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A great deal of research has been conducted over recent years in the field of occupational stress and its relationship to physical and mental illness. This paper attempts to provide a framework for examining this work, with the dual objectives of broadening the existing psychological literature with the extensive medical data available and also highlighting the research gaps in this area. By emphasizing the medical evidence it is hoped that we may encourage greater interdisciplinary work in the growing field of stress at work.

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A major challenge in chemical synthesis is to develop catalytic systems that convert simple molecules to complex high-value products. Often these valuable compounds must be manufactured asymmetrically, as their biochemical properties can differ based on the chirality of the molecule. Of great interest are enantioenriched amine diastereomers, which are prevalent in pharmaceuticals and agrochemicals, 1 yet their preparation often relies on low-e ciency multi-step synthesis. 2 Herein, we report the discovery and characterisation of a multi-functional biocatalyst, which operates using a previously unreported conjugate reduction-reductive amination mechanism. This enzyme (pIR-120), identi ed within a metagenomic imine reductase (IRED) collection 3 and originating from an unclassi ed Pseudomonas species, possesses an unusual active site architecture that facilitates an amine-activated conjugate alkene reduction followed by reductive amination. This enzyme enables the coupling of a broad selection of α,β-unsaturated carbonyls with amines for the e cient preparation of enantioenriched amine diastereomers. Moreover, employing a racemic substrate partner or conjugated dienyl-ketone provides a means of controlling additional stereocentres using the single catalyst. Mechanistic and structural studies have been carried out to delineate the order of individual steps catalysed by pIR-120 which have led to a proposal for the overall catalytic cycle. This work shows that the IRED family can serve as a platform for facilitating the discovery of further enzymatic activities for application in synthetic biology and organic synthesis.

Against a background of perceived threats to physical education, an investigative world-widesurvey of the state and status of physical education in schools funded by the International Olympic Committee was carried out in 1998–9. The survey findings, based on data collated from a globally administered semi-structured questionnaire and an extensive literature survey, reveal that school physical education is in a perilous position in all continental regions of the world. Specifically, the article addresses issues of legal status and actual implementation, restricted or decreasing curriculum time allocation, subject status and attitudes of headteachers, other teachers and parents, inadequacies in financial, material and human resources and teacher preparation, curriculum trends, as well as scepticism about the subject’s future. Concluding comments allude to the main sources of concern and international efforts to sustain physical education in schools in the next millennium.