Burnout as a predictor of all-cause mortality among industrial employees: A 10-year prospective register-linkage study

Objective: Burnout, a psychological consequence of prolonged work stress, has been shown to coexist with physical and mental disorders. The aim of this study was to investigate whether burnout is related to all-cause mortality among employees. Methods: In 1996, of 15,466 Finnish forest industry employees, 9705 participated in the 'Still Working' study and 8371 were subsequently identified from the National Population Register. Those who had been treated in a hospital for the most common causes of death prior to the assessment of burnout were excluded on the basis of the Hospital Discharge Register, resulting in a final study population of 7396 people. Burnout was measured using the Maslach Burnout Inventory-General Survey. Dates of death from 1996 to 2006 were extracted from the National Mortality Register. Mortality was predicted with Cox hazard regression models, controlling for baseline sociodemographic factors and register-based health status according to entitled medical reimbursement and prescribed medication for mental health problems, cardiac risk factors, and pain problems. Results: During the 10-year 10-month follow-up, a total of 199 employees had died. The risk of mortality per one-unit increase in burnout was 35% higher (95% CI 1.07-1.71) for total score and 26% higher (0.99-1.60) for exhaustion, 29% higher for cynicism (1.03-1.62), and 22% higher for diminished professional efficacy (0.96-1.55) in participants who had been under 45 at baseline. After adjustments, only the associations regarding burnout and exhaustion were statistically significant. Burnout was not related to mortality among the older employees. Conclusion: Burnout, especially work-related exhaustion, may be a risk for overall survival. (C) 2010 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Lack of Predictability at Work and Risk of Acute Myocardial Infarction: An 18-Year Prospective Study of Industrial Employees

Objectives. We examined whether the distinctive components of job control-decision authority, skill discretion, and predictability-were related to subsequent acute myocardial infarction (MI) events in a large population of initially heart disease-free industrial employees.

Thin catalytic coatings on microreactor walls A way to make industrial processes more efficient

Current trends in the development of microstructured reactors with thin catalytic films (from 100 nm up to several microns) that have self-assembled nanostructures are discussed. A major technique that is used to prepare such films is sol-gel processing. This involves depositing a complex fluid on a microstructured substrate by dip, spin, or spray coating, followed by surfactant removal to form the porous nanostructures. A novel methodology has been developed by which a uniform coating containing controlled amounts of (poly) metallic nanoparticles can be obtained. This elegant strategy is based on the condensation of metal oxide species by self-assembly in the presence of metallic colloids. The potential microreactor applications brought forth by this innovative protocol are placed in perspective in the light of its versatility.

Hubble Space Telescope imaging of the progenitor sites of six nearby core-collapse supernovae

The search for the progenitors of six core-collapse supernovae (CCSNe) in archival Hubble Space Telescope (HST) WFPC2 pre-explosion imaging is presented. These SNe are 1999an, 1999br, 1999ev, 2000ds, 2000ew and 2001B. Post-explosion imaging of the SNe, with the HST ACS/WFC, has been utilized with the technique of differential astrometry to identify the progenitor locations on the pre-explosion imaging. SNe 1999br, 1999ev, 2000ew and 2001B are recovered in late-time imaging, and estimates of the progenitor locations on the pre-explosion imaging, with subpixel accuracy, have been made. Only the progenitor of the Type II-P SN 1999ev has been recovered, on pre-explosion F555W imaging, at a 4.8 sigma significance level. Assuming a red supergiant progenitor, the pre-explosion observation is consistent with M-ZAMS = 15-18 M-circle dot. The progenitors of the other five SNe were below the 3 sigma detection threshold of the pre-explosion observations. The detection thresholds were translated to mass limits for the progenitors by comparison with stellar evolution models. Pre-explosion observations of the peculiarly faint SN 1999br limit the mass of a red supergiant progenitor to M-ZAMS

A study of endonuclease III-sensitive sites in irradiated DNA: detection of alpha-particle-induced oxidative damage

An important difference between chemical agents that induce oxidative damage in DNA and ionizing radiation is that radiation-induced damage is clustered locally on the DNA, Both modelling and experimental studies have predicted the importance of clustering of lesions induced by ionizing radiation and its dependence on radiation quality. With increasing linear energy transfer, it is predicted that complex lesions will be formed within 1-20 bp regions of the DNA, As well as strand breaks, these sites may contain multiple damaged bases, We have compared the yields of single strand breaks (ssb) and double strand breaks (dsb) along with those produced by treatment of irradiated DNA with the enzyme endonuclease III, which recognizes a number of oxidized pyrimidines in DNA and converts them to strand breaks. Plasmid DNA was irradiated under two different scavenging conditions to test the involvement of OH radicals with either Co-60 gamma-rays or alpha-particles from a Pu-238 source. Under low scavenging conditions (10 mM Tris) gamma-irradiation induced 7.1x10(-7) ssb Gy/bp, which increased 3.7-fold to 2.6 x 10(-6) ssb Gy/bp with endo III treatment. In contrast the yields of dsb increased by 4.2-fold from 1.5 x 10(-8) to 6.3 x 10(-8) dsb Gy/bp, This equates to an additional 2.5% of the endo III-sensitive sites being converted to dsb on enzyme treatment. For alpha-particles this increased to 9%. Given that endo III sensitive sites may only constitute similar to 40% of the base lesions induced in DNA, this suggests that up to 6% of the ssb measured in X- and 22% in alpha-particle-irradiated DNA could have damaged bases associated with them contributing to lesion complexity.

Evidence for the direct binding of phosphorylated p53 to sites of DNA breaks in vivo

Despite a clear link between ataxia-telangiectasia mutated (ATM)-dependent phosphorylation of p53 and cell cycle checkpoint control, the intracellular biology and subcellular localization of p53 phosphoforms during the initial sensing of DNA damage is poorly understood. Using GO-G, confluent primary human diploid fibroblast cultures, we show that endogenous p53, phosphorylated at Ser(15) (p53(Ser15)), accumulates as discrete, dose-dependent and chromatin-bound foci within 30 minutes following induction of DNA breaks or DNA base damage. This biologicafly distinct subpool of p53(Ser15) is ATM dependent and resistant to 26S-proteasomal degradation. p53(Ser15) colocalizes and coimmunoprecipitates with gamma-H2AX with kinetics similar to that of biochemical DNA double-strand break (DNA-dsb) rejoining. Subnuclear micro-beam irradiation studies confirm p53 S,,15 is recruited to sites of DNA damage containing gamma-H2AX, ATM(Ser1981), and DNA-PKcs(Thr2609) in vivo. Furthermore, studies using isogenic human and murine cells, which express Ser(15) or Ser(18) phosphomutant proteins, respectively, show defective nuclear foci formation, decreased induction of p21(WAF) decreased gamma-H2AX association, and altered DNA-dsb kinetics following DNA damage. Our results suggest a unique biology for this p53 phosphoform in the initial steps of DNA damage signaling and implicates ATM-p53 chromatin-based interactions as mediators of cell cycle checkpoint control and DNA repair to prevent carcinogenesis. (Cancer Res 2005; 65(23): 10810-21).