Gratitude and Athletes’ Life Satisfaction: The Moderating Role of Mindfulness

Life satisfaction is a critical index of well-being and is well documented in the literature as a means of protecting athletes from stress. However, minimal research has focused on the factors that contribute to life satisfaction in sports. Accordingly, we adopted the positive psychology perspective and proposed that gratitude would relate to athletes’ life satisfaction. Additionally, we further suggested that mindfulness would strengthen the relationship between gratitude and athletes’ life satisfaction. Athletes completed measurements, and the results, which indicated that athletes with higher levels of gratitude exhibited increased life satisfaction when they had higher levels of mindfulness, supported our expectations. The implications and applications are discussed in terms of mindfulness

DFAHP multicriteria risk assessment model for redeveloping derelict public buildings

Reusing abandoned public buildings is a positive strategy in sustainable urban development. An appropriate assessment method is needed to reduce the risks of redeveloping derelict public properties. The Delphi method is an optimal group decision-making technique; whereas the analytical hierarchy process (AHP) method is useful for solving multicriteria decision-making problems. In addition, fuzzy logic manages artificial uncertainty and ambiguity, where an explicit number or ratio can express the level of preference. This study uses the Delphi method, fuzzy logic, and AHP (DFAHP) as a risk assessment model to redevelop derelict public buildings. The DFAHP provides an objective reference for investment decisions and is beneficial in reducing the risk of the public sector investing in the reuse of abandoned public buildings, in aiding in reuse cases that revitalize urban economic development, and in appreciating the value of sustainable city development

KINETIC DIFFERENCES IN LOWER EXTREMITY BETWEEN BASEBALL PITCHING FROM PITCHER’S MOUND AND FLAT-GROUND

The purpose of this study was to investigate the kinetic differences in lower extremity between pitching from a mound and flat-ground. A motion capture system and two force plates were used simultaneously to collect the dynamic data of 8 baseball male pitchers. The results revealed that pitching from the mound generated higher propulsive force at the trailing leg as well as greater braking force and vertical ground reaction force at the lead leg (p< .05). The trailing leg in the mound condition generated greater knee posterior joint force while the lead leg had greater axial joint force at ankle and knee, as well as greater extension moment at ankle, knee and hip (p< .05). It was concluded that pitching from the mound generated higher ground reaction force, which resulted in higher joint forces and moments and thus might increase stresses at lower extremity

Efficacy of purchasing activities and strategic involvement: an international comparison

The purchasing function plays a strategic role in a company’s ability to compete. As globalization continues to increase, what becomes interesting is the effect that national culture may have on purchasing activities and, ultimately, manufacturing competitiveness. This study examines the effects of purchasing activities and the purchasing function’s involvement with corporate strategy on manufacturing competitiveness as it is affected by national differences. In particular, we are interested in the research question: Do purchasing theories built on samples from mainly North American and Western European countries apply in other countries with different cultural contexts? The statistical results provide evidence that the engagement and efficacy of purchasing activities and strategic involvement within companies vary by national culture. Moreover, a particular cultural dimension, Long-term orientation, is significantly related to the efficacy of purchasing activities and strategic involvement. This finding has important implications from the perspective of purchasing decision-making in global operations. Specifically, top managers from different nations could adopt and implement similar purchasing activities, but those activities could lead to different outcomes depending on the culture. The paper concludes by reviewing research limitations and suggests further examination of operations management theories

Coexistence of anterior communicating artery aneurysm and tuberculum sellae meningioma

SummaryTuberculum sellae meningioma is a common intracranial tumor. However, its coexistence with an intratumoral aneurysm is rare. Here, we present the case of a 65-year-old woman with progressive vision loss caused by a tuberculum sellae meningioma coexisting with an intratumoral anterior communicating artery aneurysm. Treatment modalities for patients with this rare coexisting pathology were reviewed. When an intracranial tumor is closely related to the major intracranial vessel, preoperative magnetic resonance imaging angiography, a safe and noninvasive imaging study, is suggested for the early diagnosis of a possible coexisting aneurysm and for reducing the risk of intraoperative aneurysm rupture

Fucosyltransferase 1 and 2 play pivotal roles in breast cancer cells.

FUT1 and FUT2 encode alpha 1, 2-fucosyltransferases which catalyze the addition of alpha 1, 2-linked fucose to glycans. Glycan products of FUT1 and FUT2, such as Globo H and Lewis Y, are highly expressed on malignant tissues, including breast cancer. Herein, we investigated the roles of FUT1 and FUT2 in breast cancer. Silencing of FUT1 or FUT2 by shRNAs inhibited cell proliferation in vitro and tumorigenicity in mice. This was associated with diminished properties of cancer stem cell (CSC), including mammosphere formation and CSC marker both in vitro and in xenografts. Silencing of FUT2, but not FUT1, significantly changed the cuboidal morphology to dense clusters of small and round cells with reduced adhesion to polystyrene and extracellular matrix, including laminin, fibronectin and collagen. Silencing of FUT1 or FUT2 suppressed cell migration in wound healing assay, whereas FUT1 and FUT2 overexpression increased cell migration and invasion in vitro and metastasis of breast cancer in vivo. A decrease in mesenchymal like markers such as fibronectin, vimentin, and twist, along with increased epithelial like marker, E-cadherin, was observed upon FUT1/2 knockdown, while the opposite was noted by overexpression of FUT1 or FUT2. As expected, FUT1 or FUT2 knockdown reduced Globo H, whereas FUT1 or FUT2 overexpression showed contrary effects. Exogenous addition of Globo H-ceramide reversed the suppression of cell migration by FUT1 knockdown but not the inhibition of cell adhesion by FUT2 silencing, suggesting that at least part of the effects of FUT1/2 knockdown were mediated by Globo H. Our results imply that FUT1 and FUT2 play important roles in regulating growth, adhesion, migration and CSC properties of breast cancer, and may serve as therapeutic targets for breast cancer

Phase-controlled vibrational laser percussion drilling

In this study, a phase-controlled vibration was applied to a laser percussion drilling process to improve the depth of penetration. To investigate the effects of phase-controlled vibration on the depth of penetration, a novel method that controls the phase offset between the accelerating motion and the emission of the laser beam was developed. The method is based on coaxial sensing of the working surface using a photodiode, coupled with microcontroller control of the drilling laser operation. Through real-time optical signal acquisition and analysis of laser machining processes, correlations between the accelerating motion and the emission of the laser beam were simultaneously obtained. All of the processing work was performed in air at standard atmospheric conditions, and gas assist was not used. This study showed that the application of phase-controlled vibration improved the depth of penetration in laser percussion machining and can contribute to the development of precision drilling in the industry