bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Supply chain finance for small and medium sized enterprises: the case of reverse factoring
Authors: Lekkakos Spyridon Damianos , Serrano Alejandro 
Published: April 2016

Purpose
Faced with increasing pressure to meet short-term financing needs, companies are looking for ways to unlock potential funds from within the supply chain. Recently, reverse factoring (RF) has emerged as a financing solution that is initiated by the ordering parties to help their suppliers secure financing of receivables at favorable terms. This paper studies the impact of RF schemes on SMEs’ operational decisions and performance.

Design/methodology/approach
We model a supplier’s inventory replenishment problem as a multi-stage dynamic program and derive the supplier’s optimal inventory policy for two cases: 1) no access to external financing; 2) access to external financing through RF or traditional factoring (TF). A number of numerical experiments assesses the supplier’s operational performance.

Findings
A working capital-dependent base-stock policy is optimal. The optimal policy specifies the sell-up-to level of accounts receivable with regard to their maturity. RF considerably improves a supplier’s operational performance while providing the potential to unlock more than 10% of the supplier’s working capital. When RF is associated with credit term extension and the supplier has access to alternative sources of financing, the value of RF is then lower than intuitively expected unless the interest spread is considerably large.

Originality/value
This is the first attempt to analytically study the impact of RF in a stochastic multi-period setting.
Benevolent leadership and psychological well-being
Authors: Erkutlu Hakan , Chafra Jamel 
Published: April 2016

Purpose– The purpose of this paper is to examine the relationship between benevolent leadership (BL) and psychological well-being (PWB) as well as to test the moderating roles of psychological safety (PS) and psychological contract breach (PCB) on that relationship.Design/methodology/approach– Data encompasses 1,009 employees from 23 five-star hotels in Turkey. The moderating roles of PS and PCB on the BL and PWB relationship were tested using the moderated hierarchical regression analysis.Findings– The moderated hierarchical regression analysis results reveal that there was a significant positive relationship between BL and employee PWB. In addition, the positive relationship between BL and well-being was stronger when PS was higher than when it was lower. On the contrary, high-PCB weakened the positive relationship between BL and PWB.Practical implications– This study showed that both PS and BL enhance well-being. Managers could promote PS by breaking down the barriers preventing effective communication and discussion. Moreover, the results of this study indicated that the state of the psychological contract is a significant predictor of employees’ well-being. Organizational practices and policies, especially human resource practices, should be carefully designed and implemented as to prevent PCB, an important source of employee dissatisfaction and distrust.Originality/value– The study provides new insights into the influence that BL may have on PWB and the moderating roles of PS and contract breach in the link between BL and employee well-being. The paper also offers a practical assistance to employees in the hospitality industry and their leaders interested in building trust and enhancing well-being.
Linking secure attachment to commitment: trust in supervisors
Authors: Metin Camgöz Selin , Bayhan Karapinar Pinar 
Published: April 2016

Purpose– The purpose of this paper is to examine the relationship between a secure attachment style and affective commitment (AC) through the mediating roles of affective and cognitive trust in a direct supervisor.Design/methodology/approach– The study was conducted using the questionnaire answers of 357 private sector employees in various occupations. The statistical analysis was based on structural equation modeling. A multiple mediation model enabled us to investigate the specific indirect effects of each mediator.Findings– Results based on a model comparison showed that the employees’ affective trust in their supervisor fully mediated the relationship between a secure attachment style and AC. However, cognitive trust had no significant mediating effect on relationships between a secure attachment style and AC.Practical implications– Trust in supervisors should be monitored and supported during developmental interventions. Understanding the power of affective and cognitive trust in predicting attitudes can help shape more effective interventions to influence positive work attitudes, including AC.Originality/value– The study sheds new light on the literature by linking individual attachment to organizational attachment as the mediating role of two forms of trust in a supervisor.
Developing a measure for “connectorship” as a component of engaged leadership
Authors: Dastmalchian Ali , Rezac Darcy , Muzyka Daniel F. , Bayraktar Secil , Steinke Claudia , Imer H. Pinar 
Published: April 2016

Purpose– The purpose of this paper is to report the findings of a mixed methods study that explored how active community engaged and connected managers were in their local and broader communities (engaged leadership, EL). The paper specifically investigates an under researched aspect of EL – “connectorship” – with focus on developing a measure for connectorship. The authors present the conceptual framework for EL, followed by the operationalization of “connectorship” construct.Design/methodology/approach– The paper focusses on developing a measure for connectorship using data from a qualitative study of 18 senior managers followed by a survey of 458 managers in Canada.Findings– Content analyses of qualitative data led to the generation of 93 items measuring connectorship. Based on these items, quantitative analyses of survey data from 453 respondents yielded a final measure of connectorship, which consisted of 28 items explored under eight dimensions.Research limitations/implications– An organization’s emphasis on connectedness and engagement of leaders will improve knowledge sharing and better mutual understanding of organizational issues among managers. It will also help attain employment stability and decrease hiring and related costs by reducing turnover. Future research, specifically longitudinal studies of leaders at various organizational levels, could incorporate connectorship as a key criterion for leadership effectiveness.Practical implications– The focus on connectorship skills implies that in organizations the emphasis should go beyond traditional leadership skills development and included the neglected connectorship skills development. Increased connectedness and engagement among leaders will have positive performance implications.Social implications– For effective corporate citizenship, the EL framework and a focus on connectorship would help leaders better understand the importance of social networks, be aware of their own network, and improve their skills in connecting the people within their networks.Originality/value– Using a variable centered approach within the framework of EL the paper contributes to leadership literature by conceptually defining connectorship developing a measure for this construct and testing its psychometric properties.
Who will lead the physicians unwilling to lead? Institutional logics and double-bind situations in health care leadership
Authors: Styhre Alexander , Roth Adam , Roth Jonas 
Published: April 2016

Purpose– Health care organizations are increasingly demanded to balance the institutional logic of “medical professionalism” and “business-like health care,” that is, to both recognize physicians’ professional expertise while locating it in a wider social, economic, and political organizational setting. The purpose of this paper is to examine the implications from this shift in terms of leadership work in health care organizations.Design/methodology/approach– Case study methodology including interviews with 15 residents in Swedish health care organizations.Findings– A study of the willingness of residents to take on leadership positions show that leadership roles are treated as what is potentially hindering the acquisition of the know-how, skills, and expertise demanded to excel in the clinical work. Consequently, taking on leadership positions in the future was relatively unattractive for the residents. In order to overcome such perceived conflict between professional skill development and leadership roles, top management of health care organizations must help residents overcome such beliefs, or other professional groups may increasingly populate leadership positions, a scenario not fully endorsed by the community of physicians.Originality/value– The paper demonstrates how complementary or completing institutional logics are influencing debates and identities on the “shop floors” of organizations.
Relationships between Cotton Fibre Properties and the Properties of Greigestate Fabrics Woven from Rotorspun Cotton Yarns
Authors: Price John B. , Campbell Jacqueline H. , Calamaria Timothy A. , Ripka Josef 
Published: April 2016

Yarns of 20 tex were rotor spun from a set of American cottons of diverse origins that provided a wide range of fibre properties. A fabric of plain weave with 27.6 ends per cm and 26.8 picks per cm was woven from each cotton. Where quantities of cotton permitted, rotor yarns of 42 tex were spun and woven into plain weave fabric having 18.5 ends per cm and 17.7 picks per cm.
Each cotton was tested using a high volume instrument (HVI). The greigestate fabrics were characterised in terms of tensile properties, tear strength, abrasion resistance, stiffness, and air permeability. The results of correlation and regression analyses of greigestate fabric properties on HVI fiber properties are presented and discussed.
This research is an initial outcome of studies into the prediction of rotor spun yarn parameters conducted collaboratively by the Cotton Industry Research Institute (VUB) of the Czech Republic, and the Agricultural Research Service of the U.S. Department of Agriculture.
The Environmental Revolution and the Supreme Court of Canada: Empirical Analysis of Postmaterialist Value Change Across Four Decades*
Authors: Wetstein Matthew E. , Ostberg C. L. 
Published: April 2016

ObjectiveThis study examines Ronald Inglehart's theory of value change in the Supreme Court of Canada. The theory has received little attention in the public law literature, yet its central tenet suggests that intergenerational value change might influence the way that Supreme Court justices decide cases over time.MethodUsing a socio‐attitudinal model of judicial behavior, the study analyzes all environmental decisions between 1973 and 2010. Case outcomes are coded as either pro‐environmental (1) or anti‐environmental (0). Logistic regression analysis examines whether Court tenures, case facts, and judge‐level variables have a significant impact on predicting a postmaterialist outcome.ResultsWe find evidence of postmaterialist, pro‐environmental value change, with more contemporary justices exhibiting pro‐environmental positions, even in the face of rival variables.ConclusionOur results suggest that intergenerational value change has influenced decision making in Canadian environmental cases over the last 40 years, and indicate the theory may have relevance for explaining other high court change over time in a postmaterialist direction.
Comparative
In Vitro
Activities of Oritavancin, Dalbavancin, and Vancomycin against Methicillin-Resistant Staphylococcus aureus Isolates in a Nondividing State
Authors: Belley Adam , Lalonde Seguin David , Arhin Francis , Moeck Greg 
Published: April 2016

ABSTRACT

Antibacterial agents that kill nondividing bacteria may be of utility in treating persistent infections. Oritavancin and dalbavancin are bactericidal lipoglycopeptides that are approved for acute bacterial skin and skin structure infections in adults caused by susceptible Gram-positive pathogens. Using time-kill methodology, we demonstrate that oritavancin exerts bactericidal activity against methicillin-resistant
Staphylococcus aureus
(MRSA) isolates that are maintained in a nondividing state
in vitro
, whereas dalbavancin and the glycopeptide vancomycin do not.
PBP 4 Mediates High-Level Resistance to New-Generation Cephalosporins in Staphylococcus aureus
Authors: Chan Liana C. , Gilbert Aubre , Basuino Li , da Costa Thaina M. , Hamilton Stephanie M. , dos Santos Katia R. , Chambers Henry F. , Chatterjee Som S. 
Published: April 2016

ABSTRACT

Staphylococcus aureus
is an important cause of both hospital- and community-associated methicillin-resistant
S. aureus
(MRSA) infections worldwide. β-Lactam antibiotics are the drugs of choice to treat
S. aureus
infections, but resistance to these and other antibiotics make treatment problematic. High-level β-lactam resistance of
S. aureus
has always been attributed to the horizontally acquired penicillin binding protein 2a (PBP 2a) encoded by the
mecA
gene. Here, we show that
S. aureus
can also express high-level resistance to β-lactams, including new-generation broad-spectrum cephalosporins that are active against methicillin-resistant strains, through an uncanonical core genome-encoded penicillin binding protein, PBP 4, a nonessential enzyme previously considered not to be important for staphylococcal β-lactam resistance. Our results show that PBP 4 can mediate high-level resistance to β-lactams.
Barrier-Independent, Fitness-Associated Differences in Sofosbuvir Efficacy against Hepatitis C Virus
Authors: Gallego Isabel , Sheldon Julie , Moreno Elena , Gregori Josep , Quer Josep , Esteban Juan Ignacio , Rice Charles M. , Domingo Esteban , Perales Celia 
Published: April 2016

ABSTRACT

Sofosbuvir displays a high phenotypic barrier to resistance, and it is a component of several combination therapies for hepatitis C virus (HCV) infections. HCV fitness can be a determinant of decreased sensitivity to direct-acting antiviral agents such as telaprevir or daclatasvir, but fitness-dependent decreased drug sensitivity has not been established for drugs with a high phenotypic barrier to resistance. Low- and high-fitness HCV populations and biological clones derived from them were used to infect Huh-7.5 hepatoma cells. Sofosbuvir efficacy was analyzed by measuring virus progeny production during several passages and by selection of possible sofosbuvir resistance mutations determined by sequencing the NS5B-coding region of the resulting populations. Sofosbuvir exhibited reduced efficacy against high-fitness HCV populations, without the acquisition of sofosbuvir-specific resistance mutations. A reduced sofosbuvir efficacy, similar to that observed with the parental populations, was seen for high-fitness individual biological clones. In independently derived high-fitness HCV populations or clones passaged in the presence of sofosbuvir, M289L was selected as the only substitution in the viral polymerase NS5B. In no case was the sofosbuvir-specific resistance substitution S282T observed. High HCV fitness can lead to decreased sensitivity to sofosbuvir, without the acquisition of specific sofosbuvir resistance mutations. Thus, fitness-dependent drug sensitivity can operate with HCV inhibitors that display a high barrier to resistance. This mechanism may underlie treatment failures not associated with selection of sofosbuvir-specific resistance mutations, linked to
in vivo
fitness of pretreatment viral populations.
Preclinical Studies Evaluating Subacute Toxicity and Therapeutic Efficacy of LQB-118 in Experimental Visceral Leishmaniasis
Authors: Cunha-Júnior Edézio Ferreira , Martins Thiago Martino , Canto-Cavalheiro Marilene Marcuzzo , Marques Paulo Roberto , Portari Elyzabeth Avvad , Coelho Marsen Garcia Pinto , Netto Chaquip Daher , Costa Paulo Roberto Ribeiro , Sabino Katia Costa de Carvalho , Torres-Santos Eduardo Caio 
Published: April 2016

ABSTRACT

Visceral leishmaniasis (VL) is the most severe form of leishmaniasis and is the second major cause of death by parasites, after malaria. The arsenal of drugs against leishmaniasis is small, and each has a disadvantage in terms of toxicity, efficacy, price, or treatment regimen. Our group has focused on studying new drug candidates as alternatives to current treatments. The pterocarpanquinone LQB-118 was designed and synthesized based on molecular hybridization, and it exhibited antiprotozoal and anti-leukemic cell line activities. Our previous work demonstrated that LQB-118 was an effective treatment for experimental cutaneous leishmaniasis. In this study, we observed that treatment with 10 mg/kg of body weight/day LQB-118 orally inhibited the development of hepatosplenomegaly with a 99% reduction in parasite load. An
in vivo
toxicological analysis showed no change in the clinical, biochemical, or hematological parameters. Histologically, all of the analyzed organs were normal, with the exception of the liver, where focal points of necrosis with leukocytic infiltration were observed at treatment doses 5 times higher than the therapeutic dose; however, these changes were not accompanied by an increase in transaminases. Our findings indicate that LQB-118 is effective at treating different clinical forms of leishmaniasis and presents no relevant signs of toxicity at therapeutic doses; thus, this framework is demonstrated suitable for developing promising drug candidates for the oral treatment of leishmaniasis.
Novel Heteroaryl Selenocyanates and Diselenides as Potent Antileishmanial Agents
Authors: Baquedano Ylenia , Alcolea Verónica , Toro Miguel Ángel , Gutiérrez Killian Jesús , Nguewa Paul , Font María , Moreno Esther , Espuelas Socorro , Jiménez-Ruiz Antonio , Palop Juan Antonio , Plano Daniel , Sanmartín Carmen 
Published: April 2016

ABSTRACT

A series of new selenocyanates and diselenides bearing interesting bioactive scaffolds (quinoline, quinoxaline, acridine, chromene, furane, isosazole, etc.) was synthesized, and their
in vitro
leishmanicidal activities against
Leishmania infantum
amastigotes along with their cytotoxicities in human THP-1 cells were determined. Interestingly, most tested compounds were active in the low micromolar range and led us to identify four lead compounds (1h, 2d, 2e, and 2f) with 50% effective dose (ED
50
) values ranging from 0.45 to 1.27 μM and selectivity indexes of >25 for all of them, much higher than those observed for the reference drugs. These active derivatives were evaluated against infected macrophages, and in order to gain preliminary knowledge about their possible mechanism of action, the inhibition of trypanothione reductase (TryR) was measured. Among these novel structures, compounds 1h (3,5-dimethyl-4-isoxazolyl selenocyanate) and 2d [3,3′-(diselenodiyldimethanediyl)bis(2-bromothiophene)] exhibited good association between TryR inhibitory activity and antileishmanial potency, pointing to 1h, for its excellent theoretical ADME (absorption, distribution, metabolism, and excretion) properties, as the most promising lead molecule for leishmancidal drug design.
Identification and Characterization of a Novel Aspergillus fumigatus Rhomboid Family Putative Protease, RbdA, Involved in Hypoxia Sensing and Virulence
Authors: Vaknin Yakir , Hillmann Falk , Iannitti Rossana , Ben Baruch Netali , Sandovsky-Losica Hana , Shadkchan Yona , Romani Luigina , Brakhage Axel , Kniemeyer Olaf , Osherov Nir 
Published: April 2016

ABSTRACT

Aspergillus fumigatus
is the most common pathogenic mold infecting humans and a significant cause of morbidity and mortality in immunocompromised patients. In invasive pulmonary aspergillosis,
A. fumigatus
spores are inhaled into the lungs, undergoing germination and invasive hyphal growth. The fungus occludes and disrupts the blood vessels, leading to hypoxia and eventual tissue necrosis. The ability of this mold to adapt to hypoxia is regulated in part by the sterol regulatory element binding protein (SREBP) SrbA and the DscA to DscD Golgi E3 ligase complex critical for SREBP activation by proteolytic cleavage. Loss of the genes encoding these proteins results in avirulence. To identify novel regulators of hypoxia sensing, we screened the
Neurospora crassa
gene deletion library under hypoxia and identified a novel rhomboid family protease essential for hypoxic growth. Deletion of the
A. fumigatus
rhomboid homolog
rbdA
resulted in an inability to grow under hypoxia, hypersensitivity to CoCl
2
, nikkomycin Z, fluconazole, and ferrozine, abnormal swollen tip morphology, and transcriptional dysregulation—accurately phenocopying deletion of
srbA. In vivo
,
rbdA
deletion resulted in increased sensitivity to phagocytic killing, a reduced inflammatory Th1 and Th17 response, and strongly attenuated virulence. Phenotypic rescue of the Δ
rbdA
mutant was achieved by expression and nuclear localization of the N terminus of SrbA, including its HLH domain, further indicating that RbdA and SrbA act in the same signaling pathway. In summary, we have identified RbdA, a novel putative rhomboid family protease in
A. fumigatus
that mediates hypoxia adaptation and fungal virulence and that is likely linked to SrbA cleavage and activation.
Addiction of Hypertransformable Pneumococcal Isolates to Natural Transformation for
In Vivo
Fitness and Virulence
Authors: Li Guiling , Liang Zhuowen , Wang Xiatai , Yang Yonghong , Shao Zhujun , Li Machao , Ma Yueyun , Qu Fen , Morrison Donald A. , Zhang Jing-Ren 
Published: April 2016

ABSTRACT

Natural genetic transformation of
Streptococcus pneumoniae
, an important human pathogen, mediates horizontal gene transfer for the development of drug resistance, modulation of carriage and virulence traits, and evasion of host immunity. Transformation frequency differs greatly among pneumococcal clinical isolates, but the molecular basis and biological importance of this interstrain variability remain unclear. In this study, we characterized the transformation frequency and other associated phenotypes of 208
S. pneumoniae
clinical isolates representing at least 30 serotypes. While the vast majority of these isolates (94.7%) were transformable, the transformation frequency differed by up to 5 orders of magnitude between the least and most transformable isolates. The strain-to-strain differences in transformation frequency were observed among many isolates producing the same capsule types, indicating no general association between transformation frequency and serotype. However, a statistically significant association was observed between the levels of transformation and colonization fitness/virulence in the hypertransformable isolates. Although nontransformable mutants of all the selected hypertransformable isolates were significantly attenuated in colonization fitness and virulence in mouse infection models, such mutants of the strains with relatively low transformability had no or marginal fitness phenotypes under the same experimental settings. This finding strongly suggests that the pneumococci with high transformation capability are “addicted” to a “hypertransformable” state for optimal fitness in the human host. This work has thus provided an intriguing hint for further investigation into how the competence system impacts the fitness, virulence, and other transformation-associated traits of this important human pathogen.