The right place for me: a moderated mediation model to explain involvement of employees aged over 50 years

Over the past decades, employment rates of older workers in most Western countries have rapidly increased. Hence, there is a growing interest in identifying the organizational dimensions that might impact the psychosocial adjustment of workers aged over 50 years. This study focuses on perceived organizational support (POS) and identity‐related measures (identification and authenticity) as key organizational components for workers at this stage of life. Furthermore, in the relationships discussed, we explore the moderating role of perceived age discrimination. In an ample sample of older workers (N = 4,563, aged 50–66 years), a moderated mediational model was tested where older workers' involvement was associated to POS. In the model, this relationship was mediated by organizational identification and authenticity, and the association between POS, identity‐related measures, and involvement was moderated by age‐based discrimination. Results showed that POS is associated with organizational involvement via organizational identification and authenticity and that high level of age discrimination decreased the positive association between POS, organizational identification, authenticity, and involvement

Evaluation of an automatic HPLC analyser for thalassemia and haemoglobin variants screening

In this paper the authors report the evolution of a new automatic HPLC analyser for screening haemoglobinopathies. HbA2 and F determinations are accurate and reproducible. The analysis time is short (6.5 min) and there is a good separation between the HbA2 values of β-thalassemia carriers from normals and α-thalassemia carriers, with no overlap between these groups. In addition, the system is also able to detect and quantitate most of the haemoglobin variants, particularly those (HbS, HbC, HbE and Hb Lepore) able to interact with β-thalassemia and could make haemoglobin electrophoresis unnecessary in all samples. The ease of operation and the limited technical work make this system especially suitable for laboratories with a high workload and allow the cost of screening to be reduced

Collagen-Binding Peptidoglycans Inhibit MMP Mediated Collagen Degradation and Reduce Dermal Scarring

Scarring of the skin is a large unmet clinical problem that is of high patient concern and impact. Wound healing is complex and involves numerous pathways that are highly orchestrated, leaving the skin sealed, but with abnormal organization and composition of tissue components, namely collagen and proteoglycans, that are then remodeled over time. To improve healing and reduce or eliminate scarring, more rapid restoration of healthy tissue composition and organization offers a unique approach for development of new therapeutics. A synthetic collagen-binding peptidoglycan has been developed that inhibits matrix metalloproteinase-1 and 13 (MMP-1 and MMP-13) mediated collagen degradation. We investigated the synthetic peptidoglycan in a rat incisional model in which a single dose was delivered in a hyaluronic acid (HA) vehicle at the time of surgery prior to wound closure. The peptidoglycan treatment resulted in a significant reduction in scar tissue at 21 days as measured by histology and visual analysis. Improved collagen architecture of the treated wounds was demonstrated by increased tensile strength and transmission electron microscopy (TEM) analysis of collagen fibril diameters compared to untreated and HA controls. The peptidoglycan's mechanism of action includes masking existing collagen and inhibiting MMP-mediated collagen degradation while modulating collagen organization. The peptidoglycan can be synthesized at low cost with unique design control, and together with demonstrated preclinical efficacy in reducing scarring, warrants further investigation for dermal wound healing

Reliability of assessing ballet dancers’ postural stability in the unshod and the en pointe relevÉ position with a smartphone application

Purpose. this study aimed to verify the reliability of estimating ballet dancers’ postural stability during the unshod and the en pointe relevé position with a smartphone application Methods. the participants (13 ballet dancers, 22.4 ± 2.5 years of age) were tested in the unshod and the en pointe relevé position (YMED Balance test application, smartphone secured at the L5 level for centre of mass approximation, 10 trials for each condition, 10 seconds per trial, 2-minute intertrial break, arms relaxed at bodyside, gaze fixated at an eye-level target, preferred feet width and orientation). Paired t-tests examined the inter-condition differences. relative (intraclass correlation coefficient, Icc) and absolute (standard error of measurement, SEM, SEM%) reliability indices (for accumulated and paired trials) were computed for each condition (SPSS software v. 26.0, p < 0.05). Results. the total balance score and all centre of mass spatial measures indicated worse postural stability in the en pointe condition (p < 0.05), with no significant temporal differences (p > 0.05). the total body balance score was the most reliable measure (good to excellent Iccs, low to moderate SEM%) with a minimum of 8 trials ensuring reliability in both the unshod and the en pointe relevé positions. Conclusions. taken a minimum of 8 trials and the measure of total balance score, we may obtain a reliable estimation of ballet dancers’ postural stability in the unshod and the en pointe relevé position by using the YMED Balance test smartphone application. © Wroclaw University of Health and Sport Sciences

Decorin mimic inhibits vascular smooth muscle proliferation and migration.

Over the past 10 years, the number of percutaneous coronary intervention procedures performed in the United States increased by 33%; however, restenosis, which inhibits complete functional recovery of the vessel wall, complicates this procedure. A wide range of anti-restenotic therapeutics have been developed, although many elicit non-specific effects that compromise vessel healing. Drawing inspiration from biologically-relevant molecules, our lab developed a mimic of the natural proteoglycan decorin, termed DS-SILY, which can mask exposed collagen and thereby effectively decrease platelet activation, thus contributing to suppression of vascular intimal hyperplasia. Here, we characterize the effects of DS-SILY on both proliferative and quiescent human SMCs to evaluate the potential impact of DS-SILY-SMC interaction on restenosis, and further characterize in vivo platelet interactions. DS-SILY decreased proliferative SMC proliferation and pro-inflammatory cytokine secretion in vitro in a concentration dependent manner as compared to untreated controls. The addition of DS-SILY to in vitro SMC cultures decreased SMC migration and protein synthesis by 95% and 37%, respectively. Furthermore, DS-SILY decreased platelet activation, as well as reduced neointimal hyperplasia by 60%, in vivo using Ossabaw swine. These results indicate that DS-SILY demonstrates multiple biological activities that may all synergistically contribute to an improved treatment paradigm for balloon angioplasty

Water supply from marine source and governance modelling for integrating alternative technologies and the coastal territory in harmony with landscape constraints

The growing need for fresh water suitable for drinking and for rural and industrial applications is a bottleneck point for the development of many countries where the availability is scarce due to the adverse climate and environmental conditions. However there is a need for fresh water also in industrialized countries where critical mismatches between availability and requirements appear periodically. Where access to marine coasts is given a valuable solution could be the sea water desalination. An example of the water scarcity problems encountered in the tourist season and of the perspectives offered by a desalination plant is considered to show a methodology. The availability of significant renewable resources leads to exploit them just to feed the desalination plant in order to obtain a sustainable enhancement of the water system of the site. Due to the intermittent character of the sources as well as of the users demand various solutions are to be considered taking into account the environmental issues. The size of the plant is determined after evaluating the trends of the renewable energy supply and of the water demand

Neointimal Hyperplasia.

<p>Representative histology sections of (A, B) arteries with stents and (C, D) arteries without stents treated with (A, C) saline or (B, D) 10 μM DS-SILY₂₀. Arrowheads indicate location of some stent struts; internal elastic lamina (dotted line) and lumenal border (solid line) are identified, indicating the boundaries of the neointima formed following injury. (E) Neointimal hyperplasia was quantified by measuring the distance from a stent strut or the elastic lamina to the vessel lumen in arteries with or without stents, respectively. A significant reduction in neointimal hyperplasia with DS-SILY₂₀ treatment was observed, compared with saline sham controls, for both stented and non-stented artery segments. Six measurements were taken for each artery. Analysis with stents: sham (n=4), DS-SILY₂₀ (n=3); without stents: sham (n=8), DS-SILY₂₀ (n=5). Scale bar = 1 mm.* represents significance from sham-treated vessels.</p