The Impact of Transformational Leadership on Service Employees in the Hotel Industry.

Transformational leadership is important to the hotel industry where employees play a critical role in delivering the service. Transformational leadership is a leadership style that causes changes in employees by sharing the organization's vision and goals, providing necessary resources, promoting intellectual stimulation, and expecting high performance. This study uses four dimensions of transformational leadership to investigate how the dimensions influence employees' organizational identification, creativity, and task performance. In order to test the proposed model, data were gathered from employees of six hotels in South Korea. The data were analyzed with SmartPLS 4.0 program. The finding shows that four dimensions of transformational leadership have different effects on organizational identification and creativity. While core transformational leadership and supportive leader behavior enhance employees' organizational identification, which affects creativity and task performance, intellectual stimulation has an impact on creativity, which influences task performance. The post hoc analysis shows that organizational identification fully mediates the relationship between two dimensions of transformational leadership and creativity. This study contributes to the existing literatures of leadership theory and social identification theory by expanding the knowledge on the role of transformational leadership on employees. Some theoretical and practical implications are offered.

Impacts of residential environment on residents' place attachment, satisfaction, WOM, and pro-environmental behavior: evidence from the Korean housing industry.

This study considers seven residential environment elements and examines their effect on residents' place attachment (place dependence and place identity), satisfaction, word-of-mouth behavior, and pro-environmental behavior. The study also examines whether gender moderates the proposed relationships. The data were collected from 603 respondents who owned a condominium in Seoul, South Korea. We analyzed the data using structural equation modeling with SmartPLS 4. The finding shows that all seven elements of the residential environment have a significant impact on either dimension of place attachment, except for the insignificant effect of social environment on place dependence. Both dimensions of place attachment have a significant effect on satisfaction, WOM, and pro-environmental behavior except for the insignificant effect of place dependence on pro-environmental behavior. The interaction effect test of gender shows that males consider eco-friendly materials and green/recreational areas more than females. On the other hand, females are found to weigh and social environments more heavily than males. The finding shows that pro-environmental behavior is influenced by place identity (not by place dependence) and satisfaction, indicating a key role of affective response.

A New Digital Analysis Technique for the Mechanical Aperture and Contact Area of Rock Fractures.

In this study, a new digital technique for the analysis of the mechanical aperture and contact area of rock fractures under various normal stresses is proposed. The technique requires point cloud data of the upper and lower fracture surfaces, pressure film image data of the fracture, and normal deformation data of the fracture as input data. Three steps of algorithms were constructed using these input data: (1) a primary matching algorithm that considers the shape of the fracture surfaces; (2) a secondary matching algorithm that uses pressure film images; and (3) a translation algorithm that considers the normal deformation of a fracture. The applicability of the proposed technique was investigated using natural fracture specimens sampled at an underground research facility in Korea. In this process, the technique was validated through a comparison with the empirical equation suggested in a previous study. The proposed technique has the advantage of being able to analyze changes in the mechanical aperture and contact area under various normal stresses without multiple experiments. In addition, the change in the contact area on the fracture surface according to the normal stress can be analyzed in detail.

Does CEO tenure moderate the link between corporate social responsibility and business performance in small- and medium-sized enterprises?

This study investigates the effect of CSR activities on business performance of small- and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in South Korea setting. Based on upper echelons theory and stakeholder theory, the study further examines CEO tenure as a potential moderator between CSR activities and business performance. The study considers four dimensions of CSR (economic, legal, ethical, and philanthropic) and two types of business performance (financial and non-financial). To test the moderating effect of CEO tenure, we divided the sample into two groups: companies with short-term tenured CEOs and long-term tenured CEOs. The data were collected from 443 CEOs of SMEs in South Korea. We used a multi-group analysis with SmartPLS 4. The study finds that CEO tenure moderates the relationship between dimensions of CSR and business performance. More specifically, the study finds that CEOs in early-stage tenure focus on philanthropic activities to drive financial performance, while their counterparts focus on economic/legal dimension. CEOs, regardless of the length of tenure, consider the philanthropic dimension helpful for improving both financial and non-financial performance. This study expands prior research by examining the relationship between CSR and business performance in SMEs, considering the impact of the CEO tenure. The findings of this study make contributions to the literature by demonstrating that CEO tenure is an important factor in linking CSR to business performance. This research also adds evidence to the CSR literature that economic and legal dimensions are considered mandatory responsibilities, and CEOs of SMEs view them as interconnected. For practical implications, this study identifies different predictors of financial performance for companies with short-term vs. long-term CEO tenure. Short-term CEOs focus on philanthropy to improve financial performance, and both long- and short-term CEOs believe that philanthropy affects the company's financial and non-financial performance.

Exploring the Intra Entrepreneurship-Employee Engagement-Creativity Linkage and the Diverse Effects of Gender and Marital Status.

This research examines which of the sub-dimensions of intra entrepreneurship (innovativeness, pro-activeness, risk-taking), and corporate social responsibility (CSR) support affects employee engagement (organizational and job engagement), which leads to employee creativity. The study uses survey data from SME employees in South Korea and applies the Structural Equation Modeling (SEM)-Artificial Neural Network (ANN) approach, to find that innovativeness and CSR support affect creativity through mediating roles of organizational engagement and job engagement, where job engagement plays a mediating role in the relationship between organizational engagement and creativity. The study also examines how employee gender and marital status effects the relative importance of intra entrepreneurship, organizational engagement, and job engagement on creativity. Findings of ANN analysis evaluates the effects per group (male-unmarried, male-married, female-unmarried, female-married) and shows how the importance of organizational engagement, job engagement, CSR support and innovativeness differ for each group. Contribution to theory and practice are discussed.

Noncanonical immune response to the inhibition of DNA methylation by Staufen1 via stabilization of endogenous retrovirus RNAs.

DNA-methyltransferase inhibitors (DNMTis), such as azacitidine and decitabine, are used clinically to treat myelodysplastic syndrome (MDS) and acute myeloid leukemia (AML). Decitabine activates the transcription of endogenous retroviruses (ERVs), which can induce immune response by acting as cellular double-stranded RNAs (dsRNAs). Yet, the posttranscriptional regulation of ERV dsRNAs remains uninvestigated. Here, we find that the viral mimicry and subsequent cell death in response to decitabine require the dsRNA-binding protein Staufen1 (Stau1). We show that Stau1 directly binds to ERV RNAs and stabilizes them in a genome-wide manner. Furthermore, Stau1-mediated stabilization requires a long noncoding RNA TINCR, which enhances the interaction between Stau1 and ERV RNAs. Analysis of a clinical patient cohort reveals that MDS and AML patients with lower Stau1 and TINCR expressions exhibit inferior treatment outcomes to DNMTi therapy. Overall, our study reveals the posttranscriptional regulatory mechanism of ERVs and identifies the Stau1-TINCR complex as a potential target for predicting the efficacy of DNMTis and other drugs that rely on dsRNAs.

DeepRegularizer: Rapid Resolution Enhancement of Tomographic Imaging Using Deep Learning.

Optical diffraction tomography measures the three-dimensional refractive index map of a specimen and visualizes biochemical phenomena at the nanoscale in a non-destructive manner. One major drawback of optical diffraction tomography is poor axial resolution due to limited access to the three-dimensional optical transfer function. This missing cone problem has been addressed through regularization algorithms that use a priori information, such as non-negativity and sample smoothness. However, the iterative nature of these algorithms and their parameter dependency make real-time visualization impossible. In this article, we propose and experimentally demonstrate a deep neural network, which we term DeepRegularizer, that rapidly improves the resolution of a three-dimensional refractive index map. Trained with pairs of datasets (a raw refractive index tomogram and a resolution-enhanced refractive index tomogram via the iterative total variation algorithm), the three-dimensional U-net-based convolutional neural network learns a transformation between the two tomogram domains. The feasibility and generalizability of our network are demonstrated using bacterial cells and a human leukaemic cell line, and by validating the model across different samples. DeepRegularizer offers more than an order of magnitude faster regularization performance compared to the conventional iterative method. We envision that the proposed data-driven approach can bypass the high time complexity of various image reconstructions in other imaging modalities.

A Novel Path Planning Algorithm for Truck Platooning Using V2V Communication.

In truck platooning, the leading vehicle is driven manually, and the following vehicles run by autonomous driving, with the short inter-vehicle distance between trucks. To successfully perform platooning in various situations, each truck must maintain dynamic stability, and furthermore, the whole system must maintain string stability. Due to the short front-view range, however, the following vehicles' path planning capabilities become significantly impaired. In addition, in platooning with articulated cargo trucks, the off-tracking phenomenon occurring on a curved road makes it hard for the following vehicle to track the trajectory of the preceding truck. In addition, without knowledge of the global coordinate system, it is difficult to correlate the local coordinate systems that each truck relies on for sensing environment and dynamic signals. In this paper, in order to solve these problems, a path planning algorithm for platooning of articulated cargo trucks has been developed. Using the Kalman filter, V2V (Vehicle-to-Vehicle) communication, and a novel update-and-conversion method, each following vehicle can accurately compute the trajectory of the leading vehicle's front part for using it as a target path. The path planning algorithm of this paper was validated by simulations on severe driving scenarios and by tests on an actual road. The results demonstrated that the algorithm could provide lateral string stability and robustness for truck platooning.

Equivalent Pore Channel Model for Fluid Flow in Rock Based on Microscale X-ray CT Imaging.

Pore-scale modeling with a reconstructed rock microstructure has become a dominant technique for fluid flow characterization in rock thanks to technological improvements in X-ray computed tomography (CT) imaging. A new method for the construction of a pore channel model from micro-CT image analysis is suggested to improve computational efficiency by simplifying a highly complex pore structure. Ternary segmentation was applied through matching a pore volume experimentally measured by mercury intrusion porosimetry with a CT image voxel volume to distinguish regions denoted as "apparent" and "indistinct" pores. The developed pore channel model, with distinct domains of different pore phases, captures the pore shape dependence of flow in two dimensions and a tortuous flow path in three dimensions. All factors determining these geometric characteristics were identified by CT image analysis. Computation of an interaction flow regime with apparent and indistinct pore domains was conducted using both the Stokes and Brinkman equations. The coupling was successfully simulated and evaluated against the experimental results of permeability derived from Darcy's law. Reasonable agreement was found between the permeability derived from the pore channel model and that estimated experimentally. However, the model is still incapable of accurate flow modeling in very low-permeability rock. Direct numerical simulation in a computational domain with a complex pore space was also performed to compare its accuracy and efficiency with the pore channel model. Both schemes achieved reasonable results, but the pore channel model was more computationally efficient.

Lumbar Sympathetic Block with Botulinum Toxin Type A and Type B for the Complex Regional Pain Syndrome.

A lumbar sympathetic ganglion block (LSB) is a therapeutic method for complex regional pain syndrome (CRPS) affecting the lower limbs. Recently, LSB with botulinum toxin type A and B was introduced as a novel method to achieve longer duration of analgesia. In this study, we compared the botulinum toxin type A (BTA) with botulinum toxin type B (BTB) in performing LSB on patients with CRPS. LSB was performed with either BTA or BTB on patients with CRPS in their lower extremities. The length of time taken for patients to return to the pre-LSB pain score and the adverse effect of LSB with BTA/BTB were investigated. The median length of time taken for the patients to return to the pre-LSB pain score was 15 days for the BTA group and 69 days for the BTB group (P = 0.002). Scores on a visual analogue scale decreased in the patients of both groups, and no significant adverse effects were experienced. In conclusion, the administration of either BTA or BTB for LSB is a safe method to prolong the sympathetic blocking effect in patients with CRPS. BTB is more effective than BTA to prolong the sympathetic blocking effect in CRPS patients.

Paired Ig-Like Type 2 Receptor-Derived Agonist Ligands Ameliorate Inflammatory Reactions by Downregulating ß1 Integrin Activity.

The paired immunoglobulin-like type 2 receptor (PILR) family consists of two functionally opposite members, inhibitory PILRα and activating PILRß receptors. PILRs are widely expressed in various immune cells and interact with their ligands, especially CD99 expressed on activated T cells, to participate in immune responses. Here we investigated whether PILR-derived agonists inhibit ß1 integrin activity as ligands for CD99. PILR-derived peptides as well as PILR-Fc fusion proteins prevented cell adhesion to fibronectin through the regulation of ß1 integrin activity. Especially, PILRpep3, a representative 3-mer peptide covering the conserved motifs of the PILR extracellular domain, prevented the clustering and activation of ß1 integrin by dephosphorylating FAK and vinculin, which are major components of focal adhesion. In addition, PILRpep3 inhibited transendothelial migration of monocytes as well as endothelial cell tube formation. Furthermore, upon intraperitoneal injection of PILRpep3 into mice with collagen-induced arthritis, the inflammatory response of rheumatoid arthritis was strongly suppressed. Taken together, these results suggest that PILR-derived agonist ligands may prevent the inflammatory reactions of rheumatoid arthritis by activating CD99.

Ozone-induced inactivation of antioxidant enzymes.

Ozone is an air pollutant that damages a variety of biomolecules. We investigated ozone-induced inactivation of three major antioxidant enzymes. Cu/Zn superoxide dismutase was inactivated by ozone in a concentration-dependent manner. The concentration of ozone for 50% inactivation was approximately 45 microM when 10 microM Cu/Zn superoxide dismutase was incubated for 30 min in the presence of ozone. SDS-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis (PAGE) showed that the enzyme was randomly fragmented. Both ascorbate and glutathione were very effective in protecting Cu/Zn superoxide dismutase from ozone-induced inactivation. The other two enzymes, catalase and glutathione peroxidase, were much more resistant to ozone than Cu/Zn superoxide dismutase. The ozone concentrations for 50% inactivation of 10 microM catalase and glutathione peroxidase were 500 and 240 microM, respectively. SDS-PAGE demonstrated that ozone caused formation of high molecular weight aggregates in catalase and dimerization in glutathione peroxidase. Glutathione protected catalase and glutathione peroxidase from ozone but the effective concentrations were much higher than that for Cu/Zn superoxide dismutase. Ascorbate was almost ineffective. The result suggests that, among the three antioxidant enzymes, Cu/Zn superoxide dismutase is a major target for ozone-induced inactivation and both glutathione and ascorbate are very effective in protecting the enzyme from ozone.