Unhealthy lifestyles and their deleterious relationship with infections: A Narrative Review

Infection morbidity and mortality generate a significant global health burden. Several pandemics throughout human history have caused considerable suffering and killed millions of people. The ongoing Covid-19 pandemic is one such example. Individual lifestyles, if healthy, have been shown to modulate immune function and help fight infection. The five most important lifestyles are diet, obesity, exercise, alcohol consumption, and smoking. A favorable lifestyle or a prudent change result in reducing the risk and severity of infections. These include several viral, bacterial, parasitic, and fungal infections. The medical scientific literature is loaded with large well-done studies that have focused on the individual role of these lifestyles. A direct connection has been identified and verified in most cases. This manuscript provides a narrative review of this lifestyle-infection relationship. The aim is to raise the awareness of health care providers on the significant impact healthy lifestyles can have on infectious diseases. It is hoped that disseminating this data will translate into improved healthcare.

A reflection on a bone tissue engineering design and commercialisation project

<p>A commercialisation project centred round a material called synthetic nacre was undertaken as a teamas part of the 2014 Masters of Advanced Technology Enterprise (MATE) programme. There were multiple goals of: examining the individual role within the group,from an engineering discipline(mechatronics), and what it means for building successful teams; finding and developing the material for a market application, in this casethe niche ofbiodegradable osteoconductive load bearing biomaterials for orthopaedic implants; andreflecting on the personalcontribution to the commercialisation processand how successful it was. The role of an engineer to solve problems was proposed and found to be partially true in this case; additionally a secondary role in communicating technical information coherently was also apparent and important to the enterprise development. An adaptive biomaterial design concept and specification for the target application was formed using the literature and extrapolating where there was no resolution or gaps in the research. The influence of mechatronics has been established on the decision making process and direction of the commercialisation project. The design process was incomplete and therefore the enterprise develop was unsuccessful as it has not been validated by going through a full design, test, evaluate cycle. The goals of the course environment and the team building approach further reinforces this belief.</p>

A reflection on a bone tissue engineering design and commercialisation project

<p>A commercialisation project centred round a material called synthetic nacre was undertaken as a teamas part of the 2014 Masters of Advanced Technology Enterprise (MATE) programme. There were multiple goals of: examining the individual role within the group,from an engineering discipline(mechatronics), and what it means for building successful teams; finding and developing the material for a market application, in this casethe niche ofbiodegradable osteoconductive load bearing biomaterials for orthopaedic implants; andreflecting on the personalcontribution to the commercialisation processand how successful it was. The role of an engineer to solve problems was proposed and found to be partially true in this case; additionally a secondary role in communicating technical information coherently was also apparent and important to the enterprise development. An adaptive biomaterial design concept and specification for the target application was formed using the literature and extrapolating where there was no resolution or gaps in the research. The influence of mechatronics has been established on the decision making process and direction of the commercialisation project. The design process was incomplete and therefore the enterprise develop was unsuccessful as it has not been validated by going through a full design, test, evaluate cycle. The goals of the course environment and the team building approach further reinforces this belief.</p>

model for potential development of community organization council in the northeast region

This mixed methods research aimed 1. To analyze the operation status and problems of community organization council in the northeast region, 2. To develop a model for potential development of community organization council in the northeast region, 3. To evaluate a model for potential development of community organization council in the northeast region. The sample in the study consisted of 351 persons. The research instrument included a questionnaire, interview, and on-site experiment. Descriptive content analysis was used to analyze data. The findings from the study revealed the following: 1. The operations of community organization council in the northeast region as a whole needed development, PNI modified was 0.31. 2. Operations problems included being unaware of individual role and duty, people’s involvement, application of good governance, and communication between community organization networks. 3. The model for potential development of community organization council in the northeast region consisted of 3 aspects of developing procedures, namely, learning skills and work skills according to roles and duties, participatory planning process, and networks. 4. Seventeen experts gave their opinions that the model for potential development of community organization council in the northeast region was at the highest level with regard to appropriateness and usefulness.

Your Gadgets, Stress, and Performance: The Influence of Technostress on Individual Satisfaction and Performance

The Covid-19 pandemic changes the way employees work, and the use of technologies to support their work is increasing. The aim of this study is to investigate whether technologies can harm employee satisfaction and performance. The hypothesis developed stated, that the technostress creator predicted each individual role performance differently. Job satisfaction also became a mediator, whereas the technostress inhibitor was a moderator of the relationship between the technostress creator and job satisfaction. Two hundred and forty-four online responses were collected from employees in cities during the Covid-19 pandemic. Technostress (Ragu-Nathan et al., 2008), job satisfaction (Hackman & Oldham, 1976), and individual work performance (Griffin et al., 2007) questionnaires were used. The data were analyzed using path analysis. The results suggested that the technostress creator only statistically predicted individual task proficiency (ß = –0.124, SE = 0.060, and p = 0.039) and proactivity (ß = 0.134, SE = 0.060, and p = 0.026). The results found no effects from the mediator or moderator on the prediction of job satisfaction and individual role performances. Therefore, the technostress creator only increased employee stress if the technologies used disrupted their work. However, to some extent, the technostress creator can increase employee innovation when finishing work.

TEACHER AS A ROLE MODEL IN THE 2013 CURRICULUM DEVELOPMENT

The importance of the teachers as role models for students is related to their personality to build the character of students. Character education can be carried out through existing programs in schools, such as integrating it in learning and implementing it through extracurricular activities. In addition, the curriculum influences all educational activities; without a curriculum, the learning process will not work well. In this case, the role of the teachers is not only to educate students following the curriculum demands but also to provide an example to students by becoming individual role models. Teachers who become role models will be able to show attitudes and behaviour following values and norms in daily life so that students can see and imitate them. Teacher as a role model will support the character education program and help students to have good character

How do ESG pillars impact firms’ marketing performance? A configurational analysis in the pharmaceutical sector

Purpose This study aims to contribute to international doctrine by testing how environmental social governance (ESG) pillars can affect marketing performance in the pharmaceutical industry. Design/methodology/approach The authors follow a pioneering approach, using a fuzzy-set qualitative comparative analysis and data from the largest European listed companies belonging to the pharmaceutical industry in 2019. Specifically, the authors contribute to international doctrine by testing how ESG pillars can affect marketing performance by presenting two configurational paths that may help to clarify not only the individual role of the pillars but also how their interrelationships predict marketing performance. Findings The results identify two different causal configurations that lead to higher marketing performance. These configurations allow us to think more carefully about the role of ESG pillars in the pharmaceutical sector. These results could help managers reflect upon and justify their choice to invest in specific ESG pillars, highlighting the importance of the governance pillar. Originality/value To the best of the authors’ knowledge, this study is the first to use configurational analysis to investigate combinations of ESG pillars that lead firms to achieve higher levels of marketing performance.

Trospium Chloride Transport by Mouse Drug Carriers of the Slc22 and Slc47 Families

Background: The muscarinic receptor antagonist trospium chloride (TCl) is used for pharmacotherapy of the overactive bladder syndrome. TCl is a hydrophilic positively charged drug. Therefore, it has low permeability through biomembranes and requires drug transporters for distribution and excretion. In humans, the organic cation transporters OCT1 and OCT2 and the multidrug and toxin extrusion MATE1 and MATE2-K carriers showed TCl transport. However, their individual role for distribution and excretion of TCl is unclear. Knockout mouse models lacking mOct1/mOct2 or mMate1 might help to clarify their role for the overall pharmacokinetics of TCl. Method: In preparation of such experiments, TCl transport was analyzed in HEK293 cells stably transfected with the mouse carriers mOct1, mOct2, mMate1, and mMate2, respectively. Results: Mouse mOct1, mOct2, and mMate1 showed significant TCl transport with Km values of 58.7, 78.5, and 29.3 µM, respectively. In contrast, mMate2 did not transport TCl but showed MPP+ transport with Km of 60.0 µM that was inhibited by the drugs topotecan, acyclovir, and levofloxacin. Conclusion: TCl transport behavior as well as expression pattern were quite similar for the mouse carriers mOct1, mOct2, and mMate1 compared to their human counterparts.