Does Healthy Living Matter to Work Outcomes? Effects of Exercise and Health Conscious Identity on Employee Job Performance and Life Satisfaction

Organizational behavior and human resource management scholarship and practice is interested in positive employee outcomes. Even though research has examined a host of work factors ranging from personality and emotions to leadership and culture, it is not clear how factors outside of work such as lifestyle influence employee performance and satisfaction. We develop theory on health conscious identity as it affect important work outcomes. We draw on emerging societal trends to outline how exercise affect employee job performance and life satisfaction. We also contend that health conscious identity has positive effect on employee job performance and life satisfaction. Our study integrates facets such as media influence, pandemic effect, and recommendations from health authorities with conventional issues of employee attitude, behavior, and well-being. Data from 280 employees and 58 supervisors supported the hypothesized relationships. We discuss implications on organizational practices in the emerging work order and suggest future research directions

The CATERPILLER protein Monarch-1 is an antagonist of toll-like receptor-, tumor necrosis factor α-, and Mycobacterium tuberculosis-induced pro-inflammatory signals

The CATERPILLER (CLR, also NOD and NLR) proteins share structural similarities with the nucleotide binding domain (NBD)-leucine-rich repeat (LRR) superfamily of plant disease-resistance (R) proteins and are emerging as important immune regulators in animals. CLR proteins contain NBD-LRR motifs and are linked to a limited number of distinct N-terminal domains including transactivation, CARD (caspase activation and recruitment), and pyrin domains (PyD). The CLR gene, Monarch-1/Pypaf7, is expressed by resting primary myeloid/monocytic cells, and its expression in these cells is reduced by Toll-like receptor (TLR) agonists tumor necrosis factor (TNF) α and Mycobacterium tuberculosis. Monarch-1 reduces NFκB activation by TLR-signaling molecules MyD88, IRAK-1 (type I interleukin-1 receptor-associated protein kinase), and TRAF6 (TNF receptor (TNFR)-associated factor) as well as TNFR signaling molecules TRAF2 and RIP1 but not the downstream NFκB subunit p65. This indicates that Monarch-1 is a negative regulator of both TLR and TNFR pathways. Reducing Monarch-1 expression with small interference RNA in myeloid/monocytic cells caused a dramatic increase in NFκB activation and cytokine expression in response to TLR2/TLR4 agonists, TNFα, or M. tuberculosis infection, suggesting that Monarch-1 is a negative regulator of inflammation. Because Monarch-1 is the first CLR protein that interferes with both TLR2 and TLR4 activation, the mechanism of this interference is significant. We find that Monarch-1 associates with IRAK-1 but not MyD88, resulting in the blockage of IRAK-1 hyperphosphorylation. Mutants containing the NBD-LRR or PyD-NBD also blocked IRAK-1 activation. This is the first example of a CLR protein that antagonizes inflammatory responses initiated by TLR agonists via interference with IRAK-1 activation

Preliminary Report on the Seismological and Engineering Aspects of the January 17, 1994 Northridge Earthquake

This report on the seismological and engineering aspects of the 17 January, 1994, Northridge earthquake was printed on 24 January, 1994, one week after the main event. Its purpose is to provide a brief overview of preliminary observations related to the earthquake. The primary audience is seismologists, engineers and related professionals in the earthquake hazard and earthquake risk mitigation field. The report is preliminary in the sense that significant data collection and analysis remain to be completed. Reports containing more complete data and analysis may be issued at a later date. Immediately following the 17 January, 1994, Northridge earthquake, the Earthquake Engineering Research Center dispatched a reconnaissance team to the epicentral region. This report, issued one week after the earthquake, provides an overview of the seismological and engineering aspects of the earthquake and associated aftershocks. A slide set containing approximately 1 00 slides obtained during the reconnaissance, including all slides and photographs in this report, is being prepared. Copies of the set are available at cost. To obtain a set, write to EERC Reports, 1301 S. 46th Street, Richmond, California 94804, e-mail to [email protected], call510-231-9468, or fax 510-231-9461.National Science Foundation///Virginia, Estados UnidosUCR::Vicerrectoría de Docencia::Ingeniería::Facultad de Ingeniería::Escuela de Ingeniería Civi

Cooling history of Earth's core with high thermal conductivity

Thermal evolution models of Earth's core constrain the power available to the geodynamo process that generates the geomagnetic field, the evolution of the solid inner core and the thermal history of the overlying mantle. Recent upward revision of the thermal conductivity of liquid iron mixtures by a factor of 2-3 has drastically reduced the estimated power available to generate the present-day geomagnetic field. Moreover, this high conductivity increases the amount of heat that is conducted out of the core down the adiabatic gradient, bringing it into line with the highest estimates of present-day core-mantle boundary heat flow. These issues raise problems with the standard scenario of core cooling in which the core has remained completely well-mixed and relatively cool for the past 3.5. Ga. This paper presents cooling histories for Earth's core spanning the last 3.5. Ga to constrain the thermodynamic conditions corresponding to marginal dynamo evolution, i.e. where the ohmic dissipation remains just positive over time. The radial variation of core properties is represented by polynomials, which gives good agreement with radial profiles derived from seismological and mineralogical data and allows the governing energy and entropy equations to be solved analytically. Time-dependent evolution of liquid and solid light element concentrations, the melting curve, and gravitational energy are calculated for an Fe-O-S-Si model of core chemistry. A suite of cooling histories are presented by varying the inner core boundary density jump, thermal conductivity and amount of radiogenic heat production in the core. All models where the core remains superadiabatic predict an inner core age of ≲600Myr, about two times younger than estimates based on old (lower) thermal conductivity estimates, and core temperatures that exceed present estimates of the lower mantle solidus prior to the last 0.5-1.5. Ga. Allowing the top of the core to become strongly subadiabatic in recent times pushes the onset of inner core nucleation back to ~1.5Gyr, but the ancient core temperature still implies a partially molten mantle prior to ~2Ga. Based on these results, the scenario of a long-lived basal magma ocean and subadiabatic present-day core seems hard to avoid

A Boussinesq slurry model of the F–layer at the base of Earth’s outer core

Seismic observations suggest that a stably-stratified layer, known as the F-layer, 150–300 km thick exists at the bottom of Earth’s liquid outer core. These observations contrast with the density inferred from the Preliminary Reference Earth Model (PREM), which assumes an outer core that is well-mixed and adiabatic throughout. The liquid core is composed primarily of iron alloyed with a light component. A thermal boundary layer produces the opposite effect on the density profile compared with the observations, and single phase, thermochemical models do not provide a sufficient dynamical description of how light element is transported across the F–layer into the overlying liquid outer core. We therefore propose that the layer can be explained by a slurry on the liquidus, whereby solid particles of iron crystallise from the liquid alloy throughout the layer. The slurry model provides a dynamical explanation of how light element can be transported across a stable layer. We make two key assumptions, the first of which is fast-melting where the timescale of freezing is considered short compared to other processes. The second assumption is that we consider a binary alloy where the light element is purely composed of oxygen, which is expelled entirely into the liquid during freezing. We present a steady state one-dimensional box model of a slurry formulated in a reference frame moving at the speed of inner core growth. We ascertain temperature, light element concentration and solid flux profiles by varying the layer thickness, inner core heat flux and thermal conductivity, since there is some uncertainty in these estimates. Our solutions demonstrate that the steady state slurry can satisfy the geophysical constraints on the density jump across the layer and the core-mantle boundary heat flux

Facial swelling in Cottonmouths with Snake Fungal Disease.

<p><i>Facial swelling observed in cottonmouths (Agkistrodon piscivorous) experimentally challenged with Ophidiomyces ophiodiicola. Severity ranged from severe (A, B), moderate (C), and mild (D)</i>.</p

Development of Snake Fungal Disease after Experimental Challenge with <i>Ophidiomyces ophiodiicola</i> in Cottonmouths (<i>Agkistrodon piscivorous</i>)

<div><p>Snake fungal disease (SFD) is a clinical syndrome associated with dermatitis, myositis, osteomyelitis, and pneumonia in several species of free-ranging snakes in the US. The causative agent has been suggested as <i>Ophidiomyces ophiodiicola</i>, but other agents may contribute to the syndrome and the pathogenesis is not understood. To understand the role of <i>O</i>. <i>ophiodiicola</i> in SFD, a cottonmouth snake model of SFD was designed. Five cottonmouths (<i>Agkistrodon piscivorous</i>) were experimentally challenged by nasolabial pit inoculation with a pure culture of <i>O</i>. <i>ophiodiicola</i>. Development of skin lesions or facial swelling at the site of inoculation was observed in all snakes. Twice weekly swabs of the inoculation site revealed variable presence of <i>O</i>. <i>ophiodiicola</i> DNA by qPCR in all five inoculated snakes for 3 to 58 days post-inoculation; nasolabial flushes were not a useful sampling method for detection. Inoculated snakes had a 40% mortality rate. All inoculated snakes had microscopic lesions unilaterally on the side of the swabbed nasolabial pit, including erosions to ulcerations and heterophilic dermatitis. All signs were consistent with SFD; however, the severity of lesions varied in individual snakes, and fungal hyphae were only observed in 3 of 5 inoculated snakes. These three snakes correlated with post-mortem tissue qPCR evidence of <i>O</i>. <i>ophiodiicola</i>. The findings of this study conclude that <i>O</i>. <i>ophiodiicola</i> inoculation in a cottonmouth snake model leads to disease similar to SFD, although lesion severity and the fungal load are quite variable within the model. Future studies may utilize this model to further understand the pathogenesis of this disease and develop management strategies that mitigate disease effects, but investigation of other models with less variability may be warranted.</p></div

Clinical signs of Snake Fungal Disease.

<p>Graphs demonstrating the probability of facial swelling (A), skin lesions (B), and lethargy (C) in cottonmouths (<i>Agkistrodon piscivorous</i>) after experimental inoculation of the nasolabial pit with <i>Ophidiomyces ophiodiicola</i>. Solid line indicates the estimate, dashed lines indicate the 95% confidence interval, and open circles represent the presence or absence of the clinical sign.</p