Revisiting the nexus between digital trade, green technological innovation, and environmental sustainability in BRICS economies

After the UN Climate Action Summit in 2019, many countries started progressing towards race to zero targets. The intricate framework of digitalization and green technologies has the potential to persuade governments to implement policies that promote a zero-carbon economy, i.e., green economy. Hence, this study determines the effect of digital trade (DGT) and green technological innovation (GTI) on environmental sustainability (ENS) by considering the role of renewable energy consumption (REC), globalization (GLOB), and economic growth (EG). The study measured ENS by taking into account three proxy variables, i.e., ecological footprint (EF), carbon dioxide emission (CO2e), and methane emissions (CH4e). POLS and PMG-ARDL techniques are applied to the panel data of BRICS (Brazil, Russia, India, China, and South Africa) from 2000 to 2019. Panel Quantile Regression (PQR) along with AMG and CCEMG estimators is applied hereafter for checking the robustness of the empirical results. The long-run empirical outcomes show the positive association of DGT, GTI, REC, and GLOB with ENS. Lastly, this study inscribed the Environmental Kuznets Curve (EKC) and highlights policy implications and governmental measures to ensure environmental sustainability in BRICS economies.

Linking public leadership with project management effectiveness: Mediating role of goal clarity and moderating role of top management support

Objective

Grounding on social learning theory (SLT), this study examines the effect of public leadership on project management effectiveness (PME). Further, this study examines the mediating role of goal clarity and moderating role of top management support.

Methodology

Hierarchical linear regressions were used to investigate the relationships. PROCESS Hayes (2003) Model 7 was used for the moderation and mediation analysis. The data was collected from 322 Pakistani public sector developmental project employees.

Findings

The results show that public leadership positively affects goal clarity (β = 0.049, p < 0.001) and project management effectiveness (0.032, p < 0.001). In addition, goal clarity mediates the association between public leadership and project management effectiveness (0.36, p < 0.001). Furthermore, the strength of the mediated relationship between public leadership and project management effectiveness (via goal clarity) depends on top management support. The indirect effect of public leadership on project management effectiveness is high when top management support is high (compared to low).

Conclusion

The role of public leadership contributes significantly to the project's success. The project leader recognises, enlists, and promotes the organisation's core competencies, identifies, corrects, and controls key rigidities, places a high value on goal clarity, and continually lines up procedures with the project's overarching goals.

Implications

Public leadership is crucial in project management effectiveness, especially in the public sector, where projects often involve multiple stakeholders, limited resources, and complex regulatory requirements. Effective public leadership ensures that projects are aligned with the organization's mission and goals and carried out efficiently, on time, and within budget.

Servant leadership and employee prosocial rule-breaking: The underlying effects of psychological safety and compassion at work

The study intends to investigate the impact of servant leadership on pro-social rule-breaking directly and through the intervening mechanism of psychological safety. More, the study also plans to investigate whether compassion at work moderates the effect of servant leadership on psychological safety and pro-social rule-breaking and the indirect intervening effect of psychological safety between servant leadership and pro-social rule-breaking. Responses were collected from 273 frontline public servants in Pakistan. Using social information processing theory, the results revealed that servant leadership positively influences pro-social rule-breaking and psychological safety and that psychological safety influences pro-social rule-breaking. Results also revealed that psychological safety acts as an intervening mechanism in the relationship between servant leadership and pro-social rule-breaking. Moreover, compassion at work significantly moderates the relationships of servant leadership with psychological safety and pro-social rule-breaking, and that compassion at work ultimately alters the size of the intervening effect of psychological safety between the connection of servant leadership and pro-social rule-breaking.

How and When Perpetrators Reflect on and Respond to Their Workplace Ostracism Behavior: A Moral Cleansing Lens

Purpose

This study investigates the association between the previous workplace ostracism of employees and their subsequent helping behavior by drawing on moral cleansing theory in the Chinese context, exploring the mediating roles of employees' guilt and perceived loss of moral credit and the moderating role of their moral identity symbolization.

Sample and Method

The data were collected from a two-stage time-lagged survey of 284 Chinese employees. Regression analysis and the bootstrapping method are used in this article to examine the theoretical hypotheses.

Results

The results indicate that employees' previous ostracism behaviors positively affected their guilt experience and perceived loss of moral credit. Subsequently, the relationship between employees' workplace ostracism and their helping behavior is mediated by guilt experience and perceived loss of moral credit. Furthermore, moral identity symbolization positively moderated the indirect "workplace ostracism-helping behavior" linkage via guilt and perceived loss of moral credits; in other words, for employees who have a higher degree of moral identity symbolization, the mediating effect is more significant, and vice versa.

Conclusion

This study does not merely clarify the theoretical relationship between perpetrators' workplace ostracism and their helping behavior, which enriches the explanatory logic of related research on workplace ostracism and the cause of helping behavior, but also expand the application scope of moral cleansing theory. Further, we aim practically to bring enlightenment to human resource management reform, corporate culture construction, and positive behavior management.

Management of knowledge and competence through human resource information system—A structured review

The fourth industrial revolution will be ushered in by future high technology, and as a result, the world will face new difficulties relating to people, the environment, and profitability. Accordingly, the competitive edge and long-term viability of businesses would depend on the knowledge workers who could overcome these excruciatingly difficult obstacles and have the knowledge and competency to influence the overall performance of any type of company. But managing knowledge workers falls under the purview of human resources, and only effective human resources tools, plans, and procedures can ensure the success of this task. One such tool, which has the capacity and capability to change the whole scenario in an organization's favor, is the human resource information system (HRIS). The purpose of this structured review is to provide insight into a field of HRM (i.e., HRIS) that has largely been neglected by other reviews of the literature and has only been briefly discussed by a small number of publications published in reputable, top-tier journals. A customized HRIS framework is the result of this structured literature review for managing knowledge and competence. The study presents the content analysis of 48 articles, systematically and purposefully selected for this literature review, published during the past three decades. The study has several implications for policymakers and HR practitioners.

A novel echocardiographic risk score predicts prognosis in AL-amyloidosis

Background

Prognosis in light chain (AL) amyloidosis is largely determined by the severity of cardiac involvement. Conventional (Mayo) staging includes 1) hs troponin 2) N-terminal pro-beta natriuretic peptide (NT-pro BNP) and 3)free light chain difference.

Methods

In a retrospective study of 75 AL amyloidosis patients referred to a quaternary amyloid clinic, all patients underwent comprehensive echocardiographic assessment. Echocardiographic parameters included left ventricular (LV) ejection fraction, LV mass, diastolic function, global longitudinal strain (GLS) and indexed left atrial volume (LAVI). Mortality was assessed through review of clinical records.

Results

Over a median follow up of 51 months, 29/75 (39%) of patients died. LAVI, E/e', e', LVGLS, were univariate predictors of mortality (p&lt;0.1). LAVI was the only independent echocardiographic predictor in a multivariable model. Kaplan Meir analysis evaluated LAVI, LVGLS and E/e' using clinical cutoffs as a predictor of survival; only LAVI and LVGLS were significant. A novel “Echo score” comprising of LAVI (&gt;42 ml/m2) and LVGLS (&lt;−12%) was a predictor of mortality with similar prognostic performance as Mayo stage. (Echo score AUC 0.745, 95% CI 0.64–0.85 vs Mayo score AUC 0.752 95% CI 0.66–0.86, p=0.9).

Conclusion

LAVI, a simple, echocardiographic parameter was as an independent predictor of mortality in AL amyloidosis. A composite echocardiographic score combining LAVI and LVGLS stratified AL-amyloidosis patients into 3 distinct groups with similar prognostic power as Mayo stage for all-cause mortality.

Funding Acknowledgement

Type of funding sources: None.

Investigating Inclusive Leadership and Pro-Social Rule Breaking in Hospitality Industry: Important Role of Psychological Safety and Leadership Identification

This study aims to empirically examine the mediating effects of psychological safety and leadership identification on the relationship between inclusive leadership and pro-social rule breaking among hospitality employees. This study analyzes the survey data collected in three waves from 589 employees working in different hotels and restaurants operating in the Northern areas of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Pakistan. The scale validity, composite reliability, and hypotheses were assessed through PLS-SEM. The study found that inclusive leadership significantly impacts employees’ pro-social rule-breaking. The study also found that leadership identification and psychological safety partially mediate the relationship between inclusive leadership and pro-social rule-breaking. Hospitality leaders can practice inclusive leadership characteristics because it may significantly enhance employee engagement in pro-social rule-breaking. Through their inclusive features, hospitality leaders can improve employees’ psychological safety and leadership identification, enhancing frontline employees’ pro-social rule-breaking.

Servant Leadership and Followers Prosocial Rule-Breaking: The Mediating Role of Public Service Motivation

This research explores the effect of servant leadership on prosocial rule-breaking (PSRB) and the mediating mechanism of public service motivation (PSM) between the association of servant leadership and PSRB. The said phenomenon is examined in the civil service context of Pakistan during the continuing crises of the COVID-19 pandemic, a situation where the traditional civil service policy and rule system has become highly complicated for passionate employees' service performance and efficiency, and where servant leadership has received greater attention for inspiring the attitudinal and behavioral outcomes of frontline workers during the pandemic. Data were collected from 546 frontline workers of the corona relief tiger force. The findings of the study revealed that servant leadership has a significant effect on PSRB and PSM, and that PSM significantly promotes PSRB. The results also revealed that servant leadership has a significant impact on PSRB via engendering PSM.

How Does Servant Leadership Influences Creativity? Enhancing Employee Creativity via Creative Process Engagement and Knowledge Sharing

Grounding on social exchange theory and using the creative process engagement as a lens, this article study investigates the influence of servant leadership on employee creativity. In addition, the research examines the role of knowledge sharing in the link between servant leadership and employee creativity. Time lag method was used to collect the data from 242 employees and 57 managers employed in Chinese publicly listed companies. The data collection was divided into two parts. The subordinates were asked to rate servant leadership, their creative process engagement behavior, and knowledge sharing. The supervisors were asked to rate their associates regarding employee creativity. According to the results, employees creative process engagement behaviors mediated servant leadership and employees’ creativity. In addition, the link between servant leadership and employees’ creativity was strengthened by knowledge sharing. A detailed model is also provided, highlighting the significance of leadership, work engagement, knowledge sharing in fostering employee creativity in the Asian environment.

The positive side of overqualification: examining perceived overqualification linkage with knowledge sharing and career planning

Purpose

This study aims to address and observe the positive side of perceived overqualification (POQ) on employee knowledge sharing (KS) and career planning. Role identity theory highlights that an employee’s POQ is related to employee career identity in a positive way.

Design/methodology/approach

The hypotheses were supported by a time-lagged examination of 277 supervisor–subordinate dyads working in the corporate sector.

Findings

The findings state that a person’s career identity is associated with increased KS and career planning. Furthermore, the effect of overqualification on KS and career planning was predicted to be mediated by career identity. Using an interactionism mechanism, this study indicated that this mediation is moderated by leader humility. The career identities of overqualified employees are elevated when a humble leader supports them. The results suggest that, when handled appropriately, POQ may benefit both employees and organizations.

Research limitations/implications

The implications of these results are examined theoretically and practically. Moreover, the findings of this study will open new avenues for scholars and practitioners in the field of organizational behavior and human resource management.

Originality/value

The study examined the positive side of POQ and its effect on employees’ career outcomes and KS attitudes. This study is among the first empirical studies to examine career outcomes and KS behavior due to POQ.

Wireless, Battery-Free, and Fully Implantable Micro-Coil System for 7 T Brain MRI

An elegant solution for the concurrent transmission of data and power is essential for implantable wireless magnetic resonance imaging (MRI). This paper presents a self-tuned open interior microcoil (MC) antenna with three useful operating bands of 300 (7 T), 400, and 920 MHz, for blood vessel imaging, data telemetry, and efficient wireless transmission of power, respectively. The proposed open interior MC antenna contains two mirrorlike arms with diameters and lengths of 2.4 mm and 9.8 mm, respectively, to avoid blood flow blockage. To wirelessly show LED glow on a saline based phantom, the MC was fabricated on a flexible polyimide material and combined with a miniaturized rectifier and a micro-LED. Using a path gain, the power transfer efficiency (PTE) of the MC rotation was also analyzed. Additionally, the PTE was calculated for a range of distances between 25 and 60 mm, and a -27.1 dB PTE attained at a distance of of 30 mm. Based on the recommendations of the International Commission on Non-Ionizing Radiation Protection for human brain safety when exposed to radio-frequencies from external transmitter, a specific absorption rate analysis was analyzed. Measurements of the s-parameters were noted using a saline solution and blood vessel model to imitate a realistic human head. They were found to correlate reasonably with the simulated results.

How Classy Servant Leader at Workplace? Linking Servant Leadership and Task Performance During the COVID-19 Crisis: A Moderation and Mediation Approach

The COVID-19 pandemic has caused a record global crisis, particularly and extremely, for the service sectors. Due to extensive security measures, many service sector employees have to work remotely to maintain services. Drawing upon the conservation of resources theory, this research investigates the impact of servant leadership on the task performance of employees in virtual working environments during the COVID-19 crisis. Our theoretical model was tested using data collected from 335 individual employees in the education sector of Pakistan. SPSS version 26.0 was applied to find the hypothesized relationship between the study variables. To find the indirect mediating effect, we applied Model 4; for moderation, we applied Model 1; and for the moderation and mediation effect, we applied Model 7 of the Process Macro model of Hayes. The results of the study revealed that servant leadership is positively related to task performance in a virtual environment during crises. Furthermore, psychological empowerment partially mediates the relationship between servant leadership and task performance. Perceived supervisor support positively moderates the relationship between servant leadership and task performance. Moreover, the indirect effect of servant leadership on task performance via psychological empowerment is moderated by perceived supervisor support. The results provided guidance to the educational sector on how to lead effectively in times of crisis when service sector employees work predominantly in virtual environments. The theoretical and practical implications of these findings are discussed.

Linking Ethical Leadership to Followers' Knowledge Sharing: Mediating Role of Psychological Ownership and Moderating Role of Professional Commitment

This study examined (1) the influence of ethical leadership on knowledge sharing, (2) the mediating role of psychological ownership, and (3) the moderating effect of professional commitment between ethical leadership (EL) and knowledge sharing (KS). Data were collected from 307 public listed Pakistani companies’ employees. Statistical analyses were performed by using SPSS Version 25 and AMOS version 22. The findings indicate a positive relationship between EL and KS behavior. Additionally, the impact of EL on KS was partially mediated by psychological ownership. Furthermore, professional commitment buffers the link between EL and KS. This study contributes to the body of knowledge in the field of leadership by confirming the role of ethics. The results show that ethical leaders develop employee attitudes (i.e., psychological ownership and professional commitment) that contribute to employee KS behavior. Ethical leaders create and encourage a learning culture to enhance organizational performance. This study adds to the little data on the positive impact of EL on listed company’s employees and addresses the gaps in previous studies on the role of EL in changing environments. In addition, professional commitment as a moderator has not been previously investigated with ethical leadership antecedents.

Does Servant Leadership Control Psychological Distress in Crisis? Moderation and Mediation Mechanism

Purpose

This study aims to investigate the impact of servant leadership on the psychological distress of healthcare staff during the Covid-19 crisis. The authors propose that work engagement mediates and mindfulness moderates the direct relationship between servant leadership and psychological distress.

Methods

Time-lagged data were collected from 277 healthcare staff working at different hospitals in Pakistan. Process Macro version 3.1 on SPSS 23 was used for statistical analysis. For model fitness, we used AMOS V 22.

Results

The results show that servant leadership is negatively related to psychological distress. Furthermore, work engagement mediates the relationship between servant leadership and psychological distress. Moreover, mindfulness is anticipated to moderate the direct relationship between servant leadership and psychological distress, drawing on the social exchange and conservation of resources theory.

Discussion

This study finds that servant leadership is vital for the mental health of healthcare staff. Thus, it extends the utility of the concept of servant leadership to the psychology and crisis management literature.

Linking Corporate Social Responsibility to Workplace Deviant Behaviors: Mediating Role of Job Satisfaction

The purpose of this article is to present a mechanism through which the deviant work behaviors of employees can be dealt-with positively through corporate good deeds in the form of fulfilling social responsibilities. Based on the spirit of social identity theory and social exchange theory, the study explores the relationships of various deviant behaviors with corporate social responsibility (CSR) through the mediation mechanism of job satisfaction. Data were collected from 385 employees of 40 large manufacturing organizations involved in CSR activities operating in Pakistan. A self-report survey was conducted using a close-ended questionnaire. Data analysis was performed using SEM through Mplus 7. The results reveal that both internal and external CSR contribute to the reduced level of turnover intention, counterproductive work behaviors, and prohibitive voice behaviors. Job satisfaction fully mediates the relationship for internal CSR while partially mediates for external CSR. The study encourages the practitioners to avail approaches that convey the feelings of care, concern, and safety, representing internal CSR practices through diverse HR interventions, organizational support, and justice. They should also keep up the socially responsible behaviors aiming toward the larger community.

Towards Examining the Link Between Workplace Spirituality and Workforce Agility: Exploring Higher Educational Institutions

Purpose

Spiritual inherited employees quickly shift to new changes that occur very quickly in our daily lives in different ways. We are inspired by the dynamic changes in our daily lives due to the Covid 19 situation, an urgent need to specify the shift from the traditional approach to the agile approach during a pandemic. This study aimed to figure out the effect of workplace spirituality on workforce agility; further, this study underpinning spillover theory to examine the role of job involvement as a mediator.

Methods

This study investigates a sample of 236 teaching and administrative staff working in public sector institutes located in Peshawar, Pakistan. For data analysis, we used SPSS v. 25, and for model fitness, we used AMOS version 22. Furthermore, we used Process Hayes (Model 4) to test the theoretical model and research hypothesis for mediation.

Results

This unique study offers a paradigm in which spirituality in the workplace substantially influences the agility of teaching and administrative professionals by positively mediating the effects of job involvement.

Discussion

An in-depth examination of the literature showed that no prior research had studied the connection between WPS, job involvement, and workforce agility. Furthermore, there is very little research regarding WPS and its connection with other components in the Covid 19 scenario. The current study was a modest attempt to address this gap in the literature. This research has succeeded in making substantial additions to management literature.

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The Influence of Decision Making on Social Inclusion of Persons with Disabilities: A Case Study of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa

Decision making is an essentially social process adopted by individuals or groups to identify and choose the best choice among several alternatives. Decision-making choices are influenced by the preferences, values, and beliefs of the individuals or groups involved in the decision-making process. This study was conducted to analyze the social inclusion of Persons with Disabilities (PWDs) in the context of their participation in decision making. The study area consisted of 8028 PWDs registered with the government of Pakistan, from which a sample of 488 PWDs was selected through a multistage stratified random sampling technique. These PWDs included physically disabled, blind, crippled, and deaf persons; however, the data were collected from those who were able to be interviewed. Chi-square and Kendall’s Tau-b tests were used to determine the strength, level, and direction of association among variables. At the multivariate level, the study found a spurious relation between social inclusion and participation in decision making when controlling for gender, monthly family income, and level of disability of the PWDs. The results highlighted that participation in decision making improved the social inclusion of male and moderately disabled PWDs more positively. However, participation in decision making was a universal feature explaining the social inclusion of PWDs irrespective of their monthly family income. The logistic regression model explained that the social inclusion of PWDs was more likely to occur when PWDs were married, had high monthly family income (PKR 16,500 and above), belonged to a joint family, and actively participated in decision making. The study recommends that ensuring the participation of PWDs in decision making in family, community, school, and other relevant institutions ultimately enhances their social inclusion.

Have You Heard That-"GOSSIP"? Gossip Spreads Rapidly and Influences Broadly

This study examines the impact of negative workplace gossip (NWG) on employee political acts (PA) and the role of ego depletion (ED) as a mediator. We also examined the indirect impact of NWG on PA through ED controlled by emotional intelligence (EI). A three-wave time-lagged study (paper-pencil based) was performed with 277 employees from various private organisations in Islamabad, Pakistan. The current data were gathered in three phases to reduce common method bias. Study results indicate that NWG positively affects employees' PA. The authors also found ED as a potential mediator in the association between NWG and PA. In addition, the results also indicate the indirect effect of NWG on targets' PA via ED is reduced by targets' EI, with the result that this connection is weak when targets' EI is high. Because this research is limited to a single region of Pakistan, particularly Islamabad, its findings cannot be comprehensive. Future studies should use a larger sample size to accomplish the same study. Future studies may include more organisations (that is, Public) to conduct a comparative analysis of the public and private sectors. This article, based on the affective events theory (AET), argues that EI should be utilised to mitigate the effects of NWG. Along with our significant and relevant theoretical contributions, we provide novel insights into the body of knowledge on how managers may prevent or minimise such PA. The current study results support all direct and indirect hypothesised connections, with important implications for theory and practice. A review of the existing literature indicates that EI may be associated with a reduction in employees' ED; however, EI has not been used as a moderator in mitigating the influence of NWG, ED, and PA in the past.

Health Is Wealth: Study on Consumer Preferences and the Willingness to Pay for Ecological Agricultural Product Traceability Technology: Evidence from Jiangxi Province China

The application of traceability technology is an important way to solve food safety problems. Different traceability technologies bring different effects to consumers. Existing studies have not explored consumers’ preferences in regards to product traceability technology applications, and they have not analyzed their willingness to pay. Therefore, this study focused on organic rice, an ecological agricultural product. The study was based on a survey from Jiangxi Province, China. It used a selective experiment method in order to analyze consumer preferences and the willingness to pay for ecological agricultural product traceability technology. The results show that consumer preferences are as follows: blockchain technology application attributes, traditional traceability-technology-application attributes, high credit-supervision attributes, and international-certification attributes. In terms of willingness to pay, consumers have the highest willingness to pay for the application of blockchain technology, which they are willing to pay CNY 21.902 more per kg for this attribute. At the same time, consumers are also willing to make additional payments for traditional traceability-technology-application attributes, high credit-supervision attributes, and international-certification attributes. Their willingness to pay is CNY 20.426, CNY 17.115 yuan, and CNY 11.049, respectively.

Sterically and Electronically Modified Aryliminopyridyl-Nickel Bromide Precatalysts for an Access to Branched Polyethylene with Vinyl/Vinylene End Groups

A series of 2-((arylimino)ethyl)pyridine derivatives (L1-L5), each containing N-2,4-bis(dibenzocycloheptyl) groups with variations in the steric/electronic properties of the ortho-substituent in the aryl ring, and the corresponding nickel bromide precatalysts [2-N{2,4-(C₁₅H₁₃)-6-R-C₆H₂}C₇H₇N]NiBr₂ (R = Me (Ni1), Et (Ni2), ^i-Pr (Ni3), Cl (Ni4), or F (Ni5)), have been prepared in high yield. All the precatalysts are air-stable and characterized by Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy and elemental analysis. The molecular structures of Ni2 and Ni5 were proved through single-crystal X-ray diffraction analysis. The steric/electronic impact of the catalysts on ethylene polymerization and the resulting polymer properties were studied. Upon activation with either MAO or EASC, all the complexes displayed higher activities (up to 7.93 × 10⁶ g of PE (mol of Ni)^-1 h^-1 with MAO) in ethylene polymerization and produced moderate to highly branched unsaturated polyethylene with a molecular weight of up to 16.55 kg/mol with narrow dispersities (1.6-2.4). Significantly, the generated polyethylenes are branched and unsaturated with a major class of internal double bond (-CH=CH-) as compared to the terminal double bond (-CH=CH₂) (vinylene/vinyl = 9.8:1 to 1.8:1). Notably, their catalytic activities, types of unsaturation, and branches are highly affected by the nature of the ortho-substituent and reaction temperature. Moreover, the precatalysts Ni4 and Ni5 (with N-ortho = Cl and F) exhibited lower catalytic activities, produced low-molecular-weight polyethylene with a high melt temperature and the least number of branches with an increased level of terminal double bonds.

Clinical and echocardiographic characteristics of cardioembolic stroke

BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE

Ischaemic stroke frequently has a cardioembolic (CE) source. Clinical and echocardiographic parameters associated with CE stroke were evaluated.

METHODS

In all, 93 consecutive ischaemic stroke patients who underwent a transthoracic echocardiogram were retrospectively analysed; strokes were classified by TOAST (Trial of Org 10172 in Acute Stroke Treatment) criteria. Echocardiographic parameters related to CE stroke, including left atrial volumes and function, were compared to 73 healthy controls.

RESULTS

Of 93 patients (mean age 66.1 years, 56% male), nine (10%) had large artery atherosclerosis, 38 (41%) CE stroke, two (2%) small vessel disease, two (2%) other and 42 (45%) undetermined aetiology. Left atrial (LA) maximum volumes (LAVI_max ) and minimum volumes (LAVI_min ) were larger in the CE group than the non-CE group (45 vs. 32 ml/m² , 32 vs. 13 ml/m² , respectively, P < 0.001), whilst LA function indices including LA emptying fraction and LA function index (LAFI) were lower in the CE group (34% vs. 55%, and 0.12 vs. 0.35, respectively, P < 0.001). Adjusting for clinical characteristics, LAFI ≤0.3 was an independent predictor of CE stroke (adjusted odds ratio 5.3, P = 0.001). Additionally, LAVI_max and LAVI_min were larger (61 vs. 44 and 32 vs. 24 ml/m² respectively, P < 0.01) and LAFI significantly lower (0.34 vs. 0.52, P < 0.001) in the undetermined aetiology group versus healthy controls.

CONCLUSIONS

Left atrial enlargement with reduced LA function was associated with CE stroke and LAFI was the best independent predictor. LA parameters were also altered in the undetermined aetiology group, suggesting an underlying LA myopathy in this subset.

Highly linear polyethylenes tailored with 2,6-bis[1-(p-dibenzo-cycloheptylarylimino)ethyl]pyridylcobalt dichlorides

Bis(imino)pyridylcobalt dichlorides displayed high activities for ethylene polymerization, producing highly linear PEs with the vinyl end group as the major one.

Adaptive Matching Transmitter With Dual-Band Antenna for Intraoral Tongue Drive System

The intraoral Tongue Drive System (iTDS) is a wireless assistive technology that detects users' voluntary tongue gestures, and converts them to user-defined commands, enabling them to access computers and navigate powered wheelchairs. In this paper, we presented a transmitter (Tx) with adaptive matching and three bands (27, 433, and 915 MHz) to create a robust wireless link between iTDS and an external receiver (Rx) by addressing the effects of external RF interference and impedance variations of the Tx antenna in the dynamic mouth environment. The upper two Tx bands share a dual-band antenna, while the lower band drives a coil. The Tx antenna is simulated in a simplified human mouth model in HFSS as well as a real human head model. The adaptive triple-band Tx chip was fabricated in a 0.35-μm 4P2M standard CMOS process. The Tx chip and antenna have been characterized in a human subject as part of an iTDS prototype under open-and closed-mouth scenarios, which present the peak gain of -24.4 and -15.63 dBi at 433 and 915 MHz, respectively. Two adaptive matching networks for these bands compensate variations of the Tx antenna impedance via a feedback mechanism. The measured S₁₁ tuning range of the proposed network can cover up to 60 and 75 jΩ at 433 and 915 MHz, respectively.