Search

Mo K-edge X-ray absorption spectroscopy (XAS) is used to probe the structure of wild-type Campylobacter jejuninitrate reductase NapA and the C176A variant. The results of extended X-ray absorption fine structure (EXAFS) experiments on wtNapA support an oxidized Mo(VI) hexacoordinate active site coordinated by a single terminal oxo donor, four sulfur atoms from two separate pyranopterin dithiolene ligands, and an additional S atom from a conserved cysteine amino acid residue. We found no evidence of a terminal sulfido ligand in wtNapA. EXAFS analysis shows the C176A active site to be a 6-coordinate structure, and this is supported by EPR studies on C176A and small molecule analogs of Mo(V) enzyme forms. The SCysis replaced by a hydroxide or water ligand in C176A, and we find no evidence of a coordinated sulfhydryl (SH) ligand. Kinetic studies show that this variant has completely lost its catalytic activity toward nitrate. Taken together, the results support a critical role for the conserved C176 in catalysis and an oxygen atom transfer mechanism for the catalytic reduction of nitrate to nitrite that does not employ a terminal sulfido ligand in the catalytic cycle.

Zuk, EF, Maksymiw, K, Evanovich, J, McGarry, JE, Root, HJ, and Distefano, LJ. Youth perceptions in sport-confidence. J Strength Cond Res35(11): 3232–3235, 2021—Sport-confidence is an important construct that is often missed during physical activity interventions in youth. Male and female children might display differences in sport-confidence that influences their activity levels. The purpose of this study is to assess any association between sport-confidence and gender in elementary school and middle-school children. All 286 children {(boys [ES: n= 71, age = 8±1 years; MS: n= 63, 11±1 years]; girls [ES: n= 67, 7±1 years; MS: n= 85, 11±1 years])} completed the Physical Literacy Assessment for Youth-Self Questionnaire. Separate chi-square tests of the association were used to evaluate the association between gender and sport-confidence among elementary (grades K-4) and middle-school (grades 5–8) children because of varying injury and participation rates for these groups, for each relevant question with a significance set at p≤ 0.05. For elementary school children, there were no significant associations between genders and sport-confidence (p> 0.05). In middle-school children, there were significant associations detected for learning new skills (ϕ = 0.12; p= 0.031), perception of skill (ϕ = 0.12; p= 0.054), confidence in activity (ϕ = 0.17; p= 0.035), and being the best in the class (ϕ = 0.15; p= 0.048) between genders and sport-confidence. For all results, boys displayed more sport-confidence than girls. Education for key stakeholders about the importance of including sport-confidence in physical activity interventions is integral in promoting life-long activity, specifically in middle-school girls.

The article focuses on university-district partnerships in supporting the development of effective school leaders. It is noted that the University of Connecticut has been part of an effort that focuses on improving principal preservice training. The authors' mention some important lessons in principal preparation in Connecticut, which include the need for trust and support from top leadership at the state, district, and university level.

Purpose:To examine individual and organizational level factors that may affect the job satisfaction and career intentions of athletic trainers employed in the collegiate setting.Methods:Volunteers for this qualitative study included 30 athletic trainers aged 33 ± 8 years with 10 ± 8 years of experience who were employed in the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Division I, II, or III or National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA) setting. Semi-structured phone interviews were digitally recorded and transcribed verbatim. Data were analyzed using a general inductive approach. The credibility of the study was maintained using peer review and multiple analyst triangulation.Results:Organizational level factors appeared to influence the participants' job satisfaction and career intentions. Although there were similarities between individual level factors among collegiate athletic trainers, these factors alone did not account for job satisfaction or career intentions.Conclusions:Continued multilevel examinations of the work–life interface are warranted to better understand issues related to retention and attrition within the athletic training profession.[[Athletic Training & Sports Health Care. 2020;12(1):21–30.]

Context: Forming a professional identity is a process by which an individual achieves an awareness of his or her own self-concept in the context of the profession. Identity in relation to an individual's profession includes the ability to articulate one's role as a professional and professional philosophy. Professional identity has been studied extensively in other fields, but currently no professional identity scales have been validated within the athletic training profession.Objective: To validate the Professional Identity and Values Scale (PIVS) among an athletic trainer population.Design: Cross-sectional study.Setting: Web-based questionnaire.Patients or Other Participants: Athletic trainers employed in National Collegiate Athletic Association Division I, II, III, or National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics colleges or universities (n 299, 56.5 female, 43.5 male). The average age of the participants was 33.6 ± 8.3 years, and they had 10.3 ± 7.6 years of experience.Main Outcome Measure(s): Participants were asked to complete a demographic questionnaire and the 32-item PIVS. The variables included demographics and the PIVS (Professional Orientation and Values subscale 18 items and the Professional Development subscale 14 items).Results: Exploratory factor analysis reduced the survey from 32 to 20 items and revealed 6 factors. Three factors emerged from the Professional Development subscale and emphasized professional insecurities during the early career stages, the importance of mentors during the intermediate stages, and self-confidence and awareness during the later stages of professional development. An additional 3 factors emerged from the Professional Orientation and Values subscale: (1) patient care and advocacy, (2) professional engagement and collaboration, and (3) personal wellness and values. A Cronbach α of 0.80 indicated good internal consistency.Conclusions: A modified PIVS is a valid and reliable measure of professional identity among athletic trainers employed in the collegiate setting.

Context: Recent employment data from collegiate athletic training settings have demonstrated departure trends among men and women. These trends have been hypothesized to be related to work-life balance. However, work-life balance is only 1 aspect of a myriad of factors. Due to the complex nature of the work-life interface, a multilevel examination is needed to better understand the precipitators of departure.Objective: To quantitatively examine factors that may influence collegiate athletic trainers' (ATs') job satisfaction and career intentions via a multilevel examination of the work-life interface.Design: Cross-sectional study.Setting: Web-based questionnaire.Patients or Other Participants: Athletic trainers employed in National Collegiate Athletic Association Division I, II, or III or National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics colleges or universities (N 299: 56.5 female, 43.5 male). The average age of participants was 33.6 ± 8.3 years, and their average experience was 10.3 ± 7.6 years.Data Collection and Analysis: Participants responded to an online questionnaire consisting of demographic questions, 9 Likert-scale surveys, and open-ended questions. Job-satisfaction Scores (JSSs) and intention-to-leave scores (ITLSs) served as the dependent variables and factors from individual, organizational, and sociocultural levels were the independent variables. Hierarchical regression analysis was run to determine the predictability of factors.Results: No sex differences in ITLS or JSS were found in our sample. Independent variables explained 68.5 of the variance in JSS and 28.8 of the variance in ITLS. Additions of factor levels increased the percentage of explained variance in both scores.Conclusions: A combination of individual-, organizational-, and sociocultural-level factors was able to best predict JSS and ITLS among collegiate ATs.