"Predictors of Trust in Buyer-Supplier Relations: A Contextual and Cultural Comparison of Japan and Turkey"

Trust is a dimension of buyer-supplier relations being researched widely, but studies have generally focused on developed economies. Developing countries, however, have contextual and cultural factors that may differentiate them from developed countries. This study attempts to apply a theoretical model developed for the US, Japan, and Korea to a developing country context, namely Turkey. While Turkey has cultural similarities to Japan in terms of collectivism and risk aversion, the results of the theoretical model show that is does not fit the Turkish case. Suggestions are made to extend the model theoretically and measurement-wise to help explain trust building factors in developing countries.

Influence of trace metal release from volcanic ash on growth of Thalassiosira pseudonana and Emiliania huxleyi

Recent studies demonstrate that volcanic ash has the potential to increase phytoplankton biomass in the open ocean. However, besides fertilizing trace metals such as Fe, volcanic ash contains a variety of potentially toxic metals such as Cd, Cu, Pb, and Zn. Especially in coastal regions closer to the volcanic eruption, where ash depositions can be very high, toxic effects are possible. Here we present the first results of laboratory experiments, showing that trace metal release from different volcanic materials can have both fertilizing and toxic effects on marine phytoplankton in natural coastal seawater. The diatom Thalassiosira pseudonana generally showed higher growth rates in seawater that was in short contact with volcanic ash compared to the controls without ash addition. In contrast to that, the addition of volcanic ash had either no effect or significantly decreased the growth rate of the coccolithophoride Emiliania huxleyi. It was not possible to attribute the effects to single trace metals, however, our results suggest that Mn plays an important role in regulating the antagonistic and synergistic effects of the different trace metals. This study shows that volcanic ash can lead to changes in the phytoplankton species composition in the high fall-out area of the surface ocean. Highlights: ► We tested the effect of volcanic ash on growth of T. pseudonana and E. huxleyi ► Volcanic ash increased growth of T. pseudonana but not of E. huxleyi ► Mn seems important to regulate the effects of different trace metals from the ash ► Volcanic eruptions have the potential to change phytoplankton community structure

A Conditional Yeast E1 Mutant Blocks the Ubiquitin–Proteasome Pathway and Reveals a Role for Ubiquitin Conjugates in Targeting Rad23 to the Proteasome

E1 ubiquitin activating enzyme catalyzes the initial step in all ubiquitin-dependent processes. We report the isolation of uba1-204, a temperature-sensitive allele of the essential Saccharomyces cerevisiae E1 gene, UBA1. Uba1-204 cells exhibit dramatic inhibition of the ubiquitin–proteasome system, resulting in rapid depletion of cellular ubiquitin conjugates and stabilization of multiple substrates. We have employed the tight phenotype of this mutant to investigate the role ubiquitin conjugates play in the dynamic interaction of the UbL/UBA adaptor proteins Rad23 and Dsk2 with the proteasome. Although proteasomes purified from mutant cells are intact and proteolytically active, they are depleted of ubiquitin conjugates, Rad23, and Dsk2. Binding of Rad23 to these proteasomes in vitro is enhanced by addition of either free or substrate-linked ubiquitin chains. Moreover, association of Rad23 with proteasomes in mutant and wild-type cells is improved upon stabilizing ubiquitin conjugates with proteasome inhibitor. We propose that recognition of polyubiquitin chains by Rad23 promotes its shuttling to the proteasome in vivo

Preparation of PANI modified TiO2 and characterization under pre- and post- photocatalytic conditions

Polyaniline (PANI) is a promising conducting polymer for surface modification of TiO2 to overcome limitations of the use of visible light and attain increased photocatalytic efficiency for the removal of organic contaminants. In this study, a series of polyaniline modified TiO2 (PANI-TiO2) composites were prepared by using "in-situ" chemical oxidation polymerization method. The composites were systematically characterized by Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (equipped with an attenuated total reflection accessory, FTIR-ATR), Raman spectroscopy, X-ray diffractometry (XRD), scanning electron microscopy coupled with energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (SEM-EDAX), X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS), ultraviolet–visible diffuse reflectance spectroscopy (UV-DRS), photoluminescence spectroscopy (PL), nitrogen (N2) physisorption (Brunauer − Emmett − Teller surface area (SBET) and Barrett-Joyner-Halenda (BJH) pore size analysis), thermogravimetry-derivative thermogravimetry (TG-DTG) techniques. XRD patterns of PANI-TiO2 composites confirmed both the amorphous phase of PANI and the crystalline character of TiO2. TG/DTG analysis complemented the XRD profiles that the interactions between PANI and TiO2 resulted in a more stable PANI-TiO2 matrix. SEM images displayed the dominant morphology as dandelion-like shapes of PANI being more pronounced with increasing PANI ratios in PANI-TiO2 composites. UV-DRS profiles revealed that the band gap energies of the composites were lower than bare TiO2 expressing a shift to the visible light region. Both PL and UV-DRS analyses confirmed the band-gap reduction phenomenon of PANI modification of TiO2. The incorporation of PANI into TiO2 resulted in a reduction of the surface area of TiO2. The composites were subsequently subjected to photocatalytic activity assessment tests using humic acid (HA) as a model of refractory organic matter (RfOM) under simulated solar irradiation (Uyguner-Demirel et al. Environ Sci Pollut Res 30 85626-85638, 2023). The morphological and structural changes attained upon application of photocatalysis were also evaluated by FTIR-ATR, Raman spectroscopy, XRD, and SEM-EDAX methods in a comparable manner. The FTIR-ATR spectral features of PANI, RfOM and all composites displayed peaks with slight shifts under pre- and post- photocatalytic conditions as well as following dark surface interactions. Besides exhibiting noticeable photocatalytic performance, PANI-TiO2 composites were also proven to maintain stability under non-selective oxidation conditions in the presence of a complex organic matrix. The prepared PANI-TiO2 composites overcoming the limitations of UVA light active bare TiO2 photocatalysis could possibly find a beneficial use as potential catalysts in solar photocatalytic applications. © 2023, The Author(s), under exclusive licence to Springer-Verlag GmbH Germany, part of Springer Nature

Implementing a system for the real-time risk assessment of patients considered for intensive care

BACKGROUND: Delay in identifying deterioration in hospitalised patients is associated with delayed admission to an intensive care unit (ICU) and poor outcomes. For the HAVEN project (HICF ref.: HICF-R9–524), we have developed a mathematical model that identifies deterioration in hospitalised patients in real time and facilitates the intervention of an ICU outreach team. This paper describes the system that has been designed to implement the model. We have used innovative technologies such as Portable Format for Analytics (PFA) and Open Services Gateway initiative (OSGi) to define the predictive statistical model and implement the system respectively for greater configurability, reliability, and availability. RESULTS: The HAVEN system has been deployed as part of a research project in the Oxford University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust. The system has so far processed > 164,000 vital signs observations and > 68,000 laboratory results for > 12,500 patients and the algorithm generated score is being evaluated to review patients who are under consideration for transfer to ICU. No clinical decisions are being made based on output from the system. The HAVEN score has been computed using a PFA model for all these patients. The intent is that this score will be displayed on a graphical user interface for clinician review and response. CONCLUSIONS: The system uses a configurable PFA model to compute the HAVEN score which makes the system easily upgradable in terms of enhancing systems’ predictive capability. Further system enhancements are planned to handle new data sources and additional management screens

A European spectrum of pharmacogenomic biomarkers: Implications for clinical pharmacogenomics

Pharmacogenomics aims to correlate inter-individual differences of drug efficacy and/or toxicity with the underlying genetic composition, particularly in genes encoding for protein factors and enzymes involved in drug metabolism and transport. In several European populations, particularly in countries with lower income, information related to the prevalence of pharmacogenomic biomarkers is incomplete or lacking. Here, we have implemented the microattribution approach to assess the pharmacogenomic biomarkers allelic spectrum in 18 European populations, mostly from developing European countries, by analyzing 1,931 pharmacogenomics biomarkers in 231 genes. Our data show significant interpopulation pharmacogenomic biomarker allele frequency differences, particularly in 7 clinically actionable pharmacogenomic biomarkers in 7 European populations, affecting drug efficacy and/or toxicity of 51 medication treatment modalities. These data also reflect on the differences observed in the prevalence of high-risk genotypes in these populations, as far as common markers in the CYP2C9, CYP2C19, CYP3A5, VKORC1, SLCO1B1 and TPMT pharmacogenes are concerned. Also, our data demonstrate notable differences in predicted genotype-based warfarin dosing among these populations. Our findings can be exploited not only to develop guidelines for medical prioritization, but most importantly to facilitate integration of pharmacogenomics and to support pre-emptive pharmacogenomic testing. This may subsequently contribute towards significant cost-savings in the overall healthcare expenditure in the participating countries, where pharmacogenomics implementation proves to be cost-effective