Work environments for employee creativity

Innovative organisations need creative employees who generate new ideas for product or process innovation. This paper presents a conceptual framework for the effect of personal, social-organisational and physical factors on employee creativity. Based on this framework an instrument to analyse the extent to which the work environment enhances creativity is developed. We apply this instrument to a sample of 409 employees and find support for the hypothesis that a creative work environment enhances creative performance. We illustrate how the instrument can be used in companies to select and implement improvements

Specialized cattle farming in the Neolithic Rhine-Meuse Delta: Results from zooarchaeological and stable isotope (δ18O, δ13C, δ15N) analyses

Schipluiden (3630-3380 cal BC), the earliest known year-round settlement in the Rhine-Meuse Delta in the Netherlands, is a key site for addressing the nature of Neolithic subsistence in the wetlands of northwestern Europe. A preliminary zooarchaeological study suggested that cattle husbandry was a major activity at Schipluiden. In contrast, stable carbon and nitrogen isotope analyses of human remains from the site indicated a marine-oriented diet, implying that the Mesolithic-Neolithic dietary transition continued well into the mid-4th Millennium BC in this region. Here, we re-investigate the role and nature of cattle husbandry at Neolithic Schipluiden using mortality profiles and stable isotope analysis (δ18O, δ13C, δ15N) of animal bone collagen and tooth enamel. The age-at-death analysis suggests that cattle were managed for both meat and milk production. The δ18O and δ13C analysis of tooth enamel provide evidence that calving spread over five-and-a-half-months, which would have led to a longer availability of milk throughout the year. Cattle were grazing in open, marshy environments near the site and winter foddering was practiced occasionally. The faunal isotopic data also reveal that the high 15N in human bone collagen is more likely to signal the consumption of products from cattle that grazed on 15N-enriched salt marsh plants around the site, rather than a marine-oriented diet. This undermines the previous interpretation of the dietary practices at Schipluiden by showing that human diet in mid-4th millennium BC Rhine-Meuse area was fully "Neolithic", based primarily on products from domesticates, especially cattle, with some input from wild terrestrial and aquatic resources available in their surroundings, contrary to what has been proposed before. Collating these results demonstrates a high level of investment in cattle husbandry, highlighting the social and economic importance of cattle at the lower Rhine-Meuse Delta during the 4th millennium BC.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Subtle pH differences trigger single residue motions for moderating conformations of calmodulin

This study reveals the essence of ligand recognition mechanisms by which calmodulin (CaM) controls a variety of Ca2+ signaling processes. We study eight forms of calcium-loaded CaM each with distinct conformational states. Reducing the structure to two degrees of freedom conveniently describes main features of the conformational changes of CaM via simultaneous twist-bend motions of the two lobes. We utilize perturbation-response scanning (PRS) technique, coupled with molecular dynamics simulations. PRS is based on linear response theory, comprising sequential application of directed forces on selected residues followed by recording the resulting protein coordinates. We analyze directional preferences of the perturbations and resulting conformational changes. Manipulation of a single residue reproduces the structural change more effectively than that of single/pairs/triplets of collective modes of motion. Our findings also give information on how the flexible linker acts as a transducer of binding information to distant parts of the protein. Furthermore, by perturbing residue E31 located in one of the EF hand motifs in a specific direction, it is possible to induce conformational change relevant to five target structures. Independently, using four different pKa calculation strategies, we find this particular residue to be the charged residue (out of a total of 52), whose ionization state is most sensitive to subtle pH variations in the physiological range. It is plausible that at relatively low pH, CaM structure is less flexible. By gaining charged states at specific sites at a pH value around 7, such as E31 found in the present study, local conformational changes in the protein will lead to shifts in the energy landscape, paving the way to other conformational states. These findings are in accordance with Fluorescence Resonance Energy Transfer (FRET) measured shifts in conformational distributions towards more compact forms with decreased pH. They also corroborate mutational studies and proteolysis results which point to the significant role of E31 in CaM dynamics

Genetischer Hintergrund des obstruktiven Schlaf-Apnoe-Syndroms::Mutationsanalyse des Early Growth Response 2-Gens

Das Early-Growth-Response-Gen (EGR-2) kodiert für einen Trans-kriptionsfaktor, der für die Myelinisierung im peripheren Nervensystem eine wichtige Rolle spielt. EGR-2-Mutationen führen zu erblichen Neuropathien. EGR-2-defiziente Mäuse zeigen ausgeprägte Atemstörungen. In der dieser Studie wurde die Assoziation zwischen dem EGR-2 und OSAS untersucht. Hierzu wurden 58 Patienten mit OSAS und 60 gesunde Kontrollen auf das Vorliegen von Mutationen im EGR-2 mittels PCR-basierender Genseqenzierung untersucht. In der OSAS-Gruppe wurden keine Mutationen in EGR-2 gefunden. In der Kontrollgruppe wurden zwei Patientinnen identifiziert, die einen seltenen, stummen Polymorphismus im kodierenden Bereich des EGR-2 tragen. Die Allelfrequenz beträgt in der Kontrollgruppe 1,6 %. Es wurde somit der Nachweis erbracht, dass es keine Assoziation zwischen EGR-2 und dem obstruktiven Schlaf-Apnoe-Syndrom gibt. Darüber hinaus werden in der vorliegenden Arbeit eine Reihe von weiteren Kandidatengenen aufgezeigt

Agency Theory and Corporate Governance in China: A Meta-Analysis

Do agency theory-based “good corporate governance” principles indeed apply to China? A straightforward answer to this question is lacking, because evidence is inconclusive across studies. We endeavor to fill this gap by conducting the first meta-analysis on the China literature with two focuses. First, we assess the impact of (i) board independence, (ii) board leadership structure, and (iii) managerial incentives on firm performance, as these elements have been central to both agency theory as well as to Chinese corporate governance reforms. Second, we extend current theorizing by showing support for the temporal hypothesis, which states that over time, with the improvement in the quality of market institutions and development of financial markets, the monitoring mechanisms become more important whereas the incentive mechanisms lose their significance. In conclusion, in the world’s second-largest economy, agency theory is not only applicable but is also found to be more strongly supported than in its original context

Lipid residue analysis on Swifterbant pottery (c. 5000-3800 cal BC) in the Lower Rhine-Meuse area (the Netherlands) and its implications for human-animal interactions in relation to the Neolithisation process

This paper focuses on the functional analysis of Swifterbant pottery (c. 5000–3800 cal BC) in the Lower Rhine-Meuse area (the Netherlands). It examines pottery use across the transition to agriculture and aims to assess temporal changes in human-animal relations during the 5th millennium BC in the Lower Rhine-Meuse area through lipid residue analysis. We conducted lipid residue analysis of 49 samples from four Swifterbant sites: Hardinxveld-Giessendam Polderweg, Hardinxveld-Giessendam De Bruin, Brandwijk-het Kerkhof, and Hazendonk. A combined approach using both GC-MS and GC-C-IRMS of residues absorbed into the ceramic was employed to identify their context. Their context was then compared to published faunal datasets to present the relative abundance of taxa detected in the lipid residues. Evidence of processing freshwater fish was found in all sites, presenting that it was a continuous and primary function of Swifterbant pottery in the Lower Rhine-Meuse area starting from its first appearance at c. 5000 cal BC till the end of 5th millennium BC regardless of vessel form, size, decoration or temper. The results of our analysis also present temporal changes in the exploitation of food resources from the early to the late 5th millennium BC. From the mid 5th millennium BC onwards, vessels were also used to process different ranges of foodstuffs such as terrestrial resources and dairy products. The identification of dairy residue is the first direct evidence so far from Swifterbant pottery. We tentatively explain these results as an indication of presence of different culinary practices that had developed through the 5th millennium in the Lower Rhine-Meuse area and that the use of Swifterbant pottery is a direct reflection of changing cultural preferences on food preparation and consumption

Measurement of Pretzelosity Asymmetry of Charged Pion Production in Semi-Inclusive Deep Inelastic Scattering on a Polarized ³He Target

An experiment to measure single-spin asymmetries of semi-inclusive production of charged pions in deep-inelastic scattering on a transversely polarized 3He target was performed at Jefferson Laboratory in the kinematic region of 0.16 \u3c x \u3c 0.35 and 1.4 \u3c Q2 \u3c 2.7 GeV2. Pretzelosity asymmetries on 3He, which are expressed as the convolution of the h┴1T transverse-momentum-dependent distribution functions and the Collins fragmentation functions in the leading order, were measured for the first time. Under the effective polarization approximation, we extracted the corresponding neutron asymmetries from the measured 3He asymmetries and cross-section ratios between the proton and 3He. Our results show that both pi± on 3He and on neutron pretzelosity asymmetries are consistent with zero within experimental uncertainties

Rosenbluth Separation of the πᵒ Electroproduction Cross Section

We present deeply virtual πᵒ electroproduction cross-section measurements at xB = 0.36 and three different Q2 values ranging from 1.5 to 2 GeV2, obtained from Jefferson Lab Hall A experiment E07-007. The Rosenbluth technique is used to separate the longitudinal and transverse responses. Results demonstrate that the cross section is dominated by its transverse component and, thus, is far from the asymptotic limit predicted by perturbative quantum chromodynamics. Nonetheless, an indication of a nonzero longitudinal contribution is provided by the measured interference term σLT. Results are compared with several models based on the leading-twist approach of generalized parton distributions (GPDs). In particular, a fair agreement is obtained with models in which the scattering amplitude includes convolution terms of chiral-odd (transversity) GPDs of the nucleon with the twist-3 pion distribution amplitude. This experiment, together with previous extensive unseparated measurements, provides strong support to the exciting idea that transversity GPDs can be accessed via neutral pion electroproduction in the high-Q2 regime

Precision Measurements of Aⁿ1 in the Deep Inelastic Regime

We have performed precision measurements of the double-spin virtual-photon asymmetry A1 on the neutron in the deep inelastic scattering regime, using an open-geometry, large-acceptance spectrometer and a longitudinally and transversely polarized 3He target. Our data cover a wide kinematic range 0.277 \u3c= x \u3c= 0.548 at an average Q2 value of 3.078(GeV/c)2, doubling the available high-precision neutron data in this xrange. We have combined our results with world data on proton targets to make a leading-order extraction of the ratio of polarized-to-unpolarized parton distribution functions for up quarks and for down quarks in the same kinematic range. Our data are consistent with a previous observation of an An1zero crossing near x = 0.5. We find no evidence of a transition to a positive slope in (Δd + Δ¯d)/(d +¯d) up to x = 0.548

Driving calmodulin protein towards conformational shift by changing ionization states of select residues

Proteins are complex systems made up of many conformational sub-states which are mainly determined by the folded structure. External factors such as solvent type, temperature, pH and ionic strength play a very important role in the conformations sampled by proteins. Here we study the conformational multiplicity of calmodulin (CaM) which is a protein that plays an important role in calcium signaling pathways in the eukaryotic cells. CaM can bind to a variety of other proteins or small organic compounds, and mediates different physiological processes by activating various enzymes. Binding of calcium ions and proteins or small organic molecules to CaM induces large conformational changes that are distinct to each interacting partner. In particular, we discuss the effect of pH variation on the conformations of CaM. By using the pKa values of the charged residues as a basis to assign protonation states, the conformational changes induced in CaM by reducing the pH are studied by molecular dynamics simulations. Our current view suggests that at high pH, barrier crossing to the compact form is prevented by repulsive electrostatic interactions between the two lobes. At reduced pH, not only is barrier crossing facilitated by protonation of residues, but also conformations which are on average more compact are attained. The latter are in accordance with the fluorescence resonance energy transfer experiment results of other workers. The key events leading to the conformational change from the open to the compact conformation are (i) formation of a salt bridge between the N-lobe and the linker, stabilizing their relative motions, (ii) bending of the C-lobe towards the N-lobe, leading to a lowering of the interaction energy between the two-lobes, (iii) formation of a hydrophobic patch between the two lobes, further stabilizing the bent conformation by reducing the entropic cost of the compact form, (iv) sharing of a Ca+2 ion between the two lobes