bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Exploring the diversity of Type 1 active galactic nuclei identified in SDSS-IV/SPIDERS
Authors: Wolf Julien , Salvato Mara , Coffey Damien , Merloni Andrea , Buchner Johannes , Arcodia Riccardo , Baron Dalya , Carrera Francisco J , Comparat Johan , Schneider Donald P , Nandra Kirpal
Published: January 2020

We present a statistical analysis of the optical properties of an X-ray-selected Type 1 active galactic nucleus (AGN) sample, using high signal-to-noise ratio (S/N>20) spectra of the counterparts of the ROSAT/2RXS sources in the footprint of the SDSS-IV/SPIDERS (Spectroscopic IDentification of eROSITA Sources) programme. The final sample contains 2100 sources. It significantly extends the redshift and luminosity ranges (z ∼ 0.01–0.80 and $L_{\rm 0.1\!-\!2.4 \, keV} \sim \rm 2.0 \times 10^{41}\!-\!1.0 \times 10^{46} \, \, erg \, s^{-1}$) used so far in this kind of analysis. By means of a principal component analysis, we derive eigenvector (EV) 1 and 2 in an eleven-dimensional optical and X-ray parameter space, which are consistent with previous results. The validity of the correlations of the Eddington ratio L/LEdd with EV1 and the black hole mass with EV2 is strongly confirmed. These results imply that L/LEdd and black hole mass are related to the diversity of the optical properties of Type 1 AGNs. Investigating the relation of the width and asymmetry of H β and the relative strength of the iron emission $r_{\rm Fe\, \small{II}}$, we show that our analysis supports the presence of a distinct kinematic region: the very broad line region. Furthermore, comparing sources with a red-asymmetric broad H β emission line to sources for which it is blue asymmetric, we find an intriguing difference in the correlation of the $\rm Fe\, \small{II}$ and the continuum emission strengths. We show that this contrasting behaviour is consistent with a flattened, stratified model of the broad-line region, in which the $\rm Fe\, \small{II}$-emitting region is shielded from the central source.
Spiral instabilities in N-body simulations – II. Emergence from noise
Authors: Sellwood J A
Published: January 2020

An earlier paper presented the potentially significant discovery that disturbances in simplified simulations of a stellar disc model that was predicted to be stable in linear theory grew to large amplitude over a long period of time. The ultimate appearance of true instabilities was attributed to non-linear scattering by a succession of collective waves excited by shot noise from the finite number of particles. The paper concluded that no finite number of particles, however large, could mimic a smooth disc. As this surprising finding has been challenged as an artefact of the numerical scheme employed, we here present a new calculation of the same model using a different grid geometry that confirms the original behaviour.
Using Case-Based Learning to Teach Information Literacy and Critical Thinking Skills in Undergraduate Music Therapy Education: A Cohort Study
Authors: Masko Meganne K , Thormodson Kelly , Borysewicz Kristen
Published: January 2020

Higher education traditionally focuses on didactic, or passive, teaching and learning techniques as these are efficient ways of conveying information to the students. However, passive learning places the responsibility for students’ learning on the instructor rather than the students themselves. Constructive learning techniques, such as case-based learning (CBL), give students opportunities to apply previous knowledge while constructing their own deep learning. The purpose of this article is to describe both the implementation and evaluation of a CBL unit in a junior-level undergraduate music therapy theories and methods course. The cohort study utilized student reflection papers, faculty observations, class materials, and a student survey to evaluate the impact of a behavioral health-focused CBL unit on information literacy, critical thinking skills, and student enjoyment of learning. Students answered both Likert-type and open-ended questions on these topics. Open-ended questions were analyzed using a directed qualitative content analysis. Students felt that the CBL unit was effective in increasing their information literacy and critical thinking skills, and they enjoyed the unit. According to survey results, the CBL developed several measured areas of student critical thinking skills, with the exception of the students’ abilities to analyze their own biases. The CBL unit appeared to be an effective and efficient way of simultaneously covering multiple learning outcomes and music therapy competencies. However, students did not perceive any changes in their ability to analyze their own biases which, based on previous psychology and sociology research, takes more than one isolated learning unit to address. Implications for music therapy education are addressed.
Correlation between equi-partition of aminoacyl-tRNA synthetases and amino-acid biosynthesis pathways
Authors: Takénaka Akio , Moras Dino
Published: January 2020

The partition of aminoacyl-tRNA synthetases (aaRSs) into two classes of equal size and the correlated amino acid distribution is a puzzling still unexplained observation. We propose that the time scale of the amino-acid synthesis, assumed to be proportional to the number of reaction steps (NE) involved in the biosynthesis pathway, is one of the parameters that controlled the timescale of aaRSs appearance. Because all pathways are branched at fructose-6-phosphate on the metabolic pathway, this product is defined as the common origin for the NE comparison. For each amino-acid, the NE value, counted from the origin to the final product, provides a timescale for the pathways to be established. An archeological approach based on NE reveals that aaRSs of the two classes are generated in pair along this timescale. The results support the coevolution theory for the origin of the genetic code with an earlier appearance of class II aaRSs.
I-Motif/miniduplex hybrid structures bind benzothiazole dyes with unprecedented efficiencies: a generic light-up system for label-free DNA nanoassemblies and bioimaging
Authors: Shi Lili , Peng Pai , Zheng Jiao , Wang Qiwei , Tian Zhijin , Wang Huihui , Li Tao
Published: January 2020

I-motif DNAs have been widely employed as robust modulating components to construct reconfigurable DNA nanodevices that function well in acidic cellular environments. However, they generally display poor interactivity with fluorescent ligands under these complex conditions, illustrating a major difficulty in utilizing i-motifs as the light-up system for label-free DNA nanoassemblies and bioimaging. Towards addressing this challenge, here we devise new types of i-motif/miniduplex hybrid structures that display an unprecedentedly high interactivity with commonly-used benzothiazole dyes (e.g. thioflavin T). A well-chosen tetranucleotide, whose optimal sequence depends on the used ligand, is appended to the 5′-terminals of diverse i-motifs and forms a minimal parallel duplex thereby creating a preferential site for binding ligands, verified by molecular dynamics simulation. In this way, the fluorescence of ligands can be dramatically enhanced by the i-motif/miniduplex hybrids under complex physiological conditions. This provides a generic light-up system with a high signal-to-background ratio for programmable DNA nanoassemblies, illustrated through utilizing it for a pH-driven framework nucleic acid nanodevice manipulated in acidic cellular membrane microenvironments. It enables label-free fluorescence bioimaging in response to extracellular pH change.
The Complex Structure of Health Rights
Authors: Da Silva Michael
Published: January 2020

Research on how to understand legally recognized socio-economic rights produced many insights into the nature of rights. Legally recognized rights to health and, by extension, health care could contribute to health justice. Yet a tension remains between widespread international and transnational constitutional recognition of rights to health and health care and compelling normative conditions for rights recognition from both philosophers seeking to identify the scope and structure of the rights and policy scholars seeking to understand how to practically realize such rights (and measure realization of same). This work identifies an overlooked source of these difficulties: the right to health care and other health rights are necessarily ‘complex’, consisting of multiple related, but irreducible, morally valuable components. ‘Complex rights’ do not fit the traditional structure of human rights, so legal recognition of same can appear confused from a philosophical perspective, but there is ample reason to admit complex rights into our moral ontology and doing so can help bridge the divide between global health practices and ongoing work in the philosophy of rights and public policy. Recognition of complex rights admittedly shifts the burden for justifying health rights, but it does so in a way that is instructive for general philosophical analysis of socio-economic rights.
Pain and Psychological Outcomes Among Iraq and Afghanistan Veterans with Chronic Pain and PTSD: ESCAPE Trial Longitudinal Results
Authors: Bair Matthew J , Outcalt Samantha D , Ang Dennis , Wu Jingwei , Yu Zhangsheng
Published: January 2020

Objective

To compare pain and psychological outcomes in veterans with chronic musculoskeletal pain and comorbid post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) or pain alone and to determine if veterans with comorbidity respond differently to a stepped-care intervention than those with pain alone.

Design

Secondary analysis of data from the Evaluation of Stepped Care for Chronic Pain (ESCAPE) trial.

Setting

Six Veterans Health Affairs clinics.

Subjects

Iraq and Afghanistan veterans (N = 222) with chronic musculoskeletal pain.

Methods

Longitudinal analysis of veterans with chronic musculoskeletal pain and PTSD or pain alone and available baseline and nine-month trial data. Participants randomized to either usual care or a stepped-care intervention were analyzed. The pain–PTSD comorbidity group screened positive for PTSD and had a PTSD Checklist–Civilian score ≥41 at baseline.

Results

T tests demonstrated statistically significant differences and worse outcomes on pain severity, pain cognitions, and psychological outcomes in veterans with comorbid pain and PTSD compared with those with pain alone. Analysis of covariance (ANCOVA) modeling change scores from baseline to nine months indicated no statistically significant differences, controlling for PTSD, on pain severity, pain centrality, or pain self-efficacy. Significant differences emerged for pain catastrophizing (t = 3.10, P < 0.01), depression (t = 3.39, P < 0.001), and anxiety (t = 3.80, P < 0.001). The interaction between PTSD and the stepped-care intervention was not significant.

Conclusions

Veterans with the pain–PTSD comorbidity demonstrated worse pain and psychological outcomes than those with chronic pain alone. These findings indicate a more intense chronic pain experience for veterans when PTSD co-occurs with pain. PTSD did not lead to a differential response to a stepped-care intervention.
Using Open Questions to Understand 650 People’s Experiences With Antipsychotic Drugs
Authors: Read John , Sacia Ann
Published: January 2020

Studies of antipsychotic medication, which are increasingly prescribed for a broad range of problems and circumstances, rarely ask the people who take them to describe their experiences with the drugs. In this study, 650 people, from 29 countries, responded, in an online survey, to “Overall in my life antipsychotic medications have been _____?” and “Is there anything else you would like to say, or emphasise, about your experiences with antipsychotic drugs?” Of the total participants, 14.3% were categorized as reporting purely positive experiences, 27.9% had mixed experiences, and 57.7% reported only negative ones. Negative experiences were positively correlated with age. Thematic analysis identified 749 negative, 180 positive, and 53 mixed statements. The 2 positive themes were “symptom reduction” (14) and “sleep” (14), with the majority (153) unspecified. The 4 negative themes (besides “unspecified”—191) were: “adverse effects” (316), “interactions with prescriber” (169), “withdrawal/difficult to get off them” (62), and “ineffective” (11). The adverse effects included: weight gain, emotional numbing, cognitive dysfunction, sedation, akathisia, effects on relationships, and suicidality. “Interactions with prescriber” included lack of information about withdrawal effects, support, or discussion of alternatives. The only mixed theme was “short-term good, long-term bad” (28). Open questions can add to findings from methodologies focused on symptom reduction. Clinicians should pay more attention to the need for respectful and collaborative patient-prescriber relationships. At the point of prescription, this must include providing the full range of information about antipsychotics, including potential benefits and harms, difficulties withdrawing, and information on alternatives treatments such as psychological therapies.
Knowledge, attitude and antibiotic prescribing patterns of medical doctors providing free healthcare in the outpatient departments of public hospitals in Sierra Leone: a national cross-sectional study
Authors: Kabba John Alimamy , Tadesse Nigatu , James Peter Bai , Kallon Herbart , Kitchen Chenai , Atif Naveel , Jiang Minghuan , Hayat Khezar , Zhao Mingyue , Yang Caijun , Chang Jie , Fang Yu
Published: January 2020

Background

Antibiotic resistance is a global health crisis and irrational prescribing behaviour has been identified as a contributing factor. The current study aimed to assess the knowledge of, attitudes towards and practices regarding antibiotic prescribing of medical doctors providing free healthcare services in the outpatient departments of public hospitals in Sierra Leone. In addition, we evaluated prescribing patterns of antibiotics.

Methods

The study has two parts. First, we conducted a cross-sectional survey using a self-administered questionnaire to assess doctor’s knowledge of, attitudes towards and practices regarding prescribing antibiotics. Second, using patient medical records, we used the World Health Organization methodology on how to assess drug use in health facilities to evaluate prescribing patterns of antibiotics in four selected public hospitals in Sierra Leone.

Results

Of 130 administered questionnaires, 119 were returned, for a response rate of 91.5%. The majority of doctors (n=83 [69.7%]) agreed that amoxicillin is safe in the first 3 weeks of pregnancy and considered antibiotic resistance a global (n=108 [90.7%]) and national (n=97 [81.5%]) public health crisis. Less than a quarter of medical doctors agreed that antibiotics may speed up the recovery when added to malaria (n=25 [21%]) or cold and cough (n=81 [68%]) therapies. Prescribing pattern results show that children <5 y of age (adjusted odds ratio 5.199 [confidence interval 2.743 to 9.855], p<0.0001) were more likely to be prescribed an antibiotic than pregnant women/lactating mothers. Penicillins were the most commonly prescribed pharmacological class of antibiotics, with amoxicillin being the most commonly prescribed penicillin.

Conclusions

Doctors demonstrated a sound knowledge of antibiotics and antibiotics resistance, with a positive attitude towards prescribing antibiotics. However, the prescribing pattern of antibiotics was irrational, necessitating the need for the establishment of audit and feedback programmes such as antimicrobial stewardship programmes.
Effect of Foliar Fungicides Applied at Silking on Stalk Lodging in Corn
Authors: Robertson Alison E. , Serrano Mauricio , Acharya Jyotsna , Shriver John , Beckman John , Huffman Chad , Pecinovsky Ken , Rees Myron , Schaben Daniel , Schnabel Matthew , Sievers Josh , Tuttle Terry
Published: January 2020

Stalk lodging in corn (Zea mays L.) leads to harvest complications and yield losses. Farmers who apply a foliar fungicide to manage leaf diseases have also observed reduced lodging. The goal of this study was to evaluate the effect of a foliar fungicide applied at silking on percent lodging. Field trials were established on Iowa State University Research Farms in 2016 and 2017. Treatments evaluated were foliar fungicide application (with or without) and harvest date (corn harvested at weekly intervals for up to 5 weeks); a split plot design was used with four complete blocks. Across all locations and years, a fungicide application significantly reduced mean lodging (P < 0.0001) by 9.3% and increased yields (P = 0.0043) by an average of 258.3 kg/ha (4.1 bu/acre). Percent lodging increased as harvest was delayed (P < 0.0001). This study demonstrated that foliar fungicides applied at silking reduced lodging and thus confirmed observations of farmers. Applying a fungicide to reduce lodging and favor harvest, however, is not recommended due to risk of fungicide resistance development and the lack of efficacy on stalk rot pathogens.
Potential for the Pathogenicity of Plant-Parasitic Nematodes Associated with Blueberries in Georgia and North Carolina
Authors: Severns Paul M. , Jagdale Ganpati B. , Holladay Ted , Brannen Phillip M. , Noe Jim P. , Cline William O.
Published: January 2020

Ring (Mesocriconema ornatum) nematode in Georgia (GA) has been associated with blueberry replant disease. A survey of plant-parasitic nematodes (PPNs) from production blueberry fields in GA and North Carolina (NC) was previously presented and evaluated from an abundance perspective. However, PPNs are often patchily distributed, occurring in close physical association with infected plant roots. Soil cores may or may not sample the areas of high nematode abundance, and nematode counts tend to be highly variable because of this patchiness. To evaluate the survey data for potentially unrecognized blueberry PPNs, we reanalyzed nematode survey data from NC and GA using multivariate analyses that integrate both patterns of occurrence and patterns in relative abundance. Indicator species analysis identified ring nematode in GA as a potentially pathogenic nematode, consistent with previous confirmation of pathogenicity through a container study. Indicator species analysis also identified two potentially pathogenic nematodes in NC blueberries: awl (Dolichodorus spp.) and sheath (Hemicycliophora spp.) nematodes. Of the two nematodes, awl shared a similar position in the NC blueberry nematode community when compared with ring nematode in GA. However, awl nematode relative abundance was low enough, when compared with ring nematode in GA, to suggest that although it is likely parasitic on NC blueberries, it may not be pathogenic. Our analysis from a previous survey suggests that PPNs are unlikely to be a threat to NC blueberry production. However, if blueberry replant disease emerges in NC, then ring, awl, and sheath nematodes should be considered as potential causal agents.
Zucchini Vein Clearing Disease Is Caused by Several Lineages Within Pseudomonas syringae Species Complex
Authors: Lacault Caroline , Briand Martial , Jacques Marie-Agnès , Darrasse Armelle
Published: January 2020

Zucchini (Cucurbita pepo) is worldwide affected by Pseudomonas syringae, inducing vein clearing, stunting, and necroses during plantlet development. A collection of 58 P. syringae strains isolated from diseased zucchini plantlets was characterized by multilocus sequence analysis (MLSA). A subset of 23 strains responsible for vein clearing of zucchini (VCZ) was evaluated for pathogenicity on zucchini, and their genomes were sequenced. The host range of six VCZ strains was evaluated on 11 cucurbit species. Most VCZ strains belong to clades 2a and 2b-a within phylogroup 2 of P. syringae species complex and are closely related to other strains previously isolated from cucurbits. Genome analyses revealed diversity among VCZ strains within each clade. One main cluster, once referred to by the invalid pathovar name (peponis), gathers VCZ strains presenting a narrow host range including zucchini and squashes. Other VCZ strains present a large host range including zucchini, squashes, cucumber, melons, and in some cases watermelon. The VCZ strain pathogenic features are strongly associated with type III effector repertoires. The presence of avrRpt2 and absence of hopZ5 are associated with a narrow host range, whereas the presence of hopZ5 and absence of avrRpt2 are most generally associated with a large host range. To better detect the different clusters identified with whole genome sequence and pathogenicity analyses, we used a specific-k-mers approach to refine the MLSA scheme. Using this novel MLSA scheme to type P. syringae isolates from diseased cucurbits would give insight into distribution of worldwide strains and origin of epidemics.
Muricauda alvinocaridis sp. nov., isolated from shrimp gill from the Okinawa Trough
Authors: Liu Lijun , Yu Min , Zhou Shun , Fu Tianyu , Sun Wen , Wang Long , Zhang Xiao-Hua
Published: January 2020

A Gram-stain-negative, strictly aerobic, non-motile, long, straight-rod and non-flagellated marine bacterium strain, designated SCR12T, was isolated from the gill of a shrimp collected in the Tangyin hydrothermal field of the Okinawa Trough. The growth temperature was in the range of 16–40 °C and the optimum temperature was 37 °C. Optimal growth occurred at pH 6.5 and in the presence of 3 % (w/v) NaCl. The predominant isoprenoid quinone of strain SCR12T was menaquinone-6 (MK-6). The predominant fatty acids (>10 %) were iso-C15 : 0 (44.2 %), iso-C15 : 1 G (19.0 %) and iso-C17 : 0 3-OH (12.1 %). The major polar lipids comprised one phosphatidylethanolamine, three unidentified phospholipids, two unidentified aminolipids and three unidentified lipids. Based on the results of 16S rRNA gene sequence analysis, strain SCR12T was found to be most closely related to

Muricauda olearia

CL-SS4T (98.09 %), followed by

Muricauda beolgyonensis

BB-My12T (97.65 %),

Muricauda aquimarina

SW-63T (97.58 %) and

Muricauda ruestringensis

DSM 13258T (97.31 %) and with lower sequence similarities (95.74–97.10 %) to other species of the genus

Muricauda

. Genome relatedness between strain SCR12T and

M. olearia

CL-SS4T was computed using both average nucleotide identity (ANI) and DNA–DNA hybridization (DDH) and resulted in values of 85.6 % and 29.3±2.3 %, respectively. The genomic DNA G+C content of strain SCR12T was 42.3 mol%. On the basis of polyphasic analysis, the strain SCR12T was considered to represent a novel species of the genus Muricauda, for which the name Muricauda alvinocaridis sp. nov. is proposed. The type strain is SCR12T (=MCCC 1K03731T=JCM 33425T).
Aidingimonas lacisalsi sp. nov., isolated from a salt lake in China
Authors: Guan Tong-Wei , Tian Li-Sha , Tang Shu-Kun , Tian Lei , Feng Yu-Zhou
Published: January 2020

A novel bacterium, XHU 5135T, belonging to the genus

Aidingimonas

, was isolated from a salt lake sample collected in Xinjiang Province, north-west PR China. The isolate was Gram-stain-negative, rod-shaped and non-motile. The strain was catalase-positive and oxidase-negative. Growth occurred at NaCl concentrations of 5–25 % (optimum, 10–13 %), at 13–41 °C (35–37 °C) and at pH 6.0–10.0 (pH 7.0–8.0). The predominant ubiquinone was Q-9. The major fatty acids were C19 : 0 cyclo ω8c and C16 : 0. The G+C content of the genomic DNA was 58.1 mol%. The affiliation of strain XHU 5135T with the genus

Aidingimonas

was confirmed by 16S rRNA gene sequence comparisons. The closest type strain was Aidingimonas halophile YIM 90637T, which showed a 16S rRNA gene sequence similarity of 97.5 %. The ANI value between XHU 5135T and the closest type strain was 80.01 %. The estimated digital DNA–DNA hybridization estimate value between strain XHU 5135T and the closest type strain was 22.80 %. Phenotypically, the characteristics of XHU 5135T were shown to differ from the most closely related species,

A. halophila

. On the basis of the data from this polyphasic study, strain XHU 5135T represents a novel species of the genus

Aidingimonas

, for which the name Aidingimonas lacisalsi sp. nov. is proposed. The type strain is strain XHU 5135T (=CCTCC AB 2016344T=KCTC 42945T=DSM 104700T).
Mesophasic organization of GABAAreceptors in hippocampal inhibitory synapse
Authors: Liu Yun-Tao , Tao Chang-Lu , Zhang Xiaokang , Qi Lei , Sun Rong , Lau Pak-Ming , Zhou Z. Hong , Bi Guo-Qiang
Published: January 2020

Information processing in the brain depends on synaptic transmission and plasticity, which in turn require specialized organization of neurotransmitter receptors and scaffolding proteins within the postsynaptic density (PSD). However, how these molecules are organizedin situremains largely elusive, limiting our mechanistic understanding of synaptic formation and functions. Here, we have developed template-free classification of over-sampled sub-tomograms to analyze cryo-electron tomograms of hippocampal synapses, enabling us to identify type-A γ-aminobutyric acid receptor (GABAAR) in inhibitory synapses and determine itsin situstructure at 19 Å resolution. We found that these receptors are organized hierarchically: from GABAAR super-complexes with a fixed 11-nm inter-receptor distance but variable relative angles, through semi-ordered two-dimensional receptor networks with reduced Voronoi entropy, to mesophasic assembly with a sharp phase boundary. This assembly aligns with condensates of postsynaptic scaffolding proteins and putative presynaptic vesicle release sites. Such mesophasic self-organization may allow synapses to achieve a “Goldilocks” state with a delicate balance between stability and flexibility, enabling both reliability and plasticity in information processing.
Raising the Connectome: the emergence of neuronal activity and behavior inCaenorhabditis elegans
Authors: Alicea Bradly
Published: January 2020

The differentiation of neurons and formation of connections between cells is the basis of both the adult phenotype and behaviors tied to cognition, perception, reproduction, and survival. Such behaviors are associated with local (circuits) and global (connectome) brain networks. A solid understanding of how these networks emerge is critical. This opinion piece features a guided tour of early developmental events in the emerging connectome, which is crucial to a new view on the connectogenetic process. Connectogenesis includes associating cell identities with broader functional and developmental relationships. During this process, the transition from developmental cells to terminally differentiated cells is defined by an accumulation of traits that ultimately results in neuronal-driven behavior. The well-characterized developmental and cell biology ofC. eleganswill be used to build a synthesis of developmental events that result in a functioning connectome. Specifically, our view of connectogenesis enables a first-mover model of synaptic connectivity to be demonstrated using data representing larval synaptogenesis. In a first-mover model of Stackleberg competition, potential pre- and postsynaptic relationships are shown to yield various strategies for establishing various types of synaptic connections. By comparing these results to what is known regarding principles for establishing complex network connectivity, these strategies are generalizable to other species and developmental systems. In conclusion, we will discuss the broader implications of this approach, as what is presented here informs an understanding of behavioral emergence and the ability to simulate related biological phenomena.

Highlights

we can understand the complexity of connectomes in terms of their emergence from embryogenetic precursors, connection dynamics, and relationship to organismal behavior.

a first-mover competition model can explain how neuronal cells follow a specific set of heuristic strategies to form chemical synapses with other cells in larval development.

the timing and relative order of terminal differentiation inCaenorhabditis elegansare shown to have both subtle and consequential effects on patterns of connectivity.

a correspondence is established between the emergence of small connectomes and the emergence of specific behavioral outcomes in both animal andin silicomodels.
Aurora B and Condensin are dispensable for chromosome arm and telomere separation during meiosis II
Authors: Berthezene Julien , Reyes Céline , Li Tong , Coulon Stéphane , Bernard Pascal , Gachet Yannick , Tournier Sylvie
Published: January 2020

In mitosis, while the importance of kinetochore-microtubule attachment has been known for many years, increasing evidence suggests that telomere dysfunctions also perturb chromosome segregation by contributing to the formation of chromatin bridges at anaphase. Recent evidence suggests that Aurora B ensures proper chromosome segregation during mitosis not only by controlling kinetochore-microtubule attachment but also by regulating telomere and chromosome arm separation. However, whether and how Aurora-B governs telomere separation during meiosis has remained unknown. Here, we show that fission yeast Aurora B localizes at telomeres during meiosis I and promotes telomere separation independently of the meiotic cohesin Rec8. In meiosis II, Aurora-B controls kinetochore-microtubule attachment but appears dispensable for telomere and chromosome arm separation. Likewise, condensin activity is nonessential in meiosis II for telomere and chromosome arm separation. Thus, in meiosis, the requirements for Aurora-B are distinct at centromeres and telomeres, illustrating the critical differences in the control of chromosome segregation between mitosis and meiosis II.
Chord-length distributions cannot generally be obtained from small-angle scattering
Authors: Gommes Cedric J. , Jiao Yang , Roberts Anthony P. , Jeulin Dominique
Published: January 2020

The methods used to extract chord-length distributions from small-angle scattering data assume a structure consisting of spatially uncorrelated and disconnected convex regions. These restrictive conditions are seldom met for a wide variety of materials such as porous materials and semicrystalline or phase-separated copolymers, the structures of which consist of co-continuous phases that interpenetrate each other in a geometrically complex way. The significant errors that would result from applying existing methods to such systems are discussed using three distinct models for which the chord-length distributions are known analytically. The models are a dilute suspension of hollow spheres, the Poisson mosaic and the Boolean model of spheres.
The role of savings mobilization on access to credit: a case study of smallholder farmers in Ghana
Authors: Ankrah Twumasi Martinson , Jiang Yuansheng , Osei Danquah Frank , Chandio Abbas Ali , Agbenyo Wonder
Published: January 2020

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to examine the effect of savings mobilization on access to credit among smallholder farmers’ in the Birim central municipality of Ghana.

Design/methodology/approach

A cross-sectional primary data set was used to estimate the factors influencing smallholder farmers’ access to credit and size of loan to be borrowed using the IV-Probit and IV-Tobit model.

Findings

The results of the study revealed that savings mobilization has a positive significant impact on access to credit and the total amount of credit one can borrow as well. Other control variables such as transaction cost and farm size depicted a negative significant impact on access to credit. Land ownership, member of an association, household size, years of farming experience and education also showed a positive significant impact on access to credit.

Research limitations/implications

The paper only examined the savings effect on credit accessibility among smallholder farmers in one of the municipality’s in the Eastern region of Ghana. Future research should consider all or many municipality for an informed generalization of findings.

Practical implications

This paper provides evidence that smallholder farmers knowledge on the financial market is poor and it would require the policymakers or NGOs to organize financial management training programs so that the farmers high ignorance of the financial market will significantly reduce.

Originality/value

Although existing studies have examined smallholder farmers’ access to credit, the unique contribution of this paper is the analysis of the impact of saving mobilization on credit accessibility in Ghana, a major access to credit determinant in the financial market. In addition, those researchers who factored in savings as an access to credit determinant did not also consider the casual relationship between these two variables, thus, the present of endogeneity of which this paper does.
Premium subsidies and crop insurance demand in Brazil
Authors: Lavorato Mateus Pereira , Costa Lelis Lorena Vieira , Braga Marcelo José
Published: January 2020

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to examine the effects of premium subsidies provided by the Brazilian government through the Rural Insurance Premium Subvention Program (PSR) on the quantity demanded for crop insurance by grains producers of southern Brazil.

Design/methodology/approach

A fixed effects model was applied to an unbalanced panel data of municipalities of southern Brazil considering the years between 2006 and 2015. Three measures of crop insurance demand were considered: level of total premiums, level of total premiums per hectare and level of total liability per hectare.

Findings

Results were in line with previous literature, suggesting the existence of a positive, although inelastic, effect of the subsidy level on the demand for crop insurance. However, unitary elasticity estimates were found for all grains when considered total premiums per hectare as crop insurance demand measure.

Originality/value

The investigation focuses on a crop insurance program conducted in a tropical developing country – a completely different background than previously analyzed in literature. In addition, Brazilian government considers the PSR as one of its most important agricultural programs and this paper is pioneer in empirically explain the huge public investments made to the PSR through the estimation of the effects of premium subsidies on the quantity demanded for crop insurance in Brazil.
When ethical leadership and LMX are more effective in prompting creativity
Authors: Kalyar Masood Nawaz , Usta Aydin , Shafique Imran
Published: January 2020

Purpose

Despite the immense amount of literature on ethical leadership and leader‒member exchange (LMX), little is known about how and when ethical leadership and LMX are more/less effective in prompting employee creativity. It is proposed that ethical leadership affects creativity through LMX. Furthermore, the authors draw upon an interactionist perspective and suggest that employee psychological capital is a dispositional boundary condition that influences the effectiveness of LMX in promoting employee creativity. The paper aims to discuss these issues.

Design/methodology/approach

Using a survey questionnaire, data were collected from 557 nurses and their supervisors working in public sector hospitals. The data were collected in two phases (time lagged) to avoid common method bias. Moderated mediation analysis was performed, using model 14 of PROCESS, to probe hypothesized relationships.

Findings

The results of the moderated mediation suggest that ethical leadership and LMX predict creativity. Ethical leadership indirectly affects creativity through LMX. Employee psychological capital moderates the direct effect of LMX and the indirect effect of ethical leadership on employee creativity.

Research limitations/implications

The study contributes to the extant literature, as the findings suggest that, being a dispositional boundary condition, psychological capital plays a contingent role in explaining LMX and the ethical role of leaders in fostering creativity. Moreover, the results also confirm previous findings, which suggested that ethical leaders promote creativity.

Practical implications

The findings imply that ethical leadership and exchange relationships are important for promoting creativity. Given that creativity is a complex product of an individual’s behavior, high psychological capital employees obtain benefits of quality exchange relationships and utilize them to elicit creativity. Managers are recommended to proactively develop and promote exchange relationships as well as positive psychological resources among employees to achieve creativity.

Originality/value

The study is unique in its scope and contribution, as it tries to develop an understanding of how and when ethical leadership and LMX foster employee creativity. Using an interactionist perspective to theorize psychological capital as a second-stage moderator is, thus, a unique contribution of this study.
Human capital and export performance in the Spanish manufacturing firms
Authors: López Rodríguez José , Serrano Orellana Bill
Published: January 2020

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to investigate the effects of firms’ general and specific human capital on the export propensity and intensity.

Design/methodology/approach

The resource-based view of the firm provides the theoretical background to examine export performance. Empirical analysis is carried out using a national representative sample of Spanish manufacturing firms and employing Logit and Tobit models. Export performance is evaluated in a dual way, as export propensity and export intensity. In relation to human capital a distinction is made between general and specific human capital.

Findings

The results shown that differences exist in the effect of general and specific human capital. While the firms’ general human capital (education of the firm’s employees) affects both export propensity and intensity, only some dimensions of specific human capital (employees’ experience at the workplace) affects export propensity and intensity but no the employees’ training. Moreover, the firms’ general human capital generates greater changes than the effect of specific human capital on the export behavior.

Originality/value

This paper extends a line of research underexplored in the literature by analyzing the effect of organizational human capital on the firm’s export performance; moreover, it is the first study for Spanish manufacturing firms; the distinction between general and specific human capital enhances our comprehension of the human capital as a determinant of export performance. In relation to the specific human capital, besides training, we add a new variable related to experience at the workplace.
Absorptive capacity, co-creation, and innovation performance
Authors: Dahlin Peter , Moilanen Mikko , Østbye Stein Eirik , Pesämaa Ossi
Published: January 2020

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to examine the effect of absorptive capacity (ACAP) and co-creation on innovation performance (INN).

Design/methodology/approach

The authors use survey data from Swedish and Norwegian companies (n=1,102) and establish a cross-national equivalence between Sweden and Norway.

Findings

The subsequent structural model revealed interesting differences. For Sweden, co-creation fully mediates the effect of ACAP on INN, whereas for Norway, ACAP has a direct effect on INN with no mediation. Subsequent regressions including control variables showed that the structural model is reasonably robust. The authors conclude that, despite the many common national features conducive to innovation between these two countries, sufficient differences remain to create substantial variation in the innovation processes.

Originality/value

The study presents a second-order model of ACAP that permits a unique test of cross-country differences.
Dimensions of HR differentiation
Authors: Piasecki Przemysław
Published: January 2020

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to introduce the idea of dimensions of human resource (HR) differentiation defined as characteristics which may influence employees’ attitudinal responses to unequal working conditions. The paper concentrates on five dimensions: the number of segments, the strength of HR differentiation, its content, absolute and relative stability and analyses how they could moderate the relationship between employee segment membership (core or peripheral) and job satisfaction, affective commitment and turnover intentions.

Design/methodology/approach

The research hypotheses were tested on a sample of 978 employees from Polish co-operative banks. Hierarchical linear modelling was used to examine the moderating effect of the dimensions of HR differentiation.

Findings

Results indicate that employees in the core segment experience higher job satisfaction, affective commitment and lower turnover intentions than those in the peripheral segment. The moderating effect of HR differentiation dimensions occurred to be relatively weak. However, when the interaction effect was significant, the results always supported the hypotheses, indicating that the number of segments and the strength of HR differentiation are positively correlated with the size of the differences between the core and peripheral employees’ positive attitudes level.

Originality/value

This is the first attempt to classify several dimensions of HR differentiation and formulate their hypothetical moderating effect drawing on human capital theory, social exchange theory and social comparison theory.
Investigation of heating and melting in ELTA programs
Authors: Bukanin Vladimir , Ivanov Aleksandr , Zenkov Alexei
Published: January 2020

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is obtaining the optimal parameters of induction heating and melting systems by use of the new programs ELectro-Thermal Analysis (ELTA) 8.0 and Induction Crucible Furnace (ICF) to improve a quality of final products.

Design/methodology/approach

Simulation of continuous through heating prior a drawing through the draw plate is realized by an optimization procedure. Additional application of ELTA 8.0 “Heating of Wire” reveals the relationship between power, time and thermal profile of load during heating. Rational variants of ICFs for melting processes are obtained using several step-by-step iterations.

Findings

ELTA 8.0 program permits to optimize the continuous heating of copper, steel, titanium and other wires. ICF ELTA program was used at the initial stage of the development of new technological processes and the ICFs. This program provides a preliminary evaluation of an induction melting process and system before the use of more sophisticated 2D or 3D programs. Results of optimization allowed to find a rational decision of an induction system, the required parameters of a refractory and a power supply. Non-conductive and graphite crucibles of the furnace were compared from electrical and economical points of view.

Originality/value

Fast calculation of ELTA programs allows the designer to provide the required temperature distribution in a cross section and along the part to control the real-time processes of heating and melting.
A novel multi-surrogate multi-objective decision-making optimization algorithm in induction heating
Authors: Baldan Marco , Nikanorov Alexander , Nacke Bernard
Published: January 2020

Purpose

Most of optimal design or control engineering problems present conflicting objectives that need to be simultaneously minimized or maximized. Often, however, it is a priori known that some functions have greater importance than other. This paper aims to present a novel multi-surrogate, multi-objective, decision-making (DM) optimization algorithm, which is suitable for time-consuming simulations. Its performances have been compared, on the one hand with a standard decision-making algorithm (iTDEA), on the other with a self-adaptive evolutionary algorithm (AMALGAM*). The comparison concerns numerical tests and an optimal control task in induction heating.

Design/methodology/approach

In particular, the algorithm makes use of surrogates (meta-models) to concentrate the field evaluations at the most promising areas of the design space. The effect of the decision-maker is instead to drive the search to given regions of the Pareto front. The synergy between surrogates and the decision-maker leads to a greater effectiveness of the optimization search. For the field analysis of the optimal control task, a coupled electromagnetic-thermal FEM model has been developed.

Findings

The novel algorithms outperform both iTDEA and AMALGAM* in all done tests.

Practical implications

The algorithm could be applied to other computationally intensive multi-objective real-life problems whenever a preference between the objectives is known.

Originality/value

The combination of surrogates and a decision-maker is beneficial with time-consuming multi-objective optimization problems.
Identifying brand touchpoints to increase switching costs in the banking industry
Authors: Sultan Abdullah
Published: January 2020

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to study the effect of staged customer experiences on customer switching costs in the banking industry.

Design/methodology/approach

Brand touchpoints in the banking industry are identified by exploratory research using focus group sessions with bank customers and staff and refined by exploratory factor analysis using an independent sample of bank customers to form the staged customer experience construct. The proposed research model is then validated by confirmatory factor analysis with an independent sample using structural equation modeling.

Findings

Customer experience in the banking industry consists of four related but distinct stages (i.e. pre-touch, in-touch, post-touch and service failure). The first three stages have direct and indirect effects on switching costs that are partially mediated by relationship quality.

Research limitations/implications

Customer experience is an industry-specific construct with complicated effects on switching costs. Thus, the staged customer experience construct should be examined in different industries and applications to understand its implications.

Practical implications

Bank customers demand experiences that achieve desirable results in everyday situations and switch to other service providers easily if this demand is not met. Banks should focus on brand touchpoints that are both important to customers and increase switching costs to keep customers from defecting.

Originality/value

This research expands upon findings in the customer experience literature by exploring factors that link staged customer experiences with switching costs in the banking industry. In addition, a paradox is identified in the staged customer experience model that requires managers’ attention in order to design an effective customer experience strategy.