Fear of terror and increased job burnout over time: Examining the mediating role of insomnia and the moderating role of work support

Peer Reviewedhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/110573/1/job1980.pd

Is the PHQ-9 a Unidimensional Measure of Depression? A 58,272-Participant Study

The PHQ-9 has become a measure of reference in depression research and clinical practice. However, the issue of the PHQ-9’s unidimensionality has not been fully elucidated, and the usability of the PHQ-9’s total score requires clarification. In this study, we examined the dimensionality, scalability, and monotonicity properties of the PHQ-9 as well as the scale’s total-score reliability. We did so based on exploratory structural equation modeling (ESEM) bifactor analysis and Mokken scale analysis (MSA). We relied on a total of 58,272 participants (63% female; Mage = 43, SDage = 13) from 29 samples involving seven different countries (e.g., Germany, the U.S.) and five different languages (e.g., German, English). We found no concerning deviations from measurement invariance for our ESEM bifactor model, neither across samples nor across sexes, age groups, and languages. The PHQ-9 met the requirements for essential unidimensionality in the pooled sample and across sex-, age-, and language-based subsamples. In each case, the general factor was strong (e.g., factor loadings ranged from 0.725 to 0.893 in the pooled sample) and Omega Hierarchical values exceeded 0.900. The correlations between the general factor and the observed total scores were large (≥ 0.952). Our MSA, including multilevel MSA, revealed that the PHQ-9’s scalability is satisfactory. No monotonicity violation was detected, suggesting that the scale’s total score accurately orders respondents on the latent Depression variable. Total-score reliability was good. This study provides robust evidence that the PHQ-9 can be used as a unidimensional measure of depressive symptoms by researchers and practitioners

The effect of change in supervisor support and job control on change in vigor: Differential relationships for immigrant and native employees in Israel

Building on the premises of the conservation of resources theory, the aim of this study was to investigate long-term effects of job resources on vigor among native and immigrant employees in Israel. More specifically, we investigated the effects of baseline and change in job control and supervisor support on change in vigor levels, as well as the degree to which these effects differ among educated native and immigrant employees in Israel. We surveyed 235 white-collar Eastern European and Russian immigrants and 235 white-collar native Israelis matched on occupational and demographic characteristics at two points of measurement with a 30-month time lag. Latent change score modeling revealed that among both immigrants and natives, change in job control was related to change in vigor. Multiple group analyses further revealed that among immigrant employees only, baseline levels of supervisor support were associated with change in vigor. In conclusion, these findings suggest that the utilization of resources as a means of acquiring new resources may be influenced by immigrant background. Managerial implications are discussed.Peer Reviewe

Association of components of the metabolic syndrome with the appearance of aggregated red blood cells in the peripheral blood. An unfavorable hemorheological finding

Abstract Background Components of the metabolic syndrome are associated with low-grade inflammation. This can be accompanied by the synthesis of sticky proteins and erythrocyte aggregation

Amalgam, an axon guidance Drosophila adhesion protein belonging to the immunoglobulin superfamily: Over-expression, purification and biophysical characterization

Amalgam, a multi-domain member of the immunoglobulin superfamily, possesses homophilic and heterophilic cell adhesion properties. It is required for axon guidance during Drosophila development in which it interacts with the extracellular domain of the transmembrane protein, neurotactin, to promote adhesion. Amalgam was heterologously expressed in Pichia pastoris, and the secreted protein product, bearing an NH2-terminal His6Tag, was purified from the growth medium by metal affinity chromatography. Size exclusion chromatography separated the purified protein into two fractions: a major, multimeric fraction and a minor, dimeric one. Two protocols to reduce the percentage of multimers were tested. In one, protein induction was performed in the presence of the zwitterionic detergent CHAPS, yielding primarily the dimeric form of amalgam. In a second protocol, agitation was gradually reduced during the course of the induction and antifoam was added daily to reduce the air/liquid interfacial foam area. This latter protocol lowered the percentage of multimer 2-fold, compared to constant agitation. Circular dichroism measurements showed that the dimeric fraction had a high β-sheet content, as expected for a protein with an immunoglobulin fold. Dynamic light scattering and sedimentation velocity measurements showed that the multimeric fraction displays a monodisperse distribution, with RH = 16 nm. When co-expressed together with amalgam the ectodomain of neurotactin copurified with it. Furthermore, both purified fractions of amalgam were shown to interact with Torpedo californica acetylcholinesterase, a structural homolog of neurotactin

Transitioning from having no metabolic abnormality nor obesity to metabolic impairment in a cohort of apparently healthy adults

Abstract Introduction The global prevalence of metabolic syndrome and its association with increased morbidity and mortality has been rigorously studied. However, the true prevalence of “metabolic health”, i.e. individuals without any metabolic abnormalities is not clear. Here, we sought to determine the prevalence of “metabolically healthy” individuals and characterize the “transition phase” from metabolic health to development of dysfunction over a follow-up period of 5 years. Methods We included 20,507 individuals from the Tel Aviv Sourasky Medical Center Inflammation Survey (TAMCIS) which comprises apparently healthy individuals attending their annual health survey. A second follow-up visit was documented after 4.8 (± 0.6) years. We defined a group of metabolically healthy participants without metabolic abnormalities nor obesity and compared their characteristics and change in biomarkers over time to participants who developed metabolic impairment on their follow-up visit. The intersections of all metabolic syndrome components and elevated high sensitivity C-reactive protein (hs-CRP) were also analyzed. Results A quarter of the cohort (5379 individuals, (26.2%) did not fulfill any metabolic syndrome criteria during their baseline visit. A total of 985 individuals (12.7% of returning participants) developed metabolic criteria over time with hypertension being the most prevalent component to develop among these participants. Individuals that became metabolically impaired over time demonstrated increased overlap between metabolic syndrome criteria and elevated hs-CRP levels. The group that became metabolically impaired over time also presented higher delta values of WBC, RBC, liver biomarkers, and uric acid compared with participants who were consistently metabolically impaired. LDL-C (low-density lipoprotein cholesterol) delta levels were similar. Conclusions Roughly one-quarter of apparently healthy adults are defined as “metabolically healthy” according to current definitions. The transition from health to metabolic dysfunction is accompanied with active inflammation and several non-metabolic syndrome biomarkers. Aggressive screening for these biomarkers, blood pressure and hs-CRP might help identify apparently healthy individuals at increased risk of developing metabolic syndrome over time

Amalgam, an axon guidance Drosophila adhesion protein belonging to the immunoglobulin superfamily: Over-expression, purification and biophysical characterization

Amalgam, a multi-domain member of the immunoglobulin superfamily, possesses homophilic and heterophilic cell adhesion properties. It is required for axon guidance during Drosophila development in which it interacts with the extracellular domain of the transmembrane protein, neurotactin, to promote adhesion. Amalgam was heterologously expressed in Pichia pastoris, and the secreted protein product, bearing an NH2-terminal His6Tag, was purified from the growth medium by metal affinity chromatography. Size exclusion chromatography separated the purified protein into two fractions: a major, multimeric fraction and a minor, dimeric one. Two protocols to reduce the percentage of multimers were tested. In one, protein induction was performed in the presence of the zwitterionic detergent CHAPS, yielding primarily the dimeric form of amalgam. In a second protocol, agitation was gradually reduced during the course of the induction and antifoam was added daily to reduce the air/liquid interfacial foam area. This latter protocol lowered the percentage of multimer 2-fold, compared to constant agitation. Circular dichroism measurements showed that the dimeric fraction had a high β-sheet content, as expected for a protein with an immunoglobulin fold. Dynamic light scattering and sedimentation velocity measurements showed that the multimeric fraction displays a monodisperse distribution, with RH = 16 nm. When co-expressed together with amalgam the ectodomain of neurotactin copurified with it. Furthermore, both purified fractions of amalgam were shown to interact with Torpedo californica acetylcholinesterase, a structural homolog of neurotactin