Meaning Sources of the Work on Academic Profession-A Research on the Relationship of Academic Performance

This study identifies sources of meaning at work, which can be the most important element of work motivation and whose importance and effect are better understood recently. This study aims to investigate a categorical model regarding the meanings attributed to the academic profession and to reveal which sources of meaning are more positively associated with academic performance. Data were collected in academicians. Academic incentive score and number of citations were used to measure academic performance; open and closed-ended questionnaires were applied to 815 academicians. As a result, the internal-external and development-contribution oriented the model of meaning sources of the work on academic profession was introduced. In the context of this model, the sources of meaning with the highest frequency were usefulness, passion, development and learning, meaning of life and scientific contribution. Also, it has been determined that academicians who see the academic profession as the meaning of their life have higher academic performance. It was also revealed that those who adopted the respectability meaning source had lower academic performance.

Invited Commentary: Beyond Overdiagnosis—Diagnosis Without Benefit

In an accompanying article, Hofmann (Am J Epidemiol. 2019;188(10):1812–1817) seeks to clarify the concept of overdiagnosis by screening. He makes a helpful suggestion to reconnect diagnosis with patient suffering, pointing out the underlying issue in overdiagnosis of prognostic uncertainty. He then divides prognostic uncertainty into developmental and progression uncertainty, using a categorical model of disease progression through indicators to manifest disease. This model could be improved by considering the heterogeneity of patient-condition combinations. This leads to an understanding of the probabilistic nature of the connection between any indicator in a specific individual and patient suffering. The model also needs to consider the time span over which the patient-condition combination leads to patient suffering. I propose a simpler approach that goes further to focus not only on overdiagnosis but also on the broader problem of diagnosis without benefit and diagnosis without net benefit. This makes measurement easier and focuses attention where it belongs: on the harm caused by overly aggressive screening programs.

Association of dietary folate and vitamin B-12 intake with genome-wide DNA methylation in blood: a large-scale epigenome-wide association analysis in 5841 individuals

ABSTRACT Background Folate and vitamin B-12 are essential micronutrients involved in the donation of methyl groups in cellular metabolism. However, associations between intake of these nutrients and genome-wide DNA methylation levels have not been studied comprehensively in humans. Objective The aim of this study was to assess whether folate and/or vitamin B-12 intake are asssociated with genome-wide changes in DNA methylation in leukocytes. Methods A large-scale epigenome-wide association study of folate and vitamin B-12 intake was performed on DNA from 5841 participants from 10 cohorts using Illumina 450k arrays. Folate and vitamin B-12 intakes were calculated from food-frequency questionnaires (FFQs). Continuous and categorical (low compared with high intake) linear regression mixed models were applied per cohort, controlling for confounders. A meta-analysis was performed to identify significant differentially methylated positions (DMPs) and regions (DMRs), and a pathway analysis was performed on the DMR annotated genes. Results The categorical model resulted in 6 DMPs, which are all negatively associated with folate intake, annotated to FAM64A, WRAP73, FRMD8, CUX1, and LCN8 genes, which have a role in cellular processes including centrosome localization, cell proliferation, and tumorigenesis. Regional analysis showed 74 folate-associated DMRs, of which 73 were negatively associated with folate intake. The most significant folate-associated DMR was a 400-base pair (bp) spanning region annotated to the LGALS3BP gene. In the categorical model, vitamin B-12 intake was associated with 29 DMRs annotated to 48 genes, of which the most significant was a 1100-bp spanning region annotated to the calcium-binding tyrosine phosphorylation-regulated gene (CABYR). Vitamin B-12 intake was not associated with DMPs. Conclusions We identified novel epigenetic loci that are associated with folate and vitamin B-12 intake. Interestingly, we found a negative association between folate and DNA methylation. Replication of these methylation loci is necessary in future studies.