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Blowing the whistle on corruption or wrongdoing can facilitate the detection, investigation, and then prosecution of a violation that may have otherwise gone undetected. The purpose of this systematic review was to identify the factors that are associated with intentions to blow the whistle on wrongdoing. We searched Academic Search Premier, CINAHL Complete, Education Research Complete, ERIC, Medline, PsycARTICLES, PsycINFO, Regional Business News, and SPORTDiscus in January 2020. The quality of evidence was assessed using the Cochrane risk of bias tool. Of the 9,136 records identified, 217 studies were included in this systematic review. We identified 8 dimensions, 26 higher-order themes, and 119 lower-order themes. The whistleblowing dimensions were personal factors, organizational factors, cost and benefits, outcome expectancies, the offense, reporting, the wrongdoer, and social factors. Based on the findings, it is apparent that organizations should empower, educate, protect, support, and reward those who blow the whistle, in order to increase the likelihood on individuals blowing the whistle on corruption and wrongdoing. A combined approach may increase whistleblowing intentions, although research is required to test this assertion. From a policy perspective, more consistent protection is required across different countries.
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OBJECTIVES: Sports coaches are influential in whether athletes dope, but receive very little antidoping education, particularly within entry-level coaching qualifications. We tested the feasibility of an antidoping intervention, delivered via a mobile application, which was designed to increase coaches' knowledge of doping and to reduce favourable doping attitudes. METHODS: A two-arm randomised controlled trial, with grassroots coaches who coach young amateur athletes aged between 14 and 18 years of age, was conducted. The Anti-Doping Values in Coach Education (ADVICE) mobile application included modules on fair play, substances, nutritional supplements, rules and leadership. The primary outcome was the change in doping knowledge, 6 weeks after receiving the mobile application. The secondary outcome was changes in doping attitudes. RESULTS: Grassroots coaches (n=200; aged between 18 and 71 years, with between 1 and 42 years of coaching experience) from 29 different countries completed baseline assessments, and 85 completed follow-up assessments, and were included in mixed analysis of variance analyses. The intervention increased coaches' knowledge about doping and also reduced favourable doping attitudes in the experimental arm. CONCLUSION: The ADVICE mobile application is a feasible method for delivering and increasing grassroots coaches' knowledge of banned substances and the potential side effects of doping. Mobile application-based resources could facilitate a much wider dissemination of antidoping education.
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OBJECTIVE: This study aimed to measure depressive symptoms, anxiety symptoms and psychological well-being among a sample of Super League players, the highest tier of professional rugby league in the northern hemisphere. METHODS: Between November 2018 and July 2019, a sample of 233 Super League players completed questionnaires that assessed depressive symptoms, anxiety symptoms and psychological well-being. RESULTS: Players exhibited normal (85.8%), mild (11.6%) or moderate/severe (2.6%) depressive symptoms. Additionally, players reported normal (67.4%), mild (18.9%) or moderate/severe (13.7%) anxiety symptoms. The mean psychological well-being score across the sample was 25.07 (SD=4.34). 35.2% of players scored below average for this construct. CONCLUSION: The prevalence of mild depressive symptoms, moderate/severe depressive symptoms and mild anxiety symptoms among Super League players preliminary appear higher than in the general population from the UK. Much more research is needed to understand mental health among elite athletes.
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We examined the relationships between the Dark Triad personality traits (Machiavellianism, narcissism, and psychopathy), attitudes towards doping, and cheating behaviour among athletes. One-hundred and sixty-four athletes completed a completed a matrix solving task within a specific time limit. Participants were told they would receive a financial reward for the total number matrices they could solve, but only 13 of the 20 matrices were solvable. This provided the incentive and opportunity for the athletes to cheat. Following this, athletes completed two questionnaires, which assessed the Dark Triad and their attitudes towards doping. All three Dark Triad personality traits correlated positively with attitudes towards doping and cheating behaviour. Regression analyses revealed that psychopathy and narcissism positively predicted attitudes towards doping, and narcissism emerged as a positive predictor of cheating behaviour. Attitudes towards doping correlated positively with cheating behaviour. The Dark Triad appears to be important in relation to both attitudes towards doping and cheating behaviour among athletes. In addition, our findings illustrate that favourable attitudes towards doping are linked with actual cheating among athletes. National Anti-Doping Organizations, sports federations, and coaches could assess athletes' Dark Triad scores and attitudes towards doping in order to identify who may be more likely to cheat.
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Trastorno de Personalidad Antisocial/psicología , Atletas/psicología , Doping en los Deportes/psicología , Maquiavelismo , Narcisismo , Adolescente , Adulto , Actitud Frente a la Salud , Conducta de Elección , Femenino , Humanos , Masculino , Análisis y Desempeño de Tareas , Adulto JovenRESUMEN
Given the strong coupling between the carbon (C) and nitrogen (N) cycles, there is substantial interest in understanding how N availability affects C cycling in terrestrial ecosystems, especially in ecosystems limited by N. However, most studies in temperate and boreal forests have focused on the effects of N addition on tree growth. By comparison, less is known about the effects of N availability on the cycling of C in understory vegetation despite some evidence that dwarf shrubs, mosses, and lichens play an important role in the forest C balance. In this study, we used an in situ 13CO2 pulse-labeling technique to examine the short-term dynamics of C partitioning in understory vegetation in three boreal Pinus sylvestris forest stands exposed to different rates of N addition: a low and high N addition that receive annual additions of NH4NO3 of 20 and 100 kg N/ha, respectively, and this is a typo. It should be an unfertilized control. Labeling was conducted at two distinct periods (early vs. late growing season), which provided a seasonal picture of how N addition affects C dynamics in understory vegetation. In contrast to what has been found in trees, there was no obvious trend in belowground C partitioning in ericaceous plants in response to N additions or seasonality. Increasing N addition led to a greater percentage of 13C being incorporated into ericaceous leaves with a high turnover, whereas high rates of N addition strongly reduced the incorporation of 13C into less degradable moss tissues. Addition of N also resulted in a greater percentage of the 13C label being respired back to the atmosphere and an overall reduction in total understory carbon use efficiency. Taken together, our results suggest a faster cycling of C in understory vegetation with increasing N additions; yet the magnitude of this general response was strongly dependent on the amount of N added and varied seasonally. These results provide some of the first in situ C and N partitioning estimates for plants growing under the complex web of resource limitations in the boreal understory.
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Carbono/metabolismo , Nitrógeno/metabolismo , Plantas/metabolismo , Estaciones del Año , Biomasa , Isótopos de Carbono , Bosques , Nitrógeno/química , Desarrollo de la Planta , Plantas/clasificaciónRESUMEN
Brome mosaic virus (BMV), a T = 3 icosahedral plant virus, can be dissociated into coat protein subunits and subunit oligomers at pH 7.5 in the presence of concentrated salts. We have found that during the course of this treatment the coat protein subunits are cleaved, presumably by plant cell proteases still present in the preparation, between amino acids 35 and 36. The truncated protein subunits will then reorganize into T = 1 icosahedral particles and can be crystallized from sodium malonate. Quasi elastic light scattering and atomic force microscopy results suggest that the transition from T = 3 to T = 1 particles can occur by separate pathways, dissociation into coat protein subunits and oligomers and reassembly into T = 1 particles, or direct condensation of the T = 3 virions to T = 1 particles with the shedding of hexameric capsomeres. The latter process has been directly visualized using atomic force microscopy. Native T = 3 virions have been crystallized in several different crystal forms, but neither a rhombohedral form nor either of two orthorhombic forms diffract beyond about 3.4 A. Tetragonal crystals of the T = 1 particles, however, diffract to at least 2.5 A resolution. Evidence suggests that the T = 1 particles are more structurally uniform and ordered than are native T = 3 virions. A variety of anomalous virus particles having diverse sizes have been visualized in preparations of BMV used for crystallization. In some cases these aberrant particles are incorporated into growing crystals where they are frequently responsible for defect formation.
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Bromovirus/química , Bromovirus/ultraestructura , Cristalización , Virión/química , Virión/ultraestructura , Bromovirus/metabolismo , Cristalografía por Rayos X/métodos , Hordeum/virología , Luz , Microscopía de Fuerza Atómica , Dispersión de Radiación , Virión/metabolismoRESUMEN
Xanthine phosphoribosyltransferase (XPRT) from Leishmania donovani is a unique enzyme that lacks a mammalian counterpart and is, therefore, a potential target for antiparasitic therapy. To investigate the enzyme at the molecular and biochemical level, a cDNA encoding the L. donovani XPRT was isolated by functional complementation of a purine auxotroph of Escherichia coli that also harbors deficiencies in the prokaryotic phosphoribosyltransferase (PRT) activities. The cDNA was then used to isolate the XPRT genomic clone. XPRT encodes a 241-amino acid protein exhibiting approximately 33% amino acid identity with the L. donovani hypoxanthine-guanine phosphoribosyltransferase (HGPRT) and significant homology with other HGPRT family members. Southern blot analysis revealed that XPRT was a single copy gene that co-localized with HGPRT within a 4.3-kilobase pair (kb) EcoRI fragment, implying that the two genes arose as a result of an ancestral duplication event. Sequencing of this EcoRI fragment confirmed that HGPRT and XPRT were organized in a head-to-tail arrangement separated by an approximately 2.2-kb intergenic region. Both the 3.2-kb XPRT mRNA and XPRT enzyme were significantly up-regulated in Deltahgprt and Deltahgprt/Deltaaprt L. donovani mutants. Genetic obliteration of the XPRT locus by targeted gene replacement indicated that XPRT was not an essential gene under most conditions and that the Deltaxprt null strain was competent of salvaging all purines except xanthine. XPRT was overexpressed in E. coli and the recombinant protein purified to homogeneity. Kinetic analysis revealed that the XPRT preferentially phosphoribosylated xanthine but could also recognize hypoxanthine and guanine. K(m) values of 7.1, 448.0, and >100 microM and k(cat) values of 3.5, 2.6, and approximately 0.003 s(-1) were calculated for xanthine, hypoxanthine, and guanine, respectively. The XPRT gene and XPRT protein provide the requisite molecular and biochemical reagents for subsequent studies to validate XPRT as a potential therapeutic target.
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Leishmania donovani/genética , Pentosiltransferasa/genética , Secuencia de Aminoácidos , Animales , Southern Blotting , División Celular/efectos de los fármacos , Clonación Molecular , Medios de Cultivo/química , Medios de Cultivo/farmacología , ADN Complementario/química , ADN Complementario/genética , ADN Protozoario/química , ADN Protozoario/genética , Expresión Génica , Genes Protozoarios/genética , Prueba de Complementación Genética , Cinética , Leishmania donovani/enzimología , Leishmania donovani/crecimiento & desarrollo , Datos de Secuencia Molecular , Mutación , Pentosiltransferasa/metabolismo , Purinas/farmacología , Proteínas Recombinantes de Fusión/genética , Proteínas Recombinantes de Fusión/aislamiento & purificación , Proteínas Recombinantes de Fusión/metabolismo , Alineación de Secuencia , Análisis de Secuencia de ADN , Homología de Secuencia de Aminoácido , Xantina/farmacologíaRESUMEN
In situ atomic force microscopy (AFM) was used to investigate surface evolution during the growth of single crystals of turnip yellow mosaic virus (TYMV). Growth of the (101) face of TYMV crystals proceeded by two-dimensional nucleation. The molecular structure of the step edges and adsorption of individual virus particles and their aggregates on the crystalline surface were recorded. The surfaces of individual virions within crystals were visualized and seen to be quite distinctive with the hexameric and pentameric capsomers of the T = 3 capsids being clearly resolved. This, so far as we are aware, is the first direct visualization of the capsomere structure of a virus by AFM. In the course of recording the in situ development of the crystals, a profound restructuring of the surface arrangement was observed. This transformation was highly cooperative in nature, but the transitions were unambiguous and readily explicable in terms of an organized loss of classes of virus particles from specific lattice positions. In some cases areas of a single crystal surface were recorded in which were captured successive phases of the transition. We believe this provides the first visual record of a cooperative restructuring of the surface of a supramolecular crystal.
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Tymovirus/química , Tymovirus/ultraestructura , Cápside/metabolismo , Cápside/ultraestructura , Cristalización , Microscopía de Fuerza Atómica , Propiedades de Superficie , Virión/metabolismo , Virión/ultraestructuraRESUMEN
Although some disease classes can be defined by a single defining characteristic, in terms of traditional logic one that is both necessary and sufficient, other disease classes, such as the so-called "irritable bowel syndrome' (IBS), have only a set of symptoms, signs etc. which are said to characterize it in some undefined way. This characterization might be made definite by using simple Boolean algebra to give a logical description of the disease class. This method can only be used if the individual doctor can be shown to be consistent in his assignment of a set of data to the disease class and also if his assignment agrees independently with that of another doctor. To test such consistency and concordance, 100 case records were collected of supposed IBS and not-IBS; 20 of these were replicated to test consistency, and the total of 120 records was examined by five consultants independently, who assigned them either to an IBS or a not-IBS class. From the 1500 pair-wise comparisons, analysis revealed that the disagreement in assignment between doctors was only slightly greater than the disagreement within doctors, suggesting that the group of doctors acted as if there were an implicit description of IBS with which each of them broadly agreed. This implicit description, if made explicit, could form a basis for diagnosis by logical implication. This method of logical definition has general application in medicine and a set of defined cases could be used to establish entry criteria for multicentre trials of a previously ill-defined class.
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Enfermedades Funcionales del Colon/diagnóstico , Lógica , Análisis de Varianza , Humanos , MétodosRESUMEN
HEALTH education conventionally takes one of two forms, a mass campaign to the whole population using the media, or an approach to members of chosen at-risk groups, through individual or small group sessions. The following study explores the efficacy of one-to-one education of the whole adult population, at risk or not, by visiting a random sample of them in their homes and giving them information on one of four relevant topics, adapting the style and content to the individual's needs and interests. The survey therefore tests the technique of a flexible, person-orientated approach to health education.
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Actitud Frente a la Salud , Educación en Salud/métodos , Adulto , Factores de Edad , Anciano , Concienciación , Femenino , Humanos , Persona de Mediana Edad , Embarazo , Escocia , Estadística como AsuntoRESUMEN
A RANDOM sample of adults in Glasgow was surveyed by trained interviewers to determine public knowledge on four topics chosen specifically for each of four age groups. The topics were: Welfare rights and services; Coronary Heart Disease (CHD) and individual action that can reduce risk; The dangers of smoking in pregnancy; and fluoride and its functions and the connections between good health and habitual behaviour.
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Actitud Frente a la Salud , Concienciación , Cognición , Educación en Salud , Adulto , Factores de Edad , Anciano , Femenino , Humanos , Masculino , Persona de Mediana Edad , Embarazo , Escocia , Factores Sexuales , Factores SocioeconómicosRESUMEN
A computer-administered 'interview' was developed for eliciting evidence relating to alcohol problems. Thirty-six volunteer male patients on their first visits to a specialist alcohol clinic were interviewed three times, by two psychiatrists and by the computer; information was sought about 72 pre-defined indicants concerning alcohol consumption, drinking behaviour, and symptoms. Each patient was asked to complete an attitude questionnaire anonymously. The extent of agreement between the evidence elicited by the computer and by the psychiatrists was quite high, and their estimated error rates were very similar, all between 10 per cent and 12 per cent in total. With respects to amounts of alcohol consumed, patients reported significantly greater amounts to the computer than they reported to the psychiatrists. The median amounts of pure ethanol consumed ranged from 1-19 kg per week calculated from reports made to one of the psychiatrists, up to 1-58 kg per week calculated from reports made to the computer. The results from the attitude questionnaire indicated a high level of acceptability to patients of computer interrogation.
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Alcoholismo/diagnóstico , Diagnóstico por Computador , Entrevista Psicológica/métodos , Humanos , Masculino , Aceptación de la Atención de SaludRESUMEN
A system of routine interrogation of patients using a computer has been developed. It includes a visual display unit with a specially designed response keyboard, and the program has been designed to adapt to the individual patient. The system was evaluated objectively, using the criteria of accuracy in eliciting symptoms, acceptability to the patient, and cost. While doctors will always take the ultimate management decisions, it seems that machines can be programmed to undertake the routine interrogation of patients, elicit evidence accurately and acceptably, and calculate the probabilities of disease as effectively as doctors.