A Measure of Burnout in Current NCAA Student-Athletes

Introduction. The prevalence of athletes who specialize in sports has increased in recent years. Substantial literature on youth sports has linked early sport specialization to negative consequences, such as burnout and injury. However, empirical evidence comparing rates of burnout and specialization in NCAA athletes is limited. The purpose of this study was to survey current NCAA Division I student-athletes to compare levels of burnout to sex, year of NCAA eligibility, and age at the beginning of sport specialization. Methods. A self-reported survey was distributed to student-athletes at two NCAA Division I institutions, which included demographics, sport specialization history, injury history, and the Athlete Burnout Questionnaire. Results from the three measures of the Athlete Burnout Questionnaire (reduced sense of accomplishment, exhaustion, sport devaluation) were compared to sex, year of NCAA eligibility, age of beginning sport specialization, and injury history. Results. A total of 267 athletes (95 males and 172 females) completed the survey. Of those, 156 (58.4%) were in their first or second year of NCAA eligibility, and 111 (41.6%) were in their third, fourth, or fifth year. Of the total, 121 (46.4%) reported specializing before the age of 15, and 140 (53.6%) specialized at age 16 or older. Females reported significantly higher levels of exhaustion than males (Difference of means (M) = 0.43, 95% confidence interval (CI) = [0.20, 0.66], p < 0.01). Athletes in their third, fourth, or fifth year of eligibility reported significantly higher levels of sport devaluation (M = 0.27, 95% CI = [0.05, 0.48], p < 0.05) than athletes in their first or second year. Athletes who specialized before age 15 did not report significantly higher levels of burnout than athletes who specialized at age 16 or later. In total, 203 athletes (77.2%) reported experiencing any injury. Athletes who reported a history of experiencing any injury demonstrated significantly higher feelings of reduced sense of accomplishment than athletes with no injury history (Difference of means (M) = 0.24, 95% confidence interval (CI) = [0.03, 0.45], p < 0.05). Conclusions. Athletes were more likely to experience elevated levels of burnout if they reported female sex, older NCAA eligibility, or a past injury history. However, athletes were not more likely to experience increased burnout based on age of beginning specialization. The results demonstrated a need to address burnout in athletes following injury and to be aware that females and older athletes are more prone to burnout

The impact of career customization on work outcomes: boundary conditions of manager support and employee age

The current paper investigated the longitudinal effects of mass career customization (MCC) on job attitudes and objective career outcomes of employees in a professional service firm in the Netherlands. Based on theory on individualization of career trajectories, it was expected that the possibility for employees to customize their careers would be positively related to their job attitudes and subsequent objective career success, as indicated by their levels of affective commitment, work engagement, and received salary and bonuses. However, these effects were expected to occur primarily under the combination of high manager support for implementation of career customization and, based on lifespan theory, older workers, since customization fulfills their increased heterogeneous career preferences. A three-wave longitudinal study largely showed support for the study hypotheses; the relation between MCC use and work engagement and subsequent career success was stronger for older workers who received support for MCC, while the relation between MCC use and commitment was negative for older workers who received low support. The study shows the benefits of career customization in organizations by showing the conditions under which these benefits will manifest

Targeted simplification versus antipseudomonal broad-spectrum beta-lactams in patients with bloodstream infections due to Enterobacteriaceae (SIMPLIFY): a study protocol for a multicentre, open-label, phase III randomised, controlled, non-inferiority clinical trial

INTRODUCTION: Within the context of antimicrobial stewardship programmes, de-escalation of antimicrobial therapy is one of the proposed strategies for reducing the unnecessary use of broad-spectrum antibiotics (BSA). The empirical treatment of nosocomial and some healthcare-associated bloodstream infections (BSI) frequently includes a beta-lactam with antipseudomonal activity as monotherapy or in combination with other drugs, so there is a great opportunity to optimise the empirical therapy based on microbiological data. De-escalation is assumed as standard of care for experts in infectious diseases. However, it is less frequent than it would desirable. METHODS AND ANALYSIS: The SIMPLIFY trial is a multicentre, open-label, non-inferiority phase III randomised controlled clinical trial, designed as a pragmatic 'real-practice' trial. The aim of this trial is to demonstrate the non-inferiority of de-escalation from an empirical beta-lactam with antipseudomonal activity to a targeted narrow-spectrum antimicrobial in patients with BSI due to Enterobacteriaceae. The primary outcome is clinical cure, which will be assessed at the test of cure visit. It will be conducted at 19 Spanish public and university hospitals. ETHICS AND DISSEMINATION: Each participating centre has obtained the approval of the ethics review committee, the agreement of the directors of the institutions and authorisation from the Spanish Regulatory Agency (Agencia Española del Medicamento y Productos Sanitarios). Data will be presented at international conferences and published in peer-reviewed journals. DISCUSSION: Strategies to reduce the use of BSA should be a priority. Most of the studies that support de-escalation are observational, retrospective and heterogeneous. A recent Cochrane review stated that well-designed clinical trials should be conducted to assess the safety and efficacy of de-escalation

Introduction to EJES special journal issue on ‘Feminist Interventions in Intermedial Studies'

Abstract The feminist project has radicalised text/image relationships in myriad ways, disrupting the contours of discipline and medium. The multifaceted recyclings of a transdisciplinary methodology remind us that although in the past decades text/image studies has become an established academic research field in the first decades of the twenty-first century, its subversive potential to challenge cultural hegemonies has not diminished. On the contrary, intermedial fusions remain loaded with political and ethical issues that are in search of sites of resistance for marginalised, othered social subjects and meanings. The introduction explains how this special journal issue emerges from and is addressed to the politically significant network of feminist researchers -- artists, theoreticians, activists -- we believe we share ties with on account of putting the study of intermediality in the service of 'constructing a radically new understanding of our world in all its horror and hope' (Pollock, 1988: 22)

Flexible Working, Individual Performance and Employee Attitudes: Comparing Formal and Informal Arrangements

In the context of a wider trend to individualize HRM, this paper examines the relationship between flexible working arrangements and individual performance. Drawing on a range of theories, it examines potential indirect effects on employee performance via job satisfaction and organizational commitment and analyses whether these relationships vary according to whether the arrangement was set up through a formal process, or negotiated informally between the employee and their line manager. Extant research has tended to focus on formal arrangements, however, informal arrangements are widespread and may better accommodate work-life preferences, thereby potentially fostering more positive attitudes from employees. Survey data from 2617 employees in four large organizations with well-established flexible working policies are analysed. Results from structural equation models show average positive indirect effects from informal, but also negative direct effects, from formal flexible working. When two forms of flexible working amenable to being set up by both formal and informal means are examined separately: formal arrangements for flexibility over working hours are found to be negatively associated with performance, but also a source of greater job satisfaction; informal remote working arrangements have positive indirect effects via organizational commitment and job satisfaction on worker performance

Functional Role of Glutamine 28 and Arginine 39 in Double Stranded RNA Cleavage by Human Pancreatic Ribonuclease

Human pancreatic ribonuclease (HPR), a member of RNase A superfamily, has a high activity on double stranded (ds) RNA. By virtue of this activity HPR appears to be involved in the host-defense against pathogenic viruses. To delineate the mechanism of dsRNA cleavage by HPR, we have investigated the role of glutamine 28 and arginine 39 of HPR in its activity on dsRNA. A non-basic residue glycine 38, earlier shown to be important for dsRNA cleavage by HPR was also included in the study in the context of glutamine 28 and arginine 39. Nine variants of HPR respectively containing Q28A, Q28L, R39A, G38D, Q28A/R39A, Q28L/R39A, Q28A/G38D, R39A/G38D and Q28A/G38D/R39A mutations were generated and functionally characterized. The far-UV CD-spectral analysis revealed all variants, except R39A, to have structures similar to that of HPR. The catalytic activity of all HPR variants on single stranded RNA substrate was similar to that of HPR, whereas on dsRNA, the catalytic efficiency of all single residue variants, except for the Q28L, was significantly reduced. The dsRNA cleavage activity of R39A/G38D and Q28A/G38D/R39A variants was most drastically reduced to 4% of that of HPR. The variants having reduced dsRNA cleavage activity also had reduction in their dsDNA melting activity and thermal stability. Our results indicate that in HPR both glutamine 28 and arginine 39 are important for the cleavage of dsRNA. Although these residues are not directly involved in catalysis, both arginine 39 and glutamine 28 appear to be facilitating a productive substrate-enzyme interaction during the dsRNA cleavage by HPR

Personalized mechanical ventilation guided by ultrasound in patients with acute respiratory distress syndrome (PEGASUS): study protocol for an international randomized clinical trial

background acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS) is a frequent cause of hypoxemic respiratory failure with a mortality rate of approximately 30%. Identifying ARDS subphenotypes based on "focal" or "non-focal" lung morphology has the potential to better target mechanical ventilation strategies of individual patients. however, classifying morphology through chest radiography or computed tomography is either inaccurate or impractical. Lung ultrasound (LUS) is a non-invasive bedside tool that can accurately distinguish "focal" from "non-focal" lung morphology. We hypothesize that LUS-guided personalized mechanical ventilation in ARDS patients leads to a reduction in 90-day mortality compared to conventional mechanical ventilation. methods the personalized mechanical ventilation guided by ultrasound in patients with acute respiratory distress syndrome (PEGASUS) study is an investigator-initiated, international, randomized clinical trial (RCT) that plans to enroll 538 invasively ventilated adult intensive care unit (ICU) patients with moderate to severe ARDS. eligible patients will receive a LUS exam to classify lung morphology as "focal" or "non-focal". thereafter, patients will be randomized within 12 h after ARDS diagnosis to receive standard care or personalized ventilation where the ventilation strategy is adjusted to the morphology subphenotype, i.e., higher positive end-expiratory pressure (PEEP) and recruitment maneuvers for "non-focal" ARDS and lower PEEP and prone positioning for "focal" ARDS. the primary endpoint is all-cause mortality at day 90. secondary outcomes are mortality at day 28, ventilator-free days at day 28, ICU length of stay, ICU mortality, hospital length of stay, hospital mortality, and number of complications (ventilator-associated pneumonia, pneumothorax, and need for rescue therapy). after a pilot phase of 80 patients, the correct interpretation of LUS images and correct application of the intervention within the safe limits of mechanical ventilation will be evaluated. discussion PEGASUS is the first RCT that compares LUS-guided personalized mechanical ventilation with conventional ventilation in invasively ventilated patients with moderate and severe ARDS. If this study demonstrates that personalized ventilation guided by LUS can improve the outcomes of ARDS patients, it has the potential to shift the existing one-size-fits-all ventilation strategy towards a more individualized approach. trial registration the PEGASUS trial was registered before the inclusion of the first patient, https://clinicaltrials.gov/ (ID: NCT05492344)

Buffering the Breach: Examining the Three-Way Interaction between Unit Climate Level, Strength, and Psychological Contract Breach

Despite the wealth of research showing that psychological contract breach (PCB) has negative outcomes for individuals, knowledge about the influence of the social context in which breaches are experienced is still scarce. This is surprising, as scholars have argued that work climates, such as when unit members are generally highly committed, could buffer an individual’s negative experiences at work. Yet, to date, the unit climate and PCB literatures have largely remained separated and our main goal is to integrate these fields. This is especially timely and relevant, because recent work in the unit climate literature indicates that merely looking at the average climate level might not be enough, because the climate’s strength (i.e., the agreement or homogeneity within the unit) could also provide important social cues. Building on these recent advances, we develop and test a theoretical framework which links both climate concepts to PCB. More specifically, we hypothesized that especially when all unit members are highly and homogeneously committed, an employee would reframe their PCB in such a way that it would less adversely affect work engagement and turnover intentions. Using data from 1,272 employees across 36 healthcare units, multilevel structural path analyses supported this three-way interaction. By answering recent calls for more ‘social PCB research’ and integrating the unit climate and PCB literatures, we aim to provide guidance to scholars and practitioners who want to understand in more depth the social context’s influence on PCB

VAMP4 is an Essential Cargo Molecule for Activity-Dependent Bulk Endocytosis

SummaryThe accurate formation of synaptic vesicles (SVs) and incorporation of their protein cargo during endocytosis is critical for the maintenance of neurotransmission. During intense neuronal activity, a transient and acute accumulation of SV cargo occurs at the plasma membrane. Activity-dependent bulk endocytosis (ADBE) is the dominant SV endocytosis mode under these conditions; however, it is currently unknown how ADBE mediates cargo retrieval. We examined the retrieval of different SV cargo molecules during intense stimulation using a series of genetically encoded pH-sensitive reporters in neuronal cultures. The retrieval of only one reporter, VAMP4-pHluorin, was perturbed by inhibiting ADBE. This selective recovery was confirmed by the enrichment of endogenous VAMP4 in purified bulk endosomes formed by ADBE. VAMP4 was also essential for ADBE, with a cytoplasmic di-leucine motif being critical for this role. Therefore, VAMP4 is the first identified ADBE cargo and is essential for this endocytosis mode to proceed