bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
A Fully-Adjusted Two-Stage Procedure for Rank Normalization in Genetic Association Studies
Authors: Sofer Tamar , Zheng Xiuwen , Gogarten Stephanie M. , Laurie Cecelia A. , Grinde Kelsey , Shaffer John R. , Shungin Dmitry , O’Connell Jeffrey R. , Durazo-Arvizo Ramon A. , Raffield Laura , Lange Leslie , Musani Solomon , Vasan Ramachandran S. , Adrienne Cupples L. , Reiner Alexander P. ,   NHLBI Trans-Omics for Precision Medicine (TOPMed) Consortium, Laurie Cathy C. , Rice Kenneth M.
Published: June 2018

When testing genotype-phenotype associations using linear regression, departure of the trait distribution from normality can impact both Type I error rate control and statistical power, with worse consequences for rarer variants. While it has been shown that applying a rank-normalization transformation to trait values before testing may improve these statistical properties, the factor driving them is not the trait distribution itself, but its residual distribution after regression on both covariates and genotype. Because genotype is expected to have a small effect (if any) investigators now routinely use a two-stage method, in which they first regress the trait on covariates, obtain residuals, rank-normalize them, and then secondly use the rank-normalized residuals in association analysis with the genotypes. Potential confounding signals are assumed to be removed at the first stage, so in practice no further adjustment is done in the second stage. Here, we show that this widely-used approach can lead to tests with undesirable statistical properties, due to both a combination of a mis-specified mean-variance relationship, and remaining covariate associations between the rank-normalized residuals and genotypes. We demonstrate these properties theoretically, and also in applications to genome-wide and whole-genome sequencing association studies. We further propose and evaluate an alternative fully-adjusted two-stage approach that adjusts for covariates both when residuals are obtained, and in the subsequent association test. This method can reduce excess Type I errors and improve statistical power.
Vesicular delivery of the antifungal antibiotics of Lysobacter enzymogenes C3
Authors: Meers Paul R. , Liu Carol , Chen Rensa , Bartos William , Davis Julianne , Dziedzic Nicole , Orciuolo Jason , Kutyla Szymon , Pozo Maria Jose , Mithrananda Deepti , Panzera Dominick , Wang Shu
Published: June 2018

Lysobacter enzymogenes C3 is a predatory strain of gram-negative gliding bacteria that produces antifungal antibiotics by the polyketide synthetic pathway. Outer membrane vesicles (OMV) are formed as a stress response and can deliver virulence factors to host cells. The production of OMV by C3 and their role in antifungal activity are reported here. Vesicles in the range of 130-150 nm in diameter were discovered in the cell-free supernatants of C3 cultures. These OMV contain molecules characteristic of bacterial outer membranes, such as lipopolysaccharide and phospholipids. In addition, they contain chitinase activity and essentially all of the heat stable antifungal activity in cell supernatants. We show here that C3 OMV can directly inhibit growth of the yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae as well as the filamentous fungus Fusarium subglutinans. The activity is dependent on physical contact between OMV and the cells. Furthermore, fluorescent lipid labeling of C3 OMV demonstrated transfer of the membrane-associated probe to yeast cells, suggesting the existence of a mechanism of delivery for membrane-associated molecules. Mass spectrometric analysis of C3 OMV extracts indicates the presence of molecules with molecular weights identical to some of the previously identified antifungal products of C3. These data together suggest that OMV act as an important remote mobile component of predation by Lysobacter.

Importance

The data presented here suggest a newly discovered function of outer membrane vesicles (OMV) that are produced from the outer membrane of the bacterial species Lysobacter enzymogenes C3. We show that these OMV can be released from the surface of the cells to deliver antibiotics to target fungal organisms as a mechanism of killing or growth inhibition. Understanding the role of OMV in antibiotic delivery can generally lead to improved strategies for dealing with antibiotic-resistant organisms. These results also add to the evidence that some bacterially produced antibiotics can be discovered and purified using methods designed for isolation of nanoscale vesicles. Information on these systems can lead to better identification of active molecules or design of delivery vehicles for these molecules.
Evaluation of the Luminex ARIES® System for the Detection and Quantification of BK virus DNA in Plasma and Serum Samples from Kidney Transplant Recipients
Authors: Her Tong , Schutzbank Ted E.
Published: June 2018

BKV nephropathy is as serious complication in renal transplant recipients due to the need for immunosuppression. Nearly 50% of renal transplant patients with BKV nephropathy experience a significant loss of function of the transplanted kidney. It is routine practice to screen renal transplant recipients regularly for BK viremi a. In this study we compared the performance of BKV qPCR analyte specific reagents (ASR) by ELITech, and Luminex for measuring BKV viral load in plasma and serum using the Roche Cobas® z480 instrument, and the Luminex ARIES® platform respectively. A total of 34 patients previously tested on the z480, with results spanning the test ‘s linear range, were analyzed on the ARIES®. The BKV DNA copy number correlation between the two methods was very good with an R2 value of 0.98. The average difference in log copy number between the two methods was −0.3, indicating that the ARIES® method may have slightly greater analytical sensitivity. BKV quantification results were closely matched between the two different methods. The workflow with the ARIES® System is greatly simplified by elimination of DNA extraction and most hands-on steps. The high degree of automation allows samples to be tested as they arrive into the laboratory, resulting in enhanced patient care due to more rapid turnaround time for results back to the ordering physician.
Identifying mixed Mycobacterium tuberculosis infection and laboratory cross-contamination during Mycobacterial sequencing programs
Authors: Wyllie David H , Robinson Esther , Peto Tim , Crook Derrick W , Ajileye Adebisi , Rathod Priti , Allen Rosemarie , Jarrett Lisa , Smith E Grace , Walker A Sarah
Published: June 2018

Introduction

Detecting laboratory cross-contamination and mixed tuberculosis infection are important goals of clinical Mycobacteriology laboratories.

Objectives

To develop a method detecting mixtures of different M. tuberculosis lineages in laboratories performing Mycobacterial next generation sequencing (NGS).

Setting

Public Health England National Mycobacteriology Laboratory Birmingham, which performs Illumina sequencing on DNA extracted from positive Mycobacterial Growth Indicator tubes.

Methods

We analysed 4,156 samples yielding M. tuberculosis from 663 MiSeq runs, obtained during development and production use of a diagnostic process using NGS. Counts of the most common (major) variant, and all other variants (non-major variants) were determined from reads mapping to positions defining M. tuberculosis lineages. Expected variation was estimated during process development.

Results

For each sample we determined the non-major variant proportions at 55 sets of lineage defining positions. The non-major variant proportion in the two most mixed lineage defining sets (F2 metric) was compared with that in the 47 least mixed lineage defining sets (F47 metric). Three patterns were observed: (i) not mixed by either metric, (ii) high F47 metric suggesting mixtures of multiple lineages, and (iii) samples compatible with mixtures of two lineages, detected by differential F2 metric elevation relative to F47. Pattern (ii) was observed in batches, with similar patterns in the H37Rv control present in each run, and is likely to reflect cross-contamination. During production, the proportions of samples in each pattern were 97%, 2.8%, and 0.001%, respectively.

Conclusion

The F2 and F47 metrics described could be used for laboratory process control in laboratories sequencing M. tuberculosis.
The heterochromatin landscape in migrating cells and the importance of H3K27me3 for migration-associated transcriptional changes
Authors: Segal Tamar , Salmon-Divon Mali , Gerlitz Gabi
Published: June 2018

H3K9me3, H3K27me3 and H4K20me1 are epigenetic markers associated with chromatin condensation and transcriptional repression. Previously, we found that migration of melanoma cells is associated with and dependent on global chromatin condensation that includes a global increase in these markers. Taken together with more recent reports by others suggest it is a general signature of migrating cells. Here, to learn about the function of these markers in migrating cells we mapped them by ChIP-seq analysis. This analysis revealed that induction of migration leads to expansion of these markers along the genome and to an increased overlapping between them. Significantly, induction of migration led to a higher increase in H3K9me3 and H4K20me1 signals at repetitive elements than at protein-coding genes, while an opposite pattern was found for H3K27me3. Transcriptome analysis revealed that 182 altered genes following induction of migration, of which 33% are dependent on H3K27me3 for these changes. H3K27me3 was also required to prevent changes in the expression of 501 other genes upon induction of migration. Taken together our results suggest that heterochromatinization in migrating cells is global and not restricted to specific genomic loci and that H3K27me3 is a key component in executing a migration-specific transcriptional plan.
Interrupted reprogramming into induced pluripotent stem cells does not rejuvenate human mesenchymal stromal cells
Authors: Göbel Carolin , Goetzke Roman , Eggermann Thomas , Wagner Wolfgang
Published: June 2018

Replicative senescence hampers application of mesenchymal stromal cells (MSCs) because it limits culture expansion, impairs differentiation potential, and hinders reliable standardization of cell products. MSCs can be rejuvenated by reprogramming into induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSCs), which is associated with complete erasure of age- and senescence-associated DNA methylation (DNAm) patterns. However, this process is also associated with erasure of cell-type and tissue-specific epigenetic characteristics that are not recapitulated upon re-differentiation towards MSCs. In this study, we therefore followed the hypothesis that overexpression of pluripotency factors under culture conditions that do not allow full reprogramming might reset senescence-associated changes without entering a pluripotent state. MSCs were transfected with episomal plasmids and either successfully reprogrammed into iPSCs or cultured in different media with continuous passaging every week. Overexpression of pluripotency factors without reprogramming did neither prolong culture expansion nor ameliorate molecular and epigenetic hallmarks of senescence. Notably, transfection resulted in immortalization of one cell preparation with gain of large parts of the long arm of chromosome 1. Taken together, premature termination of reprogramming does not result in rejuvenation of MSCs and harbours the risk of transformation. This approach is therefore not suitable to rejuvenate cells for cellular therapy.
Structures of the heart specific SERCA2a Ca2+-ATPase
Authors: Sitsel Aljona , Raeymaecker Joren De , Drachmann Nikolaj Düring , Derua Rita , Smaardijk Susanne , Andersen Jacob Lauwring , Vandecaetsbeek Ilse , Chen Jialin , Maeyer Marc De , Waelkens Etienne , Olesen Claus , Vangheluwe Peter , Nissen Poul
Published: June 2018

The isoform 2a of sarco/endoplasmic reticulum Ca2+-ATPase (SERCA2a) performs active reuptake of cytoplasmic Ca2+and is a major regulator of cardiac muscle contractility. Dysfunction or dysregulation of SERCA2a is associated with heart failure, while restoring its function is considered as a therapeutic strategy to restore cardiac performance, but its structure was not yet determined. Based on native, active protein purified from pig ventricular muscle, we present the first crystal structures of SERCA2a that were determined in the CPA-stabilized and H+-occluded [H2-3]E2-AlF4- (3.3 Å) form, arranged as parallel dimers, and the Ca2+-occluded [Ca2]E1-ATP (4.0 Å) form. We compare these new structures to similar forms of the skeletal muscle SERCA1a and address structural, functional and regulatory differences. We show that the isoform specific motifs of SERCA2a allow a distinct regulation by post-translational modifications and affect the dynamic behavior, which may explain specific properties and regulation.
BALLI: Bartlett-Adjusted Likelihood-based LInear Model Approach for Identifying Differentially Expressed Gene with RNA-seq Data
Authors: Park Kyungtaek , An Jaehoon , Gim Jungsoo , Won Sungho
Published: June 2018

Motivation

Transcriptomic profiles can improve our understanding of the phenotypic molecular basis of biological research, and many statistical methods have been proposed to identify differentially expressed genes under two or more conditions with RNA-seq data. However, statistical analyses with RNA-seq data often suffer from small sample sizes, and global variance estimates of RNA expression levels have been utilized as prior distributions for gene-specific variance estimates, making it difficult to generalize the methods to more complicated settings. We herein proposed a Bartlett-Adjusted Likelihood based LInear mixed model approach (BALLI) to analyze more complicated RNA-seq data. The proposed method estimates the technical and biological variances with a linear mixed effect model, with and without adjusting small sample bias using Bartlett’s corrections.

Results

We conducted extensive simulations to compare the performance of BALLI with those of existing approaches (edgeR, DESeq2, and voom). Results from the simulation studies showed that BALLI correctly controlled the type-1 error rates at the various nominal significance levels, and produced better statistical power and precision estimates than those of other competing methods in various scenarios. Furthermore, BALLI was robust to variation of library size. It was also successfully applied to Holstein milk yield data, illustrating its practical value.

Availability and Implementation

BALLI is implemented as R package and freely available at http://healthstat.snu.ac.kr/software/balli/.

Contact

won1@snu.ac.kr

Supplementary Information

Supplementary data are available at Bioinformatics online
General decapping activators target different subsets of inefficiently translated mRNAs
Authors: He Feng , Celik Alper , Jacobson Allan
Published: June 2018

The Dcp1-Dcp2 decapping enzyme and the decapping activators Pat1, Dhh1, and Lsm1 regulate mRNA decapping, but their mechanistic integration is unknown. We analyzed the gene expression consequences of deletingPAT1, LSM1,orDHH1,or theDCP2C-terminal domain, and found that: i) the Dcp2 C-terminal domain is an effector of both negative and positive regulation; ii) rather than being global activators of decapping, Pat1, Lsm1, and Dhh1 directly target specific subsets of yeast mRNAs and loss of the functions of each of these factors has substantial indirect consequences for genome-wide mRNA expression; and iii) transcripts targeted by Pat1, Lsm1, and Dhh1 exhibit only partial overlap, are generally translated inefficiently, and, as expected, are targeted to decapping-dependent decay. Our results define the roles of Pat1, Lsm1, and Dhh1 in decapping of general mRNAs and suggest that these factors may monitor mRNA translation and target unique features of individual mRNAs.
Modelling the nuclear envelope ofHeLacells
Authors: Karabağ Cefa , Jones Martin L. , Peddie Christopher J. , Weston Anne E. , Collinson Lucy M. , Reyes-Aldasoro Constantino Carlos
Published: June 2018

This paper describes a framework for the automatic segmentation of the nuclear envelope of cancerous HeLa cells and the modelling of the volumetric shape against an ellipsoid. The framework is automatic and unsupervised and reported a Jaccard Similarity Index of 0.968 against a manual segmentation. The modelling of the surface provides a visual display of the variations, both smooth and rugged over the surface, and measurements can be extracted with the expectation that they can correlate with the biological characteristics of the cells.
Transfer Learning for Task Adaptation of Brain Lesion Assessment and Prediction of Brain Abnormalities Progression/Regression using Irregularity Age Map in Brain MRI
Authors: Rachmadi Muhammad Febrian , Valdés-Hernández Maria del C. , Komura Taku
Published: June 2018

The Irregularity Age Map (IAM) for the unsupervised assessment of brain white matter hyperintensities (WMH) opens several opportunities in machine learning-based brain MRI analysis, including transfer task adaptation learning in the MRI brain lesion’s segmentation and prediction of lesion progression and regression. The lack of need for manual labels is useful for transfer learning. Whereas, the nature of IAM itself can be exploited for predicting lesion progression/regression. In this study, we propose the use of task adaptation transfer learning for WMH segmentation using CNN through weakly-training UNet and UResNet using the output from IAM and the use of IAM for predicting patterns of WMH progression and regression.
Predator odor increases glutamatergic synaptic transmission in the prelimbic cortex via corticotropin-releasing factor receptor 1 signaling
Authors: Hwa Lara S. , Pina Melanie M. , Neira Sofia , Pati Dipanwati , Calloway Rachel , Kash Thomas L.
Published: June 2018

The authors have withdrawn their manuscript because the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill conducted a research misconduct proceeding and concluded that research misconduct occurred involving results presented in this preprint. Hence, the results and conclusions of the preprint article are no longer reliable. The published version of this preprint (Neuropsychopharmacology, doi: 10.1038/s41386-018-0279-2) is being retracted as well. Therefore, the authors do not wish this work to be cited as reference for the project. If you have any questions, please contact the corresponding author.
Effects of Short-time Exposure to Atrazine on miRNA Expression Profiles in the Gonad of Common Carp (Cyprinus carpio)
Authors: Wang Fang , Yang Qian-wen , Zhao Wen-Jie , Du Qi-Yan , Chang Zhong-Jie
Published: June 2018

MicroRNAs (miRNAs) are endogenous small non-coding RNAs that negatively regulate gene expression by targeting specific mRNAs; they are involved in the modulation of important mRNA networks involved in toxicity. Atrazine is a known endocrine-disrupting chemical, whose molecular mechanisms are unknown. In this study, common carp (Cyprinus carpio) gonads at two key developmental stages were exposed to 0.428 ppb atrazine for 24 hin vitro. MiRNA expression profiles were analysed to identify miRNAs related to gonad development and to reveal the atrazine mechanisms interfering with gonad differentiation. Atrazine exposure caused significant alteration of multiple miRNAs. Compared with the juvenile ovary, more miRNAs were down-regulated in juvenile testis, some of these down-regulated miRNAs target the steroid hormone biosynthesis pathway related-genes. Predicted target genes of differently-expressed miRNAs after exposure to atrazine were involved in many reproductive biology signalling pathways. We suggest that these target genes may have important roles in atrazine-induced reproductive toxicity by altering miRNAs expression. Our results also indicate that atrazine can up-regulate aromatase expression through miRNAs, which supports the hypothesis that atrazine has endocrine-disrupting activity by altering the expression of genes of the Hypothalamus-Pituitary-Gonad axis through its corresponding miRNAs. This study tells us the following conclusions: 1. Atrazine exposure results in significant alterations of miRNAs whose predicted target genes are associated with reproductive processes. 2. In the primordial gonad, atrazine promoted the expression of early gonad-determining genes by decreasing specific miRNAs. 3. In the juvenile gonad, atrazine promoted the biosynthesis of steroid hormones.
Identification of candidate master transcription factors within enhancer-centric transcriptional regulatory networks
Authors: Federation Alexander J. , Polaski Donald R. , Ott Christopher J. , Fan Angela , Lin Charles Y. , Bradner James E.
Published: June 2018

Regulation of gene expression through binding of transcription factors (TFs) to cis-regulatory elements is highly complex in mammalian cells. Genome-wide measurement technologies provide new means to understand this regulation, and models of TF regulatory networks have been built with the goal of identifying critical factors. Here, we report a network model of transcriptional regulation between TFs constructed by integrating genomewide identification of active enhancers and regions of focal DNA accessibility. Network topology is confirmed by published TF ChIP-seq data. By considering multiple methods of TF prioritization following network construction, we identify master TFs in well-studied cell types, and these networks provide better prioritization than networks only considering promoter-proximal accessibility peaks. Comparisons between networks from similar cell types show stable connectivity of most TFs, while master regulator TFs show dramatic changes in connectivity and centrality. Applying this method to study chronic lymphocytic leukemia, we prioritized several network TFs amenable to pharmacological perturbation and show that compounds targeting these TFs show comparable efficacy in CLL cell lines to FDA-approved therapies. The construction of transcriptional regulatory network (TRN) models can predict the interactions between individual TFs and predict critical TFs for development or disease.
Convergent gain and loss of genomic islands drive lifestyle changes in plant-associated Pseudomonas
Authors: Melnyk Ryan A. , Hossain Sarzana S. , Haney Cara H.
Published: June 2018

Host-associated bacteria can have both beneficial and detrimental effects on host health. While some of the molecular mechanisms that determine these outcomes are known, little is known about the evolutionary histories of pathogenic or mutualistic lifestyles. Using the model plant Arabidopsis, we found that closely related strains within the Pseudomonas fluorescens species complex promote plant growth and occasionally cause disease. To elucidate the genetic basis of the transition between commensalism and pathogenesis, we developed a computational pipeline and identified genomic islands that correlate with outcomes for plant health. One island containing genes for lipopeptide biosynthesis and quorum sensing is required for pathogenesis. Conservation of the quorum sensing machinery in this island allows pathogenic strains to eavesdrop on quorum signals in the environment and coordinate pathogenic behavior. We found that genomic loci associated with both pathogenic and commensal lifestyles were convergently gained and lost in multiple lineages through homologous recombination, possibly constituting an early step in the differentiation of pathogenic and commensal lifestyles. Collectively this work provides novel insights into the evolution of commensal and pathogenic lifestyles within a single clade of host-associated bacteria.
9p24 triplication in syndromic hydrocephalus with diffuse villous hyperplasia of the choroid plexus
Authors: Furey Charuta , Antwi Prince , Duran Daniel , Timberlake Andrew T. , Nelson-Williams Carol , Matouk Charles C. , DiLuna Michael L. , Günel Murat , Kahle Kristopher T.
Published: June 2018

Hydrocephalus, a disorder of impaired cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) homeostasis, often results from an imbalance between CSF production and reabsorption. Rarely, hydrocephalus is the consequence of CSF hypersecretion in the context of diffuse villous hyperplasia of the choroid plexus (DVHCP). The limited genetic information in previously reported cases suggests a high prevalence of gains of Chromosome 9p in this disease, although the critical genes involved in DVHCP pathogenesis have not been identified. Here, we report a patient with syndromic hydrocephalus with DVHCP associated with a novel 9p24.3-11.2 triplication and 15q13.2-q13.3 microdeletion. We review the clinical, radiological, and pathological features of DVHCP, as well as its surgical management. A better understanding of the genetic basis of DVHCP could spur the development of rational, targeted nonsurgical hydrocephalus treatments.
The rise and fall of Weber indices
Authors: Nespolo Massimo
Published: June 2018

Weber indices were introduced to provide a unique expression of a lattice direction with respect to the four-axis setting used for hexagonal and rhombohedral crystals. They are in general fractional indices, even in the case of a primitive hexagonal unit cell, but they are often carelessly reduced to integer values. This corresponds, on the one hand, to taking as direction indices the nodes of a lattice further from the origin and, on the other hand, to adopting a hybrid indexing between direct and reciprocal space. A critical analysis of the drawbacks of Weber indices is presented, which justifies the reluctance of crystallographers to adopt them, despite a more widespread use in fields like electron microscopy and metal science.
Analysis of moisture management properties of cotton/milkweed blended rotor yarn fabrics
Authors: Karthik T. , Murugan R. , Senthilkumar Pandurangan
Published: June 2018

Purpose

Clothing must also assist the body’s thermal control function under changing physical loads in such a way that the body’s thermal and moisture management is balanced, and a microclimate is created next to the skin. One of the factors which affect moisture transport in a fabric is a fibre type. Hence, the purpose of this paper is to blend the natural hollow and low density fibre, milkweed, with cotton fibre at different proportions and to analyse and compare the influence of milkweed blend proportion on moisture management properties of rotor yarn fabrics with 100 per cent cotton fabric.

Design/methodology/approach

In the present study, cotton/milkweed blended rotor yarns were produced by using S-4 cotton variety and milkweed fibres in three different blend proportions such as cotton/milkweed 80/20, 60/40 and 40/60 along with 100 per cent cotton yarn with yarn count of 20 Ne. The single jersey knitted fabrics were produced with similar constructional parameters and then the fabrics were then scoured, bleached and neutralised as per the standard procedure. The fabrics have been analysed for its various moisture management properties using moisture management tester (MMT) and are statistically analysed.

Findings

The results indicate that, all the C/M blended fabrics have been classified as “moisture management fabric” and 100 per cent cotton fabric has been classified as “Fast absorbing and Quick Drying Fabric”. The overall moisture management capacity of C/M 40/60 fabric is excellent and could be used for summer, active and summer wear applications. One-way ANOVA analysis carried out at 95 per cent confidence level showed that the results are statistically significant. The pair-wise strength and association between various moisture management indices was analysed using Pearson correlation coefficient and observed that OWTC and OMMC was found to be positively and linearly related to each other.

Originality/value

The authors are confident that the cotton/milkweed blended yarns can be used as an inner wear and sportswear applications owing to the higher moisture regain and hollowness of milkweed fibre combined with the low packing density of C/M blended yarns which leads to overall improvement in moisture management properties of fabrics.
An exploration of the extent of Lean Six Sigma implementation in the West of Ireland
Authors: Iyede Richard , Fallon Enda Francis , Donnellan Pat
Published: June 2018

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to explore the extent of Lean Six Sigma (LSS) implementation within manufacturing companies in the West of Ireland. It examines the key success and failure factors, benefits and quality tools influencing LSS projects deployment.

Design/methodology/approach

The study adopted a mixed research method (quantitative and qualitative approach). Research data were collected through a structured survey questionnaire to the target population followed by interview case studies with four manufacturing companies to gather additional insight. The targeted respondents were manufacturing engineers, quality engineers, process improvement managers, operations managers, R&D engineers, LSS experts and validation engineers.

Findings

LSS initiatives are still relatively unknown to many SMEs organisations, whereas large companies have adopted LSS for some time. Top management commitment, understanding the LSS methodology, tools and techniques, integrating LSS to business strategy, organisational cultural change and training and education were the topmost key success factors. Organisational strategy, lack of top management support, expensive cost for LSS projects, unclear prioritisation of LSS projects and cost effectiveness were the most important failure factors influencing LSS implementation.

Originality/value

This research is the original work provided by the author and is expected to address the shortcomings of both SMEs and large organisations in the West of Ireland. The recommendations and frameworks reported in this paper can be used by manufacturing and service companies in Ireland for efficiency, competitiveness and continuous improvement.
Relationship between knowledge sharing and job satisfaction: a systematic review
Authors: Rafique Ghulam Murtaza , Mahmood Khalid
Published: June 2018

Purpose

The purpose of this study was to systematically collect and review the English language studies that provided empirical evidence for the existence of relationship between knowledge sharing (KS) and job satisfaction (JS) and their impact on each other.

Design/methodology/approach

A systematic review of the literature was conducted searching Google Scholar, LISTA, ISI Web of Knowledge, Scopus and ProQuest Dissertation and Theses. Searches were completed through March 2017. Language limit was applied; and manual searching from review articles and some key studies using backward and forward citation from Google Scholar was also completed. Studies determining the relationship or correlation between KS and JS were included and books were excluded in this review. Data extraction and critical appraisal were performed to determine the risk of bias of each study.

Findings

The findings clearly reveal that these two variables had a significant relationship with and were influenced by each other. It is concluded that KS had a positive impact on JS and, similarly, JS had strong effect on KS among the individuals working in different organizations.

Originality/value

This review is first to examine the relationship between KS and JS and their impact on each other by systematically collecting and reviewing the English language studies. This study has theoretical and practical implications for managers and HR departments.
Applications of robotics in test and inspection
Authors: Bogue Robert
Published: June 2018

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to provide an insight on the use of robots in a range of industrial test and inspection applications.

Design/methodology/approach

Following a brief introduction, this discusses robotic test and inspection products and practices in the following applications: pipelines, storage tanks, bridges, marine uses, green energy generation and aerospace. Finally, concluding comments are drawn.

Findings

This shows that robotic test and inspection practices are being used in a wide range of applications across a diversity of industries. This reflects the many operational and economic benefits arising from their use which include the ability to automate certain laborious manual methods; operation in hazardous locations; uses in inaccessible environments such as within pipelines; the ability to deploy several different techniques simultaneously and thus detect multiple potential defects; reduced workforce costs; and, very often, more rapid testing and greater data acquisition rates than are possible with human operators.

Originality/value

This illustrates the increasingly important role played by robotic technologies in industrial test and inspection practices.
Hybrid obstacle avoidance system with vision and ultrasonic sensors for multi-rotor MAVs
Authors: Zhou Qiang , Zou Danping , Liu Peilin
Published: June 2018

Purpose

This paper aims to develop an obstacle avoidance system for a multi-rotor micro aerial vehicle (MAV) that flies in indoor environments which usually contain transparent, texture-less or moving objects.

Design/methodology/approach

The system adopts a combination of a stereo camera and an ultrasonic sensor to detect obstacles and extracts three-dimensional (3D) point clouds. The obstacle map is built on a coarse global map and updated by local maps generated by the recent 3D point clouds. An efficient layered A* path planning algorithm is also proposed to address the path planning in 3D space for MAVs.

Findings

The authors conducted a lot of experiments in both static and dynamic scenes. The results show that the obstacle avoidance system works reliably even when transparent or texture-less obstacles are present. The layered A* path planning algorithm is much faster than the traditional 3D algorithm and makes the system response quickly when the obstacle map has been changed because of the moving objects.

Research limitations/implications

The limited field of view of both stereo camera and ultrasonic sensor makes the system need to change heading first before moving side to side or moving backward. But this problem could be addressed when multiple systems are mounted toward different directions on the MAV.

Practical implications

The developed approach could be valuable to applications in indoors.

Originality/value

This paper presents a robust obstacle avoidance system and a fast layered path planning algorithm that are easy to be implemented for practical systems.
Implementation of open-architecture kinematic controller for articulated robots under ROS
Authors: Gao Yongzhuo , Du Zhijiang , Gao Xueshan , Su Yanyu , Mu Yu , Sun Li Ning , Dong Wei
Published: June 2018

Purpose

This paper aims to present an open-architecture kinematic controller, which was developed for articulated robots, facing the demands of various applications and low cost on robot system.

Design/methodology/approach

A general approach to develop this controller is described in hardware and software design. The hardware consists of embedded boards and programable multi-axes controller (PMAC), connected with ethernet, and the software is implemented on a robot operating system with MoveIt!. The authors also developed a teach pendant running as a LAN node to provide a human–machine interface (HMI).

Findings

The proposed approach was applied to several real articulated robot systems and was proved to be effective and portable. The proposed controller was compared with several similar systems to verify its integrality and flexibility. The openness of this controller was discussed and is summarized at the end of this paper.

Practical implications

The proposed approach provided an open and low-complex solution for experimental studies in the lab and short-run production in small workshops.

Originality/value

Several contributions are made by the research. The actuation model and communication were implemented to integrate the trajectory planning module and PMAC for setting up the physical interface. Method and program interface based on kinematics was provided to generate various interpolations for trajectory planning. A teach pedant with HMI was developed for controlling and programing the robot.
Design and evaluation of the project and program crashing games
Authors: Rumeser David , Emsley Margaret
Published: June 2018

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to help project management (PM) game designers and educators in simulating complexity in PM games and in assessing the effect of simulated project complexity levels on students’ learning experience. To achieve this aim, the authors attempt to design and evaluate two computer-based project crashing games (PCGs) with different complexity levels, namely project crashing game (PCG) and program crashing game (PgCG).

Design/methodology/approach

A literature review is conducted to identify serious games design principles. These principles are then manifested in the design of PCG and PgCG. The latter is a more complex version of the first. Students’ reaction after playing both games are then analyzed quantitatively.

Findings

The authors discover that students’ learning experience is affected by how complex the simulated project is. The more complex the project is (i.e. as in the PgCG), the more realistic the game is perceived. Nevertheless, the authors also discover that the less complex game (PCG) offers significant value to students, particularly to teach basic PM principles to those with minimum or no practical experience. This game is perceived as better in increasing students’ learning confidence as its content is perceived as more relevant to their existing knowledge.

Originality/value

The authors adopt a project complexity perspective when designing and evaluating the games.
Forging effective corporate/nonprofit partnerships for CSR programs
Authors: Remund David L. , McKeever Brooke W.
Published: June 2018

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to examine how corporate and nonprofit leaders partner on public relations for corporate social responsibility (CSR) programs.

Design/methodology/approach

Through semi-structured interviews across the USA, and stretching into Europe and South America, leaders (n=24) from US-based corporations top-ranked for corporate citizenship, and the nonprofit organizations with which they have developed CSR programs, shared insights and best practices.

Findings

Corporate and nonprofit leaders who collaborate on CSR programs spoke independently about several essential shared values, including community-focused collaboration, fiscal responsibility, and strategic alignment. How they described their CSR partnerships reflects a mutual commitment to a distributed leadership model, which involves the need to span organizational boundaries, share unique expertise across levels and roles, and sustain long-term relationships. Consistent with prior research, this study also suggests that communication leaders in both corporations and nonprofit organizations leverage transactional (process-focused) and transformational (people-focused) leadership styles, as they work to build and foster these long-term partnerships.

Research limitations/implications

The findings pinpoint how principles of the distributed leadership model come to life across CSR partnerships and contribute to the success of such partnerships. Corporations and their nonprofit partners must mutually focus on spanning, sharing, and sustaining as they build programs together. These shared principles exemplify a distributed leadership model and help define what CSR partnership truly means.

Originality/value

This study looks at CSR programs beyond just the perspective of the corporation and the public, taking into account the critical role the nonprofit organization plays as a partner in some CSR programming, and within a distributed leadership model.
Examining the impact of message frames on information seeking and processing
Authors: Overton Holly K.
Published: June 2018

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to apply the situational theory of publics and framing theory in the context of environmental corporate social responsibility (CSR) communication research to determine how message frames impact information seeking and processing.

Design/methodology/approach

Using a 3 (message frame: diagnostic, prognostic, or motivational) × 2 (environmental issue: general vs specific) plus control between subjects experimental design, the study examines the attitudes, cognitions, and behavioral intentions different publics may form about two different environmental responsibility issues presented in this study. Furthermore, the study aims to examine how different types of message frames (diagnostic, prognostic, or motivational) and topics may impact how a company can move a public toward information seeking behaviors.

Findings

Based on theoretical considerations, structural equation modeling was used to examine significant paths between variables, thus creating a proposed new theoretical model that can be applied to CSR, public relations, and strategic communication literature.

Originality/value

The study offers a proposed new integrated theoretical model that can be applied to strategic communication literature and used to assist companies with enhancing their CSR communication and strategic communication planning efforts to determine how to move a public toward information seeking behaviors.
Investigating the effect of value stream mapping on operational losses: a case study
Authors: Dadashnejad Ali-Asghar , Valmohammadi Changiz
Published: June 2018

Purpose

One of most important tools for lean production is value stream mapping (VSM), which identifies and reduces errors, losses, waiting time and improves value adding time, leading to enhanced product quality through empowering production unit in terms of production risk and cost reduction in the long term. This paper aims to present a general concept for production flow, such that value stream can be fully understood. For this purpose, this research investigates the effect of value stream on operational losses and analyzes the process that has been conducted in preview step operationally, using the discovered pattern.

Design/methodology/approach

In this research, related processes were evaluated after the review of the relevant literature and after extracting operational basics of lean approach using a questionnaire, such that all factors affecting operational losses and VSM were assessed. Then comparison between the result of current state map and the result of future state map were done and analyzed. Cronbach’s alpha was calculated to test the designed questionnaire’s reliability, which resulted in an acceptable level of 0.845. The structural equation modeling method through SPSS and Smart–Partial Least Square was applied to analyze the data and test the hypotheses.

Findings

The results reveal that implementing required changes and corrections will lead directly to production process improvement, which, in turn, results in higher customer satisfaction because of cost reduction and quality enhancement. Also, tests of the hypotheses confirm that VSM affects six operational losses, namely, equipment failures, set-up and changeovers, idling and minor stoppages, reduced speed operation, scrap and rework and startup losses.

Research limitations/implications

Though this study was done in a single manufacturing company, the implementation of this study delivers important results that can be deployed in other such manufacturing companies.

Practical implications

This tool helps to identify loss points, make right decisions, and choose the best methods and lean tools for improvement. The surveyed company can integrate lean principles and tools and achieve better results using this tool. Also, this tool could be used to analyze the process and to define necessary changes before changing the process components.

Originality/value

This study contributes to the body of knowledge in manufacturing research as the study regarding the effects of improvement opportunities identified through VSM on operational losses is still something new.
A new approach to evaluating entrepreneurial opportunities
Authors: Adel Rastkhiz Seyedeh Elahe , Mobini Dehkordi Ali , Yadollahi Farsi Jahangir , Azar Adel
Published: June 2018

Purpose

In order to answer which opportunities are better to pursue, the purpose of this paper is to propose and empirically test a decision-making model for evaluating and selecting entrepreneurial opportunities.

Design/methodology/approach

First, the authors identified common evaluation criteria through a systematic review of 45 high quality articles published in top entrepreneurship and management journals between 2000 and 2017. Second, fuzzy screening technique has been employed to offer the decision-making model. Third, the authors used data of six evaluations provided by five experts at a medium-sized biotech firm to test the model.

Findings

The study shows that common decision criteria for evaluating entrepreneurial opportunities fall into seven categories. According to these criteria and using fuzzy screening technique, a multi-expert multi-criteria decision-making (ME–MCDM) model has been suggested for evaluating and selecting opportunities.

Practical implications

This model can be served in situations in which decision makers should select a small number of opportunities among the larger set with regard to opportunity profile and minimal information. More opportunities and more decision makers can be included in the model. When the number of opportunities and decision makers are high, it is possible to use programming for fast, accurate and easy calculation.

Originality/value

This study is the first systematic review of opportunity evaluation criteria. It is also the first considering opportunity evaluation as a multi-expert decision-making process.
Toward a metadata model for research information management systems
Authors: Lee Dong Joon , Stvilia Besiki , Wu Shuheng
Published: June 2018

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to examine the relationships between researcher characteristics and their use of metadata in their ResearchGate profiles.

Design/methodology/approach

This paper reports on one part of a larger study that examined researchers’ use of and engagement with research information management systems (RIMSs). The study’s design included qualitative, semi-structured interviews with 15 researchers and a survey completed by 412 researchers. Detailed reports of findings from the interviews and survey can be found elsewhere. This paper reports on the part of the study that analyzed the use of metadata elements in the ResearchGate profiles of 126 survey participants.

Findings

Most researchers shared metadata related to their research rather than their teaching or service. Statistical analyses revealed statistically significant relationships between researchers’ metadata use and their participation levels in RIMSs, as well as between metadata use and researchers’ seniority.

Originality/value

The study’s findings help to identify researchers’ priorities for different metadata elements, as well as to construct profile metadata templates for each specific participation level.