Vocational identity achievement as a mediator of presence of calling and life satisfaction

The present study explores what mechanism might be responsible for the reported link between presence of a calling in one’s career and life satisfaction. It is proposed that vocational identity achievement acts as one important mediator of this relation and that the effects can be observed even when controlling for core self-evaluations (CSEs). The study used a short-term longitudinal design based on a sample of 269 German college students from different majors. The results confirmed the mediation model, with calling predicting vocational identity achievement 6 months later and identity serving as a stronger predictor of life satisfaction, all controlling for CSEs. However, contrary to previous research, presence of calling was not directly related to life satisfaction and even showed a negative relation when vocational identity achievement was controlled. The results are interpreted to suggest a multifaceted relation between calling and life satisfaction.

Development and voluntarism in football clubs

Volunteers are still the most important resource for amateur football clubs. However, stable voluntary engagement can no longer be granted. This difficulty is confirmed by existing research across various European countries. From a club management point of view, a detailed understanding of how to attract volunteers and retain them is becoming a high priority. The purpose of this study is (1) to analyse the influence of individual characteristics and corresponding organisational conditions on volunteering and (2) to examine the decision-making processes in relation to implement effective strategies for recruiting volunteers. To answer these questions, the current state of research is summarised and then a multi-level-framework is developed which is based on the structural-individualistic social theory. The individual and context factors for volunteering are estimated in different multi-level models based on a sample of n=1,434 sport club members from 36 sport clubs in Switzerland. Results indicate that volunteering is not just an outcome of individual characteristics such as lower workloads, higher income, children belonging to the sport club, longer club membership, or a strong commitment to the club. It is also influenced by club-specific structural conditions. Concerning decision-making processes an in-depth analysis of recruitment practices for volunteers was conducted in selected clubs (case study design). based on the garbage can model. The results show that systematically designed decision-making processes with a clear regulation of responsibilities seem to solve personnel problems more purposefully and more quickly. Based on the findings some recommendations for volunteer management in football clubs are worked out.

Effects and uptake of gold nanoparticles deposited at the air–liquid interface of a human epithelial airway model

The impact of nanoparticles (NPs) in medicine and biology has increased rapidly in recent years. Gold NPs have advantageous properties such as chemical stability, high electron density and affinity to biomolecules, making them very promising candidates as drug carriers and diagnostic tools. However, diverse studies on the toxicity of gold NPs have reported contradictory results. To address this issue, a triple cell co-culture model simulating the alveolar lung epithelium was used and exposed at the air-liquid interface. The cell cultures were exposed to characterized aerosols with 15 nm gold particles (61 ng Au/cm2 and 561 ng Au/cm2 deposition) and incubated for 4 h and 24 h. Experiments were repeated six times. The mRNA induction of pro-inflammatory (TNFalpha, IL-8, iNOS) and oxidative stress markers (HO-1, SOD2) was measured, as well as protein induction of pro- and anti-inflammatory cytokines (IL-1, IL-2, IL-4, IL-6, IL-8, IL-10, GM-CSF, TNFalpha, INFgamma). A pre-stimulation with lipopolysaccharide (LPS) was performed to further study the effects of particles under inflammatory conditions. Particle deposition and particle uptake by cells were analyzed by transmission electron microscopy and design-based stereology. A homogeneous deposition was revealed, and particles were found to enter all cell types. No mRNA induction due to particles was observed for all markers. The cell culture system was sensitive to LPS but gold particles did not cause any synergistic or suppressive effects. With this experimental setup, reflecting the physiological conditions more precisely, no adverse effects from gold NPs were observed. However, chronic studies under in vivo conditions are needed to entirely exclude adverse effects.

Multiplex suspension array for human anti-carbohydrate antibody profiling

Glycan-binding antibodies form a significant subpopulation of both natural and acquired antibodies and play an important role in various immune processes. They are for example involved in innate immune responses, cancer, autoimmune diseases, and neurological disorders. In the present study, a microsphere-based flow-cytometric immunoassay (suspension array) was applied for multiplexed detection of glycan-binding antibodies in human serum. Several approaches for immobilization of glycoconjugates onto commercially available fluorescent microspheres were compared, and as the result, the design based on coupling of end-biotinylated glycopolymers has been selected. This method requires only minute amounts of glycans, similar to a printed glycan microarray. The resulting glyco-microspheres were used for detection of IgM and IgG antibodies directed against ABO blood group antigens. The possibility of multiplexing this assay was demonstrated with mixtures of microspheres modified with six different ABO related glycans. Multiplexed detection of anti-glycan IgM and IgG correlated well with singleplex assays (Pearson's correlation coefficient r = 0.95-0.99 for sera of different blood groups). The suspension array in singleplex format for A/B trisaccharide, H(di) and Le(x) microspheres corresponded well to the standard ELISA (r > 0.94). Therefore, the described method is promising for rapid, sensitive, and reproducible detection of anti-glycan antibodies in a multiplexed format.

Service-Centric Networking

Content-centric networking is a novel paradigm for the Future Internet that treats content as a first class citizen. This paper argues that content-centric networking should be generalized towards a service-centric networking scheme. We propose a service-centric networking design based on an object-oriented approach, in which content and services are considered objects. We show implementation architectures for example services and how these can benefit from service-oriented networking.

Cell-specific expression of human HGF by alveolar type II cells induces remodeling of septal wall tissue in the lung: a morphometric study

Hepatocyte growth factor (HGF) is involved in development and regeneration of the lungs. Human HGF, which was expressed specifically by alveolar epithelial type II cells after gene transfer, attenuated the bleomycin-induced pulmonary fibrosis in an animal model. As there are also regions that appear morphologically unaffected in fibrosis, the effects of this gene transfer to normal lungs is of interest. In vitro studies showed that HGF inhibits the formation of the basal lamina by cultured alveolar epithelial cells. Thus we hypothesized that, in the healthy lung, cell-specific expression of HGF induces a remodeling within septal walls. Electroporation of a plasmid of human HGF gene controlled by the surfactant protein C promoter was applied for targeted gene transfer. Using design-based stereology at light and electron microscopic level, structural alterations were analyzed and compared with a control group. HGF gene transfer increased the volume of distal air spaces, as well as the surface area of the alveolar epithelium. The volume of septal walls, as well as the number of alveoli, was unchanged. Volumes per lung of collagen and elastic fibers were unaltered, but a marked reduction of the volume of residual extracellular matrix (all components other than collagen and elastic fibers) and interstitial cells was found. A correlation between the volumes of residual extracellular matrix and distal air spaces, as well as total surface area of alveolar epithelium, could be established. Cell-specific expression of HGF leads to a remodeling of the connective tissue within the septal walls in the healthy lung, which is associated with more pronounced stretching of distal air spaces at a given hydrostatic pressure during instillation fixation.

Potential drought stress in a Swiss mountain catchment-Ensemble forecasting of high mountain soil moisture reveals a drastic decrease, despite major uncertainties

Climate change is expected to profoundly influence the hydrosphere of mountain ecosystems. The focus of current process-based research is centered on the reaction of glaciers and runoff to climate change; spatially explicit impacts on soil moisture remain widely neglected. We spatio-temporally analyzed the impact of the climate on soil moisture in a mesoscale high mountain catchment to facilitate the development of mitigation and adaptation strategies at the level of vegetation patterns. Two regional climate models were downscaled using three different approaches (statistical downscaling, delta change, and direct use) to drive a hydrological model (WaSiM-ETH) for reference and scenario period (1960–1990 and 2070–2100), resulting in an ensemble forecast of six members. For all ensembles members we found large changes in temperature, resulting in decreasing snow and ice storage and earlier runoff, but only small changes in evapotranspiration. The occurrence of downscaled dry spells was found to fluctuate greatly, causing soil moisture depletion and drought stress potential to show high variability in both space and time. In general, the choice of the downscaling approach had a stronger influence on the results than the applied regional climate model. All of the results indicate that summer soil moisture decreases, which leads to more frequent declines below a critical soil moisture level and an advanced evapotranspiration deficit. Forests up to an elevation of 1800 m a.s.l. are likely to be threatened the most, while alpine areas and most pastures remain nearly unaffected. Nevertheless, the ensemble variability was found to be extremely high and should be interpreted as a bandwidth of possible future drought stress situations.

A brief update on lung stereology

Lung stereology has a long and successful tradition. From mice to men, the application of new stereological methods at several levels (alveoli, parenchymal cells, organelles, proteins) has led to new insights into normal lung architecture, parenchymal remodelling in emphysema-like pathology, alveolar type II cell hyperplasia and hypertrophy and intracellular surfactant alterations as well as distribution of surfactant proteins. The Euler number of the network of alveolar openings, estimated using physical disectors at the light microscopic level, is an unbiased and direct estimate of alveolar number. Surfactant-producing alveolar type II cells can be counted and sampled for local size estimation with physical disectors at a high magnification light microscopic level. The number of their surfactant storage organelles, lamellar bodies, can be estimated using physical disectors at the EM level. By immunoelectron microscopy, surfactant protein distribution can be analysed with the relative labelling index. Together with the well-established classical stereological methods, these design-based methods now allow for a complete quantitative phenotype analysis in lung development and disease, including the structural characterization of gene-manipulated mice, at the light and electron microscopic level.

A parent-completed respiratory questionnaire for 1-year-old children: repeatability

BACKGROUND AND AIMS: There are few standardised questionnaires for the assessment of respiratory symptoms in preschool children. We have developed and tested the short-term repeatability of a postal questionnaire on respiratory symptoms for 1-year-old children. METHODS: A newly developed postal questionnaire for the assessment of wheeze and other respiratory symptoms was sent to parents of a population-based random sample of 4300 children aged 12-24 months. After an interval of 3 months, a random sample of 800 respondents received the questionnaire a second time. The responses were compared using Cohen's kappa (kappa) to assess agreement corrected for chance. RESULTS: The first questionnaire was returned by 3194 (74%) families, the second one by 460/800 (58%). Repeatability was excellent (kappa 0.80-0.96) for questions on household characteristics, environmental exposures and family history, good (kappa 0.61-0.80) for questions on prevalence, severity and treatment of wheeze, and moderate (kappa 0.39-0.66) for chronic cough and upper respiratory symptoms. CONCLUSIONS: This short postal questionnaire designed for use in population-based studies has excellent repeatability for family and household characteristics and good repeatability for questions on wheeze. Short-term changes in symptom status might be responsible for variable answers on recent chronic cough and upper respiratory symptoms. Overall, the questionnaire is a valuable instrument for community-based research on respiratory symptoms in 1 to 2-year-old children.

Artemisinin, an endoperoxide antimalarial, disrupts the hemoglobin catabolism and heme detoxification systems in malarial parasite

Endoperoxide antimalarials based on the ancient Chinese drug Qinghaosu (artemisinin) are currently our major hope in the fight against drug-resistant malaria. Rational drug design based on artemisinin and its analogues is slow as the mechanism of action of these antimalarials is not clear. Here we report that these drugs, at least in part, exert their effect by interfering with the plasmodial hemoglobin catabolic pathway and inhibition of heme polymerization. In an in vitro experiment we observed inhibition of digestive vacuole proteolytic activity of malarial parasite by artemisinin. These observations were further confirmed by ex vivo experiments showing accumulation of hemoglobin in the parasites treated with artemisinin, suggesting inhibition of hemoglobin degradation. We found artemisinin to be a potent inhibitor of heme polymerization activity mediated by Plasmodium yoelii lysates as well as Plasmodium falciparum histidine-rich protein II. Interaction of artemisinin with the purified malarial hemozoin in vitro resulted in the concentration-dependent breakdown of the malaria pigment. Our results presented here may explain the selective and rapid toxicity of these drugs on mature, hemozoin-containing, stages of malarial parasite. Since artemisinin and its analogues appear to have similar molecular targets as chloroquine despite having different structures, they can potentially bypass the quinoline resistance machinery of the malarial parasite, which causes sublethal accumulation of these drugs in resistant strains.

Targeted gene transfer of hepatocyte growth factor to alveolar type II epithelial cells reduces lung fibrosis in rats

Inefficient alveolar wound repair contributes to the development of pulmonary fibrosis. Hepatocyte growth factor (HGF) is a potent growth factor for alveolar type II epithelial cells (AECII) and may improve repair and reduce fibrosis. We studied whether targeted gene transfer of HGF specifically to AECII improves lung fibrosis in bleomycin-induced lung fibrosis. A plasmid encoding human HGF expressed from the human surfactant protein C promoter (pSpC-hHGF) was designed, and extracorporeal electroporation-mediated gene transfer of HGF specifically to AECII was performed 7 days after bleomycin-induced lung injury in the rat. Animals were killed 7 days after hHGF gene transfer. Electroporation-mediated HGF gene transfer resulted in HGF expression specifically in AECII at biologically relevant levels. HGF gene transfer reduced pulmonary fibrosis as assessed by histology, hydroxyproline determination, and design-based stereology compared with controls. Our results indicate that the antifibrotic effect of HGF is due in part to a reduction of transforming growth factor-β(1), modulation of the epithelial-mesenchymal transition, and reduction of extravascular fibrin deposition. We conclude that targeted HGF gene transfer specifically to AECII decreases bleomycin-induced lung fibrosis and may therefore represent a novel cell-specific gene transfer technology to treat pulmonary fibrosis.

Effects of exogenous surfactant on the non-heart-beating donor lung graft in experimental lung transplantation - a stereological study.

The use of non-heart-beating donor (NHBD) lungs may help to overcome the shortage of lung grafts in clinical lung transplantation, but warm ischaemia and ischaemia/reperfusion injury (I/R injury) resulting in primary graft dysfunction represent a considerable threat. Thus, better strategies for optimized preservation of lung grafts are urgently needed. Surfactant dysfunction has been shown to contribute to I/R injury, and surfactant replacement therapy is effective in enhancing lung function and structural integrity in related rat models. In the present study we hypothesize that surfactant replacement therapy reduces oedema formation in a pig model of NHBD lung transplantation. Oedema formation was quantified with (SF) and without (non-SF) surfactant replacement therapy in interstitial and alveolar compartments by means of design-based stereology in NHBD lungs 7 h after cardiac arrest, reperfusion and transplantation. A sham-operated group served as control. In both NHBD groups, nearly all animals died within the first hours after transplantation due to right heart failure. Both SF and non-SF developed an interstitial oedema of similar degree, as shown by an increase in septal wall volume and arithmetic mean thickness as well as an increase in the volume of peribron-chovascular connective tissue. Regarding intra-alveolar oedema, no statistically significant difference could be found between SF and non-SF. In conclusion, surfactant replacement therapy cannot prevent poor outcome after prolonged warm ischaemia of 7 h in this model. While the beneficial effects of surfactant replacement therapy have been observed in several experimental and clinical studies related to heart-beating donor lungs and cold ischaemia, it is unlikely that surfactant replacement therapy will overcome the shortage of organs in the context of prolonged warm ischaemia, for example, 7 h. Moreover, our data demonstrate that right heart function and dysfunctions of the pulmonary vascular bed are limiting factors that need to be addressed in NHBD.

Analysis of sport psychology consultancy at three Olympic Games: Facts and figures

Objectives Despite many reports on best practises regarding onsite psychological services, little research has attempted to systematically explore the frequency, issues, nature and client groups of onsite sport psychology consultancy at the Olympic Games. The present paper will fill this gap through a systematic analysis of the sport psychology consultancy of the Swiss team for the Olympic Games of 2006 in Turin, 2008 in Beijing and 2010 in Vancouver. Design Descriptive research design. Methods The day reports of the official sport psychologist were analysed. Intervention issues were labelled using categories derived from previous research and divided into the following four intervention-issue dimensions: “general performance”, “specific Olympic performance”, “organisational” and “personal” issues. Data were analysed using descriptive statistics, chi square statistics and odds ratios. Results Across the Olympic Games, between 11% and 25% of the Swiss delegation used the sport psychology services. On average, the sport psychologist provided between 2.1 and 4.6 interventions per day. Around 50% of the interventions were informal interventions. Around 30% of the clients were coaches. The most commonly addressed issues were performance related. An association was observed between previous collaboration, intervention likelihood and intervention theme. Conclusions Sport psychologists working at the Olympic Games are fully engaged with daily interventions and should have developed ideally long-term relationships with clients to truly help athletes with general performance issues. Critical incidents, working with coaches, brief contact interventions and team conflicts are specific features of the onsite consultancy. Practitioners should be trained to deal with these sorts of challenges.

Cognitive Interventions with Children with Special Needs - Transfer effects and multidisciplinary perspectives

Our last study with regularly developed children demonstrated a positive effect of working memory training on cognitive abilities. Building upon these findings, the aim of this multidisciplinary study is to investigate the effects of training of core functions with children who are suffering from different learning disabilities, like AD/HD, developmental dyslexia or specific language impairment. In addition to working memory training (BrainTwister), we apply a perceptual training, which concentrates on auditory-visual matching (Audilex), as well as an implicit concept learning task. We expect differential improvements of mental capacities, specifically of executive functions (working memory, attention, auditory and visual processing), scholastic abilities (language and mathematical skills), as well as of problem solving. With that, we hope to find further directions regarding helpful and individually adapted interventions in educational settings. Interested parties are invited to discuss and comment the design, the research question, and the possibilities in recruiting the subjects.

Image analysis of immunohistochemistry is superior to visual scoring as shown for patient outcome of esophageal adenocarcinoma.

Quantification of protein expression based on immunohistochemistry (IHC) is an important step in clinical diagnoses and translational tissue-based research. Manual scoring systems are used in order to evaluate protein expression based on staining intensities and distribution patterns. However, visual scoring remains an inherently subjective approach. The aim of our study was to explore whether digital image analysis proves to be an alternative or even superior tool to quantify expression of membrane-bound proteins. We analyzed five membrane-binding biomarkers (HER2, EGFR, pEGFR, β-catenin, and E-cadherin) and performed IHC on tumor tissue microarrays from 153 esophageal adenocarcinomas patients from a single center study. The tissue cores were scored visually applying an established routine scoring system as well as by using digital image analysis obtaining a continuous spectrum of average staining intensity. Subsequently, we compared both assessments by survival analysis as an end point. There were no significant correlations with patient survival using visual scoring of β-catenin, E-cadherin, pEGFR, or HER2. In contrast, the results for digital image analysis approach indicated that there were significant associations with disease-free survival for β-catenin, E-cadherin, pEGFR, and HER2 (P = 0.0125, P = 0.0014, P = 0.0299, and P = 0.0096, respectively). For EGFR, there was a greater association with patient survival when digital image analysis was used compared to when visual scoring was (visual: P = 0.0045, image analysis: P < 0.0001). The results of this study indicated that digital image analysis was superior to visual scoring. Digital image analysis is more sensitive and, therefore, better able to detect biological differences within the tissues with greater accuracy. This increased sensitivity improves the quality of quantification.