A Multilevel Study Of Supportive Leadership And Individual Work Outcomes: The Mediating Roles Of Team Cooperation, Job Satisfaction, And Team Commitment

Due to increasing empowerment in work teams, team leaders’ supportive role in helping team members perform their tasks is deemed important. The present study aimed at exploring the multilevel dynamics involving team leaders’ supportive leadership and individual work outcomes. Longitudinal survey data were collected from 536 employees in 69 teams of a large engineering company located in South Korea. The results of multilevel structural equation modeling showed that individuals’ perceptions of supportive leadership were positively related to their subsequent task performance, and that this relationship was mediated by team commitment. The relationship between individual-level perceptions of supportive leadership and organizational citizenship behavior (OCB) was mediated by job satisfaction and team commitment. On the other hand, team cooperation mediated the relationship between team-level perceptions of supportive leadership and OCB. These findings provide meaningful insights into multilevel mediation processes involving different levels of supportive leadership perceptions

Recurrent Uterine Cervical Carcinoma: Spectrum of Imaging Findings

Uterine cervical carcinoma is one of the most common malignant tumors occurring in females. After primary treatment, patients are usually followed up with CT or MRI and the findings of these modalities may be the first sign of recurrent disease. Because earlier additional treatment by chemotherapy or radiation therapy may improve the prognosis, the early detection of recurrent cervical carcinoma is clinically important. In this article, we review the CT and MR imaging findings of recurrent uterine cervical carcinoma, and assign them to one of four groups: a) recurrence at the primary site, involving the intrapelvic organs, b) extension to the pelvic side-wall, c) metastases to pelvic and extrapelvic lymph nodes, or d) metastases to distant organs. A further contribution of CT and MR imaging is the detection of hydronephrosis due to ureteral obstruction. The cases in each group are illustrated and discussed, and since an awareness of the spectrum of imaging findings of recurrent cervical carcinoma is likely to lead to its early detection, radiologists should be familiar with the information presented

Direct experimental observation of the molecular Jeff=3/2 ground state in the lacunar spinel GaTa4Se8

Strong spin-orbit coupling lifts the degeneracy of t2g orbitals in 5d transition-metal systems, leaving a Kramers doublet and quartet with effective angular momentum of Jeff = 1/2 and 3/2, respectively. These spin-orbit entangled states can host exotic quantum phases such as topological Mott state, unconventional superconductivity, and quantum spin liquid. The lacunar spinel GaTa4Se8 was theoretically predicted to form the molecular Jeff = 3/2 ground state. Experimental verification of its existence is an important first step to exploring the consequences of the Jeff = 3/2 state. Here, we report direct experimental evidence of the Jeff = 3/2 state in GaTa4Se8 by means of excitation spectra of resonant inelastic x-rays scattering at the Ta L3 and L2 edges. We found that the excitations involving the Jeff = 1/2 molecular orbital were suppressed only at the Ta L2 edge, manifesting the realization of the molecular Jeff = 3/2 ground state in GaTa4Se8.Comment: 25 pages, 5 figures + Supplementary Materials [10 pages, 5 figures

An Antinuclear Antibody-Negative Patient With Lupus Nephritis

Systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) is a typical autoimmune disease that's characterized by various autoantibodies to nuclear and cytoplasmic antigens. The presence of antinuclear antibodies (ANA) in serum is generally considered a decisive diagnostic sign of SLE. However, a small subset of SLE patients who had the typical clinical features of SLE was reported to show persistently negative ANA tests. Our report describes a 16-yr-old female who presented with the clinical manifestations of SLE such as malar rash, photosensitivity, arthritis, lymphopenia, pericarditis and proteinuria. The serum autoantibodies were all negative and renal biopsy showed that the histopathological changes of immune complex mediated the focal segmental necrotizing glomerulonephritis with crescent formation. She was treated with monthly pulse cyclophosphamide along with corticosteroids. During the 2-yr follow-up period, the proteinuria was markedly decreased and all of the ANA and anti-double stranded DNA antibody tests were negative. This case suggests that ANA may not be required in the pathogenesis of lupus nephritis

Changes of Serum Cytokines After the Long Term Immunotherapy with Japanese Hop Pollen Extracts

Japanese hop (Hop J) pollen has been considered as one of the major causative pollen allergens in the autumn season. We developed a new Hop J immunotherapy extract in collaboration with Allergopharma (Reinbeck, Germany) and investigated immunologic mechanisms during 3 yr immunotherapy. Twenty patients (13 asthma with rhinitis and 7 hay fever) were enrolled from Ajou University Hospital. Sera were collected before, 1 yr, and 3 yr after the immunotherapy. Changes of serum specific IgE, IgG1, and IgG4 levels to Hop J pollen extracts and serum IL-10, IL-12, TGFβ1 and soluble CD23 levels were monitored by ELISA. Skin reactivity and airway hyper-responsiveness to methacholine were improved during the study period. Specific IgG1 increased at 1 yr then decreased again at 3 yr, and specific IgG4 levels increased progressively (p<0.05, respectively), whereas total and specific IgE levels showed variable responses with no statistical significance. IL-10, TGF-β1 and soluble CD23 level began to decrease during first year and then further decreased during next two years with statistical significances. (p<0.05, respectively). In conclusion, these findings suggested the favorable effect of long term immunotherapy with Hop J pollen extracts can be explained by lowered IgE affinity and generation of specific IgG4, which may be mediated by IL-10 and TGF-β1

Detailed analysis of phenotypes and genotypes in megalencephaly-capillary malformation-polymicrogyria syndrome caused by somatic mosaicism of PIK3CA mutations

Abstract Background Megalencephaly-capillary malformation-polymicrogyria syndrome (MCAP) belongs to a group of conditions called the PIK3CA-related overgrowth spectrum (PROS). The varying phenotypes and low frequencies of each somatic mosaic variant make confirmative diagnosis difficult. We present 12 patients who were diagnosed clinically and genetically with MCAP. Genomic DNA was extracted mainly from the skin of affected lesions, also from peripheral blood leukocytes and buccal epithelial cells, and target panel sequencing using high-depth next-generation sequencing technology was performed. Results Macrocephaly was present in 11/12 patients (92%). All patients had normal body asymmetry. Cutaneous vascular malformation was found in 10/12 patients (83%). Megalencephaly or hemimegalencephaly was noted in all 11 patients who underwent brain magnetic resonance imaging. Arnold–Chiari type I malformation was also seen in 10 patients. Every patient was identified as having pathogenic or likely pathogenic variants of the PIK3CA gene. The variant allele frequency (VAF) ranged from 6.3 to 35.3%, however, there was no direct correlation between VAF and the severity of associated anomalies. c.2740G > A (p.Gly914Arg) was most commonly found, in four patients (33%). No malignancies developed during follow-up periods. Conclusions This is the first and largest cohort of molecularly diagnosed patients with MCAP in Korea. Targeted therapy with a PI3K-specific inhibitor, alpelisib, has shown successful outcomes in patients with PROS in a pilot clinical study, so early diagnosis for genetic counseling and timely introduction of emerging treatments might be achieved in the future through optimal genetic testing