Leveraging learning interventions for talent development: an inductive approach

Purpose: The paper aims to focus on the question “How can we leverage learning interventions for talent development?” The rise in the need for learning and development for employees has become a priority and a primary reason for job dissatisfaction. Learning and development initiatives are believed to build the required through training campaigns, competencies, and exposure to critical experiences where employees across different bands and streams can be nudged to attend training, enhance their skills, and increase engagement. For an organization to have a learning culture, the most important thing is employee awareness concerning their learning and how their learning is benefiting the business and aligning the individual’s needs to organizational goals. It is usually found that because of time constraints and other factors, employees do not pay much attention to up skill themselves, which calls for a systematic framework to nudge them for inculcating a learning environment. Design/Methodology/Approach - An explorative, qualitative study based on focus groups designed. Findings: Due to time constraints and other factors, employees do not pay much attention to up skill themselves, which calls for a systematic framework to nudge them for inculcating the learning environment. Limitations: Based on the findings, few priority aspects may be crucial to the learning environment. Originality/Value: This paper serves the purpose of explaining the necessity of learning intervention techniques for talent development.

Synthesis and thermal characterization of novel phase change materials (PCMs) of the Se-Te-Sn-Ge (STSG) multi-component system: calorimetric studies of the glass/crystal phase transition

According to recent literature, germanium-containing chalcogenide glasses (ChGs) show improvement in thermal stability and glass-forming ability because of the self-organization of the glass network towards a more rigid structure. The Ge-containing ChGs play a potential role as PCMs in phase-change optical memory (PCOM) applications. This endeavor reports the synthesis of some novel PCMs with Ge as the chemical modifier to improve the kinetic parameters of glass/crystal phase transition. The compositional variation of the various kinetic parameters in the present STSG chalcogen-rich non-oxide glasses Se78-yGeyTe20Sn2 (0 ≤ y ≤ 6) has been studied by means of the state-of-the-art differential scanning calorimetric (DSC) technique in the non-isothermal mode. The thermally assisted glass transition and crystallization phenomena have been investigated by examining the variation in various kinetic parameters like the characteristic kinetic temperatures (glass transition temperature Tg, on-set crystallization temperature To and peak crystallization temperature Tc), the activation energies involved in both phenomena, the thermal stability factor S and the glass-forming ability (GFA). The thermal stability factor S and GFA increase appreciably at higher concentrations of Ge as a signature of stiffness transition followed by the self-organization of the corner-sharing and the edge-sharing arrangements of the GeSe4 phase.

Noninvasive assessment of bone health in Indian patients with chronic kidney disease

Abnormalities in mineral and bone disease are common in chronic kidney disease (CKD). Evaluation of bone health requires measurement of parameters of bone turnover, mineralization, and volume. There are no data on bone health in CKD patients from India. In this cross-sectional study, we evaluated serum biomarkers of bone turnover: Bone-specific alkaline phosphatase (BAP) and total deoxypyridinoline (tDPD) along with parathyroid hormone, 25(OH) vitamin D, and bone mineral density (BMD) using dual absorption X-ray absorptiometry in a cohort of 74 treatment-naive patients with newly diagnosed stage 4 and 5 CKD (age 42 ± 14.5 years, 54 men) and 52 non-CKD volunteers (age 40.2 ± 9.3 years, 40 men). Compared to the controls, CKD subjects showed elevated intact PTH (iPTH), BAP, and tDPD and lower BMD. There was a strong correlation between iPTH and BAP (r = 0.88, P < 0.0001), iPTH and tDPD (r = 0.51, P < 0.0001), and BAP and tDPD (r = 0.46, P = 0.0004). The iPTH elevation was greater than twice the upper range of normal in 73% cases, and BAP was >40 U/L in 66% cases. The combination of these markers suggests high turnover bone disease in over 60% cases. The prevalence of osteopenia and osteoporosis was 37% and 12%, respectively. Osteoporotic subjects had higher iPTH, BAP, and tDPD, suggesting a role of high turnover in genesis of osteoporosis. Vitamin D deficiency was seen in 80%, and another 13% had insufficient levels. Vitamin D correlated inversely with BAP (r = -0.3, P = 0.009), and levels were lower in those with iPTH >300 pg/ml (P = 0.0.04). In conclusion, over 60% of newly diagnosed Indian stage 4-5 CKD patients show biochemical parameters consistent with high turnover bone disease. High turnover could contribute to the development of osteoporosis in CKD subjects. Deficiency of 25 (OH) vitamin D is widespread and seems to have a role in the genesis of renal bone disease. Studies on the effect of supplementation of native vitamin D are needed.

Cellular energy utilization and supply during hypoxia in embryonic cardiac myocytes

Studies of intact hearts suggest that cardiac myocytes may have the ability to reversibly suppress metabolic activity and energy demand in states of regional hypoperfusion. However, an ability to suppress respiration in response to hypoxia has never been demonstrated in isolated myocytes. To test this, isolated embryonic chick cardiac myocytes were exposed to progressive hypoxia while their rate of O2 uptake and concentrations of lactate, ATP, ADP, AMP, and phosphocreatine were measured. Compared with the value obtained at an oxygen tension (PO2) of 120 Torr, cellular O2 uptake decreased by 28 +/- 14% (SD) at PO2 = 50 Torr and by 64 +/- 25% at PO2 = 20 Torr (P < 0.05). This decrease was similar after 1 min or 2 h of hypoxia, was sustained for 16 h, and was completely reversible within 2 min after reoxygenation. The reduction in O2 uptake was associated with a decrease in the rate of ATP turnover, but no change in adenine nucleotide or phosphocreatine concentrations. In myocytes adherent to glass cover-slips, O2 uptake and contractile motion were decreased after 30-60 min at 50 and 20 Torr, compared with normoxic values. O2 uptake also was significantly decreased at 50 and 20 Torr in myocytes incubated with N,N,N',N'-tetramethyl-p-phenylenediamine, which suggests that the catalytic activity of cytochrome-c oxidase was partially inhibited during hypoxia. In summary, these results demonstrate that embryonic chick cardiac myocytes can suppress their rates of ATP demand, ATP utilization, and O2 uptake during moderate hypoxia through a mechanism that involves a reversible inhibition of cytochrome-c oxidase. This mechanism may represent a protective response to cellular hypoxia.

Inhibition of cytochrome-c oxidase activity during prolonged hypoxia

During acute (< 30 min) hypoxia, cellular respiration is independent of the O2 concentration as long as PO2 remains above a critical value (5-10 Torr). Similarly, state 3 respiration by isolated mitochondria is independent of PO2 above a critical tension of 2-4 Torr. However, rat hepatocytes demonstrate a reversible suppression of respiration and an increase in NAD(P)H concentration during prolonged (2-24 h), but not acute hypoxia [P. T. Schumacker, N. Chandel, and A. G. N. Augusti. Am. J. Physiol. 265 (Lung Cell. Mol. Physiol. 9): L395-L402, 1993]. This study tested whether respiration is similarly inhibited in isolated mitochondria exposed to low PO2 for prolonged periods and whether cytochrome-c oxidase participates in this response. Coupled rat liver mitochondria were incubated under low oxygen conditions (PO2 < 2 Torr) for 2 h. State 3 respiration after reoxygenation to PO2 = 20 Torr was then compared with the value obtained subsequently at 100 Torr. Using succinate and ADP as substrates, we determined that state 3 respiration at 20 Torr was 61.0 +/- 8.4% of the subsequent value at 100 Torr (P < 0.05). By contrast, control mitochondria reoxygenated to 100 Torr first and 20 Torr subsequently showed no significant difference at the two O2 tensions (P = NS).(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)

Oxygen conformance of cellular respiration in hepatocytes

Cellular respiratory rates are normally determined by metabolic activity, but become rate limited by O2 availability if the cell O2 tension (PO2) falls below a critical value (typically 1-10 Torr). An ability to reduce metabolic activity and energy demand in response to a falling O2 availability might confer an increased resistance to a diminished O2 supply. Isolated rat hepatocytes were studied in primary culture under controlled O2 tensions. Cells were obtained by collagenase digestion and seeded into nutritive media in control and experimental spinner flasks at identical cell densities. Cells subjected to rapid reduction in PO2 (100-->0 Torr over < 40 min) exhibited undiminished O2 uptake until PO2 fell below 10 Torr. By contrast, when cell PO2 was reduced over several hours, significant decreases in O2 uptake became evident at O2 tensions as high as 70 Torr. These decreases were associated with a reduction in ATP concentration and an increase in NAD(P)H, compared with rapidly deoxygenated cells at the same PO2. No loss in cell viability was detected after 24 h at reduced PO2. The decrease in respiratory rate was associated with an increased rate of lactic acid production relative to normoxic controls. Restoration of normoxia was associated with an immediate return of O2 uptake to control levels. These results demonstrate that hepatocytes are capable of reversibly decreasing metabolic activity and O2 demand during sustained moderate reductions in PO2, via a mechanism that appears to involve an inhibition of mitochondrial function other than O2 supply limitation. This response may alter cellular susceptibility to physiological stresses including hypoxia.