Assessing Intended Employee Behavior in Exit Interviews: Attitudinal and Status Effects

In order to assess the effects that attitudes toward particular aspects of work life and status (management vs . non-management) might have on the intended willingness to discuss issues during exit interviews, managerial and non-managerial workers were asked to evaluate their attitudes toward particular aspects of work life, as well as their willingness to discuss these issues during an exit interview. Results showed that status alone did not affect willingness to discuss issues, but that attitudes and status had an interactive effect on willingness

Dynamics of odor sampling strategies in mice

Mammalian olfactory receptor neurons in the nasal cavity are stimulated by odorants carried by the inhaled air and their activation is therefore tied to and driven by the breathing or sniffing frequency. Sniffing frequency can be deliberately modulated to alter how odorants stimulate olfactory receptor neurons, giving the animal control over the frequency of odorant exposure to potentially aid odorant detection and discrimination. We monitored sniffing behaviors and odorant discrimination ability of freely-moving mice while they sampled either decreasing concentrations of target odorants or sampled a fixed target odorant concentration in the presence of a background of increasing odorant concentrations, using a Go-NoGo behavioral paradigm. This allowed us to ask how mice alter their odorant sampling duration and sampling (sniffing) frequency depending on the demands of the task and its difficulty. Mice showed an anticipatory increase in sniffing rate prior to odorant exposure and chose to sample for longer durations when exposed to odorants as compared to the solvent control odorant. Similarly, mice also took more odorant sampling sniffs when exposed to target odorants compared to the solvent control odorant. In general, odorant sampling strategies became more similar the more difficult the task was, e.g. the lower the target odorant concentration or the lower the target odorant contrast relative to the background odorant, suggesting that sniffing patterns are not preset, but are dynamically modulated by the particular task and its difficulty

Expression pattern of Stomatin-domain proteins in the peripheral olfactory system

Recent data show that Stomatin-like protein 3 (STOML3), a member of the stomatin-domain family, is expressed in the olfactory sensory neurons (OSNs) where it modulates both spontaneous and evoked action potential firing. The protein family is constituted by other 4 members (besides STOML3): STOM, STOML1, STOML2 and podocin. Interestingly, STOML3 with STOM and STOML1 are expressed in other peripheral sensory neurons: dorsal root ganglia. In here, they functionally interact and modulate the activity of the mechanosensitive Piezo channels and members of the ASIC family. Therefore, we investigated whether STOM and STOML1 are expressed together with STOML3 in the OSNs and whether they could interact. We found that all three are indeed expressed in ONSs, although STOML1 at very low level. STOM and STOML3 share a similar expression pattern and STOML3 is necessary for STOM to properly localize to OSN cilia. In addition, we extended our investigation to podocin and STOML2, and while the former is not expressed in the olfactory system, the latter showed a peculiar expression pattern in multiple cell types. In summary, we provided a first complete description of stomatin-domain protein family in the olfactory system, highlighting the precise compartmentalization, possible interactions and, finally, their functional implications

Calcium-activated chloride currents in olfactory sensory neurons from mice lacking bestrophin-2

none8noOlfactory sensory neurons use a chloride-based signal amplification mechanism to detect odorants. The binding of odorants to receptors in the cilia of olfactory sensory neurons activates a transduction cascade that involves the opening of cyclic nucleotide-gated channels and the entry of Ca2+ into the cilia. Ca2+ activates a Cl- current that produces an efflux of Cl- ions and amplifies the depolarization. The molecular identity of Ca2+-activated Cl- channels is still elusive, although some bestrophins have been shown to function as Ca2+ -activated Cl- channels when expressed in heterologous systems. In the olfactory epithelium, bestrophin-2 (Best2) has been indicated as a candidate for being a molecular component of the olfactory Ca2+-activated Cl- channel. In this study, we have analysed mice lacking Best2. We compared the electrophysiological responses of the olfactory epithelium to odorant stimulation, as well as the properties of Ca2+-activated Cl- currents in wild-type (WT) and knockout (KO) mice for Best2. Our results confirm that Best2 is expressed in the cilia of olfactory sensory neurons, while odorant responses and Ca2+ -activated Cl- currents were not significantly different between WT and KO mice. Thus, Best2 does not appear to be the main molecular component of the olfactory channel. Further studies are required to determine the function of Best2 in the cilia of olfactory sensory neurons. © 2009 The Authors. Journal compilation © 2009 The Physiological Society.openPifferi S.; Dibattista M.; Sagheddu C.; Boccaccio A.; Al Qteishat A.; Ghirardi F.; Tirindelli R.; Menini A.Pifferi, S.; Dibattista, M.; Sagheddu, C.; Boccaccio, A.; Al Qteishat, A.; Ghirardi, F.; Tirindelli, R.; Menini, A

Anthropogenic disturbance and evolutionary parameters: a lemon shark population experiencing habitat loss

The level of genetic variation in natural populations influences evolutionary potential, and may therefore influence responses to selection in the face of future environmental changes. By combining long-term monitoring of marked individuals with genetic pedigree reconstruction, we assessed whether habitat loss influenced genetic variation in a lemon shark (Negaprion brevirostris) population at an isolated nursery lagoon (Bimini, Bahamas). We also tracked changes in the strength and direction of natural selection. Contrary to initial expectations, we found that after the habitat loss neutral genetic variation increased, as did additive genetic variance for juvenile morphological traits (body length and mass). We hypothesize that these effects might result from philopatric behavior in females coupled with a possible influx of male genotypes from other nursery sites. We also found changes in the strength of selection on morphological traits, which weakened considerably after the disturbance; habitat loss therefore changed the phenotypes favored by natural selection. Because such human-induced shifts in the adaptive landscape may be common, we suggest that conservation biologists should not simply focus on neutral genetic variation per se, but also on assessing and preserving evolutionary parameters, such as additive genetic variation and selection

The Grizzly, December 7, 2017

Local Christmas House Brings Students Cheer • UCARE Giving Tree Brings Joy and Gifts to Local Children • Sharing the Story of the Miracle of Chanukkah • Alumni Invited to Wreath Laying at Arlington National Cemetery • Ursinus Students Celebrate the Holidays • Prepare Your Stomach for the Holidays • Opinions: Happy Holidays vs. Merry Christmas; Grizzly\u27s Holiday Polls • Proficiently Efficient: Men\u27s Basketball is 4-2 • UC\u27s Swim Teams Make Waveshttps://digitalcommons.ursinus.edu/grizzlynews/1634/thumbnail.jp

The Grizzly, December 6, 2018

Snapchat Story Leads to School Enforcement of Discriminatory Acts Policy • What\u27s in Store for Martin Luther King, Jr. Week • Ursinus Celebrated the Fifth Annual #Giving2UCday on Campus • Student Employee Profiles: Facilities • The Curtain Club and how Theatre Evolved at Ursinus • Opinions: It\u27s Time to Retire the War on Christmas ; Let Students Spend Dining Dollars Off-Campus • Athlete Spotlight: Junior Quarterback Tom Garlick • Eric Williams Jr. Knocks Down 1,000th Career Point for UC Men\u27s Basketballhttps://digitalcommons.ursinus.edu/grizzlynews/1610/thumbnail.jp

The Grizzly, September 13, 2018

Reim Time? Not Until After 8 P.M. • Welcoming the New Chaplain and Director of Religious and Spiritual Life • Pre-plated Portions Prove Perplexing, Promising? • Ursinus is Crafting a Values Statement • IDC, But They Do: Professors Weigh In On the IDC • Return of the Ursinusaur • Opinion: Betsy DeVos\u27 Proposed Changes Would be Harmful; Elon Musk is Not That Great • Massive First-Year Football Class Adjusts to Life at Ursinus • Field Hockey Aims to Regain Centennial Conference Supremacyhttps://digitalcommons.ursinus.edu/grizzlynews/1936/thumbnail.jp

The Grizzly, October 25, 2018

New Discriminatory Act Policy Draws Criticism • Radium Girls Will Take the Stage this November • Good and Bad News on Campus Safety • Dr. Tristan Ashcroft Receives Teaching Excellence Award • L.A.X. Strives to Meet the Need for Representation of Latin American Culture on Campus • Meet Quinn Gilman-Forlini • Opinion: The Romanoffs : Death Knell for Streamable Prestige TV • Highlights from the Annual Securities and Fire Safety Report • Fresh-faced UC Women\u27s Rugby Team Continues to Show Improvement • He\u27s Good: Senior Kirk Cherneskie Nails Transition from Linebacker to Kickerhttps://digitalcommons.ursinus.edu/grizzlynews/1605/thumbnail.jp