bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Safety of Propofol Used as a Rescue Agent During Colonoscopy
Authors: Okeke Francis C. , Shaw Spencer , Hunt Kristel K. , Korsten Mark A. , Rosman Alan S.
Published: November 2015

Goal:

The goal of this study was to evaluate the safety of propofol when used by gastroenterologists in patients who have an inadequate response to standard sedation (narcotics and benzodiazepines).

Background:

Many patients fail to achieve adequate sedation from narcotics and benzodiazepines during colonoscopy. The administration of propofol for colonoscopy is increasing, although its use by gastroenterologists is controversial.

Study:

We performed a retrospective review of our hospital’s colonoscopy records from January 2006 to December 2009 to identify 403 subjects undergoing screening colonoscopies who required propofol (20 to 30 mg every 3 min as needed) because of inadequate response to standard sedation. We also randomly selected 403 controls undergoing screening colonoscopies from the same time period that only required standard sedation. The incidence of adverse effects was then compared.

Results:

There were no major adverse events in either group. The rates of minor adverse events in the propofol and control group were 0.02 and 0.01, respectively (P=0.56). Adverse effects in the propofol group included: transient hypotension (n=1), nausea/vomiting (n=3), agitation (n=2), and rash (n=1). Adverse effects seen with standard sedation included: transient hypotension (n=2), nausea/vomiting (n=1), and oversedation (n=2). Patients who received propofol were more likely to be younger, had a history of illicit drug use, and a longer procedure time (P<0.05).

Conclusions:

Adjunctive propofol administered by gastroenterologist for conscious sedation was not associated with increased incidence of adverse events. It may be of value in patients who do not respond to conventional sedation.
Centralizing content and distributing labor: a community model for curating the very long tail of microbial genomes
Authors: Putman Tim , Burgstaller Sebastian , Waagmeester Andra , Wu Chunlei , Su Andrew I. , Good Benjamin M.
Published: November 2015

The last 20 years of advancement in DNA sequencing technologies have led to the sequencing of thousands of microbial genomes, creating mountains of genetic data. While our efficiency in generating the data improves almost daily, applying meaningful relationships between the taxonomic and genetic entities requires a new approach. Currently, the knowledge is distributed across a fragmented landscape of resources from government-funded institutions such as NCBI and Uniprot to topic-focused databases like the ODB3 database of prokaryotic operons, to the supplemental table of a primary publication. A major drawback to large scale, expert curated databases is the expense of maintaining and extending them over time. No entity apart from a major institution with stable long-term funding can consider this, and their scope is limited considering the magnitude of microbial data being generated daily. Wikidata is an, openly editable, semantic web compatible framework for knowledge representation. It’s a project of the Wikimedia Foundation and offers knowledge integration capabilities ideally suited to the challenge of representing the exploding body of information about microbial genomics. We are developing a microbial specific data model, based on Wikidata’s semantic web compatibility, that represents bacterial species, strains and the gene and gene products that define them. Currently, we have loaded 1736 gene items and 1741 protein items for two strains of the human pathogenic bacteriaChlamydia trachomatisand used this subset of data as an example of the empowering utility of this model. In our next phase of development we will expand by adding another 118 bacterial genomes and their gene and gene products, totaling over ~900,000 additional entities. This aggregation of knowledge will be a platform for community-driven collaboration, allowing the networking of microbial genetic data through the sharing of knowledge by both the data and domain expert.
Surprisingly weak coordination between leaf structure and function among closely-related tomato species
Authors: Muir Christopher D , Conesa Miquel Ángel , Roldán Emilio , Molins Arántzazu , Galmés Jeroni
Published: November 2015

Natural selection may often favor coordination between different traits, or phenotypic integration, in order to most efficiently acquire and deploy scarce resources. As leaves are the primary photosynthetic organ in plants, many have proposed that leaf physiology, biochemistry, and anatomical structure are coordinated along a functional trait spectrum from fast, resource-acquisitive syndromes to slow, resource-conservative syndromes. However, the coordination hypothesis has rarely been tested at a phylogenetic scale most relevant for understanding rapid adaptation in the recent past or predicting evolutionary trajectories in response to climate change. To that end, we used a common garden to examine genetically-based coordination between leaf traits across 19 wild and cultivated tomato taxa. We found surprisingly weak integration between photosynthetic rate, leaf structure, biochemical capacity, and CO2 diffusion, even though all were arrayed in the predicted direction along a 'fast-slow' spectrum. This suggests considerable scope for unique trait combinations to evolve in response to new environments or in crop breeding. In particular, we find that partially independent variation in stomatal and mesophyll conductance may allow a plant to improve water-use efficiency without necessarily sacrificing maximum photosynthetic rates. Our study does not imply that functional trait spectra or tradeoffs are unimportant, but that the many important axes of variation within a taxonomic group may be unique and not generalizable to other taxa.
Maternal expression of the novel centrosome assembly factor Wdr8 is required for vertebrate embryonic mitosis and development
Authors: Inoue Daigo , Stemmer Manuel , Thumberger Thomas , Wittbrodt Joachim , Gruss Oliver J.
Published: November 2015

The assembly of the first centrosome occurs upon fertilisation when the male centrioles recruit pericentriolar material (PCM) from the egg cytoplasm. While inaccuracy in the assembly of centrosomes leads to infertility and abnormal embryogenesis, the mechanism that ensures accurate assembly in vertebrate embryos remains obscure. Here we applied a CRISPR-Cas9-mediated gene knockout to show that Wdr8, a novel centrosomal protein, is maternally essential for PCM assembly during embryonic mitoses of medaka (Oryzias latipes). Maternal/zygotic Wdr8-null (Wdr8−/−) blastomeres exhibit severe defects in PCM assembly that cause them to divide asymmetrically and develop multipolar mitotic spindles and aneuploidy. We demonstrate that Wdr8 interacts via its WD40 domains with the centriolar satellite protein SSX2IP. Strikingly, exogenously provided Wdr8 fully rescues Wdr8−/−embryos to adulthood, except in variants with mutations in the WD40 domains. This combination of targeted gene inactivation andin vivoreconstitution of the maternally essential Wdr8-SSX2IP complex reveals an essential link between maternal PCM and the stability of the zygotic genome in the early vertebrate embryo.
Environmental unpredictability and inbreeding depression select for mixed dispersal syndromes
Authors: Hidalgo Jorge , de Casas Rafael Rubio , Muñoz Miguel Á.
Published: November 2015

Background:Mixed dispersal syndromes have historically been regarded as bet-hedging mechanisms that enhance survival in unpredictable environments, ensuring that some propagules stay in the maternal environment while others can potentially colonize new sites. However, this entails paying the costs of both dispersal and non-dispersal. Propagules that disperse are likely to encounter unfavorable conditions for establishment, while non-dispersing propagules might form populations of close relatives burdened with inbreeding. Here, we investigate the conditions under which mixed dispersal syndromes emerge and are evolutionarily stable, taking into account the risks of both environmental unpredictability and inbreeding.

Results:Using mathematical and computational modeling we show that high dispersal propensity is favored whenever temporal environmental unpredictability is low and inbreeding depression high, whereas mixed dispersal syndromes are adaptive under conditions of high environmental unpredictability, but more particularly if also inbreeding depression is small. Although pure dispersers can be selected for under some circumstances, mixed dispersal provides the optimal strategy under most parameterizations of our models, indicating that this strategy is likely to be favored under a wide variety of conditions. Furthermore, populations exhibiting any single phenotype go inevitably extinct when environmental and genetic costs are high, whilst mixed strategies can maintain viable populations even under such conditions.

Conclusions:Our models support the hypothesis that the interplay between inbreeding depression and environmental unpredictability shapes dispersal syndromes, often resulting in mixed strategies. Moreover, mixed dispersal seems to facilitate persistence whenever conditions are critical or nearly critical for survival.
Rising out of the ashes: additive genetic variation for susceptibility toHymenoscyphus fraxineusinFraxinus excelsior
Authors: Muñoz F. , Marçais B. , Dufour J. , Dowkiw A.
Published: November 2015

Since the early 1990s, ash dieback due to the invasive ascomyceteHymenoscyphus fraxineusis threateningFraxinus excelsiorin most of its natural range. Previous studies reported significant levels of genetic variability for susceptibility inF. excelsioreither in field or inoculation experiments. The present study was based on a field experiment planted in 1995, fifteen years before onset of the disease. Crown and collar status were monitored on 788 trees from 23 open-pollinated progenies originating from 3 French provenances. Susceptibility was modeled using a Bayesian approach where spatio-temporal effects were explicitly taken into account. Moderate narrow-sense heritability was found for Crown Dieback (CD, h2=0.42). This study is first to show that Collar Lesions are also heritable (h2=0.49 for prevalence and h2=0.42 for severity) and that there is significant genetic correlation (r=0.40) between the severities of both symptoms. There was no evidence for differences between Provenances. Family effects were detected, but computing Individual Breeding Values (IBV) showed that most of the genetic variation lies within families. In agreement with previous reports, early flushing correlates with better crown status. Consequences of these results in terms of management and breeding are discussed.
Characterization of expression quantitative trait loci in extensively phenotyped pedigrees ascertained for bipolar disorder
Authors: Peterson C. , Service S. , Jasinska A. , Gao F. , Zelaya I. , Teshiba T. , Bearden C. , Reus V. , Macaya G. , López-Jaramillo C. , Bogomolov M. , Benjamini Y. , Eskin E. , Coppola G. , Freimer N. , Sabatti C.
Published: November 2015

The observation that variants regulating gene expression (expression quantitative trait loci, eQTL) are at a high frequency among SNPs associated with complex traits has made the genome-wide characterization of gene expression an important tool in genetic mapping studies of such traits. As part of a study to identify genetic loci contributing to bipolar disorder and a wide range of BP-related quantitative traits in members of 26 pedigrees from Costa Rica and Colombia, we measured gene expression in lymphoblastoid cell lines derived from 786 pedigree members. The study design enabled us to comprehensively reconstruct the genetic regulatory network in these families, provide estimates of heritability, identify eQTL, evaluate missing heritability for the eQTL, and quantify the number of different alleles contributing to any given locus.
Species sorting along a subsidy gradient alters community stability
Authors: Mucarella Mario E. , Jones Stuart E. , Lennon Jay T.
Published: November 2015

The movement of resources between terrestrial and aquatic habitats has strong effects on ecological processes in recipient ecosystems. Allochthonous inputs modify the quality and quantity of the available resource pool in ways that may alter the composition and stability of recipient communities. Inputs of terrestrial dissolved organic carbon (tDOC) into aquatic ecosystems represent a large influx of resources that has the potential to affect local communities, especially microorganisms. To evaluate the effects terrestrial inputs on aquatic microbial community composition and stability, we manipulated the supply rate of tDOC to a set of experimental ponds. Along the tDOC supply gradient, we measured changes in diversity and taxon-specific changes in abundance and activity. We then determined community stability by perturbing each pond using a pulse of inorganic nutrients and measuring changes in composition and activity (i.e., responsiveness) along the gradient. Terrestrial DOC supply significantly altered the composition of the active microbial community. The composition of the active bacterial community changed via decreases in richness and evenness as well as taxon-specific changes in abundance and activity indicating species sorting along the gradient. Likewise, the responsiveness of the active bacterial community decreased along the gradient, which led to a more stable active community. We did not, however, observe these changes in diversity and stability in the total community (i.e., active and inactive organisms), which suggests that tDOC supply modifies microbial community stability through functional not structural changes. Together, these results show that altered aquatic terrestrial linkages can have profound effects on the activity and stability of the base of the food web and thus can alter ecosystem functioning.
Are all global alignment algorithms and implementations correct?
Authors: Flouri Tomáš , Kobert Kassian , Rognes Torbjørn , Stamatakis Alexandros
Published: November 2015

Pairwise sequence alignment is perhaps the most fundamental bioinformatics operation. An optimal global alignment algorithm was described in 1970 by Needleman and Wunsch. In 1982 Gotoh presented an improved algorithm with lower time complexity. Gotoh’s algorithm is frequently cited (1447 citations, Google Scholar, May 2015), taught and, most importantly, used as well as implemented. While implementing the algorithm, we discovered two mathematical mistakes in Gotoh’s paper that induce sub-optimal sequence alignments. First, there are minor indexing mistakes in the dynamic programming algorithm which become apparent immediately when implementing the procedure. Hence, we report on these for the sake of completeness. Second, there is a more profound problem with the dynamic programming matrix initialization. This initialization issue can easily be missed and find its way into actual implementations. This error is also present in standard text books. Namely, the widely used books by Gusfield and Waterman. To obtain an initial estimate of the extent to which this error has been propagated, we scrutinized freely available undergraduate lecture slides. We found that 8 out of 31 lecture slides contained the mistake, while 16 out of 31 simply omit parts of the initialization, thus giving an incomplete description of the algorithm. Finally, by inspecting ten source codes and running respective tests, we found that five implementations were incorrect. Note that, not all bugs we identified are due to the mistake in Gotoh’s paper. Three implementations rely on additional constraints that limit generality. Thus, only two out of ten yield correct results. We show that the error introduced by Gotoh is straightforward to resolve and provide a correct open-source reference implementation. We do believe though, that raising the awareness about these errors is critical, since the impact of incorrect pairwise sequence alignments that typically represent one of the very first stages in any bioinformatics data analysis pipeline can have a detrimental impact on downstream analyses such as multiple sequence alignment, orthology assignment, phylogenetic analyses, divergence time estimates, etc.
Human knockouts in a cohort with a high rate of consanguinity
Authors: Saleheen Danesh , Natarajan Pradeep , Zhao Wei , Rasheed Asif , Khetarpal Sumeet , Won Hong-Hee , Karczewski Konrad J , ODonnell-Luria Anne H , Samocha Kaitlin E , Gupta Namrata , Zaidi Mozzam , Samuel Maria , Imran Atif , Abbas Shahid , Majeed Faisal , Ishaq Madiha , Akhtar Saba , Trindade Kevin , Mucksavage Megan , Qamar Nadeem , Zaman Khan S , Yaqoob Zia , Saghir Tahir , Rizvi Syed NH , Memon Anis , Mallick Nadeem H , Ishaq Mohammad , Rasheed Syed Z , Memon Fazal ur Rehman , Mahmood Khalid , Ahmed Naveeduddin , Do Ron , MacArthur Daniel G , Gabriel Stacey , Lander Eric S , Daly Mark J , Frossard Philippe , Danesh John , Rader Daniel J , Kathiresan Sekar
Published: November 2015

A major goal of biomedicine is to understand the function of every gene in the human genome. Null mutations can disrupt both copies of a given gene in humans and phenotypic analysis of such 'human knockouts' can provide insight into gene function. To date, comprehensive analysis of genes knocked out in humans has been limited by the fact that null mutations are infrequent in the general population and so, observing an individual homozygous null for a given gene is exceedingly rare. However, consanguineous unions are more likely to result in offspring who carry homozygous null mutations. In Pakistan, consanguinity rates are notably high. Here, we sequenced the protein-coding regions of 7,078 adult participants living in Pakistan and performed phenotypic analysis to identify homozygous null individuals and to understand consequences of complete gene disruption in humans. We enumerated 36,850 rare (<1 % minor allele frequency) null mutations. These homozygous null mutations led to complete inactivation of 961 genes in at least one participant. Homozygosity for null mutations at APOC3 was associated with absent plasma apolipoprotein C-III levels; at PLAG27, with absent enzymatic activity of soluble lipoprotein-associated phospholipase A2; at CYP2F1, with higher plasma interleukin-8 concentrations; and at either A3GALT2 or NRG4, with markedly reduced plasma insulin C-peptide concentrations. After physiologic challenge with oral fat, APOC3 knockouts displayed marked blunting of the usual post-prandial rise in plasma triglycerides compared to wild-type family members. These observations provide a roadmap to understand the consequences of complete disruption of a large fraction of genes in the human genome.
Overview: Modeling Heterogeneous Tumor Tissue as a Multiphase Material
Authors: Frieboes Hermann B.
Published: November 2015

Tumors are typically heterogeneous tissues comprised of multiple cell species in addition to extra-cellular matrix (ECM) and water fluid. It is difficult to model these components at the tissue (10−3–10−2m) scale, where individual cells cannot be represented without prohibitive computational burden. Assuming that same-kind components tend to cluster together, a multiphase approach can be applied to represent heterogeneous tumor tissue at this larger physical scale. This method enables simulating mixture of elements within tissues, e.g., geno-/phenotypic heterogeneity underlying mutation- or microenvironment-driven tumor progression. Further, by not explicitly tracking interfaces, this methodology facilitates realistic modeling of tissue in 3-D.
Connecting Boolean Integrase Logic gates to a novel alkane control signal via engineered level matching
Authors: Folliard Thomas , Bonnet Jerome , Ward John , Baganz Frank , Grant Chris , Endy Drew
Published: November 2015

Boolean Integrase Logic gates use phage integrases that respond to transcriptional signals to implement logical functions within living cells via DNA recombination. Control of biological systems using these logic gates has many applications, including biomanufacturing, healthcare, or environmental remediation. Gates are highly sensitive to background transcriptional noise producing unwanted integrase expression and uncontrolled, permanent gate switching. Consequently, connecting gates to novel control signals requires time-consuming directed evolution of regions regulating integrase expression. Here we present an approach in which the activity of an alkane biosensor is tuned to match levels of existing integrase control signals. By adjusting AlkS expression, we tuned the transcriptional output ofPalkbto match the output of existing integrase controllers. We successfully connectedPalkbto two integrases with different transcriptional control requirements and demonstrated the original logic function was conserved. Our method complements directed evolution approaches to connect Boolean integrate logic gates to novel transcriptional sources and will ultimately facilitate the systematicin silicodesign of gates responding to various control signals.
Advanced electron crystallography through model-based imaging
Authors: Van Aert Sandra , De Backer Annick , Martinez Gerardo T. , den Dekker Arnold J. , Van Dyck Dirk , Bals Sara , Van Tendeloo Gustaaf
Published: November 2015

The increasing need for precise determination of the atomic arrangement of non-periodic structures in materials design and the control of nanostructures explains the growing interest in quantitative transmission electron microscopy. The aim is to extract precise and accurate numbers for unknown structure parameters including atomic positions, chemical concentrations and atomic numbers. For this purpose, statistical parameter estimation theory has been shown to provide reliable results. In this theory, observations are considered purely as data planes, from which structure parameters have to be determined using a parametric model describing the images. As such, the positions of atom columns can be measured with a precision of the order of a few picometres, even though the resolution of the electron microscope is still one or two orders of magnitude larger. Moreover, small differences in average atomic number, which cannot be distinguished visually, can be quantified using high-angle annular dark-field scanning transmission electron microscopy images. In addition, this theory allows one to measure compositional changes at interfaces, to count atoms with single-atom sensitivity, and to reconstruct atomic structures in three dimensions. This feature article brings the reader up to date, summarizing the underlying theory and highlighting some of the recent applications of quantitative model-based transmisson electron microscopy.
Crystal structure of 1-(1-methyl-1H-imidazol-2-yl)-4-phenyl-1H-1,2,3-triazole dihydrate
Authors: Haslinger Simone , Laus Gerhard , Wurst Klaus , Schottenberger Herwig
Published: November 2015

The title compound, C12H11N5·2H2O, which crystallizes as a dihydrate, was obtained by CuI-catalysed azide–alkyne cycloaddition from 2-azido-1-methylimidazole and phenylethyne. The dihedral angles between the central triazole ring (r.m.s. deviation = 0.004 Å) and the pendant imidazole (r.m.s. deviation = 0.006 Å) and phenyl rings are 12.3 (2) and 2.54 (19)°, respectively. In the crystal, the water molecules are connected into [010] chains by O—H...O hydrogen bonds, while O—H...N hydrogen bonds connect the water molecules to the organic molecules, generating corrugated (100) sheets.
Crystal structure of dichloridobis(1,3-diazinane-2-thione-κS)cadmium
Authors: Naz Ghazala , Tahir Muhammad Nawaz , Ahmad Saeed , Isab Anvarhusein A. , Fettouhi Mohammed
Published: November 2015

In the structure of the title compound, [CdCl2(C4H8N2S)2], the CdIIatom is coordinated by two chloride ions and two 1,3-diazinane-2-thione (Diaz) molecules through their S atoms. The geometry around the CdIIatom is distorted tetrahedral, with bond angles in the range 101.55 (7)–117.91 (8)°. The CH2groups of one Diaz ligand are disordered over two sets of sites with an occupancy ratio of 0.711 (12):0.289 (12). The molecular structure is stabilized by intramolecular N—H...Cl hydrogen-bonding interactions, generating a butterflysynconformation. Intermolecular N—H...Cl and N—H...S interactions lead to the formation of a three-dimensional network structure. The structure has been determined from a crystal twinned by nonmerohedry, by a 180° rotation around the reciprocalcaxis. The twin ratio refined to 0.8866 (6):0.1134 (6).
Crystal structure of (7-fluoro-2-oxo-2H-chromen-4-yl)methyl morpholine-4-carbodithioate
Authors: Anitha B. R. , Gunaseelan A. Thomas , Vinduvahini M. , Kavitha H. D. , Devarajegowda H. C.
Published: November 2015

In the title compound, C15H14FNO3S2, the 2H-chromene ring system is close to being planar (r.m.s. deviation = 0.024 Å) and the morpholine ring adopts a chair conformation. The dihedral angle between the 2H-chromene ring system and the morpholine ring (all atoms) is 88.21 (11)°. In the crystal, inversion dimers linked by pairs of very weak C—H...F hydrogen bonds generateR22(8) loops; C—H...O hydrogen bonds connect the dimers into [010] chains. Weak aromatic π–π stacking interactions between the pyran rings of the chromene systems [centroid–centroid distance = 3.6940 (16) Å] are also observed.
Crystal structure of nitridobis(trimethylsilanolato)[1,1,1-trimethyl-N-(trimethylsilyl)silanaminato]molybdenum(VI)
Authors: Geng Caiwei , Hao Xiang , Jiao Peng
Published: November 2015

In the title compound, [Mo(C6H18NSi2)(C3H9OSi)2N], the MoVIcation is located on a mirror plane and is coordinated by a nitride anion, a 1,1,1-trimethyl-N-(trimethylsilyl)silanaminate anion and two trimethylsilanolate anions in a distorted tetrahedral geometry; the N atom and two Si atoms of the 1,1,1-trimethyl-N-(trimethylsilyl)silanaminato anionic ligand are also located on the mirror plane. The Mo[triple-bond]N bond length of 1.633 (6) Å is much shorter than the Mo—N single-bond length of 1.934 (7) Å. No hydrogen bonding is observed in the crystal structure.
Crystal structure of 4-[(E)-(4-hydroxybenzylidene)amino]-1,5-dimethyl-2-phenyl-1H-pyrazol-3(2H)-one
Authors: Mague Joel T. , Akkurt Mehmet , Mohamed Shaaban K. , Mohamed Alaa F. , Albayati Mustafa R.
Published: November 2015

The asymmetric unit of the title compound, C18H17N3O2, comprises three independent molecules (1, 2 and 3). In molecule 1, the dihedral angles between the pyrazolone ring and the pendant phenyl and hydroxybenzene rings are 54.43 (6) and 28.72 (6)°, respectively. The corresponding data for molecule 2 are 86.84 (6) and 25.69 (5)°, respectively, and for molecule 3 are 47.41 (7) and 17.09 (7)°, respectively. The three molecules feature an intramolecular C—H...O interaction, which closes anS(6) ring in each case. In the crystal, molecules are linked by O—H...O hydrogen bonds, which generate [100] chains incorporating all three asymmetric molecules. Two weak C—H...O interactions connect three independent molecules to each other along the c-axis direction.
Do recovery experiences moderate the relationship between workload and work-family conflict?
Authors: Molino Monica , Cortese Claudio G. , Bakker Arnold B. , Ghislieri Chiara
Published: November 2015

Purpose

– The purpose of this paper is to investigate the role of four recovery experiences (psychological detachment from work, relaxation, mastery, and control) in preventing work-family conflict (WFC). Specifically, on the basis of WFC and recovery theories the authors hypothesized that workload would be positively related to WFC, and that recovery experiences would moderate this relationship.

Design/methodology/approach

– The research involved 597 Italian employees (on pay-role or self-employed) from different occupational sectors. Participants filled-in an on-line questionnaire. Moderated structural equation modelling were used to test the hypotheses.

Findings

– Results showed a positive relationship of workload with WFC. Regarding the hypothesized interaction effects, the relationship between workload and WFC was particularly strong under condition of low (vs high) psychological detachment, low relaxation, and low control.

Originality/value

– This study highlights the beneficial role of recovery experiences in preventing the spillover of workload to the family domain, showing their moderating effects for the first time. These findings have several implications for both future research and practitioners.
The impact on the psychological contract of differentiating employees into talent pools
Authors: Seopa Noko , Wöcke Albert , Leeds Camilla
Published: November 2015

Purpose

– This research stems from the need by organisations to retain their key talent in the context of the change in the psychological contract manifested from the emergence of boundaryless careers. Many organisations have segmented their workforce to develop talent pools of high potential employees to meet the organisation’s current and future critical skills needs. The purpose of this paper is to investigate the impact of inclusion or exclusion in the talent pool on the psychological contract.

Design/methodology/approach

– The study presents findings from 195 employees from three different organisations, about 50 per cent of whom were in talent pools. Various instruments in the literature were used to measure the psychological contract and the other constructs of organisational citizenship behaviour, trust and turnover intention of employees in the talent pools in comparison to those not in talent pools.

Findings

– The study shows that being part of the talent pool has a positive impact on the relational psychological contract and organisational commitment but does not necessarily translate into trust and the intention to stay with organisations.

Research limitations/implications

– The study was conducted in three large firms with well-developed and entrenched talent management strategies. The results may be different in firms with less formal talent management strategies or those firms that do not use talent pools. Despite these limitations, the study is valuable in showing the differences in relationships between employees recognised as more important and those not recognised in the same way.

Practical implications

– Talent strategy should not ignore employees not in talent pools as they have shown that they display an aspiration to build long-term relationships with their employers and could represent a future source of potential. It is recommended that organisations should continue to segment their workforce to determine who should form part of the talent pool.

Social implications

– The results indicate the high complexity in understanding contemporary employment relationships and could be closely related to the previous findings on trust. Despite being identified as potential employees for development into linchpin and pivotal positions in their organisation, these employees were no different to employees not in talent pools when it came to trust and the intention to leave their organisation.

Originality/value

– Employees in talent pools and those not in talent pools were similar in their intention to leave their organisations in circumstances where their expectations were not met. This finding is contrary to the expectation and indicates that relational psychological contracts do not have a moderating impact on the intention to leave where expectations are not met.
Brand experimental value versus brand functional value: which matters more for the brand?
Authors: Delgado-Ballester Elena , Fernandez Sabiote Estela
Published: November 2015

Purpose

– The purpose of this study is to analyze the relative higher impact of brand experiential value over brand functional value in generating brand equity, consumer–brand identification and positive word-of-mouth (WOM). It also analyzes whether the impact of these brand values in building brand outcomes depends on consumers’ age.

Design/methodology/approach

– Information was collected from a sample of 332 consumers by personal interviews. Respondents provide information about their consumption experiences with a specific brand from a stated list of 14 experiential and non-experiential brands.

Findings

– Results suggest that the effect of brand experiential value on brand equity and consumer-brand identification was higher than that of brand functional value. By contrast, positive WOM was more influenced by brand functional value. Furthermore, the results also confirm that as consumers age, brand experiential value exhibits a significant higher effect than brand functional value on brand outcomes.

Research limitations/implications

– A potential shortcoming is the common method bias. As far as one questionnaire was used to measure all study constructs, the strength of the causal relationships among constructs may have been inflated.

Practical implications

– For brand managers, the key implications concern on how to effectively allocate brand investment to build stronger brand equity and consumer-brand identification and stimulated positive WOM.

Originality/value

– Despite the greater importance that the experiential perspective is gaining in the brand literature and the voices proclaiming that experiential value will matter most, this is the first empirical research paper that analyzes that the relative superiority of experiential value over functional value depends on the brand outcomes pursued and consumers’ age.
Deconstructing consumer discipline
Authors: Cronin James Martin , McCarthy Mary , Delaney Mary
Published: November 2015

Purpose

– The purpose of this paper is to build an understanding of what we term “consumer discipline” by unpacking the practices and strategies by which people manage and exert control over what they consume. This is facilitated by looking at the context of food, an everyday necessity imbued with sizeable importance in terms of its impact on personal well-being, and how it is experienced by individuals who must manage the constraints of a chronic illness.

Design/methodology/approach

– Drawing on the Foucauldian concept of governmentality and theories surrounding the social facilitation of self-management, this paper analyses interviews with 17 consumers diagnosed with diabetes or coronary heart disease.

Findings

– By exploring how the chronically ill generate different strategies in managing what they eat and how they think about it, this paper outlines four analytical areas to continue the discussion of how consumption is disciplined and its conceptualisation in marketing and health-related research: “the Individual”, “the Other”, “the Market” and “the Object”.

Practical implications

– The results signal to policymakers the aspects of health promotion that can be enhanced to improve self-management amongst consumers in the pursuit of well-being.

Originality/value

– This paper makes two contributions: it conceptualises consumer discipline as a practice that involves self-control but also comprises the capabilities to self-manage one’s identity and relationships through leveraging personal and social strategies across various contexts; and it identifies macro influences such as the market as negotiable powers that can be contested or resisted to help assist in one’s self-management.
When does metric use matter less?
Authors: Mintz Ofer , Currim Imran S.
Published: November 2015

Purpose

– This paper aims to develop a conceptual framework, in an effort toward building a contingent theory of drivers and consequences of managerial metric use in marketing mix decisions, this paper develops a conceptual framework to test whether the relationship between metric use and marketing mix performance is moderated by firm and managerial characteristics.

Design/methodology/approach

– Based on reviews of the marketing, finance, management and accounting literatures, and homophily, firm resource- and decision-maker-based theories and 22 managerial interviews, a conceptual model is proposed. It is tested via generalized least squares – seemingly unrelated regression estimation of 1,287 managerial decisions.

Findings

– Results suggest that the impact of metric use on marketing mix performance is lower in firms which are more market oriented, larger and with worse recent business performance and for marketing and higher-level managers, while organizational involvement has a lesser nuanced effect.

Research limitations/implications

– While much is written on the importance of metric use to improve performance, this work is a first step toward understanding which settings are more difficult than others to accomplish this.

Practical implications

– Results allow identification of several conditional managerial strategies to improve marketing mix performance based on metric use.

Originality/value

– This paper contributes to the metric literature, as prior research has generally focused on the development of metrics or the linking of marketing efforts with performance metrics, but paid little attention to understanding the relationship between managerial metric use and performance of the marketing mix decision and has not considered how the relationship is moderated by firm and managerial characteristics.
Legislators’ perceptions of unaccompanied children seeking asylum
Authors: Hedlund Daniel , Cederborg Ann-Christin
Published: November 2015

Purpose

– The purpose of this paper is to explore how individual legislators perceive unaccompanied minors seeking asylum, their life situation, needs and best interests.

Design/methodology/approach

– The total number of participants were 15. Thematic analysis (Braun and Clarke, 2006) was used in order to identify and analyze patterns in the interview data. The authors focused on their responses to the questions about the best interest of the child in migration policy and practice, and how this principle was related to unaccompanied children seeking asylum.

Findings

– The main finding is that chronological age becomes a key sign for how legislators understand the life situation, needs and best interests of unaccompanied children. Also, the findings from this study suggest that the moralizing welfare ideology of the past is still present in political discourse and social planning, construing unaccompanied minors as an ambivalent category between civilization and savagery. The findings from this study indicate that legislators enact reforms of importance for unaccompanied children without considering them as agents of their own future, with their own motives and reasons to seek asylum.

Practical implications

– The findings from this study indicate a need to adapt the understanding of the existing Aliens Act (SFS 2005:716) to the knowledge that unaccompanied minors need to be assessed on their own terms.

Originality/value

– This study contributes to increasing the understanding about how the subjective values of legislators may have influenced migration reform in Sweden that can be valuable to both legal and social research, as well as policy planners.
Best-value supply chains and firms’ competitive performance: empirical studies of their linkage
Authors: Li Xun , Wu Qun , Holsapple Clyde W.
Published: November 2015

Purpose

– Best-value supply chains characterized by agility, adaptability, and alignment, have become a crucial strategic means for firms to create and sustain competitive advantage in today’s turbulent environment. The purpose of this paper is to investigate linkage between best-value supply chains and firms’ competitive performance.

Design/methodology/approach

– In Study 1, survey data from 76 firms is used to test the impact of the three qualities of best-value supply chains on firms’ competitive performance. In Study 2, to test if a firm’s competitive advantage can be sustained through building best-value supply chains, a long-run performance analysis is conducted, which is based on a stock portfolio of firms identified from the American Marketing Association’s annual list of “Supply Chain Top 25.”

Findings

– The results of Study 1 indicate that the three qualities of best-value supply chains are positively related to firms’ competitive performance. The results of Study 2 show that firms having best-value supply chains generate significant and positive abnormal returns for shareholders over time.

Originality/value

– This is a multiple-method research, providing two-level empirical evidence to the investigation of theoretical linkage between best-value supply chains and firms’ competitive performance.
The assurance of food safety in supply chains via relational networking
Authors: Schoenherr Tobias , Narasimhan Ram , Bandyopadhyay Piyas (P)
Published: November 2015

Purpose

– Taking a social network perspective, the purpose of this paper is to develop a framework for the assurance of food safety via relational networking.

Design/methodology/approach

– The authors consider both informal and formal relational networking, and explore a firm’s learning orientation, risk aversion and consumer pressure as potential precursors to such relational networking. It is further hypothesized that relational networking generates both industry and supply chain knowledge, which is suggested to be beneficial for contamination detection. The model is tested with survey data collected among food-producing firms in India, the world’s second largest food producer.

Findings

– The authors find a positive influence of consumer pressure on both a firm’s learning orientation and risk aversion, which in turn affect both informal and formal relational networking. Informal networking further generated industry knowledge and was beneficial for contamination detection. Formal relational networking influenced supply chain knowledge, which in turn enabled contamination detection.

Originality/value

– Recent food product-related safety breaches, which have, in the worst case, led to fatalities, illustrate the importance of food safety in supply chains. This study represents the first systematic investigation of relational networking in the context of food safety from the perspective of social network theory.
Linking network targets and site capabilities
Authors: Thomas Simone , Scherrer-Rathje Maike , Fischl Maria , Friedli Thomas
Published: November 2015

Purpose

– To cope with the increasing challenges of globalisation, various manufacturing companies have established intra-company manufacturing networks. The purpose of this paper is to link the strategic network targets (i.e. accessibility, thriftiness represented by economies of scale and economies of scope, mobility, and learning) with the capabilities and characteristics of the constituting sites of the manufacturing network and thus facilitate the identification of mismatches and the discussion of possible development paths for the network.

Design/methodology/approach

– The authors derive a conceptual framework from the literature which is tested with a single case; a manufacturing network consisting of eight manufacturing sites. Case data were collected based on 24 interviews with operations managers at network level and a standardised online survey among the sites’ management teams.

Findings

– Results indicate that manufacturing network and site levels need to be related when striving for a fit between manufacturing strategy, network strategy, and site capabilities and characteristics.

Research limitations/implications

– Single case studies have only limited generalisability. Nevertheless, the case demonstrates the usefulness of several dimensions when analysing manufacturing networks on site and network level.

Originality/value

– This paper represents the first attempt to link strategic targets of intra-company manufacturing networks with site capabilities and characteristics. Thereby, it provides a theoretical basis for future research on the relationship between strategic targets of manufacturing networks and their fulfilment. The developed manufacturing site portfolio, moreover, extends the site role typology discussion by a multi-dimensional perspective and represents a starting point for a multi-faceted discussion of site roles.
Decision-making towards achieving world-class total productive maintenance
Authors: Piechnicki Ademir Stefano , Sola Antonio Vanderley Herrero , Trojan Flávio
Published: November 2015

Purpose

– World-class total productive maintenance (TPM) status depends on critical success factors (CSF) to be properly implemented. The relevant literature has identified several CSF; however, researchers have not investigated the degree of importance of each phase of the process. The purpose of this paper is to prioritize the CSFs that influence TPM implementation during each phase of the process in order to aid decision making in companies.

Design/methodology/approach

– The main CSF are identified from a literature review. This paper focusses on the judgments of managers who are experts in TPM implementation in companies which have received TPM awards for excellence. The judgments are processed using the analytic hierarchy process (AHP) method. Three aggregation methods (geometric mean, Copeland and fuzzy) are employed for comparative analysis.

Findings

– Although the literature highlights some important CSF, the relevance of these factors is not the same in each phase of TPM implementation. Analysis shows that ranking using the Copeland method is most coherent.

Research limitations/implications

– This research was carried out in some Brazilian companies.

Practical implications

– If managers are aware of the CSF to be prioritized in each phase, this facilitates decision making, resulting in a more effective implementation of TPM.

Social implications

– If TPM implementation is effective, this stimulates the personnel involved and avoids the possibility of the program being abandoned.

Originality/value

– The originality of this paper consists in the proposed model to prioritize CSF during each phase of the implementation of TPM.
The use of performance information in strategic decision making in public organizations
Authors: Abdel-Maksoud Ahmed , Elbanna Said , Mahama Habib , Pollanen Raili
Published: November 2015

Purpose

– The purpose of this paper is to investigate how the importance of different components of strategic performance measurement systems (SPMS) and their deployment influence the use of performance information from the SPMS in making strategic decisions.

Design/methodology/approach

– Data were collected through a survey of 143 managers of Canadian public organizations.

Findings

– The findings indicate that two SPMS components, namely, the importance of non-financial performance measures and the use of operational efficiency measures, have significant positive associations with performance information use for strategy implementation and strategy assessment decisions. The extent to which SPMS models were used is found to be positively associated with performance information use for strategy implementation, but not for strategy assessment, decisions. Furthermore, the relationships between SPMS variables and strategic decision making are moderated by information systems/data limitations and management’s commitment to attaining strategic goals. Managerial skills acquired through training or experience with SPMS also contribute positively to such relationships.

Research limitations/implications

– The results are affected by limitations associated with the survey method used.

Practical implications

– The findings could be useful for supporting public policy, strategic decision making, public service improvement, operational efficiency, and effectiveness.

Originality/value

– The study contributes to public management and performance measurement literature by investigating multiple determinants of performance information use in a cross-section of Canadian public organizations.