bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
How do Party organizations’ boundary-spanning behaviors control worker unrest? A case study on a Chinese resource-based state-owned enterprise
Authors: Lu Jingfu , Li Min
Published: January 2017

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to understand the boundary-spanning behaviors of Party organizations, and the processes and constraints of these behaviors in controlling worker unrest in Chinese resource-based state-owned enterprises in the “new work-unit system” using boundary-spanning theory.

Design/methodology/approach

This case study was carried out in a resource-based state-owned enterprise in the “new work-unit system” in China. The research utilized interviews and archival documents, and then coded and analyzed the data using NVivo.

Findings

In China, Party organizations’ boundary-spanning behaviors (PBSBs) in labor relations management are identified, and classified into the behaviors of the ambassador, task coordinator, and scout. Worker unrest can be controlled by these behaviors through the mediation effect of the behaviors of agents in the “new work-unit system” but can also be provoked in the transformation of the “new work-unit system.”

Originality/value

The Communist Party plays a key role in labor relations management in China’s SOEs; however, this role has not been explored in any depth. This study builds a model to reveal the “black box” in which the PBSBs influence the agents’ behaviors and how the agents’ behaviors then influence the workers, and in this way control worker unrest.
Corporate social responsibility: reviewed, rated, revised
Authors: Farrington Thomas , Curran Ross , Gori Keith , O’Gorman Kevin D. , Queenan C. Jane
Published: January 2017

Purpose

This paper is a critical literature review of corporate social responsibility (CSR) research in both general management and hospitality management literature. This paper aims to discuss trends, commonalities and inconsistencies to better understand the state of contemporary scholarship, and it calls for a context-specific conceptual engagement with the phenomenon.

Design/methodology/approach

Systematic literature review, noting and critiquing a general tendency towards measurement of financial and other internal benefit impacts.

Findings

Hospitality management is well-positioned to evaluate the opportunities and challenges of CSR; yet, research has uncritically adopted the instrumental emphasis on assessing processes, perceptions and private profitability from the general management literature, without engaging on a contextually specific and/or theoretical level.

Research limitations/implications

CSR research is abundant and therefore difficult to summarise in one paper. The primarily Anglo-American and Asian contextual bias is reflected in this review.

Practical implications

Consistently inconsistent results challenge the portability of financial impact studies. Studies are needed to re-evaluate the concept of CSR, as it pertains to hospitality and measure the effectiveness of CSR activities relative to context and resource availability.

Social implications

Further research into the scope of CSR in hospitality management, with an emphasis on recuperating social value, would lead to widespread positive social implications.

Originality/value

This critical review offers a new perspective on CSR in the hospitality literature and industry, calling for a reconsideration of the concept in context, and formulates a working definition.
Transformational leadership and employee voices in the hospitality industry
Authors: Liang Tsang-Lang , Chang Hsueh-Feng , Ko Ming-Hsiang , Lin Chih-Wei
Published: January 2017

Purpose

This study aims to explore the relationship between transformational leadership and employee voice behavior and the role of relational identification and work engagement as mediators in the same.

Design/methodology/approach

This study uses structural equation modeling to analyze the data from a questionnaire survey of 251 Taiwanese hospitality industry employees.

Findings

The findings demonstrate that transformational leadership has significant relationships with relational identification, work engagement and employee voice behavior and that relational identification and work engagement sequentially mediate between transformational leadership and employee voice behavior.

Practical implications

The results of this study provide insights into the intervening mechanisms linking leaders’ behavior with employees’ voices, while also highlighting the potential importance of relational identification in organizations, especially concerning the enhancement of employees’ work engagement and voice.

Originality/value

The findings reveal the mechanisms by which supervisors’ transformational leadership encourages employees to voice their suggestions, providing empirical evidence of the sequential mediation of relational identification and work engagement. The results help clarify the psychological process by which leaders influence their followers.
The moderating effect of self-efficacy and gender on work engagement for restaurant employees in the United States
Authors: Liu Juan , Cho Seonghee , Putra Eka Diraksa
Published: January 2017

Purpose

The purpose of the study was to examine the moderating effect of self-efficacy and gender on work engagement.

Design/methodology/approach

The survey study was conducted on 149 restaurant employees, and multiple regression analyses were used to analyze the data.

Findings

Self-efficacy significantly moderated the impact of perceived organizational support on work engagement, but the moderating effect of self-efficacy was only significant for women with low self-efficacy. Self-efficacy did not moderate the impact of work engagement on intent to leave.

Practical implications

The results of the study provide suggestions for managing men and women with different levels of self-efficacy in the hospitality workplace.

Originality/value

The focus of previous studies on work engagement has primarily been on its antecedents and outcomes, but little is known about individual differences in the relationship between work engagement and its antecedents/outcomes. This is the first study investigating self-efficacy and gender as moderators of work engagement in the hospitality industry.
Brand management – standing out from the crowd
Authors: King Ceridwyn
Published: January 2017

Purpose

This paper aims to provide a comprehensive understanding of how brand management research has evolved to inform future hospitality research agendas that are both theoretically and practically innovative and relevant.

Design/methodology/approach

A review of leading tourism and hospitality journals, augmented by a review of leading mainstream marketing and services journals, over the past 20 years was undertaken. Focusing on papers with an emphasis on the brand, as reflected in the title, over 263 articles were reviewed.

Findings

In contrast to the more established mainstream literature, brand management research in the hospitality literature is limited in both its depth and breadth. In seeking to go beyond mere replication, and in consideration of industry needs, the review informs the articulation of an integrative research framework that reflects the extant literature and illuminates new research pathways that, in anticipation of making a significant contribution to brand management theory, will enhance hospitality academic and practitioner understanding of brand management.

Research limitations/implications

The comprehensive critical review affords insight into areas of brand management research innovation, both from a topic and methods perspective. The proposed research agenda not only reflects industry priorities but also responds to gaps within academia’s current understanding of brand management theory, particularly within a service context. Grounded in classical theories and industry insight, the pursuit of topics advanced in the research agenda are expected to make a significant contribution to the theoretical understanding of the brand management concept in an applied setting, in addition to providing timely and relevant insight to practitioners seeking to stand out from the crowd.

Originality/value

With brands dominating the hospitality landscape, insight derived from thought leading and innovative research is needed. With no comprehensive review of brand management research within the tourism and hospitality literature, clarity with respect to what is known and, more importantly, what is not known is not apparent. This paper addresses this paucity and, in doing so, gives hospitality academics a clear pathway to conducting meaningful and relevant brand management research from both theoretical and practical perspectives.
What drives continuous improvement project success in healthcare?
Authors: Stelson Paul , Hille Joshua , Eseonu Chinweike , Doolen Toni
Published: January 2017

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to present findings from a study of factors that affect continuous improvement (CI) project success in hospitals.

Design/methodology/approach

Quantitative regression analysis was performed on Likert scale survey responses. Qualitative thematic analysis was performed on open-ended survey responses and written reports on CI projects.

Findings

The paper identifies managerial and employee factors that affect project success. These factors include managerial support, communication, and affective commitment. Affective commitment is the extent to which employees perceive the change as being needed or necessary.

Practical implications

The results highlight how managerial decisions, approaches to communication – including communication before, during and after CI projects affect project success. The results also show that success depends on the way employees perceive proposed changes. This suggests the need for a more individualized approach to CI, lean, and broader change initiatives.

Originality/value

This research is the first to fuse project success and sustainability theory to CI projects, beyond Kaizen events, in healthcare environments. The research is particularly important at a time when healthcare organizations are required to make rapid changes with limited resources as they work toward outcome-based assessment and reimbursement rules.
Understanding performance management in primary care
Authors: Rogan Lisa , Boaden Ruth
Published: January 2017

Purpose

Principal-agent theory (PAT) has been used to understand relationships among different professional groups and explain performance management between organisations, but is rarely used for research within primary care. The purpose of this paper is to explore whether PAT can be used to attain a better understanding of performance management in primary care.

Design/methodology/approach

Purposive sampling was used to identify a range of general practices in the North-west of England. Interviews were carried out with directors, managers and clinicians in commissioning and regional performance management organisations and within general practices, and the data analysed using matrix analysis techniques to produce a case study of performance management.

Findings

There are various elements of the principal-agent framework that can be applied in primary care. Goal alignment is relevant, but can only be achieved through clear, strategic direction and consistent interpretation of objectives at all levels. There is confusion between performance measurement and performance management and a tendency to focus on things that are easy to measure whilst omitting aspects of care that are more difficult to capture. Appropriate use of incentives, good communication, clinical engagement, ownership and trust affect the degree to which information asymmetry is overcome and goal alignment achieved. Achieving the right balance between accountability and clinical autonomy is important to ensure governance and financial balance without stifling innovation.

Originality/value

The principal-agent theoretical framework can be used to attain a better understanding of performance management in primary care; although it is likely that only partial goal alignment will be achieved, dependent on the extent and level of alignment of a range of factors.
Quality improvement in hospitals: barriers and facilitators
Authors: Zoutman Dick E. , Ford B. Douglas
Published: January 2017

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to examine quality improvement (QI) initiatives in acute care hospitals, the factors associated with success, and the impacts on patient care and safety.

Design/methodology/approach

An extensive online survey was completed by senior managers responsible for QI. The survey assessed QI project types, QI methods, staff engagement, and barriers and factors in the success of QI initiatives.

Findings

The response rate was 37 percent, 46 surveys were completed from 125 acute care hospitals. QI initiatives had positive impacts on patient safety and care. Staff in all hospitals reported conducting past or present hand-hygiene QI projects and C. difficile and surgical site infection were the next most frequent foci. Hospital staff not having time and problems with staff prioritizing QI with other duties were identified as important QI barriers. All respondents reported hospital leadership support, data utilization and internal champions as important QI facilitators. Multiple regression models identified nurses’ active involvement and medical staff engagement in QI with improved patient care and physicians’ active involvement and medical staff engagement with greater patient safety.

Practical implications

There is the need to study how best to support and encourage physicians and nurses to become more engaged in QI.

Originality/value

QI initiatives were shown to have positive impacts on patient safety and patient care and barriers and facilitating factors were identified. The results indicated patient care and safety would benefit from increased physician and nurse engagement in QI initiatives.
A meta-frontier assessment of bank efficiency in Middle East and North Africa countries
Authors: Abid Ihsen , Goaied Mohamed
Published: January 2017

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to evaluate and compare the efficiency ratios and the technological gaps of banking industries in seven countries of the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region.

Design/methodology/approach

The meta-frontier model was used to evaluate efficiency across countries that may have different production technologies.

Findings

The results of the meta-frontier analysis of banking systems over the period from 1991 to 2011 showed that Tunisian banks were the most efficient in terms of cost and profit. For the cost (profit) model, the analysis of the technological gap showed that Egyptian (Tunisian) banks used the most advanced technology in offering financial services to clients. The comparison of efficiencies confirmed that most efficient banks in terms of cost are not necessarily the most efficient in terms of profit and vice versa. The authors also concluded that cost efficiency analysis provides a partial view of banking efficiency and hence, profit efficiency analysis is as important.

Originality/value

The study is relevant for policymakers, regulators and monetary authorities and for researchers to know more about the real differences of efficiency of banks across countries in MENA region and to clarify the sources of this inefficiency to better adapt to the new environment, to make strategic decisions and to reference the performance of banking institutions.
The development of NBA in China: a glocalization perspective
Authors: Zhou Liangjun , Wang Jerred Junqi , Chen Xiaoying , Lei Chundong , Zhang James J. , Meng Xiao
Published: January 2017

Purpose

Building upon the framework of glocalization, the purpose of this paper is to summarize the development of National Basketball Association (NBA) in Chinese market, explore its successful and unsuccessful places, and propose strategies of glocalization for the NBA as well as other overseas sport leagues.

Design/methodology/approach

The current case study was organized by summarizing the developmental history of NBA in China, analyzing its current promotional practices, investigating into its marketing strategies, and extrapolating practical references for other sport leagues aiming to penetrating into the Chinese marketplace.

Findings

The current case study concluded that when facing the current challenges, the NBA needs to bring authentic American cultural commodities while adding Chinese characteristics to accommodate local fans. Meanwhile, the NBA management needs to continue seeking ways to work out and through the differences in government models and cultural contexts between China and USA. In addition, this study suggested that the research framework of glocalization would be an ever intriguing inquiry needed for other sport organizations or leagues seeking expansion to overseas markets.

Originality/value

A thorough case study with the NBA that has achieved huge successes in Chinese markets will provide valuable implications for sport leagues to broaden their overseas markets.
Business-led sustainable consumption initiatives: impacts and lessons learned
Authors: Bocken Nancy
Published: January 2017

Purpose

To mitigate negative human-induced impact on the planet, consumption patterns need to be changed urgently. The purpose of this paper is to investigate how companies can drive sustainable consumption patterns.

Design/methodology/approach

The paper discusses six illustrative cases of sustainable consumption initiatives by companies: their strategies, initiatives and impacts.

Findings

A “business-led sustainable consumption strategies framework” was developed to analyse the cases. It was found that companies apply individual, social and wider contextual influencing tactics to encourage sustainable consumption. The case initiatives emerged without regulatory pushes. It was found that collaborative initiatives could be impactful, because multiple stakeholder influence helps normalise new behaviour. Regulation helps to level the playing field in an industry and potentially force absolute consumption reductions.

Practical implications

This work provides insight into the potential of business-led sustainable consumption initiatives and the strategies to be used. Companies are making important steps to encourage sustainable consumption, but initiatives have not yet achieved the scale to significantly transform consumption patterns. Further business experimentation with social marketing type of techniques is recommended. Future work is required to map out the most suitable strategies to encourage sustainable consumption by industry.

Originality/value

This paper has given new insight in the potential future role of companies in sustainable consumption. Businesses are positioned as the initiators of sustainable consumption patterns: their expertise can be used to stimulate and adopt sustainable consumption patterns with customers. This work sheds light on how businesses can use social marketing-type techniques and business model innovation to drive sustainable consumption. Finally, it contributes to the understanding of the scale and effectiveness of business-led sustainable consumption initiatives.
Benefit flexibility and benefit satisfaction: does employee’s personality matter?
Authors: de la Torre-Ruiz José Manuel , Vidal-Salazar Maria Dolores , Cordón-Pozo Eulogio
Published: January 2017

Purpose

Although previous studies have analyzed the affective reaction of employees toward benefits, results remain inconclusive. The purpose of this paper is to pay specific attention to the flexibility of benefit systems and analyze whether the effect of this flexibility on employee’s benefit satisfaction is moderated by employees’ personality traits.

Design/methodology/approach

The data of this study have been collected from a sample of 874 employees working in Spanish firms, through survey. The data were analyzed using partial least squares modeling.

Findings

The results of this study show how self-efficacy has a negative moderating effect on the relation between benefit flexibility and benefit-level satisfaction. Similarly, the authors find a negative moderating effect of internal locus of control on the relationship between benefit flexibility and benefit determination satisfaction.

Research limitations/implications

Future studies should consider other personality traits that have an even stronger moderating effect.

Practical implications

This paper sheds some light on how the flexibility of benefit systems can be an effective source of satisfaction and what kind of employees can be more satisfied with them. For human resource managers, it is necessary to know how differently employees react to human resource practices in order to be able to effectively adjust these practices to the appropriate employees.

Originality/value

This work contributes to human resource literature by analyzing some personality traits that may condition the effectiveness of benefit systems. In this sense, it responds to recent calls asking for more studies aimed at analyzing the role of the employees on the effectiveness of human resource practices.
The unintended consequences of role-modelling behaviour in female career progression
Authors: Cross Christine , Linehan Margaret , Murphy Caroline
Published: January 2017

Purpose

Much of the literature identifies the positive nature of role models in career progression. The purpose of this paper is to take the contrary perspective and explore whether role-modelling behaviour of senior female managers can be unintentionally interpreted as negative, with an associated negative impact on career progression decisions of female managers.

Design/methodology/approach

To address this issue the authors took a grounded theory approach and 30 in-depth interviews were conducted with female middle-level managers in a wide range of Irish organisations.

Findings

The results of the interviews illustrate that role-modelling behaviour has the potential to negatively, rather than positively affect female career progression choices.

Practical implications

The unintended consequences of role-modelling behaviour of senior female managers highlights both the concept of negative role-modelling behaviour and identifies its impact on female managerial career progression.

Originality/value

This paper offers new insights into the construction of the global role model by introducing two new elements – the realistic role model and the departed role model.
Multistep inversion workflow for 3D long‐offset damped elastic waves in the Fourier domain
Authors: Petrov Petr V. , Newman Gregory A.
Published: January 2017

We present a new workflow for imaging damped three‐dimensional elastic wavefields in the Fourier domain. The workflow employs a multiscale imaging approach, in which offset lengths are laddered, where frequency content and damping of the data are changed cyclically. Thus, the inversion process is launched using short‐offset and low‐frequency data to recover the long spatial wavelength of the image at a shallow depth. Increasing frequency and offset length leads to the recovery of the fine‐scale features of the model at greater depths. For the fixed offset, we employ (in the imaging process) a few discrete frequencies with a set of Laplace damping parameters. The forward problem is solved with a finite‐difference frequency‐domain method based on a massively parallel iterative solver. The inversion code is based upon the solution of a least squares optimisation problem and is solved using a nonlinear gradient method. It is fully parallelised for distributed memory computational platforms. Our full‐waveform inversion workflow is applied to the 3D Marmousi‐2 and SEG/EAGE Salt models with long‐offset data. The maximum inverted frequencies are 6 Hz for the Marmousi model and 2 Hz for the SEG/EAGE Salt model. The detailed structures are imaged successfully up to the depth approximately equal to one‐third of the maximum offset length at a resolution consistent with the inverted frequencies.
Geostatistical seismic inversion for non‐stationary patterns using direct sequential simulation and co‐simulation
Authors: Sabeti Hamid , Moradzadeh Ali , Ardejani Faramarz Doulati , Azevedo Leonardo , Soares Amilcar , Pereira Pedro , Nunes Ruben
Published: January 2017

Geostatistical seismic inversion methods are routinely used in reservoir characterisation studies because of their potential to infer the spatial distribution of the petro‐elastic properties of interest (e.g., density, elastic, and acoustic impedance) along with the associated spatial uncertainty. Within the geostatistical seismic inversion framework, the retrieved inverse elastic models are conditioned by a global probability distribution function and a global spatial continuity model as estimated from the available well‐log data for the entire inversion grid. However, the spatial distribution of the real subsurface elastic properties is complex, heterogeneous, and, in many cases, non‐stationary since they directly depend on the subsurface geology, i.e., the spatial distribution of the facies of interest. In these complex geological settings, the application of a single distribution function and a spatial continuity model is not enough to properly model the natural variability of the elastic properties of interest. In this study, we propose a three‐dimensional geostatistical inversion technique that is able to incorporate the reservoir's heterogeneities. This method uses a traditional geostatistical seismic inversion conditioned by local multi‐distribution functions and spatial continuity models under non‐stationary conditions. The procedure of the proposed methodology is based on a zonation criterion along the vertical direction of the reservoir grid. Each zone can be defined by conventional seismic interpretation, with the identification of the main seismic units and significant variations of seismic amplitudes. The proposed method was applied to a highly non‐stationary synthetic seismic dataset with different levels of noise. The results of this work clearly show the advantages of the proposed method against conventional geostatistical seismic inversion procedures. It is important to highlight the impact of this technique in terms of higher convergence between real and inverted reflection seismic data and the more realistic approximation towards the real subsurface geology comparing with traditional techniques.
Public Opinion and the Depth of Labour's Crisis
Authors: Kellner Peter
Published: January 2017

Labour's current problems are the culmination of long‐term trends flowing from the rising cost of tax‐funded services and welfare and voters’ mounting resistance to higher taxes to pay for them. As a result of this, there is now a big gulf between the attitudes of Labour party members, and in particular the supporters of Jeremy Corbyn, and Labour voters—and an even wider gulf with the extra voters Labour needs to win a future election. This gulf is also wide in relation to a range of other issues, including immigration, education and economic ideology. For Labour to return to government, it needs not just to narrow the gulf in policy, but to persuade voters of its ‘valence’ virtues of trust and competence—qualities in relation to which Labour currently lags the Conservatives by large margins.
Caring for Soldiers, Veterans and Families in Scotland, 1638–1651
Authors: LANGLEY CHRIS R.
Published: January 2017

Scotland was overwhelmed with injured servicemen and their families during the wars of the 1640s. Centralized attempts to help support war veterans and, later, their families were ambitious but continued to rely upon local church sessions to collect, distribute and monitor charitable payments. Using local parish‐based manuscript material, this article shows how this system proved remarkably successful in providing financial support with one striking caveat: Unlike similar schemes in England and some areas of the continent, Scottish authorities only intended payments to injured servicemen and their families as a form of supplementary relief rather than permanent pensions. Moreover, despite local calls for further financial support, the central government made no effort to wrestle away the management of charitable activity from the parish setting. Veterans and their families continued to rely on informal support from family, friends and neighbours within a remarkably local charitable context. Such networks draw attention to the limited aims of official support in the seventeenth century and the necessity for it to co‐exist with, and co‐opt, a variety of less formal measures of charitable help.
News Networks in Early Modern Wales
Authors: BOWEN LLOYD
Published: January 2017

This article addresses the neglected topic of gentry news culture in early modern Wales. It argues that the Welsh gentry accessed and consumed news in much the same way as their English counterparts, but with subtle and important differences. Examining the circulation of news as part of the culture of gentry sociability, the article examines the ways in which news followed networks of family and friendship, highlighting in particular the role of the London Welsh diaspora in communicating news back to the principality. It is suggested that this served to inflect the news with a particular cultural sensibility – by highlighting matters of relevance to the principality or local area, for example. The article also examines the role of Welsh news flowing back into London to inform correspondents at the centre of provincial developments. The piece further argues that the prevailing religious and political cultures of the principality influenced what news was welcomed there, privileging the status of news which supported the position of king and Church, particularly after the civil wars of the 1640s and 1650s. As such, the article makes a claim for thinking about Welsh news as part of a particularist political culture within the British state.
The role of institutions in sustainable urban governance
Authors: Bridges Allison
Published: January 2017

In an effort to support a transition to sustainability, urban institutions now face new challenges. Municipal level institutions design and implement sustainability action plans, climate action plans and increasingly, climate adaption projects. This article reviews the debates surrounding the role of institutions in sustainable urban governance, as well as the tools available to assess the plurality of actors working within and across institutional boundaries. Sustainability as a guiding principle in urban planning requires a fundamental reorientation of the rationalities that have governed discrete aspects of social, economic and political life in cities. Institutions, in ordering the administrative and management activities of urban governments, are critical in efforts to hasten the adoption of sustainability ideals and in the implementation of associated projects. Urban political institutions engage with new forms of environmental leadership and polycentric forms of environmental governance in response to contextually specific urban characteristics and actor constellations. The extent to which sustainability ideals are institutionalized depends on sound analysis that helps form new understandings of the ways in which human‐environment systems are coupled — and how this coupling should inform governance action in support of sustainable urban development.
The Micro‐Taphonomy of Cold: Differential Microcracking in Response to Experimental Cold‐Stresses
Authors: Turpin Chantal
Published: January 2017

Cold is a central feature of environments at higher latitudes and elevations. Thus, cold‐induced taphonomic changes are relevant in many forensic contexts. Fifty‐two lamb bone segments were used to assess the impact of cold, freeze‐thaw cycles, freeze‐drying, and water immersion on microstructural cracking of bone in a series of controlled exposure experiments. For each bone segment, three thin sections were examined under a light microscope. Cold exposure caused taphonomic changes in the form of microscopic cracking. Transverse cracks occurred in all treatments, whereas osteonal cracks were restricted to rapid freezing treatments. Type of cold exposure had a statistically significant effect on both the total number of cracks and each type of crack observed. Skeletal microcracking could potentially be used as a taphonomic indicator of postmortem bone exposure to sub‐zero temperatures. The type and prevalence of this damage could also be used to distinguish between different types of cold exposure.
Physicochemical Property and Oxidative Stability of Whey Protein Concentrate Multiple Nanoemulsion Containing Fish Oil
Authors: Hwang Jae‐Young , Ha Ho‐Kyung , Lee Mee‐Ryung , Kim Jin Wook , Kim Hyun‐Jin , Lee Won‐Jae
Published: January 2017

The objectives of this research were to produce whey protein concentrate (WPC) multiple nanoemulsion (MNE) and to study how whey protein concentration level and antioxidant type affected the physicochemical properties and oxidative stability of fish oil in MNE. The morphological and physicochemical characteristics of MNE were investigated by using transmission electron microscopy and particle size analyzer, respectively. The oxidative stability of fish oil in MNEs was assessed by measuring peroxide value (PV), p‐anisidine value, and volatile compounds. The spherical forms of emulsions with size ranging from 190 to 210 nm were observed indicating the successful production of MNE. Compared with free fish oil, fish oil in MNE exhibited lower PV, p‐anisidine value, and formation of maker of oxidation of fish oil indicating the oxidative stability of fish oil in MNE was enhanced. PV, p‐anisidine value, and makers of oxidation of fish oil were decreased with increased WPC concentration level. The combined use of Vitamin C and E in MNE resulted in a reduction in PV and p‐anisidine value, and development of maker of oxidation. In conclusion, WPC concentration level and antioxidant type are key factors affecting the droplet size of MNE and oxidative stability of fish oil.
A Feasibility Study on Monitoring Residual Sugar and Alcohol Strength in Kiwi Wine Fermentation Using a Fiber‐Optic FT‐NIR Spectrometry and PLS Regression
Authors: Wang Bingqian , Peng Bangzhu
Published: January 2017

This work aims to investigate the potential of fiber‐optic Fourier transform‐near‐infrared (FT‐NIR) spectrometry associated with chemometric analysis, which will be applied to monitor time‐related changes in residual sugar and alcohol strength during kiwi wine fermentation. NIR calibration models for residual sugar and alcohol strength during kiwi wine fermentation were established on the FT‐NIR spectra of 98 samples scanned in a fiber‐optic FT‐NIR spectrometer, and partial least squares regression method. The results showed that R2 and root mean square error of cross‐validation could achieve 0.982 and 3.81 g/L for residual sugar, and 0.984 and 0.34% for alcohol strength, respectively. Furthermore, crucial process information on kiwi must and wine fermentations provided by fiber‐optic FT‐NIR spectrometry was found to agree with those obtained from traditional chemical methods, and therefore this fiber‐optic FT‐NIR spectrometry can be applied as an effective and suitable alternative for analyses and monitoring of those processes. The overall results suggested that fiber‐optic FT‐NIR spectrometry is a promising tool for monitoring and controlling the kiwi wine fermentation process.
Decoupling phylogenetic and functional diversity to reveal hidden signals in community assembly
Authors: de Bello Francesco , Šmilauer Petr , Diniz‐Filho Jose Alexandre F. , Carmona Carlos Perez , Lososová Zdeňka , Herben Tomáš , Götzenberger Lars
Published: January 2017

Functional traits and phylogeny offer different, and often complementary, information about ecological differences between species, an essential step to uncover biodiversity assembly mechanisms and their feedbacks to ecosystem functions. However, traits and phylogeny are often related due to underlying trait evolution. Consequently, when combined, their shared information can be overemphasized, hindering their complementarity. It is therefore desirable to decouple their unique and overlapping contributions.

We propose a conceptual and mathematical framework that produces a set of meaningful measures of ecological differences between species.

We test the properties of these measures and the validity of the approach with extensive simulated data to show (i) the information provided by decoupling traits from phylogeny and vice versa, and (ii) that decoupling trait and phylogenetic information can uncover otherwise hidden signals underlying species coexistence and turnover. The application of the approach is further illustrated using a large dataset of Central European meadows as a case study.

Decoupling traits and phylogeny particularly reveals the importance of differentiation between phylogenetically related species, which can be essential to understand species replacements along environmental gradients and the combined action of environmental filtering and limiting similarity within communities.

Decoupling traits and phylogeny provides an avenue for connecting macro‐evolutionary and local factors affecting coexistence and for understanding how complex species differences affect multiple ecosystem functions. We present an R function called ‘decouple’, which allows a simple and wide application of the framework.
The ever increasing diversity of begomoviruses infecting non‐cultivated hosts: new species from Sida spp. and Leonurus sibiricus, plus two New World alphasatellites
Authors: Ferro C.G. , Silva J.P. , Xavier C.A.D. , Godinho M.T. , Lima A.T.M. , Mar T.B. , Lau D. , Zerbini F.M.
Published: January 2017

Begomoviruses (whitefly‐transmitted, single‐stranded DNA plant viruses) are among the most damaging pathogens causing epidemics in economically important crops worldwide. Besides cultivated plants, many weed and wild hosts act as virus reservoirs where recombination may occur, resulting in new species. The aim of this study was to further characterise the diversity of begomoviruses infecting two major weed genera, Sida and Leonurus. Total DNA was extracted from samples collected in the states of Rio Grande do Sul, Paraná and Mato Grosso do Sul during the years 2009–2011. Viral genomes were enriched by rolling circle amplification (RCA), linearised into unit length genomes using various restriction enzymes, cloned and sequenced. A total of 78 clones were obtained: 37 clones from Sida spp. plants and 41 clones from Leonurus sibiricus plants. Sequence analysis indicated the presence of six bipartite begomovirus species and two alphasatellites. In Sida spp. plants we found Sida micrantha mosaic virus (SiMMV), Euphorbia yellow mosaic virus (EuYMV), and three isolates that represent new species, for which the following names are proposed: Sida chlorotic mottle virus (SiCMoV), Sida bright yellow mosaic virus (SiBYMV) and Sida golden yellow spot virus (SiGYSV), an Old World‐like begomovirus. L. sibiricus plants had a lower diversity of begomoviruses compared to Sida spp., with only Tomato yellow spot virus (ToYSV) and EuYMV (for the first time detected infecting plants of the genus Leonurus) detected. Two satellite DNA molecules were found: Euphorbia yellow mosaic alphasatellite, for the first time detected infecting plants of the genus Sida, and a new alphasatellite associated with ToYSV in L. sibiricus. These results constitute further evidence of the high species diversity of begomoviruses in non‐cultivated hosts, particularly Sida spp.
Genotypic characteristics in populations of Sclerotinia sclerotiorum from New York State, USA
Authors: Dunn A.R. , Kikkert J.R. , Pethybridge S.J.
Published: January 2017

White mould, caused by the fungus Sclerotinia sclerotiorum, is one of the most destructive diseases of beans globally. In New York State, USA, white mould causes substantial losses in soybean, snap, dry and succulent baby lima beans, which are grown successively in intensive crop rotations. Management strategies for white mould in these crops are reliant upon the prophylactic use of fungicides. No complementary information on the genetic structure of the populations of S. sclerotiorum in New York State, USA is available. Twenty isolates of S. sclerotiorum were collected from symptomatic bean plants within each of 10 fields across New York State, USA in 2014. Eight microsatellite (SSR) markers were used to characterise the genotypic diversity of the hyphal‐tipped isolates. Twenty‐four multilocus genotypes (MLGs) were detected within the population but one MLG was most prevalent. Although STRUCTURE analysis identified two subpopulations, these subpopulations were not associated with geographic location, suggesting no spatial structure to the population. In addition, the pathogen populations were predominantly clonal, with some evidence of infrequent outcrossing. These findings may assist in understanding the durability of management strategies for white mould and support the selection of representative isolates for host resistance screening for pathogen populations in the sampling area.
Comparative performance of δ13C, ion accumulation and agronomic parameters for phenotyping durum wheat genotypes under various irrigation water salinities
Authors: Chamekh Z. , Karmous C. , Ayadi S. , Sahli A. , Belhaj Fraj M. , Yousfi S. , Rezgui S. , Ben Aissa N. , Serret M.D. , McCann I. , Trifa Y. , Amara H. , Araus J.L.
Published: January 2017

The use of efficient selection traits for screening under contrasting irrigation water salinity is a challenge for breeders. To identify patterns, grain yield (GY) and yield components (kernels m−2, thousand kernels weight), growth traits (plant height, biomass), flag leaf ion accumulation (Na+ and K+), carbon isotope composition (δ13Cgrain) and nitrogen concentration (Ngrain) of grains were assessed on 25 durum wheat genotypes (G) in two consecutive growing seasons (2010 and 2011), in three semi‐arid locations in Tunisia. Each location differed in their irrigation water salinity as measured by electrical conductivity: Echbika (S1, 6 dS m−1), Barrouta (S2, 12 dS m−1) and Sidi Bouzid (S3, 18 dS m−1). GY was shown to be negatively correlated to Ngrain as well as to δ13Cgrain. This is confirmed by a multiple linear regression analysis that showed that both δ13Cgrain and Ngrain were the major determinant components for GY variability under S3. A high genotypic variability was observed and the improved genotype Maali exhibited the most stable GY under the three irrigation water salinities and the two cropping seasons. Maali showed the lowest δ13Cgrain. This indicates that tolerance in durum wheat is likely to be correlated to the ability of maintaining a high stomatal conductance. According to our data suggests δ13Cgrain can be used for an efficient screening of salt tolerant durum wheat. Under our experimental conditions, Ngrain was shown to be highly correlated to δ13Cgrain and can therefore be easier‐to‐use trait to assess the tolerance to salinity.
Sensitivity determination and resistance risk assessment of Rhizoctonia solani to SDHI fungicide thifluzamide
Authors: Mu W. , Wang Z. , Bi Y. , Ni X. , Hou Y. , Zhang S. , Liu X.
Published: January 2017

Laboratory experiments were conducted to determine (a) the baseline sensitivity of Rhizoctonia solani to thifluzamide and (b) the risk of the fungus developing resistance to the fungicide. Thifluzamide sensitivity was assessed for 227 isolates of R. solani collected from 12 provinces of China from 2007 to 2011. One insensitive isolate GD‐1 was obtained from the field, and the EC50 values of the 226 sensitive isolates had a unimodal frequency distribution with a mean of 0.0351 µg mL−1. Nine resistant mutants were generated using thifluzamide‐amended media or UV radiation in the laboratory. The resistance was stable for all mutants after 10 transfers on PDA medium. Fitness of the most resistant mutants was lower than that of the sensitive isolates, implying a lower competitiveness of the mutants relative to sensitive isolates in field. Cross‐resistance was detected between thifluzamide and the Succinate dehydrogenase inhibitors (SDHIs) fenfuram, carboxin, penflufen and boscalid, but not between thifluzamide and difenoconazole, carbendazim, propiconazol, SYP‐2815 (quinone outside inhibitor (QoI) fungicide developed in China), fluazinam, jinggangmycin, pyrimorph or mepronil. The SDHI fungicide fluopyram did not inhibit R. solani. Taken together, these results suggest that the risk of R. solani developing resistance to thifluzamide is low to moderate.
Limited Excessive Voluntary Alcohol Drinking Leads to Liver Dysfunction in Mice
Authors: Wegner Scott A. , Pollard Katherine A. , Kharazia Viktor , Darevsky David , Perez Luz , Roychowdhury Sanjoy , Xu Allison , Ron Dorit , Nagy Laura E. , Hopf Frederic Woodward
Published: January 2017

Background

Liver damage is a serious and sometimes fatal consequence of long‐term alcohol intake, which progresses from early‐stage fatty liver (steatosis) to later‐stage steatohepatitis with inflammation and fibrosis/necrosis. However, very little is known about earlier stages of liver disruption that may occur in problem drinkers, those who drink excessively but are not dependent on alcohol.

Methods

We examined how repeated binge‐like alcohol drinking in C57BL/6 mice altered liver function, as compared with a single binge‐intake session and with repeated moderate alcohol consumption. We measured a number of markers associated with early‐ and later‐stage liver disruption, including liver steatosis, measures of liver cytochrome P4502E1 (CYP2E1) and alcohol dehydrogenase (ADH), alcohol metabolism, expression of cytokine mRNA, accumulation of 4‐hydroxynonenal (4‐HNE) as an indicator of oxidative stress, and alanine transaminase/aspartate transaminase as a measure of hepatocyte injury.

Results

Importantly, repeated binge‐like alcohol drinking increased triglyceride levels in the liver and plasma, and increased lipid droplets in the liver, indicators of steatosis. In contrast, a single binge‐intake session or repeated moderate alcohol consumption did not alter triglyceride levels. In addition, alcohol exposure can increase rates of alcohol metabolism through CYP2E1 and ADH, which can potentially increase oxidative stress and liver dysfunction. Intermittent, excessive alcohol intake increased liver CYP2E1 mRNA, protein, and activity, as well as ADH mRNA and activity. Furthermore, repeated, binge‐like drinking, but not a single binge or moderate drinking, increased alcohol metabolism. Finally, repeated, excessive intake transiently elevated mRNA for the proinflammatory cytokine IL‐1B and 4‐HNE levels, but did not alter markers of later‐stage liver hepatocyte injury.

Conclusions

Together, we provide data suggesting that even relatively limited binge‐like alcohol drinking can lead to disruptions in liver function, which might facilitate the transition to more severe forms of liver damage.