Modeling Knowledge Sharing and Interemployee Helping From a Perspective of Flow Theory: A Survey of Online Knowledge Works

This study proposes a model based on flow theory by postulating key antecedents as the critical drivers of knowledge sharing and interemployee helping. In the model, knowledge sharing is influenced by flow experience directly and also indirectly via the mediation of interemployee helping. Accordingly, the flow experience is influenced simultaneously by four exogenous factors related to individuals’ perception about their work: work skills, self-fulfillment in challenges, perceived control, and vividness. The empirical findings of this study confirm the applicability of flow theory in business organizations by investigating online knowledge workers from business organizations. This study contributes to the knowledge management literature by extending flow theory to the area of knowledge sharing and interemployee helping, by validating idiosyncratic antecedent drivers of the flow theory, and by performing a practical operationalization of the flow experience. This research also provides managerial implications and limitations

Determination of band alignment in the single layer MoS2/WSe2 heterojunction

The emergence of transition metal dichalcogenides (TMDs) as 2D electronic materials has stimulated proposals of novel electronic and photonic devices based on TMD heterostructures. Here we report the determination of band offsets in TMD heterostructures by using microbeam X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy ({\mu}-XPS) and scanning tunneling microscopy/spectroscopy (STM/S). We determine a type-II alignment between $\textrm{MoS}_2$ and $\textrm{WSe}_2$ with a valence band offset (VBO) value of 0.83 eV and a conduction band offset (CBO) of 0.76 eV. First-principles calculations show that in this heterostructure with dissimilar chalcogen atoms, the electronic structures of $\textrm{WSe}_2$ and $\textrm{MoS}_2$ are well retained in their respective layers due to a weak interlayer coupling. Moreover, a VBO of 0.94 eV is obtained from density functional theory (DFT), consistent with the experimental determination.Comment: ^ These authors contributed equally. *Corresponding author E-mail: [email protected], [email protected] 20 pages, 4 figures in main tex

Amyand's Hernia – Case Report and Review of the Literature

Amyand's hernia is an extremely rare condition in which the appendix is positioned in the inguinal hernia sac. Acute appendicitis is much less common in this situation and few reports are found in the literature. We report a case of acute appendicitis with the tip of the appendix incarcerated outside the external ring of the right groin. A mobilized cecum and ascending colon were noticed during surgery. We conducted a review of the literature, emphasizing possible causes and suggesting a predisposing factor for the condition

Protective Effect of Caffeic Acid on Paclitaxel Induced Anti-Proliferation and Apoptosis of Lung Cancer Cells Involves NF-κB Pathway

Caffeic acid (CA), a natural phenolic compound, is abundant in medicinal plants. CA possesses multiple biological effects such as anti-bacterial and anti-cancer growth. CA was also reported to induce fore stomach and kidney tumors in a mouse model. Here we used two human lung cancer cell lines, A549 and H1299, to clarify the role of CA in cancer cell proliferation. The growth assay showed that CA moderately promoted the proliferation of the lung cancer cells. Furthermore, pre-treatment of CA rescues the proliferation inhibition induced by a sub-IC50 dose of paclitaxel (PTX), an anticancer drug. Western blot showed that CA up-regulated the pro-survival proteins survivin and Bcl-2, the down-stream targets of NF-κB. This is consistent with the observation that CA induced nuclear translocation of NF-κB p65. Our study suggested that the pro-survival effect of CA on PTX-treated lung cancer cells is mediated through a NF-κB signaling pathway. This may provide mechanistic insights into the chemoresistance of cancer calls

Regulation of the Matriptase-Prostasin Cell Surface Proteolytic Cascade by Hepatocyte Growth Factor Activator Inhibitor-1 during Epidermal Differentiation

Matriptase, a membrane-tethered serine protease, plays essential roles in epidermal differentiation and barrier function, largely mediated via its activation of prostasin, a glycosylphosphatidylinositol-anchored serine protease. Matriptase activity is tightly regulated by its inhibitor hepatocyte growth factor activator inhibitor-1 (HAI-1) such that free active matriptase is only briefly available to act on its substrates. In the current study we provide evidence for how matriptase activates prostasin under this tight control by HAI-1. When primary human keratinocytes are induced to differentiate in a skin organotypic culture model, both matriptase and prostasin are constitutively activated and then inhibited by HAI-1. These processes also occur in HaCaT human keratinocytes when matriptase activation is induced by exposure of the cells to a pH 6.0 buffer. Using this acid-inducible activation system we demonstrate that prostatin activation is suppressed by matriptase knockdown and by blocking matriptase activation with sodium chloride, suggesting that prostatin activation is dependent on matriptase in this system. Kinetics studies further reveal that the timing of autoactivation of matriptase, prostasin activation, and inhibition of both enzymes by HAI-1 binding are closely correlated. These data suggest that, during epidermal differentiation, the matriptase-prostasin proteolytic cascade is tightly regulated by two mechanisms: 1) prostasin activation temporally coupled to matriptase autoactivation and 2) HAI-1 rapidly inhibiting not only active matriptase but also active prostasin, resulting in an extremely brief window of opportunity for both active matriptase and active prostasin to act on their substrates

Participation of Children with Disabilities in Taiwan: The Gap between Independence and Frequency

BackgroundIndependence and frequency are two distinct dimensions of participation in daily life. The gap between independence and frequency may reflect the role of the environment on participation, but this distinction has not been fully explored.MethodsA total of 18,119 parents or primary caregivers of children with disabilities aged 6.0-17.9 years were interviewed in a cross-sectional nationwide survey with the Functioning Scale of the Disability Evaluation System - Child version (FUNDES-Child). A section consisting of 20 items measured the children’s daily participation in 4 environmental settings: home, neighborhood/community, school, and home/community. Higher independence and frequency restriction scores indicated greater limitation of participation in daily activities. Scores for independence, frequency and independence-frequency gaps were examined across ages along with trend analysis. ANOVA was used to compare the gaps across settings and diagnoses for children with mild levels of severity of impairment.FindingsA negative independence-frequency gap (restriction of frequency was greater than that of independence) was found for children with mild to severe levels of impairment. A positive gap (restriction of independence was greater than that of frequency) was found for children with profound levels of severity. The gaps became wider with age in most settings of children with mild impairment and different diagnoses. Widest negative gaps were found for the neighborhood/community settings than for the other three settings for children with mild to severe impairment.ConclusionsChildren’s participation and independence-frequency gaps depend not only on the severity of their impairments or diagnoses, but also on their age, the setting and the support provided by their environment. In Taiwan, more frequency restrictions than ability restrictions were found for children with mild to moderate severity, especially in the neighborhood/community setting, and increased with age. Further identification of environmental opportunities that positively impact frequency of participation is needed

Quercetin Suppresses Cyclooxygenase-2 Expression and Angiogenesis through Inactivation of P300 Signaling

Quercetin, a polyphenolic bioflavonoid, possesses multiple pharmacological actions including anti-inflammatory and antitumor properties. However, the precise action mechanisms of quercetin remain unclear. Here, we reported the regulatory actions of quercetin on cyclooxygenase-2 (COX-2), an important mediator in inflammation and tumor promotion, and revealed the underlying mechanisms. Quercetin significantly suppressed COX-2 mRNA and protein expression and prostaglandin (PG) E(2) production, as well as COX-2 promoter activation in breast cancer cells. Quercetin also significantly inhibited COX-2-mediated angiogenesis in human endothelial cells in a dose-dependent manner. The in vitro streptavidin-agarose pulldown assay and in vivo chromatin immunoprecipitation assay showed that quercetin considerably inhibited the binding of the transactivators CREB2, C-Jun, C/EBPβ and NF-κB and blocked the recruitment of the coactivator p300 to COX-2 promoter. Moreover, quercetin effectively inhibited p300 histone acetyltransferase (HAT) activity, thereby attenuating the p300-mediated acetylation of NF-κB. Treatment of cells with p300 HAT inhibitor roscovitine was as effective as quercetin at inhibiting p300 HAT activity. Addition of quercetin to roscovitine-treated cells did not change the roscovitine-induced inhibition of p300 HAT activity. Conversely, gene delivery of constitutively active p300 significantly reversed the quercetin-mediated inhibition of endogenous HAT activity. These results indicate that quercetin suppresses COX-2 expression by inhibiting the p300 signaling and blocking the binding of multiple transactivators to COX-2 promoter. Our findings therefore reveal a novel mechanism of action of quercetin and suggest a potential use for quercetin in the treatment of COX-2-mediated diseases such as breast cancers

Neurodevelopmental Correlates of True and False Recognition

The Deese/Roediger–McDermott (DRM) false-memory effect has been extensively documented in psychological research. People falsely recognize critical lures or nonstudied items that are semantically associated with studied items. Behavioral research has provided evidence for age-related increases in the DRM false-recognition effect. The present event-related functional magnetic resonance imaging study was aimed at investigating neurodevelopmental changes in brain regions associated with true- and false-memory recognition in 8-year olds, 12-year olds, and adults. Relative to 8-year olds, adults correctly endorsed more studied items as “old” but also mistakenly endorsed more critical lures. Age-related increases in recollection were associated with changes in the medial temporal lobe (MTL) activation profile. Additionally, age-related increases in false alarms (FAs) to semantically related lures were associated with changes in the activation profile of left ventrolateral prefrontal cortex, a region associated with semantic processing. Additional regions exhibiting age-related changes include posterior parietal and anterior prefrontal cortices. In summary, concomitant changes in the MTL, prefrontal cortex, and parietal cortex underlie developmental increases in true and false recognition during childhood and adolescence

Modified Gravity and Cosmology

In this review we present a thoroughly comprehensive survey of recent work on modified theories of gravity and their cosmological consequences. Amongst other things, we cover General Relativity, Scalar-Tensor, Einstein-Aether, and Bimetric theories, as well as TeVeS, f(R), general higher-order theories, Horava-Lifschitz gravity, Galileons, Ghost Condensates, and models of extra dimensions including Kaluza-Klein, Randall-Sundrum, DGP, and higher co-dimension braneworlds. We also review attempts to construct a Parameterised Post-Friedmannian formalism, that can be used to constrain deviations from General Relativity in cosmology, and that is suitable for comparison with data on the largest scales. These subjects have been intensively studied over the past decade, largely motivated by rapid progress in the field of observational cosmology that now allows, for the first time, precision tests of fundamental physics on the scale of the observable Universe. The purpose of this review is to provide a reference tool for researchers and students in cosmology and gravitational physics, as well as a self-contained, comprehensive and up-to-date introduction to the subject as a whole.Comment: 312 pages, 15 figure

Demographic and Clinical Characteristics of Patients with Severe Asthma in the Asian Pacific Region : data from the International Severe Asthma Registry (ISAR)

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