The Effect of Evaluator\u27s Mood and Type of Accountability on Performance Appraisal Evaluations: A Study of the Affect Infusion Model

The purpose of this study was to test the theoretical framework of Forgas’ (1995) Affect Infusion Model on the extent to which mood and type of accountability (no, process, and outcome) influenced information search strategies and judgment outcomes. Information boards (e.g. Billings & Scherer, 1991; Payne, 1976) were utilized to examine the amount of information searched and the performance ratings made of hypothetical teaching assistants. A 2 (mood) X 3 (accountability) between-factors design was used to examine the data. Seventy four undergraduate students were randomly assigned to one of six groups: positive mood/no-accountability, positive mood/ outcome accountability, positive mood/ process accountability, negative mood/ no- accountability, negative mood/outcome accountability, and negative mood/ process accountability. Participants in the outcome accountability condition, regardless of mood, were expected to utilize a motivated processing strategy; participants in the process accountability, regardless of mood, condition were expected to utilize a substantive processing strategy; participants in the no accountability condition, regardless of mood, were expected to utilize a heuristic processing strategy. Participants in the outcome accountability and process accountability conditions were expected to search significantly more information compared to participants in the no-accountability condition. However, for the process accountability and the no accountability conditions, participants in the positive mood condition were expected to rate teaching assistants more positively compared to participants in the negative mood condition, but for participants in the outcome accountability condition, no difference in performance ratings were expected. The results of the investigation do not support the predictions made

Experimental Strategies for Functional Annotation and Metabolism Discovery: Targeted Screening of Solute Binding Proteins and Unbiased Panning of Metabolomes

The rate at which genome sequencing data is accruing demands enhanced methods for functional annotation and metabolism discovery. Solute binding proteins (SBPs) facilitate the transport of the first reactant in a metabolic pathway, thereby constraining the regions of chemical space and the chemistries that must be considered for pathway reconstruction. We describe high-throughput protein production and differential scanning fluorimetry platforms, which enabled the screening of 158 SBPs against a 189 component library specifically tailored for this class of proteins. Like all screening efforts, this approach is limited by the practical constraints imposed by construction of the library, i.e., we can study only those metabolites that are known to exist and which can be made in sufficient quantities for experimentation. To move beyond these inherent limitations, we illustrate the promise of crystallographic- and mass spectrometric-based approaches for the unbiased use of entire metabolomes as screening libraries. Together, our approaches identified 40 new SBP ligands, generated experiment-based annotations for 2084 SBPs in 71 isofunctional clusters, and defined numerous metabolic pathways, including novel catabolic pathways for the utilization of ethanolamine as sole nitrogen source and the use of d-Ala-d-Ala as sole carbon source. These efforts begin to define an integrated strategy for realizing the full value of amassing genome sequence data

Experimental Strategies for Functional Annotation and Metabolism Discovery: Targeted Screening of Solute Binding Proteins and Unbiased Panning of Metabolomes

The rate at which genome sequencing data is accruing demands enhanced methods for functional annotation and metabolism discovery. Solute binding proteins (SBPs) facilitate the transport of the first reactant in a metabolic pathway, thereby constraining the regions of chemical space and the chemistries that must be considered for pathway reconstruction. We describe high-throughput protein production and differential scanning fluorimetry platforms, which enabled the screening of 158 SBPs against a 189 component library specifically tailored for this class of proteins. Like all screening efforts, this approach is limited by the practical constraints imposed by construction of the library, i.e., we can study only those metabolites that are known to exist and which can be made in sufficient quantities for experimentation. To move beyond these inherent limitations, we illustrate the promise of crystallographic- and mass spectrometric-based approaches for the unbiased use of entire metabolomes as screening libraries. Together, our approaches identified 40 new SBP ligands, generated experiment-based annotations for 2084 SBPs in 71 isofunctional clusters, and defined numerous metabolic pathways, including novel catabolic pathways for the utilization of ethanolamine as sole nitrogen source and the use of d-Ala-d-Ala as sole carbon source. These efforts begin to define an integrated strategy for realizing the full value of amassing genome sequence data