A quasi-experimental study on management coaching effectiveness.

Coaching has become an important managerial instrument of support. However, there is lack of research on its effectiveness. The authors conducted a quasi-experimental study to figure out whether coaching really leads to presupposed individual goals. Sixty managers of the federal government were divided in two groups: one group followed a coaching program, the other did not. Before the coaching program started (Time 1), self-efficacy beliefs and outcome expectancies were measured, linked to three central domains of functioning: setting one's own goals, acting in a balanced way and mindful living and working. Four months later (Time 2), the same variables were measured again. Results showed that the coached group scored significantly higher than the control group on two variables: outcome expectancies to act in a balanced way and self-efficacy beliefs to set one's own goals. Future examination might reveal whether coaching will also be effective among managers who work at different management levels, whether the effects found will be long-lasting, and whether subordinates experience differences in the way their manager functions before and after the coaching. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Comparison of two methods for the direct determination of fat in butter,blended spreads,and margarine

A German (GE) method and a New Zealand (NZ) method for the direct determination of total fat in spreadable fats were compared in a pilot collaborative study to obtain preliminary information regarding the precision and the level of fat content determined. The study comprised six products, including butter, blended fat products, and margarine with a fat content in the range of 39—82%, and four laboratories. The GE method, based on a Soxhlet extraction using petroleum ether, yielded a repeatability estimate of 0.41 g/100 g and a reproducibility estimate of 0.79 g/100 g. The NZ method, based on an extraction of the fat by thorough shaking of the sample with petroleum ether followed by phase separation, yielded a repeatability estimate of 0.32 g/100 g and a reproducibility estimate of 0.62 g/100 g. The difference in precision estimates between the two methods was significant for repeatability, but not for reproducibility. The better repeatability of the NZ method was probably partly due to the use of a superior sample preparation procedure which ensured that any inhomogeneity developed inside the sample container during transport or storage was removed. The average fat content as determined by the NZ method was 0.20 g/100 g higher than that determined by the GE method, but for individual samples no constant bias was observed. However, an inverse correlation between the bias and the fat content of the product suggested that the anhydrous sodium sulphate used in the GE method interfered with the fat recovery when analysing samples containing a high percentage of water. Thus, according to this study, the NZ method seems to have certain advantages over the GE method with respect to the results obtained.     

Assessing yourself as an emotional eater: Mission impossible?

Objective: The extent to which individuals are emotional eaters has typically been assessed by people’s self-reported desire to eat when they experience negative emotions. Elevated scores on these emotional eater scales have been associated with eating pathology and obesity. However, evidence that individuals scoring high on these scales truly increase their food intake during emotional encounters is inconclusive. The current studies tested whether emotional eater scales capture the proposed tendency to eat when feeling emotional. Design: In four experiments with different emotion induction procedures, female participants were randomly assigned to negative emotion or control conditions. In the control conditions positive or no emotions were induced. Next, food consumption was assessed by bogus taste tests. Main Outcome Measures: Emotional eater status, emotional experience, and actual consumption of different food types. Results: Individuals describing themselves as emotional eaters did not increase food intake during emotional encounters as compared to control conditions or individuals not judging themselves as emotional eaters. Conclusion: The results suggest that self-reported emotional eaters do not increase food intake during emotional encounters in the laboratory. Implications of these findings are discussed, including the idea that it may be complex to adequately assess one’s own emotional eating behavior. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Molecular Switch Controlled by Pulsed Bias Voltages

Recent experiments have shown that the current–voltage characteristics (I–V) of BPDN‐DT (bipyridyl‐dinitro oligophenylene‐ethynylene dithiol) can be switched in a very controlled manner between “on” and “off” traces by applying a pulse in a bias voltage, V_bias. Here, the polaron formation energies are calculated to check a frequently held belief, namely, that the polaron formation can explain the observed bistability. These results are not consistent with such a mechanism. Instead, a conformational reorientation is proposed. The molecule carries an intrinsic dipole moment, which couples to V_bias. Ramping V_bias exerts a force on the dipole that can reorient (“rotate”) the molecule from the ground state (“off”) into a metastable configuration (“on”) and back. By elaborated electronic structure calculations, a specific path for this rotation is identified through the molecule's conformational phase space. It is shown that this path has sufficiently high barriers to inhibit thermal instability but that the molecule can still be switched in the voltage range of the junction stability. The theoretical I–Vs qualitatively reproduce the key experimental observations. A proposal for the experimental verification of the alternative mechanism of conductance switching is presented.     

Production and Measurement of Starch Damage in Flour. Effect of Starch Damage on Hot Pasting Properties

Aqueous suspensions were made of wheat starches damaged, by different methods, to varying degrees. Apparent viscosities of the hot pastes declined as damage levels increased and the relationships between these factors were examined. Measured as “extractability”, starch damage had a linear relationship with apparent viscosity for starches damaged by both methods. Starch damage measured as “digestibility” had different relationships with apparent viscosity for each type of damage involved. Evidence was found for the association of amylolytic enzymes with the starches used in the experiments.     

Pyruvate Dehydrogenase Kinase Inhibition by Dichloroacetate in Melanoma Cells Unveils Metabolic Vulnerabilities

Melanoma is characterized by high glucose uptake, partially mediated through elevated pyruvate dehydrogenase kinase (PDK), making PDK a potential treatment target in melanoma. We aimed to reduce glucose uptake in melanoma cell lines through PDK inhibitors dichloroacetate (DCA) and AZD7545 and through PDK knockdown, to inhibit cell growth and potentially unveil metabolic co-vulnerabilities resulting from PDK inhibition. MeWo cells were most sensitive to DCA, while SK-MEL-2 was the least sensitive, with IC₅₀ values ranging from 13.3 to 27.0 mM. DCA strongly reduced PDH phosphorylation and increased the oxygen consumption rate:extracellular acidification rate (OCR:ECAR) ratio up to 6-fold. Knockdown of single PDK isoforms had similar effects on PDH phosphorylation and OCR:ECAR ratio as DCA but did not influence sensitivity to DCA. Growth inhibition by DCA was synergistic with the glutaminase inhibitor CB-839 (2- to 5-fold sensitization) and with diclofenac, known to inhibit monocarboxylate transporters (MCTs) (3- to 8-fold sensitization). CB-839 did not affect the OCR:ECAR response to DCA, whereas diclofenac strongly inhibited ECAR and further increased the OCR:ECAR ratio. We conclude that in melanoma cell lines, DCA reduces proliferation through reprogramming of cellular metabolism and synergizes with other metabolically targeted drugs.     

Production and Measurement of Starch Damage in Flour. Part 3. Effect of Type of Damage on Baking Performance

Baking trials were conducted on two blends of 10% starch and 90% high protein flour. In both blends the flour component was identical but the starches had been ground in different ways to produce high levels of different types of damage. The levels of damage in the starches, and hence the blends, were similar if measured enzymically but different if measured by an amylose extraction method. Only small differences in baking properties were revealed.     

Dehydration Artefacts in Gelatinized Starches

Scanning electron microscopy of swollen starch granule systems is valuable for interpretation of structural changes, but the results obtained must be interpreted with caution. The two major drying systems used, solvent exchange and lyophilization, both produce artefacts but of different types. The presence of pores on specimens prepared by lyophilization has often been interpreted as a true feature of the granule structure, but our experience suggests that this is incorrect. Furthermore, we consider that the fibrillar structure present in preparations of lyophilized starch solubles results from ice crystal formation effectively concentrating, in the remainder of the solution, solute which is subsequently preserved as a dry web.     

The potential of P1 site alterations in peptidomimetic protease inhibitors as suggested by virtual screening and explored by the use of C-C-coupling reagents

A synthetic concept is presented that allows the construction of peptide isostere libraries through polymer-supported C-acylation reactions. A phosphorane linker reagent is used as a carbanion equivalent; by employing MSNT as a coupling reagent, the C-acylation can be conducted without racemization. Diastereoselective reduction was effected with L-selectride. The reagent linker allows the preparation of a norstatine library with full variation of the isosteric positions including the P1 side chain that addresses the protease S1 pocket. Therefore, the concept was employed to investigate the P1 site specificity of peptide isostere inhibitors systematically. The S1 pocket of several aspartic proteases including plasmepsin II and cathepsin D was modeled and docked with approximately 500 amino acid side chains. Inspired by this virtual screen, a P1 site mutation library was designed, synthesized, and screened against three aspartic proteases (plasmepsin II, HIV protease, and cathepsin D). The potency of norstatine inhibitors was found to depend strongly on the P1 substituent. Large, hydrophobic residues such as biphenyl, 4-bromophenyl, and 4-nitrophenyl enhanced the inhibitory activity (IC50) by up to 70-fold against plasmepsin II. In addition, P1 variation introduced significant selectivity, as up to 9-fold greater activity was found against plasmepsin II relative to human cathepsin D. The active P1 site residues did not fit into the crystal structure; however, molecular dynamics simulation suggested a possible alternative binding mode.