Impact of Organizational Justice on Workplace Deviance with Mediating Effect of Job Satisfaction in SMEs of Malaysia

The efficiency of organizations and performance of employees in the workplace in such a competitive global economy and businesses require some factors that enhance the performance and job satisfaction of employees in the workplace. The aim of this study is to investigate the role of job satisfaction in the relationship between organizational justice and workplace deviance. A survey questionnaire was distributed online to 143 employees in various enterprises in Malaysia of which 103 responded. The findings show that distributive Justice affects workplace deviance through job satisfaction. Therefore, if avoidance of workplace deviance is a top priority for a manager, it is important to formulate policies and practices that help to enhance interactional justice and then distributive justice perceptions, while procedural justice is not a salient factor affecting employee perceptions. Preventing or remedy deviance may require both individual and organizational change. The managers would therefore be well advised to remedy inequities in the system if they really exist or to clear misperceptions of inequities if this is actually the case. Preventing or remedying deviance may require both individual and organizational change. The result of this research could be useful for organizations and might help them to enhance organizational justice to decrease deviance in workplace. Keywords: workplace deviance, job satisfaction, organizational justice DOI: 10.7176/EJBM/12-17-06 Publication date:June 30th 202

A Closer Look at How Self-Talk Influences Skilled Basketball Performance

Empirical literature addressing the effectiveness of self-talk for expert performers is lacking. We addressed this shortcoming within the existent literature and examined the comparative effects of instructional and motivational self-talk on basketball free throw shooting accuracy and salient movement kinematics. We recruited 20 professional basketball players to participate in a 2 × 2 pre/post-test experiment. Free throw accuracy and movement patterns were recorded, with the latter subsequently used to calculate elbow–wrist coordination variability. Results indicated superior shooting accuracy and reduced movement coordination variability for instructional self-talk compared to baseline conditions, whereas no differences emerged for motivational self-talk. Findings from the study help practitioners to better guide skilled performers how best to use self-talk; an area in urgent need of further research.</jats:p

Nontypeable Haemophilus influenzae in chronic obstructive pulmonary disease and lung cancer

Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) is predicted to become the third leading cause of death in the world by 2020. It is characterized by airflow limitation that is not fully reversible. The airflow limitation is usually progressive and associated with an abnormal inflammatory response of the lungs to noxious particles and gases, most commonly cigarette smoke. Among smokers with COPD, even following withdrawal of cigarette smoke, inflammation persists and lung function continues to deteriorate. One possible explanation is that bacterial colonization of smoke-damaged airways, most commonly with nontypeable Haemophilus influenzae (NTHi), perpetuates airway injury and inflammation. Furthermore, COPD has also been identified as an independent risk factor for lung cancer irrespective of concomitant cigarette smoke exposure. In this article, we review the role of NTHi in airway inflammation that may lead to COPD progression and lung cancer promotion

Manganese-containing Prussian blue nanoparticles for imaging of pediatric brain tumors

Pediatric brain tumors (PBTs) are a leading cause of death in children. For an improved prognosis in patients with PBTs, there is a critical need to develop molecularly-specific imaging agents to monitor disease progression and response to treatment. In this paper, we describe manganese-containing Prussian blue nanoparticles as agents for molecular magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) and fluorescence-based imaging of PBTs. Our core-shell nanoparticles consist of a core lattice structure that incorporates and retains paramagnetic Mn2+ ions, and generates MRI contrast (both negative and positive). The biofunctionalized shell is comprised of fluorescent avidin, which serves the dual purpose of enabling fluorescence imaging and functioning as a platform for the attachment of biotinylated ligands that target PBTs. The surfaces of our nanoparticles are modified with biotinylated antibodies targeting neuron-glial antigen 2 or biotinylated transferrin. Both neuron-glial antigen 2 and the transferrin receptor are protein markers overexpressed in PBTs. We describe the synthesis, biofunctionalization, and characterization of these multimodal nanoparticles. Further, we demonstrate the MRI and fluorescence imaging capabilities of manganese-containing Prussian blue nanoparticles in vitro. Finally, we demonstrate the potential of these nanoparticles as PBT imaging agents by measuring their organ and brain biodistribution in an orthotopic mouse model of PBTs using ex vivo fluorescence imaging

Arbitrary angle waveguiding applications of two-dimensional curvilinear-lattice photonic crystals

We introduce a fresh class of photonic band-gap materials, curvilinear-lattice photonic crystals, whose distinctive feature is that their individual scatterers are arranged in a curvilinear lattice. We show that adhering to some restrictions in the acceptable lattice transformations, one can achieve omnidirectional photonic band gaps for an entire subclass of such structures. We demonstrate, designing an efficient arbitrary-angle waveguide bend, that curvilinear-lattice photonic crystals can be employed for creation of original types of nanophotonic devices

Aquacel Surgical Dressing Reduces the Rate of Acute PJI Following Total Joint Arthroplasty: A Case-Control Study.

An effort to prevent PJI has led to the development of antimicrobial dressings that support wound healing. We sought to determine whether Aquacel Surgical dressing independently reduces the rate of acute PJI following TJA. A single institution retrospective chart review of 903 consecutive cases who received the Aquacel Surgical dressing and 875 consecutive cases who received standard gauze dressing was conducted to determine the incidence of acute PJI (within 3months). The incidence of acute PJI is 0.44% in the Aquacel dressing group compared to 1.7% in the standard gauze dressing group (P=0.005). Multivariate analysis revealed that use of Aquacel dressing was an independent risk factor for reduction of PJI (odds ratio of 0.165, 95% confidence interval: 0.051-0.533). Aquacel Surgical dressing significantly reduces the incidence of acute PJI

Sodium Valproate and Phenobarbitol: Weight Complications of Treatment in Epileptic Children

Objective The aim of this study was to evaluate and compare the effects of Na Valproate and Phenobarbital on changes in the weight of epileptic patients following treatment for their condition using the drugs mentioned.Materials and methodsSixty epileptics were assigned into two groups of 30 patients each, the case and controls. The diagnosis was made on the basis of the International League Against Epilepsy (ILAE) characteristics. BMI was defined. In the case group, the patients received 20mg/kg/day of Na Valproate, while the 30 controls received 5mg/kg/day of Phenobarbital for 6 months. Using the Mc Nemar and Chi-2 tests, BMI changes were compared after 6 months between the groups. Fisher's exact test was used to evaluate the role of age, sex, and primary weight on the weight increase due to Na Valproate usage.ResultsThere were no specific changes in age, sex, primary BMI and fatness between the 2 groups; in the case group, 20 patients(66.7%) and in the controls 4(13.3%) gained weight (PConclusionThe results indicate that epileptic children, aged over 10 years, and those who are overweight have more chances of gaining weight or becoming fatter, following treatment with Na Valproate. Further studies investigating the issue are warranted