Career engagement : Investigating intraindividual predictors of weekly fluctuations in proactive career behaviors

The present study applies a micro-level perspective on how within-individual differences in motivational and social-cognitive factors affect the weekly fluctuations of engagement in proactive career behaviors among a group of 67 German university students. Career self-efficacy beliefs, perceived career barriers, experienced social career support, positive and negative emotions, and career engagement were assessed weekly for 13 consecutive weeks. Hierarchical linear regression analyses showed that above-average levels of career engagement within individuals were predicted by higher than average perceived social support and positive emotions during a given week. Conversely, within-individual differences in self-efficacy, barriers, and negative emotions had no effect. The results suggest that career interventions should provide boosts in social support and positive emotions.

The Corrosion of Career? - Occupational Trajectories of Business Economists and Engineers in Switzerland

Achievement careers are regarded as a distinctive element of the post-war period in occidental societies. Such a career was at once a modal trajectory of the modern parts of middleclass men and a social emblem for progress and success. However, if the achievement career came to be a biographical pattern with great normative power, its precise sequential course remained vague. Theories of the 1960s and 1970s described it as an orderly advancement within large firms. By the 1990s, scholars postulated an erosion of the organizational structures that once contributed to the institutionalization of careers, accompanied by a weakening of the normative weight of the achievement career by management discourse. We question the thesis of the corrosion of achievement career by analysing the trajectories of 442 engineers and business economists in Switzerland in regard to their orderliness, loyalty, and temporal rhythm. An inspection of types of careers and cohorts reveals that even if we face a decline of loyalty over time, hierarchical orderliness is not touched by those changes. Foremost, technical-industrial careers fit the loyal and regular pattern. Hence, this trajectory-type represents only a minority and is by far the slowest and least successful in terms of hierarchical ascension.

The role of career adaptability and work conditions on general and professional well-being.

This study, conducted with a representative sample of employed and unemployed adults living in Switzerland (N = 2002), focuses on work conditions (in terms of professional insecurity and job demands), career adaptability, and professional and general well-being. Analyses of covariance highlighted that both unemployed and employed participants with low job insecurity reported higher scores on career adaptability and several dimensions (notably on control) than employed participants with high job insecurity. Moreover, structural equation modeling for employed participants showed that, independent of work conditions, adaptability resources were positively associated both with general and professional well-being. As expected professional outcomes were strongly related to job strain and professional insecurity, emphasizing the central role of the work environment. Finally, career adaptability partially mediated the relationship between job strain and professional insecurity, and the outcome well-being.

Validation of the German version of the Career Adapt-Abilities Scale and its relation to orientations to happiness and work stress

Career adapt-ability has recently gained momentum as a psychosocial construct that not only has much to offer the field of career development, but also contributes to positive coping, adjustment and self-regulation through the four dimensions of concern, control, curiosity and confidence. The positive psychology movement, with concepts such as the orientations to happiness, explores the factors that contribute to human flourishing and optimum functioning. This research has two main contributions; 1) to validate a German version of the Career Adapt-Abilities Scale (CAAS), and 2) to extend the contribution of adapt-abilities to the field of work stress and explore its mediating capacity in the relation between orientations to happiness and work stress. We used a representative sample of the German-speaking Swiss working population including 1204 participants (49.8% women), aged between 26 and 56 (Mage = 42.04). Results indicated that the German version of the CAAS is valid, with overall high levels of model fit suggesting that the conceptual structure of career adapt-ability replicates well in this cultural context. Adapt-abilities showed a negative relationship to work stress, and a positive one with orientations to happiness. The engagement and pleasure scales of orientations to happiness also correlated negatively with work stress. Moreover, career adapt-ability mediates the relationship between orientations to happiness and work stress. In depth analysis of the mediating effect revealed that control is the only significant mediator. Thus control may be acting as a mechanism through which individuals attain their desired life at work subsequently contributing to reduced stress levels.

Physicians' attitudes towards prevention: importance of intervention-specific barriers and physicians' health habits.

BACKGROUND: Several studies have explored physicians' attitudes towards prevention and barriers to the delivery of preventive health interventions. However, the relative importance of these previously identified barriers, both in general terms and in the context of a number of specific preventive interventions, has not been identified. Certain barriers may only pertain to a subset of preventive interventions. OBJECTIVES: We aimed to determine the relative importance of identified barriers to preventive interventions and to explore the association between physicians' characteristics and their attitudes towards prevention. METHODS: We conducted a cross-sectional survey of 496 of the 686 (72.3% response rate) generalist physicians from three Swiss cantons through a questionnaire asking physicians to rate the general importance of eight preventive health strategies and the relative importance of seven commonly cited barriers in relation to each specific preventive health strategy. RESULTS: The proportion of physicians rating each preventive intervention as being important varied from 76% for colorectal cancer screening to 100% for blood pressure control. Lack of time and lack of patient interest were generally considered to be important barriers by 41% and 44% of physicians, respectively, but the importance of these two barriers tended to be specifically higher for counselling-based interventions. Lack of training was most notably a barrier to counselling about alcohol and nutrition. Four characteristics of physicians predicted negative attitudes toward alcohol and smoking counselling: consumption of more than three alcoholic drinks per day [odds ratio (OR) = 8.4], sedentary lifestyle (OR = 3.4), lack of national certification (OR = 2.2) and lack of awareness of their own blood pressure (OR = 2.0). CONCLUSIONS: The relative importance of specific barriers varies across preventive interventions. This points to a need for tailored practice interventions targeting the specific barriers that impede a given preventive service. The negative influence of physicians' own health behaviours indicates a need for associated population-based interventions that reduce the prevalence of high-risk behaviours in the population as a whole.

PKCζ Mediates Breakdown of Outer Blood-Retinal Barriers in Diabetic Retinopathy.

AIMS/HYPOTHESIS: Diabetic macular edema represents the main cause of visual loss in diabetic retinopathy. Besides inner blood retinal barrier breakdown, the role of the outer blood retinal barrier breakdown has been poorly analyzed. We characterized the structural and molecular alterations of the outer blood retinal barrier during the time course of diabetes, focusing on PKCζ, a critical protein for tight junction assembly, known to be overactivated by hyperglycemia. METHODS: Studies were conducted on a type2 diabetes Goto-Kakizaki rat model. PKCζ level and subcellular localization were assessed by immunoblotting and immunohistochemistry. Cell death was detected by TUNEL assays. PKCζ level on specific layers was assessed by laser microdissection followed by Western blotting. The functional role of PKCζ was then evaluated in vivo, using intraocular administration of its specific inhibitor. RESULTS: PKCζ was localized in tight junction protein complexes of the retinal pigment epithelium and in photoreceptors inner segments. Strikingly, in outer segment PKCζ staining was restricted to cone photoreceptors. Short-term hyperglycemia induced activation and delocalization of PKCζ from both retinal pigment epithelium junctions and cone outer segment. Outer blood retinal barrier disruption and photoreceptor cone degeneration characterized long-term hyperglycemia. In vivo, reduction of PKCζ overactivation using a specific inhibitor, restored its tight-junction localization and not only improved the outer blood retinal barrier, but also reduced photoreceptor cell-death. CONCLUSIONS: In the retina, hyperglycemia induced overactivation of PKCζ is associated with outer blood retinal barrier breakdown and photoreceptor degeneration. In vivo, short-term inhibition of PKCζ restores the outer barrier structure and reduces photoreceptor cell death, identifying PKCζ as a potential target for early and underestimated diabetes-induced retinal pathology.

A New Twist on Radiation Oncology: Low-Dose Irradiation Elicits Immunostimulatory Macrophages that Unlock Barriers to Tumor Immunotherapy.

Tumor-infiltrating macrophages typically promote angiogenesis while suppressing antitumoral T cell responses. In this issue of Cancer Cell, Klug and colleagues report that clinically-feasible, low-dose irradiation redirects macrophage differentiation from a tumor-promoting/immunosuppressive state to one that enables cytotoxic T cells to infiltrate tumors and kill cancer cells, rendering immunotherapy successful in mice.

Characterization of root apoplastic barriers in Arabidopsis thaliana

In vascular plants, the best-known feature of a differentiated endodermal cell is the "Casparian Strip" (CS). This structure refers to a highly localized cell wall impregnation in the transversal and anticlinal walls of the cell, which surrounds the cell like a belt/ring and is tightly coordinated with respect to neighboring cells. Analogous to tight junctions in animal epithelia, CS in plants act as a diffusion barrier that controls the movement of water and ions from soil into the stele. Since its first description by Robert Caspary in 1865 there have been many attempts to identify the chemical nature of the cell wall deposition in CS. Suberin, lignin, or both have been claimed to be the important components of CS in a series of different species. However, the exact chemical composition of CS has remained enigmatic. This controversy was due to the confusion and lack of knowledge regarding the precise measurement of three developmental stages of the endodermis. The CS represent only the primary stage of endodermal differentiation, which is followed by the deposition of suberin lamellae all around the cellular surface of endodermal cells (secondary developmental stage). Therefore, chemical analysis of whole roots, or even of isolated endodermal tissues, will always find both of the polymers present. It was crucial to clarify this point because this will guide our efforts to understand which cell wall biosynthetic component becomes localized in order to form the CS. The main aim of my work was to find out the major components of (early) CS, as well as their spatial and temporal development, physiological roles and relationship to barrier formation. Employing the knowledge and tools that have been accumulated over the last few years in the model plant Arabidopsis thaliana, various histological and chemical assays were used in this study. A particular feature of my work was to completely degrade, or inhibit formation of lignin and suberin biopolymers by biochemical, classical genetic and molecular approaches and to investigate its effect on CS formation and the establishment of a functional diffusion barrier. Strikingly, interference with monolignol biosynthesis abrogates CS formation and delays the formation of function diffusion barrier. In contrast, transgenic plants devoid of any detectable suberin still develop a functional CS. The combination of all these assays clearly demonstrates that the early CS polymer is made from monolignol (lignin monomers) and is composed of lignin. By contrast, suberin is formed much later as a secondary wall during development of endodermis. These early CS are functionally sufficient to block extracellular diffusion and suberin does not play important role in the establishment of early endodermal diffusion barrier. Moreover, suberin biosynthetic machinery is not present at the time of CS formation. Our study finally concludes the long-standing debate about the chemical nature of CS and opens the door to a new approach in lignin research, specifically for the identification of the components of the CS biosynthetic pathway that mediates the localized deposition of cell walls. I also made some efforts to understand the patterning and differentiation of endodermal passage cells in young roots. In the literature, passage cells are defined as a non- suberized xylem pole associated endodermal cells. Since these cells only contain the CS but not the suberin lamellae, it has been assumed that these cells may offer a continued low-resistance pathway for water and minerals into the stele. Thus far, no genes have been found to be expressed specifically in passage cells. In order to understand the patterning, differentiation, and physiological role of passage it would be crucial to identify some genes that are exclusively expressed in these cells. In order to identify such genes, I first generated fluorescent marker lines of stele-expressed transporters that have been reported to be expressed in the passage cells. My aim was to first highlight the passage cells in a non-specific way. In order to find passage cell specific genes I then adapted a two-component system based on previously published methods for gene expression profiling of individual cell types. This approach will allow us to target only the passage cells and then to study gene expression specifically in this cell type. Taken together, this preparatory work will provide an entry point to understand the formation and role of endodermal passage cells. - Chez les plantes vasculaires, la caractéristique la plus commune des cellules différentiées de l'endoderme est la présence de cadres de Caspary. Cette structure correspond à une imprégnation localisée des parties transversales et anticlinales de la paroi cellulaire. Cela donne naissance, autour de la cellule, à un anneau/cadre qui est coordonné par rapport aux cellules voisines. De manière analogue aux jonctions serrées des épithéliums chez les animaux, les cadres de Caspary agissent chez les plantes comme barrière de diffusion, contrôlant le mouvement de l'eau et des ions à travers la racine entre le sol et la stèle. Depuis leur première description par Robert Caspary en 1865, beaucoup de tentatives ont eu pour but de définir la nature chimique de ces cadres de Caspary. Après l'étude de différentes espèces végétales, à la fois la subérine, la lignine ou les deux ont été revendiquées comme étant des composants importants de ces cadres. Malgré tout, leur nature chimique exacte est restée longtemps énigmatique. Cette controverse provient de la confusion et du manque de connaissance concernant la détermination précise des trois stades de développement de l'endoderme. Les cadres de Caspary représentent uniquement le stade primaire de différentiation de l'endoderme. Celui-ci est suivi par le second stade de différentiation, la déposition de lamelles de subérine tout autour de la cellule endodermal. De ce fait, l'analyse chimique de racines entières ou de cellules d'endoderme isolées ne permet pas de séparer les stades de différentiation primaire et secondaire et aboutit donc à la présence des deux polymères. Il est également crucial de clarifier ce point dans le but de connaître quelle machinerie cellulaire localisée à la paroi cellulaire permet l'élaboration des cadres de Caspary. En utilisant les connaissances et les outils accumulés récemment grâce à la plante modèle Arabidopsis thaliana, divers techniques histologiques et chimiques ont été utilisées dans cette étude. Un point particulier de mon travail a été de dégrader ou d'inhiber complètement la formation de lignine ou de subérine en utilisant des approches de génétique classique ou moléculaire. Le but étant d'observer l'effet de l'absence d'un de ces deux polymères sur la formation des cadres de Caspary et l'établissement d'une barrière de diffusion fonctionnelle. De manière frappante, le fait d'interférer avec la voie de biosynthèse de monolignol (monomères de lignine) abolit la formation des cadres de Caspary et retarde l'élaboration d'une barrière de diffusion fonctionnelle. Par contre, des plantes transgéniques dépourvues d'une quantité détectable de subérine sont quant à elles toujours capables de développer des cadres de Caspary fonctionnels. Mises en commun, ces expériences démontrent que le polymère formant les cadres de Caspary dans la partie jeune de la racine est fait de monolignol, et que de ce fait il s'agit de lignine. La subérine, quant à elle, est formée bien plus tard durant le développement de l'endoderme, de plus il s'agit d'une modification de la paroi secondaire. Ces cadres de Caspary précoces faits de lignine suffisent donc à bloquer la diffusion extracellulaire, contrairement à la subérine. De plus, la machinerie de biosynthèse de la subérine n'est pas encore présente au moment de la formation des cadres de Caspary. Notre étude permet donc de mettre un terme au long débat concernant la nature chimique des cadres de Caspary. De plus, elle ouvre la porte à de nouvelles approches dans la recherche sur la lignine, plus particulièrement pour identifier des composants permettant la déposition localisée de ce polymère dans la paroi cellulaire. J'ai aussi fais des efforts pour mettre en évidence la formation ainsi que le rôle des cellules de passage dans les jeunes racines. Dans la littérature, les cellules de passage sont définies comme de la cellule endodermal faisant face aux pôles xylèmes et dont la paroi n'est pas subérisée. Du fait que ces cellules contiennent uniquement des cadres de Caspary et pas de lamelle de subérine, il a été supposé qu'elles ne devraient offrir que peu de résistance au passage de l'eau et des nutriments entre le sol et la stèle. Le rôle de ces cellules de passage est toujours loin d'être clair, de plus aucun gène s'exprimant spécifiquement dans ces cellules n'a été découvert à ce jour. De manière à identifier de tels gènes, j'ai tout d'abord généré des marqueurs fluorescents pour des transporteurs exprimés dans la stèle mais dont l'expression avait également été signalée dans l'endoderme, uniquement dans les cellules de passage. J'ai ensuite développé un système à deux composants basé sur des méthodes déjà publiées, visant principalement à étudier le profil d'expression génique dans un type cellulaire donné. En recoupant les gènes exprimés spécifiquement dans l'endoderme à ceux exprimés dans la stèle et les cellules de passage, il nous sera possible d'identifier le transriptome spécifique de ces cellules. Pris dans leur ensemble, ces résultats devraient donner un bon point d'entrée dans la définition et la compréhension des cellules de passage.

Multiple refugia and barriers explain the phylogeography of the Valais shrew, Sorex antinorii (Mammalia: Soricomorpha), Sorex antinorii (Mammalia: Soricomorpha)

The aim of the present study was to investigate the genetic structure of the Valais shrew (Sorex antinorii) by a combined phylogeographical and landscape genetic approach, and thereby to infer the locations of glacial refugia and establish the influence of geographical barriers. We sequenced part of the mitochondrial cytochrome b (cyt b) gene of 179 individuals of S. antinorii sampled across the entire species' range. Six specimens attributed to S. arunchi were included in the analysis. The phylogeographical pattern was assessed by Bayesian molecular phylogenetic reconstruction, population genetic analyses, and a species distribution modelling (SDM)-based hindcasting approach. We also used landscape genetics (including isolation-by-resistance) to infer the determinants of current intra-specific genetic structure. The phylogeographical analysis revealed shallow divergence among haplotypes and no clear substructure within S. antinorii. The starlike structure of the median-joining network is consistent with population expansion from a single refugium, probably located in the Apennines. Long branches observed on the same network also suggest that another refugium may have existed in the north-eastern part of Italy. This result is consistent with SDM, which also suggests several habitable areas for S. antinorii in the Italian peninsula during the LGM. Therefore S. antinorii appears to have occupied disconnected glacial refugia in the Italian peninsula, supporting previous data for other species showing multiple refugia within southern refugial areas. By coupling genetic analyses and SDM, we were able to infer how past climatic suitability contributed to genetic divergence of populations. The genetic differentiation shown in the present study does not support the specific status of S. arunchi.

"I'll look it up on the Web first": barriers and overcoming barriers to consult for sexual dysfunction among young men.

QUESTIONS UNDER STUDY: Our aim was to identify the barriers young men face to consult a health professional when they encounter sexual dysfunctions and where they turn to, if so, for answers. METHODS: We conducted an exploratory qualitative research including 12 young men aged 16-20 years old seen in two focus groups. Discussions were triggered through vignettes about sexual dysfunction. RESULTS: Young men preferred not to talk about sexual dysfunction problems with anyone and to solve them alone as it is considered an intimate and embarrassing subject which can negatively impact their masculinity. Confidentiality appeared to be the most important criterion in disclosing an intimate subject to a health professional. Participants raised the problem of males' accessibility to services and lack of reason to consult. Two criteria to address the problem were if it was long-lasting or considered as physical. The Internet was unanimously considered as an initial solution to solve a problem, which could guide them to a face-to-face consultation if necessary. CONCLUSIONS: Results suggest that Internet-based tools should be developed to become an easy access door to sexual health services for young men. Wherever they consult and for whatever problem, sexual health must be on the agenda.