The Moderating Effect Of Long-Term Orientation On The Relationship Between Interfirm Power Asymmetry And Interfirm Contracts: The Cases Of Korea And USA

The purpose of this study is to enhance our understanding of the effects of LTO culture on the contractual relationship between exchange parties under conditions in which varying levels of asymmetrical power structures exist. This study attempt to determine the validity of projecting conclusions originating from studies conducted in low LTO cultures such as U.S. and Western Europe to contractual relationships in the high LTO cultures of Asia. Therefore, investigations into the influence of LTO may be helpful in understanding contractual relationships formed in countries with differing levels of long-term orientation. Survey research was conducted to collect data from manufacturers, Structural Equation Modeling was used to purify measurement scales, and Multiple Regression was conducted to test the hypotheses. The findings show that LTO companies tend to prefer “soft” contracts, although they enjoy a power advantage over their suppliers; whereas low LTO partners with asymmetrical power advantages prefer “hard” contracts with explicitly detailed written requirements

Sponsoring Change in Self and Others: Female Sponsors in the Cultural Context Model

In recent years, the field of family therapy has been increasingly influenced by social constructionism and has explored methods to utilize clients’ experiences of change into the treatment process. These developments have led to the cultivation of new views on therapeutic relationships, social contexts, and processes of change. The Cultural Context Model (CCM), a family therapy approach based on social justice principles, therapeutic communities, and a unique form of sponsorship to facilitate change, emerged in this context. This study aimed to understand the experiences of female sponsors within the CCM and to fill a gap in the clinical literature on the CCM sponsorship. It employed a phenomenological research design to examine female sponsors’ perspectives of the process of therapeutic change. Critically-informed, progressive transformation emerged as the essence of the female sponsorship experience. Importance of community and critical consciousness were two of four themes fundamental to critically-informed, progressive transformation. Findings suggest that a community- and social justice-informed therapeutic context and set of relational skills remain powerful and untapped resources in the field of family therapy.Ph.D., Couple and Family Therapy -- Drexel University, 201

GSK3B induces autophagy by phosphorylating ULK1

Unc-51-like autophagy activating kinase 1 (ULK1), a mammalian homolog of the yeast kinase Atg1, has an essential role in autophagy induction. In nutrient and growth factor signaling, ULK1 activity is regulated by various posttranslational modifications, including phosphorylation, acetylation, and ubiquitination. We previously identified glycogen synthase kinase 3 beta (GSK3B) as an upstream regulator of insulin withdrawal-induced autophagy in adult hippocampal neural stem cells. Here, we report that following insulin withdrawal, GSK3B directly interacted with and activated ULK1 via phosphorylation of S405 and S415 within the GABARAP-interacting region. Phosphorylation of these residues facilitated the interaction of ULK1 with MAP1LC3B and GABARAPL1, while phosphorylation-defective mutants of ULK1 failed to do so and could not induce autophagy flux. Furthermore, high phosphorylation levels of ULK1 at S405 and S415 were observed in human pancreatic cancer cell lines, all of which are known to exhibit high levels of autophagy. Our results reveal the importance of GSK3B-mediated phosphorylation for ULK1 regulation and autophagy induction and potentially for tumorigenesis. © 2021, The Author(s).1

Feasibility of the Schizophrenia Hope Scale-9: A Psychometric Study

Hope is essential in rehabilitating persons with schizophrenia, though scales to measure hope are not appropriate for this population. The purpose of this cross-sectional study was to identify the psychometric properties of the Schizophrenia Hope Scale-9 (SHS-9) using data from 83 people with schizophrenia in four mental health centers and 762 healthy persons from two universities in South Korea. The total SHS-9 score is calculated by adding all items’ scores and ranges from 0 to 18. The mean (standard deviation) SHS-9 score of the participants with schizophrenia and healthy participants was 11.53 (SD = 4.78) and 14.78 (SD = 3.19), respectively. Lower scores indicate a lower level of hope. The Cronbach’s alpha coefficient was 0.92 with a four-week test-retest reliability of 0.89. Criterion-related construct validity was established by examining the correlation between the SHS-9 and the State-Trait Hope Inventory scores. Divergent validity was identified through a negative relationship of SHS-9 with the Beck Hopelessness Scale. In persons with schizophrenia and healthy college students, Bartlett’s test of sphericity yielded χ2 = 465.03 (p < 0.001) and χ2 = 2679.24 (p < 0.001) respectively. The values of the Kaiser-Meyer-Olkin (KMO) measure of sampling adequacy were 0.89 and 0.90, respectively. The construct validity of the SHS-9 was confirmed through principal component analysis with extraction methods, which resulted in a one-factor solution, accounting for 61.83% of the total item variance. This study provides evidence for the validity and reliability of the SHS-9; therefore, it could be used to study the relationships between hope and other variables (e.g., depression and recovery) in persons with schizophrenia and measure the effect of psychosocial interventions on their hope

Assessment of the awareness and knowledge of cancer survivors regarding the components of metabolic syndrome.

This study aimed to assess the prevalence of metabolic syndrome and the level of knowledge and awareness of its related conditions in a sample of cancer survivor patients. In this cross-sectional survey, a self-reported questionnaire was administered to outpatients aged >20 years with a diagnosis of cancer. This self-reported questionnaire on patient demographic characteristics, disease characteristics, and knowledge and awareness of metabolic syndrome was used as an instrument to assess patient's knowledge of metabolic syndrome. A total of 88 participants were included; of these 34.1% had metabolic syndrome, although only 6.8% of participants were diagnosed with metabolic syndrome. Over half of the participants had heard about metabolic syndrome; however, 70% of the participants did not know about the blood tests for the diagnosis of metabolic syndrome although they were aware of the physical measurements, such as weight, blood pressure, and waist circumference. The highest proportion of correct answers for questions about metabolic syndrome was related to stroke, while the lowest was about cholesterol levels. The proportions of correct answers for selected parameters were as follows: diabetes, 39.1%; adiposity, 47.2%; hypertension, 46.8%; cholesterol levels, 36.7%; arteriosclerosis, 45.5%; myocardial infarction, 37.8%; and stroke, 62.8%. The results suggest that the level of knowledge of metabolic syndrome among the cancer survivors in our sample was poor, although more than one-third of them had metabolic syndrome. Thus, it is essential to educate cancer survivors about metabolic syndrome and its related conditions to improve their overall health and quality of life

Breast and cervical cancer screening for risk assessment in Cambodian women

The estimated mortality rates for breast and cervical cancer in Cambodia are high, perhaps because the Cambodian population lacks information about their detection and prevention. This cross-sectional study assessed the distribution of cervical cancers among and the behavioural and clinical characteristics of Cambodian women. It comprised 1039 Cambodian women who were interviewed between August 2013 and January 2016; the interviews were conducted in person using structured questionnaires. Among the participants, 801 (77.2%) and 709 (68.3%) had heard of cervical cancer and cervical cancer detection tests, respectively. However, 830 (80.2%) had never undergone a Pap smear, and 633 (60.9%) had never heard of breast self-examination. Despite the high mortality rates for breast and cervical cancer in Cambodia, only a small percentage of the participants had risk factors (e.g. smoking, alcohol consumption) for female cancers. A nationwide survey of the knowledge, attitudes and practices related to female cancers is recommended.Impact Statement What is already known on this subject? The estimated incidence and mortality rates of breast and cervical cancers in Cambodia are high. How much Cambodian women know about these cancers and whether they are receptive to cancer screening are questions requiring further study. What do the results of this study add? To our knowledge, this is the first study to describe the female cancer-related behavioural and clinical characteristics of Cambodian women. We show that rural Cambodian women are mostly unaware of breast and cervical cancer screening and that only a small percentage had risk factors for these cancers, despite the high incidence of these cancers in Cambodia. What are the implications of these findings for clinical practice and/or further research? Our findings potentially aid the design of programmes that increase awareness of breast and cervical cancers in Cambodia. Such programmes would be expected to reduce the incidence and mortality rates of these cancers in this country. Nationwide screening programmes for female cancers should be implemented in Cambodia

Effect of Ge Concentration on the On-Current Boosting of Logic P-Type MOSFET with Sigma-Shaped Source/Drain

Silicon german ium (SiGe) has attracted significant attention for applications in the source/drain (S/D) regions of p-type metal-oxide-semiconductor field-effect transistors (p-MOSFETs). However, in SiGe, as the Ge concentration increases, high-density defects are generated, which limit its applications. Therefore, several techniques have been developed to minimize defects; however, these techniques require relatively thick epitaxial layers and are not suitable for gate-all-around FETs. This study examined the effect of Ge concentration on the embedded SiGe source/drain region of a logic p-MOSFET. The strain was calculated through nano-beam diffraction and predictions through a simulation were compared to understand the effects of stress relaxation on the change in strain applied to the Si channel. When the device performance was evaluated, the drain saturation current was approximately 710 µA/µm at an off current of 100 nA/µm with a drain voltage of 1 V, indicating that the current was enhanced by 58% when the Ge concentration was optimized

Multi-contrast volumetric cell imaging based on optical projection tomography

Optical projection tomography is a new optical imaging method for visualizing small biological specimens in three dimension. The most important advantage of OPT is to fill the gap between MRI and confocal microscope for the specimen having the range of 1-10 mm. Thus, it has been mainly used for whole-mount small animals and developmental study since this imaging modality was developed. The ability of OPT delivering anatomical and functional information of relatively large tissue in 3D has made it a promising platform in biomedical research. Recently, the potential of OPT spans its coverage to cellular scale. Even though there are increasing demand to obtain better understanding of cellular dynamics, only few studies to visualize cellular structure, shape, size and functional morphology over tissue has been investigated in existing OPT system due to its limited field of view. In this study, we develop a novel optical imaging system for 3D cellular imaging with OPT integrated with dynamic focusing technique. Our tomographic setup has great potential to be used for identifying cell characteristic in tissue because it can provide selective contrast on dynamic focal plane allowing for fluorescence as well as absorption. While the dominant contrast of optical imaging technique is to use the fluorescence for detecting certain target only, the newly develped OPT system will offer considerable advantages over currently available method when imaging cellar molecular dynamics by permitting contrast variation. By achieving multi-contrast, it is expected for this new imaging system to play an important role in delivering better cytological information to pathologist

Proportion of correct answers regarding the MetS components among cancer survivors.

<p>Proportion of correct answers regarding the MetS components among cancer survivors.</p