Leader decision making capacity : an information processing perspective

Leaders’ decision making capacity and abilities directly impact their decision quality and performance. Decision making processes involve information collection, problem framing, and option evaluation. Moreover, multilevel performance and social information have an impact on the subsequent steps and outcomes of decision making. Following this logic, the leader’s ability to manage the decision making process is deemed to be critical to their role. In this chapter, we explore the relationship between decision making capacity and three relevant antecedent abilities: problem solving, social judgment and emotion management. However, because decision making is highly sensitive to the context, the impact of contextual factors such as time pressure and cultural differences are also discussed

The impact of leader identity on leadership development : the role of leader future work self (LFWS), implicit self theories (IST) / implicit leadership theories (ILT) congruence and gender

Leadership development focused on leader identity has increased in popularity over the past decades. However, research on leader identity and leadership development has not fully captured the role of an individual’s future identity, nor the gap between their self-views and ideal perceptions of leaders, have on their pursuit of leadership development. This thesis therefore fills the gap in our understanding and investigates the role of leader identity in individuals’ pursuit of leadership development and leadership more broadly. In the first empirical chapter, I introduce the concept of the Leader Future Work Self (LFWS), which is adapted from the Future Work Self (FWS) literature (Strauss et al., 2012). LFWS is proposed to contain both people’s hope and fears related to their future identity as a leader. This new model of LFWS illustrates the linkages between the hope and fear elements of LFWS and the related motivations and behavioural strategies for leadership development. In the second empirical chapter, I explore the impact of activating LFWS’s hope and/or fear elements on intention for leadership development (LI) and leader self-efficacy (LSE). The findings highlight the potential utility of imaginative narrative writing for activating LFWS’s hope elements. Moreover, I found that the strength of an individual’s LFWS may influence their LI, when hope elements of LFWS are activated. Furthermore, this chapter shows the need to consider the role gender plays in an individual’s LFWS. In the final empirical chapter, I extend my research on identity and leadership by empirically investigating the influence of congruence between Implicit self-theories (ISTs) and Implicit Leadership Theories (ILTs) on LSE. The findings highlight the importance of integrating the above congruence concept, as well as gender-related leadership characteristics, in the understanding of LSE. Overall, this thesis sheds light on the significance of both LFWS and IST/ILT congruence for our understanding of leadership development

A Novel Probiotic-Based Oral Vaccine against SARS-CoV-2 Omicron Variant B.1.1.529

COVID-19 pandemic, caused by the SARS-CoV-2 virus, is still affecting the entire world via the rapid emergence of new contagious variants. Vaccination remains the most effective prevention strategy for viral infection, yet not all countries have sufficient access to vaccines due to limitations in manufacturing and transportation. Thus, there is an urgent need to develop an easy-to-use, safe, and low-cost vaccination approach. Genetically modified microorganisms, especially probiotics, are now commonly recognized as attractive vehicles for delivering bioactive molecules via oral and mucosal routes. In this study, Lactobacillus casei has been selected as the oral vaccine candidate based on its’ natural immunoadjuvant properties and the ability to resist acidic gastric environment, to express antigens of SARS-CoV-2 Omicron variant B.1.1.529 with B-cell and T-cell epitopes. This newly developed vaccine, OMGVac, was shown to elicit a robust IgG systemic immune response against the spike protein of Omicron variant B.1.1.529 in Golden Syrian hamsters. No adverse effects were found throughout this study, and the overall safety was evaluated in terms of physiological and histopathological examinations of different organs harvested. In addition, this study illustrated the use of the recombinant probiotic as a live delivery vector in the initiation of systemic immunity, which shed light on the future development of next-generation vaccines to combat emerging infectious diseases

Guidelines for the use and interpretation of assays for monitoring autophagy (4th edition)

In 2008, we published the first set of guidelines for standardizing research in autophagy. Since then, this topic has received increasing attention, and many scientists have entered the field. Our knowledge base and relevant new technologies have also been expanding. Thus, it is important to formulate on a regular basis updated guidelines for monitoring autophagy in different organisms. Despite numerous reviews, there continues to be confusion regarding acceptable methods to evaluate autophagy, especially in multicellular eukaryotes. Here, we present a set of guidelines for investigators to select and interpret methods to examine autophagy and related processes, and for reviewers to provide realistic and reasonable critiques of reports that are focused on these processes. These guidelines are not meant to be a dogmatic set of rules, because the appropriateness of any assay largely depends on the question being asked and the system being used. Moreover, no individual assay is perfect for every situation, calling for the use of multiple techniques to properly monitor autophagy in each experimental setting. Finally, several core components of the autophagy machinery have been implicated in distinct autophagic processes (canonical and noncanonical autophagy), implying that genetic approaches to block autophagy should rely on targeting two or more autophagy-related genes that ideally participate in distinct steps of the pathway. Along similar lines, because multiple proteins involved in autophagy also regulate other cellular pathways including apoptosis, not all of them can be used as a specific marker for bona fide autophagic responses. Here, we critically discuss current methods of assessing autophagy and the information they can, or cannot, provide. Our ultimate goal is to encourage intellectual and technical innovation in the field