Previous studies have suggested that a general factor exists at the top of the hierarchal structure of personality. One interpretation of this General Factor of Personality (GFP) is that it reflects ...social effectiveness. Accordingly, in a large employee sample (N = 1267), we tested whether the GFP relates to several outcomes assumed to be linked with social effectiveness. Specifically, we examine whether the GFP is positively related to salary and to obtaining a leadership position. Additionally, we test whether high-GFP employees more often work in social occupations. Controlling for demographics and background variables, it was found that the GFP is indeed positively related to monthly (gross) salary. Moreover, employees occupying leadership positions in organizations scored higher on the GFP. GFP scores of employees in more social occupations (e.g., education, health care) were higher than of employees in other types of jobs (e.g., construction). GFP scores were also positively associated with the extent to which one has to relate to others in the job. Overall, the pattern of findings is in line with the notion of the GFP as relating to social effectiveness or adaptiveness, which are assumed to play a significant role in occupational outcomes.
Port-based central venous catheters may remain indwelling for years with subsequent fibrosis resulting in a “stuck” catheter. At time of removal, this can lead to complications such as catheter ...fracture or require additional operative techniques for safe extraction. We present a case utilizing a protocol wherein a J-tip guidewire is placed to assist in removal. We believe this serves the following beneficial functions: Mechanically, as the catheter stretches and collapses upon retraction it distributes the force circumferentially along the length of the catheter as well as reduces angular kinking, mitigating stress points of fracture. Second, in case of fracture, the distal portion should remain intubated by the J-tip guidewire, reducing embolic potential. Third, it allows more facile percutaneous transvenous retrieval if indicated. Though this does not represent a perfect solution to the “stuck” catheter problem, this technique increases safety and efficacy of removal with easy application at minimal additional cost.
Corticobasal degeneration (CBD) is a neurodegenerative disorder affecting movement and cognition, definitively diagnosed only at autopsy. Here, we conduct a genome-wide association study (GWAS) in ...CBD cases (n=152) and 3,311 controls, and 67 CBD cases and 439 controls in a replication stage. Associations with meta-analysis were 17q21 at MAPT (P=1.42 × 10(-12)), 8p12 at lnc-KIF13B-1, a long non-coding RNA (rs643472; P=3.41 × 10(-8)), and 2p22 at SOS1 (rs963731; P=1.76 × 10(-7)). Testing for association of CBD with top progressive supranuclear palsy (PSP) GWAS single-nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) identified associations at MOBP (3p22; rs1768208; P=2.07 × 10(-7)) and MAPT H1c (17q21; rs242557; P=7.91 × 10(-6)). We previously reported SNP/transcript level associations with rs8070723/MAPT, rs242557/MAPT, and rs1768208/MOBP and herein identified association with rs963731/SOS1. We identify new CBD susceptibility loci and show that CBD and PSP share a genetic risk factor other than MAPT at 3p22 MOBP (myelin-associated oligodendrocyte basic protein).
It was hypothesized that religiosity is positively associated with religious in-group favoritism. This hypothesis was tested using the second wave of data from the Midlife in the United States ...representative survey of middle adulthood. The sample included White participants from four religious groups (Baptists, Catholics, Methodists, and Jews). Consistent with the hypothesis, when analyzing the full sample and within each of the four religious groups, religiosity was predictive of in-group favoritism. However, while differences between religious groups in in-group favoritism emerged, and remained when controlling for the previously found group differences in intelligence and personality, the group differences in in-group favoritism were not mediated by religiosity. For example, while Baptists scored high in both religiosity and in-group favoritism, Jews scored low in religiosity yet high in in-group favoritism. Possible explanations for these findings are discussed, such as genetic similarity among group members.
•Within religious groups religiosity was predictive of in-group favoritism.•Baptists exhibited the highest level of religiosity.•Jews exhibited the lowest level of religiosity.•Baptists and Jews each exhibited high levels of in-group favoritism.•Reasons for in-group religious favoritism are discussed.
A retrospective review of prospective data of all patients undergoing extreme lateral interbody fusion (XLIF) for degenerative disease of the lumbar and thoracic spine.
To compare between obese and ...nonobese patients, the incidence of early complications and predictive factors affecting complication rate.
XLIF is a 90-degree off midline approach that allows for large graft placement, excellent disk height restoration, and indirect decompression at the stenotic motion segment. As the psoas muscle is traversed, the lumbosacral plexus is protected by the use of automated electrophysiology through dynamic discrete evoked electromyogram thresholding. Exposure is achieved with an expandable split-blade retractor, which allows for direct illuminated visualization facilitating discectomy and complete anterior column stabilization by using a large load-bearing implant that rests on the dense ring apophysis bilaterally.
A retrospective chart review of a prospectively compiled database of all patients treated with the XLIF procedure between October 2006 and July 2008 was completed. Early complications were defined as any adverse events occurring within the first 3 months of the index procedure. The National Institute of Health Guidelines for defining obesity relating to body mass index were used.
Out of 432 patients, 313 have complete data: 156 obese, 157 nonobese. The ages, comorbidities, earlier surgeries, and diagnoses were equivalent. There were no transfusions and no infections. Complications were minimal and about the same in each group.
Unlike traditional open lumbar fusion procedures, minimally invasive surgery (XLIF) has no greater risk of complication in the obese patient.
The fabrication and characterization of a micro- chamber electrode array for electrical and electrochemical studies of individual biological cells are presented. The geometry was tailored ...specifically for measurements from sensory hair cells isolated from the cochlea of the mammalian inner ear. Conventional micro- electromechanical system (MEMS) fabrication techniques were combined with a heat-sealing technique and polydimethylsiloxane micromolding to achieve a multilayered microfluidic system that facilitates cell manipulation and selection. The system allowed for electrical stimulation of individual living cells and interrogation of excitable cell membrane dielectric properties as a function of space and time. A three-electrode impedimetric system was incorporated to provide the additional ability to record the time-dependent concentrations of specific biochemicals in microdomain volumes near identified regions of the cell membrane. The design and fabrication of a robust fluidic and electrical interface are also described. The interface provided the flexibility and simplicity of a "cartridge- based" approach in connecting to the MEMS devices. Cytometric measurement capabilities were characterized by using electric impedance spectroscopy (1 kHz-10 MHz) of isolated outer hair cells. Chemical sensing capability within the microchannel recording chamber was characterized by using cyclic voltammetry with varying concentrations of potassium ferricyanide (K 3 Fe(CN)6). Chronoamperometric recordings of electrically stimulated PC12 cells highlight the ability of the platform to resolve exocytosis events from individual cells.
The present studies investigated the influence of presystemic signals on the control of thirst, salt appetite, and vasopressin (VP) secretion in rats during nonhypotensive hypovolemia. Rats were ...injected with 30% polyethylene glycol (PEG) solution, deprived of food and water overnight, and then allowed to drink water, 0.15 M NaCl, or 0.30 M NaCl. The PEG treatment, which produced 30-40% plasma volume deficits, elicited rapid intakes in an initial bout of drinking, but rats consumed much more 0.15 M NaCl than water or 0.30 M NaCl. In considering why drinking stopped sooner when water or concentrated saline was ingested, it seemed relevant that little or no change in systemic plasma Na(+) concentration was observed during the initial bouts and that the partial repair of hypovolemia was comparable, regardless of which fluid was consumed. In rats that drank 0.15 M NaCl, gastric emptying was fastest and the combined volume of ingested fluid in the stomach and small intestine was largest. These and other observations are consistent with the hypothesis that fluid ingestion by hypovolemic rats is inhibited by distension of the stomach and proximal small intestine and that movement of dilute or concentrated fluid into the small intestine provides another presystemic signal that inhibits thirst or salt appetite, respectively. On the other hand, an early effect of water or saline consumption on VP secretion in PEG-treated rats was not observed, in contrast to recent findings in dehydrated rats. Thus the controls of fluid ingestion and VP secretion are similar but not identical during hypovolemia.
SUMMARY
1. Precise control over the cardiovascular system requires the integration of both neural and humoral signals related to blood volume and blood pressure. Humoral signals interact with neural ...systems, modulating their control over the efferent mechanisms that ultimately determine the level of pressure and volume.
2. Peptide hormones such as angiotensin (Ang)II and arginine vasopressin (AVP) act through circumventricular organs (CVO) to influence cardiovascular regulation.
3. The area postrema (AP), a CVO in the brainstem, mediates at least some of the central actions of these peptides. Vasopressin appears to act in the AP to cause sympathoinhibition and a shift in baroreflex control of the sympathetic nervous system (SNS) to lower pressures. These effects of AVP and the AP appear to be mediated by α2‐adrenoceptor and glutamatergic mechanisms in the nucleus tractus solitarius.
4. In contrast to AVP AngII has effects in the AP to blunt baroreflex control of heart rate and cause sympathoexcitation. The effects of chronic AngII to increase activity of the SNS may be due to AP‐dependent activation of neurons in the rostral ventrolateral medulla.
Estimation of leaf photosynthetic rate (A) from leaf nitrogen content (N) is both conceptually and numerically important in models of plant, ecosystem, and biosphere responses to global change. The ...relationship between A and N has been studied extensively at ambient CO2 but much less at elevated CO2. This study was designed to (i) assess whether the A–N relationship was more similar for species within than between community and vegetation types, and (ii) examine how growth at elevated CO2 affects the A–N relationship. Data were obtained for 39 C3 species grown at ambient CO2 and 10 C3 species grown at ambient and elevated CO2. A regression model was applied to each species as well as to species pooled within different community and vegetation types. Cluster analysis of the regression coefficients indicated that species measured at ambient CO2 did not separate into distinct groups matching community or vegetation type. Instead, most community and vegetation types shared the same general parameter space for regression coefficients. Growth at elevated CO2 increased photosynthetic nitrogen use efficiency for pines and deciduous trees. When species were pooled by vegetation type, the A–N relationship for deciduous trees expressed on a leaf‐mass basis was not altered by elevated CO2, while the intercept increased for pines. When regression coefficients were averaged to give mean responses for different vegetation types, elevated CO2 increased the intercept and the slope for deciduous trees but increased only the intercept for pines. There were no statistical differences between the pines and deciduous trees for the effect of CO2. Generalizations about the effect of elevated CO2 on the A–N relationship, and differences between pines and deciduous trees will be enhanced as more data become available.
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