Enhancement of Gap Junction Function During Acute Myocardial Infarction Modifies Healing and Reduces Late Ventricular Arrhythmia Susceptibility

Objectives: To investigate the effects of enhancing gap junction (GJ) coupling during acute myocardial infarction (MI) on the healed infarct scar morphology and late post-MI arrhythmia susceptibility. Background: Increased heterogeneity of myocardial scarring after MI is associated with greater arrhythmia susceptibility. We hypothesized that short-term enhancement of GJ coupling during acute MI can produce more homogeneous infarct scars, reducing late susceptibility to post-MI arrhythmias. Methods: Following arrhythmic characterisation of the rat 4-week post-MI model (n=24), a further 27 Sprague-Dawley rats were randomised to receive rotigaptide to enhance GJ coupling (n=13) or saline control (n=14) by osmotic minipump immediately prior to, and for the first 7 days following surgical MI. At 4 weeks post-MI, hearts were explanted for ex vivo programmed electrical stimulation (PES) and optical mapping. Heterogeneity of infarct border zone (IBZ) scarring was quantified by histomorphometry. Results: Despite no detectable difference in infarct size at 4 weeks post-MI, rotigaptide-treated hearts had reduced arrhythmia susceptibility during PES (Inducibility score: rotigaptide 2.40.8, control 5.00.6, p=0.02) and less heterogeneous IBZ scarring (standard deviation of IBZ Complexity Score: rotigaptide 1.10.1, control 1.40.1, p=0.04), associated with an improvement in IBZ conduction velocity (rotigaptide 43.13.4 cm/s, control 34.82.0 cm/s, p=0.04). Conclusions: Enhancement of GJ coupling for only 7 days at the time of acute MI produced more homogeneous IBZ scarring and reduced arrhythmia susceptibility at 4 weeks post-MI. Short-term GJ modulation at the time of MI may represent a novel treatment strategy to modify the healed infarct scar morphology and reduce late post-MI arrhythmic risk

Identity economics meets identity leadership: Exploring the consequences of elevated CEO pay

This is the author accepted manuscript. The final version is available from the publisher via the DOI in this recordEconomists have recently proposed a theory of identity economics in which behavior is understood to be shaped by motivations associated with identities that people share with others. At the same time psychologists have proposed a theory of identity leadership in which leaders' influence flows from their creation and promotion of shared identity with followers. Exploring links between these approaches, we examine the impact of very high leader pay on followers' identification with leaders and perceptions of their leadership. Whereas traditional approaches suggest that high pay incentivizes leadership, identity-based approaches argue that it can undermine shared identity between leaders and followers and therefore be counterproductive. Supporting this identity approach, two studies provide experimental and field evidence that people identify less strongly with a CEO who receives high pay relative to other CEOs and that this reduces that leader's perceived identity leadership and charisma. The implications for leadership, economics, and organizations are discussed.Australian Research Council (ARC

Construction at work: Multiple identities scaffold professional identity development in academia

This is the final version. Available on open access from Frontiers Media via the DOI in this recordIdentity construction - the process of creating and building a new future self - is an integral part of a person's professional career development. However, at present we have little understanding of the psychological mechanisms that underpin this process. Likewise, we have little understanding of the barriers that obstruct it, and which thus may contribute to inequality in career outcomes. Using a social identity lens, and particularly the Social Identity Model of Identity Change (SIMIC), we explore the process of academic identity construction among doctoral students. Through thematic analysis of semi-structured interviews with 22 Ph.D. candidates, we observe that the identity construction process relies on a person's perception of a navigable pathway between their current self and their future self. Importantly, participants who were able to access multiple identity resources were more likely to perceive a navigable pathway to a future professional self (e.g., as an academic), unless they perceived these identities to be incompatible with those held by leading members of the profession (e.g., their supervisors). This research suggests that the identities that people are able to access as they progress in their careers may play an important role in their ongoing professional identity construction and career success.Australian Research Counci

Dying for charisma: Leaders' inspirational appeal increases post-mortem

This is the author accepted manuscript. The final version is available from Elsevier via the DOI in this record.In the present research, we shed light on the nature and origins of charisma by examining changes in a person's perceived charisma that follow their death. We propose that death is an event that will strengthen the connection between the leader and the group they belong to, which in turn will increase perceptions of leaders' charisma. In Study 1, results from an experimental study show that a scientist who is believed to be dead is regarded as more charismatic than the same scientist believed to be alive. Moreover, this effect was accounted for by people's perceptions that the dead scientist's fate is more strongly connected with the fate of the groups that they represent. In Study 2, a large-scale archival analysis of Heads of States who died in office in the 21st century shows that the proportion of published news items about Heads of State that include references to charisma increases significantly after their death. These results suggest that charisma is, at least in part, a social inference that increases after death. Moreover, they suggest that social influence and inspiration can be understood as products of people's capacity to embody valued social groups.This research was supported by a grant (FL110100199) from the Australian Research Council awarded to the third author

Leading from the Centre: A Comprehensive Examination of the Relationship between Central Playing Positions and Leadership in Sport

This is the final version of the article. Available from Public Library of Science via the DOI in this record.RESEARCH AIMS: The present article provides a comprehensive examination of the relationship between playing position and leadership in sport. More particularly, it explores links between leadership and a player's interactional centrality-defined as the degree to which their playing position provides opportunities for interaction with other team members. This article examines this relationship across different leadership roles, team sex, and performance levels. RESULTS: Study 1 (N = 4443) shows that athlete leaders (and the task and motivational leader in particular) are more likely than other team members to occupy interactionally central positions in a team. Players with high interactional centrality were also perceived to be better leaders than those with low interactional centrality. Study 2 (N = 308) established this link for leadership in general, while Study 3 (N = 267) and Study 4 (N = 776) revealed that the same was true for task, motivational, and external leadership. This relationship is attenuated in sports where an interactionally central position confers limited interactional advantages. In other words, the observed patterns were strongest in sports that are played on a large field with relatively fixed positions (e.g., soccer), while being weaker in sports that are played on a smaller field where players switch positions dynamically (e.g., basketball, ice hockey). Beyond this, the pattern is broadly consistent across different sports, different sexes, and different levels of skill. CONCLUSIONS: The observed patterns are consistent with the idea that positions that are interactionally central afford players greater opportunities to do leadership-either through communication or through action. Significantly too, they also provide a basis for them to be seen to do leadership by others on their team. Thus while it is often stated that "leadership is an action, not a position," it is nevertheless the case that, when it comes to performing that action, some positions are more advantageous than others.This research was supported by a grant from Internal Funds KU Leuven, awarded to Katrien Fransen

Derived categories of Burniat surfaces and exceptional collections

We construct an exceptional collection $\Upsilon$ of maximal possible length 6 on any of the Burniat surfaces with $K_X^2=6$, a 4-dimensional family of surfaces of general type with $p_g=q=0$. We also calculate the DG algebra of endomorphisms of this collection and show that the subcategory generated by this collection is the same for all Burniat surfaces. The semiorthogonal complement $\mathcal A$ of $\Upsilon$ is an "almost phantom" category: it has trivial Hochschild homology, and K_0(\mathcal A)=\bZ_2^6.Comment: 15 pages, 1 figure; further remarks expande

Five-year follow-up results of the PROFHER trial comparing operative and non-operative treatment of adults with a displaced fracture of the proximal humerus

AIMS: The PROximal Fracture of the Humerus Evaluation by Randomisation (PROFHER) randomised clinical trial compared the operative and non-operative treatment of adults with a displaced fracture of the proximal humerus involving the surgical neck. The aim of this study was to determine the long-term treatment effects beyond the two-year follow-up. PATIENTS AND METHODS: Of the original 250 trial participants, 176 consented to extended follow-up and were sent postal questionnaires at three, four and five years after recruitment to the trial. The Oxford Shoulder Score (OSS; the primary outcome), EuroQol 5D-3L (EQ-5D-3L), and any recent shoulder operations and fracture data were collected. Statistical and economic analyses, consistent with those of the main trial were applied. RESULTS: OSS data were available for 164, 155 and 149 participants at three, four and five years, respectively. There were no statistically or clinically significant differences between operative and non-operative treatment at each follow-up point. No participant had secondary shoulder surgery for a new complication. Analyses of EQ-5D-3L data showed no significant between-group differences in quality of life over time. CONCLUSION: These results confirm that the main findings of the PROFHER trial over two years are unchanged at five years. Cite this article: Bone Joint J 2017;99-B:383-92

Tools for analyzing parallel I/O

Parallel application I/O performance often does not meet user expectations. Additionally, slight access pattern modifications may lead to significant changes in performance due to complex interactions between hardware and software. These issues call for sophisticated tools to capture, analyze, understand, and tune application I/O. In this paper, we highlight advances in monitoring tools to help address these issues. We also describe best practices, identify issues in measure- ment and analysis, and provide practical approaches to translate parallel I/O analysis into actionable outcomes for users, facility operators, and researchers

Variation in prescribing for anxiety and depression: a reflection of health inequalities, cultural differences or variations in access to care?

BACKGROUND: There are large variations in mental health prescribing in UK populations. However the underlying reasons for these differences, which may be related to differences in prevalence, cultural expectations or practical difficulties in access to treatment, remain uncertain. METHODS: Linear modelling was used to investigate whether population characteristics or access to primary care account for variations in mental health prescribing across 39 deprived neighbourhoods. RESULTS: The proportion of sampled respondents whose first language was not English and the ratio of general practitioners to population explained 61% of variation. Deprivation and mental health status were not significant predictors of prescribing in these relatively deprived communities. CONCLUSION: These findings suggest that mental health prescribing, within deprived areas, as well as reflecting cultural and social differences in prescribing, may also be a proxy measure of access to care

One of us … and us … and us: Evidence that leaders’ multiple identity prototypicality (LMIP) is related to their perceived effectiveness

This is the author accepted manuscript. The final version is available from Taylor & Francis via the DOI in this recordThe social identity approach to leadership has focused on examining how leaders’ (single) group prototypicality (i.e., the extent to which a leader is seen to embody what it means to be “one of us”) affects various follower and organizational outcomes. The current registered report advances this approach by introducing the idea of leader multiple identity prototypicality (prototypicality of multiple group memberships that are shared between leaders and followers). Examination of a large sample of employees (N = 611) supported the core hypothesis that leaders’ multiple identity prototypicality is associated with followers’ stronger personal identification with leaders, as well as greater leader endorsement and charisma. Furthermore, as anticipated, there was evidence of an indirect effect such that leader multiple identity prototypicality was positively associated with followers’ identification with their leader and, through this, with leader endorsement and perceptions of the leader’s charisma. The present findings have implications for the social identity approach to leadership, as well as research on intergroup leadership and leadership of diverse groups. The pre-registration can be found in the Open Science Framework Registries (https://osf.io/tf3qs). All materials including survey questions, data, and analysis code are openly accessible on the Open Science Framework's project page: https://osf.io/ceapq/.Australian Research Counci