The Mental Health Consequences of Work-Life and Life-Work Conflicts for STEM Postdoctoral Trainees.

Research has shown that work-life conflicts exist among all kinds of workers, including academics, and these conflicts are a key contributor to workers' reports of poor well-being. Very little research has been done on work-life conflict among post-baccalaureate PhD trainees (e.g., graduate students and postdoctoral trainees) who reside in an important liminal stage in the professoriate pipeline. In this study, we examine the degree to which postdocs believe they suffer from conflicts between their work responsibilities and their home responsibility and the relationship between those conflicts and postdoc's mental health. We argue that, like other workers, postdocs suffer (in numerical terms and its relationship to health) more from the work-to-life imbalances than from life-to-work imbalances; life matters more than work, ultimately. Our results, based on a survey of 215 STEM postdoctoral trainees, reveal that a majority of postdocs say they have work-life conflicts and these work-life conflicts are associated with negative mental health outcomes. We discuss the potential impact of these findings on attempts to broaden participation in STEM careers and diversify the professoriate.

Effect of dietary soybean lecithin on fish performance, hemato-immunological parameters, lipid biochemistry, antioxidant status, digestive enzymes activity and intestinal histomorphometry of pre-spawning Caspian brown trout (Salmo trutta caspius).

A feeding experiment was conducted to evaluate the effects of dietary soybean lecithin (SBL) supplementation on performance, hemato-immunological parameters, lipid biochemistry, antioxidant status, digestive enzymes activity and intestinal histomorphometry of Caspian brown trout, Salmo trutta caspius in the pre-spawning stage. The basal diet was supplemented with 0% (control), 3%, 6%, 9% and 12% of SBL to obtain five experimental diets. Fish with an average weight of 350 ±â€¯10 g were randomly distributed among five experimental groups and fed for 90 days. Dietary SBL resulted in better performance including specific growth rate (SGR), weight gain (WG) and feed conversion ratio (FCR) (p < 0.05). Among the different hemato-immunological parameters, white blood cell counts (WBC), lysozyme, alternative complement activity (ACH50) and total immunoglobulin (IgM) content of serum were significantly increased with dietary SBL inclusion (p < 0.05). For antioxidant enzymes, glutathione S-transferase (GST) and catalase (CAT) showed significant differences among various experimental diets (p < 0.05). Furthermore, digestive enzymes activity including alkaline protease, lipase and amylase were increased in those fish received SBL supplemented diets (p < 0.05). Our results revealed that the dietary SBL improved some physiological responses of the fish and indicate 6-9% dietary SBL supplementation would improve the physiological competence of the pre-spawning Caspian brown trout breeders.

Effects of regular exercise plus food restriction on left ventricular pathological remodeling in heart failure­induced rats.

BACKGROUND: Cardiac remodeling is the main pathophysiological process leading to heart failure. Exercise and food restriction have been shown to exert some profound physiological benefits. OBJECTIVES: This study investigated the effects of exercise plus food restriction (FR) on rat left ventricular remodeling. METHODS: Fifty male rats were randomly divided into 5 groups. 1) Sham (saline injection), 2) ISO (isoproterenol injection), 3) FR+ ISO (8 weeks with 60 % food restriction and then isoproterenol injection), 4) E+ISO (run-in period of 4 weeks on treadmill and then isoproterenol injection), and 5) FR+E+ISO. Serum levels of creatine kinase, nitric oxide, gene expression of microtubule-associated protein 1 light chain 3-I and II, Beclin-1, Bax and Bcl2 and TUNEL staining were investigated. RESULTS: ISO increased the plasma CK-MB level, gene expression of Bax and TUNEL­positive cells in left ventricle and at the same time, decreased the serum level of NO. Regular exercise plus food restriction enhanced the expression of LC3B-II, Beclin-1, Bcl2 genes and elevated LC3B-II / LC3B-Ι, while decreasing the gene expression of Bax and TUNEL­positive cells in the left ventricle. CONCLUSION: Our results propose that exercise plus food restriction is more effective than either therapy alone for possibly preserving cardiac internal defenses against heart failure consequences and remodeling (Tab. 2, Fig. 3, Ref. 20).

An Examination of Applicants and Factors Associated with Matriculation to Complex General Surgical Oncology Fellowship Training Programs.

BACKGROUND: The demand for training in complex general surgical oncology (CGSO) fellowships currently exceeds the number of positions offered; however, there are scarce data defining the applicant pool or characteristics associated with successful matriculation. Our study described the applicant population and to determine factors associated with acceptance into the fellowship. STUDY DESIGN: Data were extracted from the Electronic Residency Application System for applicants in 2015 and 2016 and stratified based on matriculation status. Applicant demographics, including medical education, residency, and research achievements, were analyzed. Academic productivity was quantified using the number of peer-reviewed publications as well as the journal with the highest impact factor in which an applicant's work was published. RESULTS: Data were gathered on a total of 283 applicants, of which 105 matriculated. The overall population was primarily male (63.2%), Caucasian (40.6%), educated at a U.S. allopathic medical school (53.4%), and trained at a university-based General Surgery residency (55.5%). Education at a U.S. allopathic school (OR = 5.63, p < 0.0001), university-based classification of the applicant's surgical residency (OR = 4.20, p < 0.0001), and a residency affiliation with a CGSO fellowship (OR = 2.61, p = 0.004) or National Cancer Institute designated Comprehensive Cancer Center (OR = 3.16, p < 0.001) were found to be associated with matriculation. Matriculants published a higher number of manuscripts than nonmatriculants (median of 10 vs. 4.5, p < 0.0001) and more frequently achieved publication in journals with higher impact factors (p < 0.0001). CONCLUSIONS: This study represents the first objective description of the CGSO fellowship applicant pool. Applicants' medical school, residency, and research data points correlated with successful matriculation.

Investigation of relationship between quality of working life and organizational commitment of nurses in teaching hospitals in Tabriz in 2014.

The current research aimed to investigate the link between the quality of working life and the systematic commitment of nurses in the teaching hospitals in Tabriz. The methodology used was functional regarding the purpose and the proportional allocation as far as the stratified sampling method was concerned. The study population consisted of all the nurses in Tabriz. The instrument used in this study was a standard questionnaire, whose reliability was approved in national and international studies. Also data were collected and inserted into SPSS 20 software and a statistical analysis was performed. The results showed that the individuals' quality of working life had a direct effect on their action in the organization.

Novel in Vitro Efficiency of Chitosan Biomolecule against Trichomonas gallinae.

BACKGROUND: Development of new natural agents for parasitic diseases treatment has unexpectedly increased to overcome effectively against emergence and re-emergence of parasitic diseases, the appearance of drug resistant organisms and toxic side effects of current agents. The aim of the study was to evaluate antiprotozoal activities of chitosan biomolecule on trophozoites of Trichomonas gallinae. METHODS: The antitrichomonal activity of various low molecular weight chitosan concentrations including 125, 250, 500 and 1250 µg ml(-1) against T. gallinae trophozoites cultured in trypticase-yeast extract-maltose medium supplemented with heat-inactivated cold horse serum was evaluated in vitro. Samples containing medium without chitosan were also assayed as controls. RESULTS: The mortality rates at 0, 3 and 6 h post treatment with all concentrations were significantly different from control group (P<0.05). Treated trophozoites showed more susceptibility to the highest concentration reaching mortality rate of 100% at 3h post inoculation. However, at this time, results for 125, 250 and 500 µg ml(-1) were 93%, 95% and 96.7%, respectively. CONCLUSION: The results demonstrate that the application of chitosan biomolecule is a promising option for treatment of trichomoniasis in pigeons.