bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Spatial and Temporal Dynamics in Brook Trout Density: Implications for Population Monitoring
Authors: Wagner Tyler , Deweber Jefferson T. , Detar Jason , Kristine David , Sweka John A.
Published: April 2014

Many potential stressors to aquatic environments operate over large spatial scales, prompting the need to assess and monitor both site-specific and regional dynamics of fish populations. We used hierarchical Bayesian models to evaluate the spatial and temporal variability in density and capture probability of age-1 and older Brook Trout Salvelinus fontinalis from three-pass removal data collected at 291 sites over a 37-year time period (1975–2011) in Pennsylvania streams. There was high between-year variability in density, with annual posterior means ranging from 2.1 to 10.2 fish/100 m2; however, there was no significant long-term linear trend. Brook Trout density was positively correlated with elevation and negatively correlated with percent developed land use in the network catchment. Probability of capture did not vary substantially across sites or years but was negatively correlated with mean stream width. Because of the low spatiotemporal variation in capture probability and a strong correlation between first-pass CPUE (catch/min) and three-pass removal density estimates, the use of an abundance index based on first-pass CPUE could represent a cost-effective alternative to conducting multiple-pass removal sampling for some Brook Trout monitoring and assessment objectives. Single-pass indices may be particularly relevant for monitoring objectives that do not require precise site-specific estimates, such as regional monitoring programs that are designed to detect long-term linear trends in density.

Received April 22, 2013; accepted September 18, 2013
Economic Impact of a Recreational Striped Bass Fishery
Authors: Lothrop Ryan L. , Hanson Terry R. , Sammons Steven M. , Hite Diane , Maceina Michael J.
Published: April 2014

Striped Bass Morone saxatilis are stocked in numerous southeastern U.S. reservoirs to enhance angling opportunities. Many of these reservoirs are near rural communities, where expenditures by anglers provide economic benefits. This study estimated the value of the recreational Striped Bass fishery at Lewis Smith Lake, Alabama, to the local counties surrounding the lake and the state of Alabama using surveys that collected information on angler expenditures; further, we calculated generated tax revenues and estimated the demand and consumer surplus for the fishery. Annual Striped Bass angler effort represented 23% of the total effort with 53,000 h (SE, 3,800 h) or approximately 10,200 trips. Catch and harvest effort for Striped Bass anglers was 0.40 fish/h and 0.18 fish/h, respectively. Annual aggregated expenditures by Striped Bass anglers were US$0.7 million, with 84% of expenditures occurring within the local counties. A cost-benefit analysis determined that for every $1 spent in stocking costs, $2 were generated in taxes for local county road maintenance, education, and general funds and $7 were generated for statewide tax-funded programs; thus, Striped Bass stocking costs were justified through the increase in resulting angler expenditures. A count model using a negative binomial distribution was used to estimate demand. Demand estimation showed that an increase in travel cost to the site and an increase in party size decreased the number of visits an angler would make to fish for Striped Bass at Lewis Smith Lake. Consumer surplus was estimated to be $0.6 million for the Striped Bass fishery and $77 per angler visit. In conclusion, this work has shown that the economic impact assessment for a fishery should be taken into account when total fishery management plans are being evaluated.

Received January 26, 2013; accepted November 4, 2013
Application of the Genetic Mark–Recapture Technique for Run Size Estimation of Yukon River Chinook Salmon
Authors: Hamazaki Toshihide , DeCovich Nick
Published: April 2014

We present an application of the genetic mark–recapture technique to estimate salmon run size in a large river. Application of this technique requires modifications to estimation methodology. Under a typical Lincoln–Petersen mark–recapture estimation of salmon run size (N = M/p), individual fish are captured and marked (M) in the lower river and are recaptured (m) at escapement (E: the number of fish reached spawning ground) monitoring sites selected upriver where the proportion of marked individuals (p = m/E) is estimated. In this genetic mark–recapture technique, the marked individuals are not captured and recaptured, but rather the naturally distinctive genetic (marked) population is captured and recaptured. Genetically, the lower river population is a mixture of multiple genetic stocks, whereas the upriver escapement population consists of a single genetic stock. Hence, the mark–recapture experiment (N = M/pm) is reversed. The proportion of “marked” genetic stock (pm) is estimated in the lower river, and size of the “marked” stock in the lower river (M) is estimated by summing its upriver escapement (Em) and harvest (Cm) between the lower and upper portions of river (M = Em+Cm). The harvest is calculated as a product of total upriver harvest (C) and the proportion of the “marked” stock (pcm) in the harvest (Cm = C·pcm). Further, when the proportion of multiple genetic stocks (pk) is identified, stock-specific run size (Nk = N·pk), escapement (Ek = Nk−Ck, where Ck = C ·pck), and exploitation rate (Exk = Ck /Nk) can also be estimated, which provides substantially more information than does the conventional approach. We illustrate an application of this technique for estimating run size of Chinook Salmon Oncorhynchus tshawytscha in the Yukon River, Alaska.

Received June 6, 2013; accepted November 20, 2013
Evaluating the Effectiveness of the Pickering Nuclear Generating Station Fish Diversion System Barrier Net
Authors: Patrick Paul H. , Mason Elaine , Powell Jennifer , Milne Scott , Poulton J. S.
Published: April 2014

Barrier nets can be an effective alternative for reducing impingement mortality of fish at power plant intakes. In 2010, a paired, split-beam hydroacoustic method was used as the primary assessment tool for comparing relative fish density between the lake (“outside”) and station (“inside”) side of the Pickering Nuclear Generating Station fish diversion system (FDS) barrier net while it was in place. Behavioral information was also collected using a DIDSON acoustic camera and underwater video camera to determine fish responses to the FDS. Verification monitoring was completed using conventional gill netting. The DIDSON provided useful and valuable information on relative fish densities, relative school sizes, and behavior of fish as individuals, small groups, or schools on both the outside and inside of the FDS, as well as general behavior of fish approaching the FDS. There was no evidence of passage through the net based on DIDSON evaluation; however, fish passage occurred when the FDS net was considered to be in a degraded condition (from biofouling or storm events, or both) and passage occurred over the net, not through it. Analysis of the hydroacoustic data based on the weighted average biomass indicated that FDS effectiveness was 75, 98, and 100% for the spring, summer, and fall periods, respectively, and 98% for the three seasons combined. The summer and fall estimates were based on net performance under optimal net-deployment conditions and if the net degrades, effectiveness is reduced significantly as observed in the spring data. Our study results were supported by impingement monitoring at the station whereby impingement biomass was reduced by greater than 80% for each of the first 3 years after installation compared with before installation of the barrier net. Overall, the FDS was demonstrated to offer significant fish protection from potential impingement at the Pickering Nuclear Generating Station.

Received July 21, 2013; accepted December 6, 2013
Influence of Age-1 Conspecifics, Sediment Type, Dissolved Oxygen, and the Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill on Recruitment of Age-0 Red Snapper in the Northeast Gulf of Mexico during 2010 and 2011
Authors: Szedlmayer Stephen T. , Mudrak Peter A.
Published: April 2014

The Deepwater Horizon oil spill was one of the largest oil spills in U.S. history. The timing of this spill coincided with peaks in spawning and recruitment of Red Snapper Lutjanus campechanus and may have led to reduced recruitment or to year-class failure. Artificial recruitment reefs were deployed in 2010 (n = 30) and 2011 (n = 30) to measure Red Snapper recruitment off the coast of Alabama at four sites (three inshore sites, 13 km south: west, center, and east sites, each 30 km apart; and one offshore site, 25 km south). Substantial age-0 Red Snapper recruitment (density range = 0–34.5 fish/m3) occurred in 2010, with higher densities on inshore reefs than on offshore reefs. Age-0 Red Snapper recruitment was again observed in 2011 (density range = 0–108.5 fish/m3) along with age-1 Red Snapper (density range = 0–78.9 fish/m3) from the 2010 year-class. There was a negative correlation between the densities of age-0 and age-1 Red Snapper, indicating that older Red Snapper excluded younger fish from the reefs. Higher fractions of silt in the substrate at the west site compared with the center and east sites were associated with higher densities of age-0 Red Snapper, but the effects of sediment type were less important than exposure to hypoxic conditions at the west site in late August 2011 (dissolved oxygen fell to concentrations as low as 0.4 mg/L), which caused an almost complete loss of fish. The abundances of age-0 and age-1 Red Snapper in 2010 and 2011 provide evidence that the oil spill did not result in a year-class failure and that the most important variables affecting age-0 Red Snapper abundances were age-1 Red Snapper presence and dissolved oxygen concentration.

Received August 23, 2013; accepted December 19, 2013
Stabilization of Moloney murine leukemia virus reverse transcriptase by site-directed mutagenesis of surface residue Val433
Authors: Konishi Atsushi , Ma Xiaochen , Yasukawa Kiyoshi
Published: April 2014

After thermal incubation at 48 °C for 10 min, single variants of Moloney murine leukemia virus reverse transcriptase, V433R and V433K in which a surface hydrophobic residue, Val433, was mutated, retained 55% of initial reverse transcription activity, while the wild-type enzyme retained 17%. After thermal incubation at 50 °C for 10 min, multiple variants D108R/E286R/V433R and D108R/E286R/V433R/D524A, in which Val433→Arg was combined with stabilizing mutations we identified previously, Asp108→Arg and Glu286→Arg, and RNase H activity-eliminating mutation Asp524→Ala, retained 70% of initial activity, exhibiting higher stability than V433R or V433K.
A Simple Cultivation Method for Chesapeake Bay Ulva intestinalis for Algal Seed Stock
Authors: Li Ji , Kangas Patrick , Terlizzi Daniel E
Published: April 2014

Ulva spp. are valuable economically as edible green algae, and they also have environmental value in biofiltration. Cultivation of Ulva spp., in fact macroalgal cultivation generally, is limited in the USA. As part of a larger effort to develop macroalgal cultivation in the Chesapeake Bay for nutrient remediation, we developed a “seeding” method for Chesapeake Bay isolates of U. intestinalis. Ulva intestinalis thalli were induced to produce and release free-swimming zoospores by desiccation and rehydration. The zoospores then were induced to settle on the nylon nets by dark incubation. Rhizoids from the zoospores formed on the nets, and the nets became covered with green filaments which developed tubular thalli. Nets with thalli can be incubated in indoors or deployed in natural water to generate production-scale cultivation of U. intestinalis in the Chesapeake Bay. Such cultivation can be integrated with the growing oyster aquaculture industry in the Chesapeake Bay area, U. intestinalis serving as biofilters to remove oyster wastes and increase economic benefit through water quality enhancement and nutrient credits, and as an aquaculture product in their own right.
Maximal intended velocity training induces greater gains in bench press performance than deliberately slower half‐velocity training
Authors: González‐Badillo Juan José , Rodríguez‐Rosell David , Sánchez‐Medina Luis , Gorostiaga Esteban M. , Pareja‐Blanco Fernando
Published: April 2014

The purpose of this study was to compare the effect on strength gains of two isoinertial resistance training (RT) programmes that only differed in actual concentric velocity: maximal (MaxV) vs. half‐maximal (HalfV) velocity. Twenty participants were assigned to a MaxV (n = 9) or HalfV (n = 11) group and trained 3 times per week during 6 weeks using the bench press (BP). Repetition velocity was controlled using a linear velocity transducer. A complementary study (n = 10) aimed to analyse whether the acute metabolic (blood lactate and ammonia) and mechanical response (velocity loss) was different between the MaxV and HalfV protocols used. Both groups improved strength performance from pre‐ to post‐training, but MaxV resulted in significantly greater gains than HalfV in all variables analysed: one‐repetition maximum (1RM) strength (18.2 vs. 9.7%), velocity developed against all (20.8 vs. 10.0%), light (11.5 vs. 4.5%) and heavy (36.2 vs. 17.3%) loads common to pre‐ and post‐tests. Light and heavy loads were identified with those moved faster or slower than 0.80 m·s−1 (∼60% 1RM in BP). Lactate tended to be significantly higher for MaxV vs. HalfV, with no differences observed for ammonia which was within resting values. Both groups obtained the greatest improvements at the training velocities (≤0.80 m·s−1). Movement velocity can be considered a fundamental component of RT intensity, since, for a given %1RM, the velocity at which loads are lifted largely determines the resulting training effect. BP strength gains can be maximised when repetitions are performed at maximal intended velocity.
The state of the art of odorant receptor deorphanization: A report from the orphanage
Authors: Peterlin Zita , Firestein Stuart , Rogers Matthew E.
Published: April 2014

The odorant receptors (ORs) provide our main gateway to sensing the world of volatile chemicals. This involves a complex encoding process in which multiple ORs, each of which detects its own set of odorants, work as an ensemble to produce a distributed activation code that is presumably unique to each odorant. One marked challenge to decoding the olfactory code is OR deorphanization, the identification of a set of activating odorants for a particular receptor. Here, we survey various methods used to try to express defined ORs of interest. We also suggest strategies for selecting odorants for test panels to evaluate the functional expression of an OR. Integrating these tools, while retaining awareness of their idiosyncratic limitations, can provide a multi-tiered approach to OR deorphanization, spanning the initial discovery of a ligand to vetting that ligand in a physiologically relevant setting.
Multiple-layer solutions to the Allen-Cahn equation on hyperbolic space
Authors: Mazzeo Rafe , Saez Mariel
Published: April 2014

In this paper we study the existence of multiple-layer solutions to the elliptic Allen-Cahn equation in hyperbolic space:
\[

−

Δ

H

n

u
+

F
′

(
u
)
=
0
;

-\Delta _{\mathbb {H}^n } u+F’(u)=0;

\]
here

F
F

is a nonnegative double-well potential with nondegenerate minima. We prove that for any collection of widely separated, nonintersecting hyperplanes in

H

n

\mathbb {H}^n

, there is a solution to this equation which has a nodal set very close to this collection of hyperplanes. Unlike the corresponding problem in

R

n

\mathbb {R}^n

, there are no constraints beyond the separation parameter.
Satellite remote sensing, biodiversity research and conservation of the future
Authors: Pettorelli Nathalie , Safi Kamran , Turner Woody
Published: April 2014

Assessing and predicting ecosystem responses to global environmental change and its impacts on human well-being are high priority targets for the scientific community. The potential for synergies between remote sensing science and ecology, especially satellite remote sensing and conservation biology, has been highlighted by many in the past. Yet, the two research communities have only recently begun to coordinate their agendas. Such synchronization is the key to improving the potential for satellite data effectively to support future environmental management decision-making processes. With this themed issue, we aim to illustrate how integrating remote sensing into ecological research promotes a better understanding of the mechanisms shaping current changes in biodiversity patterns and improves conservation efforts. Added benefits include fostering innovation, generating new research directions in both disciplines and the development of new satellite remote sensing products.
Assessing current and projected suitable habitats for tree-of-heaven along the Appalachian Trail
Authors: Clark John , Wang Yeqiao , August Peter V.
Published: April 2014

The invasion of ecosystems by non-native species is a major driver of biodiversity loss worldwide. A critical component of effective land management to control invasion is the identification and active protection of areas at high risk of future invasion. The Appalachian Trail Decision Support System (A.T.-DSS) was developed to inform regional natural resource management by integrating remote sensing data, ground-based measurements and predictive modelling products. By incorporating NASA's remote sensing data and modelling capacities from the Terrestrial Observation and Prediction System (TOPS), this study examined the current habitat suitability and projected suitable habitat for the invasive species tree-of-heaven (Ailanthus altissima) as a prototype application of the A.T.-DSS. Species observations from forest surveys, geospatial data, climatic projections and maximum entropy modelling were used to identify regions potentially susceptible to tree-of-heaven invasion. The modelling result predicted a 48% increase in suitable area over the study area, with significant expansion along the northern extremes of the Appalachian Trail.
Modelling avian biodiversity using raw, unclassified satellite imagery
Authors: St-Louis Véronique , Pidgeon Anna M. , Kuemmerle Tobias , Sonnenschein Ruth , Radeloff Volker C. , Clayton Murray K. , Locke Brian A. , Bash Dallas , Hostert Patrick
Published: April 2014

Applications of remote sensing for biodiversity conservation typically rely on image classifications that do not capture variability within coarse land cover classes. Here, we compare two measures derived from unclassified remotely sensed data, a measure of habitat heterogeneity and a measure of habitat composition, for explaining bird species richness and the spatial distribution of 10 species in a semi-arid landscape of New Mexico. We surveyed bird abundance from 1996 to 1998 at 42 plots located in the McGregor Range of Fort Bliss Army Reserve. Normalized Difference Vegetation Index values of two May 1997 Landsat scenes were the basis for among-pixel habitat heterogeneity (image texture), and we used the raw imagery to decompose each pixel into different habitat components (spectral mixture analysis). We used model averaging to relate measures of avian biodiversity to measures of image texture and spectral mixture analysis fractions. Measures of habitat heterogeneity, particularly angular second moment and standard deviation, provide higher explanatory power for bird species richness and the abundance of most species than measures of habitat composition. Using image texture, alone or in combination with other classified imagery-based approaches, for monitoring statuses and trends in biological diversity can greatly improve conservation efforts and habitat management.
Endozoicomonas atrinae sp. nov., isolated from the intestine of a comb pen shell Atrina pectinata
Authors: Hyun Dong-Wook , Shin Na-Ri , Kim Min-Soo , Oh Sei Joon , Kim Pil Soo , Whon Tae Woong , Bae Jin-Woo
Published: April 2014

A novel bacterium, designated strain WP70T, was isolated from the gut of a comb pen shell (Atrina pectinata) collected from the southern sea of Yeosu in Korea. The isolate was Gram-stain-negative, aerobic, non-motile and rod-shaped. Phylogenetic analyses based on 16S rRNA gene sequences indicated that strain WP70T belonged to the genus

Endozoicomonas

. The highest level of sequence similarity (98.4 %) was shared with

Endozoicomonas elysicola

MKT110T. Optimal growth occurred in 2 % (w/v) NaCl at 30 °C and at pH 7. The major cellular fatty acids were summed feature 3 (C16 : 1ω7c and/or C16 : 1ω6c), summed feature 8 (C18 : 1ω7c and/or C18 : 1ω6c) and C16 : 0. The main respiratory quinone was Q-9. The polar lipids comprised phosphatidylglycerol, phosphatidylethanolamine, diphosphatidylglycerol, three unidentified phospholipids, an unidentified aminolipid, an unidentified aminophospholipid and an unidentified lipid. The genomic DNA G+C content was 50.5 mol% and DNA–DNA hybridization values indicated <11 % genomic relatedness to the closest species. Physiological, biochemical, chemotaxonomic and genotypic analyses indicated that strain WP70T represents a novel species of the genus

Endozoicomonas

, for which the name Endozoicomonas atrinae sp. nov. is proposed. The type strain is WP70T ( = KACC 17474T = JCM 19190T).
Flexible methods for estimating genetic distances from nucleotide data
Authors: Joly Simon , Bryant David J , Lockhart Peter J
Published: April 2014

With the increasing use of massively parallel sequencing approaches in evolutionary biology, the need for fast and accurate methods suitable to investigate genetic structure and evolutionary history are more important than ever. We propose new distance measures for estimating genetic distances between individuals when allelic variation, gene dosage and recombination could compromise standard approaches. We present four distance measures based on single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNP) and evaluate them against previously published measures using coalescent- based simulations. Simulations were used to test (i) whether the measures give unbiased and accurate distance estimates, (ii) whether they can accurately identify the genomic mixture of hybrid individuals and (iii) whether they give precise (low variance) estimates. The effect of rate variation among genes and recombination was also investigated. The results showed that the SNP-based GENPOFAD distance we propose appears to work well in the widest range of circumstances. It was the most accurate and precise method for estimating genetic distances and is also relatively good at estimating the genomic mixture of hybrid individuals. Our simulations provide benchmarks to compare the performance of different method that estimate genetic distances between organisms.
Building a better frog trap: The benefits of mal-adaptive habitat choice for metapopulations with different life history strategies
Authors: Hartman Rosemary , Ross Noam
Published: April 2014

By spatially distributing offspring among several habitat patches in varying environments, an organism can "hedge its bets" to protect against bad conditions in any single patch. This strategy can maintain populations even when some or even all locations are, on average, population sinks. However, species may not have evolved this bet-hedging mechanism, especially when sink environments are anthropogenic "traps" - locations where traditional habitat cues have been altered. Using a model based on the life history of the Cascades frog (*Rana cascadae*), we examine the conditions that maximize growth in an environment with ecological traps created by the introduction of predators. In a temporally stochastic environment, maximum growth rates occur when some juveniles disperse to the trap. We then examine how different life histories and predation regimes affect the ability of an organism gain an advantage by bet-hedging, and find that bet-hedging can be less useful when the ecological trap drives adult, rather than juvenile, mortality.
Coupling 40S ribosome recruitment to modification of a cap-binding initiation factor by eIF3 subunit e
Authors: Walsh Derek , Mohr Ian
Published: April 2014

40S ribosomes are loaded onto capped mRNAs via the multisubunit translation initiation factors eIF3 and eIF4F. While eIF4E is the eIF4F cap recognition component, the eIF4G subunit associates with 40S-bound eIF3. How this intricate process is coordinated remains poorly understood. Here, we identify an eIF3 subunit that regulates eIF4F modification and show that eIF3e is required for inducible eIF4E phosphorylation. Significantly, recruitment of the eIF4E kinase Mnk1 (MAPK signal-integrating kinase 1) to eIF4F depended on eIF3e, and eIF3e was sufficient to promote Mnk1-binding to eIF4G. This establishes a mechanism by which 40S ribosome loading imparts a phosphorylation mark on the cap-binding eIF4F complex that regulates selective mRNA translation and is synchronized by a specific eIF3 subunit.
Arabidopsis Glutathione Transferases U24 and U25 Exhibit a Range of Detoxification Activities with the Environmental Pollutant and Explosive, 2,4,6-Trinitrotoluene
Authors: Gunning Vanda , Tzafestas Kyriakos , Sparrow Helen , Johnston Emily J. , Brentnall Andrew S. , Potts Jennifer R. , Rylott Elizabeth L. , Bruce Neil C.
Published: April 2014

The explosive 2,4,6-trinitrotoluene (TNT) is a major worldwide military pollutant. The presence of this toxic and highly persistent pollutant, particularly at military sites and former manufacturing facilities, presents various health and environmental concerns. Due to the chemically resistant structure of TNT, it has proven to be highly recalcitrant to biodegradation in the environment. Here, we demonstrate the importance of two glutathione transferases (GSTs), GST-U24 and GST-U25, from Arabidopsis (Arabidopsis thaliana) that are specifically up-regulated in response to TNT exposure. To assess the role of GST-U24 and GST-U25, we purified and characterized recombinant forms of both enzymes and demonstrated the formation of three TNT glutathionyl products. Importantly, GST-U25 catalyzed the denitration of TNT to form 2-glutathionyl-4,6-dinitrotoluene, a product that is likely to be more amenable to subsequent biodegradation in the environment. Despite the presence of this biochemical detoxification pathway in plants, physiological concentrations of GST-U24 and GST-U25 result in only a limited innate ability to cope with the levels of TNT found at contaminated sites. We demonstrate that Arabidopsis plants overexpressing GST-U24 and GST-U25 exhibit significantly enhanced ability to withstand and detoxify TNT, properties that could be applied for in planta detoxification of TNT in the field. The overexpressing lines removed significantly more TNT from soil and exhibited a corresponding reduction in glutathione levels when compared with wild-type plants. However, in the absence of TNT, overexpression of these GSTs reduces root and shoot biomass, and although glutathione levels are not affected, this effect has implications for xenobiotic detoxification.
N-Benzyl-2-chloroquinazolin-4-amine
Authors: Mohamed Tarek , Assoud Abdeljalil , Rao Praveen P. N.
Published: April 2014

The asymmetric unit of the title compound, C15H12ClN3, contains two independent molecules. The quinazoline ring system in each is essentially planar, with maximum deviations of 0.025 (16) and 0.0171 (16) Å. The dihedral angles between quinazoline ring systems and the phenyl rings are 88.25 (8) and 85.28 (16)° in the two independent molecules. In the crystal, alternating independent molecules are linked by N—H...N hydrogen bonds, forming chains along [001].
2-Thioureido-1H-benzimidazol-3-ium chloride monohydrate
Authors: Sundaresan C. N. , Singh Dheeraj Kumar , Nanubolu Jagadeesh Babu
Published: April 2014

In the title compound, C8H9N4S+·Cl−·H2O, the cation is approximately planar, with a dihedral angle of 7.71 (8)° between the mean planes of the benzoimidazole ring system and the thiourea unit. In the crystal, cations, anions and water molecules of crystallization are linked by O—H...Cl, N—H...O, N—H...Cl and N—H...S hydrogen bonds into a three-dimensional network. π–π stacking is observed between the benzene and imidazole rings of neighbouring molecules, the centroid–centroid distance being 3.5774 (11) Å.
3-(2-Fluorophenylsulfonyl)-2,5,7-trimethyl-1-benzofuran
Authors: Choi Hong Dae , Seo Pil Ja , Lee Uk
Published: April 2014

In the title compound, C17H15FO3S, the dihedral angle between the mean planes of the benzofuran and 2-fluorophenyl rings is 87.61 (4) Å. In the crystal, molecules are linkedviapairs of C—H...π interactions into inversion-related dimers. These dimers are linked by C—H...O hydrogen bonds into supramolecular chains running along thea-axis direction.
β-D-Gulose
Authors: Ishii Tomohiko , Ohga Shunsuke , Fukada Kazuhiro , Morimoto Kenji , Sakane Genta
Published: April 2014

The title compound, C6H12O6, a C-3 position epimer of D-galactose, crystallized from an aqueous solution, was confirmed as β-D-pyranose with a4C1(C1) conformation. In the crystal, O—H...O hydrogen bonds between the hydroxy groups at the C-1 and C-6 positions connect molecules into a tape structure with anR33(11) ring motif running along thea-axis direction. The tapes are connected by further O—H...O hydrogen bonds, forming a three-dimensional network.
Socioeconomic impacts of floods and droughts in the middle Zambezi river basin
Authors: Bola Bosongo Gode , Ndembo Longo Jean , Goldin Jacqui , Lukanda Muamba Vincent
Published: April 2014

Purpose

– The purpose of the paper is to analyse how floods and droughts affect communities' livelihood in the middle Zambezi river basin and coping mechanisms which households apply to counter the impact of floods and droughts.

Design/methodology/approach

– The method adopted was semi-structured interviews, focus group discussions and semi-structured questionnaires.

Findings

– Thematic analysis shows that the major issues affecting communities' livelihood in the middle Zambezi river basin are related to frequent floods and droughts. Floods are due to heavy seasonal rainfall which occurs at the peak of the rainfall season. As for droughts, the frequency of dry-spells of 20 days on average has been observed during the crop season. The impacts of floods and droughts in the district, notably in some wards such as Kanyemba, are the reduction of crop production, food shortages, reduction of agriculture derived income and erosion of social network. Households have responded to these impacts through a number of coping mechanisms including disposal of assets, labour migration, stream bank and floodplain cultivation, piecework, remittance, wild production and fishing. However, such coping mechanisms are short term and some of them are in conflict with the country's environmental laws.

Originality/value

– This paper reports a study on the first such finding related to socioeconomic impact of floods and droughts on households located in the middle Zambezi valley which is 500 km from Harare with a specific focus on traditional coping strategies in the face of disasters.
Adaptive institutional design in agri-environmental programs
Authors: Hurlbert Margot
Published: April 2014

Purpose

– This paper aims to explore how and in what context adaptive governance might work in practice in relation to climate variability through the study of two successful agri-environmental programs.

Design/methodology/approach

– Data were obtained through semi-structured qualitative interviews with key policy informants as well as rural agricultural producers. The adaptive attributes of two successful agri-environmental programs with a proven track record in reducing vulnerability and increasing adaptive capacity of rural producers were studied, including program responsiveness, program framing, stakeholder engagement mechanisms, and the respective roles of key actors.

Findings

– The adaptive governance practices of program delivery through localized government personnel and organizations increased perceived responsiveness. Mechanisms of program delivery and stakeholder participation and review changed over time as well as the framing of programs. Producers and key policy informants agreed that producers responded to concretely framed issues. A possible disconnect was discovered in the anticipated role of government in relation to meeting and responding to the climate change challenge.

Practical implications

– This research shows a need to study changes in programs over time in relation to the attributes of adaptive management. Differing climatic events, geographies, and government and stakeholder priorities all contribute to changes in the institutional design of programs and policies.

Originality/value

– This paper documents adaptive governance practices in relation to two agri-environmental programs that have successfully facilitated producer adaptation to climate variability in the past, as well as the perceptions of agricultural producers of the future role of government in relation to responding to climate change.
Community management of regeneration projects in Potsdam, Germany
Authors: Shand Rory
Published: April 2014

Purpose

– The purpose of this paper is to investigate the governance of regeneration projects, as part of the pan-German Social City initiative, examine the key actors engaged in delivery of renewal, and set out findings, before mapping the actors and governance models in regeneration in the area.

Design/methodology/approach

– This paper draws upon the paradigm of governance to illustrate actors in regeneration, about which little has been written thus far. The paper draws upon interviews with these actors in Potsdam and uses the policy networks approach to examine where power, resources and function are allocated among the actors in renewal.

Findings

– Though the community actor is an important conduit between the private sector and tiers of governance, in Potsdam the funding focus comes from private individuals and business, there is less scope for the community to act as manager of projects in renewal.

Originality/value

– The role of community managers can be compared to other subnational, national or global regeneration programmes. In examining the strengths and weaknesses of this model, the findings are of value in comparable cases as well as to policy makers and practitioners. The role of communities in working with business and government can be replicated and learnt from in other cases.
Awareness and attitude towards corporate social responsibility
Authors: Jain Priyanka , Kumar Datta Saroj , Roy Ankur
Published: April 2014

Purpose

– This paper is an attempt to explore the awareness and attitude of the management students towards corporate social responsibility (CSR). Students are perceived as future managers of the corporate world and their perception about CSR is deemed important to business organisations. The students can make companies understand their responsibility towards various stakeholders. The paper aims to discuss these issues.

Design/methodology/approach

– By doing a review of past literature, an appropriate scale consisting of forty-one items has been developed to measure the dimensions of CSR. Data were collected from 294 students of various business schools situated in Rajasthan (India). The data collected was subjected to exploratory factor analysis to extract the main dimensions that would bring out the attitudes of the students towards CSR.

Findings

– Results revealed that the companies should pay attention to accountability towards stakeholders, corporate governance, ethical commitment and humanitarian concerns besides fulfilling other responsibilities as covered under the eight factors identified in the study.

Research limitations/implications

– This paper used survey data from small sample of management students in a limited geographic area. Hence, it might be difficult to generalize the results to a larger, more representative population. The research also suggests how corporations can make CSR an integral part of the business organisation.

Practical implications

– The dimensions identified in the study if incorporated by the business in its day-to-day operations can make it socially responsible as well as socially acceptable in the true sense.

Originality/value

– This research makes an empirical contribution to identify the factors which management students expect business enterprises should do to be justified as socially responsible corporate citizens.
The informal road to markets
Authors: Kus Basak
Published: April 2014

Purpose

– The informal economy has expanded across developing countries during the last decades. Focussing on the Turkish case, the purpose of this paper is to examine the role of neoliberal reforms in this development. The author argues that neoliberal reforms produced a double-edged transformation in the regulatory environment of Turkey. On the one hand, the legal rules that constrain the operation of market forces decreased giving way to more entrepreneurial activity; while on the other hand, the state's effectiveness in “policing” the market declined. As the regulatory barriers to private entrepreneurship decreased, the regulatory barriers to informality also decreased. Private sector growth and informalization emerged as the concomitant outcomes of neoliberal reforms.

Design/methodology/approach

– This paper examines how the state's changing regulatory relationship to the private sector under neoliberal reforms fostered informal economic activities through a close study of the Turkish case.

Findings

– At the end of the 1980s, the Peruvian economist Hernando De Soto popularized the view that informalization resulted from government regulations imposing rigid constraints and costs on economic actors, and so would be restrained by decreasing or eliminating them. The economic developments of the past few decades challenge this view, however. The size of the informal economy has expanded in developing nations at a period when government regulations have been declining. How can we explain the increasing volume of informal economic activity in developing nations over the past few decades? And more, how can we explain that this has happened during a period when the private sector has grown, and regulatory rigidities have declined? This paper argues that the state's changing regulatory relationship to the private sector under neoliberal reforms was an important factor in the expansion of informal economic activities.

Originality/value

– The implications of neoliberal reforms for economic processes have been widely studied in the social scientific literature. Only a handful of studies have explored their implications for the informal economy, however. These studies singled out factors such as the decline in public employment, weakening of labor unions, or capital's enhanced ability to exploit labor in contributing to informalization of developing country economies in the neoliberal era. By discussing how the changing regulatory contours of the state-economy relationship played a role in the growth of informally operating private enterprises, this paper adds to the existing knowledge of this relationship.
Making customer engagement fun
Authors: Kim Jieun , Kim Jae-Eun
Published: April 2014

Purpose

– The purpose of this paper is to investigate what values luxury customers may seek to fulfill during their interaction with salespersons and how perceived value fulfillment may impact salesperson loyalty and store loyalty. The paper also examines the moderating effect of the degree of friendship with a salesperson.

Design/methodology/approach

– The authors conducted a survey using a close-ended questionnaire. In total, 22 luxury fashion brand stores located in eight of the largest department stores in Seoul, Korea, were selected as the luxury fashion retail context for the research. A total of 220 questionnaires were used for data analysis.

Findings

– Fulfillment of self-oriented values had a significant positive influence on store loyalty and fulfillment of stimulation had a significant positive influence on salesperson loyalty. There was significant interaction effect between stimulation and degree of friendship on salesperson loyalty.

Research limitations/implications

– The results of this study provide practical implications in the management of customer relationship. An emphasis on qualities of luxury products that are linked to the fulfillment of self-oriented and/or personal values such as superior quality or ability to gain emotional benefits should be warranted for success as a luxury brand or a luxury retailer.

Originality/value

– This research is important as it can inform luxury salesperson on how to better meet customer's psychological needs in the context of a selling situation; ultimately contribute to their salesperson loyalty and loyalty to the brand.
Am I worth it? Gifting myself with luxury
Authors: Kauppinen-Räisänen Hannele , Gummerus Johanna , von Koskull Catharina , Finne Åke , Helkkula Anu , Kowalkowski Christian , Rindell Anne
Published: April 2014

Purpose

– Consumers gift themselves with luxury fashion brands, yet the motives for self-gifting are not well understood. Whereas traditionally, self-gifting is defined as self-orientated in nature, luxury brands are seen as social statements, and self-gifting of luxury fashion brands that combine these two controversial areas is an interesting research topic. The purpose of this paper is to address this issue by exploring the self-gifting behaviour of consumers, in particular focusing on the personal motives of gifting oneself with luxury fashion brands.

Design/methodology/approach

– The study takes a multi-qualitative approach involving a small (n=19) but rich sample. Data collection and analysis were triangulated to reduce researcher biases.

Findings

– The study provides key dimensions for understanding consumers’ perceptions of luxury fashion brands and self-gifting motives (self and socially orientated). The findings reveal that reflections from others are part of the self-gifting phenomenon. It appeared that although self-orientated benefits and personally orientated motives trigger the self-gifting act, the act of actually purchasing explicitly luxury brands for oneself as a gift may be triggered by other-orientated benefits and socially orientated motives. The findings also imply that luxury holds a self-orientated aspect; luxury brands are not only purchased for socially orientated reasons but also for reasons related to oneself. In addition, the findings discuss the act of shopping, where the act can be perceived as a luxury experience and overrun the importance of the brand.

Practical implications

– The findings provide insights to consumers’ gifting behaviour that may be valuable for retailers and fashion marketers as they plan for marketing activities related to their customers’ self-gifting.

Originality/value

– Self-gifting represents a view of gifting that remains under-researched. This study uncovers the motives for gifting oneself with luxury fashion brands, a further sub-area in need for more investigation.
Responsible education and multiple learning identities by the Mamanwas in Surigao del Norte, Mindanao, Philippines
Authors: Rabasso Carlos , Rabasso Javier
Published: April 2014

Purpose

– How responsible education and “green” learning becomes crucial for survival for the Mamanwa ethnic minority in Surigao del Norte, Mindanao, Philippines. The paper aims to discuss these issues.

Design/methodology/approach

– Ten interviews to teachers and 40 Mamanwa students at the Missionary Sisters Servants of the Holy Spirit School in Palalihan, Surigao del Norte, Mindanao, Philippines. Each interview lasted for 1 hour and had ten questions related to “green” learning, responsible education, ecospirituality and sustainable practices. The teachers' interviews took into account how the students incorporate into their learning process the traditional curriculum being taught in the Philippines in primary schools and the Indigenous People's Core Curriculum (IPCC) which has been implemented recently to indigenous people all through the country. Each interview to the students lasted 30 minutes and was related about the things they leaned, how they learned it and applied it to their daily lives.

Findings

– The importance of a Christian approach to indigenous education respects the traditions and sacred knowledge of a marginalised community in the Philippines. The teaching approach of the Missionary Sisters Servants of the Holy Spirit (MSSHS) shows the development of “green” knowledge and responsible educational capabilities in their practices as educators.

Research limitations/implications

– Tribal cultural values and MSSHS education bring in a kind of “transcultural” learning process which gives Mamanwas greater skills for cross-cultural adaptation in the Pilipino environment.

Practical implications

– Non-formal education through the IPCC becomes a key element for the learning process in an environment where sustainable practices are part of the upbringing of the Mamanwa community.

Social implications

– The relationship between spiritual values and the environment shows a greater closeness between responsible education and “green” learning.

Originality/value

– Thanks to the MSSHS education, the Mamanwa community has learned, through a syncretic educational process, a greater ability for transcultural adaptation in a transitional process for ethnic minorities in the Philippines.
The relationship between leadership paradigms and employee engagement
Authors: Zhang Tanyu , C. Avery Gayle , Bergsteiner Harald , More Elizabeth
Published: April 2014

Purpose

– This study investigated whether the direct supervisor's leadership style affects employee engagement using Avery's classical, transactional, visionary, and organic leadership paradigms as the theoretical framework. The study also investigated how many and which components of employee engagement (“say”, “stay” and “strive”) contribute to the construct. The paper aims to discuss these issues.

Design/methodology/approach

– A sample of 439 retail sales assistants in Sydney, Australia, responded to a mixed-mode questionnaire survey. Factor analysis, independentt-tests, analysis of variance and structural regression models were used in the data analysis.

Findings

– Both research questions were supported. Results showed that the visionary and organic paradigms are likely to enhance employee engagement, whereas classical and transactional styles negatively affect employee engagement. Furthermore, the data confirmed that the three behavioral-outcome factors all do contribute to the employee engagement construct.

Research limitations/implications

– One implication for researchers is that an employee engagement measure with demonstrably high reliability and validity, and known components has been developed. This study could be replicated in different national and occupational contexts, the leadership measures reconfirmed and expanded, follower characteristics included as moderating variables, and links to organizational performance investigated.

Practical implications

– The findings suggest that direct supervisors should be encouraged to use visionary and/or organic leadership wherever possible to drive employee engagement.

Originality/value

– This paper is original in several ways. It resolves an ongoing dispute in the literature about the components of employee engagement, namely whether all three components contribute to the concept. In answering this question, a valid and reliable questionnaire was developed. Using four leadership paradigms, including classical and organic leadership that are rarely investigated, this study demonstrates that employee perceptions of the leadership style used by their direct supervisor are linked to employee engagement.