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During an internship, some interns perform better when they perceive trust from their supervisors. This might be because a trustee's self-efficacy increases when a trustor reveals a willingness to take a chance on the trustee. It empowers interns to believe that they are capable. Hence, this study aimed to examine whether interns' trust in a supervisor moderated the model of internship self-efficacy as a mediator of proactive personality and performance. A total of 158 interns voluntarily participated in this study on three occasions, with a three-month interval between study periods. The results suggest that internship self-efficacy positively mediated the relationship between proactive personality and performance. In addition, the results of a moderated mediating analysis indicated that the interns' trust in their supervisors weakened the positive effects of proactive personality on performance through internship self-efficacy. These results underscore the importance of situational and personal effects in the connections between proactive personality, internship self-efficacy, and performance., Author(s): Shin-Huei Lin [sup.1] , Mei-Yen Chen [sup.2] Author Affiliations: (1) grid.445052.2, 0000 0004 0639 3773, Department of Leisure Management, National Pingtung University, , No.51, Minsheng E. Rd., 90004, Pingtung [...]

Grounded in career construction theory, we proposed that proactive personality (a disposition that drives people to focus on the future) influences career adaptability (the attitudes and behaviours that people use to adapt to work), which in turn influences career exploration (purposive cognition and behaviour to seek information for self-career advancement). However, psychological safety as a boundary condition may affect career adaptability's relation to career exploration. Hence, this study examined whether students' psychological safety moderates career adaptability's mediating effect on the relationship between proactive personality and career exploration. A total of 288 students who completed internships at Taiwanese sports centres or fitness clubs participated in this research. The results indicate that interns' psychological safety, functioning as a moderator, intensifies proactive personality's indirect effect on career exploration through career adaptability. The implications of this finding for students' career counselling are discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study examines the perceptions of festival host residents of the Dajia Mazu Pilgrimage using the proposed model to evaluate the antecedent and outcome variables of place image. Using quantitative methods, this study proposes a model to determine host residents' perceptions based on fit, place image, quality of life, and behavioral intention. The findings showed that place image is vital in establishing a supportive perception toward the festival host city. Quality of life not only mediates the perceptions of residents' image and their residency but also independently contributes to the development of residents' behavioral intentions. The perceptions of place image or the quality of life of residents, especially place image, are significant predictors of residents' behavioral intentions. This study extends the concepts of fit and place image by taking a psychological perspective to provide strategies for festival management. To evaluate residents' quality of life and gain their intention to support for the festival, the present study suggests that event organizers and the local government take action on the characteristics of the festival and the host city represents. Providing entertainment activities combine with Mazu culture at nighttime is one of the suggestions. The exploratory model we proposed herein to explain host residents' viewpoints showed sufficient predictive power. The results underline the importance of fit, which can predict and explain place image. Furthermore, the present study contributes to existing research by applying the concept of fit in the festival context. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Professional athletes achieve success while experiencing tremendous stress from their work and family domains. However, few studies have examined stress among professional athlete couples to explore how professional athletes' job stress and family demands influence their work-family interactions with their partners. The present study extends athlete stress research by exploring the specific stress events that interact with professional athletes' family demands to understand work-family and family-work conflict in sports and ways to generate cross over effect between these couples. Semistructured interviews were conducted. Data were collected from seven professional athletes and their romantic partners (7 couples). A thematic analysis was utilised to interpret the transcripts. According to the results, specific stress events (e.g., lost games, sports injuries, requested trades, and unexpected retirement) and family demands (e.g., family responsibilities, financial worries, and raising children) contribute to athletes' work and family role conflict. Moreover, this study interprets the dynamic process of cross over effects in professional athlete couples based on empathic reactions, common stressors, and family members' indirect influencing. The results provide insight into how professional athletes' work stress under unstable conditions influences both the interpersonal and intrapersonal levels. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Little is known about whether venous thromboembolism (VTE) causes worse critical limb events in populations with atrial fibrillation (AF). A retrospective cohort study using claims data from Taiwan's National Health Insurance program between 2001 and 2013 compared AF patients with or without VTE. Outcomes were percutaneous transluminal angioplasty (PTA), amputation, systemic thromboembolism, all-cause mortality, cardiovascular death, ischemic stroke, and acute myocardial infarction. Patients (n = 316,817) with newly diagnosed AF were analyzed; of those, 2514 (0.79%) had VTE history. After inverse probability of treatment weighting, a history of VTE was significantly associated with higher risks of PTA (3.3 vs 2.2%; subdistribution hazard ratio [SHR] 1.47; 95% confidence interval [CI] 1.17–1.84); above knee amputation (0.7 vs 0.3%; HR 2.15; 95% CI 1.10–4.21); systemic thromboembolism (5.8 vs 3.9%; SHR 1.48; 95% CI 1.21–1.80); all-cause mortality (53 vs 46.4%; HR 1.20, 95% CI 1.12–1.29); and cardiovascular death (34.8 vs 29.4%; HR 1.25, 95% CI 1.14–1.36). In conclusion, VTE might increase the risk of critical lower limb events (PTA and above-knee amputation), systemic thromboembolism, and mortality in the AF population. However, current data cannot confirm a causal relationship between VTE and clinical outcomes in this population. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The outbreak of COVID-19 in 2020 has posed several challenges to the sporting industry, caused by the change in behavior of sporting fans from purchasing event tickets to watching live broadcasts of events on the Internet. This study aims to gain a deeper understanding of fan behavior in this "new normal". It adopts a technology acceptance model (TAM) to explore the effects of social presence (SP) in the context of online viewing of professional sports. For this purpose, the authors conducted an online survey of viewers who watched NBA sports events on the Amazon Mechanical Turk website using the Together Mode feature of Microsoft Teams. We collected 209 valid questionnaires and performed a partial least squares structural equation modeling analysis. The results showed that the SP-TAM structural model has adequate predictive relevance, and SP has a statistically significant positive relationship with both perceived ease of use and perceived usefulness. The model was thus validated, contributing to the existing body of knowledge on emerging technologies such as the creation of a virtual audience in sports. The study's findings suggest that technology developers should focus on the effects of SP and emphasize practical functions to increase the use intention of sporting fans. Furthermore, professional sporting leagues should prioritize the use of virtual fan technology to optimize the viewing experience of their fans. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: The use of prostate-specific antigen (PSA) for early detection of prostate cancer (PCa) is common but controversial. In rural areas, PSA is widely used for screening because it is convenient and early-stage PCa often shows no symptoms. Studies suggest that PSA levels are linked to factors like unhealthy lifestyles, obesity, lack of exercise, inflammation, and aging. Proper use and interpretation of PSA are crucial for healthcare providers, especially in primary care settings. This study aims to explore the prevalence and factors linked to higher PSA levels in rural men., Methods: We conducted a community-based cross-sectional study from March to December 2023 in the western coastal region of Taiwan. Men aged 40-75 years participated, completing a lifestyle questionnaire and providing blood samples for cardiometabolic biomarkers and PSA levels. PSA levels of ≥ 4.0 ng/mL were considered elevated. We used propensity score matching (PSM) and genetic matching (GM) for analysis, followed by regression analysis., Results: In total, 3347 male adults with a mean age of 56.3 years (SD=11.8, range 40-75), and without cancer-related diseases, were enrolled. Findings indicated that 3.9% (n=130) of men aged 40-75 years had a PSA ≥ 4 ng/mL. and many of them did not adopt health-related behaviors, including inadequate servings of vegetables, water intake, and engaging in regular exercise. Furthermore, more than half of the participants had high blood pressure, and over one-quarter exhibited a higher waist-hip ratio and cardiometabolic diseases. After employing propensity score matching (PSM) and genetic matching (GM) with respect to age and education, the multivariate logistic regression model indicated that less water intake (p<0.01), higher waist-hip ratio (> 0.95) (p<0.05), and being diagnosed with cardiometabolic diseases (p<0.05) were significantly associated with a higher serum PSA level., Conclusion: This study revealed that inadequate water intake and obesity related diseases are significant risk factors associated with elevated PSA levels among male adults living in rural areas. It is important for frontline healthcare providers to carefully interpret the meaning of a high PSA level. Additionally, launching a longitudinal study is necessary to further investigate its relation to PCa., Competing Interests: The authors declare that the research was conducted in the absence of any commercial or financial relationships that could be construed as a potential conflict of interest., (Copyright © 2024 Hsieh, Chang, Lin, Huang and Chen.)

Introduction: Atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease is associated with a high mortality rate due to vascular calcification. The role of fetuin-A in aortic arch calcification (AAC) is less well understood., Methods: An analysis of secondary biomarkers was performed on 800 individuals from the biobank using the community database. AAC was defined by radiologists based on imaging. Multiple variables logical analysis was used for risk analysis., Results: A total of 736 individual samples were collected based on age and gender. The average age is 65 ± 10 years, and half the population comprises men. In spite of similar body weight, renal function, and hepatic function, the AAC group had higher blood pressure and fetuin-A levels independently: systolic blood pressure (SBP) index ≥130 mmHg [adjusted odds ratio (aOR) 1.85, 95% confidence interval (CI) 1.34-2.57, p  = 0.002] and fetuin-A (aOR 0.62, 95% CI 0.50-0.76, p  < 0.001). Moreover, it is evident that AAC can be predicted more accurately when combined with SBP ≥130 mmHg and a low fetuin-A level (<358 μg/ml: aOR 5.39, 95% CI 3.21-9.08) compared with the reference., Conclusion: Low fetuin-A levels are significantly correlated with AAC while there is an increased association between vascular calcification and coexisting hypertension., Competing Interests: The authors declare that the research was conducted in the absence of any commercial or financial relationships that could be construed as a potential conflict of interest., (© 2024 Lin, Lin, Shi, Lin, Lin, Yang, Liao, Chen, Tsai and Lin.)