Verification of the reflective model of first order factors for reward and empowerment constructs based on questionnaires derived from Lawler et al. (1991)

Purpose: High involvement practices have traditionally been classified in four main categories: training, communication, rewards and empowerment. In order to measure the degree of implementation of these programs, different questionnaires have been developed. In this paper, we have identified 3 types of questionnaires and we have deeply analyzed the psychometrical properties of one of these types: questionnaires derived from Lawler et al. (1991). The most recent investigation seems to show that psychometrical properties of both training and communication constructs are appropriate. However, it is necessary to work on rewards and empowerment scales. This research analyzes, by means of confirmatory factorial, two reflective measurement models, already present in the previous literature of rewards and empowerment scales. Design/methodology/approach: Spanish samples from 1997 (n=105), as well as United States ones (n=212 dating 1996 and n=143 dating 1999) have been used. Convergent and discriminant validity were tested. Findings and Originality/value: None of the models presents and acceptable adjustment in the used samples. Therefore, a possible future line of investigation in order to check whether the measurement model of rewards and empowerment constructs is formative instead of reflective, has been opened. Practical implications: Practitioners can profit from the results of this research because questionnaires validity will allow companies to have measurement and good practices diagnosis tools that can be used either for internal benchmarking or for the comparison with reference groups of companies. Originality/value: Our paper identifies three questionnaire typologies used in the field of investigations of rewards and empowerment practices. We show that the point of view with which the scales of theses questionnaires have been treated has always been reflective. Moreover, this is one of the few papers that have checked the validity of the measurement model of questionnaires derived from Lawler et al. (1991). It questions the validity of a single questionnaire with similar samples, of different years, and simultaneously, with samples from same years but from different countries.Peer Reviewe

Estudio exploratorio de los programas de alta implicación de los operarios: identificación de las dimensiones y propuesta de un cuestionario para medir el grado de uso en las empresas

Actualmente, el debate sobre qué prácticas de recursos humanos se incluyen como prácticas de alta implicación de los operarios (High Involvement Work Practices) debería considerarse todavía abierto. En esta comunicación pretendemos hacer una revisión del marco teórico que nos permita identificar un conjunto de prácticas de alta implicación aceptado mayoritariamente y validar una propuesta de cuestionario que mida el grado de uso de las prácticas de alta implicación. La revisión teórica realizada nos ha permitido encontrar un conjunto de 27 prácticas relacionadas con la participación, comunicación, formación y compensación de los operarios y gestión del conocimiento. El análisis exploratorio de los datos nos permite presentar una agrupación alternativa de ítems en 7 escalas en lugar de las 5 que tradicionalmente se venían usando.At the moment, the debate about what human resources practices include as High Involvement Work Practices would have to be considered still open. In this communication we try to make a revision of the theoretical framework. This allows us to identify a set of practices mainly accepted as high involvement. We also validate a questionnaire proposal that measures the degree of use of these practices. The result of the theoretical revision has allowed us to find a set of 27 practices related to the participation, communication, training, compensation and management of the knowledge. The exploratory analysis of the data presents an alternative grouping of items in 7 scales instead of the traditional 5 ones.Peer Reviewe

An annotated checklist of the jumping plant-lice (Insecta: Hemiptera: Psylloidea) from the Mercantour National Park, with seven new records for France and one new synonymy

A total of 68 psyllid species are listed from the Mercantour National Park in Southeast France, where a targeted collecting campaign was conducted between 2009 and 2012, as part of the project "ATBI+M" Mercantour. The insects were collected using Malaise traps, flight intercept traps and sweep nets to sample in the vegetation. Additional information on distribution, biology and host-plants is provided for each species. Seven species are recorded for the first time from France: Craspedolepta artemisiae (Foerster, 1848), Craspedolepta nebulosa (Zetterstedt, 1828), Cacopsylla propinqua (Schaefer, 1949), Cyamophila prohaskai (Priesner, 1927), Eryngiofaga cf. refuga (Loginova, 1966), Bactericera parastriola Conci, Ossiannilsson & Tamanini, 1988 and Trioza flixiana Burckhardt & Lauterer, 2002. Trioza (Trioza) rapisardai Conci & Tamanini, 1984 is a new subjective synonym of Trioza brachyceraea Hodkinson & White, 1979, which was previously known only from the male holotype. The abundance, distribution and introduction status of some species are discussed

Conformational Isomerization Involving Conserved Proline Residues Modulates Oligomerization of the NS1 Interferon Response Inhibitor from the Syncytial Respiratory Virus

Interferon response suppression by the respiratory syncytial virus relies on two unique nonstructural proteins, NS1 and NS2, that interact with cellular partners through high-order complexes. We hypothesized that two conserved proline residues, P81 and P67, participate in the conformational change leading to oligomerization. We found that the molecular dynamics of NS1 show a highly mobile C-terminal helix, which becomes rigid upon in silico replacement of P81. A soluble oligomerization pathway into regular spherical structures at low ionic strengths competes with an aggregation pathway at high ionic strengths with an increase in temperature. P81A requires higher temperatures to oligomerize and has a small positive effect on aggregation, while P67A is largely prone to aggregation. Chemical denaturation shows a first transition, involving a high fluorescence and ellipticity change corresponding to both a conformational change and substantial effects on the environment of its single tryptophan, that is strongly destabilized by P67A but stabilized by P81A. The subsequent global cooperative unfolding corresponding to the main β-sheet core is not affected by the proline mutations. Thus, a clear link exists between the effect of P81 and P67 on the stability of the first transition and oligomerization/aggregation. Interestingly, both P67 and P81 are located far away in space and sequence from the C-terminal helix, indicating a marked global structural dynamics. This provides a mechanism for modulating the oligomerization of NS1 by unfolding of a weak helix that exposes hydrophobic surfaces, linked to the participation of NS1 in multiprotein complexes.Fil: Conci, Julieta. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Oficina de Coordinación Administrativa Parque Centenario. Instituto de Investigaciones Bioquímicas de Buenos Aires. Fundación Instituto Leloir. Instituto de Investigaciones Bioquímicas de Buenos Aires; ArgentinaFil: Álvarez Paggi, Damián Jorge. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Oficina de Coordinación Administrativa Parque Centenario. Instituto de Investigaciones Bioquímicas de Buenos Aires. Fundación Instituto Leloir. Instituto de Investigaciones Bioquímicas de Buenos Aires; ArgentinaFil: de Oliveira, Guilherme A. P.. Universidade Federal do Rio de Janeiro; BrasilFil: Pagani, Talita Duarte. Universidade Federal do Rio de Janeiro; BrasilFil: Esperante, Sebastian. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Oficina de Coordinación Administrativa Parque Centenario. Instituto de Investigaciones Bioquímicas de Buenos Aires. Fundación Instituto Leloir. Instituto de Investigaciones Bioquímicas de Buenos Aires; ArgentinaFil: Borkosky, Silvina Susana. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Oficina de Coordinación Administrativa Parque Centenario. Instituto de Investigaciones Bioquímicas de Buenos Aires. Fundación Instituto Leloir. Instituto de Investigaciones Bioquímicas de Buenos Aires; ArgentinaFil: Aran, Martin. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Oficina de Coordinación Administrativa Parque Centenario. Instituto de Investigaciones Bioquímicas de Buenos Aires. Fundación Instituto Leloir. Instituto de Investigaciones Bioquímicas de Buenos Aires; ArgentinaFil: Alonso, Leonardo Gabriel. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Oficina de Coordinación Administrativa Parque Centenario. Instituto de Investigaciones Bioquímicas de Buenos Aires. Fundación Instituto Leloir. Instituto de Investigaciones Bioquímicas de Buenos Aires; ArgentinaFil: Mohana Borges, Ronaldo. Universidade Federal do Rio de Janeiro; BrasilFil: de Prat Gay, Gonzalo. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Oficina de Coordinación Administrativa Parque Centenario. Instituto de Investigaciones Bioquímicas de Buenos Aires. Fundación Instituto Leloir. Instituto de Investigaciones Bioquímicas de Buenos Aires; Argentin

Point-of-care assessment of platelet reactivity in the emergency department may facilitate rapid rule-out of acute coronary syndromes: a prospective cohort pilot feasibility study

Objective: Accurate, efficient and cost-effective disposition of patients presenting to emergency departments (EDs) with symptoms suggestive of acute coronary syndromes (ACS) is a growing priority. Platelet activation is an early feature in the pathogenesis of ACS; thus, we sought to obtain an insight into whether point-of-care testing of platelet function: (1) may assist in the rule-out of ACS; (2) may provide additional predictive value in identifying patients with non-cardiac symptoms versus ACS-positive patients and (3) is logistically feasible in the ED. Design: Prospective cohort feasibility study. Setting: Two urban tertiary care sites, one located in the USA and the second in Argentina. Participants: 509 adult patients presenting with symptoms of ACS. Main outcome measures Platelet reactivity was quantified using the Platelet Function Analyzer-100, with closure time (seconds required for blood, aspirated under high shear, to occlude a 150 µm aperture) serving as the primary endpoint. Closure times were categorised as ‘normal’ or ‘prolonged’, defined objectively as the 90th centile of the distribution for all participants enrolled in the study. Diagnosis of ACS was made using the standard criteria. The use of antiplatelet agents was not an exclusion criterion. Results: Closure times for the study population ranged from 47 to 300 s, with a 90th centile value of 138 s. The proportion of patients with closure times ≥138 s was significantly higher in patients with non-cardiac symptoms (41/330; 12.4%) versus the ACS-positive cohort (2/105 (1.9%); p=0.0006). The specificity of ‘prolonged’ closure times (≥138 s) for a diagnosis of non-cardiac symptoms was 98.1%, with a positive predictive value of 95.4%. Multivariate analysis revealed that the closure time provided incremental, independent predictive value in the rule-out of ACS. Conclusions: Point-of-care assessment of platelet reactivity is feasible in the ED and may facilitate the rapid rule-out of ACS in patients with prolonged closure times

Development of a non-radioactive molecular hybridization probe for detecting Strawberry mottle virus in strawberry

La propagación vegetativa del cultivo de frutilla favorece la transmisión de patógenos sistémicos, como es el caso de los virus, que constituyen uno de los principales factores limitantes. Se han descripto más de 20 virus que infectan esta especie; el Strawberry mottle virus (SMoV) es uno de los más frecuentes y responsable de importantes pérdidas económicas. Debido a la falta de antisuero disponible comercialmente para un diagnóstico serológico, el SMoV es detectado fundamentalmente mediante reacción en cadena de la polimerasa con transcripción reversa (RT-PCR). En este estudio se desarrolló una sonda de hibridación molecular no radioactiva para su detección. Se sintetizó cDNA con cebadores específicos diseñados a partir de la región 3’ no codificante del genoma viral. El cDNA obtenido fue clonado, marcado y utilizado como sonda. Se evaluaron seis protocolos de extracción de ARN viral a partir de plantas infectadas, de los cuales el método de bromuro de cetiltrimetilamonio modificado (CTAB) fue el más eficiente. Se evaluaron hojas de diferentes estados fenológicos y pecíolos, y fueron las hojas viejas y los pecíolos los que mostraron mayor reacción.The vegetative propagation of strawberries favors transmission of systemicpathogens, such as viruses, which are one of the main yield-limiting factorsfor this crop. More than 20 viruses have been described as infecting thisspecies; one of the most frequent is the Strawberry mottle virus (SMoV), whichis responsible for significant economic losses. SMoV is usually detected byreverse transcription polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR), given that serum isnot available for serological tests. In this study, a non-radioactive molecularprobe was developed for SMoV detection. The cDNA was synthesized byRT-PCR using specific primers designed from the 3?UTR region of the viralgenome. The cloned cDNA segment was labeled and used as a probe. Six RNAextraction protocols were evaluated, and the modified cetyltrimethylammoniumbromide (CTAB) method showed the highest sensitivity level. Leaves at differentphenological stages and petioles were evaluated; the highest reaction wasobserved in old leaves and in petioles.Fil: Asinari, Florencia. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - Córdoba; Argentina. Instituto Nacional de Tecnología Agropecuaria. Centro de Investigaciones Agropecuarias. Instituto de Patología Vegetal; ArgentinaFil: Cafrune, Eva Encarnacion. Instituto Nacional de Tecnología Agropecuaria. Centro de Investigaciones Agropecuarias. Instituto de Patología Vegetal; ArgentinaFil: Guzman, F. A.. Instituto Nacional de Tecnología Agropecuaria. Centro de Investigaciones Agropecuarias. Instituto de Patología Vegetal; ArgentinaFil: Conci, Luis Rogelio. Instituto Nacional de Tecnología Agropecuaria. Centro de Investigaciones Agropecuarias. Instituto de Patología Vegetal; ArgentinaFil: Conci, Vilma Cecilia. Instituto Nacional de Tecnología Agropecuaria. Centro de Investigaciones Agropecuarias. Instituto de Patología Vegetal; Argentina. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - Córdoba; Argentin

Collaborative creativity: The Music Room

In this paper, we reflect on our experience of designing, developing and evaluating interactive spaces for collaborative creativity. In particular, we are interested in designing spaces which allow everybody to compose and play original music. The Music Room is an interactive installation where couples can compose original music by moving in the space. Following the metaphor of love, the music is automatically generated and modulated in terms of pleasantness and intensity, according to the proxemics cues extracted from the visual tracking algorithm. The Music Room was exhibited during the EU Researchers' Night in Trento, Italy