bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Paraburkholderia acidiphila sp. nov., Paraburkholderia acidisoli sp. nov. and Burkholderia guangdongensis sp. nov., isolated from forest soil, and reclassification of Burkholderia ultramafica as Paraburkholderia ultramafica comb. nov.
Authors: Gao Zeng-hong , Zhang Qiu-mei , Lv Ying-ying , Wang You-qi , Zhao Bing-nan , Qiu Li-hong
Published: February 2021

Three Gram-stain-negative, aerobic, motile and rod-shaped bacterial strains, 7Q-K02T, DHF22T and DHOM02T, were isolated from forest soil sampled at Dinghushan Biosphere Reserve, Guangdong Province, China. Strains 7Q-K02T, DHF22T and DHOM02T grew at 4–37, 4–42 and 12–37 °C, pH 3.0–8.5, 3.5–8.5 and 5.0–8.0, and in the presence of 0–3.0, 0–3.5 and 0–2.5 % (w/v) NaCl; with optima at 28–33, 28 and 28–33 °C, pH 3.5–6.5, 4.0–5.5 and 6.5–7.0, and 0–1.5, 0–1.5 and 0.5–1.5 % (w/v) NaCl, respectively. Strains 7Q-K02T and DHF22T have the highest 16S rRNA gene sequence similarities of 99.0 and 98.0 % to

Paraburkholderia sacchari

LMG 19450T and 97.7 % between themselves, while strain DHOM02T shares the highest similarity of 98.4 % to ‘Burkholderia rinojensis’ A396T followed by 98.3 % to

Burkholderia plantarii

ATCC 43733T. In the 16S rRNA gene sequence phylogram, strain 7Q-K02T formed a sister branch with

Paraburkholderia sacchari

,

Paraburkholderia oxyphila

and

Paraburkholderia paradisi

, and strain DHF22T was separated from all other species within the genus

Paraburkholderia

, while strain DHOM02T formed a separated clade with members of the genus

Burkholderia

. The DNA G+C contents of strains 7Q-K02T, DHF22T and DHOM02T wwe 64.3, 65.4 and 66.6 %, respectively. Digital DNA–DNA hybridization (dDDH) and average nucleotide identity (ANI) values of strains 7Q-K02T, DHF22T and closely related

Paraburkholderia

strains were in the ranges of 25.5–43.7 % and 81.5–91.3 %, respectively. While dDDH and ANI values between strain DHOM02T and

Burkholderia

strains with genome sequence data were in the ranges of 22.4–31.0 % and 78.2–86.1 %, respectively. These three strains have the same major respiratory quinone: ubiquinone-8. Strains 7Q-K02T, DHF22T and DHOM02T have C16 : 0, C17 : 0 cyclo, C19 : 0 cyclo ω8c and summed feature 8 (C18 : 1
 ω7c/C18 : 1
 ω6c) as their major fatty acid compositions. The major polar lipids were phosphatidylethanolamine, phosphatidylglycerol and diphosphatidylglycerol. On the basis of phenotypic, phylogenetic, genomic analyses and chemotaxonomic data, strains 7Q-K02T and DHF22T represent two novel species of the genus

Paraburkholderia

, for which the names Paraburkholderia acidiphila sp. nov. (type strain 7Q-K02T=CGMCC 1.15433T=KCTC 62472T=LMG 29209T) and Paraburkholderia acidisoli sp. nov. (type strain DHF22T=GDMCC 1.1448T=LMG 30262T) are proposed, while strain DHOM02T represents a novel species in the genus

Burkholderia

, for which the name Burkholderia guangdongensis sp. nov. (type strain DHOM02T=KCTC 42625T=LMG 28843T) is proposed. We also propose to transfer

Burkholderia ultramafica

to the genus

Paraburkholderia

as Paraburkholderia ultramafica comb. nov. based mainly on the results of phylogenomic analysis.
The effect of respiratory activity, ventilatory therapy and facemasks on total aerosol emissions
Authors: Wilson Nick M. , Marks Guy B. , Eckhardt Andrew , Clarke Alyssa , Young Francis , Garden Frances L. , Stewart Warren , Cook Tim M. , Tovey Euan R.
Published: February 2021

Background

Exhaled respirable aerosols (<5 µm diameter) present a high risk of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus-2 (SARS-CoV-2) transmission. Many guidelines recommend using aerosol precautions during ‘aerosol generating procedures’ (AGPs) and droplet (>5 µm) precautions at other times. However, there is emerging evidence that respiratory activities such as cough and not AGPs are the important source of aerosols.

Methods

We used a novel chamber with an optical particle counter sampling at 100 L/min to count and size-fractionate all exhaled particles (0.5-25 µm). We compared emissions from ten healthy subjects during respiratory ‘activities’ (quiet breathing, talking, shouting, forced expiratory maneuvers, exercise and coughing) with respiratory ‘therapies’ designated as AGPs: high flow nasal oxygen (HFNO) and single or dual circuit non-invasive positive pressure ventilation, NIPPV-S and NIPPV-D, respectively. Activities were repeated wearing facemasks.

Results

Compared to quiet breathing, respiratory activities increased particle counts between 34.6-fold (95% confidence interval [CI], 15.2 to 79.1) during talking, to 370.8-fold (95% CI, 162.3 to 847.1) during coughing (p<0.001). During quiet breathing, HFNO at 60 L/min increased counts 2.3-fold (95% CI, 1.2 to 4.4) (p=0.03) and NIPPV-S and NIPPV-D at 25/10 cm H2O increased counts by 2.6-fold (95% CI, 1.7 to 4.1) and 7.8-fold (95% CI, 4.4 to 13.6) respectively (p<0.001). During activities, respiratory therapies and facemasks reduced emissions compared to activities alone.

Conclusion

Talking, exertional breathing and coughing generate substantially more aerosols than the respiratory therapies HFNO and NIPPV which can reduce total emissions. The risk of aerosol exposure is underappreciated and warrants widespread targeted interventions.
Extracellular vesicles induce aggressive phenotype of luminal breast cancer cells by PKM2 phosphorylation
Authors: Kang Seo Young , Lee Eun Ji , Byun Jung Woo , Han Dohyun , Choi Yoori , Hwang Do Won , Lee Dong Soo
Published: February 2021

The aerobic glycolysis is a hallmark of cancer glucose metabolism. Several studies have suggested that cancer-derived extracellular vesicles (EVs) can modulate glucose metabolism in adjacent cells and promote disease progression. Here we suggest that EVs originated from cancer cell with highly glycolytic activity can modulate glucose metabolism in the recipient cancer cells with relative low glycolytic activity, and further induce cell proliferation. Two types of breast cancer cell lines with different levels of glycolytic activity, MDA-MB-231 of a claudin low-type breast cancer cell and MCF7 of luminal type breast cancer cell, were selected and co-cultured using indirect co-culture system such as transwell system or microfluidic system. Glucose uptake of the recipient MCF7 cells was markedly increased after co-culture with MDA-MB-231 cells. MCF7 cells after co-culture with MDA-MB-231-tdTomato cells represented multiple tdTomato signal inside the cell, which proved that EVs originated from MDA-MB-231-tdTomato were transferred to MCF7 cell. In addition, serine phosphorylation of PKM2 necessary for tumorigenesis was highly activated, and tyrosine phosphorylation of PKM2 suggesting activated aerobic glycolysis was also increased in the co-cultured MCF7 cells. Proteomic profiling of the co-cultured MCF7 cells revealed the proliferation and dedifferentiation of MCF7 cells, and further confirmed epithelial-mesenchymal transition (EMT), which is a key phenomenon for cancer metastasis. In the transcriptomic analysis, glycolysis increased in co-cultured MCF7 cells, and the component analysis of genes associated with glycolysis revealed that the next major component after cytoplasm was extracellular exosome. Proteomic analysis of EVs revealed that there were important proteins in the EV such as EGFR, ERBB2 and MAPK for phosphorylating PKM2. This phenomenon suggests the potential for aggressive cancer cells to affect other cancer cells through EV mediators.
Avoiding Data Loss: Synthetic MRIs Generated from Diffusion Imaging Can Replace Corrupted Structural Acquisitions For Freesurfer-Seeded Tractography
Authors: Beaumont Jeremy , Gambarota Giulio , Prior Marita , Fripp Jurgen , Reid Lee B.
Published: February 2021

1

Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) motion artefacts frequently complicate structural and diffusion MRI analyses. While diffusion imaging is easily ‘scrubbed’ of motion affected volumes, the same is not true for structural images. Structural images are critical to most diffusion-imaging pipelines thus their corruption can lead to disproportionate data loss. To enable diffusion-image processing when structural images have been corrupted, we propose a means by which synthetic structural images can be generated from diffusion MRI. This technique combines multi-tissue constrained spherical deconvolution, which is central to many existing diffusion analyses, with the Bloch equations which allow simulation of MRI intensities given scanner parameters and magnetic resonance (MR) tissue properties. We applied this technique to 32 scans, including those acquired on different scanners, with different protocols and with pathology present. The resulting synthetic T1w and T2w images were visually convincing and exhibited similar tissue contrast to acquired structural images. These were also of sufficient quality to drive a Freesurfer-based tractographic analysis. In this analysis, probabilistic tractography connecting the thalamus to the primary sensorimotor cortex was delineated with Freesurfer, using either real or synthetic structural images. Tractography for real and synthetic conditions was largely identical in terms of both voxels encountered (Dice 0.88 – 0.95) and mean fractional anisotropy (intrasubject absolute difference 0.00 – 0.02). We provide executables for the proposed technique in the hope that these may aid the community in analysing datasets where structural image corruption is common, such as studies of children or cognitively impaired persons.

Highlights

We propose a simple means of synthesizing T1w and T2w images from diffusion data

The proposed method worked well for a variety of acquisitions

Synthetic images showed tissue contrast akin to acquired images

Synthetic images were high enough quality to be used for Freesurfer seeded diffusion tractography

This method enables analysis of datasets where motion has corrupted acquired structural MRIs
Mitochondriomics reveals the underlying neuoprotective mechanism of TrkB receptor agonist R13 in the 5×FAD mice
Authors: Li Xiao , Li Ting , Yu Hao , Li Shupeng , Zhang Zaijun , Xie Yongmei , Song Xiangrong , Liu Jianjun , Yang Xifei , Liu Gongping
Published: February 2021

Decreased energy metabolism and mitochondrial biogenesis defects are implicated in the pathogenesis of Alzheimer’s disease (AD). In present study, mitochondriomics analysis revealed significant effects of R13, a prodrug of 7,8-dihydroxyflavone, on mitochondrial protein expression profile, including the proteins related to the biological processes: fatty acid beta-oxidation, fatty acid metabolic process, mitochondrial electron transport, and mitochondrial respiratory chain. Cluster analysis of mitochondriomics demonstrated that R13 promoted mitochondrial oxidative phosphorylation (OXPHOS). The functional analysis showed that R13 increased ATP levels and enhanced OXPHOS including complex I, complex II, complex III and complex IV. R13 treatment increased mitochondrial biogenesis by regulating the levels of p-AMPKα, p-CREB, PGC-1α, NRF1 and TFAM as a consequence of activation of TrkB receptor in the 5×FAD mice. Finally, R13 significantly reduced the levels of tau phosphorylation and Aβ plaque. Our data suggest that R13 may be used for treating AD via enhancing mitochondrial biogenesis and metabolism.
Visualizing endogenous RhoA activity with an improved localization-based, genetically encoded biosensor
Authors: Mahlandt Eike K. , Arts Janine J. G. , van der Meer Werner J. , van der Linden Franka H. , Tol Simon , van Buul Jaap D. , Gadella Theodorus W. J. , Goedhart Joachim
Published: February 2021

Rho GTPases are regulatory proteins, which orchestrate cell features such as morphology, polarity and movement. Therefore, probing Rho GTPase activity is key to understanding processes such as development, cell migration and wound healing. Localization-based reporters for active Rho GTPases are attractive probes to study Rho GTPase-mediated processes, in real time with subcellular resolution in living cells and tissue. Until now, relocation RhoA biosensors seem to only be useful in certain organisms and have not been characterized well. In this paper, we systematically examined the contribution of the fluorescent protein and RhoA binding peptides, on the performance of localization-based sensors. To test the performance, we compared relocation efficiency and specificity in cell-based assays. We identified several improved localization-based, genetically encoded, fluorescent biosensors for detecting endogenous RhoA activity. This enables a broader application of RhoA relocation biosensors, which was demonstrated by using the improved biosensor to visualize RhoA activity, during cell division, during random migration, at the Golgi membrane and induced by G protein-coupled receptor signaling. Due to the improved avidity of the new biosensors for RhoA activity, cellular processes regulated by RhoA can be better understood.

Abstract Figure
Expanded Genomic Sampling of the Desulfobulbales Reveals Distribution and Evolution of Sulfur Metabolisms
Authors: Ward Lewis M. , Bertran Emma , Johnston David T.
Published: February 2021

The reconstruction of modern and paleo-sulfur cycling relies on understanding the long-term relative contribution of its main actors; these include microbial sulfate reduction (MSR) and microbial sulfur disproportionation (MSD). However, a unifying theory is lacking for how MSR and MSD, with the same enzyme machinery and intimately linked evolutionary histories, perform two drastically different metabolisms. Here, we aim at shedding some light on the distribution, diversity, and evolutionary histories of MSR and MSD, with a focus on the Desulfobulbales as a test case. The Desulfobulbales is a diverse and widespread order of bacteria in the Desulfobacterota (formerly Deltaproteobacteria) phylum primarily composed of sulfate reducing bacteria. Recent culture- and sequence-based approaches have revealed an expanded diversity of organisms and metabolisms within this clade, including the presence of obligate and facultative sulfur disproportionators. Here, we present draft genomes of previously unsequenced species of Desulfobulbales, substantially expanding the available genomic diversity of this clade. We leverage this expanded genomic sampling to perform phylogenetic analyses, revealing an evolutionary history defined by vertical inheritance of sulfur metabolism genes with numerous convergent instances of transition from sulfate reduction to sulfur disproportionation.
Shock-synthesized quasicrystals. Corrigendum
Authors: Németh Péter
Published: February 2021

A statement in the article by Németh [IUCrJ, (2020), 7, 368–369] is corrected.
Modeling and algorithm for resource-constrained multi-project scheduling problem based on detection and rework
Authors: Zhu Hongwei , Lu Zhiqiang , Lu Chenyao , Ren Yifei
Published: February 2021

Purpose

To meet the requirement of establishing an effective schedule for the assembly process with overall detection and rework, this paper aims to address a new problem named resource-constrained multi-project scheduling problem based on detection and rework (RCMPSP-DR).

Design/methodology/approach

First, to satisfy both online and offline scheduling, a mixed integer programming model is established with a weighted bi-objective minimizing the expected makespan and the solution robustness. Second, an algorithm that combines a tabu search framework with a critical chain-based baseline generation scheme is designed. The tabu search framework focuses on searching for a reasonable resource flow representing the execution sequence of activities, while the critical chain-based baseline generation scheme establishes a buffered baseline schedule by estimating the tradeoff between two aspects of bi-objective.

Findings

The proposed algorithm can get solutions with gaps from −4.45% to 2.33% when compared with those obtained by the commercial MIP solver CPLEX. Moreover, the algorithm outperforms four other algorithms in terms of both objective performance and stability over instances with different weighting parameters, which reveals its effectiveness.

Originality/value

The represented RCMPSP-DR considering the overall detection and rework is an extension of the scheduling problem for large-scale equipment. An effective algorithm is proposed to establish the baseline schedule and determine the execution sequence of activities for the assembly process, which is significant for practical engineering applications.
Flow separation control using a bio-inspired nose for NACA 4 and 6 series airfoils
Authors: Raj Mohamed Mohamed Arif , Yadav Rajesh , Guven Ugur
Published: February 2021

Purpose

This paper aims to achieve an optimum flow separation control over the airfoil using a passive flow control method by introducing a bio-inspired nose near the leading edge of the National Advisory Committee for Aeronautics (NACA) 4 and 6 series airfoil. In addition, to find the optimised leading edge nose design for NACA 4 and 6 series airfoils for flow separation control.

Design/methodology/approach

Different bio-inspired noses that are inspired by the cetacean species have been analysed for different NACA 4 and 6 series airfoils. Bio-inspired nose with different nose length, nose depth and nose circle diameter have been analysed on airfoils with different thicknesses, camber and camber locations to understand the aerodynamic flow properties such as vortex formation, flow separation, aerodynamic efficiency and moment.

Findings

The porpoise nose design that has a leading edge with depth = 2.25% of chord, length = 0.75% of chord and nose diameter = 2% of chord, delays the flow separation and improves the aerodynamic efficiency. Average increments of 5.5% to 6° in the lift values and decrements in parasitic drag (without affecting the pitching moment) for all the NACA 4 and 6 series airfoils were observed irrespective of airfoil geometry such as different thicknesses, camber and camber location.

Research limitations/implications

The two-dimensional computational analysis is done for different NACA 4 and 6 series airfoils at low subsonic speed.

Practical implications

This design improves aerodynamic performance and increases the structural strength of the aircraft wing compared to other conventional high lift devices and flow control devices. This universal leading edge flow control device can be adapted to aircraft wings incorporated with any NACA 4 and 6 series airfoil.

Social implications

The results would be of significant interest in the fields of aircraft design and wind turbine design, lowering the cost of energy and air travel for social benefits.

Originality/value

Different bio-inspired nose designs that are inspired by the cetacean species have been analysed for NACA 4 and 6 series airfoils and universal optimum nose design (porpoise airfoil) is found for NACA 4 and 6 series airfoils.
Green behaviour and switching intention towards remanufactured products in sustainable consumers as potential earlier adopters
Authors: Perez-Castillo David , Vera-Martinez Jorge
Published: February 2021

Purpose

This study assesses how “green behaviour” influences the switching intention towards remanufactured products in sustainable consumers by introducing the possibility of an innovation diffusion approach for promotion efforts.

Design/methodology/approach

This study utilises a mixed-method approach. First, a study with a non-experimental causal design was performed with 248 cell phone users characterised by exhibiting sustainable consumption behaviours. Subsequently, 13 in-depth interviews were conducted to obtain a better understanding of the switching intention.

Findings

For sustainable consumers, green purchase behaviour and attitude towards remanufactured products have a significant effect on their switching intention. These results contrast with previous literature, where it was found that price differences, government incentives and environmental benefits were significant for consumers in general.

Practical implications

Switching intention towards remanufactured products in sustainable consumers may be encouraged by influencing factors related to green behaviour, rather than factors related to the market (e.g. reducing price, specific labelling or governmental regulations). Moreover, sustainable consumers could be regarded as the first adopters of remanufactured products.

Originality/value

To the best of the authors' knowledge, this is the first study to introduce green purchase behaviour to predict sustainable consumers' switching intention towards remanufactured products.
Stakeholders expectations for CSR-related corporate governance disclosure: evidence from a developing country
Authors: Kamal Yousuf
Published: February 2021

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to explore stakeholders' expectations in relation to corporate social responsibility (CSR)–related corporate governance practices. The paper aims to understand how stakeholders' expectations potentially translate into the disclosure of information about CSR-related corporate governance practices.

Design/methodology/approach

The evidence for this study was collected using semi-structured in-depth personal interviews with 18 stakeholders. These include representative of multinational buying companies who source garments from Bangladesh, international as well as local NGOs, news media personnel, senior government officials, trade union leaders and social audit firm.

Findings

This paper finds evidence of stakeholders' dissatisfaction with the disclosures of governance information which tended to be viewed as limited and symbolic in nature. It also finds an apparent disconnection between stakeholder expectations and corporate disclosures.

Originality/value

This paper finds an alternative media of disclosures, for communicating social responsibility related governance information to the stakeholders, which has so far, been neglected by the social accounting researchers.
Emergent bilinguals as text designers: rendering meaning through signs
Authors: Brown Sally
Published: February 2021

Purpose

The main purpose is to investigate what resources young emergent bilinguals use to communicate a multimodal response to children’s literature. In particular, attention is paid to the ways students translanguage as part of the learning process.

Design/methodology/approach

An ethnography-in-education approach was used to capture the social and cultural aspects of literacy learning in an English-only context. A multimodal transcript analysis was applied to video-recorded data as a method for examining semiotic resources and modes of learning.

Findings

The results revealed that students used technology, paper-based resources and peers to construct meaning relative to books. Experimentation or play with the affordances of the tablet computer served as avenues to determine the agentive selection of resources. As students wrestled with constructing meaning, they gathered multiple perspectives from peers and children’s literature to involve symbols and representations in their texts. Signs, multiple language forms and meaning came together for the social shaping of situated perspectives.

Originality/value

This study addresses the call for educators to engage in multiliterate, multimodal practices with young learners in the contexts of classrooms. It provides insight into the need to create multilingual learning spaces where translanguaging freely occurs and the meaningful ways early childhood learners use technology. To fully understand what emergent bilinguals know and can do, they must be afforded a variety of semiotic resources at school.
Research progress of SMR data in China and Japan
Authors: Cai Wenbin
Published: February 2021

Purpose

This paper aims to make a comprehensive evaluation of the progress and achievements made by China and Japan in literature collection, publication and academic research of South Manchuria Railways Co (SMR) after the Second World War and points out the existing and urgent problems.

Design/methodology/approach

This paper adopts the methods of literature research, questionnaire survey, comparative analysis and expert consultation.

Findings

After the Second World War, both China and Japan made great achievements in the collection, publication and research of SMR data, as well as in the academic research of SMR. However, as a new research field, there are still some problems in deepening the excavation and utilization of SMR data, expanding the research fields, improving the research methods, etc.

Originality/value

SMR itself was the product of a war of aggression. Although it died with the defeat of the war of aggression, remaining SMR data also has very precious value, it records the history of Japanese aggression against China, is the biggest database for the study of the problems in China and northeast Aisa at that time. In addition to Japan and China, the USA and the Soviet Union also kept part of the SMR data, so that to involve them in the research of SMR is also the purpose of this paper.
An identification method of cashmere and wool by the two features fusion
Authors: Zhu Yaolin , Huang Jiayi , Wu Tong , Ren Xueqin
Published: February 2021

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to select the optimal feature parameters to further improve the identification accuracy of cashmere and wool.

Design/methodology/approach

To increase the accuracy, the authors put forward a method selecting optimal parameters based on the fusion of morphological feature and texture feature. The first step is to acquire the fiber diameter measured by the central axis algorithm. The second step is to acquire the optimal texture feature parameters. This step is mainly achieved by using the variance of secondary statistics of these two texture features to get four statistics and then finding the impact factors of gray level co-occurrence matrix relying on the relationship between the secondary statistic values and the pixel pitch. Finally, the five-dimensional feature vectors extracted from the sample image are fed into the fisher classifier.

Findings

The improvement of identification accuracy can be achieved by determining the optimal feature parameters and fusing two texture features. The average identification accuracy is 96.713% in this paper, which is very helpful to improve the efficiency of detector in the textile industry.

Originality/value

In this paper, a novel identification method which extracts the optimal feature parameter is proposed.
A robotic system with reinforcement learning for lower extremity hemiparesis rehabilitation
Authors: Xu Jiajun , Xu Linsen , Cheng Gaoxin , Shi Jia , Liu Jinfu , Liang Xingcan , Fan Shengyao
Published: February 2021

Purpose

This paper aims to propose a bilateral robotic system for lower extremity hemiparesis rehabilitation. The hemiplegic patients can complete rehabilitation exercise voluntarily with the assistance of the robot. The reinforcement learning is included in the robot control system, enhancing the muscle activation of the impaired limbs (ILs) efficiently with ensuring the patients’ safety.

Design/methodology/approach

A bilateral leader–follower robotic system is constructed for lower extremity hemiparesis rehabilitation, where the leader robot interacts with the healthy limb (HL) and the follow robot is worn by the IL. The therapeutic training is transferred from the HL to the IL with the assistance of the robot, and the IL follows the motion trajectory prescribed by the HL, which is called the mirror therapy. The model reference adaptive impedance control is used for the leader robot, and the reinforcement learning controller is designed for the follower robot. The reinforcement learning aims to increase the muscle activation of the IL and ensure that its motion can be mastered by the HL for safety. An asynchronous algorithm is designed by improving experience relay to run in parallel on multiple robotic platforms to reduce learning time.

Findings

Through clinical tests, the lower extremity hemiplegic patients can rehabilitate with high efficiency using the robotic system. Also, the proposed scheme outperforms other state-of-the-art methods in tracking performance, muscle activation, learning efficiency and rehabilitation efficacy.

Originality/value

Using the aimed robotic system, the lower extremity hemiplegic patients with different movement abilities can obtain better rehabilitation efficacy.
Keeping it personal while growing the business: the German Mittelstand approach
Authors: Lehrer Mark , Schmid Stefan
Published: February 2021

Purpose

For firms that depend on personalized management as a key element of their competitive advantage, maintaining personalized management in the face of sustained growth presents a particular challenge. The purpose of this paper is to examine how firms in the Germanic Mittelstand have endeavored to “scale up” personalization.

Design/methodology/approach

Different ways of scaling up personalization are explained with examples.

Findings

The concept of personalization need not just concern customers, in contrast to conventional treatments of personalization. Mittelstand firms illustrate the scaling up of personalization to target stakeholder groups other than just customers.

Research limitations/implications

In recent years, personalization has come to refer to the customization of products to the preferences of individual customers. In contrast, a neglected but important topic is personalization of and within firms. Personalization refers to imbuing a firm with the personal qualities of individual personalities indissociable from management of the company.

Practical implications

Methods for scaling up personalization need to be truly scalable to be effective. Methods that only enable a one-time enlargement in the scope of the personalized business are liable to fail in the longer run.

Originality/value

By examining personalization as an important characteristic of small to medium-sized firms that they wish to maintain as they grow larger, this study highlights a little noticed dimension of Mittelstand growth strategies – and endeavors to bring personality back into research on “personalization.”
A phenomenological inquiry into the lived experience of adults diagnosed with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) employed by the NHS
Authors: Rowe Kayte Jayne , Bailey Sarah , Teague Bonnie , Mattless Kevin , Notley Caitlin
Published: February 2021

Purpose

Approximately 3.5% of the workforce is diagnosed with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD). With a greater risk of work-related stress and absences, work-based social interactions and environments are significant factors. The purpose of this study was to identify the professional challenges and benefits of living with ADHD in healthcare settings.

Design/methodology/approach

Interpretative phenomenological analysis was used to explore how employees with ADHD both experience and make sense of their employment and professional relationships. Participants self-identified from two NHS trusts and participated in semi-structured interviews.

Findings

A total of seven interviews contributed to the final analysis. A total of four themes emerged: social environment (relationships), physical environment, behaviour and work tasks. Complex interactions were observed between individuals’ internal constructs and overall employment experience.

Practical implications

The findings can be used to inform local NHS management frameworks for supporting workforce with ADHD.

Originality/value

This is a novel study that explores the psychodynamic and physical presentations of ADHD providing a unique perspective on the challenges and strengths of employees with ADHD.
On statistical indistinguishability of complete and incomplete market models
Authors: Dokuchaev Nikolai
Published: February 2021

Purpose

This paper aims to investigate possibility of statistical detection of market completeness for continuous time diffusion stock market models.

Design/methodology/approach

The paper uses theory of forecasting to find criteria of predictability of market parameters such as volatilities and the appreciation rates.

Findings

It is known that the market completeness is not a robust property: small random deviations of the coefficients convert a complete market model into an incomplete one. The paper shows that market incompleteness is also non-robust: for any incomplete market from a wide class of models, there exists a complete market model with arbitrarily close paths of the stock prices and the market parameters.

Originality/value

The paper results lead to a counterintuitive conclusion that the incomplete markets are indistinguishable in the terms of the market statistics.
Protirement is coming – is your organization ready?
Authors: Ringo Timothy Alan
Published: February 2021

Purpose

This paper aims to outline an emerging trend that is replacing traditional retirement; this trend is called “protirement.” Protirement is defined as early retirement from professional work with the positive idea of pursuing something more fulfilling and has originated from the “blend of pro- and retirement.”

Design/methodology/approach

This paper’s approach is to define the trend of protirement and then back the idea with data and cases of where and how this is implemented by human resources (HR) organizations.

Findings

Retirement, in its traditional sense, is becoming increasingly unattainable for individuals but is also less necessary than it has been in the past. People are living longer and healthier lives, and in fact, data show that working in some meaningful and valuable manner actually increases life-span and allows more time to save for the day when one cannot work anymore.

Research limitations/implications

The findings in this paper should spark others to do more research into the area of aging workforce and new models that will leverage senior workers for the benefit of individuals, organizations and society at large.

Practical implications

HR executives and their organizations will need to drive change in the areas of recruitment (senior workers), pension planning and saving and HR policies around retirement.

Social implications

People productivity has been in decline for over 10 years now. The authors are going to need all hands on deck to help fix this and overcome the economic challenges created by the 2020 pandemic. Leveraging senior workers brings deep expertise into the workplace that could be lost otherwise, improving productivity and organization learning.

Originality/value

This paper takes an idea coined in the 1960s and brings it into the 21st century, when and where it is really needed. This long-forgotten idea is being resurrected to help deal with today’s workplace challenges.
Queue questions: Ethics of COVID‐19 vaccine prioritization
Authors: Giubilini Alberto , Savulescu Julian , Wilkinson Dominic
Published: February 2021

The rapid development of vaccines against COVID‐19 represents a huge achievement, and offers hope of ending the global pandemic. At least three COVID‐19 vaccines have been approved or are about to be approved for distribution in many countries. However, with very limited initial availability, only a minority of the population will be able to receive vaccines this winter. Urgent decisions will have to be made about who should receive priority for access. Current policy in the UK appears to take the view that those who are most vulnerable to COVID‐19 should get the vaccine first. While this is intuitively attractive, we argue that there are other possible values and criteria that need to be considered. These include both intrinsic and instrumental values. The former are numbers of lives saved, years of life saved, quality of the lives saved, quality‐adjusted life‐years (QALYs), and possibly others including age. Instrumental values include protecting healthcare systems and other broader societal interests, which might require prioritizing key worker status and having dependants. The challenge from an ethical point of view is to strike the right balance among these values. It also depends on effectiveness of different vaccines on different population groups and on modelling around cost‐effectiveness of different strategies. It is a mistake to simply assume that prioritizing the most vulnerable is the best strategy. Although that could end up being the best approach, whether it is or not requires careful ethical and empirical analysis.
Net benefits of a mutualism: Influence of the quality of extrafloral nectar on the colony fitness of a mutualistic ant
Authors: Calixto Eduardo Soares , Lange Denise , Del‐Claro Kleber
Published: February 2021

Aim

Extrafloral nectar, a carbohydrate‐rich liquid, is the main plant‐based resource offered in exchange for ant protection. The positive results of this protection provided by ants are widely studied and supported; however, studies showing the benefits that ants and their colonies have from the resources offered by plants such as extrafloral nectar are scarce. Here, we evaluated how extrafloral nectar and artificial food resources with different nutrient concentration benefit short‐ and long‐term Camponotus crassus colony fitness (number and weight of individuals) and survival.

Methods

We conducted two sets of experiments: (1) in the field we attached artificial ant nests to plants with clogged and unclogged extrafloral nectaries; and (2) in the laboratory we offered artificial food resources with different carbohydrate–protein ratios to ant colonies. With these experiments, we evaluated the number and weight of queens, adult workers, pupae, larvae, and eggs, as well as the survival probability of the colonies.

Results

In the first experiment, the short‐term provision of extrafloral nectar resulted in a larger number and weight of individuals with access to this resource. In the second experiment, regardless of time, the supply of more concentrated carbohydrate and nitrogen food increased ant colony fitness and survival. Conclusion: We provided new evidence that extrafloral nectar significantly benefits ant colonies. Our results corroborate the assertion that these relationships are reciprocally beneficial.
Visceral fat accumulation is associated with risk of diabetes in community‐dwelling Japanese older adults
Authors: Chiba Ippei , Lee Sangyoon , Bae Seongryu , Makino Keitaro , Shinkai Yohei , Shimada Hiroyuki
Published: February 2021

Aim

The prevalence of diabetes generally increases with age, and older adults with diabetes are at a higher risk of adverse outcomes. Visceral fat accumulation is a well‐known risk factor for diabetes in middle‐aged adults, and its association with diabetes increases with age. The present study investigated the association between visceral fat and risk of diabetes in older adults that is yet to be completely elucidated.

Methods

This cross‐sectional study enrolled 2850 community‐dwelling older adults. Participants underwent abdominal bioelectrical impedance analysis to estimate the visceral fat area (VFA). The risk of diabetes was assessed using the value of hemoglobin A1c according to the diagnostic criteria of diabetes. We examined the relationship of VFA and risk of diabetes, and explored the optimal cut‐off value stratified by sex.

Results

In total, 47 of 1640 (2.9%) women and 41 of 1210 (3.4%) men had a high risk of diabetes. Higher values of VFA in units of 10 cm2 were significantly associated with a higher risk of diabetes for both women (adjusted odds ratio [aOR]: 1.17; 95% confidence interval [95% CI]: 1.02–1.34) and men (aOR: 1.18; 95% CI: 1.06–1.31) in multivariate logistic regression analysis. The cut‐off value to classify 30% of subjects into high VFA (72 cm2) had a relatively higher sensitivity of 0.660 and was significantly associated with a higher risk of diabetes for women (aOR: 3.49; 95% CI: 1.54–8.12), whereas all cut‐off values we examined had no relation in men.

Conclusions

Increases in VFA is associated with a high risk of diabetes in older adults but the optimal cut‐off value is inconclusive in men. Geriatr Gerontol Int 2021; ••: ••–••.
El trabajo no es una mercancía. Contenido y sentido del trabajo en el siglo XXI
Authors: SUPIOT Alain
Published: February 2021

En su clase magistral de clausura como profesor del Collège de France, Alain Supiot invita a un replanteamiento de la justicia social y del sentido del trabajo. La crisis social y ecológica no se superará desmontando el Estado social, sino reconsiderando su arquitectura, cuya piedra angular es el estatus que se dé al trabajo. Frente a la quiebra moral, social, ecológica y financiera del neoliberalismo, el horizonte del trabajo es su emancipación del imperio de la mercancía. Las formas de trabajo que resisten al Mercado Total, como la investigación, no son «fósiles» destinados a desaparecer, sino la simiente de un régimen de trabajo realmente humano que contemple su sentido y su contenido, es decir, la obra realizada.
Seeing Things in Black‐and‐White: A Scoping Review on Dichotomous Thinking Style1
Authors: Bonfá‐Araujo Bruno , Oshio Atsushi , Hauck‐Filho Nelson
Published: February 2021

Dichotomous thinking is a propensity for individuals to understand events as opposites, in a binary way. There are currently two inventories that accurately measure this construct, the Dichotomous Thinking Inventory, and the Dichotomous Thinking in Eating Disorders Scale. The present study aimed to carry out a review process to compile all the empirical studies that have made use of either of these instruments. To achieve this goal, we carried out a scoping review. We conducted a search using the keywords “Dichotomous Thinking Inventory,” “Dichotomous Thinking in Eating Disorders Scale,” and “Thinking Style” in the databases PubMed, Science Direct, and PsycInfo. No limits were imposed on the review. We found 19 articles that met the pre‐established criteria; the concentration of research occurred in the last 10 years. It was possible to clarify that the dichotomous way of understanding events occurs, in general, in the presence of maladaptive traits of personality.
Epidermolytic epidermal nevus caused by a somatic mutation in KRT2
Authors: Mohamad Janan , Samuelov Liat , Assaf Sari , Vodo Dan , Sarig Ofer , Sprecher Eli
Published: February 2021

Superficial epidermolytic ichthyosis (formerly Ichthyosis bullosa of Siemens) is an uncommon condition caused by dominant mutations in KRT2 encoding keratin 2. Epidermolytic epidermal nevus due to somatic mutations in KRT2 is even rarer. Here, we report the third case of KRT2‐associated epidermal nevus and review the literature.
Development of a RAPD marker‐based classification criterion for quality semen production in Holstein crossbred bulls
Authors: Hussain Shaziya , Alex Rani , Alyethodi Rafeeque R. , Sharma Shalini , Verma Nitika , Sirohi Ajayvir Singh , Singh Umesh , Kumar Sushil , Chand Naimi , Sengar Gyanendra S. , Sharma Ankur , Tyagi Rachna , Arya Sarmesh , Tyagi Srikant
Published: February 2021

In cattle production systems, an intense selection pressure for production traits has resulted in the decline of fertility traits. To optimize an efficient reproduction system, the inclusion of both male and female fertility traits in the selection process is very much essential. RAPD (Random Amplified Polymorphic DNA) was developed as a molecular biology tool and has been extensively used, to study intra‐ and interspecific genetic diversity. The present study was undertaken to utilize RAPD primers to investigate the association between DNA markers and semen quality traits viz. Sperm concentration, total sperm count ejaculate and initial sperm motility and thereby to identify good/poor semen producers. DNA isolated from the blood samples of healthy bulls was subjected to RAPD‐PCR. The multiple regression analysis followed by independent t test was carried out to identify suitable markers. Based on the results, only 12 bands were identified as marker suitable for any of the quality trait. This includes, OPA2 ~ 760, OPA2 ~ 700, OPA6 ~ 1,200, OPA9 ~ 400, OPA9 ~ 380, OPA12 ~ 970, OPA14 ~ 715, OPA14 ~ 605, OPA16 ~ 485, OPA17 ~ 860 and OPA18 ~ 480. Multiple regression analysis selected, OPA2 ~ 760 and OPA2 ~ 1,750 for sperm concentration and OPA2 ~ 760, OPA2 ~ 700, OPA9 ~ 620, OPA4 ~ 670 and OPA18 ~ 1,015 for total sperm count/ejaculate. But the t test revealed a significant association between OPA2 ~ 760 and total sperm count. Further, discriminant function analysis also identified this marker in the first step itself. The results of the present study can be exploited as a low‐cost alternative strategy for identification of good /poor semen producers in crossbred bulls at an early age.
Effects of chronic exercise on the inhibitory control of children and adolescents: A systematic review and meta‐analysis
Authors: Amatriain‐Fernández Sandra , Ezquerro García‐Noblejas Milagros , Budde Henning
Published: February 2021

Inhibitory control is a main component of executive functions that relate to the ability to control prepotent responses and to resist interferences. Deficits in inhibitory control have been associated with numerous disorders, but exercise has become a promising approach to benefit this domain. This systematic review and meta‐analysis aims to provide synthesized information and effect size calculations of the benefits of chronic exercise interventions on the inhibitory control of healthy children and adolescents. A systematic search of PubMed, PsycINFO, MEDLINE, ERIC, SPORTDiscus, and PsycArticles identified 4166 articles to be screened for eligibility. A total of 10 studies (3138 participants) met the inclusion criteria. A random‐effects analysis model was performed in three variables: accuracy, reaction time and combined scores. The results showed a very small but statistically significant effect in accuracy (d = 0.14, 95% CI 0.01 to 0.27, P =.04), and two almost null effects (statistically non‐significant), in the reaction time (d = 0.03, 95% CI −0.10 to 0.16, P =.62) and the combined scores (d = 0.06, 95% CI −0.03 to 0.15, P =.17). Despite the high number of studies that reported positive outcomes, this meta‐analysis found only modest benefits in the inhibitory control of healthy children and adolescents after they participated in different chronic exercise interventions. The strict inclusion criteria of this study and the high variability in the designs of the exercise interventions included, among other reasons, might explain the obtained results.
Modeling propagation in shallow water with the range-dependent sea surfaces and fluid seabeds using the equivalent source method
Authors: He Tengjiao , Mo Shiqi , Guo Wei , Fang Erzheng
Published: February 2021

This paper describes a shallow water range-dependent propagation model (RPM) based on the equivalent source method (ESM). The proposed model allows both the sea surface and fluid seabed to vary with the propagation range. The proposed equivalent source method-based range-dependent propagation model (ESM-RPM) utilizes three sets of equivalent sources, placed above the sea surface, below the seabed, and above the seabed, which replace the sea surface reflection, seabed reflection, and seabed transmission, respectively. The unknown strengths of the equivalent sources can be determined by solving an inverse problem based on the boundary conditions. The capability of the ESM-RPM for propagation in refractive water is demonstrated by evaluating the Green's function using a modal projection method. Numerical simulations are conducted in iso-velocity and refractive shallow water with an underwater canyon and corrugated surface waves, including two-dimensional (2-D) propagation across the canyon and three-dimensional (3-D) propagation along the canyon. Further simulations demonstrate the 2-D across-canyon and 3-D along-canyon propagations with random rough sea surfaces. The results show that the proposed ESM-RPM provides efficient, benchmark-quality numerical solutions that accurately capture the mode coupling associated with the varying cross section of the waveguide. Thus, the model has great potential to be applied in benchmarking propagation in shallow water with the varying sea surface and seabed.