Predicting Employee Performance Using Text Data from Resumes

Text analytics using term frequency was proposed as an extension of biodata for predicting job performance and addressing criticisms of biodata and predictor methods—that they do not identify the constructs they are measuring or their predictive elements. Linguistic Inquiry and Word Count software was used to analyze and sort text into validated categories. Prolific Academic was used to recruit full-time workers who provided a copy of their resume and were assessed on impression management (IM), cognitive ability, and job performance. Predictive analyses used resumes with 100+ words (n = 667), whereas correlational analyses used the full sample (N = 809). Third-person plural pronouns, impersonal pronouns, sadness words, certainty words, non-fluencies, and colons emerged as significant predictors of job performance (χ2 = 26.01 (10), p = .006). As hypothesized, impersonal pronouns were positively correlated with self-oriented IM (r = .07, p \u3c .05), and first-person singular pronouns were positively correlated with other-oriented IM (r = .07, p \u3c .05), however, first-person plural pronouns were negatively correlated (r = -.07, p \u3c .05). Pronouns and verbs were not predictive of job performance. Positive and negative emotion words did not show hypothesized relationships to OCBs, CWBs, or job performance. Finally, differentiation words (r = .09, p \u3c .01), conjunctions (r = .28, p \u3c .01), words longer than six characters (r = .29, p \u3c .01), prepositions (r = .20, p \u3c .01), cognitive process words (r = .19, p \u3c .01), causal words (r = .20, p \u3c .01), and insight words (r = .06, p \u3c .05) correlated with cognitive ability, but did not predict job performance. An exploratory regression analysis in which cognitive ability as measured by the Spot-The-Word Test (β = .10, p \u3c .05) and a composite of cognitive ability created from text analytics (β = .15, p \u3c .05) both uniquely and significantly predicted job performance (F(1,805) = 18.79, p \u3c .001), demonstrating that word categories can serve as a proxy for cognitive ability. Overall, the method of text analytics sidesteps some of the limitations of biodata predictor methods, while demonstrating the potential to automate resume reviews and mitigate unconscious bias inherent in human judgment

Reducing Centerline Rumble Strips Effects on Pavement Performance

Centerline rumble strips (CLRS) have proven to be a cost-effective safety measure in reducing lane departure crashes. However, there are often unintended consequences associated with the installation of CLRS, particularly in rural mountainous areas or snow zones. These consequences include the accumulation of water and ice on the roadway and the potential deterioration of the pavement longitudinal joint, both of which are safety concerns. In order to provide a safe and reliable transportation system, appropriate traffic safety features and pavements in fair or better condition are required. Despite numerous research studies inspecting the safety benefits of CLRS on pavements, there has been a limited exploration into the impact on pavement durability as a result of the installation of CLRS. Although CLRS installation could reduce pavement performance and life, many states and countries continue to actively implement CLRS on roads to improve safety. The major purpose of this study was to corroborate what specific factors are controlling the cracking failures due to the installation of CLRS and find solutions to mitigate CLRS-related failures on the roadway. In this study, a test strip was constructed at the local Knife River facility in Corvallis, Oregon where CLRS were milled into the asphalt pavement. Potential CLRS cracking performance factors examined in the laboratory testing included: CLRS type, CLRS geometry, CLRS depth, CLRS position relative to the longitudinal joint, climate, and surface treatment. Three-point flexural fatigue, Hamburg Wheel Tracking, and moisture infiltration testing methods were developed and utilized for the study. The primary findings showed that sinusoidal CLRS had optimal performance, shallower and smaller rumble strips had less structural impact, and chip seal surface treatment was an effective method to prevent moisture infiltration. The next portion of the study was X-ray Computed Tomography (CT) imaging, and its purpose was to determine the presence of microcracks in the asphalt pavement due to rumble strip milling. Cores were extracted from various locations along the rumble strips at the Knife River test section. Results demonstrated the presence of microcracks at all milled rumble strip locations. The final component of the study was Finite Element Analysis (FEA) modeling. This was conducted to simulate moving tire loads over a full-scale asphalt pavement section containing CLRS. Factors examined included speed, asphalt stiffness, CLRS type, CLRS geometry, CLRS depth, tire orientation, and rumble strip location. The optimal CLRS configuration included sinusoidal rumble strips installed adjacent to the longitudinal joint with shorter wavelength. The FEA results verified the findings of the laboratory testing while allowing for the examination of additional factors not tested in the field. Potential failure mechanisms and construction recommendations were developed based on the results of the laboratory testing, X-ray CT imaging, and FEA. Implementation of the recommended construction practices has the potential to improve the cracking performance of CLRS and extend pavement life

MARCKS phosphorylation is modulated by a peptide mimetic of MARCKS effector domain leading to increased radiation sensitivity in lung cancer cell lines

Lung cancer is the leading cause of cancer-associated mortality in the United States. Kinase hyperactivation is a known mechanism of tumorigenesis. The phosphorylation status of the plasma membrane-associated protein myristoylated alanine rich C-kinase substrate (MARCKS) effector domain (ED) was previously established as being important in the sensitivity of lung cancer to radiation. Specifically, when MARCKS ED was in a non-phosphorylated state, lung cancer cells were more susceptible to ionizing radiation and experienced prolonged double-strand DNA breaks. Additional studies demonstrated that the phosphorylation status of MARCKS ED is important for gene expression and in vivo tumor growth. The present study used a peptide mimetic of MARCKS ED as a therapeutic intervention to modulate MARCKS phosphorylation. Culturing A549, H1792 and H1975 lung cancer cell lines with the MARCKS ED peptide led to reduced levels of phosphorylated MARCKS and phosphorylated Akt serine/threonine kinase 1. Further investigation demonstrated that the peptide therapy was able to reduce lung cancer cell proliferation and increase radiation sensitivity. In addition, the MARCKS peptide therapy was able to prolong double-strand DNA breaks following ionizing radiation exposure. The results of the present study demonstrate that a peptide mimetic of MARCKS ED is able to modulate MARCKS phosphorylation, leading to an increase in sensitivity to radiation. Keywords: lung cancer, myristoylated alanine rich C-kinase substrate, radiation sensitivity, effector domain, peptide mimeti

Compaction of Hyaloclastite from the Active Geothermal System at Krafla Volcano, Iceland

Hyaloclastites commonly form high-quality reservoir rocks in volcanic geothermal provinces. Here, we investigated the effects of confinement due to burial following prolonged accumulation of eruptive products on the physical and mechanical evolution of surficial and subsurface (depths of 70 m, 556 m, and 732 m) hyaloclastites from Krafla volcano, Iceland. Upon loading in a hydrostatic cell, the porosity and permeability of the surficial hyaloclastite decreased linearly with mean effective stress, as pores and cracks closed due to elastic (recoverable) compaction up to 22-24 MPa (equivalent to ~1.3 km depth in the reservoir). Beyond this mean effective stress, denoted as P∗, we observed accelerated porosity and permeability reduction with increasing confinement, as the rock underwent permanent inelastic compaction. In comparison, the porosity and permeability of the subsurface core samples were less sensitive to mean effective stress, decreasing linearly with increasing confinement as the samples compacted elastically within the conditions tested (to 40 MPa). Although the surficial material underwent permanent, destructive compaction, it maintained higher porosity and permeability than the subsurface hyaloclastites throughout the experiments. We constrained the evolution of yield curves of the hyaloclastites, subjected to different effective mean stresses in a triaxial press. Surficial hyaloclastites underwent a brittle-ductile transition at an effective mean stress of ~10.5 MPa, and peak strength (differential stress) reached 13 MPa. When loaded to effective mean stresses of 33 and 40 MPa, the rocks compacted, producing new yield curves with a brittle-ductile transition at ~12.5 and ~19 MPa, respectively, but showed limited strength increase. In comparison, the subsurface samples were found to be much stronger, displaying higher strengths and brittle-ductile transitions at higher effective mean stresses (i.e., 37.5 MPa for 70 m sample, >75 MPa for 556 m, and 68.5 MPa for 732 m) that correspond to their lower porosities and permeabilities. Thus, we conclude that compaction upon burial alone is insufficient to explain the physical and mechanical properties of the subsurface hyaloclastites present in the reservoir at Krafla volcano. Mineralogical alteration, quantified using SEM-EDS, is invoked to explain the further reduction of porosity and increase in strength of the hyaloclastite in the active geothermal system at Krafla

Targeting the effector domain of the myristoylated alanine rich C-kinase substrate enhances lung cancer radiation sensitivity

Lung cancer is the leading cause of cancer related deaths. Common molecular drivers of lung cancer are mutations in receptor tyrosine kinases (RTKs) leading to activation of the phosphatidylinositol 3-kinase (PI3K)/Akt pro-growth, pro-survival signaling pathways. Myristoylated alanine rich C-kinase substrate (MARCKS) is a protein that has the ability to mitigate this signaling cascade by sequestering the target of PI3K, phosphatidylinositol (4,5)-bisphosphate (PIP2). As such, MARCKS has been implicated as a tumor suppressor, though there is some evidence that MARCKS may be tumor promoting in certain cancer types. Since the MARCKS function depends on its phosphorylation status, which impacts its subcellular location, MARCKS role in cancer may depend highly on the signaling context. Currently, the importance of MARCKS in lung cancer biology is limited. Thus, we investigated MARCKS in both clinical specimens and cell culture models. Immunohistochemistry scoring of MARCKS protein expression in a diverse lung tumor tissue array revealed that the majority of squamous cell carcinomas stained positive for MARCKS while other histologies, such as adenocarcinomas, had lower levels. To study the importance of MARCKS in lung cancer biology, we used inducible overexpression of wild-type (WT) and non-phosphorylatable (NP)-MARCKS in A549 lung cancer cells that had a low level of endogenous MARCKS. We found that NP-MARCKS expression, but not WT-MARCKS, enhanced the radiosensitivity of A549 cells in part by inhibiting DNA repair as evidenced by prolonged radiation-induced DNA double strand breaks. We confirmed the importance of MARCKS phosphorylation status by treating several lung cancer cell lines with a peptide mimetic of the phosphorylation domain, the effector domain (ED), which effectively attenuated cell growth as measured by cell index. Thus, the MARCKS ED appears to be an important target for lung cancer therapeutic development

Circadian clock proteins regulate neuronal redox homeostasis and neurodegeneration

Brain aging is associated with diminished circadian clock output and decreased expression of the core clock proteins, which regulate many aspects of cellular biochemistry and metabolism. The genes encoding clock proteins are expressed throughout the brain, though it is unknown whether these proteins modulate brain homeostasis. We observed that deletion of circadian clock transcriptional activators aryl hydrocarbon receptor nuclear translocator–like (Bmal1) alone, or circadian locomotor output cycles kaput (Clock) in combination with neuronal PAS domain protein 2 (Npas2), induced severe age-dependent astrogliosis in the cortex and hippocampus. Mice lacking the clock gene repressors period circadian clock 1 (Per1) and period circadian clock 2 (Per2) had no observed astrogliosis. Bmal1 deletion caused the degeneration of synaptic terminals and impaired cortical functional connectivity, as well as neuronal oxidative damage and impaired expression of several redox defense genes. Targeted deletion of Bmal1 in neurons and glia caused similar neuropathology, despite the retention of intact circadian behavioral and sleep-wake rhythms. Reduction of Bmal1 expression promoted neuronal death in primary cultures and in mice treated with a chemical inducer of oxidative injury and striatal neurodegeneration. Our findings indicate that BMAL1 in a complex with CLOCK or NPAS2 regulates cerebral redox homeostasis and connects impaired clock gene function to neurodegeneration