Assessing Diversity across Cultures: A U.S.-Hispanic Perspective

The purpose of this study was to compare workplace diversity perceptions between a US and Hispanic population. This study used the diversity perceptions of a sample of US business students and compared them with a sample of Hispanics using the Reaction to Diversity Inventory (RDI). The means of both samples were tested for significant differences at the p<.05 level using SPSS. A statistically significant difference was noted between the US sample and the Hispanic sample. The data analysis showed a between groups sum of squares=5892.35 and significance at p<.000 level. This study suggests that Hispanic perceptions of diversity are quite different than may be intuitively perceived or portrayed in the literature. The study also reinforces what is already stated in the literature, that collecting and analyzing perceptions can help determine if an organization’s workplace is viable to support diversity initiatives. This study is one among a limited collection of research on Hispanic perceptions of diversity behaviors in the US workforce and illustrates how cultural values of majority-minority populations can potentially impact the design and implementation of diversity initiatives, especially within a global workforce environment

Design of an Instrument to Evaluate Organizational Design Characteristics Based on the Organizational Configuration Model

The purpose of this article was to design and validate an instrument to determine relevant variables of the business environment, demeanor, and organizational behaviors linked to the Organizational Configuration Model and its relevance in these tumultuous times driven by the pandemic. From the literature, fifty-nine organizational attributes were extracted and administered to a random sample of 160 managers. Using a combined approach, i.e., exploratory factor analysis and construct validity, a structure of eight factors were extracted that explained 66.3 percent of the total variance with an exhibited satisfactory sample adequacy for the factor analysis (KMO = 0.63). An instrument was designed with these eight factors that provided a focused and valid perspective capable of assessing the impact and continued viability of a business’s organizational configuration under unsettled economic times. © Common Ground Research Networks, Ronald R. Rojas, Oriana Susana Martinez Palomino, Jorge Luis Villalba Acevedo, Alberto Emilio Gómez Torres, All Rights Reserved

Global Analysis of Predicted G Protein-Coupled Receptor Genes in the Filamentous Fungus, Neurospora crassa.

G protein-coupled receptors (GPCRs) regulate facets of growth, development, and environmental sensing in eukaryotes, including filamentous fungi. The largest predicted GPCR class in these organisms is the Pth11-related, with members similar to a protein required for disease in the plant pathogen Magnaporthe oryzae. However, the Pth11-related class has not been functionally studied in any filamentous fungal species. Here, we analyze phenotypes in available mutants for 36 GPCR genes, including 20 Pth11-related, in the model filamentous fungus Neurospora crassa. We also investigate patterns of gene expression for all 43 predicted GPCR genes in available datasets. A total of 17 mutants (47%) possessed at least one growth or developmental phenotype. We identified 18 mutants (56%) with chemical sensitivity or nutritional phenotypes (11 uniquely), bringing the total number of mutants with at least one defect to 28 (78%), including 15 mutants (75%) in the Pth11-related class. Gene expression trends for GPCR genes correlated with the phenotypes observed for many mutants and also suggested overlapping functions for several groups of co-transcribed genes. Several members of the Pth11-related class have phenotypes and/or are differentially expressed on cellulose, suggesting a possible role for this gene family in plant cell wall sensing or utilization

Eating in a losing cause : limited benefit of modified macronutrient consumption following infection in the oriental cockroach Blatta orientalis

Open Access funding enabled and organized by Projekt DEAL. S.H. was supported by the Chinese Scholarship Council and D.P.M. was supported by a seed-funding Grant provided by the Freie Universität Berlin and grant MC 436/6-1 from the Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG).Background Host–pathogen interactions can lead to dramatic changes in host feeding behaviour. One aspect of this includes self-medication, where infected individuals consume substances such as toxins or alter their macronutrient consumption to enhance immune competence. Another widely adopted animal response to infection is illness-induced anorexia, which is thought to assist host immunity directly or by limiting the nutritional resources available to pathogens. Here, we recorded macronutrient preferences of the global pest cockroach, Blatta orientalis to investigate how shifts in host macronutrient dietary preference and quantity of carbohydrate (C) and protein (P) interact with immunity following bacterial infection. Results We find that B. orientalis avoids diets enriched for P under normal conditions, and that high P diets reduce cockroach survival in the long term. However, following bacterial challenge, cockroaches significantly reduced their overall nutrient intake, particularly of carbohydrates, and increased the relative ratio of protein (P:C) consumed. Surprisingly, these behavioural shifts had a limited effect on cockroach immunity and survival, with minor changes to immune protein abundance and antimicrobial activity between individuals placed on different diets, regardless of infection status. Conclusions We show that cockroach feeding behaviour can be modulated by a pathogen, resulting in an illness-induced anorexia-like feeding response and a shift from a C-enriched to a more P:C equal diet. However, our results also indicate that such responses do not provide significant immune protection in B. orientalis, suggesting that the host’s dietary shift might also result from random rather than directed behaviour. The lack of an apparent benefit of the shift in feeding behaviour highlights a possible reduced importance of diet in immune regulation in these invasive animals, although further investigations employing pathogens with alternative infection strategies are warranted.Peer reviewe

A loss function to evaluate agricultural decision-making under uncertainty: a case study of soil spectroscopy

Modern sensor technologies can provide detailed information about soil variation which allows for more precise application of fertiliser to minimise environmental harm imposed by agriculture. However, growers should lose neither income nor yield from associated uncertainties of predicted nutrient concentrations and thus one must acknowledge and account for uncertainties. A framework is presented that accounts for the uncertainty and determines the cost–benefit of data on available phosphorus (P) and potassium (K) in the soil determined from sensors. For four fields, the uncertainty associated with variation in soil P and K predicted from sensors was determined. Using published fertiliser dose–yield response curves for a horticultural crop the effect of estimation errors from sensor data on expected financial losses was quantified. The expected losses from optimal precise application were compared with the losses expected from uniform fertiliser application (equivalent to little or no knowledge on soil variation). The asymmetry of the loss function meant that underestimation of P and K generally led to greater losses than the losses from overestimation. This study shows that substantial financial gains can be obtained from sensor-based precise application of P and K fertiliser, with savings of up to £121 ha−1 for P and up to £81 ha−1 for K, with concurrent environmental benefits due to a reduction of 4–17 kg ha−1 applied P fertiliser when compared with uniform application.Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council (BBSRC): BBS/E/C/000I0320; BBS/E/C/000I0330; BBS/E/C/000I0100

Agglomerations and firm performance: who benefits and how much?

[EN] Agglomerations and firm performance: who benefits and how much? Regional Studies. Agglomeration can generate gains. If it does, how does it work and how are those gains distributed across agglomerated firms? The paper examines the effect of localization externalities on innovation. Localization externalities are measured as industry specialization or a firm s colocation in a relatively high own-industry employment region. By analyzing a large dataset of 6697 firms integrated with another regional agglomeration-related dataset, results show that (1) co-location in an agglomeration has a positive influence on a firm s innovative performance; and (2) firms benefit heterogeneously from agglomerations, with benefits being distributed asymmetrically. Agglomeration gains exist but not all firms benefit equally.Financial support was provided by the Spanish Ministry of Economics, Industry and Competitiveness [research grant ECO:2015-63645-R] (Mineco/Feder), Open Innovation in Clusters.Hervás Oliver, JL.; Sempere-Ripoll, F.; Rojas Alvarado, RJ.; Estelles Miguel, S. (2018). Agglomerations and firm performance: who benefits and how much?. Regional Studies. 52(3):338-349. https://doi.org/10.1080/00343404.2017.1297895S33834952

Predicting the growth of lettuce from soil infrared reflectance spectra: the potential for crop management

How well could one predict the growth of a leafy crop from refectance spectra from the soil and how might a grower manage the crop in the light of those predictions? Topsoil from two felds was sampled and analysed for various nutrients, particle-size distribution and organic carbon concentration. Crop measurements (lettuce diameter) were derived from aerial-imagery. Refectance spectra were obtained in the laboratory from the soil in the near- and mid-infrared ranges, and these were used to predict crop performance by partial least squares regression (PLSR). Individual soil properties were also predicted from the spectra by PLSR. These estimated soil properties were used to predict lettuce diameter with a linear model (LM) and a linear mixed model (LMM): considering diferences between lettuce varieties and the spatial correlation between data points. The PLSR predictions of the soil properties and lettuce diameter were close to observed values. Prediction of lettuce diameter from the estimated soil properties with the LMs gave somewhat poorer results than PLSR that used the soil spectra as predictor variables. Predictions from LMMs were more precise than those from the PLSR using soil spectra. All model predictions improved when the efects of variety were considered. Predictions from the refectance spectra, via the estimation of soil properties, can enable growers to decide what treatments to apply to grow lettuce and how to vary their treatments within their felds to maximize the net proft from the cro

Structural basis for the RING catalyzed synthesis of K63 linked ubiquitin chains

This work was supported by grants from Cancer Research UK (C434/A13067), the Wellcome Trust (098391/Z/12/Z) and Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council (BB/J016004/1).The RING E3 ligase catalysed formation of lysine 63 linked ubiquitin chains by the Ube2V2–Ubc13 E2 complex is required for many important biological processes. Here we report the structure of the RING domain dimer of rat RNF4 in complex with a human Ubc13~Ub conjugate and Ube2V2. The structure has captured Ube2V2 bound to the acceptor (priming) ubiquitin with Lys63 in a position that could lead to attack on the linkage between the donor (second) ubiquitin and Ubc13 that is held in the active “folded back” conformation by the RING domain of RNF4. The interfaces identified in the structure were verified by in vitro ubiquitination assays of site directed mutants. This represents the first view of the synthesis of Lys63 linked ubiquitin chains in which both substrate ubiquitin and ubiquitin-loaded E2 are juxtaposed to allow E3 ligase mediated catalysis.PostprintPeer reviewe

Physical activity in the heat: thermoregulation and hydration: Supporting document to the Consensus Statement, Mexico City, February 1999

This document is not intended to be a thorough scientific review, but rather a useful source of information. While it is based on a sound, updated review of the scientific literature, the major intention is to provide clear statements and practical recommendations that are relevant to the Latin American population. The inquisitive reader is directed to recent excellent reviews on this topic. The document was prepared back in 1999 and has not been updated. It is included here as a record in English of the published paper in Spanish.Gatorade Sports Science InstituteUCR::Vicerrectoría de Docencia::Ciencias Sociales::Facultad de Educación::Escuela de Educación Físic

Soil: the great connector of our lives now and beyond COVID-19

Humanity depends on the existence of healthy soils, both for the production of food and for ensuring a healthy, biodiverse environment, among other functions. COVID-19 is threatening food availability in many places of the world due to the disruption of food chains, lack of workforce, closed borders and national lockdowns. As a consequence, more emphasis is being placed on local food production, which may lead to more intensive cultivation of vulnerable areas and to soil degradation. In order to increase the resilience of populations facing this pandemic and future global crises, transitioning to a paradigm that relies more heavily on local food production on soils that are carefully tended and protected through sustainable management is necessary. To reach this goal, the Intergovernmental Technical Panel on Soils (ITPS) of the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) recommends five active strategies: improved access to land, sound land use planning, sustainable soil management, enhanced research, and investments in education and extension