bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
The Day That Went Missing: A First-Person Account of Transient Global Amnesia
Authors: Gabriel Trip
Published: March 2017

In this vivid first-person case history, political reporter Trip Gabriel describes experiencing a classic episode of transient global amnesia. He was near the average target age of 61. Although no cause has been established for the syndrome, as with many other patients his episode appears to have been triggered by contact with water: He was racing a sailboat. While remaining alert and handling complex sailing maneuvers, he suddenly developed amnesia that left him with no recollection of finishing two races, returning to shore, drinking a beer with his friends, needing help finding his car, and not knowing where he was or where he lived. When he did not arrive home on time, his wife called him and quickly recognized his disorientation. She helped him drive himself home and took him to the hospital, where he was evaluated for a stroke. A brain magnetic resonance imaging scan was normal. He started to become aware again about 9 hours after the start of the attack, but was kept in the hospital until his anterograde amnesia resolved fully about 23 hours after onset. He has no memories of 12 hours (from 3 hours before the attack started through the time he regained awareness in the hospital). He was reassured to learn that a recurrence is unlikely. He finds parallels to his experience in the films Memento and Inside Out. A companion article provides expert commentary on the case report (Kirshner HS. 2017. Cogn Behav Neurol. 30:5-7).
Architecture and mechanism of the central gear in an ancient molecular timer
Authors: Egli Martin
Published: March 2017

Molecular clocks are the product of natural selection in organisms from bacteria to human and their appearance early in evolution such as in the prokaryotic cyanobacterium
Synechococcus elongatus
suggests that these timers served a crucial role in genetic fitness. Thus, a clock allows cyanobacteria relying on photosynthesis and nitrogen fixation to temporally space the two processes and avoid exposure of nitrogenase carrying out fixation to high levels of oxygen produced during photosynthesis. Fascinating properties of molecular clocks are the long time constant, their precision and temperature compensation. Although these are hallmarks of all circadian oscillators, the actual cogs and gears that control clocks vary widely between organisms, indicating that circadian timers evolved convergently multiple times, owing to the selective pressure of an environment with a daily light/dark cycle. In
S. elongatus
, the three proteins KaiA, KaiB and KaiC in the presence of ATP constitute a so-called post-translational oscillator (PTO). The KaiABC PTO can be reconstituted in an Eppendorf tube and keeps time in a temperature-compensated manner. The ease by which the KaiABC clock can be studied
in vitro
has made it the best-investigated molecular clock system. Over the last decade, structures of all three Kai proteins and some of their complexes have emerged and mechanistic aspects have been analysed in considerable detail. This review focuses on the central gear of the
S. elongatus
clock and only enzyme among the three proteins: KaiC. Our determination of the three-dimensional structure of KaiC early in the quest for a better understanding of the inner workings of the cyanobacterial timer revealed its unusual architecture and conformational differences and unique features of the two RecA-like domains constituting KaiC. The structure also pinpointed phosphorylation sites and differential interactions with ATP molecules at subunit interfaces, and helped guide experiments to ferret out mechanistic aspects of the ATPase, auto-phosphorylation and auto-dephosphorylation reactions catalysed by the homo-hexamer. Comparisons between the structure of KaiC and those of nanomachines such as F1-ATPase and CaMKII also exposed shared architectural features (KaiC/ATPase), mechanistic principles (KaiC/CaMKII) and phenomena, such as subunit exchange between hexameric particles critical for function (clock synchronization, KaiABC; memory-storage, CaMKII).
Challenges and opportunities associated with waste management in India
Authors: Kumar Sunil , Smith Stephen R. , Fowler Geoff , Velis Costas , Kumar S. Jyoti , Arya Shashi , Rena  , Kumar Rakesh , Cheeseman Christopher
Published: March 2017

India faces major environmental challenges associated with waste generation and inadequate waste collection, transport, treatment and disposal. Current systems in India cannot cope with the volumes of waste generated by an increasing urban population, and this impacts on the environment and public health. The challenges and barriers are significant, but so are the opportunities. This paper reports on an international seminar on ‘Sustainable solid waste management for cities: opportunities in South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC) countries’ organized by the Council of Scientific and Industrial Research-National Environmental Engineering Research Institute and the Royal Society. A priority is to move from reliance on waste dumps that offer no environmental protection, to waste management systems that retain useful resources within the economy. Waste segregation at source and use of specialized waste processing facilities to separate recyclable materials has a key role. Disposal of residual waste after extraction of material resources needs engineered landfill sites and/or investment in waste-to-energy facilities. The potential for energy generation from landfill via methane extraction or thermal treatment is a major opportunity, but a key barrier is the shortage of qualified engineers and environmental professionals with the experience to deliver improved waste management systems in India.
An experimental study of the putative mechanism of a synthetic autonomous rotary DNA nanomotor
Authors: Dunn K. E. , Leake M. C. , Wollman A. J. M. , Trefzer M. A. , Johnson S. , Tyrrell A. M.
Published: March 2017

DNA has been used to construct a wide variety of nanoscale molecular devices. Inspiration for such synthetic molecular machines is frequently drawn from protein motors, which are naturally occurring and ubiquitous. However, despite the fact that rotary motors such as ATP synthase and the bacterial flagellar motor play extremely important roles in nature, very few rotary devices have been constructed using DNA. This paper describes an experimental study of the putative mechanism of a rotary DNA nanomotor, which is based on strand displacement, the phenomenon that powers many synthetic linear DNA motors. Unlike other examples of rotary DNA machines, the device described here is designed to be capable of autonomous operation after it is triggered. The experimental results are consistent with operation of the motor as expected, and future work on an enhanced motor design may allow rotation to be observed at the single-molecule level. The rotary motor concept presented here has potential applications in molecular processing, DNA computing, biosensing and photonics.
Game-based situation awareness training for child and adult cyclists
Authors: Lehtonen Esko , Airaksinen Jasmiina , Kanerva Kaisa , Rissanen Anna , Ränninranta Riikka , Åberg Veera
Published: March 2017

Safe cycling requires situation awareness (SA), which is the basis for recognizing and anticipating hazards. Children have poorer SA than adults, which may put them at risk. This study investigates whether cyclists' SA can be trained with a video-based learning game. The effect of executive working memory on SA was also studied. Thirty-six children (9–10 years) and 22 adults (21–48 years) played the game. The game had 30 video clips filmed from a cyclist's perspective. Each clip was suddenly masked and two or three locations were presented. The player's task was to choose locations with a potential hazard and feedback was given for their answers. Working memory capacity (WMC) was tested with a counting span task. Children's and adults' performance improved while playing the game, which suggests that playing the game trains SA. Adults performed better than children, and they also glanced at hazards more while the video was playing. Children expectedly had a lower WMC than adults, but WMC did not predict performance within the groups. This indicates that SA does not depend on WMC when passively viewing videos.
Reciprocal absorbing boundary condition for the time-domain numerical analysis of wave motion in unbounded layered media
Authors: Nguyen Cuong T. , Tassoulas John L.
Published: March 2017

A global absorbing boundary condition is introduced for the time-domain numerical analysis of wave motion in unbounded layered media. This condition is obtained by applying the reciprocity theorem for linearly viscoelastic media. Example problems are solved towards evaluation of the accuracy and effectiveness of the approach developed in this work.
Statistical model specification and power: recommendations on the use of test-qualified pooling in analysis of experimental data
Authors: Colegrave Nick , Ruxton Graeme D.
Published: March 2017

A common approach to the analysis of experimental data across much of the biological sciences is test-qualified pooling. Here non-significant terms are dropped from a statistical model, effectively pooling the variation associated with each removed term with the error term used to test hypotheses (or estimate effect sizes). This pooling is only carried out if statistical testing on the basis of applying that data to a previous more complicated model provides motivation for this model simplification; hence the pooling is test-qualified. In pooling, the researcher increases the degrees of freedom of the error term with the aim of increasing statistical power to test their hypotheses of interest. Despite this approach being widely adopted and explicitly recommended by some of the most widely cited statistical textbooks aimed at biologists, here we argue that (except in highly specialized circumstances that we can identify) the hoped-for improvement in statistical power will be small or non-existent, and there is likely to be much reduced reliability of the statistical procedures through deviation of type I error rates from nominal levels. We thus call for greatly reduced use of test-qualified pooling across experimental biology, more careful justification of any use that continues, and a different philosophy for initial selection of statistical models in the light of this change in procedure.
Reconciling evidence from ancient and contemporary genomes: a major source for the European Neolithic within Mediterranean Europe
Authors: Pereira Joana B. , Costa Marta D. , Vieira Daniel , Pala Maria , Bamford Lisa , Harich Nourdin , Cherni Lotfi , Alshamali Farida , Hatina Jiři , Rychkov Sergey , Stefanescu Gheorghe , King Turi , Torroni Antonio , Soares Pedro , Pereira Luísa , Richards Martin B.
Published: March 2017

Important gaps remain in our understanding of the spread of farming into Europe, due partly to apparent contradictions between studies of contemporary genetic variation and ancient DNA. It seems clear that farming was introduced into central, northern, and eastern Europe from the south by pioneer colonization. It is often argued that these dispersals originated in the Near East, where the potential source genetic pool resembles that of the early European farmers, but clear ancient DNA evidence from Mediterranean Europe is lacking, and there are suggestions that Mediterranean Europe may have resembled the Near East more than the rest of Europe in the Mesolithic. Here, we test this proposal by dating mitogenome founder lineages from the Near East in different regions of Europe. We find that whereas the lineages date mainly to the Neolithic in central Europe and Iberia, they largely date to the Late Glacial period in central/eastern Mediterranean Europe. This supports a scenario in which the genetic pool of Mediterranean Europe was partly a result of Late Glacial expansions from a Near Eastern refuge, and that this formed an important source pool for subsequent Neolithic expansions into the rest of Europe.
Co-evolution of cooperation and cognition: the impact of imperfect deliberation and context-sensitive intuition
Authors: Bear Adam , Kagan Ari , Rand David G.
Published: March 2017

How does cognitive sophistication impact cooperation? We explore this question using a model of the co-evolution of cooperation and cognition. In our model, agents confront social dilemmas and coordination games, and make decisions using intuition or deliberation. Intuition is automatic and effortless, but relatively (although not necessarily completely) insensitive to context. Deliberation, conversely, is costly but relatively (although not necessarily perfectly) sensitive to context. We find that regardless of the sensitivity of intuition and imperfection of deliberation, deliberating undermines cooperation in social dilemmas, whereas deliberating can increase cooperation in coordination games if intuition is sufficiently sensitive. Furthermore, when coordination games are sufficiently likely, selection favours a strategy whose intuitive responseignoresthe contextual cues available and cooperates across contexts. Thus, we see how simple cognition can arise from active selection for simplicity, rather than just be forced to be simple due to cognitive constraints. Finally, we find that when deliberation is imperfect, the favoured strategy increases cooperation in social dilemmas (as a result of reducing deliberation) as the benefit of cooperation to the recipient increases.
Joint histology inAlligator mississippiensischallenges the identification of synovial joints in fossil archosaurs and inferences of cranial kinesis
Authors: Bailleul Alida M. , Holliday Casey M.
Published: March 2017

Archosaurs, like all vertebrates, have different types of joints that allow or restrict cranial kinesis, such as synovial joints and fibrous joints. In general, synovial joints are more kinetic than fibrous joints, because the former possess a fluid-filled cavity and articular cartilage that facilitate movement. Even though there is a considerable lack of data on the microstructure and the structure–function relationships in the joints of extant archosaurs, many functional inferences of cranial kinesis in fossil archosaurs have hinged on the assumption that elongated condylar joints are (i) synovial and/or (ii) kinetic. Cranial joint microstructure was investigated in an ontogenetic series of American alligators,Alligator mississippiensis. All the presumably synovial, condylar joints found within the head of the American alligator (the jaw joint, otic joint and laterosphenoid–postorbital (LS–PO) joint) were studied by means of paraffin histology and undecalcified histology paired with micro-computed tomography data to better visualize three-dimensional morphology. Results show that among the three condylar joints ofA. mississippiensis, the jaw joint was synovial as expected, but the otherwise immobile otic and LS–PO joints lacked a synovial cavity. Therefore, condylar morphology does not always imply the presence of a synovial articulation nor mobility. These findings reveal an undocumented diversity in the joint structure of alligators and show that crocodylians and birds build novel, kinetic cranial joints differently. This complicates accurate identification of synovial joints and functional inferences of cranial kinesis in fossil archosaurs and tetrapods in general.
CoGe LoadExp+: A web-based suite that integrates next-gen sequencing data analysis workflows and visualization
Authors: Grover Jeffrey W. , Bomhoff Matthew , Davey Sean , Gregory Brian D. , Mosher Rebecca A. , Lyons Eric
Published: March 2017

To make genomic and epigenomic analyses more widely available to the biological research community, we have created LoadExp+, a suite of bioinformatics workflows integrated with the web-based comparative genomics platform, CoGe. LoadExp+ allows users to perform transcriptomic (RNA-seq), epigenomic (bisulfite-seq), chromatin-binding (ChIP-seq), variant identification (SNPs), and population genetics analyses against any genome in CoGe, including genomes integrated by users themselves. Through LoadExp+’s integration with CoGe’s existing features, all analyses are available for visualization and additional downstream processing, and are available for export to CyVerse’s data management and analysis platforms. LoadExp+ provides easy-to-use functionality to manage genomics and epigenomics data throughout its entire lifecycle and facilitates greater accessibility of genomics analyses to researchers of all skill levels. LoadExp+ can be accessed athttps://genomevolution.org.
SIMLR: a tool for large-scale single-cell analysis by multi-kernel learning
Authors: Wang Bo , Ramazzotti Daniele , De Sano Luca , Zhu Junjie , Pierson Emma , Batzoglou Serafim
Published: March 2017

Motivation

We here present SIMLR (Single-cellInterpretation viaMulti-kernelLeaRning), an open-source tool that implements a novel framework to learn a cell-to-cell similarity measure from single-cell RNA-seq data. SIMLR can be effectively used to perform tasks such as dimension reduction, clustering, and visualization of heterogeneous populations of cells. SIMLR was benchmarked against state-of-the-art methods for these three tasks on several public datasets, showing it to be scalable and capable of greatly improving clustering performance, as well as providing valuable insights by making the data more interpretable via better a visualization.

Availability and Implementation

SIMLR is available on GitHub in both R and MATLAB implementations. Furthermore, it is also available as an R package onbioconductor.org.

Contact

bowang87@stanford.eduordaniele.ramazzotti@stanford.edu

Supplementary Information

Supplementary data are available atBioinformaticsonline.
BEARscc determines robustness of single-cell clusters using simulated technical replicates
Authors: Severson DT , Owen RP , White MJ , Lu X , Schuster-Böckler B
Published: March 2017

Technical variance is a major confounding factor in single-cell RNA sequencing, not least because it is not possible to replicate measurements on the same cell. We present BEARscc, a tool that uses RNA spike-in controls to simulate experiment-specific technical replicates. We demonstrate that the tool improves the unsupervised classification of cells and facilitates the biological interpretation of single-cell RNA-seq experiments.
DBD-RCO: Derivative Based Detection and Reverse Combinatorial Optimization to improve heart beat detection for wearable devices
Authors: Bizzego Andrea , Furlanello Cesare
Published: March 2017

The diffusion of wearable sensors enables the monitoring of heart physiology in real-life contexts. Wearable technology is characterized by important advantages but also by technical limitations that affect the quality of the collected signals in terms of movement artifacts and presence of noise. Therefore specific signal processing algorithms are required to cope with the lower quality and different characteristic of signals collected with wearable sensor units. Here we propose and validate a pipeline to detect heartbeats in cardiac signals, extract the Inter Beat Intervals (IBI) and compute the Heart Rate Variability (HRV) indicators from wearable devices. In particular, we describe the novel Derivative-Based Detection (DBD) algorithm to estimate the beat position in Blood Volume Pulse (BVP) signals and the Reverse Combinatorial Optimization (RCO) algorithm to identify and correct IBI extraction errors. The pipeline is first validated on data from clinical-grade sensors, then on a benchmark dataset including examples of movement artifacts in a real-life context. The accuracy of the DBD algorithm is assessed in terms of precision and recall of the detection; error in the IBI values is quantified by root mean square error. The reliability of HRV indicators is evaluated by the Bland-Altman ratio. The DBD algorithm performs better than a state-of-art algorithm for both medical-grade and wearable devices. However, as already found in similar studies, worse reliability is found with the BVP signal in computing frequency domain HRV indicators, in particular with wearable devices.
Preexisting heterogeneities in gene dosage sensitivity shaped sex chromosome evolution in mammals and birds
Authors: Naqvi Sahin , Bellott Daniel W. , Page David C.
Published: March 2017

Mammalian X and Y chromosomes evolved from an ordinary autosomal pair; genetic decay decimated the Y, which in turn necessitated X chromosome inactivation (XCI). Genes of the ancestral autosomes are often assumed to have undertaken these transitions on uniform terms, but we hypothesized that they varied in their dosage constraints. We inferred such constraints from conservation of microRNA (miRNA)-mediated repression, validated by analysis of experimental data. X-linked genes with a surviving Y homolog have the most conserved miRNA target sites, followed by genes with no Y homolog and subject to XCI, and then genes with no Y homolog but escaping XCI; this heterogeneity existed on the ancestral autosomes. Similar results for avian Z-linked genes, with or without a W homolog, lead to a model of XY/ZW evolution incorporating preexisting dosage sensitivities of individual genes in determining their evolutionary fates, and ultimately shaping the mammalian and avian sex chromosomes.
The fluence–resolution relationship in holographic and coherent diffractive imaging
Authors: Hagemann Johannes , Salditt Tim
Published: March 2017

This work presents a numerical study of the fluence–resolution behaviour for two coherent lensless X-ray imaging techniques. To this end the fluence–resolution relationship of inline near-field holography and far-field coherent diffractive imaging are compared in numerical experiments. To achieve this, the phase reconstruction is carried out using iterative phase-retrieval algorithms on simulated noisy data. Using the incident photon fluence on the specimen as the control parameter, the achievable resolution for two example phantoms (cell and bitmap) is studied. The results indicate the superior performance of holography compared with coherent diffractive imaging, for the same fluence and phase-reconstruction procedure.
λ/2 contamination in X-ray diffraction data – the impact of heavy atoms
Authors: Gianopoulos Christopher G. , Chua Zhijie , Zhurov Vladimir V. , Pinkerton A. Alan
Published: March 2017

The impact of very different values of f′ and f′′ and of absorption coefficients for the wavelengths λ and λ/2 for heavy elements, and the effect of the difference in wavelength dispersion on the profile of the corresponding Bragg reflections, are discussed with respect to the correction of diffraction data for λ/2 contamination. The impact on the results of four charge-density studies is discussed.
Complex solutions under shear and pressure: a rheometer setup for X-ray scattering experiments
Authors: Wieland D. C. F. , Zander T. , Garamus V. M. , Krywka C. , Dedinaite A. , Claesson P. , Willumeit-Römer R.
Published: March 2017

A newly developed high-pressure rheometer forin situX-ray scattering experiments is described. A commercial rheometer was modified in such a way that X-ray scattering experiments can be performed under different pressures and shear. First experiments were carried out on hyaluronan, a ubiquitous biopolymer that is important for different functions in the body such as articular joint lubrication. The data hint at a decreased electrostatic interaction at higher pressure, presumably due to the increase of the dielectric constant of water by 3% and the decrease of the free volume at 300 bar.
Synthesis and characterization of a novel long-alkyl-chain ester-substituted benzimidazole gelator and its octan-1-ol solvate
Authors: Geiger H. Cristina , Zick Patricia L. , Roberts William R. , Geiger David K.
Published: March 2017

The synthesis of a novel benzimidazole derivative with a long-chain-ester substituent, namely methyl 8-[4-(1H-benzimidazol-2-yl)phenoxy]octanoate, (3), is reported. Ester (3) shows evidence of aggregation in solution and weak gelation ability with toluene. The octan-1-ol solvate, methyl 8-[4-(1H-benzimidazol-2-yl)phenoxy]octanoate octan-1-ol monosolvate, C22H26N2O3·C8H18O, (4), exhibits a four-molecule hydrogen-bonded motif in the solid state, with N—H...O hydrogen bonds between benzimidazole molecules and O—H...N hydrogen bonds between the octan-1-ol solvent molecules and the benzimidazole unit. The alkyl chains of the ester and the octan-1-ol molecules are in unfolded conformations. The phenylene ring is canted by 10.27 (6)° from the plane of the benzimidazole ring system. H...C contacts make up 20.7% of the Hirshfeld surface coverage. Weak C—H...π interactions involving the benzimidazole alkyl chain and three aromatic rings are observed.
The hidden treasure in your data: phasing with unexpected weak anomalous scatterers from routine data sets
Authors: Hegde Raghurama P. , Fedorov Alexander A. , Sauder J. Michael , Burley Stephen K. , Almo Steven C. , Ramagopal Udupi A.
Published: March 2017

Single-wavelength anomalous dispersion (SAD) utilizing anomalous signal from native S atoms, or other atoms withZ≤ 20, generally requires highly redundant data collected using relatively long-wavelength X-rays. Here, the results from two proteins are presented where the anomalous signal from serendipitously acquired surface-bound Ca atoms with an anomalous data multiplicity of around 10 was utilized to drivede novostructure determination. In both cases, the Ca atoms were acquired from the crystallization solution, and the data-collection strategy was not optimized to exploit the anomalous signal from these scatterers. The X-ray data were collected at 0.98 Å wavelength in one case and at 1.74 Å in the other (the wavelength was optimized for sulfur, but the anomalous signal from calcium was exploited for structure solution). Similarly, using a test case, it is shown that data collected at ∼1.0 Å wavelength, where thef′′ value for sulfur is 0.28 e, are sufficient for structure determination using intrinsic S atoms from a strongly diffracting crystal. Interestingly, it was also observed thatSHELXDwas capable of generating a substructure solution from high-exposure data with a completeness of 70% for low-resolution reflections extending to 3.5 Å resolution with relatively low anomalous multiplicity. Considering the fact that many crystallization conditions contain anomalous scatterers such as Cl, Ca, Mnetc., checking for the presence of fortuitous anomalous signal in data from well diffracting crystals could prove useful in either determining the structurede novoor in accurately assigning surface-bound atoms.
Structure of the complex of phosphorylated liver kinase B1 and 14-3-3ζ
Authors: Lu Yongjian , Ding Sheng , Zhou Ruiqing , Wu Jianyong
Published: March 2017

The serine/threonine protein kinase liver kinase B1 (LKB1) is a tumour suppressor and plays important roles in development and metabolism. It phosphorylates AMPK and AMPK-related kinases to regulate multiple physiological processes. Mutations in LKB1 often occur in multiple cancers. LKB1 can be suppressed by 14-3-3 proteins in a phosphorylation-dependent manner. Previously, the structure of a 14-3-3ζ–LKB1 fusion protein has been reported, revealing a phosphorylation-independent binding mode of LKB1 to 14-3-3 proteins. Here, the crystal structure of phosphorylated LKB1 peptide in complex with 14-3-3ζ was solved, which provides a structural basis for the phosphorylation-dependent recognition of LKB1 by 14-3-3 proteins.
X-ray crystal structure of human calcium-bound S100A1
Authors: Melville Zephan , Aligholizadeh Ehson , McKnight Laura E. , Weber Dylan J. , Pozharski Edwin , Weber David J.
Published: March 2017

S100A1 is a member of the S100 family of Ca2+-binding proteins and regulates several cellular processes, including those involved in Ca2+signaling and cardiac and skeletal muscle function. In Alzheimer's disease, brain S100A1 is overexpressed and gives rise to disease pathologies, making it a potential therapeutic target. The 2.25 Å resolution crystal structure of Ca2+-S100A1 is solved here and is compared with the structures of other S100 proteins, most notably S100B, which is a highly homologous S100-family member that is implicated in the progression of malignant melanoma. The observed structural differences in S100A1versusS100B provide insights regarding target protein-binding specificity and for targeting these two S100 proteins in human diseases using structure-based drug-design approaches.
Crystal structure of enolase fromDrosophila melanogaster
Authors: Sun Congcong , Xu Baokui , Liu Xueyan , Zhang Zhen , Su Zhongliang
Published: March 2017

Enolase is an important enzyme in glycolysis and various biological processes. Its dysfunction is closely associated with diseases. Here, the enolase fromDrosophila melanogaster(DmENO) was purified and crystallized. A crystal of DmENO diffracted to 2.0 Å resolution and belonged to space groupR32. The structure was solved by molecular replacement. Like most enolases, DmENO forms a homodimer with conserved residues in the dimer interface. DmENO possesses an open conformation in this structure and contains conserved elements for catalytic activity. This work provides a structural basis for further functional and evolutionary studies of enolase.
Crystal structure of a small heat-shock protein fromXylella fastidiosareveals a distinct high-order structure
Authors: Fonseca Emanuella Maria Barreto , Scorsato Valéria , dos Santos Marcelo Leite , Júnior Atilio Tomazini , Tada Susely Ferraz Siqueira , dos Santos Clelton Aparecido , de Toledo Marcelo Augusto Szymanski , de Souza Anete Pereira , Polikarpov Igor , Aparicio Ricardo
Published: March 2017

Citrus variegated chlorosis is a disease that attacks economically important citrus plantations and is caused by the plant-pathogenic bacteriumXylella fastidiosa. In this work, the structure of a small heat-shock protein fromX. fastidiosa(XfsHSP17.9) is reported. The high-order structures of small heat-shock proteins from other organisms are arranged in the forms of double-disc, hollow-sphere or spherical assemblies. Unexpectedly, the structure reported here reveals a high-order architecture forming a nearly square cavity.
Benchmarking model for management education in India
Authors: Yeravdekar Swati , Behl Abhishek
Published: March 2017

Purpose

Management education has assumed phenomenal prominence in India in recent years, with branding being a prime factor used as a yardstick, rather a benchmark or point of reference, for one institution having an edge over the other. The purpose of this paper is to explore the factors leading to branding of management education in India. It proposes two frameworks using Total Interpretive Structural Model (TISM) for public and private sector management colleges. For this purpose, variables are extracted using systematic literature review, which play a crucial role in changing the dynamics of college rankings. The inquiry distinctly examines the nature of relationship between them for public and private colleges offering higher education. The study further proposes strategies for improvement of rankings by discussing the hierarchy and interrelationship among the enablers.

Design/methodology/approach

The study uses Interpretive Structural Model (ISM) to ascertain the linkages between the variables, and employs TISM to validate the reasons of association. The model was fabricated by consulting the experts from various spheres closely allied to branding and higher education, including the private agencies and decision makers in the selected colleges. The variables were furthermore structured for classification using Matrice d’Impacts Croises-Multiplication Appliqué an Classment Analysis.

Findings

It was observed that the variables behave differently when studied from the perspective of private sector colleges and public sector colleges; the former have seven levels of arrangement while it is only four for the latter. Quality of Faculty and Research were the key areas of concern for private sector colleges while infrastructure featured as a focal point for those in public sector. It was also evident that the placement of variables and their flow were different. Rankings should thus be premeditated differently for both the sectors and different weights should be assigned to rank the colleges.

Research limitations/implications

The study is confined to branding of management education institutes in India, without considering other important disciplines for generalizing the framework. It is based on literature review followed by ISM, while other approaches such as ethnographic research methods and appreciative inquiry could have been possible alternatives as well.

Practical implications

The paper helps in developing different frameworks for private and public sector institutes, which would assist them to have a homogenous completion within their respective sectors. The study can be used to measure the performance of colleges on various parameters and gives them linking variables to enhance their productivity.

Originality/value

The paper discusses the need for developing a different barometer to measure the performance of private sector and public sector colleges offering higher education.
The role of the Maqās․id al-Sharīʿah in preserving the environment
Authors: Gobaili Saged Ali Ali , Abu Alhaj Thabet Ahmad , Zulkifli Bi Mohd Yakub
Published: March 2017

Purpose

This paper aims to attempt to present a number of higher purposes of Islamic law that include within their scope the preservation and protection of the natural environment. Such preservation is in the best interest of mankind.

Design/methodology/approach

The researchers have extrapolated evidence from the Qur’an and authentic traditions of the Prophet (PBUH) that afford a sense of certainty that Islamic laws contain operative or effective causes (illa) seeking the welfare of human beings and society.

Findings

The Qur’an and Sunnah have placed great importance on the preservation and protection of the environment. They have extolled the merits of treating the environment with care and compassion. Evidence of this can be found in authentic hadiths beginning with the Book of Purity and is found in many of the teachings concerning worship rituals and civic activities.

Originality/value

The researchers have attempted to present a number of higher purposes of Islamic law that include within their scope the preservation and protection of the natural environment. Such preservation is in the best interest of mankind. For this, the researchers have extrapolated evidence from the Qur’an and authentic traditions of the Prophet (PBUH) that afford a sense of certainty that Islamic laws contain operative or effective causes (illa) seeking the welfare of human beings and society.
Occupational identity and culture: the case of Michelin-starred chefs
Authors: Cooper John , Giousmpasoglou Charalampos , Marinakou Evangelia
Published: March 2017

Purpose

The purpose of this study is to conceptualise how the occupational identity and culture of chefs is constructed and maintained through both work and social interaction.

Design/methodology/approach

The study follows a qualitative interpretivist approach; in total, 54 unstructured, in-depth, face-to-face interviews were conducted with Michelin-starred chefs in Great Britain and Ireland.

Findings

Drawing upon the fieldwork, fresh insights into the social structures and processes which underpin the creation and maintenance of the occupational identity and culture of chefs are revealed in the chefs’ own words.

Research limitations/implications

This study generates empirical data that inform contemporary debates about the role of work in identity formation with particular emphasis on the induction–socialisation process. In addition, the findings of this study suggest that identity and culture are interrelated in the sense that the cultural components of an occupational culture operate to reinforce a sense of identity among its occupational members.

Practical implications

The findings suggest that Michelin-starred chefs have a strong occupational identity and culture. Strict rules and discipline are often used in kitchen brigades as a means of monitoring quality and maintaining the high standards of performance. The occupational socialisation of new members is a long and painful process that very often exceeds the limits of banter, and it is analogous to the military induction. The phenomenon of bullying and violence in commercial kitchens is identified as an unacceptable behaviour that needs to be eliminated. This can be achieved with changes in the education and training of the young chefs and the strict enforcement of the anti-bullying policies.

Originality/value

The understanding of chefs’ occupational identity and culture is critical for successful hospitality operations; nevertheless, this is an under-researched area. This study is unique in terms of scale and depth; it is expected to provide useful insights in both theoretical and practical perspective, regarding the formation of chefs’ identity and culture in organisational settings.
Investigating an innovative service with hospitality robots
Authors: Kuo Chun-Min , Chen Li-Cheng , Tseng Chin-Yao
Published: March 2017

Purpose

The purpose of this study is to identify the factors that influence the development of service robots, and to apply a service innovation strategic mindset to the hotel industry in Taiwan.

Design/methodology/approach

A mixed-methods approach, combining an expert panel and semi-structured interviews using a SMART SWOT ranking survey, was applied to understand the perspectives of hotel owners and robotics experts.

Findings

Fifty-three items were collected regarding the demand side of the hospitality market, showing that the Taiwan hospitality industry has good potential to implement service robots. Sixty-one items on the supply side of business were collected, showing that this robotics service can help hotels handle seasonal employment and labor utilization. The SWOT analysis identifies “The fun and curiosity aroused in consumers can enhance the promotion of service robots”, “Lack of talent in system integration”, “Taiwan’s aging society can increase the demand for service robots” and “China and South-east countries have aggressively poached talent in the global robotics market” as key issues.

Originality/value

Few studies have investigated robotics service for hotels using the six-dimensional service innovation model. This model helps identify six factors and implies that this new service concept can position hotels to better compete by using IT and relationship marketing strategies.
Building business sustainability through resilience in the wine industry
Authors: Golicic Susan L. , Flint Daniel J. , Signori Paola
Published: March 2017

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to address how wine businesses build sustainability – the ability to survive and be successful over the long-term – in a complex market environment.

Design/methodology/approach

To understand how managers in a wine supply chain (i.e. from grower to consumer) are trying to sustain business within a hyper-competitive industry, the authors used a standard grounded theory, constant comparative research method using formal depth interviews along with additional data sources from wine businesses in nine global wine regions in the USA, Australia, Italy and New Zealand.

Findings

A framework emerged from the data to improve business sustainability and counteract the complexity in the wine market by developing resilience through innovating and experimenting, obtaining resources/developing capabilities and relying on supply chain connections.

Research limitations/implications

This conceptual framework contributes to the existing theory on institutional transitions and resilience in business, and extends and broadens it by proposing that resilience is needed to combat entropy in the wine industry for businesses in this industry to survive and thrive.

Practical implications

Managers can learn from and apply the examples mentioned in this study and follow the framework presented to implement the strategies to build resilience to increase their chances of sustainability.

Originality/value

This study is one of the first empirical studies to the authors’ knowledge that identifies the impact of entropy in the wine industry and examines resilience as a means to combat an entropic market and obtain business sustainability.
IoT-based system for communication and coordination of football robot team
Authors: Bi Zhuming , Wang Guoping , Xu Li Da , Thompson Matt , Mir Raihan , Nyikos Jeremy , Mane Armela , Witte Colton , Sidwell Cliff
Published: March 2017

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to develop an information system which is based on the Internet of things (IoT) and used to support the communication and coordination in a cooperative robot team.

Design/methodology/approach

The architecture of the IoT applications for decision-making activities in a complex system is elaborated, the focus lies on the effective implementation of system interactions at the device-level. A case study is provided to verify system performances.

Findings

The IoT concept has been introduced in an information system of a football robot team to support the coordination among team players. Various sensors are used to collect data from IoT, and data are processed for the controls of robotic players to achieve the better performance at the system level. The field test has shown the feasibility and effectiveness.

Research limitations/implications

To investigate how IoT can be utilized in an information system for making complex decisions effectively, the authors use the decision-support system for a football robot team to illustrate the approaches in developing data acquisition infrastructure, processing and utilizing real-time data for the communication and coordination of robot players in a dynamic competing environment. While the presented work has shown the feasibility of an IoT-based information system, more work are needed to integrate advanced sensors within the IoT and develop more intelligent algorithms to replace manually remote control for the operations of robot players.

Practical implications

The proposed system is specifically for a football robot team; however, the associated approaches are applicable to any decentralized system for developing an information system to support IoT-based communication and coordination within the system in the real-time mode.

Originality/value

The exploration of IoT applications is still at its early stage, existing relevant work is mostly limited to the development of system architecture, sensor networks, and communication protocols. In this paper, the methods on how to use massive real-time data for decision-making of a decentralized team have been investigated, and the proposed system has its theoretical significance to developing other decentralized wireless sensor networks and decision-making systems.
What is eSports and why do people watch it?
Authors: Hamari Juho , Sjöblom Max
Published: March 2017

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to investigate why do people spectate eSports on the internet. The authors define eSports (electronic sports) as “a form of sports where the primary aspects of the sport are facilitated by electronic systems; the input of players and teams as well as the output of the eSports system are mediated by human-computer interfaces.” In more practical terms, eSports refer to competitive video gaming (broadcasted on the internet).

Design/methodology/approach

The study employs the motivations scale for sports consumption which is one of the most widely applied measurement instruments for sports consumption in general. The questionnaire was designed and pre-tested before distributing to target respondents (n=888). The reliability and validity of the instrument both met the commonly accepted guidelines. The model was assessed first by examining its measurement model and then the structural model.

Findings

The results indicate that escapism, acquiring knowledge about the games being played, novelty and eSports athlete aggressiveness were found to positively predict eSport spectating frequency.

Originality/value

During recent years, eSports (electronic sports) and video game streaming have become rapidly growing forms of new media in the internet driven by the growing provenance of (online) games and online broadcasting technologies. Today, hundreds of millions of people spectate eSports. The present investigation presents a large study on gratification-related determinants of why people spectate eSports on the internet. Moreover, the study proposes a definition for eSports and further discusses how eSports can be seen as a form of sports.
Management controls in an apparel group: an institutional theory perspective
Authors: Doluwarawaththa Gamage Sujeewa Damayanthi , Gooneratne Tharusha
Published: March 2017

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to explore how management controls in an organization take shape amidst the tensions between external institutional forces and the internal dynamics arising from the different powers and interests of managers as well as from intra-organizational norms, rules and taken-for-granted assumptions.

Design/methodology/approach

Adopting an interpretivist stance, this study employs the embedded (nested) case study approach drawing evidence from an apparel group which consists of a head office and four clusters. Theoretically, the paper is informed by institutional theory, and particularly draws on concepts such as organizational field, ceremonials, rational myths, isomorphism, institutional logics and loose coupling. It is further complemented by strategic responses of Oliver (1991), as well as materials and discursive elements in elaborating how external pressures influence control practices of an organization, and how internal actors strategically respond to those pressures in balancing external legitimacy and internal efficiency requirements.

Findings

The field-study findings reveal that management controls of the case-study organization have taken shape amidst external pressures, specifically from customers and internal dynamics such as interests of key actors, who strategically respond to external pressures and head -office specifications.

Research limitations/implications

Situating management controls within external pressures and internal dynamics, the findings of this study have implications for research on organizational heterogeneity, and it offers learning points for managers in formulating management controls by balancing conflicting internal and external pressures.

Practical implications

In reality, practicing managers are faced with conflicting logics arising from external pressures and internal dynamics stemming from different power- and interest-holding managers as well as intra-organizational norms, rules and taken-for-granted assumptions in their everyday encounters in organizations. This study provides some pointers for such practicing managers in designing and implementing management control systems by effectively balancing these opposing influences and formulating systems suited to the circumstances of a particular organization.

Originality/value

Moving beyond the widely held narrow conceptualization of institutional theory akin to (external) isomorphism and organizational conformity, this paper brings out organizational heterogeneity through the active agency of actors in terms of their power, interest and proclivities as well as their use of organizational norms and rules in responding to such external institutions.