Regulation of stearoyl-CoA desaturase-1 after central and peripheral nerve lesions

BACKGROUND: Interruption of mature axons activates a cascade of events in neuronal cell bodies which leads to various outcomes from functional regeneration in the PNS to the failure of any significant regeneration in the CNS. One factor which seems to play an important role in the molecular programs after axotomy is the stearoyl Coenzyme A-desaturase-1 (SCD-1). This enzyme is needed for the conversion of stearate into oleate. Beside its role in membrane synthesis, oleate could act as a neurotrophic factor, involved in signal transduction pathways via activation of protein kinases C. RESULTS: In situ hybridization and immunohistochemistry demonstrated a strong up-regulation of SCD at mRNA and protein level in regenerating neurons of the rat facial nucleus whereas non-regenerating Clarke's and Red nucleus neurons did not show an induction of this gene. CONCLUSION: This differential expression points to a functionally significant role for the SCD-1 in the process of regeneration

Identification of regeneration-associated genes after central and peripheral nerve injury in the adult rat

BACKGROUND: It is well known that neurons of the peripheral nervous system have the capacity to regenerate a severed axon leading to functional recovery, whereas neurons of the central nervous system do not regenerate successfully after injury. The underlying molecular programs initiated by axotomized peripheral and central nervous system neurons are not yet fully understood. RESULTS: To gain insight into the molecular mechanisms underlying the process of regeneration in the nervous system, differential display polymerase chain reaction has been used to identify differentially expressed genes following axotomy of peripheral and central nerve fibers. For this purpose, axotomy induced changes of regenerating facial nucleus neurons, and non-regenerating red nucleus and Clarke's nucleus neurons have been analyzed in an intra-animal side-to-side comparison. One hundred and thirty five gene fragments have been isolated, of which 69 correspond to known genes encoding for a number of different functional classes of proteins such as transcription factors, signaling molecules, homeobox-genes, receptors and proteins involved in metabolism. Sixty gene fragments correspond to genomic mouse sequences without known function. In situ-hybridization has been used to confirm differential expression and to analyze the cellular localization of these gene fragments. Twenty one genes (~15%) have been demonstrated to be differentially expressed. CONCLUSIONS: The detailed analysis of differentially expressed genes in different lesion paradigms provides new insights into the molecular mechanisms underlying the process of regeneration and may lead to the identification of genes which play key roles in functional repair of central nervous tissues

Monocytes, neutrophils, and platelets cooperate to initiate and propagate venous thrombosis in mice in vivo

Deep vein thrombosis (DVT) is a major cause of cardiovascular death. The sequence of events that promote DVT remains obscure, largely as a result of the lack of an appropriate rodent model. We describe a novel mouse model of DVT which reproduces a frequent trigger and resembles the time course, histological features, and clinical presentation of DVT in humans. We demonstrate by intravital two-photon and epifluorescence microscopy that blood monocytes and neutrophils crawling along and adhering to the venous endothelium provide the initiating stimulus for DVT development. Using conditional mutants and bone marrow chimeras, we show that intravascular activation of the extrinsic pathway of coagulation via tissue factor (TF) derived from myeloid leukocytes causes the extensive intraluminal fibrin formation characteristic of DVT. We demonstrate that thrombus-resident neutrophils are indispensable for subsequent DVT propagation by binding factor XII (FXII) and by supporting its activation through the release of neutrophil extracellular traps (NETs). Correspondingly, neutropenia, genetic ablation of FXII, or disintegration of NETs each confers protection against DVT amplification. Platelets associate with innate immune cells via glycoprotein Ibα and contribute to DVT progression by promoting leukocyte recruitment and stimulating neutrophil-dependent coagulation. Hence, we identified a cross talk between monocytes, neutrophils, and platelets responsible for the initiation and amplification of DVT and for inducing its unique clinical features

<scp>ReSurveyEurope</scp>: A database of resurveyed vegetation plots in Europe

AbstractAimsWe introduce ReSurveyEurope — a new data source of resurveyed vegetation plots in Europe, compiled by a collaborative network of vegetation scientists. We describe the scope of this initiative, provide an overview of currently available data, governance, data contribution rules, and accessibility. In addition, we outline further steps, including potential research questions.ResultsReSurveyEurope includes resurveyed vegetation plots from all habitats. Version 1.0 of ReSurveyEurope contains 283,135 observations (i.e., individual surveys of each plot) from 79,190 plots sampled in 449 independent resurvey projects. Of these, 62,139 (78%) are permanent plots, that is, marked in situ, or located with GPS, which allow for high spatial accuracy in resurvey. The remaining 17,051 (22%) plots are from studies in which plots from the initial survey could not be exactly relocated. Four data sets, which together account for 28,470 (36%) plots, provide only presence/absence information on plant species, while the remaining 50,720 (64%) plots contain abundance information (e.g., percentage cover or cover–abundance classes such as variants of the Braun‐Blanquet scale). The oldest plots were sampled in 1911 in the Swiss Alps, while most plots were sampled between 1950 and 2020.ConclusionsReSurveyEurope is a new resource to address a wide range of research questions on fine‐scale changes in European vegetation. The initiative is devoted to an inclusive and transparent governance and data usage approach, based on slightly adapted rules of the well‐established European Vegetation Archive (EVA). ReSurveyEurope data are ready for use, and proposals for analyses of the data set can be submitted at any time to the coordinators. Still, further data contributions are highly welcome.</jats:sec

Employer image, occupational commitment and regional quality of life – the role of destination characteristics for reducing turnover among hospitality employees in Tyrol and Bavaria

The hospitality industry has been facing the challenge of employer image and labor shortage, including skilled labor retention and turnover for a long time in the past. Furthermore, this industrial branch portrays higher levels of labor shortage and turnover than other sectors in alpine regions, Tyrol and Bavaria in particular. This situation is mostly due to the unfortunate employer image in the hospitality industry that commonly relies on unskilled labor to meet the labor shortage. Low wages, irregular and long working hours as well as the job’s rather low social status and difficult work-life-planning contribute to this negative employer image. This subject matter is a central research target within tourism geography, especially with regards to hospitality. Moreover, it has been well established that job and organizational satisfaction as well as employee commitment positively influence employee retention and career longevity. Occupational and organizational employee commitment should be aimed at in particular by businesses. Commitment consists of an affective, continuance and normative component and the theory dates back to Meyer and Allen (1991). The affective component is deemed most important in predicting employee behavior. Additionally, commitment does not only influence employee behavior but also the perception of the entire employer image of a company or whole employing industry. It may not be neglected, however, that hospitality businesses and touristic destinations are inextricably linked with each other. Geographical components such as landscape and other regional features cannot be left out when addressing employees of the tourism industry. Furthermore, previous research in tourism geography has addressed destination image as a core marketing tool in regards of potential tourists while the supply side, namely tourism employees has been left out. Therefore, it is necessary to address not only employees’ commitment to an organization with their perceived quality of work life respectively. It is rather also the perceived general quality of life in the destination that needs to be taken into account when addressing employees’ commitment. Commitment needs to be addressed regarding the whole work destination altogether, including all geographical specifics, not solely an occupation or organization. Whole touristic destinations have been struck by the Covid-19 crisis and commitment has become even more important during this time. In a tourism geographic context, is therefore of central interest how business owners strengthen their own resilience within their destination, keep their employees and enhance their commitment in order to avoid forced turnover or even forced leaving the destination induced by the crisis. This thesis consequently takes on a holistic approach connecting employer image, employee commitment, perceived quality of life in the destination as an expression of employees’ destination image, and commitment to the touristic destination as such. It is analyzed how employer image attributes influence the perceived attractiveness of the whole hospitality industry as an employing industry to begin with. On an organizational level, it is examined how employer image and affective commitment are related in family hospitality businesses. Furthermore, the Covid-19 crisis struck the hospitality industry rather off-guard, thus putting whole resilience strategies, commitment endeavors and human resource management at stake. The thesis analyzes hospitality business owners’ strategies of dealing with the crisis placing particular focus on the role of employees and business resilience through various factors (e.g. regional, personal). As destination and businesses cannot be separated in the hospitality industry, the thesis moves on from an organizational perspective to the destination perspective. A model of destination commitment is proposed which extends and adjusts the previously established model of organizational commitment. The results show how important a positive employer image is to create employee commitment and to establish a positive perception of the entire employing industry. Furthermore, it is portrayed that despite the attempt of family businesses to achieve a particular image focusing on social aspects, it is also the financial component of an employer image influencing affective occupational commitment. However, family businesses do in fact place great emphasis on their employees matching the fostered employer image. This insight is particularly relevant during the ongoing Covid-19 crisis. A very surprising result refers to the rather optimistic state of mind among business owners concerning the recovery process and keeping employees in the business. This also shows that employee commitment is in fact viewed as valuable for business success and resilience. Thus, the thesis adds to the still rather under-researched stakeholder group of hospitality employees in the context of business resilience. Another result of the thesis is the development of a model of Destination Commitment. The model includes the components affective commitment (why someone wants to stay in the destination, normative commitment (why someone feels morally obliged to stay in the destination), convenience commitment (why someone sees it as practical staying in the destination) and home commitment (why someone feels at home in the destination). Altogether, the thesis adds to a better understanding of the interrelation between employer image, employee commitment, employees’ perceived quality of life and commitment geographical destination. Furthermore, it sheds light on how family hospitality business owners deal with an external unforeseen crisis in order to create business resilience and keep their employees attached to the business. Lastly, the thesis develops a new approach towards commitment, adds another perspective to the destination image by introducing an under-researched stakeholder group and generates new theory of commitment by expanding and modifying the existing commitment theory in applying it to the geographical context

Sportvereinsmanagement : Sportvereine zwischen Tradition und Innovation

Katrin SchwaigerKlagenfurt, Alpen-Adria-Univ., Master-Arb., 2013(VLID)241430

The relationship between employer image and employee commitment in family-run hospitality firms

Purpose - Among all forms of commitment, affective commitment has been shown to be the most desirable for enterprises. However, research on commitment among employees in family-run businesses in the hospitality industry is scant. To address this gap, this study aims to analyze the impact of employer image components on hospitality employees' affective occupational commitment within family-run businesses. As one can assume specific employer image aspects when studying family-run businesses, this paper expects to achieve a better understanding of the relationship between employer image and employee commitment in this context. Design/methodology/approach - This study adopts the employer image framework of Baum and Kabst (2013), emphasizing that in addition to considering potential employees, the commitment of current employees needs to be assessed. Convenience sampling is used to obtain a sample from the target population (Tyrolean hospitality and gastronomy employees) from June to September 2018. Multiple linear regression analysis is applied to test the influence of individual employer image constituents on employees' affective occupational commitment. Findings - Among the five components of the employer image framework applied here, working atmosphere, task attractiveness and payment attractiveness show a significant influence on employees' affective occupational commitment. Originality/value - This study connects an existing employer image model to employee commitment within the hospitality industry. The findings suggest that the model is applicable to current employees as a key stakeholder group and shows the utility of employer image theory in connection with employee commitment

Organizational resilience in hospitality family businesses during the COVID-19 pandemic: a qualitative approach

Purpose This study targeted hospitality family business owners as essential pillars of the tourism industry. How they perceive aspects of the crisis and what they derive organizational resilience from, including the role of their human resources, are explored. Internal and external factors of resilience are analyzed alongside different levels of resilience action. Design/methodology/approach The World Health Organization announced coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) as a pandemic on March 11, 2020. In Tirol, the hospitality industry has particularly been affected as tourism businesses find themselves in the challenging times of returning to normal business, corresponding to the fourth phase in Faulkner's (2001) Tourism Disaster Management Framework. The authors used a qualitative exploratory approach, using semi-structured interviews. Findings In taking on a holistic explorative approach, the authors determined several methods used by entrepreneurs in dealing with a pandemic crisis to increase business resilience at a specific stage. Internal and external resilience factors have been detected among three levels of resilience action (personal, regional and governmental). The most surprising result of the semi-structured in-depth interviews was the entrepreneurs' rather positive outlook. Originality/value Generally, this study creates an in-depth understanding of the tourism businesses in their dealing with a global crisis, using family business owners as an exemplary stakeholder group. The authors bridge a gap in the literature by applying a holistic explorative approach in the early stage of a never seen worldwide crisis and by addressing organizational resilience. Three levels of resilience action give new insight into how the beginning of a pandemic crisis is handled and perceived by hospitality family business entrepreneurs

The influence of symbolic and instrumental attributes of employer image on perceived industry attractiveness: differences between business owners and employees

Purpose - This study determines the influence of employer image on industry attractiveness in small and medium-sized hospitality firms by using the instrumental-symbolic framework adapted from marketing literature. Design/methodology/approach - A total of 405 employees and 429 family firm owners in Bavaria were surveyed using a quantitative research design. The authors used linear and hierarchical multiple regression analyses for hypothesis testing using the variables included in the instrumental-symbolic employer image framework. Findings - The study revealed differences in perception between employees and owners. Data showed that employees' ratings for instrumental attributes, such as job security and income options, and symbolic attributes, such as industry attractiveness, significantly differ from those of owners. Consistent with the instrumental-symbolic framework, owners' perceptions of symbolic attributes predicted their perceived industry attractiveness. Practical implications - Owners may examine how their industry's image needs to be changed to gain positive perception by current and potential employees. Policymakers may benefit from the study's results that may help them find the right focal points for strategies in promoting Bavaria's hospitality sector. As a result, an adequate and positive image is created that attracts workers for this sector. Originality/value - The study addresses the rather under-researched stakeholder group of existing hospitality employees, particularly with respect to employer image. Furthermore, owners and employees are compared, regardless of their individually different relationships to the business. Employer image is connected with overall perceived industry attractiveness, stating that the industry comprises individual employing businesses and thus depends on employer image