Improve your hiring process with team interviews.

Hiring highly qualified employees in today's competitive job market is one of the most important responsibilities for managers. The time, effort, and money that are involved in recruiting, hiring, and training a new employee provide a powerful argument for improving the way we select new employees. Today, many organizations are using team interviews to improve their hiring processes. In this article, we discuss the ways team interviews can enhance selection accuracy and provide a range of benefits for both the candidate and the organization. Specific guidelines on how to use team interviews to make better hiring decisions also are discussed.

Molecular cloning and expression of NlaIII restriction-modification system in E. coli.

The NlaIII restriction enzyme isolated from Neisseria lactamica recognizes the sequence 5'-CATG-3', cleaving after the G to generate a four base 3' overhang. The NlaIII methylase and a portion of the NlaIII endonuclease gene were cloned into E. coli by the methylase selection method, and the remaining portion of the NlaIII endonuclease gene was cloned by inverse PCR. The nucleotide sequence of the endonuclease gene and the methylase gene were determined. The NlaIII endonuclease gene is 693 bp, encoding a protein with predicted molecular weight of 26487. The NlaIII methylase gene was identical with that previously reported [Labbe, D., Joltke, H.J. and Lau, P.C. (1990) Cloning and characterization of two tandemly arranged DNA methyltransferse genes of Neisseria lactamica: an adenine-specific M.NlaIII and a cytosine-type methylase. Mol. Gen. Genet. 224, 101-110]. The endonuclease and methylase genes overlap by four bases and are transcribed in the same orientation. The endonuclease gene was cloned into an improved T7 vector, and a high level of NlaIII endonuclease expression was achieved in E. coli.

The employment interview: avoiding the traps with effective strategies.

Selecting well-qualified employees has become increasingly difficult for employers. Legal complaints citing discrimination and negligent hiring have made interviewers and organizations more vulnerable than ever. Also, predicted declines in the skill levels of employees will continue to make it difficult for interviewers to select applicants who best match job requirements. These difficulties can be traced to a variety of traps that often lead to poor hiring decisions. The authors describe the traps interviewers face and highlight actions that can be taken by interviewers to avoid these traps and to improve the effectiveness of their interviewing and employee selection decisions.

Cloning type-II restriction and modification genes.

We have cloned into Escherichia coli the genes for 38 type-II bacterial modification methyltransferases. The clones were isolated by selecting in vitro for protectively modified recombinants. Most of the clones modify their DNA fully but a substantial number modify only partially. In approximately one-half of the clones, the genes for the corresponding endonucleases are also present. Some of these clones restrict infecting phages and others do not. Clones carrying endonuclease genes but lacking methyltransferase genes have been found, in several instances, to be viable.

Characteristics of the aortic intima in young and old cebus and squirrel monkeys.

To document naturally occurring aortic intimal changes with age in squirrel and Cebus monkeys, the aortic lipid class composition, histology, and fine structure were quantitatively compared in the two species at birth and in old age. The aortic intima plus inner media in the young squirrel monkey contained more lipid, particularly in the phospholipid and cholesterol ester fractions than in young Cebus. The lipid class composition of the old Cebus monkey aorta resembled that of the young Cebus. In the old squirrel monkey aorta, cholesteryl ester, and to a lesser extent, free cholesterol were increased over young levels, while the phospholipid concentration tended to be lower. The aortic cholesteryl ester:phospholipid ratio increased with age in both species, but the old Cebus monkey aorta maintained the ratio below unity at 0.3, whereas the old squirrel monkey aorta ratio was 2.5. The abdominal aorta of the old squirrel monkey tended to have more lipid in each class than the thoracic segment. Morphologically, the old Cebus monkey aortic intima was similar to the young Cebus in terms of the intima:media ratio, intimal cellularity, and the distribution of intimal components determined by points in electron micrographs. In both age groups the Cebus monkey aorta was characterized by diffuse intimal thickening without lipid deposits. In contrast, that old squirrel monkey aorta had a much greater intima:media ratio, especially in the abdominal aorta, and a greater intimal cellularity than the young squirrel monkey. The distribution of intimal components in electron micrographs of the old squirrel monkey aorta shifted to a predominance of extracellular lipid, smooth muscle cells, and collagen. Deposits of small dense granules, presumably the products of cellular breakdown, were observed in aortic intimas and medias of both species in old age. Thus, differences between Cebus and squirrel monkey aortic intimas were evident at birth. By old age, the Cebus monkey aortic intima remodeled without accumulating lipid, whereas the squirrel monkey developed aortic intimal lesions resembling human atherosclerosis.