Development of ceftazidime resistance in an acute Burkholderia pseudomallei infection.

Burkholderia pseudomallei, a bacterium that causes the disease melioidosis, is intrinsically resistant to many antibiotics. First-line antibiotic therapy for treating melioidosis is usually the synthetic β-lactam, ceftazidime (CAZ), as almost all B. pseudomallei strains are susceptible to this drug. However, acquired CAZ resistance can develop in vivo during treatment with CAZ, which can lead to mortality if therapy is not switched to a different drug in a timely manner. Serial B. pseudomallei isolates obtained from an acute Thai melioidosis patient infected by a CAZ susceptible strain, who ultimately succumbed to infection despite being on CAZ therapy for the duration of their infection, were analyzed. Isolates that developed CAZ resistance due to a proline to serine change at position 167 in the β-lactamase PenA were identified. Importantly, these CAZ resistant isolates remained sensitive to the alternative melioidosis treatments; namely, amoxicillin-clavulanate, imipenem, and meropenem. Lastly, real-time polymerase chain reaction-based assays capable of rapidly identifying CAZ resistance in B. pseudomallei isolates at the position 167 mutation site were developed. The ability to rapidly identify the emergence of CAZ resistant B. pseudomallei populations in melioidosis patients will allow timely alterations in treatment strategies, thereby improving patient outcomes for this serious disease

The Geology of Charon as Revealed by New Horizons

Pluto's large moon Charon [radius 606 km; density = 1.70 g cm(exp. -3)] exhibits a striking variety of landscapes. Charon can be divided into two broad provinces separated by a roughly aligned assemblage of ridges and canyons, which span from east to west. North of this tectonic belt is rugged, cratered terrain (Oz Terra); south of it are smoother but geologically complex plains (Vulcan Planum). (All place names here are informal.) Relief exceeding 20 km is seen in limb profiles and stereo topography

An attenuated strain of Bacillus anthracis (CDC 684) has a large chromosomal inversion and altered growth kinetics

BackgroundAn isolate originally labeled Bacillus megaterium CDC 684 was found to contain both pXO1 and pXO2, was non-hemolytic, sensitive to gamma-phage, and produced both the protective antigen and the poly-D-glutamic acid capsule. These phenotypes prompted Ezzell et al., (J. Clin. Microbiol. 28:223) to reclassify this isolate to Bacillus anthracis in 1990.ResultsWe demonstrate that despite these B. anthracis features, the isolate is severely attenuated in a guinea pig model. This prompted whole genome sequencing and closure. The comparative analysis of CDC 684 to other sequenced B. anthracis isolates and further analysis reveals: a) CDC 684 is a close relative of a virulent strain, Vollum A0488; b) CDC 684 defines a new B. anthracis lineage (at least 51 SNPs) that includes 15 other isolates; c) the genome of CDC 684 contains a large chromosomal inversion that spans 3.3 Mbp; d) this inversion has caused a displacement of the usual spatial orientation of the origin of replication (ori) to the termination of replication (ter) from 180° in wild-type B. anthracis to 120° in CDC 684 and e) this isolate also has altered growth kinetics in liquid media.ConclusionsWe propose two alternative hypotheses explaining the attenuated phenotype of this isolate. Hypothesis 1 suggests that the skewed ori/ter relationship in CDC 684 has altered its DNA replication and/or transcriptome processes resulting in altered growth kinetics and virulence capacity. Hypothesis 2 suggests that one or more of the single nucleotide polymorphisms in CDC 684 has altered the expression of a regulatory element or other genes necessary for virulence

Adolescents' involvement in cyber bullying and perceptions of school: the importance of perceived peer acceptance for female adolescents

Young people are spending increasing amounts of time using digital technology and, as such, are at great risk of being involved in cyber bullying as a victim, bully, or bully/victim. Despite cyber bullying typically occurring outside the school environment, the impact of being involved in cyber bullying is likely to spill over to school. Fully 285 11- to 15-year-olds (125 male and 160 female, M age = 12.19 years, SD = 1.03) completed measures of cyber bullying involvement, self-esteem, trust, perceived peer acceptance, and perceptions of the value of learning and the importance of school. For young women, involvement in cyber bullying as a victim, bully, or bully/victim negatively predicted perceptions of learning and school, and perceived peer acceptance mediated this relationship. The results indicated that involvement in cyber bullying negatively predicted perceived peer acceptance which, in turn, positively predicted perceptions of learning and school. For young men, fulfilling the bully/victim role negatively predicted perceptions of learning and school. Consequently, for young women in particular, involvement in cyber bullying spills over to impact perceptions of learning. The findings of the current study highlight how stressors external to the school environment can adversely impact young women's perceptions of school and also have implications for the development of interventions designed to ameliorate the effects of cyber bullying

Building Diversity Into the Talent Pipeline for Senior Operating Roles: Results of the 2020 HR@Moore Survey of Chief HR Officers

Organizations seek to build diverse pipelines of talent comprised of individuals who can rise to attain senior operating roles (i.e., positions running large businesses within the corporation.) The 2020 HR@Moore Survey of Chief HR Officers sought to assess the level of diversity in terms of women and racial minorities in these pipelines, identify the obstacles to increasing the number of diverse candidates and strategies for successfully building diversity in these pipelines. Our results show a lack of diversity in these pipelines with 60% white males, 22% white females and no more than 5% in any other sex/race categories. CHROs primarily pointed to supply problems as the biggest obstacles to increasing the number of women and racial minorities, but they also noted significant internal obstacles such as insufficient attention to developing these talent pools and bias in hiring and promotion decisions. They proposed focusing more on intentionally developing candidates internally and exerting meaningful effort to hire externally as the most effective strategies to increasing the numbers of diverse candidates in these pools. Based on all of the responses, we focus recommendations on six areas: Setting the tone from the top to manage and measure the pipeline, building the pipeline through broader recruiting sources, using development to refine/expand the pipeline, managing promotion processes to ensure flow through the pipeline, leveraging external recruitment to fill the pipeline, and using retention strategies to prevent leakage in the pipeline

Building the High-Performing Executive Leadership Team: Results of the 2020 HR@Moore Survey of Chief Human Resources Officers

Over the past two years researchers in the Center for Executive Succession have conducted interviews with CEOs, former CEOs, board members, and CHROs regarding how they build their executive leadership teams (ELT) and accelerate those teams to become high-performing. In addition, the 2020 HR@Moore Survey of CHROs assessed a number of relevant characteristics of the CEO and the ELT. This report provides a summary of this multi-method research stream. First, the interviews reveal that CEOs must first build a team whose skill sets match the needs of the strategy and whose motivations prioritize the outcomes of the organization and the team over their own. Once in place, CEOs can accelerate the team’s performance by articulating a broader purpose than just financial returns and working to create a culture and values that engage the team and the organization. They also must articulate a clear strategy and the values that will guide decision-making by team members, drive alignment to the strategy and values among the team members, and ensure that incentives promote behaviors that foster alignment and drive support for the strategy. The CEO must also constantly evolve the team as the strategy changes, and listen to the advice and counsel provided by board members. Second, the 2020 survey assessed a relatively new characteristic known as CEO Generativity, a characteristic described as a focus on developing and enhancing the vitality of the next generation and a desire to leave one’s own contributions in capable hands. We found that high Generativity CEOs had more diverse, cohesive and inclusive ELTs. They also were more engaged in the CEO succession process and had driven more diverse talent pipelines for senior operating roles

The Chief Diversity Equity and Inclusion Office: Results of the 2021 HR@Moore Survey of CHROs

In response to the racial unrest and increased focus on social justice, organizations increased their emphasis on diversity issues in 2020. To understand one way in which organizations responded to this focus, we explored how the Chief Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Officer (CDO) role changed and the background characteristics of those in the role. The results indicate that the role increased in both internal and external visibility during this time, and that a large percentage of companies elevated the talent in the role. A majority of respondents indicated that the CDO role has become more influential and visible. In addition, about one-third of respondents indicated that they had upgraded the talent in the role, divided almost equally between internal promotions and external hires. Almost 3/4s of CDOs report to the CHRO. The vast majority of those in the role have at least 3 years experience in diversity related roles, and a majority have at least 3 years experience in HR. Given what appeared to be significant changes in the role of the Chief Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Officer (or Chief Diversity Officer; CDO) and the characteristics of the people who occupy the position, the 2021 HR@Moore Survey of Chief Human Resource Officers (CHROs) sought to explore these changes. We surveyed approximately 375 CHROs and 151 of them completed the survey for a 40% response rate

Building the Board: Result of the 2019 HR@Moore Survey of Chief Human Resource Officers

The 2019 HR@Moore Survey of Chief HR Officers examined a number of aspects of the Board of Directors (BOD). This report describes the results of this survey. We find that 64% of the companies surveyed have an independent Chair of the board with the other 36% having the CEO also hold the Chair title. CHROs do not evaluate boards as being particularly effective regarding the major tasks entailed in CEO succession. We found that responsibility for CEO succession is most often housed with the board chair/ lead director (rather than a committee), both as an ongoing process and as the decision becomes more imminent. Respondents were relatively equally likely to suggest that CEO succession responsibility lies with the Compensation committee and the Nominating and Governance committees for the ongoing CEO succession process, but as it becomes imminent, Compensation committees seemingly transfer responsibility to board chairs/lead directors. We found that women comprise approximately 28% of board members, with a maximum representation of 50%. Most CHROs reported that women directors do not face unique challenges, but when they do, they do not have equal influence or “voice” within the board relative to their male counterparts. Similarly, a large number of CHROs reported that their companies do not have unique obstacles to attracting women directors, but an almost equal number noted the lack of supply and consequent competition for qualified women directors. CHROs reported the cohesion and diversity/ inclusion climate of boards using the same items as used in past reports on the Executive Leadership Team (ELT). The results show that boards tend to score higher regarding diversity/inclusion climate and lower on cohesion, suggesting that the independent nature of board members requires them to appreciate and incorporate the diverse perspectives of other members, but not necessarily to work well as a team. Finally, we found that almost all boards conduct assessments every two years, and these usually consist of surveys asking them to assess themselves and the board’s functioning overall

The Chief HR Officer Role: Results of the 2020 HR@Moore Survey of Chief Human Resources Officers

The 2020 HR@Moore Survey of Chief Human Resources Officers (CHROs) was conducted during the COVID crisis, an unusual time for businesses. Because of this, fewer CHROs responded than usual (100), but still provided useful data for exploring the changing nature of the CHRO role. We explored the demographic composition of CHROs based on the past three years of survey data as well as our own gathering of data on S&P 500 companies. Regardless of the data set, women comprised the majority (approximately 60%) of these roles and these roles also were predominantly white (over 80%). Interestingly, black females had greater representation (5–9%) than black males (1–6%). Regarding the various demands of the CHRO role, CHROs reported spending the most time in leading the HR function followed by strategic advisor. The latter was not surprising given the centrality of the CHRO in the development of work-fromhome and employee safety strategies. They also spent significant time being the architect of the firm’s talent. The results were similar when using the newer Gartner Group model of the “World Class CHRO” although the latter includes a “Driver of Culture” component that CHROs reported as comprising a significant portion of their time. Finally, CHROs continue to predominantly enter the role through direct outside hires and this percentage was higher than ever before (64%). On the other hand, CFOs predominantly enter the role through promotions from within (49%) although that has decreased from its peak at 56%