Work-Related Mental Health and Job Performance: Can Mindfulness Help?

Work-related mental health issues such as work-related stress and addiction to work impose a significant health and economic burden to the employee, the employing organization, and the country of work more generally. Interventions that can be empirically shown to improve levels of work-related mental health – especially those with the potential to concurrently improve employee levels of work performance – are of particular interest to occupational stakeholders. One such broad-application interventional approach currently of interest to occupational stakeholders in this respect is mindfulness-based interventions (MBIs). Following a brief explication of the mindfulness construct, this paper critically discusses current research directions in the utilization of mindfulness in workplace settings and assesses its suitability for operationalization as an organization-level work-related mental health intervention. By effecting a perceptual-shift in the mode of responding and relating to sensory and cognitive-affective stimuli, employees that undergo mindfulness training may be able to transfer the locus of control for stress from external work conditions to internal metacognitive and attentional resources. Therefore, MBIs may constitute cost-effective organization-level interventions due to not actually requiring any modifications to human resource management systems and practises. Based on preliminary empirical findings and on the outcomes of MBI studies with clinical populations, it is concluded that MBIs appear to be viable interventional options for organizations wishing to improve the mental health of their employees

Lean manufacturing culture: The role of human perceptions of standardized work

The final publication is available at IOS Press through http://dx.doi.org/10.3233/978-1-61499-902-7-523.Lean implementation and its sustainability are strongly coupled with organizational culture and consequently the culture defines success. Organizational culture is strongly linked with organizational dynamics. Work standardization is one of the lean tools whose role in terms of organizational performance improvement has been claimed in the literature; however, its implications in terms of employee's perceptions are still controversial. This study aims at investigating the effect of position on employee's perception about the standardized work. Four textile manufacturing companies in Pakistan were selected for the purpose of data collection, where the implementation level of the tool and organizational maturity towards lean adoption were initially measured. A questionnaire was administered to 326 employees from these organizations. The overall data sample was divided into two categories (white-collar and blue-collar). Data analysis was by F-tests (for identifying significance levels) and separate regression analyses (for identifying variables associated with negative perceptions of employees). A significant difference was found between white-collar employees, who were generally positive about the standardization of work, and the blue-collar employees that had negative perceptions. Moreover, the study concluded that positive perceptions about standardized work are directly linked with job satisfaction and inversely linked with job stress

Stationary Black Holes: Uniqueness and Beyond

The spectrum of known black-hole solutions to the stationary Einstein equations has been steadily increasing, sometimes in unexpected ways. In particular, it has turned out that not all black-hole-equilibrium configurations are characterized by their mass, angular momentum and global charges. Moreover, the high degree of symmetry displayed by vacuum and electro-vacuum black-hole spacetimes ceases to exist in self-gravitating non-linear field theories. This text aims to review some developments in the subject and to discuss them in light of the uniqueness theorem for the Einstein-Maxwell system.Comment: Major update of the original version by Markus Heusler from 1998. Piotr T. Chru\'sciel and Jo\~ao Lopes Costa succeeded to this review's authorship. Significantly restructured and updated all sections; changes are too numerous to be usefully described here. The number of references increased from 186 to 32

Isolated and dynamical horizons and their applications

Over the past three decades, black holes have played an important role in quantum gravity, mathematical physics, numerical relativity and gravitational wave phenomenology. However, conceptual settings and mathematical models used to discuss them have varied considerably from one area to another. Over the last five years a new, quasi-local framework was introduced to analyze diverse facets of black holes in a unified manner. In this framework, evolving black holes are modeled by dynamical horizons and black holes in equilibrium by isolated horizons. We review basic properties of these horizons and summarize applications to mathematical physics, numerical relativity and quantum gravity. This paradigm has led to significant generalizations of several results in black hole physics. Specifically, it has introduced a more physical setting for black hole thermodynamics and for black hole entropy calculations in quantum gravity; suggested a phenomenological model for hairy black holes; provided novel techniques to extract physics from numerical simulations; and led to new laws governing the dynamics of black holes in exact general relativity.Comment: 77 pages, 12 figures. Typos and references correcte

Hematological and Biochemical Parameters of Pregnant and Lactating Goats in Rangeland of Cholistan Desert, Bahawalpur, Pakistan

Jattal goats (n=90) of approximately 2-6 years of age being reared in Cholistan desert of Pakistan were studied during January to December, 2015 to examine the alterations in hematochemical parameters of Jattal goats at different reproductive phases while feeding on natural vegetations of desert areas of Cholistan. These were divided into three equal groups (non-pregnant, pregnant and lactating). Blood samples were collected by jugular vein puncture from goats of these three groups. Hematological parameters, white blood cells (WBC), lymphocytes (LYM), monocytes (MON), granulocytes (GRA), red blood cells ( RBC), hemoglobin (Hb), hematocrit ( HCT), mean corpuscular volume (MCV), mean cell hemoglobin (MCH), mean cell hemoglobin concentration ( MCHC) and red cell distribution width RDW were recorded. The results obtained revealed that all these parameters were generally lower in non-pregnant goats. The study revealed that significant higher values of hemoglobin (Hb), mean cell hemoglobin (MCH) and mean corpuscular volume (MCV) were observed in the lactating goats (P<0.05). Pregnant goats showed a significantly (P<0.05) higher values of leucocytes (WBC) than lactating and non-pregnant goats. Plasma sodium (Na) and potassium (K) concentration were markedly lower in lactating goats. Plasma alanine aminotransferase (ALT) and aspartate aminotransferase (AST) were significantly lower in pregnant goats. The Plasma concentration of cholesterol and triglycerides were higher in pregnant goats. In conclusion in present study changes in some hematochemical parameters have been determined in pregnant, non-pregnant and lactating goats of Jattal breed.Jattal goats (n=90) of approximately 2-6 years of age being reared in Cholistan desert of Pakistan were studied during January to December, 2015 to examine the alterations in hematochemical parameters of Jattal goats at different reproductive phases while feeding on natural vegetations of desert areas of Cholistan. These were divided into three equal groups (non-pregnant, pregnant and lactating). Blood samples were collected by jugular vein puncture from goats of these three groups. Hematological parameters, white blood cells (WBC), lymphocytes (LYM), monocytes (MON), granulocytes (GRA), red blood cells ( RBC), hemoglobin (Hb), hematocrit ( HCT), mean corpuscular volume (MCV), mean cell hemoglobin (MCH), mean cell hemoglobin concentration ( MCHC) and red cell distribution width RDW were recorded. The results obtained revealed that all these parameters were generally lower in non-pregnant goats. The study revealed that significant higher values of hemoglobin (Hb), mean cell hemoglobin (MCH) and mean corpuscular volume (MCV) were observed in the lactating goats (P<0.05). Pregnant goats showed a significantly (P<0.05) higher values of leucocytes (WBC) than lactating and non-pregnant goats. Plasma sodium (Na) and potassium (K) concentration were markedly lower in lactating goats. Plasma alanine aminotransferase (ALT) and aspartate aminotransferase (AST) were significantly lower in pregnant goats. The Plasma concentration of cholesterol and triglycerides were higher in pregnant goats. In conclusion in present study changes in some hematochemical parameters have been determined in pregnant, non-pregnant and lactating goats of Jattal breed

Alterations in ethanol-induced behaviors and consumption in knock-in mice expressing ethanol-resistant NMDA receptors

Ethanol's action on the brain likely reflects altered function of key ion channels such as glutamatergic N-methyl-D-aspartate receptors (NMDARs). In this study, we determined how expression of a mutant GluN1 subunit (F639A) that reduces ethanol inhibition of NMDARs affects ethanol-induced behaviors in mice. Mice homozygous for the F639A allele died prematurely while heterozygous knock-in mice grew and bred normally. Ethanol (44 mM; ∼0.2 g/dl) significantly inhibited NMDA-mediated EPSCs in wild-type mice but had little effect on responses in knock-in mice. Knock-in mice had normal expression of GluN1 and GluN2B protein across different brain regions and a small reduction in levels of GluN2A in medial prefrontal cortex. Ethanol (0.75-2.0 g/kg; IP) increased locomotor activity in wild-type mice but had no effect on knock-in mice while MK-801 enhanced activity to the same extent in both groups. Ethanol (2.0 g/kg) reduced rotarod performance equally in both groups but knock-in mice recovered faster following a higher dose (2.5 g/kg). In the elevated zero maze, knock-in mice had a blunted anxiolytic response to ethanol (1.25 g/kg) as compared to wild-type animals. No differences were noted between wild-type and knock-in mice for ethanol-induced loss of righting reflex, sleep time, hypothermia or ethanol metabolism. Knock-in mice consumed less ethanol than wild-type mice during daily limited-access sessions but drank more in an intermittent 24 h access paradigm with no change in taste reactivity or conditioned taste aversion. Overall, these data support the hypothesis that NMDA receptors are important in regulating a specific constellation of effects following exposure to ethanol. © 2013 den Hartog et al

Endovascular covered stenting for the management of post-percutaneous nephrolithotomy renal pseudoaneurysm: a case report

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Introduction</p> <p>Intrarenal pseudoaneurysm is a rare, yet clinically significant, complication of percutaneous nephrolithotomy. A high index of clinical suspicion is necessary in order to recognize pseudoaneurysm as the cause of delayed bleeding after percutaneous nephrolithotomy and angiography confirms the diagnosis which allows endovascular management.</p> <p>Case presentation</p> <p>We present a case of a 65-year old Caucasian woman who underwent percutaneous nephrolithotomy in the supine position for a two centimetre renal calculus. The postoperative course was complicated by persistent bleeding due to a renal pseudoaneurysm. The vascular lesion was successfully managed by endovascular exclusion through the use of a covered stent graft. We report the first successful use of this method for the management of iatrogenic pseudoaneurysm in a branch of the left renal artery and we focus on the imaging findings, technical details, advantages and limitations of this technique.</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>As a result of its high efficacy, interventional radiology has largely replaced open surgery for the management of renal pseudoaneurysm related to percutaneous nephrolithotomy. Recent technical advancements have allowed the use of covered stent grafts as an alternative to embolisation for the angiographic management of visceral artery pseudoaneurysm located in other organs. This novel technique allows the endovascular exclusion of the pseudoaneurysm, without compromising arterial supply to the end-structures - an advantage of critical importance in organs supplied by segmental arteries - in the absence of collateral vasculature, such as the kidney.</p

Inguinal lymph node metastases from a testicular seminoma: a case report and a review of the literature

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Introduction</p> <p>We report the case of a true hermaphrodite with testicular seminoma with resulting metastases to the inguinal lymph nodes eight months after radical orchidectomy. This is an unusual presentation of testicular cancer and, to the best of our knowledge, the first report of this kind in the literature.</p> <p>Case presentation</p> <p>A 45-year-old Caucasian true hermaphrodite, raised as a male, developed a testicular seminoma. He had undergone a left orchidopexy at the age of 10 for undescended testes. Metastases from testicular tumors to inguinal lymph nodes are a rare occurrence. It has been suggested that previous inguinal or scrotal surgery may alter the pattern of nodal metastasis of testicular cancer. We review the literature to evaluate the incidence of inguinal lymph node involvement in early stage testicular cancer and discuss possible routes of metastases to this unusual site. We also discuss the management of the inguinal lymph nodes in patients with testicular tumors and a previous history of inguinal or scrotal surgery, as this remains controversial.</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>Inguinal lymph node metastases from testicular cancer are rare. A history of inguinal or scrotal surgery may predispose involvement of the inguinal nodes. During radical inguinal orchidectomy, the surgeon should be careful to minimize the handling of the testis and ensure high ligation of the spermatic cord up to the internal inguinal ring to reduce the risk of inguinal lymph node metastasis.</p