Engaged,Workaholic, Burned‐Out or Just 9‐to‐5? Toward a Typology of Employee Well‐being

The aim of this study was to establish a typology of employee well‐being, together with its psychosocial antecedents and consequences. Results obtained with a sample of 786 full‐time employees from different occupational sectors show four types of employee well‐being: 9‐to‐5 or relaxed, work engaged or enthusiastic, workaholic or tense, and burned‐out or fatigued, each having different relationships with job and personal characteristics. This study provides evidence of a parsimonious, theory‐based classification of employee well‐being and contributes to the existing literature about work investment because meaningful relations were found between various types of employee well‐being, and heavy and soft work investors. Copyright © 2013 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Use of SARS‐CoV‐2‐infected deceased organ donors: Should we always “just say no?”

In the context of a rapidly evolving pandemic, multiple organizations have released guidelines stating that all organs from potential deceased donors with severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS‐CoV‐2) infection should be deferred, including from otherwise medically eligible donors found to have mild or asymptomatic SARS‐CoV‐2 discovered on routine donor screening. In this article, we critically examine the available data on the risk of transmission of SARS‐CoV‐2 through organ transplantation. The isolation of SARS‐CoV‐2 from nonlung clinical specimens, the detection of SARS‐CoV‐2 in autopsy specimens, previous experience with the related coronaviruses SARS‐CoV and MERS‐CoV, and the vast experience with other common RNA respiratory viruses are all addressed. Taken together, these data provide little evidence to suggest the presence of intact transmissible SARS‐CoV in organs that can potentially be transplanted, specifically liver and heart. Other considerations including ethical, financial, societal, and logistical concerns are also addressed. We conclude that, for selected patients with high waitlist mortality, transplant programs should consider accepting heart or liver transplants from deceased donors with SARS‐CoV‐2 infection.     

Implications for the usage of the left lateral liver graft for infants ≤10 kg,irrespective of a large‐for‐size situation – are monosegmental grafts redundant?

Organ donor shortage for infant liver transplant recipients has lead to an increase in splitting and living donation. For cases in which even transplantation of the left lateral graft (Couinaud’s segments II + III) results in a “large for size situation” with an estimated graft body weight ratio (GBWR) of >4%, monosegmental liver transplantation was developed. This, however, bears complications because of greater parenchymal surface and suboptimal vascular flow. We exclusively use the left lateral graft from living donors or split grafts. Temporary abdominal closure is attempted in cases of increased pressure. We report of 41 pediatric transplants in 38 children ≤10 kg. Within this group, there were 23 cases with a GBWR of ≥4, and 15 cases with a GBWR <4. There was no statistical difference in vascular or biliary complications. Despite a more frequent rate of temporary abdominal closure, we did not find a higher rate of intra‐abdominal infections. Overall, patient and graft survival was excellent in both groups (one death, three re‐transplants). We noticed, however, that the ventro–dorsal diameter of the graft appears to be more relevant to potential graft necrosis than the actual graft size. In conclusion, the usage of monosegmental grafts seems unnecessary if transplantation of left lateral grafts is performed by an experienced multidisciplinary team, and temporary abdominal closure is favored in cases of increased abdominal pressure.     

Is β‐endorphin significant in the control of the male sexual response?

It has been assumed that β‐endorphin, belonging to the family of opiodergic neuropeptides, might facilitate the inhibition of the male sexual response; however, its role in the control of the penile erectile tissue remains to be elucidated. This study aimed to evaluate in healthy men the course of β‐endorphin in the systemic and cavernous blood through different stages of sexual arousal. Thirty‐four (34) men were exposed to erotic stimuli to induce penile tumescence and rigidity. Blood was aspirated from the corpus cavernosum and a cubital vein during the penile conditions flaccidity, tumescence, rigidity and detumescence. Plasma levels of β‐endorphin were determined by means of radioimmunometric methods. The effects of β‐endorphin on isolated human penile erectile tissue were investigated in vitro. β‐endorphin did not induce a contractile response of the cavernous tissue or reverse the contraction induced by noradrenaline. β‐endorphin decreased in the systemic blood when the penis became tumescent and rigid and increased during detumescence. In the cavernous blood, no alterations in β‐endorphin concentrations were observed. The drop in β‐endorphin observed during tumescence and rigidity seems likely to reflect the inhibition of the opioidergic input with the beginning of sexual arousal.     

Does Bone Resorption Stimulate Periosteal Expansion? A Cross‐Sectional Analysis of β‐C‐telopeptides of Type I Collagen (CTX), Genetic Markers of the RANKL Pathway,and Periosteal Circumference as Measured by pQCT

We hypothesized that bone resorption acts to increase bone strength through stimulation of periosteal expansion. Hence, we examined whether bone resorption, as reflected by serum β‐C‐telopeptides of type I collagen (CTX), is positively associated with periosteal circumference (PC), in contrast to inverse associations with parameters related to bone remodeling such as cortical bone mineral density (BMD_C). CTX and mid‐tibial peripheral quantitative computed tomography (pQCT) scans were available in 1130 adolescents (mean age 15.5 years) from the Avon Longitudinal Study of Parents and Children (ALSPAC). Analyses were adjusted for age, gender, time of sampling, tanner stage, lean mass, fat mass, and height. CTX was positively related to PC (β = 0.19 [0.13, 0.24]) (coefficient = SD change per SD increase in CTX, 95% confidence interval)] but inversely associated with BMD_C (β = –0.46 [–0.52,–0.40]) and cortical thickness [β = –0.11 (–0.18, –0.03)]. CTX was positively related to bone strength as reflected by the strength‐strain index (SSI) (β = 0.09 [0.03, 0.14]). To examine the causal nature of this relationship, we then analyzed whether single‐nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) within key osteoclast regulatory genes, known to reduce areal/cortical BMD, conversely increase PC. Fifteen such genetic variants within or proximal to genes encoding receptor activator of NF‐κB (RANK), RANK ligand (RANKL), and osteoprotegerin (OPG) were identified by literature search. Six of the 15 alleles that were inversely related to BMD were positively related to CTX (p < 0.05 cut‐off) (n = 2379). Subsequently, we performed a meta‐analysis of associations between these SNPs and PC in ALSPAC (n = 3382), Gothenburg Osteoporosis and Obesity Determinants (GOOD) (n = 938), and the Young Finns Study (YFS) (n = 1558). Five of the 15 alleles that were inversely related to BMD were positively related to PC (p < 0.05 cut‐off). We conclude that despite having lower BMD, individuals with a genetic predisposition to higher bone resorption have greater bone size, suggesting that higher bone resorption is permissive for greater periosteal expansion. © 2014 The Authors. Journal of Bone and Mineral Research published by Wiley Periodicals, Inc. on behalf of the American Society for Bone and Mineral Research. This is an open access article under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits use, distribution and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.     

Short‐term testing of heart rate variability in heart‐transplanted children: equal to 24‐h ECG recordings?

INTRODUCTION: Heart rate variability (HRV) is reduced in adults and children after cardiac transplantation. Testing of HRV has been used to assess re-innervation of the cardiac graft; its reliability in ruling out acute graft rejection is still under investigation. This study used a short-term test on HRV in 23 heart and heart-lung transplanted children and adolescents and compared the results with 24-h ECG recordings. PATIENTS AND METHODS: Twenty-three subjects (16.3+/-4.2 yr; 10 females) underwent a 10-min HRV test at two occasions and one 24-h ECG. HRV was calculated according to the time domain method (RR interval, standard deviation of RR interval) and the frequency domain method (total power, LF and HF for assessment of sympathovagal modulation of heart rate). RESULTS: Correlation between the short-term tests and 24-h ECG was high with regard to the frequency domain analysis of HRV. Correlation was less pronounced in the time domain method. CONCLUSIONS: In heart and heart-lung-transplanted children and adolescents, due to reduced overall HRV short-term testing may give as reliable data as 24-h ECG. Therefore, especially when power spectral analysis has to be performed as a longitudinal assessment of re-innervation of the cardiac graft, short-term testing may offer an easily applicable and non-invasive diagnostic tool. Further studies are warranted to investigate whether HRV testing may contribute to rule out acute graft rejection.