Sleep quality,sleepiness and the influence of workplace breaks: A cross-sectional survey of health-care workers in two US hospitals

ABSTRACT

This study assessed sleep quality, sleepiness and use of workplace break opportunities in 1285 health-care workers via an online questionnaire. Two hospitals were surveyed – one with and one without a fatigue mitigation policy. Across all respondents, 68.9% reported generally taking breaks of at least 30 min and 21.7% had access to a quiet place to rest, with no significant differences between hospitals. The presence of a fatigue mitigation policy was not associated with reduced sleepiness. However, accounting for hospital and shift characteristics, employees with access to a quiet place to rest while on break had significantly lower self-reported sleepiness scores.     

Delayed egg‐laying and shortened incubation duration of Arctic‐breeding shorebirds coincide with climate cooling

Biological impacts of climate change are exemplified by shifts in phenology. As the timing of breeding advances, the within‐season relationships between timing of breeding and reproductive traits may change and cause long‐term changes in the population mean value of reproductive traits. We investigated long‐term changes in the timing of breeding and within‐season patterns of clutch size, egg volume, incubation duration, and daily nest survival of three shorebird species between two decades. Based on previously known within‐season patterns and assuming a warming trend, we hypothesized that the timing of clutch initiation would advance between decades and would be coupled with increases in mean clutch size, egg volume, and daily nest survival rate. We monitored 1,378 nests of western sandpipers, semipalmated sandpipers, and red‐necked phalaropes at a subarctic site during 1993–1996 and 2010–2014. Sandpipers have biparental incubation, whereas phalaropes have uniparental incubation. We found an unexpected long‐term cooling trend during the early part of the breeding season. Three species delayed clutch initiation by 5 days in the 2010s relative to the 1990s. Clutch size and daily nest survival showed strong within‐season declines in sandpipers, but not in phalaropes. Egg volume showed strong within‐season declines in one species of sandpiper, but increased in phalaropes. Despite the within‐season patterns in traits and shifts in phenology, clutch size, egg volume, and daily nest survival were similar between decades. In contrast, incubation duration did not show within‐season variation, but decreased by 2 days in sandpipers and increased by 2 days in phalaropes. Shorebirds demonstrated variable breeding phenology and incubation duration in relation to climate cooling, but little change in nonphenological components of traits. Our results indicate that the breeding phenology of shorebirds is closely associated with the temperature conditions on breeding ground, the effects of which can vary among reproductive traits and among sympatric species.     

Multiple-Antibiotic Resistance of Enterococcus spp. Isolated from Commercial Poultry Production Environments

The potential impact of food animals in the production environment on the bacterial population as a result of antimicrobial drug use for growth enhancement continues to be a cause for concern. Enterococci from 82 farms within a poultry production region on the eastern seaboard were isolated to establish a baseline of susceptibility profiles for a number of antimicrobials used in production as well as clinical environments. Of the 541 isolates recovered, Enterococcus faecalis (53%) and E. faecium (31%) were the predominant species, while multiresistant antimicrobial phenotypes were observed among all species. The prevalence of resistance among isolates of E. faecalis was comparatively higher among lincosamide, macrolide, and tetracycline antimicrobials, while isolates of E. faecium were observed to be more frequently resistant to fluoroquinolones and penicillins. Notably, 63% of the E. faecium isolates were resistant to the streptogramin quinupristin-dalfopristin, while high-level gentamicin resistance was observed only among the E. faecalis population, of which 7% of the isolates were resistant. The primary observations are that enterococci can be frequently isolated from the poultry production environment and can be multiresistant to antimicrobials used in human medicine. The high frequency with which resistant enterococci are isolated from this environment suggests that these organisms might be useful as sentinels to monitor the development of resistance resulting from the usage of antimicrobial agents in animal production.     

Stable isotopes in leaf water of terrestrial plants

Leaf water contains naturally occurring stable isotopes of oxygen and hydrogen in abundances that vary spatially and temporally. When sufficiently understood, these can be harnessed for a wide range of applications. Here, we review the current state of knowledge of stable isotope enrichment of leaf water, and its relevance for isotopic signals incorporated into plant organic matter and atmospheric gases. Models describing evaporative enrichment of leaf water have become increasingly complex over time, reflecting enhanced spatial and temporal resolution. We recommend that practitioners choose a model with a level of complexity suited to their application, and provide guidance. At the same time, there exists some lingering uncertainty about the biophysical processes relevant to patterns of isotopic enrichment in leaf water. An important goal for future research is to link observed variations in isotopic composition to specific anatomical and physiological features of leaves that reflect differences in hydraulic design. New measurement techniques are developing rapidly, enabling determinations of both transpired and leaf water δ¹⁸O and δ²H to be made more easily and at higher temporal resolution than previously possible. We expect these technological advances to spur new developments in our understanding of patterns of stable isotope fractionation in leaf water.     

FTIR-monitored thermal titration reveals different mechanisms for the alkaline isomerization of tuna compared to horse and bovine cytochromes c

 Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy is used to compare the thermally induced conformational changes in horse, bovine and tuna ferricytochromes c in 50 mM phosphate/0.2 M KCl. Thermal titration in D₂O at pD 7.0 of the amide II intensity of the buried peptide NH protons reveals tertiary structural transitions at 54  °C in horse and at 57  °C in bovine c. These transitions, which occur well before loss of secondary structure, are associated with the alkaline isomerization involving Met80 heme-ligand exchange. In tuna c, the amide-II-monitored alkaline isomerization occurs at 35  °C, followed by a second amide II transition at 50  °C revealing a hitherto unreported conformational change in this cytochrome. Amide II transitions at 50  °C (tuna) and 54  °C (horse) are also observed during the thermal titration of the CN^–-ligated cytochromes (where CN^– displaces the Met80 ligand), but a well-defined 35  °C amide II transition is absent from the titration curve of the CN^–adduct of tuna c. The different mechanisms suggested by the FTIR data for the alkaline isomerization of tuna and the mammalian cytochromes c are discussed. After the alkaline isomerization, loss of secondary structure and protein aggregation occur within a 5  °C range with T _m values at 74  °C (bovine c), 70  °C (horse c) and 65  °C (tuna c), as monitored by changes in the amide I′ bands. The FTIR spectra were also used to compare the secondary structures of the ferricytochromes c at 25  °C. Curve fitting of the amide I (H₂O) and amide I′ (D₂O) bands reveals essentially identical secondary structure in horse and bovine c, whereas splitting of the α-helical absorption of tuna c indicates the presence of less-stable helical structures. CN^– adduct formation results in no FTIR-detectable changes in the secondary structures of either tuna or horse c, indicating that Met80 ligation does not influence the secondary structural elements in these cytochromes. The data provided here demonstrate for the first time that the selective thermal titration of the amide II intensity of buried peptide NH protons in D₂O is a powerful tool in protein conformational analysis. Received: 1 April 1999 / Accepted: 24 August 1999     

Molecular detection of bacterial indicators in cosmetic/pharmaceuticals and raw materials

PCR assays were compared with standard microbiological methods for rapid detection of the United States Pharmacopoeia (USP) bacterial indicators in artificially contaminated samples of raw materials and cosmetic/pharmaceutical products. DNA primers containing the specific sequences of the uidA gene of the β-glucuronidase enzyme for Escherichia coli, the membrane lipoprotein gene oprL for Pseudomonas aeruginosa, and the 16S ribosomal gene for Staphylococcus aureus were used for detection in the PCR reaction. Contaminated samples were incubated for 24 h at 35°C. After incubation in broth media with and without 4% Tween 20, samples were streaked on selective growth media. After 5–6 days, all microbial indicators were morphologically and biochemically identified using standard methods while detection and identification by the PCR-based assays was completed within 27–30 h. Rapid PCR detection of E. coli, S. aureus, and P. aeruginosa will allow a faster quality evaluation and release of raw materials and cosmetic/pharmaceutical products sensitive to microbial contamination. Received 21 June 1998/ Accepted in revised form 11 January 1999     

Contribution of the ERK5/MEK5 pathway to Ras/Raf signaling and growth control.

The activity of the catalytic domain of the orphan MAP kinase ERK5 is increased by Ras but not Raf-1 in cells, which suggests that ERK5 might mediate Raf-independent signaling by Ras. We found that Raf-1 does contribute to Ras activation of ERK5 but in a manner that does not correlate with Raf-1 catalytic activity. A clue to the mechanism of action of Raf-1 on ERK5 comes from the observation that endogenous Raf-1 binds to endogenous ERK5, suggesting the involvement of regulatory protein-protein interactions. This interaction is specific because Raf-1 binds only to ERK5 and not ERK2 or SAPK. Finally, we demonstrate the ERK5/MEK5 pathway is required for Raf-dependent cellular transformation and that a constitutively active form of MEK5, MEK5DD, synergizes with Raf to transform NIH 3T3 cells. These observations suggest that ERK5 plays a large role in Raf-1-mediated signal transduction.