Uncoupling Protein 3: Its Possible Biological Role and Mode of Regulation in Rodents and Humans

The recently discovered uncoupling protein 3 (UCP3) is highly homologous to the mitochondrialinner membrane protein UCP1, which generates heat by uncoupling the respiratory chainfrom oxidative phosphorylation. The thermogenic function of UCP1 protects against cold andregulates the energy balance in rodents. We review in vitro studies investigating the uncouplingactivity of UCP3 and in vivo studies, which address UCP3 gene expression in brown adiposetissue and skeletal muscle under various metabolic conditions. The data presented are, for themost, consistent with an uncoupling role for UCP3 in regulatory thermogenesis. We alsodiscuss mediators of UCP3 regulation and propose a potential role for intracellular fatty acidsin the mechanism of UCP3 modulation. Finally, we hypothesize a role for UCP3 in themetabolic adaptation of the mitochondria to the degradation of fatty acid

Can you teach an old seadog new tricks? Experimental evaluation of BRM training in the commercial fleet

Objective: The objective of the present study was to evaluate the effectiveness of Crew Resource Management (CRM) training in the commercial shipping fleet – termed Bridge Resource Management (BRM) training. Background: CRM training has been widely employed and researched in several high reliability settings. However, there is a lack of experimental studies assessing CRM training in commercial shipping. Method: An experimental pretest – posttest study measuring satisfaction with training, knowledge, attitudes, and team behavior in bridge simulators. Five hypotheses were made; H1) The BRM training will receive positive evaluation, H2) BRM training will improve knowledge, H3) BRM training will improve attitudes, H4) BRM training will improve behavior, H5) The relationship between Teamwork and Mission success is positively mediated by Situation awareness. Results: H1 was fully supported. H2 was fully supported. H3 was partly supported. H4 was not supported. H5 was fully supported. Conclusion: The training was positively evaluated and improved knowledge and some of the targeted attitudes. Behavior could not be shown to improve with statistical significance, but it cannot be ruled out that a stronger experimental design and increased sample size would yield significant results. Relations among behavior measures confirms established CRM theory. Application: The present study provides supporting evidence that BRM training can indeed improve safety-relevant knowledge and attitudes. However, to improve behavior on the bridge, training should be adapted to specific work procedures

Identity, Over-Commitment, Work Environment, and Health Outcomes among Immigrant Workers

In this study, we compared immigrant workers with native workers on several factors related to their perception of their work identity anchored in their psychosocial work environment, and the result of these factors on work stress and subjective health. The data for the study came from 924 employees in the Norwegian food and beverage and among them were 84 immigrant workers. We found significant differences in levels of over-commitment, mental health and stress between native and immigrant workers. Immigrant workers perceived more over-commitment, more mental health problems and higher job stress than native workers did. The personal ambitions of the immigrants, measured as a higher level of over-commitment was seen as a driving force behind the pattern we found. This could have been a possible threat to an increased level of stress leading to mental health problems, but commitment to the firm they worked in was found to have a compensating effect in the final path analysis

How do BRM-training participants understand non-technical skills?

Non-technical skills (NTS) can be defined as “the cognitive, social and personal resource skills that complement technical skills and contribute to safe and efficient task performance” (Flin et al. 2008, Safety at the sharp end: a guide to non-technical skills, p. 1). This paper aims to explore how bridge officers understand and discuss the non-technical skills involved in behavior and performance of participants in Bridge Resource Management (BRM) training. A thematic network analysis is applied to transcriptions of post-simulation debriefing sessions, based on a peer observation system that encourages discussion between training participants. The five skills identified are situation awareness, decision-making, stress management, verbal communication, and balanced leadership, all of which are mostly found to be in concurrence with generic theory on non-technical skills. However, for each of these skills, the findings also provide examples of certain aspects where the informants’ understanding stray from generic theory and BRM syllabus. This is discussed as possible clues to domain-specific aspects of NTS at ship bridges, as well as yielding implications for BRM training

How do BRM-training participants understand non-technical skills?

Non-technical skills (NTS) can be defined as “the cognitive, social and personal resource skills that complement technical skills and contribute to safe and efficient task performance” (Flin et al. 2008, Safety at the sharp end: a guide to non-technical skills, p. 1). This paper aims to explore how bridge officers understand and discuss the non-technical skills involved in behavior and performance of participants in Bridge Resource Management (BRM) training. A thematic network analysis is applied to transcriptions of post-simulation debriefing sessions, based on a peer observation system that encourages discussion between training participants. The five skills identified are situation awareness, decision-making, stress management, verbal communication, and balanced leadership, all of which are mostly found to be in concurrence with generic theory on non-technical skills. However, for each of these skills, the findings also provide examples of certain aspects where the informants’ understanding stray from generic theory and BRM syllabus. This is discussed as possible clues to domain-specific aspects of NTS at ship bridges, as well as yielding implications for BRM training

How do BRM-training participants understand non-technical skills?

Non-technical skills (NTS) can be defined as “the cognitive, social and personal resource skills that complement technical skills and contribute to safe and efficient task performance” (Flin et al. 2008, Safety at the sharp end: a guide to non-technical skills, p. 1). This paper aims to explore how bridge officers understand and discuss the non-technical skills involved in behavior and performance of participants in Bridge Resource Management (BRM) training. A thematic network analysis is applied to transcriptions of post-simulation debriefing sessions, based on a peer observation system that encourages discussion between training participants. The five skills identified are situation awareness, decision-making, stress management, verbal communication, and balanced leadership, all of which are mostly found to be in concurrence with generic theory on non-technical skills. However, for each of these skills, the findings also provide examples of certain aspects where the informants’ understanding stray from generic theory and BRM syllabus. This is discussed as possible clues to domain-specific aspects of NTS at ship bridges, as well as yielding implications for BRM training

Migrant Labor in the Workforce

We compared immigrant workers with native workers on several factors related to their perception of their work identity anchored in their psychosocial work environment, and the result of these factors on work stress and subjective health. The data for this study came from a survey among migrant laborers in the construction and cleaning business (N=125) and was compared to a native sample (N=654) we used in an earlier study. The present study showed that the migrant workers perceived more over-commitment and higher job stress than native workers. This finding was similar to the first study in relation to these two factors. In this study, however, the construction workers and cleaners did not have significant higher levels of mental health problems than native workers. The personal ambitions of the immigrants, measured as a higher level of over-commitment was seen as a driving force behind the patterns we found. In this new study, the construction workers and cleaners showed significantly lower commitment than the natives, but still a path from over-commitment to commitment was found and may function as a barrier from developing even more stress and mental health reactions over time

Migrant Labor in the Workforce

We compared immigrant workers with native workers on several factors related to their perception of their work identity anchored in their psychosocial work environment, and the result of these factors on work stress and subjective health. The data for this study came from a survey among migrant laborers in the construction and cleaning business (N=125) and was compared to a native sample (N=654) we used in an earlier study. The present study showed that the migrant workers perceived more over-commitment and higher job stress than native workers. This finding was similar to the first study in relation to these two factors. In this study, however, the construction workers and cleaners did not have significant higher levels of mental health problems than native workers. The personal ambitions of the immigrants, measured as a higher level of over-commitment was seen as a driving force behind the patterns we found. In this new study, the construction workers and cleaners showed significantly lower commitment than the natives, but still a path from over-commitment to commitment was found and may function as a barrier from developing even more stress and mental health reactions over time

Physicians’ Mental Health and Nationality Affect how Work Characteristics Influence Presenteeism

This study aimed to investigate how variations in mental health and nationality affect the influence of job demands and job resources on presenteeism among physicians. By differentiating between hindrances and challenging job demands and between buffering and motivational job resources, the current study investigated the mechanisms of physicians’ presenteeism by conducting separate analyses for respondents with good and poor mental health within two countries. A total of 1596 physicians employed at Swedish and Norwegian university hospitals were split into four subsamples according to nationality and mental health status. A score of ≥4 on the General Health Questionnaire-12 defined poor mental health. A set of t-tests showed that overall, the Norwegian sample experienced higher presenteeism, lower demands, and higher resources than the Swedish sample. Within the national samples, the samples with poor mental health indicated that they experienced higher demands and lower resources and showed higher presenteeism than the samples with good mental health. A set of regression analyses in the four subsamples showed that hindrance demands were positively associated with presenteeism and buffering resources were negatively associated with presenteeism in all four subsamples. However, only the subsamples of physicians with good mental health were found to have positive associations between both challenging demands and motivating resources and presenteeism. The study concludes that the association of both demands and resources with presenteeism depend upon how they interact with both personal health and national context

Way-finding on-board training for maritime vessels

In the maritime industry, it is of vital importance that personnel onboard ships are familiarized with the ship’s layout, along with safety equipment and processes for safeguarding of the individual seafarer and the ship’s crew. In fact, international maritime regulations require that all personnel employed or engaged on a seagoing ship receive proper familiarization training. However, several studies have identified lack of familiarization as a contributing factor to maritime incidents. There are several challenges associated with the current familiarization practices: cost, difficulty in optimizing planning, variation in practices in familiarization and the experience of the facilitator of familiarization process. This paper presents a study consisting of 58 students comparing traditional and virtual familiarization. No overall difference was found between real and virtual familiarization overall, although some differences were found for single waypoints. Individual differences were more important than treatment, indicating that virtual familiarization can perform on par with traditional approaches.Way-finding on-board training for maritime vesselsacceptedVersio