Cell arrest and cell death in mammalian preimplantation development

The causes, modes, biological role and prospective significance of cell death in preimplantation development in humans and other mammals are still poorly understood. Early bovine embryos represent a very attractive experimental model for the investigation of this fundamental and important issue. To obtain reference data on the temporal and spatial occurrence of cell death in early bovine embryogenesis, three-dimensionally preserved embryos of different ages and stages of development up to hatched blastocysts were examined in toto by confocal laser scanning microscopy. In parallel, transcript abundance profiles for selected apoptosis-related genes were analyzed by real-time reverse transcriptase-polymerase chain reaction. Our study documents that in vitro as well as in vivo, the first four cleavage cycles are prone to a high failure rate including different types of permanent cell cycle arrest and subsequent non-apoptotic blastomere death. In vitro produced and in vivo derived blastocysts showed a significant incidence of cell death in the inner cell mass (ICM), but only in part with morphological features of apoptosis. Importantly, transcripts for CASP3, CASP9, CASP8 and FAS/FASLG were not detectable or found at very low abundances. In vitro and in vivo, errors and failures of the first and the next three cleavage divisions frequently cause immediate embryo death or lead to aberrant subsequent development, and are the main source of developmental heterogeneity. A substantial occurrence of cell death in the ICM even in fast developing blastocysts strongly suggests a regular developmentally controlled elimination of cells, while the nature and mechanisms of ICM cell death are unclear. Morphological findings as well as transcript levels measured for important apoptosis-related genes are in conflict with the view that classical caspase-mediated apoptosis is the major cause of cell death in early bovine development

Going Beyond Research on Goal Setting: A Proposed Role for Organizational Psychological Capital of Family Firms

Kotlar and De Massis found that membership assortment and the number of organizational members, as well as the imminence of succession, influence goal diversity in family firms. They also showed that goal diversity can be managed and family-centered goals can be stabilized through professional and familial social interactions, driving the formation of collective commitment to family- centered goals (CCFG). Using this research as a point of departure, we propose that CCFG may impact family firm economic and noneconomic performance. Furthermore, we introduce to the family firm literature the organizational psychological capital (OPC), consisting of hope, efficacy, resilience, and optimism. We also suggest that OPC may be more prevalent in family firms than in nonfamily firms. Moreover, OPC of family firms may play an important role in the link between CCFG and economic as well as noneconomic performance

Going Beyond Research on Goal Setting: A Proposed Role for Organizational Psychological Capital of Family Firms

Kotlar and De Massis found that membership assortment and the number of organizational members, as well as the imminence of succession, influence goal diversity in family firms. They also showed that goal diversity can be managed and family-centered goals can be stabilized through professional and familial social interactions, driving the formation of collective commitment to family- centered goals (CCFG). Using this research as a point of departure, we propose that CCFG may impact family firm economic and noneconomic performance. Furthermore, we introduce to the family firm literature the organizational psychological capital (OPC), consisting of hope, efficacy, resilience, and optimism. We also suggest that OPC may be more prevalent in family firms than in nonfamily firms. Moreover, OPC of family firms may play an important role in the link between CCFG and economic as well as noneconomic performance

The Impact of Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) on Women's Entrepreneurship

Women entrepreneurs around the world have increasingly contributed to innovation, employment, and wealth creation (Brush & Cooper, 2012; Brush, de Bruin, & Welter, 2009). Studies suggest that foreign direct investment can be an important determinant of entrepreneurship in general. However, the link between foreign ventures and women entrepreneurs remains under-researched. Therefore, we suggest that the presence of foreign ventures affects women's entrepreneurship. We develop and test our model on cross-sectional data encompassing 36 countries in 2006. The results show that foreign direct investment and women's entrepreneurship have an inverted u-shaped relationship. Implications for further research and public policy are discussed

Terör krizinin insan kaynakları yönetimi politakalarına etkileri üzerine bir araştırma

Bu çalışma insan kaynakları yönetim politikalarını inceleyerek, kriz dönemlerinde bu politikaların işletmeye etkisini araştırmak üzere yapılmıştır. Öncelikle insan kaynakları yönetim politikaları incelenmiş, normal dönemler ile kriz dönemlerine yönelik uygulamalar araştırılmıştır. Çalışma, Türkiye’de siyasi olayların yoğun yaşandığı Doğu ve Güneydoğu Anadolu Bölgelerinde bulunan ulusal ve yerel zincir mağazaları baz alarak, bölgesel insan kaynakları politikalarını araştırmak üzere kurgulanmıştır. Ayrıca Ankara ilinde merkezi bulunan ulusal zincir mağazalardan da örneklendirme yapılarak, siyasi olayların daha az yaşandığı bölgelerle daha yoğun yaşandığı bölgeler arasında insan kaynakları yönetimi açısından işleyiş benzerlik ve farklılıkları da araştırılmıştır. Araştırma süresi içinde yarı yapılandırılmış görüşme yöntemi kullanılmıştır. Önceden hazırlanan sorular ile görüşme sırasında elde edilen bilgi ve detaylar analiz edilmiştir. Elde edilen sonuçlar, insan kaynakları biriminin olası krizlere önceden hazırlık yapmasının, kriz dönemi politikalarının önceden belirlenmesinin işletmenin geleceği ve yaşam döngüsünün devamı açısından çok önemli olduğunu ortaya koymuştur. Bu tez çalışmasının yapıldığı dönemde siyasi olayların yoğun olarak yaşandığı bölgede, insan kaynakları politikalarının hangi düzeyde ve nasıl uygulandığı, bölgedeki işletmelerin insan kaynakları açısından sorunları irdelenerek açığa çıkartılmıştır. Genel anlamda, ele alınan bölgede özellikle vasıflı eleman konusunda ciddi sorunların yaşandığı, siyasi krizler yüzünden şubelerin sıklıkla kapanmak zorunda kaldığı, terör olaylarından kaynaklı olarak maddi ve manevi zararların yaşandığı tespit edilmiştir. Siyasi ve ekonomik krizler yaşanmasına rağmen yöneticilerin, yetenek yönetiminde de birebir olarak insan kaynakları birimiyle paralel hareket etmek istediği sonucuna varılmıştır. This work by reviewing the human resources management policies in times of crisis was made to investigate the impact of these policies into operation. First of all, human resources management policies are examined, with normal periods times of crisis for their applications. Work, Turkey has experienced intense political events in the Eastern and Southeastern Anatolia Regions on the basis of the national and local chain stores, regional human resources policies is to investigate. Also located in the province of Ankara, national chain stores and sampling of the political events in the region are experiencing less intense than between regions with human resources management but also the similarities and differences in terms of functioning have been studied. Research within the duration of the semi-structured interview method was used. Previously prepared with questions during the interview and the information obtained was analyzed. The results obtained, the human resources unit to embark on preparation in advance of possible crises, crisis-era policies, determining in advance the future of the business and is crucial to the continuation of the cycle of life. At the time, where political events of this thesis as experiencing intensive regions, human resources policies, at what level and how it is applied, in terms of human resources of enterprises in the region, issues are discussed by. Generally speaking, especially in the region discussed issues that are serious about experiencing skilled elements, political crises had to shut down because of the branches often, terrorism caused by material and moral damages as have been identified that are experiencing. Despite the political and economic crises led to a personally in talent management administrators, human resources concluded that want to move in parallel with the unit

Model-based Real-time Visualization of Realistic Three-Dimensional Heat Maps for Mobile Eye Tracking and Eye Tracking in Virtual Reality

Pfeiffer T, Memili C. Model-based Real-time Visualization of Realistic Three-Dimensional Heat Maps for Mobile Eye Tracking and Eye Tracking in Virtual Reality. In: Proceedings of the Ninth Biennial ACM Symposium on Eye Tracking Research & Applications. New York, NY, USA: ACM Press; 2016: 95-102.Heat maps, or more generally, attention maps or saliency maps are an often used technique to visualize eye-tracking data. With heat maps qualitative information about visual processing can be easily visualized and communicated between experts and laymen. They are thus a versatile tool for many disciplines, in particular for usability engineering, and are often used to get a first overview about recorded eye-tracking data. Today, heat maps are typically generated for 2D stimuli that have been presented on a computer display. In such cases the mapping of overt visual attention on the stimulus is rather straight forward and the process is well understood. However, when turning towards mobile eye tracking and eye tracking in 3D virtual environments, the case is much more complicated. In the first part of the paper, we discuss several challenges that have to be considered in 3D environments, such as changing perspectives, multiple viewers, object occlusions, depth of fixations, or dynamically moving objects. In the second part, we present an approach for the generation of 3D heat maps addressing the above mentioned issues while working in real-time. Our visualizations provide high-quality output for multi-perspective eye-tracking recordings of visual attention in 3D environments

Putative imprinted gene expression in uniparental bovine embryo models

Altered patterns of gene expression and the imprinted status of genes have a profound effect on cell physiology and can markedly alter embryonic and fetal development. Failure to maintain correct imprinting patterns can lead to abnormal growth and behavioural problems, or to early pregnancy loss. Recently, it has been reported that the Igf2R and Grb10 genes are biallelically expressed in sheep blastocysts, but monoallelically expressed at Day 21 of development. The present study investigated the imprinting status of 17 genes in in vivo, parthenogenetic and androgenetic bovine blastocysts in order to determine the prevalence of this unique phenomenon. Specifically, the putatively imprinted genes Ata3, Impact, L3Mbtl, Magel2, Mkrn3, Peg3, Snrpn, Ube3a and Zac1 were investigated for the first time in bovine in vitro fertilised embryos. Ata3 was the only gene not detected. The results of the present study revealed that all genes, except Xist, failed to display monoallelic expression patterns in bovine embryos and support recent results reported for ovine embryos. Collectively, the data suggest that monoallelic expression may not be required for most imprinted genes during preimplantation development, especially in ruminants. The research also suggests that monoallelic expression of genes may develop in a gene- and time-dependent manner

The critical path to family firm success through entrepreneurial risk taking and image

Drawing from organizational identity theory, we explore how family ownership and family expectations influence family firm image and entrepreneurial risk taking, and ultimately firm performance. We find support for a fully mediated model, utilizing a sample of 163 Swiss family firms. Family ownership was shown to positively influence the development of a family firm image. High family expectations of the firm leader was shown to promote a family firm image and risk taking. In turn, risk taking and family firm image contributed to firm performance. Accordingly, our study identifies why family ownership and family expectations can benefit family firm performance—through their influence on family firm image and entrepreneurial risk taking