of 35 cases and erythromyelodysplastic disorders were noted in seven of 35 acute cases. The leukemias and myelodysplastic disorders closely resembled those occurring in patients treated with alkylating agents. This similarity suggests a common pathogenesis involving marrow stem cell injury and extra-medullary mediators of hematopoiesis. Investigation of early acute leukemias and myelodysplastic disorders with newer techniques may provide valuable insights into the pathogenesis of leukemia in humans.     

Neuroleptic malignant syndrome in a trauma patient: case report

Presented is a case report of a multiple trauma patient whose post-traumatic course was complicated by neuroleptic malignant syndrome triggered by therapeutic haloperidol treatments. Once the syndrome was recognized and treated, a dramatic recovery was achieved.     

Clonal relationship between lymphocytic predominance Hodgkin's disease and concurrent or subsequent large-cell lymphoma of B lineage

The occurrence of a large-cell lymphoma (LCL) concurrent with or subsequent to lymphocytic predominance Hodgkin's disease (LPHD) is well documented. Given the well-characterized B-cell nature of the Reed- Sternberg cell variants in LPHD, there may be a clonal relationship between the LPHD and the associated B-cell LCL. In this study, we adapted a highly sensitive, clonospecific assay to test whether the clone comprising the LCL exists in the corresponding LPHD tumor. Nine cases meeting the histologic criteria of nodular LPHD and B-cell LCL were identified, reviewed, and studied. Initially, clonality of both lesions was assessed using consensus primers to conserved regions in the IgH variable (frame-work III) and joining region genes in a polymerase chain reaction (PCR) assay. The PCR assay detected a clonal B-cell population in five of the LCLs, whereas analysis of eight cases of LPHD did not detect a dominant clone. Clonal products from the LCL were then sequenced, and clonospecific oligonucleotides were designed from the unique nucleotide sequence encoding the complementarity- determining region-III. These were then used as primers and/or probes in sensitive PCR-based assays on the corresponding LPHD tumors. In two cases, the clonospecific assay showed that the LPHD and LCL shared a common clone that was further confirmed by sequence analysis. This finding provides genotypic evidence that, at least in some cases, the LCL represents a clonal progression of LPHD.     

Precision of genotyping of Epstein-Barr virus by polymerase chain reaction using three gene loci (EBNA-2, EBNA-3C, and EBER): predominance of type A virus associated with Hodgkin's disease [published erratum appears in Blood 1993 Oct 1;82(7):2268]

To precisely determine the genotype of Epstein-Barr virus (EBV) in Hodgkin's disease (HD), we simultaneously analyzed three divergent gene loci (EBNA-2, EBNA-3C, and EBER) that distinguish type A and B viruses. The primers designed to amplify these three gene loci encompass either type-specific deletion sequences (EBNA-2 and EBNA-3C) or type-specific point mutations (EBER) that identify the virus strain based on the sizes of the polymerase chain reaction (PCR)-amplified products or the mobility shifts in single-strand conformation polymorphism analysis. The locations of point mutations were identified by direct sequencing of the PCR-amplified DNA. We analyzed 15 EBV-infected cell lines and found a good correlation between EBNA-2 and EBNA-3C typing results. In contrast, approximately 33% of the cell lines analyzed maintained type A sequences in EBNA-2 and EBNA-3C genes while carrying type B sequences in the EBER region. Data obtained from analysis of cell lines served as a reference for studying HD samples. EBV DNA was detected in about 70% of HD. Among the EBV-positive samples, 56% were associated with type A virus, 13% with type B, and 31% with dual viral sequences. Thus, type A virus is predominant in HD. Based on the histology, the frequencies of EBV positivity were 83%, 71%, and 33% for mixed cellularity, nodular sclerosis, and lymphocyte predominance, respectively. The detection of high frequency of both type A and B sequences in HD may provide a lead in investigating the role of dual viral infection in EBV pathogenesis.     

Abscopal effect of radiation on bone metastases of breast cancer: A case report

The abscopal effect is defined as the clearance of distant tumors after applying localized irradiation to a particular tumor site. It has been proposed that a mechanism for the abscopal effect might be the activation of the immune system, which leads to immunogenic tumor cell death. Here, we describe a woman with advanced breast cancer that received modified ablative radiation therapy that targeted her primary breast tumor. She experienced an apparent regression of metastatic mass in the thoracic spine. This case supported the hypothesis that the abscopal effect might be attributable to an activation of the systemic immune response.