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Shih-Lung Cheng,1,2 Ping-Huai Wang,1 Cheng-Yu Chang,1 Hsu-Hui Wang,1 Chung-Jen Wang,1 Kuan-Ming Chiu2,3 1Department of Internal Medicine, Far Eastern Memorial Hospital, New Taipei City, 220, Taiwan; 2The Graduate Institute of Medicine, Yuan-Ze University, Taoyuan City, Taiwan; 3Division of Cardiovascular Surgery, Far Eastern Memorial Hospital, New Taipei City, 220, TaiwanCorrespondence: Kuan-Ming Chiu, Division of Cardiovascular Surgery, Far Eastern Memorial Hospital, No. 21, Section 2, Nanya S. Road, Banqiao District, New Taipei City, 220, Taiwan, Tel +886-2-89667000, Email kmchius@gmail.comBackground: Molnupiravir (MOL) is an oral antiviral medication that has recently been treated for COVID-19.Objectively: We perform a prospective and observational study to elucidate the efficacy and safety of MOL in healthcare patients with COVID-19.Materials and Methods: A observational, non-randomized study of patients diagnosed with COVID-19 in 46 healthcare facilities and treated with MOL started within 5 days after the onset of signs or symptoms. We recorded data for all patients, including demographic data, clinical features, and symptoms. Treatment response was classified into cure, stable, hospitalization and death. Multivariate analysis was performed with stepwise logistic regression for hospitalization and death risk factors.Results: In total, 856 patients were diagnosed as having COVID-19 and treated with MOL during the study period. Of those, 496 patients (57.9%) were cured, 256 patients (29.9%) in stable condition, 104 patients (12.2%) hospitalized, and 22 patients (2.6%) died, respectively. There was significant effectiveness (87.8%) in COVID-19 patients using MOL. Multivariate analysis was performed to confirm the risk factors for hospitalization and death and included elder age (> 80 years old) (odds ratio (OR) 2.2, 95% confidence interval (CI): 1.1– 6.9), old cerebrovascular accident (CVA) (OR=4.1, 95% CI: 1.3– 9.9), the presence of diabetes mellitus (DM) (OR=2.6, 95% CI: 1.2– 9.1) and chronic respiratory diseases (OR=2.4, 95% (CI): 1.3– 8.1).Limitations: This is an observational study, neither randomized study nor control group study.Conclusion: Initial treatment with MOL has the treatment benefits and is well tolerated for patients with COVID-19 in healthcare facilities. Older age, old CVA, DM, and chronic respiratory diseases were independent risk factors for hospitalization and mortality. The results demonstrate there are important clinical benefits of MOL beyond the reduction in hospitalization or death for these patients with more comorbidities in Taiwan.Keywords: molnupiravir, COVID-19, healthcare facility, clinical benefit, hospitalization, comorbidity

Management of patients with asthma during the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic is a concern, especially since asthma predisposes patients to respiratory problems. Interestingly, asthma characterized by type 2 inflammation, also known as T-helper type 2-high endotype, displays a cellular and molecular profile that may confer protective effects against COVID-19. The results of experimental and clinical studies have established the actions of immunoglobulin E (IgE) in inducing airway hyperreactivity and weakening an interferon-mediated antiviral response following respiratory viral infection. Robust evidence supports the beneficial effect of the anti-IgE biologic treatment omalizumab on reducing respiratory virus-induced asthma exacerbations and reducing the frequency, duration, and severity of respiratory viral illness in patients with asthma. Indeed, accumulating reports of patients with severe asthma treated with omalizumab during the pandemic have reassuringly shown that continuing omalizumab treatment during COVID-19 is safe, and in fact may help prevent the severe course of COVID-19. Accordingly, guidance issued by the Global Initiative for Asthma recommends that all patients with asthma continue taking their prescribed asthma medications, including biologic therapy, during the COVID-19 pandemic. The impact of biologic treatments on patients with asthma and COVID-19 will be better understood as more evidence emerges.

With the increasing competition in contemporary enterprise, sustainable human resource management is a powerful resource for workplace mental health. On the basis of job demands-recourses theory and conservation of resources theory, this study examined the relationship between empowering leadership and employees’ proactive work behavior. It also explored how job design inspires employees to be embedded in their work and to exhibit proactive work behavior. In addition, the research probed the mediating roles of job characteristics and job embeddedness in a serial mediation model within an integrated model. Data were collected from 461 employees of three- to five-star hotels through stratified random sampling. Results indicated that (1) empowering leadership has positive influences on job characteristics and proactive work behavior, (2) job characteristics have a positive influence on job embeddedness, (3) job embeddedness has a positive influence on proactive work behavior, (4) job characteristics mediate the effect of empowering leadership on proactive work behavior, (5) job embeddedness mediates the effect of empowering leadership on proactive work behavior, and (6) job characteristics and job embeddedness jointly mediate the effect of empowering leadership on proactive work behavior by bootstrapping analyses. Accordingly, this study suggests that promoting sustainable human resource management is needed for human health and organizational value at work, both of which enable empowering leadership to improve proactive work behavior via job characteristics and job embeddedness. The theoretical and managerial implications of empirical findings are also discussed.

Off-campus internships are among the policies implemented over the years to reduce the academic gap in the hospitality industry. Additionally, career decision making is unavoidable for college students, who can use different learning strategies in internships to gain knowledge beyond textbooks and determine their future direction. Our research aims to explore the mediating role of self-regulated learning in the relationship between deep learning approach (DLA) in hospitality internships and career self-efficacy. Moreover, it uses cognitive engagement as a moderator to explore the relationships between the three constructs. Data are collected through stratified sampling from hospitality college students in Taiwan who completed off-campus internships. Descriptive statistics are employed, and confirmatory factor analysis and structural equation modeling are conducted to analyze the data. Results indicate the following: (1) DLA has a positive influence on self-regulated learning. (2) Self-regulated learning has a positive influence on career self-efficacy. (3) DLA has a positive influence on career self-efficacy. (4) Self-regulated learning mediates the effect of DLA on career self-efficacy. (5) Cognitive engagement moderates the effect of DLA and self-regulated learning on career self-efficacy. Theoretical and practical implications are also discussed.

Internships are increasingly being used in the hospitality industry, as these can provide students with opportunities to examine their abilities, interests, and career decisions in a workplace context, as well as help cultivate human resources within this sector. This study thus examines students’ career decision-making self-efficacy with regard to internships. Based on social cognitive theory and career decision-making self-efficacy theory, we developed the research constructs with a focus group interview and a review of the existing literature, and then verified their content validity and scale reliability. Using 782 student data from the hospitality management departments, we found the direct influence of career decision-making self-efficacy in relation to internships on the intention to stay in the hospitality industry. Most important of all, we also found the mediating roles of internship satisfaction and career commitment in the relationship between decision-making self-efficacy and intention to stay in the hospitality industry, as well as the moderating roles of intrinsic motivation in the relationships among career decision-making self-efficacy, internship satisfaction, career commitment, and intention to stay in the hospitality industry. The theoretical and practical implications of these results in the context of hospitality will be discussed.

This paper aims to investigate the mediating role of work engagement for the effects of deep acting, S, and self-efficacy on service quality under the conservation of resources (COR) theory and the job demands&ndash, resources (JD-R) model. Questionnaires were rigorously distributed by stratified random sampling. Data were collected from hospitality frontline employees (HFLEs) of hotels and restaurants in Taiwan during a period of two months. Structural equation modeling analyses were conducted to assess the data. Empirical results demonstrated work engagement is a significant mediator, enriching the antecedents and consequences of work engagement in hospitality literature. The findings suggest hospitality practitioners should consider a high-performance work system (HPWS) as an employee management tactic to implement sustainable human resource management (HRM). This practice can augment hospitality frontline employees&rsquo, willingness to stay in organizations in the long term and to maintain a satisfying service quality.

The purpose of this study was to examine the key characteristics of sustainable service innovation in the hospitality industry. We conducted a content analysis based on the interview records for 17 experts (including three academic scholars, three government officers and 11 top-level managers) with an average of 20 years of experience in the hospitality management domain in Taiwan. The analytical results conform to Amabile’s (1988) componential theory of creativity and innovation and show that 11 characteristics are major indicators of sustainable service innovation in the hotel management field. These include the following characteristics: market position, customer satisfaction, service orientation, environmental thinking, employee involvement, incentive mechanism, human resource development, environmental services, cultural resource management, government policy and school education. Accordingly, using the integrated theory of sustainable service innovation and professional opinions from experts, we provide theoretical and practical implications for current and future trends on sustainability and innovation in the hospitality industry.

This research proposed and investigated a mediated moderation research framework that links employee job satisfaction, knowledge sharing, innovation capability, and job performance for sustainable human resource management in hospitality. Data from 395 Taiwanese hospitality companies with structural equation modeling (SEM) analyses, and the results showed that job satisfaction had significantly positive influences on knowledge sharing, both job satisfaction and knowledge sharing were significantly and positively related to innovation capability, while innovation capability had significantly positive influences on job performance. Support was also found for the significant and positive mediating effects of knowledge sharing between job satisfaction and innovation capability, and different organizational forms have moderating effects on the relationship between job satisfaction, knowledge sharing and innovation capability. The implications of these findings for sustainable human resource management in hospitality are also discussed.

Background Microglial inflammation may significantly contribute to the pathology of Alzheimer’s disease. To examine the potential of Cudrania cochinchinensis to ameliorate amyloid β protein (Aβ)-induced microglia activation, BV-2 microglial cell line, and the ramified microglia in the primary glial mixed cultured were employed. Results Lipopolysaccharide (LPS), Interferon-γ (IFN-γ), fibrillary Aβ (fAβ), or oligomeric Aβ (oAβ) were used to activate microglia. LPS and IFN-γ, but not Aβs, activated BV-2 cells to produce nitric oxide through an increase in inducible nitric oxide synthase (iNOS) expression without significant effects on cell viability of microglia. fAβ, but not oAβ, enhanced the IFN-γ-stimulated nitric oxide production and iNOS expression. The ethanol/water extracts of Cudrania cochinchinensis (CC-EW) and the purified isolated components (i.e. CCA to CCF) effectively reduced the nitric oxide production and iNOS expression stimulated by IFN-γ combined with fAβ. On the other hand, oAβ effectively activated the ramified microglia in mixed glial culture by observing the morphological alteration of the microglia from ramified to amoeboid. CC-EW and CCB effectively prohibit the Aβ-mediated morphological change of microglia. Furthermore, CC-EW and CCB effectively decreased Aβ deposition and remained Aβ in the conditioned medium suggesting the effect of CC-EW and CCB on promoting Aβ clearance. Results are expressed as mean ± S.D. and were analyzed by ANOVA with post-hoc multiple comparisons with a Bonferroni test. Conclusions The components of Cudrania cochinchinensis including CC-EW and CCB are potential for novel therapeutic intervention for Alzheimer’s disease.

Background. The model of interhemispheric competition after stroke has been established for the upper but not for the lower extremity. Repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation (rTMS) of the brain has been shown to modulate cortical excitability. Objective. The purpose of this study was to investigate the effects of rTMS followed by task-oriented training on cortical excitability and walking performance in individuals with chronic stroke. Methods. A total of 24 patients with average Fugl-Meyer lower limb scores of 17.88 ± 5.27 and average walking speeds of 63.81 ± 18.25 cm/s were randomized into an experimental group and a control group. Participants received rTMS (experimental group) or sham rTMS (control group) followed by task-oriented training (30 minutes) for 10 sessions over 2 weeks. Repetitive TMS was applied at a 1-Hz frequency over the leg area of the motor cortex of the unaffected hemisphere for 10 minutes. Outcomes, including motor-evoked potential (MEP), lower-extremity Fugl-Meyer score, and gait performance, were measured before and after training. Results. Decreased interhemispheric asymmetry of the amplitude of the MEP was noted after rTMS and task-oriented training. Improvement in spatial asymmetry of gait was comparable with increased symmetry in interhemispheric excitability. Motor control and walking ability were also significantly improved after rTMS and task-oriented training. Conclusions. rTMS enhances the effect of task-oriented training in those with chronic stroke, especially by increasing gait spatial symmetry and corticomotor excitability symmetry.

Docetaxel (Taxotere(®)) is an agent that is indicated for the treatment of patients with locally advanced or metastatic non-small-cell lung cancer. In recent years, docetaxel-related interstitial lung disease (ILD) has been reported in several case series studies. The onset of ILD occurred ~10-20 days (median time: 18 days) after docetaxel administration. Here, we reported the case of a patient who had pulmonary toxicity of ILD within 3 days after using a relatively low-dose docetaxel administration. Although some articles have described patients who progressed to respiratory failure and needed intubation, this patient responded well to steroid treatment and discontinued docetaxel administration.

A procedure is presented for preparation of diffraction-quality crystals of a vertebrate mitochondrial respiratory complex II. The crystals have the potential to diffract to at least 2.0 A with optimization of post-crystal-growth treatment and cryoprotection. This should allow determination of the structure of this important and medically relevant membrane-protein complex at near-atomic resolution and provide great detail of the mode of binding of substrates and inhibitors at the two substrate-binding sites.