Can employees' trust their supervisor? The role of high-performance work systems and stewardship climate on employee voice.

The focus of this research is to investigate the factors that influence employee voice behaviour by examining the integration of high-performance work systems, stewardship climate, and trust in supervisor. Drawing on social exchange theory and leader-member exchange, this study investigates the positive relationship between trust in supervisor, high-performance work systems, stewardship climate and employee voice. Data were collected in three stages from 376 Nigerian telecommunications customer-contact employees. Partial Least Squares-Structural Equation Modelling was used to test the dataset. The findings indicate that high-performance work systems have a favourable association with employee voice, while stewardship climate has an adverse correlation with employee voice. Moreover, trust in supervisor is found to mediate and enhance the favourable relationship between high-performance work systems, stewardship climate, and employee voice. The relevance of this study to service industries, management research, and its practical implications is discussed. [Abstract copyright: © 2024 The Authors.

The temperature of storage of a batch of wheat distillers dried grains with solubles samples on their nutritive value for broilers

A batch of wheat distillers dried grains with solubles (DDGS) was obtained immediately after production and was separated into 5 equal parts and placed in woven polypropylene sacks. The samples were stored under 5 different temperature conditions for one year as follows: kept at a constant -20ºC; kept at -20ºC for 24 h period and after that kept at a constant +4ºC; kept at a constant +4ºC only; kept at a constant +15ºC; stored at ambient temperature (range of weekly mean temperatures was from +4 to +22ºC). 2. Each of the 5 wheat DDGS samples was included (200 g/kg) in a nutritionally complete diet and fed to broiler chickens from 7 to 21 d of age. The chemical composition of the DDGS samples was determined at the beginning and at the end of the one year storage period. 3. The nitrogen corrected apparent metabolisable energy (AMEn) and the nutrient availability of each sample was measured using a total collection technique. The growth performance of birds was also determined. 4. The DDGS samples kept at a constant -20ºC had higher dry matter, lower oxidation value and lower antioxidant contents. The DDGS sample that was stored at ambient temperatures had a higher AMEn than the rest of the DDGS samples. 5. The results of this experiment have shown that there can be changes in the AMEn of wheat DDGS during storage at ambient temperatures. In general, there were no serious effects of storage of DDGS on its feeding value to broiler chickens

One-Dimensional Copper(II) Coordination Polymer as an Electrocatalyst for Water Oxidation

Although cobalt-based heterogeneous catalysts are the central focus in water oxidation research, interest in copper-based water oxidation catalysts has been growing thanks the great abundance of copper and its biological relevance. Several copper oxides have recently been reported to be active catalysts for water oxidation. In this study, a heterogeneous copper-based water oxidation catalyst that is not an oxide has been reported for the first time. Single-crystal XRD studies indicate that the compound is a one-dimensional coordination compound incorporating copper paddle-wheel units connected through phosphine dioxide ligands. The catalyst exhibits an onset potential of 372 mV at pH 10.2, whereas an overpotential of only 563 mV is required to produce a current density of 1 mA cm−2. In addition to cyclic voltammetric and chronoamperometric studies, an investigation into the effect of pH on the catalytic activity and the robustness of the catalyst using long-term bulk electrolysis (12 h) is presented. © 2017 Wiley-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinhei

A metal dicyanamide cluster with high CO2/N2 selectivity

A new microporous metal dicyanamide cluster, Co(hmt)(dca)2 (hmt: hexamethylenetetramine, dca: dicyanamide), with accessible N-donor sites exhibits high CO2/N2 selectivity, 83 at 295 K and 1 bar, for a mixture with a 15:85 CO2 to N2 ratio. Adsorption studies show that the use of hmt and dca moieties as building blocks for solid adsorbents can enhance the CO2:surface interactions due to N atoms available inside the pores, which is confirmed by X-ray single crystal studies. © 2016 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved

Differential charging in SiO2/Si systems as determined by XPS

The Si2p binding and the SiKLL kinetic energy difference between the SiO2 layer and Si substrate is shown to be influence by application of external voltage bias to the sample holder due to the differential charging as was already reported earlier (Ulgut, B.; Suzer, S. J. Phys. Chem. B 2003, 107, 2939). The cause of this bias induced (physical)-shift is now proven to be mostly due to partial neutralization by the stray electrons within the vacuum system by (i) introducing additional stray electrons via a filament and following their influence on the measured binding energy as a function of the applied voltage, (ii) measuring and Auger parameter. It is also shown that citrate-capped gold nanoclusters deposited on the SiO2/Si system experience differential charging similar to that of the oxide layer rather than the silicon substrate

A Novel Synthetic Route for the Preparation of an Amorphous Co/Fe Prussian Blue Coordination Compound with High Electrocatalytic Water Oxidation Activity

Co/Fe Prussian Blue coordination networks have recently been investigated for heterogeneous water oxidation catalysis. Despite their robustness and stability in both acidic and neutral media, the relatively low current density obtained is their main drawback as a result of their low surface concentration. A novel synthetic approach was employed using a pentacyanometalate-based metallopolymer for the preparation of amorphous Co/Fe coordination polymers to overcome this problem. The surface concentration was improved approximately 7-fold, which also resulted in an increase in the catalytic activity. A current density of 1 mA·cm-2 was obtained only at = 510 mV, while the same current density could be obtained at higher overpotentials (>600 mV) with conventional Prussian Blue analogues. IR, X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy, and energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy studies were performed to investigate the stability of electrodes before and after the electrocatalytic process. The results of this study indicate that the rich and diverse chemistry of pentacyanometalates makes them potential candidates for application in heterogeneous water oxidation catalysis. © 2016 American Chemical Society

Dietary xylanase increases hepatic vitamin E concentration of chickens fed wheat based diet

The study examined the effect of xylanase supplementation on apparent metabolizable energy (AME) and hepatic vitamin E and carotenoids in broiler chickens fed wheat based diets. A total of one hundred forty four male Ross 308 chickens were used in this study. Birds were randomly assigned to 3 dietary treatments (8 cages per treatment of 6 male broilers each) for 14 days from 7 to 21 day old. The control treatment was based on wheat-soyabean meal and was either unsupplemented or supplemented with either 1000 or 2000 xylanase units per kg diet. Orthogonal polynomial contrasts were used to test linear response to dietary xylanase activity. There was a positive linear relationship (P < 0.05) between dietary AME and doses of supplementary xylanase. A linear relationship (P < 0.05) was also observed between dosage of xylanase supplementation and hepatic vitamin E concentration and retention. In conclusion, xylanase supplementation improved dietary AME and increased hepatic vitamin E concentration which may have positive effects on the antioxidative status of the birds

X-ray-induced production of gold nanoparticles on a SiO2/Si system and in a poly(methyl methacrylate) matrix

Prolonged exposure to X-rays of HAuCl4 deposited from an aqueous solution onto a SiO2/Si substrate or into a poly(methyl methacrylate) (PMMA) matrix induces reduction of the Au3+ ions to Au0 and subsequent nucleation to gold nanoclusters as recorded by X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy. The corresponding major oxidation product is determined as chlorine {HAuCl4(ads) + X-rays -Au(ads) + (3/2)Cl 2(ada) + HCl(ads)}, which is initially adsorbed onto the surface but eventually diffuses out of the system into the vacuum. The reduced gold atoms aggregate (three-dimensionally) into gold nanoclusters as evidenced by the variation in the binding energy during X-ray exposure, which starts as 1.3 eV but approaches a value that is 0.5 eV higher than that of the bulk gold. The disappearance of the oxidation product (Cl2p signal) and the growth of the nanoclusters (related to the measured binding energy difference between the Si2p of the oxide and Au4f of the reduced gold) exhibit first-order kinetics which is approximately 3 times slower than the reduction of Au3+, indicating that both of the former processes are diffusion controlled. Similarly, gold ions incorporated into PMMA can also be reduced and aggregated to gold nanoclusters using 254 nm deep UV irradiation in air evidenced by UV - vis - NIR absorption spectrocopy

Metal Dicyanamides as Efficient and Robust Water-Oxidation Catalysts

Non-oxide cobalt-based water-oxidation electrocatalysts have received attention recently for their relative ease of preparation, they are stable both in acidic and basic media, and they have higher turnover frequencies than cobalt oxides. Recent studies show that one of the main bottlenecks in the implementation of non-oxide systems to water splitting is the low number of active metal sites, which is in the order of nmol cm−2. Herein, a new series of non-oxide water-oxidation catalysts has been introduced to the field. Cobalt dicyanamides are observed to have around four times higher surface active sites and better catalytic performances than cyanide-based systems. Long-term catalytic studies (70 h) at an applied potential of 1.2 V and electrochemical studies performed in solutions in pH values of 3.0–12.0 indicate that the compounds are robust and retain their structures even under harsh conditions. Moreover, the addition of Ni impurities to cobalt dicyanamides is a feasible method to improve their catalytic activities. © 2017 Wiley-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinhei

Dietary essential oils improve feed efficiency and hepatic antioxidant content of broiler chickens

The aim of this study was to test the hypothesis of an improved growth, dietary nutrient availability and overall health of broiler chickens reared on recycled litter when fed a standardised combination of essential oils (EO; carvacrol, cinnamaldehyde and capsicum oleoresin). To assess the effect of dietary treatments, feed intake, weight gain, feed efficiency, availability of dietary nutrients and energy, villus morphometry, excreta sialic acid concentration, hepatic antioxidants and serum amyloid A (SAA) when fed to broiler chickens were evaluated. Counts of Eimeria spp. oocysts were also determined in excreta samples. Four experimental diets were offered, including two basal control diets based on either wheat or maize that contained 215 g CP/kg and 12.13 MJ/kg metabolisable energy and another two diets using the basal control diets supplemented with the EO combination at 100 mg/kg diet. Each diet was fed to eight floor pens, containing two birds each, following randomisation. Birds fed the EO-supplemented diets had an improved (P0.05) were observed in villus morphometry, sialic acid secretion, number of oocysts and SAA. Feeding the EO improved (P<0.05) the retention of dietary Ca and Na. Compared with maize, feeding wheat-based diets improved the retention coefficients for Ca, P and Na (P<0.05). Feeding dietary EO improved (P<0.05) the concentrations of the hepatic antioxidants, including carotene, coenzyme Q10 and total vitamin E. The hepatic concentration of carotene of the maize-fed birds was 55.6% greater (P<0.05) compared with the wheat-fed birds. These results demonstrated that the addition of a standardised combination of EO in wheat- and maize-based diets provided benefits in terms of feed efficiency, mineral retention and antioxidant status of the birds when reared on recycled litter