The relationship between positive psychological capital, employee engagement and organizational citizenship behaviour: A case study of an oil and gas company, Songkhla

Master of Business Administration ,2018The main aim of this study was to examine the relationship between psychological capital (PsyCap), employee engagement, and organization citizenship behaviour (OCB) by using a case study of an oil and gas company located in Songkhla province. Data from 136 employees were analysed using questionnaires. The relationship between PsyCap and employee engagement is highly correlated. Similarly, the correlation between PsyCap and OCB is high. Results suggest that employees who have higher level of PsyCap tend to have higher level of engagement and OCB. The organization may initiate HR practices aiming at promoting positive PsyCap among employees to enhance their attitude and behaviour like employee engagement and OCB

Advancing sustainability in the maritime sector: energy design and optimization of large ships through information modelling and dynamic simulation

This paper deals with a new energy design approach for ships to reduce the fuel consumption and the related environmental impact. The proposed method is based on the application of the Building Information Modeling (BIM) to Building Energy Modeling (BEM) technique. Specifically, by a BIM model of the ship a 3D physics-based model (BEM) can be suitably created. Then, by BEM the ship energy performance is simulated under real and dynamic operating conditions. By the presented method the whole design-to-delivery process of the ship can be simplified and speeded up with respect to traditional approaches, without losing reliability. As an example, HVAC systems design is easier through BIM since a high number of thermal zones can be effectively handled. Due to BEM, also the optimal design for exploiting waste heat recoveries of on-board combustion engines is easier and faster. To show the capability of the proposed approach a suitable case study was developed. Basically, it concerns the energy performance analysis of the Allure of the Seas, a 6000-passenger cruise ship operating in the Caribbean Sea. Two different scenarios for recovering the waste heat of the ship diesel generators are investigated. Simulation results highlight that significant primary energy saving can be obtained by optimizing the strategy to recover the available thermal energies (up to 600 MWh per trip), with a remarkable amount of avoided pollutant emissions (58, 0.06, 4.0, 0.2, 2.0 kg/km of CO2, PM2.5, NOx, HC, SOx, respectively).The presented new approach can be easily adopted to design and optimize the energy system of any new or existing ships, with the twofold aim to achieve economic savings and to fulfil environmental sustainability standards

Cortical Thickness Related to Compensatory Viewing Strategies in Patients With Macular Degeneration

Retinal diseases like age-related macular degeneration (AMD) or hereditary juvenile macular dystrophies (JMD) lead to a loss of central vision. Many patients compensate for this loss with a pseudo fovea in the intact peripheral retina, the so-called “preferred retinal locus” (PRL). How extensive eccentric viewing associated with central vision loss (CVL) affects brain structures responsible for visual perception and visually guided eye movements remains unknown. CVL results in a reduction of cortical gray matter in the “lesion projection zone” (LPZ) in early visual cortex, but the thickness of primary visual cortex appears to be largely preserved for eccentric-field representations. Here we explore how eccentric viewing strategies are related to cortical thickness (CT) measures in early visual cortex and in brain areas involved in the control of eye movements (frontal eye fields, FEF, supplementary eye fields, SEF, and premotor eye fields, PEF). We determined the projection zones (regions of interest, ROIs) of the PRL and of an equally peripheral area in the opposite hemifield (OppPRL) in early visual cortex (V1 and V2) in 32 patients with MD and 32 age-matched controls (19–84 years) by functional magnetic resonance imaging. Subsequently, we calculated the CT in these ROIs and compared it between PRL and OppPRL as well as between groups. Additionally, we examined the CT of FEF, SEF, and PEF and correlated it with behavioral measures like reading speed and eccentric fixation stability at the PRL. We found a significant difference between PRL and OppPRL projection zones in V1 with increased CT at the PRL, that was more pronounced in the patients, but also visible in the controls. Although the mean CT of the eye fields did not differ significantly between patients and controls, we found a trend to a positive correlation between CT in the right FEF and SEF and fixation stability in the whole patient group and between CT in the right PEF and reading speed in the JMD subgroup. The results indicate a possible association between the compensatory strategies used by patients with CVL and structural brain properties in early visual cortex and cortical eye fields

Carbon dating cancer: defining the chronology of metastatic progression in colorectal cancer.

Background: Patients often ask oncologists how long a cancer has been present before causing symptoms or spreading to other organs. The evolutionary trajectory of cancers can be defined using phylogenetic approaches but lack of chronological references makes dating the exact onset of tumours very challenging. Patients and methods: Here, we describe the case of a colorectal cancer (CRC) patient presenting with synchronous lung metastasis and metachronous thyroid, chest wall and urinary tract metastases over the course of 5 years. The chest wall metastasis was caused by needle tract seeding, implying a known time of onset. Using whole genome sequencing data from primary and metastatic sites we inferred the complete chronology of the cancer by exploiting the time of needle tract seeding as an in vivo 'stopwatch'. This approach allowed us to follow the progression of the disease back in time, dating each ancestral node of the phylogenetic tree in the past history of the tumour. We used a Bayesian phylogenomic approach, which accounts for possible dynamic changes in mutational rate, to reconstruct the phylogenetic tree and effectively 'carbon date' the malignant progression. Results: The primary colon cancer emerged between 5 and 8 years before the clinical diagnosis. The primary tumour metastasized to the lung and the thyroid within a year from its onset. The thyroid lesion presented as a tumour-to-tumour deposit within a benign Hurthle adenoma. Despite rapid metastatic progression from the primary tumour, the patient showed an indolent disease course. Primary cancer and metastases were microsatellite stable and displayed low chromosomal instability. Neo-antigen analysis suggested minimal immunogenicity. Conclusion: Our data provide the first in vivo experimental evidence documenting the timing of metastatic progression in CRC and suggest that genomic instability might be more important than the metastatic potential of the primary cancer in dictating CRC fate

Durvalumab (MEDI 4736) in combination with extended neoadjuvant regimens in rectal cancer : a study protocol of a randomised phase II trial (PRIME-RT)

Acknowledgements We are grateful to Mr George Davidson and Ms Monica Jeffers for their input with writing the PRIME-RT protocol and patient information sheet. This study is co-sponsored by the University of Glasgow and NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde. Funding PRIME-RT is funded by Astrazeneca and receives core funding from CRUK Clinical Trials Unit Glasgow for the purposes of trial set-up and data collection. The trial is co-sponsored by the University Of Glasgow and NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde.Peer reviewedPublisher PD

Medical Student Authorship Trends: A 10-Year Analysis of Four Major Orthopaedic Journals

Introduction: Orthopaedic surgery continues to be an increasingly competitive specialty for medical students to match into. Recent studies have identified the United States Medical Licensing Exam (USMLE) Step 1 and Step 2 CK scores, Alpha Omega Alpha Medical Honor Society induction, and mean number of research products as independent factors contributing to a successful match into orthopaedic surgery. Of these metrics, orthopaedic research is the only one that can be continuously improved over the course of medical school. Orthopaedic-specific research demonstrates scholarly activity, as well as interest in and commitment to the specialty. Given the rising competitiveness of matching into orthopaedic surgery residency and emphasis placed on research, the purpose of this study was to analyze medical student publication trends in four major orthopaedic journals over a 10-year period. Objectives: Identify the proportion of medical student publications in major orthopaedic journals and how these trends have changed over time. Methods: Websites of four major orthopaedic journals (American Journal of Sports Medicine, Clinical Orthopaedics and Related Research, Journal of Arthroplasty, and Journal of Bone and Joint Surgery) were accessed to identify articles published between 2011 and 2020. Articles were reviewed for the year, number of authors, degree(s) of each author, sex of each author, country, and state (if USA). Non-clinical studies were defined as basic science, biomechanical, technique, and educational studies. Country and state were determined based on affiliation of the senior author. Medical students were defined as authors who held a bachelor’s only degree. Editorials and letters to the editor were not included. Results: 15740 articles were included in this review (13510 clinical, 2230 non-clinical). The total number of authors was 82837. MDs constituted the majority of first authors in this study (64.5%). A total of 5242 medical students were listed as authors on 3769 publications (21.49% of overall publications). Out of the 3769 publications, 919 (24.38%) were first author publications. Linear regression demonstrated an increasing annual trend of first author (p=0.001) and any author (p<0.001) medical student publications over the study period, with increases of 291% and 206%, respectively, from 2011 to 2020. Linear regression demonstrated an increasing annual trend of female first author medical student publications (p=0.01), with an increase of 346% from 2011 to 2020. Overall number of publications did not significantly change over the study period. States with the most first author medical students were New York (111/919, 12.1%), Pennsylvania (96/919, 10.5%), and California (82/919, 8.9%). States with the most any author medical student studies were New York (514/3769, 13.6%), Pennsylvania (347/3769, 9.2%), and California (298/3769, 7.9%). Discussion: First author and any author medical student publications increased over the last 10 years, despite a constant number in overall orthopaedic publications. Additionally, the growing female medical student involvement in the literature highlights the importance and efficacy of advocacy, mentorship, and opportunities in improving diversity in orthopaedics and medicine. Lastly, states with the most first-author and any author medical student publications contain institutions with ample research funding, providing access and opportunities for students at the institution and others within geographic range. Target Audience: Medical students, orthopaedic chairs, and program director

Cytogenomic Profile of Uterine Leiomyoma: In Vivo vs. In Vitro Comparison

We performed a comparative cytogenomic analysis of cultured and uncultured uterine leiomyoma (UL) samples. The experimental approach included karyotyping, aCGH, verification of the detected chromosomal abnormalities by metaphase and interphase FISH, MED12 mutation analysis and telomere measurement by Q-FISH. An abnormal karyotype was detected in 12 out of 32 cultured UL samples. In five karyotypically abnormal ULs, MED12 mutations were found. The chromosomal abnormalities in ULs were present mostly by complex rearrangements, including chromothripsis. In both karyotypically normal and abnormal ULs, telomeres were ~40% shorter than in the corresponding myometrium, being possibly prerequisite to chromosomal rearrangements. The uncultured samples of six karyotypically abnormal ULs were checked for the detected chromosomal abnormalities through interphase FISH with individually designed DNA probe sets. All chromosomal abnormalities detected in cultured ULs were found in corresponding uncultured samples. In all tumors, clonal spectra were present by the karyotypically abnormal cell clone/clones which coexisted with karyotypically normal ones, suggesting that chromosomal abnormalities acted as drivers, rather than triggers, of the neoplastic process. In vitro propagation did not cause any changes in the spectrum of the cell clones, but altered their ratio compared to uncultured sample. The alterations were unique for every UL. Compared to its uncultured counterpart, the frequency of chromosomally abnormal cells in the cultured sample was higher in some ULs and lower in others. To summarize, ULs are characterized by both inter- and intratumor genetic heterogeneity. Regardless of its MED12 status, a tumor may be comprised of clones with and without chromosomal abnormalities. In contrast to the clonal spectrum, which is unique and constant for each UL, the clonal frequency demonstrates up or down shifts under in vitro conditions, most probably determined by the unequal ability of cells with different genetic aberrations to exist outside the body

Perceptual learning of bisection stimuli under roving: Slow and largely specific

In perceptual learning, performance often improves within a short time if only one stimulus variant is presented, such as a line bisection stimulus with one outer-line-distance. However, performance stagnates if two bisection stimuli with two outerline-distances are presented randomly interleaved. Recently, S. G. Kuai, J. Y. Zhang, S. A. Klein, D. M. Levi, and C. Yu, (2005) proposed that learning under roving conditions is impossible in general. Contrary to this proposition, we show here that perceptual learning with bisection stimuli under roving is possible with extensive training of 18000 trials. Despite this extensive training, the improvement of performance is still largely specific. Furthermore, this improvement of performance cannot be explained by an accommodation to stimulus uncertainty caused by roving