Career Anchors, National Culture and Leave Intent of MIS Professionals in Taiwan

This study focuses on the career anchors of MIS professionals and adopts the well-established career theory, Schein\u27s Career Anchors, as the fundamental theory in this study. The present paper attempts to investigate the relationship between career anchors and leave intent of MIS professionals in Taiwan. The study adds the cultural construct, Chinese Relationalism, into its research model, in order to comprehend the role of Chinese Relationalism in the context of the career anchor model. Three career anchors: technical competence, autonomy, and entrepreneurship, have direct (negative or positive) and significant impacts on the intents of MIS professionals to leave their employment. This study establishes that Chinese Relationalism impacts on the technical competence, geographical security, identity, lifestyle, and various career anchors of MIS professionals and also moderates the relationships between autonomy, entrepreneurship and the leave intent of MIS professionals in Taiwan

General anesthesia with local infiltration reduces urine retention rate and prolongs analgesic effect than spinal anesthesia for hemorrhoidectomy

IntroductionPostoperative pain and complications pose significant challenges following a hemorrhoidectomy. Attaining effective anesthesia with minimal complications is crucial. The ideal anesthesia method for ambulatory hemorrhoidectomy remains uncertain. This study aimed to investigate whether the combination of general anesthesia plus local infiltration (GAL) is associated with lower complications and reduced pain compared to spinal anesthesia (SA) in the context of hemorrhoidectomy.MethodsThis retrospective single-center cohort study, conducted in a tertiary medical center in East Asia, evaluated excisional hemorrhoidectomies performed between January 1, 2017, and March 31, 2023, utilizing GAL or SA. Data on the six most common complications-pain, constipation, acute urine retention (AUR), bleeding, nausea, and headache-were extracted from medical records. A total of 550 hemorrhoidectomies were included: 220 in the GAL group and 330 in the SA group. Patient characteristics were comparable between the two groups.ResultsThe AUR rate was significantly lower in the GAL group compared to the SA group (15.5% vs. 32.1%, P < 0.001). Although the proportion of pain scores ≥4 did not differ significantly between the GAL and SA groups (36.2% vs. 39.8%, P = 0.429), the pain score curve indicated a stable trend. Overall, the GAL group exhibited a lower rate of adverse effects (56.9% vs. 67.4%, P = 0.023). There were no significant differences in the rates of other complications and emergency department readmission between the GAL and SA groups.DiscussionGAL emerges as a favorable choice for anesthesia in hemorrhoidectomy, demonstrating a lower incidence of urine retention and a prolonged analgesic effect in multiple hemorrhoidectomies. These findings support the conclusion that GAL represents an optimal anesthetic method for enhancing the postoperative experience in patients undergoing hemorrhoidectomy

2-Amino-1H-benzoimidazol-3-ium 4,4,4-trifluoro-1,3-dioxo-1-phenyl­butan-2-ide

In the title compound, C7H8N3 +·C10H6F3O2 −, 1H-benzoimidazol-2-amine system adopts a planar conformation with an r.m.s. deviation of 0.0174 Å. The cation and anion in the asymmetric unit are linked by N—H⋯O hydrogen bonds. There are also additional inter­molecular N—H⋯O hydrogen bonds and π–π stacking inter­actions between the phenyl rings of neighbouring anions with centroid–centroid distances of 4.0976 (13) Å

Application of geographic weighted regression to establish flood-damage functions reflecting spatial variation

Flood damage functions are necessary to ensure comprehensive flood-risk management. This study attempts to establish a residential flood-damage function through interviewing the residents living in the region where flood disasters occur frequently. Keelung River basin, near Taipei Metropolitan in Taiwan was selected as study area. Flood damages are related to the flood depths, which are the most commonly considered factor in previously published work. Ordinary least squares (OLS) regression was used to construct the flood-damage function at the beginning. Analytical results indicate that flood depth is the significant variable, but the spatial pattern of the residuals shows that residuals exhibit spatial autocorrelation. The Geographically Weighted Regression (GWR) Model was then applied to modify the traditional regression model, which cannot capture spatial variations, and to reduce the problem of spatial autocorrelation. The R-square value was found to increase from 0.15 to 0.24, and the spatial autocorrelation in the residuals was no longer evident. A modified OLS model with a dummy variable to capture the spatial autocorrelation pattern was also proposed for future applications. In conclusion, the residential flood damage is determined by flood depth and zone, and the GWR model not only captures the spatial variations of the affecting factors, but also helps to discover the independent variable to modify the traditional regression model.Keywords: flood damage, flood depth, OLS, GWR, spatial autocorrelatio

Hospital treatment, mortality and healthcare costs in relation to socioeconomic status among people with bipolar affective disorder

BACKGROUND: Evidence regarding the relationships between the socioeconomic status and long-term outcomes of individuals with bipolar affective disorder (BPD) is lacking. AIMS: We aimed to estimate the effects of baseline socioeconomic status on longitudinal outcomes. METHOD: A national cohort of adult participants with newly diagnosed BPD was identified in 2008. The effects of personal and household socioeconomic status were explored on outcomes of hospital treatment, mortality and healthcare costs, over a 3-year follow-up period (2008–2011). RESULTS: A total of 7987 participants were recruited. The relative risks of hospital treatment and mortality were found elevated for the ones from low-income households who also had higher healthcare costs. Low premium levels did not correlate with future healthcare costs. CONCLUSIONS: Socioeconomic deprivation is associated with poorer outcome and higher healthcare costs in BPD patients. Special care should be given to those with lower socioeconomic status to improve outcomes with potential benefits of cost savings in the following years. DECLARATION OF INTEREST: None. COPYRIGHT AND USAGE: © 2016 The Royal College of Psychiatrists. This is an open access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Non-Commercial, No Derivatives (CC BY-NC-ND) licence

Quality assessment on Polygoni Multiflori Caulis using HPLC/UV/MS combined with principle component analysis

BACKGROUND: Polygoni Multiflori Caulis, the dried caulis of Polygonum multiflorum Thunb., is one of the commonly used traditional Chinese medicines having antioxidant, anti-obesity, anti-inflammatory and antibacterial effects. Polygoni Multiflori Caulis used clinically or circulated on market have great differences in their diameters. However, to the best of our knowledge, no study has been reported on the qualities of Polygoni Multiflori Caulis with different diameters. RESULTS: Systematic HPLC/UV/MS chromatographic fingerprinting and quantitative analytical methods combined with principal component analysis were developed and applied to analyze different Polygoni Multiflori Caulis samples. The contents of 2,3,5,4′-tetrahydroxystilbene-2-O-β-D-glucoside, the chemical marker for quality control on Polygoni Multiflori Caulis specified in Chinese Pharmacopoeia (2010 edition), were found to have surprising relevance with the samples’ diameters for the first time. CONCLUSION: The finding provides a scientific basis for collecting Polygoni Multiflori Caulis in the best time. Moreover, the diameter can be used as the criterion for quality control on Polygoni Multiflori Caulis as a preliminary step in the future. In addition, scores plot obtained from principal component analysis shows the obvious differences between unqualified Polygoni Multiflori Caulis samples and qualified ones visually, which can be used to single out the unqualified ones with qualified ones efficiently and immediately