Longitudinal Effects of Computer-mediated Communication Anxiety on Interaction in Virtual Teams

Research has identified a unique individual characteristic that influences behavior in a computer-mediated communication (CMC) environment, CMC anxiety. While prior work demonstrates CMC anxiety’s impact on CMC use, it does not specifically address how CMC anxiety impacts use and interaction behaviors. Further, prior work has not explored the impact of CMC anxiety on use and performance over time. To address these issues, we surveyed and observed the interactions of 22 virtual project teams (consisting of 110 individuals) over a span of four months. The results indicate that individuals high in CMC anxiety have lower quantity and quality of participation, demonstrated by their sending fewer total messages and task-oriented messages in particular. In addition, they contribute to team performance less by providing fewer novel ideas. To compensate, we find that CMC anxious individuals do send relatively more socially oriented messages. Ultimately, CMC anxious individuals are rated by their team members as performing worse than their less anxious counterparts. Additionally, participation quality and quantity and perceptions of performance by CMC anxious team members do not significantly improve, even with repeated interactions over CMC

WHO\u27S AFRAID OF THE VIRTUAL WORLD? Anxiety and Computer-Mediated Communication

This study integrates the literature on computer anxiety and communication apprehension to determine their joint impact upon individual attitudes toward using and use of computer mediated communication (CMC). We introduce the application-specific CMC anxiety, defined as an individual\u27 s level of fear or apprehension associated with actual or anticipated use of information technology to communicate with others. Furthermore, we advance a new nomological structure that positions CMC anxiety as a proximal mediating construct between the more general constructs of computer anxiety, communication apprehension, and CMC familiarity, and the dependent constructs of CMC attitudes and use. We develop and empirically test this nomological structure, finding that computer anxiety, oral communication apprehension, and CMC familiarity contribute to CMC anxiety, while written communication apprehension does not. CMC anxiety fully mediates the relationship between the general constructs and attitude toward using CMC. CMC anxiety explains 34% of the variance in attitudes, while attitudes, coupled with familiarity, explain 14% of the variance in CMC use

A Longitudinal Investigation of the Effects of Computer Anxiety on Performance in a Computing-Intensive Environment

Computers are pervasive in business and education, and it would be easy to assume that all individuals embrace technology. However, evidence shows that roughly 30 to 40 percent of individuals experience some level of computer anxiety. Many academic programs involve computing-intensive courses, but the actual effects of this exposure on computer anxiety are unknown. This study contributes to the literature as follows. First, direct evidence of a relationship between longitudinal changes in individuals\u27 computer anxiety and performance are reported. Second, the effects of changes in computer anxiety are shown to be dependent on individuals\u27 initial level of anxiety. Third, some evidence is provided that changes in computer anxiety from exposure to a computing-intensive environment are not uniform across individuals. Lastly, the subjects in this study appear to be more representative of contemporary students and workers than those used in prior studies. Implications for research and practice are presented

Muscle Carnosine Is Associated with Cardiometabolic Risk Factors in Humans

Background Carnosine is a naturally present dipeptide abundant in skeletal muscle and an over-the counter food additive. Animal data suggest a role of carnosine supplementation in the prevention and treatment of obesity, insulin resistance, type 2 diabetes and cardiovascular disease but only limited human data exists. Methods and Results Samples of vastus lateralis muscle were obtained by needle biopsy. We measured muscle carnosine levels (high-performance liquid chromatography), % body fat (bioimpedance), abdominal subcutaneous and visceral adiposity (magnetic resonance imaging), insulin sensitivity (euglycaemic hyperinsulinemic clamp), resting energy expenditure (REE, indirect calorimetry), free-living ambulatory physical activity (accelerometers) and lipid profile in 36 sedentary non-vegetarian middle aged men (45±7 years) with varying degrees of adiposity and glucose tolerance. Muscle carnosine content was positively related to % body fat (r = 0.35, p = 0.04) and subcutaneous (r = 0.38, p = 0.02) but not visceral fat (r = 0.17, p = 0.33). Muscle carnosine content was inversely associated with insulin sensitivity (r = -0.44, p = 0.008), REE (r = -0.58, p<0.001) and HDL-cholesterol levels (r = -0.34, p = 0.048). Insulin sensitivity and physical activity were the best predictors of muscle carnosine content after adjustment for adiposity. Conclusion Our data shows that higher carnosine content in human skeletal muscle is positively associated with insulin resistance and fasting metabolic preference for glucose. Moreover, it is negatively associated with HDL-cholesterol and basal energy expenditure. Intervention studies targeting insulin resistance, metabolic and cardiovascular disease risk factors are necessary to evaluate its putative role in the prevention and management of type 2 diabetes and cardiovascular disease

Landomycins as glutathione-depleting agents and natural fluorescent probes for cellular Michael adduct-dependent quinone metabolism

Landomycins are angucyclines with promising antineoplastic activity produced by Streptomyces bacteria. The aglycone landomycinone is the distinctive core, while the oligosaccharide chain differs within derivatives. Herein, we report that landomycins spontaneously form Michael adducts with biothiols, including reduced cysteine and glutathione, both cell-free or intracellularly involving the benz[a]anthraquinone moiety of landomycinone. While landomycins generally do not display emissive properties, the respective Michael adducts exerted intense blue fluorescence in a glycosidic chain-dependent manner. This allowed label-free tracking of the short-lived nature of the mono-SH-adduct followed by oxygen-dependent evolution with addition of another SH-group. Accordingly, hypoxia distinctly stabilized the fluorescent mono-adduct. While extracellular adduct formation completely blocked the cytotoxic activity of landomycins, intracellularly it led to massively decreased reduced glutathione levels. Accordingly, landomycin E strongly synergized with glutathione-depleting agents like menadione but exerted reduced activity under hypoxia. Summarizing, landomycins represent natural glutathione-depleting agents and fluorescence probes for intracellular anthraquinone-based angucycline metabolism

MAPK-Activated Protein Kinase 2 Is Required for Mouse Meiotic Spindle Assembly and Kinetochore-Microtubule Attachment

MAPK-activated protein kinase 2 (MK2), a direct substrate of p38 MAPK, plays key roles in multiple physiological functions in mitosis. Here, we show for the first time the unique distribution pattern of MK2 in meiosis. Phospho-MK2 was localized on bipolar spindle minus ends and along the interstitial axes of homologous chromosomes extending over centromere regions and arm regions at metaphase of first meiosis (MI stage) in mouse oocytes. At metaphase of second meiosis (MII stage), p-MK2 was localized on the bipolar spindle minus ends and at the inner centromere region of sister chromatids as dots. Knockdown or inhibition of MK2 resulted in spindle defects. Spindles were surrounded by irregular nondisjunction chromosomes, which were arranged in an amphitelic or syntelic/monotelic manner, or chromosomes detached from the spindles. Kinetochore–microtubule attachments were impaired in MK2-deficient oocytes because spindle microtubules became unstable in response to cold treatment. In addition, homologous chromosome segregation and meiosis progression were inhibited in these oocytes. Our data suggest that MK2 may be essential for functional meiotic bipolar spindle formation, chromosome segregation and proper kinetochore–microtubule attachments

Intraperitoneal drain placement and outcomes after elective colorectal surgery: international matched, prospective, cohort study

Despite current guidelines, intraperitoneal drain placement after elective colorectal surgery remains widespread. Drains were not associated with earlier detection of intraperitoneal collections, but were associated with prolonged hospital stay and increased risk of surgical-site infections.Background Many surgeons routinely place intraperitoneal drains after elective colorectal surgery. However, enhanced recovery after surgery guidelines recommend against their routine use owing to a lack of clear clinical benefit. This study aimed to describe international variation in intraperitoneal drain placement and the safety of this practice. Methods COMPASS (COMPlicAted intra-abdominal collectionS after colorectal Surgery) was a prospective, international, cohort study which enrolled consecutive adults undergoing elective colorectal surgery (February to March 2020). The primary outcome was the rate of intraperitoneal drain placement. Secondary outcomes included: rate and time to diagnosis of postoperative intraperitoneal collections; rate of surgical site infections (SSIs); time to discharge; and 30-day major postoperative complications (Clavien-Dindo grade at least III). After propensity score matching, multivariable logistic regression and Cox proportional hazards regression were used to estimate the independent association of the secondary outcomes with drain placement. Results Overall, 1805 patients from 22 countries were included (798 women, 44.2 per cent; median age 67.0 years). The drain insertion rate was 51.9 per cent (937 patients). After matching, drains were not associated with reduced rates (odds ratio (OR) 1.33, 95 per cent c.i. 0.79 to 2.23; P = 0.287) or earlier detection (hazard ratio (HR) 0.87, 0.33 to 2.31; P = 0.780) of collections. Although not associated with worse major postoperative complications (OR 1.09, 0.68 to 1.75; P = 0.709), drains were associated with delayed hospital discharge (HR 0.58, 0.52 to 0.66; P &lt; 0.001) and an increased risk of SSIs (OR 2.47, 1.50 to 4.05; P &lt; 0.001). Conclusion Intraperitoneal drain placement after elective colorectal surgery is not associated with earlier detection of postoperative collections, but prolongs hospital stay and increases SSI risk

Synaptotagmin IV determines the linear Ca2+ dependence of vesicle fusion at auditory ribbon synapses

Mammalian cochlear inner hair cells (IHCs) are specialized for the dynamic coding of continuous and finely graded sound signals. This ability is largely conferred by the linear Ca2+ dependence of neurotransmitter release at their synapses, which is also a feature of visual and olfactory systems. The prevailing hypothesis is that linearity in IHCs occurs through a developmental change in the Ca2+ sensitivity of synaptic vesicle fusion from the nonlinear (high order) Ca2+ dependence of immature spiking cells. However, the nature of the Ca2+ sensor(s) of vesicle fusion at hair cell synapses is unknown. We found that synaptotagmin IV was essential for establishing the linear exocytotic Ca2+ dependence in adult rodent IHCs and immature outer hair cells. Moreover, the expression of the hitherto undetected synaptotagmins I and II correlated with a high-order Ca2+ dependence in IHCs. We propose that the differential expression of synaptotagmins determines the characteristic Ca2+ sensitivity of vesicle fusion at hair cell synapses

THE EFFECT OF FOLIC APPLICATION OF MG-TITANIT FERTILIZER ON PHYTOMASS, CHLOROPHYLL PRODUCTION AND THE HARVEST OF WINTER WHEAT

ABSTRACT The effect of folic application of the liquid Mg-Titanit fertilizer on the phytomass of winter wheat was examined by means of a small-area field experiment in the chernozem typical for the cadastral area of Bučany. Key words: titan, wheat, foliar nutrition, Acknowledgments: This paper was supported by VEGA project № 1/0654/10 &quot;Effective utilization of non-traditional sources and forms of nutrients in crops nutrition&quot;

Accounting Documentation Software: An Overview of Options and Results from a Lucidchart Software Evaluation

Accounting practitioners use documentation diagrams to plan audits, train employees, and consult on accounting information systems development. Accounting educators instruct students in diagram development with various software tools as preparation for industry requirements. This paper presents a review of documentation diagrams identified by practice and major textbooks, a summary of software tool options, and an examination of cloud-based documentation software. We suggest software adoption criteria and propose Lucidchart as a cloud-software solution for developing accounting documentation diagrams. Finally, we present the results from a Lucidchart software evaluation study. The practical contribution is two-fold for educators responsible for teaching accounting documentation topics: (a) a documentation software resource; and (b) an initial usage assessment of Lucidchart software