Search

Background The benefits of automated dispensing cabinets (ADCs) need to be assessed, given the different healthcare practice models. This study aimed to compare the rates of medication errors, including prescription, dispensing, and administrative, before and after using ADCs in intensive care units. Methods The prescription, dispensing, and administrative error data before and after the adoption of ADCs were retrospectively collected from the medication error report system. The severity of medication errors was classified according to the National Coordinating Council for Medication Error Reporting and Prevention guidelines. The study outcome was the rate of medication errors. A descriptive statistical analysis was performed to estimate the rates of medication errors before and after the adoption of ADCs, and Fisher’s exact test was to compare them. Results After the adoption of ADCs in the intensive care units, the rates of prescription and dispensing errors reduced from 3.03 to 1.75 per 100,000 prescriptions and 3.87 to 0 per 100,000 dispensations, respectively. The administrative error rate decreased from 0.046% to 0.026%. The ADCs decreased National Coordinating Council for Medication Error Reporting and Prevention category B and D errors by 75% and category C errors by 43%. Conclusions To improve medication safety, multidisciplinary collaboration and strategies, such as the use of automated dispensing cabinets, education, and training programs from a systems perspective, are warranted.

Therapeutic drug monitoring is essential for dosing pharmaceuticals with narrow therapeutic windows. Nevertheless, standard methods are imprecise and involve invasive/resource-intensive procedures with long turnaround times. Overcoming these limitations, we present a microneedle-based electrochemical aptamer biosensing patch (μNEAB-patch) that minimally invasively probes the interstitial fluid (ISF) and renders correlated, continuous, and real-time measurements of the circulating drugs’ pharmacokinetics. The μNEAB-patch is created following an introduced low-cost fabrication scheme, which transforms a shortened clinical-grade needle into a high-quality gold nanoparticle-based substrate for robust aptamer immobilization and efficient electrochemical signal retrieval. This enables the reliable in vivo detection of a wide library of ISF analytes—especially those with nonexistent natural recognition elements. Accordingly, we developed μNEABs targeting various drugs, including antibiotics with narrow therapeutic windows (tobramycin and vancomycin). Through in vivo animal studies, we demonstrated the strong correlation between the ISF/circulating drug levels and the device’s potential clinical use for timely prediction of total drug exposure.

Low-lying triplet metal-to-ligand charge transfer (3MLCT) transitions of osmium complexes induced by spin–orbit coupling (SOC) are promising for extending the photocurrent response in dye-sensitized solar cells. In this study, we present a new osmium complex (CYC-33O), incorporating a 2-thiohexyl-3,4-ethylenedioxythiophene functionalized bipyridyl ancillary ligand to red-shift the absorption and enhance the absorbance of singlet and triplet metal-to-ligand charge transfer (1MLCT and 3MLCT) transitions. Time-dependent density functional theory (TDDFT) calculations show that the reinforced 1MLCT and 3MLCT transitions of CYC-33O are mainly from osmium to the 4,4′,4′′-tricarboxy-2,2′:6′,2′′-terpyridine anchoring ligand, increasing the heterogeneous electron transfer between CYC-33O and TiO2. The device sensitized with CYC-33O exhibits panchromatic conversion beyond 1000 nm, yielding a photocurrent density of 19.38 mA cm−2, which is much higher than those of the cells based on the ruthenium analogue (CYC-33R) and model osmium complex (Os-3) sensitizers.

This study examines the ionosphere response to gravitational forces of the lunar phase and dynamical disturbances of the stratospheric sudden warmings (SSWs). The total electron content (TEC) of global ionosphere maps is employed to examine responses of the equatorial ionization anomaly (EIA) crests to lunar phases and twelve SSW events during 2000–2013. The most prominent feature in the ionosphere is the EIA, characterized by two enhanced TEC crests at low latitudes straddling the magnetic equator, which can be used to observe ionospheric plasma dynamics and structures. Results show that the EIA crest appearance time on new/full moons (first/third quarters) leads (lags) that of the overall 14-year average, which causes a pattern of TEC morning enhancements (suppressions) and afternoon suppressions (enhancements). A statistical analysis shows that SSWs can also significantly cause the early appearance of EIA crests, regardless of the lunar phase. Thus, both lunar phase and SSWs can significantly modulate the appearance time of EIA crest and ionospheric plasma dynamics and structures.

BACKGROUND/PURPOSE The in-hospital length of stay (LOS) among very-low-birth-weight (VLBW, BW

Understanding scientific models and practicing scientific modeling have been emphasized and advocated in science learning. Although teachers have been perceived as shaping their students’ understanding of the nature of science, they have been recognized for their lack of understanding of scientific models. This study explores middle school science teachers’ and ninth-grade students’ performance in terms of their understanding of scientific models and their construction and evaluation of these models. The study participants comprised 95 science teachers and 608 ninth-grade students. To investigate the students’ understanding of scientific models, they were asked to fill out a Students’ Understanding of Models in Science survey. To explore the students’ model construction and evaluation, they were asked to explain three different magnetic phenomena and to provide the criteria they used to evaluate the scientific models. The results show that the teachers’ performance on these three aspects was significantly better than that of the students. However, this study indicated that teachers have similar problems as students in terms of understanding theoretical representations of scientific models and practicing model construction. Moreover, those teachers who had a better understanding that scientific models are not the replica of target events could develop higher levels of models while students with more understanding that scientific models are the replica of target events were able to develop higher levels of models. The findings of the study contribute to a better understanding of the gap between teachers and students, which will be crucial for designing a better modeling-based curriculum.

Based on uncertainty management theory (Lind & Van den Bos, 2002; Van den Bos & Lind, 2002), we explored whether uncertainty in the workplace (role ambiguity) as well as off the workplace (economic hardship) moderates the relationship between abusive supervision and subordinates' job burnout. Using survey method, we obtained 458 valid responses from employees in a transportation company in Taiwan. The results of moderated hierarchical regression showed that both role ambiguity and economic hardship induce the positive relationship between abusive supervision and subordinates' job burnout. Abusive supervision related more strongly to job burnout when subordinates perceived higher role ambiguity (higher uncertainty) or higher economic hardship (higher uncertainty). As predicted, high uncertainty increases subordinates' attentions to the injustice from abusive supervision and thus strengthens the negative psychological consequences of abusive supervision, regardless of whether the source of uncertainty corresponds to the source of (in)justice perception.

This study contributes to the understanding of organizational citizenship behavior (OCB) and extending the application of institutional anomie theory (IAT). Employing a multilevel moderation framework, this paper explored the influence of employees' perceived institutional importance to their demonstration of OCB and the moderating impacts of organizational norms on this relationship. Utilizing data of 243 employees from 34 banks in the Philippines, results of the hierarchical linear modeling (HLM) analysis revealed the positive influence of the importance of the economy, family, polity, and religion on employees' citizenship acts. Furthermore, goal emphasis and socio-emotional support have significant interacting effects on the association between perceived institutional importance and OCB.

The best-known examples of smart, responsive hydrogels derive from poly( N-isopropylacrylamide) (PNIPAM) cross-linked polymer networks. These hydrogels undergo volume phase transitions (VPTs) triggered by temperature, chemical, and/or environmental changes. PNIPAM hydrogels can undergo more than 50-fold volume changes within ∼1 μs intervals. Studies have tried to elucidate the molecular mechanism of these extraordinarily large responses. Nevertheless, the molecular reaction coordinates that drive the VPT remain unclear. Using visible nonresonance Raman temperature-jump spectroscopy, we determined the molecular ordering of this VPT. The PNIPAM hydrophobic isopropyl and methylene groups dehydrate with time constants of 109 ± 64 and 104 ± 44 ns, initiating the volume collapse of PNIPAM. The subsequent dehydration of the PNIPAM amide groups is significantly slower, as our group previously discovered (360 ± 85 ns). This determination of the ordering of the molecular reaction coordinate of the PNIPAM VPT enables the development of the next generation of super-responsive materials.

Parkinson’s disease (PD) is characterized by accumulations of toxic α-synuclein aggregates in vulnerable neuronal populations in the brainstem, midbrain and cerebral cortex. Recent findings suggest that α-synuclein pathology can be propagated transneuronally, but the underlying molecular mechanisms are unknown. Advances in the genetics of rare early-onset familial PD indicate that increased production and/or reduced autophagic clearance of α-synuclein can cause PD. The cause of the most common late-onset PD is unclear, but may involve metabolic compromise and oxidative stress upstream of α-synuclein accumulation. As evidence, the lipid peroxidation product 4-hydroxynonenal (HNE) is elevated in the brain during normal aging and moreso in brain regions afflicted with α-synuclein pathology. Here we report that HNE increases aggregation of endogenous α-synuclein in primary neurons, and triggers the secretion of extracellular vesicles (EVs) containing cytotoxic oligomeric α-synuclein species. EVs released from HNE-treated neurons are internalized by healthy neurons which as a consequence degenerate. Levels of endogenously generated HNE are elevated in cultured cells overexpressing human α-synuclein, and EVs released from those cells are toxic to neurons. The EV-associated α-synuclein is located both inside the vesicles, and on their surface where it plays a role in EV internalization by neurons. Upon internalization, EVs harboring pathogenic α-synuclein are transported both anterogradely and retrogradely within axons. Focal injection of EVs containing α-synuclein into the striatum of wild type mice results in spread of synuclein pathology to anatomically connected brain regions. Our findings suggest a scenario for late-onset PD in which lipid peroxidation promotes intracellular accumulation and then extrusion of EVs containing toxic α-synuclein species; the EVs are then internalized by adjacent neurons, so propagating the neurodegenerative process.

Applying cultural schema activation view (Chiu & Hong, 2007) to pan-familism, the current study seeks to explore and answer the following three questions regarding the leader’s role in employee psy...

Drawing on Gardner et al.’s (2009) model of leader’s emotional labor and authenticity and Cote’s (2005) social interaction model of emotion regulation and work strain, we explore how leader’s surfa...

The main purpose of this study was to bridge the gap between how scientists practice and how students learn science. To achieve this, an innovative student-centered curriculum was designed to teach 42 undergraduate students. The program involved scaffolding activities, an interactive computer simulation, and reflection on scientific modeling criteria to address the students’ difficulties in reasoning at the microscopic level and the scientific evaluation of their models during their development of an explanatory model of magnetism. To address the students’ difficulties in reasoning at the microscopic level and the scientific evaluation of their models during their development of an explanatory model of magnetism, the program involved scaffolding activities, an interactive computer simulation, and reflection on scientific modeling criteria. The results of the study indicated that more than half the students developed scientific and coherent microscopic N-S dipole models to explain observed magnetic phenomena, and students’ understanding of the nature of models was significantly enhanced after the instruction. This study contributes to modeling theory and the methods that can help students self-develop scientific models of magnetism as opposed to rote learning. Key words: explanatory models, magnetism, modeling, scientific inquiry, undergraduate students.

This paper presents an area-efficient and fast-response CMOS Hall sensor system for a camera autofocus system. The prototype comprises of a Hall sensor and a capacitively-coupled instrumentation amplifier (CCIA). The Hall sensor adopts the spinning current technique to mitigate the Hall element offset. In the CCIA, the T-capacitor network is employed considering the capacitor matching requirement and the chip area. The amplifier offset is further suppressed by a ripple-reduction loop. This chip is measured with Helmholtz coil, Solenoid, and NMR system. Implemented in a 0.18-μm CMOS process, it achieves 564 μT rms in 180-kHz BW. The linearity error is < 0.5% over ±100-mT range. The power consumption is 1.19 mW, and the area is 0.12 mm2.

Using the trickle-down model as the theoretical foundation, we explored whether subordinates' perceived supervisory non-work support (subordinates' PSNS) mediates the relationship between supervisors' perception of higher-level managers' non-work support (supervisors' PSNS) and subordinates' organizational citizenship behaviors. Using dyadic data collected from 132 employees and their immediate supervisors, we found support for the aforementioned mediation process. Furthermore, supervisors' perceived in-group/out-group membership of subordinates moderated the aforementioned supervisors' PSNS-subordinates' PSNS relationship, such that this relationship is stronger for out-group subordinates. Theoretical and practical implications and future research directions are discussed.

This work reports results from the interactions of a series of monovalent and divalent cations with a triblock copolymer, poly(ethylene oxide)-b-poly(propylene oxide)-b-poly(ethylene oxide) (PEO-PPO-PEO). Phase transition temperatures of the polymer in the presence of chloride salts with six monovalent and eight divalent cations were measured using an automated melting point apparatus. The polymer undergoes a two-step phase transition, consisting of micellization of the polymer followed by aggregation of the micelles, in the presence of all the salts studied herein. The results suggest that hydration of cations plays a key role in determining the interactions between the cations and the polymer. The modulation of the phase transition temperature of the polymer by cations can be explained as a balance between three interactions: direct binding of cations to the oxygen in the polymer chains, cations sharing one water molecule with the polymer in their hydration layer, and cations interacting with the polymer via two water molecules. Monovalent cations Na(+), K(+), Rb(+), and Cs(+) do not bind to the polymer, while Li(+) and NH4(+) and all the divalent cations investigated including Mg(2+), Ca(2+), Sr(2+), Ba(2+), Co(2+), Ni(2+), Cu(2+), and Cd(2+) bind to the polymer. The effects of the cations correlate well with their hydration thermodynamic properties. Mechanisms for cation-polymer interactions are discussed.

We investigated the differential relationships between abusive supervision and two emotional labor strategies used by subordinates (surface acting and deep acting). Furthermore, we examined whether subordinates’ openness personality moderated the above relationships. Using the questionnaire survey method, we collected data from 210 employees in China. The results of hierarchical regression showed that abusive supervision related positively to surface acting (regulating facial expression) but negatively to deep acting (regulating inner feeling). Openness personality moderated the relationships between abusive supervision and the two emotional labor strategies, such that the relationships were stronger for employees with lower openness. Findings of our study contribute to the literature on workplace emotions and negative leadership.

Summary We surveyed full-time employees of ongoing mentoring relationships toinvestigaterelationships among mentors’ perceived organizational support (POS), the extent of mentoring functions proteges received, and proteges’ POS. Moreover, we examined the moderating role of mentors’ altruistic personality in the relationship between mentors’ POS and mentoring functions received. Results showed that mentors’ POS was positively related to the extent of mentoring proteges reported receiving, which was then related positively to proteges’ POS.Furthermore, the extent of mentoring received partially mediated the relationship between mentors’ POS and proteges’ POS. We also found that mentors’ altruistic personality moderated the positive relationship between mentors’ POS and the extent of mentoring received such that this relationship was stronger for low altruistic mentors. Theoretical and practical implications of the findings are discussed. Copyright © 2013 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

Our study aimed to identify two types of stressors from supervisors: abusive supervision (AS) and workload demands from supervisors (WDS). AS reflects the relationship dimension of supervisor-related stressors, and WDS reflects the task dimension of supervisor-related stressors. In Study 1, we attempted to distinguish between AS and WDS. The results of confirmatory factor analysis showed that AS and WDS are two distinct dimensions of supervisor-related stressors. In Study 2, we utilized job demands–resources model and investigated whether AS and WDS can uniquely predict subordinates’ emotional exhaustion (EE). We also explored whether perceived job characteristics (PJCs) have differential moderating effects on the relationships between the two dimensions of supervisor-related stressors (AS and WDS) and EE. Consistent with our predictions, the results showed that both AS and WDS have incremental predictive effects on EE after controlling for the effect of the other. The results also revealed that PJCs weaken the WDS–EE relationship, not the AS–EE relationship. We discussed the theoretical and practical implications at the end. Copyright © 2012 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

Based on Cheng's differential leadership theory, we investigated the relationship between a subordinate's loyalty to a supervisor (SLS) and the supervisor's benevolent leadership in Chinese organizations. We also explored two moderators of this relationship, the supervisor's altruistic personality and perceived organizational support (POS). Using survey research, we collected data from supervisor-subordinate dyads in Taiwan and made 167 valid observations. The results showed that SLS positively relates to the supervisor's benevolent behaviours; however, this relationship is diminished by the supervisor's altruistic personality and POS. That is, when the supervisor has a high level of altruistic personality or POS, the association of SLS with the supervisor's benevolent leadership is weaker.

This research examines the mediating role of emotions implicated in the multicultural experience—creativity link. We propose that when individuals are dealing with apparent cultural contradictions upon encountering two cultures simultaneously, mentally juxtaposing dissonant cultural stimuli could lower positive affect or increase negative affect, which could in turn induce a deeper level of cognitive processing of cultural discrepancies and inspire creativity. Two studies compared dual cultural exposure versus single cultural exposure among bicultural Singaporeans (Study 1) and compared self-relevant (jointly presenting local and foreign cultures) versus self-irrelevant (jointly presenting foreign cultures only) dual cultural exposure among monocultural Taiwanese (Study 2). As in past research, dual cultural exposure promotes creativity, particularly if one presented culture is self-relevant. Further, this effect was mediated by a less positive or a more negative emotional state. These findings illuminate the underlying influence of emotions activated by simultaneous exposure to diverse cultures.

The authors examined the relationship between subordinates' core self-evaluations and supervisors' abusive supervision. Furthermore, they examined whether subordinates' perceived coworker support and subordinates' susceptibility to emotional contagion moderated the relationship between supervisors' abusive supervision and subordinates' emotional exhaustion. They analyzed data from 290 subordinates who had immediate supervisors using hierarchal multiple regression. Results show that core self-evaluations were negatively related to abusive supervision, whereas abusive supervision was positively related to emotional exhaustion. Both perceived coworker support and susceptibility to emotional contagion moderated the relationship between abusive supervision and emotional exhaustion. It is surprising that the moderating effect of perceived coworker support showed an unexpected pattern such that a stronger relationship between abusive supervision and emotional exhaustion existed when coworker social support was high. The authors conclude with a discussion of these findings.

This paper reports on the preliminary experimental results of using polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS) to manufacture a visual pulsating heat pipe with length, width and internal diameter of 56 mm, 50 mm and 2 mm, respectively, including the manufacturing process, the vacuuming management for filling and packaging. The experiment used methanol and ethanol as working fluids. A fix filled ratio (about 60%) and different heating power values (3–8 W) were used to test the thermal performance. A high-speed video camera was used to record the working situation of the working fluid inside the channel. The results are discussed and analyzed. The experiment shows that methanol, in a vertical orientation, shows the most efficient results. When the heating power is 3 W, the thermal resistance is more than 4.5 °C/W below the value for ethanol as the working fluid. For a heating power of 4 W, the average temperature decreases to 15 °C in the evaporator. Also, gravity will have an impact on the PHP performance: the vertical orientation is better as compared to the horizontal orientation.

Paternalistic leadership (PL) is the prevalent leadership style in Chinese business organizations. With an approach similar to patriarchy, PL entails an evident and powerful authority that shows consideration for subordinates with moral leadership. Although PL is widespread in Chinese business organizations, very few studies have focused on this leadership style and those that have were simply conceptual analyses and not empirical studies. We sampled 543 subordinates from local businesses in Taiwan to investigate PL, Western transformational leadership, and subordinate responses to these two leadership styles. Our hypotheses were as follows: (1) PL has a significant and unique effect on subordinate responses compared to Western transformational leadership; (2) there exists an interaction between the three elements of PL (benevolence, morality, and authoritarianism) and subordinate responses; and (3) the authority orientation of a subordinate's traditionality has a moderating effect upon the relation between PL and subordinate responses. Statistical analyses generally supported these hypotheses. Directions for follow-up studies are offered and implications for leadership theory and practice are discussed.

Innovation is crucial to the success of organisations and is a core capability for their long-term survival. Creativity is the starting point of innovation. A number of studies have found that multicultural experiences can stimulate creativity. Nonetheless, the boundary conditions of this influence have yet to be fully elucidated. This study investigated whether one's regulatory focus moderates the relationship between multicultural experience and creativity. We adopted an experimental approach based on the manipulation of multicultural experience and regulatory focus with 120 students (study 1) and 120 executives (study 2) as participants. The results of evaluating their creativity indicated that multicultural experience exerts a significant influence on creativity. Furthermore, regulatory focus moderates the relationship between multicultural experience and creativity. These findings' on multicultural learning and creativity have important implications for human resource management and global learning.

The Silicon Dragon is a systematic study of the growth of high-tech giants in the Greater China Region, depicting the success story of the microelectronics industry in Taiwan. The book examines the government policies that acted as catalysts to the growth of high-tech industries in Taiwan, along with the roles of high-tech ‘incubators' and government-administered science parks. The authors provide case studies of high profile companies including Acer, Philips Semiconductors and Macronix International, and interviews with key decision makers to highlight the corporate strategies adopted in response to government policies and global commercial demand. Finally, insightful narratives on the birth and growth of a government-fostered strategic industry are provided, as is a synopsis of the Asian contribution to the evolution of the global microelectronics development.

The growth of highly crystalline rubrene thin films for organic field effect transistor (OFET) application remains a challenge. Here, we report on the vapor-deposited growth of rubrene films on the substrates made of cadmium arachidate (CdA) multilayers deposited onto SiO2/Si(100) via the Langmuir-Blodgett technique. The CdA films, containing 2n+1 layers, with integer n ranging from 0 to 4, are surface-terminated identically by the methyl group but exhibit the thickness-dependent morphology. The morphology and structure of both CdA and rubrene films are characterized by X-ray reflectivity (XRR), X-ray diffraction (XRD), near-edge X-ray absorption fine structure (NEXAFS) spectroscopy, and atomic force microscopy (AFM). Crystalline rubrene films, evidenced by XRD and marked by platelet features in AFM images, become observable when grown onto the CdA layer thicker than 5L. XRD data show that vertical ordering, that is, ordering along surface normal, of CdA multilayer substrates exerts a strong influence in promoting the crystalline growth of rubrene films. This promoted growth is not due to the surface energy of CdA layer but derived from the additional interaction localized between rubrene and CdA island sidewall and presumably strengthened by a close dimensional match between the a-axis of rubrene lattice and the layer spacing of CdA multilayer. The best OFET mobility is recorded for 9L CdA substrate and reaches 6.7 × 10(-2) cm(2) V(-1) s(-1), presumably limited by the roughness of the interface between CdA and rubrene films.

Our study aimed to identify two types of stressors from supervisors: abusive supervision (AS) and workload demands from supervisors (WDS). AS reflects the relationship dimension of supervisor-related stressors, and WDS reflects the task dimension of supervisor-related stressors. In Study 1, we attempted to distinguish between AS and WDS. The results of confirmatory factor analysis showed that AS and WDS are two distinct dimensions of supervisor-related stressors. In Study 2, we utilized job demands-resources model and investigated whether AS and WDS can uniquely predict subordinates' emotional exhaustion (EE). We also explored whether perceived job characteristics (PJCs) have differential moderating effects on the relationships between the two dimensions of supervisor-related stressors (AS and WDS) and EE. Consistent with our predictions, the results showed that both AS and WDS have incremental predictive effects on EE after controlling for the effect of the other. The results also revealed that PJCs weaken the WDS-EE relationship, not the AS-EE relationship. We discussed the theoretical and practical implications at the end.

Growing international research interest in negative-leadership behaviors prompts the need to examine whether measures of ineffective leadership developed in the United States are equivalent across countries outside the United States. B. J. Tepper's (2000) abusive supervision measure has been used widely inside and outside the United States and merits research attention on its construct equivalence across different cultural settings. The authors conducted a series of multigroup confirmatory factor analyses to investigate the measurement equivalence of this measure across Taiwan (N = 256) and the United States (N = 389). Configural invariance was established, suggesting that both U.S. and Taiwanese samples perceive abusive supervision as a single-factor concept. Furthermore, the establishment of partial metric invariance and partial scalar invariance suggests that the abusive supervision measure is applicable to crosscultural comparisons in latent means, construct variance, construct covariances, and unstandardized path coefficients with the caution that workers from different cultures calibrate their responses differently when answering some items.

Built-in self-test (BIST) is one of the most widely used design-for-testability (DFT) techniques, particularly for embedded random access memory (RAM). To ease the test and diagnosis flow, we have previously developed a synthesis compiler, called BRAINS which stands for BIST for RAM in Seconds. It possesses many nice features, such as accessibility, scalability, programmability, and flexibility, thereby improving the testability, yield, and reliability. However, for regular arrays, the conventional flow attaches a BIST circuit to each memory element, and scans in test patterns or performs sequential diagnosis, so is inefficient in terms of test time. In this work, we extend the BRAINS functions by taking advantage of the regular structure. With these extensions, the test and diagnosis flow becomes very simple. In the experiments on a 32-core array, the overall test time can be reduced by 6 to 23 times with only minor area overhead varying from 10% to 17%, as compared with the original BRAINS design.