Empathetic leadership and employees' innovative behavior: examining the roles of career adaptability and uncertainty avoidance.

Introduction: Career construction theory proposes that adaptivity affects career adapting through career adaptability. However, research on the mechanism of this pathway remains scarce. By applying career construction theory and conservation of resources theory, we hypothesize that career adaptability (concern, control, curiosity, and confidence) mediates the relationship between empathetic leadership (adaptivity) and innovative behavior (career adapting). Moreover, we posit that uncertain avoidance moderates the mediating mechanism. Methods: Our study used SPSS23 and bootstrap methods (PROCESS) to test the proposed model. The sample comprised 301 employees from different firms in various industries. In this study, empathetic leadership-5, career adaptability-24, uncertainty avoidance-5, and innovative behavior-6 scales were used to measure empathetic leadership, career adaptability, and uncertainty avoidance. Results: The results revealed that (1) empathetic leadership is positively related to employees' innovative behavior (2) Concern (H2a), control (H2b), curiosity (H2c), and confidence (H2d) mediate the relations between empathetic leadership and employee's innovative behavior (3) Uncertainty avoidance moderates the relationship between empathetic leadership and concern (H3a), control (H3b), curiosity (H3c), and confidence (H3d), such that this relationship is stronger when uncertainty avoidance is higher (4) Uncertainty avoidance moderates the indirect relationship between empathetic leadership and employee innovative behavior through concern (H4a), control (H4b), curiosity (H4c), and confidence (H4d), such that this indirect relationship will be stronger when uncertainty avoidance is high than when it is low. Conclusion: We investigated how empathetic leadership affects innovative behavior. Based on career construction theory and conservation of resources theory, we also tested the hypothesis that concern, control, curiosity, and confidence play mediating roles in linking empathetic leadership (career adaptivity) to innovative behavior (career adapting). In addition, this study found that uncertainty avoidance does not always have negative effects. People with a high uncertainty avoidance tendency may be dependent more on empathetic leadership to improve their career adaptability, which promotes their innovative behavior.

A panoramic driving perception fusion algorithm based on multi-task learning.

With the rapid development of intelligent connected vehicles, there is an increasing demand for hardware facilities and onboard systems of driver assistance systems. Currently, most vehicles are constrained by the hardware resources of onboard systems, which mainly process single-task and single-sensor data. This poses a significant challenge in achieving complex panoramic driving perception technology. While the panoramic driving perception algorithm YOLOP has achieved outstanding performance in multi-task processing, it suffers from poor adaptability of feature map pooling operations and loss of details during downsampling. To address these issues, this paper proposes a panoramic driving perception fusion algorithm based on multi-task learning. The model training involves the introduction of different loss functions and a series of processing steps for lidar point cloud data. Subsequently, the perception information from lidar and vision sensors is fused to achieve synchronized processing of multi-task and multi-sensor data, thereby effectively improving the performance and reliability of the panoramic driving perception system. To evaluate the performance of the proposed algorithm in multi-task processing, the BDD100K dataset is used. The results demonstrate that, compared to the YOLOP model, the multi-task learning network performs better in lane detection, drivable area detection, and vehicle detection tasks. Specifically, the lane detection accuracy improves by 11.6%, the mean Intersection over Union (mIoU) for drivable area detection increases by 2.1%, and the mean Average Precision at 50% IoU (mAP50) for vehicle detection improves by 3.7%.

A multilevel investigation to reveal the regulatory mechanism of lignin accumulation in juice sac granulation of pomelo.

Granulation of juice sacs is a physiological disorder, which affects pomelo fruit quality. Here, the transcriptome and ubiquitinome of the granulated juice sacs were analyzed in Guanxi pomelo. We found that lignin accumulation in the granulated juice sacs was regulated at transcription and protein modification levels. In transcriptome data, we found that the genes in lignin biosynthesis pathway and antioxidant enzyme system of the granulated juice sacs were significantly upregulated. However, in ubiquitinome data, we found that ubiquitinated antioxidant enzymes increased in abundance but the enzyme activities decreased after the modification, which gave rise to reactive oxygen species (ROS) contents in granulated juice sacs. This finding suggests that ubiquitination level of the antioxidant enzymes is negatively correlated with the enzyme activities. Increased H2O2 is considered to be a signaling molecule to activate the key gene expressions in lignin biosynthesis pathway, which leads to the lignification in granulated juice sacs of pomelo. This regulatory mechanism in juice sac granulation of pomelo was further confirmed through the verification experiment using tissue culture by adding H2O2 or dimethylthiourea (DMTU). Our findings suggest that scavenging H2O2 and other ROS are important for reducing lignin accumulation, alleviating juice sac granulation and improving pomelo fruit quality.

Sepsis and Pneumonia Caused by Enterococcus faecium following Liver Transplantation Treated with Contezolid as the First-line Therapy.

BACKGROUND: Enterococcus faecium (E. faecium) stands as a prominent pathogen contributing to Gram-positive bacterial infections in individuals who have undergone liver transplantation. CASE PRESENTATION: A 66-year-old male with a three-year history of treated anxiety disorder was admitted to our hospital due to recurrent abdominal distension and oliguria. He was diagnosed with hepatic veno-occlusive disease (HVOD), hepatic failure, pneumonia, renal insufficiency, and abdominal ascites. A liver transplantation procedure was performed, but the patient's infection index increased on the first day after surgery. Empirical antibiotic therapy with ceftriaxone and meropenem and preventive antifungal therapy were applied. Sputum culture, blood culture, ascites culture and bronchoalveolar lavage fluid (BALF) next-generation sequencing (NGS), revealed the presence of E. faecium. Given the application of various nephrotoxic immunosuppressive agents after liver transplantation, pre-existing renal insufficiency, severe bone marrow suppression, and a history of anxiety disorder treated with sertraline, contezolid was added for the treatment of the Gram-positive bacterial infection. Sixteen days after surgery, cultures from ascites and sputum yielded negative results for fungi and bacteria. Contezolid was subsequently discontinued without any reported adverse events during follow-up. CONCLUSION: Treatment with contezolid as the first-line therapy for sepsis and pneumonia caused by E. faecium following liver transplantation has shown satisfactory efficacy and safety. Therefore, contezolid may hold great promise for managing this life-threatening condition.

Divergent Synthesis of Scabrolide A and Havellockate via an exo-exo-endo Radical Cascade.

Here we report a concise and divergent synthesis of scabrolide A and havellockate, representative members of polycyclic marine natural product furano(nor)cembranoids. The synthesis features a highly efficient exo-exo-endo radical cascade. Through the generation of two rings, three C-C bonds, and three contiguous stereocenters in one step, this remarkable transformation not only assembles the bowl-shaped, common 6-5-5 fused ring system from simple building blocks but also precisely installs the functionalities at desired positions and sets the stage for further divergent preparation of both target molecules. Further studies reveal that the robust and unusual 6-endo radical addition in the cascade is likely facilitated by the rigidity of the substrate.

Cytokines-activated nuclear IKKα-FAT10 pathway induces breast cancer tamoxifen-resistance.

Endocrine therapy that blocks estrogen signaling is the most effective treatment for patients with estrogen receptor positive (ER+) breast cancer. However, the efficacy of agents such as tamoxifen (Tam) is often compromised by the development of resistance. Here we report that cytokines-activated nuclear IKKα confers Tam resistance to ER+ breast cancer by inducing the expression of FAT10, and that the expression of FAT10 and nuclear IKKα in primary ER+ human breast cancer was correlated with lymphotoxin ß (LTB) expression and significantly associated with relapse and metastasis in patients treated with adjuvant mono-Tam. IKKα activation or enforced FAT10 expression promotes Tam-resistance while loss of IKKα or FAT10 augments Tam sensitivity. The induction of FAT10 by IKKα is mediated by the transcription factor Pax5, and coordinated via an IKKα-p53-miR-23a circuit in which activation of IKKα attenuates p53-directed repression of FAT10. Thus, our findings establish IKKα-to-FAT10 pathway as a new therapeutic target for the treatment of Tam-resistant ER+ breast cancer.

The hapten rigidity improves antibody performances in immunoassay for rifamycins: Immunovalidation and molecular mechanism.

The immunogenicity of haptens determines the performance of the resultant antibody for small molecules. Rigidity is one of the basic physicochemical properties of haptens. However, few studies have investigated the effect of hapten rigidity on the strength of an immune response and overall antibody performance. Herein, we introduce three molecular descriptors that quantify hapten rigidity. By using of these descriptors, four rifamycin haptens with varied rigidity were designed. The structural and physicochemical feasibility of the designed haptens was then assessed by computational chemistry. Immunization demonstrated that the strength of induced immune responses, i.e., the titer and affinity of antiserum, was significantly increased with increased rigidity of haptens. Furthermore, molecular dynamic simulations demonstrated conformation constraint of rigid haptens contributed to the initial binding and activation of naïve B cells. Finally, a highly sensitive indirect competitive enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay was developed for detection of rifaximin, with an IC50 of 1.1 µg/L in buffer and a limit of detection of 0.2-11.3 µg/L in raw milk, river water, and soil samples. This work provides new insights into the effect of hapten rigidity on immunogenicity and offers new hapten design strategies for antibody discovery and vaccine development of small molecules.

Is managerial ability a catalyst for driving digital transformation in enterprises? An empirical analysis from internal and external pressure perspectives.

In a dynamic and competitive business environment, managerial ability emerges as a pivotal strategic factor for capitalizing on new opportunities within the technological revolution and digital transformation of enterprises. Based on data from Chinese A-share listed firms spanning from 2009 to 2019, this study integrates insights from the upper echelons theory and the behavioral theory of the firm to investigate the moderating roles of historical aspiration shortfalls and industrial competitiveness on the relationship between managerial ability and enterprise digital transformation from internal and external pressure perspectives. Our findings indicate a positive impact of managerial ability on digital transformation. The relationship between managerial ability and digital transformation is reinforced by historical aspiration shortfalls; nevertheless, industrial competitiveness has attenuated the aforementioned relationship. This study contributes to a better understanding of the strategic implications of managerial ability within the context of organizational innovation strategies. It offers valuable insights into the decision-making processes of firms as they navigate the challenges of digital transformation within an ever-evolving business environment.

The influence of bootleg innovation on individual innovation performance: The mediating effect of cognitive flexibility and the moderating effect of leadership's emotional intelligence.

Based Correctly handling the creativity of employees who have not been adopted is not only conducive to continuously stimulating employees' creativity and improving individual innovation performance, but also conducive to making the best use of organizational resources. This study integrates conservation of resource theory (COR) and social information processing theory to explore the influence of bootleg innovation behavior in organizations on individual innovation performance, as well as the mediating role of cognitive flexibility and the moderating role of leadership emotional intelligence. A three-stage time-lagged research design is used to obtain a valid sample of 327 employees from China. The PROCESS macro for SPSS was applied to test the hypothesized relationships. Findings demonstrated that bootleg innovation is positively related to individual innovation performance; cognitive flexibility mediates the relationship between bootleg innovation and individual innovation performance. Moreover, leadership emotional intelligence moderates the relationship between bootleg innovation and individual innovation performance and between bootleg innovation and cognitive flexibility and between cognitive flexibility and individual innovation performance respectively. The conclusion of the study not only provides a theoretical basis for individuals and leaders to deal with employees' creative abortion, but also provides a new thinking mode for how to maximize the effectiveness of unaccepted ideas and promote individual innovation performance.

Correction: Sugarcane stem node identification algorithm based on improved YOLOv5.

[This corrects the article DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0295565.].

From the dual-dimensional perspective of employee mindfulness and superior trust, explore the influence mechanism of negative workplace gossip on work engagement.

Introduction: As a common phenomenon of workplace negative gossip in organizations, how it affects employees' work engagement is not yet clear, nor what methods can be used to mitigate its negative impact on employees' work engagement. Methods: Based on Conservation of Resource Theory, this study obtained 334 valid employee samples from mainland China enterprises through a three-time lagged research design and explored the mechanism of negative workplace gossip on work engagement from the dual perspectives of employees and supervisors. Results: The results show that: (1) Negative workplace gossip negatively affects employee work engagement. (2) Professional commitment plays a mediating role between negative workplace gossip and employee work engagement. (3) Employee mindfulness negatively moderates the negative impact of workplace negative gossip on professional commitment; superior trust negatively moderates the negative impact of workplace negative gossip on professional commitment. (4) Employee mindfulness and superior trust are further weakened to moderate the negative indirect impact of workplace negative gossip on employee work engagement through professional commitment, and this negative indirect impact is weaker when employees have a higher degree of mindfulness and higher trust in superiors. Discussion: It proposes effective strategies for managing workplace gossip to harness its positive influence and offer practical guidance to enhance employee work engagement.

Sugarcane stem node identification algorithm based on improved YOLOv5.

Identification of sugarcane stem nodes is generally dependent on high-performance recognition equipment in sugarcane seed pre-cutting machines and inefficient. Accordingly, this study proposes a novel lightweight architecture for the detection of sugarcane stem nodes based on the YOLOv5 framework, named G-YOLOv5s-SS. Firstly, the study removes the CBS and C3 structures at the end of the backbone network to fully utilize shallow-level feature information. This enhances the detection performance of sugarcane stem nodes. Simultaneously, it eliminates the 32 times down-sampled branches in the neck structure and the 20x20 detection heads at the prediction end, reducing model complexity. Secondly, a Ghost lightweight module is introduced to replace the conventional convolution module in the BottleNeck structure, further reducing the model's complexity. Finally, the study incorporates the SimAM attention mechanism to enhance the extraction of sugarcane stem node features without introducing additional parameters. This improvement aims to enhance recognition accuracy, compensating for any loss in precision due to lightweight modifications. The experimental results showed that the average precision of the improved network for sugarcane stem node identification reached 97.6%, which was 0.6% higher than that of the YOLOv5 baseline network. Meanwhile, a model size of 2.6MB, 1,129,340 parameters, and 7.2G FLOPs, representing respective reductions of 82%, 84%, and 54.4%. Compared with mainstream one-stage target detection algorithms such as YOLOv4-tiny, YOLOv4, YOLOv5n, YOLOv6n, YOLOv6s, YOLOv7-tiny, and YOLOv7, G-YOLOv5s-SS achieved respective average precision improvements of 12.9%, 5.07%, 3.6%, 2.1%, 1.2%, 3%, and 0.4% in sugarcane stem nodes recognition. Meanwhile, the model size was compressed by 88.9%, 98.9%, 33.3%, 72%, 92.9%, 78.8% and 96.3%, respectively. Compared with similar studies, G-YOLOv5s-SS not only enhanced recognition accuracy but also considered model size, demonstrating an overall excellent performance that aligns with the requirements of sugarcane seed pre-cutting machines.

Exploring the roles of ZmARM gene family in maize development and abiotic stress response.

Armadillo (ARM) was a gene family important to plants, with crucial roles in regulating plant growth, development, and stress responses. However, the properties and functions of ARM family members in maize had received limited attention. Therefore, this study employed bioinformatics methods to analyze the structure and evolution of ARM-repeat protein family members in maize. The maize (Zea mays L.) genome contains 56 ARM genes distributed over 10 chromosomes, and collinearity analysis indicated 12 pairs of linkage between them. Analysis of the physicochemical properties of ARM proteins showed that most of these proteins were acidic and hydrophilic. According to the number and evolutionary analysis of the ARM genes, the ARM genes in maize can be divided into eight subgroups, and the gene structure and conserved motifs showed similar compositions in each group. The findings shed light on the significant roles of 56 ZmARM domain genes in development and abiotic stress, particularly drought stress. RNA-Seq and qRT-PCR analysis revealed that drought stress exerts an influence on specific members of the ZmARM family, such as ZmARM4, ZmARM12, ZmARM34 and ZmARM36. The comprehensive profiling of these genes in the whole genome, combined with expression analysis, establishes a foundation for further exploration of plant gene function in the context of abiotic stress and reproductive development.

A Proof-of-Concept Sandwich Enzyme-Linked Immunoassay Development for Small Molecules.

A sandwich immunoassay theoretically exhibits higher sensitivity and specificity compared to a competitive counterpart; however, it is extremely difficult to obtain a pair of antibodies that can bind to a small molecule simultaneously, which is always thought to be a single epitope. In the present study, abamectin (ABM) was selected to prove the effect of hapten design and antibody recognition properties on the development of a sandwich immunoassay for small molecules. First, the epitopes of ABM were roughly located, and epitope distances were determined. Then, two haptens were designed by introducing spacer arms at the C4″-OH and C5-OH of ABM, respectively, aiming to provide the longest epitope distances. A total of seven rabbit polyclonal antibodies (pAbs) and 21 mouse monoclonal antibodies (mAbs) with various recognition properties were obtained. Extensive combinatorial associations of antibody pairs for simultaneously binding to ABM were performed, and only two mAb-mAb pairs were observed to achieve a sandwich immunoassay for ABM with a total success rate of 0.27%. The best mAb pair for sandwich immunoassay was confirmed by surface plasmon resonance, used to develop a sandwich immunoassay, and then evaluated by cross-reactivities and molecular docking with structurally similar analogues and abamectin. Altogether, the study provided a theoretical foundation as well as practical experience and demonstrated the importance of careful hapten design and extensive antibody screening to successfully establish the sandwich immunoassay for small molecules.

Inhibiting mechanisms of metal ion complexation on photogenerated reactive intermediates derived from dissolved black carbon.

Dissolved black carbon (DBC), an important photosensitizer in surface waters, can influence the photodegradation of various organic micropollutants. In natural water systems, DBC often co-occurs with metal ions as DBC-metal ion complexes; however, the influence of metal ion complexation on the photochemical activity of DBC is still unclear. Herein, the effects of metal ion complexation were investigated using common metal ions (Mn2+, Cr3+, Cu2+, Fe3+, Zn2+, Al3+, Ca2+, and Mg2+). Complexation constants (logKM) derived from three-dimensional fluorescence spectra revealed that Mn2+, Cr3+, Cu2+, Fe3+, Zn2+, and Al3+ quenched the fluorescence components of DBC via static quenching. The steady-state radical experiment suggested that in the complex systems of DBC with various metal ions, Mn2+, Cr3+, Cu2+, Fe3+, Zn2+ and Al3+ inhibited the photogeneration of 3DBC* via dynamic quenching, which reduced the yields of 3DBC*-derived 1O2 and O2·-. Moreover, 3DBC* quenching by metal ions was associated with the complexation constant. A strong positive linear relationship existed between logKM and the dynamic quenching rate constant of metal ions. These results indicate that the strong complexation ability of metal ions enabled 3DBC quenching, which highlights the photochemical activity of DBC in natural aquatic environments enriched with metal ions.

Machine learning-assisted global DNA methylation fingerprint analysis for differentiating early-stage lung cancer from benign lung diseases.

DNA methylation plays a critical role in the development of human tumors. However, routine characterization of DNA methylation can be time-consuming and labor-intensive. We herein describe a sensitive, simple surface-enhanced Raman spectroscopy (SERS) approach for identifying the DNA methylation pattern in early-stage lung cancer (LC) patients. By comparing SERS spectra of methylated DNA bases or sequences with their counterparts, we identified a reliable spectral marker of cytosine methylation. To move toward clinical applications, we applied our SERS strategy to detect the methylation patterns of genomic DNA (gDNA) extracted from cell line models as well as formalin-fixed paraffin-embedded tissues of early-stage LC and benign lung diseases (BLD) patients. In a clinical cohort of 106 individuals, our results showed distinct methylation patterns in gDNA between early-stage LC (n = 65) and BLD patients (n = 41), suggesting cancer-induced DNA methylation alterations. Combined with partial least square discriminant analysis, early-stage LC and BLD patients were differentiated with an area under the curve (AUC) value of 0.85. We believe that the SERS profiling of DNA methylation alterations, together with machine learning could potentially offer a promising new route toward the early detection of LC.

Interfacial Polymerization on Polyethersulfone Ultrafiltration Membrane to Prepare Nanofiltration Layers for Dye Separation.

Nanofiltration membranes are of great significance to the treatment of dye wastewater. Interfacial polymerization is a widely used method to fabricate nanofiltration membranes. In this study, the interaction of tannic acid-assisted polyethylene polyamine (PEPA) with terephthalaldehyde (TPAL) was performed on PES ultrafiltration membranes using novel nitrogen-rich amine monomers and relatively less reactive aldehyde-based monomers. A new nanofiltration membrane ((T-P-T)/PES) was prepared by interfacial polymerization. Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy, X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy, and scanning electron microscopy were used to analyze the elemental composition, bonding state, and surface morphology of the membrane surface. The effects of the PEPA deposition time, TPAL concentration, interfacial reaction time, and curing time on the nanofiltration layer were investigated. The modified membrane, prepared under optimal conditions, showed strong dye separation ability. The permeation of the modified membrane could reach 68.68 L·m-2·h-1·bar-1, and the rejection of various dyes was above 99%. In addition, the (T-P-T)/PES membrane showed good stability during long-term dye separation.

How firms cope with social crisis: The mediating role of digital transformation as a strategic response to the COVID-19 pandemic.

The COVID-19 pandemic has drawn attention to the strategic responses of Chinese firms on digital transformation and led to a call for enhancing competitive advantage via accelerating digital transformation. Besides the physical health issue, the pandemic has triggered an extraordinary social and economic crisis in which service industries have been attacked hard. In this situation, firms are meeting increasing competitive pressure, which urges them to achieve better performance with the help of digital transformation. Based on the technology-organization-environment framework and dynamic capabilities theory, this research proposed two studies with two methods, including a structural equation model and a regression discontinuity design with a fixed-effect model. The findings suggest digital transformation mediates the relationship between competitive pressure and firm performance among Chinese small- and medium-sized enterprises and large firms after the outbreak of COVID-19, respectively. It confirms that digital transformation is a practical strategic decision for Chinese service firms to respond to increasing competitive pressure in the COVID-19 pandemic. Besides, the results also illustrate the moderating effects of absorptive, innovative, and adaptive capability on the relationship between digital transformation and firm performance among large firms.

The influence of hapten spacer arm length on antibody response and immunoassay development.

Antibodies against small molecules with high titer and high affinity are always pursued in the field of vaccines for drugs of abuse, antidotes to toxins and immunoassays in medical, environmental, and food safety. The exposure degree of the target molecule to the immune system is critical to induce a strongly specific antibody response, thus, the spacer arm length between the target molecule and carrier protein plays an important role. However, the influence of spacer arm length on antibody titer, affinity, and assay performance is not yet clear and highly demanded to be addressed. In the present study, we proposed a model study to answer the question by using two typical small molecules, melamine and p-nitroaniline, which were introduced by varied spacer arms with increasing alkane linear length from 2 to 12 carbon atoms brick by brick. The spacer arm lengths of the haptens were obtained by computational chemistry. The titer and affinity of mouse antisera were analyzed and compared, showing that all haptens with spacer arms of 6-8 carbon atoms, i.e. 6.3-8.8 Å in length, induced strong antibodies represented by the highest titer and affinity without exception, while the haptens with spacer arms of 2-4 carbon atoms and 10-12 carbon atoms, i.e. 1.5-3.9 Å and 11.3-13.9 Å in length, failed to induce high-quality antibody response. Moreover, the titer and sensitivity of the subsequently developed immunoassays were significantly affected by using coating haptens with different spacer arm lengths, and coating haptens with a spacer arm of 6.3-8.8 Å in length delivered the optimum detection performance. The antibody recognition mechanism study further confirmed that the hapten spacer arm length had a critical effect on the recognition properties of the induced antibody, which should be interactive with the spacer arm each other. This study showed that the hapten with appropriate spacer arm length is important to antibody response and immunoassay development, providing a valuable and general clue for the rational design of hapten.

Degradation and solid-liquid distribution of antibiotics in microbial electrolysis cells treating sewage sludge: Effects of temperature and applied voltage.

The microbial electrolysis cell (MEC) is a promising technology for antibiotic removal in sewage sludge. Temperature and voltage are key operating factors, but information about their effects on antibiotic degradation in MECs is still limited. Therefore, the effects of the temperature and applied voltage on the degradation and solid-liquid distribution of antibiotics in MECs treating sewage sludge were investigated. The results showed that the thermophilic (55 °C) MEC (T-MEC) at 0.8 V achieved the highest total antibiotic removal efficiency of 58.7 % due to the increase in bioelectrochemical activity for anodes and microbial activity in suspended sludge. The solid-liquid migration of antibiotics was facilitated, which had a significant positive correlation with antibiotic removal. Biodegradation was the rate-limiting step for the removal of fluoroquinolones, which had the highest levels in sludge. Geobacter and Thermincola were dominant bacteria in the anode biofilms of mesophilic (37 °C) MECs (M-MECs) and T-MECs, respectively.