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Decarbonizing road freight transport is difficult due to its reliance on fossil fuel internal combustion engine vehicles (ICEVs). The role of powertrain electrification in achieving deep decarbonization in road freight transport was studied using a vehicle stock turnover model, focusing on Japan. Twelve vehicle types were considered; combining four powertrains, ICEV, hybrid electric vehicle (HEV), battery electric vehicle (BEV) and fuel cell electric vehicle (FCEV); and three vehicle size classes, normal, compact and mini-sized vehicles. A scenario-based approach was used; considering a Base scenario, and three alternative scenarios targeting powertrain electrification. Between 2012 and 2050, tank to wheel CO2 emissions decrease 42.8% in the Base scenario, due to the reduction of vehicle stock, the improvement of vehicle fuel consumption and the adoption of HEVs. Diffusion of FCEVs in normal vehicles and BEVs in compact and mini-sized vehicles achieves the largest tank to wheel CO2 emissions reductions, up to 44.6% compared with the 2050 baseline value. The net cash flow is positive over the whole time horizon, peaking at 6.7 billion USD/year in 2049 and reaching 6.6 billion USD/year by 2050. Powertrain electrification is not enough to achieve any of the CO2 emissions reduction targets in road freight transport.

Background The development of medical social work is an indispensable part of the Healthy China Strategy. However, the medical service field has the fewest social workers in all service fields in China. Creating favorable working conditions can reduce the turnover intention of social workers in the medical service field. So it is necessary to integrate the existing theoretical models to deeply analyze the multiple influencing paths of working conditions on the medical social workers’ turnover intention in the context of China. Methods The data we used came from the China Social Work Longitudinal Survey (CSWLS) conducted in 56 cities across the country in 2019. It adopted a multi-stage random sampling method and the sample of medical social workers was selected according to their current service field and the sample size finally entering the model was 382. We tested the relationships with the Structural Equation Model (SEM) by STATA 16.0. Results Job-related stress play the most significant role in explaining the formation mechanism of medical social workers’ turnover intention. On the one hand, job-related stress can reduce the job satisfaction of medical social workers, further increasing their turnover intention; on the other hand, job-related stress can increase job burnout of medical social workers, further reducing their job satisfaction and ultimately increasing the turnover intention. Job satisfaction plays a full mediating effect between the job burnout of medical social workers and their turnover intention. The social support and job autonomy provided by social work agencies have limited effects on decreasing the turnover intention of medical social workers. Conclusions The two paths of job-related stress affecting turnover intention successfully integrate the Job Demands-Resources Model and the Price-Mueller Turnover Model into the same theoretical framework providing a theoretical basis for reducing the turnover intention and behavior of social workers in the medical service field, improving the management level in the medical service system and promoting the overall healthy and sustainable development of medical social work in China.

The World Health Organisation predicts a lack of 15 million health professionals by 2030. The lack of licenced professionals is a problem that keeps emerging and is carefully studied on a global level. Strategic objectives aimed at stimulating employment, improving working conditions, and keeping the nurses on board greatly depends on identifying factors that contribute to their turnover. The aim of this study was to present a conceptual model based on predictors of nurses’ turnover intention. Methods: A quantitative, non-experimental research design was used. A total of 308 registered nurses (RNs) took part in the study. The Multidimensional Work Motivation Scale (MWMS) and Practice Environment Scale of the Nursing Work Index (PES-NWI) were used. Results: The conceptual model, based on the binary regression models, relies on two direct significant predictors and four indirect significant predictors of turnover intention. The direct predictors are job satisfaction (OR = 0.23) and absenteeism (OR = 2.5). Indirect predictors that affect turnover intention via job satisfaction are: amotivation (OR = 0.59), identified regulation (OR = 0.54), intrinsic motivation (OR = 1.67), and nurse manager ability, leadership and support of nurses (OR = 1.51). Conclusions: The results of the study indicate strategic issues that need to be addressed to retain the nursing workforce. There is a need to ensure positive perceptions and support from managers, maintain intrinsic motivation, and promote even higher levels of motivation to achieve satisfactory levels of job satisfaction.

High school teachers face increasing job stress, leading to turnover behaviors and teacher attrition, which has a significant impact on education and teaching. To discuss the mechanism of this phenomenon, this study proposes a chain mediation model of high school teachers’ turnover intention based on the Price-Mueller Turnover Model, and reveals how job stress influences turnover intention with the effect of organization-based self-esteem and resilience. A total of 378 high school teachers from China were investigated for the research hypotheses. The results showed that: (1) job stress positively predicted turnover intention, negatively predicted organization-based self-esteem and resilience. (2) The relationship between job stress and turnover intention was mediated by both organization-based self-esteem and resilience. (3) Organization-based self-esteem was positively correlated with resilience, and these two factors served as chain mediators in the relationship between job stress and turnover intention. The findings of the study have important theoretical and practical implications for reducing the propensity of high school teachers to leave their position.

To better understand nafamostat mesylate (NM) dose requirements during extracorporeal membrane oxygenation (ECMO), this study investigated its pharmacokinetic/pharmacodynamic (PK/PD) properties by comparing samples from the systemic circulation of patients and from the ECMO circuit. It specifically examined the relationship between NM concentration and activated partial thromboplastin time (aPTT) changes, aiming to provide a foundation for future dosing optimization. In this prospective study, 24 ECMO patients received a continuous infusion of NM through a dedicated stopcock located before the ECMO pump. This placement targets the anticoagulant effects of NM specifically to the ECMO circuit without substantially affecting the patient's overall coagulation status. The starting dose was 15 mg/h, adjusted to keep the aPTT within a target range of 40-80 s. Blood samples were collected from both the patient's central venous catheter and the ECMO circuit for PK/PD analysis using a nonlinear mixed effects model. The PK profiles of NM, derived from samples taken from both the patient's catheter and the ECMO circuit, were best described by a two-compartment model. In the PK/PD models, the effect of NM on prolonging aPTT was described using a turnover model. NM was shown to inhibit the decrease in aPTT in the turnover model. In the patient model, the maximum inhibitory effect (Imax) of NM on the reduction of aPTT was 35.5%, and the concentration of NM required to achieve half of this maximum effect (IC50) was 350 μg/L. On the other hand, in the ECMO model, the Imax for aPTT reduction was 43.6%, with an IC50 of 581 μg/L. The PK/PD models developed from samples collected from both the patient and the ECMO circuit indicate significant differences in PD. Given the observed variability and the high risk of bleeding in ECMO patients, a predictive model incorporating these differences and patient-specific variables could significantly improve anticoagulation management.

The control region (CR) regulates the replication and transcription of the mitochondrial genome (mitogenome). Some avian mitogenomes possess two CRs, and the second control region (CR2) may enhance replication and transcription; however, the CR2 in lark mitogenome appears to be undergoing loss and is accompanied by tandem repeats. Here, we characterized six lark mitogenomes from Alaudala cheleensis, Eremophila alpestris, Alauda razae, and Calandrella cinerea and reconstructed the phylogeny of Passerida. Through further comparative analysis among larks, we traced the evolutionary process of CR2. The mitochondrial gene orders were conserved in all published lark mitogenomes, with Cytb-trnT-CR1-trnP-ND6-trnE-remnant CR2 with tandem repeat-trnF-rrnS. Phylogenetic analysis revealed Alaudidae and Panuridae are sister groups at the base of Sylvioidea, and sporadic losses of CR2 may occur in their common ancestor. CR sequence and phylogeny analysis indicated CR2 tandem repeats were generated within CR2, originating in the ancestor of all larks, rather than inherited from CR1. The secondary structure comparison of tandem repeat units within and between species suggested slipped-strand mispairing and DNA turnover as suitable models for explaining the origin and evolution of these repeats. This study reveals the evolutionary process of the CR2 containing tandem repeat in Alaudidae, providing reference for understanding the evolutionary characteristics and dynamics of tandem repeats.

PurposeRadiation therapy, whether given alone or in combination with chemical agents, is one of the cornerstones of oncology. We develop a quantitative model that describes tumor growth during and after treatment with radiation and radiosensitizing agents. The model also describes long-term treatment effects including tumor regrowth and eradication.MethodsWe challenge the model with data from a xenograft study using a clinically relevant administration schedule and use a mixed-effects approach for model-fitting. We use the calibrated model to predict exposure combinations that result in tumor eradication using Tumor Static Exposure (TSE).ResultsThe model is able to adequately describe data from all treatment groups, with the parameter estimates taking biologically reasonable values. Using TSE, we predict the total radiation dose necessary for tumor eradication to be 110 Gy, which is reduced to 80 or 30 Gy with co-administration of 25 or 100 mg kg−1 of a radiosensitizer. TSE is also explored via a heat map of different growth and shrinkage rates. Finally, we discuss the translational potential of the model and TSE concept to humans.ConclusionsThe new model is capable of describing different tumor dynamics including tumor eradication and tumor regrowth with different rates, and can be calibrated using data from standard xenograft experiments. TSE and related concepts can be used to predict tumor shrinkage and eradication, and have the potential to guide new experiments and support translations from animals to humans.

PurposeThis paper aims to examine employee perceptions of the labor market in the employee turnover intention model and explores how different situations outside work (labor market conditions) play a role in employee-organizational membership. In addition, it also examines the mediating role of commitment in the relationship between stress and the turnover model.Design/methodology/approachData were collected from 628 private school teachers working in the economically depressed state of J&K (India), which were randomly selected. Confirmatory factor analysis was used for validation of a scale. Structural equation modeling and PROCESS by Hayes was used to test the hypothesized relationships between the study variables.FindingsThe antecedents of occupational stressors contribute negatively toward employees’ psychological state resulting in undesirable employee-organizational relationships such as high turnover intentions and low organizational commitment. Nevertheless, lack of external job opportunities compels employees to maintain organizational membership, even though against the stressful working environment.Research limitations/implicationsThis study while acknowledging the inherent limitations, questionnaires are susceptible to and single sectional nature of the study poses limitations.Practical implicationsThe practical implication explains that the employee and organization relationship is governed more by external economic conditions than by the psychological feelings of the employees toward the organization (organizational commitment). As also, the moral system of employees, as well as their feelings toward the noble profession makes them feel morally exalted and this binds them to the membership of the organization.Originality/valueThis study mainly focuses on, to understand if and how the conditions of the labor market relate to the employees’ attitudes. This would enable us to gain more insights to the systematic relations of employees’ attitudinal variables such as occupational stress, organizational commitment and employee turnover intentions.

When replacing equipment at its end of life, industries often have the option to select higher efficiency technologies. The choice to invest in an improved piece of equipment rather than a simple in-kind replacement is driven by many factors, including costs, performance, and familiarity with new technology options. Engineering models that account for equipment stock turnover, such as ENERGY 2020, typically assume that this decision is primarily driven by the difference in marginal costs: higher up front capital costs must be, at minimum, balanced by lower lifetime energy costs for an upgrade to be pursued. Stock turnover analysis requires detailed data inputs regarding the costs and performance of new equipment. For simplicity, a common approach is to develop assumed correlations that reflect the trade-off between marginal capital cost and efficiency and compare these to energy prices to select an efficiency level for new equipment. In this study, we present a novel method to develop such trade-off curves based on a technology-explicit approach rather than a qualitative correlation assumption. We generate trade-off curves for two common types of industrial devices: electric machine drive and natural gas steam generation for the case study of the Canadian pulp and paper sector. The curves demonstrate that the efficiency of new devices can be expected to vary significantly based on energy prices. At current energy prices, we find that newly purchased machine drive and steam generation devices would have an optimal efficiency level of 91% and 75%, respectively.

BackgroundTicagrelor, the first reversible P2Y12 receptor antagonist, exhibits faster onset and offset of antiplatelet effects and more consistent platelet inhibition than clopidogrel in both healthy subjects and patients with stable coronary artery disease.ObjectiveThe objectives of this study were to establish a population pharmacokinetics (PK) and pharmacodynamics (PD) model of ticagrelor and to provide a theoretical basis for the optimization of ticagrelor treatment in clinic.MethodsA single oral dose of 180 mg ticagrelor was administered to 14 healthy male subjects in a randomized study. Common single-nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) in biotransformation enzymes CYP3A4 and CYP3A5 (CYP3A4*1G and CYP3A5*3) were genotyped by PCR-direct sequencing. Blood samples were collected to measure plasma concentrations of ticagrelor and its active metabolite AR-C124910XX and maximal platelet inhibition. Various models were evaluated to characterize the pharmacokinetics of ticagrelor and AR-C124910XX as well as their PK-PD relationship. Covariates that may potentially affect PK or PD of ticagrelor and AR-C124910XX were included and assessed. Simulation for dosage regimen was performed based on the final PK-PD model.ResultsTicagrelor and AR-C124910XX PK were best described by a two-compartment model with first-order transit absorption model. CYP3A4*1G increased clearance for AR-C124910XX, but had no significant effect on ticagrelor clearance. The relationship between concentration and platelet response of ticagrelor was best described by a turnover model. Simulation results indicated that a lower dosage regimen of 30 mg maintenance dose (MD) could produce an anticipated anti-platelet response in comparison to the routine clinical dosage regimen (180 mg loading dose (LD), 90 mg MD).ConclusionOur study developed a population PK-PD model for ticagrelor and further simulation for dosage regimen was performed based on the final model. Compared to the current recommended dosage regimen (180 mg LD, 90 mg MD), our simulation result of a relatively lower dose (30 mg MD) could also obtain an acceptable anti-platelet response, which may provide a reference for further dosage regimen design in Chinese population.