Interaction Effects Of Factors Research Articles

Organo-Clay as Adsorbent for Removal of Fenoxaprop-p-ethyl from Water Samples; A Statistical Approach

In this study, fuller’s earth (FE) modified with sodium dodecylbenzene sulphonic acid was used for adsorptive removal of fenoxaprop-p-ethyl (FPE) herbicide from water samples and statistical validation of the experimental observations was accomplished. All the adsorption experiments were conducted in batch mode. The effect of pH, agitation time, adsorbent dose and initial herbicide concentration on adsorption process was studied. About 98.5% adsorption efficiency was achieved at initial analyte concentration of 1000 mg L-1 at pH 6 within 60 min at adsorbent dose of 0.1 g. The adsorption kinetics were studied and pseudo-second-order kinetic model was found to follow the adsorption kinetics with R2=0.998. The isotherm studies show that the adsorption data fit well to the Freundlich isotherms. In statistical evaluation, the individual as well as the interaction effect of various factors on adsorption was investigated and it was found that concentration, pH and adsorbent dose are the significant factors with p values of 0.0001, 0.004 and 0.006 respectively, while contact time was found statistically insignificant having p value greater than 0.05. The coefficient of determination (R2=0.930) shows that % adsorption is highly dependent on the studied factors and their interactions. Under the optimized set of conditions, high absorption capacity of 200.22 mg g-1 was achieved.

Adsorption of Methyl Blue onto Activated Carbon Derived from Red Oak (Quercus rubra) Acorns: a 26 Factorial Design and Analysis

In this study, red oak (Quercus rubra) acorns were used as precursor for preparing activated carbon by thermal activation. Red oak activated carbon (RAC) was evaluated for the removal of methyl blue (MB), using batch adsorption experiments. SEM images taken before and after adsorption experiments showed difference of surface morphology. A 26 full factorial design approach was used to determine the main and interaction effect of independent factors on dye removal rate. The six independent factors used for this study were sorbent dosage, initial dye concentration, pH, temperature, mixing rate (rpm), and mixing time. The response of this factorial design was percentage of dye removal (R%) from an aqueous solution. All independent factors showed significant influence. Initial dye concentration and adsorbent dose exhibited largest negative and positive influence on removal rate, respectively. The factorial experiments also demonstrated significant synergistic/ antagonistic interaction between all these factors. Optimum conditions for adsorption were adsorbent dosage = 0.25 g/50 ml, initial dye concentration = 10.0 mg L 1, pH = 10, temperature = 45 °C, mixing rate = 175 rpm, and mixing time = 2.0 h. Under these conditions, response, dye removal rate R, was maximized, with a value of 97.18%. The findings of this study could be useful for industrial wastewater treatment systems.

Stress Mediating Genes in Aging, Health, and Longevity Traits: Effects of Multiple Interactions

Persistent stress of external or internal origin accelerates aging, increases risk of aging related health disorders, and shortens lifespan. Stressors activate stress response genes, and their products collectively influence traits. The variability of stressors and responses to them contribute to trait heterogeneity, which may cause the failure of clinical trials for drug candidates. The objectives of this paper are: to address the heterogeneity issue; to evaluate collective interaction effects of genetic factors on Alzheimer’s disease (AD) and longevity using HRS data; to identify differences and similarities in patterns of genetic interactions within two genders; and to compare AD related genetic interaction patterns in HRS and LOADFS data. To reach these objectives we: selected candidate genes from stress related pathways affecting AD/longevity; implemented logistic regression model with interaction term to evaluate effects of SNP-pairs on these traits for males and females; constructed the novel interaction polygenic risk scores for SNPs, which showed strong interaction potential, and evaluated effects of these scores on AD/longevity; and compared patterns of genetic interactions within the two genders and within two datasets. We found there were many genes involved in highly significant interactions that were the same and that were different within the two genders. The effects of interaction polygenic risk scores on AD were strong and highly statistically significant. These conclusions were confirmed in analyses of interaction effects on longevity trait using HRS data. Comparison of HRS to LOADFS data showed that many genes had strong interaction effects on AD in both data sets.

Interaction Effects of Air Pollution and Climatic Factors on Circulatory and Respiratory Mortality in Xi'an, China between 2014 and 2016.

Several studies have reported that air pollution and climatic factors are major contributors to human morbidity and mortality globally. However, the combined interactive effects of air pollution and climatic factors on human health remain largely unexplored. This study aims to investigate the interactive effects of air pollution and climatic factors on circulatory and respiratory mortality in Xi’an, China. Time-series analysis and the distributed lag non-linear model (DLNM) were employed as the study design and core statistical method. The interaction relative risk (IRR) and relative excess risk due to interaction (RERI) for temperature and Air Quality Index (AQI) interaction on circulatory mortality were 0.973(0.969, 0.977) and −0.055(−0.059, −0.048), respectively; while for relative humidity and AQI interaction, 1.098(1.011, 1.072) and 0.088(0.081, 0.107) respectively, were estimated. Additionally, the IRR and RERI for temperature and AQI interaction on respiratory mortality were 0.805(0.722, 0.896) and −0.235(−0.269, −0.163) respectively, while 1.008(0.965, 1.051) and −0.031(−0.088, 0.025) respectively were estimated for relative humidity and AQI interaction. The interaction effects of climatic factors and AQI were synergistic and antagonistic in relation to circulatory and respiratory mortality, respectively. Interaction between climatic factors and air pollution contributes significantly to circulatory and respiratory mortality.

Quantifying influences of anthropogenic-natural factors on ecological land evolution in mega-urban agglomeration: A case study of Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao greater Bay area

Modeling ecological land evolution and determining the responsible driving forces is a common research topic in land use and landscape ecology. However, the interaction effect and dynamic change of anthropogenic-natural factors on the ecological land evolution of urban agglomerations is still unclear. Supported by Google Earth Engine, this study used Landsat satellite imagery and random forest algorithm to obtain the land cover datasets of Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area from 1990 to 2019. Furthermore, a geographic detector was used to identify the driving factors’ impact on ecological land evolution by quantifying nonlinear associations, change characteristics, and mechanisms. The results show: (1) Ecological land shifted from decline and fragmentation (1990–2010) to growth and integration (2010–2019). (2) Population density (q = 0.83) and land urbanization rate (q = 0.75) mainly controlled the ecological land evolution, illustrating more explanatory power than other factors, and accounting for higher proportion of area as the determinant factor in the study region. All driving factors interactions were bivariate, and the interaction between population density and elevation had the largest influence (q = 0.92). (3) Anthropogenic factors had a generally greater influence on ecological land than natural factors, and the impact of population density and GDP per capita exhibited a continuous increase, while land urbanization rate first decreased (1990–2000) and then increased (2000–2019) in response to industrial restructuring and accelerated urbanization. Due to the intensification of anthropogenic activities, the effect of average annual temperature and precipitation declined by 69% and 77%, respectively. The conclusions indicate that the interaction and spatially heterogeneous distribution of anthropogenic-natural factors should be comprehensively considered when designing a system based on cooperative mechanisms to improve ecological protection efficiency.

Soluble factors released by dedifferentiated fat cells reduce the functional activity of iPS cell-derived cardiomyocytes.

Interactions between tissues such as epicardial adipose (EAT), and myocardial tissues is important in the pathogenesis of heart failure. Changes in adipose tissues in obesity or diabetes impair preadipocyte differentiation. Furthermore, proinflammatory cytokine secretion is higher in preadipocytes than in mature adipocytes in diabetes and obesity. However, how undifferentiated cells committed to the adipose lineage directly influence cardiomyocytes is not yet understood. We used human-derived dedifferentiated fat (DFAT) cells as models of undifferentiated cells committed to an adipose lineage. Here, we evaluated the effects of soluble factor interactions in indirect cocultures of DFAT cells and induced pluripotent stem cell-derived cardiomyocytes. Our RNA sequencing findings showed that these interactions were predominantly inflammatory responses. Furthermore, proinflammatory cytokines secreted by DFAT cells reduced myocardial functions such as contraction frequency and catecholamine sensitivity, and simultaneously increased apoptosis, decreased antioxidative stress tolerance, and reduced oxygen consumption rates in cardiomyocytes. These adverse effects might be attributable to monocyte chemoattractant protein-1, chemokine (C-X-C motif) ligands 1 (CXCL1), and 12, granulocyte colony-stimulating factor, interleukins 6 and 8, macrophage migration inhibitory factor (MIF), and plasminogen activator inhibitor 1-A among the proinflammatory mediators secreted by DFAT cells. Our results could be useful for understanding the pathogenesis of EAT-related heart failure in terms of the involvement of undifferentiated cells committed to the adipose lineage. Furthermore, we suggest the importance of focusing on surrounding adipose tissues as a strategy with which to maximize the survival and function of transplanted stem cell-derived cardiomyocytes.

Visual classification of running economy by distance running coaches

Objectives: This study assessed the ability of coaches to rank-order distance runners on running economy (RE) through visual assessment. Methods: Running economy was measured in five trained recreational distance runners at a speed of 3.57 m·s−1, with a minimum VO2 difference of 2-mL.kg−1.min−1 between adjacent runners. Following measurement of RE, participants were filmed from the front, side, and rear while running on a treadmill. Endurance coaches from high school to international level (N = 121) viewed each video and ranked the runners on a scale from 1 (most economical) to 5 (least economical). Coaches also completed a demographic questionnaire and listed running style biomechanical observations they used in determining each ranking. A cumulative odds ordinal logistic regression with proportional odds was run to determine the effect of coaching level, years of coaching experience, years of training experience, competition level, certification status, and education level, on the ability of distance running coaching to accurately rank RE among a group of runners. Results: No coaching characteristic was a significant predictor of ranking accuracy, χ 2 = 3.566, p = .735. Conclusions: Visual assessment of effort, based on RE, is a difficult task, even for the trained eye and could be related to difficulty in understanding the interaction effect of various RE factors or the translation of scientific-based knowledge to the field of play. Practically, coaches should be cautious when recommending biomechanical adjustments without considering the interconnected factors related to such changes.

Behavioural, psychiatric and psychosocial factors associated with aggressive behaviour in adults with intellectual disabilities: A systematic review and narrative analysis.

BackgroundAggressive behaviour is prevalent in people with intellectual disabilities. To understand the aetiology, it is important to recognize factors associated with the behaviour.MethodA systematic review was conducted and included studies published between January 2002 and April 2017 on the association of behavioural, psychiatric and psychosocial factors with aggressive behaviour in adults with intellectual disabilities.ResultsThirty‐eight studies were included that presented associations with 11 behavioural, psychiatric and psychosocial factors. Conflicting evidence was found on the association of these factors with aggressive behaviour.ConclusionsThe aetiology of aggressive behaviour is specific for a certain person in a certain context and may be multifactorial. Additional research is required to identify contributing factors, to understand causal relationships and to increase knowledge on possible interaction effects of different factors.

Combined and interaction effect of chlamydia pneumoniae infection and smoking on lung cancer: a case-control study in Southeast China

BackgroundThis case-control study investigated the role of Chlamydia pneumoniae (Cpn) infection in the pathogenesis of lung cancer and the combined and interaction effect of Cpn infection, smoking, and various environmental factors.MethodsThe study comprised 449 lung cancer patients and 512 age- and sex-matched healthy controls. All participants provided a 5 ml fasting peripheral venous blood sample for testing Cpn-specific IgG and IgA by using micro-immunofluorescence. Besides analyzing the associations between Cpn and lung cancer, combined effect analysis, logistic regression, and the Excel table made by Andersson were used to analyze the combined and interaction effects of Cpn and environmental factors on lung cancer.ResultsCompared to those with no evidence of serum Cpn IgA or Cpn IgG, those with both Cpn IgG+ and IgA+ had 2.00 times the risk (95% CI: 1.34–3.00) of developing lung cancer. Cpn IgG+ or IgA+ was associated with a significantly increased risk of lung cancer among smokers; the adjusted odds ratio (OR) was 1.79 (95% CI: 1.10–2.91) and 2.27 (95% CI: 1.38–3.72), respectively. Those exposed to passive smoking with Cpn IgG+ or IgA+ also showed an increased risk of lung cancer; the adjusted OR was 1.82 (95% CI: 1.20–2.77) or 1.87 (95% CI: 1.22–2.87), respectively. Similar results were also observed among alcohol drinkers. Multiplicative and additive interactions were not observed between Cpn infection and environmental factors. The combined effects of Cpn IgG+ or IgA+ with smoking, passive smoking, and family history of cancer on lung cancer were determined.ConclusionCpn infection is potentially associated with primary lung cancer in the Chinese Han population and has combined effects with smoking, passive smoking, and family history of cancer.

Investigation of the relationships between thermal, acoustic, illuminous environments and human perceptions

To explore the relationships between thermal, acoustic, luminous environments and human perceptions, i.e., individual factor comforts, individual factor satisfactions, and the overall satisfaction, this investigation conducted a controlled laboratory test with 216 different environmental conditions. The main, crossed, and interaction effects of multiple environmental factors on individual factor perceptions were investigated first, and the results indicated ranges for the neutral temperature, sound level and illuminance. It implied that temperature had crossed effect on acoustic and visual comfort, and both sound level and illuminance had crossed effect on thermal comfort. In addition, thermal, acoustic and visual comfort were also affected by the temperature × illuminance interaction. Subsequently, it was discovered that the individual factor satisfactions showed a one-vote veto tendency but not an absolute veto power over the overall satisfaction. The effect of acoustic satisfaction on overall satisfaction was the greatest, followed by thermal satisfaction and visual satisfaction. This study also classified the environmental conditions under typical overall environmental acceptable rates and quantified the relationships between human comforts and human satisfactions by using the conditional probability. This method implied that machine learning and probability theory, which have seldom been used in this field of research, could be alternative analytical methods in the future.

Training load, recovery and game performance in semiprofessional male basketball: influence of individual characteristics and contextual factors.

This study examined the effects of individual characteristics and contextual factors on training load, pre-game recovery and game performance in adult male semi-professional basketball. Fourteen players were monitored, across a whole competitive season, with the session-RPE method to calculate weekly training load, and the Total Quality Recovery Scale to obtain pre-game recovery scores. Additionally, game-related statistics were gathered during official games to calculate the Performance Index Rating (PIR). Individual characteristics and contextual factors were grouped using k-means cluster analyses. Separate mixed linear models for repeated measures were performed to evaluate the single and combined (interaction) effects of individual characteristics (playing experience; playing position; playing time) and contextual factors (season phase; recovery cycle; previous game outcome; previous and upcoming opponent level) on weekly training load, pre-game recovery and PIR. Weekly load was higher in guards and medium minute-per-game (MPG) players, and lower for medium-experienced players, before facing high-level opponents, during later season phases and short recovery cycles (all p < 0.05). Pre-game recovery was lower in centers and high-experience players (p < 0.05). Game performance was better in high-MPG players (p < 0.05) and when facing low and medium-level opponents (p < 0.001). Interestingly, players performed better in games when the previous week’s training load was low (p = 0.042). This study suggests that several individual characteristics and contextual factors need to be considered when monitoring training load (playing experience, playing position, playing time, recovery cycle, upcoming opponent level), recovery (playing experience, playing position) and game performance (opponent level, weekly training load, pre-game recovery) in basketball players during the competitive season.

Interaction effects of significant risk factors on overweight or obesity among 7222 preschool-aged children from Beijing.

Objectives: We aimed to identify potential risk factors, both individually and interactively, associated with overweight and obesity among preschool–aged children, and further to create a risk prediction nomogram model.Results: After graded multivariable adjustment, maternal body mass index (BMI) (odds ratio, 95% confidence interval, P under China criteria: 1.07, 1.05 to 1.10, <0.001), maternal pre–pregnancy BMI (1.08, 1.05 to 1.10, <0.001), breastfeeding duration (0.86, 0.76 to 0.98, 0.019), and sleep duration (0.95, 0.90 to 1.00, 0.042) were found to be independently and consistently associated with the significant risk of childhood overweight or obesity under three different growth criteria. Further analyses revealed the four significant factors acted in an additive manner, especially for the interaction between maternal obesity, sleep duration, and breastfeeding. Finally, a risk prediction nomogram model was created for childhood overweight or obesity based on significant and conventional attributes under each criterion.Conclusions: Our findings provide evidence that the four significant factors are associated with the risk of childhood overweight or obesity in an additive manner.Methods: Using a stratified cluster random sampling strategy, 7222 preschool–aged children were analyzed. Childhood overweight and obesity are defined according to the China criteria and two widely–used international growth criteria.

Optimisation and dynamic simulation of a conveying and top breaking system for whole-stalk sugarcane harvesters

One of the critical barriers for whole-stalk sugarcane mechanical harvesting is the high proportion of impurities especially in the cane tops. In this study, a whole-stalk sugarcane conveying and top breaking system was developed and tested to improve top breaking performance. Effects of feeding roller speed, top breaking roller speed, stagger angle of upper and lower top breaking elements and distance between the upper and lower top breaking element on sugarcane top breaking rate, non-fracture rate and power requirement were explored. Central composite design combined with response surface method was employed to conduct experiments and explore the interaction effects of influence factors on indicators. The optimal structure and operating parameters were determined to be 305 rpm for feeding roller speed, 520 rpm for top breaking roller speed, 14° for the stagger angle and 10 mm for the distance. The predicted values for top breaking rate, non-fracture rate and power requirement were 85%, 83% and 690 W, respectively. Verification experiments demonstrated that the observed values were in agreement with the predicted values. Based on the optimised results, a rigid-flexible coupling model was established for sugarcane conveying and top breaking and the simulation results showed that the model was reliable in predicting the kinetic characteristics of sugarcane in conveying and top breaking processes. The maximum resultant striking force of the top breaking elements on the cane stalk was 807.68 N. Overall, the conveying and top breaking system developed in this study was effective for improving top cleaning performance in whole-stalk sugarcane harvesting.

Electrospun nanofibres with pH‐responsive operational factors for controlling of chemotherapeutic drugs release performance

In the present study, the novel keratin-based 5-fluorouracil (5-FU) releasing nanofibrous system was electrospun. The pH sensitivity releasing performances of the nanofibres were optimised by a full-factorial matrix design of experiment (DoE) with two significant factors at two levels in different pH environments. This full-factorial DoE methods was applied to identify the main effects of these composite bio-functional nanofibres and investigate the interaction effects of multiple factors. The SEM images indicated that a more homogeneous microstructure of the composite nanofibres was observed at the low level of electrospun voltage, which was set at 15 kV. The FTIR test detected the characteristic peaks of keratin at 1630 and 1550 cm−1. The releasing performances were examined by ultraviolet and visible spectrophotometry. The results indicated that the ratio between keratin and poly-L-lactide is a major factor to control the sustained-releasing performance. A significant pH sensitivity of the composite nanofibres was achieved after adjusting the operational factors by DoE optimisation. The drug-loaded nanofibres with high content of keratin (50 wt%) released 48.5% of 5-FU in pH 7.4 solution while released 83.7% of 5-FU in pH 6.0 solution. The results indicated that these composite electrospun nanofibres can be used as a candidate of pH-triggered biomaterials.

Physician-user interaction and users' perceived service quality: evidence from Chinese mobile healthcare consultation

PurposeThe significance of physician-user interaction has been widely acknowledged in offline and online healthcare consultation. However, limited attempts have been made to explore the influence of physician-user interaction on users' perceived service quality (PSQ) in the mobile context. Based on the literature on physician-user interaction and media synchronicity theory, this study proposes a theoretical model where the interactive factors common across the offline, online and mobile context, i.e. physicians' informational support and emotional support, the interactive factors unique in the mobile context, i.e. physicians' response speed and voice service, and the interaction between the two categories of interactive factors predict users' PSQ in mobile consultation.Design/methodology/approachThis study collects consultation records between 25,225 users and 738 physicians from a leading Chinese mobile consultation application, and employs linear regression to verify the proposed theoretical model.FindingsPhysicians' informational, emotional support, response speed and voice service are found to have significant positive impacts on users' PSQ. Besides, physicians' response speed strengthens the positive impacts of physicians' informational and emotional support on users' PSQ, while physicians' voice service weakens the positive link between physicians' informational support on users' PSQ.Originality/valueThis study contributes to the antecedents for users' PSQ in mobile consultation by identifying unique interactive factors in the mobile context, and highlighting the individual and interaction effects of different physician-user interactive factors. Besides, this study employs novel methods, which leverages text classification and text pattern recognition to more accurately depict physicians' online behaviors based on objective communication records.

Effect of Neuro-Dynamic Technique on Repetitive Inward Ankle Rolls among Young Malaysian Athletes- A Randomized Controlled Trial

Inversion ankle sprains (IAS) are the most common injuries in sports and recreational activities. Incomplete rehabilitation among injured athletes may result in repetitive inward ankle rolls. Furthermore, inversion ankle sprain causes damage to the superficial peroneal nerve during repeated ankle inversion and plantar flexion. This results in positive neurodynamic tests in patients with sprained ankles. The purpose of this study was to find the effect of the neuro-dynamic technique on repetitive inward ankle rolls and compare it with standard physiotherapy on dynamic balance, pain score, peroneal longus, and tibialis anterior muscle activation response, knee range of motion (ROM), and functional ankle disability index (FADI) among young Malaysian athletes. Fourteen participants of age ranging from 17 to 35 years with repeated ankle sprains were recruited and randomized into Intervention Group A (Neurodynamic technique and Standard Physiotherapy-NDT+SP) and Intervention Group B (Standard Physiotherapy-SP). The participants of group A received NDT (4*30 s with 1-min rest) consisting of peroneal nerve mobilization began the day after the baseline and continued through the week for 3 sessions. In addition, the participants received standard physiotherapy (pain management and exercise) whereas the group B participants received only standard physiotherapy. The participants with repeated IAS were checked for FADI followed by pain score, dynamic balance (Y-balance), and knee ROM (using electro-goniometer). The peroneal longus and tibialis anterior muscle activity response was tested by Surface Electromyography (sEMG) (Noraxon Myo-Muscle) on the injured leg. The subjects of the two groups were tested on selected variables in baseline, mid, post and follow-up measurements. Repeated Measures Analysis of Variance (ANOVA) was computed to determine the interaction effects of time and between-subject factors. ANOVA results (NDT + SP) indicated that dependent variables FADI (F (1.148, 36) = 4701.14), pain score (F (1.98, 36) = 132.697), dynamic balance (F (1.409, 36) = 16.42), knee ROM (F (1.498, 36) = 62.232), peroneal longus peak activity (F (3, 36) = 25.727), and tibialis anterior peak activity (F (3, 36) = 17.563) had a significant effect (p<0.05) within the times of intervention among participants. Based on the post hoc test. FADI, pain score and knee ROM showed consistent improvement in intervention over the injured leg. The findings of this study show improvement in dynamic balance, pain score, peroneal longus and tibialis anterior muscle activation response, knee ROM, and FADI in both groups. The neurodynamic technique together with standard physiotherapy intervention shows safe and similar effects between variables. As part of the ankle rehabilitation protocol, it also recommends the neurodynamic technique to prevent repetitive IAS.

Simulation and multi-objective optimization of heat and mass transfer in direct contact membrane distillation by response surface methodology integrated modeling

Membrane distillation (MD) traditionally utilizes low-grade thermal energy to drive vapor transport through hydrophobic membrane pores for water treatment. The concurrent enhancement of water flux, thermal efficiency and water productivity to achieve the global optimization of MD is still a challenge. In this work, a new simulation and optimization approach is proposed by integrating theoretical heat and mass transfer models with response surface methodology to investigate the complicate interaction effects of various influencing factors on heat and mass transfer parameters, including overall mass transfer coefficient, feed/permeate side heat transfer coefficients, membrane surface temperature and temperature polarization coefficient, in direct contact membrane distillation (DCMD). The operating and module configuration variables show important interaction effects on enhancing the heat and mass transfer in the membrane module. The significantly elevated heat transfer coefficient on account of the combined high feed temperature, short module length and high feed velocity leads to a great improvement of water flux and thermal efficiency. The ultimate global optimum conditions for the high water productivity were determined where the high levels of heat transfer coefficient (5905W/(m2·K)), temperature polarization coefficient (0.66), water flux (63.0kg/(m2·h)) and thermal efficiency (0.83) all synchronously approach to their own pinnacles. The results indicate that it is an effective way to take advantages of the interaction effects of operating conditions with module configuration parameters to achieve the overall enhancement of MD performance.

Neighborhood environments and intrinsic capacity interact to affect the health-related quality of life of older people in New Zealand

ObjectivesFollowing the WHO 2015 policy framework, we tested the effects of older people’s intrinsic capacity and their perceptions of their neighborhood environments on mental and physical health-related quality of life (QoL) outcomes across two years. Study designParticipants (mean age = 66) were drawn from two waves of a longitudinal study of aging (n = 2910) in 2016 and 2018. Regression analyses tested the main and interaction effects of intrinsic capacity and neighborhood factors on health-related QoL at T2 (controlling for T1). Main outcome measuresIntrinsic capacity was assessed with number of chronic conditions. Neighborhood perceptions was assessed with measures of housing suitability, neighborhood satisfaction, and neighborhood social cohesion. Health-related QoL was assessed with SF12 physical and mental health component scores. ResultsPerceptions of greater neighborhood accessibility and more trust among neighbours were associated with better mental health-related QoL two years later, but not to changes in physical health-related QoL. A significant interaction between intrinsic capacity and neighborhood access to facilities on physical health-related QoL over time showed that those reporting lower neighborhood access experienced a stronger impact of intrinsic capacity on physical health-related QoL. ConclusionsThe neighborhood environment is important to the wellbeing of older people and is amenable to policy interventions. We need more work on the aspects of the immediate environment that support QoL in older age. This study points to the need for accessible facilities and cohesive neighborhoods to support health.

Understanding uncertainty dimensions and Internet stock trading service in China from a social cognitive perspective

PurposeThis paper investigates the effects of different uncertainties on Internet stock trading (IST) adoption intentions of individual investors in China and aims to determine the interaction effects of trust and perceived benefits in the relationship between uncertainty dimensions and IST adoption intentions.Design/methodology/approachUsing a structured questionnaire, a survey of 353 experienced stock traders was conducted in China. The proposed uncertainty-trust-perceived benefits framework was examined through structural equation modelling using Smart PLS 3.0.FindingsThe study found significant negative effects of perceived technology uncertainty, perceived regulatory uncertainty and perceived information asymmetry on the IST adoption intentions of individual investors. Perceived service intangibility was found to have only insignificant effects on IST adoption intentions. In terms of interaction results, trust significantly moderates the relationship between IST adoption intentions and, respectively, perceived technology uncertainty and perceived information asymmetry. Similarly, perceived benefits significantly moderate the relationship between intentions to adopt IST and both perceived technology uncertainty and perceived regulatory uncertainty.Practical implicationsThe regulators for IST development in China could utilise the results of this study as guidelines for strategies to increase the use of IST among existing and potential investors.Originality/valueUsing social cognitive theory, this research investigates the effects of various uncertainties on IST adoption intentions of individual investors in China; these effects have not been explored by previous literature. Furthermore, few studies other than this one have investigated the interaction effects of factors which counteract the negative effect of other factors.

Are open individuals more creative? The interaction effects of leadership factors on creativity

In the information era of the rapid growth of knowledge, creativity is the key to the survival and maintenance of competitive advantage of organizations. From an interactional perspective, this paper extends the research on individual creativity by integrating personality traits and leadership factors. Using multi-sourced, matched data from 217 supervisor-employee dyads of 23 companies in China, we found that openness to experience is positively related to employee creativity, while close monitoring is negatively related to employee creativity. Furthermore, employees who are openness to experience are more creative when leader creativity expectations is high rather than low. Finally, the interaction between close monitoring and openness to experience has no significant impact on employee creativity.