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PurposeThe research on shared mental models (SMMs) focuses on the importance of all team members holding similar mental models to realize team performance. However, for a perceived decomposable task, it is not required for all team members to have similar mental models to achieve team performance. Moreover, unnecessary overlapping mental models among team members may engender information overloading, translating into suboptimal team performance. Absent from the current literature is an understanding of the factors that determine the minimal overlapping mental models required across specific members for team performance. The purpose of this study is to yield an understanding of these issues.Design/methodology/approachThis study highlights that the requirement to hold similar mental models across specific team members depends on the task decomposition mechanisms used: task complexity and decomposability, subtask assigned and layer, task modularity, workflow interdependence type and tool attributes.FindingsUnlike much prior research which measured the relationship between SMMs and team performance at the team level, our conceptualization suggests that the measurement of SMMs and team performance needs to be conducted across a team and subsets of the team or individuals depending on task complexity and decomposability. This current research offers an important viewpoint regarding when team members need to hold similar mental models to realize task performance.Originality/valueBy suggesting new insights into when mental models should be similar across specific team members, this research also provides understanding of why some empirical SMMs studies do not yield positive relationships between similar SMMs and team effectiveness while others do.

Purpose Organizations worldwide use virtual teams to cope with the COVID-19 pandemic and capitalize on distributed members' unique expertise to accomplish essential tasks. A critical reason that inhibits virtual team members from leveraging each other’s knowledge is a lack of psychological safety. Specifically, individuals are unwilling to speak out for fear of negative repercussions, such as embarrassment to one’s image and rejection from others in their teams. The purpose of this study is to advance the importance of distinct awareness (task knowledge and presence) enabled by information technologies in developing the psychological safety of men and women in virtual teams. Design/methodology/approach This study tested the hypotheses using a survey study of 94 participants from 19 graduate student virtual teams. Findings This study found that task knowledge awareness predicted psychological safety for men, whereas it was presence awareness for women. By demonstrating the role of awareness in promoting psychological safety for men and women in virtual teams, this study also sheds light on reducing online gender inequitable issues. Practical implications First, organizational managers need to incorporate gender when deciding the awareness type to promote psychological safety in virtual teams. For men, it is task knowledge awareness, whereas for women, it is presence awareness. Second, as there is a wide range of information technologies (ITs) available, managers need to identify if the provided ITs enable virtual team members to develop the specific type of knowledge awareness critical for psychological safety development. Third, managers can incorporate rewards and apply interventions at regular temporal periods to encourage team members to increase their online presence as well as question and share task-related content. Originality/value It is imperative to identify ways to encourage men and women working in virtual teams to speak up so that the expertise held by the members can be better leveraged. This study represents an important step in this direction.

There is a global demand for rapid diagnostic tests (RDTs) for Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19), and the interest in their clinical compliance is growing. In this study, we evaluated the clinical compliance of seven different severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) antigen RDTs. Nasopharyngeal/oropharyngeal swab specimens from COVID-19-confirmed cases and reverse-transcription PCR (RT-PCR) screening were used to evaluate the performance of seven RDTs. Using the RT-PCR and RDT results, we predicted the cycle threshold (Ct) of each target gene (E, RdRP, and N genes) which 50% (Ct50) and 95% (Ct95) detection rates were achieved in the RDTs. A total of 482 specimens were enrolled in our study: 316 specimens from COVID-19-confirmed cases and 166 RT-PCR-negative specimens. The median values of Ct50 and Ct95 for the seven RDTs were in the ranges of ranged 24.3–30.9 and 19.3–22.6 for E, 25.5–31.5 and 20.9–24.0 for RdRP, and 26.8–32.3 and 22.7–25.7 for N, respectively. The RDTs showed acceptable compliance only for specimens with high viral burdens (Ct < 20). However, the false-negative rate increased by more than 50% for most of the RDTs in low-viral burden specimens (Ct> 30). These results suggest that RDTs should not be used without molecular assays for COVID-19 screening for asymptomatic patients because of their high false-negative rates.

Background. Whether holotranscobalamin (holoTC) indicates B12 deficiency more sensitively than total vitamin B12 (B12) is unclear. This study is aimed at determining the impact of serum holoTC level as a risk factor for ischemic stroke and investigating its association with disease severity and short-term outcomes. Methods. Serum holoTC, total B12, and homocysteine levels were compared between 130 stroke patients and 138 healthy controls. Biomarker level correlations with disease severity and stroke functional outcomes were investigated. Results. holoTC levels were lower and homocysteine levels were higher in stroke patients than in healthy controls ( P < 0.05 ). The holoTC/total B12 ratio and homocysteine level significantly predicted ischemic stroke in the multivariable regression analysis ( P < 0.05 ). Along with hyperhomocysteinemia, patients more often had holoTC than total B12 deficiency (6.2% vs. 3.1%). holoTC levels negatively correlated with homocysteine levels (partial R -0.165, P < 0.05 ) in stroke patients in multiple linear regression analyses, but not total B12 levels. The holoTC level and holoTC/total B12 ratio, but not homocysteine and total B12 levels, negatively correlated with the National Institute of Health Stroke Scale (partial R , -0.405 and -0.207, respectively, P < 0.01 ). Conclusions. Measurements of serum holoTC levels combined with total B12 and homocysteine levels may provide valuable information for predicting ischemic stroke and its severity and short-term outcomes of ischemic stroke patients.

Objectives We compared the performance of a new interferon gamma release assay (IGRA) format assay, the ichroma™ COVID-19 IGRA (IGRA-SARS), with that of the widely used QuantiFERON SARS-CoV-2 ELISA kit (QFN-SARS) in vaccinated healthcare workers (HCWs). Additionally, we analyzed the long-term changes in IGRA results after the final vaccine dose. Methods A total of 383 specimens from 281 HCWs were enrolled in this study, and the results of SARS-IGRA and QFN-SARS assays were compared. In addition, we performed the receive operator curve analysis to estimate the optimal cut-off value for IGRA-SARS. Results For all specimens, IGRA-SARS and QFN-SARS showed 75.7% and 64.2% of the positive results, respectively. The absolute agreement between IGRA-SARS and QFN-SARS was 80.0%, and the Fleiss’ κ value was 0.525, indicating moderate agreement. ROC curve analysis of the IGRA-SARS results showed a cut-off value of >0.254 IU/mL, which was consistent with the manufacturer’s specifications. The positive rates of both IGRA assays decreased significantly after a postvaccination period of 6 months. Conclusions IGRA-SARS showed acceptable performance in the detection of vaccine-induced immunity against COVID-19; however, harmonization of IGRA assays has not yet been achieved. Additionally, the significant decline of positive rates of IGRA after the last vaccination would support the necessity of booster vaccination after a postvaccination period of 6 months.

To improve the peel strength and holding time of polypropylene glycol (PPG)-based pressure-sensitive adhesives (PSAs), a semi-interpenetrating polymer network (semi-IPN) was prepared using acrylic polymers. In addition, to prevent air pollution due to volatile organic compound emissions and avoid the degradation of physical properties due to a residual solvent, the PPG-based semi-IPN PSAs were fabricated by an eco-friendly solvent-free method using an acrylic monomer instead of an organic solvent. PPG-based semi-IPN PSAs with different hard segment contents (2.9–17.2%) were synthesized; their holding time was found to depend on the hard segment contents. The peel strength was improved because of the formation of the semi-IPN structure. Moreover, the high degree of hard domain formation in the semi-IPN PSA, derived from the increase in the hard segment content using a chain extender, resulted in a holding time improvement. We believe that the as-prepared PSAs can be used in various applications that require high creep resistance.

EuDx™ ufPCR Flu & RSV Detection Kit (EUDIPIA, Chungcheongbuk-do, Republic of Korea) is a recently developed molecular assay for simultaneously detecting influenza A/B and respiratory syncytial virus (RSV). We evaluated this assay in a clinical setting and demonstrated its excellent performance for diagnosing influenza A/B and RSV infections.

Objectives We aimed to quantify the measurement uncertainty (MU) for factor activities using the Monte Carlo simulation (MCS), which is a computational algorithm that simulates statistical sampling to obtain numerical results through complex mathematical calculations. Methods The uncertainties of factor V (FV), factor VIII (FVIII), and factor X (FX) were simulated with two coagulation testing systems: ACL TOP 750 CTS (Instrumentation Laboratory) and STA Compact (Diagnostica Stago). Results When the factor activities were 74% (FV), 68% (FVIII), and 89% (FX), the MUs were 3.5% (FV), 9.3% (VIII), and 2.8% (FX) for ACL TOP and 8.5% (FV), 18.2% (FVII), and 6.5% (FX) for STA Compact. MCS MUs were compared with MUs obtained from running actual samples (not simulated) using a method called the top-down approach. The MCS MU results were interchangeable with MUs from the top-down approach, except for FVIII from STA Compact. Conclusions The MCS procedure is well suited for the quantification of MUs for factor assays over the entire measurement range.

Corona virus disease 2019 (COVID-19) has been declared a global pandemic and is a major public health concern worldwide. In this study, we aimed to determine the role of environmental factors, such as climate and air pollutants, in the transmission of COVID-19 in the Republic of Korea. We collected epidemiological and environmental data from two regions of the Republic of Korea, namely Seoul metropolitan region (SMR) and Daegu-Gyeongbuk region (DGR) from February 2020 to July 2020. The data was then analyzed to identify correlations between each environmental factor with confirmed daily COVID-19 cases. Among the various environmental parameters, the duration of sunshine and ozone level were found to positively correlate with COVID-19 cases in both regions. However, the association of temperature variables with COVID-19 transmission revealed contradictory results when comparing the data from SMR and DGR. Moreover, statistical bias may have arisen due to an extensive epidemiological investigation and altered socio-behaviors that occurred in response to a COVID-19 outbreak. Nevertheless, our results suggest that various environmental factors may play a role in COVID-19 transmission.

Antigen rapid diagnostic tests (RDTs) became the most important tool for the diagnosis of the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19), however there have been very few evaluations of the accuracy of the RDTs in actual use. In this study, we investigated the performance accuracy of the RDT, the STANDARD Q COVID-19 Ag (STANDARD Q), in the Republic of Korea. We collected a total of 5,792 results that underwent both RDT and reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction simultaneously, and overall sensitivity and specificity of the STANDARD Q were 57.6% and 99.9%, respectively. With binomial logistic regression analysis, we estimated that about half of the COVID-19 patients with a cycle threshold value of 25 for

A Gram-stain-positive coccus was isolated from the blood of a paediatric patient suffering from gastroenteritis. The taxonomic position of this catalase-positive, non-motile, non-spore-forming facultative anaerobe designated as strain MKL-02T was investigated using a polyphasic approach. Colonies grown on tryptic soy agar with 10 % sheep blood were circular, creamy yellow, and convex. Phylogenetic analysis based on 16S rRNA gene and whole-genome sequences revealed that this strain was most closely related to Arsenicicoccus bolidensis CCUG 47306T within the cluster of the genus Arsenicicoccus . Average nucleotide identity and digital DNA–DNA hybridization values between strain MKL-02T and A. bolidensis DSM 15745T, A. dermatophillus DSM 25571T and A. piscis DSM 22760T were 89.5 and 37.0 %, 79.6 and 22.4 %, and 75.9 and 21.0 %, respectively. The genomic size of strain MKL-02T was 3 423 857 bp with a 72.7 mol% G+C content. Growth was observed at 10–45 °C (optimum, 37–40 °C) and pH 6.0–10.0 (optimum, pH 7.0), in the presence of 0–10 % (w/v) NaCl (optimum, 0.5 %). Cells of strain MKL-02T were non-motile cocci and 0.50–0.60 µm long, as determined by transmission electron microscopy. The strain was catalase-positive and oxidase-negative. The major fatty acid type (>10 % of total) was C15 : 0. The polar lipid profile consisted of two unidentified phospholipids, three unidentified lipids and an unidentified aminophospholipid. The strain contained MK-8 (H4) as the predominant menaquinone. Based on phylogenetic and phenotypic considerations, it is proposed that strain MKL-02T be classified as a new species, named Arsenicicoccus cauae sp. nov. The type strain is MKL-02T (=NCCP 16967T=JCM 34624T).

Cytokeratin 19 fragment antigen 21-1 (CYFRA 21-1) is useful for predicting and monitoring non-small cell lung cancer prognosis. We established reference intervals (RIs) of CYFRA 21-1 in Korean adults, including those older than 60 years. Data of 4,098 apparently healthy subjects (age range, 20-87 years) were analyzed after excluding those with a history of malignancy, high tumor marker concentrations (except CYFRA 21-1), and/or abnormal findings on a chest computed tomography scan through medical chart review. After removing two outliers, RIs of CYFRA 21-1 were determined using data of 4,096 subjects based on the non-parametric method (2.5th and 97.5th percentiles) according to CLSI guidelines EP28-A3c. The subjects were divided into two and four groups according to sex and age (20-40, 41-50, 51-60, and60 years), respectively, and the median CYFRA 21-1 concentration was compared between the groups. The RI of CYFRA 21-1 was 0.66-3.84 ng/mL, applicable to both men and women. Regardless of sex, the CYFRA 21-1 concentration increased with age, suggesting that age-dependent RIs of CYFRA 21-1 should be applied. Rather than using a single RI provided by the manufacturer, the RI of CYFRA 21-1 should be continually verified and established in each clinical laboratory.

Despite the accuracy of nucleic acid amplification tests (NAATs), rapid antigen tests (RATs) for severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus-2 are widely used as point-of-care tests. A total of 282 pairs of reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction and Standard Q COVID-19 Ag tests were serially conducted for 68 patients every 3-4 days until their discharge. Through a field evaluation of RATs using direct nasopharyngeal swabs, the sensitivities were 84.6% and 87.3% for

We investigated the neutralization performance of various automated blood culture systems for antifungal agents with regard to the most commonly isolated Candida species.In this study, we evaluated the time to detection (TTD) of simulated candidemia for 6 Candida spp. (C. albicans, C. auris, C. glabrata, C. krusei, C. parapsilosis, and C. tropicalis) in 3 automated blood culture systems (BACTEC™ FX, BACT/ALERT® 3D, and BACT/ALERT® VIRTUO®), with or without trough and peak levels of eight antifungal agents (amphotericin B, anidulafungin, caspofungin, fluconazole, itraconazole, micafungin, posaconazole, and voriconazole).Caspofungin and micafungin significantly prolonged the TTDs for most of the tested strains in the 3 blood culture instruments, especially at peak concentrations.Peak concentrations of caspofungin and micafungin influence the performance of blood culture detection systems. Therefore, one should be careful about the possibility of prolonged TTDs for candidemia when using the abovementioned antifungal agents.

Background: A juxtaglomerular cell tumor (JGCT), or a reninoma, is a rare renal tumor that can cause secondary hypertension. This is the first reported JGCT that was resected through robotic surgery. Case: We present a case of a 27-year-old female patient with 1.35-cm-sized JGCT in the lower pole of the right kidney. We effectively removed a JGCT through robot-assisted partial nephrectomy without any complications. Conclusion: The robot-assisted partial nephrectomy procedure could be a suitable choice for JGCT resection.

Measurement uncertainty is a parameter that is associated with the dispersion of measurements. Assessment of the measurement uncertainty is recommended in qualitative analyses in clinical laboratories; however, the measurement uncertainty of qualitative tests has been neglected despite the introduction of many adequate methods. We herein provide an overview of three reasonable statistical methods for quantifying the measurement uncertainties of qualitative assays, namely Bayes’ theorem, the normal distribution method, and the information theoretic approach. Unlike in quantitative analysis, the measurement uncertainty of qualitative analysis is expressed using a conditional probability, likelihood ratio, and entropy. With the necessary theoretical background, the practical applications for clinical laboratories are also provided using statistical calculations. Using statistical approaches, we hope that our review will contribute to the use of measurement uncertainty in qualitative analyses in the clinical laboratory environment.

With the emergence of equity crowdfunding, understanding the human capital characteristics needed for running new ventures and the signals they send to prospective investors is of central importanc...

Background Recently, the QPLEX™ human papillomavirus (HPV) genotyping kit (QuantaMatrix, Seoul, Korea), a Microdisk™ technology-based multiplex system, was developed to detect 32 HPV genotypes. We evaluated the analytical performance of this kit by conducting a comparison study, precision evaluation and interference testing. Methods A total of 1594 cervical swab specimens were used to compare the QPLEX™ HPV genotyping kit with other commercially available kits (GeneFinder HPV Liquid Bead MicroArray Genotype polymerase chain reaction [PCR] kit, Infopia, Seoul, Korea; PANArray™ HPV Genotyping Chip, PANAGENE, Daejeon, Korea). For the determination of precision, we evaluated four types of precision profiles: repeatability, lot-to-lot variability, operator-to-operator variability and site-to-site variability. In addition, interference tests were performed with various interferents. Results The results of the QPLEX™ HPV genotyping kit showed almost perfect agreement with the other commercially available HPV genotyping assays. The combined precision was acceptable. In addition, there was no tested interferent that affected the results of the QPLEX™ HPV genotyping kit. Conclusions The QPLEX™ HPV genotyping kit showed acceptable analytical performance in our study. This assay could be a suitable option for HPV genotyping in routine and follow-up tests.

Background Human metapneumovirus (hMPV) commonly causes upper and lower respiratory tract infections. Here, we performed long-term retrospective surveillance of hMPV infection among patients hospitalized in South Korea between 2007 and 2016 and investigated seasonal dynamics and clinical characteristics associated with each virus subtype/genotype. Methods Patient specimens were tested for hMPV and other respiratory viruses by commercial molecular assays. Medical records of hMPV-positive patients were reviewed, and hMPV subtype/genotype analysis was performed. We also collected meteorological data and analyzed relationships with hMPV activity. Results Of 23 694 specimens, 1275 (5.4%) were positive; among them, 94.0% were classified into 5 subtypes (A1, A2a, A2b, B1, and B2). Some clinical manifestations differed according to hMPV genotype; however, there was no correlation between hMPV subtype and clinical outcome. Viral activity peaked at 13–20 weeks (April and May) and was associated with climate-specific factors, including temperature, relative humidity, diurnal temperature variation, wind speed, and sunshine duration. Conclusions This large-scale, 10-year study provides valuable information about the clinical characteristics associated with hMPV subtypes and climate factors contributing to virus transmission., There were differences between characteristics of each human metapneumovirus (hMPV) genotype infection, but disease severity was not altered according to hMPV subtype. Our 10-year surveillance provides valuable information about clinical characteristics of hMPV infections and climate factors contributing to viral transmission.

Background High on-treatment platelet reactivity (HTPR) is the phenomenon wherein patients exhibit normal platelet activity in laboratory testing despite adequate adherence to anti-platelet treatment. We investigated the detection rates of Platelet Function Analyzer (PFA)-100 (Dade Behring AG, Düdingen, Switzerland) for drug-induced platelet dysfunction and analyzed potential contributors to HTPR with practical PFA-100 data over six years. Methods We used data from 6,957 patients who underwent PFA-100 testing after receiving aspirin, clopidogrel, or non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs). Of these, 6,163 patients were tested with only the collagen/epinephrine cartridge (Col/EPI) of PFA-100; 794 were tested with both Col/EPI and the collagen/ADP cartridge (Col/ADP). We calculated PFA-100 closure time (CT) for each drug and compared the clinical and laboratory characteristics of the patients with prolonged CTs and normal CTs (i.e., HTPR). Results In Col/EPI, 73.2% (365/499), 72.6% (390/537), and 55.3% (3,442/6,228) patients showed prolonged CTs for aspirin, clopidogrel, and NSAIDs, respectively. In Col/ADP, prolonged CTs were observed in 37.4% (34/91), 43.2% (35/81), and 29.6% (200/676) of patients receiving aspirin, clopidogrel, and NSAIDs, respectively. Of the patients tested with both cartridges, 88.9% (48/54), 95.3% (41/43), and 89.0% (577/648) of the patients receiving aspirin, clopidogrel, and NSAIDs had prolonged CTs, and 10.0% (79/794) showed normal CTs regardless of drugs. For clopidogrel users (both cartridges), there were more patients with malignancies in the normal CT than prolonged CT group. Conclusions PFA-100 is not sufficiently effective for laboratory screening of drug-induced platelet dysfunction. Malignancy may contribute to clopidogrel-related HTPR in PFA-100.

One nucleotide substitution in codon 169 of B*15:01:01:01 results in a novel allele, HLA-B*15:598.

A novel Gram-stain-negative, facultative aerobic and rod-shaped bacterium, designated as MKL-01T and isolated from the blood of immunocompromised patient, was genotypically and phenotypically characterized. The colonies were found to be creamy yellow and convex. Phylogenetic analysis based on 16S rRNA gene and whole-genome sequences revealed that strain MKL-01T was most closely related to Cupriavidus gilardii LMG 5886T, present within a large cluster in the genus Cupriavidus . The genome sequence of strain MKL-01T showed the highest average nucleotide identity value of 92.1 % and digital DNA–DNA hybridization value of 44.8 % with the closely related species C. gilardii LMG 5886T. The genome size of the isolate was 5 750 268 bp, with a G+C content of 67.87 mol%. The strain could grow at 10–45 °C (optimum, 37–40 °C), in the presence of 0–10 % (w/v) NaCl (optimum, 0.5%) and at pH 6.0–10.0 (optimum, pH 7.0). Strain MKL-01T was positive for catalase and negative for oxidase. The major fatty acids were C16 : 0, summed feature 3 (C16 : 1 ω7c/C16 : 1 ω6c and/or C16 : 1 ω6c/C16 : 1 ω7c) and summed feature 8 (C18 : 1 ω7c and/or C18 : 1 ω6c). The polar lipid profile consisted of phosphatidylglycerol, phosphatidylethanolamine, two unidentified phospholipids and one unidentified polar lipid. Moreover, strain MKL-01T contained ubiquinone Q-8 as the sole respiratory quinone. Based on its molecular, phenotypic and chemotaxonomic properties, strain MKL-01T represents a novel species of the genus Cupriavidus ; the name Cupriavidus cauae sp. nov. is proposed for this strain. The type strain is MKL-01T.

We evaluated the diagnostic accuracy of two newly developed, point-of-care, rapid antigen tests (RATs) for detecting SARS-CoV-2, the AFIAS COVID-19 Ag and the ichromaTM COVID-19 Ag, and investigated antigen kinetics. A total of 200 serially collected nasopharyngeal (NP) specimens from 38 COVID-19 patients and 122 specimens from negative controls were analyzed. Diagnostic sensitivity and specificity were assessed in comparison to molecular test results and subdivided according to targeted genes (E, RdRP, and N) and days post-symptom onset (PSO). For the kinetics evaluation, cut-off-indices from serial NP specimens were used according to the number of days PSO. Both RATs showed sensitivity of 91.3‒100% for specimens with cycle threshold (Ct) < 25. The specificity of AFIAS was 98.7‒98.9% and that of ichromaTM was 100.0%. The kappa values of AFIAS and ichromaTM for the molecular testing of specimens with Ct < 25 (RdRP) were 0.97 and 1.00, respectively. The sensitivity of AFIAS and ichromaTM for all genes was lower for specimens collected at 8‒14 PSO than for those collected before 7-days PSO. The kinetics profiles showed that antigen levels gradually decreased from ≤ 7-days PSO to > 22-days PSO. Both RATs showed excellent specificity and acceptable sensitivity for NP specimens with higher viral loads and for specimens collected within 7-days PSO. Hence, they have the potential to become useful tools for the early detection of SARS-CoV-2. However, because of concerns about false negativity, RATs should be used in conjunction with molecular tests.

During the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic, social distancing was effective in controlling disease spread across South Korea. The impact of national social distancing on the spread of common respiratory virus infections has rarely been investigated. We evaluated the weekly proportion of negative respiratory virus polymerase chain reaction (PCR) test results and weekly positive rates of each respiratory virus during the social distancing period (10th–41st weeks of 2020) and the corresponding period in different years, utilizing the national respiratory virus surveillance dataset reported by the Korean Center for Disease Control and Prevention. The proportions of negative respiratory virus PCR test results increased up to 87.8% and 86.1% during level 3 and level 2 of the social distancing period, respectively. The higher the level of social distancing, the higher the proportion of negative respiratory virus PCR test results. During the social distancing period, the mean weekly positive rates for parainfluenza virus, influenza virus, human coronavirus, and human metapneumovirus were significantly lower than those during the same period in 2015–2019 (0.1% vs. 9.3%, P P P P P P