Crystal Structure of Bombyx mori Lipoprotein 6: Comparative Structural Analysis of the 30-kDa Lipoprotein Family

The 30-kDa lipoprotein (LP) family of mulberry silkworm comprises major hemolymph proteins specific to the fifth instar larvae. The family consists of 46 members, 24 of which are referred to as typical 30-kDa LPs. To date, two crystal structures of 30-kDa LPs from Bombyx mori have been described (Bmlp3 and Bmlp7). Here, we present the crystal structure of Bmlp6, another 30-kDa LP member. Bmlp6 is comprised of two domains characteristic of this family, the VHS-type N-terminal domain and b-trefoil C-terminal domain. The structures of the three 30-kDa LPs have been compared and a number of differences are noted, including loop conformation, the surface electrostatic potential, and the potential binding cavities. We discuss the observed structural differences in the light of the potential different roles of the particular 30-kDa LP members in silkworm physiology

Study Engagement and Burnout of the PhD Candidates in Medicine : A Person-Centered Approach

This study focused on exploring individual variations in doctoral candidates' well-being, in terms of experienced research engagement and burnout by using a person-centered approach. In addition, the associations between well-being profiles and gender, country of origin, study status (full-time or part-time), research group status and drop-out intentions were explored. The participants were 692 PhD candidates in the field of medicine. Latent profile analysis was employed to identify the well-being profiles. Four distinct profiles were identified: high engagement-low burnout, high engagement-moderate burnout, moderate engagement-moderate burnout, and moderate engagement-high burnout. Working in a clinical unit or hospital and working in a research group seemed to be related to increased engagement and reduced risk for suffering burnout, while the intentions to quit one's doctoral studies were more frequently reported in profiles with moderate levels of engagement. The findings imply that although a significant number of PhD candidates in medicine had an increased risk for developing burnout, for most of the PhD candidates research education is an engaging experience.Peer reviewe

Study Engagement and Burnout of the PhD Candidates in Medicine : A Person-Centered Approach

This study focused on exploring individual variations in doctoral candidates' well-being, in terms of experienced research engagement and burnout by using a person-centered approach. In addition, the associations between well-being profiles and gender, country of origin, study status (full-time or part-time), research group status and drop-out intentions were explored. The participants were 692 PhD candidates in the field of medicine. Latent profile analysis was employed to identify the well-being profiles. Four distinct profiles were identified: high engagement-low burnout, high engagement-moderate burnout, moderate engagement-moderate burnout, and moderate engagement-high burnout. Working in a clinical unit or hospital and working in a research group seemed to be related to increased engagement and reduced risk for suffering burnout, while the intentions to quit one's doctoral studies were more frequently reported in profiles with moderate levels of engagement. The findings imply that although a significant number of PhD candidates in medicine had an increased risk for developing burnout, for most of the PhD candidates research education is an engaging experience.Peer reviewe

SONEX: An Evaluation Exchange Framework for Reproducible Sonification

Degara N, Nagel F, Hermann T. SONEX: An Evaluation Exchange Framework for Reproducible Sonification. In: Strumiłło P, Bujacz M, Popielata M, eds. Proceedings of the 19th International Conference on Auditory Displays. Lodz, Poland: Lodz University of Technology Press; 2013: 167-174.After 18 ICAD conferences, Auditory Display has become a mature research community. However, a robust evaluation and scientific comparison of sonification methods is often neglected by auditory display researchers. In the last ICAD 2012 conference, only one paper out of 53 makes a statistical comparison of several sonification methods and still no comparison with other state-of-the-art algorithms is provided. In this paper, we review profitable standards in other communities and transfer them to derive recommendations and best practices for auditory display research. We describe SonEX (Sonification Evaluation eXchange), a community-based framework for the formal evaluation of sonification methods. The goals, challenges and architecture of this evaluation platform are discussed. In addition, a simple example of a task definition according to the guidelines of SonEX is also introduced. This paper aims at starting a vivid discussion towards the establishment of thorough scientific methodologies for auditory display research and the definition of standardized sonification tasks

Intensive longitudinal study of newly graduated nurses’ quick returns and self-rated stress

OBJECTIVE: Little is known about the relationship between quick returns (QR) – shift combinations that result in inter-shift rest periods <11 hours) and stress. The current study examined whether variations in the frequency of QR, both between and within individuals, were associated with changes in self-rated stress. METHODS: A questionnaire was sent weekly to newly graduated nurses during the first 12 weeks of work. Stress was measured with four items from the Stress-Energy Questionnaire on a scale from 1 “not at all” to 5 “very much” [mean 2.65, standard deviation (SD) 1.08]. Shifts worked in the past week were reported and QR were identified by evening-morning shift combinations (mean 0.98, SD 0.90 per week). In total, 350 persons were included in the analysis (3556 observations). Data were analyzed with a multilevel residual dynamic structural equation model (RDSEM) using Bayesian estimation procedures. RESULTS: There was no between-person effect of QR on stress averaged across measurement occasions (0.181, 95% CI -0.060–0.415). However, there was a small within-person effect of QR (0.031, 95% CI 0.001–0.062), meaning that more QR during a given week, compared to that person’s average, was associated with an increase in their level of stress during that week. CONCLUSIONS: Nurses were likely to report increased stress during weeks in which they worked more QR. Intervention studies are needed to determine whether the relationship is causal

Making Information Flows in Hybrid Space Tangible: an Analog RF Power Detector for Sonification of Wireless Network Traffic

Presented at the 20th International Conference on Auditory Display (ICAD2014), June 22-25, 2014, New York, NY.The paper presents a fully analog prototype device for sonification of electromagnetic power in the radio frequency range. The RF power detector was designed specifically for use in artistic performances, which attempt to make listeners aware of the hybrid space surrounding them, filled with information flows from wireless networks. The device is tuned to the RF range of 800Hz to 2.7GHz, to detect GSM, Bluetooth and WiFi network traffic. The modular design allows sonification using the power reading directly or through voltage to frequency converters, as well as leaves room for expansion using other signal processing circuits

Person-task fit::Emotional consequences of performing divergent versus convergent thinking tasks depend on need for cognitive closure

We investigated how people high (vs. low) in the Need for Cognitive Closure (NFC) experience working on divergent and convergent thinking tasks. Based on the notion of person-task fit, we hypothesized that individuals high in NFC (but not those low in NFC) would feel less competent when solving divergent (vs. convergent) thinking tasks, because, being open-ended, divergent thinking tasks do not offer closure. We also predicted that, consequently, high NFC individuals would experience less positive emotions and more negative emotions when performing a divergent (vs. convergent) thinking task. To test this idea, we measured NFC among participants (N/=/549) from five European countries and asked these participants to complete a divergent (vs. convergent) thinking task and to appraise their own competence and emotions. Participants high in NFC (but not these low in NFC) felt less competent and experienced less positive and more negative emotions when solving a divergent (vs. convergent) thinking task. The association between task type and emotions was mediated by perceived competence but only for participants high in NFC

NAV-VIR: an audio-tactile virtual environment to assist visually impaired people

International audienceThis paper introduces the NAV-VIR system, a multimodal virtual environment to assist visually impaired people in virtually discovering and exploring unknown areas from the safety of their home. The originality of NAV-VIR resides in (1) an optimized representation of the surrounding topography, the spatial gist, based on human spatial cognition models and the sensorimotor supplementation framework, and (2) a multimodal orientation-aware immersive virtual environment relying on two synergetic interfaces: an interactive force feedback tablet, the F2T, and an immersive HRTF-based 3D audio simulation relying on binaural recordings of real environments. This paper presents NAV-VIR functionalities and its preliminary evaluation through a simple shape and movement perception task

Mapping the transglycosylation relevant sites of cold-adapted β-d-galactosidase from arthrobacter sp. 32cB

β-Galactosidase from Arthrobacter sp. 32cB (ArthβDG) is a cold-adapted enzyme able to catalyze hydrolysis of β-d-galactosides and transglycosylation reaction, where galactosyl moiety is being transferred onto an acceptor larger than a water molecule. Mutants of ArthβDG: D207A and E517Q were designed to determine the significance of specific residues and to enable formation of complexes with lactulose and sucrose and to shed light onto the structural basis of the transglycosylation reaction. The catalytic assays proved loss of function mutation E517 into glutamine and a significant drop of activity for mutation of D207 into alanine. Solving crystal structures of two new mutants, and new complex structures of previously presented mutant E441Q enables description of introduced changes within active site of enzyme and determining the importance of mutated residues for active site size and character. Furthermore, usage of mutants with diminished and abolished enzymatic activity enabled solving six complex structures with galactose, lactulose or sucrose bounds. As a result, not only the galactose binding sites were mapped on the enzyme's surface but also the mode of lactulose, product of transglycosylation reaction, and binding within the enzyme's active site were determined and the glucopyranose binding site in the distal of active site was discovered. The latter two especially show structural details of transglycosylation, providing valuable information that may be used for engineering of ArthβDG or other analogous galactosidases belonging to GH2 family