Seeds of change: How current structure shapes the type and timing of reorganizations

Research Summary: This article develops theory on how an organization's structure affects future reorganizations. I highlight that a firm's structure shapes not only the locus of decision-making power (i.e., centralization and decentralization) but also the employees' interaction structure. I develop microlevel theory that connects the firm's structure to the interactions among its employees—for instance, its influence on the time employees spend adjusting their behavior after a reorganization. This theory predicts that some structures are more likely than others to promote a reorganization to occur sooner. I use a unique, hand-collected data set of reorganizations in the cell-phone manufacturing industry to test and find directional support for this theory. Managerial Summary: I examine the effect of a firm's current structure on its corporate reorganization decisions, which are defined as the addition and/or removal of business units. I posit that the way employees are grouped into those business units may affect both the type and timing of subsequent reorganizations; the reason is that employees of similar (resp. different) backgrounds should need less (resp. more) time to achieve effective collaboration. Using data on the reorganizations of cell-phone manufacturing firms during 1983–2008, I find directional support for the theory. This result implies that managers may need to watch closely any reorganization that shifts the firm toward more heterogeneous interaction structures—because its implementation may well require additional time

Predictive models as screening tools for DNA recovery from baked and burned porcine bones

Burnt bones and skeletal remnants continue to challenge the proficiency of forensic investigations in human individualization and identification. The various natural disasters and human inflicted crimes involving fire leave the forensic investigators with very little to work on. Thus, demand for practical studies to obtain useful facts for improvisation of current techniques and to overcome the short comings is a prerequisite. In this study Design of Experiments (DOE) as an investigative and screening tool to relate the different variables (burning temperature, time, thickness of flesh, presence of accelerants) involved in the burning process and to detect the probability of obtaining successful DNA identification from burnt bones is proposed. We show that high temperature and large base pair PCR primer have a significant effect on DNA retrieval and amplification. The baking study provides reproducible DNA identification with maximum retrieval temperature of 320°C for the smallest (106bp) amplicon. The study involving accelerants demonstrates that those with high specific heat capacity decrease DNA recovery, hence suggesting probable damage to DNA. Through this study the positive effect of presence of flesh for DNA recovery was also verified with a maximum DNA recovery temperature of 500°C. Utilizing all these information through DOE, predictive models were also created with regression equations to calculate positive DNA amplification and to predict the different variables respective to the burning process. These models created using porcine bones could be related for real scenarios and with more data procurement it could be used effectively in forensic investigations

Overexpression Analysis of emv2 gene coding for Late Embryogenesis Abundant Protein from Vigna radiata (Wilczek)

Late embryogenesis abundant (LEA) proteins are speculated to protect against water stress deficit in plants. An over expression system for mungbean late embryogenesis abundant protein, emv2 was constructed in a pET29a vector, designated pET-emv2 which is responsible for higher expression under the transcriptional/translational control of T7/lac promoter incorporated in the Escherichia coli BL21 (DE3).Induction protocol was optimized for pET recombinants harboring the target gene. Overexpressed EMV2 protein was purified to homogeneity and the protein profile monitored by SDS-PAGE

Upscaling of a reaction-diffusion-convection problem with exploding non-linear drift

We study a reaction-diffusion-convection problem with nonlinear drift posed in a domain with periodically arranged obstacles. The non-linearity in the drift is linked to the hydrodynamic limit of a totally asymmetric simple exclusion process (TASEP) governing a population of interacting particles crossing a domain with obstacle. Because of the imposed large drift scaling, this nonlinearity is expected to explode in the limit of a vanishing scaling parameter. As main working techniques, we employ two-scale formal homogenization asymptotics with drift to derive the corresponding upscaled model equations as well as the structure of the effective transport tensors. Finally, we use Schauder's fixed point theorem as well as monotonicity arguments to study the weak solvability of the upscaled model posed in an unbounded domain. This study wants to contribute with theoretical understanding needed when designing thin composite materials that are resistant to high velocity impacts.Comment: 27 pages, 3 figure

A review on the genus Calophyllum (Clusiaceae): a potential medicinal tree species

Calophyllum is the genus of evergreen tropical flowering plants in the Clusiaceae family. They are predominantly located in Asia with some of its genus distributed in the Pacific Islands, Americas, Australasia and Africa. Plants of the genus are well known for their chemical properties with lots of secondary metabolites such as triterpenes, flavonoids, coumarins and xanthones. Compounds from Calophyllum have been reported to have cytoprotective, anti-HIV, anti-secretory, cytotoxic, antinociceptive, molluscicidal and antimicrobial properties. Some of the plants in Calophyllum are used in folk medicine to treat conditions like peptic ulcers, tumours, inflammation, infections and pain. Calophyllum genus is important with respect to their ecological as well as their medicinal properties. But in India, some species located in Western Ghats are in vulnerable stage. Even so, there is no remarkable studies carried out about this genus. So, for a sustainable environment, we should focus on the conservation, restoration and rehabilitation of the genus that makes huge differences in their population. This article reviews the genus Calophyllum of Western Ghats as a potential medicinal tree species

Fine mapping of rice drought QTL and study on combined effect of QTL for their physiological parameters under moisture stress condition

The present investigation was undertaken to study the effect of different yield QTL (DTY2.2, DTY3.1 and DTY8.1) under drought and their physiological response to drought stress. Backcross Inbred Lines (BILs) of IR64 (CB-193 and CB-229) along with IR64, APO and the traditional rice variety Norungan were raised in green house condition under water stress and control to evaluate the effect of the QTL on grain yield. The BIL CB-193 recorded higher photosynthetic rate (22.051), transpiration rate (7.152) and Ci/Ca ratio (0.597) whereas the BIL CB-229 recorded high relative water content (80.76%). It was found that the combination of three QTL (CB-229) performed better than the susceptible parent and the line with two QTL (CB-193 Fine-mapping of two QTLs viz., qDTY2.2 and qDTY8.1, for grain yield (GY) were conducted using backcross derived lines. Composite interval mapping analyses resolved the originally identified qDTY2.2 region of 6.7 cM into a segment of 2.1 cM and two sub QTLs at region between RM23132 and RM1578 (75.75 cM- 77.66 cM), RM515 and RM1578 (75.11 cM-77.66 cM) were identified in qDTY8.1 region. However this study provides a unique opportunity to breeders to introgress such regions together as a unit into high-yielding drought-susceptible varieties through MAS

Morpho-physiological parameters associated with chlorosis resistance to iron deficiency and their effect on yield and related attributes in potato (Solanum tuberosum L.)

The aim of the study was to assess genotypical differences over different stages for morphophysiological parameters associated with iron (Fe) deficiency and their effect on yield. The factorial pot experiment was comprised of two major factors, i) soil-Fe status of natural vertisol [Fe-sufficient and Fe-deficient soils], and ii) genotypes [CP-3443, CP- 4105, CP-3486 and CP-4069] with differential iron-induced deficiency chlorosis (IDC) response. Data were recorded and associations between different traits were estimated. Under Fe-deficient soil, tolerant genotype (CP-3443) recorded significantly higher chlorophyll content, peroxidase activity in leaves, and better yield compared to susceptible genotypes which verified usefulness as IDC tolerant potato genotypes characteristics