bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Genomic dissection of maternal, additive and non-additive genetic effects for growth and carcass traits in Nile tilapia
Authors: Joshi Rajesh , Woolliams John , Meuwissen Theodorus , Gjøen Hans Magnus
Published: March 2019

Background

The availability of both pedigree and genomic sources of information for animal breeding and genetics has created new challenges in understanding how best they may be utilized and how they may be interpreted. This study computed the variance components obtained using genomic information and compared these to the variances obtained using pedigree in a population generated to estimate non-additive genetic variance. Further, the impact of assumptions concerning Hardy-Weinberg Equilibrium (HWE) on the component estimates was examined. The magnitude of inbreeding depression for important commercial traits in Nile tilapia was estimated for the first time, here using genomic data.

Results

The non-additive genetic variance in a Nile tilapia population was estimated from fullsib families and, where present, was found to be almost entirely additive by additive epistatic variance, although in pedigree studies this source is commonly assumed to arise from dominance. For body depth (BD) and body weight at harvest (BWH), the estimates of the additive by additive epistatic ratio (P<0.05) were found to be 0.15 and 0.17 in the current breeding population using genomic data. In addition, we found maternal variance (P<0.05) for BD, BWH, body length (BL) and fillet weight (FW), explaining approximately 10% of the observed phenotypic variance, which are comparable to the pedigree-based estimates. This study also disclosed detrimental effects of inbreeding in commercial traits of tilapia, which were estimated to cause 1.1%, 0.9%, 0.4% and 0.3% decrease in the trait value with 1% increase in the individual homozygosity for FW, BWH, BD and BL, respectively. The inbreeding depression and lack of dominance variance was consistent with an infinitesimal dominance model

Conclusions

An eventual utilisation of non-additive genetic effects in breeding schemes is not evident or straightforward from our findings, but inbreeding depression suggests for cross-breeding, although commercially this conclusion will depend on cost structures. However, the creation of maternal lines in Tilapia breeding schemes may be a possibility if this variation is found to be heritable.
ADrosophilamodel of neuronal ceroid lipofuscinosisCLN4reveals a hypermorphic gain of function mechanism
Authors: Imler Elliot , Pyon Jin Sang , Kindelay Selina , Zhang Yong-quan , Chandra Sreeganga S. , Zinsmaier Konrad E.
Published: March 2019

The autosomal dominant neuronal ceroid lipofuscinoses (NCL)CLN4is caused by mutations in the synaptic vesicle (SV) protein CSPα, which is a critical co-chaperone of Hsc70 protecting synapses from activity-dependent degeneration. We developed the first animal models ofCLN4by expressing eitherCLN4mutant human CSPα (hCSPα) orDrosophilaCSP (dCSP) in fly neurons. Similar to patients,CLN4mutations induced excessive oligomerization of mutant hCSPα and premature lethality in a dose-dependent manner. Instead of being localized to SVs, mostCLN4mutant hCSPα abnormally accumulated in axons and somata, and co-localized with ubiquitinated proteins and the prelysosomal markers HRS and LAMP1. Ultrastructurally, abnormal multi-laminar membrane structures were frequently observed in axons and somata next to degenerative abnormalities. The lethality, oligomerization and prelysosomal accumulation induced byCLN4mutations was attenuated by reducing wild type (WT) dCSP levels and enhanced by increasing WT dCSP or hCSPα levels, which indicates that bothCLN4alleles resemble dominant hypermorphic gain of function mutations. Furthermore, reducing the gene dosage of Hsc70 also attenuatedCLN4phenotypes. Taken together, we suggest thatCLN4alleles resemble dominant hypermorphic gain of function mutations that drive excessive oligomerization and impair membrane trafficking.
EpiSAFARI: Sensitive detection of valleys in epigenetic signals for enhancing annotations of functional elements
Authors: Harmanci Arif , Harmanci Akdes Serin , Swaminathan Jyothishmathi , Gopalakrishnan Vidya
Published: March 2019

The genomewide signal profiles from functional genomics experiments are dense information sources for annotating the regulatory elements. These profiles measure epigenetic activity at the nucleotide resolution and they exhibit distinct patterns along the genome. Most notable of these patterns are the valley patterns that are prevalently observed in many epigenetic assays such as ChIP-Seq and bisulfite sequencing. Valleys mark locations of cis-regulatory elements such as enhancers. Systematic identification of the valleys provides novel information for delineating the annotation of regulatory elements using epigenetic data. Nevertheless, the valleys are generally not reported by analysis pipelines. Here, we describe EpiSAFARI, a computational method for sensitive detection of valleys from diverse types of epigenetic profiles. EpiSAFARI employs a novel smoothing method for decreasing noise in signal profiles and accounts for technical factors such as sparse signals, mappability, and nucleotide content. In performance comparisons, EpiSAFARI performs favorably in terms of accuracy. The histone modification and DNA methylation valleys detected by EpiSAFARI exhibit high conservation, transcription factor binding, and they are enriched in nascent transcription. In addition, the large clusters of histone valleys are found to be enriched at the promoters of the developmentally associated genes.
Distinct oligodendrocyte populations have spatial preference and injury-specific responses
Authors: Floriddia Elisa M. , Zhang Shupei , van Bruggen David , Gonçalves dos Santos João P. , Altinkök Müge , Llorens-Bobadilla Enric , Frisén Jonas , Castelo-Branco Gonçalo
Published: March 2019

Oligodendrocytes (OLs), the myelinating cells of the central nervous system, are transcriptionally heterogeneous,1 the origin and functional consequences of which are unknown. Functional heterogeneity of MOLs might correlate with the local environment or their interactions with different neuron types.2 Here, we show that distinct MOL populations have spatial preference in the mammalian central nervous system and differential susceptibility to traumatic spinal cord injury. We also show that the generation of distinct MOL populations is independent of the OPC developmental origin. We found that OPCs originating from the previously described developmental waves3–5 have comparable potential to differentiate into the main MOL populations. Furthermore, we found that MOL type 2 (MOL2) is enriched in the spinal cord and almost absent in the brain, while MOL5/6 is enriched with age in all analyzed regions. MOL2 and MOL5/6 also have differential preference for motor and sensory tracts in the spinal cord. In the context of disease, we found that MOL2 and MOL5/6 have differential susceptibility to traumatic spinal cord injury, where MOL2 are lost and MOL5/6 increased their contribution to the OL lineage. Importantly, MOL2 susceptibility is disease specific, as we found MOL2 is not lost in a mouse model of multiple sclerosis. Our results demonstrate that the MOL populations, previously described by single-cell transcriptomics,1 have distinct spatial preference and responses. We anticipate our study to pave the way for a better understanding of the MOL populations-specific functional roles in development, health, and disease, allowing for better targeting of the OL subtypes important for the regeneration and repair of the central nervous system.
Promoter-anchored chromatin interactions predicted from genetic analysis of epigenomic data
Authors: Wu Yang , Qi Ting , Wang Huanwei , Zhang Futao , Zheng Zhili , Phillips-Cremins Jennifer E. , Deary Ian J. , McRae Allan F. , Wray Naomi R. , Zeng Jian , Yang Jian
Published: March 2019

Promoter-anchored chromatin interactions (PAIs) play a pivotal role in transcriptional regulation. Current high-throughput technologies for detecting PAIs, such as promoter capture Hi-C, are not scalable to large cohorts. Here, we present an analytical approach that uses summary-level data from cohort-based DNA methylation (DNAm) quantitative trait locus (mQTL) studies to predict PAIs. Using mQTL data from human peripheral blood (n=1,980), we predicted 34,797 PAIs which showed strong overlap with the chromatin contacts identified by previous experimental assays. The promoter-interacting DNAm sites were enriched in enhancers or near expression QTLs. Genes whose promoters were involved in PAIs were more actively expressed, and gene pairs with promoter-promoter interactions were enriched for co-expression. Integration of the predicted PAIs with GWAS data highlighted interactions among 601 DNAm sites associated with 15 complex traits. This study demonstrates the use of mQTL data to predict PAIs and provides insights into the role of PAIs in complex trait variation.
Aromatic polyketide biosynthesis: fidelity, evolution and engineering
Authors: Qin Zhiwei , Devine Rebecca , Hutchings Matthew I. , Wilkinson Barrie
Published: March 2019

We report the formicapyridines which are structurally and biosynthetically related to the pentacyclic fasamycin and formicamycin aromatic polyketides but comprise a rare pyridine moiety. These new compounds are trace level metabolites formed by derailment of the major biosynthetic pathway. Inspired by evolutionary logic we show that rational mutation of a single gene in the biosynthetic gene cluster leads to a significant increase both in total formicapyridine production and their enrichment relative to the fasamycins/formicamycins. Our observations broaden the polyketide biosynthetic landscape and identify a non-catalytic role for ABM superfamily proteins in type II polyketide synthase assemblages for maintaining biosynthetic pathway fidelity.
The autophagic response toStaphylococcus aureusprovides an intracellular niche in neutrophils
Authors: Prajsnar Tomasz K. , Serba Justyna J. , Dekker Bernice M. , Gibson Josie F. , Masud Samrah , Fleming Angeleen , Johnston Simon A. , Renshaw Stephen A. , Meijer Annemarie H.
Published: March 2019

Staphylococcus aureusis a major human pathogen causing multiple pathologies, from cutaneous lesions to life-threatening sepsis. Although neutrophils contribute to immunity againstS. aureus, multiple lines of evidence suggest that these phagocytes can provide an intracellular niche for staphylococcal dissemination. However, the mechanism of neutrophil subversion by intracellularS. aureusremains unknown. Targeting of intracellular pathogens by autophagy is recognised as an important component of host innate immunity, but whether autophagy is beneficial or detrimental toS. aureus-infected hosts remains controversial. Here, using larval zebrafish we show thatS. aureusis rapidly decorated by the autophagy marker Lc3 following engulfment by macrophages and neutrophils. Upon phagocytosis by neutrophils, Lc3-positive, non-acidified spacious phagosomes are formed. This response is dependent on phagocyte NADPH oxidase as bothcybaknockdown and diphenyleneiodonium (DPI) treatment inhibited Lc3 decoration of phagosomes. Importantly, NADPH oxidase inhibition diverted neutrophilS. aureusprocessing into tight acidified vesicles, which resulted in increased host resistance to the infection. Some intracellular bacteria within neutrophils were also tagged by p62-GFP fusion protein and loss of p62 impaired host defence. Taken together, we have shown that intracellular handling ofS. aureusby neutrophils is best explained by Lc3-associated phagocytosis (LAP), which appears to provide an intracellular niche for bacterial pathogenesis, while the selective autophagy receptor p62 is host-protective. The antagonistic roles of LAP and p62-mediated pathways inS. aureus-infected neutrophils may explain the conflicting reports relating to anti-staphylococcal autophagy and provide new insights for therapeutic strategies against antimicrobial resistant staphylococci.
Long-term reduction of short wavelength light affects sustained attention and visuospatial working memory
Authors: Domagalik Aleksandra , Oginska Halszka , Beldzik Ewa , Fafrowicz Magdalena , Marek Tadeusz
Published: March 2019

The short wavelength, i.e. blue light, is crucial for non-image forming effects such as entrainment of circadian system. Moreover, many studies showed that blue light enhances alertness and performance in cognitive tasks. However, most of scientific reports in this topic is based on studies using short exposure to blue or blue-enriched light and only few focused on the effects of its reduced transmittance, especially in longer period. The latter could potentially give insight into understanding if age-related sleep problems and cognitive decline are related to less amount of blue light reaching the retina, as our lenses become more yellow with age. In this study, we investigated the effects of prolonged blocking of blue light on cognitive functioning, in particular - sustained attention and visuospatial working memory, and sleep. We used amber contact lenses reducing transmittance of blue light by approximately 90% for the period of four weeks on a group of young, healthy participants. No changes were observed for measurements related to sleep and sleep-wake rhythm. The significant effect was shown both for sustained attention and visuospatial memory, i.e. the longer blocking the blue light lasted, the greater decrease in performance was observed. Additionally, the follow-up session was conducted (approximately one week after taking off the blue-blocking lenses) and revealed that in case of sustained attention this detrimental effect of blocking BL is fully reversible. Our findings provide evidence that prolonged reduction of BL exposure directly affects human cognitive functioning regardless of sleep-related conditions.
Janus effect of glucocorticoids on differentiation of muscle fibro/adipogenic progenitors
Authors: Perpetuini Andrea Cerquone , Reggio Alessio , Cerretani Mauro , Giuliani Giulio , Santoriello Marisabella , Stefanelli Roberta , Palma Alessandro , Harper Steven , Castagnoli Luisa , Bresciani Alberto , Cesareni Gianni
Published: March 2019

Muscle resident fibro-adipogenic progenitors (FAPs), support muscle regeneration by releasing cytokines that stimulate the differentiation of myogenic stem cells. However, in non-physiological contexts (myopathies, atrophy, aging) FAPs cause fibrotic and fat infiltrations that impair muscle function. We set out to perform a fluorescence microscopy-based screening to identify compounds that perturb the differentiation trajectories of these multipotent stem cells. From a primary screen of 1120 FDA/EMA approved drugs, we identified 34 compounds as potential inhibitors of adipogenic differentiation of FAPs isolated from the murine model (mdx) of Duchenne muscular dystrophy (DMD). The hit list from this screen was surprisingly enriched with compounds from the glucocorticoid (GCs) chemical class, drugs that are known to promote adipogenesis in vitro and in vivo. To shed light on these data, three GCs identified in our screening efforts were characterized by different approaches. We found that like dexamethasone, budesonide inhibits adipogenesis induced by insulin in subconfluent FAPs. However, both drugs have a proadipogenic impact when the adipogenic mix contains factors that increase the concentration of cAMP. Gene expression analysis demonstrated that treatment with glucocorticoids induces the transcription of Gilz/Tsc22d3, an inhibitor of the adipogenic master regulator PPARγ, only in anti-adipogenic conditions. Additionally, alongside their anti-adipogenic effect, GCs are shown to promote terminal differentiation of satellite cells. Both the anti-adipogenic and pro-myogenic effects are mediated by the glucocorticoid receptor and are not observed in the presence of receptor inhibitors. Steroid administration currently represents the standard treatment for DMD patients, the rationale being based on their anti-inflammatory effects. The findings presented here offer new insights on additional glucocorticoid effects on muscle stem cells that may affect muscle homeostasis and physiology.
Statistical context dictates the relationship between feedback-related EEG signals and learning
Authors: Nassar Matthew R. , Bruckner Rasmus , Frank Michael J.
Published: March 2019

Successful decision-making requires learning expectations based on experienced outcomes. This learning should be calibrated according to the surprise associated with an outcome, but also to the statistical context dictating the most likely source of surprise. For example, when occasional changepoints are expected, surprising outcomes should be weighted heavily, demanding increased learning. In contrast, when signal corruption is expected to occur occasionally, surprising outcomes can suggest a corrupt signal that should be ignored by learning systems. Here we dissociate surprising outcomes from the degree to which they demand learning using a predictive inference task and computational modeling. We show that the updating P300, a stimulus-locked electrophysiological response previously associated with adjustments in learning behavior, does so conditionally on the source of surprise. Larger P300 signals predicted greater learning in a changing context, but predicted less learning in a context where surprise was indicative of a one-off outlier (oddball). The conditional predictive relationship between the P300 and learning behavior was persistent even after adjusting for known sources of learning rate variability. Our results suggest that the P300 provides a surprise signal that is interpreted by downstream learning processes differentially according to statistical context in order to appropriately calibrate learning across complex environments.
Corticolimbic Circuit Structure Moderates an Association Between Early Life Stress and Later Trait Anxiety
Authors: Kim M. Justin , Farber Madeline J. , Knodt Annchen R. , Hariri Ahmad R.
Published: March 2019

Childhood adversity is associated with a wide range of negative behavioral and neurodevelopmental consequences. However, individuals vary substantially in their sensitivity to such adversity. Here, we examined how individual variability in structural features of the corticolimbic circuit, which plays a key role in emotional reactivity, moderates the association between childhood adversity and later trait anxiety in 798 young adult university students. Consistent with prior research, higher self-reported childhood adversity was significantly associated with higher self-reported trait anxiety. However, this association was attenuated in participants with higher microstructural integrity of the uncinate fasciculus and greater thickness of the orbitofrontal cortex. These structural properties of the corticolimbic circuit may capture a neural profile of relative resiliency to early life stress, especially against the negative effects of childhood adversity on later trait anxiety. More generally, our findings highlight the potential utility in the simultaneous consideration of qualitatively different brain structural measures in explaining complex behavioral associations in future research.
On triangular inequalities of correlation-based distances for gene expression profiles
Authors: Jiaxing Chen , Ng Yen Kaow , Lin Lu , Jiang Yiqi , Li Shuaicheng
Published: March 2019

Various distance functions for evaluating the differences between gene expression profiles have been proposed in the past. Such a function would output a low value if the profiles are strongly correlated—either negatively or positively—and vice versa. One popular distance function is the absolute correlation distance, da=1−|ρ|, where ρ is some similarity measures, such as Pearson or Spearman correlation. However, absolute correlation distance fails to fulfill the triangular inequality, which would have guaranteed better performance at vector quantization, allowed fast data localization, as well as sped up data clustering. In this work, we propose dr=√1−|ρ| as an alternative. We prove that dr satisfies the triangular equality when ρ represents Pearson correlation, Spearman correlation, or Cosine similarity. We empirically compared dr with da in gene clustering and sample clustering experiment, using real biological data. The two distances performed similarly in both gene cluster and sample cluster in hierarchical cluster and PAM cluster. However, dr demonstrated more robust clustering. According to bootstrap experiment, the number of times where dr generated more robust sample pair partition is significantly (p-value <0.05) larger. This advantage in robustness is also supported by the class "dissolved" event.
Integrative network modeling reveals mechanisms underlying T cell exhaustion
Authors: Bolouri Hamid , Young Mary , Beilke Joshua , Johnson Rebecca , Fox Brian , Huang Lu , Santini Cristina Costa , Hill Christopher Mark , van der Vuurst de Vries Anne-Renee , Shannon Paul , Dervan Andrew , Sivakumar Pallavur , Trotter Matthew , Bassett Douglas , Ratushny Alexander
Published: March 2019

Failure to clear antigens causes CD8+T cells to become increasingly hypo-functional, a state known as exhaustion. We combined manually extracted information from published literature with gene expression data from diverse model systems to infer a set of molecular regulatory interactions that underpin exhaustion. Topological analysis and simulation modeling of the network suggests CD8+T cells undergo 2 major transitions in state following stimulation. The time cells spend in the earlier proliferative/pro-memory (PP) state is a fixed and inherent property of the network structure. Transition to the second state is necessary for exhaustion. Combining insights from network topology analysis and simulation modeling, we predict the extent to which each node in our network drives cells towards an exhausted state. We demonstrate the utility of our approach by experimentally testing the prediction that druginduced interference with EZH2 function increases the proportion of proliferative/pro-memory cells in the early days post-activation.
Novel insights into the morphology ofPlesiochelys biglerifrom the early Kimmeridgian of Northwestern Switzerland
Authors: Raselli Irena , Anquetin Jérémy
Published: March 2019

Plesiochelyidae were relatively large coastal marine turtles, which inhabited the epicontinental seas of Western Europe during the Late Jurassic. Their fossil record can be tracked in Germany, Switzerland, the United Kingdom, France, Spain and Portugal. The Jura Mountains, in northwestern Switzerland, have been the main source for the study of this group, mostly thanks to the rich and famous historical locality of Solothurn. In the last two decades, numerous plesiochelyid remains have been collected from Kimmeridgian deposits (LowerVirgulaMarls and Banné Marls) in the area of Porrentruy (Canton of Jura, Switzerland). This material was revealed by construction works of the A16 Transjurane highway between 2000 and 2011, and led to the recent description of the new speciesPlesiochelys bigleri. In the years 2014 and 2016, new fragmentary turtle material was collected from the Banné Marls (Reuchenette Formation, lower Kimmeridgian) near the village of Glovelier, Canton of Jura, Switzerland. The new material consists of a complete shell, additional shell elements, a few bones from the appendicular and vertebral skeleton, and a fragmentary basicranium. This material can be confidently assigned to the speciesP. bigleri. It supports the presence of this species in the Banné Marls, slightly extends its spatial distribution and confirms the differences with the closely related speciesP. etalloni.The new material reveals that the split between the cerebral and palatine branches of the internal carotid artery occurs in a vertical plane inP. bigleri. This condition could not be observed in the type material due to poor preservation. This new character clearly distinguishesP. biglerifromP. etalloniand seems to be unique among thalassochelydians.
Relation of seasonal birth pulses and maternal immunity with viral invasion and persistence: A case study of Hendra virus infection in a population of black flying foxes (Pteropus alecto)
Authors: Jeong Jaewoon , Peel Alison J. , Plowright Raina K. , Restif Olivier , Mccallum Hamish
Published: March 2019

Increasing outbreaks of emerging infectious diseases, originating from wildlife, has intensified interest in understanding the dynamics of these diseases in their wildlife reservoir hosts. Until recently, the effect of seasonal birth pulses and subsequent waning of maternally derived antibodies on epidemics in a wild mammal population has received little attention and has remained obscure. In this study, we explore how population structure, influenced by seasonal breeding and maternally derived immunity, affects viral invasion and persistence, using a hypothetical system loosely based on Hendra virus infection in black flying foxes (Pteropus alecto). We used deterministic epidemic models to simulate transient epidemics, following viral introduction into an infection-free population, with a variety of timings within a year and different levels of pre-existing herd immunity. Moreover, we applied different levels of birth synchrony and different modelling methods of waning maternal immunity to examine the effect of birth pulses and maternally derived immunity, both individually and in combination. The presence of waning maternal immunity dispersed the supply time of susceptible individuals in seasonally breeding populations, hence diminishing the effect of birth pulse. Dampened epidemics, caused by waning maternal immunity, made viral invasion and persistence easier. This study enhanced our understanding of viral invasion, persistence, and timing of epidemics in wildlife populations.
The spindle assembly checkpoint functions during early development in non-chordate embryos
Authors: Chenevert Janet , Roca Marianne , Besnardeau Lydia , Ruggiero Antonella , Nabi Dalileh , McDougall Alex , Copley Richard R. , Christians Elisabeth , Castagnetti Stefania
Published: March 2019

In eukaryotic cells, a spindle assembly checkpoint (SAC) ensures accurate chromosome segregation. This control mechanism monitors proper attachment of chromosomes to spindle microtubules and delays mitotic progression if connections are erroneous or absent. The SAC operates in all eukaryotic cells tested so far, but is thought to be relaxed during early embryonic development in animals. Here, we evaluate the checkpoint response to lack of kinetochore-spindle microtubule interactions in early embryos of diverse animal species from the main metazoan groups. Our analysis shows that there are two classes of embryos, either proficient or deficient for SAC activation during cleavage. Sea urchins, mussels and jellyfish embryos show a prolonged mitotic block in the absence of spindle microtubules from the first cleavage division, while ascidian and amphioxus embryos, like those of Xenopus and zebrafish, continue mitotic cycling without delay. SAC competence during early development shows no correlation with cell size, chromosome number or kinetochore to cell volume ratio, ruling out the hypothesis that lack of checkpoint activity in early embryos is due to the large egg volume. Our results instead indicate that there is no inherent incompatibility between SAC activity and large fast-dividing embryonic cells. We suggest that SAC proficiency is the default situation of metazoan embryos, and that SAC activity is specifically silenced in chordate species with fast dividing embryos.
Value relevance of earnings and book values in the Qatari Stock Exchange
Authors: Almujamed Hesham I. , Alfraih Mishari M.
Published: March 2019

Purpose

The study of developed capital markets suggests that information provided in financial statements has lost its value relevance to equity holders. The purpose of this paper is to explore this issue in the emerging market of Qatar.

Design/methodology/approach

Following other studies in the literature, the study examines the value relevance of earnings and book values using the price valuation model provided by Ohlson (1995). A total of 215 observations were collected from all firms listed on the Qatari Stock Exchange over a period of five years (2012–2016).

Findings

This study suggests that the value relevance of both earnings and book values has noticeably decreased over the sample period. However, its results show that the decline in the value relevance of earnings favored book values.

Research limitations/implications

Like other studies, this one has limitations that suggest areas for future research. For example, in Qatar, like other emerging markets, a lack of data prevents the performance of deep analysis. Additionally, the authors only use Ohlson’s (1995) model as a framework for evaluation. It would be interesting to explore the changes when examining alternative valuation models. Another limitation is that the authors examine only two accounting measures: earnings and book values. Further research could explore changes in the value relevance of other measures, such as cash flow.

Practical implications

These findings provide empirical evidence regarding the value relevance of earnings and book values in an emerging market.

Originality/value

To the authors’ knowledge, this paper provides the first empirical evidence regarding the value relevance of earnings and book values in the emerging capital market of Qatar.
Open innovation practices and related internal dynamics: case studies of Italian ICT SMEs
Authors: Santoro Gabriele , Ferraris Alberto , Winteler Daniel John
Published: March 2019

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to shed light on challenges and facilitating factors of open innovation practices (OIP) implemented by small- and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs).

Design/methodology/approach

The empirical research has been conducted on eight SMEs operating in the ICT sector, through a qualitative approach involving comparative case studies.

Findings

The findings drawn from the interviews indicate that each OIP established entails specific challenges and facilitating factors that SMEs have to face to sustain the open innovation journey and foster competitiveness. These findings helped to draw some important managerial implications and provide insights to SMEs willing to open innovation processes.

Originality/value

The study identifies OIP used in empirical studies to explore specific challenges and facilitators for each OIP, in the context of SMEs. Previous studies mostly focussed on open innovation sources and scarcely investigated internal dynamics of specific OIP.
Chinese students’ group work performance: does team personality composition matter?
Authors: Lau Kwok Hung , Jin Qian
Published: March 2019

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to investigate if team personality composition has any effect on group work performance of undergraduate students in China.

Design/methodology/approach

Using a questionnaire based on the Big-Five framework to collect data on personality traits, this study investigated whether in the Chinese education setting overall effectiveness of university students working in groups was related to the different personalities of the group members. Students of two undergraduate business programs jointly run by an Australian university and a Chinese university in Shanghai participated in the research.

Findings

The findings reveal that aggregated personality traits have no effect on team effectiveness but homogeneity in emotional stability among group members does have a positive impact on group performance. Based on a comprehensive review of studies concerning the Chinese education approach, it is believed that the outcome of this study may reflect to a certain extent the influence of traditional learning method on how university students interact with team members in group work hence affecting group performance.

Research limitations/implications

This study has surveyed 166 undergraduate students on their personality traits and performance in group work. A larger sample size can help improve the generalizability of the findings.

Practical implications

The findings of this study shed light on how group work can be used more effectively in learning through proper assessment task design and guidance from the facilitator.

Social implications

The outcome of this research also provides insight on how group work in higher education can better prepare students for the Chinese workforce.

Originality/value

While studies on relationship between personality mix and team effectiveness in business setting are plenty, there is relatively little research on how team personality composition can impact on group performance in education especially in Asian countries. This study is one of the first attempts to supplement the inadequacy in this regard.
Redressing small firm resilience: exploring owner-manager resources for resilience
Authors: Wall Tony , Bellamy Lawrence
Published: March 2019

Purpose

The owner-manager of small firms is recognised as having a potentially significant role in the small firm’s competitiveness, growth and failure. However, the owner-manager’s own resilience has been largely overlooked in the small firm resilience literature. The purpose of this paper is to redress this and expand the debate and empirical basis of small firm owner-managers’ personal resources for resilience.

Design/methodology/approach

This longitudinal qualitative study deployed semi-structured interviews with nine owner-managers, each being interviewed three or four times. Analytical procedures were used with an established framework, which conceptualised four key personal resources for resilience, as follows: adaptability, confidence, social support and purposefulness.

Findings

There were four key findings, as follows: owner-manager adaptability can appear in extremes including a sense of helplessness or optimism where disruptive circumstances are not sensed as problematic; owner-manager confidence levels often echo their own mindset of adaptability, that is, from helplessness to positive ambition; owner-managers can use discursive tactics with strong/weak ties for a range of affective and technical resources for resilience; and purposefulness tended to be framed in terms of a necessity for a longer term future state related to own or family lifestyle rather than profit. It is also noted that the owner-manager and the firm are closely interrelated, and therefore, enhancement of personal resilience resources is likely to positively influence their resilience, and therefore, the resilience of the organisation and strategic capability of the firm.

Originality/value

The small firm resilience literature typically focusses on the organisational level, which de-emphasises the salient role of the owner-manager and their resilience. This study attempts to redress this.
SEC issues landmark order rejecting Nasdaq and NYSE Arca market data fee increases
Authors: Brigagliano James , Callcott W. Hardy , Warden Michael
Published: March 2019

Purpose

To explain an October 16, 2018 US Securities and Exchange Commission order that unanimously upheld a SIFMA challenge to fee increases for “depth-of-book” market data filed by Nasdaq and NYSE Arca and the SEC’s simultaneous remanding of over 400 market data fee and other filings back to the exchanges for consideration under the standards set out in the order.

Design/methodology/approach

Explains the criteria for fee increases under the Exchange Act, the SEC’s historic routine approval of exchanges’ proposed fee increases, the SEC’s challenge to two recent market data filings, and the SEC’s remanding of 400 additional market data fee filings challenged by SIFMA to the exchanges and the National Market System (NMS) for reconsideration. Analyzes and discusses the SEC’s order.

Findings

The SECs’ SIFMA order appears to raise the bar significantly for what exchanges must show to justify fee increases.More broadly, all five SEC Commissioners (of both parties) appear to be rethinking the role of for-profit exchanges in the regulatory structure.These orders have the potential to rewrite the regulation of market data, other exchange fees, and potentially the relationship between the exchanges and other market participants, for the entire securities industry.

Originality/value

Practical guidance from experienced securities lawyers.
2018 SEC enforcement actions reinforce the importance of effective supervision, policies, and procedures for broker-dealers and investment advisers
Authors: Koch Alec , Ryan Russell G. , Bennett Laura K.
Published: March 2019

Purpose

To provide analysis on several SEC enforcement actions of interest to broker-dealers and investment advisers.

Design/methodology/approach

The article is organized chronologically based on the dates of the SEC enforcement actions discussed.

Findings

The SEC enforcement actions discussed in the article demonstrate that broker-dealers and investment advisers must maintain and enforce compliance and supervision policies and procedures reasonably designed to detect and prevent violations of the securities laws. When firm personnel commit violations (either intentionally or inadvertently), the SEC will evaluate whether firms could have been more effective in detecting and preventing those violations.Some of these cases also serve to remind firms that the SEC will often take enforcement action even when there is no evidence of customer harm.

Originality/value

Practical guidance from experienced securities lawyers that consolidates and analyzes several recent SEC enforcement actions.
Examining consumers’ webrooming behavior: an integrated approach
Authors: Arora Sourabh , Sahney Sangeeta
Published: March 2019

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to employ an integrated technology acceptance model–theory of planned behavior framework intertwined with online risk, e-distrust and product involvement to augment an understanding on consumers’ webrooming behavior.

Design/methodology/approach

A mix of convenience and selective sampling was used for data collection. A total of 14 propositions were put forth, which were tested using the structural equation modeling method.

Findings

The results of the study revealed that apart from perceived ease of searching online and overall usefulness of the webrooming sequence, perceived search benefits online and purchase benefits offline significantly determined consumers’ webrooming behavior. The results of the study also indicate that webrooming helps consumers avoid the feeling of post-purchase regret of making sub-optimal product choices offline. Online risk perceptions and e-distrust also play a notable role in inhibiting consumers’ from making online purchases, and as a consequence encourage webrooming behavior. The moderating influence of product involvement was observed between consumers’ intentions toward webrooming and webrooming behavior.

Research limitations/implications

The research conducted provides rich insights into understanding the rising webrooming phenomenon. However, more exhaustive studies are needed to arrive at definitive findings concerning the webrooming phenomenon.

Practical implications

The findings of the study can be utilized by the online retailers for formulating strategies to counter webrooming behavior.

Originality/value

The paper is amongst the first few studies which contribute toward enhancing the understanding on webrooming behavior, an emerging issue in the current retailing environment.
Abiotic and biotic drivers of fatty acid tracers in ecology: A global analysis of chondrichthyan profiles
Authors: Meyer Lauren , Pethybridge Heidi , Nichols Peter D. , Beckmann Crystal , Huveneers Charlie
Published: March 2019

The use of fatty acid (FA) tracers is a growing tool in trophic ecology, yet FA profiles are driven by a number of abiotic and biotic parameters, making interpretation and appropriate use confusing for ecologists.

We undertook a global analysis, compiling FA profiles of 106 chondrichthyan (shark, ray and chimaera) populations, as a model to test the utility of FA profiles to partition a priori trophic guilds, phylogeny, water temperature and habitats. Individual FAs characterizing these four factors were identified, promoting the use of these FAs as ecological tracers across taxa.

Habitat type was linked to five FAs: 16:0, 18:0 and biologically essential 22:6ω3 (indicative of the deep sea), 20:5ω3 (non‐complex demersal and deep‐sea demersal) and 20:4ω6 (reef and brackish water). Temperature was a key driver of four FAs (22:5ω6, 22:4ω6, 20:1ω9 and 20:5ω3), while trophic guild and phylogeny were important drivers of two pairs of FA tracers (18:0 and 20:5ω3; 20:1ω9 and 18:1ω9, respectively).

This analysis provides a novel understanding of the biological and ecological information that can be inferred from FA profiles and further validates the use of FAs as tracers to investigate the trophic ecology of chondrichthyans.

Future research should prioritize ex situ studies to further disentangle the influence of factors across taxa and tissue types, quantify biomodification, enabling the use of quantitative methods for diet determination and further develop ‘FATscapes’ to elucidate fine‐scale trophic geography and climate variability. Additionally, the creation of a taxonomically inclusive FA data repository will enable further meta‐analyses.

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Organic farming promotes biotic resistance to foodborne human pathogens
Authors: Jones Matthew S. , Fu Zhen , Reganold John P. , Karp Daniel S. , Besser Thomas E. , Tylianakis Jason M. , Snyder William E.
Published: March 2019

Farmland biodiversity benefits pollination, biological control and other key ecosystem services. Food safety has been seen as an exception to this broader pattern, as diverse farmlands attract wildlife that vector foodborne human pathogens. Resulting mitigation efforts thus often seek to deter wildlife by removing natural habitats, while also excluding vertebrate livestock. However, surprising recent evidence suggests that farm simplification actually increases the likelihood that produce will be contaminated with human pathogens.

Here, we consider the possibility that intensified agriculture harms faeces‐feeding (coprophagous) beetles and bacteria, which could contribute to heightened food‐safety risk. In 70 commercial vegetable fields spanning the US west coast, using either organic or conventional farming methods, we surveyed coprophages both above‐ and below‐ground. We also measured removal rates of the faeces of Sus scrofa, which vectors foodborne pathogens both as livestock and as feral wildlife.

Above‐ground, organic farms fostered dung beetle species that removed S. scrofa faeces more rapidly than was seen on conventional farms, although this benefit was weakened in simplified landscapes dominated by pasture and an introduced dung beetle. Below‐ground, organic farming encouraged significantly higher biodiversity among soil bacteria. Organic farming similarly benefitted dung beetles and bacteria on farms that produced livestock alongside vegetables, or vegetables alone.

Complementary laboratory experiments revealed that the dung beetle species and biodiverse bacterial assemblages typical of organic farms were significantly more effective at suppressing human‐pathogenic Escherichia coli O157:H7, compared to coprophage communities associated with conventional farms. This suggests that farm management practices, coprophage conservation, and human–pathogen suppression might be linked.

Synthesis and applications. Altogether, our results indicate that insects and microbes can rapidly remove faeces, with the potential to also decrease the persistence of human pathogens. In turn, this suggests that improved food safety may be an important, and perhaps underappreciated, ecosystem service that is enhanced by on‐farm biodiversity. We recommend that farm managers and regulators consider the risks and benefits to coprophages when making management decisions regarding food safety.
Weathering climate: telescoping change
Authors: Simonetti Cristián
Published: March 2019

As the scientific distinction between climate and weather suggests, knowledge about climate is supposed to be beyond indigenous peoples’ everyday experience of the environment in that it requires a long‐term record. On the basis of ethnographic work among geoscientists in Scotland and West Greenland, I show that practitioners of this discipline have mastered the craft of turning ‘visible’ what is ‘invisible’ to the senses by playing with shorter time‐scales. In thinking and communicating about the past, geoscientists would compress and accelerate long‐term environmental processes, often at the cost of dissociating them from processes occurring at shorter time‐scales, particularly the adaptation of living organisms. Attending to the historical circumstances around the development of this skill, I argue that it relates to an ideal of objectivity in science that corresponds to an optical understanding of time, inspired by the image of the telescope. Challenging the distinction between climate and weather, and the epistemic distance on which it rests, I discuss recent approaches in environmental anthropology that have uncritically adopted this distinction to distinguish indigenous knowledge of the environment from climate science. In conclusion, informed by research with indigenous peoples of the Arctic, I speculate on alternative ways of understanding climate knowledge, beyond the climate‐weather distinction.
Western Australia's Domestic Gas Reservation Policy: Modelling the Economic Impact with a Computable General Equilibrium Approach*
Authors: Neill Kelly , Hartley Peter , Tyers Rod , Adams Philip
Published: March 2019

The gas reservation policy of Western Australia (WA) diverts 15 per cent of liquefied natural gas exports to the local market, suppressing domestic gas prices. To examine the policy's effects, this paper employs a detailed model of the WA gas market that incorporates project‐by‐project supply, the very large fixed costs typical of gas supply projects, foreign ownership on both sides of the market and oligopolistic pricing power. This model is interlinked with the established Centre of Policy Studies’ Victoria University Regional Model of the Australian state and national economies and shows that the policy, as it has been applied to the Gorgon and Wheatstone projects, imposes an overall net loss to the nation of around $600 million each year. The net loss to Australian households is estimated to be $300 million. Moreover, no net long‐run advantage is seen to be conferred on WA's workers or consuming households.
Beta‐blocker use is an independent risk factor for thunderstorm asthma
Authors: Sultana Ron V , McKenzie Dean P , Fahey Michael T , Sutherland Michael , Nimorakiotakis Vasilios
Published: March 2019

Objective

To identify risk factors for thunderstorm asthma (TA) in subjects ≥15 years of age from information available in routine clinical records.

Methods

Retrospective and hospital‐based case–control study of various clinical factors in all TA cases (n = 53) who presented to a single‐site ED in November 2016 (TA16) and in a control group of patients (n = 156) who presented to the same ED with asthma during the pollen season over eight non‐TA years. Bivariate analysis and multivariable logistic regression modelling was performed to calculate the odds of TA asthma in the presence of potential risk factors.

Results

A logistic regression model revealed that the odds of TA were lower for age (odds ratio [OR] 0.97, 95% confidence interval [CI] 0.95–0.99), higher for Asian country of birth (OR 4.09, 95% CI 1.40–11.95) and higher for oral beta‐blocker use (OR 6.43, 95% CI 1.58–26.33) compared to controls. No difference was found between TA16 cases and controls for allergies (to medication, grass pollen, animal), hayfever, smoking, oral non‐steroidal anti‐inflammatory drugs, or aspirin. Newly diagnosed asthma was higher in TA16 cases versus controls (32.1% vs 12.2%, P = 0.001).

Conclusions

Oral beta‐blocker medications, younger age and Asian‐born heritage are risk factors for TA. Further study is required to explore the potential association between beta‐blockers and TA.