bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Individual variation in phenotypic plasticity of the stress axis
Authors: Guindre-Parker Sarah , Mcadam Andrew G. , Kesteren Freya Van , Palme Rupert , Boonstra Rudy , Boutin Stan , Lane Jeffrey E. , Dantzer Ben
Published: April 2019

Phenotypic plasticity—one individual’s capacity for phenotypic variation under different environments—is critical for organisms facing fluctuating conditions within their lifetime. North American red squirrels (Tamiasciurus hudsonicus) experience drastic among-year fluctuations in conspecific density. This shapes juvenile competition over vacant territories and overwinter survival. To help young cope with competition at high densities, mothers can increase offspring growth rates via a glucocorticoid-mediated maternal effect. However, this effect is only adaptive under high densities, and faster growth often comes at a cost to longevity. While experiments have demonstrated that red squirrels can adjust hormones in response to fluctuating density, the degree to which mothers differ in their ability to regulate glucocorticoids across changing densities remains unknown—little is known about within-individual plasticity in endocrine traits relative to among-individual variation. Findings from our reaction norm approach revealed significant individual variation not only in a female red squirrel’s mean endocrine phenotype, but also in endocrine plasticity in response to changes in local density. Future work on the proximate and ultimate drivers of variation in the plasticity of endocrine traits and maternal effects is needed, particularly in free-living animals experiencing fluctuating environments.
The hourglass organization of the Caenorhabditis elegans connectome
Authors: Sabrin Kaeser M. , Wei Yongbin , van den Heuvel Martijn , Dovrolis Constantine
Published: April 2019

We approach the C. elegans connectome as an information processing network that receives input from about 90 sensory neurons, processes that information through a highly recurrent network of about 80 interneurons, and it produces a coordinated output from about 120 motor neurons that control the nematode’s muscles. We focus on the feedforward flow of information from sensory neurons to motor neurons, and apply a recently developed network analysis framework referred to as the “hourglass effect”. The analysis reveals that this feedforward flow traverses a small core (“hourglass waist”) that consists of 10-15 interneurons. These are mostly the same interneurons that were previously shown (using a different analytical approach) to constitute the “rich-club” of the C. elegans connectome. This result is robust to the methodology that separates the feedforward from the feedback flow of information. The set of core interneurons remains mostly the same when we consider only chemical synapses or the combination of chemical synapses and gap junctions. The hourglass organization of the connectome suggests that C. elegans has some similarities with encoder-decoder artificial neural networks in which the input is first compressed and integrated in a low-dimensional latent space that encodes the given data in a more efficient manner, followed by a decoding network through which intermediate-level sub-functions are combined in different ways to compute the correlated outputs of the network. The core neurons at the hourglass waist represent the information bottleneck of the system, balancing the representation accuracy and compactness (complexity) of the given sensory information.

Author Summary

The C. elegans nematode is the only species for which the complete wiring diagram (“connectome”) of its neural system has been mapped. The connectome provides architectural constraints that limit the scope of possible functions of a neural system. In this work, we identify one such architectural constraint: the C. elegans connectome includes a small set (10-15) of neurons that compress and integrate the information provided by the much larger set of sensory neurons. These intermediate-level neurons encode few sub-functions that are combined and re-used in different ways to activate the circuits of motor neurons, which drive all higher-level complex functions of the organism such as feeding or locomotion. We refer to this encoding-decoding structure as “hourglass architecture” and identify the core neurons at the “waist” of the hourglass. We also discuss the similarities between this property of the C. elegans connectome and artificial neural networks. The hourglass architecture opens a new way to think about, and experiment with, intermediate-level neurons between input and output neural circuits.
Exploring genetic interaction manifolds constructed from rich phenotypes
Authors: Norman Thomas M. , Horlbeck Max A. , Replogle Joseph M. , Ge Alex Y. , Xu Albert , Jost Marco , Gilbert Luke A. , Weissman Jonathan S.
Published: April 2019

Synergistic interactions between gene functions drive cellular complexity. However, the combinatorial explosion of possible genetic interactions (GIs) has necessitated the use of scalar interaction readouts (e.g. growth) that conflate diverse outcomes. Here we present an analytical framework for interpreting manifolds constructed from high-dimensional interaction phenotypes. We applied this framework to rich phenotypes obtained by Perturb-seq (single-cell RNA-seq pooled CRISPR screens) profiling of strong GIs mined from a growth-based, gain-of-function GI map. Exploration of this manifold enabled ordering of regulatory pathways, principled classification of GIs (e.g. identifying true suppressors), and mechanistic elucidation of synthetic lethal interactions, including an unexpected synergy betweenCBLandCNN1driving erythroid differentiation. Finally, we apply recommender system machine learning to predict interactions, facilitating exploration of vastly larger GI manifolds.

One Sentence Summary

Principles and mechanisms of genetic interactions are revealed by rich phenotyping using single-cell RNA sequencing.
Heavy and wet: evaluating the validity and implications of assumptions made when measuring growth efficiency using18O water
Authors: Pold Grace , Domeignoz-Horta Luiz A. , DeAngelis Kristen M.
Published: April 2019

1

How microbes allocate carbon to growth vs. respiration plays a central role in determining the ability of soil to retain carbon. This carbon use efficiency (CUE) is increasingly measured using the18O-H2O method, in which heavy oxygen incorporated into DNA is used to estimate growth. Here we evaluated the validity of some of the assumptions of this method using a literature search, and then tested how violating them affected estimates of the growth component of carbon use efficiency in soil. We found that the18O method is consistently sensitive to assumptions made about oxygen sources to DNA, but that the effect of other assumptions depends on the microbial community present. We provide an example for how the tools developed here may be used with observed CUE values, and demonstrate that the original conclusions drawn from the data remain robust in the face of methodological bias. Our results lay the foundation for a better understanding of the consequences to the18O method underlying assumptions. Future studies can use the approach developed here to identify how different incubation conditions and/or treatments might bias its CUE estimates and how trustworthy their results are. Further wet-lab work dissecting the assumptions of the18O method in soil will help justify the scenarios under which it is reasonable to trust its results.
Phylogenetic Synecdoche Demonstrates Optimality of Subsampling and Improves Recovery of the Blaberoidea Phylogeny
Authors: Evangelista Dominic A. , Simon Sabrina , Wilson Megan M. , Kawahara Akito Y. , Kohli Manpreet K. , Ware Jessica L. , Wipfler Benjamin , Béthoux Olivier , Grandcolas Philippe , Legendre Frédéric
Published: April 2019

Phylogenomics seeks to use next-generation data to robustly infer an organism’s evolutionary history. Yet, the practical caveats of phylogenomics motivates investigation of improved efficiency, particularly when quality of phylogenies are questionable. To achieve improvements, one goal is to maintain or enhance the quality of phylogenetic inference while severely reducing dataset size. We approach this goal by designing an optimized subsample of data with an experimental design whose results are determined on the basis of phylogenetic synecdoche − a comparison of phylogenies inferred from a subsample to phylogenies inferred from the entire dataset. We examine locus mutation rate, saturation, evolutionary divergence, rate heterogeneity, selection, and a priori information content as traits that may determine optimality. Our controlled experimental design is based on 265 loci for 102 blaberoidean cockroaches and 22 outgroup species. High phylogenetic utility is demonstrated by loci with high mutation rate, low saturation, low sequence distance, low rate heterogeneity, and low selection. We found that some phylogenetic information content estimators may not be meaningful for assessing information content a priori. We use these findings to design concatenated datasets with an optimized subsample of 100 loci. The tree inferred from the optimized subsample alignment was largely identical to that inferred from all 265 loci but with less evidence of long branch attraction and improved statistical support. In sum, optimized subsampling can improve tree quality while reducing data collection costs and yielding 4-6x improvements to computation time in tree inference and bootstrapping.
Temporal proteomic analysis of BK polyomavirus infection reveals virus-induced G2 arrest and highly effective evasion of innate immune sensing
Authors: Caller Laura G. , Davies Colin T.R. , Antrobus Robin , Lehner Paul J. , Weekes Michael P. , Crump Colin M.
Published: April 2019

BK polyomavirus (BKPyV) is known to cause severe morbidity in renal transplant recipients and can lead to graft rejection. The simple 5.2 kilobase pair dsDNA genome expresses just seven known proteins, thus it relies heavily on host machinery to replicate. How the host proteome changes over the course of infection is key to understanding this host:virus interplay. Here for the first time quantitative temporal viromics has been used to quantify global changes in >9,000 host proteins in two types of primary human epithelial cell throughout 72 hours of BKPyV infection. These data demonstrate the importance both of cell cycle progression and pseudo-G2 arrest in effective BKPyV replication, along with a surprising lack of innate immune response throughout the whole virus replication cycle. BKPyV thus evades pathogen recognition to prevent activation of innate immune responses in a sophisticated manner.
Protracted development of visuo-proprioceptive integration for uni-and bimanual motor coordination
Authors: Martel Marie , Ossandón Jose P. , Habets Boukje , Heed Tobias
Published: April 2019

Sensory and motor processes undergo massive developmental changes over at least a decade in human development. Interdependencies between different sensorimotor control mechanisms as well as bodily abilities are difficult to assess when isolated experiments are tested in small age ranges. Here, we assessed coordinative abilities of 120 children aged 4-12 for the two hands or a hand with another sensory signal in multiple, highly comparable sensorimotor tasks. This multi-task approach allowed assessing the development and interplay of several aspects of motor control related to different coordinative requirements. Children were first able to symmetrically move the two hands, and only later to coordinate one hand with a proprioceptive or visual signal. The ability to strategically ignore sensory information was available last. The pattern of partial correlations among tasks suggests protracted, interdependent, chained development within individuals.

NEW AND NOTEWORTHY

Development unfolds as a cascade: each new ability sets the stage for learning further skills in motor, sensory, cognitive, and social domains. Here, we charted the performance of 4–12- year-olds in six coordinative tasks that are all based on a common experimental paradigm but address three different sensorimotor-cognitive domains. This approach characterizes dependencies between multiple aspects of cognitive modulation in the interplay of sensory integration and motor control.
From Energy to Cellular Force in the Cellular Potts Model
Authors: Rens Elisabeth G. , Edelstein-Keshet Leah
Published: April 2019

Single and collective cell dynamics, cell shape changes, and cell migration can be conveniently represented by the Cellular Potts Model, a computational platform based on minimization of a Hamiltonian while permitting stochastic fluctuations. Using the fact that a force field is easily derived from a scalar energy (F = −∇H), we develop a simple algorithm to associate effective forces with cell shapes in the CPM. We display the predicted forces for single cells of various shapes and sizes (relative to cell rest-area and cell rest-perimeter). While CPM forces are specified directly from the Hamiltonian on the cell perimeter, we infer internal forces using interpolation, and refine the results with smoothing. Predicted forces compare favorably with experimentally measured cellular traction forces. We show that a CPM model with internal signaling (such as Rho-GTPase-related contractility) can be associated with retraction-protrusion forces that accompany cell shape changes and migration. We adapt the computations to multicellular systems, showing, for example, the forces that a pair of swirling cells exert on one another, demonstrating that our algorithm works equally well for interacting cells. Finally, we show forces associated with the dynamics of classic cell-sorting experiments in larger clusters of model cells.

Author summary

Cells exert forces on their surroundings and on one another. In simulations of cell shape using the Cellular Potts Model (CPM), the dynamics of deforming cell shapes is traditionally represented by an energy-minimization method. We use this CPM energy, the Hamiltonian, to derive and visualize the corresponding forces exerted by the cells. We use the fact that force is the negative gradient of energy to assign forces to the CPM cell edges, and then extend the results to interior forces by interpolation. We show that this method works for single as well as multiple interacting model cells, both static and motile. Finally, we show favorable comparison between predicted forces and real forces measured experimentally.
IRF5 promotes intestinal inflammation by guiding monocyte differentiation towards a pathogenic CD11c+macrophage phenotype
Authors: Corbin Alastair L. , Gomez-Vazquez Maria , Khoyratty Tariq E. , Berthold Dorothée L. , Almuttaqi Hannah , Attar Moustafa , Arnold Isabelle C. , Powrie Fiona M. , Sansom Stephen N. , Udalova Irina A.
Published: April 2019

Mononuclear phagocytes (MNPs) play a key role in maintaining intestinal homeostasis but also in triggering immunopathology in response to acute microbial stimulation, which induces the recruitment of masses of Ly6Chimonocytes to the gut. The regulators that control monocyte tissue adaptation in the gut remain poorly understood. Interferon Regulatory Factor 5 (IRF5) is a transcription factor previously shown to play a key role in maintaining the inflammatory phenotype of macrophages. Here we investigate the impact of IRF5 on the MNP system and physiology of the gut at homeostasis and during inflammation. We demonstrate that IRF5 deficiency has a limited impact on colon physiology at steady state, but ameliorates immunopathology duringHelicobacter hepaticusinduced colitis. Inhibition of IRF5 activity in MNPs phenocopies global IRF5 deficiency. Using a combination of bone marrow chimera and single cell RNA-sequencing approaches we compare the differentiation trajectories of wild type and IRF5 deficient monocytes in a shared inflammatory environment and demonstrate that IRF5 stipulates a choice in monocyte differentiation towards macrophages. Specifically, IRF5 promotes the generation of pathogenic CD11c+macrophages and controls the production of inflammatory mediators by these cells. Thus, we identify IRF5 as a key transcriptional controller of pathogenic monocyte differentiation in the gut.
Heterologous Cas9 and non-homologous end joining as a Potentially Organism-Agnostic Knockout (POAK) system in bacteria
Authors: Plant Isaac N.
Published: April 2019

Making targeted gene deletions is essential for studying organisms, but is difficult in many prokaryotes due to the inefficiency of homologous recombination based methods. Here, I describe an easily modifiable, single-plasmid system that can be used to make rapid, sequence targeted, markerless knockouts in both a Gram-negative and a Gram-positive organism. The system is comprised of targeted DNA cleavage by Cas9 and error-prone repair by Non-Homologous End Joining (NHEJ) proteins. I confirm previous results showing that Cas9 and NHEJ can make knockouts when NHEJ is expressed before Cas9. Then, I show that Cas9 and NHEJ can be used to make knockouts when expressed simultaneously. I term the new method Potentially Organism-Agnostic Knockout (POAK) system and characterize its function in Escherichia coli and Weissella confusa. First, I develop a novel transformation protocol for W. confusa. Next, I show that, as in E. coli, POAK can create knockouts in W. confusa. Characterization of knockout efficiency across galK in both E. coli and W. confusa showed that while all gRNAs are effective in E. coli, only some gRNAs are effective in W. confusa, and cut site position within a gene does not determine knockout efficiency for either organism. I examine the sequences of knockouts in both organisms and show that POAK produces similar edits in both E. coli and W. confusa. Finally, as an example of the importance of being able to make knockouts quickly, I target W. confusa sugar metabolism genes to show that two sugar importers are not necessary for metabolism of their respective sugars. Having demonstrated that simultaneous expression of Cas9 and NHEJ is sufficient for making knockouts in two minimally related bacteria, POAK represents a hopeful avenue for making knockouts in other under-utilized bacteria.
Evolution of simple multicellular life cycles in dynamic environments
Authors: Pichugin Yuriy , Park Hye Jin , Traulsen Arne
Published: April 2019

The mode of reproduction is a critical characteristic of any species, as it has a strong effect on its evolution. As any other trait, the reproduction mode is subject to natural selection and may adapt to the environment. When the environment varies over time, different reproduction modes could be optimal at different times. The natural response to a dynamic environment seems to be bet hedging, where multiple reproductive strategies are stochastically executed. Here, we develop a framework for the evolution of simple multicellular life cycles in a dynamic environment. We use a matrix population model of undifferentiated multicellular groups undergoing fragmentation and ask which mode maximizes the population growth rate. Counterintuitively, we find that natural selection in dynamic environments generally tends to promote deterministic, not stochastic, reproduction modes.
The MyMOMA domain of MYO19 encodes for distinct Miro-dependent and Miro-independent mechanisms of interaction with mitochondrial membranes
Authors: Bocanegra Jennifer L. , Fujita Barbara M. , Melton Natalie R. , Cowan J. Matthew , Schinski Elizabeth L. , Tamir Tigist Y. , Major M. Ben , Quintero Omar A.
Published: April 2019

MYO19 interacts with mitochondria through a C-terminal membrane association domain (MyMOMA). The specific mechanisms for localization of MYO19 to mitochondria are poorly understood. Using new promiscuous biotinylation data in combination with existing affinity-capture databases, we have identified a number of putative MYO19-interacting proteins. We chose to further explore the interaction between MYO19 and the mitochondrial GTPase Miro2 by expressing mchr-Miro2 in combination with GFP-tagged fragments of the MyMOMA domain and assaying for recruitment of MYO19-GFP to mitochondria. Co-expression of MYO19898-970-GFP with mchr-Miro2 enhanced MYO19898-970-GFP localization to mitochondria. Mislocalizing Miro2 to filopodial tips or the cytosolic face of the nuclear envelope did not recruit MYO19898-970-GFP to either location. To address the kinetics of the Miro2/MYO19 interaction, we used FRAP analysis and permeabilization-activated reduction in fluorescence (PARF) analysis. MyMOMA constructs containing a putative membrane insertion motif but lacking the Miro2-interacting region displayed slow exchange kinetics. MYO19898-970-GFP, which does not include the membrane-insertion motif, displayed rapid exchange kinetics, suggesting that the MYO19 interacting with Miro2 has higher mobility than MYO19 inserted into the mitochondrial outer membrane. Mutation of well-conserved, charged residues within MYO19 or within the switch I and II regions of Miro2 abolished the enhancement of MYO19898-970-GFP localization in cells ectopically expressing mchr-Miro2. Additionally, expressing mutant versions of Miro2 thought to represent particular nucleotide states indicated that the enhancement of MYO19898-970-GFP localization is dependent on Miro2 nucleotide state. Taken together, these data suggest that membrane-inserted MYO19 is part of a larger complex, and that Miro2 plays a role in integration of actin- and microtubule-based mitochondrial activities.
ATAC-seq reveals regional differences in enhancer accessibility during the establishment of spatial coordinates in the Drosophila blastoderm
Authors: Bozek Marta , Cortini Roberto , Storti Andrea Ennio , Unnerstall Ulrich , Gaul Ulrike , Gompel Nicolas
Published: April 2019

Establishment of spatial coordinates during Drosophila embryogenesis relies on differential regulatory activity of axis patterning enhancers. Concentration gradients of activator and repressor transcription factors (TFs) provide positional information to each enhancer, which in turn promotes transcription of a target gene in a specific spatial pattern. However, the interplay between an enhancer regulatory activity and its accessibility as determined by local chromatin organization is not well understood. We profiled chromatin accessibility with ATAC-seq in narrow, genetically tagged domains along the antero-posterior axis in the Drosophila blastoderm. We demonstrate that one-quarter of the accessible genome displays significant regional variation in its ATAC-seq signal immediately after zygotic genome activation. Axis patterning enhancers are enriched among the most variable intervals, and their accessibility changes correlate with their regulatory activity. In an embryonic domain where an enhancer receives a net activating TF input and promotes transcription, it displays elevated accessibility in comparison to a domain where it receives a net repressive input. We propose that differential accessibility is a signature of patterning cis-regulatory elements in the Drosophila blastoderm and discuss potential mechanisms by which accessibility of enhancers may be modulated by activator and repressor TFs.
Identification of a primitive intestinal transcription factor network shared between esophageal adenocarcinoma and its precancerous precursor state
Authors: Rogerson Connor , Britton Edward , Withey Sarah , Hanley Neil , Ang Yeng S. , Sharrocks Andrew D.
Published: April 2019

Esophageal adenocarcinoma (EAC) is one of the most frequent causes of cancer death, and yet compared to other common cancers, we know relatively little about the molecular composition of this tumor type. To further our understanding of this cancer, we have used open chromatin profiling to decipher the transcriptional regulatory networks that are operational in EAC. We have uncovered a transcription factor network that is usually found in primitive intestinal cells during embryonic development, centered on HNF4A and GATA6. These transcription factors work together to control the EAC transcriptome. We show that this network is activated in Barrett's esophagus, the putative precursor state to EAC, thereby providing novel molecular evidence in support of stepwise malignant transition. Furthermore, we show that HNF4A alone is sufficient to drive chromatin opening and activation of a Barrett's-like chromatin signature when expressed in normal human epithelial cells. Collectively, these data provide a new way to categorize EAC at a genome scale and implicate HNF4A activation as a potential pivotal event in its malignant transition from healthy cells.
One-dimensional copper(II) coordination polymers based on 1,3-bis(pyridin-4-yl)propane and diimine ligands
Authors: Bhat Satish Shantaram , Shivalingegowda Naveen , Revankar Vidyanand Krishna , Kawade Vitthal Ajinath , Butcher Ray J. , Lokanath Neratur Krishnappagowda
Published: April 2019

Two one-dimensional (1D) coordination polymers (CPs), namely catena-poly[[[aqua(2,2′-bipyridine-κ2
N,N′)(nitrato-κO)copper(II)]-μ-1,3-bis(pyridin-4-yl)propane-κ2
N:N′] nitrate], {[Cu(NO3)(C10H8N2)(C13H14N2)(H2O)]·NO3}
n
(1), and catena-poly[[[aqua(nitrato-κO)(1,10-phenanthroline-κ2
N,N′)copper(II)]-μ-1,3-bis(pyridin-4-yl)propane-κ2
N:N′] nitrate], {[Cu(NO3)(C12H8N2)(C13H14N2)(H2O)]·NO3}
n
(2), have been synthesized using [Cu(NO3)(NN)(H2O)2]NO3, where NN = 2,2′-bipyridine (bpy) or 1,10-phenanthroline (phen), as a linker in a 1:1 molar ratio. The CPs were characterized by elemental analysis, IR spectroscopy, thermogravimetric analysis and single-crystal X-ray structure determination. The 1,3-bis(pyridin-4-yl)propane (dpp) ligand acts as a bridging ligand, leading to the formation of a 1D polymer. The octahedral coordination sphere around copper consists of two N atoms from bpy for 1 or phen for 2, two N atoms from dpp, one O atom from water and one O atom from a coordinated nitrate anion. Each structure contains two crystallographically independent chains in the asymmetric unit and the chains are linked via hydrogen bonds into a three-dimensional network.
The rich crystal chemistry of theAMM′(PO4)2morphotropic series: NaZnAl(PO4)2, the first Na representative with a new structure type
Authors: Yakubovich Olga , Kiriukhina Galina , Volkov Anatoliy , Dimitrova Olga
Published: April 2019

A novel phosphate, sodium zinc aluminium bis(phosphate), NaZnAl(PO4)2, was obtained under mild-temperature hydrothermal conditions at 553 K. The crystal structure has been studied using single-crystal X-ray experimental data. The pseudo-hexagonal phase NaZnAl(PO4)2crystallizes in the monoclinic space groupP21/c. Its unique crystal structure is based on a three-dimensional (3D) framework built by Zn-, Al- and P-centred tetrahedra sharing vertices. Channels parallel to the [101] and [\overline{1}01] directions are limited by six- and eight-membered windows, and incorporate Na atoms. The new compound is discussed as a member of the morphotropic seriesAMM′PO4, whereA= Na, K, Rb or NH4,M = Cu, Ni, Co, Fe, Zn or Mg andM′ = Fe, Al or Ga. The title compound is the first Na representative within the series and is characterized by a 3D architecture of tetrahedra populated in an ordered manner by Zn2+, Al3+and P5+ions.
A meta-analysis approach for determinants of effective factors on audit quality
Authors: Salehi Mahdi , Fakhri Mahmoudi Mohamad Reza , Daemi Gah Ali
Published: April 2019

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to demonstrate a deeper understanding about the reasons behind difference in previous studies’ results in the field of audit quality determinants.

Design/methodology/approach

A meta-analysis method is employed in which 52 studies including 40 international studies from authentic scientific articles during the year 2000–2015 and 12 national studies out of authentic national scientific articles from 2001 to 2015 are taken to account as sample studies. Audit firm size, auditor tenure and auditor specialization are set as independent variables and audit quality is the only dependent variable in the current paper.

Findings

The results indicate that audit firm size and auditor specialization are positively associated with audit quality. In other words, contracting with larger audit firm and specialized auditor results in delivering higher quality audit services.

Originality/value

The current study is the first study to be conducted in the field of audit quality determinants. The results may be beneficial both for standard setters as well practitioners in a way that it provides evidence that contributes to basis policy and audit-standard makers about domination and determinants of audit quality.
MNC strategy, knowledge transfer context, and knowledge flow in MNEs
Authors: Gaur Ajai S. , Ma Hongjia , Ge Baoshan
Published: April 2019

Purpose

Cross-border flow of knowledge is fraught with many challenges. The complexity associated with the organization of multinational corporations (MNCs), and the information asymmetry in foreign locations poses particular challenges to knowledge flow. Yet, effective transfer of knowledge is critical for the survival and performance of MNCs. The purpose of this paper is to present a comprehensive framework to understand the difficulties in the smooth flow of knowledge in MNCs.

Design/methodology/approach

The study is conceptual in nature and is based on an extensive review of the extant literature.

Findings

This review of the literature suggests that knowledge flow in MNCs is affected by country-level, firm-level and individual-level factors. The authors discuss these in the backdrop of the MNC strategy and the knowledge transfer context. The authors present their theoretical model and discuss the implications for advancing research in this domain.

Originality/value

This is one of the first papers to present a comprehensive framework to understand knowledge flows in MNCs.
Japanese managers’ experiences of neuro-linguistic programming: a qualitative investigation
Authors: Kotera Yasuhiro , Van Gordon William
Published: April 2019

Purpose

Though several work-related mental health training initiatives have been implemented in Japan, the effectiveness of such approaches remains unclear. Consequently, some Japanese corporations prefer using interventions such as neuro-linguistic programming (NLP) to improve employee mental health and wellbeing. This language-based development methodology has been the subject of debate in terms of the quality of the underlying empirical evidence. However, a perspective missing from this debate is an evidence-based understanding of the first-hand experiences of employees that have undertaken NLP training. The purpose of this paper is to inform this debate by conducting a rigorous qualitative examination of the experiences of Japanese senior managers who had recently received training in NLP.

Design/methodology/approach

Semi-structured interviews attended by 11 Japanese NLP master practitioners were analysed using thematic analysis.

Findings

Four themes emerged from the data set: improving work-related mental health, NLP fosters a better understanding of the mind, NLP helps to reframe perspectives relating to work and mental health, and challenges of NLP training.

Originality/value

While managers found NLP training skills such as reframing and neuro-logical levels useful to their managerial practice and mental health more generally, they raised concerns about NLP’s reputation as well as the utility of some of the techniques employed in NLP.
Introducing the transformative service mediator: value creation with vulnerable consumers
Authors: Johns Raechel , Davey Janet
Published: April 2019

Purpose

The purpose of this study is to identify the role of mediators in supporting value co-creation for vulnerable consumers in a service context. The authors propose that in transformative services, the roles of actor mediators facilitate control and empowerment for the vulnerable consumer – labelling these transformative service mediators (TSMs).

Design/methodology/approach

The authors develop a theoretical framework for the activities of mediators in value co-creation considering the interrelationships of vulnerability, structure and agency. The authors then use Prahalad and Ramaswamy’s DART (Dialogue, Access, Risk Assessment and Transparency) model as the integrating framework to describe the TSM roles in the context of the foster care service ecosystem.

Findings

The authors introduce a future research agenda regarding TSM roles in transformational service experiences and value co-creation with vulnerable consumers. Service researchers and providers are encouraged to explore effective training and motivation of TSMs.

Research limitations/implications

Understanding value co-creation for vulnerable consumers is an emerging area in service research. The TSM concept introduces a new approach to explore how value co-creation and transformative outcomes can be enhanced in service contexts where consumers experience vulnerability.

Practical implications

This paper presents an agenda for future research. The outcomes of future research based on TSM roles may help guide service providers in identifying opportunities for enhancing well-being and reducing vulnerability in service delivery.

Originality/value

This paper suggests that exploring the role of TSMs in the service process offers new insights into reducing vulnerability in service relationships.
A viewpoint from the trenches
Authors: Koku Paul Sergius
Published: April 2019

Purpose

This paper aims to present the author’s viewpoint on the developments in the Journal of Services Marketing (JSM) during the past 25 years of his association with the Journal. The paper documents the evolution in the Journal, highlights significant changes and makes some prognostications for the future.

Design/methodology/approach

The paper relies on the first-hand account of the author, which is supplemented by limited qualitative data analysis that consists of analyzing keywords and the abstract of articles published in JSM during the past 25 years.

Findings

The first-hand account shows that JSM has undergone changes that reflect changes that have taken place in the field of marketing. The issues/topics of manuscripts submitted and published in the Journal have become interdisciplinary and so are the analytical techniques. This expanding scope of the Journal positions it well for the future in which collaborative research will be more pervasive in the academy.

Research limitations/implications

This is a first-hand account with limited data analysis and therefore could suffer from the writer’s biases even though they might be unintended.

Practical implications

This paper documents the expanding scope of the Journal that may have been the result of explicit steps taken to make the Journal more successful in the future.

Originality/value

As a first-hand account, this study is original.
Herding behavior and financing decisions in Romania
Authors: Brendea Gabriela , Pop Fanuta
Published: April 2019

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to investigate the financing behavior of Romanian listed firms with regard to their tendency to exhibit herding behavior, more specifically to follow the mean capital structure of the sector they belong to.

Design/methodology/approach

A panel data model was employed to examine the herding financing behavior of Romanian listed firms over the period 2007–2014. The dependent variable of the model is firms’ debt ratio (DR) and the independent variables are: the first lag of the mean DR in each sector of the analysis, firm-specific characteristics and the average characteristics of the firms from the sector they belong to.

Findings

The results of the study indicate that Romanian listed firms have a herding behavior and try to reach the mean DR of the sector they belong to, moving away from the optimal capital structure that maximizes firms’ value. In addition, the results of the model estimation suggest that Romanian firms’ capital structure depends on both firms’ characteristics (i.e. profitability, firm size and asset tangibility) and the average characteristics of the firms from the same sector they belong to (i.e. average profitability and average size).

Practical implications

Acting with the herd determines firms to move away from the optimal capital structure and to miss in this way the maximization of the firm value. Consequently, it is in managers’ best interest to avoid herding behavior and try to act rationally when they decide firms’ financing sources.

Originality/value

To the best of the knowledge, this is the first study in the literature that finds support for the herding financing behavior in an Eastern European country.
Global staffing and control in emerging multinational corporations and their subsidiaries in developed countries
Authors: Patel Parth , Boyle Brendan , Bray Mark , Sinha Paresha , Bhanugopan Ramudu
Published: April 2019

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to examine the control mechanisms used by multinational corporations (MNCs) from emerging economies to manage their subsidiaries in developed countries and their implications for human resource management practices.

Design/methodology/approach

The paper draws on data collected through in-depth case studies and interviews with senior subsidiary managers of 12 major Indian information technology (IT) MNCs operating in Australia.

Findings

Indian IT MNCs rely heavily on the use of people-centric controls exerted through global staffing practices (via the transfer of parent-country nationals), which, in turn, influence their subsidiary’s discretion over their HR practices. The use of people-centric controls allows Indian IT multinationals to replicate parent-country HRM practices in their Australian subsidiaries in an ethnocentric manner and significantly leverage the people-based competitive advantages from India through short- and long-term expatriate assignments.

Research limitations/implications

The study investigates control and HRM practices from a single country and a single industry perspective. It provides an insight into the normative means of control in foreign subsidiaries of MNCs and enhances our understanding by explaining the integrated relationship that control mechanisms (and their people-centric components) have with HRM practices including the global staffing approaches and expatriate management practices of emerging MNCs.

Practical implications

Indian MNCs are using their business model to leverage the Australian immigration and skilled visa programme to maintain cost advantages. However, the immigration legislation in developed countries needs to be capable of allowing emerging multinational corporations (EMNCs) to maintain such advantages as developed countries seek to attract foreign direct investment from emerging economies.

Originality/value

The results indicate that the control practices of EMNCs are similar to the controls exerted by MNCs from developed countries. They also show that EMNCs do not adopt a portfolio approach to global staffing, and that the people-centric components of their control have a clear impact on their subsidiaries’ HRM practices.
States Encouraging Value‐Based Payment: Lessons From CMS's State Innovation Models Initiative
Authors: KISSAM STEPHANIE M. , BEIL HEATHER , COUSART CHRISTINA , GREENWALD LESLIE M. , LLOYD JENNIFER T.
Published: April 2019

Policy Points

Six states received $250 million under the federal State Innovation Models (SIM) Initiative Round 1 to increase the proportion of care delivered under value‐based payment (VBP) models aligned across multiple payers.

Multipayer alignment around a common VBP model occurred within the context of state regulatory and purchasing policies and in states with few commercial payers, not through engaging many stakeholders to act voluntarily.

States that made targeted infrastructure investments in performance data and electronic hospital event notifications, and offered grants and technical assistance to providers, produced delivery system changes to enhance care coordination even where VBP models were not multipayer.

Context

In 2013, six states (Arkansas, Massachusetts, Maine, Minnesota, Oregon, and Vermont) received $250 million in Round 1 State Innovation Models (SIM) awards to test how regulatory, policy, purchasing, and other levers available to state governments could transform their health care system by implementing value‐based payment (VBP) models that shift away from fee‐for‐service toward payment based on quality and cost.

Methods

We gathered and analyzed qualitative data on states’ implementation of their SIM Initiatives between 2014 and 2018, including interviews with state officials and other stakeholders; consumer and provider focus groups; and review of relevant state‐produced documents.

Findings

State policymakers leveraged existing state law, new policy development, and federal SIM Initiative funds to implement new VBP models in Medicaid. States’ investments promoted electronic health information going from hospitals to primary care providers and collaboration across care team members within practices to enhance care coordination. Multipayer alignment occurred where there were few commercial insurers in a state, or where a state law or state contracting compelled commercial insurer participation. Challenges to health system change included commercial payer reluctance to coordinate on VBP models, cost and policy barriers to establishing bidirectional data exchange among all providers, preexisting quality measurement requirements across payers that impede total alignment of measures, providers’ perception of their limited ability to influence patients’ behavior that puts them at financial risk, and consumer concerns with changes in care delivery.

Conclusions

The SIM Initiative's test of the power of state governments to shape health care policy demonstrated that strong state regulatory and purchasing policy levers make a difference in multipayer alignment around VBP models. In contrast, targeted financial investments in health information technology, data analytics, technical assistance, and workforce development are more effective than policy alone in encouraging care delivery change beyond that which VBP model participation might manifest.
Feasibility, acceptability and cost‐effectiveness of a brief, lay counsellor‐delivered psychological treatment for men with alcohol dependence in primary care: an exploratory randomized controlled trial
Authors: Nadkarni Abhijit , Weiss Helen A. , Velleman Richard , McCambridge Jim , McDaid David , Park A‐La , Murthy Pratima , Weobong Benedict , Bhat Bhargav , Patel Vikram
Published: April 2019

Aims

To examine the feasibility, acceptability and preliminary cost‐effectiveness of a lay counsellor delivered psychological treatment for men with alcohol dependence in primary care.

Design

Single‐blind individually randomized trial comparing counselling for alcohol problems (CAP) plus enhanced usual care (EUC) versus EUC only.

Setting

Ten primary health centres in Goa, India.

Participants

Men (n = 135) scoring ≥ 20 on the Alcohol Use Disorder Identification Test (AUDIT). Sixty‐six participants were randomized to EUC and 69 to CAP + EUC.

Interventions

CAP, a lay counsellor‐delivered psychological treatment for harmful drinking, with referral to de‐addiction centre for medically assisted detoxification. EUC comprised consultation with physician, providing screening results and referral to a de‐addiction centre.

Measurements

Baseline socio‐demographic data, readiness to change and perceived usefulness of counselling. Acceptability and feasibility process indicators such as data on screening and therapy. Outcomes were measured at 3 and 12 months post‐randomization and included remission, mean daily alcohol consumed, percentage of days abstinent (PDA), percentage of days of heavy drinking (PDHD), recovery, uptake of detoxification services, impacts of alcohol dependence, resource use and costs.

Findings

Participants in the CAP + EUC arm had more numerically but not statistically significantly favourable outcomes compared with those in the EUC arm for (a) remission at 3 months [adjusted odds ratio (aOR) = 1.95, 95% confidence interval (CI) = 0.74–5.15] and 12 months (aOR = 1.90, 95% CI = 0.72–5.00), (b) proportion of non‐drinkers at 3 months (aOR = 1.26; 95% CI = 0.58–2.75) and 12 months (aOR = 1.25; 95% CI = 0.58–2.64) and (c) ethanol consumption among drinkers at 3 months (count ratio = 0.91; 95% CI = 0.58–1.45) and 12 months (count ratio = 1.06; 95% CI = 0.73–1.54). There was no statistically significant evidence of a difference in the occurrence of serious adverse events between the two arms. From a societal perspective, there was a 53% chance of CAP + EUC being cost‐effective in achieving remission at 12 months at the willingness‐to‐pay threshold of $415.

Conclusions

Lay counsellor‐delivered psychological treatment for men with alcohol dependence (AD) in primary care may be effective in managing AD in low‐ and middle‐income countries. A definitive trial of the intervention is warranted.
Genome‐wide association study for body weight in cattle populations from Siberia
Authors: Igoshin A. V. , Yudin N. S. , Belonogova N. M. , Larkin D. M.
Published: April 2019

Body weight is a complex trait in cattle associated with commonly used commercial breeding measurements related to growth. Although many quantitative trait loci (QTL) for body weight have been identified in cattle so far, searching for genetic determinants in different breeds or environments is promising. Therefore, we carried out a genome‐wide association study (GWAS) in two cattle populations from the Russian Federation (Siberian region) using the GGP HD150K array containing 139 376 single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) markers. Association tests for 107 550 SNPs left after filtering revealed five statistically significant SNPs on BTA5, considering a false discovery rate of less than 0.05. The chromosomal region containing these five SNPs contains the CCND2 gene, which was previously associated with average daily weight gain and body mass index in US beef cattle populations and in humans respectively. Our study is the first GWAS for body weight in beef cattle populations from the Russian Federation. The results provided here suggest that, despite the existence of breed‐ and species‐specific QTL, the genetic architecture of body weight could be evolutionarily conserved in mammals.
Guidelines for day‐case surgery 2019
Authors: Bailey C. R. , Ahuja M. , Bartholomew K. , Bew S. , Forbes L. , Lipp A. , Montgomery J. , Russon K. , Potparic O. , Stocker M.
Published: April 2019

Guidelines are presented for the organisational and clinical management of anaesthesia for day‐case surgery in adults and children. The advice presented is based on previously published recommendations, clinical studies and expert opinion.
Relationships and burden: An empirical‐ethical investigation of lived experience in home nursing arrangements
Authors: Seidlein Anna‐Henrikje , Buchholz Ines , Buchholz Maresa , Salloch Sabine
Published: April 2019

Quantitative research has called attention to the burden associated with informal caregiving in home nursing arrangements. Less emphasis has been placed, however, on care recipients’ subjective feelings of being a burden and on caregivers’ willingness to carry the burden in home care. This article uses empirical material from semi‐structured interviews conducted with older people affected by multiple chronic conditions and in need of long‐term home care, and with informal and professional caregivers, as two groups of relevant others. The high burden of home‐care arrangements is unanimously stressed by all three groups involved in the triangle of care. An empirical‐ethical investigation of what can be legitimately expected from family members and informal caregivers, informed by Frith's symbiotic empirical ethics approach, was undertaken. Key tenets from the special goods theory and nursing professionalism are used as analytical tools. The study concludes that the current situation may hinder professional development and can reinforce feelings of being a burden to relevant others.