Satisfied Correctional Staff : A Review of the Literature on the Correlates of Correctional Staff Job Satisfaction

During the past decade, there has been increasing pressure on correctional agencies to attract and keep quality staff. Raising worker job satisfaction is seen as a fundamental way of decreasing turnover. There has been a considerable amount of research in the area of the possible causes of correctional staff job satisfaction and, to a lesser extent, the possible consequences of job satisfaction. However, due to the numerous studies, some with conflicting results, it is difficult to understand clearly the factors associated with job satisfaction. A review of the literature is presented to provide a better understanding of correctional staff job satisfaction. Based on this review, correctional administrators are urged to concentrate more on improving the work environment rather than focusing on correctional staff characteristics

Evaluation of Scents Attractants for Baiting Wild Pigs

Lethal removal by trapping is one of the most cost- and time-effective means for managing wild pigs (Sus scrofa). Scent attractants are frequently used to lure wild pigs to camera stations for scouting or monitoring wild pig populations or at trap sites to reduce the amount of time for pigs to locate the trap. However, the effectiveness of scents to attract and increase wild pig visitation to camera stations or traps is debatable. Therefore, our objective was to determine if wild pigs visited camera stations sooner and more frequently when scents were used in addition to whole kernel corn. We conducted our study on portions of the state-owned Lowndes County Wildlife Management Area (5,650 ha) and on privately owned property (1,820 ha) in Lowndes and Macon counties, AL, respectively, during 2014-2016. We selected portions within these study areas where active, premeditated wild pig removal (trapping, shooting) had not occurred for at least 1 year in order to minimize biases associated with trap shy pig behavior. We sectioned each study area into 1km2 grids and assigned a camera station to each grid cell overlapping the study area. Within each grid cell, the camera station was subjectively placed in forest cover near water. We then assigned randomly treatments of corn (11.3 kg), corn and a molasses-based attractant (0.23 L), or corn and a pig urine attractant (15 ml) to each of 66 camera stations. Corn and attractants were replenished after 7 days. We then used motion-sensitive game cameras to record the time (in min) from the initial placement of bait and scent at each station until the first wild pig was captured on camera images. Cameras remained active on each station for 14 days and were set to capture 3-picture bursts with a 10-second delay among pictures and 1-minute delay between bursts. Camera stations were distributed within each study area at a density of approximately one station per 100-250 ha. We recorded the time of first detection, frequency of visits, and identifying characteristics of pigs and sounders. We used a Χ2 test to determine if frequency of visits differed among treatments and an ANOVA to determine differences in time until first visit differed among treatments. Wild pigs visited 23 of 66 (35%) bait stations which did not differ among treatment sites (P=0.231). Of these 23 active camera stations, time until first visit did not differ among treatments (P=0.599). Mean time until first visit to a station was approximately 62.0 hours (about 2.6 days). Scent attractants did not have a noticeable effect on increasing wild pig visitation to baited camera stations suggesting managers 28 should focus on proper placement of bait stations or traps in areas frequented by wild pigs rather than relying on scents to lure pigs to desired locations

Oxidation of Thiols to Disulfides using an Environmentally “Green” Organocatalyst and New Mechanistic Insights

The selective oxidation of thiols to disulfides is an area of great importance in the areas of materials and medicinal chemistry research. The production of polymers, rubber, pharmaceuticals, and the folding of proteins in biological systems all rely on the formation of disulfide bonds. Herein, we introduce a stoichiometric and electrocatalytic method for the oxidation of various pharmaceutically and biologically relevant thiols into their respective disulfides in more environmentally benign solvents such as water and alcohol solvents. The scope of the transformation was evaluated and a detailed mechanistic study involving control experiments, experimental kinetic studies, and computational investigations led to new insights into how the oxidation takes place via an unusual anionic process

Correlations of structural, magnetic, and dielectric properties of undoped and doped CaCu3Ti4O12

The present work reports synthesis, as well as a detailed and careful characterization of structural, magnetic, and dielectric properties of differently tempered undoped and doped CaCu3Ti4O12 (CCTO) ceramics. For this purpose, neutron and x-ray powder diffraction, SQUID measurements, and dielectric spectroscopy have been performed. Mn-, Fe-, and Ni-doped CCTO ceramics were investigated in great detail to document the influence of low-level doping with 3d metals on the antiferromagnetic structure and dielectric properties. In the light of possible magnetoelectric coupling in these doped ceramics, the dielectric measurements were also carried out in external magnetic fields up to 7 T, showing a minor but significant dependence of the dielectric constant on the applied magnetic field. Undoped CCTO is well-known for its colossal dielectric constant in a broad frequency and temperature range. With the present extended characterization of doped as well as undoped CCTO, we want to address the question why doping with only 1% Mn or 0.5% Fe decreases the room-temperature dielectric constant of CCTO by a factor of ~100 with a concomitant reduction of the conductivity, whereas 0.5% Ni doping changes the dielectric properties only slightly. In addition, diffraction experiments and magnetic investigations were undertaken to check for possible correlations of the magnitude of the colossal dielectric constants with structural details or with magnetic properties like the magnetic ordering, the Curie-Weiss temperatures, or the paramagnetic moment. It is revealed, that while the magnetic ordering temperature and the effective moment of all investigated CCTO ceramics are rather similar, there is a dramatic influence of doping and tempering time on the Curie-Weiss constant.Comment: 10 pages, 11 figure

Crystal Phase Transitions in the Shell of PbS CdS Core Shell Nanocrystals Influences Photoluminescence Intensity

ABSTRACT We reveal the existence of two different crystalline phases, i.e., the metastable rock salt and the equilibrium zinc blende phase within the CdS shell of PbS CdS core shell nanocrystals formed by cationic exchange. The chemical composition profile of the core shell nanocrystals with different dimensions is determined by means of anomalous small angle X ray scattering with subnanometer resolution and is compared to X ray diffraction analysis. We demonstrate that the photoluminescence emission of PbS nanocrystals can be drastically enhanced by the formation of a CdS shell. Especially, the ratio of the two crystalline phases in the shell significantly influences the photoluminescence enhancement. The highest emission was achieved for chemically pure CdS shells below 1 nm thickness with a dominant metastable rock salt phase fraction matching the crystal structure of the PbS core. The metastable phase fraction decreases with increasing shell thickness and increasing Exchange times. The photoluminescence intensity depicts a constant decrease with decreasing metastable rock salt phase fraction but Shows an abrupt drop for shells above 1.3 nm thickness. We relate this effect to two different transition mechanisms for changing from the metastable rock salt phase to the equilibrium zinc blende phase depending on the shell thicknes

An AP-MS- and BioID-compatible MAC-tag enables comprehensive mapping of protein interactions and subcellular localizations

Protein-protein interactions govern almost all cellular functions. These complex networks of stable and transient associations can be mapped by affinity purification mass spectrometry (AP-MS) and complementary proximity-based labeling methods such as BioID. To exploit the advantages of both strategies, we here design and optimize an integrated approach combining AP-MS and BioID in a single construct, which we term MAC-tag. We systematically apply the MAC-tag approach to 18 subcellular and 3 sub-organelle localization markers, generating a molecular context database, which can be used to define a protein's molecular location. In addition, we show that combining the AP-MS and BioID results makes it possible to obtain interaction distances within a protein complex. Taken together, our integrated strategy enables the comprehensive mapping of the physical and functional interactions of proteins, defining their molecular context and improving our understanding of the cellular interactome.Peer reviewe

Nonnative forest insects and pathogens in the United States: Impacts and policy options

We review and synthesize information on invasions of nonnative forest insects and diseases in the United States, including their ecological and economic impacts, pathways of arrival, distribution within the United States, and policy options for reducing future invasions. Nonnative insects have accumulated in United States forests at a rate of ~2.5 per yr over the last 150 yr. Currently the two major pathways of introduction are importation of live plants and wood packing material such as pallets and crates. Introduced insects and diseases occur in forests and cities throughout the United States, and the problem is particularly severe in the Northeast and Upper Midwest. Nonnative forest pests are the only disturbance agent that has effectively eliminated entire tree species or genera from United States forests within decades. The resulting shift in forest structure and species composition alters ecosystem functions such as productivity, nutrient cycling, and wildlife habitat. In urban and suburban areas, loss of trees from streets, yards, and parks affects aesthetics, property values, shading, stormwater runoff, and human health. The economic damage from nonnative pests is not yet fully known, but is likely in the billions of dollars per year, with the majority of this economic burden borne by municipalities and residential property owners. Current policies for preventing introductions are having positive effects but are insufficient to reduce the influx of pests in the face of burgeoning global trade. Options are available to strengthen the defenses against pest arrival and establishment, including measures taken in the exporting country prior to shipment, measures to ensure clean shipments of plants and wood products, inspections at ports of entry, and post-entry measures such as quarantines, surveillance, and eradication programs. Improved data collection procedures for inspections, greater data accessibility, and better reporting would support better evaluation of policy effectiveness. Lack of additional action places the nation, local municipalities, and property owners at high risk of further damaging and costly invasions. Adopting stronger policies to reduce establishments of new forest insects and diseases would shift the major costs of control to the source and alleviate the economic burden now borne by homeowners and municipalities.Organismic and Evolutionary Biolog

ERRα promotes breast cancer cell dissemination to bone by increasing RANK expression in primary breast tumors

Bone is the most common metastatic site for breast cancer. Estrogen-related-receptor alpha (ERRα) has been implicated in cancer cell invasiveness. Here, we established that ERRα promotes spontaneous metastatic dissemination of breast cancer cells from primary mammary tumors to the skeleton. We carried out cohort studies, pharmacological inhibition, gain-of-function analyses in vivo and cellular and molecular studies in vitro to identify new biomarkers in breast cancer metastases. Meta-analysis of human primary breast tumors revealed that high ERRα expression levels were associated with bone but not lung metastases. ERRα expression was also detected in circulating tumor cells from metastatic breast cancer patients. ERRα overexpression in murine 4T1 breast cancer cells promoted spontaneous bone micro-metastases formation when tumor cells were inoculated orthotopically, whereas lung metastases occurred irrespective of ERRα expression level. In vivo, Rank was identified as a target for ERRα. That was confirmed in vitro in Rankl stimulated tumor cell invasion, in mTOR/pS6K phosphorylation, by transactivation assay, ChIP and bioinformatics analyses. Moreover, pharmacological inhibition of ERRα reduced primary tumor growth, bone micro-metastases formation and Rank expression in vitro and in vivo. Transcriptomic studies and meta-analysis confirmed a positive association between metastases and ERRα/RANK in breast cancer patients and also revealed a positive correlation between ERRα and BRCA1mut carriers. Taken together, our results reveal a novel ERRα/RANK axis by which ERRα in primary breast cancer promotes early dissemination of cancer cells to bone. These findings suggest that ERRα may be a useful therapeutic target to prevent bone metastases

Effects of antiplatelet therapy on stroke risk by brain imaging features of intracerebral haemorrhage and cerebral small vessel diseases: subgroup analyses of the RESTART randomised, open-label trial

Background Findings from the RESTART trial suggest that starting antiplatelet therapy might reduce the risk of recurrent symptomatic intracerebral haemorrhage compared with avoiding antiplatelet therapy. Brain imaging features of intracerebral haemorrhage and cerebral small vessel diseases (such as cerebral microbleeds) are associated with greater risks of recurrent intracerebral haemorrhage. We did subgroup analyses of the RESTART trial to explore whether these brain imaging features modify the effects of antiplatelet therapy