bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
De novoidentification of satellite DNAs in the sequenced genomes ofDrosophila virilisandD. americanausing the RepeatExplorer and TAREAN pipelines
Authors: Silva Bráulio S.M.L. , Heringer Pedro , Dias Guilherme B. , Svartman Marta , Kuhn Gustavo C.S.
Published: September 2019

Satellite DNAs are among the most abundant repetitive DNAs found in eukaryote genomes, where they participate in a variety of biological roles, from being components of important chromosome structures to gene regulation. Experimental methodologies used before the genomic era were not sufficient despite being too laborious and time-consuming to recover the collection of all satDNAs from a genome. Today, the availability of whole sequenced genomes combined with the development of specific bioinformatic tools are expected to foster the identification of virtually all of the “satellitome” from a particular species. While whole genome assemblies are important to obtain a global view of genome organization, most assemblies are incomplete and lack repetitive regions. Here, we applied short-read sequencing and similarity clustering in order to perform ade novoidentification of the most abundant satellite families in twoDrosophilaspecies from thevirilisgroup:Drosophila virilisandD. americana. These species were chosen because they have been used as a model to understand satDNA biology since early 70’s. We combined computational tandem repeat detection via similarity-based read clustering (implemented in Tandem Repeat Analyzer pipeline – “TAREAN”) with data from the literature and chromosome mapping to obtain an overview of satDNAs inD. virilisandD. americana. The fact that all of the abundant tandem repeats we detected were previously identified in the literature allowed us to evaluate the efficiency of TAREAN in correctly identifying true satDNAs. Our results indicate that raw sequencing reads can be efficiently used to detect satDNAs, but that abundant tandem repeats present in dispersed arrays or associated with transposable elements are frequent false positives. We demonstrate that TAREAN with its parent method RepeatExplorer, may be used as resources to detect tandem repeats associated with transposable elements and also to reveal families of dispersed tandem repeats.
CK2-dependent phosphorylation of the Brg1 chromatin remodeling enzyme occurs during mitosis
Authors: Padilla-Benavides Teresita , Haokip Dominic T. , Yoon Yeonsoo , Reyes-Gutierrez Pablo , Rivera-Pérez Jaime A. , Imbalzano Anthony N.
Published: September 2019

Brg1 (Brahma related gene 1) is one of two mutually exclusive ATPases that can act as the catalytic subunit of mammalian SWI/SNF chromatin remodeling enzymes that facilitate utilization of the DNA in eukaryotic cells. Brg1 is a phospho-protein and its activity is regulated by specific kinases and phosphatases. Previously, we showed that Brg1 interacts with and is phosphorylated by casein kinase 2 (CK2) in a manner that regulates myoblast proliferation. Here we demonstrate that the Brg1-CK2 interaction occurred during mitosis in embryonic somites and in primary myoblasts derived from satellite cells isolated from muscle tissue. The interaction of CK2 activity with Brg1 and the incorporation of a number of other subunits into the mSWI/SNF enzyme complex were independent of CK2 enzymatic activity. CK2-mediated hyperphosphorylation of Brg1 was observed in mitotic cells derived from multiple cell types and organisms, suggesting functional conservation across tissues and species. The mitotically hyperphosphorylated form of Brg1 was localized with soluble chromatin, demonstrating that CK2-mediated phosphorylation of Brg1 is associated with specific partitioning of Brg1 within sub-cellular compartments. Thus CK2 acts a mitotic kinase that regulates Brg1 phosphorylation and sub-cellular localization.

HIGHLIGHTS

Interactions between CK2 and the Brg1 chromatin remodeling enzyme occur during mitosis

CK2-Brg1 interactions are independent of CK2 catalytic activity

CK2-mediated phosphorylation of Brg1 is a mitotic event

CK2-mediated phosphorylation of Brg1 is conserved across mammalian cell types

The mitotically hyperphosphorylated form of Brg1 is localized with soluble chromatin
Wheat Germ Agglutinin Conjugated Fluorescent pH Sensors for Visualizing Proton Fluxes
Authors: Zhang Lejie , Zhang Mei , Bellve Karl , Fogarty Kevin , Castro Maite A. , Brauchi Sebastian , Kobertz William R.
Published: September 2019

Small molecule fluorescent wheat germ agglutinin (WGA) conjugates are routinely used to demarcate mammalian plasma membranes because they bind to the cell’s glycocalyx. Here we describe the derivatization of WGA with a pH sensitive rhodamine fluorophore (pHRho: pKa = 7) to detect proton channel fluxes and extracellular proton accumulation and depletion from primary cells. We found that WGA-pHRho labeling was uniform, did not appreciably alter the voltage-gating of glycosylated ion channels, and the extracellular changes in pH directly correlated with proton channel activity. Using single plane illumination techniques, WGA-pHRho was used to detect spatiotemporal differences in proton accumulation and depletion over the extracellular surface of cardiomyocytes, astrocytes, and neurons. Because WGA can be derivatized with any small molecule fluorescent ion sensor, WGA conjugates should prove useful to visualize most electrogenic and non-electrogenic events on the extracellular side of the plasma membrane.
Novel insights into N-glycan fucosylation and core xylosylation in C. reinhardtii
Authors: Oltmanns Anne , Hoepfner Lara , Scholz Martin , Zinzius Karen , Schulze Stefan , Hippler Michael
Published: September 2019

Chlamydomonas reinhardtii N-glycans carry plant typical β1,2-core xylose, α1,3-fucose residues as well as plant atypical terminal β1,4-xylose and methylated mannoses. In a recent study, XylT1A was shown to act as core xylosyltransferase, whereby its action was of importance for an inhibition of excessive Man1A dependent trimming. N-Glycans found in a XylT1A/Man1A double mutant carried core xylose residues, suggesting the existence of a second core xylosyltransferase in C. reinhardtii. To further elucidate enzymes important for N-glycosylation, novel single knockdown mutants of candidate genes involved in the N-glycosylation pathway were characterized. In addition, double, triple and quadruple mutants affecting already known N-glycosylation pathway genes were generated. By characterizing N-glycan compositions of intact N-glycopeptides from these mutant strains by mass spectrometry, a candidate gene encoding for a second putative core xylosyltransferase (XylT1B) was identified. Additionally, the role of a putative fucosyltransferase was revealed. Mutant strains with knockdown of both xylosyltransferases and the fucosyltransferase resulted in the formation of N-glycans with strongly diminished core modifications. Thus, the mutant strains generated will pave the way for further investigations on how single N-glycan core epitopes modulate protein function in C. reinhardtii.

Significance Statement

Our data provide novel insights into the function of XylT1B and FucT in C. reinhardtii as N-glycan core modifying enzymes. In the course of our study, different mutants were created by genetic crosses showing either varying or a lack of N-glycan core modification, enabling comparative analyses in relation to single N-glycan core epitope and overall protein function in C. reinhardtii.
SK4 calcium-activated potassium channels activated by sympathetic nerves enhances atrial fibrillation vulnerability in a canine model of acute stroke
Authors: Yang Mei , Wang Youcheng , Xiong Xiaoxing , Xie Baojun , Liu Jia , Yin Junkui , Zi Liuliu , Wang Xi , Tang Yanhong , Huang Congxin , Zhao Qingyan
Published: September 2019

New-onset atrial fibrillation (AF) is common in patients with acute stroke (AS). Studies have shown that intermediate-conductance KCa channels (SK4) play an important role in cardiomyocyte automaticity. The aim of this study was to investigate the effects of SK4 on AF vulnerability in dogs with AS. Eighteen dogs were randomly divided into a control group, AS group and left stellate ganglion ablation (LSGA) group. In the control group, dogs received craniotomy without right middle cerebral artery occlusion (MCAO). AS dogs were established using a cerebral ischemic model with right MCAO. LSGA dogs underwent MCAO, and LSGA was performed. Three days later, the dispersion of the effective refractory period (dERP) and AF vulnerability in the AS group were significantly increased compared with those in the control group and LSGA group. However, no significant difference in dERP and AF vulnerability was found between the control group and the LSGA group. The SK4 inhibitor (TRAM-34) completely inhibited the inducibility of AF in AS dogs. SK4 expression and levels of noradrenaline (NE), β1-AR, p38 and c-Fos in the atrium were higher in the AS dogs than in the control group or LSGA group. However, no significant difference in SK4 expression or levels of NE, β1-AR, p38 and c-Fos in the left atrium was observed between the control group and LSGA group. SK4 plays a key role in AF vulnerability in a canine model with AS. The effects of LSGA on AF vulnerability were associated with the p38 signaling pathways.
The synergistic co-operation of N—H...O=P hydrogen bonds and C—H...OX weak intermolecular interactions (X is =P or —C) in the (CH3O)2P(O)(NH–NHC6F5) amidophosphoester: a combined X-ray crystallographic and theoretical study
Authors: Vahdani Alviri Banafsheh , Pourayoubi Mehrdad , Farhadipour Abolghasem , Kaur Manpreet , Jasinski Jerry P.
Published: September 2019

The asymmetric unit of O,O′-dimethyl [(2,3,4,5,6-pentafluorophenyl)hydrazinyl]phosphonate, C8H8F5N2O3P, is composed of two symmetry-independent molecules with significant differences in the orientations of the C6F5 and OMe groups. In the crystal structure, a one-dimensional assembly is mediated from classical N—H...O hydrogen bonds, which includes R
2
2(8), D(2) and some higher-order graph-set motifs. By also considering weak C—H...O=P and C—H...O—C intermolecular interactions, a two-dimensional network extends along the ab plane. The strengths of the hydrogen bonds were evaluated using quantum chemical calculations with the GAUSSIAN09 software package at the B3LYP/6-311G(d,p) level of theory. The LP(O) to σ*(NH) and σ*(CH) charge-transfer interactions were examined according to second-order perturbation theory in natural bond orbital (NBO) methodology. The hydrogen-bonded clusters of molecules, including N—H...O and C—H...O interactions, were constructed as input files for the calculations and the strengths of the hydrogen bonds are as follows: N—H...O [R
2
2(8)] > N—H...O [D(2)] > C—H...O. The decomposed fingerprint plots show that the contribution portions of the F...H/H...F contacts in both molecules are the largest.
Polymorphism and photoluminescence properties of K3ErSi2O7
Authors: Dabić Predrag , Nikolić Marko G. , Kovač Sabina , Kremenović Aleksandar
Published: September 2019

Two polymorphs of tripotassium erbium disilicate, K3ErSi2O7, were synthesized by high-temperature flux crystal growth during the exploration of the flux technique for growing new alkali rare-earth elements (REE) containing silicates. Their crystal structures were determined by single-crystal X-ray diffraction analysis. One of them (denoted1) crystallizes in the space groupP63/mmcand is isostructural with disilicates K3LuSi2O7, K3ScSi2O7and K3YSi2O7, while the other (denoted2) crystallizes in the space groupP63/mcmand is isostructural with disilicates K3NdSi2O7, K3REESi2O7(REE = Gd–Yb), K3YSi2O7, K3(Y0.9Dy0.1)Si2O7and K3SmSi2O7. In the crystal structure of polymorph1, the Er cations are in an almost perfect octahedral coordination, while in the crystal structure of polymorph2, part of the Er cations are in a slightly distorted octahedral coordination and the other part are in an ideal trigonal prismatic coordination environment. Sharing six corners, disilicate Si2O7groups in the crystal structure of polymorph1link six ErO6octahedra, forming a three-dimensional network and nine-coordinated potassium cations are located in its holes. In the crystal structure of polymorph2, the disilicate Si2O7groups connect four ErO6octahedra, as well as one ErO6trigonal prism. Three differently coordinated potassium cations are situated between them. Different site symmetries of the erbium cations in the crystal structures of polymorphs1and2affect their photoluminescence properties. Only polymorph2exhibits luminescence. Intense narrow lines in the emission spectrum are a result of the 4f–4ftransition. The green emission line at 560 nm is the result of the Er3+transition4S3/2→4I15/2, and the luminescence line at 690 nm is the result of a4F9/2→4I15/2transition. The crystal morphologies of the two polymorphs are similar. Crystals of polymorph1are in the form of a hexagonal prism in combination with a hexagonal base, while crystals of polymorph2contain a dihexagonal prism in combination with a hexagonal base, although poorly developed faces of the dihexagonal pyramid can also be noticed.
Democratizing innovation processes: personal initiative in bottom-up eco-innovation
Authors: Weigt-Rohrbeck Josefine , Linneberg Mai Skjøtt
Published: September 2019

Purpose

Previous work on employee-driven innovation (EDI) has demonstrated the benefits of employees’ proactive behavior in achieving success with innovations. The purpose of this paper is to employ the concept of personal initiative to investigate the underestimated role of employees’ agency in complex processes of innovation, showing the impact of personal initiative on employees’ innovation success.

Design/methodology/approach

Based on two embedded cases of environmental bottom-up innovation at a large manufacturing company, this study examines employees’ behavior in generating, championing and realizing such initiatives.

Findings

This paper provides insights into how employees succeeded, through taking initiative in generating, championing and realizing environmental initiatives despite facing high complexity, and resource constraints. Without being prompted from the top down, employees started these initiatives themselves and showed phase-specific behavior in overcoming the various challenges. Thus, self-starting behavior was found dominant in generating ideas, whereas proactive and persistent forms of behavior were found to be prevalent in championing and rolling out the initiatives.

Originality/value

Current understandings of EDI highlight the importance of developing employees’ potential capabilities and organizational-level guidance. Using an active performance perspective, this study emphasizes the importance of employees’ agency in ensuring EDI success, even when conditions are not conducive to their doing so.
Demographic variables as moderators between QWL and OCB
Authors: Yadav Mohit , Rangnekar Santosh , Srivastava Anugamini Priya
Published: September 2019

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to examine the impact of quality of work life (QWL) on organizational citizenship behaviour (OCB) of employees. Also, the paper examines the role of demographic variables, i.e. gender, position and type of organization as moderators of relationship between QWL and OCB.

Design/methodology/approach

A survey with sample of 375 was used in this study. PROCESS tool by Hayes (2013) was used to analyze the relation between QWL, OCB and demographic variables.

Findings

QWL was found to positively influence OCB. Gender and type of organization were found to moderate the relationship, whereas position failed to moderate the relation significantly.

Practical implications

The study reinforced the significance of QWL practices by organizations to improve extra-role behaviours of employees. Also, importance of considering gender and the industry you are in is emphasized in using and designing the QWL programme for employees.

Originality/value

While many antecedents have been studied in relation to OCB, QWL is rarely discussed. The paper attempts to reemphasize QWL’s importance in doing so in light of demographic variables as moderators.
Strategizing for the bottom of the pyramid: an action research into a Mexican agribusiness
Authors: Hernandez-Cazares Rafael , Lawson-Lartego Late , Mathiassen Lars , Quinonez-Romandia Sergio
Published: September 2019

Purpose

While recent research has established that businesses can benefit from engaging with people at the bottom of the pyramid (BOP), the authors know little about the practices that managers can use to effectively strategize this ethically sound and financially attractive proposition and turn it into new business.

Design/methodology/approach

To address this gap, the authors reported on an action research study in which the authors collaborated with a major Mexican agribusiness, ANSA, to expand its market through value co-creation with the country’s poorest farmers. To shape the strategizing, the authors combined dynamic capability theory and options theory, and the authors used the asset hexagon framework to understand the BOP population’s needs.

Findings

The authors offer a detailed account of how ANSA’s management team collaborated downstream with distributors and farmers and upstream with suppliers to grow a new micro-franchise business that increases the well-being of the poorest farmers and creates additional business opportunities. The research describes how firms can strategize and implement new business ventures for co-creating value with the BOP population. The results are a process model and related propositions for strategizing value co-creation with BOP.

Originality/value

The authors offer new empirical insights, a grounded process model and model-related propositions on strategizing BOP options. As such, the study contributes to the BOP literature by joining critical ethics with actionable knowledge of how such efforts may unfold and by demonstrating how theory may be enacted and developed in the process.
Impact of risk perception on customer purchase behavior: a meta-analysis
Authors: Li Zhihong , Sha Yongzhong , Song Xuping , Yang Kehu , ZHao Kun , Jiang Zhixin , Zhang Qingxia
Published: September 2019

Purpose

Risk perception is an essential factor affecting how individuals evaluate risk, make decisions and behave. The impact of risk perception on customer purchase behavior has been widely studied; however, the association has been debated. Therefore, the purpose of this paper is to examine the relationship between risk perception and customer purchase behavior and to examine factors that could moderate it.

Design/methodology/approach

This study conducted a meta-analysis of this relationship and examined factors that could moderate it. Six databases were comprehensively searched. Two reviewers independently selected the studies for inclusion, extracted data and assessed quality. Pearson's r was used as the effect estimate. A total of 33 studies were included in the meta-analysis.

Findings

The results revealed a negative relationship between risk perception and customer purchase behavior. The geographical region, purchase channel and country development level affected the relationship. The correlation between perceived risk and purchase behavior in European consumers was the highest, followed by the correlation in American consumers; the weakest correlation was found in Asian consumers. For consumers in developed countries, perceived risk had a stronger negative influence on customer purchase behavior than that for consumers in developing countries. The perceived risk of online purchase channels had a stronger negative impact on customer purchase behavior than that of offline purchase channels.

Research limitations/implications

Risk perception is a useful context in which to explain barriers to customer purchase behavior. In addition, reducing consumers’ risk perception and perfecting the market transaction process with respect to buying behavior should be further studied.

Originality/value

The findings of this review indicate a direct negative relationship between risk perception and customer purchase behavior. To the best of the authors’ knowledge, this review is the first to meta-analytically summarize the impact of risk perception on customer purchase behavior in social sciences research, and it also illuminates new perspectives for future studies.
Do Fama–French common risk-factor portfolio investors herd on a daily basis? Implications for common risk-factor regressions
Authors: Senarathne Chamil W.
Published: September 2019

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to examine whether Fama–French common risk-factor portfolio investors herd on a daily basis for five developed markets, namely, Europe, Japan, Asia Pacific ex Japan, North America and Globe.

Design/methodology/approach

To examine the herd behavior of common risk-factor portfolio investors, this paper utilizes the cross-sectional absolute deviations (CSAD) methodology, covering a daily data sampling period of July 1990 to January 2019 from Kenneth R. French-Data Library. CSAD driven by fundamental and non-fundamental information is assessed using Fama–French five-factor model.

Findings

The results do not provide evidence for herding under normal market conditions, either when reacting to fundamental information or non-fundamental information, for any region under consideration. However, Fama–French common risk-factor portfolio investors mimic the underlying risk factors in returns related to size and book-to-market value, size and operating profitability, size and investment and size and momentum of the equity stocks in European and Japanese markets during crisis period. Also, no considerable evidence is found for herding (on fundamental information) under crisis and up-market conditions except for Japan. Ancillary findings are discussed under conclusion.

Research limitations/implications

Further research on new risk factors explaining stock return variation may help improve the model performance. The performance can be improved by adding new risk factors that are free from behavioral bias but significant in explaining common stock return variation. Also, it is necessary to revisit the existing common risk factors in order to understand behavioral aspects that may affect cost of capital calculations (e.g. pricing errors) and valuation of investment portfolios.

Originality/value

This is the first paper that examines the herd behavior (fundamental and non-fundamental) of Fama–French common risk-factor investors using five-factor model.
Innovation in family firms: an empirical taxonomy of owners using a mixed methods approach
Authors: Salmon Udeni , Allman Kurt
Published: September 2019

Purpose

The increasingly competitive manufacturing sector has made innovation crucial for the continued survival of family-owned SMEs. However, family firm owners are highly heterogenous and their diverse characteristics influence their approach to innovation. The purpose of this paper is to provide solutions to two heterogeneity related innovation problems: first, the failure of generic innovation policy advice to address the specific types of family firm owners; and second, the difficulty for owners in understanding how their innovation approach compares to their competitors. The solution is to create a taxonomy of family firm owner-innovators which creates innovator types. This taxonomy addresses these two problems: first, the taxonomy enables policy advice to be tailored to a particular innovator types; and second, the taxonomy allows owners to understand the strengths and weaknesses of their particular approach to innovation.

Design/methodology/approach

The approach is to develop a taxonomy through exploratory factor analysis (n=1,284) and firm owner interviews (n=27) in a mixed methods study. Socio-emotional wealth theory interprets the findings.

Findings

The findings present a taxonomy of family firm innovators which contains five types: the spontaneous radical, the statist altruist, the patient opportunist, the curious traveller and the insular denier.

Research limitations/implications

There are two major limitations: first, a taxonomy is static and does not include the temporal dimension of innovation which can change according to the firm lifecycle stage and, by implication, the changing preferences of a maturing firm owner; and second, the mixed methods approach of using two data sets which themselves used differing definitions of “family firm” has introduced the possibility that the constructs developed from the quantitative study may not have the precision or clarity of a study that uses a single data set with a single definition.

Practical implications

The practitioner implications from the research stem from the diagnostic potential of the taxonomy. SME family firm owners can establish their innovation approach by using the taxonomy to decide which type of innovator they are and by adopting an innovation approach that counterbalances the weaknesses of their type.

Social implications

The social implications are to improve the innovation potential of the family firm community by offering practical support to their innovation activities.

Originality/value

The originality of the research is in its contribution to knowledge on the role of ownership type in directing the innovation approach of SME family firms. The value of the research is in offering a theoretically informed original taxonomy that is of both academic and practical value.
Health maintenance of Japanese rural small enterprise shopkeepers
Authors: Ohashi Yuki , Sugawara Sanae , Muraoka Koko , Ozaki Akiko
Published: September 2019

Purpose

Though shopkeepers in small enterprises (SSEs) are pioneers in rethinking retirement, working ages and the lifestyles of an aging society, some pertinent health issues remain unexplored. Using narratives of shopkeepers in small, rural enterprises, the purpose of this paper is to investigate the ways of thinking about health maintenance.

Design/methodology/approach

This study employed an ethnographic approach. In total, 20 shopkeepers and residents in a rural shopping street in Tohoku, in northeast Japan, were interviewed between June 2016 and May 2017. These interviews were analysed inductively.

Findings

The ways shopkeepers think about health maintenance are expressed through an interaction with their personal history. Shopkeepers and customers used narratives to arrive at novel methods to re-think health maintenance. Through data analysis, the cultural theme of maintaining vitality through long-lasting self-struggle supported by cooperation and familiar membership was identified. This cultural theme was related to three sub-themes: struggle stimulated by flexibility and responsibility; cooperation by devoting personal capital; and compensation through family support.

Practical implications

There is a growing focus on the important role that SSEs play in rural health. The results of this study will enable rural nurses to approach and develop health via communal interaction. In addition, the support of the family through cooperation at home should be enhanced.

Originality/value

There exists the potential for shopkeepers to develop a care strategy for small enterprise-related work. This strategy could enhance active ageing and promote a sustainable healthy life.
Asset management with TEV and VaR constraints: the constrained efficient frontiers
Authors: Palomba Giulio , Riccetti Luca
Published: September 2019

Purpose

This paper aims to perform an analytical analysis on portfolio allocation when a tracking error volatility (TEV) constraint holds, drawing specific attention to the portfolio efficiency issue. Indeed, it is well known that investors can assign part of their funds to asset managers who are given the task of beating a benchmark portfolio. However, the risk management office often imposes a TEV constraint to the asset managers’ activity to maintain the portfolio risk near to the risk of the benchmark. This situation could lead asset managers to select non efficient portfolios in the total return and absolute risk perspective. However, the risk management office can impose further constraints, such as on maximum variance or maximum value at risk (VaR) to maintain the overall portfolio risk under control.

Design/methodology/approach

First the authors define the TEV constrained-efficient frontier (ECTF), a set of TEV constrained portfolios that are mean–variance efficient. Second, they define two new portfolio frontiers analyzing how the imposition of a maximum variance or maximum VaR restriction can reduce the ECTF. Third, they investigate the feasibility of such portfolio frontiers and their relationships.

Findings

The authors find that variance or VaR constraint can force asset managers to pursue portfolio efficiency.

Originality/value

This is a practically important issue given that asset managers often receive a constraint on TEV from the risk management office, but the risk management office does not ask them to minimize the TEV as often assumed in the optimizations performed in the literature on this topic.
Information technology, governance and insurance in Sub-Saharan Africa
Authors: Asongu Simplice , Nnanna Joseph , Acha-Anyi Paul
Published: September 2019

Purpose

This study aims to investigate the role of information and communication technology (ICT) in modulating the effect of governance on insurance penetration in 42 Sub-Saharan African countries using data for the period 2004-2014.

Design/methodology/approach

Two insurance indicators are used in the analysis, namely, life insurance and non-life insurance. The three ICT modulating dynamics used include mobile phone penetration, internet penetration and fixed broadband subscriptions. Six governance channels are also considered, namely, political stability, “voice & accountability”, regulation quality, government effectiveness, the rule of law and corruption-control. The empirical evidence is based on generalized method of moments.

Findings

The following main findings are established. First, mobile phone penetration does not significantly modulate governance channels to positively affect life insurance while it effectively complements “voice & accountability” to induce a positive net effect on non-life insurance. Second, internet penetration complements governance dynamics of political stability, government effectiveness and rule of law to induce positive net effects on life insurance and corruption-control for an overall positive effect on non-life insurance. Third, the relevance of fixed broadband subscriptions in promoting life insurance is apparent via governance channels of regulation quality, government effectiveness and the rule of law while fixed broadband subscriptions do not induce significant overall net effects on non-life insurance though the conditional effects are overwhelmingly significant.

Originality/value

To the best of the authors’ knowledge, studies on the relevance of ICT in promoting insurance consumption through governance channels are sparse, especially for a region such as Sub-Saharan Africa where insurance penetration is low compared to other regions of the world.
An analysis of design process and performance in distributed data science teams
Authors: Maier Torsten , DeFranco Joanna , Mccomb Christopher
Published: September 2019

Purpose

Often, it is assumed that teams are better at solving problems than individuals working independently. However, recent work in engineering, design and psychology contradicts this assumption. This study aims to examine the behavior of teams engaged in data science competitions. Crowdsourced competitions have seen increased use for software development and data science, and platforms often encourage teamwork between participants.

Design/methodology/approach

We specifically examine the teams participating in data science competitions hosted by Kaggle. We analyze the data provided by Kaggle to compare the effect of team size and interaction frequency on team performance. We also contextualize these results through a semantic analysis.

Findings

This work demonstrates that groups of individuals working independently may outperform interacting teams on average, but that small, interacting teams are more likely to win competitions. The semantic analysis revealed differences in forum participation, verb usage and pronoun usage when comparing top- and bottom-performing teams.

Research limitations/implications

These results reveal a perplexing tension that must be explored further: true teams may experience better performance with higher cohesion, but nominal teams may perform even better on average with essentially no cohesion. Limitations of this research include not factoring in team member experience level and reliance on extant data.

Originality/value

These results are potentially of use to designers of crowdsourced data science competitions as well as managers and contributors to distributed software development projects.
Managing practitioners’ experience and generational differences for adopting lean production principles
Authors: Tortorella Guilherme , Miorando Rogério , Meiriño Marcelo , Sawhney Rapinder
Published: September 2019

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to investigate the effect of practitioners’ experience and generational differences on the adoption level of lean production (LP) principles in their daily decisions and behaviors.

Design/methodology/approach

The authors carried out a cross-sector survey with 135 practitioners from different Brazilian manufacturers that have been implementing LP for at least five years. Collected data were analyzed based on multivariate techniques.

Findings

The results show how different combinations between practitioners’ LP experience and generational characteristics may entail a higher likelihood of adopting LP principles. While members from generation X do not seem to be associated with the adoption of LP principles, the ones from generations Y and Z are differently related with LP based upon their experience levels.

Originality/value

The understanding of individual differences for adopting LP principles allows the establishment of proper expectations with respect to each practitioner’s openness to change. Studies that address the adoption level of LP principles based on certain individual characteristics, such as practitioners’ experience with lean implementation and their generational values and beliefs, are scarce in the literature.
Dynamic capabilities and the knowledge nexus
Authors: Daniel Lisa J. , Huang Fang
Published: September 2019

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to propose alternative ways to develop and leverage organisational knowledge by considering the nexus of data managed by information and communications technologies and the expertise of human capacity. In doing so this paper challenges current understanding of tacit–explicit knowledge boundaries and presents a third dimension of knowledge which can be developed as a strategic organisational resource.

Design/methodology/approach

This conceptual paper seeks to extend current understanding of knowledge and presents the organisational knowledge nexus as a confluence of information, knowledge resources and human potential. Knowledge management is explored through the theoretical frameworks of the knowledge nexus and a model of triadic knowledge. Their conceptualisation and development are discussed and illustrated.

Findings

This research suggests the potential for organisational knowledge resources to be advanced is greater, if organisations can strategically use the knowledge nexus with a triadic perspective of knowledge. A framework for knowledge development with increasing levels of insight is proposed.

Research limitations/implications

As a novel conceptual work this research has limitations of newness. It presents a challenge to conventional thinking because of the subliminal nature of latent knowledge and the causal ambiguity of its development process in the knowledge nexus. The potential of latent knowledge and its transition process in the organisational knowledge nexus has significant implications for organisational knowledge development.

Originality/value

The concepts of latent knowledge, the knowledge nexus and their potential ability to develop and leverage organisational knowledge resources presents a paradigm shift to currently accepted understanding of knowledge systems and organisational knowledge management. The originality and value of this work comes through its contribution to broadening our understanding of the scope and potential of organisational knowledge resources and their processes of transition and development.
Molecular characteristics of methicillin‐resistant Staphylococcus aureus isolated from skin and soft tissue infections collected in the Japanese nationwide surveillance
Authors: Kaku Norihito , Ohnishi Takamitsu , Matsumoto Tetsuya , Watanabe Shinichi , Yanagihara Katsunori
Published: September 2019

Skin and soft tissue infections (SSTI) are a common infection among both outpatients and inpatients. The most frequently isolated bacterium in SSTI was Staphylococcus aureus, a quarter of which was methicillin‐resistant S. aureus (MRSA). In this study, to investigate molecular epidemiology of the 141 MRSA strains collected in the Japanese nationwide surveillance, we performed multiplex real‐time polymerase chain reaction to detect staphylococcal cassette chromosome mec (SCCmec) type and virulence genes. The percentage of SCCmec types I, II, III and IV was 1.4%, 52.5%, 5.7% and 40.4%, respectively. According to the SCCmec type, we classified the strains into health‐care‐associated (HA)‐MRSA (n = 84) and community‐associated (CA)‐MRSA (n = 57). Among the virulence genes, the percentage of enterotoxin C gene‐positive strains was significantly higher in CA‐MRSA than in HA‐MRSA. No significant differences were detected between the two groups in terms of antibiotic susceptibility and patients’ background information, classification of SSTI or symptoms of SSTI.
Porous social orders
Authors: GERSHON ILANA
Published: September 2019

Many cultural anthropologists today share a common theoretical commitment: to view the people they encounter during fieldwork as living among multiple social orders that are interconnected and contingent. When social orders are multiple, ethnographers are quickly faced with the question of how people construct the boundaries between these social orders to be both durable (enough) to keep social orders distinct and porous (enough) to allow people, objects, forms, and ideas to circulate across them in appropriate ways. What counts as appropriate is, not surprisingly, often hotly contested. Despite contemporary ethnographers’ varied intellectual trajectories, a crosscutting set of theoretical assumptions unites their work and shapes how they approach familiar anthropological foci, such as circulation, ritual, scale, and power. [porous boundaries, social orders, circulation, ritual, scale, power, fieldwork, ethnography, theory]
Evaluating the interplay between subclinical levels of mental health symptoms and coordination dynamics
Authors: Macpherson Margaret Catherine , Marie Dannette , Schön Sophia , Miles Lynden K.
Published: September 2019

Viewed under the broad theoretical umbrella of an embodied–embedded approach to psychological activity, body movements can be seen to play an essential role in shaping social interaction. Of note, research concerning the embodiment of social cognition has documented key differences in non‐verbal behaviour during social interaction for individuals diagnosed with a range of disorders, including social anxiety disorder and autism spectrum disorder. The present work sets out to extend these findings by better understanding the interplay between subclinical variation in psychopathology and social‐motor coordination, a key component of effective interaction. We asked participants, in pairs, to swing hand‐held pendula that varied in their intrinsic movement characteristics. Extending previous clinically oriented work (Varlet et al., 2014, Frontiers in Behavioral Neuroscience, 8, 29), our results indicated that subclinical variation in mental health status was predictive of disruption to the patterns of coordination dynamics that characterize effective social exchange. This work provides further evidence for the utility of theorizing social interaction as a self‐organizing dynamical system and strengthens support for the claim that disruption to interpersonal coordination may act as an embodied–embedded marker of variation in mental health.
Near‐infrared photoimmunotherapy through bone
Authors: Nakamura Yu A. , Okuyama Shuhei , Furusawa Aki , Nagaya Tadanobu , Fujimura Daiki , Okada Ryuhei , Maruoka Yasuhiro , Eclarinal Philip C. , Choyke Peter L. , Kobayashi Hisataka
Published: September 2019

Near‐infrared photoimmunotherapy (NIR‐PIT) is a molecularly targeted cancer phototherapy that is based on injecting a conjugate of a silicon‐phthalocyanine derivative, IRdye 700DX (IR700), and a monoclonal antibody that targets an expressed antigen on the cancer cell surface. Subsequent local exposure to NIR light results in the rapid and highly selective immunogenic cell death of targeted cancer cells. Because many cancers grow in bones through which light does not penetrate well, the goal of this study was to determine if NIR‐PIT can effectively treat cancers in bone. A bovine rib was used as a bone sample. Because the sample’s NIR light transmittance was shown to be approximately 4.52% in preliminary tests, it was hypothesized that a maximum radiation dosage of 128 and 1500 J/cm2 would be sufficient to induce cell death in in vitro target cells and in vivo mouse tumor models, respectively. Cell viability was measured through bioluminescence studies comparing relative luciferase activity, as well as a cytotoxicity assay. In the in vitro model, tumor cell viability was significantly decreased after 64 and 128 J/cm2 NIR light irradiation through the bone. An in vivo mouse tumor model also showed that 1500 J/cm2 NIR light irradiation through the bone significantly reduced tumor viability at both 24 and 48 hours posttreatment compared to the control group (P = .026 and .040 respectively). Therefore, despite limitations in light transmission, NIR‐PIT nevertheless is capable of effectively treating cancers within bone.
Regenerative potential of human dental pulp stem cells in the treatment of stress urinary incontinence: In vitro and in vivo study
Authors: Zordani Alessio , Pisciotta Alessandra , Bertoni Laura , Bertani Giulia , Vallarola Antonio , Giuliani Daniela , Puliatti Stefano , Mecugni Daniela , Bianchi Giampaolo , de Pol Anto , Carnevale Gianluca
Published: September 2019

Objectives

To evaluate the regenerative potential of human dental pulp stem cells (hDPSCs) in an animal model of stress urinary incontinence (SUI). SUI, an involuntary leakage of urine, is due to physical stress involving an increase in bladder pressure and a damage of external urethral sphincter affecting muscles and nerves. Conventional therapies can only relieve the symptoms. Human DPSCs are characterized by peculiar stemness and immunomodulatory properties and might provide an alternative tool for SUI therapy.

Materials and methods

In vitro phase: hDPSCs were induced towards the myogenic commitment following a 24 hours pre‐conditioning with 5‐aza‐2′‐deoxycytidine (5‐Aza), then differentiation was evaluated. In vivo phase: pudendal nerve was transected in female rats to induce stress urinary incontinence; then, pre‐differentiated hDPSCs were injected in the striated urethral sphincter. Four weeks later, urethral sphincter regeneration was assayed through histological, functional and immunohistochemical analyses.

Results

Human DPSCs were able to commit towards myogenic lineage in vitro and, four weeks after cell injection, hDPSCs engrafted in the external urethral sphincter whose thickness was almost recovered, committed towards myogenic lineage in vivo, promoted vascularization and an appreciable recovery of the continence. Moreover, hDPSCs were detected within the nerve, suggesting their participation in repair of transected nerve.

Conclusions

These promising data and further investigations on immunomodulatory abilities of hDPSCs would allow to make them a potential tool for alternative therapies of SUI.
Diverse histomorphology of HER2‐positive breast carcinomas based on differential ER expression
Authors: Akashi Momoko , Yamaguchi Rin , Kusano Hironori , Obara Hitoshi , Yamaguchi Miki , Toh Uhi , Akiba Jun , Kakuma Tatsuyuki , Tanaka Maki , Akagi Yoshito , Yano Hirohisa
Published: September 2019

Aims

HER2‐positive (HER2+) breast carcinoma (BC) cases are often treated similarly; however, they can be classified as either luminal B (LH) or non‐luminal type (NLH) BC, which have different prognoses. In this study, we investigated the clinicohistomorphological features of each HER2+ BC subgroup.

Methods and results

We classified 166 patients with HER2+ invasive BC into LH (n = 110, 66.3%) and NLH groups (n = 56, 33.7%). We further subclassified LH into patients with carcinomas expressing high levels of hormone receptors [LH‐high; Allred score, oestrogen receptor (ER) and/or progesterone receptor (PgR) 4–8, n = 89, 53.6%] or low levels (LH‐low; Allred score, ER and/or PgR 2 or 3, n = 21, 12.7%) for clinicohistomorphological characterisation. Morphological review showed that NLH included a percentage of patients with comedo necrosis, while LH patients had significantly more central scarring. In terms of immune responsiveness, NLH showed significantly higher rates of tumour‐infiltrating lymphocytes and healing. The LH‐high and NLH groups showed distinct characteristics (by both models, P < 0.05) and the LH‐low group appeared to demonstrate intermediate characteristics according to multinomial analyses using covariates reflecting tumour morphology and immune response outcomes.

Conclusions

These results support the classification of HER2+ BC into two major subgroups, LH‐high and NLH, based on tumour morphology and immune response; LH‐high proliferates via scirrhous and/or spiculated growth with a central scar, while the primary proliferation pattern of NLH is based on in‐situ carcinomas containing comedo necrosis with noticeable TILs and healing.
Current outcomes when optimizing ‘standard’ sample preparation for single‐particle cryo‐EM
Authors: CARRAGHER B. , CHENG Y. , FROST A. , GLAESER R.M. , LANDER G.C. , NOGALES E. , WANG H.‐W.
Published: September 2019

Although high‐resolution single‐particle cryo‐electron microscopy (cryo‐EM) is now producing a rapid stream of breakthroughs in structural biology, it nevertheless remains the case that the preparation of suitable frozen‐hydrated samples on electron microscopy grids is often quite challenging. Purified samples that are intact and structurally homogeneous – while still in the test tube – may not necessarily survive the standard methods of making extremely thin, aqueous films on grids. As a result, it is often necessary to try a variety of experimental conditions before finally finding an approach that is optimal for the specimen at hand. Here, we summarize some of our collective experiences to date in optimizing sample preparation, in the hope that doing so will be useful to others, especially those new to the field. We also hope that an open discussion of these common challenges will encourage the development of more generally applicable methodology. Our collective experiences span a diverse range of biochemical samples and most of the commonly used variations in how grids are currently prepared. Unfortunately, none of the currently used optimization methods can be said, in advance, to be the one that ultimately will work when a project first begins. Nevertheless, there are some preferred first steps to explore when facing specific problems that can be more generally recommended, based on our experience and that of many others in the cryo‐EM field.