bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Competition between parallel sensorimotor learning systems
Authors: Albert Scott T. , Jang Jihoon , Haith Adrian M. , Lerner Gonzalo , Della-Maggiore Valeria , Krakauer John W. , Shadmehr Reza
Published: December 2020

Sensorimotor adaptation benefits from learning in two parallel systems: one that has access to explicit knowledge, and another that relies on implicit, unconscious correction. However, it is unclear how these systems interact: does enhancing one system’s contributions, for example through instruction, impair the other, or do they learn independently? Here we illustrate that certain contexts can lead to competition between implicit and explicit learning. In some cases, each system is responsive to a task-related visual error. This shared error appears to create competition between these systems, such that when the explicit system increases its response, errors are siphoned away from the implicit system, thus reducing its learning. This model suggests that explicit strategy can mask changes in implicit error sensitivity related to savings and interference. Other contexts suggest that the implicit system can respond to multiple error sources. When these error sources conflict, a second type of competition occurs. Thus, the data show that during sensorimotor adaptation, behavior is shaped by competition between parallel learning systems.
Single Cell and Spatial Transcriptomics Defines the Cellular Architecture of the Antimicrobial Response Network in Human Leprosy Granulomas
Authors: Ma Feiyang , Hughes Travis K. , Teles Rosane M.B. , Andrade Priscila R. , de Andrade Silva Bruno J. , Plazyo Olesya , Tsoi Lam C. , Do Tran , Wadsworth Marc H , Oulee Aislyn , Ochoa Maria Teresa , Sarno Euzenir N. , Iruela-Arispe M. Luisa , Bryson Bryan , Shalek Alex K. , Bloom Barry R. , Gudjonsson Johann E. , Pellegrini Matteo , Modlin Robert L.
Published: December 2020

Granulomas are complex cellular structures comprised predominantly of macrophages and lymphocytes that function to contain and kill invading pathogens. Here, we investigated single cell phenotypes associated with antimicrobial responses in human leprosy granulomas by applying single cell and spatial sequencing to leprosy biopsy specimens. We focused on reversal reactions (RR), a dynamic process in which some patients with disseminated lepromatous leprosy (L-lep) transition towards self-limiting tuberculoid leprosy (T-lep), mounting effective antimicrobial responses. We identified a set of genes encoding proteins involved in antimicrobial responses that are differentially expressed in RR versus L-lep lesions, and regulated by IFN-γ and IL-1β. By integrating the spatial coordinates of the key cell types and antimicrobial gene expression in RR and T-lep lesions, we constructed a map revealing the organized architecture of granulomas depicting compositional and functional layers by which macrophages, T cells, keratinocytes and fibroblasts contribute to the antimicrobial response.
Shared B cell memory to coronaviruses and other pathogens varies in human age groups and tissues
Authors: Yang Fan , Nielsen Sandra C. A. , Hoh Ramona A. , Lee Ji-Yeun , Pham Tho D. , Jackson Katherine J. L. , Roskin Krishna M. , Liu Yi , Ohgami Robert S. , Osborne Eleanor M. , Niemann Claus U. , Parsonnet Julie , Boyd Scott D.
Published: December 2020

Vaccination and infection promote the formation, tissue distribution, and clonal evolution of B cells encoding humoral immune memory. We evaluated convergent antigen-specific antibody genes of similar sequences shared between individuals in pediatric and adult blood, and deceased organ donor tissues. B cell memory varied for different pathogens. Polysaccharide antigen-specific clones were not exclusive to the spleen. Adults’ convergent clones often express mutated IgM or IgD in blood and are class-switched in lymphoid tissues; in contrast, children have abundant class-switched convergent clones in blood. Consistent with serological reports, pre-pandemic children had class-switched convergent clones to SARS-CoV-2, enriched in cross-reactive clones for seasonal coronaviruses, while adults showed few such clones in blood or lymphoid tissues. These results extend age-related and anatomical mapping of human humoral pathogen-specific immunity.

One Sentence Summary

Children have elevated frequencies of pathogen-specific class-switched memory B cells, including SARS-CoV-2-binding clones.
Genetic and pharmacological evidence for kinetic competition between alternative poly(A) sites in yeast
Authors: Turner Rachael E. , Harrison Paul F. , Swaminathan Angavai , Kraupner-Taylor Calvin A. , Curtis Melissa J. , Goldie Belinda J. , See Michael M. , Peterson Amanda L. , Schittenhelm Ralf B. , Powell David R. , Creek Darren J. , Dichtl Bernhard , Beilharz Traude H.
Published: December 2020

Most eukaryotic mRNAs accommodate alternative sites of poly(A) addition in the 3’ untranslated region in order to regulate mRNA function. Here we present a systematic analysis of 3’ end formation factors, which revealed 3’UTR lengthening in response to a loss of the core machinery, whereas a loss of the Sen1 helicase resulted in shorter 3’UTRs. We show that the anti-cancer drug cordycepin, 3’ deoxyadenosine, caused nucleotide accumulation and the usage of distal poly(A) sites. Mycophenolic acid, a drug which reduces GTP levels and impairs RNA polymerase II (RNAP II) transcription elongation, promoted the usage of proximal sites and reversed the effects of cordycepin on alternative polyadenylation. Moreover, cordycepin mediated usage of distal sites was associated with a permissive chromatin template and was suppressed in the presence of anrpb1mutation, which slows RNAP II elongation rate. We propose that alternative polyadenylation is governed by temporal coordination of RNAP II transcription and 3’ end processing and controlled by the availability of 3’ end factors, nucleotide levels and chromatin landscape.
Decision value signals in the ventromedial prefrontal cortex and motivational and hedonic symptoms across mood and psychotic disorders
Authors: Kang Min Su , Wolf Daniel H. , Kazinka Rebecca , Lee Sangil , Ruparel Kosha , Elliott Mark A. , Xu Anna , Cieslak Matthew , Prettyman Greer , Satterthwaite Theodore D. , Kable Joseph W.
Published: December 2020

Deficits in motivation and pleasure are common across many psychiatric disorders, and manifest as symptoms of amotivation and anhedonia, which are prominent features of both mood and psychotic disorders. Here we provide evidence for a shared transdiagnostic mechanism underlying impairments in motivation and pleasure across major depression, bipolar disorder, and schizophrenia. We found that value signals in the ventromedial prefrontal cortex (vmPFC) during decision-making were dampened in individuals with greater motivational and hedonic deficits, regardless of the primary diagnosis. This relationship remained significant while controlling for diagnosis-specific symptoms of mood and psychosis, such as depression as well as positive and negative symptoms. Our results demonstrate that dysfunction in the vmPFC during value-based decision-making is specifically linked to motivational and hedonic impairments across various psychiatric conditions. These findings provide a quantitative neural target for the potential development of novel treatments for amotivation and anhedonia.
Hamster PIWI proteins bind to piRNAs with stage-specific size variations during oocyte maturation
Authors: Ishino Kyoko , Hasuwa Hidetoshi , Yoshimura Jun , Iwasaki Yuka W. , Nishihara Hidenori , Seki Naomi M. , Hirano Takamasa , Tsuchiya Marie , Ishizaki Hinako , Masuda Harumi , Kuramoto Tae , Saito Kuniaki , Sakakibara Yasubumi , Toyoda Atsushi , Itoh Takehiko , Siomi Mikiko C. , Morishita Shinichi , Siomi Haruhiko
Published: December 2020

In animal gonads, transposable elements (TEs) are actively repressed to preserve genome integrity through the Piwi-interacting RNA (piRNA) pathway. In mice, piRNAs are most abundantly expressed in male germ cells, and form effector complexes with three distinct PIWI proteins. The depletion of individualPiwigenes causes male-specific sterility owing to severe defects in spermatogenesis with no discernible phenotype in female mice. Unlike mice, most other mammals have four PIWI genes, some of which are expressed in the ovary. Here, purification of PIWI complexes from oocytes of the golden hamster revealed that the size of the piRNAs loaded onto PIWIL1 changed during oocyte maturation. In contrast, PIWIL3, an ovary-specific PIWI in most mammals, associates with short piRNAs only in metaphase II oocytes, which coincides with intense phosphorylation of the protein. An improved high-quality genome assembly and annotation revealed that PIWIL1- and PIWIL3-associated piRNAs appear to share the 5′- ends of common piRNA precursors and are mostly derived from unannotated sequences with a diminished contribution from TE-derived sequences, most of which correspond to endogenous retroviruses (ERVs). Although binding sites for the transcription factor A-Myb are identified in the transcription start site regions of the testis piRNA clusters, the piRNA clusters in the ovary show no well-defined binding motifs in their upstream regions. These results show that hamster piRNA clusters are transcribed by different transcriptional factors in the ovary and testis, resulting in the generation of sex-specific piRNAs. Our findings show the complex and dynamic nature of biogenesis of piRNAs in hamster oocytes, and together with the new genome sequence generated, serve as the foundation for developing useful models to study the piRNA pathway in mammalian oocytes.

Highlights

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The size of PIWIL1-associated piRNAs changes during oocyte maturation

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Phosphorylation of PIWIL3 in MII oocytes coincides with its association with small 19-nt piRNAs

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Improved high-quality genome assembly and annotation identifies young endogenous retroviruses as major targets of piRNAs in hamster oocytes

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PIWIL1- and PIWIL3-associated piRNAs share the 5′-ends of the common piRNA precursors in oocytes
Binding Profile Mapping of the S100 Protein Family Using a High-throughput Local Surface Mimetic Holdup Assay
Authors: Simon Márton A. , Bartus Éva , Mag Beáta , Boros Eszter , Roszjár Lea , Gógl Gergő , Travé Gilles , Martinek Tamás A. , Nyitray László
Published: December 2020

S100 proteins are small, typically homodimeric, vertebrate-specific EF-hand proteins that establish Ca2+-dependent protein-protein interactions in the intra- and extracellular environment and are overexpressed in various pathologies. There are about 20 distinct human S100 proteins with numerous potential partner proteins. Here, we used a quantitative holdup assay to measure affinity profiles of most members of the S100 protein family against a library of chemically synthetized foldamers. The profiles allowed us to quantitatively map the binding promiscuity of each member towards the foldamer library. Since the library was designed to systematically contain most binary natural amino acid side chain combinations, the data also provide insight into the promiscuity of each S100 protein towards all potential naturally-occurring S100 partners in the human proteome. Such information will be precious for future drug design of modulators of S100 pathological activities.
Ageing disrupts reinforcement learning whilst learning to help others is preserved
Authors: Cutler Jo , Wittmann Marco , Abdurahman Ayat , Hargitai Luca , Drew Daniel , Husain Masud , Lockwood Patricia
Published: December 2020

Reinforcement learning is a fundamental mechanism displayed by many species. However, adaptive behaviour depends not only on learning about actions and outcomes that affect ourselves, but also those that affect others. Here, using computational reinforcement learning models, we tested whether young (age 18-36) and older (age 60-80, total n=152) adults can learn to gain rewards for themselves, another person (prosocial), or neither individual (control). Detailed model comparison showed that a model with separate learning rates for each recipient best explained behaviour. Young adults were faster to learn when their actions benefitted themselves, compared to helping others. Strikingly, compared to younger adults, older adults showed preserved prosocial learning rates but reduced self-relevant learning rates. Moreover, psychopathic traits were lower in older adults and negatively correlated with prosocial learning. These findings suggest learning how to benefit others is preserved across the lifespan with implications for reinforcement learning and theories of healthy ageing.
One hundred million years history of bornavirus infections hidden in vertebrate genomes
Authors: Kawasaki Junna , Kojima Shohei , Mukai Yahiro , Tomonaga Keizo , Horie Masayuki
Published: December 2020

Although viruses have threatened our ancestors for millions of years, prehistoric epidemics of viruses are largely unknown. Endogenous bornavirus-like elements (EBLs) are ancient viral sequences that have been integrated into animal genomes. These elements can be used as molecular fossil records to trace past bornaviral infections. In this study, we systematically identified EBLs in vertebrate genomes and revealed the history of bornavirus infections over nearly 100 million years. We found that ancient bornaviral infections have occurred in diverse vertebrate lineages, especially in primate ancestors. Phylogenetic analyses indicated that primate ancestors had been infected with various bornaviral lineages during evolution. Moreover, EBLs in primate genomes formed clades according to their integration ages, suggesting that epidemic lineages of bornaviruses had changed chronologically. However, we found that some bornaviral lineages coexisted with primate ancestors and underwent repeated endogenizations for tens of millions of years. Furthermore, this viral lineage that coexisted with primate ancestors was also endogenized in some ancestral bats. Notably, the geographic distributions of these bat ancestors have been reported to overlap with the migration route of primate ancestors, suggesting that long-term virus-host coexistence could have expanded the geographic distributions of the viral lineage and might have spread their infections to new hosts. Thus, our findings describe hidden virus-host co-evolutionary history over geological timescales, including chronological change in epidemic bornaviral lineages, long-term virus-host coexistence, and expansion of viral infections.
Optimization of antifungal edible pregelatinized potato starch-based coating formulations by response surface methodology to extend postharvest life of ‘Orri’ mandarins
Authors: Soto-Muñoz Lourdes , Palou Lluís , Argente-Sanchis Maricruz , Ramos-López Miguel Angel , Pérez-Gago María B.
Published: December 2020

Antifungal composite edible coatings (ECs) formulated with pregelatinized potato starch (PPS, 1.0-2.0 % w/w) as biopolymer, glyceryl monostearate (GMS, 0.5-1.5 %, w/w) as hydrophobe, glycerol (Gly, 0.5-1.5 %, w/w) as plasticizer, and sodium benzoate (SB, 2 % w/w) as antifungal agent were optimized using the Box–Behnken response surface methodology to extend the postharvest life of Orri’ mandarins. The second order polynomial models satisfactorily fitted the experimental data, with high values of the coefficient of determination for the different variables (R2>0.91). The individual linear effect of GMS concentration was significant in all the responses evaluated, whereas PPS only affected emulsion viscosity, fruit tacking, and weight loss of coated mandarins. Gly only affected acetaldehyde content in the juice of coated mandarins when interacted with PPS and in the quadratic effect. The optimum concentrations of PPS, GMS, and Gly for the starch-based EC based on maximum fruit quality and required emulsion properties were predicted to be 2.0, 0.5 and 1.0 % (w/w), respectively. The optimal EC reduced weight loss of mandarins and created a modified atmosphere within the fruit without negatively affecting the overall acceptability of the fruit. On the other hand, the optimized antifungal EC containing SB significantly reduced postharvest green and blue molds and sour rot on mandarins artificially inoculated with the pathogensPenicillium digitatum, Penicillium italicumandGeotrichum citri-aurantii,respectively. Therefore, the optimized antifungal EC showed potential to control the main postharvest diseases and maintain the overall quality of ‘Orri’ mandarins and could be a suitable alternative to commercial citrus waxes formulated with conventional chemical fungicides.
Nuku, a family of primate retrogenes derived fromKU70
Authors: Rowley Paul A. , Ellahi Aisha , Han Kyudong , Patel Jagdish Suresh , Sawyer Sara L.
Published: December 2020

The ubiquitous DNA repair protein, Ku70p, has undergone extensive copy number expansion during primate evolution. Gene duplications ofKU70have the hallmark of long interspersed element-1 (LINE-1) mediated retrotransposition with evidence of target-site duplications, the poly-A tails, and the absence of introns. Evolutionary analysis of this expanded family ofKU70-derived “NUKU” retrogenes reveals that these genes are both ancient and also actively being created in extant primate species.NUKUretrogenes show evidence of functional divergence away fromKU70, as evinced by their altered pattern of tissue expression and possible translation in the human testes. Molecular modeling predicted that mutations in Nuku2p at the interaction interface with Ku80p would prevent the assembly of the Ku heterodimer. The lack of Nuku2p-Ku80p interaction was confirmed by yeast two-hybrid assay, which contrasts the robust interaction of Ku70p-Ku80p. While severalNUKUretrogenes appear to have been degraded by mutation,NUKU2shows evidence of positive natural selection, suggesting that this retrogene is undergoing neofunctionalization. Although Nuku proteins do not appear to antagonize retroviruses in cell culture, the observed expansion and rapid evolution ofNUKUscould be being driven by alternative selective pressures related to infectious disease or an undefined role in primate physiology.
Evaluating Coarse-Grained MARTINI Force-Fields for Capturing the Ripple Phase of Lipid Membranes
Authors: Sharma Pradyumn , Desikan Rajat , Ayappa K. Ganapathy
Published: December 2020

Phospholipids, which are an integral component of cell membranes, exhibit a rich variety of lamellar phases modulated by temperature and composition. Molecular dynamics (MD) simulations have greatly enhanced our understanding of phospholipid membranes by capturing experimentally observed phases and phase transitions at molecular resolution. However, the ripple (Pβ′) membrane phase, observed as an intermediate phase below the main gel-to-liquid crystalline transition with some lipids, has been challenging to capture with MD simulations, both at all-atom and coarse-grained (CG) resolution. Here, with an aggregate ~2.5 μs all-atom and ~122 μs CG MD simulations, we systematically assess the ability of six CG MARTINI 1,2-dipalmitoyl-sn-glycero-3-phosphocholine (DPPC) lipid and water force-field (FF) variants, parametrized to capture the DPPC gel and fluid phases, for their ability to capture thePβ′phase, and compared observations with those from an all-atom FF. Upon cooling from the fluid phase to below the phase transition temperature with smaller (380-lipid) and larger (> 2200-lipid) MARTINI and all-atom (CHARMM36 FF) DPPC lipid bilayers, we observed that smaller bilayers with both all-atom and MARTINI FFs sampled interdigitatedPβ′and ripple-like states, respectively. However, while all-atom simulations of the larger DPPC membranes exhibited the formation of thePβ′phase, similar to previous studies, MARTINI membranes did not sample interdigitated ripple-like states at larger system sizes. We then demonstrated that the ripple-like states in smaller MARTINI membranes were kinetically-trapped structures caused by finite size effects rather than being representative of truePβ′phases. We showed that even a MARTINI FF variant that could capture the tiltedLβ′gel phase, a prerequisite for stabilizing thePβ′phase, could not capture the rippled phase upon cooling. Our study reveals that the current MARTINI FFs (including MARTINI3) may require specific re-parametrization of the interaction potentials to stabilize lipid interdigitation, a characteristic of the ripple phase.

TOC Graphic
A Tunable, Simplified Model for Biological Latch Mediated Spring Actuated Systems
Authors: Cook Andrés , Pandhigunta Kaanthi , Acevedo Mason A. , Walker Adam , Didcock Rosalie L. , Castro Jackson T. , O’Neill Declan , Acharya Raghav , Bhamla M. Saad , Anderson Philip S. L. , Ilton Mark
Published: December 2020

We develop a model of latch-mediated spring actuated (LaMSA) systems relevant to comparative biomechanics and bioinspired design. The model contains five components: two motors (muscles), a spring, a latch, and a load mass. One motor loads the spring to store elastic energy and the second motor subsequently removes the latch, which releases the spring and causes movement of the load mass. We develop open-source software to accompany the model, which provides an extensible framework for simulating LaMSA systems. Output from the simulation includes information from the loading and release phases of motion, which can be used to calculate kinematic performance metrics that are important for biomechanical function. In parallel, we simulate a comparable, directly actuated system that uses the same motor and mass combinations as the LaMSA simulations. By rapidly iterating through biologically relevant input parameters to the model, simulated kinematic performance differences between LaMSA and directly actuated systems can be used to explore the evolutionary dynamics of biological LaMSA systems and uncover design principles for bioinspired LaMSA systems. As proof of principle of this concept, we compare a LaMSA simulation to a directly actuated simulation that includes a either Hill-type force-velocity trade-off or muscle activation dynamics, or both. For the biologically-relevant range of parameters explored, we find that the muscle force-velocity trade-off and muscle activation have similar effects on directly actuated performance. Including both of these dynamic muscle properties increases the accelerated mass range where a LaMSA system outperforms a directly actuated one.
Primary cilia sensitize insulin receptor-mediated negative feedback in pancreatic β cells
Authors: Li Yuezhe , Shrestha Prem. K. , Wu Yi I.
Published: December 2020

Insulin receptors (IR) can localize to the primary cilia of pancreatic β cells. Because primary cilia are known to sensitize or bias the signaling of cell surface receptors, we investigate how ciliary insulin receptors influence glucose-stimulated insulin secretion (GSIS) in β cells by gauging how cytosolic calcium concentration changes in a mouse insulinoma cell line (MIN6). Purified recombinant insulin suppresses calcium elevation in response to glucose in these cells. Interestingly, ciliated cells show attenuated cytosolic calcium elevation compared to cilium-free cells after glucose stimulation even in the absence of exogenous insulin. We observe that ciliary IR is highly phosphorylated, and the phospho-IR density decreases when cells are either treated with an insulin receptor (IR) inhibitor, BMS536924, or ciliary function is disrupted through either IFT88 or BBS1 knockdown. Consistently, the attenuation of calcium elevation in ciliated cells is abrogated when cells are either treated with IR inhibitor or when primary cilia are impaired. We further demonstrate that ciliary IR signaling hyperpolarizes the plasma membrane but has no apparent impact on glucose-induced ATP production. Thus, our results argue that primary cilia sensitize insulin receptor signaling and mediate negative feedback in GSIS in pancreatic β cells.
Behavioral, Anatomical and Genetic Convergence of Affect and Cognition in Superior Frontal Cortex
Authors: Kraljević Nevena , Lina Schaare H. , Eickhoff Simon B. , Kochunov Peter , Thomas Yeo B.T. , Masouleh Shahrzad Kharabian , Valk Sofie L.
Published: December 2020

Affective experience and cognitive abilities are key human traits that are interrelated in behavior and brain. Individual variation of affective and cognitive traits, as well as brain structure, has been shown to partly underlie genetic effects. However, to what extent affect and cognition have a shared genetic relationship with local brain structure is incompletely understood. Here we studied phenotypic and genetic correlations of cognitive and affective traits in behavior and brain structure (cortical thickness, surface area and subcortical volumes) in the twin-based Human Connectome Project sample (N = 1091). Both affective and cognitive trait scores were highly heritable and showed significant phenotypic correlation on the behavioral level. Cortical thickness in the left superior frontal cortex showed a phenotypic association with both affect and cognition, which was driven by shared genetic effects. Quantitative functional decoding of this region yielded associations with cognitive and emotional functioning. This study provides a multi-level approach to study the association between affect and cognition and suggests a convergence of both in superior frontal cortical thickness.
Language extinction triggers the loss of unique medicinal knowledge
Authors: Cámara-Leret Rodrigo , Bascompte Jordi
Published: December 2020

There are nearly 7,400 languages in the world and over 30% of these will no longer be spoken by the end of the century1. So far, however, our understanding of whether language extinction may result in the loss of linguistically-unique knowledge remains limited. Here, we ask to what degree indigenous knowledge of medicinal plants is associated to individual languages and quantify how much indigenous knowledge may vanish as languages and plants go extinct. Focussing on three independent re-gions that have a high biocultural diversity —North America, northwest Amazonia, and New Guinea—we show that >75% of all 12,495 medicinal plant services are linguistically-unique, i.e., only known to one language. Whereas most plant species associated with linguistically-unique knowledge are not threatened, most languages that report linguistically-unique knowledge are. Our finding of high uniqueness in indigenous knowledge and strong coupling with threatened languages suggests that language loss will be even more critical to the extinction of medicinal knowledge than biodiversity loss.
Managing Talent at Lupin Limited(A)
Authors: Sharda Kirti
Published: December 2020

The HR President of Lupin and the Head of Learning and Development, were looking with satisfaction at the latest attrition figures. The annualized attrition rate for managers had been showing a steady decline, and was pegged at 1% for the first quarter of 2010–11, much lower than the industry average of 35%1. It had been a long, arduous journey and figures were looking decent for now. However, the HR President knew that this was just the beginning. With competition intensifying in the industry, the war for talent was going to heat up further. He wondered how they were going to manage talent in an industry which was fast-growing, insular and obsessed with domain knowledge.
CSIR-Tech Private Limited: Facilitating Lab to Market Journeys
Authors: Gupta Vishal , Premapuri Priyanka
Published: December 2020

It was January 20, 2015. Sitting in his office situated in the lush green campus of National Chemical Laboratory (NCL), a constituent R&D laboratory of the Council for Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR) India, Pune, Amitabh Shrivastava, CEO and Executive Director, CSIR-Tech Private Limited (CTPL), looked at the presentation he had made to the representatives from development institutions, banks, Indian arm of global MNCs, and corporates for raising a venture fund to invest in Indian scientific start-ups. His efforts had led to the formation of a corpus of INR 50 croresa, known as the India Science Venture Fund (ISVF) to help in the creation of spin-offs in areas of science and technology by providing seed money and start-up grants.
Ultron: Managing Warehouse Space and Product Obsolescence
Authors: Roy Debjit , Pratap Mayank , Raj H Premm
Published: December 2020

Several white goods companies are grappling with issues such as short product life-cycle and high item obsolescence rates. This case analyzes several strategies to overcome item obsolescence, standardize put-away and picking operations and overcome challenges with low picker efficiency at white-goods warehouses.
Adani Power Limited (A): Renegotiating Long-term Electricity Contracts
Authors: Pandey Ajay
Published: December 2020

Adani Power Limited (A) is the first case in a series of cases on the attempts by the firm to wriggle out of negative consequences of long-term fixed price power purchase agreements it had entered into. The firm wanted to terminate the agreement on the ground that its bid was based on coal allocation by another Government owned entity. This case describes as to how the firm was unable to get the contract terminated due to regulatory interventions. The case also raises public policy issues including the robustness of guidelines for procurement of power.
OCTO SCM: optimizing iron ore supply chain exports
Authors: Amonkar Raj V , Sengupta Tuhin , Patnaik Debasis
Published: December 2020

Learning outcomes

The learning outcomes are to remember the overall context of global supply chain management from a stakeholder perspective, to understand the context of material handling movement in a mining industry, to apply the overall knowledge of linear programming in a supply chain context, to analyze the different constraints with flow of goods at different nodes in various location hubs and convert the same into the optimization problem and to evaluate carefully the different costs associated at different levels and then finding the optimal solution that minimizes the total cost.

Case overview/synopsis

This case proposes a mixed integer multi-echelon analytical model integrated with the scenario tree analysis. The integrated model is used to optimize the allocation of volumes at various stages of the supply chain of exporters of bulk materials like iron ore from Goa, India, to various countries in Asia. The scenario tree analysis is then used to evaluate decisions under certainty with demand as the stochastic parameter. The proposed integrated model has potential for collaboration in the supply chain and facilitating network design, inventory and transportation planning and policy analysis.

Complexity academic level

This course is suitable at the MBA level for the following courses: Operations Research (Focus/Session: Applications on Supply Chain Management), Supply Chain Management (Focus/Session: Global Supply Chain Management, Logistics Planning, Distribution Network), Logistics Management (Focus/Session: Transportation Planning) nd Operations Strategy (Focus/Session: Location Node Strategy).

Supplementary materials

Teaching Notes are available for educators only.

Subject code

CSS 9: Operations and Logistics.
Kaarvan Crafts Foundation: embracing digital literacy for women empowerment
Authors: Irfan Tooba , Salam Muhammad Talha
Published: December 2020

Learning outcomes

The learning outcomes are as follows: educate the students about the challenges in the development sector in general and in work of organizations working for women empowerment in particular; understand the overall concept of women empowerment vis-à-vis social entrepreneurship; explain the importance of technology in entrepreneurship, social entrepreneurship and development sector especially in marginalized communities in developing countries; and learn operational-level resource management in a resource-constrained setting of a non-profit sector.

Case overview/synopsis

Kaarvan Crafts Foundation (referred to as Kaarvan henceforth) worked for women empowerment in Pakistan with a focus on creating economic opportunities for rural women entrepreneurs. The case shares different initiatives by Kaarvan for creating opportunities for economic empowerment of rural women entrepreneurs. The main focus of the case is a program “Digitize to Equalize” in which Kaarvan offered digital literacy training to rural women entrepreneurs. The program involved developing an ecommerce platform where rural women entrepreneurs could sell their handicrafts and other products. A comprehensive training activity was designed as part of the program to facilitate trainees to sell their products on a purpose-built website. The training covered different activities ranging from using smartphones, basic product photography to order handling. Even in the initial phase, the challenges were somewhat unexpected for the team as they grappled with diversity of learning among the trainees. Few trainee women were able to learn the skills quickly and requested their trainers from Kaarvan to train them on widely popular skills of social media marketing. At the same time, other trainees were struggling with basic skills and needed more time to get basics right. Because the program had limited resources, Kaarvan’s management found themselves in a fix. The mission-oriented organization wanted to ensure the best possible opportunities for the trainees but the resources did not permit to create separate cohorts for different training areas.

Complexity academic level

In terms of complexity, this case study is suited for business students enrolled in senior undergraduate, graduate programs and executive MBA programs.

Supplementary materials

Teaching Notes are available for educators only.

Subject code

CSS 7: Management Science.
It’s something that you should go to HR about' – banter, social interactions and career barriers for women in the advertising industry in England
Authors: Topić Martina
Published: December 2020

Purpose

This paper uses a Difference Approach and Bourdieu's habitus theory to analyse the experiences of women working in the advertising industry with a particular focus on employee relations such as social interactions in advertising offices, banter and career barriers.

Design/methodology/approach

Thirty-eight qualitative interviews were conducted with women from the advertising industry in England, exploring both the employee and managerial perspectives on social interactions. Women were asked about their office culture, including networking expectations, dress code, banter, social interactions and potential career barriers such as exclusion from business decisions and having to work harder to succeed. Thematic analysis has been used to analyse data.

Findings

Thematic analysis revealed two themes, patriarchal culture in advertising offices and gendered social interactions and banter. Women believe they are excluded from business decisions and perceive career barriers in office culture grounded in masculine banter and masculine social interactions. Similar themes emerged regardless of women's length of experience or role within the organisation suggesting a problem with the masculine work culture in the advertising industry in England. Besides, women tend to prefer different social interactions to men, but find masculine interactions domineering advertising offices.

Practical implications

Employers should consider implementing new internal policies on communication and behaviour in offices to create a more inclusive and respectful culture. More consciousness-raising is needed to make women aware that inequality is more than just a pay gap and glass ceiling, but also the structure of the organisation and the office culture.

Social implications

The paper contributes towards a better understanding of the impact of social interactions in the office on the work culture with a case study from the advertising industry. The paper points towards differences in communication and social interactions between men and women and the fact the masculine form of social interactions and banter dominate advertising offices.

Originality/value

To the best of author's knowledge, this is the first paper tackling office culture in the advertising industry in England using the Difference Approach and Bourdieu's habitus theory.
Homoclinic breather waves, rouge waves and multi-soliton waves for a (2+1)-dimensional Mel’nikov equation
Authors: Liu Na
Published: December 2020

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to study the homoclinic breather waves, rogue waves and multi-soliton waves of the (2 + 1)-dimensional Mel’nikov equation, which describes an interaction of long waves with short wave packets.

Design/methodology/approach

The author applies the Hirota’s bilinear method, extended homoclinic test approach and parameter limit method to construct the homoclinic breather waves and rogue waves of the (2 + 1)-dimensional Mel’nikov equation. Moreover, multi-soliton waves are constructed by using the three-wave method.

Findings

The results imply that the (2 + 1)-dimensional Mel’nikov equation has breather waves, rogue waves and multi-soliton waves. Moreover, the dynamic properties of such solutions are displayed vividly by figures.

Research limitations/implications

This paper presents efficient methods to find breather waves, rogue waves and multi-soliton waves for nonlinear evolution equations.

Originality/value

The outcome suggests that the extreme behavior of the homoclinic breather waves yields the rogue waves. Moreover, the multi-soliton waves are constructed, including the new breather two-solitary and two-soliton solutions. Meanwhile, the dynamics of these solutions will greatly enrich the diversity of the dynamics of the (2 + 1)-dimensional Mel’nikov equation.
A comparative study on delay-tolerant network routing protocols
Authors: Angulakshmi M. , Deepa M. , Vanitha M. , Mangayarkarasi R. , Nagarajan I.
Published: December 2020

Purpose

In this study, we discuss three DTN routing protocols, these are epidemic, PRoPHET and spray and wait routing protocols. A special simulator will be used; that is opportunistic network environment (ONE) to create a network environment. Spray and wait has highest delivery rate and low latency in most of the cases. Hence, spray and wait have better performance than others. This analysis of the performance of DTN protocols helps the researcher to learn better of these protocols in the different environment.

Design/methodology/approach

Delay-Tolerant Network (DTN) is a network designed to operate effectively over extreme distances, such as those encountered in space communications or on an interplanetary scale. In such an environment, nodes are occasional communication and are available among hubs, and determinations of the next node communications are not confirmed. In such network environment, the packet can be transferred by searching current efficient route available for a particular node. Due to the uncertainty of packet transfer route, DTN is affected by a variety of factors such as packet size, communication cost, node activity, etc.

Findings

Spray and wait have highest delivery rate and low latency in most of the cases. Hence, spray and wait have better performance than others.

Originality/value

The primary goal of the paper is to extend these works in an attempt to offer a better understanding of the behavior of different DTN routing protocols with delivery probability, latency and overhead ratio that depend on various amounts of network parameters such as buffer size, number of nodes, movement ratio, time to live, movement range, transmission range and message generation rate. In this study, we discuss three DTN routing protocols: these are epidemic, PRoPHET and spray and wait routing protocols. A special simulator will be used; that is opportunistic network environment (ONE) to create a network environment. Spray and wait have highest delivery rate and low latency in most of the cases. Hence, spray and wait have better performance than others. This analysis of the performance of DTN protocols helps the researcher to learn better of these protocols in the different environment.
Data-driven impact assessment of multidimensional project complexity on project performance
Authors: Qazi Abroon
Published: December 2020

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to propose a data-driven scheme for identifying critical project complexity dimensions and establishing the trade-off across multiple project performance criteria.

Design/methodology/approach

This paper adopts a hybrid approach using Bayesian Belief Networks (BBNs) and Artificial Neural Networks (ANNs). The output of the ANN model is used as input to the BBN model for prioritizing project complexity dimensions relative to multiple project performance criteria. The proposed process is demonstrated through a real application in the construction industry.

Findings

With a number of nonlinear interactions involved within and across project complexity and performance, it is not feasible to model and assess the strength of these interactions using conventional techniques. The proposed process helps in effectively mapping a “multidimensional complexity” space to a “multidimensional performance” space and makes use of data from past projects for operationalizing this mapping scheme by means of ANNs. This obviates the need for developing a parametric model that is both challenging and computationally cumbersome. The mapping function can be used for generating all possible scenarios required for the development of a data-driven BBN model.

Originality/value

This paper introduces a data-driven process for operationalizing the mapping of project complexity to project performance within a network setting of interacting complexity dimensions and performance criteria. The results of the application study manifest the importance of capturing the interdependency across project complexity and performance. Ignoring the underlying interdependencies and relying exclusively on conventional correlation-based techniques may lead to making suboptimal decisions.
A practical integrated solution into enterprise application: a large-scale quality control system development case study
Authors: Hajipour Vahid , Amouzegar Hamidreza , Jalali Sajjad
Published: December 2020

Purpose

Enterprise resource planning (ERP) offers a streamlined system architecture to feed businesses with beneficial information in the current intense global competition. The primary concern of ERP is how to integrate different functional units to facilitate a unified flow of information. This paper aims at providing a non-trivial practice of integrating the quality control (QC) system into the core ERP processes of a real large-scaled case study.

Design/methodology/approach

To satisfy the purpose of the current study, a large-scale steel making holding, inclusive of 27 business units being dispersed over a wide area, has been targeted. In our research methodology, a sample of four business units is selected as the pilot cases to be investigated at first. The output results of such investigations are further extended to the other units. In light of the investigation, the existing QC working conditions of the pilot cases are assessed through the As-Is model. The To-Be models are derived based on the best practices and the integration scope is then bordered.

Findings

The findings show that the integrated QC solution has enabled the following features: the smooth interconnection between QC and other functional units like purchase and manufacturing, the ease of generating real-time performance report of QC unit, the sack of tracing the quality of any available item in the system and the root-cause of defects, and the straightforwardness of the qualitative assessment of the suppliers.

Research limitations/implications

There is almost no similar practice for designing a large-sized integrated system from scratch in the target region associated with our case study while the off-the-shelf products are prohibitively expensive.

Practical implications

This paper includes implications for providing a standard practice on integrating a substantial module of ERP down to the smallest detail.

Originality/value

The value of the current paper is associated with fulfilling a critical research gap in the context of studying the QC integration into an enterprise solution. In fact, despite the importance of the QC module and its plethora of interconnection with other functional units, the literature review shows a centric lack of considering such integration in a real case study, particularly the large-scale one. Further, this paper works as a valuable study in the literature owing to not only focusing on the design and development of an integrated QC solution but also considering the deployment facet of such a practice.
Collegiate athletics environmental sustainability efforts within STARS reporting
Authors: Pelcher Jamee , McCullough Brian P. , Trendafilova Sylvia
Published: December 2020

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to examine higher education institutions’ participation in association for the advancement of sustainability in higher education’s (AASHE’s) Green Athletics category in the sustainability tracking, assessment and rating system (STARS) sustainability report while assessing how well collegiate athletic departments engage with their respective aspects.

Design/methodology/approach

This general review used quantitative content analysis to determine the number of NCAA Divisions I–III institutions that actively report Green Athletics categories in their AASHE STARS reports. The data collection process compiled current reports from the STARS website and the National Collegiate Athletic Association database. Green Athletics categorical and accumulated point attempts and outcomes were analyzed.

Findings

Of the 335 institutions that actively use the STARS reporting tool, the NCAA accounted for 247 rated institutions of which only 50 attempted points in Green Athletics while only 21 institutions succeeded. This paper discusses the lack of participation from institutions in Green Athletics and propose an alternate to better engage collegiate athletics in STARS reporting.

Originality/value

This study is one of the first known examinations of the tangible results of collaborations on college campuses to integrate the athletic department’s sustainability efforts into the overall sustainability reporting of the institution. This study can better inform STARS on how to more fully engage college athletic departments and boost the sustainability efforts in all corners of campus.
Assessing the unmet need for modern contraceptives among reproductive-aged women in rural Nepal
Authors: Chand Samyukta , Chamroonsawasdi Kanittha , Vatanasomboon Paranee , Chansatitporn Natkamol
Published: December 2020

Purpose

The purpose of this research was to determine the extent of the unmet need for modern contraceptives (MC) and its associated factors.

Design/methodology/approach

This community-based cross-sectional survey was conducted via interview among 306 women. Percentages, means, standard deviations, Chi-square tests and multiple logistic regression were completed for data analysis.

Findings

In total, 46.7% of respondents had total unmet need (24.8% spacing and 21.9% limiting). Multiple logistic regression for spacing showed the number of living children (AOR = 40.893, 95% CI = 6.930–241.292), no previous experience of MC (AOR = 30.149, 95% CI = 11.572–78.548) and level of knowledge (AOR = 5.587, 95% CI = 1.366–22.851). With regard to limiting pregnancies, respondent's age (AOR = 12.470, 95% CI = 1.264–86.734), number of living children (AOR = 21.257, 95% CI = 4.825–93.639) and no previous experience of MC (AOR = 120.542, 95% CI = 31.044–486.062) were recorded. Findings revealed that no previous experience of MC (AOR = 714.511, 95% CI = 160.646–3177.955) was a significant predictor of total unmet need.

Originality/value

Experience and knowledge of MC play a vital role in the unmet need of MC use. A comprehensive education program to promote decision-making on MC choice and integrated family planning services at local communities by capacity building of service providers should be scaled up.