A Tale of Passion: Linking Job Passion and Cognitive Engagement to Employee Work Performance

We propose a model of job passion that links two types of passion, harmonious and obsessive passion, to employees’ work performance, via the mediating mechanism of cognitive engagement (comprising attention and absorption). Results from a survey conducted with 509 employees from an insurance firm indicate that employees with harmonious passion performed better at work, and that this relationship was mediated primarily by cognitive absorption, that is, the intensity of focus and immersion experienced by the employees when working. However, even though obsessive passion was negatively related to cognitive attention (i.e., the amount of cognitive resources spent thinking about work), it did not have a significant relationship to work performance overall. We identify and discuss research and practical implications for job passion and performance management

A Continuum Model for Housing Allocation and Transportation Emission Problems in a Polycentric City

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The need for a definition of big data for nursing science: A case study of disaster preparedness

© 2016 by the author; licensee MDPI, Basel, Switzerland. The rapid development of technology has made enormous volumes of data available and achievable anytime and anywhere around the world. Data scientists call this change a data era and have introduced the term âBig Dataâ, which has drawn the attention of nursing scholars. Nevertheless, the concept of Big Data is quite fuzzy and there is no agreement on its definition among researchers of different disciplines. Without a clear consensus on this issue, nursing scholars who are relatively new to the concept may consider Big Data to be merely a dataset of a bigger size. Having a suitable definition for nurse researchers in their context of research and practice is essential for the advancement of nursing research. In view of the need for a better understanding on what Big Data is, the aim in this paper is to explore and discuss the concept. Furthermore, an example of a Big Data research study on disaster nursing preparedness involving six million patient records is used for discussion. The example demonstrates that a Big Data analysis can be conducted from many more perspectives than would be possible in traditional sampling, and is superior to traditional sampling. Experience gained from the process of using Big Data in this study will shed light on future opportunities for conducting evidence-based nursing research to achieve competence in disaster nursing.Link_to_subscribed_fulltex

Epigenetic Dysregulation in Laryngeal Squamous Cell Carcinoma

Laryngeal carcinoma is a common head and neck cancer with poor prognosis. Patients with laryngeal carcinoma usually present late leading to the reduced treatment efficacy and high rate of recurrence. Despite the advance in the use of molecular markers for monitoring human cancers in the past decades, there are still no reliable markers for use to screen laryngeal carcinoma and follow the patients after treatment. Epigenetics emerged as an important field in understanding the biology of the human malignancies. Epigenetic alterations refer to the dysregulation of gene, which do not involve the alterations of the DNA sequence. Major epigenetic changes including methylation imbalance, histone modification, and small RNA dysregulation could play a role in the development of human malignancies. Global epigenetic change is now regarded as a molecular signature of cancer. The characteristics and behavior of a cancer could be predicted based on the specific epigenetic pattern. We here provide a review on the understanding of epigenetic dysregulation in laryngeal carcinoma. Further knowledge on the initiation and progression of laryngeal carcinoma at epigenetic level could promote the translation of the knowledge to clinical use

Acupuncture for frozen-thawed embryo transfer cycles: A double-blind randomized controlled trial

The role of acupuncture on the pregnancy rate has not been evaluated in frozen-thawed embryo transfer (FET) cycles. This randomized double-blind study aimed to determine whether acupuncture performed on the day of FET improves clinical outcomes. On the day of FET, 226 patients were randomly allocated to either real or placebo acupuncture according to a computergenerated randomization list in sealed opaque envelopes. They received a session of real or placebo acupuncture for 25 min on site immediately after FET. The anxiety level and serum cortisol concentration were evaluated before and after real and placebo acupuncture. There were no significant differences in rates of overall pregnancy, clinical pregnancy, ongoing pregnancy, live birth and implantation in the placebo acupuncture group, when compared with the real acupuncture group. The anxiety level and serum cortisol concentration were similar for both groups. Only the placebo acupuncture group had significantly higher ongoing pregnancy (P = 0.022) and implantation rates (P = 0.038) than those who declined to join the study and received no acupuncture. In conclusion, comparable pregnancy and live birth rates of FET treatment were found in patients who had one session of real or placebo acupuncture after FET. © 2010, Reproductive Healthcare Ltd. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.postprin

Comparison of post-treatment plasma EBV DNA with nasopharyngeal biopsy in patients after radical (chemo) radiotherapy for non-metatatic nasopharyngeal cancer

This journal suppl. entitled: Proceedings of the American Society for Radiation Oncology 56th Annual Meeting, ASTRO's 56th Annual Meeting ... 2014Oral Scientific SessionPURPOSE/OBJECTIVE(S): Random nasopharyngeal biopsy after completion of intensity-modulated radiation therapy (IMRT) for non-metastatic nasopharyngeal cancer (NPC) is routinely practiced in Hong Kong to confirm local remission. Plasma EBV DNA is proven an accurate marker for NPC. We carried out a prospective study comparing the correlation between post-IMRT nasopharyngeal biopsy and EBV DNA, to investigate if EBV DNA can substitute biopsy to confirm local remission. MATERIALS/METHODS: Patients with non-metastatic NPC treated with definitive (chemo) IMRT diagnosed between January 2011 and March 2013 were recruited. After baseline workup ...postprin

Nanostructured Bimetallic Block Copolymers as Precursors to Magnetic FePt Nanoparticles

Phase-separated block copolymers (BCPs) that function as precursors to arrays of FePt nanoparticles (NPs) are of potential interest for the creation of media for the next-generation high-density magnetic data storage devices. A series of bimetallic BCPs has been synthesized by incorporating a complex containing Fe and Pt centers into the coordinating block of four different poly­(styrene-<i>b</i>-4-vinylpyridine)­s (PS-<i>b</i>-P4VPs, <b>P1–P4</b>). To facilitate phase separation for the resulting metalated BCPs (<b>PM1–PM4</b>), a loading of the FePt-bimetallic complex corresponding to ca. 20% was used. The bulk and thin-film self-assembly of these BCPs was studied by transmission electron microscopy (TEM) and atomic force microscopy, respectively. The spherical and cylindrical morphologies observed for the metalated BCPs corresponded to those observed for the metal-free BCPs. The products from the pyrolysis of the BCPs in bulk were also characterized by TEM, powder X-ray diffraction, and energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy, which indicated that the FePt NPs formed exist in an fct phase with average particle sizes of ca. 4–8 nm within a carbonaceous matrix. A comparison of the pyrolysis behavior of the metalated BCP (<b>PM3</b>), the metalated <b>P4VP</b> homopolymer (<b>PM5</b>), and the molecular model organometallic complex revealed the importance of using a nanostructured BCP approach for the synthesis of ferromagnetic FePt NPs with a smaller average NP size and a close to 1:1 Fe/Pt stoichiometric ratio