bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Genome-wide Association Study of Anxiety and Stress-related Disorders in the iPSYCH Cohort
Authors: Meier Sandra M. , Trontti Kalevi , Als Thomas Damm , Laine Mikaela , Pedersen Marianne Giørtz , Bybjerg-Grauholm Jonas , Bækved-Hansen Marie , Sokolowska Ewa , Mortensen Preben B. , Hougaard David M. , Werge Thomas , Nordentoft Merete , Børglum Anders D. , Hovatta Iiris , Mattheisen Manuel , Mors Ole
Published: February 2018

Anxiety and stress-related disorders (ASRD) are among the most common mental disorders with the majority of patients suffering from additional disorders. Family and twin studies indicate that genetic and environmental factors are underlying their etiology. As ASRD are likely to configure various expressions of abnormalities in the basic stress-response system, we conducted a genome-wide association study including 12,655 cases with various anxiety and stress-related diagnoses and 19,225 controls. Standard association analyses were performed supplemented by a framework of sensitivity analyses. Variants inPDE4Bshowed consistent association with ASRD across a wide range of our analyses. In mice models, alternations inPDE4Bexpression were observed in those mice displaying anxious behavior after exposure to chronic stress. We also showed that 28% of the variance in ASRD was accounted for by common variants and that the genetic signature of ASRD overlapped with psychiatric traits, educational outcomes, obesity-related phenotypes, smoking, and reproductive success.
Heat shock induces the depletion of Oct4 in mouse blastocysts and stem cells
Authors: Cheng Mo-bin , Wang Xue , Huang Yue , Zhang Ye
Published: February 2018

Temperature is an important microenvironmental factor that functions epigenetically in normal embryonic development. However, the effect of heat shock in the stem cells is not fully understood. Oct4 is a tightly regulated master regulator of pluripotency maintenance in stem cells and during early embryonic development. We report here that Oct4 protein level was significantly reduced under heat shock in mouse blastocysts and embryonic stem cells. The reduction in Oct4 in the mouse embryonic stem cells under heat shock was mediated by a ubiquitin-proteasome pathway that was dependent on the activity of death- associated protein kinase 1 (Dapk1) to phosphorylate its substrate, Pin1. Our results imply that the depletion of Oct4 via brief heat shock, such as a high fever, during early pregnancy might severely impair the growth of the mammalian embryo or even cause its death.
Nonpolar Residues in the Presumptive Pore-Lining Helix of Mechanosensitive Channel MSL10 Influence Channel Behavior and Confirm a Non-Conducting Function
Authors: Maksaev Grigory , Shoots Jennette M. , Ohri Simran , Haswell Elizabeth S.
Published: February 2018

Mechanosensitive (MS) ion channels provide a universal mechanism for sensing and responding to increased membrane tension. MscS-Like(MSL)10 is a relatively well-studied MS ion channel from Arabidopsis thaliana that is implicated in cell death signaling. The relationship between the amino acid sequence of MSL10 and its conductance, gating tension, and opening and closing kinetics remain unstudied. Here we identify several nonpolar residues in the presumptive pore-lining transmembrane helix of MSL10 (TM6) that contribute to these basic channel properties. F553 and I554 are essential for wild type channel conductance and the stability of the open state. G556, a glycine residue located at a predicted kink in TM6, is essential for channel conductance. The increased tension sensitivity of MSL10 compared to close homolog MSL8 may be attributed to F563, but other channel characteristics appear to be dictated by more global differences in structure. Finally, MSL10 F553V and MSL10 G556V provided the necessary tools to establish that MSL10’s ability to trigger cell death is independent of its ion channel function.
Mechanical stress regulates insulin sensitivity through integrin-dependent control of insulin receptor localization
Authors: Kim Jung , Bilder David , Neufeld Thomas P.
Published: February 2018

Insulin resistance, the failure to activate insulin signaling in the presence of ligand, leads to metabolic diseases, including type 2 diabetes. Physical activity and mechanical stress have been shown to protect against insulin resistance, but the molecular mechanisms remain unclear. Here, we address this relationship in the Drosophila larval fat body, an insulin-sensitive organ analogous to vertebrate adipose tissue and livers. We found that insulin signaling in Drosophila fat body cells is abolished in the absence of physical activity and mechanical stress even when excess insulin is present. Physical movement is required for insulin sensitivity in both intact larvae and fat bodies cultured ex vivo. Interestingly, the insulin receptor and other downstream components are recruited to the plasma membrane in response to mechanical stress, and this membrane localization is rapidly lost upon disruption of larval or tissue movement. Sensing of mechanical stimuli is mediated in part by integrins, whose activation is necessary and sufficient for mechanical stress-dependent insulin signaling. Insulin resistance develops naturally during the transition from the active larval stage to the immotile pupal stage, suggesting that regulation of insulin sensitivity by mechanical stress may help coordinate developmental programming with metabolism.
KMT2D regulates p63 target enhancers to coordinate epithelial homeostasis
Authors: Lin-Shiao Enrique , Lan Yemin , Coradin Mariel , Anderson Amy , Donahue Greg , Simpson Cory L. , Sen Payel , Saffie Rizwan , Busino Luca , Garcia Benjamin A. , Berger Shelley L. , Capell Brian C.
Published: February 2018

Epithelial tissues rely on a highly coordinated balance between self-renewal, proliferation, and differentiation, disruption of which may drive carcinogenesis. The epigenetic regulator KMT2D (MLL4) is one of the most frequently mutated genes in all cancers, particularly epithelial cancers, yet its normal function in these tissues is unknown. Here, we identify a novel role for KMT2D in coordinating this fine balance, as depletion of KMT2D from undifferentiated epidermal keratinocytes results in reduced proliferation, premature spurious activation of terminal differentiation genes, and disorganized epidermal stratification. Genome-wide, KMT2D interacts with p63 and is enriched at its target enhancers. Depletion of KMT2D results in a broad loss of enhancer histone modifications H3 Lys 4 (H3K4) monomethylation (H3K4me1) and H3K27 acetylation (H3K27ac) as well as reduced expression of p63 target genes, including key genes involved in epithelial development and adhesion. Together, these results reveal a critical role for KMT2D in the control of epithelial enhancers and p63 target gene expression, including the requirement of KMT2D for the maintenance of epithelial progenitor gene expression and the coordination of proper terminal differentiation.
Three-step transcriptional priming that drives the commitment of multipotent progenitors toward B cells
Authors: Miyai Tomohiro , Takano Junichiro , Endo Takaho A. , Kawakami Eiryo , Agata Yasutoshi , Motomura Yasutaka , Kubo Masato , Kashima Yukie , Suzuki Yutaka , Kawamoto Hiroshi , Ikawa Tomokatsu
Published: February 2018

Stem cell fate is orchestrated by core transcription factors (TFs) and epigenetic modifications. Although regulatory genes that control cell type specification are identified, the transcriptional circuit and the cross-talk among regulatory factors during cell fate decisions remain poorly understood. To identify the “time-lapse” TF networks during B-lineage commitment, we used multipotent progenitors harboring a tamoxifen-inducible form of Id3, an in vitro system in which virtually all cells became B cells within 6 d by simply withdrawing 4-hydroxytamoxifen (4-OHT). Transcriptome and epigenome analysis at multiple time points revealed that ∼10%–30% of differentially expressed genes were virtually controlled by the core TFs, including E2A, EBF1, and PAX5. Strikingly, we found unexpected transcriptional priming before the onset of the key TF program. Inhibition of the immediate early genes such as Nr4a2, Klf4, and Egr1 severely impaired the generation of B cells. Integration of multiple data sets, including transcriptome, protein interactome, and epigenome profiles, identified three representative transcriptional circuits. Single-cell RNA sequencing (RNA-seq) analysis of lymphoid progenitors in bone marrow strongly supported the three-step TF network model during specification of multipotent progenitors toward B-cell lineage in vivo. Thus, our findings will provide a blueprint for studying the normal and neoplastic development of B lymphocytes.
Enhancement of measurement accuracy of X-ray PIV in comparison with the micro-PIV technique
Authors: Park Hanwook , Jung Sung Yong , Park Jun Hong , Kim Jun Ho , Lee Sang Joon
Published: February 2018

The X-ray PIV (particle image velocimetry) technique has been used as a non-invasive measurement modality to investigate the haemodynamic features of blood flow. However, the extraction of two-dimensional velocity field data from the three-dimensional volumetric information contained in X-ray images is technically unclear. In this study, a new two-dimensional velocity field extraction technique is proposed to overcome technological limitations. To resolve the problem of finding a correction coefficient, the velocity field information obtained by X-ray PIV and micro-PIV techniques for disturbed flow in a concentric stenosis with 50% severity was quantitatively compared. Micro-PIV experiments were conducted for single-plane and summation images, which provide similar positional information of particles as X-ray images. The correction coefficient was obtained by establishing the relationship between velocity data obtained from summation images (VS) and centre-plane images (VC). The velocity differences betweenVSandVCalong the vertical and horizontal directions were quantitatively analysed as a function of the geometric angle of the test model for applying the present two-dimensional velocity field extraction technique to a conduit of arbitrary geometry. Finally, the two-dimensional velocity field information at arbitrary positions could be successfully extracted from X-ray images by using the correction coefficient and several velocity parameters derived fromVS.
Crystal structures of methyl 3,5-dibromo-4-cyanobenzoate and methyl 3,5-dibromo-4-isocyanobenzoate
Authors: Noland Wayland E. , Herzig Ryan J. , Engwall Abigail J. , Jensen Renee C. , Tritch Kenneth J.
Published: February 2018

The title crystals, C9H5Br2NO2, are the first reported 2,6-dihalophenyl cyanide–isocyanide pair that have neither three- nor two-dimensional isomorphism. Both crystals contain contacts between the carbonyl O atom and a Br atom. In the crystal of the cyanide,R22(10) inversion dimers form based on C[triple-bond]N...Br contacts, a common packing feature in this series of crystals. In the isocyanide, the corresponding N[triple-bond]C...Br contacts are not observed. Instead, the isocyano C atom forms contacts with the methoxy C atom. RNC was refined as a two-component pseudo-merohedral twin.
2,2′-Bipyridin-1′-ium 1-oxide bromide monohydrate
Authors: Heintz Katharina , Görls Helmar , Imhof Wolfgang
Published: February 2018

The title compound 2,2′-bipyridin-1′-ium 1-oxide bromide crystallizes as a monohydrate, C10H9N2+·Br−·H2O. Structural disorder is observed due to the fact that protonation, as well as oxidation, of the N atoms of 2,2′-bipyridine occurs at either of the N atoms. The disorder extends to the remainder of the cation, with a refined occupancy rate of 0.717 (4) for the major moiety. An intramolecular N—H...O hydrogen bond forces the bipyridine unit into ans-cisconformation. Each pair of neighbouring 2,2′-bipyridin-1′-ium ions forms a dimeric aggregate by hydrogen bonds between their respective N—O and the N—H functions. These dimers and hydrogen-bonding interactions with bromide ions and the water molecule give rise to a complex supramolecular arrangement.
Crystal structure of dimethyl 1-oxo-2,4-diphenyl-1,2-dihydronaphthalene-2,3-dicarboxylate
Authors: Jagadeesan Gajendran , Chandramalar Immanuel Monica , Karunakaran Jayachandran , Gopinath Solaiappan , Mohanakrishnan Arasambattu K.
Published: February 2018

In the title compound, C26H20O5, a 1,2-dihydronaphthalene derivative, the cyclohexa-1,3-diene ring of the 1,2-dihydronaphthalene ring system adopts a half-chair conformation. The mean plane of the 1,2-dihydronapthalene ring system makes dihedral angles of 86.23 (6) and 64.80 (7)° with two phenyl rings. The carbonyl O atom attached to the dihydronaphthalene ring system deviates from the mean plane of the 1,2-dihydronaphthalene ring system by 0.618 (1) Å. In the crystal, the molecules are linked into layers parallel to thebcplaneviatwo kinds of C—H...O interactions, one of which forms aC(10) chain motif running along thec-axis direction and the other forms anR22(6) ring motif. Adjacent layers are further connected by C—H...π and offset π–π interactions [centroid–centroid distance = 3.6318 (9) Å].
Crisis history tellers matter
Authors: Eaddy LaShonda Louallen , Jin Yan
Published: February 2018

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to explore crisis history further. The paper also examines the possible impact of information source on publics’ perceptions. The study seeks to expound on the tenets of the situational crisis communication theory (SCCT), particularly the underutilized crisis history component.

Design/methodology/approach

The study used a 3 × 3 between-subjects experiment design to examine the effects of crisis history and information source on publics’ crisis emotions, perception of crisis responsibility, control, and organizational reputation. Participants were 174 undergraduate students from a large Southeastern university.

Findings

The study’s findings suggest that an organization’s crisis history by the media can increase publics’ perceived organizational control (referred to as personal control) in a crisis situation. However, negative crisis history told by the media can evoke more severe public anger in a crisis. A positive crisis history still could lead to negative perceptions.

Research limitations/implications

The study uses a fictional crisis scenario that may not evoke the same emotions or perceptions as an actual crisis.

Practical implications

Crisis communicators concerned with angry publics should focus less on traditional media relations and more on new media to reach other gatekeepers; or focus more heavily on media strategy since the media is more likely to elicit more anger among publics. Furthermore, a positive crisis history does not give organizations a pass in current crises.

Originality/value

Although the SCCT identifies crisis history as an intensifier of attribution of responsibility, few studies have examined crisis history.
Communicative management of tensions by MSIs for water resilience
Authors: Mitra Rahul
Published: February 2018

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to undertake a comparative case study (Stake, 2006) of two multi-stakeholder initiatives (MSIs) building resilient water systems to address how they communicatively frame and manage key tensions. “Glacier” is the North American convener of an MSI focused on developing reliable and measurable standards of water stewardship in catchment areas around the world. “Delta” convenes a MSI centered on the water economy, with the goal to connect and help diverse organizations around “the business of water.”

Design/methodology/approach

Qualitative data were analyzed using Tracy’s (2013) pragmatic-iterative method, which envisions ongoing cycles of theme generation and refinement, and draws on both induction and deduction to identity and sort themes. The “reflexive circular process” it involves helped trace how tensional poles were framed and managed.

Findings

For Glacier, the key tensions were: creating new and distinct standards while reiterating extant measures; collective decision making although privileging corporate interests; and fixed impact performance that is nevertheless fluid. Delta also displayed three tensions: focus on the ecological issue connecting the MSI or partner benefits; broader ethics of water stewardshipvis-à-vislocal considerations; and avowing a bipartisan agenda although politics remained central to its everyday work.

Research limitations/implications

The paper underlines how communicative framing and management of tensions are key to developing resilience for socioecological systems. It highlights how traditional organizational boundaries and collectives are disrupted in seeking resource system resilience, and suggests that texts and conversations might emphasize tensions differently.

Practical implications

First, MSI conveners and members working for resource system resilience should use visioning exercises to see how tensional poles might be dialectical, rather than focus on stark differences. Second, ongoing dialogue and evaluation can help trace alternative tension frames. Third, since context and MSI purpose matter in framing tensions, practitioners should be careful while transferring lessons learned across MSIs.

Originality/value

This paper contributes to resilience scholarship by underlining how the communicative management of tensions is vital to developing adaptive complexity and learning capabilities within broader socioecological systems – especially with MSIs working on complex wicked problems.
Why are you watching? Video surveillance in organizations
Authors: Hagen Christina S. , Bighash Leila , Hollingshead Andrea B. , Shaikh Sonia Jawaid , Alexander Kristen S.
Published: February 2018

Purpose

Organizations and their actors are increasingly using video surveillance to monitor organizational members, employees, clients, and customers. The use of such technologies in workplaces creates a virtual panopticon and increases uncertainty for those under surveillance. Video surveillance in organizations poses several concerns for the privacy of individuals and creates a security-privacy dilemma for organizations to address. The purpose of this paper is to offer a decision-making model that ties in ethical considerations of access, equality, and transparency at four stages of video surveillance use in organizations: deployment of cameras and equipment, capturing footage, processing and storing data, and editing and sharing video footage. At each stage, organizational actors should clearly identify the purpose for video surveillance, adopt a minimum capability necessary to achieve their goals, and communicate decisions made and actions taken that involve video surveillance in order to reduce uncertainty and address privacy concerns of those being surveilled.

Design/methodology/approach

The paper proposes a normative model for ethical video surveillance organizational decision making based on a review of relevant literature and recent events.

Findings

The paper provides several implications for the future of dealing with security-privacy dilemmas in organizations and offers structured considerations for corporation leaders and decision makers.

Practical implications

The paper includes implications for organizations to approach video surveillance with ethical considerations for stakeholder privacy while balancing security demands.

Originality/value

This paper offers a framework for decision-makers that also offers opportunities for further research around the concept of ethics in organizational video surveillance.
Trends and effects of pharmaceutical DTCA
Authors: Preechavuthinant Sathorn , Willis William , Coustasse Alberto
Published: February 2018

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to investigate the current trend of pharmaceutical direct-to-consumer advertising (DTCA) in the USA and its effect to patients, physicians and drug utilization. The DTCA of pharmaceutical firms is defined as an attempt of pharmaceutical companies to advertise product directly to patients.

Design/methodology/approach

The methodology used is literature review complemented with a semi-structured interview.

Findings

Pharmaceutical DTCA showed a reduction in total spending, whereas the online channel experienced growth. DTCA affected the physician–patient relationship and patient satisfaction. Patients who received medication associated with DTCA showed higher satisfaction. DTCA of second-line drugs resulted in an increase of first-line drug utilization. Benefits of pharmaceutical DTCA include enhancing appropriate drug utilization and increasing awareness. DTCA might cause harm by interfering with physician’s decisions regarding drug choice.

Research limitations/implications

Limitations include limited available information of DTCA spending from pharmaceutical companies and lack of quantitative data on the effect of pharmaceutical DTCA. In addition, DTCA is sometimes affected by research bias.

Practical implications

Improvement in the physician–patient relationship and patient satisfaction, as well as in the quality of care provided may be demonstrated.

Social implications

Pharmaceutical firms using DTCA marketing advertisement methodologies can increase awareness of underdiagnosed conditions and affect medication costs and the utilization of appropriate drug utilization.

Originality/value

Review highlights current relationships between DTCA, patients, physicians and drug utilization to explore the effects DTCA on consumers.
Smart phone addiction and mindfulness: an intergenerational comparison
Authors: Kim Kaeun , Milne George R. , Bahl Shalini
Published: February 2018

Purpose

Young consumers are particularly vulnerable to the addictive nature of smart phone technology. This paper aims to investigate the smart phone addiction cycle and health outcomes of young and old consumers from the lens of consumers’ mindfulness traits.

Design/methodology/approach

Qualitative and quantitative studies reveal that the lack of mindfulness, measured as a mindless trait, is strongly associated with smart phone addictions and health and quality of life outcomes.

Findings

Differences in mindlessness and smart phone-generated health outcomes are found between younger and older consumers. The negative impact of mindlessness on quality of life was greater for younger adults than older adults.

Research limitations/implications

This research establishes baseline effects between the mindless trait and smart phone addiction levels.

Practical implications

Paper suggests the marketing of mindfulness programs and the use of marketplace apps to combat addiction issues.

Social implications

Smart phone addiction is a growing problem, and this paper contributes to the understanding of the problem and offers societal solutions for its resolution.

Originality/value

This is the first empirical paper to investigate the connection between a mindless trait and smart phone tendencies and resulting health outcomes.
Brand equity and the role of emergency medical care service quality of private cardiac institutes
Authors: Altaf Mohsin , Tabassum Nageena , Mokhtar Sany Sanuri Mohd
Published: February 2018

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to investigate the impact of health-care quality of emergency medical services on brand equity of cardiac institutes by using industry-specific measure, 5Qs model of health-care service quality (HCSQ).

Design/methodology/approach

Survey method technique has been used to collect data from the patients availing emergency medical services from 12 cardiac institutes. Effective responses have been received from 393 patients from four localities. Systematic sampling technique has been used to collect data from the respondents. Partial least square structural equation modeling using smartPLS 2.0 has been used to analyze the results.

Findings

Findings of the study reveal that HCSQ has weak relationship with hospital brand loyalty but strong relationship with brand image and brand awareness. Furthermore, brand awareness and brand image have strong relationship with brand loyalty. Furthermore, brand image and brand loyalty have strong relationship with overall hospital brand equity but found nonsignificant relationship of brad awareness with overall hospital brand equity.

Originality/value

The principal contribution of the paper is to provide the insight on the impact of emergency HCSQ on brand equity of the private cardiac hospitals. Second, this study is first in branding literature that has used industry-specific scale 5Qs model to measure the service quality of emergency medical care and its impact on private sector cardiac hospital’s brand equity. Previously researchers used generic scales that were insufficient to measure the service quality of specialized industries (Babakus and Mangold, 1992; Carman, 1990; Caro and Garcia, 2007).
Value-added medicines: is there any room between market access challenges and “patient centricity”?
Authors: Barei Fereshteh
Published: February 2018

Purpose

The purpose of this study is to shed light on the importance of innovation and patient centricity to improve the existing pharmaceutical products. In the pharmaceutical industry, defining the “value” or “added value” of medicines is a very complex issue that requires objective information about how they can make people healthier and what “value” means to patients. In light of “value creation” strategy for the existing medicines, many original and generic pharmaceutical companies hope to create new portfolios to enter into new markets, to capture more market share or to strengthen their market position in the existing markets. The fact that “value” and “added value” are not static and change rather rapidly over the time, cannot always facilitate market access for the so-called improved or repurposed/repositioned versions now claiming “added-value” status. The only way “added value” category can promote smarter drug pricing scenarios and access to markets, is focusing on “patient Centricity” while innovating for satisfying their unmet medical needs.

Design/methodology/approach

This article is designed and structured by two methodologies: the first one is based on face to face interviews and the second one is focused on literature review regarding the value added pharmaceuticals.

Findings

There is an increasing confusion regarding “value-added” pharmaceuticals. This term is mainly used to define improved generic versions. This article discusses the “added-value” of this improvement for patients and manufacturers. By launching such products, these companies attempt to become more “innovative and patient-centric”. Furthermore, adopting a patient-centric strategy as a framework for optimizing the modified pharmaceuticals can create value, new pricing models may emerge through this strategy and can promote the “value” of these products by facilitating their access to higher margins.

Research limitations/implications

Limited to an European discussion around the value-added pharmaceuticals.

Practical implications

The facts about value added medicines. The real classifications of these products.

Social implications

For patients and health care systems, it is important to trust to real value in pharmaceutical treatments. If their “added value” is not justified by scientific proofs, if it is not patient centric, then they can occupy the status of the next generation of generic medicines a category between innovative and pure generics.

Originality/value

This is an original topic which was never discussed before.
Confusion in internet retailing: causes and consequences
Authors: Garaus Marion
Published: February 2018

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to introduce the new construct online shopper confusion and to identify online confusion causes and consequences.

Design/methodology/approach

Data obtained from a projective technique and a quantitative study were analyzed to identify online shopper confusion causes. Two experiments employing different stimulus materials tested the conceptualized consequences of online shopper confusion.

Findings

Confusing online store elements are classified into three online confusion causes. Data yielded from two experiments using fictitious and real shopping scenarios as stimulus material show that a confusing internet retail process leads to negative consumer reactions.

Research limitations/implications

The resulting taxonomy of confusing online store elements offers guidance on the creation of non-confusing online shopping trips, and highlights the relevance of a non-confusing internet retail process. Online shopper confusion is linked to negative behavioral reactions. Consequently, this research offers an explanation for undesirable consumer reactions in internet retailing.

Practical implications

The findings provide practitioners with concrete insights into how the internet retail process confuses shoppers which help to assess the confusion potential of their existing online stores and consider confusion issues in the development of new online stores.

Originality/value

This research is the first to explore confusion during the internet retail process. The multi-method approach offers highly valid insights into the causes and consequences of online shopper confusion.
From entity to process: toward more process-based theorizing in the field of organizational change
Authors: Wenzel Matthias , Koch Jochen
Published: February 2018

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to make a case for more process-based theorizing in the field of organizational change.

Design/methodology/approach

To emphasize the importance of a process perspective on organizational change, this paper challenges the prevalent theorizing approach that treats organizational change as entity and argues that process-based theorizing can help researchers gain a better understanding of organizational change.

Findings

To direct future research toward more process-based theorizing, this paper proposes a systematic four-step procedure for the analysis of qualitative data that helps researchers theorize organizational change from a process perspective.

Originality/value

Overall, this paper contributes to theorizing efforts in the field of organizational change by offering a reflective account on the challenges that entity-based theorizing entails, strengthening the position of process-based theorizing in light of these challenges and providing an outlook on how scholars can develop theoretical insights on organizational change from a process perspective.
Is gold a hedge or a safe haven? An application of ARDL approach
Authors: Shakil Mohammad Hassan , Mustapha Is’haq Muhammad , Tasnia Mashiyat , Saiti Buerhan
Published: February 2018

Purpose

The argument whether gold is a hedge or haven is a debatable issue. Mainly, hedge is a class of asset that is negatively correlated with another asset or portfolio on average. On the other hand, a safe haven is an asset or portfolio which is negatively correlated with another asset or portfolio at the time of market turmoil. Therefore, the purpose of this research is to take Saudi Arabia as an example to examine the relationship of gold price in Saudi Arabia with key determinants such as the stock market index, oil prices, exchange rate, interest rate and consumer price index (CPI) by application of the autoregressive distributed lag model (ARDL).

Design/methodology/approach

The ARDL analysis was employed by using six variables based on the application of monthly time series data that were collected from 2011 to 2015.

Findings

From the present analysis, it has been discovered that gold is useful as a portfolio hedge and as a hedge against inflation because it is not affected by the CPI. External factors, for example, financial crisis, may be harmful to the CPI, thus adding a certain percentage of gold in the investment portfolio may assist in decreasing the level of risk at the time of financial turmoil.

Originality/value

Because gold seems to be a useful portfolio hedge, as well as an inflation hedge, government policies to curb the import of gold may be futile. The present research suggests that policies that directly address the causes of inflation and provide alternative investment opportunities for retail investors may better serve the objective of decreasing gold imports.
DEGSA-VMM
Authors: Polepally Vijayakumar , Chatrapati K. Shahu
Published: February 2018

Purpose

This paper aims to develop the Dragonfly-based exponential gravitational search algorithm to VMM strategy for effective load balancing in cloud computing. Due to widespread growth of cloud users, load balancing is the essential criterion to deal with the overload and underload problems of the physical servers. DEGSA-VMM is introduced, which calculates the optimized position to perform the virtual machine migration (VMM).

Design/methodology/approach

This paper presents an algorithm Dragonfly-based exponential gravitational search algorithm (DEGSA) that is based on the VMM strategy to migrate the virtual machines of the overloaded physical machine to the other physical machine keeping in mind the energy, migration cost, load and quality of service (QoS) constraints. For effective migration, a fitness function is provided, which selects the best fit that possess minimum energy, cost, load and maximum QoS contributing toward the maximum energy utilization.

Findings

For the performance analysis, the experimentation is performed with three setups, with Setup 1 composed of three physical machines with 12 virtual machines, Setup 2 composed of five physical machines and 19 virtual machines and Setup 3 composed of ten physical machines and 28 virtual machines. The performance parameters, namely, QoS, migration cost, load and energy, of the proposed work are compared over the other existing works. The proposed algorithm obtained maximum resource utilization with a good QoS at a rate of 0.19, and minimal migration cost at a rate of 0.015, and minimal energy at a rate of 0.26 with a minimal load at a rate of 0.1551, whereas with the existing methods like ant colony optimization (ACO), gravitational search algorithm (GSA) and exponential gravitational search algorithm, the values of QoS, load, migration cost and energy are 0.16, 0.1863, 0.023 and 0.29; 0.16, 0.1863, 0.023 and 0.28 and 0.18, 0.1657, 0.016 and 0.27, respectively.

Originality/value

This paper presents an algorithm named DEGSA based on VMM strategy to determine the optimum position to perform the VMM to achieve a better load balancing.
CEO overpayment and underpayment: executives, governance and institutions
Authors: Hitt Michael , Haynes Katalin Takacs
Published: February 2018

Purpose

Based on the findings of Aguinis et al. (2018) that only a few executives are properly compensated, the purpose of this paper is to examine potential causes and consequences of CEO overpayment and underpayment. Ineffective compensation of the CEO represents a governance failure by the board of directors. Better understanding the reasons for such failures may help boards to correct their processes and to enact more effective governance. Boards must look beyond the normally constrained focus of agency theory to examine executive characteristics and motivation. Thus, tailoring compensation plans and governance to the executive and organizational context requires attention to a broader set of theoretical notions.

Design/methodology/approach

Using the Aguinis et al. (2018) work, this paper conceptually identifies and explains the causes and consequences of CEO overpayment and underpayment along with their implications for governance and future research.

Findings

This paper identifies potential reasons for CEO overpayment and underpayment. For example, in addition to poor hiring decisions and inadequately designed compensation plans, CEO overpayment can occur because of executive hubris and greed. Alternatively, CEO underpayment may occur because of a poorly designed plan, inadequate information about the external labor market and the executive’s interests in non-pecuniary benefits (e.g. socio-emotional wealth, altruism). Without proper monitoring and oversight by the board, firm performance commonly suffers.

Originality/value

This work extends our understanding of why CEOs may be overpaid (e.g. hubris, greed) and why some executives may accept underpayment (e.g. desire for non-pecuniary benefits from SEW or altruism). This paper explains the consequences of ineffective corporate governance practices that allow inefficient CEO compensation. Finally, this paper explores several contingencies that can affect the governance practices and research needed to enhance our knowledge of this important area.
Do CEOs receive the pay they deserve? A new vantage on a familiar question
Authors: Wowak Adam J. , Mannor Michael J. , Crossland Craig
Published: February 2018

Purpose

This paper aims to explore the implications of Aguinis and colleagues’ study, and in particular their claim that the inconsistency between chief executive officer (CEO) pay and CEO performance is reflective of a fundamental injustice. In doing so, the authors highlight issues regarding the meaning of fairness in the context of CEO pay, the extent to which CEOs can personally affect firm performance and the challenges in ascertaining whether CEOs are overpaid, underpaid or appropriately paid.

Design/methodology/approach

The authors use a conceptual approach, integrating research on executive compensation and managerial discretion to lend nuance to Aguinis and colleagues’ arguments and findings.

Findings

The main takeaway of the commentary is that CEO pay fairness is a complex and multifaceted matter that can be difficult to broadly characterize. The evidence offered by Aguinis and colleagues regarding power law distributions and the weak overlap between CEO pay and CEO performance is compelling, but questions about income inequality and pay fairness rarely lend themselves to straightforward answers. Some caution is thus warranted when evaluating Aguinis and colleagues’ conclusion that the US CEO labor market is pervasively unfair.

Originality/value

The authors urge scholars who build on the work of Aguinis and colleagues to pay heed to the challenges in reconciling the twin concepts of CEO pay and CEO performance.
Comments on two sides of CEO pay injustice
Authors: Conyon Martin J.
Published: February 2018

Purpose

This is a short commentary on Herman Aguinis, Geoffrey Martin, Luis Gomez-Mejia, Ernest Boyle and Harry Joo (2017): “Two sides of CEO pay injustice: A power law conceptualization of CEO over and underpayment.”

Design/methodology/approach

Using insights from prior studies on executive compensation, the author’s commentary presents a critical evaluation of “Two sides of CEO pay injustice: […].” In addition, the author offers potential avenues for further research.

Findings

The paper “Two sides of CEO pay injustice” is well executed and makes several significant contributions to the management and executive compensation literature. Particularly, noteworthy are the use of advanced quantitative methods, the use of power law distributions to explain chief executive officer (CEO) pay outcomes, the focus on pay-for-performance and the role of justice in CEO outcomes. The author’s commentary in the present paper discusses the measurement of CEO pay and performance, poses alternative estimation methods to explore the pay-for-performance link and offers thoughts on justice theory in the context of CEO pay.

Research limitations/implications

The authors’ findings may be briefly stated as CEO pay is better described by a power law distribution than a normal distribution, CEO pay is not linked to firm performance and the patterns of CEO pay does not conform to patterns of distributive justice. Overall, the authors provide an important way to evaluate CEO pay outcomes. Thy set the stage for new avenues of research.

Practical implications

CEO pay is a highly controversial subject in the domain of corporate governance. This paper offers boards of directors and policymakers a method to better understand the success or failure of boardroom pay policies.

Social implications

CEO pay is an important social measure.

Originality/value

The authors’ paper is original by offering a method for determining over and underpayment of CEOs. The author in the present paper makes suggestions on how one might extend the research.
An examination of the factors affecting consumer’s purchase decision in the Malaysian retail market
Authors: Hanaysha Jalal Rajeh
Published: February 2018

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to examine the effects of corporate social responsibility, social media marketing, sales promotion, store environment and perceived value on a purchase decision in the retail sector.

Design/methodology/approach

A quantitative research methodology was used and the data were collected from 278 customers of retail stores in Malaysia. The collected data were analysed using SPSS 19 and structural equation modelling on AMOS.

Findings

The findings showed that corporate social responsibility has significant positive effects on a purchase decision, whereas sales promotion has a negative effect on purchase decision. The outcomes of this study also indicated that store environment has a significant positive effect on consumers’ purchase decisions. Contrary to expectations, the findings revealed that the effect of social media marketing on purchase decision is insignificant. Finally, the results showed that perceived value has a significant positive effect on a purchase decision.

Originality/value

The findings of this study contribute to an understanding of the importance of the selected factors in affecting a consumer’s purchase decision in the retail industry.
Rapid larval development under time stress reduces adult life span through increasing oxidative damage
Authors: Janssens Lizanne , Stoks Robby
Published: February 2018

While a trade‐off between larval development and adult life span is key to understand why not all animals develop at their maximum rate and why life histories align along a fast‐slow continuum, it has been rarely studied. More general, the physiological mechanisms underlying life‐history trade‐offs are poorly understood and there is ongoing debate about the mediatory role of oxidative stress.

We explicitly investigated the role of oxidative stress in mediating the trade‐off between larval development and adult life span in the damselfly Lestes viridis. We exposed larvae to time stress (by manipulating photoperiods) and manipulated oxidative stress levels using the mitochondrial uncoupler 2,4‐dinitrophenol (DNP) that causes a reduced production of reactive oxygen species. In addition, we considered other costs of an accelerated development in terms of reductions in immune function (the activity of phenoloxidase [PO]) and energy storage (fat content).

Larvae accelerated their development but not growth under time stress, allowing to identify costs of rapid development without confounding effects of rapid growth. Rapid development came at the cost of a much shorter life span, which was associated with an increase in oxidative damage to lipids, proteins and DNA. Other costs in the adult stage of a rapid larval development included a lower body mass and reduced immune function, while the fat and protein contents were not reduced.

Time‐stressed animals exposed to DNP developed even faster and did not show the increase in oxidative damage. Notably, they did not suffer the costs of rapid development: they had no shorter life span, lower body mass or reduced PO activity.

Our results provide strong experimental support for a trade‐off between rapid development and life span and for the mediatory role of oxidative stress in shaping this life‐history trade‐off. Our study highlights that manipulation of mitochondrial uncoupling may be a powerful method to study the mechanistic underpinnings of life‐history trade‐offs.

A plain language summary is available for this article.
Arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi as mediators of ecosystem responses to nitrogen deposition: A trait‐based predictive framework
Authors: Treseder Kathleen K. , Allen Edith B. , Egerton‐Warburton Louise M. , Hart Miranda M. , Klironomos John N. , Maherali Hafiz , Tedersoo Leho
Published: February 2018

Anthropogenic nitrogen (N) deposition is exposing plants and their arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi (AMFs) to elevated N availability, often leading to shifts in communities of AMF. However, physiological trade‐offs among AMF taxa in their response to N enrichment vs the ability to acquire other soil nutrients could have negative effects on plant and ecosystem productivity. It follows that information on the functional traits of AMF taxa can be used to generate predictions of their potential role in mediating ecosystem responses to N enrichment.

Arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi taxa that produce extensive networks of external hyphae should forage for N and phosphorus (P) more effectively, but these services incur greater carbon (C) costs to the plant. If N enrichment ameliorates plant nutrient limitation, then plants may reduce C available for AMF, which in turn could eliminate AMF taxa with large extensive external hyphae from the soil community. As a result, the remaining AMF taxa may confer less P benefit to their host plants.

Using a synthesis of data from the literature, we found that the ability of a taxon to persist in the face of increasing soil N availability was particularly high in isolates from the genus Glomus, but especially low among the Gigasporaceae. Across AMF genera, our data support the prediction that AMF with a tolerance for high soil N may confer a lower P benefit to their host plant. Relationships between high N tolerance and production of external hyphae were mixed.

Synthesis. If the relationship between N tolerance and plant P benefit is widespread, then shifts in arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi communities associated with N deposition could have negative consequences for the ability of plants to acquire P and possibly other nutrients via a mycorrhizal pathway. Based on this relationship, we predict that arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi responses could constrain net primary productivity in P‐limited ecosystems exposed to N enrichment. This prediction could be tested in future empirical and modelling studies.
Melanization of mycorrhizal fungal necromass structures microbial decomposer communities
Authors: Fernandez Christopher W. , Kennedy Peter G.
Published: February 2018

Mycorrhizal fungal necromass is increasingly recognized as an important contributor to soil organic carbon pools, particularly in forest ecosystems. While its decomposition rate is primarily determined by biochemical composition, how traits such as melanin content affect the structure of necromass decomposer communities remains poorly understood.

To assess the role of biochemical traits on microbial decomposer community composition and functioning, we incubated melanized and non‐melanized necromass of the mycorrhizal fungus Meliniomyces bicolor in Pinus‐ and Quercus‐dominated forests in Minnesota, USA and then assessed the associated fungal and bacterial decomposer communities after 1, 2 and 3 months using high‐throughput sequencing.

Melanized necromass decomposed significantly slower than non‐melanized necromass in both forests. The structure of the microbial decomposer communities depended significantly on necromass melanin content, although the effect was stronger for fungi than bacteria. On non‐melanized necromass, fungal communities were dominated by r‐selected ascomycete and mucoromycete microfungi early and then replaced by basidiomycete ectomycorrhizal fungi, while on melanized necromass these groups were co‐dominant throughout the incubation. Bacterial communities were dominated by both specialist mycophageous and generalist taxa.

Synthesis. Our results indicate that necromass biochemistry not only strongly affects rates of decomposition but also the structure of the associated decomposer communities. Furthermore, the observed colonization patterns suggest that fungi, and particularly ectomycorrhizal fungi, may play a more important role in necromass decomposition than previously recognized.