Small Family Research Articles

Bread in folk culture: Karahöyük Bread (Denizli)

Traditional products are very important for the protection and sustainability of cultural heritage. The natural, cultural, and historical richness of the Anatolian geography has provided a wide variety of traditional products. It is important that traditional products, which remain only locally and are produced by small family businesses, become value-added products and contribute to the country's economy. Karahöyük Bread, which is one of the traditional products and whose only master remains, has been examined in this study. Karahöyük Bread, which has a history of approximately 600 years and is sold in the Karahöyük Bazaar established on the Silk Road, is important in this respect. Document analysis, which is one of the qualitative research methods, and the semi-structured observation technique, which is one of the qualitative data collection tools, were applied in this research. The research area was plotted with ArcGIS 10.3. Karahöyük Bread, a traditional type of bread, is well-known in Denizli and its surroundings. Karahöyük Bread, which is a traditional product, has been emphasized through this study to highlight the geographical indication of this bread, to promote the region, and to increase the touristic destination value of the district.

The first record of the family Piophilidae (Insecta: Diptera) from the Caucasus

Abstract Piophilidae Macquart, 1835, is a small family of flies widely distributed in all parts of the world but more represented in the cooler temperate regions of the Northern Hemisphere. At present, there is a lack of information on the distribution of this family in the Caucasus region. In this study, the family Piophilidae, with a record of Prochyliza nigrimana (Meigen, 1826), is reported for the first time from the South Caucasus ecoregion.

A new peltoperlid stonefly from mid-Cretaceous amber of northern Myanmar (Plecoptera: Peltoperlidae)

The eggs of insects are evolving diversely under developmental, morphological, and ecological pressures. Fossil eggs of insects can provide essential biological and evolutionary implications for the related insect groups. Peltoperlidae is a small stonefly family comprising 10 extant genera in two extant subfamilies and only two extinct genera in a fossil subfamily. The phylogenetic relationship between the three subfamilies of Peltoperlidae as well as the generic level phylogeny remain unclear. Herein, a new Cretaceous peltoperlid genus and species, Dewaltoperla edwardi gen. et sp. nov., is reported in Kachin amber from northern Myanmar (98.79 ± 0.62 Ma). The discovery presents the third fossil stonefly of Peltoperlidae, and more importantly, the first fossil eggs for the family. Dewaltoperla is assigned to the extinct subfamily Borisoperlinae and can be distinguished from other fossil peltoperlids by wing venation. The morphological phylogenetic analysis was conducted for all peltoperlid genera for the first time, which identifies Borisoperlinae as a basal group within Peltoperlidae and suggests an evolutionary trend of the egg shape transition from flattened to spherical ones.

Helping a Small Family Business Firm Become Socially Responsible

The purpose of this paper is to address a gap in the literature regarding the adoption of Social Responsibility (SR) in small businesses and its impact on overall performance. This issue comes from that most of the research has been undertaken in big firms and the subsequent results applied to small businesses. This is a major drawback since the dynamics in large companies and sometimes huge multinationals differ from the ones of small businesses which mostly focus on income. Family businesses find themselves at loggerheads with their stakeholders in an attempt to be socially responsible as they perceive the act as additional expenses. We argue small businesses have to rethink and invent new ways of being socially responsible for operating in a threatening environment. This paper relates an intervention research procedure based on the Socio-Economic Approach to Management (Savall, 1976) which applied management tools aiming to internally reduce dysfunctions and externally reach strategic objectives. The effect of the intervention research on socially responsible activities of small business firms and the results towards stakeholders are detailed emphasizing the increase in administrative personnel's efficiency and productivity towards stakeholders.

STS-1 and STS-2, Multi-Enzyme Proteins Equipped to Mediate Protein-Protein Interactions.

STS-1 and STS-2 form a small family of proteins that are involved in the regulation of signal transduction by protein-tyrosine kinases. Both proteins are composed of a UBA domain, an esterase domain, an SH3 domain, and a PGM domain. They use their UBA and SH3 domains to modify or rearrange protein-protein interactions and their PGM domain to catalyze protein-tyrosine dephosphorylation. In this manuscript, we discuss the various proteins that have been found to interact with STS-1 or STS-2 and describe the experiments used to uncover their interactions.

The Mediator Role of Job Satisfaction (JS) Among the Relationship Between Electronic Human Resource Management (E - HRM), Employee Performance (EP), and Organizational Commitment (OC)in Family-Owned Small Middle Enterprises (SMEs)in China

Purpose – This study explores the relationship between IVs [Electronic Human Resource Management (E - HRM) and Employee Performance (EP)], MV: Job Satisfaction (JS) and Organizational Commitment (OC) is the focus in the context among Small and Medium-sized (SEMs)Family Enterprises in China. Design/methodology/approach – 150 samples can be collected from Small and Medium-sized (SEMs) Family Enterprises in China by utilizing the convenience sampling method. And analyzing method in this study, the quantitative method can be selected by adopting IBMSPASS and PLS-SEM. Findings – Both E-HRM (β=0.380, p<0.01) and EP (β=0.545, p<0.01) have a significant positive impact on Job Satisfaction (JS). Job Satisfaction (JS) is an important factor affecting Organizational Commitment (OC). Job Satisfaction (JS) was included in the proposed model as an intermediary variable. Research limitations/implications – the moderating role of JS in the relationship between IVs (E - HRM, EP) and OC was studied using quantitative methods. The research background and research data are limited to small and medium-sized family enterprises and employees in China. Originality/value – By studying the relationship between IVs (E - HRM and EP), MV (JS), and OC, this paper will help to better understand how different E - HRM and EP affect JS, and how JS affects employees For corporate OC's. With the increasing market competition and rising labor costs in China, improving employees' OC for enterprises may be an important means to cope with future competition.

Personal Characteristics and Knowledge of Beneficiary Farmers towards Pradhan Mantri Krishi Sinchai Yojana in Amber Block of Jaipur, India

The main goal of the study was to assess the socio-economic profile and knowledge of the beneficiaries farmers towards the Pradhan Mantri Krishi Sinchai Yojana. It is established that the majority (54.17%) of farmers were from the middle-aged group, and 43.33% of respondents had a small family size, i.e., up to 5-8 members. In selected villages, 90.00% were literate, while 10.00% of the illiterate respondent were doing agriculture only (76.67%), with 34.17% of medium-type farmers having medium land holdings and (76.67%) of the respondent having an annual income of 1 lakh, revealing that (75.83%) had extension contact with private agencies. It reveals that the majority of the respondents, accounting for 43.33 percent of the total sample, had a medium score of information. From the study, it was also established that the respondents (50.00%) had medium-level knowledge, further (32.50%) of them had low-level knowledge, and (17.50%) respondents had a high level of knowledge about PMKSY schemes for the study area.

The Bro1-like domain-containing protein, AtBro1, modulates growth and abiotic stress responses in Arabidopsis.

Abscisic acid (ABA) affects plant physiology by altering gene expression, enabling plants to adapt to a wide range of environments. Plants have evolved protective mechanisms to allow seed germination in harsh conditions. Here, we explore a subset of these mechanisms involving the AtBro1 gene, which encodes one of a small family of poorly characterised Bro1-like domain-containing proteins, in Arabidopsis thaliana plants subjected to multiple abiotic stresses. AtBro1 transcripts were upregulated by salt, ABA and mannitol stress, while AtBro1-overexpression lines demonstrated robust tolerance to drought and salt stress. Furthermore, we found that ABA elicits stress-resistance responses in loss-of-function bro1-1 mutant plants and AtBro1 regulates drought resistance in Arabidopsis. When the AtBro1 promoter was fused to the β-glucuronidase (GUS) gene and introduced into plants, GUS was expressed mainly in rosette leaves and floral clusters, especially in anthers. Using a construct expressing an AtBro1-GFP fusion protein, AtBro1 was found to be localized in the plasma membrane in Arabidopsis protoplasts. A broad RNA-sequencing analysis revealed specific quantitative differences in the early transcriptional responses to ABA treatment between wild-type and loss-of-function bro1-1 mutant plants, suggesting that ABA stimulates stress-resistance responses via AtBro1. Additionally, transcripts levels of MOP9.5, MRD1, HEI10, and MIOX4 were altered in bro1-1 plants exposed to different stress conditions. Collectively, our results show that AtBro1 plays a significant role in the regulation of the plant transcriptional response to ABA and the induction of resistance responses to abiotic stress.

The Genus Heterogynis Rambur, 1866 (Heterogynidae, Lepidoptera): Congruence of Molecular, Morphological and Morphometric Evidence Reveal New Species in Serbia

The Heterogynidae are a small family of moths consisting of a single genus Heterogynis and sixteen described species distributed in the Mediterranean region. A species new to science, Heterogynis serbica sp. nov., is described from the locality of Srebrenac, Mt. Kopaonik, Republic of Serbia, Balkan Peninsula, by applying an integrative taxonomic approach using morpho-anatomical characteristics, wing morphometics and DNA barcoding. Male genitalia, scanning electron micrographs of adult male head anatomy, abdominal tergites/sternites, cocoons and habitats of the closely related species H. serbica sp. nov. and H. zikici are discussed and illustrated. Photographs of adult males and females, cocoons, plants in which the cocoons were found and habitats are shown. Importantly, marked differences in genital structure and other morphological characters were noted. These differences were confirmed with forewing morphometrics and COI-based DNA barcoding results. Additionally, DNA barcodes for H. serbica sp. nov. and H. zikici were compared against previously available data for the genus to evaluate the phylogenetic relationships. We conclude that deep, previously unknown and unexpected intrageneric morphological diversity exists in the genus Heterogynis.

El sueño que no fue: El cultivo del lúpulo en Galicia, 1914-1981

Hops growing gave agricultural and industrial dynamism to certain areas of the northwest of the Iberian Peninsula and, particularly, to the northeast of the province of A Coruña in the central decades of the 20th century. The main aim of this article is to analyse the origins and causes of the development of this sector, as well as its decline in the main hop-growing area in Galicia (Betanzos; A Coruña). The main results show an initial success that could not be sustained in the long term due to the fragility of the production model, which was based on small family farms and abundant labour. Likewise, within the autarkic economic framework, regulated prices were initially favourable, but they were not adapted over time to the increase of production costs, which deteriorated profitability and contributed to the sectoral decline.

Socio-Economic Status of Bamboo Artisans of Karnataka, India

Aim: To study the demographic profile and socio economic status of the bamboo artisans of Northern Karnataka districts.
 Study Design: Exploratory design was used.
 Place and Duration of Study: Study was conducted in Northern Karnataka districts of Dharwad, Belgavi and Uttar Kannada in the year 2019-2020.
 Methodology: Random sampling method was applied to select a sample size of 120 bamboo artisans’ family (Forty respondents from each district). The respondents were interviewed personally to elicit the primary information by using self structured interview schedule and Aggarwal et al. [1] was used to study the socio economic status of the bamboo artisans.
 Results: The study resulted that bamboo artisan’s belonged lower middle socio economic status. Higher per cent of the respondents belonged to middle age group followed by young age group. Women participation was more compare to men counterpart in the bamboo artisans occupation.
 Conclusion: Majority of the respondents belonged to middle age group, and majority of them were female followed by male. More than fifty per cent of the respondents had primary school level of education. Majority of the respondents were married followed by widow. Nearly fifty per cent of the respondents belonged to small family. Higher per cent of the respondents had less than 13 years of experience in the bamboo enterprise products making. More than half of the respondents spent 5-6 hours a day in bamboo enterprise. Majority of the respondents involved daily in bamboo enterprise work. Nearly fifty per cent of the respondents had habit of storing the bamboo raw materials inside the home. Majority of the selected bamboo artisans belonged to the lower middle socio economic status and were having less than 13 years of experience.

Experimental investigation of salinity gradient solar pond with nano-based phase change materials

ABSTRACT Heat energy storage is pivotal in modern times. However, the technology to efficiently stored heat energy is still in the research stage. Heat energy storage is possible through phase change material, exothermic chemical reactions, and solar ponds. The latter uses a natural phenomenon that relies on solar Energy and convective heat transfer. Solar ponds can store more heat energy throughout the day than other processes and meet higher energy demands. The working principle of a typical solar pond can be adopted to develop a compact setup that can store sufficient heat energy to meet the heat energy demand of a small family. Salinity gradient solar ponds are used for heat storage to meet the demand of rural and urban communities in arid and semiarid zones around the globe. Often the solar ponds are constructed on the ground by storing a large volume of salt water. The performance of the solar pond is affected by the intensity of solar radiation. In this study, a compact solar pond is constructed using aluminum plates and a glass cover. Sea water was used to store solar radiation in this experiment. The experiment was carried out in South India during the winter season when the intensity of solar radiation was minimum. The study aims to determine the performance of the solar pond and its thermal properties under low sunshine. Heat storage mediums comprising paraffin wax and additives of nanoparticles of graphene and carbon nanotubes were used to enhance the heat storage capacity of the solar pond. It was found that compared to the simple salinity gradient solar pond, the heat storage medium with carbon nanotube nanoparticles increased the maximum temperature attained by 26.5%. The carbon nano tubes infused phase change material increased the heat transfer, heat transfer coefficient, and the heat stored in the saline water by 244%, 713%, and 83.3%, respectively. It is concluded that the carbon nano tubes and phase change material augmented the performance of the solar pond even while the intensity of solar radiation was low.

Structure of Rhizobium sp. 4-9 histamine dehydrogenase and analysis of the electron transfer pathway to an abiological electron acceptor

Histamine dehydrogenase from the gram-negative bacterium Rhizobium sp. 4-9 (HaDHR) is a member of a small family of dehydrogenases containing a covalently attached FMN, and the only member so far identified to date that does not exhibit substrate inhibition. In this study, we present the 2.1 Å resolution crystal structure of HaDHR. This new structure allowed for the identification of the internal electron transfer pathway to abiological ferrocene-based mediators. Alanine 437 was identified as the exit point of electrons from the Fe4S4 cluster. The enzyme was modified with a Ser436Cys mutation to facilitate covalent attachment of a ferrocene moiety. When modified with Fc-maleimide, this new construct demonstrated direct electron transfer from the enzyme to a gold electrode in a histamine concentration-dependent manner without the need for any additional electron mediators.

A Comparative Assessment of the Urbanization – Fertility Nexus in Most Urbanized Countries of Sub-Saharan Africa

Abstract There is a near-consensus in the literature that urbanization is incompatible with large family size owing to factors such as high cost of urban living, opportunity cost of having children in urban centers and increasing awareness of benefits of small family size. However, a cursory glance at the data on sub-Saharan Africa cast doubt on the incompatibility of urbanization with high fertility rate. Hence, this paper investigates the urbanization-fertility nexus in the two most urbanized countries of SSA – Nigeria and South Africa. Exploiting time series data for both countries within a Fully Modified Ordinary Least Square (FMOLS) framework, the incompatibility hypothesis is refuted in both countries. Specifically, the analysis suggests that in Nigeria and South Africa, increasing degree of urbanization is positively related with fertility rate with the magnitude of the relationship being higher in Nigeria than South Africa. These findings imply that policies aimed at improving urbanization process and reducing fertility rates are crucial in both countries.

Owner-manager emotions and strategic responses of small family businesses to the COVID-19 pandemic

ABSTRACT COVID-19 pandemic, a consensus crisis that has had a profound effect on societies and economies globally, compelled family businesses to respond strategically in order to remain afloat. We examine the role of their owner-managers’ emotions in the strategic response to the COVID-19 pandemic, drawing on 38 in-depth interviews with owner-managers of small family businesses in Cyprus. Our findings reveal that owner-managers have experienced mainly negative emotions during the pandemic, including higher levels of stress, insecurity, fear, and doubt. By reflecting on these emotions, owner-managers can activate affective mechanisms and apply a stewardship logic to respond strategically. We contribute to the family business literature by conceptualizing key processes at the intersection between owner-manager emotions and strategic responses to the COVID-19 pandemic. By focusing on individual (that is, owner-manager) emotional processes and stewardship attitudes, our study provides a microfoundational explanation of strategic responses during external crises and offers both theoretical and practical implications.

Microsecond Motion of the Bacterial Transporter EmrE in Lipid Bilayers.

The bacterial transporter EmrE is a homo-dimeric membrane protein that effluxes cationic polyaromatic substrates against the concentration gradient by coupling to proton transport. As the archetype of the small multidrug resistance family of transporters, EmrE structure and dynamics provide atomic insights into the mechanism of transport by this family of proteins. We recently determined high-resolution structures of EmrE in complex with a cationic substrate, tetra(4-fluorophenyl)phosphonium (F4-TPP+), using solid-state NMR spectroscopy and an S64V-EmrE mutant. The substrate-bound protein exhibits distinct structures at acidic and basic pH, reflecting changes upon binding or release of a proton from residue E14, respectively. To obtain insight into the protein dynamics that mediate substrate transport, here we measure 15N rotating-frame spin-lattice relaxation (R1ρ) rates of F4-TPP+-bound S64V-EmrE in lipid bilayers under magic-angle spinning (MAS). Using perdeuterated and back-exchanged protein and 1H-detected 15N spin-lock experiments under 55 kHz MAS, we measured 15N R1ρ rates site-specifically. Many residues show spin-lock field-dependent 15N R1ρ relaxation rates. This relaxation dispersion indicates the presence of backbone motions at a rate of about 6000 s-1 at 280 K for the protein at both acidic and basic pH. This motional rate is 3 orders of magnitude faster than the alternating access rate but is within the range estimated for substrate binding. We propose that these microsecond motions may allow EmrE to sample different conformations to facilitate substrate binding and release from the transport pore.

The relationship between non-family management in family firms and firm performance: A meta-analysis

The purpose of this meta-analysis is to empirically quantify the relationship between non-family management and family firm performance and to examine the potential influence of moderating factors on this relationship. Integrating findings from 69 studies and 105 total samples, we find a significant, positive, and weak relationship that is contingent on firm variables including firm size, age, and listing on the stock market as well as methodological variables including research design and measures for both non-family management and family firm performance. Our findings show that non-family management has a stronger performance effect in studies with small, young, and private family firms and in those with panel datasets as opposed to cross-sectional ones. The study contributes to the family firm literature and yields important implications for research and practice.

A new short-winged flower beetle with exaggerated head and antennal scape in mid-Cretaceous amber from northern Myanmar (Coleoptera: Kateretidae)

Kateretid beetles are known for loosely three-segmented antennal club, comparatively short elytra exposing abdominal segments, and their anthophylous-spermophagus biology likely originated since the Cretaceous period. Fossil kateretids from the Mesozoic are crucial for understanding the early evolution of morphological disparity and palaeoecology. Here, we establish Protokateretes gen. nov., a new genus of Kateretidae characterized by exaggerated expansion of scape in males. Eoceniretes antiquus Peris and Jelínek is transferred to Protokateretes, and a new kateretid beetle with large head, Protokateretes megacephalus sp. nov., is described and illustrated. Our discovery highlights the high morphological disparity of the currently small family in the Cretaceous.

Immunomodulatory biomaterials on chemokine signaling in wound healing.

Normal wound healing occurs through a careful orchestration of cytokine and chemokine signaling in response to injury. Chemokines are a small family of chemotactic cytokines that are secreted by immune cells in response to injury and are primarily responsible for recruiting appropriate immune cell types to injured tissue at the appropriate time. Dysregulation of chemokine signaling is suspected to contribute to delayed wound healing and chronic wounds in diseased states. Various biomaterials are being used in the development of new therapeutics for wound healing and our understanding of their effects on chemokine signaling is limited. It has been shown that modifications to the physiochemical properties of biomaterials can affect the body's immune reaction. Studying these effects on chemokine expression by various tissues and cell type can help us develop novel biomaterial therapies. In this review, we summarize the current research available on both natural and synthetic biomaterials and their effects on chemokine signaling in wound healing. In our investigation, we conclude that our knowledge of chemokines is still limited and that many in fact share both pro-inflammatory and anti-inflammatory properties. The predominance of either a pro-inflammatory or anti-inflammatory profile is mostly likely dependent on timing after injury and exposure to the biomaterial. More research is needed to better understand the interaction and contribution of biomaterials to chemokine activity in wound healing and their immunomodulatory effects.

Small family, big impact: RNL helper NLRs and their importance in plant innate immunity.

Small family, big impact: RNL helper NLRs and their importance in plant innate immunity.