bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Human cytomegalovirus microRNAs are carried by virions and dense bodies and are delivered to target cells
Authors: Mohammad Abdul-Aleem , Costa Helena , Landázuri Natalia , Lui Weng-Onn , Hultenby Kjell , Rahbar Afsar , Yaiw Koon-Chu , Söderberg-Nauclér Cecilia
Published: June 2017

Human cytomegalovirus (HCMV) infection results in the production of virions, dense bodies (DBs) and non-infectious enveloped particles, all of which incorporate proteins and RNAs that can be transferred to host cells. Here, we investigated whether virions and DBs also carry microRNAs (miRNAs) and assessed their delivery and functionality in cells. Human lung fibroblasts (MRC-5) were infected with the HCMV strain AD169, and conditioned cell culture medium was collected and centrifuged. The pellets were treated with RNase-ONE, and the virions and DBs were purified with a potassium tartrate–glycerol gradient and dialysed. The virions and DBs were incubated with micrococcal nuclease, DNA and RNA were extracted and then analysed with TaqMan PCR assays, while the proteins were examined with Western blots. To assess the delivery of miRNAs to cells and their functionality, virions and DBs were irradiated with UV light. The purity of the virions and DBs was confirmed by typical morphology, the presence of the structural protein pp65 and the HCMV genome, the ability to infect MRC-5 cells and the absence of the host genome. RNA analysis revealed the presence of 14 HCMV-encoded miRNAs (UL22A-5p, US25-1-5p, UL22A-3p, US5-2-3p, UL112-3p, US25-2-3p, US25-2-5p, US33-3p, US5-1, UL36-5p, US4-5p, UL36-3p, UL70-5p and US25-1-3p), HCMV immediate-early mRNA and long non-coding RNA2.7, moreover, two host-encoded miRNAs (hsa-miR-218-5p and hsa-miR-21-5p) and beta-2-microglobulin RNA. UV-irradiated virions and DBs delivered viral miRNAs (US25-1-5p and UL112-3p) to the host cells, and miR-US25-1-5p was functional in a luciferase reporter assay. We conclude that virions and DBs carry miRNAs that are biologically functional and can be delivered to cells, which may affect cellular processes.
Experimental signal dissection and method sensitivity analyses reaffirm the potential of fossils and morphology in the resolution of the relationship of angiosperms and Gnetales
Authors: Coiro Mario , Chomicki Guillaume , Doyle James A.
Published: June 2017

The placement of angiosperms and Gnetales in seed plant phylogeny remains one of the most enigmatic problems in plant evolution, with morphological analyses (which have usually included fossils) and molecular analyses pointing to very distinct topologies. Almost all morphology-based phylogenies group angiosperms with Gnetales and certain extinct seed plant lineages, while most molecular phylogenies link Gnetales with conifers. In this study, we investigate the phylogenetic signal present in published seed plant morphological datasets. We use parsimony, Bayesian inference, and maximum likelihood approaches, combined with a number of experiments with the data, to address the morphological-molecular conflict. First, we ask whether the lack of association of Gnetales with conifers in morphological analyses is due to an absence of signal or to the presence of competing signals, and second, we compare the performance of parsimony and model based approaches with morphological datasets. Our results imply that the grouping of Gnetales and angiosperms is largely the result of long branch attraction, consistent across a range of methodological approaches. Thus, there is a signal for the grouping of Gnetales with conifers in morphological matrices, but it was swamped by convergence between angiosperms and Gnetales, both situated on long branches. However, this effect becomes weaker in more recent analyses, as a result of addition and critical reassessment of characters. Even when a clade including angiosperms and Gnetales is still weakly supported by parsimony, model-based approaches favor a clade of Gnetales and conifers, presumably because they are more resistant to long branch attraction. Inclusion of fossil taxa weakens rather than strengthens support for a relationship of angiosperms and Gnetales. Our analyses finally reconcile morphology with molecules in favoring a relationship of Gnetales to conifers, and show that morphology may therefore be useful in reconstructing other aspects of the phylogenetic history of the seed plants.
Genetic Drift and Selection in Many-Allele Range Expansions
Authors: Weinstein Bryan T. , Lavrentovich Maxim O. , Möbius Wolfram , Murray Andrew W. , Nelson David R.
Published: June 2017

We experimentally and numerically investigate the evolutionary dynamics of four competing strains ofE. coliwith differing expansion velocities in radially expanding colonies. We compare experimental measurements of the average fraction, correlation functions between strains, and the relative rates of genetic domain wall annihilations and coalescences to simulations modeling the population as a one-dimensional ring of annihilating and coalescing random walkers with deterministic biases due to selection. The simulations reveal that the evolutionary dynamics can be collapsed onto master curves governed by three essential parameters: (1) an expansion length beyond which selection dominates over genetic drift; (2) a characteristic angular correlation describing the size of genetic domains; and (3) a dimensionless constant quantifying the interplay between a colony’s curvature at the frontier and its selection length scale. We measure these parameters with a new technique that precisely measures small selective differences between spatially competing strains and show that our simulations accurately predict the dynamics with no additional fitting. Our results suggest that that the random walk model can act as a useful predictive tool when describing the evolutionary dynamics of range expansions composed of an arbitrary number of competing alleles with different fitnesses.

Author summary

Population expansions occur naturally during the spread of invasive species and have played a role in our evolutionary history when many of our ancestors expanded out of Africa. We use a colony of bacteria expanding into unoccupied, nutrient-rich territory on an agar plate as a model system to explore how an expanding population’s spatial structure impacts its evolutionary dynamics. Spatial structure is present in expanding microbial colonies because daughter cells migrate only a small distance away from their mothers each generation. Generally, the constituents of expansions occurring in nature and in the lab have different genetic compositions (genotypes, or alleles if a single gene differs), each instilling different fitnesses, which compete to proliferate at the frontier. Here, we show that a random-walk model can accurately predict the dynamics of four expanding strains ofE. coliwith different fitnesses; each strain represents a competing allele. Our results can be extended to describe any number of competing genotypes with different fitnesses in a naturally occurring expansions. Our model can also be used to precisely measure small selective differences between spatially competing genotypes in controlled laboratory settings.
A frequency-dependent mobilization of heterogeneous pools of synaptic vesicles shapes presynaptic plasticity
Authors: Doussau Frédéric , Schmidt Hartmut , Dorgans Kevin , Valera Antoine M. , Poulain Bernard , Isope Philippe
Published: June 2017

The segregation of the readily releasable pool of synaptic vesicles (RRP) in sub-pool which are differentially poised for exocytosis shapes short-term plasticity at depressing synapses. Here, we used in vitro recording and modeling of synaptic activity at the facilitating mice cerebellar granule cell to Purkinje cell synapse to demonstrate the existence of two sub-pools of vesicles in the RRP that can be differentially recruited upon fast changes in the stimulation frequency. We show that upon low-frequency stimulation, a population of fully-releasable vesicles is silenced, leading to full blockage of synaptic transmission. A second population of vesicles, reluctant to release by simple stimuli, is recruited in a millisecond time scale by high-frequency stimulation to support an ultrafast recovery of neurotransmitter release after low-frequency depression. The frequency-dependent mobilization or silencing of sub-pools of vesicles in granule cell terminals should play a major role in the filtering of sensorimotor information in the cerebellum.
Molecular chaperones inject energy from ATP hydrolysis into the non-equilibrium stabilisation of native proteins
Authors: Goloubinoff Pierre , Sassi Alberto S. , Fauvet Bruno , Barducci Alessandro , De Los Rios Paolo
Published: June 2017

Protein homeostasis, namely the ensemble of cellular mechanisms collectively controlling the activity, stability and conformational states of proteins, depends on energy-consuming processes.De novoprotein synthesis requires ATP hydrolysis for peptide bond formation. Controlled degradation by the chaperone-gated proteases requires ATP hydrolysis to unfold target proteins and render their peptide bonds accessible to hydrolysis. During and following translation, different classes of molecular chaperones require ATP hydrolysis to control the conformational state of proteins, favor their folding into their active conformation and avoid, under stress, their conversion into potentially harmful aggregates. Furthermore, specific ATP-fueled unfolding chaperones can dynamically revert aggregation itself. We used here various biochemical assays and physical modeling to show that both bacterial chaperones GroEL (HSP60) and DnaK (HSP70) can use the energy liberated by ATP hydrolysis to maintain proteins in their active state even under conditions thatdo not favor, thermodynamically, the native state. The energy from ATP hydrolysis is thus injected by the chaperones in the system and converted into an enhanced,non-equilibrium steady-statestabilization of the native state of their substrates. Upon ATP consumption, the chaperone substrates spontaneously revert to their equilibrium non-native state.
Genome-wide association study of delay discounting in 23,217 adult research participants of European ancestry
Authors: Sanchez-Roige Sandra , Fontanillas Pierre , Elson Sarah L. ,   the 23andMe Research Team, Pandit Anita , Schmidt Ellen M. , Foerster Johanna R. , Abecasis Gonçalo R. , Gray Joshua C. , de Wit Harriet , Davis Lea K. , MacKillop James , Palmer Abraham A.
Published: June 2017

Delay discounting (DD), which is the tendency to discount the value of delayed versus current rewards, is elevated in a constellation of diseases and behavioral conditions. We performed a genome-wide association study of DD using 23,127 research participants of European ancestry. The most significantly associated SNP was rs6528024 (P= 2.40 × 10−8), which is located in an intron of the geneGPM6B. We also showed that 12% of the variance in DD was accounted for by genotype, and that the genetic signature of DD overlapped with attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder, schizophrenia, major depression, smoking, personality, cognition, and body weight.
Model of a bilateral Brown-type central pattern generator for symmetric and asymmetric locomotion
Authors: Sobinov Anton , Yakovenko Sergiy
Published: June 2017

The coordinated activity of muscles is produced in part by spinal rhythmogenic neural circuits, termed central pattern generators (CPGs). A classical CPG model is a system of coupled oscillators that transform locomotor drive into coordinated and gait-specific patterns of muscle recruitment. The network properties of this conceptual model can be simulated by a system of ordinary differential equations with a physiologically-inspired coupling locus of interactions capturing the timing relationship for bilateral coordination of limbs in locomotion. While most similar models are solved numerically, it is intriguing to have a full analytical description of this plausible CPG architecture to illuminate the functionality within this structure and to expand it to include steering control. Here, we provided a closed-form analytical solution contrasted against the previous numerical method. The computational load of the analytical solution was decreased by order of magnitude when compared to the numerical approach (relative errors, <0.01%). The analytical solution tested and supported the previous finding that the input to the model can be expressed in units of the desired limb locomotor speed. Furthermore, we performed parametric sensitivity analysis in the context of controlling steering and documented two possible mechanisms associated with either an external drive or intrinsic CPG parameters. The results identify specific propriospinal pathways that may be associated with adaptations within the CPG structure. The model offered several network configurations that may generate the same behavioral outcomes.

New & Noteworthy

Using a simple process of leaky integration, we developed an analytical solution to a robust model of spinal pattern generation. We analyzed the ability of this neural element to exert locomotor control of the signal associated with limb speeds and tested the ability of this simple structure to embed steering control using the velocity signal in the model’s inputs or within the internal connectivity of its elements.
Species-specific adaptations determine how aridity and biotic interactions drive the assembly of dryland plant communities
Authors: Berdugo Miguel , Maestre Fernando T. , Kéfi Sonia , Gross Nicolas , Le Bagousse-Pinguet Yoann , Soliveres Santiago
Published: June 2017

Despite being a core ecological question, disentangling individual and interacting effects of plant-plant interactions, abiotic factors and species-specific adaptations as drivers of community assembly is challenging. Studies addressing this issue are growing rapidly, but they generally lack empirical data regarding species interactions and local abundances, or cover a narrow range of environmental conditions.

We analysed species distribution models and local spatial patterns to isolate the relative importance of key abiotic (aridity) and biotic (facilitation and competition) drivers of plant community assembly in drylands worldwide. We examined the relative importance of these drivers along aridity gradients and used information derived from the niches of species to understand the role that species-specific adaptations to aridity play in modulating the importance of community assembly drivers.

Facilitation, together with aridity, was the major driver of plant community assembly in global drylands. Due to community specialization, the importance of facilitation as an assembly driver decreased with aridity, and became non significant at the border between arid and semiarid climates. Under the most arid conditions, competition affected species abundances in communities dominated by specialist species. Due to community specialization, the importance of aridity in shaping dryland plant communities peaked at moderate aridity levels.

Synthesis: We showed that competition is an important driver of community assembly even under harsh environments, and that the effect of facilitation collapses as driver of species relative abundances under high aridity because of the specialization of the species pool to extremely dry conditions. Our findings pave the way to develop more robust species distribution models aiming to predict the consequences of ongoing climate change on community assembly in drylands, the largest biome on Earth.
Non-invasive laminar inference with MEG: Comparison of methods and source inversion algorithms
Authors: Bonaiuto James J , Rossiter Holly E , Meyer Sofie S , Adams Natalie , Little Simon , Callaghan Martina F , Dick Fred , Bestmann Sven , Barnes Gareth R
Published: June 2017

Magnetoencephalography (MEG) is a direct measure of neuronal current flow; its anatomical resolution is therefore not constrained by physiology but rather by data quality and the models used to explain these data. Recent simulation work has shown that it is possible to distinguish between signals arising in the deep and superficial cortical laminae given accurate knowledge of these surfaces with respect to the MEG sensors. This previous work has focused around a single inversion scheme (multiple sparse priors) and a single global parametric fit metric (free energy). In this paper we use several different source inversion algorithms and both local and global, as well as parametric and non-parametric fit metrics in order to demonstrate the robustness of the discrimination between layers. We find that only algorithms with some sparsity constraint can successfully be used to make laminar discrimination. Importantly, local t-statistics, global cross-validation and free energy all provide robust and mutually corroborating metrics of fit. We show that discrimination accuracy is affected by patch size estimates, cortical surface features, and lead field strength, which suggests several possible future improvements to this technique. This study demonstrates the possibility of determining the laminar origin of MEG sensor activity, and thus directly testing theories of human cognition that involve laminar- and frequency- specific mechanisms. This possibility can now be achieved using recent developments in high precision MEG, most notably the use of subject-specific head-casts, which allow for significant increases in data quality and therefore anatomically precise MEG recordings.
Novel multiscale insights into the composite nature of water transport in roots
Authors: Couvreur Valentin , Faget Marc , Lobet Guillaume , Javaux Mathieu , Chaumont François , Draye Xavier
Published: June 2017

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MECHA is a novel mathematical model that computes the flow of water through the walls, membranes and plasmodesmata of each individual cell throughout complete root cross-sections, from a minimal set of cell level hydraulic properties and detailed root anatomical descriptions.

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Using the hydraulic anatomical framework of the Zea mays root reveals that hydraulic principles at the cell and root segment scales, derived independently by Katchalsky and Curran [1967] and Fiscus and Kramer [1975], are fully compatible, irrespective of apoplastic barriers leakiness.

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The hydraulic anatomy model accurately predicts empirical root radial permeability (kr) from relatively high cell wall hydraulic conductivity and low plasmodesmatal conductance reported in the literature.

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MECHA brings novel insights into contradictory interpretations of experiments from the literature by quantifying the impact of intercellular spaces, cortical cell permeability and plasmodesmata among others on root kr, and suggests new experiments efficiently addressing questions of root water relations.

Symbols

KPD

single plasmodesma hydraulic conductance

kr

root radial hydraulic conductivity

kw

cell wall hydraulic conductivity

Lp

cell plasma membrane hydraulic conductivity
Crystal structure ofcatena-poly[[[aquabis(dimethylformamide-κO)magnesium(II)]-μ3-(2,2′-bipyridine-5,5′-dicarboxylato-κ5O2:O2′:N,N′:O5)-[dichloridoplatinum(II)]] dimethylformamide monosolvate]
Authors: Lundvall Fredrik , Tilset Mats
Published: June 2017

The title compound, {[MgPtCl2(C12H6N2O4)(C3H7NO)2(H2O)]·C3H7NO}n, is a one-dimensional coordination polymer. The structure consists of Pt-functionalized bipyridine ligands connected by MgIIcations, as well as coordinating and non-coordinating solvent molecules. The PtIIcation is coordinated by the two N atoms of the bipyridine moiety and two Cl atoms in a square-planar fashion. This coordination induces an in-plane bend along the bipyridine backbone of approximately 10° from the linear ideal of a conjugated π-system. Likewise, the coordination to the MgIIcation induces a significant bowing of the plane of the bipyridine of about 12°, giving it a distinct curved appearance. The carboxylate groups of the bipyridine ligand exhibit moderate rotations relative to their parent pyridine rings. The MgIIcation has a fairly regular octahedral coordination polyhedron, in which three vertices are occupied by O atoms from the carboxylate groups of three different bipyridine ligands. The remaining three vertices are occupied by the O atoms of two dimethylformamide (DMF) molecules and one water molecule. The one-dimensional chains are oriented in the [01-1] direction, and non-coordinating DMF molecules can be found in the space between the chains. The shortest intermolecular O...H contacts are 2.844 (4) and 2.659 (4) Å, suggesting moderate hydrogen-bonding interactions. In addition, there is a short intermolecular Pt...Pt contact of 3.491 (1) Å, indicating a Pt stacking interaction. Some structure-directing contribution from the hydrogen bonding and Pt...Pt interaction is probable. However, the crystal packing seems to be directed primarily by van der Waals interactions.
Crystal structure of (–)-methyl (R,E)-4-[(2R,4R)-2-amino-2-trichloromethyl-1,3-dioxolan-4-yl]-4-hydroxy-2-methylbut-2-enoate
Authors: Oishi Takeshi , Kidena Mayu , Sugai Tomoya , Sato Takaaki , Chida Noritaka
Published: June 2017

In the title compound, C10H14Cl3NO5, the five-membered dioxolane ring adopts an envelope conformation with the C atom bonded to the butenoate side chain as the flap. It deviates from the mean plane of the other atoms in the ring by 0.446 (6) Å. In the crystal, molecules are connected by O—H...O hydrogen bonds into helical chains running along theb-axis direction. The chains are linked into a sheet structure parallel to (001) by an N—H...O hydrogen bond. These classical hydrogen bonds enclose anR44(24) graph-set motif in the sheet structure. Furthermore, a weak intermolecular C—H...Cl interaction expands the sheet structures into a three-dimensional network.
(2,4-Dichlorophenyl)(3-hydroxypiperidin-1-yl)methanone: crystal structure and Hirshfeld analysis
Authors: Mohamooda Sumaya U. , Reuben Jonathan D. , Era Dravida Thendral , Gomathi S. , Usha G.
Published: June 2017

In the title compound, C12H13Cl2NO2, the piperidine ring adopts a chair conformation. The dihedral angle between the mean plane of the piperidine ring and the benzene ring is 58.5 (3)°. In the crystal, molecules are linked by O—H...O hydrogen bonds, forming chains propagating along theb-axis direction. The chains are linked by C—H...O hydrogen bonds, forming undulating sheets parallel to theabplane. The C atoms of the hydroxypiperidine ring are disordered over two sets of sites with refined occupancies of 0.545 (7) and 0.455 (7). The intermolecular interactions in the crystal structure were quantified using Hirshfeld surface analysis.
6-Amino-3,4-dimethyl-1,2,4-triazin-1-ium 2-anilinobenzoate–3-amino-5,6-dimethyl-1,2,4-triazine (1/1)
Authors: Sangeetha Ramalingam , Balasubramani Kasthuri , Thanigaimani Kaliyaperumal , Razak Ibrahim Abdul
Published: June 2017

In the title molecular salt, C5H9N4+·C13H10NO2−·C5H8N4, the asymmetric unit consists of a 6-amino-3,4-dimethyl-1,2,4-triazin-1-ium cation, a 2-anilinobenzoate anion and a neutral 3-amino-5,6-dimethyl-1,2,4-triazine molecule. The typical intramolecular N...H—O hydrogen bond is observed in the 2-anilinobenzoate anion. In the crystal, the protonated N atom and the 3-amino group are hydrogen bonded to the carboxylate oxygen atomsviaa pair of N—H...O hydrogen bonds, forming anR22(8) ring motif. These motifs are further linked with adjacent neutral 3-amino-5,6-dimethyl-1,2,4-triazine molecules by N—H...O and N—H...N hydrogen bonds to produce centrosymmetric six-membered units, enclosingR22(8) andR34(9) ring motifs. They are reinforced by a C—H...N hydrogen bond and stack up theb-axis direction.
Plurality in environmental supply chain mechanisms
Authors: Paulraj Antony , Blome Constantin
Published: June 2017

Purpose

The environmental management of supply chains has become increasingly relevant in the recent era. Extant research proposes two main forms of mechanisms – collaboration and evaluation – for environmental supply chain management. Despite the wide use of these mechanisms and the empirical insight into the fact that they could be adopted simultaneously, it is unknown if, and, at which levels, environmental collaboration (EC) and environmental evaluation (EE) could be complementary or substitutionary in nature. Therefore, the purpose of this paper is to gain a clear understanding into the plural forms of these mechanisms.

Design/methodology/approach

The transaction cost economics and relational exchange theory are used to ground the research hypotheses. The results are based on survey data collected from 145 US manufacturing firms. The authors employ polynomial regression as well as the response surface methodology to test the proposed hypotheses.

Findings

The results suggest that EC and EE can have an intriguing effect depending on the outcome measure. Specifically, the authors find the effects in the economic and the environmental/social domains to be significantly different.

Originality/value

While scholars acknowledge that collaboration and evaluation could act as complements, extant research does not propose and test models that specifically capture complementary and substitutionary nature of these mechanisms. Accordingly, the study makes the first attempt to empirically test for the effects of the simultaneous pursuit of EC and EE.
The development of cultural heritage in Gozo, and its potential as a tourism niche
Authors: Borg Daniel
Published: June 2017

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to present a case study on the development of the cultural heritage sector on the island of Gozo in the Maltese archipelago. The studying of these relationships is very important to maximise the impact of the cultural heritage sector on tourism. The importance of the development of cultural tourism as a specific niche has been consistently recognised (Boissevain, 1994; Ministry for Tourism and Culture, 2007; Ministry for Tourism Culture and the Environment, 2016; Ministry for Tourism, 2014).

Design/methodology/approach

A case study methodology is adopted. The findings have been sourced mainly through secondary data such as official publications and materials available publicly, and through the author’s in-depth knowledge of the socio-cultural context of Gozo.

Findings

The paper’s main outcome is that the success of the cultural heritage sector in Gozo can be attributed to the close collaboration that exists between the Ministry for Gozo (responsible for Gozitan affairs) and non-governmental organisations (NGOs). While a culture of mistrust towards state institutions is generally prevalent among Gozitans (Azzopardi, 2015), the level of collaboration between the Ministry for Gozo and NGOs, may tend to show that Gozitans are more keen to trust state institutions run by the same Gozitans.

Originality/value

This paper analyses the underlying relationships in the cultural heritage sector on the island of Gozo. This is very important to continue building up on this niche as an added value to the tourism sector in Gozo.
Knowledge management and professional experience: the uneasy dynamics between tacit knowledge and performativity in organizations
Authors: Garrick John , Chan Andrew
Published: June 2017

Purpose

This paper interrogates the relationships between tacit knowledge (of professionals) and performance measurement regimes (of post-modern organizations). Drawing on Polanyi’s (1958, 1968) ideas about tacit knowledge and Lyotard’s (1984) theory of performativity with regard to criteria such as profit-performance the applicability and relevance of tacit, working knowledge in the internet age is assessed. The paper examines: the effects of context on knowledge management (KM); tacit knowledge and performativity around the production, validation and assessment of knowledge within organizations; KM and the mercantilization of knowledge and critical questions as to how performativity impacts tacit knowledge and KM in the digital era.

Design/methodology/approach

The paper deconstructs popular and fashionable narratives around tacit knowledge and KM to critically appraise approaches to knowledge construction and transfer in contemporary and commercial contexts. The study draws on various specific critical incidents in commercial practice to assess where (and why) things went wrong with KM practices in the aftermath of the global financial crisis and in more recent attempts at large scale corporate fraud.

Findings

KM should not trade exclusively in instrumentalized, performative knowledge. Tacit knowledge involves a sense of what is going on and this is not easily measured or codified. Experiential understanding of what is required when engaging with clients, colleagues, senior partners, other businesses (and cultures) and the political contexts in which employees work is central to tacit knowledge. So too are performance measures and reward systems and herein lies the “uneasy dynamic”. The nature of any transfer of tacit knowledge is problematic, but such employee know-how remains critical to organizational performance and validating the use-value of knowledge for the purposes of KM.

Originality/value

Researchers have used the theories of Polanyi and Lyotard, but rarely combined them to investigate KM practices critically in post-modern organizations. By using the two theories, this paper critically examines the contemporary construction of tacit knowledge from perspectives that include the different discourses and localized practices through which it is produced and consumed.
The effect of compliance knowledge and compliance support systems on information security compliance behavior
Authors: Kim Sang Soo , Kim Yong Jin
Published: June 2017

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to understand from the knowledge management perspective how the mechanism of different voluntary compliance behaviors works and how information technology is used for compliance management in corporate settings where privacy and security issues are getting critical due to the advancement of big data and artificial intelligence.

Design/methodology/approach

In this study, the authors propose a structural model based on the theory of planned behavior and the IT relatedness theory that behavioral belief about compliance and social pressure affect compliance knowledge and compliance intention, and compliance knowledge partially mediates the impact of both independent variables on compliance intention. The authors surveyed with a structured questionnaire 975 employees of a major Korean energy company, S-OIL, which deploys a compliance support system. The respondents are classified into two groups: an Active IT Utilization Group and a Passive IT Utilization Group.

Findings

The results of our empirical examination show that compliance intention belief and social pressure influence compliance intention, and further, that compliance behavior is mediated by compliance knowledge – in both the active IT utilization group and the passive IT utilization group. However, the significance of each path coefficient, R square and the mediation effect in Model 1 (passive IT utilization group) are obviously a poor contrast to Model 2 (active IT utilization group). Also, the path from behavioral belief to compliance knowledge and social pressure to compliance knowledge show a significant moderating effect of IT utilization level.

Originality/value

This paper aims to promote more effective voluntary compliance behavior by increasing the understanding of the impact differences of the preceding factors, and the ways in which those are related to the knowledge management practice in terms of both knowledge itself and its support systems, i.e. compliance support system.
A design approach for process-based knowledge management systems
Authors: Sarnikar Surendra , Deokar Amit V.
Published: June 2017

Purpose

This paper presents a design approach for process-based knowledge management (PKM) systems that can support knowledge-intensive processes where effective task execution is highly reliant on the knowledge and expertise of participants executing the tasks. The proposed design approach includes design methods and kernel theories governing the design of PKM systems and can also be easily integrated with existing systems analysis and design techniques.

Design/methodology/approach

The design science research methodology is used to design and develop the artifact which includes the overall PKM design approach. Information systems design theory is used as a high-level framework to develop and structure the design approach. Relevant design methods and behavioral theories are reviewed to identify kernel theories that guide the design and development of PKM systems. The design approach consists of meta-requirements for PKM systems and design processes to achieve the meta-requirements. A feasibility study is conducted to evaluate the feasibility of the proposed approach.

Findings

The design approach presented in this paper can guide system analysts and system developers in the design of knowledge management systems for supporting knowledge-intensive processes. The paper also includes a comprehensive design theory for PKM systems consisting of meta-requirements and a synthesis of various kernel theories into actionable design procedures. The proposed procedures include knowledge requirements modeling, knowledge flows modeling and knowledge and process performance modeling procedures. The feasibility study indicates that the PKM approach can be more useful and effective than solely using unified modeling language (UML)-based systems analysis and design techniques for the design of PKM systems.

Research limitations/implications

An implication to information systems design research is the feasibility of developing a specialized design approach that incorporates significant domain knowledge to solve complex information system design problems. An implication to practice is the significant potential to improve productivity and effectiveness of systems analysts and designers in developing PKM systems. A limitation is the small sample size of the feasibility study used to evaluate the ease of use and utility of the design approach.

Originality/value

The study makes a unique contribution by proposing a design approach that integrates business process and knowledge management considerations. The approach is particularly valuable because of the focus on integration with existing systems analysis and design techniques, thus allowing for easier adoption.
Work-family conflict: differences across generations and life cycles
Authors: Bennett Misty M. , Beehr Terry A. , Ivanitskaya Lana V.
Published: June 2017

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to examine work-to-family conflict and family-to-work conflict, taking into account generational cohort and life cycle stage differences.

Design/methodology/approach

Survey participants (428 employed individuals with families) represented different generations and life cycles. Key variables were work/family characteristics and centrality, work-family and family-work conflict, and age.

Findings

Generational differences in both directions were found. Gen X-ers reported the most work-family conflict, followed by Millennials and then Baby Boomers. Baby Boomers exhibited family-work conflict the most, followed by Gen X-ers, and then Millennials, a surprising finding given generational stereotypes. Some of these differences remained after controlling for children in the household (based on life cycle stage theory) and age. Millennials were highest in work centrality, whereas Baby Boomers were highest in family centrality. Employees with children ages 13-18 reported the most work-family conflict, and employees with children under the age of six reported the most family-work conflict.

Research limitations/implications

This study found that generation and children in the household make a difference in work-family conflict, but it did not support some of the common generational stereotypes. Future studies should use a time-lag technique to study generational differences. To reduce work-family conflict, it is important to consider its directionality, which varies across generations and life cycle stages.

Practical implications

This informs organizations on how to tailor interventions to help employees balance work/life demands.

Originality/value

This study is the first to simultaneously examine both generation and life cycle stage (children in the household) in regard to work-family conflict.
Effects of platform quality requirement on sellers
Authors: Hou Huijun , Cheng Xiaoying
Published: June 2017

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to study the effects of the requirement on product quality and refund (return service charge).

Design/methodology/approach

The authors set a minimum product quality level for platform to study the effects of the minimum product quality level on product quality and refund for risk-neutral sellers and risk-averse sellers, respectively.

Findings

For the risk-neutral sellers whose optimal product quality level is lower than the minimum level will improve the product quality to the minimum required level. However, under a certain condition with the requirement the sellers will increase refund. Similar results are found when uncertainty is incorporated into demand and return quantity. In addition, how the sellers’ optimal refund is affected by market parameters and market volatile factors is discussed. Specially, the correlation between the uncertainty of the demand and the return quantity affects sellers’ optimal decision of return service charge in many ways.

Originality/value

The obtained results can provide operational managers in reality with valuable suggestions in quality management for platform.
The unexpected cybernetics life of collectivities: the combinatory systems approach
Authors: Mella Piero
Published: June 2017

Purpose

The purpose of this study is to show how simple “collectivities” of non-interconnected similar agents, which the author has termed “combinatory systems” and which produce analogous micro behaviors, reveal very interesting forms of micro and macro behaviors and effects attributable to a cybernetic mechanism the author shall call “micro-macro feedback”. On the one hand, the macro behavior of the system as a whole derives from the “combination” of the analogous micro behaviors or effects of the agents, and on the other hand, the macro behavior determines, conditions or directs the subsequent micro behavior, thereby creating observable effects and patterns in the collectivity.

Design/methodology/approach

This paper proposes a new combinatory system theory (CSysT) by constructing a formal model that explains a vast group of phenomena produced by the cybernetic behavior of the collectivity as if an internal organizer were regulating the micro dynamics of agents, producing self-organization, synchronization, path dependence and chaos.

Findings

In addition to illustrating the CSysT, this study also proposes a new and powerful tool to simulate combinatory systems: the “combinatory automaton”. This is composed of a lattice, each of whose cells contains a variable representing the state of an agent. The value of each cell at each time depends on a synthetic global variable whose values derive from some operations carried out on the values of the cells and that represents the synthetic state of the automaton. The micro-macro feedback connects the analytical values of the cells and the synthetic state of the automaton.

Practical implications

The CSysT suggests how to control combinatory systems through external actions aimed at making the macro and micro behaviors conform to the desired behaviors. The control is carried out through suitable strengthening or weakening actions, which operate by acting directly on the macro behavior – the author will define this as macro or external control – or by influencing the micro behaviors; in this case, the control will be called micro or internal control. The macro-level control is achieved through strengthening or weakening actions aimed at modifying some recombining factor. Instead, the micro-level control acts on the necessitating factors.

Originality/value

The CSysT is original and represents an effective tool for observing collective behavior. Combinatory systems are not easily recognizable; nevertheless, they are widely diffused and produce most of the social and economic collective phenomena involving the accumulation of objects, the spread of features or information, the pursuit of a limit and the achievement of general progress as the consequence of the individual pursuit of particular interests.
Describing a principles-based approach to developing and evaluating peer worker roles as peer support moves into mainstream mental health services
Authors: Gillard Steve , Foster Rhiannon , Gibson Sarah , Goldsmith Lucy , Marks Jacqueline , White Sarah
Published: June 2017

Purpose

Peer support is increasingly being introduced into mainstream mental health services internationally. The distinctiveness of peer support, compared to other mental health support, has been linked to values underpinning peer support. Evidence suggests that there are challenges to maintaining those values in the context of highly standardised organisational environments. The purpose of this paper is to describe a “principles-based” approach to developing and evaluating a new peer worker role in mental health services.

Design/methodology/approach

A set of peer support values was generated through systematic review of research about one-to-one peer support, and a second set produced by a UK National Expert Panel of people sharing, leading or researching peer support from a lived experience perspective. Value sets were integrated by the research team – including researchers working from a lived experience perspective – to produce a principles framework for developing and evaluating new peer worker roles.

Findings

Five principles referred in detail to: relationships based on shared lived experience; reciprocity and mutuality; validating experiential knowledge; leadership, choice and control; discovering strengths and making connections. Supporting the diversity of lived experience that people bring to peer support applied across principles.

Research limitations/implications

The principles framework underpinned development of a handbook for a new peer worker role, and informed a fidelity index designed to measure the extent to which peer support values are maintained in practice. Given the diversity of peer support, the authors caution against prescriptive frameworks that might “codify” peer support and note that lived experience should be central to shaping and leading evaluation of peer support.

Originality/value

This paper adds to the literature on peer support in mental health by describing a systematic approach to understanding how principles and values underpin peer worker roles in the context of mental health services. This paper informs an innovative, principles-based approach to developing a handbook and fidelity index for a randomised controlled trial. Lived experiences of mental distress brought to the research by members of the research team and the expert advisors shaped the way this research was undertaken.
Customer-centered innovation: improving the odds for success
Authors: Leavy Brian
Published: June 2017

Purpose

This masterclass examines how customer-centric marketing, using new perspectives developed by Clayton Christensen and others, can guide new product and service innovation. Christensen’s Jobs Theory revolves around the observation that “customers don’t buy products or services,” but rather “pull them into their lives to make progress” in some way that is particularly valuable to them.”

Design/methodology/approach

Two recent books are discussed in detail– Competing Against Luck: The Story of Innovation and Customer Choice (2016), by Christensen and co-authors Taddy Hall, Karen Dillon and David Duncan and Sense & Respond: How Successful Organizations Listen to Customers and Create New Products Continuously (2017) by design and innovation experts, Jeff Gothelf and Josh Seiden

Findings

In coming to view innovation through the lens of Jobs Theory, what you see is not so much the customer at the center of the innovation universe, but “the customer’s Job to Be Done,”which “may seem like a small distinction, but, in reality, “it changes everything.”

Practical Implications

Identifying a well-defined Job to Be Done offers a kind of innovation blueprint which is different’ from the traditional marketing concept of “needs” because of the ‘much higher degree of specificity required to identify precisely what it is you are trying to solve for in particular use-case contexts.

Originality/value

When applied astutely, the concept of “Job to Be Done”can improve a company’s track record at new product or service introduction. For the first time it gives managers and other corporate leaders a guidebook for making innovation initiatives more likely to be successful.
Effects of cucumber mosaic virus‐infected chilli plants on non‐vector Bemisia tabaci (Hemiptera: Aleyrodidae)
Authors: Saad Khalid A. , Mohamad Roff M. N. , Hallett Rebecca H. , Abd‐Ghani Idris B.
Published: June 2017

Plant virus infections are known to alter host plant attractiveness and suitability for insect herbivores. This study was conducted to determine how cucumber mosaic virus (CMV)‐infected chilli plants affect the fitness and settling preferences of nonvector whitefly, Bemisia tabaci adults under dual‐choice conditions with volatile organic compounds analyzed using solid phase microextraction coupled with gas chromatography–mass spectrometry (GC‐MS). Results showed that the presence of CMV in chilli plants substantially affects the settling preferences of the B. tabaci, which preferred to settle on noninfected plants. Duration of the egg stage and the longevity and fecundity of adult B. tabaci on CMV‐infected chilli plants were not markedly different from those on noninfected chilli plants. In contrast, the developmental time from egg to adult was significantly reduced in CMV‐infected chilli plants compared to the noninfected plants. The results also showed that CMV‐infected chilli plants released significantly more linalool and phenylacetaldehyde than noninfected plants. Overall, it was suggested that the behavioral response of B. tabaci might be modified by CMV‐infected plants, which alter the release of specific headspace volatiles. Based on these results, the modification of plant volatile profiles may help in enhancing the effectiveness of biological control and the protection of crop plants against B. tabaci.
On the parameterization of acoustic detection probability models
Authors: Gjelland Karl Ø. , Hedger Richard D.
Published: June 2017

Methods that aid in understanding the variation in the detection probability in acoustic telemetry can aid proper interpretations of data derived using such systems.

In their recent paper, Huveneers et al. (Methods in Ecology and Evolution, 7, 825‐835, 2016) claim that a general detection probability model (Gjelland & Hedger, Methods in Ecology and Evolution, 4, 665–674, 2013) does not have the intended applicability across systems. However, Huveneer et al. applies predictions for a shallow freshwater application to results from a much deeper marine application, which is an invalid use of acoustic theory and the proposed general model.

Users of acoustic telemetry are encouraged to acknowledge how environmentally induced variation in the acoustic attenuation coefficient influences the detection probability, because an understanding of this will aid prediction of how acoustic telemetry systems will work under various environmental conditions. Models used for predictions must be appropriately parameterized.

Proper incorporation of spatiotemporal variation in acoustic detection probability may help reduce effects of environmentally induced biases in detection data. We challenge scientists to make further contributions to how acoustic theory can be incorporated in the modelling of detection probability in acoustic telemetry.