Transformational Leadership, Psychological Capital and Front-line Sales Staffs’ Service Quality : Psychological Capital as a Mediator

Qi-chao He,Qiao An,Pu-xin Lin 보안공학연구지원센터 2016 International Journal of u- and e- Service, Scienc Vol.9 No.7

Confronting diverse working pressure during office time, front-line sales staffs’ service quality will be threatened, which can affect customers’ satisfaction and loyalty degree, then influence market share and competitive edge of the company further. Thus, this paper focuses on the front-line sales staffs and aims at identifying the influence mechanism of transformational leadership on their service quality and the role of psychological capital among the triadic relationship. The result of hierarchy regression analysis about 250 sample data showed that both transformational leadership and psychological capital had significantly positive effect on front-line sales staffs’ service quality, while psychological capital acted as mediator between transformational leadership and front-line sales staffs’ service quality. Organizational management is advised to adopt transformational leadership and promote the employees’ level of psychological capital so as to improve the service quality of front-line sales staffs and the entire company.

Prevalence and Genetic Characterization of Toxoplasma gondii in Pet Dogs in Central China

Wei-Feng Qian,Wen-Chao Yan,Tian-Qi Wang,Kai Zhai,Li-Fang Han,Chao-Chao Lv 대한기생충학열대의학회 2015 The Korean Journal of Parasitology Vol.53 No.1

The prevalence and genotype of Toxoplasma gondii infection in dogs in Henan Province, Central China was investigated. A total of 125 blood samples were collected from pet dogs during April to June 2013, and all samples were examined by indirect hemagglutination antibody test (IHA) and nested PCR. The overall T. gondii prevalence in pet dogs was 24.0% (30/125), with 20.8% (26/125) in IHA and 10.4% (13/125) in PCR, respectively. No statistical associations were found between animal gender and age and the prevalence of T. gondii infection. Thirteen positive DNA samples were genotyped using 11 PCR-RFLP markers, including SAG1, (3’+5’) SAG2, alt.SAG2, SAG3, BTUB, GRA6, c22-8, c29- 2, L358, PK1, and Apico. Of these, only 2 samples were genotyped with complete data for all loci, and a novel genotype (type III at SAG3 and GRA6 loci, and type I at other loci) was identified. This is the first report of genetic characterization of T. gondii infection in dogs in China.

ZrO2 and Y2O3-stablized ZrO2 coatings deposited using an arc ion plating technique

Qi Min Wang,Jun Gong,Chao Sun,이형우,김광호 한양대학교 세라믹연구소 2011 Journal of Ceramic Processing Research Vol.12 No.3

ZrO2 and Y2O3-stablized ZrO2 (YSZ) coatings were deposited on NiCoCrAlY coated superalloys using an arc ion plating system. The crystalline structure, chemical composition, and morphology of the coatings were systematically investigated using X-ray diffraction, X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy, as well as scanning electron microscopy. The thermal stability of YSZ coatings were investigated by oxidation and thermal shock tests. The results showed that near-stoichiometric ZrO2 coatings can be obtained at a relatively large range of O2 flow rates (134-400 sccm), with the main phase of monolithic zirconia being identified. YSZ coatings exhibited excellent thermal stability in the oxidation and thermal shock tests. Before and after thermal tests, only the tetragonal zirconia (t-ZrO2) phase was identified in the YSZ coatings.

Interleukin-18 Synergism with Interleukin-2 in Cytotoxicity and NKG2D Expression of Human Natural Killer Cells

Qi, Yuan-Ying,Lu, Chao,Ju, Ying,Wang, Zi-E,Li, Yuan-Tang,Shen, Ya-Juan,Lu, Zhi-Ming Asian Pacific Journal of Cancer Prevention 2014 Asian Pacific journal of cancer prevention Vol.15 No.18

Natural killer (NK) cells play an important role in anti-tumor immunity. Interleukin (IL)-18 is an immunoregulatory cytokine that induces potent NK cell-dependent anti-tumor responses when administrated with other cytokines. In this study, we explored the effects of combining IL-18 and IL-2 on NK cytotoxicity as well as expression levels of the NK cell receptor NKG2D in vitro. Freshly isolated PBMCs were incubated for 48 h with IL-18 and IL-2, then CD107a expression on $CD3^-CD56^+$ NK cells was determined by three-colour flow cytometry to evaluate the cytotoxicity of NK cells against human erythroleukemia K562 cells and human colon carcinoma HT29 cells. Flow cytometric analysis was also employed to determine NKG2D expression on NK cells. The combined use of IL-18 and IL-2 significantly increased CD107a expression on NK cells compared with using IL-18 or IL-2 alone, suggesting that the combination of these two cytokines exerted synergistic enhancement of NK cytotoxicity. IL-18 also enhanced NKG2D expression on NK cells when administered with IL-2. In addition, blockade of NKG2D signaling with NKG2D-blocking antibody attenuated the up-regulatory effect of combining IL-18 and IL-2 on NK cytolysis. Our data revealed that IL-18 synergized with IL-2 to dramatically enhance the cytolytic activity of human NK cells in a NKG2D-dependent manner. The results appear encouraging for the use of combined IL-18 and IL-2 in tumor immunotherapy.

Effectiveness and safety of acupuncture for angina pectoris: An overview of systematic reviews

Qi Wen-Chuan,Fu Hong-Juan,Sun Rui-Rui,Li Xiang,Cai Ding-Jun,Wang Chao,Liang Fan-Rong 한국한의학연구원 2022 Integrative Medicine Research Vol.11 No.3

Background: The number of systematic reviews or meta-analyses (SRs/MAs) on the effectiveness of acupuncture for angina pectoris (AP) is increasing. Due to the inconsistent conclusions and unknown quality of these SRs/MAs, this overview aimed to systematically evaluate and synthesize the existing SRs/MAs, attempting to provide more reliable evidence for the effectiveness and safety of acupuncture in the treatment of AP. Methods: SRs/MAs were searched via eight databases from inception to March 14, 2022. The risk of bias was evaluated using the Risk of Bias in Systematic reviews (ROBIS) tool. The quality of the methodology, reporting, and evidence were assessed by the Assess Systematic Reviews 2 (AMSTAR-2), the Preferred Reporting Item for Systematic Review and Meta-analysis for Acupuncture (PRISMA-A), and the Grading of Recommendations Assessment, Development, and Evaluation (GRADE) system, respectively. Results: Sixteen SRs/MAs were included and fifteen SRs/MAs were considered being of critically low quality according to AMSTAR-2. Only three SRs/MAs were rated at low risk of bias. No study reported all the items listed in the PRISMA-A checklist. No high-quality evidence with GRADE assessment was found. With the low-quality evidence, acupuncture combined with other interventions was superior to monotherapy (medications or Chinese medicine) in the angina symptom and electrocardiogram recovery. No adverse effects owing to acupuncture were reported. Conclusions: Owing to the lack of high-quality evidence provided by the current SRs/MAs, the effective-ness of acupuncture for AP still warrants further proof. Further researches with more critical design and methodology are needed for providing more convincing evidence. Background: The number of systematic reviews or meta-analyses (SRs/MAs) on the effectiveness of acupuncture for angina pectoris (AP) is increasing. Due to the inconsistent conclusions and unknown quality of these SRs/MAs, this overview aimed to systematically evaluate and synthesize the existing SRs/MAs, attempting to provide more reliable evidence for the effectiveness and safety of acupuncture in the treatment of AP. Methods: SRs/MAs were searched via eight databases from inception to March 14, 2022. The risk of bias was evaluated using the Risk of Bias in Systematic reviews (ROBIS) tool. The quality of the methodology, reporting, and evidence were assessed by the Assess Systematic Reviews 2 (AMSTAR-2), the Preferred Reporting Item for Systematic Review and Meta-analysis for Acupuncture (PRISMA-A), and the Grading of Recommendations Assessment, Development, and Evaluation (GRADE) system, respectively. Results: Sixteen SRs/MAs were included and fifteen SRs/MAs were considered being of critically low quality according to AMSTAR-2. Only three SRs/MAs were rated at low risk of bias. No study reported all the items listed in the PRISMA-A checklist. No high-quality evidence with GRADE assessment was found. With the low-quality evidence, acupuncture combined with other interventions was superior to monotherapy (medications or Chinese medicine) in the angina symptom and electrocardiogram recovery. No adverse effects owing to acupuncture were reported. Conclusions: Owing to the lack of high-quality evidence provided by the current SRs/MAs, the effective-ness of acupuncture for AP still warrants further proof. Further researches with more critical design and methodology are needed for providing more convincing evidence.

A Noninjection Reaction Route to CuInSe2 Nanocrystals with Triethanolamine as the Complexing Agent

Qi-Yi Zhang,Wen-Long Liu,Meng-Qiang Wu,Ru-Chao Zhou,Li-Dan Yan,Shu-Ren Zhang 대한화학회 2011 Bulletin of the Korean Chemical Society Vol.32 No.12

The chalcopyrite-type CuInSe_2 is a remarkable material for thin film solar cells owing to its electronic structure and optical response. Single-phase sphere-like CuInSe_2 nanocrystallite particles were prepared by a facile noninjection method with triethanolamine as the complexing agent and the solvent simultaneously. The period of the reaction was the key to form single-phase CuInSe_2 nanocrystals at 240 ^oC. TEM, XRD, XPS, EDX investigations were performed to characterize the morphology and the detailed structure of as-synthesized CuInSe_2 nanocrystals. All of the analysis results proved that the synthesized nanocrystals were pure phase and close to the stoichiometric ratio rather than a simple mixture. The band gap of the obtained CuInSe_2nanocrystals was 1.03 ± 0.03 eV.

Radian of the vault influencing the seismic performances of straight wall arch underground structures

Chao Ma,Dechun Lu,Chengzhi Qi,Xiuli Du 국제구조공학회 2021 Structural Engineering and Mechanics, An Int'l Jou Vol.78 No.5

Great efforts have been conducted to investigate the seismic performances of the arch and rectangular underground structures, however, the differences between seismic responses of these two types of underground structures, especially the vault radian influencing the seismic responses of arch structures are not clarified. This paper presents a detailed numerical investigation on the seismic responses of arch underground structures with different vault radians, and aims to illustrate the rule that vault radian affects the seismic responses of underground structures. Five arch underground structures are built for nonlinear soil-structure interaction analysis. The internal forces of the structural components of the underground structures only under gravity are discussed detailedly, and an optimum vault radian for perfect load-carrying functionality of arch underground structures is suggested. Then the structures are analyzed under seven scaled ground motions, amounting to a total of 35 dynamic calculations. The numerical results show that the vault radian can have beneficial effects on the seismic response of the arch structure, compared to the rectangular underground structures, causing the central columns to suffer smaller axial force and horizontal deformation. The conclusions provide some directive suggestions for the seismic design of the arch underground structures.

Joint-transform Correlator Multiple-image Encryption System Based on Quick-response Code Key

Qi Chen,Xueju Shen,Yue Cheng,Fuyu Huang,Chao Lin,HeXiong Liu 한국광학회 2019 Current Optics and Photonics Vol.3 No.4

A method for joint-transform correlator (JTC) multiple-image encryption based on a quick-response (QR) code key is proposed. The QR codes converted from different texts are used as key masks to encrypt and decrypt multiple images. Not only can Chinese text and English text be used as key text, but also symbols can be used. With this method, users have no need to transmit the whole key mask; they only need to transmit the text that is used to generate the key. The correlation coefficient is introduced to evaluate the decryption performance of our proposed cryptosystem, and we explore the sensitivity of the key mask and the capability for multiple-image encryption. Robustness analysis is also conducted in this paper. Computer simulations and experimental results verify the correctness of this method.

3D Printed Active Origami with Complicated Folding Patterns

Chao Yuan,H. Jerry Qi,Tiejun Wang,Martin L. Dunn 한국정밀공학회 2017 International Journal of Precision Engineering and Vol.4 No.3

3D printed active composites (PACs) are a new concept in active composite design and manufacturing where one or several active materials are used as fiber materials to create active shape changing composites that are determined by the design of fibers. Recent advances in multi-material 3D printing have enabled the rapid realization of these designs, many of which would not be possible without 3D printing. In addition, the integration of active materials with 3D printing also permits the novel concept of 4D printing, where the shape of an object can change after 3D printing. In the past, using printed active composites to create origami structures was demonstrated but was limited to simple folding patterns. In this paper, we study the relationship among folding angle, fiber orientation, and applied load during programming, in order to find the optimized fiber arrangement and loading directions for complicated folding patterns. Both experiments and finite element1 simulations were performed to optimize the fiber orientations in PAC in order to achieve the desired shape change, and good agreement was achieved. FEA was then used to help the design for some complicated, self-folding, active origami structures-including a miura-ori pattern, a table, a sailboat and a crane—in which the folding occurs in different directions. The successful implementation of these complicated patterns demonstrates the capability of using printed active composites for very complicated self-folding origami designs.

The Epitope Recognized by Monoclonal Antibody 2B6 in the B/C Domains of Classical Swine Fever Virus Glycoprotein E2 Affects Viral Binding to Hyperimmune Sera and Replication

( Chao Tong ),( Ning Chen ),( Xun Liao ),( Wen Qi Xie ),( De Jiang Li ),( Xiao Liang Li ),( Wei Huan Fang ) 한국미생물 · 생명공학회 2015 Journal of microbiology and biotechnology Vol.25 No.4

Classical swine fever (CSF) is a highly contagious disease of pigs caused by CSF virus (CSFV). E2 is the major viral envelope protein of immune dominance that induces neutralizing antibodies and confers protection against CSFV infection. The B/C domains of E2 are variable among CSFV isolates, which could affect immunogenicity and binding to antibodies. We attempted to characterize the epitope recognized by a monoclonal antibody 2B6 (mAb-2B6) raised against the E2 B/C domains of the vaccine C-strain and to examine if mutations in the epitope region would affect antibody binding and viral neutralization. The epitope specific for mAb-2B6 recognition is linear, spanning five residues 774DGXNP778 in the B/C domains. The residue N777 is indispensable for the specificity. The epitope exists only in group 1 strains, but not in those of group 2. The recombinant viruses containing individual mutations on the epitope region lost the reactivity to mAb-2B6. The mutant virus RecC-N777S had low replication potential, about 10-fold decrease in the yield of progeny virus particles, whereas the mutant virus RecC-P778A reverted to proline upon continuous passaging. The mutations on the mAb-2B6 epitope region did not affect neutralization by anti-C-strain polyclonal sera from pigs. Deletion from aa774 covering the mAb-2B6 epitope, but not that from aa781, also affected binding with the polyclonal antibodies from vaccinated pigs, although the major binding region for the vaccinated antibodies is aa690-773.