Past research has found that employees who view themselves as overqualified for their jobs tend to hold negative job attitudes and be unwilling to go beyond the call of duty. In challenging ...situations such as during the COVID‐19 crisis, when having “all hands‐on deck” may be important to an organization's survival, mitigating the negative tendencies of these employees becomes important. Adopting a sensemaking perspective on crisis management, we examine whether supervisors' self‐sacrificial leadership can mitigate these negative tendencies. First, we propose that employee perceived overqualification is associated with lower levels of felt obligation to the organization and thereby lower levels of extra‐role behaviors (i.e., helping and proactivity). We next propose that supervisors' self‐sacrificial leadership during the COVID‐19 crisis can evoke, especially when COVID‐19 more strongly impacts the organization, a sense of collectivism toward the organization, which mitigates the negative association of perceived overqualification with felt obligation and thus extra‐role behaviors. We tested our theorizing in samples from the UK (n = 121, pilot study) and US (n = 382, main study) in studies with a multi‐wave, time‐lagged design. Findings from both studies provide support for our theorizing. We discuss implications for research and practice concerning perceived overqualification during a crisis.
Self-efficacy's influence on individual job performance has been well documented in laboratory studies. However, there have been very few rigorous field studies of self-efficacy's relationship with ...objectively measured individual job performance in organizational settings. This research history might account for the low take-up of self-efficacy within the business literature as well as within business itself. When it comes to studies of employee engagement, the same lack of rigorous individual studies applies, although several organizational-level studies link employee engagement to organizational performance, while its claimed benefits have been widely discussed in the business literature. Finally, the degree to which employee engagement and self-efficacy have independent and additive effects on individual-level job performance remains unknown. In order to address these issues, a longitudinal field study was undertaken within an Australian financial services firm. Using survey data linked to objectively measured job performance, we found the additive effects of self-efficacy and employee engagement explained 12% of appointments made and 39% of products sold over and above that explained by past performance. This finding suggests human resource management (HRM) practitioners should address both self-efficacy and employee engagement in order to boost job performance while encouraging HRM scholars to incorporate both measures when conducting job performance studies.
Evidence-based nursing (EBN) has been an important training mechanism for improving the quality of clinical care. At present, the pedagogy focuses on the application of e-learning and team-based ...learning to enhance learners' engagement and learning effectiveness.
This study applied the flipped classroom approach to conduct evidence-based nursing (EBN) teaching. The aim of this study is to elevate the learning effectiveness of the flipped classroom group to the traditional teaching group in terms of knowledge and self-efficacy in practice.
A pretest-posttest nonequivalent control group with a quasi-experimental quantitative design.
The study recruited 151 nurses, of whom 75 were in the control group and 76 were in the experimental group. During the EBN course, the control group received training via traditional pedagogy while the experimental group engaged the flipped classroom approach. The learning effectiveness of EBN knowledge and self-efficacy in practice were evaluated across the three time points: pre-course, post-course, and one month after the course.
In both group the scores of the EBN knowledge and self-efficacy in practice improved after training. The scores of the experimental group increased significantly than in the control group. However, the scores declined in both groups one month after the course. Even so, the experimental group's score of self-efficacy in practice was still higher than that of the control group.
The implementation of the flipped classroom approach and team-based learning effectively enhanced the learners EBN knowledge accumulation and self-efficacy in practice. The research results can be used as an important reference for improving clinical nursing teaching quality.
Serum uric acid level is a risk factor for cardiovascular disease (CVD). However, whether it is an independent risk factor or not remains controversial. We analyzed the association between serum uric ...acid level and cardiovascular risk. In total, 973 nonhypertensive and nondiabetic participants in the I-Lan Longitudinal Aging Study were eligible for this study. Subjects were divided into tertiles according to uric acid levels. The 10-year cardiovascular risk was calculated using Framingham risk score (FRS). Study subjects in the highest tertile of serum uric acid level were older, more likely to be male, and had higher systolic blood pressure, body mass index, carotid artery intima-media thickness and serum triglyceride, high-sensitivity C-reactive protein, and low-density lipoprotein cholesterol levels and lower serum high-density lipoprotein cholesterol levels (all p < 0.05). Subjects in the highest tertile had significantly higher FRS (p < 0.001). After adjusting for other risk factors, serum uric acid level remained associated significantly with the FRS (p < 0.05). In binary logistic regression analysis, the serum uric acid level was an independent predictive factor for high (≥20%) FRS (odds ratio 1.33, 95% confidence interval 1.10-1.68). These findings warrant attention to this cardiovascular risk factor in apparently healthy adults.
Amino acids have been implicated with virus infection and replication. Here, we demonstrate the effects of two basic amino acids, arginine and lysine, and their ester derivatives on infection of two ...enveloped viruses, SARS-CoV-2, and influenza A virus. We found that lysine and its ester derivative can efficiently block infection of both viruses in vitro. Furthermore, the arginine ester derivative caused a significant boost in virus infection. Studies on their mechanism of action revealed that the compounds potentially disturb virus uncoating rather than virus attachment and endosomal acidification. Our findings suggest that lysine supplementation and the reduction of arginine-rich food intake can be considered as prophylactic and therapeutic regimens against these viruses while also providing a paradigm for the development of broad-spectrum antivirals.
•Employees’ regulatory focus is an important contingent factor determining the fairness of pay dispersion.•When employees are strongly promotion focused, they tend to perceive large pay dispersion as ...fair.•When employees are strongly prevention focused, they tend to perceive compressed pay dispersion as fair.•Supportive evidence is found in two multilevel field datasets from South Korea and Taiwan.
The authors propose that the debate on the fairness of large pay dispersion can be advanced by considering people’s regulatory focus. While some argue that pay dispersion is fair only when it reflects individual contribution differences, others argue that large pay dispersion is fair as employees perceive others’ high pay as a signal of their own future pay. Invoking the view of regulatory focus theory, the authors suggest that pay dispersion increases pay fairness perception when employees have a strong promotion focus, whereas pay dispersion decreases fairness perception when employees have a strong prevention focus. Using two multilevel field studies—Study 1 with 827 employees in 137 teams at 42 organizations in South Korea and Study 2 with 186 employees in 46 teams at 5 high-technology organizations in Taiwan—the authors present supportive evidence of the promotion focus moderation effect. Evidence of the prevention focus moderation effect is not found.
As reported by the Taiwan Cancer Registry in 2013 squamous cell carcinoma of head and neck cancer (HNSCC) was the sixth most frequently diagnosed cancer and the 5th most common cause of cancer ...related death and its incidence and mortality rate is still rising. The co-occurrence of HNSCC and secondary primary cancer (SPC) and the chemopreventive effect of aspirin on certain malignancies had been reported. Therefore we conducted this national study to investigate the use of aspirin associated with risk reduction of secondary primary cancer for patients with head and neck cancer in Taiwan. We searched the Registry for Catastrophic Illness in the National Health Insurance Research Database (NHIRD) for 18,234 patients (3,576 aspirin users and 14,667 non-aspirin users) diagnosed with HNSCC during 2000-2005. The SPC incidence density during follow-up in 2000-2011 was compared between the groups. For HNSCC patients, aspirin use after diagnosis was significantly associated with SPC risk reduction by 25% (adjusted HR, 0.75; 95% CI, 0.63-0.89; p = 0.001) after multivariate analysis. In the subgroup analysis, we found that esophageal cancer and stomach cancer incidence were significantly reduced after aspirin use (adjusted HR, 0.60; 95% CI, 0.41-0.90; p = 0.01 for esophageal cancer; adjusted HR, 0.27; 95% CI, 0.08-0.87; p = 0.03 for stomach cancer). Aspirin use for 1-3 years was associated with SPC risk reduction by 35% (adjusted HR, 0.65; 95% CI, 0.49-0.87; p = 0.003). SPC risk reduction extended continuously for more than 3 years of follow up (adjusted HR, 0.72; 95% CI, 0.53-0.98; p = 0.030). Our data shows aspirin use was associated with reduced SPC incidence for HNSCC patients, attributed mainly to reduced risk of esophageal and stomach cancer.
Coronavirus disease-2019 (COVID-19) causes severe pneumonia and acute respiratory distress syndrome. According to the current consensus, immunosuppressants, such as dexamethasone and ...anti-interleukin-6 receptor monoclonal antibodies, are therapeutic medications in the early stages of infection. However, in critically ill patients, viral, fungal, and bacterial coinfection results in higher mortality. We conducted a single-center, retrospective analysis of 29 mechanically ventilated patients with artificial airways. Patients were adults with confirmed COVID-19 infection and severe pneumonia. Acute respiratory distress syndrome was diagnosed according to the Kigali modification of the Berlin definition. Six patients had invasive pulmonary aspergillosis coinfection based on elevated serum galactomannan levels and/or bronchoalveolar lavage fluid. We present two cases with brief histories and available clinical data. We also conducted a literature review to determine whether immunosuppressants, such as tocilizumab, increase infection risk or invasive aspergillosis in patients with COVID-19. There is no conclusive evidence to suggest that tocilizumab increases coinfection risk. However, further studies are needed to determine the optimal dose, between-dose interval, and timing of tocilizumab administration in patients with COVID-19.
Abstract To improve blood supply following ischemic injury, angiogenic factors such as fibroblast growth factor (bFGF) that stimulate new blood vessel formation have been used for therapeutic ...angiogenesis in ischemic tissues. In this study, heparin-functionalized chitosan (CS)/poly(γ-glutamic acid) (γ-PGA) nanoparticles (HP-CS/γ-PGA nanoparticles) were prepared for multi-functional delivery of basic fibroblast growth factor (bFGF) and heparin. The mean particle sizes and bFGF loading efficiency increased with the increase of functionalized heparin contents. The HP-CS/γ-PGA nanoparticles were pH-sensitive that could sustain bFGF release at pH ? 6.7 (simulate the pH of ischemia tissue) and were rapidly disintegrated at pH 7.4 (simulate the pH of repaired tissue). Sustained release of bFGF from the nanoparticles enhanced the proliferation of human foreskin fibroblast cells (HFF) and angiogenic tube formation by human umbilical vein endothelial cells (HUVEC), suggesting the retaining of bFGF mitogenic activity. Heparin, a traditionally used anticoagulant, could release from the disintegrated nanoparticles to maintain the anti-factor Xa activity in blood plasma, after increasing the pH value from 6.6 to 7.4. The nanocarriers for mutil-functional delivery of bFGF and heparin developed in this study may be a potential therapeutic method for enhancing ischemic tissue regeneration and preventing blood vessel rethrombosis.
Objective. Reactive oxygen species (ROS) been cited as one of the major causes of atherosclerosis and coronary artery disease which are possible agents inducing DNA damage. Manganese superoxide ...dismutase (MnSOD), catalase (CAT), and glutathione peroxidase-1 (GPx1) have evolved to address primary defense against free radical mediated damage in mitochondria. The aim of this study was to delineate the association of MnSOD, CAT, and GPx1 polymorphisms and risk of CAD in Taiwan. Methods. We conducted a case-control study with 657 participants recruited at a medical center. All subjects were evaluated by noninvasive stress test and then quantitative coronary angiography to confirm the diagnosis of CAD. 447 CAD cases were defined as >50% stenosis of coronary artery and 210 controls were stenosed below 50%. Polymorphisms of MnSOD (Val16Ala), CAT (C-262T), and GPx1 (Pro198Leu) genes were determined by polymerase chain reaction methods. Multivariate logistic regression model was used to calculate the odds ratios (ORs) and 95% confidence intervals (CIs). Results. The MnSOD Val/Ala+Ala/Ala genotype was significantly associated with an increased risk of CAD compared to the Val/Val genotype (OR = 1.86, 95% CI = 1.15-3.01). This polymorphism was also associated with the severity of CAD of single and two vessel diseases. The corresponding ORs were 2.31 (95% CI = 1.32-4.03) and 1.92 (95% CI = 1.02-3.61), respectively. Among cigarette smokers, the harmful genetic effect of MnSOD Ala allele on CAD risk was much higher (OR = 2.23, 95% CI = 1.02-4.88). However, the interaction between MnSOD genotype and cigarette smoking on CAD risk was not significant. No significant association between CAT and GPx1 polymorphisms and CAD risk was observed. Conclusion. Our results suggest that MnSOD polymorphism is an independent risk factor for susceptibility to CAD in the Chinese population.
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