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Abstract Background Self-initiated and proactive changes in working conditions through crafting are essential for shaping work and improving work-related well-being. Recently, the research stream of job crafting has been extended to other life domains. The present paper aims to study a novel crafting concept—work–nonwork balance crafting—investigating the role of its antecedents and identifying relevant outcomes. Work–nonwork balance crafting is defined as individuals’ unofficial techniques and activities to shape their work–nonwork balance, here considering their life domain boundary preferences. Methods In the study, 1,060 employees in three European countries (Austria, Germany and Switzerland) were surveyed in a longitudinal three-wave study with three-month intervals. We explored the influences of job/home demands and resources as antecedents of work–nonwork balance crafting. Important constructs for employee health and well-being (i.e., work engagement, work-related burnout, mental well-being and detachment from work) were investigated as outcomes. Results The findings suggest that resources and demands in the context of work or home are key antecedents of work–nonwork balance crafting. Work–nonwork balance crafting was also predictive for important employee health and well-being outcomes over three months, mainly in a positive and health-promoting way. Conclusion This study provides insights into the antecedents of proactive efforts to balance the complex interplay of life domains. By studying work–nonwork balance crafting, we provide a new perspective on crafting beyond job crafting, which may help maintain or improve employees’ mental health and well-being.

Ongoing developments, such as digitalization, increased the interference of the work and nonwork life domains, urging many to continuously manage engagement in respective domains. The COVID-19 pandemic and subsequent home-office regulations further boosted the need for employees to find a good work-nonwork balance, thereby optimizing their health and well-being. Consequently, proactive individual-level crafting strategies for balancing work with other relevant life domains were becoming increasingly important. However, these strategies received insufficient attention in previous research despite their potential relevance for satisfying psychological needs, such as psychological detachment. We addressed this research gap by introducing a new scale measuring crafting for a work-nonwork balance and examining its relevance in job-and life satisfaction, work engagement, subjective vitality, family role and job performance, boundary management and self-rated work-nonwork balance. The Work-Nonwork Balance Crafting Scale was validated in five countries (Austria, Finland, Germany, Japan, and Switzerland), encompassing data from a heterogeneous sample of more than 4,200 employees. In study 1, exploratory factor analysis revealed a two-factorial scale structure. Confirmatory factor analysis, test for measurement invariance, and convergent validity were provided in study 2. Replication of confirmatory factor analysis, incremental and criterion validity of the Work-Nonwork Balance Crafting Scale for job and life satisfaction were assessed in study 3. Study 4 displayed criterion validity, test–retest reliability, testing measurement invariance, and applicability of the scale across work cultures. Finally, study 5 delivered evidence for the Work-Nonwork Balance Crafting Scale in predicting work-nonwork balance. The novel Work-Nonwork Balance Crafting Scale captured crafting for the challenging balance between work and nonwork and performed well across several different working cultures in increasingly digitalized societies. Both researchers and practitioners may use this tool to assess crafting efforts to balance both life domains and to study relationships with outcomes relevant to employee health and well-being.

Shaping off-job life is becoming increasingly important for workers to increase and maintain their optimal functioning (i.e., feeling and performing well). Proactively shaping the job domain (referred to as job crafting) has been extensively studied, but crafting in the off-job domain has received markedly less research attention. Based on the Integrative Needs Model of Crafting, needs-based off-job crafting is defined as workers’ proactive and self-initiated changes in their off-job lives, which target psychological needs satisfaction. Off-job crafting is posited as a possible means for workers to fulfill their needs and enhance well-being and performance over time. We developed a new scale to measure off-job crafting and examined its relationships to optimal functioning in different work contexts in different regions around the world (the United States, Germany, Austria, Switzerland, Finland, Japan, and the United Kingdom). Furthermore, we examined the criterion, convergent, incremental, discriminant, and structural validity evidence of the Needs-based Off-job Crafting Scale using multiple methods (longitudinal and cross-sectional survey studies, an “example generation”-task). The results showed that off-job crafting was related to optimal functioning over time, especially in the off-job domain but also in the job domain. Moreover, the novel off-job crafting scale had good convergent and discriminant validity, internal consistency, and test–retest reliability. To conclude, our series of studies in various countries show that off-job crafting can enhance optimal functioning in different life domains and support people in performing their duties sustainably. Therefore, shaping off-job life may be beneficial in an intensified and continually changing and challenging working life.

Abstract Background The COVID-19 crisis has radically changed the way people live and work. While most studies have focused on prevailing negative consequences, potential positive shifts in everyday life have received less attention. Thus, we examined the actual and perceived overall impact of the COVID-19 crisis on work and private life, and the consequences for mental well-being (MWB), and self-rated health (SRH) in German and Swiss employees. Methods Cross-sectional data were collected via an online questionnaire from 2118 German and Swiss employees recruited through an online panel service (18–65 years, working at least 20 h/week, various occupations). The sample provides a good representation of the working population in both countries. Using logistic regression, we analyzed how sociodemographic factors and self-reported changes in work and private life routines were associated with participants’ perceived overall impact of the COVID-19 crisis on work and private life. Moreover, we explored how the perceived impact and self-reported changes were associated with MWB and SRH. Results About 30% of employees reported that their work and private life had worsened, whereas about 10% reported improvements in work and 13% in private life. Mandatory short-time work was strongly associated with perceived negative impact on work life, while work from home, particularly if experienced for the first time, was strongly associated with a perceived positive impact on work life. Concerning private life, younger age, living alone, reduction in leisure time, and changes in quantity of caring duties were strongly associated with perceived negative impact. In contrast, living with a partner or family, short-time work, and increases in leisure time and caring duties were associated with perceived positive impact on private life. Perceived negative impact of the crisis on work and private life and mandatory short-time work were associated with lower MWB and SRH. Moreover, perceived positive impact on private life and an increase in leisure time were associated with higher MWB. Conclusion The results of this study show the differential impact of the COVID-19 crisis on people’s work and private life as well as the consequences for MWB and SRH. This may inform target groups and situation-specific interventions to ameliorate the crisis.

Stream temperature and discharge are key hydrological variables for ecosystem and water resource management and are particularly sensitive to climate warming. Despite the wealth of meteorological and hydrological data, few studies have quantified observed stream temperature trends in the Alps. This study presents a detailed analysis of stream temperature and discharge in 52 catchments in Switzerland, a country covering a wide range of alpine and lowland hydrological regimes. The influence of discharge, precipitation, air temperature, and upstream lakes on stream temperatures and their temporal trends is analysed from multi-decadal to seasonal timescales. Stream temperature has significantly increased over the past 5 decades, with positive trends for all four seasons. The mean trends for the last 20 years are +0.37±0.11 ∘C per decade for water temperature, resulting from the joint effects of trends in air temperature (+0.39±0.14 ∘C per decade), discharge (-10.1±4.6 % per decade), and precipitation (-9.3±3.4 % per decade). For a longer time period (1979–2018), the trends are +0.33±0.03 ∘C per decade for water temperature, +0.46±0.03°C per decade for air temperature, -3.0±0.5 % per decade for discharge, and -1.3±0.5 % per decade for precipitation. Furthermore, we show that snow and glacier melt compensates for air temperature warming trends in a transient way in alpine streams. Lakes, on the contrary, have a strengthening effect on downstream water temperature trends at all elevations. Moreover, the identified stream temperature trends are shown to have critical impacts on ecological and economical temperature thresholds (the spread of fish diseases and the usage of water for industrial cooling), especially in lowland rivers, suggesting that these waterways are becoming more vulnerable to the increasing air temperature forcing. Resilient alpine rivers are expected to become more vulnerable to warming in the near future due to the expected reductions in snow- and glacier-melt inputs. A detailed mathematical framework along with the necessary source code are provided with this paper.

Previous studies have reported the effects of absolute pitch (AP) and musical proficiency on the functioning of specific brain regions or distinct subnetworks, but they provided an incomplete account of the effects of AP and musical proficiency on whole-brain networks. In this study, we used EEG to estimate source-space whole-brain functional connectivity in a large sample comprising AP musicians (n ​= ​46), relative pitch (RP) musicians (n ​= ​45), and Non-musicians (n ​= ​34) during resting state, naturalistic music listening, and audiobook listening. First, we assessed the global network density of the participants’ functional networks in these conditions. As revealed by cluster-based permutation testing, AP musicians showed a decreased mean degree compared to Non-musicians whereas RP musicians showed an intermediate mean degree not statistically different from Non-musicians or AP-musicians. This effect was present during naturalistic music and audiobook listening, but, crucially, not during resting state. Second, we identified the subnetworks that drove group differences in global network density using the network-based statistic approach. We found that AP musicians showed decreased functional connectivity between major hubs of the default mode network during both music and audiobook listening compared to Non-musicians. Third, we assessed group differences in global network topology while controlling for network density. We did not find evidence for group differences in the clustering coefficient and characteristic path length. Taken together, we found first evidence of diminished whole-brain functional networks in AP musicians during the perception of naturalistic auditory stimuli. These differences might reflect a complex interplay between AP ability, musical proficiency, music processing, and auditory processing per se.

The availability and development of social and personal resources are substantial components of a positive work experience. This study aims to inquire the reciprocal relations between the personal resource of psychological capital (PsyCap; hope, self-efficacy, resilience, and optimism) and the social job resource of social support, as proposed in the job demands-resources theory. There, job crafting is defined as a catalysator to the interplay of social support and PsyCap and is therefore added to this study. Moreover, we test the enabling hypothesis of social support in the context of work. We contribute to the field, as this research (a) examines propositions of a core theory, (b) adds and extends relevant hypotheses from health psychology into occupational psychology, and (c) aims to replicate findings. To capture the dynamic nature of the selected, relevant relationships of the job demands-resources theory, we used a three-wave, 3-month panel design to study 995 employees who were working in a broad range of economic sectors and occupations. Structural equation modeling was used to test hypotheses. Results showed, that social support at work positively influenced the development of PsyCap, supporting and extending the enabling hypothesis of self-efficacy. Counterintuitively, PsyCap and crafting for social job resources were negatively related, indicating (a) that the reliance on personal resources might reduce the necessity to generate social resources, and (b) that crafting is a strategy that consumes personal resources. Previously observed gain cycles were not replicable.

18F‐labelled fluoro‐2‐deoxyglucose positron emission tomography/computed tomography (18F‐FDG PET/CT) is used extensively in the setting of cancer staging and in assessing cancer treatment response. Oncology patients have a sevenfold risk of developing pulmonary embolism (PE) due to underlying activation of the haemostatic system and anti‐cancer therapy inducing a hypercoagulable state. The diagnosis of PE on 18F‐FDG PET/CT is challenging, particularly in the absence of intravenous contrast. The case of a female patient undergoing treatment for advanced diffuse large B‐cell lymphoma is presented. The ancillary signs of PE are illustrated on consecutive non‐contrast‐enhanced 18F‐FDG PET/CT scans. The signs include the “rim sign” relating to regions of pulmonary infarction and abnormal cardiac uptake indicating right heart strain. The diagnosis was confirmed on CT pulmonary angiography which demonstrated extensive PE, including a saddle embolus.

Recently, an epoxy-based resin-Filtek Silorane-has been proposed for restorative fillings. It was the aim of the investigation to evaluate the suitability of this novel resin for orthodontic bracket bonding on unground enamel. Shear bond strength was measured for two adhesives-Filtek Silorane, Transbond XT-in combination with steel, ceramic and polymer brackets. For Filtek Silorane etching was performed with the Silorane self-etching primer, as well as phosphoric acid. The Transbond XT samples were etched with phosphoric acid only and served as the control group. All samples were thermo-cycled (1000×, 5–55 °C). Shear testing was carried out with an Instron 3344. In addition, ARI scores were evaluated. The Shear bond strength showed a weak adhesion of Filtek Silorane to unprepared enamel, either with the self-etching primer or the conventional etching (0.87–4.28 MPa). The Shear bond strength of the control group was significantly higher (7.6–16.5 MPa). The ARI scores showed a clear failure at the enamel-adhesive interface for all Filtek Silorane samples. For the combination of Transbond XT and different brackets the failure was found at the adhesive–bracket interface. The novel epoxy-based resin Filtek Silorane is not appropriate for bracket bonding to unprepared enamel.

It was the intention of the study to evaluate the etching effects of several self-etching primers on unground enamel and their relevance for shear bond strength testing. Seven self-etching primers (Clearfil SE, Futurabond NR, M-Bond, One Coat, Optibond, Transbond SEP+, Xeno III) and a conventional 35% phosphoric gel acid were applied to bovine incisors according to the manufacturer’s instructions. All specimens were analyzed by electron microscopy. A visual four-step grading was used for the characterization of the macroscopic (5000×) and microscopic (20,000×) etching patterns. In addition, shear bond strength for all the products was tested with an Instron 3344 after 1000 thermocycles between 5 °C and 55 °C. Statistical analysis was carried out using Kruskal–Wallis with Dunn’s post-test and Pearson’s correlation coefficient. Very strong etching patterns with well-defined prisms were found for the conventional etching, Transbond SEP+, and to a lesser degree, for Xeno III. Clearfil SE and Futurabond NR revealed moderate etching patterns, and M-Bond, One Coat, and Optibond revealed very weak etching patterns. The bond strength correlated well with the etching patterns. The highest shear strength was obtained with conventional etching and Transbond SEP+, followed by Clearfil SE. Moderate shear bond strengths were found for Xeno III, Futurabond NR, One Coat, and M-Bond, and the lowest were found with Optibond.

CR1447 (4-hydroxytestosterone, 4-OHT) binds to the androgen receptor and has antiproliferative activity in both ER-positive and ER-negative/AR-positive breast cancer cells in preclinical studies. The objective of this first-in man trial was to evaluate the safety and to determine the dose of CR1447, administered as an ointment, for Phase II. Escalating doses (100, 200, 400 mg) of CR1447 were administered topically on a daily basis to patients with ER-positive/AR-positive/HER2-negative advanced breast cancer pretreated with several lines of therapy. 14 patients have been treated for a total of 42 cycles. Two patients, one at dose level 100 mg and one at dose level 200 mg, showed early tumour progression and were replaced. Related adverse events were all ≤ grade 2 and included fatigue, bone and joint pain, stiffness, dry skin and mouth, nausea, sweating, urinary tract infection, rash, headache and distress. No drug-related dose-limiting toxicities (DLTs) were seen. Two patients (17%) achieved stable disease at 3 months. Pharmacokinetic analysis confirmed dose-dependent transdermal uptake of CR1447. 4-OH-androstenedione (4-OHA), a key metabolite of 4-OHT, was undetectable in most of the plasma samples. Urine metabolites of 4-OHT and 4-OHA indicate high exposure of 4-OHT after topical administration. Oestradiol serum concentrations did not increase, confirming preclinical data that CR1447 is not converted to estrogens in vivo. In conclusion, CR1447 administered transdermally as an ointment is well tolerated and appears to have single-agent activity in heavily pretreated ER-positive/HER2-negative breast cancer patients. The recommended phase II dose is 400 mg/day.

Climate change is expected to strongly impact the hydrological and thermal regimes of Alpine rivers within the coming decades. In this context, the development of hydrological models accounting for the specific dynamics of Alpine catchments appears as one of the promising approaches to reduce our uncertainty of future mountain hydrology. This paper describes the improvements brought to StreamFlow, an existing model for hydrological and stream temperature prediction built as an external extension to the physically based snow model Alpine3D. StreamFlow's source code has been entirely written anew, taking advantage of object-oriented programming to significantly improve its structure and ease the implementation of future developments. The source code is now publicly available online, along with a complete documentation. A special emphasis has been put on modularity during the re-implementation of StreamFlow, so that many model aspects can be represented using different alternatives. For example, several options are now available to model the advection of water within the stream. This allows for an easy and fast comparison between different approaches and helps in defining more reliable uncertainty estimates of the model forecasts. In particular, a case study in a Swiss Alpine catchment reveals that the stream temperature predictions are particularly sensitive to the approach used to model the temperature of subsurface flow, a fact which has been poorly reported in the literature to date. Based on the case study, StreamFlow is shown to reproduce hourly mean discharge with a Nash–Sutcliffe efficiency (NSE) of 0.82 and hourly mean temperature with a NSE of 0.78.

In taking a goal pursuit perspective into account, the present study examined associations between the context, process and outcome evaluation of an organizational health intervention (OHI) implemented within 29 teams in a hospital setting. In doing so, team climate for innovation as a context factor was measured at baseline (N = 529). Four to six weeks after baseline, N = 250 team representatives participated in a 4-day workshop. During the workshop employees formulated collective goals as action plans to be implemented in the nursing wards. Goal pursuit as a process factor was differentiated into (a) a motivational “goal setting” and (b) a volitional “goal striving” phase. The scale of outcome expectancy (measured after the fourth day of the workshop) was used as an indicator for the goal setting phase. For the operationalization of the goal striving phase, action plans were coded with regard to the proportion of formulated implementation intentions (“if-then plans”). After 6 months, the outcome of the intervention was measured on a retrospective impact scale (N = 385). The results of the multiple regression analysis and of the multilevel analysis show that both team climate and goal pursuit (outcome expectancy and the proportion of if-then plans) were positively related to the perceived impact of the intervention. Furthermore, the results show that the relationship between team climate and the impact of the intervention was mediated by outcome expectancy. The results highlight the contribution of goal theory within context-process-outcome research that leads to a better understanding of when and why OHIs are effective.

Background: The prognosis of advanced pancreatic cancer (APC) is poor and differs considerably among patients. Therefore, it is clinically relevant to identify patients with APC who are more likely to benefit from palliative chemotherapy with reduced risk of toxicity. To date, there is no prognostic score universally recommended to help clinicians in planning the therapeutic management. Methods: Using individual patient data from 319 cases of APC treated with gemcitabine-based chemotherapy and enrolled in the SAKK 44/00-CECOG/PAN.1.3.001 randomized trial, several baseline variables, including inflammatory markers, were analysed post hoc as predictors of mortality and/or grade 3 or 4 chemotherapy-related toxicity and separate risk scores were developed. Results: Median survival of the study patients was 7.9 months (interquartile range 3.7–13.3 months). Independent predictors of mortality included increased Aspartate transaminase (ASAT), low performance status, increased derived neutrophil to lymphocyte ratio, increased Carbohydrate Antigen 19-9 (CA 19-9), low haemoglobin, presence of pain, presence of metastasis and increased alkaline phosphatase (ALP). During the study, 117 patients experienced at least one grade 3 or 4 adverse event. Independent predictors of toxicity included white blood cells, ALP, renal function and bilirubin levels at baseline. Both models displayed moderate levels of discrimination (C-statistic 0.68 and 0.64 for mortality and toxicity, respectively) and adequate calibration. Conclusions: We developed simple-to-use prognostic scores for mortality and severe toxicity for patients with APC. These scores can be useful in daily practice to identify patients with increased risk of death or toxicity and to plan the most appropriate therapeutic strategy to improve survival and quality of life. Further prospective studies to validate such scores are needed.

The influence of background music on cognitive functions is still a matter of debate. In this study, we investigated the influence of background music on executive functions (particularly on inhibitory functions). Participants completed a standardized cued Go/NoGo task during three different conditions while an EEG was recorded (1: with no background music, 2: with relaxing, or 3: with exciting background music). In addition, we collected reaction times, omissions, and commissions in response to the Go and NoGo stimuli. From the EEG data, event-related potentials (ERPs) were calculated for the Go and NoGo trials. From these ERPs, the N2 and P3 components were specifically analyzed since previous studies have shown that these components (and particularly the Go-NoGo difference waves) are strongly associated with inhibitory functions. The N2 and P3 components of the difference waves (N2d and P3d) were used for statistical analyses. The statistical analyses revealed no differences between the three conditions in terms of amplitudes and latencies of the N2d and P3d components. In addition, reaction times, omissions, and commissions were comparable across all conditions. Our results suggest that in the context of this paradigm, music as background acoustic stimulation has no detrimental effects on the performance of a Go/NoGo task and neural underpinnings.

A systematic investigation of four heteroleptic bis(diimine) copper(I) dyes in n-type Dye-Sensitized Solar Cells (DSSCs) is presented. The dyes are assembled using a stepwise, on-surface assembly. The dyes contain a phosphonic acid-functionalized 2,2′-bipyridine (bpy) anchoring domain (5) and ancillary bpy ligands that bear peripheral phenyl (1), 4-methoxyphenyl (2), 3,5-dimethoxyphenyl (3), or 3,4,5-trimethoxyphenyl (4) substituents. In masked DSSCs, the best overall photoconversion efficiency was obtained with the dye [Cu(5)(4)]+ (1.96% versus 5.79% for N719). Values of JSC for both [Cu(5)(2)]+ (in which the 4-MeO group is electron releasing) and [Cu(5)(4)]+ (which combines electron-releasing and electron-withdrawing effects of the 4- and 3,5-substituents) and are enhanced with respect to [Cu(5)(1)]+. DSSCs with [Cu(5)(3)]+ show the lowest JSC. Solid-state absorption spectra and external quantum efficiency spectra reveal that [Cu(5)(4)]+ benefits from an extended spectral range at higher energies. Values of VOC are in the order [Cu(5)(4)]+ > [Cu(5)(1)]+ > [Cu(5)(2)]+ > [Cu(5)(3)]+. Density functional theory calculations suggest that methoxyphenyl character in MOs within the HOMO manifold in [Cu(5)(2)]+ and [Cu(5)(4)]+ may contribute to the enhanced performances of these dyes with respect to [Cu(5)(1)]+.

Although telepathology systems have been developed for more than a decade, they are still not a widespread tool for routine diagnostic applications. Lacking interoperability, software that is not satisfying user needs as well as high costs have been identified as reasons. In this paper we would like to demonstrate that with a clear separation of the tasks required for a telepathology application, telepathology systems can be built in a modular way, where many modules can be implemented using standard software components. With such a modular design, systems can be easily adapted to changing user needs and new technological developments and it is easier to integrate modular systems into existing environments.

Background Mantle cell lymphoma accounts for 6% of all B-cell lymphomas and is generally incurable. It is characterized by the translocation t(11;14) leading to cyclin D1 over-expression. Cyclin D1 is downstream of the mammalian target of rapamycin threonine kinase and can be effectively blocked by mammalian target of rapamycin inhibitors. We set out to examine the single agent activity of the orally available mammalian target of rapamycin inhibitor everolimus in a prospective, multicenter trial in patients with relapsed or refractory mantle cell lymphoma (NCT00516412).Design and Methods Eligible patients who had received a maximum of three prior lines of chemotherapy were given everolimus 10 mg for 28 days (one cycle) for a total of six cycles or until disease progression. The primary endpoint was the best objective response. Adverse reactions, progression-free survival and molecular response were secondary endpoints.Results Thirty-six patients (35 evaluable) were enrolled and treatment was generally well tolerated with Common Terminology Criteria grade ≥3 adverse events (>5%) including anemia (11%), thrombocytopenia (11%) and neutropenia (8%). The overall response rate was 20% (95% CI: 8–37%) with two complete remissions and five partial responses; 49% of the patients had stable disease. At a median follow-up of 6 months, the median progression-free survival was 5.5 months (95% CI: 2.8–8.2) overall and 17.0 (6.4–23.3) months for 18 patients who received six or more cycles of treatment. Three patients achieved a lasting complete molecular response, as assessed by polymerase chain reaction analysis of peripheral blood.Conclusions Everolimus as a single agent is well tolerated and has anti-lymphoma activity in relapsed or refractory mantle cell lymphoma. Further studies of everolimus in combination with chemotherapy or as a single agent for maintenance treatment are warranted. (Clinicaltrials.gov identifier: NCT00516412)

INTRODUCTION: Effort-reward imbalance (ERI) and work-life imbalance (WLI) are recognised risk factors for work stress and burnout but have not been investigated conjointly so far and compared with each other in this regard. The present cross-sectional study provides initial evidence by studying associations of ERI and WLI with general stress and burnout simultaneously. METHODS: The study was based on survey data collected in 2007 among the personnel of a large public hospital in the canton of Zurich covering a random sample of 502 employees of all professions and positions. Prevalence rates, correlation coefficients, standardised regression coefficients and odds ratios were calculated as measures of association. RESULTS: Concerning the main research question and relating to the entire study sample, WLI was found to be more strongly associated with general stress and burnout than ERI. As stratified analyses with regard to burnout have shown, this applied especially to nursing, technical care and emergency staffs who account for more than three fifths of the study population. But for other professional categories like physicians, therapists and medical-technical personnel the opposite of a stronger association of ERI with burnout was found. Results also suggested that general stress plays a (rather minor) mediating role in the relationships between ERI and burnout and particularly between WLI and burnout. CONCLUSION: For the prevention of chronic stress and burnout one should consider both high efforts put into work as well as all job demands that are competing and interfering with family responsibilities or other private activities.