The relationship between work-family conflict and work-related outcomes: evidence from China’s new-generation employees

Existing studies have tried to depict the intriguing features of the work-family conflicts among Chinese employees, but very little has been done to explore the extent of such conflicts for China’s new-generation employees who were born after 1980, and how this is linked with their level of work engagement and turnover. Drawing on a sample of 266 young employees in China, this study examines the relationships between the degree of work-family conflict (WFC) for China’s new-generation employees and their work engagement and turnover intention. Based on the stressor-strain-outcomes framework, the paper makes effort to address this important research gap. The regression analysis results revalidate the dynamic ‘WFC-work engagement-turnover intention’ construct and shows that work engagement can be an effective mediator. Our finding challenges the conventional gendered discourse of WFC for Chinese employees, but it can by no means signify the arrival of a gender equality era

Enzymatic Transesterification of Ethyl Ferulate with Fish Oil and Reaction Optimization by Response Surface Methodology

Ispitana je enzimska transesterifikacija ulja dobivenog iz jetre bakalara etil ferulatom (EF), primjenom katalizatora Novozym® 435. Svrha je rada bila istražiti mogućnost primjene ove sinteze u industrijskoj proizvodnji feruloil ribljeg ulja. Produkti reakcije karakterizirani su modificiranom HPLC-ESI-TOF-MS metodom. Ispitan je utjecaj dodatka glicerola na sastav nastalih feruloil acilglicerola. Biokonverzija EF bila je kudikamo veća u prisutnosti glicerola, a osobito s povećanjem udjela nastalog feruloil ribljeg ulja. Stoga je radi optimiranja reakcije u sustav dodana ekvimolarna količina glicerola. Ispitan je zajednički utjecaj temperature (od 40 do 70 °C), vremena reakcije (1-5 dana), udjela enzima (2-20 %) i molarnog omjera ribljeg ulja i EF (1-5). Primjenom metode odzivnih površina određeni su najpogodniji parametri za maksimalni prinos feruolil ribljeg ulja, i to: temperatura od 70 °C, udjel enzima od 4,3 %, molarni omjer supstrata od 4,7 i vrijeme reakcije od 5 dana. Pri tim je uvjetima postignut udjel EF od 92,4 %, feruloil ribljeg ulja od 80,4 %, a smanjen udjel nusprodukata na samo 11,4 %.The enzymatic transesterification of ethyl ferulate (EF) with fish oil from cod liver was investigated with Novozym® 435 as catalyst under solvent-free conditions. The purpose of the study is to evaluate the synthesis system for the production of feruloyl fish oil in industry. The modified HPLC method was first set up to characterise the reaction products together with liquid chromatography electrospray time-of-flight mass spectrometry (HPLC-ESI-TOF-MS). The influence of the addition of glycerol to the system on the feruloyl acylglycerol profile was investigated in terms of transesterification performance. The bioconversion rate of EF can be significantly increased with the increased formation of feruloyl fish oil products when appropriate amount of glycerol is present in the reaction. Therefore, an equivalent molar amount of glycerol was added to EF for the practical optimization of the system. The mutual effects of temperature (40 to 70 °C), reaction time (1 to 5 days), enzyme load (2 to 20 %) and molar ratio of fish oil and EF in the substrate (1 to 5) were thus studied with the assistance of response surface methodology (RSM) for the purpose of maximizing the formation of feruloyl fish oil. The models were well fitted and verified. The optimized conditions were found to be: temperature 70 °C, enzyme load 4.3 %, substrate ratio 4.7, and reaction time 5 days. Under these conditions, the maximum conversion of EF reached 92.4 %, and the formation of feruloyl fish oil reached 80.4 %, but the formation of by-product was minimized to 11.4 % only

Leave or not to leave? the impact of managerial work-life support and work engagement on the outcomes of work-to-life conflict for China’s new generation employees

This paper explores how work engagement and managerial work-life support can influence the relationship between work-to-life conflict and turnover intention for China’s new generation employees. Drawing on job demand-resources (JD-R) theory and time-lagged survey data, we developed a moderated mediation model which reveals the mediating effect of work engagement on the relationship between work-to-life conflict and turnover intention, and the moderation effect of managerial work-life support on the relationship between work-to-life conflict and work engagement. The findings show that work engagement serves as a personal resource for new generation employees to buffer the negative impact of work-life conflict on turnover intention, and managerial work-life support serves as a key job resource to influence the mediating effect of work engagement when work-life conflict occurs. Research contributions, implications, and limitations are discussed

Total Replacement of Dietary Fish Oil with a Blend of Vegetable Oils in the Marine Herbivorous Teleost, Siganus canaliculatus

To investigate the feasibility of total replacement of dietary fish oil with vegetable oils (VO) and the optimal dietary polyunsaturated fatty acid (PUFA) level in the marine herbivorous teleost Siganus canaliculatus, six isonitrogenous (32 %) and isolipidic (8 %) diets were formulated. Control diet (FO) used fish oil as lipid source, whereas diets VO1-VO5 contained various blends of palm, soybean, rapeseed and linseed oils, in which the dietary PUFA levels were 42.0 %, 38.2 %, 33.8 %, 29.9 % and 27.1 %, respectively. After S. canaliculatus juveniles were fed with the diets for 9 weeks, their growth performance exhibited no significant difference among the dietary groups. The tissue fatty acid profiles in liver and fillet generally reflected the dietary fatty acid compositions, and showed no significant difference among the VO dietary groups. The results suggested that dietary fish oil can be replaced completely by VO without affecting their growth performance. Concerning the effects of the dietary FA profile on the survival rate, HSI and VSI, and PUFA composition in fillets, diets VO1 and VO2 were more favorable compared with diets VO3–VO5. Considering the availability and cost of the VOs, diet VO2 was recommended for practical use in S. canaliculatus

Investigation on Internal Short Circuit Identification of Lithium-Ion Battery Based on Mean-Difference Model and Recursive Least Square Algorithm

Electric vehicles powered by lithium-ion batteries take advantages for urban transportation. However, the safety of lithium-ion battery needs to be improved. Self-induced internal short circuit of lithium-ion batteries is a serious problem which may cause battery thermal runaway. Accurate and fast identification of internal short circuit is critical, while difficult for lithium-ion battery management system. In this study, the influences of the parameters of significance test on the performance of an algorithm for internal short circuit identification are evaluated experimentally. The designed identification is based on the mean-difference model and the recursive least square algorithm. First, the identification method is presented. Then, two characteristic parameters are determined. Subsequently, the parameters of the significance calculation are optimized based on the measured data. Finally, the effectiveness of the method for the early stage internal short circuit detection is studied by an equivalent experiment. The results indicate that the detection time can be shortened significantly via a proper configuration of the parameters for the significance test

Common mechanisms underlying axonal transport deficits in neurodegenerative diseases: a mini review

Many neurodegenerative diseases including Alzheimer’s disease, Parkinson’s disease, and amyotrophic lateral sclerosis are characterized by the accumulation of pathogenic proteins and abnormal localization of organelles. These pathological features may be related to axonal transport deficits in neurons, which lead to failures in pathological protein targeting to specific sites for degradation and organelle transportation to designated areas needed for normal physiological functioning. Axonal transport deficits are most likely early pathological events in such diseases and gradually lead to the loss of axonal integrity and other degenerative changes. In this review, we investigated reports of mechanisms underlying the development of axonal transport deficits in a variety of common neurodegenerative diseases, such as Alzheimer’s disease, amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, Parkinson’s disease and Huntington’s disease to provide new ideas for therapeutic targets that may be used early in the disease process. The mechanisms can be summarized as follows: (1) motor protein changes including expression levels and post-translational modification alteration; (2) changes in microtubules including reducing stability and disrupting tracks; (3) changes in cargoes including diminished binding to motor proteins. Future studies should determine which axonal transport defects are disease-specific and whether they are suitable therapeutic targets in neurodegenerative diseases