An Assessment of Personal Characteristics, Job Satisfaction and Semantic Descriptors of Virginia Acute and Tertiary Care Hospitals\u27 Chief Executive Officers

The purpose of the study was to identify the determinants of job satisfaction of Virginia Hospital CEO\u27s and to identify those descriptors that best characterize the role of the hospital CEO as defined by the CEO\u27s themselves. The study sample consisted of all hospital CEO\u27s in Virginia as listed by the Virginia Hospital Association. The study employed a four part survey instrument that investigated four major areas: (1) personal and hospital demographics; (2) self rated performance; (3) a semantic scale measuring the concept of Hospital CEO; and (4) The Minnesota Satisfaction Questionnaire. A survey was mailed to 119 CEO\u27s. The response rate was 50%. The mean age of the respondents was 47 years and mean educational level post high school was 6.2 years. The mean hospital size as measured by number of inpatient beds was 215.5. CEO\u27s rated their performance highest in Employee and Staff Relations and Managerial Team Building and lowest in Information Systems . The highest mean score was for the semantic adjective Active and the lowest mean score was for the adjective Past . Job Satisfaction was highest for The chance to do something different from time to time and lowest for The chance to tell people what to do . Six research questions were explored. The first question sought to identify which of person traits, environmental traits, and person-environment fit traits best predict job satisfaction. The results of a multiple regression model indicated that person-environment fit traits as measured by the Semantic Differential Scale was the only variable that entered significantly into the regression equation (t(4)=4.30, p $ Based on the study\u27s findings recommendations for research included further exploration of measuring performance and qualitatively analyzing hospital CEO\u27s job satisfaction and job performance. Recommendations for practical application included a management focus on facilitating intrinsic satisfaction

Atomic-level characterization and cilostazol affinity of poly(lactic acid) nanoparticles conjugated with differentially charged hydrophilic molecules

Indexación: Scopus.M.F.M. acknowledges support from CONICYT-PFCHA/Doctorado Nacional/2014-21140225. M.M.M. thanks the FONCyT PICT-2015-2191, CONICET PIP 11220110100992, Secyt, Universidad Nacional de Cordoba. C.V. acknowledges support from CONICYT under FONDECYT #1161438 and BASAL Grant FB0807, MECESUP PMI-UAB1301, and H2020-MSCA-RISE-2016 #734801 MAGNAMED. The authors thank the High-Performance Computational Center (CCAD UNC) and Escuela de Ingeniería Civil en Bioinformática (Universidad de Talca) for access to supercomputers.Nanotherapeutics is a promising field for numerous diseases and represents the forefront of modern medicine. In the present work, full atomistic computer simulations were applied to study poly(lactic acid) (PLA) nanoparticles conjugated with polyethylene glycol (PEG). The formation of this complex system was simulated using the reactive polarizable force field (ReaxFF). A full picture of the morphology, charge and functional group distribution is given. We found that all terminal groups (carboxylic acid, methoxy and amino) are randomly distributed at the surface of the nanoparticles. The surface design of NPs requires that the charged groups must surround the surface region for an optimal functionalization/charge distribution, which is a key factor in determining physicochemical interactions with different biological molecules inside the organism. Another important point that was investigated was the encapsulation of drugs in these nanocarriers and the prediction of the polymer-drug interactions, which provided a better insight into structural features that could affect the effectiveness of drug loading. We employed blind docking to predict NP-drug affinity testing on an antiaggregant compound, cilostazol. The results suggest that the combination of molecular dynam ics ReaxFF simulations and blind docking techniques can be used as an explorative tool prior to experiments, which is useful for rational design of new drug delivery systems. © 2018 Matus et al.https://www.beilstein-journals.org/bjnano/articles/9/12

Evaluation of carbon isotope discrimination as selection criteria for yield and water use efficiency in lentil

Non-Peer Reviewe

Use of carbon isotope discrimination to indirectly select for improved seed yield in lentil

Non-Peer ReviewedCarbon isotope discrimination (CID) has been proposed as a secondary trait to indirectly select for improved water use efficiency and seed yield. To determine the effectiveness of CID to indirectly select for seed yield, ten diverse lentil (Lens culinaris Medikus) cultivars were grown at four locations in Saskatchewan in 1992 and 1993. Variability for CID was present among these lentil cultivars and no crossover interactions were observed. The phenotypic correlation between seed yield and CID of leaves at early flowering (CIDLF) was 0.82** (df=8). However, this highly significant relationship resulted from the extreme early maturity of PI 244026. Previous research has shown that CID values decrease with maturity and PI 244026 flowers about 15 days earlier than the other lentil lines. When PI 244026 lentil was removed, variability in CID was greatly reduced and the correlation between CIDLF and seed yield approached zero (r = 0.22, df=7). These results suggest that CIDLF cannot be used to indirectly select for seed yield in lentil

Influence of local fullerene orientation on the electronic properties of A3C60 compounds

We have investigated sodium containing fullerene superconductors Na2AC60, A = Cs, Rb, and K, by Na-23 nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) spectroscopy at 7.5 T in the temperature range of 10 to 400 K. Despite the structural differences from the Rb3C60 class of fullerene superconductors, in these compounds the NMR line of the tetrahedrally coordinated alkali nuclei also splits into two lines (T and T') at low temperature. In Na2CsC60 the splitting occurs at 170 K; in the quenched cubic phase of Na2RbC60 and Na2KC60 we observe split lines at 80 K. Detailed investigations of the spectrum, spin-spin and spin-lattice relaxation as well as spin-echo double resonance (SEDOR) in Na2CsC60 we show that these two different tetrahedral sites are mixed on a microscopic scale. The T and T' sites differ in the orientation of first-neighbor C60 molecules. We present evidence that the orientations of neighboring molecules are uncorrelated. Thermally activated molecular reorientations cause an exchange between the T and T' sites and motional narrowing at high temperature. We infer the same activation energy, 3300 K, in the temperature range 125 to 300 K. The spin lattice relaxation rate is the same for T and T' down to 125 K but different below. Both the spin-lattice relaxation rate and Knight shift are strongly temperature dependent in the whole range investigated. We interpret this temperature variation by the effect of phonon excitations involving the rigid librational motion of the C60 molecules. By extending the understanding of the structure and molecular dynamics of C60 superconductors, these results may help in clarifying the effects of the structure on the superconducting properties.Comment: 13 pages, 10 figures, submitted to PR

Aislamiento de bacterias periodontopáticas desde hemocultivos y ateromas obtenidos de pacientes con aterosclerosis y periodontitis

Carlos Padilla E. Laboratorio de Investigación Microbiológica, Facultad de Ciencias de la Salud, Universidad de Talca. Talca. Chile. Fono: 71-200492. Fax: 71-200439. E mail: [email protected]: Periodontitis is a common oral disease produced by bacterial species that reside in the subgingival plaque. These microorganisms have been associated to atherosclerosis and it is suggested that periodontitis is a cardiovascular risk factor. Aim: To isolate periodontal bacteria from blood and atheroma samples, from patients with atherosclerosis and periodontitis. Material and methods: Twelve patients with periodontitis and a clinical diagnosis of atherosclerosis and 12 patients with periodontitis but without atherosclerosis were studied. Blood samples were obtained immediately before and after scaling and root planing. The samples were incubated in aerobic and anaerobic conditions. One week after scaling, atheromatous plaques were obtained during endarterectomy in the 12 patients with atherosclerosis. These were homogenized and cultured for aerobic and anaerobic bacteria. Microorganisms were identified by means ofPCR. Results: Five patients with and two without atherosclerosis, had bacteremia after scaling and root planing. Bacterial species isolated from blood samples were the same found in periodontic pockets. Four atheromatous plaques of patients with bacteremia yielded positive cultures. The isolated bacteria were the same found in blood samples and periodontal pockets. Conclusions: Bacteremia occurred in seven of 24 patients after scaling and root planing. In four patients, the same species found in periodontic pockets and blood cultures were detected in atherosclerotic plaques obtained one week after the dental procedure

The grapevine Pectin Methylesterases gene family and its involvement in Botrytis bunch rot control

Plant Pectin Methylesterases (PMEs) represent a group of tissue-specific and developmentally regulated proteins. The gene family is involved in the plant cell wall (CW) remodelling process, by the control of the degree of cell wall pectin methylesterification. Pectin methylesterification also influence the susceptibility to pathogens as Botrytis cinerea (Bc), a necrotrophic fungus responsible of the Botrytis bunch rot in grapevine. In Botrytis, PME as well as other CW degrading enzymes have been identified as virulence factors. To further characterize the PME gene family and its role in the Botrytis bunch rot, the latest genome assembly and annotation were revised and through sequence homology search, a total of 63 PME domain containing proteins were identified, 16 more than a previous identification in grapevine. The in-silico analyses of the family by means of the Vitis gene expression database VESPUCCI as well as Aggregated Gene Co-expression Network approach (AggGCNs) allowed us to identify and enrich gene co-expression modules and build gene co-expression networks. Interestingly, one of the co-expression modules showed a high modulation in presence of Botrytis cinerea infection and particular attention was paid to it. To investigate the contribution of the genes of that module, their expression level in different organs and developmental stages from two grapevine cultivars with divergent Bc susceptibility was investigated. Furthermore, berries were artificially infected with Bc at mature stage to evaluate PME gene expression level and their possible role in the grapevine bunch rot susceptibility. The results obtained contribute to characterize the grapevine PME gene family and the role of specific members in the grapevine-Bc interaction and to select PME genes candidate to the control of Botrytis bunch rot in grapevine

Synchronization and multi-mode dynamics of mutually coupled semiconductor lasers

Dynamics of coupled semiconductor lasers is investigated by numerical simulations. A realistic laser simulation engine is used to study the synchronization and dynamical regime in two mutually coupled Fabry-Perot and/or DFB lasers. Both, single- and multi-mode operation regimes are studied with emphasis on the role of the multiple laser-cavity modes. Our findings indicate that the two laser synchronize within each laser-cavity mode, while the synchronization across different cavity modes is significantly weaker