Why Did Gen Z Quit?: Reorienting Toward Long Term Employment in Social Justice

Our current orientation toward work is failing members of Generation Z (GenZ) working to decrease suffering in their communities (i.e. social workers, housing case managers, and nurses). GenZ was born between 1997-2012 (American Psychological Association [APA], 2018). GenZ adults who completed four years of college are just beginning to enter the workforce, yet they are already burning out. The current orientations of GenZ focus on drawing meaning from career only, workism and grind culture, negative emotions, cognitive distortions, and place an over emphasis on the individual. This paper offers a reorientation using the science of well-being, positive psychology. I suggest that this reorientation needs to widen sources of meaning, re-engage Generation Z employees to seek positive emotions, redefine success and achievement, and prioritize relationships. This reorientation will allow GenZ employees working to decrease suffering in their communities to avoid burnout and to stay in their chosen fields for longer. This is good not only for the employees but for their organizations and the communities they serve

Ion fluxes across the pitcher walls of three Bornean Nepenthes pitcher plant species: flux rates and gland distribution patterns reflect nitrogen sequestration strategies

Nepenthes pitcher plant species differ in their prey capture strategies, prey capture rates, and pitcher longevity. In this study, it is investigated whether or not interspecific differences in nutrient sequestration strategy are reflected in the physiology and microstructure of the pitchers themselves. Using a non-invasive technique (MIFE), ion fluxes in pitchers of Nepenthes ampullaria Jack, Nepenthes bicalcarata Hook.f., and Nepenthes rafflesiana Jack were measured. Scanning electron microscopy was also used to characterize the distribution of glandular and other structures on the inner pitcher walls. The results demonstrate that nutrient sequestration strategy is indeed mirrored in pitcher physiology and microstructure. Species producing long-lived pitchers with low prey capture rates (N. ampullaria, N. bicalcarata) showed lower rates of NH4+ uptake than N. rafflesiana, a species producing short-lived pitchers with high capture rates. Crucially, species dependent upon aquatic commensals (N. ampullaria, N. bicalcarata) actively manipulated H+ fluxes to maintain less acid pitcher fluid than found in ‘typical’ species; in addition, these species lacked the lunate cells and epicuticular waxes characteristic of ‘typical’ insectivorous congeners. An unexpected finding was that ion fluxes occurred in the wax-covered, non-glandular zones in N. rafflesiana. The only candidates for active transport of aqueous ions in these zones appear to be the epidermal cells lying beneath the lunate cells, as these are the only sites not visibly coated with epicuticular waxes

Rapidly expanding nuclear arsenals in Pakistan and India portend regional and global catastrophe

Pakistan and India may have 400 to 500 nuclear weapons by 2025 with yields from tested 12- to 45-kt values to a few hundred kilotons. If India uses 100 strategic weapons to attack urban centers and Pakistan uses 150, fatalities could reach 50 to 125 million people, and nuclear-ignited fires could release 16 to 36 Tg of black carbon in smoke, depending on yield. The smoke will rise into the upper troposphere, be self-lofted into the stratosphere, and spread globally within weeks. Surface sunlight will decline by 20 to 35%, cooling the global surface by 2° to 5°C and reducing precipitation by 15 to 30%, with larger regional impacts. Recovery takes more than 10 years. Net primary productivity declines 15 to 30% on land and 5 to 15% in oceans threatening mass starvation and additional worldwide collateral fatalities

Comprehensive identification of essential Staphylococcus aureus genes using Transposon-Mediated Differential Hybridisation (TMDH).

BACKGROUND: In recent years there has been an increasing problem with Staphylococcus aureus strains that are resistant to treatment with existing antibiotics. An important starting point for the development of new antimicrobial drugs is the identification of "essential" genes that are important for bacterial survival and growth. RESULTS: We have developed a robust microarray and PCR-based method, Transposon-Mediated Differential Hybridisation (TMDH), that uses novel bioinformatics to identify transposon inserts in genome-wide libraries. Following a microarray-based screen, genes lacking transposon inserts are re-tested using a PCR and sequencing-based approach. We carried out a TMDH analysis of the S. aureus genome using a large random mariner transposon library of around a million mutants, and identified a total of 351 S. aureus genes important for survival and growth in culture. A comparison with the essential gene list experimentally derived for Bacillus subtilis highlighted interesting differences in both pathways and individual genes. CONCLUSION: We have determined the first comprehensive list of S. aureus essential genes. This should act as a useful starting point for the identification of potential targets for novel antimicrobial compounds. The TMDH methodology we have developed is generic and could be applied to identify essential genes in other bacterial pathogens.RIGHTS : This article is licensed under the BioMed Central licence at http://www.biomedcentral.com/about/license which is similar to the 'Creative Commons Attribution Licence'. In brief you may : copy, distribute, and display the work; make derivative works; or make commercial use of the work - under the following conditions: the original author must be given credit; for any reuse or distribution, it must be made clear to others what the license terms of this work are

Enlarging conference learning : at the crossroads of fat studies and conference pedagogies

This article stages an encounter between the field of fat studies and conference pedagogy scholarship. After laying the foundations for a reading of academic conferences as learning spaces, the authors present two examples—International Fat Studies Conferences held in Aotearoa, New Zealand, in 2012 and 2016—to unpack these ideas. The framing of fat studies conferences as pedagogical spaces sparks questions that travel in multiple directions. It calls us to consider possible modifications to the design of fat studies conferences, as well as how discussions about fat pedagogy may have a wider application to academic gatherings

A Population Pharmacokinetic Analysis Shows that Arylacetamide Deacetylase (AADAC) Gene Polymorphism and HIV Infection Affect the Exposure of Rifapentine.

Rifapentine is a rifamycin used to treat tuberculosis. As is the case for rifampin, plasma exposures of rifapentine are associated with the treatment response. While concomitant food intake and HIV infection explain part of the pharmacokinetic variability associated with rifapentine, few studies have evaluated the contribution of genetic polymorphisms. We evaluated the effects of functionally significant polymorphisms of the genes encoding OATP1B1, the pregnane X receptor (PXR), constitutive androstane (CAR), and arylacetamide deacetylase (AADAC) on rifapentine exposure. Two studies evaluating novel regimens among southern African patients with drug-susceptible pulmonary tuberculosis were included in this analysis. In the RIFAQUIN study, rifapentine was administered in the continuation phase of antituberculosis treatment in 1,200-mg-once-weekly or 900-mg-twice-weekly doses. In the Daily RPE study, 450 or 600 mg was given daily during the intensive phase of treatment. Nonlinear mixed-effects modeling was used to describe the pharmacokinetics of rifapentine and to identify significant covariates. A total of 1,144 drug concentration measurements from 326 patients were included in the analysis. Pharmacogenetic information was available for 162 patients. A one-compartment model with first-order elimination and transit compartment absorption described the data well. In a typical patient (body weight, 56 kg; fat-free mass, 45 kg), the values of clearance and volume of distribution were 1.33 liters/h and 25 liters, respectively. Patients carrying the AA variant (65.4%) of AADAC rs1803155 were found to have a 10.4% lower clearance. HIV-infected patients had a 21.9% lower bioavailability. Once-weekly doses of 1,200 mg were associated with a reduced clearance (13.2%) compared to that achieved with more frequently administered doses. Bioavailability was 23.3% lower among patients participating in the Daily RPE study than in those participating in the RIFAQUIN study. This is the first study to report the effect of AADAC rs1803155AA on rifapentine clearance. The observed increase in exposure is modest and unlikely to be of clinical relevance. The difference in bioavailability between the two studies is probably related to the differences in food intake concomitant with the dose. HIV-coinfected patients had lower rifapentine exposures

The transformation of the business angel market: empirical evidence and research implications

Business angel investing – a key source of finance for entrepreneurial businesses – is rapidly evolving from a fragmented and largely anonymous activity dominated by individuals investing on their own to one that is increasingly characterised by groups of investors investing together through managed angel groups. The implications of this change have been largely ignored by scholars. The paper examines the investment activity and operation of angel groups in Scotland to highlight the implications of this change for the nature of angel investing. It goes on to argue that this transformation challenges both the ongoing relevance of prior research on business angels and current methodological practices, and raises a set of new research questions

Marine wild-capture fisheries after nuclear war

Unidad de excelencia María de Maeztu CEX2019-000940-MIdentificadors digitals: Digital object identifier for the 'European Research Council' (http://dx.doi.org/10.13039/501100000781) Digital object identifier for 'Horizon 2020' (http://dx.doi.org/10.13039/501100007601) - BIGSEA projectNuclear war, beyond its devastating direct impacts, is expected to cause global climatic perturbations through injections of soot into the upper atmosphere. Reduced temperature and sunlight could drive unprecedented reductions in agricultural production, endangering global food security. However, the effects of nuclear war on marine wild-capture fisheries, which significantly contribute to the global animal protein and micronutrient supply, remain unexplored. We simulate the climatic effects of six war scenarios on fish biomass and catch globally, using a state-of-the-art Earth system model and global process-based fisheries model. We also simulate how either rapidly increased fish demand (driven by food shortages) or decreased ability to fish (due to infrastructure disruptions), would affect global catches, and test the benefits of strong prewar fisheries management. We find a decade-long negative climatic impact that intensifies with soot emissions, with global biomass and catch falling by up to 18 ± 3% and 29 ± 7% after a US-Russia war under business-as-usual fishing-similar in magnitude to the end-of-century declines under unmitigated global warming. When war occurs in an overfished state, increasing demand increases short-term (1 to 2 y) catch by at most ∼30% followed by precipitous declines of up to ∼70%, thus offsetting only a minor fraction of agricultural losses. However, effective prewar management that rebuilds fish biomass could ensure a short-term catch buffer large enough to replace ∼43 ± 35% of today's global animal protein production. This buffering function in the event of a global food emergency adds to the many previously known economic and ecological benefits of effective and precautionary fisheries management