bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Warfare rather than agriculture as a critical influence on fires in the late Holocene, inferred from northern Vietnam
Authors: Li Zhen , Saito Yoshiki , Dang Phong X. , Matsumoto Eiji , Vu Quang Lan
Published: October 2013

Fire has played an essential role in the development of human civilization. Most previous research suggests that frequent-fire regimes in the late Holocene were associated with intensification of human activities, especially agriculture development. Here, we analyze fire regimes recorded in the Song Hong delta area of Vietnam over the past 5,000 years. In the prehistoric period, 2 long-term, low-charcoal abundance periods have been linked to periods of low humidity and cool climate, and 5 short-term fire regimes of 100–150 years in duration occurred at regular intervals of ≈700 years. However, over the last 1,500 years, the number, frequency, and intensity of fire regimes clearly increased. Six intensified-fire regime periods in northern Vietnam during this time coincided with changes of Vietnamese dynasties and associated warfare and unrest. In contrast, agricultural development supported by rulers of stable societies at this time does not show a positive correlation with intensified-fire regime periods. Thus, warfare rather than agriculture appears to have been a critical factor contributing to fire regimes in northern Vietnam during the late Holocene.
Creation of the first anomeric
d
/
l
-sugar kinase by means of directed evolution
Authors: Hoffmeister Dirk , Yang Jie , Liu Lesley , Thorson Jon S.
Published: October 2013

Chemoenzymatic routes toward complex glycoconjugates often depend on the availability of sugar-1-phosphates. Yet the chemical synthesis of these vital components is often tedious, whereas natural enzymes capable of anomeric phosphorylation are known to be specific for one or only a few monosaccharides. Herein we describe the application of directed evolution and a high-throughput multisugar colorimetric screen to enhance the catalytic capabilities of the
Escherichia coli
galactokinase GalK. From this approach, one particular GalK mutant carrying a single amino acid exchange (Y371H) displayed a surprisingly substantial degree of kinase activity toward sugars as diverse as
d
-galacturonic acid,
d
-talose,
l
-altrose, and
l
-glucose, all of which failed as wild-type GalK substrates. Furthermore, this mutant provides enhanced turnover of the small pool of sugars converted by the wild-type enzyme. Comparison of this mutation to the recently solved structure of
Lactococcus lactis
GalK begins to provide a blueprint for further engineering of this vital class of enzyme. In addition, the rapid access to such promiscuous sugar C-1 kinases will significantly enhance accessibility to natural and unnatural sugar-1-phosphates and thereby impact both
in vitro
and
in vivo
glycosylation methodologies, such as natural product glycorandomization.
Molecular genetics and evolution of pheromone biosynthesis in Lepidoptera
Authors: Roelofs Wendell L. , Rooney Alejandro P.
Published: October 2013

A great diversity of pheromone structures are used by moth species (Insecta: Lepidoptera) for long-distance mating signals. The signal/response channel seems to be narrow for each species, and a major conundrum is how signal divergence has occurred in the face of strong selection pressures against small changes in the signal. Observations of various closely related and morphologically similar species that use pheromone components biosynthesized by different enzymes and biosynthetic routes underscore the question as to how major jumps in the biosynthetic routes could have evolved with a mate recognition system that is based on responses to a specific blend of chemicals. Research on the desaturases used in the pheromone biosynthetic pathway for various moth species has revealed that one way to make a major shift in the pheromone blend is by activation of a different desaturase from mRNA that already exists in the pheromone gland. Data will be presented to support the hypothesis that this process was used in the evolution of the Asian corn borer,Ostrinia furnacalisspecies. In that context, moth sex-pheromone desaturase genes seem to be evolving under a birth-and-death process. According to this model of multigene family evolution, some genes are maintained in the genome for long periods of time, whereas others become deleted or lose their functionality, and new genes are created through gene duplication. This mode of evolution seems to play a role in moth speciation, as exemplified by the case of the Asian corn borer and European corn borer,Ostrinia nubilalisspecies.
Numb-deficient satellite cells have regeneration and proliferation defects
Authors: George Rajani M. , Biressi Stefano , Beres Brian J. , Rogers Erik , Mulia Amanda K. , Allen Ronald E. , Rawls Alan , Rando Thomas A. , Wilson-Rawls Jeanne
Published: October 2013

Significance

This study discloses a role for Numb in the activation and proliferation of adult muscle satellite cells and a unique function in the regulation of the muscle mass determinant Myostatin. Using two different genetic approaches to ablate
Numb
, one that ablated
Numb
in the myogenic lineage developmentally leading to reduced muscle mass. We determined that, in Numb-deficient muscle, regeneration was impaired, there was reduced stem cell proliferation, and there was an up-regulation of Myostatin. Overexpression of Numb suppressed Myostatin expression, and Myostatin-specific siRNA rescued the proliferation defect. These studies increase our knowledge of the signaling pathways involved in stem cell function and raise the possibility of regulating the Numb/Myostatin balance as a therapeutic approach to enhance muscle regeneration.
Introduction to Chemistry and Applications in Nature of Mass Independent Isotope Effects Special Feature
Authors: Thiemens Mark H.
Published: October 2013

Stable isotope ratio variations are regulated by physical and chemical laws. These rules depend on a relation with mass differences between isotopes. New classes of isotope variation effects that deviate from mass dependent laws, termed mass independent isotope effects, were discovered in 1983 and have a wide range of applications in basic chemistry and nature. In this special edition, new applications of these effects to physical chemistry, solar system origin models, terrestrial atmospheric and biogenic evolution, polar paleo climatology, snowball earth geology, and present day atmospheric sciences are presented.
Induction of Stalk Cell Differentiation by Cyclic AMP in the Cellular Slime Mold
Dictyostelium discoideum
Authors: Bonner John Tyler
Published: October 2013

Cyclic AMP, which is a cell attractant (acrasin) for
Dictyostelium discoideum
, will cause isolated, unaggregated cells to turn directly into stalk cells containing thick celluloselike walls and large vacuoles. From previous work we know that in the cell mass, acrasin is produced solely in the region of stalk formation during fruiting, that stalk formation involves a high level of catabolism, and that cyclic AMP stimulates catabolic enzymes in other systems. These facts obviously suggest that in the development of
D. discoideum
, cyclic AMP might be a key factor in stalk cell differentiation.
Hemoglobin Synthesis in Murine Virus-Induced Leukemic Cells
In Vitro:
Stimulation of Erythroid Differentiation by Dimethyl Sulfoxide
Authors: Friend Charlotte , Scher William , Holland J. G. , Sato Toru
Published: October 2013

Cells of a cloned line of murine virus-induced erythroleukemia were stimulated to differentiate along the erythroid pathway by dimethyl sulfoxide at concentrations that did not inhibit growth. A rise in the number of benzidine-positive normoblasts was accompanied by increased synthesis of heme and hemoglobin and a decrease in the malignancy of the cells. This action of dimethyl sulfoxide, which was reversible, may represent the derepression of leukemic cells to permit their maturation.
Inheritance of yeast nuclear pore complexes requires the Nsp1p subcomplex
Authors: Makio Tadashi , Lapetina Diego L. , Wozniak Richard W.
Published: October 2013

In the yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae, organelles and macromolecular complexes are delivered from the mother to the emerging daughter during cell division, thereby ensuring progeny viability. Here, we have shown that during mitosis nuclear pore complexes (NPCs) in the mother nucleus are actively delivered through the bud neck and into the daughter cell concomitantly with the nuclear envelope. Furthermore, we show that NPC movement into the daughter cell requires members of an NPC subcomplex containing Nsp1p and its interacting partners. NPCs lacking these nucleoporins (Nups) were blocked from entry into the daughter by a putative barrier at the bud neck. This selection process could be observed within individual cells such that NPCs containing Nup82p (an Nsp1p-interacting Nup) were transferred to the daughter cells while functionally compromised NPCs lacking Nup82p were retained in the mother. This mechanism is proposed to facilitate the inheritance of functional NPCs by daughter cells.
Atg38 is required for autophagy-specific phosphatidylinositol 3-kinase complex integrity
Authors: Araki Yasuhiro , Ku Wei-Chi , Akioka Manami , May Alexander I. , Hayashi Yu , Arisaka Fumio , Ishihama Yasushi , Ohsumi Yoshinori
Published: October 2013

Autophagy is a conserved eukaryotic process of protein and organelle self-degradation within the vacuole/lysosome. Autophagy is characterized by the formation of an autophagosome, for which Vps34-dervied phosphatidylinositol 3-phosphate (PI3P) is essential. In yeast, Vps34 forms two distinct protein complexes: complex I, which functions in autophagy, and complex II, which is involved in protein sorting to the vacuole. Here we identify and characterize Atg38 as a stably associated subunit of complex I. In atg38Δ cells, autophagic activity was significantly reduced and PI3-kinase complex I dissociated into the Vps15–Vps34 and Atg14–Vps30 subcomplexes. We find that Atg38 physically interacted with Atg14 and Vps34 via its N terminus. Further biochemical analyses revealed that Atg38 homodimerizes through its C terminus and that this homodimer formation is indispensable for the integrity of complex I. These data suggest that the homodimer of Atg38 functions as a physical linkage between the Vps15–Vps34 and Atg14–Vps30 subcomplexes to facilitate complex I formation.
Daniel Colón-Ramos: Observing and making connections
Authors: Sedwick Caitlin
Published: October 2013

Colón-Ramos studies neurodevelopment in C. elegans.
From Media Technologies That Reproduce Seconds to Media Technologies That Reproduce Thirds: A Peircean Perspective on Stylistic Fidelity and Style-Reproducing Computerized Algorithms
Authors: Wilf Eitan Y.
Published: October 2013

Against the backdrop of a long research tradition in linguistic and semiotic anthropology that has focused almost exclusively on media technologies that reproduce Seconds, that is, specific texts in modalities such as sound and the visual image, this article focuses on media technologies that reproduce Thirds, that is, generative dispositions responsible for the production of such Seconds. It explores contemporary attempts in the United States and France to develop computerized systems that, with the aid of specific algorithms, can abstract and enact the styles of different past jazz masters, as well as the styles of players who interactively improvise with such systems in real time. Drawing on Peircean semiotics, the article offers an analysis of these media technologies, their present application in the field of online consumption, and the cultural specificity of the Third that plays a key role in their development and reception, namely, style.
The Natural History of Branching: Approaches to the Phenomenology of Firstness, Secondness, and Thirdness
Authors: Sonesson Göran
Published: October 2013

In the present essay the author sets out to reflect on the notions of Firstness, Secondness, and Thirdness, pursuing the research beyond what is directly given in Peirce’s writings. For the purpose, Peircean phenomenology is considered to be a special variety of the Husserlian kind, because it restricts possible phenomena to threesomes and also attributes special contents to the three categories. The first restriction means that Peirce’s theory is a kind of structuralism, although a triadic one, whereas the second restriction implies that it is not merely formal. In the present essay, specific, primitive meanings are assigned to each of the categories, and they are seen to be similar in form to the dyads and triads of social psychology. At the end, signs are considered to be special kinds of Thirds, and an attempt is made to elucidate what hypo-icons owe to Firstness, Secondness, and Thirdness.
Incidence and Pathogen Distribution of Healthcare-Associated Infections in Pilot Hospitals in Egypt
Authors: See Isaac , Lessa Fernanda C. , ElAta Omar Abo , Hafez Soad , Samy Karim , El-Kholy Amani , Anani Mervat Gaber El , Ismail Ghada , Kandeel Amr , Galal Ramy , Ellingson Katherine , Talaat Maha
Published: October 2013

Objective.

To report type and rates of healthcare-associated infections (HAIs) as well as pathogen distribution and antimicrobial resistance patterns from a pilot HAI surveillance system in Egypt.

Methods.

Prospective surveillance was conducted from April 2011 through March 2012 in 46 intensive care units (ICUs) in Egypt. Definitions were adapted from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's National Healthcare Safety Network. Trained healthcare workers identified HAIs and recorded data on clinical symptoms and up to 4 pathogens. A convenience sample of clinical isolates was tested for antimicrobial resistance at a central reference laboratory. Multidrug resistance was defined by international consensus criteria.

Results.

ICUs from 11 hospitals collected 90,515 patient-days of surveillance data. Of 472 HAIs identified, 47% were pneumonia, 22% were bloodstream infections, and 15% were urinary tract infections; case fatality among HAI case patients was 43%. The highest rate of device-associated infections was reported for ventilator-associated pneumonia (pooled mean rate, 7.47 cases per 1,000 ventilator-days). The most common pathogens reported were Acinetobacter species (21.8%) and Klebsiella species (18.4%). All Acinetobacter isolates tested (31/31) were multidrug resistant, and 71% (17/24) of Klebsiella pneumoniae isolates were extended-spectrum β-lactamase producers.

Conclusions.

Infection control priorities in Egypt should include preventing pneumonia and preventing infections due to antimicrobial-resistant pathogens.
A sustained passion for intracellular trafficking
Authors: Miller Elizabeth A.
Published: October 2013

I am honored to be the first recipient of the Women in Cell Biology Sustained Excellence in Research Award. Since my graduate school days, I have enjoyed being part of a stimulating scientific community the American Society for Cell Biology embodies. Having found myself largely by accident in a career that I find deeply enjoyable and fulfilling, I hope here to convey a sense that one need not have a “grand plan” to have a successful life in science. Simply following one's interests and passions can sustain a career, even though it may involve some migration.
Discriminative motif analysis of high-throughput dataset
Authors: Yao Zizhen , MacQuarrie Kyle L. , Fong Abraham P. , Tapscott Stephen J. , Ruzzo Walter L. , Gentleman Robert C.
Published: October 2013

Motivation: High-throughput ChIP-seq studies typically identify thousands of peaks for a single transcription factor (TF). It is common for traditional motif discovery tools to predict motifs that are statistically significant against a naïve background distribution but are of questionable biological relevance.

Results: We describe a simple yet effective algorithm for discovering differential motifs between two sequence datasets that is effective in eliminating systematic biases and scalable to large datasets. Tested on 207 ENCODE ChIP-seq datasets, our method identifies correct motifs in 78% of the datasets with known motifs, demonstrating improvement in both accuracy and efficiency compared with DREME, another state-of-art discriminative motif discovery tool. More interestingly, on the remaining more challenging datasets, we identify common technical or biological factors that compromise the motif search results and use advanced features of our tool to control for these factors. We also present case studies demonstrating the ability of our method to detect single base pair differences in DNA specificity of two similar TFs. Lastly, we demonstrate discovery of key TF motifs involved in tissue specification by examination of high-throughput DNase accessibility data.

Availability: The motifRG package is publically available via the bioconductor repository.

Contact:  yzizhen@fhcrc.org

Supplementary information: Supplementary data are available at Bioinformatics online.
TRAF6 is a critical regulator of LMP1 functionsin vivo
Authors: Arcipowski Kelly M. , Stunz Laura L. , Bishop Gail A.
Published: October 2013

EBV-encoded latent membrane protein 1 (LMP1) is critical for EBV-driven B-cell transformation and most EBV-associated malignancies and is also implicated in exacerbation of autoimmunity. LMP1 functionally mimics the TNFR superfamily member CD40, but LMP1-induced signals and downstream B-cell functions are amplified and sustained compared with those mediated by CD40. CD40 and LMP1 both depend upon TNFR-associated factor (TRAF) adaptor molecules to mediate signaling but use them differently. LMP1 is dependent upon TRAFs 3 and 5 to deliver B-cell activation signals, while CD40 predominantly uses TRAFs 2 and 6 for this purpose. Both LMP1 and CD40 functions in B cells require TRAF6, which physically associates with both receptors but via different binding sites. In B-cell CD40 signaling, TRAF6 is required for a particular subset of CD40-dependent immune functions in vivo. Inasmuch as CD40 and LMP1 use other TRAFs differentially, we predicted that TRAF6 is critical for a specific subset of LMP1 functions in vivo and that this subset will be overlapping but distinct from the TRAF6-requiring functions of CD40. This study tests this prediction using a B-cell-specific TRAF6-deficient mouse model. We found that B-cell TRAF6 is important for LMP1-mediated antibody and autoantibody production in mice, as well as germinal center formation, but not the secondary lymphoid organ enlargement that results from LMP1 transgenic expression. Results highlight differential TRAF6 requirements for specific B-cell functions by LMP1 versus CD40. These differences may make important contributions to the contrasts between normally regulated CD40 versus pathogenic LMP1-mediated signals.
Impact of Eating Restriction on Gastrointestinal Motility in Adolescents With IBS
Authors: van Tilburg Miranda A.L. , Fortunato John E. , Squires Megan , Drossman Douglas A. , Dalton Christine , Lichtman Steve , Whitehead William E.
Published: October 2013

Objective:

Gastrointestinal disturbances as a result of changes in eating patterns have been described in eating disorders. Many patients who experience irritable bowel syndrome report changes in eating patterns as a way to cope with their symptoms. Little is known about the consequences of these practices. The aim of this study was to explore whether repeated eating restriction (defined as not eating ≥4 hours while hungry) is associated with motility disturbances.

Methods:

Of 17 patients with irritable bowel syndrome, subjects were divided into those who habitually restrict their eating (n = 8) and those without eating restriction (n = 9) (age range 15–21, mean 19.2; 64.7% girls). Whole‐gut transit time was measured by radiopaque markers, gastric sensitivity was measured by water load test (drinking max of 800 mL of water in 5 minutes or until full), and gastric dysrhythmias by an electrogastrogram.

Results:

Restrictors drank less water (mean 464.4 mL) than nonrestrictors (mean 613 mL; P = 0.02). No difference was found in gastric dysrhythmias (62.5% vs 77.8%; P = 0.5). Whole‐gut transit tended to be slower in the restrictors (mean 51.0 hours) than in nonrestrictors (mean 37.5 hours), but this was not significant.

Conclusions:

Eating restriction appears to be associated with increased gastric sensation. More data are needed from larger studies to determine whether eating behaviors are associated with other motility disturbances.
The Trojan female technique: a novel, effective and humane approach for pest population control
Authors: Gemmell Neil J. , Jalilzadeh Aidin , Didham Raphael K. , Soboleva Tanya , Tompkins Daniel M.
Published: October 2013

Humankind's ongoing battle with pest species spans millennia. Pests cause or carry disease, damage or consume food crops and other resources, and drive global environmental change. Conventional approaches to pest management usually involve lethal control, but such approaches are costly, of varying efficiency and often have ethical issues. Thus, pest management via control of reproductive output is increasingly considered an optimal solution. One of the most successful such ‘fertility control’ strategies developed to date is the sterile male technique (SMT), in which large numbers of sterile males are released into a population each generation. However, this approach is time-consuming, labour-intensive and costly. We use mathematical models to test a new twist on the SMT, using maternally inherited mitochondrial (mtDNA) mutations that affect male, but not female reproductive fitness. ‘Trojan females’ carrying such mutations, and their female descendants, produce ‘sterile-male’-equivalents under natural conditions over multiple generations. We find that the Trojan female technique (TFT) has the potential to be a novel humane approach for pest control. Single large releases and relatively few small repeat releases of Trojan females both provided effective and persistent control within relatively few generations. Although greatest efficacy was predicted for high-turnover species, the additive nature of multiple releases made the TFT applicable to the full range of life histories modelled. The extensive conservation of mtDNA among eukaryotes suggests this approach could have broad utility for pest control.
The altered landscape of the human skin microbiome in patients with primary immunodeficiencies
Authors: Oh Julia , Freeman Alexandra F. ,   NISC Comparative Sequencing Program, Park Morgan , Sokolic Robert , Candotti Fabio , Holland Steven M. , Segre Julia A. , Kong Heidi H.
Published: October 2013

While landmark studies have shown that microbiota activate and educate host immunity, how immune systems shape microbiomes and contribute to disease is incompletely characterized. Primary immunodeficiency (PID) patients suffer recurrent microbial infections, providing a unique opportunity to address this issue. To investigate the potential influence of host immunity on the skin microbiome, we examined skin microbiomes in patients with rare monogenic PIDs: hyper-IgE (STAT3-deficient), Wiskott-Aldrich, and dedicator of cytokinesis 8 syndromes. While specific immunologic defects differ, a shared hallmark is atopic dermatitis (AD)–like eczema. We compared bacterial and fungal skin microbiomes (41 PID, 13 AD, 49 healthy controls) at four clinically relevant sites representing the major skin microenvironments. PID skin displayed increased ecological permissiveness with altered population structures, decreased site specificity and temporal stability, and colonization with microbial species not observed in controls, includingClostridiumspecies andSerratia marcescens. Elevated fungal diversity and increased representation of opportunistic fungi (Candida, Aspergillus) supported increased PID skin permissiveness, suggesting that skin may serve as a reservoir for the recurrent fungal infections observed in these patients. The overarching theme of increased ecological permissiveness in PID skin was counterbalanced by the maintenance of a phylum barrier in which colonization remained restricted to typical human-associated phyla. Clinical parameters, including markers of disease severity, were positively correlated with prevalence ofStaphylococcus,Corynebacterium, and other less abundant taxa. This study examines differences in microbial colonization and community stability in PID skin and informs our understanding of host–microbiome interactions, suggesting a bidirectional dialogue between skin commensals and the host organism.
Source of finance and small enterprise's productivity growth in Ghana
Authors: Osei-Assibey Eric
Published: October 2013

Purpose

– The purpose of this study is to investigate the effects of nature and a range of institutional sources of start-up finance on micro and small enterprises' (MSEs) productivity growth in Ghana.

Design/methodology/approach

– Using a unique non-farm household enterprise survey data from Ghana, this paper estimated TFP or Solow residual as a proxy for MSEs' productivity growth as well as other for robustness checks.

Findings

– After controlling for firm-level characteristics such as size, age, ownership type, etc. the study finds that debt finance was positively associated with productivity growth, while financing from donation or charity did not. Second, this paper found significant positive associations between a more formal financing source such as formal and semi-formal financing sources and MSE's productivity growth. This finding was robustly confirmed by manager's growth perception. Further, compared to internal finance, external financing sources were found to be positively associated with productivity growth – indicating complementarities among all external financing sources.

Research limitations/implications

– Further research will be needed to validate these results, particularly using enterprise ongoing finance or working capital rather than start-up capital.

Originality/value

– The study contributes to the finance literature by studying the impact of nature and institutional financing sources on MSEs' productivity growth in the African context.
Social intermediation and financial services access in Uganda's microfinance industry
Authors: Kamukama Nixon , Natamba Bazinzi
Published: October 2013

Purpose

– The purpose of this paper is to examine the extent to which social intermediation influences access to financial services in Uganda's microfinance industry.

Design/methodology/approach

– The paper adopts analysis of moment structures (AMOS), a form of structural equation modeling (SEM) to test hypotheses.

Findings

– It was established that social intermediation together with antecedents of social capital and managerial competence, account for 32 percent of the variance in access to financial services in the microfinance industry.

Research limitations/implications

– Only a single research methodological approach was employed and future research through interviews could be undertaken to triangulate. Furthermore, the findings from the present study are cross-sectional, future research should be undertaken to examine the social intermediation and its effects on access to financial services across time.

Practical implications

– In order to boost the wealth of the active poor and microfinance institutions in Uganda, Uganda should always endeavor to build the human and institutional capacities through social intermediation so as to encourage the marginalized people to fully participate in formal financial intermediation in the microfinance industry.

Originality/value

– This is the first study that focuses on testing the influence of social intermediation on access to financial services in Uganda's microfinance industry.
Decline of Salmonella Enteritidis in poultry
Authors: B.M. Kottwitz Luciana , Back Alberto , Aparecida Leão Joice , S. El Ghoz Frausto Harissa , Magnani Marciane , Cristina R.M. de Oliveira Tereza
Published: October 2013

Purpose

– The aim of this study was to serotype strains of Salmonella isolated from poultry and raw poultry meat from 2006 to 2010 and to correlate the results with data from the Health Department of Parana State.

Design/methodology/approach

– A total of 1.165 Salmonella spp. strains isolated from commercial broiler breeders and laying hens (cloacal swabs, dragging swabs and faeces) and from one-day-old chicks (liver, spleen and cecum) and 310 strains isolated from raw chicken meat were serotyped between 2006 and 2010.

Findings

– The results showed a decline in the isolation of S. Enteritidis (SE) of poultry and chicken meat in the studied period. The most prevalent serovar isolated from raw chicken meat was Minnesota (n=73; 23.02%), followed by Mbandaka (n=33; 10.41%) and Enteritidis (n=30; 9.46%). The decrease in frequency of isolation of SE may be related to the broiler breeder hens vaccination and to the National Program for the Reduction of Pathogens of the Brazilian Agriculture Ministry and Food Supply, established in 2003.

Originality/value

– The results reinforce the importance of improving bio-safety programs for the control and eradication of Salmonella spp. in the poultry industry.
How social capital influences health community members' adoption of organic foods
Authors: Hung Shiu-Wan , Lin Jia-Zhi , Chen Ping-Chuan
Published: October 2013

Purpose

– This study aims to examine how the social capital embedded in health communities influences the knowledge sharing of participating members and drives their organic food consumption.

Design/methodology/approach

– The structural equation modeling method was used to analyze 228 group members in health knowledge communities established by multi-level marketing firms. Non-response bias was also assessed statistically and appropriate measures taken to minimise the impact of common method variance.

Findings

– The empirical results showed that: structural capital has no significant relationship with members' knowledge sharing; both the relational and cognitive capital positively affect members' knowledge sharing; members' knowledge collecting behaviour positively affects their purchase intention toward organic foods, but their knowledge donating behaviour has no significant effect; members' purchase intention toward organic foods positively affects their actual purchase behaviour.

Practical implications

– This paper indicates that higher quality of social capital embedded in that health community would increase more interactive opportunities for participating consumers to understand the organic foods through community activities, and strengthen the organic food value cognition of community members. Hence, companies can make good use of health communities to modify the customers' value propositions, thereby driving their organic food consumptions.

Originality/value

– Unlike many other empirical studies, this study makes an important contribution to the literature by examining how social capital influences consumers' organic food consumption and their adoption of organic food's values in a detailed manner.
Staff investments for high performance teams
Authors: D. Hall-Ellis Sylvia
Published: October 2013

Purpose

– This is a regular thought-provoking column.

Design/methodology/approach

– Thoughts with suggested references for more information.

Findings

– Lots more to learn.

Originality/value

– New thoughts this quarter.
Keeping the motivation going
Authors: A. Crumpton Michael
Published: October 2013

Purpose

– The aim of this paper is to acknowledge and provide tips for ongoing motivation needs of an organization.

Design/methodology/approach

– This article discusses several examples in the literature regarding motivational elements.

Findings

– This article advocates for seeking new approaches to motivating employees as financial concerns deepen.

Originality/value

– This is the author's point-of-view and experience.
Characterization of pharmacy services in Portuguese prisons: a national survey
Authors: Alexandra Monteiro Guerra Liliana , Façanha da Cruz Fresco Paula
Published: October 2013

Purpose

– The primary purpose of this paper is to collect reliable information to characterize the pharmacy services in Portuguese prisons. The secondary purpose is to develop a set of suggestions for improving these services and, therefore, improve the health services provided to the inmate population.

Design/methodology/approach

– A three pages survey was developed that included questions covering the characterization of prison health teams, pharmacy services and pharmacy activities. This survey was sent to all Portuguese prisons, with capacity higher than 50 prisoners. The response rate was of 87.5 per cent.

Findings

– It was found that only 6.1 per cent of prisons had pharmacists and that in 63 per cent the guards still participated in pharmacy activities. There were not Pharmacy and Therapeutics Committees in 94 per cent of prisons and 94.4 per cent did not present adequate storage conditions for drugs. Only 51.7 per cent of prisons had computers in the pharmacy and only 3.4 per cent had access to the internet. This study found that there is a gap between public and prison pharmacy services, since most prison pharmacies in Portugal are solely locals of storage and distribution of drugs, with no effective management nor promotion of drug rational use.

Originality/value

– This paper is the first study about pharmacy services in Portuguese prisons. The information collected could be very useful to improve the Portuguese prison pharmacy services provided to prisoners.
Significant knowledge transitions and resituation challenges in becoming a researcher
Authors: Franken Margaret
Published: October 2013

Purpose

– The purpose of this paper is to document international scholarship students' experience as they studied and planned their research in the linguistically, academically and culturally unfamiliar context of a New Zealand University, but conducted the research in their own culturally and professionally familiar contexts.

Design/methodology/approach

– This paper uses the concept of resituation developed by Eraut and applies this to the task of appreciating the complexity of the international postgraduate student experience as such students transition from coursework to research work. The paper reports findings from a study in which the researcher worked with international scholarship students from the Pacific, Melanesia and Southeast Asia to frame up a masters research proposal over the period of a semester, and then interviewed them as their research work progressed.

Findings

– Using Eraut's framework allowed the researcher to explore the ways in which these neophyte researchers needed to resituate the personal knowledge they already possessed, with new knowledge generated from coursework and the research process as it unfolded. Resituation occurred at particular points in the research trajectory and could be seen to represent significant transitions for the students.

Originality/value

– Understandings gained from research such as this is crucial if higher education institutions are to engage in internationalisation at a postgraduate level in a way that acknowledges what students bring to the context, how their research experience changes them, and what they may experience when they return to their home countries.
Conceptualising doctoral researcher training through Bernstein's theoretical frameworks
Authors: Crossouard Barbara
Published: October 2013

Purpose

– The purpose of this paper is to present a theoretically-informed analysis of an exploratory study which included a focus on postdoctoral researchers' views of their training needs.

Design/methodology/approach

– The wider mixed-methods study was focused on post-doctoral career trajectories at a time of ongoing policy interest in doctoral education. Bernstein's theoretical perspectives are used to illuminate the data, particularly his concepts of classification and regionalisation.

Findings

– Respondents' reflections on their doctoral training showed a much stronger appreciation of training which was based in disciplinary practices, even if these were subject to regionalisation, as opposed to more generic professional skills training.

Research limitations/implications

– The small scale and exploratory nature of the study is recognised, as well as the need for more independent research in this area.

Practical implications

– The study has implications for the nature of the training provided as part of doctoral education. First, it is argued that this should include more explicit discussion of policy shifts relating to doctoral education. Second, rather than being glossed over in the imposition of generic competency frameworks (conceptualised through Bernstein as a generic performance mode), researcher training should attend closely to the social and cultural base of the skills and practices of different regions of knowledge production, at the same time as recognising these to be fluid and dynamic.

Originality/value

– Overall, while recognised as exploratory, the study aims to contribute insights on doctoral graduates' perspectives on researcher training as well as suggesting the usefulness of Bernstein's theoretical framework for understanding the reconstruction of doctoral education in the UK.
Self-gifting guilt: an examination of self-gifting motivations and post-purchase regret
Authors: David Clarke Peter , Mortimer Gary
Published: October 2013

Purpose

– Self-gifting is a performative process in which consumers purchase products for themselves. The literature to date remains silent on a determination and connection between the extents of post-purchase regret resulting from self-gifting behavior. The purpose of this paper is to examine identification and connection of self-gifting antecedents, self-gifting and the effect on post purchase regret.

Design/methodology/approach

– This study claims the two antecedents of hedonistic shopping and indulgence drive self-gifting behaviors and the attendant regret. A total of 307 shoppers responded to a series of statements concerning the relationships between antecedents of self-gifting behavior and the effect on post-purchase regret. Self-gifting is a multi-dimensional construct, consisting of therapeutic, celebratory, reward and hedonistic imports. Confirmatory factor analysis and AMOS path modeling enabled examination of relationships between the consumer traits of hedonistic shopping and indulgence and the four self-gifting concepts.

Findings

– Hedonic and indulgent shoppers engage in self-gifting for different reasons. A strong and positive relationship was identified between hedonic shoppers and reward, hedonic, therapeutic and celebratory self-gift motivations. hedonic shoppers aligned with indulgent shoppers who also engaged the four self-gifting concepts. The only regret concerning purchase of self-gifts was evident in the therapeutic and celebratory self-gift motivations.

Research limitations/implications

– A major limitation was the age range specification of 18 to 45 years which meant the omission of older generations of regular and experienced shoppers. This study emphasizes the importance of variations in self-gift behaviors and of post-purchase consumer regret.

Originality/value

– This research is the first examination of an hedonic attitude to shopping and indulgent antecedents to self-gift purchasing, the concepts of self-gift motivations and their effect on post-purchase regret.
Ethics and responsibility in relationship marketing
Authors: Perret Johannes , Holmlund Maria
Published: October 2013

Purpose

– The role of ethical issues is growing in business and in society, but surprisingly, that role is sparsely examined in the relationship-marketing context. The purpose of this paper is to develop a framework describing the fundamentals of ethical relationship marketing and analyses the content of six selected textbooks on the subject.

Design/methodology/approach

– The paper sheds light on ethics in a significant marketing sub-discipline, i.e. relationship marketing.

Findings

– The findings confirm previous findings from analyses of teaching material in marketing, indicating that ethical issues are superficially treated. None of the books has separate sections devoted to ethical issues. Key words selected to represent ethical issues are sparsely used.

Research limitations/implications

– There is considerable room for improvement if business schools are to prepare their students for the challenges in the future business world. Through the analysis of the textbook, and the recommendations, this study contributes to such improvement in one marketing discipline which is considered to represent a paradigm shift in marketing because it is fundamentally different from transaction-based marketing.

Practical implications

– The paper presents suggestions for how to encourage faculty and students to develop awareness about ethical relationship marketing, and recommends courses to improve learning about the subject.

Originality/value

– The framework of the fundamentals of ethical relationship marketing, a textbook analysis, and implications for business school faculty.
Antecedents and consequents of brand managers’ role
Authors: Poulis Athanasios , Panigyrakis George , Panos Panopoulos Anastasios
Published: October 2013

Purpose

– The purpose of this paper is twofold. First, the paper seeks to identify whether the role of product manager in UK and in France differs and second, the paper models the relationship between brand managers’ role, role stressors, job satisfaction, job commitment and propensity to leave, in the aforementioned countries.

Design/methodology/approach

– To test the hypothesized associations an e-mail survey was conducted among UK and France firms. Sample sectors included cosmetics and toiletries, household care products, packaged food, drink/beverages and tobacco. These industries represent a significant volume of UK and France FMCG trade.

Findings

– The results reveal the existence of a same pattern in the brand managers’ role but also reveal some differences in the variables that affect the brand managers’ intention to leave the corporation.

Research limitations/implications

– The examination of the proposed model takes place only in UK and France. Conclusions should not be made for the role of the brand manager in general. The study must take place in other countries in order to make some more indulging conclusions. A more fruitful approach would be to gather data and from other sectors.

Practical implications

– Carefully planned job descriptions which comply with the moral values and strategic plans of the firm, reduces the propensity of their employees to leave and increases commitment and satisfaction.

Originality/value

– No prior research has been undertaken in order to demonstrate how the role of the brand mangers affects their commitment, satisfaction and finally their propensity to leave the firm.
Organizational task environment: evidence from the Brazilian industry
Authors: Bataglia Walter , Aderito Silva Adilson , Correa Porto Elvio
Published: October 2013

Purpose

– Using the industry as an approximation of the external environment of companies, Dess and Beard proposed the construct organizational task environment (OTE). If the precision of the definition of industry is desirable, it involves a multiplicity of elements that restrict the ability of generalization. This paper aims to contribute by identifying clusters of industries with similar environmental profiles. As the discriminant validity of the OTE construct was tested only by Harris in US manufacturing industry, not supporting it, this study also seeks to contribute by assessing the OTE construct validity for the Brazilian manufacturing industry.

Design/methodology/approach

– Authors collected data from all manufacturing sectors in Brazil, between 1996 and 2003; they used confirmatory factor analysis with the multi-trait multi-method matrix approach to assess the construct validity and ran environmental dimensions' factorial scores through the cluster analysis to find out natural groupings of industries.

Findings

– The results support the convergent and discriminant validity of the construct OTE, suggesting that further replication should be conducted in the US economy and in different economic contexts.

Research limitations/implications

– The study identified four groups of industries with similar environmental conditions, increasing possibilities of generalization of researches. The limitations stem from measurement in an extended period of time and not measuring changes in the environment.

Practical implications

– To expand the analytical capabilities of managers for decision making on the sharing of skills between businesses in different industries.

Originality/value

– The main contributions of this work are to further discussions on the validity of the OTE construct and to identify industrial clusters of homogeneous environments.
How does a floral colour‐changing species differ from its non‐colour‐changing congener? – a comparison of trait combinations and their effects on pollination
Authors: Suzuki Miki F. , Ohashi Kazuharu
Published: October 2013

Plant species sometimes exhibit dynamic contrasting patterns in terms of reproductive traits. Floral colour change – the retention of old, non‐productive, rewardless, but fully turgid flowers in an altered colour – has been considered as a plant strategy for enhancing pollinator attraction while minimizing visits to non‐reproductive flowers. Considering the perceptive and cognitive abilities of animals, these advantages should apply in most systems. It seems paradoxical, and therefore, that floral colour change occurs in only a portion of angiosperms.

This divergence may be explained if floral colour change adds as yet unknown costs or benefits under specific conditions. To explore such possibilities, we compared details of trait combinations and pollination consequences between a floral colour‐changing (Weigela coraeensis) and a non‐colour‐changing (Weigela hortensis) species in a shared environment.

Flowers of W. coraeensis secreted nectar for initial 2–3 days and remained white, after which they persisted for a few more days with discoloured, red purple petals and reduced nectar levels. Flowers of W. hortensis also secreted nectar for initial 2–3 days. They persisted for a few more days with the same colour and reduced amounts of nectar, but did so only when pollinators were scarce. Because only W. hortensis suffered from pollination difficulty at our site, both species retained their flowers for 4–5 days.

Bees strongly preferred to visit W. coraeensis, leading to a greater proportion of seed set than in W. hortensis. In addition to their higher nectar productivity, only W. coraeensis plants offered bees colour difference as a visual cue to choose rewarding flowers and improve both long‐term and short‐term rates of nectar intake. By learning where to return, bees apparently responded to the difference in resource exploitability.

Results indicate that floral colour change yields an additional benefit of attracting bee‐like pollinators that return preferentially to more easily exploitable plants. Under conditions where benefits of enhancing both conspicuousness and exploitability cannot outweigh the costs of doing so, however, retention of rewardless flowers in the same colour and flexibility in floral longevity – as was adopted in W. hortensis – may become more advantageous in terms of saving metabolic and ecological costs.