Examining desorptive capacity in supply chains: the role of organizational ambidexterity

Abstract Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to explain how a buying organization’s desorptive capacity relative to its supply network enhances the organization’s supply chain competence. The research also analyzes the contingent role of the balanced and combined dimensions of ambidexterity in this relationship. Design/methodology/approach – Empirical results are obtained through analysis of survey data from a sample of 270 European firms. Hierarchical regression analysis is used to test the hypotheses. Findings – The results confirm, first, the positive and significant relationship between the buying organization’s desorptive capacity and supply chain competence; and, second, the key moderating role of organizational ambidexterity, especially in its combined dimension, in this relationship. Practical implications – The study suggests that desorptive capacity is key to the organization’s contribution to supply chain competitiveness. The authors also provide practitioners with better understanding of the extent to which they should attempt to balance exploration and exploitation or/and to maximize both simultaneously when seeking greater benefit from desorptive capacity. Originality/value – This study extends desorptive capacity research to supply chain management. It responds to calls in the desorptive capacity literature for deeper understanding of the benefits of desorptive capacity and of the role organizational ambidexterity plays in the success of desorptive capacity. By analyzing the independent effects of the combined and balanced dimensions of ambidexterity, the authors advance conceptual and operational understanding of the role of ambidexterity needed in the literatur

Limitations of snapshot hyperspectral cameras to monitor plant response dynamics in stress-free conditions

Plants' dynamic eco-physiological responses are vital to their productivity in continuously fluctuating conditions, such as those in agricultural fields. However, it is currently still very difficult to capture these responses at the field scale for phenotyping purposes. Advanced hyperspectral imaging tools are increasingly used in phenotyping, and have been applied to detect changes in plants in response to a specific treatment, phenological state or monitor its growth and development. Phenotyping has to evolve towards capturing dynamic behaviour under more subtle fluctuations in environmental conditions, without the presence of clear treatments or stresses. Therefore, we investigated the potential of hyperspectral imaging to capture dynamic behaviour of plants in stress-free conditions at a temporal resolution of seconds. Two growth chamber experiments were set up, in which strawberry plants and four different background materials, serving as controls, were monitored by a snapshot hyperspectral camera in variable conditions of light, temperature and relative humidity. The sampling period was set to three seconds, triggering image acquisition and gas exchange measurements. Different background materials were used to assess the influence of the environment and the camera in both experiments. To separate the plant and background data, static masks were determined. Two datasets were created, which encompass both experiments. One dataset was constructed after averaging over the entire mask to acquire one value per spectral band. These values were then used to calculate a set of vegetation indices. The other dataset used spatial subsampling to retain spatial information. From both datasets, linear models were constructed using ridge regression, which estimated the measured eco-physiological and environmental data. Leaf temperature and vapour pressure deficit based on leaf temperature are the two main eco-physiological characteristics that could be predicted successfully. Stomatal conductance, photosynthesis and transpiration rate show less promising results. We suspect that limited variation, and low spectral resolution and range are the main causes of the inability of the models to extract meaningful predictions. Furthermore, the models that were only trained on background data also showed good predictive performance. This is probably because the main drivers for good performing eco-physiological variables are temperature and incident light intensity. Environmental characteristics that have good performance are photosynthetically active radiation and air temperature. Current hyperspectral sensing technologies are not yet able to uncover most plant dynamic eco-physiological responses when plants are cultivated in stress-free conditions

Comparison between electrochemical capacitors based on NaOH and KOH activated carbons

This work describes the chemical activation of a coke using two different activating agents to investigate their behavior as electrodes in supercapacitors. A coke was chemically activated with two hydroxides (KOH and NaOH) under nitrogen flow, at a constant mass hydroxide/coke ratio of 2 and temperatures of 600, 650, and 700 °C. All of the samples were characterized in terms of porosity by N2 sorption at 77 K, surface chemistry by temperature-programmed desorption (TPD), and electrical conductivity. Their electrochemical behavior as electric double-layer capacitors was determined using galvanostatic, voltammetric, and impedance spectroscopy techniques in an aqueous medium with 1 M H2SO4 as the electrolyte. Large differences in capacitive behavior with the increase in the current density were found between the two series of activated samples. The different trends were correlated with the results obtained from the TPD analysis of the CO-type oxygen groups. It was found that these oxygen groups make a positive contribution to capacitance, finding a good correlation between the specific capacitance values, and the amount of these oxygen groups was found for both series.This work was supported by the MICIN (Project MAT2007-61467).Peer reviewe

The Fusarium oxysporum gnt2, Encoding a Putative NAcetylglucosamine Transferase, Is Involved in Cell Wall Architecture and Virulence

With the aim to decipher the molecular dialogue and cross talk between Fusarium oxysporum f.sp. lycopersci and its host during infection and to understand the molecular bases that govern fungal pathogenicity, we analysed genes presumably encoding N-acetylglucosaminyl transferases, involved in glycosylation of glycoproteins, glycolipids, proteoglycans or small molecule acceptors in other microorganisms. In silico analysis revealed the existence of seven putative N-glycosyl transferase encoding genes (named gnt) in F. oxysporum f.sp. lycopersici genome. gnt2 deletion mutants showed a dramatic reduction in virulence on both plant and animal hosts. Δgnt2 mutants had αalterations in cell wall properties related to terminal αor β-linked N-acetyl glucosamine. Mutant conidia and germlings also showed differences in structure and physicochemical surface properties. Conidial and hyphal aggregation differed between the mutant and wild type strains, in a pH independent manner. Transmission electron micrographs of germlings showed strong cell-to-cell adherence and the presence of an extracellular chemical matrix. Δgnt2 cell walls presented a significant reduction in N-linked oligosaccharides, suggesting the involvement of Gnt2 in N-glycosylation of cell wall proteins. Gnt2 was localized in Golgi-like sub-cellular compartments as determined by fluorescence microscopy of GFP::Gnt2 fusion protein after treatment with the antibiotic brefeldin A or by staining with fluorescent sphingolipid BODIPY-TR ceramide. Furthermore, density gradient ultracentrifugation allowed colocalization of GFP::Gnt2 fusion protein and Vps10p in subcellular fractions enriched in Golgi specific enzymatic activities. Our results suggest that N-acetylglucosaminyl transferases are key components for cell wall structure and influence interactions of F. oxysporum with both plant and animal hosts during pathogenicity

Orthology guided transcriptome assembly of Italian ryegrass and meadow fescue for single-nucleotide polymorphism discovery

Single-nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) represent natural DNA sequence variation. They can be used for various applications including the construction of high-density genetic maps, analysis of genetic variability, genome-wide association studies, and mapbased cloning. Here we report on transcriptome sequencing in the two forage grasses, meadow fescue (Festuca pratensis Huds.) and Italian ryegrass (Lolium multiflorum Lam.), and identification of various classes of SNPs. Using the Orthology Guided Assembly (OGA) strategy, we assembled and annotated a total of 18,952 and 19,036 transcripts for Italian ryegrass and meadow fescue, respectively. In addition, we used transcriptome sequence data of perennial ryegrass (L. perenne L.) from a previous study to identify 16,613 transcripts shared across all three species. Large numbers of intraspecific SNPs were identified in all three species: 248,000 in meadow fescue, 715,000 in Italian ryegrass, and 529,000 in perennial ryegrass. Moreover, we identified almost 25,000 interspecific SNPs located in 5343 genes that can distinguish meadow fescue from Italian ryegrass and 15,000 SNPs located in 3976 genes that discriminate meadow fescue from both Lolium species. All identified SNPs were positioned in silico on the seven linkage groups (LGs) of L. perenne using the GenomeZipper approach. With the identification and positioning of interspecific SNPs, our study provides a valuable resource for the grass research and breeding community and will enable detailed characterization of genomic composition and gene expression analysis in prospective Festuca Lolium hybrids

Applying RGB- and thermal-based vegetation indices from UAVs for high-throughput field phenotyping of drought tolerance in forage grasses

The persistence and productivity of forage grasses, important sources for feed production, are threatened by climate change-induced drought. Breeding programs are in search of new drought tolerant forage grass varieties, but those programs still rely on time-consuming and less consistent visual scoring by breeders. In this study, we evaluate whether Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (UAV) based remote sensing can complement or replace this visual breeder score. A field experiment was set up to test the drought tolerance of genotypes from three common forage types of two different species: Festuca arundinacea, diploid Lolium perenne and tetraploid Lolium perenne. Drought stress was imposed by using mobile rainout shelters. UAV flights with RGB and thermal sensors were conducted at five time points during the experiment. Visual-based indices from different colour spaces were selected that were closely correlated to the breeder score. Furthermore, several indices, in particular H and NDLab, from the HSV (Hue Saturation Value) and CIELab (Commission Internationale de l’éclairage) colour space, respectively, displayed a broad-sense heritability that was as high or higher than the visual breeder score, making these indices highly suited for high-throughput field phenotyping applications that can complement or even replace the breeder score. The thermal-based Crop Water Stress Index CWSI provided complementary information to visual-based indices, enabling the analysis of differences in ecophysiological mechanisms for coping with reduced water availability between species and ploidy levels. All species/types displayed variation in drought stress tolerance, which confirms that there is sufficient variation for selection within these groups of grasses. Our results confirmed the better drought tolerance potential of Festuca arundinacea, but also showed which Lolium perenne genotypes are more tolerant

Factores clave para la búsqueda del aprendizaje organizacional en la cadena de suministro: una aproximación teórica

Given the significant role played by subcontracting in recent years and the rise of supply chains, manage them efficiently is a key factor to consider for improving business performance. A good relationship with customers / suppliers increases the flow of communication and information between them, allowing them to learn from each other, making and organizational learning have come to obtain a cooperative advantage that is beneficial to both. However, despite being many advantages of this relationship, companies are reluctant to share information about your organization, meeting the controversy of losing control and protection of your organization. The objectives of this work are to analyze the influence of organizational learning within the supply chain because it improves the situation of the company, not only in terms of reducing costs but also optimize performance, consider some of the variables that influence this learning and suggest several proposals, laying the groundwork for future research.Dada la importancia que ha tenido la subcontratación en los últimos años y el auge de las cadenas de suministro, gestionarlas de forma eficiente es un factor clave a tener en cuenta para mejorar el rendimiento de la empresa. Una buena relación con los clientes/proveedores aumenta el flujo de comunicación e información entre ambos, lo que les permite aprender unos de otros, logrando que haya aprendizaje organizacional y llegar a la obtención de una ventaja cooperativa que sea beneficiosa para ambos. Sin embargo, a pesar de ser muchas las ventajas de esta relación, las empresas son reacias a compartir información de su organización, encontrándose con la controversia de perder control y protección de su organización. El objetivo de este trabajo es construir un marco teórico que permita explicar las variables que determinan el grado de influencia del aprendizaje organizacional dentro de la cadena de suministro. La metodología seguida ha sido una revisión de la literatura previa que nos ha servido de apoyo para cumplir el objetivo propuesto. Como resultado de este trabajo, hemos detectado que los factores clave para la búsqueda del aprendizaje organizacional en la cadena de suministro se agrupan en tres: externos a la organización, internos a la misma y relacionales, inherentes a la relación que mantiene con los integrantes de la cadena de suministro a la que pertenece.  Abstract Given the significant role played by subcontracting in recent years and the rise of supply chains, manage them efficiently is a key factor to consider for improving business performance. A good relationship with customers / suppliers increases the flow of communication and information between them, allowing them to learn from each other, making and organizational learning have come to obtain a cooperative advantage that is beneficial to both. However, despite being many advantages of this relationship, companies are reluctant to share information about your organization, meeting the controversy of losing control and protection of your organization. The objectives of this work are to analyze the influence of organizational learning within the supply chain because it improves the situation of the company, not only in terms of reducing costs but also optimize performance, consider some of the variables that influence this learning and suggest several proposals, laying the groundwork for future research

Los congresos de estudiantes como experiencia de aprendizaje cooperativo y colaborativo. IV Congreso ASAT, Murcia

La adaptación del sistema educativo universitario a las necesidades y requerimientos del Espacio Europeo de Educación (EEES) es uno de los desafíos más importantes de los últimos años en el ámbito docente. Supone la instauración de un nuevo sistema de enseñanza basado en nuevas técnicas docentes con una diferente relación profesor-alumno y una mayor participación de este último en el proceso de aprendizaje. El concepto de aprendizaje individualizado donde el alumno actúa de espectador pasivo cambia hacia un papel más activo, en el que el concepto de aprendizaje cooperativo (trabajo en grupo) y colaborativo (dimensión social del aprendizaje) cobra una vital importancia en el nuevo modelo de enseñanza. El siguiente artículo recoge los resultados del IV Congreso Nacional de estudiantes de Arquitectura Técnica e Ingeniería de Edificación realizado durante el curso académico 2013-14 en la Universidad Católica San Antonio de Murcia (UCAM). Pretende demostrar cómo actividades docentes en las que se ponga en práctica el aprendizaje cooperativo y colaborativo con los estudiantes, pueden ser fructíferas en el campo del aprendizaje universitario. La iniciativa de este tipo de congresos de estudiantes acerca el mundo profesional y la investigación al alumno

Pseudomonas pseudoalcaligenes CECT5344, a cyanide‑degrading bacterium with by‑product (polyhydroxyalkanoates) formation capacity

Background: Cyanide is one of the most toxic chemicals produced by anthropogenic activities like mining and jewelry industries, which generate wastewater residues with high concentrations of this compound. Pseudomonas pseudoalcaligenes CECT5344 is a model microorganism to be used in detoxification of industrial wastewaters containing not only free cyanide (CN−) but also cyano-derivatives, such as cyanate, nitriles and metal-cyanide complexes. Previous in silico analyses suggested the existence of genes putatively involved in metabolism of short chain length (scl-) and medium chain length (mcl-) polyhydroxyalkanoates (PHAs) located in three different clusters in the genome of this bacterium. PHAs are polyesters considered as an alternative of petroleum-based plastics. Strategies to optimize the bioremediation process in terms of reducing the cost of the production medium are required. Results: In this work, a biological treatment of the jewelry industry cyanide-rich wastewater coupled to PHAs production as by-product has been considered. The functionality of the pha genes from P. pseudoalcaligenes CECT5344 has been demonstrated. Mutant strains defective in each proposed PHA synthases coding genes (Mpha−, deleted in putative mcl-PHA synthases; Spha−, deleted in the putative scl-PHA synthase) were generated. The accumulation and monomer composition of scl- or mcl-PHAs in wild type and mutant strains were confirmed by gas chromatographymass spectrometry (GC–MS). The production of PHAs as by-product while degrading cyanide from the jewelry industry wastewater was analyzed in batch reactor in each strain. The wild type and the mutant strains grew at similar rates when using octanoate as the carbon source and cyanide as the sole nitrogen source. When cyanide was depleted from the medium, both scl-PHAs and mcl-PHAs were detected in the wild-type strain, whereas scl-PHAs or mcl-PHAs were accumulated in Mpha− and Spha−, respectively. The scl-PHAs were identified as homopolymers of 3-hydroxybutyrate and the mcl-PHAs were composed of 3-hydroxyoctanoate and 3-hydroxyhexanoate monomers. Conclusions: These results demonstrated, as proof of concept, that talented strains such as P. pseudoalcaligenes might be applied in bioremediation of industrial residues containing cyanide, while concomitantly generate by-products like polyhydroxyalkanoates. A customized optimization of the target bioremediation process is required to gain benefits of this type of approaches

EST-derived SSR markers used as anchor loci for the construction of a consensus linkage map in ryegrass (Lolium spp.)

BACKGROUND: Genetic markers and linkage mapping are basic prerequisites for marker-assisted selection and map-based cloning. In the case of the key grassland species Lolium spp., numerous mapping populations have been developed and characterised for various traits. Although some genetic linkage maps of these populations have been aligned with each other using publicly available DNA markers, the number of common markers among genetic maps is still low, limiting the ability to compare candidate gene and QTL locations across germplasm. RESULTS: A set of 204 expressed sequence tag (EST)-derived simple sequence repeat (SSR) markers has been assigned to map positions using eight different ryegrass mapping populations. Marker properties of a subset of 64 EST-SSRs were assessed in six to eight individuals of each mapping population and revealed 83% of the markers to be polymorphic in at least one population and an average number of alleles of 4.88. EST-SSR markers polymorphic in multiple populations served as anchor markers and allowed the construction of the first comprehensive consensus map for ryegrass. The integrated map was complemented with 97 SSRs from previously published linkage maps and finally contained 284 EST-derived and genomic SSR markers. The total map length was 742 centiMorgan (cM), ranging for individual chromosomes from 70 cM of linkage group (LG) 6 to 171 cM of LG 2. CONCLUSIONS: The consensus linkage map for ryegrass based on eight mapping populations and constructed using a large set of publicly available Lolium EST-SSRs mapped for the first time together with previously mapped SSR markers will allow for consolidating existing mapping and QTL information in ryegrass. Map and markers presented here will prove to be an asset in the development for both molecular breeding of ryegrass as well as comparative genetics and genomics within grass species