Neural Correlates of Social Behavior in Mushroom Body Extrinsic Neurons of the Honeybee Apis mellifera

The social behavior of honeybees (Apis mellifera) has been extensively investigated, but little is known about its neuronal correlates. We developed a method that allowed us to record extracellularly from mushroom body extrinsic neurons (MB ENs) in a freely moving bee within a small but functioning mini colony of approximately 1,000 bees. This study aimed to correlate the neuronal activity of multimodal high-order MB ENs with social behavior in a close to natural setting. The behavior of all bees in the colony was video recorded. The behavior of the recorded animal was compared with other hive mates and no significant differences were found. Changes in the spike rate appeared before, during or after social interactions. The time window of the strongest effect on spike rate changes ranged from 1 s to 2 s before and after the interaction, depending on the individual animal and recorded neuron. The highest spike rates occurred when the experimental animal was situated close to a hive mate. The variance of the spike rates was analyzed as a proxy for high order multi-unit processing. Comparing randomly selected time windows with those in which the recorded animal performed social interactions showed a significantly increased spike rate variance during social interactions. The experimental set-up employed for this study offers a powerful opportunity to correlate neuronal activity with intrinsically motivated behavior of socially interacting animals. We conclude that the recorded MB ENs are potentially involved in initiating and controlling social interactions in honeybees

Supply chain information in analyst reports on publicly traded companies

Analyst reports are an important source of secondary data on companies for understanding a company's performance in the recent past and for getting guidance on its future performance. We therefore analyzed the text of 1028 equity analyst reports of 145 Fortune 500 Global companies (not including services sectors like IT or banking) published between 2009 and 2011 for supply chain related information. We found that nearly three-fifths of these reports contained supply chain information pertaining to inbound, process or outbound aspects of the supply chain of the company. At the report level, there are significant industry effects for supply chain related content in analyst reports. On the other hand, aggregating information at the company level, it appears that analysts focus on a particular supply chain aspect for a company as well as its sector. Furthermore, logistic regression analysis suggests a link between the supply chain information provided when this is positive in orientation and the buy/sell/hold recommendation of the analyst regarding the company's stock

Spatio-temporal dynamics of quantum-well excitons

We investigate the lateral transport of excitons in ZnSe quantum wells by using time-resolved micro-photoluminescence enhanced by the introduction of a solid immersion lens. The spatial and temporal resolutions are 200 nm and 5 ps, respectively. Strong deviation from classical diffusion is observed up to 400 ps. This feature is attributed to the hot-exciton effects, consistent with previous experiments under cw excitation. The coupled transport-relaxation process of hot excitons is modelled by Monte Carlo simulation. We prove that two basic assumptions typically accepted in photoluminescence investigations on excitonic transport, namely (i) the classical diffusion model as well as (ii) the equivalence between the temporal and spatial evolution of the exciton population and of the measured photoluminescence, are not valid for low-temperature experiments.Comment: 8 pages, 6 figure

An impact of manufacturing flexibility and technological dimensions of manufacturing strategy on improving supply chain responsiveness: Business environment perspective

The main objective of this research is to investigate the impact of manufacturing flexibility and technological dimensions of manufacturing strategy on responsiveness in the supply chain. Based on the theoretical background of dynamic capability, this study also examines the role of the business environment on the relationship between manufacturing flexibility and supply chain responsiveness. 144 structured surveys were collected and the partial least squares of structural equation modelling approach were utilised for data analysis. The result establishes relationships among various dimensions of manufacturing flexibility. Although the technological dimensions in manufacturing strategy of such advanced manufacturing technology (AMT) and e-procurement do not have any direct impact on new product and market flexibility, they increase supply chain responsiveness, which helps to react quickly against supply chain disruptions. More importantly, the business environment has a moderating effect on the relationship between market flexibility and supply chain responsiveness

A contextual analysis of the impact of strategic sourcing and E-procurement on performance

Purpose – The aim of this study is to investigate the relationships among strategic sourcing, e-procurement and firm performance, along with the moderating effects of business characteristics and environmental factors on these relationships. Design/methodology/approach – This empirical investigation relies on structured survey responses from 137 managers of US manufacturing firms. The partial least squares-based structural equation modeling approach is used for data analysis. Findings – The research results confirm that both strategic sourcing and e-procurement have a positive effect on firm performance. In addition, e-procurement is also found to have a positive impact on strategic sourcing. In addition, the research results suggest that business characteristics and the environment, especially the degree of competition, market turbulence, firm size and stage in product life cycle moderate these relationships significantly. The positive effects of strategic sourcing and e-procurement on firm performance are particularly enhanced under the right conditions. Originality/value – This research is the first, to the best of our knowledge, to provide insights into the joint effects of strategic sourcing and e-procurement, and how business characteristics and the environment affect their roles on firm performance. In addition, firm performance is evaluated as a multi-dimensional construct involving financial, operational and supply chain aspects, with the measurements consisting of several second-order constructs. The study makes both theoretical and practical contributions

Arbuscular cell invasion coincides with extracellular vesicles and membrane tubules

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PlantSimLab - a modeling and simulation web tool for plant biologists.

BACKGROUND: At the molecular level, nonlinear networks of heterogeneous molecules control many biological processes, so that systems biology provides a valuable approach in this field, building on the integration of experimental biology with mathematical modeling. One of the biggest challenges to making this integration a reality is that many life scientists do not possess the mathematical expertise needed to build and manipulate mathematical models well enough to use them as tools for hypothesis generation. Available modeling software packages often assume some modeling expertise. There is a need for software tools that are easy to use and intuitive for experimentalists. RESULTS: This paper introduces PlantSimLab, a web-based application developed to allow plant biologists to construct dynamic mathematical models of molecular networks, interrogate them in a manner similar to what is done in the laboratory, and use them as a tool for biological hypothesis generation. It is designed to be used by experimentalists, without direct assistance from mathematical modelers. CONCLUSIONS: Mathematical modeling techniques are a useful tool for analyzing complex biological systems, and there is a need for accessible, efficient analysis tools within the biological community. PlantSimLab enables users to build, validate, and use intuitive qualitative dynamic computer models, with a graphical user interface that does not require mathematical modeling expertise. It makes analysis of complex models accessible to a larger community, as it is platform-independent and does not require extensive mathematical expertise

Radical innovations as supply chain disruptions? A paradox between change and stability

Supply chains withstand multiple tensions, some of which are paradoxical. Radical product and process innovations bring such tensions to the forefront by disrupting supply chains. Using two illustrations, this article considers the paradoxical tension between change and stability in upstream supply chains, which becomes particularly salient after radical innovation. Furthermore, the article discusses why and how paradox theory can help firms understand and manage this pressing tension between stability and change. This article then presents future research opportunities for using paradox theory to investigate other persistent post-innovation tensions in upstream supply chains. The aim of this article is to encourage new studies that develop responses to such paradoxical tensions, an area ripe for research

Attributes of context relevant to healthcare professionals' use of research evidence in clinical practice: a multi-study analysis

Background: To increase the likelihood of successful implementation of evidence-based practices, researchers, knowledge users, and healthcare professionals must consider aspects of context that promote and hinder implementation in their setting. The purpose of the current study was to identify contextual attributes and their features relevant to implementation by healthcare professionals and compare and contrast these attributes and features across different clinical settings and healthcare professional roles. Methods: We conducted a secondary analysis of 145 semi-structured interviews comprising 11 studies (10 from Canada and one from Australia) investigating healthcare professionals’ perceived barriers and enablers to their use of research evidence in clinical practice. The data was collected using semi-structured interview guides informed by the Theoretical Domains Framework across different healthcare professional roles, settings, and practices. We analyzed these data inductively, using constant comparative analysis, to identify attributes of context and their features reported in the interviews. We compared these data by (1) setting (primary care, hospital-medical/surgical, hospital-emergency room, hospital-critical care) and (2) professional role (physicians and residents, nurses and organ donor coordinators). Results: We identified 62 unique features of context, which we categorized under 14 broader attributes of context. The 14 attributes were resource access, work structure, patient characteristics, professional role, culture, facility characteristics, system features, healthcare professional characteristics, financial, collaboration, leadership, evaluation, regulatory or legislative standards, and societal influences. We found instances of the majority (n = 12, 86%) of attributes of context across multiple (n = 6 or more) clinical behaviors. We also found little variation in the 14 attributes of context by setting (primary care and hospitals) and professional role (physicians and residents, and nurses and organ donor coordinators). Conclusions: There was considerable consistency in the 14 attributes identified irrespective of the clinical behavior, setting, or professional role, supporting broad utility of the attributes of context identified in this study. There was more variation in the finer-grained features of these attributes with the most substantial variation being by setting