bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Genomic and non-genomic effects of progesterone on prostaglandin (PG) F2α and PGE2 production in the bovine endometrium
Authors: Kuse Mariko , Sakumoto Ryosuke , Okuda Kiyoshi
Published: April 2015

Progesterone (P4) acts through different actuating pathways called genomic and non-genomic pathways. Here we investigated whether P4 regulates prostaglandin (PG) F2α (PGF) and PGE2 production in bovine endometrium through different pathways. Cultured endometrial cells were exposed to P4 for a short time (5–20 min) or bovine serum albumin (BSA)-conjugated P4 (P4-BSA) for 24 h. Progesterone treatment for 24 h stimulated PGE2 production in epithelial cells, but suppressed both PGF and PGE2 production and the expression of PG-metabolising enzymes including phospholipase A2 (PLA2) and cyclooxygenase-2 (COX2) in stromal cells. Short-term (5–20 min) P4 treatment did not affect PLA2 or COX2 transcript levels in either cell type. P4-BSA increased PGF and PGE2 production only in epithelial cells. Nuclear P4 receptor mRNA expression in endometrium was higher at the follicular phase than at the early- to mid-luteal stages, whereas membrane P4 receptor mRNA expression did not change throughout the oestrous cycle. The overall results suggest that P4 controls PG production by inhibiting enzymes via a genomic pathway and by stimulating signal transduction via a non-genomic pathway. Consequently, P4 may protect the corpus luteum by attenuating PGF production in stromal cells and by increasing PGE2 secretion from epithelial cells.
Neither chimpanzee nor human,
Ardipithecus
reveals the surprising ancestry of both
Authors: White Tim D. , Lovejoy C. Owen , Asfaw Berhane , Carlson Joshua P. , Suwa Gen
Published: April 2015

Australopithecus
fossils were regularly interpreted during the late 20th century in a framework that used living African apes, especially chimpanzees, as proxies for the immediate ancestors of the human clade. Such projection is now largely nullified by the discovery of
Ardipithecus
. In the context of accumulating evidence from genetics, developmental biology, anatomy, ecology, biogeography, and geology,
Ardipithecus
alters perspectives on how our earliest hominid ancestors—and our closest living relatives—evolved.
Hybrid apomicts trapped in the ecological niches of their sexual ancestors
Authors: Mau Martin , Lovell John T. , Corral José M. , Kiefer Christiane , Koch Marcus A. , Aliyu Olawale M. , Sharbel Timothy F.
Published: April 2015

Significance

Ecological-niche differentiation in diploid sexual–polyploid asexual complexes has been observed within and among many taxa, yet the relative contributions of reproductive system and ploidy are not fully understood. Here, we assess niche characteristics of sexual diploid, apomictic (asexual) diploid, and triploid
Boechera
(Brassicaceae) lineages. We find strong evidence for widespread hybridization and, to a lesser degree, ploidy variation as factors that together overcome the adaptive disadvantages of apomictic (i.e., asexual) reproduction. When controlling for ploidy, we find only modest evidence for putatively asexually driven ecological-niche divergence among reproductive systems, a finding that contradicts the well-supported patterns of geographic parthenogenesis.
Joint neutron crystallographic and NMR solution studies of Tyr residue ionization and hydrogen bonding: Implications for enzyme-mediated proton transfer
Authors: Michalczyk Ryszard , Unkefer Clifford J. , Bacik John-Paul , Schrader Tobias E. , Ostermann Andreas , Kovalevsky Andrey Y. , McKenna Robert , Fisher Suzanne Zoë
Published: April 2015

Significance

Proton transfer is a fundamental mechanism at the core of many enzyme-catalyzed reactions. It is also exquisitely sensitive to a number of factors, including pH, electrostatics, proper active-site geometry, and chemistry. Carbonic anhydrase has evolved a fast and efficient way to conduct protons through a combination of hydrophilic amino acid side chains that coordinate a highly ordered H-bonded water network. This study uses a powerful approach, combining NMR solution studies with neutron protein crystallography, to determine the effect of pH and divalent cations on key residues involved in proton transfer in human carbonic anhydrase. The results have broad implications for our understanding of proton transfer and how subtle changes in ionization and H-bonding interactions can modulate enzyme catalysis.
The resurrection genome of
Boea hygrometrica
: A blueprint for survival of dehydration
Authors: Xiao Lihong , Yang Ge , Zhang Liechi , Yang Xinhua , Zhao Shuang , Ji Zhongzhong , Zhou Qing , Hu Min , Wang Yu , Chen Ming , Xu Yu , Jin Haijing , Xiao Xuan , Hu Guipeng , Bao Fang , Hu Yong , Wan Ping , Li Legong , Deng Xin , Kuang Tingyun , Xiang Chengbin , Zhu Jian-Kang , Oliver Melvin J. , He Yikun
Published: April 2015

Significance

The genome analysis presented here represents a major step forward in the field of desiccation tolerance and a much-anticipated resource that will have a far-reaching effect in many areas of plant biology and agriculture. We present the ∼1.69-Gb draft genome of
Boea hygrometrica
, an important plant model for understanding responses to dehydration. To our knowledge, this is the first genome sequence of a desiccation-tolerant extremophile, offering insight into the evolution of this important trait and a first look, to our knowledge, into the genome organization of desiccation tolerance. The underpinning genome architecture and response in relation to the hydration state of the plant and its role in the preservation of cellular integrity has important implications for developing drought tolerance improvement strategies for our crops.
Rapid Communication: Want to block earworms from conscious awareness? B(u)y gum!
Authors: Beaman C. Philip , Powell Kitty , Rapley Ellie
Published: April 2015

Three experiments examine the role of articulatory motor planning in experiencing an involuntary musical recollection (an “earworm”). Experiment 1 shows that interfering with articulatory motor programming by chewing gum reduces both the number of voluntary and the number of involuntary—unwanted—musical thoughts. This is consistent with other findings that chewing gum interferes with voluntary processes such as recollections from verbal memory, the interpretation of ambiguous auditory images, and the scanning of familiar melodies, but is not predicted by theories of thought suppression, which assume that suppression is made more difficult by concurrent tasks or cognitive loads. Experiment 2 shows that chewing the gum affects the experience of “hearing” the music and cannot be ascribed to a general effect on thinking about a tune only in abstract terms. Experiment 3 confirms that the reduction of musical recollections by chewing gum is not the consequence of a general attentional or dual-task demand. The data support a link between articulatory motor programming and the appearance in consciousness of both voluntary and unwanted musical recollections.
Alveolar macrophage–derived type I interferons orchestrate innate immunity to RSV through recruitment of antiviral monocytes
Authors: Goritzka Michelle , Makris Spyridon , Kausar Fahima , Durant Lydia R. , Pereira Catherine , Kumagai Yutaro , Culley Fiona J. , Mack Matthias , Akira Shizuo , Johansson Cecilia
Published: April 2015

Type I interferons (IFNs) are important for host defense from viral infections, acting to restrict viral production in infected cells and to promote antiviral immune responses. However, the type I IFN system has also been associated with severe lung inflammatory disease in response to respiratory syncytial virus (RSV). Which cells produce type I IFNs upon RSV infection and how this directs immune responses to the virus, and potentially results in pathological inflammation, is unclear. Here, we show that alveolar macrophages (AMs) are the major source of type I IFNs upon RSV infection in mice. AMs detect RSV via mitochondrial antiviral signaling protein (MAVS)–coupled retinoic acid–inducible gene 1 (RIG-I)–like receptors (RLRs), and loss of MAVS greatly compromises innate immune restriction of RSV. This is largely attributable to loss of type I IFN–dependent induction of monocyte chemoattractants and subsequent reduced recruitment of inflammatory monocytes (infMo) to the lungs. Notably, the latter have potent antiviral activity and are essential to control infection and lessen disease severity. Thus, infMo recruitment constitutes an important and hitherto underappreciated, cell-extrinsic mechanism of type I IFN–mediated antiviral activity. Dysregulation of this system of host antiviral defense may underlie the development of RSV-induced severe lung inflammation.
Risk prediction for chronic kidney disease progression using heterogeneous electronic health record data and time series analysis
Authors: Perotte Adler , Ranganath Rajesh , Hirsch Jamie S , Blei David , Elhadad Noémie
Published: April 2015

Background As adoption of electronic health records continues to increase, there is an opportunity to incorporate clinical documentation as well as laboratory values and demographics into risk prediction modeling.

Objective The authors develop a risk prediction model for chronic kidney disease (CKD) progression from stage III to stage IV that includes longitudinal data and features drawn from clinical documentation.

Methods The study cohort consisted of 2908 primary-care clinic patients who had at least three visits prior to January 1, 2013 and developed CKD stage III during their documented history. Development and validation cohorts were randomly selected from this cohort and the study datasets included longitudinal inpatient and outpatient data from these populations. Time series analysis (Kalman filter) and survival analysis (Cox proportional hazards) were combined to produce a range of risk models. These models were evaluated using concordance, a discriminatory statistic.

Results A risk model incorporating longitudinal data on clinical documentation and laboratory test results (concordance 0.849) predicts progression from state III CKD to stage IV CKD more accurately when compared to a similar model without laboratory test results (concordance 0.733, P<.001), a model that only considers the most recent laboratory test results (concordance 0.819, P < .031) and a model based on estimated glomerular filtration rate (concordance 0.779, P < .001).

Conclusions A risk prediction model that takes longitudinal laboratory test results and clinical documentation into consideration can predict CKD progression from stage III to stage IV more accurately than three models that do not take all of these variables into consideration.
polychord: nested sampling for cosmology
Authors: Handley W. J. , Hobson M. P. , Lasenby A. N.
Published: April 2015

polychord is a novel nested sampling algorithm tailored for high-dimensional parameter spaces. In addition, it can fully exploit a hierarchy of parameter speeds such as is found in cosmomc and camb. It utilizes slice sampling at each iteration to sample within the hard likelihood constraint of nested sampling. It can identify and evolve separate modes of a posterior semi-independently and is parallelized using openmpi. polychord is available for download at http://ccpforge.cse.rl.ac.uk/gf/project/polychord/.
Key aspects of coronal heating
Authors: Klimchuk James A.
Published: April 2015

We highlight 10 key aspects of coronal heating that must be understood before we can consider the problem to be solved. (1) All coronal heating is impulsive. (2) The details of coronal heating matter. (3) The corona is filled with elemental magnetic stands. (4) The corona is densely populated with current sheets. (5) The strands must reconnect to prevent an infinite build-up of stress. (6) Nanoflares repeat with different frequencies. (7) What is the characteristic magnitude of energy release? (8) What causes the collective behaviour responsible for loops? (9) What are the onset conditions for energy release? (10) Chromospheric nanoflares are not a primary source of coronal plasma. Significant progress in solving the coronal heating problem will require coordination of approaches: observational studies, field-aligned hydrodynamic simulations, large-scale and localized three-dimensional magnetohydrodynamic simulations, and possibly also kinetic simulations. There is a unique value to each of these approaches, and the community must strive to coordinate better.
Is magnetic topology important for heating the solar atmosphere?
Authors: Parnell Clare E. , Stevenson Julie E. H. , Threlfall James , Edwards Sarah J.
Published: April 2015

Magnetic fields permeate the entire solar atmosphere weaving an extremely complex pattern on both local and global scales. In order to understand the nature of this tangled web of magnetic fields, its magnetic skeleton, which forms the boundaries between topologically distinct flux domains, may be determined. The magnetic skeleton consists of null points, separatrix surfaces, spines and separators. The skeleton is often used to clearly visualize key elements of the magnetic configuration, but parts of the skeleton are also locations where currents and waves may collect and dissipate. In this review, the nature of the magnetic skeleton on both global and local scales, over solar cycle time scales, is explained. The behaviour of wave pulses in the vicinity of both nulls and separators is discussed and so too is the formation of current layers and reconnection at the same features. Each of these processes leads to heating of the solar atmosphere, but collectively do they provide enough heat, spread over a wide enough area, to explain the energy losses throughout the solar atmosphere? Here, we consider this question for the three different solar regions: active regions, open-field regions and the quiet Sun. We find that the heating of active regions and open-field regions is highly unlikely to be due to reconnection or wave dissipation at topological features, but it is possible that these may play a role in the heating of the quiet Sun. In active regions, the absence of a complex topology may play an important role in allowing large energies to build up and then, subsequently, be explosively released in the form of a solar flare. Additionally, knowledge of the intricate boundaries of open-field regions (which the magnetic skeleton provides) could be very important in determining the main acceleration mechanism(s) of the solar wind.
The role of partial ionization effects in the chromosphere
Authors: Martínez-Sykora Juan , De Pontieu Bart , Hansteen Viggo , Carlsson Mats
Published: April 2015

The energy for the coronal heating must be provided from the convection zone. However, the amount and the method by which this energy is transferred into the corona depend on the properties of the lower atmosphere and the corona itself. We review: (i) how the energy could be built in the lower solar atmosphere, (ii) how this energy is transferred through the solar atmosphere, and (iii) how the energy is finally dissipated in the chromosphere and/or corona. Any mechanism of energy transport has to deal with the various physical processes in the lower atmosphere. We will focus on a physical process that seems to be highly important in the chromosphere and not deeply studied until recently: the ion–neutral interaction effects in the chromosphere. We review the relevance and the role of the partial ionization in the chromosphere and show that this process actually impacts considerably the outer solar atmosphere. We include analysis of our 2.5D radiative magnetohydrodynamic simulations with the Bifrost code (Gudiksen
et al.
2011
Astron. Astrophys.
531
, A154 (
doi:10.1051/0004-6361/201116520
)) including the partial ionization effects on the chromosphere and corona and thermal conduction along magnetic field lines. The photosphere, chromosphere and transition region are partially ionized and the interaction between ionized particles and neutral particles has important consequences on the magneto-thermodynamics of these layers. The partial ionization effects are treated using generalized Ohm's law, i.e. we consider the Hall term and the ambipolar diffusion (Pedersen dissipation) in the induction equation. The interaction between the different species affects the modelled atmosphere as follows: (i) the ambipolar diffusion dissipates magnetic energy and increases the minimum temperature in the chromosphere and (ii) the upper chromosphere may get heated and expanded over a greater range of heights. These processes reveal appreciable differences between the modelled atmospheres of simulations with and without ion–neutral interaction effects.
What can large-scale magnetohydrodynamic numerical experiments tell us about coronal heating?
Authors: Peter H.
Published: April 2015

The upper atmosphere of the Sun is governed by the complex structure of the magnetic field. This controls the heating of the coronal plasma to over a million kelvin. Numerical experiments in the form of three-dimensional magnetohydrodynamic simulations are used to investigate the intimate interaction between magnetic field and plasma. These models allow one to synthesize the coronal emission just as it would be observed by real solar instrumentation. Large-scale models encompassing a whole active region form evolving coronal loops with properties similar to those seen in extreme ultraviolet light from the Sun, and reproduce a number of average observed quantities. This suggests that the spatial and temporal distributions of the heating as well as the energy distribution of individual heat deposition events in the model are a good representation of the real Sun. This provides evidence that the braiding of fieldlines through magneto-convective motions in the photosphere is a good concept to heat the upper atmosphere of the Sun.
Efficient Privacy-Preserving String Search and an Application in Genomics
Authors: Shimizu Kana , Nuida Koji , Rätsch Gunnar
Published: April 2015

Motivation: Personal genomes carry inherent privacy risks and protecting privacy poses major social and technological challenges. We consider the case where a user searches for genetic information (e.g., an allele) on a server that stores a large genomic database and aims to receive allele-associated information. The user would like to keep the query and result private and the server the database. Approach: We propose a novel approach that combines efficient string data structures such as the Burrows-Wheeler transform with cryptographic techniques based on additive homomorphic encryption. We assume that the sequence data is searchable in efficient iterative query operations over a large indexed dictionary, for instance, from large genome collections and employing the (positional) Burrows-Wheeler transform. We use a technique called oblivious transfer that is based on additive homomorphic encryption to conceal the sequence query and the genomic region of interest in positional queries. Results: We designed and implemented an efficient algorithm for searching sequences of SNPs in large genome databases. During search, the user can only identify the longest match while the server does not learn which sequence of SNPs the user queries. In an experiment based on 2,184 aligned haploid genomes from the 1,000 Genomes Project, our algorithm was able to perform typical queries within ≈4.6 seconds and ≈10.8 seconds seconds for client and server side, respectively, on a laptop computer. The presented algorithm is at least one order of magnitude faster than an exhaustive baseline algorithm.
Structures of regulatory machinery reveal novel molecular mechanisms controlling B. subtilis nitrogen homeostasis
Authors: Schumacher Maria A. , Chinnam Naga babu , Cuthbert Bonnie , Tonthat Nam K. , Whitfill Travis
Published: April 2015

All cells must sense and adapt to changing nutrient availability. However, detailed molecular mechanisms coordinating such regulatory pathways remain poorly understood. In Bacillus subtilis, nitrogen homeostasis is controlled by a unique circuitry composed of the regulator TnrA, which is deactivated by feedback-inhibited glutamine synthetase (GS) during nitrogen excess and stabilized by GlnK upon nitrogen depletion, and the repressor GlnR. Here we describe a complete molecular dissection of this network. TnrA and GlnR, the global nitrogen homeostatic transcription regulators, are revealed as founders of a new structural family of dimeric DNA-binding proteins with C-terminal, flexible, effector-binding sensors that modulate their dimerization. Remarkably, the TnrA sensor domains insert into GS intersubunit catalytic pores, destabilizing the TnrA dimer and causing an unprecedented GS dodecamer-to-tetradecamer conversion, which concomitantly deactivates GS. In contrast, each subunit of the GlnK trimer “templates” active TnrA dimers. Unlike TnrA, GlnR sensors mediate an autoinhibitory dimer-destabilizing interaction alleviated by GS, which acts as a GlnR chaperone. Thus, these studies unveil heretofore unseen mechanisms by which inducible sensor domains drive metabolic reprograming in the model Gram-positive bacterium B. subtilis.
Bacterial Modulation of Plant Ethylene Levels
Authors: Gamalero Elisa , Glick Bernard R.
Published: April 2015

A focus on the mechanisms by which ACC deaminase-containing bacteria facilitate plant growth.Bacteria that produce the enzyme 1-aminocyclopropane-1-carboxylate (ACC) deaminase, when present either on the surface of plant roots (rhizospheric) or within plant tissues (endophytic), play an active role in modulating ethylene levels in plants. This enzyme activity facilitates plant growth especially in the presence of various environmental stresses. Thus, plant growth-promoting bacteria that express ACC deaminase activity protect plants from growth inhibition by flooding and anoxia, drought, high salt, the presence of fungal and bacterial pathogens, nematodes, and the presence of metals and organic contaminants. Bacteria that express ACC deaminase activity also decrease the rate of flower wilting, promote the rooting of cuttings, and facilitate the nodulation of legumes. Here, the mechanisms behind bacterial ACC deaminase facilitation of plant growth and development are discussed, and numerous examples of the use of bacteria with this activity are summarized.
Socio-economic justice and poverty in Nahj Al-Balagha
Authors: Mohseni-Cheraghlou Amin
Published: April 2015

Purpose

– This paper aims to present an account and discussion of Imam Ali’s view on poverty and socio-economic justice. The concept of socio-economic justice is of utmost importance in Islamic teachings.

Design/methodology/approach

– This exercise is based on examining Nahj al-Balagha, a tenth century collection of sermons and letters of Imam Ali Ibn Abutalib.

Findings

– First, in Imam Ali’s view, socially just outcomes can only be achieved through just means and procedures. Second, acute and visible inequalities and side-by-side co-existence of extreme wealth and poverty in a society point to the existence of socio-economic injustices. Third, a society that is suffering from severe and continuous socio-economic injustices or, in other words, acute poverty and inequality will cease to prosper and develop. Fourth, the main objective of an Islamic governance system is to adopt policies, institutions and procedures that would reduce or eliminate socio-economic injustices. A government that fails to reduce socio-economic injustices, in Imam Ali’s view, has failed in its main mission of protecting the rights of the public and ensuring their prosperity. Finally, regardless of government action or inaction, each individual in a society is also responsible to reduce socio-economic injustices to the best of his/her knowledge and ability.

Originality/value

– This paper aims to present the first comprehensive account of Imam Ali’s view on poverty and socio-economic justice and it could prove to be practically useful to modern Muslims and non-Muslims alike, whatever their position in society.
Foreign or domestic: who provides better customer service?
Authors: Poddar Amit , Ozcan Timucin , Madupalli Ramana Kumar
Published: April 2015

Purpose

– The purpose of this paper is to investigate the role of customer service employees’ (CSEs) competence and service recovery outcomes on service evaluations of foreign and domestic CSEs.

Design/methodology/approach

– Three experiments were conducted to test and validate the proposed hypotheses. The participants were told a cover story that they were either listening to (Study 2) or reading (Studies 1 and 3) a real conversation between a customer service representative of a bank and a customer and the authors wanted their views about the service encounter. While country of origin (COO) and competency were common independent variables across three studies, Study 2 included service recovery with a full refund and Study 3 had both full and partial refund and apology offered or not.

Findings

– Results from three experiments show that while competent CSEs are evaluated the same, regardless of their COO, the domestic CSE is evaluated more negatively than the foreign CSE when both are incompetent. The authors also find that when competent CSEs deliver no service recovery, the foreign CSE evaluations are significantly lower than the domestic one. Study 3 results show that this effect is mediated by participants’ ethnocentric beliefs.

Research limitations/implications

– For implications, this study provides a deeper understanding of the role of COO in services contexts. Future researchers can utilize the findings to investigate the important role that expectations play in determining service excellence and how it affects the COO effect.

Practical implications

– The paper provides managers in both offshoring client and provider firms with an understanding of the effects of offshoring on employee evaluations. It discusses the relevance/irrelevance of COO on the customer evaluations of service employees.

Originality/value

– The study investigates an under researched phenomenon – offshoring of services. This paper is one of the few looking at the role of different interaction factors, such as competence, recovery on service evaluations.
An examination of corporate social responsibility and processing fluency in a service context
Authors: Zhang Lu , Mattila Anna S.
Published: April 2015

Purpose

– This study aims to examine the joint effect of processing fluency and service quality in a service context. In recent years, companies have become increasingly interested in supporting corporate social responsibility (CSR) activities. While most prior research focus on the positive effect of CSR initiatives on consumer behavior, the current study identifies a new boundary condition – processing fluency – for the positive impact of CSR messaging. In addition, this examines its impact across two situations – a successful service delivery and a failure.

Design/methodology/approach

– This study used a 2 (processing fluency: high vs low) × 2 (service delivery: failure vs success) scenario-based experimental design. A total of 152 adult consumers participated in this study.

Findings

– The results show that in the service failure condition, participants exposed to a CSR message with high processing fluency exhibited more positive attitudes and higher repurchase intentions, as compared to their counterparts in the low processing fluency condition. However, in a successful service delivery condition, participants showed similar level of attitudes and behavioral intentions across the two fluency conditions.

Originality/value

– No previous research examined the interplay of processing fluency and CSR. This paper fills this gap in the service literature.
Creating an identity for a heterogeneous system in health care
Authors: Kantola Hannele
Published: April 2015

Purpose

– This paper aims to discuss the implementation process for the new diagnosis-related groups (DRG) accounting system in the health-care sector, and the struggle to gain acceptance for the system. The emphasis is on the goals and the expected results of the system, and how the system finally becomes an actuality.

Design/methodology/approach

– The paper illustrates the framing of an accounting system, that is, how the health organization constructs the goals and the purposes of the system during its implementation. The empirical data consist of interviews, newspaper articles and notes from participatory observations.

Findings

– The goals and the purposes of the new system were not definedex ante, but rather emerged as supporters of the system found a common language. This commonality enabled the linking of the interests of the hospital managers with the DRG system. At this point, the actual DRG-based systems for the product categorization and the full-cost pricing system became heterogeneous. Making the system visible through discussion entailed seeing the invisible. Seeing the invisible allowed the system to become a reality (national comparability). Visibility helped the DRG system to gain approval and become a stronger system.

Research limitations/implications

– This study is an illustration of a unique social process. The study’s applicability under other circumstances should be considered with caution.

Originality/value

– The paper illustrates how the purpose of an accounting system emerges and is constructed through the interaction between various actors.
Implementing performance measurement systems
Authors: Akbar Rusdi , Pilcher Robyn Ann , Perrin Brian
Published: April 2015

Purpose

– This paper aims to explore the perceived drivers behind the implementation of performance measurement systems (PMSs) in Indonesian local government (ILG). It analytically assesses Indonesia’s attempt to introduce PMSs by addressing three research questions: Do organisations in developing countries actually use PMSs to aid decision-making and help plan for future performance improvement? (RQ1) Do the three isomorphic pressures exist in the development and use of PMSs? (RQ2) and If institutional isomorphism is evident, can accountability exist within the development and use of PMSs given these pressures? (RQ3).

Design/methodology/approach

– This research explores the perceived drivers behind the implementation of performance measurement systems (PMSs) in Indonesian local government (ILG). It analytically assesses Indonesia’s attempt to introduce a PMS by addressing three research questions:RQ1Do organisations in developing countries actually use PMSs to aid decision-making and help plan for future performance improvement?RQ2Do the three isomorphic pressures exist in the development and use of PMSs? andRQ3If institutional isomorphism is evident, can accountability exist within the development and use of PMSs given these pressures.

Findings

– Results determined that although employees perceived coercive isomorphism as being a driver of ILG compliance with President B.J. Habibie’s presidential instruction (Inpres No. 7/1999), the Laporan Akuntabilitas Kinerja Institusi Pemerintah/Performance Accountability Report of State Apparatus (known as LAKIP), many councils were still not reporting and those who were, were not doing it well. Many councils lacked management motivation, with some choosing to merely mimic (mimetic isomorphism) what others were doing. Better-resourced councils made use of external consultants or local universities where knowledge was shared (normative isomorphism).

Practical implications

– An understanding of factors influencing the development and use of performance measures, in turn, can be used not only to improve PMSs in the future but to improve the quantity and quality of LAKIP reporting.

Originality/value

– The theoretical development and interpretation of this research is drawn from institutional theory with a major contribution being that it provides an in-depth conceptual overview and understanding of factors influencing the development and use of performance measures. Further, it fills a gap in the literature exploring PMSs and accountability in a developing country – in this case, Indonesia.
Team microfranchising as a response to the entrepreneurial capacity problem in low-income markets
Authors: Camenzuli Adam , McKague Kevin
Published: April 2015

Purpose

– Drawing on a qualitative study of youth microfranchising in the Tanzanian computer sales, service, and training sector, the purpose of this study is to identify the challenges and advantages of a team-based approach to owning and operating a microfranchise business in the context of a least developed country. However, disadvantaged entrepreneurs typically still lack a critical mass of specialized technical skills and general managerial skills to manage a differentiated and competitive microenterprise business. A team-based approach to microfranchising can allow for combining specialized skills among more than one business owner; however, the potential risks and opportunities of team-microfranchising have not been studied. This study makes a contribution toward filling this gap by identifying five challenges and five advantages of team microfranchising which provide guidance for future research and practice.

Design/methodology/approach

– Qualitative data (interviews, observation and archival documents) were analyzed from an in-depth case study of youth microfranchising in the Tanzanian computer sales, service and training sector.

Findings

– Results revealed that microfranchise businesses in sectors that require multiple complementary higher-level skills are suited to a team microfranchise approach. Findings suggest that the greater the limitations on franchisee skills and the more pronounced the lack of public goods and institutions, the greater the potential for team microfranchising to overcome the entrepreneurial capacity constraints and institutional voids in low-income market contexts. Further, team-based microfranchises may be able to compete more effectively in sectors where economies of scale are not a significant factor, such as service industries and small-scale niche manufacturing. Also identified are five potential challenges and five areas of opportunity for practitioners seeking to implement a team-microfranchise approach.

Research limitations/implications

– The current study examined microfranchising among teams of youth in the Tanzanian computer sales and service sector. Further research could examine team microfranchising among other demographic groups in different sectors and the different regulatory, institutional and cultural contexts of other regions and countries.

Social implications

– If developed effectively in the right contexts, the team-based approach to microfranchising can potentially double the job-creation impacts of microfranchising ventures.

Originality/value

– This study is the first to assess the viability and boundary conditions of a team-based approach to microfranchising.
Fringe benefits and organisational commitment: the case of Langkawi hotels
Authors: Ahmad Rozila , Scott Noel
Published: April 2015

Purpose

– This paper aims to examine the relationship between fringe benefits (FB) provided to hotel managerial employees as part of their compensation and managers’ organisational commitment (OC).

Design/methodology/approach

– This empirical study collected quantitative data from 104 managers from three-, four- and five-star hotels in Langkawi Island, Malaysia. Data collected included types of FBs received and three components of OC – affective commitment (AC), normative commitment (NC) and continuous commitment (CC).

Findings

– Significant relationships were found between types of FBs and component of OC. Relocation allowances, sports and social facilities, birthday celebrations and free laundry services have a greater correlation with AC compared to other types of FB. Most types of FBs have stronger correlation with AC compared to NC and CC.

Research limitations/implications

– The findings of this study are limited to hotels in Langkawi Island, Malaysia and to three-, four- and five-star hotels.

Practical implications

– Practitioners can use the information provided in this study to develop effective and competitive FB packages.

Social implications

– It is of utmost importance to ensure the well-being of all employees (managers and non-managers) in the provision of FB packages.

Originality/value

– Managers’ FBs are an important component of their salary, but there have been few studies of the effectiveness of FBs on hotel performance. This paper provides empirical evidence for the positive effect of FB on OC.
Does knowing overcome wanting? The impact of consumer knowledge and materialism upon credit card selection with young consumers
Authors: Cakarnis Jakob , D'Alessandro Steve Peter
Published: April 2015

Purpose

– This paper investigates the determinants of credit card use and misuse by student and young professionals. Critical to the research is the impact of materialism and knowledge on selection of the appropriate credit card.

Design/methodology/approach

– This study uses survey research and partial least squares to investigate credit card behaviors of students versus young professionals.

Findings

– In a comparative study of young professionals and students, it was found that consumer knowledge, as expected, leads to better consumer selection of credit cards. Materialism was also found to increase the motivation for more optimal consumer outcomes. For more experienced consumers, such as young professionals, it was found that despite them being more knowledgeable, they were more likely to select a credit card based on impulse.

Originality/value

– This paper examines how materialism may in fact encourage some consumers to make better decisions because they are more motivated to develop better knowledge. It also shows how better credit card selection may inhibit impulse purchasing.
Exploring seafood socialization in the kindergarten: an intervention’s influence on children’s attitudes
Authors: Alm Siril , Olsen Svein Ottar
Published: April 2015

Purpose

– This paper aims to enhance the understanding of the influence of increased food availability and social learning in kindergartens on children’s attitudes toward food. In addition, it discusses questions regarding children and their parent’s attitudes and seafood consumption at home.

Design/methodology/approach

– The study uses a qualitative approach that includes semi-structured interviews with 24 Norwegian children aged four to six years, interviewed in pairs. They represented two public kindergartens. One group attended a seafood intervention and the other did not. The intervention comprised seafood served as lunch twice per week, in addition to various educational activities designed to increase children’s knowledge of seafood.

Findings

– Children who attended the seafood intervention used more cognitive associations by describing seafood as being healthy. They also expressed more positive attitudes towards seafood compared with the other children. The findings indicate a stronger socialization effect from parents than preschool teachers.

Research limitations/implications

– The children proved to have limited cognitive and communicative abilities for participation in semi-structured interviews. Future studies should consider older samples and/or methods that are more adapted to their cognitive abilities. Results cannot be generalized due to the relative small sample size and the fact that the study was performed in one culture.

Social implications

– To promote a healthier diet, children’s care givers and school authorities should make seafood more available. Preschool teachers should be encouraged to eat meals with the children to function as positive role models.

Originality/value

– The study addresses a currently under-researched issue concerning the influence of kindergartens on children’s food attitudes toward a specific food category.
Applying uses and gratifications theory to students’ LinkedIn usage
Authors: Florenthal Bela
Published: April 2015

Purpose

– The purpose of this paper is to explore what motivates college students to use LinkedIn and what inhibits them from fully adopting it.

Design/methodology/approach

– A qualitative approach applying a “uses and gratifications” framework was used to identify the motives of and barriers faced by college students with respect to the LinkedIn usage. The study includes data collected from 30 upper-level, undergraduate business students.

Findings

– Four uses and gratifications categories emerged explaining why college students would be willing to use LinkedIn. Three categories – interpersonal communication, online identity and information – are similar to those identified for using social networks, such as Facebook, MySpace and Bebo. Career development was found to be a category gratifying only LinkedIn users. Barriers to LinkedIn adoption included students’ ignorance of the network and the erroneous perception that a presence on LinkedIn should be initiated and/or developed only after graduation.

Originality/value

– College students’ behavior on social networks, such as Facebook and MySpace, was extensively researched employing the uses and gratifications theory. LinkedIn has recently reached about 200 million users, of which about 30 million are college students and recent graduates. Still, students’ motives, usage patterns and barriers associated with LinkedIn have not been well-documented, which creates a gap that this study attempts to address. The aim is to shed light on what motivates students to use a professional network as opposed to using social networks and what key barriers might prevent college students from fully capitalizing on LinkedIn’s features.
Population genetic structure of the South American species Hypochaeris lutea (Asteraceae)
Authors: Rodrigues Luana Alves , Ruas Eduardo Augusto , Ruas Paulo Maurício , Reck Maikel , Fiorin Fernando Gianetti , Ortiz María Ángeles , Urtubey Estrella , Matzenbacher Nelson Ivo , Ruas Claudete Fátima
Published: April 2015

The genus Hypochaeris has a recent evolutionary history caused by long‐distance dispersal in conjunction with adaptive radiation in the South American continent. Hypochaeris lutea is a perennial herb that grows mostly at altitudes of around 1000 m in cold swamps of the southern regions of Brazil. We investigated the amplified fragment length polymorphism (AFLP) in 270 individuals representing 11 Brazilian populations of H. lutea to elucidate the population genetic structure of this species. The frequencies of polymorphic loci and gene diversity ranged from 83.42% to 91.66% and from 0.26 to 0.34, respectively. Analysis of molecular variance revealed that most of the genetic variability was found within (76.67%) rather than among (23.3%) populations, agreeing with the pattern of genetic distribution within and among populations observed in other allogamous species of Hypochaeris. A Mantel test showed no correlation between genetic and geographic distances when all populations were considered. Simulations performed using a Bayesian approach consistently identified two clusters with different admixture proportions of individuals, as also revealed by a UPGMA dendrogram of populations. The pattern of genetic structure observed in H. lutea is consistent with a process of successive colonization events by long‐distance dispersal resembling the rapid and recent radiation that has been proposed to explain the origin of the South American species of Hypochaeris.
Characteristic Features of Hanging: A Study in Rural District of Central India
Authors: Ambade Vipul Namdeorao , Kolpe Dayanand , Tumram Nilesh , Meshram Satin , Pawar Mohan , Kukde Hemant
Published: April 2015

The ligature mark is the most relevant feature of hanging. This study was undertaken with a view to determine the characteristic features of hanging and its association with ligature material or mode of suspension. Of a total medicolegal deaths reported at an Apex Medical Centre, hanging was noted in 4.1% cases, all suicidal with mortality rate of 1.5 per 100,000 population per year. The hanging was complete in 67.7% with nylon rope as the commonest type of ligature material used for ligation. The hanging mark was usually single, situated above thyroid cartilage, incomplete, prominent, and directed toward nape of neck. The mark of dribbling of saliva was seen in 11.8% cases. Facial congestion, petechial hemorrhage, and cyanosis were significantly seen in partial hanging. Though occasionally reported, the argent line was noted in 78.7% hanging deaths with neck muscle hemorrhage in 23.6% cases. Fracture of neck structure was predominant in complete hanging.
Reconstruction of Banknote Fragments Based on Keypoint Matching Method
Authors: Gwo Chih‐Ying , Wei Chia‐Hung , Li Yue , Chiu Nan‐Hsing
Published: April 2015

Banknotes may be shredded by a scrap machine, ripped up by hand, or damaged in accidents. This study proposes an image registration method for reconstruction of multiple sheets of banknotes. The proposed method first constructs different scale spaces to identify keypoints in the underlying banknote fragments. Next, the features of those keypoints are extracted to represent their local patterns around keypoints. Then, similarity is computed to find the keypoint pairs between the fragment and the reference banknote. The banknote fragments can determine the coordinate and amend the orientation. Finally, an assembly strategy is proposed to piece multiple sheets of banknote fragments together. Experimental results show that the proposed method causes, on average, a deviation of 0.12457 ± 0.12810° for each fragment while the SIFT method deviates 1.16893 ± 2.35254° on average. The proposed method not only reconstructs the banknotes but also decreases the computing cost. Furthermore, the proposed method can estimate relatively precisely the orientation of the banknote fragments to assemble.
Surveillance of Enteric Viruses and Microbial Indicators in the Eastern Oysters (Crassostrea virginica) and Harvest Waters along Louisiana Gulf Coast
Authors: Montazeri Naim , Maite Morgan , Liu Da , Cormier Jiemin , Landry Matthew , Shackleford John , Lampila Lucina E. , Achberger Eric C. , Janes Marlene E.
Published: April 2015

Noroviruses are the most common causative agent of viral gastroenteritis in humans, and are responsible for major foodborne illnesses in the United States. Filter‐feeding molluscan shellfish exposed to sewage‐contaminated waters bioaccumulate viruses, and if consumed raw, transmit the viruses to humans and cause illness. We investigated the occurrence of norovirus GI and GII and microbial indicators of fecal contamination in the eastern oysters (Crassostrea virginica) and water from commercial harvesting areas along the Louisiana Gulf Coast (January to November of 2013). Microbial indicators (aerobic plate count, enterococci, fecal coliforms, Escherichia coli, male‐specific coliphages, and somatic coliphages) were detected at the densities lower than public health concerns. Only one oyster sample was positive for norovirus GII at 3.5 ± 0.2 log10 genomic equivalent copies/g digestive tissues. A stool specimen obtained from an infected individual associated with a norovirus outbreak and the suspected oysters (Cameron Parish, La., area 30, January 2013) were also analyzed. The norovirus strain in the stool belonged to GII.4 Sydney; however, the oysters were negative and could not be linked. In general, no temporal trend was observed in the microbial indicators. Low correlation among bacterial indicators was observed in oysters. Strongest correlations among microbial indicators were observed between enterococci and fecal coliforms (r = 0.63) and between enterococci and E. coli (r = 0.64) in water (P < 0.05); however, weak correlations were found in oysters (r < 0.45) and between oysters and harvest water (r ≤ 0.36, P > 0.05). Our results emphasize the need for regular monitoring of pathogenic viruses in commercial oyster harvesting areas to reduce the risks of viral gastroenteritis incidences.