bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
General scores for accessibility and inequality measures in urban areas
Authors: Biazzo Indaco , Monechi Bernardo , Loreto Vittorio
Published: August 2019

In the last decades, the acceleration of urban growth has led to an unprecedented level of urban interactions and interdependence. This situation calls for a significant effort among the scientific community to come up with engaging and meaningful visualizations and accessible scenario simulation engines. The present paper gives a contribution in this direction by providing general methods to evaluate accessibility in cities based on public transportation data. Through the notion of isochrones, the accessibility quantities proposed measure the performance of transport systems at connecting places and people in urban systems. Then we introduce scores ranking cities according to their overall accessibility. We highlight significant inequalities in the distribution of these measures across the population, which are found to be strikingly similar across various urban environments. Our results are released through the interactive platform:
www.citychrone.org
, aimed at providing the community at large with a useful tool for awareness and decision-making.
Rapid evolution of leaf physiology in an introduced beach daisy
Authors: Brandenburger Claire R. , Cooke Julia , Sherwin William B. , Moles Angela T.
Published: August 2019

Photosynthesis is a key biological process. However, we know little about whether plants change their photosynthetic strategy when introduced to a new range. We located the most likely source population for the South African beach daisy
Arctotheca populifolia
introduced to Australia in the 1930s, and ran a common-garden experiment measuring 10 physiological and morphological leaf traits associated with photosynthesis. Based on predictions from theory, and higher rainfall in the introduced range, we hypothesized that introduced plants would have a (i) higher photosynthetic rate, (ii) lower water-use efficiency (WUE) and (iii) higher nitrogen-use efficiency. However, we found that introduced
A. populifolia
had a lower photosynthetic rate, higher WUE and lower nitrogen-use efficiency than did plants from Arniston, South Africa. Subsequent site visits suggested that plants in Arniston may be able to access moisture on a rocky shelf, while introduced plants grow on sandy beaches where water can quickly dissipate. Our unexpected findings highlight that: (1) it is important to compare introduced species to their source population for an accurate assessment of evolutionary change; (2) rainfall is not always a suitable proxy for water availability and (3) introduced species often undergo evolutionary changes, but without detailed ecological information we may not be able to accurately predict the direction of these changes.
Dispersal and population connectivity are phenotype dependent in a marine metapopulation
Authors: Fobert Emily K. , Treml Eric A. , Swearer Stephen E.
Published: August 2019

Larval dispersal is a key process determining population connectivity, metapopulation dynamics, and community structure in benthic marine ecosystems, yet the biophysical complexity of dispersal is not well understood. In this study, we investigate the interaction between disperser phenotype and hydrodynamics on larval dispersal pathways, using a temperate reef fish species,
Trachinops caudimaculatus
. We assessed the influence of larval traits on depth distribution and dispersal outcomes by: (i) using 24-h depth-stratified ichthyoplankton sampling, (ii) quantifying individual phenotypes using larval growth histories extracted from the sagittal otoliths of individual larvae, and (iii) simulating potential dispersal outcomes based on the empirical distribution of larval phenotypes and an advanced biological-physical ocean model. We found
T. caudimaculatus
larvae were vertically stratified with respect to phenotype, with high-quality phenotypes found in the bottom two depth strata, and poor-quality phenotypes found primarily at the surface. Our model showed high- and average-quality larvae experienced significantly higher local retention (more than double) and self-recruitment, and travelled shorter distances relative to poor-quality larvae. As populations are only connected when dispersers survive long enough to reproduce, determining how larval phenotype influences dispersal outcomes will be important for improving our understanding of marine population connectivity and persistence.
Sex roles and the evolution of parental care specialization
Authors: Henshaw Jonathan M. , Fromhage Lutz , Jones Adam G.
Published: August 2019

Males and females are defined by the relative size of their gametes (anisogamy), but secondary sexual dimorphism in fertilization, parental investment and mating competition is widespread and often remarkably stable over evolutionary timescales. Recent theory has clarified the causal connections between anisogamy and the most prevalent differences between the sexes, but deviations from these patterns remain poorly understood. Here, we study how sex differences in parental investment and mating competition coevolve with parental care specialization. Parental investment often consists of two or more distinct activities (e.g. provisioning and defence) and parents may care more efficiently by specializing in a subset of these activities. Our model predicts that efficient care specialization broadens the conditions under which biparental investment can evolve in lineages that historically had uniparental care. Major transitions in sex roles (e.g. from female-biased care with strong male mating competition to male-biased care with strong female competition) can arise following ecologically induced changes in the costs or benefits of different care types, or in the sex ratio at maturation. Our model provides a clear evolutionary mechanism for sex-role transitions, but also predicts that such transitions should be rare. It consequently contributes towards explaining widespread phylogenetic inertia in parenting and mating systems.
Pre-diagnostic loss to follow-up in an active case-finding TB program: a mixed-methods study from rural Bihar, India
Authors: Garg Tushar , Gupta Vivek , Sen Dyuti , Verma Madhur , Brouwer Miranda , Mishra Rajeshwar , Bhardwaj Manish
Published: August 2019

background

Despite active case-finding (ACF) identifying more presumptive and confirmed TB cases, high pre-diagnostic loss to follow-up (PDLFU) among presumptive TB cases referred for diagnostic test remains a concern. We aimed to quantify the PDLFU, and identify the barriers and enablers in undergoing a diagnostic evaluation in an ACF program implemented in 1.02 million rural population in the Samastipur district of Bihar, India.

methods

During their routine work, Accredited Social Health Activists (ASHA, a community health worker or CHW), informal providers, and community laypersons identified people at risk of TB, and referred them to the program. A field coordinator (FC) screened them for TB symptoms at the patient’s home. The identified presumptive TB cases were accompanied by the CHW to a designated government facility for diagnostics. Those with a confirmed TB diagnosis were put on treatment by the CHW and followed-up till treatment completion. All services were provided free of cost and patients were supported throughout the care pathway, including a transport allowance. We analyzed programmatically collected data, conducted in-depth interviews with patients, and focus group discussions with the CHWs and FCs in an explanatory mixed-methods design.

results

A total of 11146 presumptive TB cases were identified from January 2018 to December 2018, out of which 4912 (44.1%) underwent a diagnostic evaluation. The key enablers were CHW accompaniment and support in addition to the free TB services in the public sector. The major barriers identified were transport challenges, deficient family and health provider support, and poor services in the public system.

conclusion

If we are to find missing cases, the health system needs urgent reform, and diagnostic services need to be patient-centric. A strong patient support system engaging all stakeholders and involvement of CHWs in routine TB care is an effective solution.

STRENGTHS AND LIMITATIONS OF THIS STUDY

First such study to explore the reasons for pre-diagnostic loss to follow-up

A mixed-method design including the views of both patients and community health workers

Uses operational data from a routine programmatic setting at an NGO site

No record of the actual number of people screened intuitively before being referred to the program.

No record of patients accessing diagnostics in private sector and those completing the diagnostic process.
Easy MPE: Extraction of quality microplot images for UAV-based high-throughput field phenotyping
Authors: Tresch Léa , Mu Yue , Itoh Atsushi , Kaga Akito , Taguchi Kazunori , Hirafuji Masayuki , Ninomiya Seishi , Guo Wei
Published: August 2019

Microplot extraction (MPE) is a necessary image-processing step in unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV)-based research on breeding fields. At present, it is manually using ArcGIS, QGIS or other GIS-based software, but achieving the desired accuracy is time-consuming. We therefore developed an intuitive, easy-to-use semi-automatic program for MPE called Easy MPE to enable researchers and others to access reliable plot data UAV images of whole fields under variable field conditions. The program uses four major steps: (1). Binary segmentation, (2). Microplot extraction, (3). Production of *.shp files to enable further file manipulation, and (4). Projection of individual microplots generated from the orthomosaic back onto the raw aerial UAV images to preserve the image quality. Crop rows were successfully identified in all trial fields. The performance of proposed method was evaluated by calculating the intersection-over-union (IOU) ratio between microplots determined manually and by Easy MPE: The average IOU (±SD) of all trials was 91% (±3).
The Five-Primer Challenge: An inquiry-based laboratory module for synthetic biology
Authors: Hsu Suzie , Huenemann Jay , Kulkarni Vishwesh , Ledesma-Amaro Rodrigo , Moseley Robert , Mukhitov Nikita , Tiwari Rashmi , Wang Shue , Smanski Michael J.
Published: August 2019

New technologies in DNA synthesis and assembly give genetic engineers complete freedom in genetic design, where virtually any plasmid DNA sequence can be created efficiently and economically. Learning how to design, construct, and test new DNA sequences is a critical skill for researchers in molecular biology and biotechnology. Here we present a student-centered, inquiry-based module in which students learn how to control bacterial gene expression by appplying various DNA assembly techniques. The central activity in this learning module is termed the ‘Five-Primer Challenge’. Each student is allowed to order up to five 60-mer oligonucleotide primers to then modify a GFP expression plasmid with the goal of increasing GFP expression as much as possible. This module was developed and implemented at the 2016 Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory Synthetic Biology Course, and was effective at engaging students in critical thinking and in promoting student learning.
A New Technique and Device for Controlled and Continuous Drug Delivery into the Brain – A Proof of Concept Study
Authors: Anoop U.R. , Verma Kavita
Published: August 2019

Background

Drug delivery into the brain has been a challenge for the past 100 years because of the blood brain barrier. The existing non-invasive techniques cannot provide controlled and continuous drug delivery into the brain and the invasive techniques make the brain prone to infection from external agents. Hence a new technique which can provide controlled and continuous drug delivery without the need for any surgical intervention in the brain holds immense potential.

Objective

The objective of this study is to deliver drugs into the brain using a novel oral and maxillofacial technique and device.

Method

Drug delivery into the brain from the oral and maxillofacial region was tested using a novel technique and device in an in vivo rabbit model and an ex vivo goat head model. A control animal and an experimental animal were used in each study. Drugs which do not cross the blood brain barrier normally were tested. Dopamine was delivered in vivo from the maxillo-facial region. Anti-glial fibrillary acidic protein antibody was delivered ex vivo from the oral region. Samples were collected from different sites including the brain and the optic nerve.

Results

The in vivo model showed a significant increase of dopamine at the pons (51.89%), midbrain (27%), medulla (48.5%) and cortex (72.637%). On including samples from other regions in the t-test, the increase was not statistically significant (p=0.538), suggestive of a central feedback mechanism for brain and peripheral dopamine. A decrease in plasma dopamine during drug delivery further supported a central control for dopamine. In the ex vivo model, a statistically significant (p=0.047) delivery of antibodies occurred at multiple sites including pons (86.7%), cortex (256.5%), and the optic nerve (128.8%).

Conclusion

This technique and device can deliver drugs into the brain without detectable increase in systemic circulation. Therefore it may be used for delivering drugs in Parkinson’s disease, Alzheimer’s disease, Pain management, Brain tumors especially pontine tumors, infections like neuro-AIDS, Basal meningitis etc. Retinal drug delivery may also be possible.
Sensitive detection of highly fragmented cytomegalovirus nucleic acid in human cfDNA
Authors: Peddu Vikas , Bradley Benjamin T. , Shree R. Swati , Colbert Brice G. , Xie Hong , Santo Tracy K. , Huang Meei-Li , Cheng Edith Y. , Konnick Eric , Salipante Stephen J. , Jerome Keith R. , Lockwood Christina M. , Greninger Alexander L.
Published: August 2019

Congenital human cytomegalovirus (CMV) infections are the leading cause of newborn hearing and central nervous system impairments worldwide. Currently, routine prenatal screening for congenital CMV is not performed in the United States and confirmation in suspected perinatal cases requires invasive sampling by amniocentesis. We hypothesized that detection of CMV from maternal cell-free DNA (cfDNA) plasma could provide a non-invasive indicator of congenital CMV infection. We analyzed sequence data from 2,208 individuals undergoing routine non-invasive prenatal aneuploidy screening at the University of Washington. CMV reads were identified in 117 (5.3%) samples. Positive samples were stratified based on CMV reads per million sample reads (RPM), resulting in ten samples being classified as strong positive (RPM > 0.3) and 107 as intermediate positive (0.01<RPM<0.3). Subsequent qPCR testing identified CMV in 9/10 strong positive samples and 2/32 intermediate positive samples. Median cfDNA insert size derived from CMV was significantly shorter than cfDNA derived from human chromosomes (103 vs 172 bp, p<0.0001), corresponding to the 3rdpercentile of human cfDNA insert size. In addition, CMV cfDNA fragment lengths were distributed over a wider range than human cfDNA reads. These studies reveal the highly fragmented nature of CMV cfDNA and offer precise measurements of its length: these features likely explain discrepancies in serum CMV viral loads measurements determined by different qPCR assays, despite widespread efforts to standardize results. More work is required to determine how detection of CMV from maternal cfDNA can be best used as tool for congenital CMV screening or diagnosis.
Arginine valency inC9ORF72dipolypeptides mediates promiscuous proteome binding that stalls ribosomes, disable actin cytoskeleton assembly and impairs arginine methylation of endogenous proteins
Authors: Radwan Mona , Ang Ching-Seng , Ormsby Angelique R. , Cox Dezerae , Daly James C. , Reid Gavin E. , Hatters Danny M.
Published: August 2019

C9ORF72-associated Motor Neuron Disease patients feature abnormal expression of 5 dipeptide repeat (DPR) polymers. Here we used quantitative proteomics in a Neuro2a cell model to demonstrate that the valency of Arg in the most toxic DPRS, PR and GR, drives promiscuous binding to the proteome, compared to a relative sparse binding of the more inert AP and GA. Notable targets included ribosomal proteins, translation initiation factors and translation elongation factors. PR and GR comprising more than 10 repeats robustly stalled the ribosome suggesting high-valency Arg electrostatically jams the ribosome exit tunnel during synthesis. Poly-GR also bound to arginine methylases and induced hypomethylation of endogenous proteins, with a profound destabilization of the actin cytoskeleton. Our findings point to arginine in GR and PR polymers as multivalent toxins to translation as well as arginine methylation with concomitant downstream effects on widespread biological processes including ribosome biogenesis, mRNA splicing and cytoskeleton assembly.

SIGNIFICANCE STATEMENT

The major genetic cause of MND are mutations in an intron of theC9ORF72gene that lead to the expansion in the length of a hexanucleotide repeat sequence, and subsequent non-AUG mediated translation of the intron into 5 different DPRs. The two DPRs containing Arg are potently toxic in animal and cell models. Our research shows that the valency of Arg mediates widespread proteome binding especially affecting machinery involved in Arg-methylation, cytoskeleton and translation. We suggest the mechanisms for toxicity are multipronged and involve electrostatic jamming of ribosomes during translation, acting as substrate mimetics for arginine methylase activity that renders the endogenous proteome hypomethylated and impairing actin cytoskeleton assembly. These mechanisms explain pathologic signatures previous reported in human brain pathology.
Resurrection of ancestral effector caspases identifies novel networks for evolution of substrate specificity
Authors: Grinshpon Robert D. , Shrestha Suman , Titus-McQuillan James , Hamilton Paul T. , Swartz Paul D. , Clark A. Clay
Published: August 2019

Apoptotic caspases evolved with metazoans more than 950 million years ago (MYA), and a series of gene duplications resulted in two subfamilies consisting of initiator and effector caspases. The effector caspase genes (caspases-3, -6, and -7) were subsequently fixed into the Chordata phylum more than 650 MYA when the gene for a common ancestor (CA) duplicated, and the three effector caspases have persisted throughout mammalian evolution. All caspases require an aspartate residue at the P1 position of substrates, so each caspase evolved discrete cellular roles through changes in substrate recognition at the P4 position combined with allosteric regulation. We examined the evolution of substrate specificity in caspase-6, which prefers valine at the P4 residue, compared to caspases-3 and -7, which prefer aspartate, by reconstructing the CA of effector caspases (AncCP-Ef1) and the CA of caspase-6 (AncCP-6An). We show that AncCP-Ef1 is a promiscuous enzyme with little distinction between Asp, Val, or Leu at P4. The specificity of caspase-6 was defined early in its evolution, where AncCP-6An demonstrates preference for Val over Asp at P4. Structures of AncCP-Ef1 and of AncCP-6An show a network of charged amino acids near the S4 pocket that, when combined with repositioning a flexible active site loop, resulted in a more hydrophobic binding pocket in AncCP-6An. The ancestral protein reconstructions show that the caspase-hemoglobinase fold has been conserved for over 650 million years and that only three substitutions in the scaffold are necessary to shift substrate selection toward Val over Asp.
Visual looming and receding networks in awake marmosets investigated with fMRI
Authors: Cléry Justine C. , Schaeffer David J. , Hori Yuki , Gilbert Kyle M. , Hayrynen Lauren K. , Gati Joseph S. , Menon Ravi S. , Everling Stefan
Published: August 2019

An object that is looming toward a subject or receding away contains important information for determining if this object is dangerous, beneficial or harmless to them. This information (motion, direction, identity, time-to-collision, size, velocity) is analyzed by the brain in order to execute the appropriate behavioral responses depending on the context: fleeing, freezing, grasping, eating, exploring. In the current study, we performed ultra-high-field functional MRI (fMRI) in awake marmosets to explore the patterns of brain activation elicited by visual stimuli looming toward or receding away from the monkey. We found that looming and receding visual stimuli both activate a large cortical network in frontal, parietal, temporal and occipital cortex in areas involved in the analysis of motion, shape, identity and features of the objects. Looming stimuli strongly activated a network composed of the pulvinar, superior colliculus, prefrontal cortex and temporal cortical areas. This may underlie the existence of an alert network that processes the visual stimuli looming toward their peripersonal space by extracting the crucial information brought by the stimulus and evaluating its potential consequences to the observer. We hypothesize that this network is involved in the planning of protective behaviors (e.g. fleeing or freezing) and in emotional reaction (e.g. anxiety, fear). These findings support the view that this network is preserved through evolution and that the marmoset is a viable model to study visual and multisensory processes by using fMRI to guide further invasive recordings and/or pharmacological manipulations.

Significant statement

An object that is looming toward a subject or receding away contains important information for determining if this object is dangerous, beneficial or harmless to them. Here, we identified the functional network in non-human primates that was activated by visual stimuli looming toward or away from the animals using ultra-high-field functional magnetic resonance imaging. Our findings show that large cortical activations are elicited by both looming and receding visual conditions. However, some activations were specific to the looming condition, suggesting that the integration of cues in the looming direction rely on strong connections between cortical and subcortical areas, which allows primates to react properly for protecting themselves against a potential threat.
Combined mRNA and protein single cell analysis in a dynamic cellular system using SPARC
Authors: Reimegård Johan , Danielsson Marcus , Tarbier Marcel , Schuster Jens , Baskaran Sathishkumar , Panagiotou Styliani , Dahl Niklas , Friedländer Marc R. , Gallant Caroline J.
Published: August 2019

Combined measurements of mRNA and protein expression in single cells enables in-depth analysis of cellular states. We present single-cell protein and RNA co-profiling (SPARC), an approach to simultaneously measure global mRNA and large sets of intracellular protein in individual cells. Using SPARC, we show that mRNA expression fails to accurately reflect protein abundance at the time of measurement in human embryonic stem cells, although the direction of changes of mRNA and protein expression are in agreement during cellular differentiation. Moreover, protein levels of transcription factors better predict their downstream effects than do the corresponding transcripts. We further show that changes of the balance between protein and mRNA expression levels can be applied to infer expression kinetic trajectories, revealing future states of individual cells. Finally, we highlight that mRNA expression may be more varied among cells than levels of the corresponding proteins. Overall, our results demonstrate that mRNA and protein measurements in single cells provide different and complementary information regarding cell states. Accordingly, SPARC can offer valuable insights in gene expression programs of single cells.
NuSeT: A Deep Learning Tool for Reliably Separating and Analyzing Crowded Cells
Authors: Yang Linfeng , Ghosh Rajarshi. P. , Franklin J. Matthew , You Chenyu , Liphardt Jan T.
Published: August 2019

Segmenting cell nuclei within microscopy images is a ubiquitous task in biological research and clinical applications. Unfortunately, segmenting low-contrast overlapping objects that may be tightly packed is a major bottleneck in standard deep learning-based models. We report a Nuclear Segmentation Tool (NuSeT) based on deep learning that accurately segments nuclei across multiple types of fluorescence imaging data. Using a hybrid network consisting of U-Net and Region Proposal Networks (RPN), followed by a watershed step, we have achieved superior performance in detecting and delineating nuclear boundaries in 2D and 3D images of varying complexities. By using foreground normalization and additional training on synthetic images containing non-cellular artifacts, NuSeT improves nuclear detection and reduces false positives. NuSeT addresses common challenges in nuclear segmentation such as variability in nuclear signal and shape, limited training sample size, and sample preparation artifacts. Compared to other segmentation models, NuSeT consistently fares better in generating accurate segmentation masks and assigning boundaries for touching nuclei.
A micro channel-cut crystal X-ray monochromator for a self-seeded hard X-ray free-electron laser
Authors: Osaka Taito , Inoue Ichiro , Kinjo Ryota , Hirano Takashi , Morioka Yuki , Sano Yasuhisa , Yamauchi Kazuto , Yabashi Makina
Published: August 2019

A channel-cut Si(111) crystal with a channel width of 90 µm was developed for achieving reflection self-seeding in hard X-ray free-electron lasers (XFELs). With the crystal a monochromatic seed pulse is produced from a broadband XFEL pulse generated in the first undulator section with an optical delay of 119 fs at 10 keV. The small optical delay allows a temporal overlap between the seed optical pulse and the electron bunch by using a small magnetic chicane for the electron beam placed between two undulator sections. Peak reflectivity reached 67%, which is reasonable compared with the theoretical value of 81%. By using this monochromator, a monochromatic seed pulse without broadband background in the spectrum was obtained at SACLA with a conversion efficiency from a broadband XFEL pulse of 2 × 10−2, which is ∼10 times higher than the theoretical efficiency of transmission self-seeding using a thin diamond (400) monochromator.
Crystal structure of TchmY from Actinoplanes teichomyceticus
Authors: Yang Zhenzhen , Zhang Lilan , Yu Xuejing , Wu Shan , Yang Yong , Hu Yumei , Li Qian , Shang Na , Guo Rey-Ting , Chen Chun-Chi , Dai Longhai , Liu Weidong
Published: August 2019

Moenomycin-type antibiotics are phosphoglycolipids that are notable for their unique modes of action and have proven to be useful in animal nutrition. The gene clusters tchm from Actinoplanes teichomyceticus and moe from Streptomyces are among a limited number of known moenomycin-biosynthetic pathways. Most genes in tchm have counterparts in the moe cluster, except for tchmy and tchmz, the functions of which remain unknown. Sequence analysis indicates that TchmY belongs to the isoprenoid enzyme C2-like superfamily and may serve as a prenylcyclase. The enzyme was proposed to be involved in terminal cyclization of the moenocinyl chain in teichomycin, leading to the diumycinol chain of moenomycin isomers. Here, recombinant TchmY protein was expressed in Escherichia coli and its crystal structure was solved by SIRAS. Structural analysis and comparison with other prenylcyclases were performed. The overall fold of TchmY consists of an (α/α)6-barrel, and a potential substrate-binding pocket is found in the central chamber. These results should provide important information regarding the biosynthetic basis of moenomycin antibiotics.
An analysis on building elements of a wooden structured granary
Authors: Yazıcıoğlu Fatih , Alkan Seda Nur
Published: August 2019

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to make a comprehensive research on serenders including observation, determination and documentation of the architectural details of serender. Moreover, computer simulation-based performance evaluation is also planned to be applied in order to make a contribution to architectural, social, cultural and historical sustainability of serender.

Design/methodology/approach

The study employs strategies based on qualitative research techniques and methods. In order to clarify the architectural details of serender structures, literature review and a case study analysis are conducted.

Findings

Within the scope of this paper, the early findings of this ongoing research, which are about the architectural details, are presented regarding the regional characteristics as borders. This part of the study presents the determination of all the original architectural details of serender.

Originality/value

Serenders in Rize, Turkey, have original, architectural, cultural and historical values. However, they have not been preferred to be built and used in recent years. Therefore, the original architectural style, details and construction techniques have started to fade away. These facts highlight the importance of their documentation and preservation in terms of traditional architecture, material and craftsmanship. This study aims to provide comprehensive documents about their architectural characteristics.
Communication performance challenges in PPP projects: cases of Ghana and South Africa
Authors: Kwofie Titus Ebenezer , Ohis Aigbavboa Clinton , Thwala Wellington Didibhuku
Published: August 2019

Purpose

The need to gain theoretical and practical understanding into the communication performance challenges in public private partnership (PPP) projects is considered as a precursor to effective communication strategies, management, planning and improvement in PPP models in both developed and developing countries. Hence, the purpose of this paper is to investigate the nature of communication performance challenges in PPP projects.

Design/methodology/approach

By adopting a deductive research design, a questionnaire survey of participants in the communication network of PPP projects in two countries (Ghana and South Africa) was conducted. The responses were analyzed using mean scores, Kendall’s concordance and Mann–Whitney U test.

Findings

The results revealed communication performance challenges that are unique to PPP project environment. Additionally, there were other typologies of communication challenges such as untimeliness, distortions and protocols that were frequently experienced in Ghana and not in South Africa. Also the emergence of misunderstanding affirmed that indeed this is a communication problem that is common and not peculiar to any project context or country.

Practical implications

With communication challenges and information asymmetries as notable challenges in PPP coupled with suggestions that effective communication is central to success of PPP projects and management, the insight into the communication performance challenges given by this study could be very useful to effective planning and strategies towards communication in construction project delivery in PPP and thus underline the importance of deriving mechanisms and protocols that suit PPP project environments.

Originality/value

These findings can be a precursor for developing bespoke communication systems, tools, protocols and communication behaviours to facilitate information flow aimed at overcoming information asymmetries and ultimately improving the quality of communication actions, tasks and outcomes in PPP project delivery.
Entrepreneurial exploration and exploitation processes of family businesses in the food sector
Authors: Vrontis Demetris , Culasso Francesca , Giacosa Elisa , Stupino Margherita
Published: August 2019

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to contribute to the entrepreneurship theory in family firms as it focuses on the relevance of an ambidextrous entrepreneurial strategy (Helfat and Peteraf, 2009), thanks to an effective combination between exploitation and exploration activities. The study refers to the food sector, characterized by established food traditions and changing consumption patterns.

Design/methodology/approach

After reviewing the topics, the authors referred to Goel and Jones (2016) for its representativeness for the research. The authors conducted an explanatory case study in which the authors identified the framework’s three sub-systems impacting the above family business systems. The case study is relevant because Eataly, a family-owned and -managed firm, is gaining recognition while applying a strong entrepreneurial strategy and it is unique in the world for the strength of its commercial strategy and dimensions.

Findings

Entrepreneurship strategies can be explained by combined organizational antecedent conditions, represented by three sub-systems: family, business and ownership. The sub-systems’ features and their interrelations play a relevant role in influencing entrepreneurial exploration and exploitation processes.

Research limitations/implications

The study contributes to the actual entrepreneurship theory in family firms because it indicates the relevance of an ambidextrous entrepreneurial strategy, thanks to a combination of exploitation and exploration activities. In addition, it analyses the so-called antecedent conditions in organizations to achieve this favorable combination. Limitations involve the case study method and interview technique, both of which could be expanded.

Practical implications

Several practical implications follow for different stakeholder categories (food sector companies, investors and private/public entities) concerning the management of antecedent conditions, the consequences of entrepreneurial investment policy, and tourism and territorial development.

Originality/value

This research is novel because it combines an ambidextrous entrepreneurship approach (Goel and Jones, 2016) with the family firm’s sub-systems (Tagiuri and Davis, 1982), observing how these sub-systems are relevant to defining and managing effective entrepreneurship strategy in a family food firm. The value added is particularly relevant in the food sector, which is characterized by low research and development. In addition, it requires innovative approaches to stimulate customers’ perception of market demand, to satisfy their needs and to sustain family firms in a highly competitive environment.
Assessing symmetric price transmission by using threshold cointegration in Iranian egg market
Authors: Aghabeygi Mona , Antonioli Federico , Arfini Filippo
Published: August 2019

Purpose

Eggs bear an essential role in Iranian diet, primarily for their protein content. The egg production strictly depends on the price of inputs, that is corn used for poultry feeding. The upsurge in corn prices in recent years gave rise to both consumers’ and producers’ dissatisfaction, increasing production cost and the egg price in the final market. The purpose of this paper is to investigate the price-transmission dynamics between corn and retail egg prices in Iran.

Design/methodology/approach

Individual commodity price series generally contain stochastic trends and they are non-stationary. Standard unit root and cointegration tests will be conducted in order to determine whether price series are stationary and whether they are cointegrated, respectively. The existence of cointegration between the two-price series depends on the nature of autoregressive process. If there is an asymmetric convergence between two variables, then Engle and Granger’s (1987) test can have a misspecification error and the result cannot indicate nature of variables. Threshold or asymmetric convergence test should be used, which can detect the asymmetric behavior of variables and threshold effects on series.

Findings

Results showed that, in the long run, owing to price transmission, any price shocks on corn price will be transmitted to the egg price.

Practical implications

Policy makers should implement input and output price policies to support producer and consumer in the retail market to increase consumer and producer welfare, and they should also control intermediaries in this market.

Originality/value

This research dealing with price transmission has been concerned only with applying time-series modeling techniques to price data. The main focus of this approach has been to characterize vertical price relationships by the extent, speed and nature of the adjustments through the supply chain to market shocks generated at different levels in the marketing process. Thus, it complements the marketing margin models, which are mainly concerned with testing for market imperfections and calculating the price transmission. Besides these points, particular importance has been given in this research to the question of symmetry of price adjustments.
Treating Ivanka unfairly
Authors: Krishna Arunima , Kim Soojin
Published: August 2019

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to explore the impact of presidential tweeting about corporations on publics’ perceptions of and behavioral intentions toward those corporations. Specifically, the authors examined publics’ intentions to boycott or buycott (Friedman, 1996) Nordstrom, four months after President Trump’s tweet denouncing the company’s decision to discontinue his daughter’s clothing line.

Design/methodology/approach

An online survey was conducted among 517 American citizens using Qualtrics panels in June 2017. Respondents were compensated for their participation.

Findings

The authors found strong associations between perceived moral inequity and boycott intentions, and perceived business/economic nature of corporate action and buycott intentions. Furthermore, demographic characteristics associated with both types of perceptions were also examined. Younger, more educated respondents tended to accept Nordstrom’s actions as being routine business decisions, whereas conservative participants saw Nordstrom’s actions as being morally iniquitous.

Originality/value

This study is one of the first to explore the impact of presidential tweeting, albeit indirectly, on publics’ perceptions and intentions toward corporations who form the subjects of said tweets. Practitioners may utilize these findings to provide guidance to corporations who may be at the receiving end of presidential tweeting.
Local capacity building after crisis
Authors: Tesseur Wine
Published: August 2019

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to discuss the role of languages and translation in the context of capacity building in NGOs in Kyrgyzstan. It argues that language barriers can impede local capacity building, while translation can help in overcoming some of the issues encountered.

Design/methodology/approach

The paper reports on what NGO workers have said on the role of languages and translation in their work in 34 semi-structured interviews conducted in Kyrgyzstan in January 2018. The discussion is structured around a theoretical understanding of capacity building at three levels: the organisational level, the individual level and a broader enabling environment.

Findings

First, the paper demonstrates that knowledge of English plays a key role in accessing international funding and information. Second, it describes the challenges that NGO workers encounter when translating information related to development into Russian and Kyrgyz. Third, it argues that donors do not overtly consider the important role of languages. Together, the findings suggest that ignoring the role of languages and translation can have a negative effect on project outcomes and power relationships.

Practical implications

Policy recommendations for international NGOs and donors drawn from this case study and from comparative case studies on Peru and Malawi have been published in Crack et al. (2018).

Originality/value

The paper argues that taking the role of languages and translation into account can result in a more in-depth understanding of aspects that may contribute to better local capacity building.
Collective firm-internal online idea development
Authors: Chen Qian , Magnusson Mats , Björk Jennie
Published: August 2019

Purpose

New opportunities to nurture good ideas for innovation arise as firms use web-based ideation platforms for collective idea generation and development. What influences creative performance in firm-internal collective idea development is however not as well researched as idea generation and thus an important area of research is the feedback and commenting on ideas. More specifically, the purpose of this paper is to explore the role of feedback timeliness and knowledge overlap between feedback providers and ideas in collective firm-internal online idea development.

Design/methodology/approach

An empirical study has been performed, drawing on data collected from a Swedish multi-national company using a web-based system for collective firm-internal ideation. The investigation explicitly captures the effects on ideation performance played by idea development contributions, in terms of feedback timeliness and knowledge overlap between feedback providers and ideas.

Findings

The empirical results show that idea development is significantly influenced by feedback timeliness as well as by the knowledge overlap between feedback providers and ideas. Specifically, it is found that longer time to feedback and an increased knowledge overlap result in an increased likelihood of idea acceptance. However, beyond a certain point, the positive effects of a longer time to feedback and increased knowledge overlap decrease, resulting in curvilinear relationships with idea acceptance.

Research limitations/implications

The results do not only shed new light on theory about collective idea development, but also provides management implications for collective firm-internal ideation. As the data used in the study has been collected in one single firm, care should be taken in generalizing the results to other domains.

Practical implications

The results inform managers that it is not always better to involve more individuals in these emergent and distributed ideation systems, but that it might be beneficial to take measures to exercise some control in terms of when distributed and diverse employees can freely join in and out, especially considering the diversity of ideas, comments and creators.

Originality/value

The results from the empirical study reveal the effects of feedback timeliness and knowledge overlap on idea development. This provides us with new insights on the complex dynamics at place in collective firm-internal idea development and offers implications for how we can fruitfully manage this process.
Exploring students’ learning efficacy
Authors: Srivastava Anugamini Priya , Babu Vimal , Shetye Swati Krutarth
Published: August 2019

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to show the relevance of teachers’ extra role behaviour towards improving students’ learning efficacy status. This study examines the intervening role of art-based teaching pedagogies, i.e. involvement of different forms of art during the traditional teaching session between extra role behaviour and students’ learning efficacy.

Design/methodology/approach

The statistical test results showed that teachers’ extra role behaviour is significant for improving and strengthening students’ learning efficacy. Further, the moderation analysis showed that if art is integrated with teachers’ extra role behaviour, the effect on learning efficacy of students will increase. Art-based teaching pedagogies suggest involvement of art in teaching practices. Multiple regression analysis was conducted to evaluate the direct effect of extra role behaviour on students’ learning efficacy with the intervening role of art-based teaching pedagogies.

Findings

Results indicated a linear effect of teachers’ extra role behaviour on students’ learning efficacy and that art-based teaching pedagogies had an indirect effect (mediation) on students’ learning efficacy.

Originality/value

The study will bridge the gap between academic initiatives taken and its overall implementation in primary and secondary schools.
Study of horizontal axis tidal turbine performance and investigation on the optimum fixed pitch angle using CFD
Authors: A. Amiri Hoseyn , Shafaghat Rouzbeh , Alamian Rezvan , Taheri Seyed Mohamad , Safdari Shadloo Mostafa
Published: August 2019

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to design, investigate and optimize a horizontal axis tidal turbine (HATT) using computer-aided numerical simulation and computational fluid dynamics (CFD). This is the first step of research and development (R&D) for implementation in the Persian Gulf condition. To do so, suitable locations are reviewed. Then, the optimization is focused on determining the optimum fixed pitch angle (β) of a three-bladed HATT based on the widespread multiple reference frame (MRF) technique to calculate power and thrust coefficients at different operational rotating speeds.

Design/methodology/approach

To simplify the problem and reducing the computational costs due to cyclic symmetry only one blade, accordingly one-third of the whole computational domain is considered in the modeling. Due to flow’s nature involving rotating, separation and recirculation, a realizable κ-ε turbulence model with standard wall function is selected to capture flow characteristics influenced by the rotor and near the wall region. Simulations are conducted for two free-stream velocities, then compared with their dependencies through the dimensionless tip speed ratio (TSR) parameter.

Findings

The validation process of the simulations is carried out by the use of AeroDyn BEM code, which has been evaluated by comparing with two experimental data. As results, the highest coefficient of power is achieved at ß = 19.3° at TSR = 4 with the value around 0.41 and 0.816 for thrust coefficient. Furthermore, to comprehend the rotor’s performance and simulation method, flow characteristics due to the rise in angular velocity is discussed in detail. Moreover, the major phenomenon, cavitation occurrence, is also checked at the critical situation where it is found to be safe.

Originality/value

By comparing and evaluating the results to other HATTs, it implies that the proposed rotor of this study is feasible and proved by CFD evaluation at this step. However, the current rotor is awaiting a justification through experimental assessment.