bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Cooperation, only for high rewards – a solvable task-based study on free-ranging dogs
Authors: Bhattacharjee Debottam , Sarkar Rohan , Sau Shubhra , Babu Daisy , Albal Asawari , Mehta Diksha , Bhadra Anindita
Published: August 2019

The benefits of group living mostly surpass the disadvantages like sharing of resources and competition over food, space and mates, driving the evolution of social organization. Group living can be facilitated by social tolerance and cooperation among the group members. Social canids (e.g. wolves) display cooperative breeding, hunting, and prosocial activities in different contexts. Unlike cooperative pack-living wolves (Canis lupus lupus), their descendants, domesticated dogs (Canis lupus familiaris), show varying levels of associations from solitary to stable social groups. Free-ranging dogs are group-living but prefer to forage solitarily, hence providing an excellent opportunity for investigating social tolerance and coordinated task performance among the members in various situations. We tested 113 adult-only groups of free-ranging dogs in three different tasks to investigate group responses and performance in problem-solving situations in the presence of an unfamiliar human. Task 1 (unfamiliar, single food reward) and 2 (familiar, single food reward) examined group responses and cooperation from the perspective of familiarity, while Task 3 (familiar, multiple food rewards) enabled us to test whether increased food rewards promote social tolerance and food sharing among the group members. Regardless of significantly higher performance in Task 2 compared to Task 1, cooperation and food sharing were significantly lower in both. Task 3 revealed a strong positive correlation between food sharing and social tolerance, but not between success and social tolerance, suggesting a tendency for cooperation. We conclude that context-dependent cooperation and tolerance among group members facilitate group-living in free-ranging dogs.

Significance statement

Group living is a common phenomenon in the animal world where the members of a group show social tolerance and co-operative behaviours towards each other. This need for cooperative intents increases manifolds while groups face different problem-solving situations in their day to day lives. Here, we tested a large number of free-ranging dog groups to understand general cooperative intents such as social tolerance and food sharing in different problem-solving conditions. We found shreds of evidence of context-dependent cooperation and social tolerance among group members with minimal display of aggression. It is not adaptive for the dogs to fight or display aggression over resources. Alternatively, use of subtle cues such as display of dominance and subordination seem to be more plausible mechanisms for the development of efficient scavenging strategies and maintaining hierarchy.
Phylogenetic weighting does little to improve the accuracy of evolutionary coupling analyses
Authors: Hockenberry Adam J. , Wilke Claus O.
Published: August 2019

Homologous sequence alignments contain important information about the constraints that shape protein family evolution. Correlated changes between different residues, for instance, can be highly predictive of physical contacts within three-dimensional structures. Detecting such co-evolutionary signals via direct coupling analysis is particularly challenging given xsthe shared phylogenetic history and uneven sampling of different lineages from which protein sequences are derived. Current best practices for mitigating such effects include sequence-identity-based weighting of input sequences and post-hoc re-scaling of evolutionary coupling scores. However, numerous weighting schemes have been previously developed for other applications, and it is unknown whether any of these schemes may better account for phylogenetic artifacts in evolutionary coupling analyses. Here, we show across a dataset of 150 diverse protein families that the current best practices out-perform several alternative sequence- and tree-based weighting methods. Nevertheless, we find that sequence weighting in general provides only a minor benefit relative to post-hoc transformations that re-scale the derived evolutionary couplings. While our findings do not rule out the possibility that an as-yet-untested weighting method may show improved results, the similar predictive accuracies that we observe across distinct weighting methods suggests that there may be little room for further improvement on top of existing strategies.
Stabilization of extensive fine-scale diversity by spatio-temporal chaos
Authors: Pearce Michael , Agarwala Atish , Fisher Daniel S.
Published: August 2019

It has become recently apparent that the diversity of microbial life extends far below species level to the finest scales of genetic differences. Remarkably, extensive fine-scale diversity can coexist spatially. How is this diversity stable on long timescales despite selective or ecological differences and other evolutionary processes? Most work has focused on stable coexistence or assumed ecological neutrality. We present an alternative: extensive diversity maintained by ecologically-driven spatio-temporal chaos, with no assumptions about niches or other specialist differences between strains. We study generalized Lotka-Volterra models with anti-symmetric correlations in the interactions inspired by multiple pathogen strains infecting multiple host strains. Generally, these exhibit chaos with increasingly wild population fluctuations driving extinctions. But the simplest spatial structure, many identical islands with migration between them, stabilizes a diverse chaotic state. Some types (sub-species) go globally extinct, but many persist for times exponentially long in the number of islands. All persistent types have episodic local blooms to high abundance, crucial for their persistence as, for many, their average population growth rate is negative. Snapshots of the distribution of abundances show a power-law at intermediate abundances that is essentially indistinguishable from the neutral theory. But the dynamics of the large populations are much faster than birth-death fluctuations. We argue that this spatio-temporally chaotic “phase” should exist in a wide range of models, and that even in rapidly mixed systems, longer lived spores could similarly stabilize a diverse chaotic phase.
Structural mechanism of regioselectivity in an unusual bacterial acyl-CoA dehydrogenase
Authors: Blake-Hedges Jacquelyn M. , Pereira Jose Henrique , Cruz-Morales Pablo , Thompson Mitchell G. , Barajas Jesus F. , Chen Jeffrey , Krishna Rohith N. , Chan Leanne Jade G. , Nimlos Danika , Alonso-Martinez Catalina , Baidoo Edward E.K. , Chen Yan , Gin Jennifer W. , Katz Leonard , Petzold Christopher J. , Adams Paul D. , Keasling Jay D.
Published: August 2019

Terminal alkenes are easily derivatized, making them desirable functional group targets for polyketide synthase (PKS) engineering. However, they are rarely encountered in natural PKS systems. One mechanism for terminal alkene formation in PKSs is through the activity of an acyl-CoA dehydrogenase (ACAD). Herein, we use biochemical and structural analysis to understand the mechanism of terminal alkene formation catalyzed by an γ,δ-ACAD from the biosynthesis of the polyketide natural product FK506, TcsD. While TcsD is homologous to canonical α,β-ACADs, it acts regioselectively at the γ,δ-position and only on α,β-unsaturated substrates. Furthermore, this regioselectivity is controlled by a combination of bulky residues in the active site and a lateral shift in the positioning of the FAD cofactor within the enzyme. Substrate modeling suggests that TcsD utilizes a novel set of hydrogen bond donors for substrate activation and positioning, preventing dehydrogenation at the α,β position of substrates. From the structural and biochemical characterization of TcsD, key residues that contribute to regioselectivity and are unique to the protein family were determined and used to identify other putative γ,δ-ACADs that belong to diverse natural product biosynthetic gene clusters. These predictions are supported by the demonstration that a phylogenetically distant homolog of TcsD also regioselectively oxidizes α,β-unsaturated substrates. This work exemplifies a powerful approach to understand unique enzymatic reactions and will facilitate future enzyme discovery, inform enzyme engineering, and aid natural product characterization efforts.
Profilin and formin constitute a pacemaker system for robust actin filament growth
Authors: Funk Johanna , Merino Felipe , Venkova Larisa , Vargas Pablo , Raunser Stefan , Piel Matthieu , Bieling Peter
Published: August 2019

The actin cytoskeleton drives many essential biological processes, from cell morphogenesis to motility. Assembly of functional actin networks requires control over the speed at which actin filaments grow. How this can be achieved at the high and variable levels of soluble actin subunits found in cells is unclear. Here we reconstitute assembly of mammalian, non-muscle actin filaments from physiological concentrations of profilin-actin. We discover that under these conditions, filament growth is limited by profilin dissociating from the filament end and the speed of elongation becomes insensitive to the concentration of soluble subunits. Profilin release can be directly promoted by formin actin polymerases even at saturating profilin-actin concentrations. We demonstrate that mammalian cells indeed operate at the limit to actin filament growth imposed by profilin and formins. Our results reveal how synergy between profilin and formins generates robust filament growth rates that are resilient to changes in the soluble subunit concentration.
MicroRNA Profiles in Calcified and Healthy Aorta Differ: Therapeutic Impact of miR-145 and miR-378
Authors: Tang Ying , Shah Tapan A. , Yurkow Edward J. , Rogers Melissa B.
Published: August 2019

Our goal was to elucidate microRNAs (miRNAs) that may repress the excess bone morphogenetic protein (BMP) signaling observed during pathological calcification in theKlothomouse model of kidney disease. We hypothesized that restoring healthy levels of miRNAs that post-transcriptionally repress osteogenic calcific factors may decrease aortic calcification. Our relative abundance profiles of miRNAs in healthy aorta differ greatly from those in calcified mouse aorta. Many of these miRNAs are predicted to regulate proteins involved in BMP signaling and may control osteogenesis. Two differentially regulated miRNAs, miR-145 and miR-378, were selected based on three criteria: reduced levels in calcified aorta, the ability to target more than one protein in the BMP signaling pathway, and conservation of targeted sequences between humans and mice. Forced expression using a lentiviral vector demonstrated that restoring normal levels repressed the synthesis of BMP2 and other pro-osteogenic proteins and inhibited pathological aortic calcification inKlothomice with renal insufficiency. This study identified miRNAs that may impact BMP signaling in both sexes and demonstrated the efficacy of selected miRNAs in reducing aortic calcificationin vivo. Calcification of the aorta and the aortic valve resulting from abnormal osteogenesis is common in those with kidney disease, diabetes, and high cholesterol. Such vascular osteogenesis is a clinically significant feature. The calcification modulating miRNAs described here are candidates for biomarkers and “miRNA replacement therapies” in the context of chronic kidney disease and other pro-calcific conditions.
LUZP1 and the tumour suppressor EPLIN are negative regulators of primary cilia formation
Authors: Gonçalves João , Coyaud Étienne , Laurent Estelle M.N. , Raught Brian , Pelletier Laurence
Published: August 2019

Cilia/flagella are microtubule-based cellular projections with important sensory and motility functions. Their absence or malfunction is associated with a growing number of human diseases collectively referred to as ciliopathies. However, the fundamental mechanisms underpinning cilia biogenesis and functions remain only partly understood. Here, we show that LUZP1, and its interacting protein EPLIN, are negative regulators of primary cilia formation. LUZP1 is an actin-associated protein that localizes to both actin filaments and the centrosome/basal body. Like EPLIN, LUZP1 is an actin-stabilizing protein and likely regulates actin dynamics at the centrosome. Both proteins interact with ciliogenesis and cilia length regulators, and are potential players in the actin-dependent processes involved in centrosome to basal body conversion. Ciliogenesis deregulation caused by LUZP1 or EPLIN loss may contribute to the pathology of their associated diseases.

Gonçalves et al. show that LUZP1 and its interactor EPLIN are negative regulators of ciliogenesis. LUZP1 is a novel actin-stabilizing protein localizing at the centrosome and basal body where it may regulate actin-associated processes.
Multi-Dimensional Machine Learning Approaches for Fruit Shape Recognition and Phenotyping in Strawberry
Authors: Feldmann Mitchell J. , Hardigan Michael A. , Famula Randi A. , López Cindy M. , Tabb Amy , Cole Glenn S. , Knapp Steven J.
Published: August 2019

Background

Shape is a critical element of the visual appeal of strawberry fruit and determined by both genetic and non-genetic factors. Current fruit phenotyping approaches for external characteristics in strawberry rely on the human eye to make categorical assessments. However, fruit shape is multi-dimensional, continuously variable, and not adequately described by a single quantitative variable. Morphometric approaches enable the study of complex forms but are often abstract and difficult to interpret. In this study, we developed a mathematical approach for transforming fruit shape classifications from digital images onto an ordinal scale called the principal progression of k clusters (PPKC). We use these human-recognizable shape categories to select features extracted from multiple morphometric analyses that are best fit for genome-wide and forward genetic analyses.

Results

We transformed images of strawberry fruit into human-recognizable categories using unsupervised machine learning, discovered four principal shape categories, and inferred progression using PPKC. We extracted 67 quantitative features from digital images of strawberries using a suite of morphometric analyses and multi-variate approaches. These analyses defined informative feature sets that effectively captured quantitative differences between shape classes. Classification accuracy ranged from 68.9 – 99.3% for the newly created, genetically correlated phenotypic variables describing a shape.

Conclusions

Our results demonstrated that strawberry fruit shapes could be robustly quantified, accurately classified, and empirically ordered using image analyses, machine learning, and PPKC. We generated a dictionary of quantitative traits for studying and predicting shape classes and identifying genetic factors underlying phenotypic variability for fruit shape in strawberry. The methods and approaches we applied in strawberry should apply to other fruits, vegetables, and specialty crops.
A peptide pair coordinates regular ovule initiation patterns with seed number and fruit size
Authors: Kawamoto Nozomi , Pino Del Carpio Dunia , Hofmann Alexander , Mizuta Yoko , Kurihara Daisuke , Higashiyama Tetsuya , Uchida Naoyuki , Torii Keiko U. , Colombo Lucia , Groth Georg , Simon Rüdiger
Published: August 2019

Ovule development inArabidopsis thalianainvolves pattern formation which ensures that ovules are regularly arranged in the pistils to reduce competition for nutrients and space. Mechanisms underlying pattern formation in plants, such as phyllotaxis, flower morphogenesis or lateral root initiation, have been extensively studied, and genes controlling the initiation of ovules have been identified. However, how a regular spacing of ovules is achieved is not known. Using natural variation analysis combined with quantitative trait locus analysis, we found that the spacing of ovules in the developing fruits is controlled by two secreted peptides, EPFL2 and EPFL9 (also known as Stomagen), and their receptors from the ERECTA (ER) family that act from the carpel wall and the placental tissue. We found that a signalling pathway controlled by EPFL9 acting from the carpel wall through the LRR-receptor kinases ER, ERL1 and ERL2 promotes fruit growth. Regular spacing of ovules depends on EPFL2 expression in the carpel wall and in the inter-ovule spaces, where it acts through ERL1 and ERL2. Loss of EPFL2 signalling results in shorter fruits and irregular spacing of ovules or even ovule twinning. The EPFL2 expression pattern between ovules is under negative-feedback regulation by auxin, which accumulates in the arising ovule primordia. We propose that the auxin-EPFL2 signalling module evolved to control the initiation and regular, equidistant spacing of ovule primordia, which serves to minimise competition between developing seeds. Together, EPFL2 and EPFL9 coordinate ovule patterning and thereby seed number with fruit growth through a set of shared receptors.
Hexokinase 2 displacement from mitochondria-associated membranes prompts Ca2+-dependent death of cancer cells
Authors: Ciscato Francesco , Filadi Riccardo , Masgras Ionica , Pizzi Marco , Marin Oriano , Damiano Nunzio , Pizzo Paola , Gori Alessandro , Frezzato Federica , Trentin Livio , Bernardi Paolo , Rasola Andrea
Published: August 2019

Cancer cells undergo changes in metabolic and survival pathways that increase their malignancy. Isoform 2 of the glycolytic enzyme hexokinase (HK2) enhances both glucose metabolism and resistance to death stimuli in many neoplastic cell types. Here we observe that HK2 locates at mitochondria-endoplasmic reticulum (ER) contact sites called MAMs (Mitochondria-Associated Membranes). HK2 displacement from MAMs with a selective peptide triggers mitochondrial Ca2+overload caused by Ca2+release from ER via inositol-3-phosphate receptors (IP3Rs) and by Ca2+entry through plasma membrane. This results in Ca2+-dependent calpain activation, mitochondrial depolarization and cell death. The HK2-targeting peptide causes massive death of chronic lymphocytic leukemia B cells freshly isolated from patients, and an actionable form of the peptide reduces growth of breast and colon cancer cells allografted in mice without noxious effects on healthy tissues. These results identify a signalling pathway primed by HK2 displacement from MAMs that can be activated as anti-neoplastic strategy.
Feedback loops involving ERK, AMPK and TFEB generate non-genetic heterogeneity that allows cells to evade anoikis
Authors: Kumar Saurav , Hari Kishore , Jolly Mohit Kumar , Rangarajan Annapoorni
Published: August 2019

Some solid tumor cells escape death triggered by matrix-deprivation and cause cancer spread through metastatic growth. The role of phenotypic plasticity in this adaptation remains unknown. We recently identified a double-negative feedback loop between pAMPK (phospho-AMPK) and pAkt (phospho-Akt) that regulates the switch between attached and detached states of cancer cells. In this study, we show that matrix-detachment itself can give rise to two subpopulations with varying ERK signaling levels and autophagy flux. Cells with elevated ERK activity show autophagy maturation arrest leading to anoikis, whereas those with low ERK activity overcome this block and generate anchorage-independent colonies. Investigating upstream, we show a novel role of AMPK-mediated phosphorylation of PEA15 in inhibiting ERK activity by reducing the formation of MEK-ERK complex. Consequently, cells with higher AMPK activity have lower phospho-ERK, and this heterogeneity is reflected in vivo. Exploring downstream, we demonstrate that ERK inhibition leads to upregulation of TFEB, a major regulator of lysosome biogenesis and autophagy. Overexpression of TFEB not only rescues the defect in autophagy flux, but also re-inforces AMPK signaling, thus revealing a positive feedback loop between AMPK and TFEB. Mathematical modelling of this loop shows that it can give rise to two distinct cellular phenotypes – pAMPKhigh/TFEBhigh/pERKlow and pAMPKlow/TFEBlow/pERKhigh – and phenotype switching, thus offering a mechanistic basis for our observations for non-genetic heterogeneity in anoikis adaptation. Significantly, we observed these heterogeneous cell states in patient-derived circulating tumor cells also. Thus, our work unravels a novel feedback loop that can generate non-genetic heterogeneity within matrix-detached cancer cells; targeting such loops may offer novel therapeutic approaches for restricting metastasis and improving therapeutic efficacy.
Chromosome-length haplotigs for yak and cattle from trio binning assembly of an F1 hybrid
Authors: Rice Edward S. , Koren Sergey , Rhie Arang , Heaton Michael P. , Kalbfleisch Theodore S. , Hardy Timothy , Hackett Peter H. , Bickhart Derek M. , Rosen Benjamin D. , Ley Brian Vander , Maurer Nicholas W. , Green Richard E. , Phillippy Adam M. , Petersen Jessica L. , Smith Timothy P. L.
Published: August 2019

Background

Assemblies of diploid genomes are generally unphased, pseudo-haploid representations that do not correctly reconstruct the two parental haplotypes present in the individual sequenced. Instead, the assembly alternates between parental haplotypes and may contain duplications in regions where the parental haplotypes are sufficiently different. Trio binning is an approach to genome assembly that uses short reads from both parents to classify long reads from the offspring according to maternal or paternal haplotype origin, and is thus helped rather than impeded by heterozygosity. Using this approach, it is possible to derive two assemblies from an individual, accurately representing both parental contributions in their entirety with higher continuity and accuracy than is possible with other methods.

Results

We used trio binning to assemble reference genomes for two species from a single individual using an interspecies cross of yak (Bos grunniens) and cattle (Bos taurus). The high heterozygosity inherent to interspecies hybrids allowed us to confidently assign >99% of long reads from the F1 offspring to parental bins using unique k-mers from parental short reads. Both the maternal (yak) and paternal (cattle) assemblies contain over one third of the acrocentric chromosomes, including the two largest chromosomes, in single haplotigs.

Conclusions

These haplotigs are the first vertebrate chromosome arms to be assembled gap-free and fully phased, and the first time assemblies for two species have been created from a single individual. Both assemblies are the most continuous currently available for non-model vertebrates.
Recent developments in transcriptional and translational regulation underlying long-term synaptic plasticity and memory
Authors: Hegde Ashok N. , Smith Spencer G.
Published: August 2019

Formation of long-term synaptic plasticity that underlies long-term memory requires new protein synthesis. Years of research has elucidated some of the transcriptional and translational mechanisms that contribute to the production of new proteins. Early research on transcription focused on the transcription factor cAMP-responsive element binding protein. Since then, other transcription factors, such as the Nuclear Receptor 4 family of proteins that play a role in memory formation and maintenance have been identified. In addition, several studies have revealed details of epigenetic mechanisms consisting of new types of chemical alterations of DNA such as hydroxymethylation, and various histone modifications in long-term synaptic plasticity and memory. Our understanding of translational control critical for memory formation began with the identification of molecules that impinge on the 5′ and 3′ untranslated regions of mRNAs and continued with the appreciation for local translation near synaptic sites. Lately, a role for noncoding RNAs such as microRNAs in regulating translation factors and other molecules critical for memory has been found. This review describes the past research in brief and mainly focuses on the recent work on molecular mechanisms of transcriptional and translational regulation that form the underpinnings of long-term synaptic plasticity and memory.
O-GlcNAc and EZH2-mediated epigenetic regulation of gene expression during consolidation of fear memories
Authors: Butler Anderson A. , Sanchez Richard G. , Jarome Timothy J. , Webb William M. , Lubin Farah D.
Published: August 2019

O-GlcNAcylation of serine/threonine residues on target proteins occurs dynamically in postmitotic neurons of the hippocampus and may serve to control both the stability and activity of target proteins. Remarkably, the addition and removal of the O-GlcNAc posttranslational modifications are catalyzed by a pair of enzymes, the O-GlcNAc transferase (OGT) and O-GlcNAcase (OGA). More than thousands of proteins are modified by O-GlcNAcylation including epigenetic modifying enzymes. A critical target of OGT is the polycomb repressive complex 2 (PRC2) containing the histone lysine methyltransferase EZH2 that mediates trimethylation of lysine 27 on histone H3 (H3K27me3). However, whether OGT and PRC2 activity in the hippocampus couple to regulate gene transcription mechanisms during memory consolidation remains unknown. Here, we found increases in OGT expression and global O-GlcNAcylation levels in dorsal area CA1 of the hippocampus during memory consolidation. Additionally, we observed that OGT exerts control over epigenetic regulation via EZH2-H3K27me3 during memory consolidation. Blocking O-GlcNAc signaling via RNAi within dorsal area CA1 led to the global and site-specific loss of activity-dependent epigenetic plasticity at genes regulated by H3K27me3 and impairment of hippocampus-dependent memory. Together, these findings illustrate a unique epigenetic role of OGT via regulation of histone methylation mediated by EZH2 during memory consolidation of fear conditioned memories.
Polysomes identified by live imaging of nascent peptides are stalled in hippocampal and cortical neurites
Authors: Langille Jesse J. , Ginzberg Keren , Sossin Wayne S.
Published: August 2019

In neurons, mRNAs can be repressed postinitiation and assembled into granules enabling the transport and later, regulated reactivation of the paused mRNAs. It has been suggested that a large percentage of transcripts in neuronal processes are stored in these stalled polysomes. Given this, it is predicted that nascent peptides should be abundant in these granules. Nascent peptides can be visualized in real time by the SunTag system. Using this system, we observe nascent peptides in neuronal processes that are resistant to runoff with the initiation inhibitor homoharringtonin (HHT) and to release by puromycin, properties expected from RNA granules consisting of stalled polysomes. In contrast, nascent peptides in nonneuronal cells and neuronal cell bodies were not resistant to HHT or puromycin. Stalled polysomes can also be visualized after runoff with ribopuromycylation and the RNA granules imaged with ribopuromycylation were the same as those with SunTag visualized nascent peptides. Accordingly, the ribopuromycylated puncta in neuronal dendrites were also resistant to puromycin. Thus, the SunTag technique corroborates in situ evidence of stalled polysomes and will allow for the live examination of these translational structures as a mechanism for mRNA transport and regulated protein synthesis.
Simultaneous scanning near-field optical and X-ray diffraction microscopy for correlative nanoscale structure–property characterization
Authors: Li Qian , Marks Samuel D. , Bean Sunil , Fisher Michael , Walko Donald A. , DiChiara Anthony D. , Chen Xinzhong , Imura Keiichiro , Sato Noriaki K. , Liu Mengkun , Evans Paul G. , Wen Haidan
Published: August 2019

A multimodal imaging instrument has been developed that integrates scanning near-field optical microscopy with nanofocused synchrotron X-ray diffraction imaging. The instrument allows for the simultaneous nanoscale characterization of electronic/near-field optical properties of materials together with their crystallographic structure, facilitating the investigation of local structure–property relationships. The design, implementation and operating procedures of this instrument are reported. The scientific capabilities are demonstrated in a proof-of-principle study of the insulator–metal phase transition in samarium sulfide (SmS) single crystals induced by applying mechanical pressure via a scanning tip. The multimodal imaging of an in situ tip-written region shows that the near-field optical reflectivity can be correlated with the heterogeneously transformed structure of the near-surface region of the crystal.
Resonant inelastic X-ray scattering of magnetic excitations under pressure
Authors: Rossi Matteo , Henriquet Christian , Jacobs Jeroen , Donnerer Christian , Boseggia Stefano , Al-Zein Ali , Fumagalli Roberto , Yao Yi , Vale James G. , Hunter Emily C. , Perry Robin S. , Kantor Innokenty , Garbarino Gaston , Crichton Wilson , Monaco Giulio , McMorrow Desmond F. , Krisch Michael , Moretti Sala Marco
Published: August 2019

Resonant inelastic X-ray scattering (RIXS) is an extremely valuable tool for the study of elementary, including magnetic, excitations in matter. The latest developments of this technique have mostly been aimed at improving the energy resolution and performing polarization analysis of the scattered radiation, with a great impact on the interpretation and applicability of RIXS. Instead, this article focuses on the sample environment and presents a setup for high-pressure low-temperature RIXS measurements of low-energy excitations. The feasibility of these experiments is proved by probing the magnetic excitations of the bilayer iridate Sr3Ir2O7at pressures up to 12 GPa.
5-Chloro-2-ferrocenylbenzo[d]oxazole
Authors: Sánchez-García Jessica J. , Flores-Alamo Marcos , Martínez-Falcón Ezequiel , Klimova Elena I.
Published: August 2019

The asymmetric unit of the title compound, [Fe(C5H5)(C12H7ClNO)], consists of one ferrocenyl group bonded to chlorobenzo[d]oxazole. The conformation of the ferrocenyl moiety is slightly away from eclipsed. The bond angles between the 5-chloro-benzoxazole and ferrocenyl fragments are N—C—C = 127.4 (7)° and O—C—C = 116.8 (7)°. The benzo[d]oxazole ring is planar (r.m.s. deviation = 0.0042 Å) and makes an angle of 11.3 (4)° with the cyclopentadienyl ring attached to it. The crystal packing is characterized by intermolecular π–π contacts, resulting in chain formation along the b-axis direction. The centroid-to-centroid distance between the six- and five-membered rings is 3.650 (5) Å. Together with a C—H...π interaction, these intermolecular contacts form laminar arrays along the ac plane.
Valuation of an innovation strategy in the diversification of products in the agricultural auto parts sector
Authors: Conceição Elimar Veloso , Sanches Adhemar , Santos David Ferreira Lopes
Published: August 2019

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to value an innovation project derived from a product diversification strategy in the agricultural auto parts sector, considering uncertainties and flexibility as sources of value for the project.

Design/methodology/approach

A case study project is presented and valued using real options, with the possibility of including new information modelled by Bayes’ theorem, which enables the fitting of the probabilities of the project for the purpose of valuation through the decision tree method.

Findings

The results indicate the effect of new information and provide implications for value creation, demonstrating the need for a more profound and systematic approach to the use of investment strategies considering factors endogenous and exogenous to a firm that can and should be considered in the decision-making process.

Practical implications

This study contributes to an understanding of the relationship of strategy and innovation through product diversification with value creation and serves as a guide for controlling the possibility of investments in diversified companies and agribusiness using the methodology discussed in this paper.

Originality/value

Valuing the inclusion of new information through Bayesian inference in the analysis of investments is a methodological feature that has received minimal attention in the literature. Therefore, the use of Bayesian theory for the real options model applied to agribusiness is the main innovation of this study to demonstrate new ways of modelling uncertainty in addition to stochastic processes.
The moderating impact of social risk, shame, and guilt on purchase intentions of premium private labels at food discounters
Authors: Loebnitz Natascha , Zielke Stephan , Grunert Klaus G.
Published: August 2019

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to investigate situational factors (i.e. social risk) and negative emotions (e.g. shame and guilt) on consumers’ purchase intentions for premium private labels (PPLs) vs national brands (NBs) at discounter (Lidl) in the UK, and the underlying process of this effect.

Design/methodology/approach

The authors conduct a 2 (social risk) × 2 (brand type) between-subjects design experiment employing a Qualtrics online panel in the UK.

Findings

The study shows that NBs still have the edge over PPLs when consumers shop for socially risky situations, which is due to higher product expectations of NBs, and a moderated mediation shows that this effect is more pronounced among consumers that feel negative emotions when shopping at Lidl.

Research limitations/implications

This study included leading NBs, which differ in terms of price compared to selected PPLs. Researchers should include pricing information as an additional factor and investigate Lidl’s options to deal with negative emotions in the online setting.

Practical implications

The results help brand managers to understand consumer reactions toward PPLs vs NBs at the discounter in UK.

Originality/value

NBs have recently joint rather than fight discounters’ product assortment, this study contributes to understand the moderating impact of negative emotions and product expectations as the driving force in consumers’ purchasing decision.
Assessment of nutritional behavior of Polish pupils and students
Authors: Mazurek-Kusiak Anna Katarzyna , Kobyłka Agata , Sawicki Bogusław
Published: August 2019

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to assess nutritional habits and body composition parameters in the group of Polish pupils and students.

Design/methodology/approach

The study was conducted by the body composition analysis using the biological impedance method applying TANITA analyzer and diagnostic survey method using standardized direct interview with selected elements of the Sarzynska test. The research was carried out in various regions of Poland on a group of 1,000 pupils and students, using a targeted sample selection in the following subgroups: 250 middle school pupils, 250 high school students, 250 students living in a family home and 250 students living in an academic home.

Findings

Significantly the worst nutritional habits according to the Sarzynska test are shown by students living in academic home. As many as 21.6 percent of them eat very badly, while only 10.4 percent of students living in a family home eat very badly. This may indicate a lack of conditions, skills and time to prepare healthy meals, but also the lack of parental control in relation to what their child eats. The middle school pupils eat the healthiest meals (64.4 percent). It can be seen the regularity that the older the child is, the smaller the percentage of people in the healthy group.

Research limitations/implications

A research limitation was the little sample size of the study (1,000 person) and participants might have felt uncomfortable during research.

Practical implications

People planning class schedules should also plan breaks for a full-value meal. It is necessary to organize affordable courses that would teach simple and fast food preparation that does not require a lot of equipment and little popular ingredients. It would also be necessary to draw parents’ attention to excessive care and the fact that not allowing children to “experiment” in the kitchen may arouse in them the reluctance and fear of cooking.

Social implications

Among students, one should conduct universal education regarding a healthy lifestyle, which should focus on the subject of proper nutrition and physical activity, because there are no systemic solutions that would include adults. In order to improve nutritional habits, social rooms in academic homes should be adjusted so that students have the conditions to prepare nutritious meals, as well as provide access to canteens, where students would receive a reasonable meal at a reasonable price. The qualifications of the staff working there should also be improved.

Originality/value

The present study adds to the existing body of literature nutritional habits and body composition parameters in the group of Polish pupils and students. The results are the foundation for providing recommendations to policy makers, universitets, schools, food organizations and parents.
TQM, SCM and operational performance: an empirical study of Indian pharmaceutical industry
Authors: Sharma Sanjay , Modgil Sachin
Published: August 2019

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to investigate the impact of total quality management (TQM) and supply chain management (SCM) practices on operational performance, and their interlinkage between each other.

Design/methodology/approach

Constructs those are critical to pharmaceutical quality and supply chain have been identified with the help of literature and experts from industry. The impact of TQM practices on supply chain practices and on operational performance has been evaluated. Similarly, the impact of supply chain practices on operational performance has been evaluated. Further, alternate models are tested and evaluated through structural equation modeling.

Findings

It was observed during testing of alternate models that TQM practices have a direct impact on operational performance. However, TQM practices also directly impact supply chain components, which, in turn, influence overall operational performance. In comparison of alternate models, the model in which TQM practices affect supply chain practices and supply chain practices further affect the operational performance is found most appropriate.

Practical implications

This study provides some useful implications from industry point of view. TQM practices are critical to pharmaceutical industry. TQM practices are the core of attaining a smooth supply chain, which will have greater impact to achieve operational performance. Strategic supplier partnership, procurement management, information sharing, and quality and inventory management practices are driven by TQM practices. This tri-linkage helps to achieve the desired operational performance.

Originality/value

There are very limited studies that have considered both the areas together to achieve better operational performance. In pharmaceutical industry, both TQM and SCM are the critical areas for any organization to drive its growth.
Enterprise risk management and bow ties: going beyond patient safety
Authors: Elamir Hossam
Published: August 2019

Purpose

The growing importance of risk management programmes and practices in different industries has given rise to a new risk management approach, i.e. enterprise risk management. The purpose of this paper is to better understand the necessity, benefit, approaches and methodologies of managing risks in healthcare. It compares and contrasts between the traditional and enterprise risk management approaches within the healthcare context. In addition, it introduces bow tie methodology, a prospective risk assessment tool proposed by the American Society for Healthcare Risk Management as a visual risk management tool used in enterprise risk management.

Design/methodology/approach

This is a critical review of published literature on the topics of governance, patient safety, risk management, enterprise risk management and bow tie, which aims to draw a link between them and find the benefits behind their adoption.

Findings

Enterprise risk management is a generic holistic approach that extends the benefits of risk management programme beyond the traditional insurable hazards and/or losses. In addition, the bow tie methodology is a barrier-based risk analysis and management tool used in enterprise risk management for critical events related to the relevant day-to-day operations. It is a visual risk assessment tool which is used in many higher reliability industries. Nevertheless, enterprise risk management and bow ties are reported with limited use in healthcare.

Originality/value

The paper suggests the applicability and usefulness of enterprise risk management to healthcare, and proposes the bow tie methodology as a proactive barrier-based risk management tool valid for enterprise risk management implementation in healthcare.
Estimating market power in the Chinese pork-packing industry: a structural approach
Authors: Lan Hao , Wang Xiaojin
Published: August 2019

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to investigate market power in the Chinese pork supply chain. The authors aim to explain why a steady rise in prices is observed in the sector, apart from existing evidence on incomplete/asymmetric cost pass-through and concerns of growing concentration and consolidation in the sector.

Design/methodology/approach

This study uses a new empirical industrial organization model for both oligopoly and oligopsony power to measure the degree of market power exerted on consumers and hog farmers simultaneously.

Findings

By examining annual panel data across provinces in China, the authors find that both oligopoly and oligopsony powers exist in the pork supply chain. In particular, the authors determine that a higher degree of market power is found to influence prices paid to hog farmers than prices paid by pork consumers. Estimates of key elasticities in the Chinese pork supply chain are also updated based on the structural model estimation and the latest data.

Research limitations/implications

Due to the lack of data at a more granular level of geography, the authors are only able to estimate market power by three major economic regions.

Practical implications

The findings provide useful information for future policy analyses of Chinese food markets. First, the pork-packing industry should be of great concern in terms of market power and its influence on consumers’ and farmers’ welfare. It is essential to take into consideration market power in the pork supply chain before making any public policy regarding the pork market. Furthermore, following economic theory and experience from developed countries, large meat packers will eventually vertically control hog farmers given their stronger oligopsony power over the upstream. Vertical integration may be the next important issue in terms of food market competition. Finally, the results may also draw the government’s attention to investigating market competition in all major food markets.

Originality/value

The empirical evidence draws attention to the issue of food market competition in one of the largest and most important meat-packing markets in China. The authors hope to encourage further discussions on pork and hog market regulations and related public policies.
Economic policy uncertainty and grain futures price volatility: evidence from China
Authors: Xiao Xiaoyong , Tian Qingsong , Hou Shuxia , Li Chongguang
Published: August 2019

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to investigate the influence of economic policy uncertainty (EPU) on China’s grain futures prices. Related literature has discussed several factors contributing to the dramatic boom and bust in China’s grain futures prices, but has overlooked the influence of EPU.

Design/methodology/approach

The study employs a newly developed time-varying parameter vector autoregressive model to study and contrast the impact of different types of uncertainty on China’s grain futures prices. The directional volatility spillover index is used to measure the impact of EPU on China’s grain futures prices and compare the differences among commodities.

Findings

The results show that EPU affects China’s grain futures prices significantly. The 2008 global financial crisis had stronger influence on China’s grain futures prices than other types of uncertainty. Furthermore, EPU has smaller influence on wheat futures price than on maize and soybean. The Chinese Government interventions may be the reason for this difference.

Originality/value

This study addresses the lack of empirical investigation on the influence of EPU on China’s grain futures price volatility.
China’s anti-corruption campaign, political connections and private firms’ debt financing
Authors: Hu Yiming , Xu Mingxia
Published: August 2019

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to shed light on the deleveraging impact of the anti-corruption campaign since the 18th National Congress of the Communist Party of China (CPC) on private firms with political connections, relative to those without political connections.

Design/methodology/approach

In this paper, taking the anti-corruption campaign employed from the end of 2012 as an exogenous shock, the authors design a quasi-experiment difference-in-difference approach to examine how the loss and failure of political connections impacts private firms’ debt financing.

Findings

The authors find that the loss and failure of political connections following the anti-corruption campaign since the 18th CPC National Congress causes the yearly new debt ratios of treatment firms with political connections to decrease, relative to those of control firms without political connections. This outcome is more pronounced for provinces with more cadres excluded in the anti-corruption campaign since the 18th CPC National Congress, which rendered politically connected firms susceptible to lose connections with central or provincial cadres. To explore the mechanism, the authors find that following the anti-corruption campaign since the 18th CPC National Congress, politically connected firms limit rent-seeking activities, whereas resource acquisition is weakened. The authors also find that the impact of the anti-corruption campaign since the 18th CPC National Congress on the debt financing of politically connected firms, relative to their counterparts, is more pronounced for groups with high levels of information asymmetry and for less explicit guarantee groups. Finally, politically connected firms are more likely to be dominated by internal funds in dealing with a loss of advantages in debt financing, compared with their counterparts without political connections.

Research limitations/implications

The findings in this study suggest that the loss or failure of previous political connections following Xi’s anti-corruption campaign make politically connected firms lose the advantages in debt financing through the rent-seeking, resource acquisition, information asymmetry, implicit guarantee channels, which provide new evidence for research on the impact of the anti-corruption campaign since the 18th CPC National Congress on private firms’ financing behaviors via the loss or failure of existing political connections.

Practical implications

The findings in the study will have some inspiration for policy makers and entrepreneur.

Originality/value

This study provides new evidence on the different impacts of Xi’s anti-corruption campaign on private firm’s debt financing between politically connected and unconnected firms.