Team boosting behaviours:Development and validation of a new concept and scale

In teams, some people are truly noticed when present, and sorely missed when absent. Often they are described as the “life of the party”, but in a formal team context, we refer to their behaviors as “team boosting behavior”. These behaviors have the potential to affect the team’s processes. In three consecutive studies, we conceptualized these behaviors and developed and validated a questionnaire to measure them. In Study 1, we defined team boosting behaviors as the extent to which team members exhibit mood-enhancing, energizing, and uniting behaviors, directed towards team members. In Study 2, we developed and validated an instrument to measure team boosting behaviors using a sample of team members in work and sports teams (N = 385). Results supported a three-factor structure and indicated positive relationships with conceptually similar constructs. In Study 3, we cross-validated the three-factor structure among the members of 120 work teams and offer evidence for convergent and criterion validity of the Team Boosting behavior scale. The behaviors related positively to a positive team climate, team work engagement, and leader-rated team performance. The scale provides a useful tool for future empirical research to study the role of individual team boosting behaviors in shaping team processes and outcomes

Optimal energy management for a flywheel-assisted battery electric vehicle

Battery electric vehicles are crucial to the reduction in the dependence on fossil fuels and for moving towards a zero-emission transport system. Although battery electric vehicle technology has been rapidly improving, the limited driving range and the high cost are significant impediments to the popularity of electric vehicles. The battery is the main element which affects the range and the cost of the vehicle. The batteries can provide either high power or high energy but not both. Hybridisation of the energy source is one of the methods to improve the energy efficiency of the vehicle, which involves combining a high-energy battery with a high-power source. High-speed flywheels have attractive properties and low-cost potential which makes them excellent secondary energy storage devices to be used in hybrid and electric vehicles. They are utilised to load the battery to a level so as to protect it from peak loads and to enhance its capacity and life. The flywheel is coupled to the drive line with a continuously variable transmission. This paper presents the optimal energy management strategy for a mechanically connected flywheel-assisted battery electric vehicle powertrain. The optimisation problem is complex because of factors such as the small storage capacity of the flywheel, the kinematic constraints and the slipping of clutches. Dynamic programming is used to calculate the optimal control strategy for torque distribution during operation in real-world driving cycles. The results show significant potential for reduction in the energy consumption in extra-urban and highway cycles, while reducing the peak battery loads during all cycles. The results give a benchmark of the energy-saving potential for such a powertrain and insights into how a real suboptimal controller can be designed

Time-varying effective EEG source connectivity: the optimization of model parameters*

Adaptive estimation methods based on general Kalman filter are powerful tools to investigate brain networks dynamics given the non-stationary nature of neural signals. These methods rely on two parameters, the model order p and adaptation constant c, which determine the resolution and smoothness of the time-varying multivariate autoregressive estimates. A sub-optimal filtering may present consistent biases in the frequency domain and temporal distortions, leading to fallacious interpretations. Thus, the performance of these methods heavily depends on the accurate choice of these two parameters in the filter design. In this work, we sought to define an objective criterion for the optimal choice of these parameters. Since residual- and information-based criteria are not guaranteed to reach an absolute minimum, we propose to study the partial derivatives of these functions to guide the choice of p and c. To validate the performance of our method, we used a dataset of human visual evoked potentials during face perception where the generation and propagation of information in the brain is well understood and a set of simulated data where the ground truth is available

Organisational design for an integrated oncological department

OBJECTIVE: The outcomes of a Strength, Weakness, Opportunities and Threat (SWOT) analysis of three Integrated Oncological Departments were compared with their present situation three years later to define factors that can influence a successful implementation and development of an Integrated Oncological Department in- and outside (i.e. home care) the hospital. RESEARCH DESIGN: Comparative Qualitative Case Study. METHODS: Auditing based on care-as-usual norms by an external, experienced auditing committee. RESEARCH SETTING: Integrated Oncological Departments of three hospitals. RESULTS: Successful multidisciplinary care in an integrated, oncological department needs broad support inside the hospital and a well-defined organisational plan

The Skin and Nose Microbiome and Its Association with Filaggrin Gene Mutations in Pediatric Atopic Dermatitis

BACKGROUND: Interactions between the skin barrier, immune system, and microbiome underlie the development of atopic dermatitis (AD). OBJECTIVE: To investigate the skin and nasal microbiome in relation to filaggrin gene (FLG) mutations. METHODS: A cross-sectional study including 77 children with difficult-to-treat AD. The entire encoding region of FLG was screened for mutations using single molecule molecular inversion probes and next-generation sequencing. Bacterial swabs from the anterior nares, lesional and nonlesional skin were analyzed using 16S rRNA sequencing. For skin samples, additional qPCR was performed for Staphylococcus aureus and Staphylococcus epidermidis. RESULTS: The prevalence of patients with a mutation in FLG was 40%, including 10 different mutations. Analyzing bacterial swabs from all three niches showed a significant effect for both niche and FLG mutation status on the overall microbiome composition. Using a subset analysis to test the effect of FLG mutation status per niche separately did not show a significant association to the microbiome. Shannon diversity and S. aureus abundance were significantly affected by the niche, but not by the presence of an FLG mutation. CONCLUSIONS: Our results suggest only a minor role for FLG mutation status on the overall microbiome, which is rather caused by differences in the present genera than by microbe richness and evenness

The Active Recovery Triad (ART) model:A new approach in Dutch long-term mental health care

Unlike developments in short-term clinical and community care, the recovery movement has not yet gained foothold in long-term mental health services. In the Netherlands, approximately 21,000 people are dependent on long-term mental health care and support. To date, these people have benefited little from recovery-oriented care, rather traditional problem-oriented care has remained the dominant approach. Based on the view that recovery is within reach, also for people with complex needs, a new care model for long-term mental health care was developed, the active recovery triad (ART) model. In a period of 2.5 years, several meetings with a large group of stakeholders in the field of Dutch long-term mental health care took place in order to develop the ART model. Stakeholders involved in the development process were mental health workers, policy advisors, managers, directors, researchers, peer workers, and family representatives. The ART model combines an active role for professionals, service users, and significant others, with focus on recovery and cooperation between service users, family, and professionals in the triad. The principles of ART are translated into seven crucial steps in care and a model fidelity scale in order to provide practical guidelines for teams implementing the ART model in practice. The ART model provides guidance for tailored recovery-oriented care and support to this “low-volume high-need” group of service users in long-term mental health care, aiming to alter their perspective and take steps in the recovery process. Further research should investigate the effects of the ART model on quality of care, recovery, and autonomy of service users and cooperation in the triad