Predictors of Nodal and Metastatic Failure in Early Stage Non-Small Cell Lung Cancer after Stereotactic Body Radiation Therapy

Introduction/Background Many early-stage non-small cell lung cancer (ES-NSCLC) patients undergoing stereotactic body radiation therapy (SBRT) develop metastases, which is associated with poor outcomes. We sought to identify factors predictive of metastases after lung SBRT and created a risk stratification tool. Materials and Methods We included 363 patients with ES-NSCLC who received SBRT; median follow-up was 5.8 years. The following patient and tumor factors were retrospectively analyzed for their association with metastases (defined as nodal and/or distant failure): sex; age; lobe involved; centrality; previous NSCLC; smoking status; gross tumor volume (GTV); T-stage; histology; dose; minimum, maximum, and mean GTV dose; and parenchymal lung failure. A metastasis risk-score linear-model using beta coefficients from a multivariate Cox model was built. Results A total of 111/406 (27.3%) lesions metastasized. GTV volume and dose were significantly associated with metastases on univariate and multivariate Cox proportional hazards modeling (p<0.001 and HR=1.02 per mL, p<0.05 and HR=0.99 per Gy, respectively). Histology, T-stage, centrality, lung parenchymal failures, and previous NSCLC were not associated with development of metastasis. A metastasis risk-score model using GTV volume and prescription dose was built: [risk score=(0.01611 x GTV)–(0.00525 x dose (BED10))]. Two risk-score cutoffs separating the cohort into low-, medium-, and high-risk subgroups were examined. The risk-score identified significant differences in time to metastases between low-, medium-, and high-risk patients (p<0.001), with 3-year estimates of 81.1%, 63.8%, and 38%, respectively. Conclusion GTV volume and radiation dose are associated with time to metastasis and may be used to identify patients at higher risk of metastasis after lung SBRT

Favouritism: exploring the 'uncontrolled' spaces of the leadership experience

In this paper, we argue that a focus on favouritism magnifies a central ethical ambiguity in leadership, both conceptually and in practice. The social process of favouritism can even go unnoticed, or misrecognised if it does not manifest in a form in which it can be either included or excluded from what is (collectively interpreted as) leadership. The leadership literature presents a tension between what is an embodied and relational account of the ethical, on the one hand, and a more dispassionate organisational ‘justice’ emphasis, on the other hand. We conducted 23 semi-structured interviews in eight consultancy companies, four multinationals and four internationals. There were ethical issues at play in the way interviewees thought about favouritism in leadership episodes. This emerged in the fact that they were concerned with visibility and conduct before engaging in favouritism. Our findings illustrate a bricolage of ethical justifications for favouritism, namely utilitarian, justice, and relational. Such findings suggest the ethical ambiguity that lies at the heart of leadership as a concept and a practice

Structure-based functional inference of hypothetical proteins from Mycoplasma hyopneumoniae

Enzootic pneumonia caused by Mycoplasma hyopneumoniae is a major constraint to efficient pork production throughout the world. This pathogen has a small genome with 716 coding sequences, of which 418 are homologous to proteins with known functions. However, almost 42% of the 716 coding sequences are annotated as hypothetical proteins. Alternative methodologies such as threading and comparative modeling can be used to predict structures and functions of such hypothetical proteins. Often, these alternative methods can answer questions about the properties of a model system faster than experiments. In this study, we predicted the structures of seven proteins annotated as hypothetical in M. hyopneumoniae, using the structure-based approaches mentioned above. Three proteins were predicted to be involved in metabolic processes, two proteins in transcription and two proteins where no function could be assigned. However, the modeled structures of the last two proteins suggested experimental designs to identify their functions. Our findings are important in diminishing the gap between the lack of annotation of important metabolic pathways and the great number of hypothetical proteins in the M. hyopneumoniae genome

Double jeopardy:subordinates' worldviews and poor performance as predictors of abusive supervision

Purpose - To test a moderated mediation model where a positive relationship between subordinates’ perceptions of a dangerous world—the extent to which an individual views the world as a dangerous place—and supervisory abuse is mediated by their submission to authority figures, and that this relationship is heightened for more poorly performing employees. Design/Methodology/Approach - Data were obtained from 173 subordinates and 45 supervisors working in different private sector organizations in Pakistan. Findings - Our model was supported. It appears that subordinates’ dangerous worldviews are positively associated with their perceptions of abusive supervision and that this is because such views are likely to lead to greater submission to authority figures. But this is only for those employees who are performing more poorly. Implications - We highlight the possibility that individual differences (worldviews, attitudes to authority figures, and performance levels) may lead employees to become victims of abusive supervision. As such, our research informs organizations on how they may better support supervisors in managing effectively their subordinate relationships and, in particular, subordinate poor performance. Originality/Value - We add to recent work exploring subordinate-focused antecedents of abusive supervision, finding support for the salience of the previously untested constructs of individual worldviews, authoritarian submission, and individual job performance. In so doing we also extend research on dangerous worldviews into a new organizational setting. Finally, our research takes place within a new Pakistani context, adding to the burgeoning non-US based body of empirical work into the antecedents and consequences of abusive supervision

Burnout in Organizational Life

Burnout is a psychological response to work stress that is characterized by emotional exhaustion, depersonalization, and reduced feelings of personal accomplishment. In this paper, we review the burnout literature from 1993 to present, identifying important trends that have characterized the literature. We focus our attention on theoretical models that explain the process of burnout, the measurement of burnout, means of reducing burnout, and directions for the future of burnout research.Yeshttps://us.sagepub.com/en-us/nam/manuscript-submission-guideline