bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Masking the bullwhip effect in retail: the influence of data aggregation
Authors: Jin Yao 'Henry' , Williams Brent D. , Waller Matthew A. , Hofer Adriana Rossiter 
Published: August 2015

Purpose– The accurate measurement of demand variability amplification across different nodes in the supply chain, or “bullwhip effect,” is critical for firms to achieve more efficient inventory, production, and ordering planning processes. Building on recent analytical research that suggests that data aggregation tends to mask the bullwhip effect in the retail industry, the purpose of this paper is to empirically investigate whether different patterns of data aggregation influence its measurement.Design/methodology/approach– Utilizing weekly, product-level order and sales data from three product categories of a consumer packaged goods manufacturer, the study uses hierarchical linear modeling to empirically test the effects of data aggregation on different measures of bullwhip.Findings– The authors findings lend strong support to the masking effect of aggregating sales and order data along product-location and temporal dimensions, as well as the dampening effect of seasonality on the measurement of the bullwhip effect.Research limitations/implications– These findings indicate that inconsistencies found in the literature may be due to measurement aggregation and statistical techniques, both of which should be applied with care by academics and practitioners in order to preserve the fidelity of their analyses.Originality/value– Using product-weekly level data that cover both seasonal and non-seasonal demand, this study is the first, to the author’s knowledge, to systematically aggregate data up to category and monthly levels to empirically examine the impact of data aggregation and seasonality on bullwhip measurement.
Microbial activity in forest soil reflects the changes in ecosystem properties between summer and winter
Authors: Žifčáková Lucia , Větrovský Tomáš , Howe Adina , Baldrian Petr 
Published: August 2015

SummaryUnderstanding the ecology of coniferous forests is very important because these environments represent globally largest carbon sinks. Metatranscriptomics, microbial community and enzyme analyses were combined to describe the detailed role of microbial taxa in the functioning of the Picea abies‐dominated coniferous forest soil in two contrasting seasons. These seasons were the summer, representing the peak of plant photosynthetic activity, and late winter, after an extended period with no photosynthate input. The results show that microbial communities were characterized by a high activity of fungi especially in litter where their contribution to microbial transcription was over 50%. Differences in abundance between summer and winter were recorded for 26–33% of bacterial genera and < 15% of fungal genera, but the transcript profiles of fungi, archaea and most bacterial phyla were significantly different among seasons. Further, the seasonal differences were larger in soil than in litter. Most importantly, fungal contribution to total microbial transcription in soil decreased from 33% in summer to 16% in winter. In particular, the activity of the abundant ectomycorrhizal fungi was reduced in winter, which indicates that plant photosynthetic production was likely one of the major drivers of changes in the functioning of microbial communities in this coniferous forest.
Fluorescence microscopy of Streptomyces conjugation suggests DNA‐transfer at the lateral walls and reveals the spreading of the plasmid in the recipient mycelium
Authors: Thoma Lina , Vollmer Bernd , Muth Günther 
Published: August 2015

SummaryConjugative DNA‐transfer in mycelial streptomycetes is a unique process, manifested on agar plates by the formation of circular growth retardation zones called pocks. Because pock size correlates with the extent of the transconjugant zone, it was suggested that pocks reflect the spreading of the transferred plasmid in the recipient mycelium. However, this concept has not been experimentally proven yet. The use of an eGFP‐encoding derivative of the conjugative pIJ303 plasmid and Streptomyces lividans T7‐mCherry as recipient enabled us to differentiate donor, recipient and transconjugant hyphae in mating experiments by fluorescence microscopy. Microscopic observation of the conjugation process suggested DNA‐transfer via the lateral walls. At the contact sites mCherry was never observed in the donor, indicating that the conjugative DNA‐transfer does not involve interfusion of cytoplasms of donor and recipient. The spreading of the transferred plasmid to the older parts of the recipient mycelium was demonstrated. This spreading was impaired when plasmid‐encoded spd genes were inactivated. Deletion of the FtsK‐like DNA‐translocase encoding tra gene from the plasmid and mating experiments with strains containing chromosomal copies of tra either in the donor and/or in the recipient revealed that Tra had an essential role in intramycelial plasmid spreading.
McpQ is a specific citrate chemoreceptor that responds preferentially to citrate/metal ion complexes
Authors: Martín‐Mora David , Reyes‐Darias Jose‐Antonio , Ortega Álvaro , Corral‐Lugo Andrés , Matilla Miguel A. , Krell Tino 
Published: August 2015

SummaryChemoreceptors are at the beginning of chemosensory pathways that mediate chemotaxis. Pseudomonas putida KT2440 is predicted to have 27 chemoreceptors, most of which uncharacterized. We have previously identified McpS as chemoreceptor for Krebs cycle intermediates. Citrate is primarily present in the environment as metal complex, which, however, is not recognized by McpS. We show here that the McpS paralogue McpQ recognizes specifically citrate and citrate/metal2+ complexes. The McpQ ligand binding domain (McpQ‐LBD) binds citrate/metal2+ complexes with higher affinity than citrate. McpQ‐LBD is present in a monomer‐dimer equilibrium and citrate and particularly citrate/Mg2+ binding stabilize the dimer. The bacterium showed much stronger responses to citrate/Mg2+ than to citrate and mcpQ inactivation caused a dramatic reduction in chemotaxis. Responses to Krebs cycle intermediates are thus mediated by the broad range McpS and McpQ that responds specifically to an intermediate not recognized by McpS. Interesting parallels exist to the paralogous amino acid chemoreceptors of Pseudomonas aeruginosa and Bacillus subtilis. Whereas one paralogue recognizes most amino acids, the remaining paralogue binds specifically one of the few acids not recognized by the broad range receptors. Therefore, chemotaxis to compound families by the concerted action of broad and narrow range receptors may represent a general mechanism.
Persistence of Regional Wage Differences in China
Authors: Candelaria Christopher , Daly Mary , Hale Galina 
Published: August 2015

AbstractRegional wage differences in China appear to be persistent and even to have grown over the past two decades. We study potential explanations for this phenomenon. After adjusting for the difference in the cost of living across provinces, we find that some of the cross‐province differences in real wages could be related to the quality of labour, industry composition and geographic location of provinces. These factors, taken together, explain approximately half of the cross‐province real wage variation. Interestingly, we find that interprovincial government transfers have not offset regional wage differences during the time period we consider. We also demonstrate that interprovincial migration, while driven in part by levels and changes in wage differences across provinces, did not help offset these differences. These results are consistent with findings in the literature that cross‐province labour mobility in China is still limited.
Contemporary Monetary Policy in China: An Empirical Assessment
Authors: Nuutilainen Riikka 
Published: August 2015

AbstractThis paper focuses on monetary policy in China. A set of different specifications for the monetary policy reaction function are empirically evaluated using monthly data for 1998–2014. Overall, the performance of the estimated policy rules is surprisingly good. Chinese monetary policy displays countercyclical reactions to inflation and leaning‐against‐the‐wind behaviour. The paper shows a notable increase in the overall responsiveness of Chinese monetary policy over the course of the estimation period. The central bank interest rate is unresponsive to economic conditions during the earlier years of the sample, but response becomes significant in later years. This finding comports with the view that the monetary policy of the People's Bank of China has come to place greater weight on price‐based instruments. A time‐varying estimation procedure suggests that the two monetary policy objectives are generally assigned to different instruments. The money supply instrument continues to be utilized to control the price level. Since 2008, the interest rate instrument has been mainly used to achieve the targeted output growth.
People, protected areas and ecosystem services: a qualitative and quantitative analysis of local people's perception and preferences in Côte d'Ivoire
Authors: Amin Ariane , Zaehringer Julie G. , Schwilch Gudrun , Koné Inza 
Published: August 2015

AbstractThe long‐term integrity of protected areas (PAs), and hence the maintenance of related ecosystem services (ES), are dependent on the support of local people. In the present study, local people's perceptions of ecosystem services from PAs and factors that govern local preferences for PAs are assessed. Fourteen study villages were randomly selected from three different protected forest areas and one control site along the southern coast of Côte d'Ivoire. Data was collected through a mixed‐method approach, including qualitative semi‐structured interviews and a household survey based on hypothetical choice scenarios. Local people's perceptions of ecosystem service provision was decrypted through qualitative content analysis, while the relation between people's preferences and potential factors that affect preferences were analyzed through multinomial models. This study shows that rural villagers do perceive a number of different ecosystem services as benefits from PAs in Côte d'Ivoire. The results based on quantitative data also suggest that local preferences for PAs and related ecosystem services are driven by PAs' management rules, age, and people's dependence on natural resources.
An intelligent disaster decision support system for increasing the sustainability of transport networks
Authors: Rajabifard Abbas , Thompson Russell G. , Chen Yiqun 
Published: August 2015

AbstractThe increase in extreme weather events arising from climate change is posing serious threats to the sustainability of transport systems, creating the need for improved tools for decision support for more effectively managing natural disasters. There are numerous transport‐related decisions that are required during the response, recovery and preparedness stages of the disaster management cycle. This paper describes the development and application of the Intelligent Disaster Decision Support System (IDDSS), which provides a platform for integrating a vast range of road network, traffic, geographic, economic and meteorological data, as well as dynamic disaster and transport models. Initial applications to the response and planning for floods and fires are presented to illustrate some of its capabilities. The IDDSS can be used to improve disaster management, which in turn will increase the sustainability of transport networks.
Development of chloroplast genomic resources for Cynara
Authors: Curci Pasquale L. , De Paola Domenico , Sonnante Gabriella 
Published: August 2015

AbstractIn this study, new chloroplast (cp) resources were developed for the genus Cynara, using whole cp genomes from 20 genotypes, by means of high‐throughput sequencing technologies. Our target species included seven globe artichokes, two cultivated cardoons, eight wild artichokes, and three other wild Cynara species (C. baetica, C. cornigera and C. syriaca). One complete cp genome was isolated using short reads from a whole‐genome sequencing project, while the others were obtained by means of long‐range PCR, for which primer pairs are provided here. A de novo assembly strategy combined with a reference‐based assembly allowed us to reconstruct each cp genome. Comparative analyses among the newly sequenced genotypes and two additional Cynara cp genomes (‘Brindisino’ artichoke and C. humilis) retrieved from public databases revealed 126 parsimony informative characters and 258 singletons in Cynara, for a total of 384 variable characters. Thirty‐nine SSR loci and 34 other INDEL events were detected. After data analysis, 37 primer pairs for SSR amplification were designed, and these molecular markers were subsequently validated in our Cynara genotypes. Phylogenetic analysis based on all cp variable characters provided the best resolution when compared to what was observed using only parsimony informative characters, or only short ‘variable’ cp regions. The evaluation of the molecular resources obtained from this study led us to support the ‘super‐barcode’ theory and consider the total cp sequence of Cynara as a reliable and valuable molecular marker for exploring species diversity and examining variation below the species level.
A new method to analyse species abundances in space using generalized dimensions
Authors: Saravia Leonardo A. 
Published: August 2015

Summary

Species–area relationships (SAR) and species‐abundance distributions (SAD) are among the most studied patterns in ecology, due to their application to both theoretical and conservation issues. One problem with these general patterns is that different theories can generate the same predictions, and for this reason, they cannot be used to detect different mechanisms of community assembly.

A solution is to search for more sensitive patterns, for example by extending the SAR to the whole SAD. A generalized dimension (Dq) approach has been proposed to study the scaling of SAD, but to date, there has been no evaluation of the ability of this pattern to detect different mechanisms.

An equivalent way to express SAD is the rank‐abundance distribution (RAD). Here I introduce a new way to study SAD scaling using a spatial version of RAD: the species‐rank surface (SRS), which can be analysed using Dq. Thus, there is an old Dq based on SAR (), and a new one based on SRS (). I perform spatial simulations to examine the relationship of Dq with SAD, spatial patterns and number of species. Finally, I compare the power of both Dq, SAD, SAR exponent and the fractal information dimension to detect different community patterns using a continuum of hierarchical and neutral spatially explicit models.

The SAD, and all had good performance in detecting models with contrasting mechanisms. , however, had a better fit to data and allowed comparisons between hierarchical communities where the other methods failed. The SAR exponent and information dimension had low power and should not be used.

SRS and could be interesting methods to study community or macroecological patterns.
Exact Bayesian inference for animal movement in continuous time
Authors: Blackwell Paul G. , Niu Mu , Lambert Mark S. , LaPoint Scott D. 
Published: August 2015

Summary

It is natural to regard most animal movement as a continuous‐time process, generally observed at discrete times. Most existing statistical methods for movement data ignore this; the remainder mostly use discrete‐time approximations, the statistical properties of which have not been widely studied, or are limited to special cases. We aim to facilitate wider use of continuous‐time modelling for realistic problems.

We develop novel methodology which allows exact Bayesian statistical analysis for a rich class of movement models with behavioural switching in continuous time, without any need for time discretization error. We represent the times of changes in behaviour as forming a thinned Poisson process, allowing exact simulation and Markov chain Monte Carlo inference. The methodology applies to data that are regular or irregular in time, with or without missing values.

We apply these methods to GPS data from two animals, a fisher (Pekania [Martes] pennanti) and a wild boar (Sus scrofa), using models with both spatial and temporal heterogeneity. We are able to identify and describe differences in movement behaviour across habitats and over time.

Our methods allow exact fitting of realistically complex movement models, incorporating environmental information. They also provide an essential point of reference for evaluating other existing and future approximate methods for continuous‐time inference.
Nonparametric Factor Analytic Risk Measurement in Common Stocks in Financial Firms: Evidence from Korean Firms
Authors: Baek Seungho , Cursio Joseph D. , Cha Seung Y. 
Published: August 2015

AbstractThis research examines the efficiency of nonparametric factor analytic approaches in measuring risk in common stocks of Korean financial firms from the risk‐management perspective. This paper shows that using only one risk factor extracted from principal component analysis, the parallel shift or market movement factor, has sufficient accuracy for downside risk measures. We assess accuracy by applying Monte Carlo simulation to obtain VaR and ES for the Korean financial sector and industries within the financial sector (banks, insurance companies, and investment andsecurity trading companies), and further estimate the risk contagious effect on financial firms.
Does Financial Synergy Provide a Rationale for Conglomerate Mergers?
Authors: Mooney Tim , Shim Hyeongsop 
Published: August 2015

AbstractWe examine two sources of financial synergies — coinsurance effects and asset liquidity — in mergers and test whether financial synergy is greater in conglomerate mergers than horizontal mergers. We find that a reduction in cash flow volatility for consolidated firms helps enhance shareholder value. Consistent with theoretical predictions of earlier studies, our results indicate that a merger can increase shareholder value when the cash flow volatility of the consolidated firm is less than the current cash flow volatility of the acquiring firm. We present new evidence that the source of financial synergies in conglomerate mergers comes mainly from higher asset liquidity. Our test results also suggest that liquidation values are higher in conglomerate mergers than horizontal mergers holding the coinsurance effect constant, particularly when the target is financially constrained.
How Do Ambiguity and Risk Aversion Affect Price Volatility under Asymmetric Information?
Authors: Hahn Guangsug , Kwon Joon Yeop 
Published: August 2015

AbstractThis paper investigates the effects of ambiguity and risk aversion on asset price volatility when uninformed traders face ambiguity. We find that the effects of ambiguity on price volatility depend on the degree of risk aversion. If the degree of risk aversion is sufficiently low, then ambiguity has little influence on price volatility, even when the degree of ambiguity is extremely high or almost all traders have ambiguous information. In contrast, if traders are sufficiently risk‐averse, ambiguity effects on price volatility are amplified by the degree of risk aversion.
Order Aggressiveness, Price Impact, and Investment Performance in a Pure Order‐Driven Stock Market
Authors: Hung Pi‐Hsia , Chen An‐Sing , Wu Yun‐Lin 
Published: August 2015

AbstractThis study provides an order‐level angle, which is more directly mapped to traders’ initial trading requirement, to investigate the relationship between order aggressiveness, price impact, and investment performance. Our results reveal several findings. First, dealers exhibit the most aggressive trading behavior. Second, traders’ order aggressiveness is affected by market conditions. Third, mutual funds and foreign investors apparently influence transitory price movements through their direct buying behavior, rather than their order aggressiveness. Fourth, foreign investors’ aggressive buy orders perform better than other traders in both bearish and bullish markets. Fifth mutual funds’ aggressive selling is related to informed trading.
GLP‐1 Receptor Agonist Exenatide Attenuates the Detrimental Effects of Obesity on Inflammatory Profile in Testis and Sperm Quality in Mice
Authors: Zhang Erhong , Xu Fen , Liang Hua , Yan Jinhua , Xu Haixia , Li Zhuo , Wen Xingqiao , Weng Jianping 
Published: August 2015

ProblemMale obesity has been linked to subfecundity. This study is to investigate the effects of GLP‐1 receptor (GLP‐1R) agonist exenatide on sperm quality in high‐fat diet (HFD)‐induced obese mice.Method of studyAfter 12 weeks of chow diet (CD) or HFD challenge, mice on HFD were allocated to either saline or exenatide (24 nmol/kg/day) interventions for 8 weeks. Sperm quality and the inflammatory profile of testis were compared among three groups.ResultsObesity reduced the quality of sperm and changed the inflammatory profile characterized by increased mRNA expression levels of TNF‐α, MCP‐1, and F4/80 in testis. Exenatide intervention reduced the expression of pro‐inflammatory cytokines and improved the quality of sperm.ConclusionHFD‐induced obesity leads to the impairment of sperm quality and increased inflammation of testis in mice, and the abnormal physiology can be attenuated by exenatide treatment. Exenatide treatment may bring additional profits to obese and diabetes men by improving sperm function.
The positive impact of structured teaching in the operating room
Authors: Leung Yee , Salfinger Stuart , Mercer Annette 
Published: August 2015

BackgroundA survey of obstetric and gynaecology trainees in Australia found the trainee's opinion of the consultants' teaching ability for laparoscopic procedures and procedures dealing with complications as ‘poor’ in 21.2% and 23.4% of responses, respectively (Aust NZ J Obstet Gynaecol 2009; 49: 84). Surgical caseload per trainee is falling for a variety of reasons. Strategies need to be adopted to enhance the surgical learning experience of trainees in the operating room.AimsWe describe the use of a structured encounter template to facilitate the teaching of surgery in the operating room and report the response of the trainees to this intervention.MethodsTrainees attached to a gynaecologic surgery unit all underwent surgical training using a set format based on the surgical encounter template, including briefing, goal setting and intra‐operative teaching aims as well as debriefing. Data on the trainees' experience and perception of their learning experience were then collected and analysed as quantitative and qualitative data sets.ResultsThe trainees reported satisfaction with the use of a structured encounter template to facilitate the surgical teaching in the operating room. Some trainees had not received such clarity of feedback or the opportunity to complete a procedure independently prior to using the structured encounter template.ConclusionsA structured surgical encounter template based on andragogy principles to focus consultant teaching in the operating room is highly acceptable to obstetric and gynaecology trainees in Australia. Allowing the trainee the opportunity to set objectives and receive feedback empowers the trainee and enhances their educational experience.