Newly Isolated Animal Pathogen Corynebacterium silvaticum Is Cytotoxic to Human Epithelial Cells

Corynebacterium silvaticum is a newly identified animal pathogen of forest animals such as roe deer and wild boars. The species is closely related to the emerging human pathogen Corynebacterium ulcerans and the widely distributed animal pathogen Corynebacterium pseudotuberculosis. In this study, Corynebacterium silvaticum strain W25 was characterized with respect to its interaction with human cell lines. Microscopy, measurement of transepithelial electric resistance and cytotoxicity assays revealed detrimental effects of C. silvaticum to different human epithelial cell lines and to an invertebrate animal model, Galleria mellonella larvae, comparable to diphtheria toxin-secreting C. ulcerans. Furthermore, the results obtained may indicate a considerable zoonotic potential of this newly identified species.     

Industry 4.0: a supply chain innovation perspective

The Fourth Industrial Revolution – also known as Industry 4.0 (i4.0) – comprises the digitalisation of the industrial sector. This paper uses the theoretical lens of supply chain innovation (SCI) to investigate the implications of i4.0 on supply chain management. For these purposes, the method of structured content analysis is applied to more than 200 use cases of i4.0-enabled SCI introduced by both established and startup companies. i4.0-enabled SCI manifests along three dimensions: process, technology, and business architecture. The key findings of this study can be summarised as follows: first, i4.0-enabled SCI extends the initial focus on productivity improvements in SC processes towards scalability and flexibility. Second, extant i4.0 solutions rely mostly on analytics and smart things while omitting smart people technology and the human-centric approach associated with the i4.0 paradigm. Third, established companies adopt i4.0 merely to sustain their existing business architectures while startup companies radically change their operating models, relying heavily on data analytics and the platform economy. Consequently, established companies pursue a problem-driven, engineering-based approach to SCI while startup companies follow an ‘asset-light’, business-driven approach. Lastly, there are two distinct approaches to digitalising operational SC processes: platform-based crowdsourcing of standard processes and on-demand provision of customised services.     

The Nexus of Corporate Entrepreneurship and Radical Innovation

This paper explores the linkage between the entrepreneurial orientation of established firms and the development of radical innovation. Through five case studies in firms involved in radical innovation, three propositions are developed, suggesting that proactiveness, risk‐taking and autonomy stimulate the development of radical innovation, whereas competitive aggressiveness does not necessarily do so, as radical innovations are directed towards the creation of entirely new arenas of business, where existing competitors are not present.     

Introduction of a nonlinearity measure for principal component models

Although principal component analysis (PCA) is an important tool in standard multivariate data analysis, little interest has been devoted to assessing whether the underlying relationship within a given variable set can be described by a linear PCA model or whether nonlinear PCA must be utilized. This paper addresses this deficiency by introducing a nonlinearity measure for principal component models. The measure is based on the following two principles: (i) the range of recorded process operation is divided into smaller regions; and (ii) accuracy bounds are determined for the sum of the discarded eigenvalues. If this sum is within the accuracy bounds for each region, the process is assumed to be linear and vice versa. This procedure is automated through the use of cross-validation. Finally, the paper shows the utility of the new nonlinearity measure using two simulation studies and with data from an industrial melter process.     

Three-dimensional MHD high-resolution computations with CWENO employing adaptive mesh refinement

Until recently, numerical simulations of discontinuities in highly super-Alfvénic plasmas have been severely limited by comparatively crude resolution and accuracy. Significant progress in the numerical simulation of such plasmas was achieved with the recently implemented Central Weighted Essentially Non-Oscillatory (CWENO) scheme. Combining this technique with that of adaptive mesh refinement (AMR), we have developed a third-order numerical scheme, which is able to efficiently capture strong gradients on spatial scales being small compared to the overall scale of the plasma system considered. Here, we first describe important algorithmic aspects of the scheme as well as the physics included in it. Second, we present the results of various performance tests. And, third, we illustrate its application to ‘real world problems’ using the example of the dynamics of a Sedov-type explosion.     

Cr-Mo solid solutions forced by high-energy ball milling

Mixtures of Cr and Mo elemental powders, with the nominal compositions Cr₂₅Mo₇₅, Cr₅₀Mo₅₀, and Cr₇₅Mo₂₅, are processed by high-energy ball milling at ambient temperature. Milling is observed to force the mixing of the immiscible bcc elements Cr and Mo into solid solutions. The lattice parameter of these solid solutions, measured by X-ray diffraction (XRD), displays the expected positive deviation from Vegard’s law. These deviations are compared to the ones predicted by Eshelby’s inclusion model for dilute alloys. The conventional Williamson-Hall approach is shown to fail to determine the grain size in as-milled samples, probably due to the high density of dislocations. Annealing at 700 °C for 10 hours under argon leads to a large reduction in structural defect density, without inducing any significant decomposition. The mixing measured in Cr-Mo is discussed in the broader context of the mechanical mixing forced by ball milling in moderately immiscible systems.     

Interdiffusion behavior of Hg in HgTe/CdTe superlattices grown on Cd0.96Zn0.04 Te (211)B substrates by molecular beam epitaxy

Double-crystal x-ray rocking curve (DCRC) and secondary-ion mass-spectroscopy (SIMS) measurements have been performed to investigate the effect of rapid thermal annealing on the interdiffusion behavior of Hg in HgTe/CdTe superlattices grown on Cd_0.96Zn_0.04Te (211)B substrates by molecular beam epitaxy. The sharp satellite peaks of the DCRC measurements on a 100-period HgTe/CdTe (100Å/100Å) superlattice show a periodic arrangement of the superlattice with high-quality interfaces. The negative direction of the entropy change obtained from the diffusion coefficients as a function of the reciprocal of the temperature after RTA indicates that the Hg diffusion for the annealed HgTe/CdTe superlattice is caused by an interstitial mechanism. The Cd and the Hg concentration profiles near the annealed HgTe/CdTe superlattice interfaces, as measured by SIMS, show a nonlinear behavior for Hg, originating from the interstitial diffusion mechanism of the Hg composition. These results indicate that a nonlinear interdiffusion behavior is dominant for HgTe/CdTe superlattices annealed at 190°C and that the rectangular shape of HgTe/CdTe superlattices may change to a parabolic shape because of the intermixing of Hg and Cd due to the thermal treatment.     

Cutting stress off at the pass: Reducing vigilance and responsiveness to social threat by manipulating attention.

Personality processes relating to social perception have been shown to play a significant role in the experience of stress. In 5 studies, the authors demonstrate that early stage attentional processes influence the perception of social threat and modify the human stress response. The authors first show that cortisol release in response to a stressful situation correlates with selective attention toward social threat. Second, the authors show in 2 laboratory studies that this attentional pattern, most evident among individuals with low self-esteem, can be modified with a repetitive training task. Next, in a field study, students trained to modify their attentional pattern to reduce vigilance for social threat showed lower self-reported stress related to their final exam. In a final field study with telemarketers, the attentional training task led to increased self-esteem, decreased cortisol and perceived stress responses, higher confidence, and greater work performance. Taken together, these results demonstrate the impact of antecedent-focused strategies on the late-stage consequences of social stress. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Isolation and Spectroscopic Characterization of Eu@C72

A new Eu-endohedral fullerene cage, namely, Eu@C₇₂, was synthesized, separated, and a single isomer, Eu@C₇₂-I, has been isolated by multi-step HPLC for the first time and characterized by LDI-TOF mass spectrometry, UV-Vis and EPR spectroscopy. Additionally, a second isomer, Eu@C₇₂-II, has been separated by HPLC and identified by LDI-TOF mass spectrometry.