Merit versus maleness: How strategic positioning can mitigate external gender bias

Despite the proactive efforts of many firms to combat gender bias within their organizations, societal prejudices still disadvantage women leaders and the firms who employ them. This external gender bias shapes outside stakeholder evaluations of women leaders’ efforts in various ways, and firms need strategies to cope with this external gender bias. We examine the conditions that might alleviate this burden of external bias and what women leaders and top executives can do to leverage these conditions—from a strategic positioning perspective—that will effectively allow female leaders to differentiate their work. To do this, we synthesize and build upon evidence that the external gender bias against women leaders diminishes when they lead in areas that are unconventional rather than mainstream. We then propose a two-step process based on (1) identifying the likely threat of external gender bias, which is stronger in some industry contexts than others, and (2) leveraging unconventionality to circumvent male prototypical comparisons, thereby reducing the hazards of external gender bias

Reproductive success through high pollinator visitation rates despite self incompatibility in an endangered wallflower

PREMISE OF THE STUDY: Self incompatibility (SI) in rare plants presents a unique challenge—SI protects plants from inbreeding depression, but requires a sufficient number of mates and xenogamous pollination. Does SI persist in an endangered polyploid? Is pollinator visitation sufficient to ensure reproductive success? Is there evidence of inbreeding/outbreeding depression? We characterized the mating system, primary pollinators, pollen limitation, and inbreeding/outbreeding depression in Erysimum teretifolium to guide conservation efforts. METHODS: We compared seed production following self pollination and within- and between-population crosses. Pollen tubes were visualized after self pollinations and between-population pollinations. Pollen limitation was tested in the field. Pollinator observations were quantified using digital video. Inbreeding/outbreeding depression was assessed in progeny from self and outcross pollinations at early and later developmental stages. KEY RESULTS: Self-pollination reduced seed set by 6.5× and quadrupled reproductive failure compared with outcross pollination. Pollen tubes of some self pollinations were arrested at the stigmatic surface. Seed-set data indicated strong SI, and fruit-set data suggested partial SI. Pollinator diversity and visitation rates were high, and there was no evidence of pollen limitation. Inbreeding depression (δ) was weak for early developmental stages and strong for later developmental stages, with no evidence of outbreeding depression. CONCLUSIONS: The rare hexaploid E. teretifolium is largely self incompatible and suffers from late-acting inbreeding depression. Reproductive success in natural populations was accomplished through high pollinator visitation rates consistent with a lack of pollen limitation. Future reproductive health for this species will require large population sizes with sufficient mates and a robust pollinator community

Order matters: How altering the sequence of performance events shapes perceived quality formation

Reputation research often employs rankings which combine both the prominence and perceived quality dimensions of reputation. Though this approach has merit, it neglects nuances in the formation of perceived firm quality – i.e., how stakeholders perceive a firm’s capabilities. Since perceptions are influenced by how information is presented, we posit that the patterns of a firm’s performances – their order and interval – explain variance in perceived quality beyond valence (absolute performance level), alone. We employ two experiments and an archival study to manipulate product ratings and collect perceived quality scores (experimentally), and use trajectory of performance outcomes to predict market valuation as a perceived quality proxy (archivally). Results suggest that while valence matters most for a firm’s perceived quality, presenting identical performance events with distinct orders and intervals changes perceived quality impressions, at least until new information is presented. We enumerate our findings and outline areas for future research on stakeholder perceptions

Elevated fear states facilitate ventral hippocampal engagement of basolateral amygdala neuronal activity

Fear memory formation and retention rely on the activation of distributed neural circuits. The basolateral amygdala (BLA) and ventral hippocampus (VH) in particular are two regions that support contextual fear memory processes and share reciprocal connections. The VH → BLA pathway is critical for increases in fear after initial learning, in both fear renewal following extinction learning and during fear generalization. This raises the possibility that functional changes in VH projections to the BLA support increases in learned fear. In line with this, fear can also be increased with alterations to the original content of the memory via reconsolidation, as in fear elevation procedures. However, very little is known about the functional changes in the VH → BLA pathway supporting reconsolidation-related increases in fear. In this study, we used in vivo extracellular electrophysiology to examine the functional neuronal changes within the BLA and in the VH → BLA pathway as a result of fear elevation and standard fear retrieval procedures. Elevated fear expression was accompanied by higher BLA spontaneous firing compared to a standard fear retrieval condition. Across a range of stimulation frequencies, we also found that VH stimulation evoked higher BLA firing following fear elevation compared to standard retrieval. These results suggest that fear elevation is associated with an increased capacity of the VH to drive neuronal activity in the BLA, highlighting a potential circuit involved in strengthening existing fear memories

Chromosome-level reference genome of stinkwort, Dittrichia graveolens (L.) Greuter : A resource for studies on invasion, range expansion, and evolutionary adaptation under global change

This work was funded by the United States Department of Agriculture, National Institute of Food and Agriculture “Agriculture and Food Research Initiative Grant” [2020-67013-31856]. NL acknowledges support from the Swiss National Science Foundation [P2EZP3_178481] and Natural Environment Research Council [NE/W006553/1].Peer reviewedPublisher PD

B-Type Natriuretic Peptide in Pregnant Women With Heart Disease

ObjectivesThe objectives of this study were to examine: 1) B-type natriuretic peptide (BNP) response to pregnancy in women with heart disease; and 2) the relationship between BNP levels and adverse maternal cardiac events during pregnancy.BackgroundPregnancy imposes a hemodynamic stress on the heart. BNP might be a useful biomarker to assess the ability of the heart to adapt to the hemodynamic load of pregnancy.MethodsThis was a prospective study of women with structural heart disease seen at our center. Serial clinical data and plasma BNP measurements were obtained during the first trimester, third trimester, and after delivery (>6 weeks).ResultsSeventy-eight pregnant women were studied; 66 women with heart disease (age 31 ± 5 years), and 12 healthy women (age 33 ± 5 years). During pregnancy, the median peak BNP level was higher in women with heart disease compared with control subjects (median 79, interquartile range 51 to 152 pg/ml vs. median 35, interquartile range 21 to 43 pg/ml, p < 0.001). In women with heart disease, those with subaortic ventricular dysfunction had higher BNP levels (p = 0.03). A BNP >100 pg/ml was measured in all women with events during pregnancy (n = 8). Sixteen women had increased BNP levels during pregnancy but did not have clinical events. None of the women with BNP ≤100 pg/ml had events. BNP ≤100 pg/ml had a negative predictive value of 100% for identifying events during pregnancy.ConclusionsMany pregnant women with heart disease have increased BNP levels during pregnancy. Incorporating serial BNP levels in into clinical practice can be helpful, specifically in adjudicating suspected adverse cardiac events during pregnancy

Global Research Alliance N2O chamber methodology guidelines: Design considerations

Terrestrial ecosystems, both natural ecosystems and agroecosystems, generate greenhouse gases (GHGs). The chamber method is the most common method to quantify GHG fluxes from soil–plant systems and to better understand factors affecting their generation and mitigation. The objective of this study was to review and synthesize literature on chamber designs (non‐flow‐through, non‐steady‐state chamber) and associated factors that affect GHG nitrous oxide (N2O) flux measurement when using chamber methods. Chamber design requires consideration of many facets that include materials, insulation, sealing, venting, depth of placement, and the need to maintain plant growth and activity. Final designs should be tailored, and bench tested, in order to meet the nuances of the experimental objectives and the ecosystem under study while reducing potential artifacts. Good insulation, to prevent temperature fluctuations and pressure changes, and a high‐quality seal between base and chamber are essential. Elimination of pressure differentials between headspace and atmosphere through venting should be performed, and designs now exist to eliminate Venturi effects of earlier tube‐type vent designs. The use of fans within the chamber headspace increases measurement precision but may alter the flux. To establish best practice recommendations when using fans, further data are required, particularly in systems containing tall plants, to systematically evaluate the effects that fan speed, position, and mixing rate have on soil gas flux.Peer reviewe

Melody, an ENU mutation in Caspase 3, alters the catalytic cysteine residue and causes sensorineural hearing loss in mice

Progeny from the Harwell N-ethyl-N-nitrosourea (ENU) recessive mutagenesis screen were assessed for auditory defects. A pedigree was identified with multiple progeny lacking response to a clickbox test. Auditory brainstem response (ABR) analysis showed that homozygous mutant mice were profoundly deaf and the line was named melody. We subsequently mapped this mutation to a 6-Mb region on chromosome 8 and identified a point mutation in melody that results in a C163S substitution in the catalytic site of Caspase 3, a cysteine protease involved in apoptosis. Melody fails to complement a null Caspase-3 mutant. Scanning electron microscopy (SEM) has revealed disorganised sensory hair cells and hair cell loss. Histological analysis of melody has shown degeneration of spiral ganglion cells in homozygote mice, with a gradient of severity from apical to basal turns. Melody heterozygotes also show evidence of loss of spiral ganglion neurons, suggesting that the C163S mutation may show dominant negative effects by binding and sequestering proteins at the active site. The melody line provides a new model for studying the role of Caspase 3 in deafness and a number of other pathways and systems

Aptamer-based multiplexed proteomic technology for biomarker discovery

Interrogation of the human proteome in a highly multiplexed and efficient manner remains a coveted and challenging goal in biology. We present a new aptamer-based proteomic technology for biomarker discovery capable of simultaneously measuring thousands of proteins from small sample volumes (15 [mu]L of serum or plasma). Our current assay allows us to measure ~800 proteins with very low limits of detection (1 pM average), 7 logs of overall dynamic range, and 5% average coefficient of variation. This technology is enabled by a new generation of aptamers that contain chemically modified nucleotides, which greatly expand the physicochemical diversity of the large randomized nucleic acid libraries from which the aptamers are selected. Proteins in complex matrices such as plasma are measured with a process that transforms a signature of protein concentrations into a corresponding DNA aptamer concentration signature, which is then quantified with a DNA microarray. In essence, our assay takes advantage of the dual nature of aptamers as both folded binding entities with defined shapes and unique sequences recognizable by specific hybridization probes. To demonstrate the utility of our proteomics biomarker discovery technology, we applied it to a clinical study of chronic kidney disease (CKD). We identified two well known CKD biomarkers as well as an additional 58 potential CKD biomarkers. These results demonstrate the potential utility of our technology to discover unique protein signatures characteristic of various disease states. More generally, we describe a versatile and powerful tool that allows large-scale comparison of proteome profiles among discrete populations. This unbiased and highly multiplexed search engine will enable the discovery of novel biomarkers in a manner that is unencumbered by our incomplete knowledge of biology, thereby helping to advance the next generation of evidence-based medicine