Strong Coincidence Research Articles

Yogācāra Buddhism and the illusion of phenomenal consciousness

ABSTRACT The paper looks for the similarities between illusionism—a contemporary theory of phenomenal consciousness—and the Yogācāra´s philosophy of consciousness presented in Vasubandhu´s Treatise on the Three Natures. Despite substantial divergences in writing style, the commonalities between East and West regarding phenomenal consciousness are considerable. I claim that a particular reading of Vasubandhu´s Treatise on the Three Natures reflects, in many respects, the contemporary illusionist program. Furthermore, I argue that there is not only a meeting point between their postulates about the illusory nature of phenomenal consciousness but also a strong coincidence in the proposed solutions to the most pressing problems that threaten the illusionist paradigm.

Development of a dual immunochromatographic test strip to detect E2 and Erns antibodies against classical swine fever.

It is essential to consider a practical antibody test to successfully implement marker vaccines and validate vaccination efficacy against classical swine fever virus (CSFV). The test should include a serological antibody assay, combined with a tool for differentiating infected from vaccinated animals (DIVA). The immunochromatographic test strip (ICS) has been exclusively designed for detecting CSFV E2 antibodies while lacking in detecting Erns antibodies, which can be employed and satisfy DIVA strategy. This study developed a novel ICS for detecting CSFV E2/Erns dual-antibody. The effectiveness of ICS in evaluating the DIVA capability of two novel chimeric pestivirus vaccine candidates was assessed. Recombinant E2 or Erns protein was transiently expressed in the plant benthamiana using Agrobacterium tumefaciens. ICS was subsequently assembled, and goat anti-rabbit IgG and recombinant CSFV E2 or Erns protein were plated onto the nitrocellulose membrane as control and test lines, respectively. The sensitivity and specificity of ICS were evaluated using sera with different neutralizing antibody titers or positive for antibodies against CSFV and other pestiviruses. The coincidence rates for detecting E2 and Erns antibodies between ICS and commercial enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) kits were also computed. ICS performance for DIVA capability was evaluated using sera from pigs vaccinated with conventional vaccine or chimeric vaccine candidates. E2 and Erns proteins were successfully expressed in N. benthamiana-produced recombinant proteins. ICS demonstrated high sensitivity in identifying CSFV E2 and Erns antibodies, even at the low neutralizing antibody titers. No cross-reactivity with antibodies from other pestiviruses was confirmed using ICS. There were high agreement rates of 93.0 and 96.5% between ICS and two commercial ELISA kits for E2 antibody testing. ICS also achieved strong coincidence rates of 92.9 and 89.3% with two ELISA kits for Erns antibody detection. ICS confirmed the absence of CSFV Erns-specific antibodies in sera from pigs vaccinated with chimeric vaccine candidates. E2 and Erns proteins derived from the plant showed great potential and can be used to engineer a CSFV E2/Erns dual-antibody ICS. The ICS was also highly sensitive and specific for detecting CSFV E2 and Erns antibodies. Significantly, ICS can fulfill the DIVA concept by incorporating chimeric vaccine candidates.

Bacterial growth and environmental adaptation via thiamine biosynthesis and thiamine-mediated metabolic interactions.

Understanding the ancestral transition from anaerobic to aerobic lifestyles is essential for comprehending life's early evolution. However, the biological adaptations occurring during this crucial transition remain largely unexplored. Thiamine is an important cofactor involved in central carbon metabolism and aerobic respiration. Here, we explored the phylogenetic and global distribution of thiamine-auxotrophic and thiamine-prototrophic bacteria based on the thiamine biosynthetic pathway in 154 838 bacterial genomes. We observed strong coincidences of the origin of thiamine-synthetic bacteria with the "Great Oxygenation Event," indicating that thiamine biosynthesis in bacteria emerged as an adaptation to aerobic respiration. Furthermore, we demonstrated that thiamine-mediated metabolic interactions are fundamental factors influencing the assembly and diversity of bacterial communities by a global survey across 4245 soil samples. Through our newly established stable isotope probing-metabolic modeling method, we uncovered the active utilization of thiamine-mediated metabolic interactions by bacterial communities in response to changing environments, thus revealing an environmental adaptation strategy employed by bacteria at the community level. Our study demonstrates the widespread thiamine-mediated metabolic interactions in bacterial communities and their crucial roles in setting the stage for an evolutionary transition from anaerobic to aerobic lifestyles and subsequent environmental adaptation. These findings provide new insights into early bacterial evolution and their subsequent growth and adaptations to environments.

Metabolic dysfunction-associated steatotic liver disease and the heart.

The prevalence and severity of metabolic dysfunction-associated steatotic liver disease (MASLD) are increasing. Physicians who treat patients with MASLD may acknowledge the strong coincidence with cardiometabolic disease, including atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease (asCVD). This raises questions on co-occurrence, causality, and the need for screening and multidisciplinary care for MASLD in patients with asCVD, and vice versa. Here, we review the interrelations of MASLD and heart disease and formulate answers to these matters. Epidemiological studies scoring proxies for atherosclerosis and actual cardiovascular events indicate increased atherosclerosis in patients with MASLD, yet no increased risk of asCVD mortality. MASLD and asCVD share common drivers: obesity, insulin resistance and type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM), smoking, hypertension, and sleep apnea syndrome. In addition, Mendelian randomization studies support that MASLD may cause atherosclerosis through mixed hyperlipidemia, while such evidence is lacking for liver-derived procoagulant factors. In the more advanced fibrotic stages, MASLD may contribute to heart failure with preserved ejection fraction by reduced filling of the right ventricle, which may induce fatigue upon exertion, often mentioned by patients with MASLD. Some evidence points to an association between MASLD and cardiac arrhythmias. Regarding treatment and given the strong co-occurrence of MASLD and asCVD, pharmacotherapy in development for advanced stages of MASLD would ideally also reduce cardiovascular events, as has been demonstrated for T2DM treatments. Given the common drivers, potential causal factors and especially given the increased rate of cardiovascular events, comprehensive cardiometabolic risk management is warranted in patients with MASLD, preferably in a multidisciplinary approach.

Height coincidences in products of the projective line

We consider hypersurfaces in $${\mathbb {P}}_1^n$$ that contain a generic sequence of small dynamical height with respect to a split map and project onto $$n-1$$ coordinates. We show that these hypersurfaces satisfy strong coincidence relations between their points with zero height coordinates. More precisely, it holds that in a Zariski-open dense subset of such a hypersurface $$n-1$$ coordinates have height zero if and only if all coordinates have height zero. This is a key step in the resolution of the dynamical Bogomolov conjecture for split maps.

Importance of drilling-related processes on the origin of borehole breakouts — Insights from LWD observations

Logging while drilling (LWD) images are widely used for the analysis of borehole stability. In this context, borehole breakouts are a crucial indication of rock failure developing when the circumferential stress around the borehole exceeds the yield value of the rock. This study investigates the impact of drilling-related processes (DRPs) on the origin of borehole breakouts. DRPs, for instance, include connections or tripping operations. For this purpose, we analyze data from 12 boreholes in different geological settings throughout the Norwegian and Danish North Sea, containing a total of 208 borehole breakouts. The extensive data acquisition of LWD offers the unique possibility to link the imaging to real-time drilling operations and to monitor anomalies of e.g., bottom hole pressure. These records allow us to connect any thermal, hydraulic, or mechanical interaction next to the borehole wall to perturbations of the stress field. This analysis resulted in an apparent strong coincidence of borehole breakouts, representing major stress perturbations, with DRPs. The causal relationship is highlighted by one order of magnitude higher occurrence of DRPs in depth sections containing breakouts. Major pressure reductions in the annulus of the borehole seem to be the most significant cause of drilling-related wellbore failures. This applies in particular to shutting off the pumps during connections, where pressure reductions of up to 16 % of the annulus pressure led to higher circumferential stresses. This process will increase the likelihood of compressive and shear failure, therefore causing borehole breakouts. These observations further open the perspective of counteracting wellbore instabilities by pressure modification. In addition to the initiation of breakouts, their temporal evolution – as seen in relogs – can also be ascribed to DRPs. This study indicates that not only plasticity but also mechanical interaction from DRPs is a key driver of the temporal growth of borehole breakouts.

Chicken liver is a potential reservoir of bacteriophages and phage-derived particles containing antibiotic resistance genes.

SummaryPoultry meat production is one of the most important agri‐food industries in the world. The selective pressure exerted by widespread prophylactic or therapeutic use of antibiotics in intensive chicken farming favours the development of drug resistance in bacterial populations. Chicken liver, closely connected with the intestinal tract, has been directly involved in food‐borne infections and found to be contaminated with pathogenic bacteria, including Campylobacter and Salmonella. In this study, 74 chicken livers, divided into sterile and non‐sterile groups, were analysed, not only for microbial indicators but also for the presence of phages and phage particles containing antibiotic resistance genes (ARGs). Both bacteria and phages were detected in liver tissues, including those dissected under sterile conditions. The phages were able to infect Escherichia coli and showed a Siphovirus morphology. The chicken livers contained from 103 to 106 phage particles per g, which carried a range of ARGs (bla TEM, bla CTx‐M‐1, sul1, qnrA, armA and tetW) detected by qPCR. The presence of phages in chicken liver, mostly infecting E. coli, was confirmed by metagenomic analysis, although this technique was not sufficiently sensitive to identify ARGs. In addition, ARG‐carrying phages were detected in chicken faeces by qPCR in a previous study of the group. Comparison of the viromes of faeces and liver showed a strong coincidence of species, which suggests that the phages found in the liver originate in faeces. These findings suggests that phages, like bacteria, can translocate from the gut to the liver, which may therefore constitute a potential reservoir of antibiotic resistance genes.

Analytical and Numerical Reliability Analysis of Certain Pratt Steel Truss

The main aim of this paper was to propose a new reliability index for steel structure assessment and to check it using the example of a popular Pratt truss girder. Structural analysis was completed in the finite element method system Autodesk ROBOT, and probabilistic analysis was implemented in the computer algebra software MAPLE. The stochastic finite element method (SFEM) was contrasted here with the Monte Carlo simulation and the girder span was selected as the input structural uncertainty source. Both methods were based on the same structural polynomial response functions determined for extreme deformation, for extreme stresses and also for the structural joint exhibiting the largest effort. These polynomials were statistically optimized during the additional least squares method experiments. The first four basic probabilistic characteristics of the structural responses, the first-order reliability method (FORM) index, and as the new proposition for this index were computed and presented. This new index formula follows the relative probabilistic entropy model proposed by Bhattacharyya. The computer analysis results presented here show a very strong coincidence of both probabilistic numerical techniques and confirms the applicability of the new reliability index for the input coefficient of variation not larger than 0.15. These studies should be continued for other engineering systems’ reliability and, particularly, for large-scale and multiscale computer simulations. The results presented in this paper may serve in different applied sciences, from biology through to econometrics, experimental physics and, of course, various branches of engineering.

Preoperative Ozaki technique measures on tridimensional engineered root

BackgroundThe aortic valve neocuspidalization (AVNeo) is an innovative surgical technique aiming at the reconstruction of the aortic valve using autologous pericardium. One of the main criticisms to AVNeo is the longer duration of the aortic clamping time (ACT) as compared to standard aortic valve replacement due to the sizing of the valve neocusps. MethodsWe retrospectively enrolled 30 consecutives patients underwent AVNeo. For each patient we developed a 3D aortic root model (ARM) based on CT-scan datasets. We retrospectively compared the leaflets measurements performed during surgery with those obtained on the corresponding ARMs. ResultsIn 100% of cases no difference between the in vitro and in vivo measurements exceeded the acceptable error limit of 2 ​mm. The correlation of each single in vitro versus in vivo measurements demonstrates a strong coincidence between the two different methods of sizing (r ​> ​0,9, p ​< ​.0001). By analyzing the data considering the annulus perimeter and not the single cusp size, the perfect coincidence was to be found in 89.9% with a slight acceptable discrepancy (2 ​mm on total) in the remaining 10.1%. Conclusions3D-ARMs, printed from CT-scan, represent a reproducible process to obtain overlapping cusp sizes compared to those measured in-vivo, possibly reducing the ACT.

"Red-Green" or "Brown-Green" Dichromats? The Accuracy of Dichromat Basic Color Terms Metacognition Supports Denomination Change.

Two experiments compared “Red-Green” (R-G) dichromats’ empirical and metacognized capacities to discriminate basic color categories (BCCs) and to use the corresponding basic color terms (BCTs). A first experiment used a 102-related-colors set for a pointing task to identify all the stimuli that could be named with each BCT by each R-G dichromat type (8 protanopes and 9 deuteranopes). In a second experiment, a group of R-G dichromats (15 protanopes and 16 deuteranopes) estimated their difficulty discriminating BCCs-BCTs in a verbal task. The strong coincidences between the results derived from the pointing and the verbal tasks indicated that R-G dichromats have very accurate metacognition about their capacities (they only had considerable difficulty discriminating 13 out of the total of 55 possible BCT pairs) and limitations (Brown-Green and Blue-Purple pairs were rated especially difficult to differentiate) in the use of BCTs. Multidimensional scaling (MDS) solutions derived from both tasks were very similar: BCTs in R-G dichromats were properly represented in 2D MDS solutions that clearly show one chromatic dimension and one achromatic dimension. Important concordances were found between protanopes and deuteranopes. None of these dichromats showed substantial difficulty discriminating the Red-Green pair. So, to name them “R-G” dichromats is misleading considering their empirical capacities and their metacognition. Further reasons to propose the use of the alternative denomination “Brown-Green” dichromats are also discussed. We found some relevant differences between the “Brown-Green” dichromats’ empirical and self-reported difficulties using BCTs. Their metacognition can be considered a “caricature” of their practical difficulties. This caricature omits some difficulties including their problems differentiating “white” and “black” from other BCTs, while they overestimate their limitations in differentiating the most difficult pairs (Brown-Green and Blue-Purple). Individual differences scaling (INDSCAL) analyses indicated that the metacognition regarding the use of BCTs in “Brown-Green” dichromats, especially deuteranopes, is driven slightly more by the chromatic dimension and driven slightly less by the achromatic dimension, than their practical use of BCTs. We discuss the relevance of our results in the framework of the debate between the linguistic relativity hypothesis (LRH) and the universal evolution (UE) theories.

Maturity Assessment of the Lower Cambrian and Sinian Shales Using Multiple Technical Approaches

The Lower Cambrian Niutitang and Sinian Doushantuo shales are the most important and widespread source rocks and target layers in South China. Reliable data of the thermal maturity of organic matter (OM) is widely used to assess hydrocarbon generation and is a key property used in determining the viability and hydrocarbon potential of these new shales. Nevertheless, traditional thermal maturity indicators are no longer suited to the vitrinite-lack marine shales. This study aims to combine high throughput Raman and infrared spectroscopy analysis to confirm and validate the thermal maturity in comparison with the bitumen reflectance (Rb). Raman parameters such as the differences between the positions of the two bands (VG-VD) are strong parameters for calculating the thermal maturity in a large vitrinite reflectance (Ro) ranging from 1.60% to 3.80%. The infrared spectroscopy analysis indicates that the aromatic C=C bands and CH2/CH3 aliphatic groups both are closely correlated with thermal maturity. The calculated Ro results from Raman and infrared spectroscopy are in strong coincidence with the Rb. The relationships between Rb and pore volumes/surface areas (calculated from N2 adsorption) indicate that the sample with Rb of 3.40% has the lowest pore volumes and surface areas. Focused ion beam scanning electron microscopy (FIB-SEM) observations of OM pores indicate that Ro of approximately 3.60% may be an upper limit for OM porosity development. Obviously, kerogen Raman and infrared spectroscopy can indicate methods for reducing the risk in assessing maturity with practical, low-cost accurate results. Exploration of shale gas in the high maturity (>3.40%–3.60%) region carries huge risks.

Penguins and Seals Transport Limiting Nutrients Between Offshore Pelagic and Coastal Regions of Antarctica Under Changing Sea Ice

Large animals such as sea birds and marine mammals can transport limiting nutrients between different regions of the ocean, thereby stimulating and enhancing productivity. In Antarctica this process is influenced by formation and breakup of sea ice and its influence on the feeding behaviour of predators and their prey. We used analyses of bioactive metals (for example, Fe, Co, Mn), macronutrients (for example, N) and stable isotopes (δ13C and δ15N) in the excreta of Adelie (Pygoscelis adeliae) and emperor penguins (Aptenodytes forsteri) as well as Weddell seals (Leptonychotes weddellii) from multiple sites, among multiple years (2012–2014) to resolve how changes in sea ice dynamics, as indicated by MODIS satellite images, were coincident with prey switching and likely changes in nutrient fluxes between the offshore pelagic and coastal zones. We also sampled excreta of the south polar skua (Stercorarius maccormicki), which preys on penguins and scavenges the remains of both penguins and seals. We found strong coincidence of isotopic evidence for prey switching, between euphausiids (Euphausia superba and E. crystallorophias) and pelagic/cryopelagic fishes (for example, Pleuragramma antarcticum) in penguins, and between pelagic/cryopelagic fishes and Antarctic toothfish (Dissostichus mawsoni) in Weddell seals, with changes in sea ice cover among years. Further, prey switching was strongly linked to changes in the concentrations of nutrients (Fe and N) deposited in coastal environments by both penguins and seals. Our findings have important implications for understanding how the roles of large animals in supporting coastal productivity may shift with environmental conditions in polar ecosystems.

Microfiltration results in the loss of analytes and affects the in vitro genotoxicity of a complex mixture of Alternaria toxins

Alternaria molds produce a variety of chemically diverse secondary metabolites with potentially adverse effects on human health. However, data on occurrence in food and human exposure is inconsistent for some of these mycotoxins. Membrane filtration is a frequent step in many sample preparation procedures for LC-MS-based methods analyzing food contaminants. Yet, little is known about the possibility of adsorptive phenomena that might result in analyte losses. Thus, we treated a complex extract of Alternaria toxins with several types of syringe filters and unraveled the impact on its chemical composition by LC-MS/MS. We observed significant, and in some cases complete, losses of compounds due to filtration. Particularly, two key Alternaria toxins, alternariol (AOH) and its monomethyl ether (AME), were heavily affected. As a comparison with published food surveys indicating a correlation of the type of filtration used with lower incidence reports in food, our results point at a possible underestimation of AME in past exposure assessment. Also, perylene quinones were greatly affected by filtration, underlining the importance to take this into consideration during analytical method development. Furthermore, we applied the comet assay in HT-29 cells to elucidate the impact of filtration on the genotoxicity of the extract. We observed strong coincidences with the loss of epoxide-carrying metabolites and also an intriguing induction of oxidative DNA damage by yet toxicologically uncharacterized Alternaria toxins. In conclusion, we highlight potential issues with sample filtration and call for a critical re-evaluation of previous food occurrence data in the light of the results at hand.

Studies on healthy and neoplastic tissues using positron annihilation lifetime spectroscopy and focused histopathological imaging

Samples of healthy and neoplastic myometrial tissues were investigated using Positron Annihilation Lifetime Spectroscopy (PALS). Meaningful differences between normal and diseased tissues were observed for each patient. The differences were also clearly visible for various kinds of lesions in each patient. The set of lifetimes and intensities obtained from PALS was correlated with the histopathological examinations of the same fragments of tissues. Strong coincidence between PALS parameters and histopathological findings was observed only in the case of a very precise correlation of the investigated area in both techniques. Measurements and discussion presented here were carried out to develop a method for measuring the sub-nanometric structure of human tissues. This kind of investigation, using positron probe, creates an opportunity of a new application in Positron Emission Tomography (PET).

Energy-Momentum Distribution for Magnetically Charged Black Hole Metric

This work investigates the well known localization problem of energy and momentum. The purpose of this paper is two fold. First, we compute Einstein, Landau-Lifshitz and Bergmann's energy-momentum complexes for static spherically symmetric magnetically charged regular black hole spacetime in general relativity. We observe strong coincidences among the results obtained form the three descriptions. These resembling results from different energy-momentum prescriptions may offer some basis to explain a exclusive quantity which supports Virabhadra's viewpoint. Secondly, the problem is discussed in modified gravity. In particular, we use generalized Landau-Lifshitz prescription for the determination of energy-momentum with reference to $f(R)$ theory of gravity. We explicitly compute the energy-momentum complex for the static spherically symmetric magnetically consistent regular black hole metric for a well-known choice of the $f(R)$ gravity models.

Assessment of the Response of a Scots Pine Tree to Effective Wind Loading

The parameterization of hybrid-mechanistic storm damage models is largely based on the results of tree pulling tests. The tree pulling tests are used for imitating the quasi-static wind load associated with the mean wind speed. The combined effect of dynamic and quasi-static wind loads associated with wind load maxima is considered by either linearly increasing the quasi-static wind load by a gust factor or by using a turning moment coefficient determined from the relationship between maxima of wind-induced tree response and wind speed. To improve the joint use of information on dynamic and quasi-static wind loading, we present a new method that uses the coupled components of momentum flux time series and time series of stem orientation of a plantation-grown Scots pine tree. First, non-oscillatory tree motion components, which respond to wind excitation, are isolated from oscillatory components that are not coupled to the wind. The non-oscillatory components are detected by applying a sequence of time series decomposition methods including bi-orthogonal decomposition and singular spectrum analysis. Then, the wind-excited tree response components are subjected to dynamic time warping, which maximizes the coincidence between the processed data. The strong coincidence of the time-warped data allows for the estimation of the wind-induced tree response as a function of the effective wind load using simple linear regression. The slope of the regression line represents the rate of change in the tree response as the effective wind load changes. Because of the strength of the relationship, we argue that the method described is an improvement for the analysis of storm damage in forests and to individual trees.

Principles of Automated Data Processing of Mandelstam – Brillouin Backscatter Characteristics for Evaluating the State of Optical Fibers

For early diagnostics of the state of optical fibers (OFs) located in the laid optical cables (OCs), it is necessary to identify potentially unreliable sections of the S in advance, which over time can lead to the destruction of fibers and disrupt the normal operation of fiber-optic communication lines (FOCLs). For diagnosis and forecasting of the state of the OFs that are in the laid OCs, Brillouin optical pulse reflectometers (BOTDR) are used, in which the back-reflected signal of the spontaneous Mandelstam – Brillouin scattering (MBS) is analyzed. In the process of obtaining a trace of the distribution of the Mandelshtam – Brillouin backscatter spectrum (MBBS) along the OF, the Brillouin frequency shift (BFS) is determined. After this, a graphs of the distribution of strain along the light-guide is constructed. A classification of varieties of single-mode optical fibers based on analysis of the MBS characteristics is discussed in this paper. It is shown how by the characteristics of the frequency profiles of the MBBS, one can determine the type of fiber and also evaluate the change in the strain and BFS. The MBBS profile come under influence by the functional dependence of the distribution of acoustic modes in the OF, their longitudinal direction. Both of them depend on the structure of the OF layers, as well as on the types and concentration of various alloying additives of the core OF. For single-mode OFs, when describing the MBS process, it is necessary to take into account the spatial distribution and interaction of the main optical and several acoustic modes. After uploading the data file from the BOTDR, it is necessary to process the information in order to determine the BFS and the strain along the light-guide. This process can be automatized, if a database has been formed. When a new Brillouin reflectogram appears, the MBBS profile from it must be compared with templates from the generated database. To classify the fiber types, it is necessary to evaluate the degree of matching of the explored MBBS profile with all the database templates. To assess the degree of coincidence of the considered MBBS profiles, needs to be defined the overall part of the frequency band for analysis. The programs for the automated processing of the Brillouin reflectograms data are presented. Based on the analysis of Brillouin reflectograms, it is possible to identify a factor that had a predominant influence on the characteristics of the MBS signal in the explored sections of single-mode optical fibers. As a result of the program's work, a template is output that, according to the program's estimates according to the algorithm described above, has the best match with the downloaded image. To increase the accuracy of assessing the similarity of the explored profiles, it is also recommended to carry out calculations according to the above-described algorithm when aligning not only the maximum levels, but also combine the graphs along the frequency axis. It is clear that during the overlay the frequencies of the "peaks" (BFS), there will be a very strong coincidence of the patterns, and the type of the OFs will be determined correctly, while at some temperatures a good degree of similarity with another pattern could be obtained. The obtained estimate of the BFS allows one to determine the degree of the OF strain. The identification of the MBBS profile and other characteristics of the MBS allows you to create a database various types of the OFs and different manufacturers, which can be used to classify the type of the OFs. The results presented in this exploratory development show how based on the analysis of BOTDR reflectograms, it is possible to automatically determine the type of the OF in OC, to identify a factor that has a predominant effect on the frequency response and strain in the explored sections of the OFs in FOCL, which can improve the efficiency of predicting the operational parameters of the physical channels of optical telecommunication systems.

Mapping leading universities in strategy research: Three decades of collaborative networks

This paper presents a longitudinal classification of the impact that universities have on strategy research from three decades of publications, between 1987 and 2016, by using bibliometric techniques and distance-based analysis of networks applied at the level of universities. Using the WoS database, this study proposes a general overview of three decades of strategic management research. Using these techniques we (i) categorize the last 30 years of academic production of research institutions in terms of strategy, evaluating their impact; (ii) analyze which universities are publishing the most in journals whose scope of publication covers strategic management; and (iii) map the network of collaboration structures among research organizations, determining its relationship and analyzing its evolution in those three decades. We found that the University of Pennsylvania was the most prominent institution throughout the years, showing the broadest network of citations according to our network analysis. There was also a remarkable presence of international universities from the UK, Canada, France and the Netherlands, however, the citation pattern among them is still low. We also observed evidence of inner knowledge flowing among different fields based on the deliberate multidisciplinary nature of research in strategy, as the strong coincidence with the ranking of the main journals in the marketing field when comparing the bibliometric studies of both fields. This analysis contributes to strategy research, first by delivering insights based on the impact of academic production and secondly through the evolution of collaborative network linkages in terms of strategy investigations undertaken to build collective knowledge.

Volatility jumps and macroeconomic news announcements

While prior literature documents a link between macroeconomic news and price jumps, this paper demonstrates two channels through which economic announcements also manifest in volatility jumps. First, there is a strong coincidence of volatility jumps with scheduled announcements. Second, the mean jump size is an asymmetric function of the news surprise, with bad news resulting in larger jumps than good news. Furthermore, realized volatility (RV) and option‐implied volatility (IV) behave very differently over the days surrounding announcements. RV increases sharply on announcement days, while IV tends to decline consistent with the resolution of heightened uncertainty embedded in option prices.

Effect of diet on phosphine toxicity, rate of development and reproduction of the rice weevil Sitophilus oryzae (Linnaeus)

One of the loci responsible for strong phosphine resistance encodes dihydrolipoamide dehydrogenase (DLD). The strong co-incidence of enzyme complexes that contain DLD, and enzymes that require thiamine as a cofactor, motivated us to test whether the thiamine deficiency of polished white rice could influence the efficacy of phosphine fumigation against insect pests of stored grain. Three strains of Sitophilus oryzae (susceptible, weak and strong resistance) were cultured on white rice (thiamine deficient), brown rice or whole wheat. As thiamine is an essential nutrient, we firstly evaluated the effect of white rice on developmental rate and fecundity and found that both were detrimentally affected by this diet. The mean time to reach adult stage for the three strains ranged from 40 to 43 days on brown rice and 50–52 days on white rice. The mean number of offspring for the three strains ranged from 7.7 to 10.3 per female over a three day period on brown rice and 2.1 to 2.6 on white rice. Growth and reproduction on wheat was similar to that on brown rice except that the strongly resistant strain showed a tendency toward reduced fecundity on wheat. The susceptible strain exhibited a modest increase in tolerance to phosphine on white rice as expected if thiamine deficiency could mimic the effect of the dld resistance mutation at the rph2 locus. The strongly resistant strain did not respond to thiamine deficiency, but this was expected as these insects are already strongly resistant. We failed, however, to observe the expected synergistic increase in resistance due to combining thiamine deficiency with the weakly resistant strain. The lack of interaction between thiamine content of the diet and the resistance genotype in determining the phosphine resistance phenotype suggests that the mode of inhibition of the complexes is a critical determinant of resistance.