Management control systems in enabling university research performance

The purpose of this study is to investigate how management control systems (MCS) are used to enable university research performance at the operating level. At the sector level, institutionally framed research within New Public Management literature has observed the more uniform use of managerialist and programmed approaches to university research management. However, empirical contingent studies within a private sector R&D setting have evidenced how such approaches are ineffective in enabling operating level research performance. Drawing on both literatures, as well as wider MCS package research, the research uses an exploratory case study to examine two high performing faculties with contrasting research characteristics. From these micro-level accounts, the paper develops a conceptual model demonstrating how a combination of institutional and technical factors contributes to the use of MCS. More specifically, while a similar complementary package of socio-ideological, administrative and incentive controls is used to satisfy the diverging managerial and collegial institutional interests, within each operating unit managers tailor the use of these categories of controls to suit their respective research cultures and contexts in order to enable university research performance

Take-off speed in jumping mantises depends on body size and a power-limited mechanism.

Many insects such as fleas, froghoppers and grasshoppers use a catapult mechanism to jump, and a direct consequence of this is that their take-off velocities are independent of their mass. In contrast, insects such as mantises, caddis flies and bush crickets propel their jumps by direct muscle contractions. What constrains the jumping performance of insects that use this second mechanism? To answer this question, the jumping performance of the mantis Stagmomantis theophila was measured through all its developmental stages, from 5 mg first instar nymphs to 1200 mg adults. Older and heavier mantises have longer hind and middle legs and higher take-off velocities than younger and lighter mantises. The length of the propulsive hind and middle legs scaled approximately isometrically with body mass (exponent=0.29 and 0.32, respectively). The front legs, which do not contribute to propulsion, scaled with an exponent of 0.37. Take-off velocity increased with increasing body mass (exponent=0.12). Time to accelerate increased and maximum acceleration decreased, but the measured power that a given mass of jumping muscle produced remained constant throughout all stages. Mathematical models were used to distinguish between three possible limitations to the scaling relationships: first, an energy-limited model (which explains catapult jumpers); second, a power-limited model; and third, an acceleration -: limited model. Only the model limited by muscle power explained the experimental data. Therefore, the two biomechanical mechanisms impose different limitations on jumping: those involving direct muscle contractions (mantises) are constrained by muscle power, whereas those involving catapult mechanisms are constrained by muscle energy.This is the final version of the article. It first appeared from The Company of Biologists via http://dx.doi.org/10.1242/jeb.13372

Depolarization of sperm membrane potential is a common feature of men with subfertility and is associated with low fertilization rate at IVF

STUDY QUESTION. Are significant abnormalities in outward (K+) conductance and resting membrane potential (Vm) present in the spermatozoa of patients undertaking IVF and ICSI and if so, what is their functional effect on fertilization success? SUMMARY ANSWER. Negligible outward conductance (≈5% of patients) or an enhanced inward conductance (≈4% of patients), both of which caused depolarization of Vm, were associated with a low rate of fertilization following IVF. WHAT IS KNOWN ALREADY. Sperm-specific potassium channel knockout mice are infertile with defects in sperm function, suggesting that these channels are essential for fertility. These observations suggest that malfunction of K+ channels in human spermatozoa might contribute significantly to the occurrence of subfertility in men. However, remarkably little is known of the nature of K+ channels in human spermatozoa or the incidence and functional consequences of K+ channel defects. STUDY DESIGN, SIZE AND DURATION. Spermatozoa were obtained from healthy volunteer research donors and subfertile IVF and ICSI patients attending a hospital assisted reproductive techniques clinic between May 2013 and December 2015. In total, 40 IVF patients, 41 ICSI patients and 26 normozoospermic donors took part in the study. PARTICIPANTS/MATERIALS, SETTING, METHODS. Samples were examined using electrophysiology (whole-cell patch clamping). Where abnormal electrophysiological characteristics were identified, spermatozoa were further examined for Ca2+ influx induced by progesterone and penetration into viscous media if sufficient sample was available. Full exome sequencing was performed to specifically evaluate potassium calcium-activated channel subfamily M α 1 (KCNMA1), potassium calcium-activated channel subfamily U member 1 (KCNU1) and leucine-rich repeat containing 52 (LRRC52) genes and others associated with K+ signalling. In IVF patients, comparison with fertilization rates was done to assess the functional significance of the electrophysiological abnormalities. MAIN RESULTS AND THE ROLE OF CHANCE. Patch clamp electrophysiology was used to assess outward (K+) conductance and resting membrane potential (Vm) and signalling/motility assays were used to assess functional characteristics of sperm from IVF and ICSI patient samples. The mean Vm and outward membrane conductance in sperm from IVF and ICSI patients were not significantly different from those of control (donor) sperm prepared under the same conditions, but variation between individuals was significantly greater (P< 0.02) with a large number of outliers (>25%). In particular, in ≈10% of patients (7/81), we observed either a negligible outward conductance (4 patients) or an enhanced inward current (3 patients), both of which caused depolarization of Vm. Analysis of clinical data from the IVF patients showed significant association of depolarized Vm (≥0 mV) with low fertilization rate (P= 0.012). Spermatozoa with electrophysiological abnormities (conductance and Vm) responded normally to progesterone with elevation of [Ca2+]i and penetration of viscous medium, indicating retention of cation channel of sperm (CatSper) channel function. LIMITATIONS, REASONS FOR CAUTION. For practical, technical, ethical and logistical reasons, we could not obtain sufficient additional semen samples from men with conductance abnormalities to establish the cause of the conductance defects. Full exome sequencing was only available in two men with conductance defects. WIDER IMPLICATIONS OF THE FINDINGS. These data add significantly to the understanding of the role of ion channels in human sperm function and its impact on male fertility. Impaired potassium channel conductance (Gm) and/or Vm regulation is both common and complex in human spermatozoa and importantly is associated with impaired fertilization capacity when the Vm of cells is completely depolarized

Life-course origins of social inequalities in adult immune cell markers of inflammation in a developing southern Chinese population: the Guangzhou Biobank Cohort Study

BACKGROUND: Socioeconomic position (SEP) throughout life is associated with cardiovascular disease, though the mechanisms linking these two are unclear. It is also unclear whether there are critical periods in the life course when exposure to better socioeconomic conditions confers advantages or whether SEP exposures accumulate across the whole life course. Inflammation may be a mechanism linking socioeconomic position (SEP) with cardiovascular disease. In a large sample of older residents of Guangzhou, in southern China, we examined the association of life course SEP with inflammation. METHODS: In baseline data on 9,981 adults (>/= 50 years old) from the Guangzhou Biobank Cohort Study (2006-08), we used multivariable linear regression and model fit to assess the associations of life course SEP at four stages (childhood, early adult, late adult and current) with white blood, granulocyte and lymphocyte cell counts. RESULTS: A model including SEP at all four life stages best explained the association of life course SEP with white blood and granulocyte cell count for men and women, with early adult SEP (education) making the largest contribution. A critical period model best explained the association of life course SEP with lymphocyte count, with sex-specific associations. Early adult SEP was negatively associated with lymphocytes for women. CONCLUSIONS: Low SEP throughout life may negatively impact late adult immune-inflammatory status. However, some aspects of immune-inflammatory status may be sensitive to earlier exposures, with sex-specific associations. The findings were compatible with the hypothesis that in a developing population, upregulation of the gonadotropic axis with economic development may obscure the normally protective effects of social advantage for men.published_or_final_versio

A thick bondline beam model for the adhesively bonded 3-point bending specimen

The adhesively bonded 3-point bending specimen has been recently considered for evaluating the adhesive shear stress-strain behaviour. Its main advantage is avoiding the spurious end effects typical of lap-joints. A previous beam model proved to be fairly accurate for thin bondlines typical of structural joints. The present study extends such model to thick bondlines and achieves improved shear strain results. Model predictions were in very good agreement with finite element analyses of specimens with metal adherends and adhesive elastic-perfectly plastic behaviour. The present model will facilitate the inverse method needed to evaluate the parameters of a piecewise linear approximation to the adhesive shear stress-strain curve. Furthermore, two simplified models were shown to provide useful bounds for the shear stress-strain curve using only the basic load-displacement data.publishe

Large, binge-type meals of high fat diet change feeding behaviour and entrain food anticipatory activity in mice

Copyright © 2014. Published by Elsevier Ltd.Peer reviewedPublisher PD

Macroevolutionary dynamics of nectar spurs, a key evolutionary innovation.

Floral nectar spurs are widely considered a key innovation promoting diversification in angiosperms by means of pollinator shifts. We investigated the macroevolutionary dynamics of nectar spurs in the tribe Antirrhineae (Plantaginaceae), which contains 29 genera and 300-400 species (70-80% spurred). The effect of nectar spurs on diversification was tested, with special focus on Linaria, the genus with the highest number of species. We generated the most comprehensive phylogeny of Antirrhineae to date and reconstructed the evolution of nectar spurs. Diversification rate heterogeneity was investigated using trait-dependent and trait-independent methods, and accounting for taxonomic uncertainty. The association between changes in spur length and speciation was examined within Linaria using model testing and ancestral state reconstructions. We inferred four independent acquisitions of nectar spurs. Diversification analyses revealed that nectar spurs are loosely associated with increased diversification rates. Detected rate shifts were delayed by 5-15 Myr with respect to the acquisition of the trait. Active evolution of spur length, fitting a speciational model, was inferred in Linaria, which is consistent with a scenario of pollinator shifts driving diversification. Nectar spurs played a role in diversification of the Antirrhineae, but diversification dynamics can only be fully explained by the complex interaction of multiple biotic and abiotic factors.This work was supported by the Marie Curie Intra-European Fellowship LINARIA-SPECIATION (FP7-PEOPLE-2013-IEF, reference 624396), an Isaac Newton Trust Research Grant (Trinity College, Cambridge), a Juan de la Cierva fellowship to M.F.-M. (Spanish Ministry of Economy and Competitivity, reference IJCI-2015-23459) and a Generalitat Valenciana postdoctoral grant to A.J. (Ministry of Education, Culture and Sport, reference BEST/2014/264)